Fleeting Fancies - Fanworks Recommendations

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Yin and Yang by The Dream Whisperer - Oh, oh, oh, I've been quietly hoping and wishing for Kyouya/Tamaki fic, at least once, just once to scratch that itch. (And watch it turn into full obsession.) I just... the way Kyouya looks at him sometimes, the easy friendliness between them, when you wouldn't think it of Kyouya. There's such fondness there that surprised me, which is reflected wonderfully in this fic. The way it's set from Kyouya's point of view, the way he watches Tamaki when no one really quite notices and, okay, I've always had a thing for the Mommy&Daddy pairs. ♥ I adored this fic, the imagery used was lovely and apt without being over the top about it, the way it had this sense of calm to Kyouya's character even while amongst the madcap antics of the rest of the club. Wonderful. ♥ (Some slight Kyouya/Tamaki implied.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Oceans and Dreams by The Dream Whisperer - So, you know how I said I just wanted one Kyouya/Tamaki fic to be happy? Yeah, I kind of lied. Because this fic (which is a companion to the previous) is quite possibly even more lovely. She says she's not good at Tamaki characterization, but this kind of struck a chord with me, the way he's so... happy and good-natured and a bit of a drama queen, but in that happy, flighty sort of way that makes you love him all the more, yet balanced out with a more serious, insightful side. Tamaki knows how to read people and he tries to make them happy. Kyouya knows how to read people, but not for the same reasons. The way Tamaki lets his thoughts wander here, the way he's actually picked up quite a lot of insight into himself and especially Kyouya... it balances, they work together and I can really see this for Tamaki. Looooooove. ♥ (Some slight Kyouya/Tamaki implied.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Mommy Dearest by Mei - I knew I would have a lot of fun with this fic when Tamaki showered the club with sparklies... and Mori wound up quietly picking them out of his food. And then Hunny decorated his plate with them. Just... hee. ♥ That kind of meta content in a fic, yet making it WORK, amuses the hell out of me and really fits with so much of what made me fall for Host Club in the first place. Plus, Tamaki is a retard, Kyouya has impeccable logic, the twins are evil, and there's this great dynamic of group gen retardation. With some Kyouya/Tamaki thrown in at the end because it's MOTHER'S DAY and what better excuse to do something nice for Kyouya? XD XD XD (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Ouran Drabbles by Celeste - [ part 01 - part 02 - part 03 ] - I will grant that the first one of these started out a little stiff in the writing. But the characterization and the spirit of the series are there. And the Mori fic had this great ending line that totally made me do one of those, "Pfbbtt" noises when you're not expecting to laugh. And then the second one was cute Kyouya/Tamaki interaction and there was a kiss and Celeste was warming up to the characters and the series I think. And the third one was cute and fun... until I got to the ending and it was just the most perfect picture ever and I suspected it right before it happened and then... the last line... I honest to god had to turn away from the computer and howl with laughter for a good thirty seconds. It's just. It hit me so perfectly. I could so perfectly picture it and it would totally happen. And that's what I love about these three drabbles (and look forward to more with), because Celeste has that way of finding the point of these drabbles and making the shortfic format work for her. (Some implications of pairings, especially Kyouya/Tamaki, but not really.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Revolutionary Étude by trixie - This was a sweet little piece... well, maybe not 'sweet', it's difficult for Kyouya to be sweet, even around Tamaki. Which is sort of the point of the fic, that Kyouya is distracted by Tamaki, just a little, but that's still legions more than the rest of the world. And he... likes Tamaki, maybe it could be just friendship or interest or maybe it could be something more, which fits well with how I see the characters. And Tamaki is so... he's not dumb, but, no, he doesn't really stop to think/listen, he just dashes off again and again, boundless enthusiasm, but that's part of what Kyouya is fond of. Which all comes through very nicely in this fic without using the dumbstick to beat it into our heads. (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Creative Management by May Flyer - I'm always wary when I click on Kyouya/Tamaki fic links, I love them so much, but they have such a difficult time in a lot of author's hands. And I wasn't sure what I would get out of this fic. It started out all right and then... I just... somewhere, right in the middle of their intruder's entrance, the fic turned brilliant. I had to press a hand against my lips to keep from laughing out loud in that way maniacs tend to laugh, I still stifled giggles the whole way through, and I was just... charmed by how beautiful Tamaki's inner dialogue was. It's perfect