Dark, In-the-Capitol Katniss fics

I'm sorry for all of us not being around much lately - myself, Cindella204 and Forthegenuine have been tied up with the business of real life. Remember, we're looking for new reviewers to join out team - email nightlockrecs@hotmail.com if you're interested!

We recently were emailed a lovely request by the fabulous Steffi:

Love your blog! So I've recently become obsessed with Capital Katniss fics. Darker fics that explore Katniss and Peeta's lives as victors living in the Capital. If that's too specific, I think I'm just on a dark Katniss trip lately lol. It sounds terrible to say- but I'm addicted to self-destructive Katniss! I cant help it! I am! So, any recommendations you may have would be awesome! Seriously, no such thing as a rec list that's too long ;) thanks for your blog!!!!

And here I am to deliver a few of the coolest Dark, in-the-Capitol!Katniss fics around - both one-shots and multi-chapter fics!

The Darkness Within by Usako3000
Summary: AU. As the newest victor, Katniss finds herself sold as the wife to the dark and possessive Cato, a Capitol citizen. Did he save her from a terrible fate or is her life about to get much worse? Through all the darkness can love and rebellion still bloom?
In A Word: Popular

His Deadly Game by Obsessive Muse
Summary: Katniss and Peeta survive the games with the aid of those little deadly berries but President Snow doesn't have to worry about any rebellions, he's only concerned with teaching Katniss that no one defies the capitol.
In A Word: Twisty

Through the Hole in the Wall by EvilPeaches
Summary: The Capitol owns all of the victors; even their bodies.
In A Word: Heedy

And once again just because it's so fantastic...

Dark Toast (part 1 of the Five Loaves of Bread series) by Aimmyarrowshigh
Summary: How Katniss and Peeta fell in love without the Reaping: in a Panem dictated by a violent Peace instead of twisted Games, Katniss and Peeta Mellark try to piece their lives together as they watch another girl catch fire.
In A Word: Frightening

Happy reading!
~ Little Miss Mionie

Hurts So Good AU Fics

Seasons greetings, everyone! Since the holidays are upon us, I figure this would be the perfect time to bring you angsty fics. You know, something to balance out all that holiday cheer. I kid... But really, this month I bring you two pieces that actually stray from my usual Everlark (Katniss/Peeta) pairing, sort of. Both pieces involve Katniss in a pairing who is not Gale, and not always Peeta. This month's stories, a one-shot and a WIP, feature the "star-crossed lovers" motif that marks Katniss and Peeta's tragically beautiful relationship.

Title: "The Vow" (Katniss/Peeta, Katniss/Cato)

Author: Ro_Nordmann

Rating: M

Summary: After thirty years, now I am an old woman, with regrets of the mistakes I'd made in my life. More than anything for accepting that vow on Independence Day. It changed our lives forever, making us into heroes we were not; dooming us onto unstoppable damnation. 

Recommendation: Not to be mistaken for the Rachel McAdams film, "The Vow" is Ro_Nordmann's reinterpretation of the 2011 film, The Debt, starring the incomparable Helen Mirren. If you've seen the film, this story follows the plot pretty closely, but to me, this cross-over makes sense on so many levels. Both have elements of a rebellion driven by a dictator, and a complicated love triangle between broken people. You will also see some minor characters in unexpected roles. What I like most in this one-shot are the interactions between Katniss and Peeta. They are painfully poignant, even though (but perhaps made especially because) the plot and pairings of this story are far from canon-compliant. Though the ending is painful to read, you wish it wouldn't end.

Title: "The common thread that lies between you and me" (Katniss/Peeta, Katniss/Seneca Crane)

Author: angylinni

Rating: E

Summary: Katniss Everdeen has only loved one man in her life, but she's married to another. They can't stay apart and they can't be together.

Recommendation: This is one of my favorite WIPs of the moment. "The common thread" is a modern AU that jumps around through time to unravel the complicated relationship between Peeta and Katniss. Her characters are wonderfully flawed, which makes them oh so realistic in this story. My favorite is probably her Peeta, who can be very crass and sweet in the same paragraph. And do not be fooled by a chapter's steamy sexiness because I warn you that the author will swiftly pull that rug from underneath you, and leave you with a gut-wrenching zinger of a last line, every time. What gets me most about this ongoing story is how Angylinni slowly and deliciously peals back the layers of the Everlark relationship, and with each chapter, she manages to find a different cross-section of the bond they share. It is at once painful, heartfelt, snarky, mysterious, and heartbreaking, and you can't help but tell yourself to keep reading until the end, wherein (I hope) we will be treated to triumph... although, who knows, except the author herself?


This is it for now. Stay tuned for my review of V. Arrow's The Panem Companion. If you havne't done so, check out our Prompt Challenge, why don't you? Entries are due 16 December 2012. Cheers, everyone!

Weekly Fan's Fic Rec

This week we have a double fan recommendation! The first rec is from the fantabulous MockingjayWithFangs.

Title: The Wild Ones
Author: green and yellow
Pairing: Katniss/Cato
Summary: "We're the wild ones," he says. "The example, not the exception. They let us live so they could kill us all over again." A pregnant Katniss is going back into the arena... and Cato is going with her.
Why do you love this fic? "I love how real it is, despite being of a non canon pairing, most of the time I have to remind myself that this is not one of the hunger games books but a fanfiction. All the characters are perfectly portrayed and the story is extremely plausible."

This second recommendation is from LolaDoe.

Title: Last Chance
Author: kattomas
Pairing: Haymitch/Maysilee
Summary: Her survival only means his death. But maybe that's preferable to the existence he turns to after the Games - he didn't realize how hard it would be to live while she didn't. The Second Quarter Quell and the years later, from Haymitch's POV.
Why do you love this fic? "It's emotional and powerful in not that many words. It gives a perfectly plausible explanation as to Haymitch's abrasive personality and makes connections to the present day Hunger Games that Katniss and Peeta have to be a participant in. It's beautifully written and portrays his love for Maysilee in such a way that it becomes heart-breaking."

(Apologies for this being later than expected, you MockingjayWithFangs and LolaDoe!)

Happy reading,
Little Miss Mionie