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- Ouran Koukou Host Club - The Reason Why by Silver Wind - I've been a little wary of poking at the Ouran fandom, despite that I desperately crave fic. But! Then I saw that Silver Wind had written fic about Kyouya and Haruhi (not really as a couple, precisely) and I had to read. And I'm really, really glad I did because it hit exactly the right buttons for me, especially considering I find these three characters (Kyouya, Haruhi, and a hint of Tamaki) to be the most interesting characters for me. There's a lovely subtle quality to the writing even under the antics of the series, the way Haruhi sees the little things with Kyouya, the way she wonders why he's in this club and quietly puts it together without the author beating the readers over the head with it. It's a lovely take on Kyouya, showing a bit of niceness without sacrificing how... well, Kyouya he is. I adored this so much. (No real warnings/pairings.)
- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Sleight of Hand by Luc Court - I'm not sure if it's that I'm developing a thing for Kyouya/Haruhi or if it's simply that this fic was a fantastic look into Kyouya's puzzlement over her. The author writes a lovely Kyouya, the way he's all elegant machinations behind the scenes, the way he's calculating and cold, but not without still being human enough to wonder why Haruhi is different, why she doesn't fit into the patterns of everything else in the world. This Kyouya is fiercely intelligent and capable, he's confident in his path in life, he's sharp and graceful, yet he doesn't really understand certain things when he looks at Haruhi, the way she doesn't use her natural charms to play with the rest of them and get out of her debt or how money and wealth never seem to matter or affect her. The author is very skilled at working so many little details into the fic, little touches here and there that give it a real strength and depth, but it's still that insight into the characters that I keep coming back to. Lovely fic. (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Controlled (Fall) by Northlight - I liked this story for the interesting Kyouya perspective/insights and the way he looks at Haruhi. It's not quite romantic so much as it is... assessing without being coldly calculating. Kyouya is a young man who is already rich, powerful, and intelligent, he notices things and plans for things and one of the things I liked best about this fic is the way the author writes Kyouya matter-of-factly contacting Haruhi's father because he's ten steps ahead of any potential problems. The way those two interact, the way Kyouya isn't just cold numbers, but also isn't falling for Haruhi's charms, either... it's all very much in line with the character I read in the manga's pages. He's a character that is indeed hard to pin down, but this piece reflects that well, I think. (Not Kyouya/Haruhi, but that's the section it'll likely be placed in.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Viola Grown by Sam Vimes - Part of me really wants to quibble with a few details (like addressing people by their first names when they've just met) or grump about how it's obviously based on the anime rather than the manga or how it seems to ignore the Kyouya/Tamaki friendship (but I suspect that's the anime's fault more than anything), but I just... I can't, not when the writing is smooth and polished and it achieves what the author set out to do. The OCs are actually interesting to read about in this fic, the whole story unfolds much like the layered mystery that the author and Kyouya refer to, the characterization is both subtle and sharp. The reason for Kyouya and Haruhi being at the same college is simple and perfect (something I was expecting to grouse over, but instead went HARTS at), Kyouya's... refinement... well... evil refinement without being truly evil, was gorgeously done. And, okay, I have a huge soft spot for Kyouya/Haruhi and in this particular fic I could buy that it would happen this way. That's what's lovely about this entire fic, that it's well-written and well-characterized and just good. Host Club fandom kind of lacks in that. (Kyouya/Haruhi, Tamaki/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - A Give and Take Affair by S.B. Kisses - I admit, I'm probably softer on this fic because it's Kyouya/Haruhi and I like that pairing, I have such the tremendous soft spot for it. So, the idea of them in a private park on a quiet picnic, the only sounds the business section of the paper as Kyouya reads... it makes me happy. The implications of more also appeal to me. I might have wished there were a little more of the reason why Kyouya liked Haruhi in this fic, but... I didn't really find it a detraction here. The writing is lovely and the imagery cute and I already know why I think they work well together or simply felt the chemistry between them. I honestly enjoyed this read and that's about all I ever ask out of fic. XD (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Plans Within Plans by O-Ren Ishii - Kyouya/Haruhi is a pairing that I think has potential, but has to be approached carefully to make me truly buy it. One of the best things this fic did was to keep that calculating way Kyouya has, the way he makes plans for the future, has just the right touch to guide things the way he wants them without strangling them. He's calculating, but not cold here, it's just the right balance for how I like him when he has feelings for