[ Tenipuri, Naruto, OP, X, ML, FMA, DN, XXXholic/CCS, Saiyuki, ES21, UPS, G-SEED ]

[tomomichi]

Notes/Babbling: ....Ishida's going to appear in the next episode of the Bleach anime? Shit, that means I actually have to watch it, right? *grumbles* They'd better not screw his storyline up. Grrr. Also! I return (somewhat) to my FMA and Death Note loves. Thrilling. (Also, yet again, I wanted to wait until I had more, but last time I did that, it was a week and a half before I got up the energy. */ramble*)
Series:
    Prince of Tennis - 1 Fanfic
    Naruto - 1 Fanfic
    One Piece - 1 Fanfic
    X - 1 Fanfic
    Meine Liebe - 1 Fanfic
    Full Metal Alchemist - 2 Fanfics
    Death Note - 1 Fanfic
    XXXholic/CCS - 1 Fanfic
    Saiyuki - 1 Fanfic
    Prince of Tennis/Eyeshield 21/Full Metal Alchemist/Uninhabited Planet Survive - 1 Fanart
    Gundam SEED - 5 Fanart




- Prince of Tennis - Natural by mizuki - One of the things I loved so much about this story is that it captured the sense of how important tennis is to characters like Momo-chan and Ryoma, how much of an integral part of their lives it is right now, but without being overbearing about it or sacrificing the sense of character insight for it. It's also an utterly fabulous fic for the interaction between Momo-chan and Ryoma, so utterly them, each of them, along with perfect examples of their interaction. Reading a book on doubles by the dying sunlight, Momo-chan slinging a casual arm around Ryoma's shoulders, the way the cement is different from a clay court, the way you can feel Ryoma and Momo's relationship slowly evolving, even when nothing in particular really happens. Which is also so very like them. Plus, I have mad love for the ending. ♥ (MomoRyo.)

- Naruto - Fingerprints on Glass by Luc Court - I've noticed that pretty much everything of Luc Court's I've read is amazingly intense, even if I can't always put my finger on what exactly it is that makes the whole atmosphere that way. But this was an amazingly written Kabuto piece that got across this wire-thin line he had to walk, the brilliance and incredible strength of both himself and even Kakashi, lying in the bed after being injured, the way there was so much detail in the piece that made sense, given what Kabuto has to be able to do and know. Especially considering that he has to be able to leave no trace of himself, which was wonderfully worked into Kabuto's methods and thought process here. (No warnings/pairings.)

- One Piece - Newlyweds by Celeste - Interestingly enough, one of the things I liked best about this story was Sanji's interaction with Nami, because it's nice when yaoi fans can write yaoi without forgetting that Sanji has a huge, giant crush on Nami, but the two don't necessarily clash with each other, they just somehow... all manage to fit together. Add in aggrivated!Sanji, amused!Nami, not-quite-oblivious!Zoro, and some really wonderful, sparkling dialogue, and you've got a fic I really liked. I also liked the way Zoro was... er... somewhat nice? Plus, the ending line and Zoro's version of fishing really made this one worth reading. ♥ (Zoro/Sanji.)

- X - X drabble by Elihice - I dare not say too much about this fic, other than that I loved it so very, very much, I didn't see the ending coming, but it was utterly perfect and every time I reread it, I experience the same reaction all over again. ....how's that for vague, eh? (No warnings/pairings.)

- Meine Liebe - Appreciative Audience by Jan - Oh, well, what a lovely way to start the Meine Liebe fandom off--with Orpherus/Eduard smut! And not just regular smut, but good smut. Admittedly, I tend to find handjobs not not be as well-done/satisfying as often as other forms of sex, but here... here, this was wonderfully hot and intense and nicely in character. It's also not just the sex, but that it's very clearly Orpherus and Eduard here, with their surprisingly complex (given what you'd think a series like Meine Liebe would be) done justice, how wonderful the characters really are. Not to mention I had absolutely no trouble picturing this in my head, I adored the insights (the way Orpherus looked at Eduard and the note the story ended on were some of my favorites), and I mentioned that the sex was hot, yes? Okay. ♥ (Orpherus/Eduard, NC-17 content.)

- Full Metal Alchemist - Happy Families by girl_starfish - [ chapter 06 - chatper 07 - chapter 08 - chapter 09 ] - So. I won't say that I've wandered back over to the FMA fandom, because that always seems to jinx me, but I just finished reading a story that's nearly 300k so far (and I'll note that it's unfinished, but it's so well-done that I encourage reading it anyway) over a span of two days, which doesn't happen as often as I'd like. When I first read the concept of the story, an AU set in the 20s, a murder mystery in the Elric family, I was a little "...." on the concept, because I've never been big on AUs. But seeing hime1999's art for the story, I caved a little and started reading. And promptly could not put the story down, except for when I needed to sleep, because it's just so fabulously done. The FMA style and the AU setting are beautifully woven together, it feels so amazingly natural to read a story about the Elric family, about Hoenheim as a scientific researcher in England, Trisha having passed away in an accident a few years earlier, Ed and Al on the brink of being teenagers, and the rest of the FMA characters fantastically woven into various roles in relation to the family. It's something that really impressed me as extremely well thought-out, the way the relationships between the characters were preserved in this story while still making them fresh and new, it's not just copying the series, but it's staying in the spirit of it.

