Day 31: Various fandoms/Various pairings, 8 recs
Previous Days
Day 01 - Aerith/Zack, Final Fantasy 7
Day 02 - Sakura/Sasuke, Naruto.
Day 03 - Rose/Ten, Doctor Who.
Day 04 - Byakuya/Rangiku, Bleach
Day 05 - Riza/Roy, Fullmetal Alchemist (2 recs)
Day 06 - Damon/Elena, The Vampire Diaries
Day 07 - Egwene/Rand, Wheel of Time
Day 08 - Kaddar/Kalasin, Immortals - Tamora Pierce
Day 09 - Amy/Rory, Doctor Who (2 recs)
Day 10 - Elizabeth/Will, Pirates of the Caribbean (2 recs)
Day 11 - Adrian/Sydney, Bloodlines - Richelle Mead
Day 12 - Kim/Ron, Kim Possible || Mai/Zuko, Avatar: the Last Airbender (2 recs)
Day 13 - The Obamas, the Clintons, the Bidens, various, US Political RPF
Day 14 - John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara, Hellblazer/DC Comics
Day 15 - Roy/Winry, Fullmetal Alchemist
Day 16 - Hinata/Naruto, Naruto (series)
Day 17 - Elena/Stefan (but really, gen), The Vampire Diaries
Day 18 - Cloud/Tifa & Aerith/Zack, Final Fntasy 7
Day 19 - James/Lily (but really Lily+Marauders), Harry Potter
Day 20 - Doctor/Rose, Doctor Who
Day 21 - Tamora Pierce fandoms: Lianne I/Roald I || Roanna/Gareth the Elder || Adigun/Kalasin I & Cythera/Gary || Jon/Thayet || Kara/Halef Seif & Vivenne/Wyldon || Roald II/Shinko || Neal/Yuki 4 + 5 + 6 recs.
Day 22 - Lucifer/Mazikeen, Lucifer 4 recs.
Day 23 - Rock Lee/Sakura, Sakura/Various, Naruto
Day 24 - Rose/Mal, Doctor Who & Firefly
Day 25 - Tris/OC, Will of the Empress.
Day 26 - Luke/Thalia, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Day 27 - Konan/Pain, Naruto
Day 28 - Nanao/Shunsui, Bleach
Day 29 - Jane/Will, Dark is Rising
Day 30 - Ema/Klavier, Ace Attorney.
Day 31 - BONUS - Wildcard/Catch up on a missed day
I decided to go with: Fanfics for couples that you don't ship.
Fandom Category: Yu-Gi-Oh
Pairing: Mazaki Anzu/Motou Yugi
Fic Title: Say Something
Author: Chibi's Sister
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3912678/1/Say-Something
Rating/Warning(s): K
Genre: Romance/Drama
WIP?: No. Completed at 65,000 words.
Why This Must Be Read: Anzu thinks she has everything she's ever wanted in life... until she gets invited to Yugi's wedding. Priorities and past feelings abound. It's really an ensemble story (with background Rebecca/Yugi, Serenity/Tristan, Joey/Mai and a surprise pairing), and I love that the author uses the opportunity to showcase everyone's friendships and different voices. The core triangle isn't annoying, either, but fully realised and sympathetic to everyone involved -- not to mention featuring some of the best writing I've ever read, in the sense that it rings so true to life. I cannot recommend this story highly enough, or love this story more even if it had been written with one of my OTPs as the centre. It's that good.
"You don't love me, Yugi." Rebecca hadn't intended the words to be so accusatory, but they were. She plowed on ahead anyway. "Don't deny it, please don't. I see it in your eyes; I feel in your touch, I taste it in your kisses. You don't care anymore, Yugi."
"We're on a date!" Yugi burst out. "A date that I planned! How can you say I don't care about you, Rebecca? What more do you want?"
"Everything!" she shouted. "I want everything and to be everything to someone else. I'm so sick and tired of knowing that my fiancé would rather make googly-eyes at Téa than spend time with me."
"That's not fair," Yugi said. "I'm here, Rebecca. I'm with you."
"Your body is. But where is your heart?" Rebecca sighed. "Yugi, can you honestly tell me that you don't have any feelings for Téa?"
Yugi was quiet for a moment. "I'll admit to…lingering emotions. But I don't act on them, Beck. I'm committed to you."
Rebecca stared at him. He didn't get it. Did she have to hit him over the head with it? She didn't want to break his heart. She wanted to "let him down easy" if she could. If only he wouldn't be so obtuse.
