Recs - Art and fic: TDIR, FFVIII, FFIX, FFX, FFXII, Firefly, GetBackers, Good Omens
I know my last recs post was fairly recent, but my del.icio.us account has been amassing quite a few links in the meantime. Probably due to me reading more fic. If we talk on IM often, share the same flist content, share fic recommendations or you watch my del.icio.us, then you've probably seen all these before.
Fic
The Dark Is Rising
The Ascent, by Annakovsky
Characters: Barney, Will, Jane, Bran, Simon
Rating: PG, as far as I remember
Teaser: "I had a nightmare," Barney says. He feels like he's about seven years old, and he gives her a look that he hopes reminds her of him at that age. "Can I sleep over here?"
Notes: It's quite Barney-centric, which wins right there. And it has everything as I thought it should have been.
Final Fantasy VIII
After The Wall Has Fallen, by irish_ais
Characters: Squall, Zell
Rating: PG
Teaser: He remembers walking, walking, walking, walking. And he's pretty sure he remembers being dead.
Notes: This is awesome. Squall (not) going crazy.
Ghosts With Steel Shoes, by tsubaki-hana
Characters: Ultimecia
Rating: PG13
Teaser: Electric chairs make bodies bend into beautiful arches, ones that break spines and shattered wrists. Her mouth is open, she notes, but there’s no sound, and it is positively disorienting and heavy on her ears because there should be something buzzing around her head and in the shallow spaces between her ribs and vertebrae. (She could count them, one two three four, nine, twelve, twenty-four, so aware of herself she is.)
Notes: irish_ais recommended this first. It gives Ultimecia more depth, explores her a bit, and there's some lovely imagery.
It's Just That It's Delicate, by fiorieart
Pairing: Squall/Rinoa
Rating: R
Teaser: She digs her fingers into Squall's back, making him let out a hiss. "Oh my god, it's like a three-foot fall! We could die," she mocks in this high-pitched, faux-innocent voice, and he opens his eyes, glaring at her. He gathers all of her hair in his hand and holds it against the nape of her neck, causing her head to tilt back slightly as he grazes his lips over her throat.
Notes: irish_ais recced it first, again. It's just. Hee. XD Rinoa being normal, Squall being strange and making it seem like Rinoa's normalness is strange.
Final Fantasy XII
Delicate Question, by sister-coyote
Characters: Vaan, Fran
Rating: PG
Teaser: Fran blinks at him slowly, and then her ears turn outward a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Penelo's face sinking into her hands. "I should think you were quite old enough to know that already," Fran says.
Notes: I hooted. Loudly. And then had to explain to my sister exactly why.
Firefly
Making God Laugh, by puritybrown
Pairing: Jayne/Simon
Rating: R
Teaser: Simon tilts his head sideways, tucks himself neatly under Jayne's chin. He can hear Jayne's heart beating, the steady systole-diastole of a man who eats a boringly balanced diet, exercises regularly, and drinks a lot less alcohol than most of his friends think.
Notes: This is 10,000 words long and thus is out of my usual reading range. I think feywood was the one who first recced it to me, and rightly so. It makes Jayne/Simon truly believable, and all the different perspectives are great.
GetBackers
The 14 Carat Question, by Andrea
Pairing: Ban/Ginji
Rating: PG
Teaser: Schooling the smile that had crept to his lips at that look in Ginji's eyes into a cocky smirk instead, he stuck out his finger - the proper one this time - and let Ginji slide the ring on. "Yeah... let's do it." As the onlookers gawked, he grabbed the front of Ginji's shirt and pulled him to his feet, yanking him closer into a deep kiss. Ginji made a muffled sound of surprise against his lips - parted, because it was all Ban could do to keep from laughing.
Notes: I really, really love the last line.
Like A Wound, Want, by anenko
Pairing: Ban/Ginji
Rating: PG13/R
Teaser: Ban thought the Lightning Lord felt it, too--hate, and want, and despair--because he closed his hands around Ban’s neck and stepped in closer than necessary, closer than was safe. He didn’t flinch when Ban smiled, worked his hand between them, pressed hard against the Lightning Lord’s racing heart.
Notes: The formatting irritates me, but hee. Ban and Ginji, not being sugary sweet but instead a little insane.
