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!