"Yugi, listen to me," Rebecca leaned forward, willing him to understand. "Commitment is good, it's a good thing, but…but stop making me into some kind of prison warden. Don't you get it?" She closed her eyes. "I want to be the love of someone's life, the girl of their dreams, not the ball and chain around their leg. Yugi, you go through the motions of a devoted fiancé, but deep down, you know as well as I do, the emotion isn't real anymore."
Rebecca touched his arm gently. "The only part of you I have anymore is what's on the surface. Just the merest shell of the man I fell in love with. Everything else belongs to someone else." There was a quiver in her voice, but she shook her head. "Don't marry me out of duty, Yugi. Life's too short and marriage too long to do a stupid thing like that. If you're honest with yourself, you know you can't give me your whole heart, and I won't settle for anything else. Call me crazy, but I don't want to marry someone who's in love with someone else."
Fandom Category: Inuyasha
Pairing: Higurashi Kagome/Inuyasha
Fic Title: Dead Famous
Author: Torenza
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1548586/1/Dead-Famous
Rating/Warning(s): Mature - mentions of drug abuse, child abuse.
Genre: Drama/Romance, AU
WIP?: No. Completed at 180,000 words.
Why This Must Be Read: The most wanted prize bachelor is up for grabs... but the one who gets him is the only one who doesn't want to keep him... Or, Kagome's friends unwittingly enter her into a phone call competition. The prize? Spend a week with Inuyasha. Or, more relevant to Kagome, who hates the idea of Inuyasha, she gets to keep a beautiful wardrobe. What I love about this story is that it just everything: homour, romance (of course), fluff, angst, drama, irony, Inuyasha being shot in a gay bar, demon boxing and underwear models. It fools you into thinking it's your average AU and then smacks you halfway in with a lot of heart.
"My name is… Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi…" Kagome said slowly, speaking aloud the words that she wrote down in her English exercise book.
She stopped there and wracked her brains for something else to say about herself. "I'm very normal… and… ordinary…"
Souta, whilst flicking around the Tv channels on the living room sofa suddenly stopped on a documentary that interested him. It was about a certain white haired, seventeen year old superstar. "Cool! This guy lives in a palace!" Souta called out eagerly.
Kagome scribbled out the last sentence she'd written and tried again. "I'm very strange… and… abnormal… I don't like Inuyasha…"
Well actually. She didn't dislike him… she just felt very indifferent about the whole ordeal. So what he was famous? Had he worked for it? No. His mother had been famous, rich and beautiful (and an underwear model) and his father had been a successful politician. He was just living off the fat that his parents had provided him with. He'd never lifted a finger for it. All he did was look pretty and smile - and he got richer.
Ok… maybe it was less indifference and more resentment.
But perhaps she was just tired of all the conversations she had with her friends turning at one time or another to the topic of Inuyasha - the urban god! Perhaps she was just tired of the fact that she was struggling to get through school and earn some good grades and a good entrance into a good school so she could get a good college degree and a good job so she'd be able to make a decent life for herself. He never had to worry about things like that. And the little people like herself just worshipped him for it.
Kagome clenched her pen a moment before continuing with her homework. "I have black hair… brown eyes… and a chip on the shoulder the size of an umbrella…" No, that didn't sound right…
Fandom Category: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Blair Waldorf/Dan Humphrey
Fic Title: Need Isn't Love
Author: goldy_dollar
Link: Part 1 Part 2
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Genre: Drama/Post-s5 Finale
WIP?: No.
Why This Must Be Read: Dan, it's not your job to save Blair Waldorf. I remember watching GG, after all the Blair/Dan love on my f'list, and personally not feeling emotional attachment myself. It doesn't stop me from enjoying the excellent fic, though, and I love this one because Jenny Humphrey of all people is the voice of reason ("But it doesn't matter how much you love her - or think you love her - she's not going to change for you, Dan. "), because it subtly draws parallels between Blair and Dan, and because Blair/self-respecting woman is the fanfic's ultimate endgame.
What he says is, "You're with Chuck, aren't you? Everything you ever wanted."
She's quiet and then says, "I didn't think it would be like this."
"Like what?"
"So... lonely."
He softens even more. "Blair--"
"I feel like he's trying to punish me--for Louis, for you. Maybe even for loving me at all."
Despite his anger, her words unnerve him. "Blair, has he... done anything? Hurt you?"
She laughs, but it's a low and bitter noise. "Not like you mean, but it doesn't always take fists to hurt someone, does it?" She pauses. "Chuck only ever seems to want me when I'm with someone else."
