SHARING TIME:
Ugh, you guys. Why do I do shit like this to myself? I haven't even started Pandora Hearts (despite that I've been eying the manga for, like, six months and the anime's airing now, too) and yet I'm going, "Ooh, hey!
Pandora Hearts search engine! Awesome!" orz
AND ONTO THE RECS:
Kamen Rider Decade - 1 Fanfic
Star Trek XI - 7 Fanfics
Star Wars - 1 Fanfic
Gundam 00 - 7 Fanart
Tales of the Abyss - 2 Fanart
2009 GOAL: 322/1700
Kamen Rider Decade:
A single flower by honou_no_izumi - You know, I kind of shot myself in the foot by liking the het pairing in a gay-friendly KR season and thus I haven't really been reading much fic. I'm still at the point where my fangirl heart wants what it wants and I'm okay with that. But I saw the pairing listing for this fic and decided to give it a shot, since I was curious and I'm glad I did. It's a very cute little thing set in the middle of the Den-O world where Tsukasa starts thinking about Natsumi and it's not like it really goes much of anywhere, but he's just stupid enough about it that I totally had fun. ♥ (Implied Tsukasa/Natsumi.)
Star Trek XI:
Precious Things by haearnmouse - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] Vulcan has, like a lot of Star Trek fans, always been one of my favorite alien races/cultures, so seeing it destroyed in the movie was kind of heartbreaking, even as much as I knew it would allow for more focus on them. Then along comes a fic like this, such a simple idea, set on characters that aren't the main focus at all, about all the other people affected by Vulcan's destruction and what it means for everyone... it was beautifully done. The characters are beautifully drawn even in just a few scenes and the imagery is just understated enough to be all the more powerful for it and... I have to admit. I came a little close to tearing up at the end there. This was an amazing fic. (No warnings/pairings.)
Star Trek XI:
A Question to the Universe by SlytherinTears - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] ....okay, you guys shut up. It's just. Chapel was one of my favorite characters as a kid and part of the fun of a new AU movie like this is seeing how fans are going to put her into the series, the different takes on her. This is just a prologue and it's a little ship-heavy for my tastes just yet, but I kind of adore this take on her character already and there's a lot of potential here. It stands alone as a little possible beginning for her character onboard the Enterprise and I enjoyed it for what it was. (Implications of Spock/Uhura and maybe Kirk/Uhura, likely future Spock/Chapel.)
Star Trek XI:
Illogical by Amused Death - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] asd;lkjasl oh god this was kind of beautiful. I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this short fic, but it had a solid Spock narration and I could see a bit of my Uhura in this version of her and it was a fun little fic. And then. The second half of the fic. Just. Yes, of course, that's what Spock would think and how he would react and just. FOREVER LOL, okay. (Spock/Uhura.)
Star Trek XI:
Weight of the World by schweinsty - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] I really liked this look at Kirk post-movie, after there's a bit of time to settle in to his new position and responsibilities, time to actually start thinking about everything that he's now responsible for. I like how it eats away at him at night, not enough to keep him from functioning, but slowly wearing him down, even if it won't be forever. I really like the friendship between Kirk and McCoy here, it stays nicely true to the originals, but is very much the STXI versions of the characters. Just a very nice little addition to the movie. (No warnings/pairings.)
Star Trek XI:
untitled by damalur - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] Oh, man, this was such a great Bones fic, it really nailed the blend between the original McCoy and the movie's McCoy and made it fun. I love the working in of little details and touches, McCoy's family and the use of actual paper to write a letter on and then Kirk stumbling through and their friendship is perfectly pitched here and just. It's a really great Bones voice and so easy to see. <3 (No warnings/pairings.)
Star Trek XI:
untitled by damalur - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] This is another great McCoy voice and it's even better that he has a (brief) conversation with Spock here and it's just. The way Bones looks at the rest of this crew, who are all so young and he's so bone-weary tired after all that's happened, it fits brilliantly with his character. The conversation with Spock is pitch-perfect as well, it's funny in the right places and bittersweet in the other right places. A really excellent read. (No real warnings/pairings.)
