Entries tagged with genre: attempted suicide

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Skywalkers by Lady Karai (NC-17)

Title: Skywalkers
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts/FF7/FF8/Advent Children
Pairing: Leon/Cloud, Sora/Kairi
Genres: AU, Crossover, Romance, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Sci-Fi, Wingfic, Action
Length: Epic
Warnings: Attempted suicide, past non-con, past abuse, past torture, body horror, past major character death

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: Lady Karai @ Adult-FanFiction.org

Author's Summary:
Leon was used to living alone and going through the motions of his easy but dull life. Then, one night, a strange blond crashed into his bushes from out of nowhere, and he was drawn into a world no human ever dreamed of.

Review:
Leon, going through the motions as he writes trashy romance novels and mourns the death of Rinoa, his only contact with the outside world his little brother Sora (of KH fame), has his lonely life shaken up by the abrupt entry of Cloud. Damaged physically and mentally, Cloud is a fallen soldier bearing unwanted enhancements in the form of wings and superhuman power, and embroiled in a war he has never wanted any part of. A lot of this fic is about his slow recovery and the equally slow development of his and Leon's relationship. The hurt/comfort is a balm against all the horrors that Cloud has been subjected to - which are all thankfully offscreen, keeping this story from being pure angst despite its dark themes. The other half of the fic is devoted to the action, with Sephiroth and his three clones the antagonists, Clouds former torturers who are eager to claim him back. Leon's protection of Cloud is definitely satisfying, but best of all is that even when Cloud is understandably fragile, his bravery and compassion still shine through, and he fights at Leon's side.

The characters are all either their KH or Advent Children versions. There are some Organisation X cameos and the KH trio of Sora, Kairi and Riku are main characters, but as long as you know those three you hopefully won't be too confused. Leon is pretty much an older and less bratty Squall. Cloud is definitely his angstier Advent Children self, as is Sephiroth.

Skywalkers

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Second Chances by Kishijoten (NC-17)

A day late and probably a dollar short too. Fortunately I work in sterling :-)

Title: Second Chances
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco/Harry
Categories: Slash, romance, kidfic, non-canon compliant.
Length: Epic (96,000 words)
Warnings: Sex, depression, suicide attempt

Author on FictionAlley: Kishijoten

Summary:
For the first time in over a decade, Harry Potter crosses paths with Draco Malfoy. Both have changed a great deal, but what do those changes mean to them - and to each other?

Review:
This is another one of those stories that is over a decade old — well before Half-Blood Prince came out, so don't expect canon compliance — that has stood up to the test of time.

At heart it's a love story initiated and complicated by children. Harry is single, and a teacher at Hogwarts; Draco is divorced, and his youngest twin children have just started their first year. They meet when Harry notices that Adrian Malfoy, who has been sorted into Hufflepuff, is suffering from severe depression. What follows is a slow-burn romance, with parent and teacher bonding over the child's problems and desperately trying and failing to maintain their professional distances.

The strength of this story is in the characterisation. Harry and Draco are still recognisably themselves, but equally have changed in the way that you might hope a decade of maturity would give them. They don't instantly fall into agreement with each other, but then neither do they instantly dismiss each other either. The children are clear and distinct individuals, the right sort of mix of angel and demon for their ages, and really they are the ones that drive the story through. Harry and Draco are driven together by the children, and when their romance hits a bump, as it frequently does, it is almost always because of the children too.

Don't be too scared by the warnings. Bear in mind that I'm reccing this, and I'm a depressive with a real hot button about suicide. Without wishing to minimize either, the writing doesn't over-dramatize the issues and as a reader you do still feel in control.

This is a very good example of fanfiction romance, and I have no qualms recommending it to you even after all these years. Go on, enjoy yourselves.

Second Chances

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The Many Doors of Níu Heimar by Nixajan (R)

Title: The Many Doors of Níu Heimar
Fandom: Thor/Avengers (Marvel MCU)
Pairing: Loki/Steve,
Categories: Attempted Suicide, AU, Family, Pre-Canon, Romance
Length: Epic (77k)
Warnings:Suicide Attempts; Mind Control

Author on LJ:

nixajan
Website: Nixajan

Summary:In the weeks before Thor's coronation, Loki almost dies, not once, but twice. (An AU in which events conspire to keep Loki from the choices he made in Thor, a war is on the horizon and the chosen battlefield is Earth, and the Avengers assemble with an extra teammate and one less villain to fight).

Review: A complete Canon rewrite of the first Thor movie. Some overall changes were made to the mechanics of the tesseract reconfigure the events of the Avengers film.

This is an interesting story that builds layers within layers of how things were different. Loki is still very much in character throughout as the God of Lies (Aka Asgard's CIA force) but by changing the circumstances leading up to the events of the Coronation, Nixajan changes how Loki discovers his birth. That mixed with her changes to past events beyond the span of the movie franchise, allows the basic feel of the movies to be kept while still changing a lot of the specific events.

There are some parts that I wish Nixajan had been able to spend more time on, particularly the romance between Steve and Loki. They only get one date before they end up saving each others lives many, many times. But I like how sweet their relationship looks like it will grow to be and the theory for why Loki would feel comfortable with Steve.

All together it is a nice, layered epic that is definitely worth spending a few hours on.

The Many Doors of Níu Heimar

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Unthinkable by Kastaka (PG-13)

Title: Unthinkable
Fandom: Dragonriders of Pern
Pairing: gen (with background OFC/OMC)
Categories: Angst, Drama, Family, Sad Story, Yuletide
Length: Medium (4,898 words)
Warnings: Suicide (both past Suicide by OC and Attempted Suicide by main character)

Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: Kastaka

Summary:
Being left Standing - it gets easier, and it doesn't.