Dan takes a slow and measured breath. Just what had Chuck done in a past life to deserve Blair's undying love and loyalty? (And what was wrong with her that she still couldn't see, after all this time, that no matter how much she loved him, Chuck would never change for her?)
Fandom Category: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Pairing: Katara/Zuko
Fic Title: The Alchemy of Fire: Arc I
Author: ShadowHawke
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4419434/1/The-Alchemy-of-Fire-Arc-I
Rating/Warning(s): Teen. AU finale. Violence.
Genre: Adventure/Romance
WIP?: No. Complete at 180,000 words.
Why This Must Be Read: The nature of Fire is that it transforms, and so after their victory the Gaang must deal with the aftermath of 'peace' amidst battle, growth, self-discovery, and the startling changes and beauty of love.
I debated about which fic to include because while I don't ship Katara/Zuko, I do love several stories for it, but in the end, I went with this one because it's so woefully under-rated. (And it was the only post s3-finale story.) There's prose that flows like honey; there are character voices and humour that fit just right; there's a slow-burn relationship. It's a tightly-woven, very well-written look of what a slight change in the finale might have meant for everyone involved. What really drew me in, though, is that there is a sympathetic, dynamic interpretation of Mai, and Mai and Katara's friendship is excellent. There's a well-thought-out plot and world-building, too, but no one really cares about that do they? ;D
"You know, I meant what I said last night," Katara said abruptly, suddenly. Zuko began to turn to her, startled, but subsided at the remembered twinges in his chest.
"You said a lot of things last night," he said carefully, his lips stretched into a painful grin. "From telling me you'd never forgive Yon Rha to how much more you liked mangoes to papaya."
There was a moment where her eyebrows arched into seriousness, and then it fled as she laughed. "Good point," she chuckled. "I'd kind of forgotten about that. Well, I meant the important thing."
His grin lost its strain at her guilelessness."I'm afraid that still doesn't narrow it down, Katara. I don't suppose I could get any specifics?"
Katara rolled her eyes, but sobered as she studied him. "When we were talking about the future," she said softly. "When we were talking about your future. I meant what I said when I told you that you'd make a good Fire Lord."
With that, the corners of his mouth lifted enough to make it a proper, genuine smile. "I know," he said quietly. "Thank you."
She nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to the view. He turned back with her, the words hesitant in his throat. "Thank you," he said again, staring out to the sea. "It... it means a lot, coming from you."
"Me?" Katara arched her eyebrow wryly, smoothing the skin of her hands. "I thought I was just a little peasant?"
Zuko winced as his remembered words echoed back at him. "You know you're more than that," he shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous."
The eyebrow subsided. "I don't really know what I am, really," she admitted quietly, and somewhere inside her, a restless coil of feeling shifted in agreement. Yet as soon as the words escaped her, she regretted them. They made it real, made her weak, and she was about to open her mouth to take them back when he spoke first.
"What are you going to do, after this?"
She stopped. "Huh?"
Zuko didn't look at her, he just gestured vaguely out to the sea. "What are you going to do now, now it's all over? I mean... it's just that I guess that's what's always defined me." He looked down at his feet, his voice rough in his throat. "My future."
She was silent as she gazed at him, clear blue eyes lost in thought, and he swallowed before hurriedly continuing. "So... so maybe if you figure yours out, you might get an idea?"
There is a sequel that is incomplete: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5224560/1/The-Alchemy-of-Fire-Arc-II
Fandom Category: X-Men
Pairing: Rachel Grey/Nathaniel "Mr. Sinister" Essex
Fic Title: The Unquiet Affair of Rachel Grey and Nathaniel Essex
Author: Sionnain / inathunderstorm
Link: On LJ
Rating/Warning(s): MA -- BDSM, explicit violent sex (consensual), restraint/whipping/consensual violence, dub-con/non-con sexual activity. (Author gives warnings on each chapter.)
Genre: Drama
WIP?: No. Completed at 50K.
Why This Must Be Read: I suppose you could count this as the kink fic I didn't rec before. This story is really a psychological story of Rachel, who is sadly neglected by canon at this point, and the romance (if it could be called that, exactly) is slow, but convincing. Which is something I never thought I would say.
"Yup. Wanna hear why I am here?"
"Undoubtedly."
Rachel rubbed her arms with her hands. "Could I come inside? I'm freezing."
"No." He smiled at her again. She wished he wouldn't do that. "Talk. You have three minutes before I teleport you somewhere extraordinarily more uncomfortable than here."