Haruhi. Charts and plans and spreadsheets and trappings of the rich and brilliant minds and good schools and all those things that make up Ohtori Kyouya and his feelings for Haruhi. The characterization is lovely as well, the writing is lovely, and I can believe they would slowly come together under Kyouya's watch like this. Plus, I love that the fic doesn't forget to mention their family positions and why a "commoner" might not be possible for many of them, but without being mean about it. ♥ (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Five Men Fujioka Haruhi Didn't Kiss (And One She Did) by Sophia P and Aishuu - I have a growing fondness for this sort of fic, the different scenes that are seperate from each other, but are connected through a theme; even when the format is frequently abused (or just plain dull), it's stories like this one that come along and make it sparkle again. The different ways Haruhi might kiss (or be kissed) by the different Host Club members and each of them is lovely and shows little insights into her different relationships with each of them. Not to mention the little insights into the characters themselves--I loved the hint of Honey's deeper personality that shone through with the fic. It doesn't really matter to me which one was real and which one wasn't, I enjoyed them for what they were... even if I do admit to the Mori/Haruhi and Kyouya/Haruhi ones being my favorites. (Kyouya/Haruhi, Kaoru/Haruhi, Tamaki/Haruhi, Honey/Haruhi, Hikaru/Haruhi, Mori/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - All That I Give You by amwong88 - This was a nice little Kyouya & Haruhi fic, perhaps a little bit implying them as a pairing, perhaps something just gen instead. I liked that it was paced slowly, something that was relaxed and I could picture with soft colors and comfortable silences even as the host club jabbered away around Haruhi. ....that makes no sense, I know. Shut up. It was just a... nice fic. I enjoyed it. (Mostly gen, but Kyouya/Haruhi fans might like it.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - And Thus, Kyouya Hates Her by kay_obsessive - I picked up the link for this fic from this rec and it's one where I'm so very glad I did because I like Kyouya/Haruhi a lot and this is a gorgeous take on them, especially for Kyouya's developing feelings for her. There's a lot of really beautiful language used here and a lot of beautiful images worked into the writing, but even more than that... it's the way the author writes Kyouya himself, the way he slowly begins to fall for her, the way the little things, the curve of her smile, the look in her eyes, the placement of her hand, they become something he can't not notice and his reaction to this is both subtle and breathtaking. I loved this. (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Paces by MiiKirin - So, I was reading DGM fic and this somehow... winds up with me reading Host Club fic? I'm not sure I even remember the path I took to get to this fic, but I'm delighted to have read it. The language is lovely and subtle, the kind that a pairing like Kyouya/Haruhi needs, just that hint of friction and fight there, even after they've gotten together, but not in a too terrible way. ....I'm explaining this badly, I think. But it's a lovely fic with lovely writing and there's het smut! Good het smut! For Kyouya and Haruhi! I also liked the backwards storytelling style for this fic, the author pulls it off well. ♥ (Kyouya/Haruhi, some light NC-17 content.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - What's She Like by namistai8 - The first of these three scenes kind of threw me a little, it was hard to imagine Kyouya in it and saying the things he did, but... the writing is lovely and the concept was intriguing. The second and third ones are a bit smoother and there's a lot of this really lovely subtle quality and the three scenes together, each scene where Kyouya does or doesn't talk about Haruhi to some other woman in his life, it makes for a really interesting look at his character. The various people he talks to, sometimes a little like Haruhi and sometimes completely different from Haruhi, all illuminate something about him and it was interesting to see the types of women the author came up with. I especially really liked the third one, I'd love to have seen more in that universe. (Kyouya/Haruhi onesided, some Kyouya/OC in a way.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Glass Character by bedsight - How strange that I've found myself reading mostly Kyouya/Haruhi fics, it's not my favorite pairing for either character (though I love it utterly, don't get me wrong ♥) and it seems like it would be one of the more difficult pairings to get right. And yet there are a handful of authors who do a fantastic job with Kyouya's character as he thinks about Haruhi, how calm and precise his thoughts are, even when they're starting to come undone while she's near. The use of language and textbooks and the properties of stained glass and the rest of the Host Club members make this a very insightful and very beautiful fic that was a delight to read. (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Trinity by TeaForRevenge - I figured, well, as long as I was going through the rest of the author's fic, I might as well read her Kyouya/Haruhi interaction one as well. Her take on Kyouya's character, the two sides of him, the Ohtori and the Kyouya parts of him, is really interesting, they almost sort of balance each other out into the character the rest of the world sees. There's something very calculated about Kyouya, but also something very real, this is a neat look at how those two things might come to be. His interaction with Haruhi here is why I like the pairing, because Haruhi doesn't really react the way Kyouya expects her to, she's very pragmatic and caring without being overly involved. Simple gestures are something Haruhi simply does and yet they manage to affect Kyouya as well. I love that it's not really even that shippy, just that there's something there with her. <3 (Some Kyouya/Haruhi, but it could be gen, too.