astridv

Tearing myself away from book two of the Hunger Games long enough to post my rec of the day...
No More Mr. Nice Guy by cornerofmadness (FMA)
1100 words; PG-13; characters: Roy, Al, Riza; genre: post-manga/friendship
... in which Al comes to Roy for advice.

"I don't even see why being sweet is a bad thing," Al huffed.
"It's not, Al. Not at all. You're a delightful young man, and I'm pretty sure it's not your easygoing nature that's the problem. You spent your formative years in a very unique condition. You're still learning to relate to people again, and your biggest influence in learning to talk to women has been your brother. Let's face it, that was not helpful."

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I have a half-finished pencil drawing of Teyla & co riding a hippogriff-thing, but every time I tried to finish it I got drawn back to my book. Maybe tomorrow will be productive. I think my real work won't get here before Monday so I will have time for crack fanart.

Or I guess I could work on my two original projects. Fanart is just very alluring.

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But at least I'm making progress with my Japanese. I'm re-reading fma on and off and I can finally read it without consulting the English translation. That's a really good feeling! Took long enough!

Another story from this year's fma_ladyfest that I much enjoyed:
Five Books Sheska Read by bookelfe and genarti (FMA)
Gen; Rating: G; Characters: Sheska, Hughes, Fokker, OCs; 4227 words
Summary: Sheska reads everything she can find, but some books mean more than others.

Dane Major books aren’t even that short, but it only ever takes Sheska about an hour to finish one. They just go so fast. As soon as the men of Squad 405 -- Blaze Delta and Ray Sargent and Sinclair “Snipes” Hardwick and all the rest -- get out into the field, it’s all spies and close encounters and heart-pounding shootouts in the brush and last-minute daring rescues and there just isn’t any way you can possibly stop until you know they’re all okay again.

Family Business by cornerofmadness (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Roy/Riza, Roy/OC; PG-13; pre-manga; 6272 words
Summary – Roy is learning just how dangerous the family business can be.

Intriguing piece of backstory, in which young Roy gets initiated into Chris Mustang's business (not the bar, the other one).

Hard To Keep Track of You (The Fake Empire Remix) by likeadeuce (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Maes/Roy, Maes/Gracia, Roy/Riza subtext; Rated Mature (but I'd call it R-PG13, myself); 11,166 words
Summary: When Maes Hughes reconnects with Roy Mustang at the end of the Ishbalan War, he gets more than he bargained for. But then, when you get involved with Roy, isn't that what you bargain for? (Based on volume 15 of the manga)

Post-Ishbal, Maes has a mystery to solve. Wonderful portrayals of the trio. A snippet:

Roy looked down at Hughes' hand. "You're right. I should try to appreciate being human again." Then he pulled away, lay down on his back, and took a swig of whiskey. Putting the bottle down, he said, "That's literal, by the way. Now that we're out of the war zone, I'm officially classified as 'personnel' instead of 'equipment'."
"Alchemists are equipment?"
"Technically, weapons. It's an accounting measure or . . .maybe it's actuarial. I forget the difference. When High Command is running the numbers, maybe a transport vehicle is worth the lives of five men. An artillery cannon could be worth fifty. Your average alchemist? A hundred men. Your friend Mustang, the Flame Alchemist?" He handed the bottle back to Hughes, and said, "I get five."
"Hundred?" Hughes choked out.
"Indeed," said Roy. "It's insulting, right? You'd think at least a thousand good Amestrian kids would have to die before they let anything happen to Mustang. These are Amestrian lives, understand. They must have one for Ishbalan lives, but who's gonna ask to look at that balance sheet?"

To further celebrate my newly discovered multifannishness: 10 recs from 10 fandoms.
fic recs:
It's All So Clear to Me Now by fools_game (Leverage)
PG; Parker POV, background Alec/Eliot and Nate/Sophie
Summary: Parker sees more than some people think.
Strong team/family vibe, great Parker voice!

The first time she fell asleep at Hardison’s she woke up scared out of her brain and nearly took Eliot’s eye when he came to wake her. Because she’d fallen asleep on the couch, and when she woke up she was in an unfamiliar bed, under the blankets, with no shoes on. She’d fallen asleep with other people around. They’d moved her while she slept, and she hadn’t noticed, hadn’t even stirred, and she freaked so hard she was fleeing through the lobby before she realised she was barefoot, and then she had to go back up to get her shoes. Alec gave her coffee as she walked gingerly back in, and there was an omelette waiting for her, and Eliot was hardly smirking at all, so she stayed for breakfast.

