Mai fic recs
Sep. 14th, 2011 08:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizbeeBelatedly for day 3 of the womenlovefest.
Hearts and Shells byicybright
High school AU. Zuko and Mai collaborate on a class project: raising an egg-child.
Yes, I'm starting out with a high school AU. And yes, it involves the most cliche of all high school AU cliches. But I love it for the way it translates the kids' various traumas, and Mai's approach to the raising of their egg.
(Incidentally, this fic came out of a Mai/Zuko fic exchange in 2008, which imho is something that should happen again one day.)
Adagio for the Revolution bybirdsarecalling and Folie รก Deux by rawles
AU where Aang failed and died. Mai and Zuko meet once a year, but this year is different.
So this whole AU concept is kind of amazing, especially considering we only get tiny glimpses of it. And I love the way Mai is written here, older and even more cynical and still drawn to Zuko even though they're fighting for opposite sides.
Reign Within byrawles and To Cover A Bruise (the rainy days remix) by fahye
AU [I JUST REALLY LOVE AUS, OKAY?]: when Zuko is banished, Mai's parents offer her to Ozai.
Mai/Ozai is one of those pairings that's inherently problematic on every single level: the differences in age and power, Mai's relationships with his children. It's a vast cavalcade of WRONG. So, of course, I love it, and I really love the subtle but powerful ways in whichrawles and fahye address these issues and their ramifications for everyone.
(I only know of one other Mai/Ozai fic, "Meet Me on the Solstice" from last year's Avatar Big Bang. Being a longer fic, it had a lot more going on plot-wise, but I felt like maybe everything to do with Mai's relationships wrapped up a little too easily, with hardly anyone needing years of therapy. But I did enjoy it, mostly, so I guess this is a half-rec?)
An Ounce of Blood by Rebecca Hb
Mai is eight, and she should be starting school.
Hey, look, it's not an AU! This is just a neat, sad and plausible glimpse of the parts of Mai's childhood that didn't revolve around the royal family.
This is really just a tiny, tiny representation of all the Mai fics out there, but I once I made the choice to exclude more ship-heavy fics, my selection dwindled somewhat. And really, I couldn't just rec everythingrawles wrote. (But she was really good when she wrote Avatar fic! So you should go read her stuff!)
womenlovefest.Hearts and Shells by
icybrightHigh school AU. Zuko and Mai collaborate on a class project: raising an egg-child.
Yes, I'm starting out with a high school AU. And yes, it involves the most cliche of all high school AU cliches. But I love it for the way it translates the kids' various traumas, and Mai's approach to the raising of their egg.
(Incidentally, this fic came out of a Mai/Zuko fic exchange in 2008, which imho is something that should happen again one day.)
Adagio for the Revolution by
birdsarecalling and Folie รก Deux by rawlesAU where Aang failed and died. Mai and Zuko meet once a year, but this year is different.
So this whole AU concept is kind of amazing, especially considering we only get tiny glimpses of it. And I love the way Mai is written here, older and even more cynical and still drawn to Zuko even though they're fighting for opposite sides.
Reign Within by
rawles and To Cover A Bruise (the rainy days remix) by fahyeAU [I JUST REALLY LOVE AUS, OKAY?]: when Zuko is banished, Mai's parents offer her to Ozai.
Mai/Ozai is one of those pairings that's inherently problematic on every single level: the differences in age and power, Mai's relationships with his children. It's a vast cavalcade of WRONG. So, of course, I love it, and I really love the subtle but powerful ways in which
rawles and fahye address these issues and their ramifications for everyone. (I only know of one other Mai/Ozai fic, "Meet Me on the Solstice" from last year's Avatar Big Bang. Being a longer fic, it had a lot more going on plot-wise, but I felt like maybe everything to do with Mai's relationships wrapped up a little too easily, with hardly anyone needing years of therapy. But I did enjoy it, mostly, so I guess this is a half-rec?)
An Ounce of Blood by Rebecca Hb
Mai is eight, and she should be starting school.
Hey, look, it's not an AU! This is just a neat, sad and plausible glimpse of the parts of Mai's childhood that didn't revolve around the royal family.
This is really just a tiny, tiny representation of all the Mai fics out there, but I once I made the choice to exclude more ship-heavy fics, my selection dwindled somewhat. And really, I couldn't just rec everything
rawles wrote. (But she was really good when she wrote Avatar fic! So you should go read her stuff!)