The Phoenix mark glowed on her face. He sucked in a breath, but his expression didn't waver. She thought maybe she saw his eyes darken to a deeper red, but that was probably a trick of the light. "I'm tired of you trying to kidnap me and putting my friends in danger. I'm here to make a deal where you get what you want, and then you leave me and mine alone. Interested?" She kept her psychic shields down, let him see that she was serious.
"There is something else," he said quietly. She was struck by the fact they'd never exchanged this many words before. Which was really for the best, but there was a small thrill in being so close to a man who had terrorized her family for generations. If by thrill she meant violent urge to kill him.
"Yeah. I'm getting to that. Anyway, I'll give you until the first of January to do...whatever it is you want. Unless it's kill me," she pointed out, crossing her arms. "Then I'm leaving. Anyway, poke me, prod me, do whatever as long as isn't something I'm going to have to kill you for when you're done. Then you let me go, and we go our separate ways. Forever."
Fandom Category: Disney - Sleeping Beauty
Pairing: Maleficent/King Stephen
Fic Title: Ill Met By Moonlight
Author: ghostrunner7
Link: http://ghostrunner7.livejournal.com/104110.html
Rating/Warning(s): I'd say K
Genre: Angst?
WIP?: No.
Why This Must Be Read: It's Maleficent/the King! How can you resist? But if you want a more coherent reason: it's because love isn't always happy and everlasting, and this story doesn't sell it that way. ghostrunner7 weaves a tale in between the lines of a conventional fairytale that is every bit as compelling as the original.
She snaps lightning through the halls of his palace and smiles at the terror that strikes through the crowd as she rises like a sharp edged dark flower from the stones.
“Well,” she says with the acid bite of sarcasm between her teeth, “quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan.”
It was not always like this between them.
Fandom Category: Inception
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur
Fic Title: Liminal Space
Author: ghostrunner7
Link: http://ghostrunner7.livejournal.com/92269.html
Rating/Warning(s): Adult - sex.
Genre: Post-movie
WIP?: No.
Why This Must Be Read: It's a lovely portrayal of Ariadne post-job, in all her frustrations with real life, written with some of the richest prose I've read.
“Reality isn’t enough,” she tells the nearest streetlamp.
“I agree,” says a voice over her left shoulder.
Ariadne isn’t even surprised to see him when she turns. It’s like she conjured him out of the starlight and the sheen of oil on the cobblestones.
Arthur offers her a half smile. “What a fortuitous circumstance,” he says.
“You mean you weren’t following me?”
He glances back down the street. “No,” he says, and she notices that he’s dressed for dinner, or at least drinks. Black on black on black all tailored close and sharp, hands in his pockets. “No, I had a… well. Doesn’t matter now.” He tilts his head back at the bar. “Drink?”
Ariadne feels herself smiling. “Gravity was frustratingly normal in there.”
Fandom Category: Batman (comics)
Pairing: Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Poison Ivy/Harvey Dent, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Harleen Quinzel/The Joker
Fic Title: Heard the Latest?
Author: chris dee
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/368476/1/Heard-the-latest
Rating/Warning(s): Teen -- violence, references sexuality
Genre: Humour
WIP?: No. Complete at 6800 words.
Why This Must Be Read: This is easily one of the funniest things I have ever read, online or offline. Batman is probably the darkest of DC's lineups, but that doesn't mean that the costumed vigilantes and/or thieves aren't getting up to gossip-worthy antics that would make the tabloids look like they were tame. Chris Dee took the change to stuff a series worth of drama into a oneshot, and this is the result. "A crazy night for Dick Grayson" doesn't even begin to describe it.
This story is part of a very, very, (very) long series of Bruce/Selina Clan centric called 'Cat Tales', but this ensemble piece is my favourite so far. (I linked to the FFnet version of the story because I actually find it easier to read on FFnet. Amazingly.)
The degree of Two-Face's rage may be gauged by the fact that he did not pause to flip his coin before calling down the sting of two thousand scorpions on Maroni, on the Penguin, and on anyone else involved in this monstrous outrage. This was not a matter for the coin to decide because he was not "of two minds." On the contrary, while Two-Face conjured images of machine-gunning every Maroni in existence, Harvey searched the annals of his Harvard education for appropriate epithets:
Come not within the measure of my wrath.
-The Two Gentleman of Verona
Ne'er had been read in story old,
Of maiden true betray'd for gold,
That loved, or was avenged, like me.
-Marmion. Canto ii
Which, if not victory, is yet revenge.
-Paradise Lost. Book ii
And just for good measure:
I don't want to kill everyone. Just my enemies.