Come at the King by VanaTuivana (The Wire)
m/m; PG-13; Omar Little, with cameos from De’Londa Brice, baby!Namond, and Bird; pre-canon; 2,655 words
Summary: Omar Little be who he be, and ain't nobody come at him.
While seaching for Namond fic I instead found this gem and got sucked in from the very first line. Very compelling character study!

Ordo ad Fratres Faciendum by sholio (SGA)
(x-posted from genrec); PG-13; Ronon, Rodney, John, Teyla, Torren; set late S.5; 20,800 words;
Summary: A jumper crash separates the team on a wilderness planet, and they aren't alone.

"So. You and Ronon."
Rodney looked up from the video game console. "Wow, subtle."
"Are you guys, uh ..." John gestured with the game controller. He wasn't sure whether to finish with okay or fighting or capable of working together or what, so he just let it trail off into silence, though when Rodney's eyes went wide John realized that he might ought to have been a little more specific.
"We're not sleeping together, Sheppard."
"I didn't think you were!" Although it would, come to think of it, explain a few things.

Daily Mechanics by bravenewcentury (Fullmetal Alchemist)
gen; PG; Winry, Paninya;
Summary: There's a lot to get used to in a new town.
Winry and Paninya, making new lives for themselves in Rush Valley. Great friendship fic.

vid recs
Who Needs Enemies by theanonsisters (Deep Space Nine)
gen; Julian Bashir and others
Summary: Who needs enemies when you've got friends.
Smooth, elegantly cut, and most of all complex. Hm, kind of like the good doctor himself. :)

A Tall Tale by maichan808 (Big Fish (movie))
Summary: It's not the story, it's how you tell it...
Incredibly evocative of the movie. I had a major emotional response to this vid and looking at the comments I'm not the only one. Can't even put my finger on the mechanics of it.

Teal'c P.I. by Nibikko (SG-1)
summary: Teal'c's suggestion to Martin Lloyd in episode "200" for a Jaffa detective television series comes to life in this fan video.
Heee... pure glee in vid form!

Save Chuck (Chuck)
This is great fun to watch. It uses footage throughout the first three seasons but cut so out of context that it's practically spoiler free. I can imagine it'd make a really nice recruiter vid. Sooo... if you're curious and have no idea what the show is about, check out this vid to get an idea?
(And I can't get enough of that soundtrack, even though it gets used a *lot* in fanvids).

One Piece MMV (One Piece)
Don't know the story, but I like the effective way the manga panels are used to convey movement and time flow. And I really like the mood created by the pics and the soundtrack. Very interesting.

fanart rec
Doctor Hoo by pu-sama (Doctor Who)
All the doctors... as owls. Cute & pretty. The funny thing is, even though I never watched the show I recognized some of them, through fannish osmosis.

fic recs:
The Wicked Age by cornerofmadness (FMA)
gen; PG-13; Pinako, Chris, Hohenheim (and guest spots by little Roy); Timeline/Spoilers: set before the series, spoilers for Christmas’s relationship to Roy; 5,800 words
Summary:Pinako needs help to find something for a friend and a lady spy might just be what the doctor ordered. Written for fma_ladyfest for the prompt of ‘Pinako hanging out with Chris [...]’

This is a very entertaining story, a really fun read. Turns out Pinako, Hohenheim, and Chris make a great team. I love the spy plot and the whole atmosphere, really... and the guest appearances by li'l Roy, alchemist in training.

Chuck vs the one shot by valkrys_fic (Chuck)
mostly gen with a touch of Chuck/Sarah; PG-13; 2,037 words
Summary: Who ever said Chuck was no hero? Casey, probably :-D A little one shot with hurt and some comfort, incl. Chuck, Sarah, Casey and Ellie.

The idea isn't new; it's all in the execution. Well-done take on a standard fanfic theme, with spot-on character voices.
And really, with the way Chuck's been handling himself in the field from the beginning it's surprising something like this hasn't happened on the show yet.

fanart rec:
Tintin meets H.P. Lovecraft in this mind-bending mash-up art
To my shame I must admit that I'm only familiar with Cthulhu through fanart and the like. But, I grew up on Tintin and that artist certainly got Hergé's style down to a t! Make sure to click on the thumbs to get the larger-sized pics.

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in disobey_gravity rydra_wong linked to a fascinating climbing film: Lynn Hill on free-climbing the Nose (part 1, part 2, part 3). The third part is particularly interesting to watch, imho, even for those not familiar with the sport. It covers her 23-hour free climb of 'Nose' route on El Capitan. Very Gripping!