Then you add in that the characters are fantastically written--all of them are three-dimensional and with their own motives, which you can see even just through Roy's perspective (as he's the 'narrator' of the piece), you actually learn about them in a way that utterly makes sense for the story. And! It furthers the plot, really. Hughes invites Roy along for a trip to the countryside to investigate the possibility that Trisha Elric was murdered (despite it being ruled an accident) and as they learn more and more about the family, about their relationships and histories, about all of the secrets that are in that house, the complexities of the plot begin to layer upon each other until you realize you're in the middle of something that's astoundingly fascinating and I'm terribly curious to know just who did what.

The writing is also lovely, it does the story justice--it's not overdone, instead it's so smooth, polished, and readable that it sucked me right in. It's not just the plot that's fantastic (though, really, it would be worth reading for that alone), it's that the characters are beautifully written, the emotion in the writing very genuine, that I cared about the characters all over again, hurting for the hard times they went through. And I love, love, love that no one is really pure evil or pure good, that each of them are so very human. Even if I don't normally like AUs much, this one is just somehow done so very right that I couldn't help falling in love with it. (Character spoiler for episode 50, perhaps knowledge of them would be best, but no real plot spoilers. No pairings, either.)

- Full Metal Alchemist - Alter Series by hime1999 (& many others) - (Note: This series is entirely dependant on having seen through to the end of the anime, it will contain massive SPOILERS. This rec will also include a fair amount of spoilers, so please move along now if you'd prefer to remain unspoiled.) I imagine pretty much everyone has heard of this series by now, but I didn't get around to reading it until it was rec'd in the FMA recs comm a few weeks back and I bookmarked it to read once I'd finished the end of the anime. And, naturally, I'm utterly charmed by it because of both the fantastic, fantastic art and because of the genuinely good storytelling, but also because the concept is SO COOL. Both the way the story is being told (with pics and ficlets) and the very idea of Ed on the other side of the gate after the anime ended and how there are similar people on both sides.

It's also that there's a wonderful sense of humor to the stories (the Father's Day one is quite possibly my favorite, the ending was just so utterly perfect) and some genuinely touching moments, that make the whole thing really fascinating. There's a lot of crack that's not in the canon universe that you might want to be wary of, but the canon universe itself is really fascinating and telling a wonderful story. Plus, the art is really fantastic. I feel like I should have more to say, though, I can't really think of much. I find the concept of the Alter!Roy to be interesting and the way he's like and yet unlike the Roy of this world nicely done. I like the interaction with Ed, the friendship between them is nicely built up through the ficlets and all the heart-tugging moments they go through. The whole thing is a lot of fun, I think. Plus, pretty art. (Erm, I don't even know how to begin to warn for this one. Just... pay attention to the warnings?)

- Death Note - Black Widow by Aishuu - I spent much of last night catching up on the last twenty chapters of the Death Note manga (which is all Vikki's fault--no one listen to her when she tries to say that I was the one to bring it up) and thus I immediately had to find a little DN fic to satiate my cravings for more. One of the interesting things about my reactions to the last 20 chapters is that I honestly like Misa, so to find that Aishuu had recently written a fic about her, I immediately had to check it out. And I adore it because it captures so much of what makes Misa interesting, what makes the character work for me, that she's... she's not a genius, but she's not stupid, either. She knows certain things, knows how to do certain things, and knows what she wants, which Aishuu captures wonderfully in this short fic. Really fantastic Misa piece. (Errr, nothing that you wouldn't see in canon?)

- XXXholic/CCS - WAKE by Meg - As always, Meg does wonderfully with CLAMP characters, especially CCS (and XXXholic) ones and the impact of this story was exactly what it should have been. I liked Yuuko especially, the way she was so... Yuuko, in that she wasn't nice, but she wasn't the bad kind of evil, either. All the little references (like not quite remembering names or the way she was irritated with the way things ended up) were very nice touches and it was a wonderful little Clow/Yuuko story that wasn't overdone. ♥ (Faint Clow/Yuuko in a sort of CLAMP-ish way.)

