Fleeting Fancies - Fanworks Recommendations

- D.Gray-man - Innocent by Mina Lightstar - Eeeee! DGM fic! Good DGM fic! With Kanda being grumpy as usual and Allen being so straightforward and determined and they don't get along, but there's chemistry there and a grudgingly growing sense of something, a certain sort of acknowledgement. The point really isn't so much about the slash, which I both enjoy in the fandom and am glad that it's not taking over (like it did with Death Note), but that it's about the characters instead. Mina gets the characters and writes a story that fits with the whole feel the series has and I'm just so glad that she wrote this one. ♥ (Not really Kanda/Allen, but sort of. Except not. No, really.)

- D.Gray-man - The Last by sexy pancake - I think what I really wound up liking about this piece was the way it sort of hovered between a pairing and not, the way it was sort of Kanda/Allen, but sort of just about Kanda watching/looking at Allen, too. There are a couple of really good lines in the fic as well, the way Kanda thinks that Allen might just be their heart after all struck me as well-done. Short, but solid. (Kanda/Allen implications.)

- D.Gray-man - Once More, with Feeling by Triste - Oh, see, now this is what I was waiting for in DGM fandom! It's not really even that much of a pairing, you could read it as gen if you wanted to, and it's delightful. It's a relatively simple idea, Kanda and Allen and breakfast, but it's beautifully written and I was giggling out loud by the end of it and Triste's sense of comedic timing is still as great as ever. I especially love this fic because it does so well with both characters, Allen isn't really a pushover and Kanda is kind of a dork, yet they still retain that something that made me love both of them, never going too far overboard either direction. And asd;lfkjasdlfjasdf the IMAGERY in this one is so completely awesome that I cannot keyboard mash enough. (Maybe a little Kanda/Allen, but it's more gen than anything.)

- D.Gray-man - Unintended by Triste - [ part 01 - part 02 ] - You have no idea how delighted I am to have a fic like this dedicated to me on my birthday, one of the precious few really good DGM fics out there and such a nice, long read. Which is one of the great things about this story, because Triste takes time with Kanda and Allen, showing them slowly working towards finding a way to get along without making it too easy for them, but not wallowing in emo angst, either. She keeps the fun dorkery from the series, but puts them in a situation where it's a plausible fun dorkery, like the lighter moments from the manga. And her characterization is lovely, Kanda's angry and uptight but not stupid and has real feelings, Allen is polite and gentle-natured but still has his backbone and, god, Allen teaching Kanda how to play cards (how to cheat at cards) just for something to do is one of those beautiful moments that I'll always treasure in the DGM fandom. Just. Allen and Kanda forced to get along by being shipped off to a deserted island (I love Komui and his, uh, solutions to problems) and so many little details that make the fic feel just that much more fleshed out. This was really a very, very nice satisfying read, over 10,000 words and I swear it just sailed right by in the absolute best way. ....okay, this rec is crappy, but the fic is totally awesome, go read omg. ♥ (Kanda/Allen, PG-13 for a light lime scene.)

- D.Gray-man - Food Fetish by Haverstock - After a long time away from the DGM fandom (because it has some mystical ability to put a damper on my good mood much of the time), I finally started reading the manga again. And remembered how much I liked the potential of the Ravi/Rinali ship idea, so, naturally, I had to wander over to FFNET. And I was just charmed by this cute little fic where Rinali and Ravi team up to try to get Kanda and Allen together. What really won me over where these little moments where the characters were just quietly adorable. I'm weak to a cute turn of phrase with adorable het couples! Like: The smile on Lenalee's face is so radiant that he finds himself blinded by the beauty of it and realizes, suddenly, that he’s in love with Komui's sister.

He wonders how long he has left to live. (Ravi/Rinali, some Kanda/Allen.)

- D.Gray-man - Warm Stranger by Empatheia - Kanda didn't like Allen much. Allen didn't really like him. Liking, however, is not necessarily synonymous with caring, and so it was with them. I had read the author's Kanda/Rinali fic before this and liked her take on Kanda, so I was curious to see if her Kanda/Allen would be the same for me. And what I really love about this fic is that Kanda and Allen don't really like each other, Kanda is very arrogant and cold and blunt and very flawed even when the narrative is set from his perspective. I love that the author keeps all of what attracted me to Kanda's character in the first place, that he doesn't care about making friends or believes in some higher purpose in life, that he's a killer and he doesn't feel badly about it. He's not oblivious to those around, he just doesn't really care much of the time or feel the need to do anything even when he has nothing against certain people. There's occasionally respect for people like Rinali or Komui, frustration with people like Ravi or Crowley, etc. But mostly he just fights and does his job. And he thinks so very lowly of Allen and, as the fic progresses, he never really comes to like Allen, but he trusts him in his own way, and that's what makes this fic work so incredibly well. The characterization is fantastic, Kanda feels very spot on for me, the scenes and flashes of imagery and the light touches on canon events that the author uses work perfectly to show the passage of time and the quiet shift in their relationship. It reminds me of why I like this pairing. (Kanda/Allen.)

- D.Gray-man - Adaptation by dokun - I actually don't mind second person perspectives on fic, but I find that, while they're often done fairly well, it's rare to find when something really packs a punch. This is a gorgeous story and has some really beautiful insights into Kanda's character, it does a marvelous job of showing his determination and strength and even the thin layer of anger and seriousness that covers everything with the character, but doesn't entirely define him. Kanda is good at what he does and he doesn't delude himself, but neither is he accepting, and the author does a beautiful job with that. I love the intelligence of this fic, I love the characterization of them all, I love the extra omake at the end, I love the smooth, pretty writing of the entire piece. And, once again, I remember why I like this pairing. (Kanda/Allen.)

- D.Gray-man - Not a Fairytale by dokun - This is a series of five short ficlets together that aren't really connected, but are all interesting or cute to read on their own. And I do like the author's take on Allen and the Kanda/Allen relationship in the sense that their antagonism is never really forgotten, even when they're getting along better or being more light-hearted. I like that Allen isn't stupid or doesn't have his moments of being deliberately antagonizing, and the writing is lovely in each piece. (Kanda/Allen, with a smidge of Kanda/Allen/Ravi.)