[ ARASHI, Avatar, Dekaranger, FFVIII, Nabari, REBORN!, ToA ]

Nov 08, 2008 12:00

SHARING TIME:
    Oh, man. Professor Layton and the Curious Village screencap adventures! SO MUCH FUN! (part one and part two.) YOU SHOULD ALL PLAY THIS GAME WITH ME. THERE IS A DS EMULATOR OUT THERE NOW, YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE.
AND ONTO THE RECS:
    ARASHI - 2 Fanfics
    Avatar: The Last Airbender - 2 Fanfics
    Final Fantasy VIII - 2 Fanfics
    Katekyou Hitman REBORN! - 2 Fanfics
    Nabari no Ou - 1 Fanfic
    Tales of the Abyss - 4 Fanfics
    Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger - 1 Fanfic
    Katekyou Hitman REBORN! - 4 Doujinshi
2008 GOAL: 875/1602


ARASHI: FIVE PETS AIBA TRIED TO GIVE JUN by Meg - This might be a short little fic, but. as;dflkasl;kj I love it. FIVE PETS AIBA TRIED TO GIVE JUN. SO MUCH PROMISE OF AWESOME. And Meg totally delivers, because she pulls in all five members of the band and she loves to make not only Matsumoto's life full of pain and indignity, but clearly loves the whole band. Also. SO MUCH CUTE OMG. ♥ (No warnings/pairings.)

ARASHI: Fall + The best-laid plans by Circe - I love seasonal fic, you really get to feel the slight chill of fall and the pretty colors of the leaves falling is so easy to picture and it just makes the season more enjoyable. Especially when it's Ohno and Sho and Circe writes them so well--they have an easy friendship and they're still connected to their bandmates (the mention of what Aiba and Jun were working on sent me into keyboard mashing fits at the awesome images it brought to mind) but there's something special there with them, too. Plus, food! And little details about the sweet potatoes! And Ohno totally sees everything that goes on around him, he gets it, he just still keeps floating on by anyway and yes that is Ohno. He knows what his bandmates are doing, he's just laid-back about it. As much as I loved the Ohno/Sho, I think I love the Ohno POV just as much. ♥ (Sho/Ohno.)

Avatar: The Last Airbender: You're My Only Home by pyjamafiction - Oh, this is lovely. Because Aang and Katara both were so young, their relationship was a complicated thing. They grew up faster, they were ready for something more, but, at the same time, they still must have had moments of the last remnents of childhood and this fic was really wonderful about it. You see how mature Aang is, how much he's had to grow up so quickly and how amazingly he's met those demands on him. Yet there's still a tired young man in there, who has lost so much and doesn't know how to "go home" anymore. The writing is simple, but powerful and the ending makes me want to keyboard mash at the loveliness of it. This was exactly the kind of fic Aang/Katara should have sometimes. Also, Zuko in glasses! ♥ (Aang/Katara.)

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Mai reading the letter Zuko wrote her + The Chase by pyjamafiction - These are both short little drabbles set from Mai's point of view, the first one about how she reacts after Zuko leaves in season three, the second set in the second season before they've properly met up again. I really adore this author's take on Mai's character, you can see how much she obviously cares about Zuko, how much he makes her really feel, but it's still very much Mai and I really loved both looks into her character and her feelings for Zuko. (Zuko/Mai.)

Final Fantasy VIII: Goodnight by anime_angel_ash - ....oh, good lord, it's ridiculous how much I love Squall/Rinoa and how adorable they are when they're together and what a total sap Squall has become over her, even when he's fighting it so very hard and still has that rigid discipline that keeps most of it from showing. This was just adorable and charming and delightful, a quick vidphone conversation while Rinoa is in Esthar for training and she's been talking to Laguna. I think I probably had the stupidest grin on my face at some points, shut up. (Squall/Rinoa.)

Final Fantasy VIII: After a long day by zebra_in_dream - So, you know who also doesn't get enough porn pretty much ever? Squall and Rinoa. They're teenagers, they should be all over each other! *firm on this* Even though I understand why and it does make the occasional R-rated fic all that much sweeter. I like what the author did with the prompt (using magic in unconventional ways), the way the magic is so much a part of their lives and is incorporated even into their time together in the bath, the way they play with each other, Rinoa lightly teasing and Squall firmly capturing her even when she's the one casting all the spells, how it makes the dynamic between them really fun and has some very pretty imagery. The author achieved a nice mood with the fic, it was nicely satisfying to read after waiting for so long for Squall/Rinoa smut. <3 (Squall/Rinoa, maybe a light R in rating.)

