I realized recently, much to my own chagrin, that I’ve been woefully neglectful of one of my favorite shows and fandoms so without further ado…

Title: The Destiny Arc
Fandom: Babylon 5
Pairing: Marcus/Neroon
Categories: Romance, Forced Marriage, Drama, AU
Length: Long
Warnings: Forced marriage...

Author on LJ: None that I could find...
Website: Monica's Place


Review:
Much like most sci-fi geeks out there, I absolutely adore Babylon 5. I’ve followed it faithfully through the original series, the spin-offs, the books, the comics, and the made-for-tv movies. Similar to the Star Wars fandom, it has fans who will follow it anywhere and cry out the shame when the studios shaft it (which they always do). It’s a flawed universe and, I’ll be honest, to the newcomer fairly cheesy (welcome to special effects in the early 90s) but well worth the time invested in it. For newcomers, I highly suggest you checking out on HULU.com, which hosts the first two seasons here. For those who can't use hulu.com or would like to learn about the universe, Wikipedia has a rather extensive write about about it and its character (include Marcus Cole and Neroon).

But I digress...

Based immediately after the events of the Denn'Sha (or fight to the death) between Marcus and Neroon, The Destiny Arc is an exploration into the reason why Neroon, the winner, did not kill Marcus after besting him, which was well within his rights, but allowed him to live and even offered him medical assistance. Most, if not all, of the fans of this pairing tend to use the Denn'Sha as a jumping off point for Marcus and Neroon's relationship, which is rather appropriate in my opinion, and Monica is no exception. Right from the beginning, she does a wonderful job of throwing the reader into the aftermath of the Denn'Sha, from the chaos to the recovery, and unlike most authors, doesn't leave us stewing over what-might-happen-when.

We, much like Marcus, are thrown into action even before the wounds stop aching and are forced to deal with not only Neroon kidnapping Marcus but a forced marriage between them. As one can imagine, everything between them is not sunshine and daises and Monica avoids the implausibility of having the characters suddenly fall into each other arms. Instead we are faced with challenges and revelations, anger and disbelief, resistance and encouragement, and even happiness and love. Even for non-fans, this is a fun and cheesy (in the best way!) read, though I admit that some of the terminology might be lost on you.

Destiny's Vision
Destiny's Promise
Destiny's Completion