- Saiyuki - Waiting for Dawn by treneka - lazzychan was the one to find this story and happened to mention it awhile back and I had just enough time this morning to check it out and... holy shit, the cute! OMG, the pure heartwarmingly, adorable CUTE. Which was surprisingly not too far over the line, it was just... so Goku. Cute WAFF in the Gaiden timeline that still managed to nicely capture the feel of Saiyuki and nailed Goku's characterization wonderfully. Still so childish and you could see how he could be so aggrivating, but when you see it from his POV, it makes sense for the character, it makes him a wonderful little brat, and I just wanted to snuggle the kid the whole time. I loved, loved the ending, too. ♥ (No warnings/pairings.)

- Prince of Tennis/Eyeshield 21/Full Metal Alchemist/Uninhabited Planet Survive - Dog Tail [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - ....I can't believe I wound up on a site with UPS art. I mean, I've only seen the first five episodes or so, but it's enough to know that I kinda like it and enough for me to recognize the characters and be astounded that they were so pretty. The artist does light and airy lines, soft colors and it all comes together wonderfully--I am in love with her Kaoru especially. Her Prince of Tennis stuff is the kind that's all over the map (though, with a strong fondness for putting Fuji with people, mostly intra-Seigaku pairings), continuing the soft lines and bright colors that somehow really work for me. And, okay, I admit that it was probably the two Tezuka/Fuji illustrations that won me over--they're beautiful. Tezuka and Fuji with the racket between them and the looks on their face...! Or the beautiful blue shades used in the one where Tezuka has his arm slung around Fuji's shoulders? I swoon. As for FMA, her Ed is gorgeous, her Roy is gorgeous, her RoyEd is gorgeous, I really liked her Havoc/Ed stuff, that one of Roy vs Envy was SO COOL, and despite that I'm not talking as much about them, I think her FMA work might be the strongest. Though, her Eyeshield 21 stuff has some great lines and I flail over her beautiful Shin/Sakuraba. Excellently done, really. Just... the whole site is worth going through. ♥ (Lots of shounen-ai, Fuji-pairings, Shin/Sakuraba, RoyEd, HavocEd, and possibly others.)

- Gundam SEED - [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - Despite there not being a ton of art here, I just utterly fell in love with the artist's detailed CG style. The soft colors and terrific amount of detail and approach that's almost like shoujo but not... all of it worked wonderfully. It has a very... traditional feel to it, I guess. Which isn't something I normally associate with G-SEED, but when a site has a beautiful Kira/Lux over a small pond with a beautiful moon in the background illustration like this one does, I tend to forgive a lot. Also, the ZAFT boys in Christmas outfits all laying in a circle on the snowy ground... well, I forgive a lot for that, too. XD Plus, the Ashuran/Yzak illustrations were surprisingly pretty and I like sites that have a mixture of both het and yaoi. (Both het and shounen ai pairings, but no single theme.)

- Gundam SEED - cafe con leche [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - *shimmers* More Dearka/Millie fanart! ♥ It may be a little on the cutesy side for some, but I was won over when I hit the illustration of Millie spinning around while Dearka blew bubbles, like the one with Lux in the show itself. Plus, there were lots of different poses and outfits (like Dearka and Millie on the beach or in school uniforms or in other more modern clothes) and a ton of oekaki. While it's not the best art in the world, it's the kind that made me coo over it anyway because it had such love for the pairing. Plus, the artist's Dearka looks quite good--it's more of that CG style that really lends itself well to the character. <3 The kiriban illustrations are especially nice. :D (Dearka/Millie.)

- Gundam SEED - 245 [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - Oh, oh, I love this site! The artist occasionally does these illustrations where the colors are just so intense and really moving, with all these fantastic highlights in them. I wound up loving just about everything the artist did--there's this amazingly colored one of Ashuran and Cagalli leaning forward to touch each other's foreheads that seemed to use every color in existance blended beautifully together. Or the gorgeous one of Kira and Lux with their hands in each other's. But one of the special treats on this site was getting to see the truly beautiful Frey illustrations--I realize a lot of people don't like her, but I've always had such the soft spot for her, so to see truly beautiful Kira/Frey art is wonderful. Especially when it's the kind where you can just FEEL the emotion and intensity of it. Really beautiful stuff here, I adore this artist. (Lots of het--some Ashuran/Cagalli, Kira/Frey, and at least one Kira/Lux.)

- Gundam SEED - ARIEL GATE [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - I REALLY wish this artist had more SEED fanart, because she does just an absolutely terrific job with it. Plus, the second illustration on the site is one of Haro lifting Lux's skirt up to flash everyone and the PRICELESS expression on Ashuran's face. It shouldn't be so funny, but it IS. I loved it. But the real highlight of the site is that awesome CGs the artist does of the G-SEED girls--there's one of Lux in traditional clothing that's hard to believe is fanart, the style is just so utterly nailed. The handful of illustrations of the girls in their bathing suits at the beach are totally fantastic--the smoothness of the lines, the smoothness of the colors, it all looks really, really professional. And there's this one of Kira and Lux in front of a gundam suit (that looks *amazing*), one arm around her, the other clasped to her hand, where they look just... fantastic. Loved this site. So much. (Not too many pairings, but could be considered canon-friendly.)

