Burned out on Harry Potter, until the next movie, at least!
I've had a kind of hobby for a long time now, after I tired of buying fanzines and being disappointed with the contents, of creating my own "zines" out of stories I really like, adding pictures & coverart, & comb binding them with my own supplies/comb binding machine. It was a lot cheaper than "commercial" fanzines, and ensured that I liked all the content! Unfortunately, I've also thrown a lot of these "zines" out over the years (due to space considerations), and now that I've signed up for Amazon's Cloud Drive & started backing up my files to the cloud, I've discovered that I don't even have e-copies left of many of them. I'd even lost Oklahoma, the angst-filled Mulder-as-profiler vs serial killer-hooked-on-T.S. Elliott, X-Files novel that was the very first fanfic I ever read online. What happened to all of them? were they on floppy discs that went bad before I could transfer them to a more durable medium?
Thank goodness for the Wayback Machine -- I was able to recover Aoe's wonderful Weiss Kreuz novels. Others are still readily available & I'm working my way through my inventory of authors/stories to try to re-create all the missing novels/collections & then upload them to Cloud Drive. I'm grateful that at least I was wise enough to grab Tritorella's stunning Weiss Kreuz masterpieces, Zerbrochen & Geheilt, before they disappeared off the Net (not even the Wayback Machine can access them now). They were among the first things I uploaded to Cloud Drive.
While working on this project, I realized that I'd been neglecting many many fandoms in favor of Harry Potter lately, and that, really, I was burned out on Harry Potter. Everything was starting to sound like that other story I'd already read! So I've been visiting neglected websites (including the much-maligned FF.net) & have found some worthwhile new stories (at least, new to me). Spoilers ahead!
Hazard Pay by LilyMoon'sAlias is a satisfying Cloud/Reno post-FF7AC fic, with a little bit of action vs some minor players still harkening after Reunion. Reno has been assigned by Rufus Shinra to guard Cloud's back as he has heard he's in danger (Cloud is useful; there's no friendship behind this). Reno makes the mistake of not telling Cloud why he's tailing him around. So when their relationship heats up & Cloud finally finds out Reno's assignment, he is not happy about the deception. I'm enjoying all LilyMoon'sAlias' titles. She also writes Weiss Kreuz fics -- I'll try them next.
Handle with Care by XpaperplaneX is a sad but also a little funny and a little hopeful FF7 AU fic. Sephiroth, who helped destroy Jenova at Nibelheim & sustained severe brain injuries as a result, mistakes young Cloud Strife for a chocobo toy & doesn't want to give him up because (a) Shinra has virtually abandoned him (except when they want him to fight a monster) & (b) his friends have deserted him (except Zack, who was never that close). People leave, but toys never do... President Shinra insists that Sephiroth be allowed to keep his "toy". Sephiroth is dangerously unstable but still useful. Zack & Reno's Owner's Manual for the Cloud Toy is a hoot. Cloud never becomes a SOLDIER in this but he doesn't need to -- he has his own strength & becomes Sephiroth's protector. (There's no sex, which would be seriously squicky with Sephiroth so child-like from the brain damage!)
Nekojita is still updating her FF7 Game series, which is fabulous if you've never read it. How she can make Rufus Shinra & Reno be simultaneously absolute bastards & incredibly hot takes real talent ! Rufus is utterly ruthless, ambitious, unethical & sadistic. His only redeeming virtues are a) he isn't as bad as his father, b) he's loyal to the Turks, and c) he loves Reno (eventually). Reno is an adrenaline junkie, a guttersnipe, completely amoral, sarcastic, driven, just as ruthless as Rufus, and a masochist. He enjoys torturing people (who've tried to kill his boss/lover). His only redeeming virtues are a) his absolute loyalty to the Turks and Rufus Shinra and b) he loves Rufus (again, eventually) and would die to protect him. They fight like cats. They fuck beautifully. The fact that two so deeply flawed human beings are capable of such profound love for one another is astounding & one of the things that hooks you on this series. And wow! Just wow! The sex is smokin'! You can feel your own ethical standards fly out the window when you read these stories -- you can't help but root for every twisted scheme they come up with . This universe just sucks you in!
In my surfing, I found a link to this, which really makes me wish I had a Playstation!
Thank goodness for the Wayback Machine -- I was able to recover Aoe's wonderful Weiss Kreuz novels. Others are still readily available & I'm working my way through my inventory of authors/stories to try to re-create all the missing novels/collections & then upload them to Cloud Drive. I'm grateful that at least I was wise enough to grab Tritorella's stunning Weiss Kreuz masterpieces, Zerbrochen & Geheilt, before they disappeared off the Net (not even the Wayback Machine can access them now). They were among the first things I uploaded to Cloud Drive.
While working on this project, I realized that I'd been neglecting many many fandoms in favor of Harry Potter lately, and that, really, I was burned out on Harry Potter. Everything was starting to sound like that other story I'd already read! So I've been visiting neglected websites (including the much-maligned FF.net) & have found some worthwhile new stories (at least, new to me). Spoilers ahead!
Hazard Pay by LilyMoon'sAlias is a satisfying Cloud/Reno post-FF7AC fic, with a little bit of action vs some minor players still harkening after Reunion. Reno has been assigned by Rufus Shinra to guard Cloud's back as he has heard he's in danger (Cloud is useful; there's no friendship behind this). Reno makes the mistake of not telling Cloud why he's tailing him around. So when their relationship heats up & Cloud finally finds out Reno's assignment, he is not happy about the deception. I'm enjoying all LilyMoon'sAlias' titles. She also writes Weiss Kreuz fics -- I'll try them next.
Handle with Care by XpaperplaneX is a sad but also a little funny and a little hopeful FF7 AU fic. Sephiroth, who helped destroy Jenova at Nibelheim & sustained severe brain injuries as a result, mistakes young Cloud Strife for a chocobo toy & doesn't want to give him up because (a) Shinra has virtually abandoned him (except when they want him to fight a monster) & (b) his friends have deserted him (except Zack, who was never that close). People leave, but toys never do... President Shinra insists that Sephiroth be allowed to keep his "toy". Sephiroth is dangerously unstable but still useful. Zack & Reno's Owner's Manual for the Cloud Toy is a hoot. Cloud never becomes a SOLDIER in this but he doesn't need to -- he has his own strength & becomes Sephiroth's protector. (There's no sex, which would be seriously squicky with Sephiroth so child-like from the brain damage!)
Nekojita is still updating her FF7 Game series, which is fabulous if you've never read it. How she can make Rufus Shinra & Reno be simultaneously absolute bastards & incredibly hot takes real talent ! Rufus is utterly ruthless, ambitious, unethical & sadistic. His only redeeming virtues are a) he isn't as bad as his father, b) he's loyal to the Turks, and c) he loves Reno (eventually). Reno is an adrenaline junkie, a guttersnipe, completely amoral, sarcastic, driven, just as ruthless as Rufus, and a masochist. He enjoys torturing people (who've tried to kill his boss/lover). His only redeeming virtues are a) his absolute loyalty to the Turks and Rufus Shinra and b) he loves Rufus (again, eventually) and would die to protect him. They fight like cats. They fuck beautifully. The fact that two so deeply flawed human beings are capable of such profound love for one another is astounding & one of the things that hooks you on this series. And wow! Just wow! The sex is smokin'! You can feel your own ethical standards fly out the window when you read these stories -- you can't help but root for every twisted scheme they come up with . This universe just sucks you in!
In my surfing, I found a link to this, which really makes me wish I had a Playstation!
Click to view