Review:
This yuletide story hit me right in the gut. It's a thoughtful exploration of Pern's society, and what it would mean for those who don't like dragons and/or don't make the 'cut' to get chosen. Told through the lens of three women: the main character who grows up in a Weir and despairs of never bonding with a dragon, her distant but well meaning mother, and her loving yet overwhelmed foster-mother. What would it be like to grow up with all your life geared toward training to be a dragonrider but not be picked. How do you pick up the pieces? How do you communicate with your mother, when her whole world revolves around something you're excluded from. How hard it must be for a woman acting as a foster-parent to child after child that is trained to ride and fight and likely die.

There are no easy answers for any of the three women and their heartbreaks, and it had me crying and crying. Great storytelling, but read only if you're ready for intense emotions and real and immediate references to suicide.

Unthinkable

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Unthinkable by Kastaka (PG-13)

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Eden by Obsessmuch (NC-17)

Title : Eden
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Lucius/Hermione
Categories: Angst, Dark, Sad Stories* - See Review
Length: Super!Epic (327,636 words)
Warnings: Torture, Attempted Suicide, Attempted Rape, Dub-Con, Stockholm Syndrome, Character Death

Author on LJ: N/A
Author Website: Obsessmuch

Summary:
An obsession that destroys everything it touches.

Review:
(This story is set in the Trio's seventh year of Hogwarts, when Harry, Ron and Hermione are seventeen/eighteen. Pretend Deathly Hallows never happened while reading for simplicity's sake.)

I started reading this fic with the thought of using it for this months theme week. While reading I waffled back and forth as to whether I was actually going to use it or not. By the time I got to the end I knew I had to, not reccing this story is just not possible. Dark!fic usually isn't something I'm willing to read, especially if there is a sad ending, but this story is so well written I'm extremely glad I gave it a chance. The plot is amazing as is the characterization, it's Stockholm Syndrome written perfectly. It's an extremely dark story, but at the same time beautiful and heart-breaking. The story ends with what should be a happy ending, but because of everything that has happened to Hermione she's left feeling empty and heartbroken.

There are some spelling and grammar issues, most of them are in the first few chapters however and can easily be overlooked.

Eden

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Eden by Obsessmuch (NC-17)

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Eden by Obsessmuch (NC-17)

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Something Yet to Learn by Van (R)

Title: Something Yet to Learn
Fandom: Blake's 7
Pairing: unrequited-Vila/Tarrant, implied-Avon/Vila
Categories: Action/Adventure, Angst, Post-Canon
Length: Epic (44,196 words)
Warnings: Non-explicit m/m rape, non-explicit torture, character death, attempted suicide,

Author on LJ:

van
Author Website:

Summary: Tarrant tries to put the pieces back together after Gauda Prime and is surprised by what sticks.

Review:
A fic written from Tarrant's pov, a rarity in this fandom and a refreshing change of pace in some ways; you get a different view of the characters involved.

Despite the warnings and the heavy angst, this story does have a happy ending. Which is just how I like my fic. A happy ending after angst and drama makes it that much sweeter. And really, a happy ending in this fandom is sometimes more than you can ask for. This particular one is a happy ending in more ways than one, it's... liberating. Ok.Tthat was bad. Sorry. I'll try to say away from puns.

Something Yet to Learn: LJ || B7 Fic Archive

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Something Yet to Learn by Van (R)

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Something Yet to Learn by Van (R)

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Something Yet to Learn by Van (R)

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Something Yet to Learn by Van (R)

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Something Yet to Learn by Van (R)

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Freefall & Landing by galaxysoup (PG-13)

Apologies for the late post; I fell right into bed after work.
Thanks to chibifukurou and slyprentice for letting me play in their usual fandom area

Title: Freefall & Landing
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor & Avengers
Pairing: gen, with Thor/Jane
Categories: AU, Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family
Length: Long (11,230 + 16,977 words)
Warnings: Depression and attempted suicide. Spoilers for Thor and completely AU for Avengers.

Author on LJ:

galaxysoup
Author Website:

galaxysoup

Summary:
Loki falls. Thor catches him. This does not solve as many problems as Thor was hoping it would.

In the sequel, Thor and Loki settle in to life at Avengers mansion. This process is about as complicated as one would expect.

Review:
Turning AU just at the end of Thor, Freefall takes the angst and drama of Loki's situation and turns it up to the nth degree, while also turning up Thor's concern for his shattered brother. Instead of lashing out, Loki collapses with depression, and Thor flees with Loki to Midgard to protect him. He meets Jane and her friends, and in time SHIELD and the Avengers, but his primary concern is his brothers total descent into silence and depression. Thor may not know how to do it, but he's devoted to helping Loki.

Thor and Loki end up joining the Avengers. I particularly liked that Tony was able to draw Loki out of his shell a bit with science. Eventually they have to deal with a re-connection to Asgard, where Thor is welcomed home but Loki is not, and politics complicate everything. The characterizations of Odin, Frigga (who is AWESOME), Sif and the Warriors Three are all interesting and nuanced; each doing what they see is best, while Thor struggles with how much he has changed and how differently the world sees Loki. While Asgard will never be a home for Loki again, they both find a place on Earth with the Avengers.

I loved how this fic dealt with the fall out of Thor's family drama, and depression and attempted suicide in a genuine and thoughtful manner. Thor is still Thor, well meaning but a bit blundering, and underneath the depression Loki is still a genius maverick. That said, if depression and attempted suicide are at all troubling or triggering for you, you may want to give this fic duo a pass, since both are a major focus of the story.

( Click here to read an excerpt. )

Freefall & Landing

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