-The Godfather Part II
Day 01 - Aerith/Zack, Final Fantasy 7
Day 02 - Sakura/Sasuke, Naruto.
Day 03 - Rose/Ten, Doctor Who.
Day 04 - Byakuya/Rangiku, Bleach
Day 05 - Riza/Roy, Fullmetal Alchemist (2 recs)
Day 06 - Damon/Elena, The Vampire Diaries
Day 07 - Egwene/Rand, Wheel of Time
Day 08 - Kaddar/Kalasin, Immortals - Tamora Pierce
Day 09 - Amy/Rory, Doctor Who (2 recs)
Day 10 - Elizabeth/Will, Pirates of the Caribbean (2 recs)
Day 11 - Adrian/Sydney, Bloodlines - Richelle Mead
Day 12 - Kim/Ron, Kim Possible || Mai/Zuko, Avatar: the Last Airbender (2 recs)
Day 13 - The Obamas, the Clintons, the Bidens, various, US Political RPF
Day 14 - John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara, Hellblazer/DC Comics
Day 15 - Roy/Winry, Fullmetal Alchemist
Day 16 - Hinata/Naruto, Naruto (series)
Day 17 - Elena/Stefan (but really, gen), The Vampire Diaries
Day 18 - Cloud/Tifa & Aerith/Zack, Final Fntasy 7
Day 19 - James/Lily (but really Lily+Marauders), Harry Potter
Day 20 - Doctor/Rose, Doctor Who
Day 21 - Tamora Pierce fandoms: Lianne I/Roald I || Roanna/Gareth the Elder || Adigun/Kalasin I & Cythera/Gary || Jon/Thayet || Kara/Halef Seif & Vivenne/Wyldon || Roald II/Shinko || Neal/Yuki 4 + 5 + 6 recs.
Day 22 - Lucifer/Mazikeen, Lucifer 4 recs.
Day 23 - Rock Lee/Sakura, Sakura/Various, Naruto
Day 24 - Rose/Mal, Doctor Who & Firefly
Day 25 - Tris/OC, Will of the Empress.
Day 26 - Luke/Thalia, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Day 27 - Konan/Pain, Naruto
Day 28 - Nanao/Shunsui, Bleach
Day 29 - Jane/Will, Dark is Rising
Day 30 - Ema/Klavier, Ace Attorney.
Day 31 - BONUS - Wildcard/Catch up on a missed day
I decided to go with: Fanfics for couples that you don't ship.
Fandom Category: Yu-Gi-Oh
Pairing: Mazaki Anzu/Motou Yugi
Fic Title: Say Something
Author: Chibi's Sister
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3912678/1/Say-Something
Rating/Warning(s): K
Genre: Romance/Drama
WIP?: No. Completed at 65,000 words.
Why This Must Be Read: Anzu thinks she has everything she's ever wanted in life... until she gets invited to Yugi's wedding. Priorities and past feelings abound. It's really an ensemble story (with background Rebecca/Yugi, Serenity/Tristan, Joey/Mai and a surprise pairing), and I love that the author uses the opportunity to showcase everyone's friendships and different voices. The core triangle isn't annoying, either, but fully realised and sympathetic to everyone involved -- not to mention featuring some of the best writing I've ever read, in the sense that it rings so true to life. I cannot recommend this story highly enough, or love this story more even if it had been written with one of my OTPs as the centre. It's that good.
"You don't love me, Yugi." Rebecca hadn't intended the words to be so accusatory, but they were. She plowed on ahead anyway. "Don't deny it, please don't. I see it in your eyes; I feel in your touch, I taste it in your kisses. You don't care anymore, Yugi."
"We're on a date!" Yugi burst out. "A date that I planned! How can you say I don't care about you, Rebecca? What more do you want?"
"Everything!" she shouted. "I want everything and to be everything to someone else. I'm so sick and tired of knowing that my fiancé would rather make googly-eyes at Téa than spend time with me."
"That's not fair," Yugi said. "I'm here, Rebecca. I'm with you."
"Your body is. But where is your heart?" Rebecca sighed. "Yugi, can you honestly tell me that you don't have any feelings for Téa?"
Yugi was quiet for a moment. "I'll admit to…lingering emotions. But I don't act on them, Beck. I'm committed to you."
Rebecca stared at him. He didn't get it. Did she have to hit him over the head with it? She didn't want to break his heart. She wanted to "let him down easy" if she could. If only he wouldn't be so obtuse.