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Come Inside by Urei Sachi - As I was reading this, in a way, it struck me as a fic that illustrated why Kyouya/Haruhi is such a difficult pairing to make work, especially when you remove the host club setting from around them and put them into an alternate storyline, and yet still shows why there's a certain connection and fascination there. Perhaps I've also been reading too many AUs lately, so I hardly blinked at this one being set in a universe where Haruhi grew up with the Morinozuka family (as her mother was their lawyer) and then she goes off to college, but the author writes so beautifully and tells it almost like a fairytale, along with accompanying storybook snippets to frame the scenes, while still keeping everyone with such spot-on characterizations that it's hardly that much different from reading regular Host Club fic. I absolutely adore the author's Haruhi, she's straightforward without being too oblivious or uncaring, there's a certain something that I can believe would attract all of these people to her. The set-up of the storyline here is actually interesting, it doesn't spend too much time unnecessarily world building (in part because circumstances are largely similar to the canon storyline) and yet the author seems to have a good grip on what she wants from it. It's just a really well-written and highly interesting AU, both for Haruhi insights and the Kyouya/Haruhi relationship. (Kyouya/Haruhi, Mori/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Skin Deep by Urei Sachi - This is another short piece that shows the complicated nature of the Kyouya/Haruhi potential pairing, how difficult it is to reach past Kyouya's emotional walls and how he's drawn to her somehow and, before she really realizes it, she's slid through them somehow and she actually means something to Kyouya. It's a short, quiet fic, more introspection than anything, but it's much of what I see when I look at these two as a possible pairing and it's beautifully written. (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - xxxHOLiC/Ouran Koukou Host Club - Just by Urei Sachi - This is an odd little crossover between HOLiC and Host Club, which I tended to look at as more of a HOLiC fic than a Host Club fic, despite that it's set from Kyouya's point of view. It's strange and a bit creepy and the writing is lovely which only reinforces the pretty, almost dream-like quality of the story. It's strange, but so very interesting for what it says about Kyouya when he must deal with a tragedy in his life, the use of HOLiC and Yuuko's price for him fit so well with a creepy HOLiC fic. Very, very nice. (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Juncture by Urei Sachi - This is sort of a sad fic and... it's not something I would have normally found myself reading, but I'd read a lot of the author's other Host Club fic and really liked her take on Kyouya/Haruhi, so I wanted to read, even if this was more bittersweet than anything. After Haruhi's father dies, the rest of the Host Club attends and the author does a fantastic job of showing the sense of loss in her, I felt that right along with Haruhi, even if it meant that her father could be with her mother again now. Kyouya's reactions to her (or, perhaps, lack of reactions to her) are lovely as well, just as sharp as one would expect him to be. It's not a direction I would have the series go in, but as a fanfic it's really beautifully written and very, very interesting. I'm glad I read it. (Kyouya/Haruhi.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Unspoken by Urei Sachi - You know, for all that I love every one of the Host Club characters, I think Kyouya will always be my favorite, which is probably why I'm so attracted to Kyouya/Haruhi fanfic and delight in Kyouya/Tamaki fics as well. This fic is sort of the best of all worlds for me--it has Kyouya/Tamaki that could be entirely gen, it has Kyouya/Haruhi that could be entirely gen, and it's focused on Kyouya's view of himself and the Host Club and the power he seeks in life. The writing is beautiful and I love that it's just vague enough that it could be totally gen, the longer I'm a fan of anything, it seems like the more I crave that, especially when it has pretty writing like in this fic. (Possibly some Kyouya/Tamaki or Kyouya/Haruhi, but it reads gen to me.) - Ouran Koukou Host Club - Only Human by Urei Sachi - Admittedly, I doubt Kyouya actually is human--or that, if he were, he would admit it aloud ^_~--but I still liked this story a lot. It's just a single moment in time, a suffocating and tense moment where Haruhi feigns sleep and Kyouya says things he couldn't in the light of day. In some ways, this also captures why I think Kyouya/Haruhi is such a difficult pairing and yet why I still find it so fascinating anyway. An interesting little fic. (Kyouya/Haruhi.)
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