Crossed Hearts is a +Anima fanfic by Tears Of Nightfall (now going by Rowan Rook) originally published on Fanfiction.Net, and later posted on Archive of Our Own in honor of International Fanworks Day. It's the longest +Anima fanfiction on the web, sporting a hefty 264,352 words, which is impressive given the manga's small active fanbase. Written from 2008 to 2011, the author actually hadn't finished reading the series when they first started writing, causing the events in the story to classify it as an Alternate Universe Fic.
Here the four kids have each found future prospects and part ways, hoping to eventually see each other again. Fast forward eight years and a now grown Nana, working a happy, simple life for a merchant, still wonders what happened to her friends. But when she crosses paths with Cooro once again, she finds him dramatically different than the last time she saw him: quiet, anxious, and saying he's no longer a +anima. A mysterious, dangerous raven +anima girl combined with rising tensions between +anima and the Astarian government rip up Nana's hard-earned peace, and causes the whole quartet to reunite. They start to learn the horrible secrets that caused Cooro to change, and battle to protect themselves and Cooro at the same time.
It can be read on Fanfiction.Net here
, and on Archive of Our Own here.
This work provides examples of:
- After-Action Patch-Up: After the intense fight with Catherine in the barn, Husky works on bandaging up everyone's wounds, telling them how he ended up being pretty good at first aid back when he was with the guards.
- Amulet of Dependency: The Protective Charm that Elizabeth makes allows Tilah - and later Cooro - to stay their human selves and use their wings and powers at the same time, keeping them from turning into merciless killers. Wearing it also makes it their Achilles' Heel.
- A Storm Is Coming: A thunderstorm rolls in at the same as Cooro and Nana meet again for the first time in years, an event that triggers the plot.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Cooro and Kazana do this in the battle at the fortress.
- Bloodier and Gorier: If you've read the manga, you know there's a decent amount of violence. However, in edition to being Darker and Edgier, this fic ramps up the violence with graphic deaths and injuries. There's very few chapters that don't have someone being brutally murdered.
- Book Ends: The story begins and ends at the orchard Nana worked and lived at.
- Burn the Witch!: Sophia and Mirka, the first pair of crow/raven +anima children, are burned at the stake for murdering several people and having black wings and inhuman powers.
- Crash-Into Hello: When they first meet, Nana accidentally flies into Cooro, but he's so startled that he runs away before any proper greetings are exchanged.
- Deuteragonist: Nana
- Flashback Nightmare: Cooro has these often, not only about his own past, but the pasts of others as well.
- I Have Your Wife: Catherine kidnaps Nana during the fortress battle, using her in an ultimatum against Cooro.
- Not-So-Final Confession: Cooro, fully expecting to be hanged in the morning, tells Nana that he loves her. The two of them manage to escape the prison however. It's even lampshaded later:
- Psychic Link: Cooro and Catherine can talk in each other's heads, much to Cooro's dismay.
- Take a Third Option: When it comes to either Nana getting killed or Cooro submitting to his murderous side, Nana refuses to give up and makes a miraculous sneak attack against Catherine with an old slingshot of all things.
- The Villain Knows Where You Live: Catherine can sense where Cooro is, so it's near impossible to hide from her.
- Time Skip: The story takes place eight years into the future.
- Twisted Ankle: Exaggerated. Cooro's right ankle gets torn to the bone, and he's unable to walk for nearly half the story.