"Yugi, listen to me," Rebecca leaned forward, willing him to understand. "Commitment is good, it's a good thing, but…but stop making me into some kind of prison warden. Don't you get it?" She closed her eyes. "I want to be the love of someone's life, the girl of their dreams, not the ball and chain around their leg. Yugi, you go through the motions of a devoted fiancé, but deep down, you know as well as I do, the emotion isn't real anymore."
Rebecca touched his arm gently. "The only part of you I have anymore is what's on the surface. Just the merest shell of the man I fell in love with. Everything else belongs to someone else." There was a quiver in her voice, but she shook her head. "Don't marry me out of duty, Yugi. Life's too short and marriage too long to do a stupid thing like that. If you're honest with yourself, you know you can't give me your whole heart, and I won't settle for anything else. Call me crazy, but I don't want to marry someone who's in love with someone else."
Fandom Category: Inuyasha
Pairing: Higurashi Kagome/Inuyasha
Fic Title: Dead Famous
Author: Torenza
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1548586/1/Dead-Famous
Rating/Warning(s): Mature - mentions of drug abuse, child abuse.
Genre: Drama/Romance, AU
WIP?: No. Completed at 180,000 words.
Why This Must Be Read: The most wanted prize bachelor is up for grabs... but the one who gets him is the only one who doesn't want to keep him... Or, Kagome's friends unwittingly enter her into a phone call competition. The prize? Spend a week with Inuyasha. Or, more relevant to Kagome, who hates the idea of Inuyasha, she gets to keep a beautiful wardrobe. What I love about this story is that it just everything: homour, romance (of course), fluff, angst, drama, irony, Inuyasha being shot in a gay bar, demon boxing and underwear models. It fools you into thinking it's your average AU and then smacks you halfway in with a lot of heart.
"My name is… Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi…" Kagome said slowly, speaking aloud the words that she wrote down in her English exercise book.
She stopped there and wracked her brains for something else to say about herself. "I'm very normal… and… ordinary…"
Souta, whilst flicking around the Tv channels on the living room sofa suddenly stopped on a documentary that interested him. It was about a certain white haired, seventeen year old superstar. "Cool! This guy lives in a palace!" Souta called out eagerly.
Kagome scribbled out the last sentence she'd written and tried again. "I'm very strange… and… abnormal… I don't like Inuyasha…"
Well actually. She didn't dislike him… she just felt very indifferent about the whole ordeal. So what he was famous? Had he worked for it? No. His mother had been famous, rich and beautiful (and an underwear model) and his father had been a successful politician. He was just living off the fat that his parents had provided him with. He'd never lifted a finger for it. All he did was look pretty and smile - and he got richer.
Ok… maybe it was less indifference and more resentment.
But perhaps she was just tired of all the conversations she had with her friends turning at one time or another to the topic of Inuyasha - the urban god! Perhaps she was just tired of the fact that she was struggling to get through school and earn some good grades and a good entrance into a good school so she could get a good college degree and a good job so she'd be able to make a decent life for herself. He never had to worry about things like that. And the little people like herself just worshipped him for it.
Kagome clenched her pen a moment before continuing with her homework. "I have black hair… brown eyes… and a chip on the shoulder the size of an umbrella…" No, that didn't sound right…
Fandom Category: Gossip Girl
Pairing: Blair Waldorf/Dan Humphrey
Fic Title: Need Isn't Love
Author: goldy_dollar
Link: Part 1 Part 2
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Genre: Drama/Post-s5 Finale
WIP?: No.
Why This Must Be Read: Dan, it's not your job to save Blair Waldorf. I remember watching GG, after all the Blair/Dan love on my f'list, and personally not feeling emotional attachment myself. It doesn't stop me from enjoying the excellent fic, though, and I love this one because Jenny Humphrey of all people is the voice of reason ("But it doesn't matter how much you love her - or think you love her - she's not going to change for you, Dan. "), because it subtly draws parallels between Blair and Dan, and because Blair/self-respecting woman is the fanfic's ultimate endgame.
What he says is, "You're with Chuck, aren't you? Everything you ever wanted."
She's quiet and then says, "I didn't think it would be like this."
"Like what?"
"So... lonely."
He softens even more. "Blair--"
"I feel like he's trying to punish me--for Louis, for you. Maybe even for loving me at all."
Despite his anger, her words unnerve him. "Blair, has he... done anything? Hurt you?"
She laughs, but it's a low and bitter noise. "Not like you mean, but it doesn't always take fists to hurt someone, does it?" She pauses. "Chuck only ever seems to want me when I'm with someone else."
