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tomomichiSeries:
Full Metal Alchemist - 2 Fanfics
Prince of Tennis - 3 Fanfics
Ranma 1/2 - 1 Fanfic
Tsubasa RESERVoir Chronicles - 1 Fanfic
- Full Metal Alchemist - His Father's Son by Vikki - With this story... it's really the ending lines that stand out the most. The entire thing is cute and just paints a vivid picture in my head, but it's the last couple of lines that really packed the most punch for me because... because it illuminated and showed a lot of depth to Trisha, even just with the one sentiment. Which is an odd thing to fixate on, I know, but it stood out for me, somehow. But, yes, yes, lovely writing, fantastic characterization, ED AND AL SO CUTE OMG GOING TO PASS OUT FROM THE CUTE YAY, and scenarios that just come alive, rather than the half-assed scenarios I often find
- Prince of Tennis - Undertow by Emily Ravenwood - This was... you know, I'm going to suck at trying to describe why you should go read this, because it's such a... building thing, it's really part of a larger arc that's going somewhere that you don't necessarily see in any one installment. You see pieces and each builds a little more on the last and I really like that in an author, much less in a TezuAto author since so few write them. But, with this story, it's also the interaction between the other characters, the insight into Hiyoshi's character while, at the same time, giving further insight into Tezuka and Atobe. The whole entire... atmosphere around their continued matches at the street courts, WHY Atobe is doing what he's doing, Hiyoshi's puzzling things out, the snarking/reactions of the Hyoutei and Seigaku regulars, the things you realize about the characters while reading, all these things added up to a wonderful fic that's both fun on its own and for that overall arc that I keep going on and on and on about. XD Plus, eeeeeeeee, flirting, in a style that I can believe for both characters, given that at least one of them isn't exactly the type to usually put on a display. XD (TezukaAtobe, but very lightly, it's only half about them, it's half about Hyoutei, too.)
- Prince of Tennis - Transpose by Emily Ravenwood - I suppose I really ought to be bundling these up together, since Transpose is the fourth in the arc and Undertow is third, but... enh. I read at an odd pace, so I'll rec when/what I feel like. ^_~ The author calls this Porn With Insights and I like that description here, because it fits--yes, there's smut and it's HOT. But it's only half because it's hot smut, it's also half because there's a certain understanding to the characters, not so much the way they think, but the way they feel, the things that are nearly beyond words, those vague sensations that I have such trouble putting into words myself. Which is one of the things that impresses me when an author can do it without being pretentious; when they can get across that feeling of of a raging storm without degenerating into nothing but cliche descriptions. This was... there was atmosphere to it. Plus. You know. Pretty smut. I always like that. XD (TezukaAtobe, R-rated content.)
- Prince of Tennis - A Surprise Birthday Party, Data, Rules Of The Game, End If, Loop, and Distances by Sai - (Note: I've rec'd Rules of the Game before, but it wasn't until later that I realize it was part of an arc--though, it can stand on its own--and I wanted to rec the entire thing.) This isn't meant to be an insult to a lot of the Tenipuri fandom, because I rarely READ much anymore, which is my own fault, not the fandom's. But... I so rarely get to read clever and sparkly Tenipuri fic anymore. And what I love about this is that Sai manages to write both FUNNY situations and CLEVER situations, but also that she writes scenes that have a deeper meaning. She doesn't have to hit the reader over the head with it, you just GET IT. The characterization is subtle and evolving, just... almost with a sense of delicacy in some ways, but it's perfect for these characters, because some characters in Prince of Tennis are as subtle as a freight train and some... just aren't. I love this series of fic and have come to realize that I'll pounce on pretty much anything the author writes, so everyone else needs to go read and love her work, too. *nodnod* (Some very light Tezuka/Fuji and maybe a little Oishi/Eiji in one of them.)
- Full Metal Alchemist - Sunday by dana - Every so often, a fic comes along in the FMA fandom that just leaves me... it's not quite sated, but more a feeling of... happiness because something was written so smoothly and... well, this is going to sound sappy, but it was heart-warming. Not in a dippy, sappy, saccharine sort of way, but just gently warm and there is so NOT ENOUGH OF THAT IN THIS FANDOM. It was the kind I could believe, the kind that left me feeling happy, and more than anything, that's what I take away from this fic, because I treasure that feeling. That said, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Roy surfs! I feel like I shouldn't care for that idea, but it just WORKS here and the way Ed reacts, the way he's so... vibrant in his own way here... it's all just something I can SEE and I LOVE IT. Beautiful characterization, gorgeous writing, and just a hint of lime that all deserve a far, far better rec than this, but you WILL GO READ IT ANYWAY. Yes, it deserves my caps lock key getting stuck multiple times like that. Shut up. (Roy/Ed, maybe a PG-13 rating.)