Katekyou Hitman REBORN!: Shower by fangirl_complex - This is really a lot of how I see Xanxus and Squalo's relationship going, the way there's an attraction there, the way they work so well together, but it's also rough and uncaring and the author's Xanxus is fantastic because he really just doesn't care what others want. The rough quality of the phrasing (in the way the author intended) wasn't too much, but instead it just kind of made the whole showerfic sex that much hotter. Now I remember why I liked this pairing so much. *__* (Xanxus/Squalo, R-rating.)

Katekyou Hitman REBORN!: tenfold by surestsmile - asldkfja;sljk why am I willing to read deathfic for REBORN!'s fandom so much? Because there's some really damn fine fics that kill a character off (well, and we get character death in canon, too) and I'm weak to well-written D18. Which this fic isn't quite, it could be entirely gen, but you'll enjoy it if you like the characters, I think. It's almost understated, the way Hibari reacts to Dino's funeral, the way he slips away from the crowd and does his own thing, restless, but not antsy, which the author did a fantastic job of. The wine at the gravestone and the short conversation with the new Cavallone heir were also perfect and so, so Hibari. I loved this, despite that Dino was dead in it. ;__;<3 (This is entirely gen, but if you like Dino/Hibari in it, you'll like this. Deathfic.)

Nabari no Ou: deathseeker by surestsmile - This was an interesting piece about Yoite's point of view early on in the series, the way the kira ability eats him up inside and how much darkness is in him and how painful everything was for him, why he sought not just death, but more than that from Miharu. The fic is short, but the writing is pretty and it evoked a lot of the same feel that I thought Yoite had in the original series, it was easy to see these thoughts rolling around his head. (No warnings/pairings.)

Tales of the Abyss: Baby Steps by surestsmile - [ part 01 + part 02 ] - [Note: Both the fic and this rec will contain major spoilers for the ending of the game, please skip if you're still playing and don't want to be spoiled.] Okay, technically, I haven't finished the game, I think I'm still at about 4/5ths of the way through or so. But I know the ending and the anime has been seriously making me crave more from this fandom and I've been meaning to sit down with this fic for ages and tonight was the perfect time. Because I adore the ToA fandom, but it doesn't have a lot of epic fic that's appealed to me personally. This fic, however? This fic is about Asch and how he was the one who came back at the end of the game instead of Luke. And I really rather desperately loved the idea, but I was sort of wary of how it would play out, despite that I liked all of the author's other fic that I'd read.
I shouldn't have worried because this fic was fabulous. The characterization is spot on, the issues raised here, the way the characters react to each other, Asch's interactions with each of them, the memory of Luke, all of that was woven together beautifully. As each person realized who had actually come back, it was wonderfully done, from Tear's quiet sadness to Anise's determination to Natalia's surprise and yet happiness in some ways to Guy, which was a rather breathtaking scene. The fic also dealt beautifully with Asch coming to terms with living his life again, his life, the one that had been taken away from him, because he is Luke fon Fabre, which is something that I've been craving as well.
Which is a lot of what this fic did for me--yes, the characterization and the plotting were all dealt with really well and I appreciated the fic on that level. But. But but but. Asch. Asch being the one to come back. Re-integrating into the life that was taken from him. It's what I wanted so, so much and it was done well and I feel like-- like I'm satsified with the ToA fandom again. Plus, you know. Natalia being the one to keep Asch from just leaving again, how it's obvious that he still loves her, yet that not needing to be the focus of the fic, all of that was delicious as well. (Some Asch/Natalia, but it's about on the level of canon.)

Tales of the Abyss: Arietta's Sorrow by Nietono-no-Shana - Since I'm in a ToA mood, I decided to wander over to FFNET to see if anything would catch my eye and I've always had a soft spot for this pairing. I'm not sure I completely agree on Sync's characterization (but I'm not sure I disagree, either), but I thought Arietta's reactions were solid and if they were to ever happen, it'd probably go a lot like this. It's a pairing full of complicated issues and difficult timing, but the author did a good job of weaving it together with the game and it was cute, so I was happy with it. <3 (Sync/Arietta.)