Dan takes a slow and measured breath. Just what had Chuck done in a past life to deserve Blair's undying love and loyalty? (And what was wrong with her that she still couldn't see, after all this time, that no matter how much she loved him, Chuck would never change for her?)
Fandom Category: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Pairing: Katara/Zuko
Fic Title: The Alchemy of Fire: Arc I
Author: ShadowHawke
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4419434/1/The-Alchemy-of-Fire-Arc-I
Rating/Warning(s): Teen. AU finale. Violence.
Genre: Adventure/Romance
WIP?: No. Complete at 180,000 words.
Why This Must Be Read: The nature of Fire is that it transforms, and so after their victory the Gaang must deal with the aftermath of 'peace' amidst battle, growth, self-discovery, and the startling changes and beauty of love.
I debated about which fic to include because while I don't ship Katara/Zuko, I do love several stories for it, but in the end, I went with this one because it's so woefully under-rated. (And it was the only post s3-finale story.) There's prose that flows like honey; there are character voices and humour that fit just right; there's a slow-burn relationship. It's a tightly-woven, very well-written look of what a slight change in the finale might have meant for everyone involved. What really drew me in, though, is that there is a sympathetic, dynamic interpretation of Mai, and Mai and Katara's friendship is excellent. There's a well-thought-out plot and world-building, too, but no one really cares about that do they? ;D
"You know, I meant what I said last night," Katara said abruptly, suddenly. Zuko began to turn to her, startled, but subsided at the remembered twinges in his chest.
"You said a lot of things last night," he said carefully, his lips stretched into a painful grin. "From telling me you'd never forgive Yon Rha to how much more you liked mangoes to papaya."
There was a moment where her eyebrows arched into seriousness, and then it fled as she laughed. "Good point," she chuckled. "I'd kind of forgotten about that. Well, I meant the important thing."
His grin lost its strain at her guilelessness."I'm afraid that still doesn't narrow it down, Katara. I don't suppose I could get any specifics?"
Katara rolled her eyes, but sobered as she studied him. "When we were talking about the future," she said softly. "When we were talking about your future. I meant what I said when I told you that you'd make a good Fire Lord."
With that, the corners of his mouth lifted enough to make it a proper, genuine smile. "I know," he said quietly. "Thank you."
She nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to the view. He turned back with her, the words hesitant in his throat. "Thank you," he said again, staring out to the sea. "It... it means a lot, coming from you."
"Me?" Katara arched her eyebrow wryly, smoothing the skin of her hands. "I thought I was just a little peasant?"
Zuko winced as his remembered words echoed back at him. "You know you're more than that," he shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous."
The eyebrow subsided. "I don't really know what I am, really," she admitted quietly, and somewhere inside her, a restless coil of feeling shifted in agreement. Yet as soon as the words escaped her, she regretted them. They made it real, made her weak, and she was about to open her mouth to take them back when he spoke first.
"What are you going to do, after this?"
She stopped. "Huh?"
Zuko didn't look at her, he just gestured vaguely out to the sea. "What are you going to do now, now it's all over? I mean... it's just that I guess that's what's always defined me." He looked down at his feet, his voice rough in his throat. "My future."
She was silent as she gazed at him, clear blue eyes lost in thought, and he swallowed before hurriedly continuing. "So... so maybe if you figure yours out, you might get an idea?"
There is a sequel that is incomplete: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5224560/1/The-Alchemy-of-Fire-Arc-II
Fandom Category: X-Men
Pairing: Rachel Grey/Nathaniel "Mr. Sinister" Essex
Fic Title: The Unquiet Affair of Rachel Grey and Nathaniel Essex
Author: Sionnain / inathunderstorm
Link: On LJ
Rating/Warning(s): MA -- BDSM, explicit violent sex (consensual), restraint/whipping/consensual violence, dub-con/non-con sexual activity. (Author gives warnings on each chapter.)
Genre: Drama
WIP?: No. Completed at 50K.
Why This Must Be Read: I suppose you could count this as the kink fic I didn't rec before. This story is really a psychological story of Rachel, who is sadly neglected by canon at this point, and the romance (if it could be called that, exactly) is slow, but convincing. Which is something I never thought I would say.
"Yup. Wanna hear why I am here?"
"Undoubtedly."
Rachel rubbed her arms with her hands. "Could I come inside? I'm freezing."
"No." He smiled at her again. She wished he wouldn't do that. "Talk. You have three minutes before I teleport you somewhere extraordinarily more uncomfortable than here."
