At the beginning of the year I set myself a goal to provide feedback/ review the Everlark stories that I like the most. The good thing about this is that I have a whole bunch marked as ‘favourite’ and am adding to them all the time so I’m not going to run out of fanfiction anytime soon!
This isn’t some master-list (I’m not popular enough for that!) but is more my words on why I love the stories I’ve read because I think, whether the writer is writing anymore or not, that appreciation should be shown for those that have put their time and effort into writing free fiction for me (and others) to enjoy. I wanted to do it publicly so that these can also act as recommendations for other’s looking for fiction to read. My tastes aren’t necessarily everyone’s tastes but I love everything I am providing feedback on and want to spread that love around!
They are not necessarily the longest reviews in the world because I don’t know the first thing about feedback or how to do it but I thought I’d give it my best shot! I’m cheekily tagging this as ‘glittering’s glitterati’ because I love alliteration and because I think the writers that have put their personal time, effort and talents into writing fanfiction for my favourite ship are pretty fabulous.
The first fiction is called ‘A Certain Darkness’ by 24tigers and can be found on AO3 here.
This one-shot was completed back in November 2012 and made an impression on me way back when I discovered Everlark due to its dark subject matter and beautiful writing. The summary provided by the author is simple: -
Maybe Dr. Aurelius is right. Maybe this Peeta is more dangerous.
A Certain Darkness is rated ‘explicit’ and contains a trigger warning relating to non-con. There is also offensive language, mentioned only once, but can be considered by some to be very offensive.
Told via Katniss’ viewpoint (third person) this piece of writing takes place as Katniss witnesses Peeta losing himself to one of his ‘rages’ which, as the summary outlines, are a new and dangerous component to Peeta’s personality.
We effortlessly switch (due to lines linking the thought processes of Katniss) between the current ‘rage’ episode and Katniss’ remembering’s of previous tender and erotic moments. These serve to highlight that Peeta is still predominantly Peeta, just one who has long-lived consequences to his hijacking.
It seems that, during these new rages, the aim is for Peeta to try and harm Katniss the best he can but it also seems that Katniss is becoming adept at running and hiding. These heightened moments read like a atmospheric suspense movie where our hunter becomes the hunted but, BUT, I was left with a sense that, despite the promise of violence, him finding her is something that is both inevitable and possibly even subconsciously welcomed.
There is a section of non-consensual sexual activity in this story and so this story won’t be for everyone but despite the subject matter and the dark portrayal of the couple this scene never seems gratuitous or out of place. The story also contains this brilliant piece of writing during the scene: -
Images of her and Peeta come through. They’re sixteen and running through the meadow. She’s there, but she’s here, somehow in two places at once. She can feel the wet blades of grass under her feet, feel the summer dew on her skin. She can feel Peeta, taking her there, across the fields, through the spectrums.
She comes so hard she swears she can taste the rain.
For me this story, though brief, is an exploration of what it’s like to love someone who can sometimes become a monster and, even though she has moments of fear, the suggested exploration of what it is like for Katniss to like it.
Because I like to wonder on what would or could happen I am going to write my thoughts on my personal headcanon on what happens after the fic has ended.
With this story I can see it going in several directions. If this fits into canon then Peeta will learn to overcome, or not to succumb, to his rages and him and Katniss will go on to live happy lives. Though, due to the tone of this story, I would suggest that this Peeta never manages to fully handle his rages. Whether this takes a dark turn and eventually results in unintended tragedy or Peeta and Katniss forge their own dark path together I couldn’t hazard a guess. Though obviously, I would prefer it be the latter.
