Best Romance

Story: Exhale
Author: Audi Katia
Rating: T
Summary: I can hear you breathing...
Pairing: One-sided Xana/Aelita
Reason For Nomination: Okay, the pairing itself might be a turn off, but I read this story years ago and just refound it. It's simply written in Xana's Point of View. Dark and mysterious and yet even with 'emotions' it really works. It's definitely a Xana-introspective, which means it raises some questions, but this story really shows how each side tells a different story.

Story Title: Unattainable
Story Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4175546/1/Unattainable
Author: WeaponFanfic
Author Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1372479/WeaponFanfic
Rating: M
Summary: One kiss will change a friendship. One night will change a life. An AxJ
and AxO oneshot. Rated M for subject matter and descriptions.
Pairing: JeremiexAelita and OddxAelita
Reason For Nomination: Despite the very misleading summary, since the fanfic isn't a oneshot, it is an amazing fanfiction that deserves my nomination for the best romantic fanfiction award, even though it was written four years ago. It explores a love triangle that the show has neglected (If it actually does exist) and the characters are portrayed correctly. And the sex scene in it is actually tasteful and doesn't use stereotypical pornographic lines. WeaponFanfic did extremely well here, and this is one of the few fanfictions that I love coming back to read.


Title: The Edge of Time
Author: Cybra
Rating: K
Summary: He'd seen her before but never really SAW her before that moment. JA, set during season 1
Reason for Nomination: What's remarkable to me about this fic is that it takes place within a scene that lasts literally seconds in the show (the Return to the Past) and yet it manages to flesh that out into something very emotional and detailed. The writing is awesome and the idea itself is beautifully portrayed. Hard to explain, but it makes sense when you read it.


Story Title: Frppe
Story Link: here
Author: Kitty Claw
Author Link: here
Rating: K+
Summary: All Ulrich wants is a nice, warm, steamy cup of coffee. Is that so much to ask? Co-write with RenaYumi.
Pairing: YxU
Reason For Nomination: The part whre Yumi takes Ulrck's cofee away from him is amzng...Also, evrybdy's perfctly in charctr, & it's a relly swet look at what ther collge life might be like...

Story Title: Karyn
Story Link: here
Author: Rena Yumi
Author Link: here
Rating: K+
Summary: Oneshot AxJ "I'm sorry, I'm your…your… the center of a nucleus?" The blonde gave her a stiff nod.
Pairing: JxA
Reason For Nomination: What Jeremy tells Alita towrds the end is probbly the most romntc thing I've evr seen...I also love the last line, it alwys makes me smle...

I'm having a bit of trouble here trying to figure out what to vote for. I think the main problem is that these are all well-written stories, but they all fall into different sub-genres of the romance genre. It makes it hard to vote, since sometimes I'll be in the mood for a creepy story (coughcough Exhale by Audi Katia...lovely and well-written, but extremely creepy) or sometimes I'll be in the mood for something lighter.

Has anyone begun reading these stories yet? Any ideas? I'd love to hear them, since I'm not exactly sure what to vote for myself. So far, I think I've got it narrowed down to Exhale, The Edge of Time, and Karyon, which isn't exactly saying much.

Exhale was creepy when you think about it, but I found it very thought provoking. I have never thought of Xana in that way before. It was also very well written.

However, I'd have to go with the Edge of Time. Not many people explore the return to the past in that way, and the writing itself was very good.

I think The Edge of Time, has my vote. It was such a great look, and the fact it's JxA and I love it is evidence enough for me. (But in all seriousness, it was such an interesting concept and piece).

Exhale would be my second choice. It's creepy, and an awesome and unique look. but I just don't like it as much as TEoT.

Third for me would be Frappe. It made me smile, and laugh a couple. I liked the look at the gang in college and it was really cute. The UxY was great (Yumi stealing Ulrich's coffee), etc.

Unattainable was alright, but I thought the writing style was a bit slow and some of the characters were out of character (Odd just, wasn't Odd), plus it had a couple of gaping plot holes I really couldn't ignore.

Karyon was sweet, but it didn't have as much substance as some of the other ones. I mean, it was good fluff, but I thought the other stories were just more satisfying reads.

(I'm incredibly weirded out by Exhale's similarities to my latest fic. O_O I swear that wasn't intentional; I hadn't read Exhale until just now.)

