(Un)Natural
by evershiftingmosaicIV is a fanfic based off of 1960 adaptation of The Children's Hour. The story does contain some mature themes and scenes, but it's not a lemon fanfic.
(Un)Natural explores what could have happened if Karen was a few seconds earlier at the end of the film. Karen cuts the rope, stopping Martha from killing herself. Karen wants to move far away from their old life, but the duo must also deal with the issue of Martha's confession along the way. What was said can't be forgotten.
(Un)Natural is an unfinished fic as it hasn't been updated since the 6th chapter in 2014.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Alternate Universe Fic: The story starts with Karen stopping Martha's suicide attempt.
- Ambiguously Bi: Karen's feelings for Martha are very ambiguous. Karen states that they're platonic, but there's a edge of something else to them. It gets even more confusing when Karen has sex with Martha to get her to agree with her.
- Downer Beginning: (Un)Natural starts with Martha's Anguished Declaration of Love to Karen, Mrs. Tilford leaving after she apologizes to Karen, and then Martha's attempted suicide,
- Interrupted Suicide: The story starts with Karen finding Martha wth a noose around her neck. Martha actually does end up hanging herself, but her neck doesn't break. This allows Karen enough time to cut the rope and save Martha.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: At the start of the fic, Karen goes outdoors and is unnerved by the calmness. It feels like a premonition that something will go wrong. Karen runs back to her farmhouse and finds Martha's aunt panicking because Martha locked herself in her room.
- Gayngst: Martha has a lot of self-hatred due to her feelings for Karen. Karen's "untainted and pure" (seemingly) platonic love for her only makes her feel worse about her own romantic affections for Karen.
- Gayngst-Induced Suicide: Subverted. Martha attempts this but is stopped by Karen. Martha's suicide attempt was due to a combination of internalized homophobia and a desire to "free" Karen from herself.
- Oblivious to Love: At the start, Karen ponders about how she could be friends with Martha since college and not have ever noticed Martha's feelings for her.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Karen delivers a lengthy one to Martha's aunt Lily in the second chapter after Lily tries to seem concerned for Martha. To accentuate her rant, she throws her out of the room herself and slams the door in her face.