Star Trek XI:
Domains by notexotic - [Note: Just go ahead and assume there are spoilers in this fic and this rec.] One of the things that was most interesting for me about the movie was the potential for new Vulcan/Romulan interaction, which this fic starts to play with in a really intriguing way. The Federation - Romulan Star Empire interaction is going to be super interesting from now on, both for all the new revelations and connections already made and for the future ones, knowing what they do about what's coming. I really liked this portrayal of the Romulans, so harsh and distant but not quite the same as before, and I really loved Spock's reactions. The emotions just under the surface and everything not said, the way his relationship with Uhura played nicely into that, I could see it really well here. (Half gen, half Spock/Uhura.)
Star Wars:
Blinded by Love by Serena Kenobi - I have this thing for Star Wars AU fics. Not that I don't love the original movies, of course, but I'm always tempted by the idea of how things might have gone a little differently, how the Skywalker family might have taken a different path. I'm sure there are a lot of fics like that out there, but finding ones that engage me seem to prove difficult. I'm not sure I could put my finger on why this one in particular caught my attention--especially since it seems abandoned before it got to any of the major emotional climax scenes--but I think it's that it had a really interesting premise (Padme frozen in Carbonite, woken up twenty years later) and a really good voice for Padme. I can really see/picture her in this fic, her dialogue and internal thoughts have a nice flow to them, and there's a sort of... there's something happy and fun, even in the middle of the angst, about this story, the kind of thing that reminds me of the original Star Wars movies. I wish there'd been more written for this, I'd have liked to have seen where it was going, but I think it stands pretty well on its own, as long as you don't mind that it's unfinished. It sucked me in a lot faster than I was expecting and, before I knew it, I'd read 13,000+ words of the thing, which I hardly ever do anymore. (Some Anakin/Padme, but it's only half the point.)
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Gundam 00 - [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - This is going to be another tough one to describe why I fell for it so hard, except it's... well, the art is really solid, even with the oekaki art, you can see that the artist has a lot of talent and keeps the spirit of the anime style. But it was also that it'd been awhile since I'd seen any Allelujah/Tieria art and this site hit me with that right away, some really polished art for them and I was weak. There's some good Allelujah art all over the site, there's a stunning female Allelujah illustration in particular, there's some really nice Tieria art and it was just. A solid site all the way around. It's actually a lot more balanced than I make it seem, I just gravitate to certain things, okay. XD (A little Allelujah/Tieria, Lyle/Anew, but a lot of gen, too.)
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Gundam 00 - Endressi [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - asd;lkfjasl;kj oh christ. I was charmed by the art right away, it's sort of rounded and cutesy and almost the kind of art you'd find in a fairy tale book. (Idk what it is with my associations either, shut up.) And then I got to the Lockon/Tieria Alice in Wonderland illustration, with Lockon as the Mad Hatter and Tieria as Alice and just. asld;kfjasl;kj this site loves me okay. There's a lack of pissy-faced Tieria, so this may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy an artist being mean to him out of love and lots of snuggling with Lockon and a fair amount of Tieria in a skirt, then this is the site for you. And I really, really enjoy those things. ♥ (Lockon/Tieria, some gen.)
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Gundam 00 - AR* [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - I admit that the earlier art on this site is a little bit shakey, but I'm glad I stuck with the site because it sharpens up pretty quickly and the artist's watercolors style gets kind of really cool to look at. With the most recent art there's a lot of detail and sharp lines to each illustration and the colors are really pretty. It's a nice change from the usual style of art (not that I don't love that style, too) and interesting to see something different for once. I'm especially fond of the Meisters art, of course, and any time Tieria's in a skirt I heartmark violently ♥ but I really wound up enjoying everything on this site. It's especially a good site if you like a variety of characters or if you're looking for slightly rarer character focus (there's a lot of really nice Graham art here in the Union section) or just want to see an interesting style. I really liked this site a lot. <3 (No real warnings/pairings that are consistent. Maybe a smidge more Billy/Graham than usual.)