But oh wow, there's something about creepy XANA/Aelita that I find appealing, and Exhale not only captures that but has some great lines overall. Especially that last paragraph, it's almost like poetry.

Of course I nominated The Edge of Time, and my comments still stand. It's a unique and lovely piece of writing.

I enjoyed Unattainable more than I thought I would as well. Props to Weapon for writing a tasteful sex scene as I can appreciate the skill involved in such a feat. XD I couldn't get behind some of the characterisation though (Jérémie and Aelita are probably the most pedantic people ever and I'm sure both of them would be clued up enough to use protection. Just sayin'.)

I liked the fluffiness of Frappe and Karyon, both very cute and in-character.

All of that said, my vote goes to either Exhale or TEoT for something a little more unusual. I'm not sure how much 'Exhale' counts as a romance though, so... For that reason, if I'm choosing between the two, TEoT just about wins out.

(Oh, and I didn't read Unattainable because it's M)

If you don't read chapter six (or the chapter labeled first), Unattainable is just a T with suggestive matters and (SPOILER: teen pregnancy). But if you're not comfortable reading it, that's fine.

Just a question, are we allowed to give honourable mentions at all? Because Exhale is amazing (I know everyone won't agree with that statement, so just asking that as a general question), but I think that The Edge of Time counts more as a romance.

I'd recommend skimming the first chapter. It pretty much sums the writing style up without having to go into the M-rated scene. I personally skipped over that scene, but I tried to skim the writing and focus on the other plot points. Though I should add, I came up short. It's not that Weapon's writing is bad, but it was a little heavy on description and those nitty-gritty details that I didn't always see as essential. I wish the pacing would've been faster. Still an interesting story though.

Karyon is so adorable. I dislike Jerlita and I dislike Jerlita fluff even more, but Rena has made it work here. And Frappe was so cute!

Enough rambling said, my vote goes to The Edge of Time. And then Exhale as a close, close second. It could be argued that the writing's almost as good, if not as good, as The Edge of Time, but it's not a romance story that you go back to read again and again. Exhale's for more specific moods, I think.

Unattainable=Big Win!

It goes beyond new heights, even though it's freakin' old. I've never seen a romance go beyond something like this before, and like the sex scene itself, it keeps itself fresh without the use of sterotypical wording at all. Although the subject matter is really quite controversial in a way, this story is not afraid to do what is.

Really, this story DESERVES this award for doing what others dare not to and ultimately succeed in a big way without being too adultish. If you cannot feel the same and want things text book, by all means, skip. However, if you want something very different from your usual romantic bust, then Unattainable justifies itself to be the best romance has to offer.

I swear. This better win it. XD

As it stands right now, we have
TEoT: 4 votes
Unaittanable: 1 vote

And most people who voted for TEoT seem to think Exhale would be their second choice.

@PK - see, I see your reasoning, and I guess this is the best tackling of such subject matter in CL fandom (there are other teen pregnancy fics but unless there's a particularly outstanding one I'm missing, they aren't worth mentioning)... but I just can't get over the characterisation being so off. Eh.

I agree, the characterisation wasn't as good as I had hoped, and I couldn't help but feel the whole matter was handled unrealistically. I don't even think they mentioned her going to a doctor and I don't know, the writing style wasn't that good.

Anyone object to TEoT?

Me.

Well, as the vote stands, TeoT has a big lead over Unattainable, with most of the people who voted for TeoT casting a secondary vote for Exhale. As we'd love to have disucssions over it, we simply don't have enough time to overanalyze things, and Kelly, Soul, and I have expressed why we don't feel it ought to win. HOwever, feel free to further argue your case.

How would you rank the stories in order from greatest to least? Also, provide some insight in all stories, particulary on TEoT and Exhale.

From greatest to least:
Unattainable
Karyon
Frappe
The Edge of Time
Exhale

Insight on TEoT and Exhale:

Why are they on the bottom for me? For me, they never break ground. They are like many other short romance stories, and I like stories that do something very different. I like them, I honestly do. However, if there is anything different from the competition here, it's Unattainable. I cannot express it enough. Tackling a subject matter that Unattainable did takes real bravery. That alone makes up for small mistakes made during development. Unattainable does what stories cannot attain themselves: tackling a subject so controversial and then being successful in the process.