The Phoenix mark glowed on her face. He sucked in a breath, but his expression didn't waver. She thought maybe she saw his eyes darken to a deeper red, but that was probably a trick of the light. "I'm tired of you trying to kidnap me and putting my friends in danger. I'm here to make a deal where you get what you want, and then you leave me and mine alone. Interested?" She kept her psychic shields down, let him see that she was serious.
"There is something else," he said quietly. She was struck by the fact they'd never exchanged this many words before. Which was really for the best, but there was a small thrill in being so close to a man who had terrorized her family for generations. If by thrill she meant violent urge to kill him.
"Yeah. I'm getting to that. Anyway, I'll give you until the first of January to do...whatever it is you want. Unless it's kill me," she pointed out, crossing her arms. "Then I'm leaving. Anyway, poke me, prod me, do whatever as long as isn't something I'm going to have to kill you for when you're done. Then you let me go, and we go our separate ways. Forever."
Fandom Category: Disney - Sleeping Beauty
Pairing: Maleficent/King Stephen
Fic Title: Ill Met By Moonlight
Author: ghostrunner7
Link: http://ghostrunner7.livejournal.com/104110.html
Rating/Warning(s): I'd say K
Genre: Angst?
WIP?: No.
Why This Must Be Read: It's Maleficent/the King! How can you resist? But if you want a more coherent reason: it's because love isn't always happy and everlasting, and this story doesn't sell it that way. ghostrunner7 weaves a tale in between the lines of a conventional fairytale that is every bit as compelling as the original.
She snaps lightning through the halls of his palace and smiles at the terror that strikes through the crowd as she rises like a sharp edged dark flower from the stones.
“Well,” she says with the acid bite of sarcasm between her teeth, “quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan.”
It was not always like this between them.
Fandom Category: Inception
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur
Fic Title: Liminal Space
Author: ghostrunner7
Link: http://ghostrunner7.livejournal.com/92269.html
Rating/Warning(s): Adult - sex.
Genre: Post-movie
WIP?: No.
Why This Must Be Read: It's a lovely portrayal of Ariadne post-job, in all her frustrations with real life, written with some of the richest prose I've read.
“Reality isn’t enough,” she tells the nearest streetlamp.
“I agree,” says a voice over her left shoulder.
Ariadne isn’t even surprised to see him when she turns. It’s like she conjured him out of the starlight and the sheen of oil on the cobblestones.
Arthur offers her a half smile. “What a fortuitous circumstance,” he says.
“You mean you weren’t following me?”
He glances back down the street. “No,” he says, and she notices that he’s dressed for dinner, or at least drinks. Black on black on black all tailored close and sharp, hands in his pockets. “No, I had a… well. Doesn’t matter now.” He tilts his head back at the bar. “Drink?”
Ariadne feels herself smiling. “Gravity was frustratingly normal in there.”
Fandom Category: Batman (comics)
Pairing: Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Poison Ivy/Harvey Dent, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Harleen Quinzel/The Joker
Fic Title: Heard the Latest?
Author: chris dee
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/368476/1/Heard-the-latest
Rating/Warning(s): Teen -- violence, references sexuality
Genre: Humour
WIP?: No. Complete at 6800 words.
Why This Must Be Read: This is easily one of the funniest things I have ever read, online or offline. Batman is probably the darkest of DC's lineups, but that doesn't mean that the costumed vigilantes and/or thieves aren't getting up to gossip-worthy antics that would make the tabloids look like they were tame. Chris Dee took the change to stuff a series worth of drama into a oneshot, and this is the result. "A crazy night for Dick Grayson" doesn't even begin to describe it.
This story is part of a very, very, (very) long series of Bruce/Selina Clan centric called 'Cat Tales', but this ensemble piece is my favourite so far. (I linked to the FFnet version of the story because I actually find it easier to read on FFnet. Amazingly.)
The degree of Two-Face's rage may be gauged by the fact that he did not pause to flip his coin before calling down the sting of two thousand scorpions on Maroni, on the Penguin, and on anyone else involved in this monstrous outrage. This was not a matter for the coin to decide because he was not "of two minds." On the contrary, while Two-Face conjured images of machine-gunning every Maroni in existence, Harvey searched the annals of his Harvard education for appropriate epithets:
Come not within the measure of my wrath.
-The Two Gentleman of Verona
Ne'er had been read in story old,
Of maiden true betray'd for gold,
That loved, or was avenged, like me.
-Marmion. Canto ii
Which, if not victory, is yet revenge.
-Paradise Lost. Book ii
And just for good measure:
I don't want to kill everyone. Just my enemies.
-The Godfather Part II