Tales of the Abyss: Inscincere by Griffinkhan - I'm really interested in the Jade - Anise friendship, but I don't seek it out in fandom much, because it seems like a difficult dynamic to capture. But I wanted to give this fic a shot and I'm glad I did, because it strides all these lines very carefully, it's all about what Jade can immediately see in Anise and yet so many things are unsaid and it's a really interesting look into Anise's character. Plus, it makes mention of who built Tokunaga for Anise and Jade's (brief, unreadable) reaction to that! XD (No warnings/pairings.)

Tales of the Abyss: Just Today by VilyaSage - You know who I still love a whole lot? Peony. Peony and his rappings and his god-awful (read: awesome) sense of humor. One of the best things about this fic was Guy trying to deal with being the one to walk the rappigs or Jade's every single second of the fic (especially when in the same room with Peony, because that friendship is hilarious, too) were so easy to picture in my head and I spent the whole time grinning in amusement. A really wonderful fic to have for today. <3 (No warnings/pairings.)

Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger: Caffeine Addict by Mariko Azrael - This is just a short piece, where Ban makes Hoji some coffee for a late night and it goes about as well as you'd expect it to. The fun part--aside from Hoji's life being hard, which is always fun for the rest of us--is the way Ban and Hoji interact with each other, the way Hoji isn't mean just to be mean, but he's still Hoji. I-- I think I love them a lot. (Ban/Hoji implied.)

Katekyou Hitman REBORN! Doujinshi (scanslated) - Due Cose - Reading this doujinshi, the story is a little... well, it seems all over the place and very random, almost like it's missing parts of it, but I think it's not that so much as it is the doujinshika just drawing random little snippets, sort of like ficlets. And Peeco?'s art is as lovely as always, the stories are fun and it was a nice little D18 fix this afternoon. Dino doing a spit take at Hibari's hair is never not funny and the one PG-15 page is kind of super hot. *__* (Dino/Hibari, not quite SFW.)

Katekyou Hitman REBORN! Doujinshin (raw) - kyoutan + love attack mail + the horse became mad with envy + uso honto - These are three seperate downloads (you'll have to scroll a page or two to find each of them, of course) but I'm recommending them together since they're each only 9 pages long and they each have a similar feel to them. Which is the fun, cracky delightful side of the D18 fandom, where Dino delights in pouncing on Hibari and Hibari is a violent little demon who knocks him over with harsh words or even harsher tonfas to the face. Uso Honto is probably my favorite of the three, Dino cuddling with Hibari on the sofa, while Hibari looks like he's two seconds away from killing Dino very badly in the face and then, somehow, through the magic of Dino, there is something like snuggling. And yet Hibari still works for me. Mostly because he still looks evil as hell. as;ldkfj;alksj Plus the art is really cute, there's a lot of really nice shading and detail, so these were some really nice pick me ups this afternoon. <3 (Dino/Hibari.)

Katekyou Hitman REBORN! Doujinshin (raw) - dream mission + yagyuu ha osuki!? + yuruseru otoko - These are on the same post as the previous D18 recs I did, but I'm counting them as seperate because I'm going for the Yamamoto/Hibari ones and it's just easier. The art for these tends to be a little on the simple side, but the Dream Mission doujinshika makes up for it by having some really solid layouts and a Snow White parody with Hibari where he eats a poison pineapple. She could have done this in stick figures and I would have still been keyboard mashing at the hilarity of it. Plus, Hibari's FACE on the final page of that one! So lol. The other two have similarly simple art, but they're cute and I like this pairing, so it was just fun to see these. <3 (Yamamoto/Hibari.)

Katekyou Hitman REBORN! Doujinshin (raw) - blue sky + kindergarden + namimori kindergarden - And, finally, of course I had to hit up the Gokudera/Tsuna doujinshi on this post, too! The first one, Blue Sky, really does a terrific job of nailing the canon style, especially from the early volumes, and is a sweet little thing about Tsuna and Gokudera on the school roof, having a quiet moment. The other two are KINDERGARDEN DOUJINSHI OMG little baby chibis SO FREAKING CUTE. So, so adorable (and little baby Hibari is the CUTEST THING EVER, even if he'll totally bite your fingers off if you give him a chance) and really adorable art. The 5927 is light compared to the other doujinshi, but it's still worth checking out if you're a fan, imo. (Some Gokudera/Tsuna.)

fic: tales of the abyss, fic: avatar, fic: nabari no ou, fic: dekaranger, fic: arashi, fic: katekyou hitman reborn!, doujinshi: katekyou hitman reborn!, fic: final fantasy viii

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