for the character, just over the top enough for Tamaki's way of thinking/speaking, mixed together with that slight edge of parody that's so wonderful about the Host Club series and... yes. Yes. This is what more Kyouya/Tamaki fic should be like. Fabulous. And effective at exactly what it was going for. ♥ (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Record Highs by Cssndr - I'm far more likely to give a Kyouya/Tamaki fic a shot because they're rapidly developing into my favorite Host Club pairing and this fic... it's a light, short thing, it's just one moment in time, just a flash of an image, but there's something cute and sweet about it. Well, as cute and sweet as Kyouya can be, which isn't all that much. And the imagery is really nice, the way Tamaki is so expressive here, I could picture his expression easily even with the text. And... aww, Kyouya/Tamaki makes me happy. ♥ (Kyouya/Tamaki implied.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Big Brother by Cssndr - Much like the author, I had a lot of fondness for Ayame's character, she was a bit annoying at first, but then I really warmed up to her fast. So it would have been neat just to see her appear in fic. But the author actually used her incredibly well in this fic, the parallels she drew between Kyouya and Ayame were well-done, the way the potential for them as a pairing is something that intrigues me... but, of course, it would go exactly like this. It says so much about Kyouya with just a few implications that I adored it... and, yeah, I can see Kyouya doing that. Very much so. (Kyouya/Tamaki implied, some Kyouya/Ayame.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Contradiction by sf - I admit, I read this story with a sort of disconnect in my head. It's not that I'm arguing the characterization precisely, because the way Kyouya and Tamaki are written here, you can very well make a case for them. But the way I read it... to my mind, it works better early on in the series, works better for their relationship pre-series, when they were still figuring their friendship out. It fits so well that I barely even noticed it until I stopped to think about it--because what the author does is walk that line between Tamaki being a loveable goofy airhead and something much deeper underneath all of it. There's certainly far more to Tamaki than the spaz-flail and the way Kyouya is intrigued by this, attracted to this is nice here. The writing is lovely, the imagery the author used is lovely, and I actually really enjoyed this piece. (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - The Brilliant Find A Date For Kyouya Plan by Sam Vimes - [ part 01 - part 02 ] - measuringlife has been pestering me to read this fic for days and I'll grant that I've been curious about it because it has my two Host Club OTPs--Kyouya/Tamaki and Mori/Haruhi, I was curious how the two of them could fit into one fic. Plus, the summary reads: Due to a HILARIOUS MISHAP, Tamaki thinks Haruhi is in love with Kyouya, and decides to hatch a brilliant plan to keep Kyouya from Haruhi and show Haruhi how fickle love is. Well, if that's not the Host Club fic I have been desperately waiting for, I don't know what is! And the author did a really fantastic job of capturing the batshit insanity of the Host Club, especially Tamaki's brand of specialness without making any of them feel forced. The pacing of it is just grand, the jokes that feel like they should have only worked visually actually work in text form.

There are a zillion moments I want to squee over. The conversation between Kyouya and Haruhi when she starts to piece things together. The conversation between Hunny and Kyouya, because the Host Club is full of idiots and Hunny is just as insane as the rest of them. The twins being such utter little shits and I love them all the more for it. Haruhi being so beautifully herself, the normal one among the idiots (and, yet, still learning how to handle the twins--implying a threat to tell Kyouya on them was beautiful). Mori being so... direct and calm and quiet and perfect. The fic really does justice to the madcap pace necessary for a story like this, the author knocked this one out of the park. The characterization is brilliant, the humor is brilliant, the writing is brilliant, it's everything it needed to be, and everything I hoped it would be. A part of me thinks that I won't need Host Club fic so desperately anymore because I have a new sense of feeling satisfied by the fandom. (Kyouya/Tamaki, Mori/Haruhi.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Gloves Off by starlighter - This fic has a great blend of interaction between Kyouya and Haruhi as well as the whole thing about Kyouya that makes me like him. As Haruhi watches Kyouya about ready to try out for the boxing team, she can't imagine him losing, but she can't get the image of him falling to his knees out of her mind, either. The way the whole "error, does not compute" aspect of the process is beautifully done here. And the ending is absolutely what I would expect out of the manga, yes. ♥ (Gen, but Kyouya/Haruhi fans might enjoy it anyway.