History Fanfic / ShadowsAndLight

''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/642848 From The Darkness We Rise]]'' and its sequel, ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/766729 Into Shadows We Fall]]'', can be summarised as [[{{Lemon}} explicit]] [[SlashFic slash fics]] about [[WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians Jack]] [[TheHero Frost]] and [[BigBad Pitch Black]].

* AnAxeToGrind: [[spoiler:Pitch's replacement weapon, to his initial great displeasure.]]

* WeaponOfChoice: Pitch switches out his scythe of black sand for a two-handed long-sword. [[spoiler:He’s [[{{Understatement}} not too happy]] when it gets replaced with an axe.]]

* TheLostWoods: What the Seelie Court looks like.

* WeaponOfChoice: Pitch switches out his scythe of black sand for a two-handed long-sword. [[spoiler:He’s [[{{Understatement}} not too happy]] when it gets replaced with an axe.]]

** CoolSword: Made of a rare metal [[ThunderboltIron mined from meteorites]], it can repel the living shadows.

* TheChainsOfCommanding: Gwyn ap Nudd didn't choose to become the King of the Seelie Court, and it's a thankless job in which he has to confront threats so dire the previous King stepped down rather than face them, keep vigil as fae sundered from their homes die painful deaths before him, and work together with difficult allies. But as a fae whose current heartsong is justice, he can't not try his best to fulfil his responsibilities, or not feel bad when things don't go well.

* FateWorseThenDeath: Being possessed by the living shadows is not only excruciatingly painful, it can mean being trapped helpless and disconnected in endless dark - or being forced to bear witness as the shadows commit atrocities with your very hands.

* LightEmUp: [[spoiler:Pitch]] discovers that he still possesses this power, which comes from his past as [[spoiler:a Golden Warrior]]. Gwyn has light powers as well, though of a very different kind, according to him.

The ''Shadows And Light'' duology is more than PornWithPlot; a combination of elements from the movie and the [[Literature/TheGuardiansOfChildhood original books]], as well as drawing inspiration from mythology, ''SAL'' realistically explores the development of a relationship, deals with emotional and psychological issues, and also happens to be an epic adventure story set in a [[{{Worldbuilding}} well-detailed]] [[FanVerse verse]].

* KilledOffForReal: Jamie, in the very first chapter.

* TallDarkAndSnarky: Pitch, naturally. Augus Each Uisge as well.

* LightEmUp: [[spoiler:Pitch discovers that he still possesses this power, which comes from his past as a Golden Warrior.]]

* PapaWolf: North fits this trope for Jack. To the point he stood up for him when Gwyn threatened him and it didn't go well. Gwyn is a King but not "his king".

* SternTeacher: Pitch

* WeaponOfChoice: Pitch switches out his scythe of black sand for a two-handed long-sword. [[spoiler:He’s [[{{Understatement}} not too happy]] when it gets replaced with an axe.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Gwyn's perspective and interpretation of events is somewhat skewed by his issues.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Crielle, Lludd, and the An-Fnwy estate as a whole. [[spoiler:Until Gwyn is outed as Unseelie, anyway.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:With Efnisien's death, Crielle becomes increasingly unstable, eventually resorting to revealing Gwyn's Unseelie alignment to the Court in order to depose him.]]
* YouAreInCommandNow: The Oak King chose to step down and have someone more militarily accomplished lead the war against Augus Each Uisge and the Unseelie Court.

* ArchEnemy:Nain Rouge is this for Jack in this story.

* BigBad: Augus. [[spoiler:At least until the Nightmare King returns at the ending of the first story, making him the true BigBad of the story. In this case, it makes Augus as TheDragon.]]
** TheDragon: Nain Rouge. Although she is more of a DragonWithAnAgenda in this story, making her more threatening than Augus.

* BrokenAce: Pitch. [[spoiler:It's implied that Gwyn is one as well, and this is explored much further in ''Game Theory''.]]

* LivingLieDetector: [[spoiler:Makara is one, and it's best not to lie to him.]]

* ScarsAreForever: [[spoiler:Magically induced wounds, such as the Nain Rouge's aborted attempt to steal Jack's power, leave this kind of scars.]]