- Ranma 1/2 - Ill Met by Starlight by Susan Doenime and Mike L. - This is one of those fics that I've been aware of since my original quick trip through the Ranma fandom, but never quite got around to reading until now... probably largely because it is such an incredibly long fic. Not the longest out there, but DAMNED long. And once I started on it... it was one of those fics that I just could not put down--I read the first half of it one day (note that it's over a MB long, so it's incredibly rare for me to sit still long enough for that, much less in one day) and only stopped because I had to go to bed. I picked it back up again yesterday morning and just could not stop reading, that's how well this story pulled me into it. Now, first I'm going to mention a couple of crits I had for the story--the ending felt a small bit rushed, like it could have been paced a bit bitter and at least one character's death felt like it was thrown in just for shock value rather than because she genuinely had to die.
That said, they're incredibly minor nits in the grand scheme of this fic, because... just... wow. First of all, the writing is fantastic, the kind of makes-my-teeth-hurt-to-read it fabulous writing, which is often times what I require of Ranma fic. Second, the characterization is just so incredibly tight that I boggle in amazement at it--Ranma especially is just... this is a different Ranma from the one we're used to, this one is quite insane. But the way he was done? I can still see Ranma in there--this one uses his head more, is more aware of the skills he has beyond martial arts and is aware and uses that charisma he has. Which is an amazing thing to see here--he still has that... that... sense of, well, charisma to him that's such an essential part of the character for me. You can't help but notice Ranma, you can't help being drawn to him.
The other thing is the way the psychological thriller stuff (if you read the author's notes at the end, they mention that, yes, the fic is dark, but it's more of a psychologicial thriller, which I agree with) is just... genuinely creepy. Ranma is SCARY here, genuinely and truly. Not just because he's strong, but because he's so charismatic and can turn everyone else against you, because his mask is so flawless that sometimes I wondered what was real and what wasn't. Even as a reader I was still in doubt about him, about how "evil" he really was. And, finally, the real heart of this story for me? Ranma and Akane's relationship. Because Ranma is different, the relationship itself is a little different, surprisingly (and yet not surprisingly) gentler and closer than their canon selves--these characters are just as in love/more in love and a lot closer and rarely fight because of the way Ranma is different. Yet, at the same time, it's still THEM, it's still that same spark and chemistry that is Ranma and Akane and what kept me so absolutely enthralled with this fic. This is a terribly long rec and not exactly very coherent, but I had to mention all those points because they were all the things that immediately jumped to mind about what I loved with this fic, it was that well-done. Go reeeeeeeeeead it. +___+ (Ranma/Akane, very dark themes, some deaths.)
- Tsubasa RESERVoir Chronicles - untitled by Vikki - I have only gotten into the middle of chapter 16 as I rec this fic, but that was far enough to get a sense for the characters and to know that Fye amuses me and that I kinda like Kurogane. And this fic... was perfect for me, because it isn't really set in any particular world they're in, doesn't really have any spoilers, and was just FUN. Fye was perfect (given that this was from Kurogane's POV) and Kurogane... was just... I hesitate to use the word with him, lest he consider killing me worth the loss of strength, but he sparkled here. ^_~ The little details about the coffee and the pansy people who drank it were genuinely funny, his reactions to Fye were funny and sparkly, and the very, very, very faint hints at Maybe Something More Maybe Not were just perfectly balanced--it didn't push them too far, but it didn't just sit and spin its wheels, either. Much luff. ♥ (No real pairings/warnings.)
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Date: 2004-05-08 09:25 am (UTC)*hauls self out of silly fangirl mode*
Hey, not to worry about bundling the stories together. Position in the arc is the first thing in all my labels; any reasonably alert reader will see it. I squee and giggle alarmingly (at least my cats give me weird looks) whenever you think one of my stories deserves a rec, whatever order it's in. *hearts*
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Date: 2004-05-10 01:01 am (UTC)Awww! *is all warm and fuzzy now* I admit, it does make me dorkily happy when I can give an author a bit of an ego-stroking, because they deserve it
and a well-fed author will write more for me. ^_~ But, seriously, *glomps* I really do enjoy your writing and I can't thank you enough for writing a good, long Tezuka/Atobe arc-type story, because that just does not happen nearly enough. (Of course, I also think Tezuka/Fuji isn't written enough, so you can tell how demanding I am. ^_~) *sparkles* XD