Mai-HiME/Fanfic Recs

Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for here.

These are recommendations made by Tropers for Mai-HiME fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.

You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.

Authors and Websites
Mai-Hime: Future by John Biles
 * Recommended by Laevatein, User:Looney Toons, User:Nolrai Hikari, User:Vilui User:B Meph
 * Synopsis: In the year 2028, the events of the Festival are 23 years behind the Hime. They have become adults and gone out into the world, taking on jobs and some of them have children. Most have tried to live a normal life; some have wounds that still haven't fully healed. But the next generation does not know the events of the Festival, only that their complex, extended family has a secret and that for some reason, their parents keep checking their bodies for...something. That some shadow lies over the past. And they want to know the truth, whatever that may take.
 * Comments: All of Biles' work is great, and this looks like it might become something truly epic.
 * User:Looney Toons: Enthusiastically seconded. Biles is at his best here, especially his mastery of voices -- every installment is from the point of view of a different character (or characters), and each one has a clear and recognizable voice. The story written from Mikoto's point of view, for instance, shows just how much work he puts into getting inside his characters' heads.
 * User:Vilui (Review updated after "A Bird Afraid To Fly"): If like me you enjoyed Mai-HiME and just wish it had been longer, this is an excellent continuation in the spirit of the original. Old characters are faithfully portrayed, and new characters are well-rounded and interesting in their own right. All characters. This is a very long story with a large cast, but they all get their share of development sooner or later. It combines an epic overarching plot with dramatic action, lovely touches of humour, and a realistic high-school web of relationships. I for one will be eagerly looking forward to more.

DezoPenguin
 * Recommend by Person With Many Aliases, phoku, User:B Meph
 * Elementary, My Dear Natsuki
 * Come, Natsuki, The Game is Afoot
 * Deep Waters, Natsuki
 * You Know My Methods, Natsuki (Due to struggles in writing the story, the Author had skipped it, though it still exists in a phantom state, until it actually gets written.)
 * The Final Problem
 * The Empty House
 * Synopsis: A series of "braided novels", which recasts the characters of Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome into Victorian England. It follows the adventures of Shizuru, who lives at 221B Baker Street, and Natuski who is... complicated.
 * Comments: Dezo Penguin took a great amount of effort to leave a lot of Sherlock Holmes in the stories, as well as Mai-HiME. What we get isn't just a paper-thin Alternate Universe, with parroted cliches, but a well-meshed combination of both settings. There is the inevitability of Yuri of course, but that's so subtle in development it never gets in the way of a good mystery. There are also three side stories to the series, Hidden Depths, A Glimpse Through the Masques, and Writer's Block, but those aren't essential reading.

General Fics
''Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.''

Mai-HiME Origin by User:Katsuhagi
 * Recommended by User:Sikon
 * Synopsis: A prequel set during the previous Carnival 300 years ago, the one with Mashiro.
 * Comments: Currently ongoing. Also available on her LiveJournal, where she first updates.

Whisper from the Forest by Icemera (AU)
 * Recommended by phoku, User:B Meph
 * Synopsis: An epic tale set in an alternate universe version of Mai-Otome.
 * Comments: I can't do this masterpiece justice. Great story, great characters. Finished!

Mai-HiME: Fresco by Aku-Dono (AU) The Kyoto Hunt/Mai Kisaki by Ange Sinestre
 * Reccomended by Person With Many Aliases
 * Synopsis: In a world populated by thousands of Hime, Police Officer Yuuchi "Tanuki" Tanaki finds himself transferring desks, and saddled with a certain unruly 13 year old brat who can summon handguns and a giant metal dog strapped down with guns.
 * Comments: Don't worry. As the Author continually stipulates, there's no attempt to pair up Natsuki with an OC. What we have rather, is a very well written Police Procedural/Detective story. The meat of course, is Yuuchi and Natsuki's chemistry, as they try to learn how to deal with each other without killing each other.
 * Recommended by User:B Meph
 * Synopsis: A masterful tie-in of Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome, purporting to explain how the first world could have led to the second. The first story is set after Mai-HiME and gives an "origin" story for the Mai-Otome Robe setup. The second story is between Otome and Zwei, and deals with what happened to Earth while all of the Otome stuff went on on Earl.
 * Comments: Like I said, masterful - be warned; after reading these stories, you may have to keep reminding yourself that they are not canon. Unfortunately, the author has declared herself to be fanfic-retired, but at least we have these stories.

Shipping Fics
Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

Windows of the Soul by Lestaki
 * Recommended by User:Axel White, User:B Meph
 * Pairing: Shizuru/Natsuki
 * Synopsis: An unforgivable crime leaves an immeasurable distance. And even if you offer forgiveness freely, it may not be accepted.
 * Comments: An intriguingly psychological look into the relationship between Shizuru and Natsuki set post-Mai-HiME. Very good, long (400,000+ words) and complete.

Inter Nos by ethnewinter
 * Recommended by User:Wrinkly Ninja
 * Pairing: Shizuru/Natsuki
 * Synopsis: The Mai-HiME/-Otome characters in a universe fashioned after the world of Ancient Rome.
 * Comments: Quite simply a masterpiece. While predominately based around a few of the Mai-HiME characters, it also imports a few from other anime such as Mariasama ga Miteru. The author doesn't just use the characters as they are represented, however, but strips them down to their essence and rebuilds them so that they are entirely recognisable but fit perfectly with the world in which they are placed. The language is complex, and can be difficult to read, but with an epic plot, sublime writing, vivid characterisation and heartbreaking emotional investment, it might just be one of the best things you ever read.