- Gundam SEED - Ricomil [ Japanese Fanart Site ] - *fweeeee!* I have a great love of colors that are honestly impresive, that do something special with them, and the the jewel-tone CG style of this artist works well for her, because they really do look amazing, I think--especially the way they almost seem like they could start shifting and swirling together. There were a handful of illustrations in her gallery that just stopped and got me to stare; given, the art starts out a little simplistic, but by the time you get to her more recent stuff, you can see the amazing difference, how much the art has strengthened up. There's one of Kira in a white military uniform with a red cap draped across half of him that's just... it's stunning, really. For the amazing, amazing lines in it and the way the colors just make it so damned vibrant. Even if it admittedly took me a minute to get that it was Kira, it was still gorgeous. Also, the artist did have a tendency to make the boys nearly sticks, but if you hang with her long enough, she gets really good and I would LOVE to see more from her. (Ashuran/Kira.)

Comments

[riyuen.livejournal.com]

I love all of girl_starfish's FMA works - have you read "Cure All" and "Sweet Dreams?" Because they're just as enjoyable as Happy Families; they truly bring out the FMA fangirl in us all.

[tomomichi.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I haven't gotten a chance to get to them just yet, but I definitely want to! I think I went for Happy Families first because of the art attached to it and by the time I finished, it was getting a little late, so I had to stop reading for awhile. But I'm glad to hear the others are just as enjoyable! ♥

[patosan.livejournal.com]

OMG! 300k? And if you say it's well written, then I have to head over there. I'm so excited I'm bouncing on my seat. What would I do without you? I'll let you know how I liked it. I'm REALLY excited about both recs! **swoons**

[tomomichi.livejournal.com]

Pft, *grin* you'd probably get along fine in the fandom--for the most part, I'm not even reading that much anymore, I mostly depend on fics getting some measure of noteriety before I'll give them a shot. ^_~ But I do think it's well-worth reading girl_starfish's fic, because it really is one of the best plotted fics (and characterized, really) in the fandom. A lot of times, stories can feel like they're dragging by that point, but I never get that feeling with this one, it just zips right along. */fangirl gushing*

[patosan.livejournal.com]

I read it and loved it! I think her characterizations are great, but even though I do know it's from Roy's POV, I would like to see a little more on Ed - all in time, though, I think she's getting to that. It's still a wonderful fic; thanks a lot for the rec!

[beckymarie.livejournal.com]

I admit, there are times when I'd like to get inside the other characters' heads, to know what's happening with them, what they're thinking, how they view the situation, but I'm also really, really impressed with how much the author gets across just from one character's point of view. I also love that there's a mystery unfolding and I have my theories on who did what--though, I'm stumped for who the murderer is. Or what really happened with Trisha. I also have theories on Ed, though, they're more out of the blue-ish and more of the fic is necessary before I can begin to--okay, I am shutting up now, REALLY. XD;

[patosan.livejournal.com]

LOL, I don't mind :D I love discussing fics I enjoy. I think she's doing a great job with the POV, don't get me wrong, I just wish I could know Ed a little better, but I think we'll get to that ;) I am at a loss for the murderer as well, we'll have to wait and see, ne? *fidgets nervouly* I can't wait!

[abraxan.livejournal.com]

Oh. Wow. I've been following your recs for quite a while now, and I never imagined any of my fics would ever appear on your list. (Sadly enough, I didn't even realise that was me until I clicked on it and thought that the fic looked familiar. *sweatdrops*) Thank you so much - it means so much to me that you liked it, because I have so much faith in your taste. *grins sheepishly*

On a totally unrelated note - I notice that you're on somewhat of a Good Omens roll, and I wonder if you've tried Tomo Trillions? Her fic can be found here (http://www.fanfiction.net/u/40997/), but if you only have time for one, I suggest Day by Day (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/602023/1/) or Real Nice (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/470584/1/) (which are fluffycute and lovely for a rainy day).

[tomomichi.livejournal.com]

#^_^# Thank you--I know it's kind of a silly thing to get all blushy over, but it's always really flattering to hear when someone thinks my list is worth appearing on, especially given what a spastic fangirl I can be sometimes. ^_~ And, hey, you deserve it--MomoRyo is a pairing I love, but it doesn't always hook me in fic, it has to have a certain spark or cleverness to it to keep my attention and your writing definitely had it. ♥

I remember Tomo Trillions from her Trigun fic, but I hadn't been back for awhile, so I really appreciate the heads up on her GO fic! Especially pointing out a couple of stories to start with, since it's always hard to look at this big, long bio page and go, "....but where do I start?" <3<3<3