Mmmh, mmmetafic. These two fics make a neat recs set so I can't resist.

Star Trek: Solutions, Kirk/Spock, Spock/Uhura by tralalali
Warnings: character bashing, even though I don't think I should call it that, but to spare some people's delicate sensibilities..

why rec'd: He he he

FMA: The Beatings Will Continue by evil_little_dog
Summary: Concerned about Edward and Winry’s relationship, Alex Louis speaks out.

why rec'd: If you're subscribed to fm_alchemist and have bruises on your forehead from all the headdesking, you'll know why. ;)

In a somewhat different vein, here's a link that's been sitting in my to-rec folder for ages:
Queen of the Night Aria from Mozart's The Magic Flute
The vocals are incredible! (The really good part starts at 0:40.)

Okay, I'm about to visit the family today, and on Tuesday I'm leaving for Comic Con, and I still have to color *counts* 14 illustrations which I so wanted to finish before my vacation - but, I got the script too late and it totally screwed up my schedule. I shouldn't really be online at all, but OTOH I know I can't possibly color 14 illos in the time I have left anyway, so... whatever.

I must rec these commentfics by bookelfe!
She's written this happymaking Roy/Riza ficlet: Fullmetal Alchemist: Mustang/Hawkeye shippiness or UST, OH TWIST MY ARM )
Is there anything more adorable than these two repressed people flirting in code? I think not.

Also in the "awww" department: Al woos a Xingian princess: Fullmetal Alchemist: Al/Mei

Also great: Marcoh and Scar on their road trip, Team Mustang and Briggs. There are more multi-fandom ficlets in these posts, check them out!

I was hunched over my desk until 4:30 this morning and now MY TAXES ARE DONE. Hahaha. I did them in a day. WHOOOT!

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SGA/SG-1 fic recs:
penknife posted a great list of fic recs off the mainstream: part 1, part 2. Well worth checking out - her list covers a wide range of characters, so, something for everybody!

FMA fic rec:
responsible adults by metisket
Ed/Win (and some Roy/Riza subtext); humor; futurefic, spoilers for the end of the manga; 3,300 words

Love the style and the tone of this fic: very funny, great voices. And I really like the easy friendship between those four.
( snippet )

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I already colored the first of the two puppy pics, but I think I'll wait until I got the other one colored and then I'll put up all my Fullmetal Alchemist fanart to date in one post I can link from the comms.

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Still waiting for a script so I'm stuck work-wise, but the weather is so perfect (and I have so many ideas for fanart) that I don't mind in the least. Plus, hey, taxes are done.

And, we went to the climbing gym last night (Germany vs Ghana - we were almost alone there) and today I woke up and the back ache I had for the past few days is gone. :)

First Few Desperate Hours by bravenewcentury (FMA)
Roy/Riza, Team Mustang; R; Set after chapter 62; 5556 words
Summary: Isolation breeds anxiety, and some rather rash decisions.

Lovely story; there's such an intensity to it, a tension created just by having those two forced apart. I love how bravenewcentury writes Roy and Riza - in an understated way where a small gesture or line conveys a lot of feeling. And that's just what makes their relationship so intriguing for me in the first place.

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btw, I'm staying totally spoiler-free for FMA. I've already taken all the comms off my filter until next week, and I'll stay off LJ entirely once the last chapter hits the shelves. Please don't mention anything about 108 to me, no rumors, no emotional reactions... (even a :) or :/ can tell too much). I promise I'll do likewise.

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Coping Mechanisms by sholio (SGA)
McKay/Keller, Teyla/Kanaan, Ronon/Amelia; Rating: "PG-13? R? Very little actual sex is being had, but there's a whole lot of talking about it"; 3300 words
Summary: There's not much else to do while they're all stuck off the coast of San Francisco.

I'm still smiling just thinking about this story. It's funny and warm. And cute. And did I mention funny. And amidst it all, there are many of these lovely character moments that friendshipper does so well.

The Good Guys by [to be revealed] (SGA)
This fic comes with a poster (I hope it's okay if I snag a preview pic with my rec... it's a fitting visual representation of this story and a pic says more than words. :)

AU; gen; PG-13; team + Cadman 5,714 words
Summary: They're the good guys. Don't get on their bad side.
SGA, Leverage style. Now, I've never watched Leverage but after reading this fic I put that show on my must-check-out list because I much enjoyed the setting and the character dynamics. It's cool to see the team meet in a completely different setting. The chemistry is great, the backstories intriguing (and Cadman makes a great addition to their group).