* {{Glamour}}: Gwyn calls his dra’ocht.

There is a SpinOff series, ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/series/53073 Fae Tales]]''. The primary story, ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/915296 Game Theory]]'', begins six months after the events of ''Into Shadows We Fall''.

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!!! Spoilers for SAL below this point are unmarked.

!! Tropes featured in ''Fae Tales'' include:
* AFatherToHisMen: Gwyn knows his soldiers by name, and can even remember which of them have families and children.
* AbusiveParents: Lludd and Crielle.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: A status raise for a fae grants increased strength and power, among other things.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Crielle, oh so very much.
* BlessedWithSuck: [[spoiler:Gwyn's light is incredibly powerful, but causes him constant pain and injures him whenever he uses it for anything besides teleportation.]]
* BornAgainImmortality / {{Reincarnation}}: Certain fae identities, such as the Each Uisge and the Glashtyn, work on this. If the current Each Uisge is killed, a new one is born, usually retaining the same appearance and powers. They don't retain their memories, however.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Efnisien loves doing this, and Gwyn used to be a favourite victim of his.
* CradlingYourKill: [[spoiler:In the author's summary for the unwritten final chapter of ''The Drawn Bead'', this is what Gwyn did with Mafydd.]]
* MagicallyBindingContract: Blood-oaths, which kill people who break them. [[spoiler:Gwyn is an exception.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Half the story of ''Game Theory'' is due to Augus's, while the other half stems from Gwyn’s.
* DeadlyDecadentCourt: It’s mentioned that Crielle’s influence made the Seelie Court increasingly this.
* ElectiveMonarchy: How the fae Courts choose their rulers.
* EvilMatriarch: Crielle.
* ForceFeeding: [[spoiler:Gwyn once force-feeds Augus a slice of human liver, which is toxic to predatory waterhorses.]]
* ForegoneConclusion: The fate of [[spoiler:Mafydd]] in ''The Drawn Bead'', for anyone sufficiently up-to-date with ''Game Theory''.
* ForTheEvulz: Virtually everything Efnisien does.
* GeniusBruiser: Gwyn is a skilled cartographer, reads dead languages....
* HeroicSafeMode: [[spoiler:Gwyn retreats into himself and becomes unresponsive in response to severe torture or similarly highly distressing situations.]]
* LiarRevealed: [[spoiler:Gwyn, King of the Seelie Court, is exposed as Unseelie.]]
* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:Gwyn is an Unseelie light fae, and his power can create lifeless wastelands.]]
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler:Gwyn’s parents want to do this, but the family reputation comes first.]]
* OrderVersusChaos: The difference in outlook between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts; the former concern themselves greatly with rules and abhor lies, while the latter disdain rules, placing more importance on loyalty to oneself and family, in that order.
* PickyPeopleEater: Predatory waterhorses don't eat the livers of their victims. Also, Augus prefers to eat fit, healthy humans who don't smoke or drink.
* ReformedButNotTamed: [[spoiler:Augus, as he slowly works through his emotional and psychological instability.]]
* RevengeByProxy: [[spoiler:Lludd forces [[KillTheOnesYouLove Gwyn to kill Mafydd]] as punishment for breaking the blood-oath.]]
* StagesOfMonsterGrief: While he wasn’t changed into a monster, nor is he actually a monster, Gwyn is largely still in the Denial stage of coping with his [[spoiler:Unseelie alignment]].
* SwitchingPOV: Most of the chapters in ''Game Theory'' are told from Gwyn's point of view, while the rest are from Augus's.
* TeleportInterdiction: [[spoiler:Gwyn cannot teleport out of the cell he's locked in, but he's still able to teleport from spot to spot within it.]]
* TermsOfEndangerment: With a twist. Crielle is Gwyn’s mother, and thus to all outside appearances there’s nothing wrong with calling him her ‘darling son’.

* [[spoiler:LiarRevealed: Gwyn, King of the Seelie Court, is exposed as Unseelie.]]

* [[spoiler:ReformedButNotTamed: Augus, as he slowly works through his emotional and psychological instability.]]