1,000 Paper Cranes by Toasted Marshmallow (PG)
Fandom: Prince of Tennis
Pairings/Characters: Inui/Kaidou
Spoilers for: up to Hyotei
Author: grape_ponta
Website: Dreams of Bishounen
Summary: They say if you make 1,000 paper cranes, you'll get your wish... but what if the wish is impossible?
Why: At the beginning of "1,000 Paper Cranes," grape_ponta says that this story was undertaken as a sort of challenge. After watching the anime, she could certainly see where people got the Inui/Kaidou pairing from, but it didn't hold any great appeal for her. I think that this is actually why I enjoyed this story so much. Sometimes, when you're writing a story about a pairing that you absolutely love, you can forget all about convincing the reader that this is a pairing they should absolutely love too. grape_ponta doesn't forget that; she is in fact learning it herself as writes this story, and because of that, the story is just that much better. I know that I fell in love with Inui and Kaidou all over again after reading this story. Even more than that, though, is that I fell head over heels for Inui. Too often portrayed as just the creepy guy that is always foisting weird drinks off on everyone else, "1,000 Paper Cranes" shows Inui clearly as a person with his own hopes, dreams, and insecurities. The result is a story that had me completely enchanted and just may have permanently changed the way that I look at Inui.
1,000 Paper Cranes by Toasted Marshmallow
Pairings/Characters: Inui/Kaidou
Spoilers for: up to Hyotei
Author: grape_ponta
Website: Dreams of Bishounen
Summary: They say if you make 1,000 paper cranes, you'll get your wish... but what if the wish is impossible?
Why: At the beginning of "1,000 Paper Cranes," grape_ponta says that this story was undertaken as a sort of challenge. After watching the anime, she could certainly see where people got the Inui/Kaidou pairing from, but it didn't hold any great appeal for her. I think that this is actually why I enjoyed this story so much. Sometimes, when you're writing a story about a pairing that you absolutely love, you can forget all about convincing the reader that this is a pairing they should absolutely love too. grape_ponta doesn't forget that; she is in fact learning it herself as writes this story, and because of that, the story is just that much better. I know that I fell in love with Inui and Kaidou all over again after reading this story. Even more than that, though, is that I fell head over heels for Inui. Too often portrayed as just the creepy guy that is always foisting weird drinks off on everyone else, "1,000 Paper Cranes" shows Inui clearly as a person with his own hopes, dreams, and insecurities. The result is a story that had me completely enchanted and just may have permanently changed the way that I look at Inui.
1,000 Paper Cranes by Toasted Marshmallow