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club/CLAMP Horitsuba Academy - Spectacular, Spectacular! by Tammaiya - The Horitsuba drama is so completely on crack that it somehow makes perfect sense to cross it over with Host Club. The two series are so... completely over the top in the best way possible that they blend together nicely here, the way the author is so... grand and romantic and sparkling about all of it is a great tone to take here. And there are tons of fun little details--my favorite is Kyouya and Yuuko having a conversation, how could that not be completely great? ♥ (As the notes say... hints of Doumeki/Watanuki, Kurogane/Fye, Syaoran/Sakura, Watanuki --> Himawari, Kyouya/Tamaki, Tamaki --> Haruhi, and Tetsuya/Ritsu.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - untitled? by Liz - This may be short (so much that maybe I should have included it with the drabbles intead), but it's so fabulous that I fell in love with it. Tamaki with Valentine's Chocolate and Kyouya is just so Kyouya about it (I am rather in love with the pacing and the way they sound like themselves, tiny little things can just make a fic for me like this) and refusing to be budged in his non-silliness, yet the implication at the ending... just, eeeee. ♥ (Some Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - May the Best Man Lose by Aishuu - Normally, I don't like fics that make me sad. ....well, I like them somewhat, but I don't feel like I usually want to squee over them, I usually appreciate what they can do to me and then want to stomp my foot and demand that it be fixed RIGHT THIS SECOND. Part of me still wants to do that with this fic. But I also... there's something about Kyouya and Tamaki, especially the fantastic way they're written here, the way they're such different people, yet they both so clearly care so much about each other. The image of Tamaki practically laying on Kyouya makes me delightfully happy and yet the story is an overall bittersweet one and it's just... it's an interesting way to play with the Kyouya/Tamaki/Haruhi trio (which is a favorite of mine as well), one that I haven't seen before, and managed to quietly get to me. I just. I love them all so much. And I'm fascinated by the idea of a Kyouya/Haruhi marraige in a universe where Kyouya still loves Tamaki utterly, too. (Kyouya/Tamaki, background Kyouya/Haruhi that's not anywhere near the point.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Only More Stupid by mellish - You know, the longer I'm a fan of the Host Club manga, the more I'm not sure I even need pairings so much as I just need interaction between my favorites. Kyouya and Tamaki's relationship, whether platonic or something more, fascinates me because it's so much more complicated than it seems at first glance, the way it starts out as genuine annoyance and somewhere along the way, Tamaki manages to become honestly important to Kyouya, which this fic captures so well. It has a great Tamaki in it, such a vibrant character, someone who acts like an idiot, but isn't actually, the way he comes across in the text just as fantastic as in the series. And slowly, slowly, somehow Kyouya begins to care about Tamaki and you can feel it throughout the piece and just... oh, crap, I might as well just flail and get it over with it, because that's what this fic makes me want to do. It hits that dynamic with them that I love and it's genuinely a good story. *___* (This is intended as gen, but Kyouya/Tamaki fans might find it interesting as well.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - A Picture's Worth by Devera - Well, since I'd read most of my other favorite Host Club pairings this afternoon, I figured I'd try to hunt down some Kyouya/Tamaki that didn't make me want to punch people in the face, which seems to be semi-rare. ^_~ And this was a really fun, well-written piece. It was just the length it needed to be for the plot to unfold, for Tamaki to put all the pieces together and realize his feelings, and wrap it all up nicely. Very enjoyable. (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Time by Pyjamas - Aside from that I think Kyouya became fond of Haruhi sooner than this fic would imply, this was one of those rare delightful pieces of Kyouya/Tamaki fics that I loved the hell out of. Even though it was very short, it was a lovely look at Kyouya's character with the use of time as a theme, which suited him perfectly. The writing is smooth and very nice to read and I totally giggled at the ending, it was perfect. I just. I ♥. And want more, now that I've had a bit of faith renewed in fandom. (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- Ouran Koukou Host Club - Pounce by Micayasha - I think when I officially liked this fic is when Kyouya realized that Tamaki was taunting him on purpose, even though he merely seemed as flighty as usual, there was an actual intelligent person underneath, and that was much like the Tamaki I know. And I liked the author's take on Kyouya's attraction to Tamaki, trying to hold back this intense urge to touch him, to kiss him, nearly succeeding at it, until he realizes Tamaki's aware of him and that undoes his willpower. The imagery of the kiss and the way they touch each other is lovely as well, a very nice little piece. (Kyouya/Tamaki.)

- 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.)