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Gundam 00 - TAO [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - I wound up really liking the art style on this site. There's a certain style to it, very sharp and very pretty colors that are blended in an interesting way, which makes some really cool looking pieces. The site mostly focuses on the Meisters, but occasionally other characters as well, but I love the group illustrations best. Or maybe the Lockon ones best, the artist seems especially good at drawing him. It's one of those sites that's really solid and I think would have something for very nearly everyone, it's not the same old style as always, but it's still tradtionally pretty. ♥ (No warnings/pairings.)
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Gundam 00 - ESplus [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - Well. One of the fastest ways to get me to cave on a site is to give me Tieria art, especially when the style is very slick and polished, very anime-cel-style and smooth, and then give me Allelujah/Tieria. I'm so weak to that pairing, despite that I don't actively ship it, I don't even know why. (Oh, wait, yes, I do. I'll ship Tieria with anyone. The same applies to Setsuna/Tieria or Ribbons/Tieria or whatever.) But this artist really does have some lovely stuff and I'm fond of the Allelujah/Hallelujah (half of the time which I don't distinguish between anymore) with Tieria stuff, I won't lie, Hallelujah/Tieria would be kind of hot. Even the sketches on this site are really well done! A very solid, very pretty site, if not tremendously huge. I totally want more from this artist. <3 (Allelujah/Tieria, some gen.)
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Gundam 00 - EUICHI [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - This is another site where I started with the older work and clicked my way towards the newer stuff so that I could see the artist's progress over time and I'm glad I did it that way, I think. Also, it allowed me to start off with a cute group illustration and then hit a few Allelujah/Marie images, one of which was the two of them with modern weapons, Marie with gunsssss. Oh, man, that's all it took, because black suits + guns + tiny little thing = badassery is a huge weakness of mine. Plus, the Allelujah/Marie art was often gorgeous and the artist improved even on that over time and there were a couple of super pretty Tieria illustrations and some really awesome group images and even more art on the blog and just. I loved this site a lot. (Half Allelujah/Marie, half gen.)
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Gundam 00 - enCode [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - This is one of those sites where the basic lineart is solid and the lines are smooth and I liked them all right, but it wasn't until the artist added in some color to some of the illustrations that I got really impressed. The current top illustration (the one this banner is based off of) is especially fantastic, Setsuna's eyes and the way the glow trails off them is lovely. And, again, I'm not particularly fond of the pairing, but pretty art (especially the current stuff) is pretty art and I'm easy. It was a solid, fun site and I'm glad I stumbled over it this morning. (Half Lockon/Setsuna, half gen.)
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Tales of the Abyss - NontyRoom [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - You know, I keep thinking that I'd have found all the Asch/Natalia-friendly sites by now! And it's not that there's a ton here, but the site does have a couple of illustrations for them. The art is very shiny, very CG and brightly colored and kind of slick and stylized and isn't going to be for everyone, but... the artist is totally one of my people, there are so many of the ships I've become really fond of. Asch/Natalia and Luke/Tear and Sync/Arietta and even Ion/Anise art! And a decent amount (considering how much art is here) of Natalia art! It's not perfect, it's very stylized and that's not going to work for everyone, but I was totally charmed and wanted more. (Smidges of Asch/Natalia, Luke/Tear, other het, and some gen.)
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Tales of the Abyss - [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - ....well, apparently I really am in the mood for ToA art again this morning. And I feel like I've seen some of this art before, but I may have been browsing elsewhere and finally just stumbled over the artist's page. Though, some of this Asch/Natalia art looks really familar. But, well. If it is a re-rec, it's totally worth it because the artist has some darling stuff. The colors are these bright, slick cg style and the lines are clean and smooth, with nicely polished lines. And then there are CHIBIS THAT ARE SO FREAKING CUTE. I was delighted by the focus on the ToA girls without being exclusively about them, I loved that there was a solid amount of Asch/Natalia and how cute it was. And there's SO MUCH CUTENESS on the log pages, the little oekakis and the little series of doodles for Natalia and Luke trying to talk to Guy about what to get Asch for a present and MOAR OEKAKI. And just. Ugh. It's ridiculous how much I am in love with this site. ♥ (Asch/Natalia, some gen.)