Reversal of Fortune by shayheyred (PG)

[jane_elliot]

Title: Reversal of Fortune by shayheyred
Fandom: Gorgeous Carat
Pairing: Ray/Florian or gen, depending on how much weight you place on innuendo)
Categories: post-canon (I think), angst, drama
Length: ~2,900 words
Warnings: n/a

Review:
After Ray gets exposed as Noir, he is publicly lashed and left to live or die with nothing to his name. That's how Florian finds him.

I have to confess something: if this fic were in a large fandom, it probably wouldn't have gotten recced. Not because it isn't great (it is), but because it feels more like the first chapter of a wonderfully epic character study that I really wish had been written and which I really want to read.

That said, what better compliment can I pay to a story but that I wish it were a lot longer? Ray and Florian are beautifully in character, which is impressive considering how different their places in the world are from canon, and the writing and dialogue are both tone perfect and enjoyable to read. Good Gorgeous Carat fic is hard to find, and fic where Ray and Florian exchange the master/slave dynamic is nearly non-existent, which makes this a must-read for any fan of the fandom or of really well-written reversal of fortune fics. A fun, very enjoyable story.

Reversal of Fortune

Higher Education by Resonant (NC-17)

[jane_elliot]

Title: Higher Education by Resonant
Fandom: Breakfast Club
Pairing: John Bender/Brian Johnson
Categories: post-canon, drama, favorite
Length: 15,200 words (story and coda)
Warnings: n/a

Review:
After dropping out of high school, John Bender has a whole lot of growing up to do. Just when he's finally gotten his feet firmly under him, Brian Johnson makes a surprise reappearance in his life.

This is one of my absolute favorite fanfics of all time and has inspired pretty much all of the Bender/Brian fic out there (of which there can never be enough). I'd never even considered the pairing (hell, I'd never even considered the fandom) till I stumbled on this fic and ever since I've been totally hooked. Resonant does a brilliant job of mapping the change from asshole!teenage!Bender to adult!John, using a sparse writing style that never gets bogged down in the incidentals, but which still spends just the right amount of time on all of the really good bits (read: any scene with Brian and John together). Mix in some interesting OCs, the wrapping up of just enough loose ends, and some really smoking hot sex, and you have an absolute must-read fic for anyone who likes good writing and brilliant characterization. Highly recommended.

Higher Education
Bare (coda)