Good Omens
Compassion (What They'll Write), by lily22
Pairing: Crowley/Jesus
Rating: G
Teaser: “Nothing to be worried about?” said Jesus. “My own Father has cast me out into the desert. I’m not allowed to eat anything! And people are going to think it’s some great event because I resisted the Serpent’s wiles when obviously it’s because I have no food.”
Notes: Because I was raised half-Christian, half-irreverent atheist, I was in two minds about reading it. I loved it. It's true to the spirit of Good Omens, and funny, and didn't aggravate the Christian side of me.
With This Ring, by daegaer
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Rating: G
Teaser: "Stop laughing! It's not funny! Take my name off that form right now! We are not married!"
Notes: I rolled around laughing. Almost literally.
Living Arrangements, by afrai
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Rating: Unrated -- from memory, about PG
Teaser: But what really hurt was that he hadn't caught Aziraphale in time. Aziraphale had fallen, and Crowley had just frozen. The world had crumbled to dust and ashes, and Crowley had done nothing.
Notes: This broke my heart. I warn you in advance. It's gorgeous and sad.
Switching Teams, by rinnington
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Rating: NC17
Teaser: “This is clearly your fault,” was the second thing Crowley said to Aziraphale, once he’d managed to locate the angel. The first thing he said was said in a language that defies the ability of any human language to attempt to articulate in sound or through alphabet, but roughly translated, meant, “What the fuck?” The second part was in English.
Notes: Bodyswap! Funny and hot too. :33
Art
Final Fantasy VIII
Edea, by enkida
Character: Edea
Rating: G
Notes: She looks so eeevil.
Final Fantasy IX
Quina, by first_seventhe
Characters: Quina
Rating: G
Notes: So cute!
Zidane and Garnet, by Aimo
Pairing: Zidane/Garnet
Rating: G
Notes: So pretty. XD
Final Fantasy X
Those Great Guardians, by raila
Characters: Yuna, Tidus, Auron, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Rikku
Rating: G
Notes: They're all so cute. XD Auron's great.
Good Omens
The Them, by glockgal
Characters: Adam, Pepper, Brian, Wensleydale, Dog
Rating: G
Notes: I love the perspective.
Crowley and Aziraphale, by kassie_opia
Characters: Crowley, Aziraphale
Rating: G
Notes: It's just so pretty.
Fic
The Dark Is Rising
The Ascent, by Annakovsky
Characters: Barney, Will, Jane, Bran, Simon
Rating: PG, as far as I remember
Teaser: "I had a nightmare," Barney says. He feels like he's about seven years old, and he gives her a look that he hopes reminds her of him at that age. "Can I sleep over here?"
Notes: It's quite Barney-centric, which wins right there. And it has everything as I thought it should have been.
Final Fantasy VIII
After The Wall Has Fallen, by irish_ais
Characters: Squall, Zell
Rating: PG
Teaser: He remembers walking, walking, walking, walking. And he's pretty sure he remembers being dead.
Notes: This is awesome. Squall (not) going crazy.
Ghosts With Steel Shoes, by tsubaki-hana
Characters: Ultimecia
Rating: PG13
Teaser: Electric chairs make bodies bend into beautiful arches, ones that break spines and shattered wrists. Her mouth is open, she notes, but there’s no sound, and it is positively disorienting and heavy on her ears because there should be something buzzing around her head and in the shallow spaces between her ribs and vertebrae. (She could count them, one two three four, nine, twelve, twenty-four, so aware of herself she is.)
Notes: irish_ais recommended this first. It gives Ultimecia more depth, explores her a bit, and there's some lovely imagery.
It's Just That It's Delicate, by fiorieart
Pairing: Squall/Rinoa
Rating: R
Teaser: She digs her fingers into Squall's back, making him let out a hiss. "Oh my god, it's like a three-foot fall! We could die," she mocks in this high-pitched, faux-innocent voice, and he opens his eyes, glaring at her. He gathers all of her hair in his hand and holds it against the nape of her neck, causing her head to tilt back slightly as he grazes his lips over her throat.
Notes: irish_ais recced it first, again. It's just. Hee. XD Rinoa being normal, Squall being strange and making it seem like Rinoa's normalness is strange.
Final Fantasy XII
Delicate Question, by sister-coyote
Characters: Vaan, Fran
Rating: PG
Teaser: Fran blinks at him slowly, and then her ears turn outward a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Penelo's face sinking into her hands. "I should think you were quite old enough to know that already," Fran says.
Notes: I hooted. Loudly. And then had to explain to my sister exactly why.
Firefly
Making God Laugh, by puritybrown
Pairing: Jayne/Simon
Rating: R
Teaser: Simon tilts his head sideways, tucks himself neatly under Jayne's chin. He can hear Jayne's heart beating, the steady systole-diastole of a man who eats a boringly balanced diet, exercises regularly, and drinks a lot less alcohol than most of his friends think.
Notes: This is 10,000 words long and thus is out of my usual reading range. I think feywood was the one who first recced it to me, and rightly so. It makes Jayne/Simon truly believable, and all the different perspectives are great.
GetBackers
The 14 Carat Question, by Andrea
Pairing: Ban/Ginji
Rating: PG
Teaser: Schooling the smile that had crept to his lips at that look in Ginji's eyes into a cocky smirk instead, he stuck out his finger - the proper one this time - and let Ginji slide the ring on. "Yeah... let's do it." As the onlookers gawked, he grabbed the front of Ginji's shirt and pulled him to his feet, yanking him closer into a deep kiss. Ginji made a muffled sound of surprise against his lips - parted, because it was all Ban could do to keep from laughing.
Notes: I really, really love the last line.
Like A Wound, Want, by anenko
Pairing: Ban/Ginji
Rating: PG13/R
Teaser: Ban thought the Lightning Lord felt it, too--hate, and want, and despair--because he closed his hands around Ban’s neck and stepped in closer than necessary, closer than was safe. He didn’t flinch when Ban smiled, worked his hand between them, pressed hard against the Lightning Lord’s racing heart.
Notes: The formatting irritates me, but hee. Ban and Ginji, not being sugary sweet but instead a little insane.
Good Omens
Compassion (What They'll Write), by lily22
Pairing: Crowley/Jesus
Rating: G
Teaser: “Nothing to be worried about?” said Jesus. “My own Father has cast me out into the desert. I’m not allowed to eat anything! And people are going to think it’s some great event because I resisted the Serpent’s wiles when obviously it’s because I have no food.”
Notes: Because I was raised half-Christian, half-irreverent atheist, I was in two minds about reading it. I loved it. It's true to the spirit of Good Omens, and funny, and didn't aggravate the Christian side of me.
With This Ring, by daegaer
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Rating: G
Teaser: "Stop laughing! It's not funny! Take my name off that form right now! We are not married!"
Notes: I rolled around laughing. Almost literally.
Living Arrangements, by afrai
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Rating: Unrated -- from memory, about PG
Teaser: But what really hurt was that he hadn't caught Aziraphale in time. Aziraphale had fallen, and Crowley had just frozen. The world had crumbled to dust and ashes, and Crowley had done nothing.
Notes: This broke my heart. I warn you in advance. It's gorgeous and sad.
Switching Teams, by rinnington
Pairing: Crowley/Aziraphale
Rating: NC17
Teaser: “This is clearly your fault,” was the second thing Crowley said to Aziraphale, once he’d managed to locate the angel. The first thing he said was said in a language that defies the ability of any human language to attempt to articulate in sound or through alphabet, but roughly translated, meant, “What the fuck?” The second part was in English.
Notes: Bodyswap! Funny and hot too. :33
Art
Final Fantasy VIII
Edea, by enkida
Character: Edea
Rating: G
Notes: She looks so eeevil.
Final Fantasy IX
Quina, by first_seventhe
Characters: Quina
Rating: G
Notes: So cute!
Zidane and Garnet, by Aimo
Pairing: Zidane/Garnet
Rating: G
Notes: So pretty. XD
Final Fantasy X
Those Great Guardians, by raila
Characters: Yuna, Tidus, Auron, Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Rikku
Rating: G
Notes: They're all so cute. XD Auron's great.
Good Omens
The Them, by glockgal
Characters: Adam, Pepper, Brian, Wensleydale, Dog
Rating: G
Notes: I love the perspective.
Crowley and Aziraphale, by kassie_opia
Characters: Crowley, Aziraphale
Rating: G
Notes: It's just so pretty.