Kotoba no Renkinjutsushi ~ 言葉の錬金術師 ~

Title: Leave No Soul Behind
Author: whochick
Genre/Pairing: Star Trek TOS/AOS x-over AU, Kirk/Spock
Story Type: Action/Plot, Angst, First Time, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Rating/Warnings: NC-17/FRAO for Sex, Abuse, Explicit violence
Summary: If you're Starfleet, you spend your whole life wishing you never see an EPAS uniform right up until the moment they become your only hope. Whether you're dying a slow, cold death in space, or a long painful one on some godforsaken planet, they're going to come for you. So count your last breaths, son, and hold on tight. They leave no soul behind.

Rec Notes:
This is the best AU Trek fic I have ever read, and I have read a shitload of fics. This is a wonderful plot-driven story with sparkling dialogue, elegant description, realistic relationships, and it's SO in-character in makes me envious (because I sure as hell can't write spirk like that). The Kirk/Spock relationship in this is wonderful in that it creates a romantic relationship without letting the relationship subsume and completely define the characters. And it's nice and LONG! My only nitpick about the fic is that the ending seemed a tad rushed. But it's a minor nitpick, because the rest of it is just that good. I think this fic is more Abrams than TOS, but as it is very AU, that distinction more is academic. Give this one a try. Srsly.

Sometimes I come across a piece of fan-creation that just leaved me stammering in awe, and this is one of them. I have never seen a more nuanced, honest, character-appriopriate protrayal of emotional intimacy, as well as nosebleed-worthy sex and genius dialogue. Nine parts and 50,000 words of pure inspiration.

It is so far the only fic I've known that successfuly addresses a concious decision among the core Four will that they will remain intact beyond the end of the series. To even attempt to promote this in a story takes more guts than I've ever had. It is handled so brilliantly that it pays homage to the canon history between the characters, while still growing them to a level beyond what is portrayed in that canon.

As soon as I finished reading this story, I reread it twice more and immediately posted this rec, and I nearly never do recs. In fact, just writing this rec has reminded me how criminaly awesome this story was. Crap. Now I'll have to go read it for a 3rd time.

Fic - Buffy the Vampire Slayer - "Only Connect"
Author: thisiszircon
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating : Adult
Timeline: Post-series. Immediately follows the close of 'Chosen'.

Good yaoi manga I've been reading lately:

Jazz
Oooooooh, I love this one. Emotional to the point of toxicity, but that's what I like. The fourth (and last) book comes out this month. I can't wait to see how they resolve all this angst. It features a doctor-patient realtionship between two emotionally f***ed-up men.

Haru wo Daiteita a.k.a. Embracing Love
Youka Nitta is a freaking GOD. I love the way she draws men. Totally beautiful without being femme. I have her artbook Kiss of Fire, which was so sublime I nearly ruined it with drool. Her sex scenes are pretty detailed, which can often be a turn off for me. From her though, I eat it up. And I marvel over the fact that a story featuring two porn stars can be so emotionally involving.

Same Cell Organism
High-school-boys-in-love and the like. The stories are cute without being corny and I really like the artwork. The story about the angel is a little strange, though.

Seven
Another one where I quite enjoyed the the artwork. The plot seemed a little shallow to me, but it was involved enough for me to enjoy it. I have a soft spot for the emotionally insecure uke, Nana.

Fake
I love the comic flavor to this one. I'm not necessarily in love with the way it's drawn, and it not as emotional as most of my truly favorite manga, but it's very enjoyable. I like relationships with some lead time, and this one has about six volumes of buildup before Dee and Ryo finally do the deed.

I'm also following Il Gatto Sul G and La Esperanca. And Loveless, of course. I'm looking forwart to reading Lovely Sick when it comes out in America. I'm also looking to get my hands on Yellow and Gorgeous Karat as well when I go down to Boston this weekend.

I saw one of the Viewfinder series on sale the other day and immediately thought of 4everinblujeans ^__^

On a totally different note, we're supposed to get slammed with 15 inches of now and 30mph winds tomorrow. *heads off to the fridge to make sure she has enough beer to last for two days*

Yuri Manga Rec: Indigo Blue

A manga by Yamaji Ebine, the Mangaka who wrote "Love of My Life" and "Free Soul." "Indigo Blue" is the story of a young, sexually conflicted writer who breaks a lot of hearts (including her own) in trying to fugure out what she wants.

Scanslated at:
http://community.livejournal.com/daily_yuri/tag/indigo+blue

Papa to Kiss in the Dark OVA
Warnings: Yaoi, incest, shouta themes.
Summary: Munakata Mira is a freshman boy in love with Munakata Kyosuke. Unfortunately, Kyosuke is 15 years Mira's senior ... and Mira's father. Or so Mira has always thought. Kind of a shallow anime with little character development or depth, but what do you expect for a two episode OVA? It has its cute moments, as well as a smattering of non-graphic sex, a bit of anxst and a good ending theme. Think of it as Yaoi anime meets VC Andrews, only without the sadistic evil.
Bittorrent link:
Subbed by Aarinfantasy
http://www.baka-updates.com/search.php?keyword=Papa%20to%20Kiss%20in%20The%20Dark%20OVA&type=title

Kashimashi - Girl Meets Girl -
Warnings: GenderBending, yuri themes
Summary: Hazumu, a rather feminine, introverted boy, has just confessed his love for his classmate. She rejects him. He goes hiking on Kashimayama to brood and have a good cry and while doing so gets whacked by a giant, phallic-looking spaceship. His body is toast. But good news, Hazumu! The aliens can make you a new body. A nice, HOT FEMALE body. Now everone from his childhood female buddy to the girl who snubbed him all want a piece of the new Hazumu. Quite angsty at times, and hillarious at others, despite the lame-sounding plot, this is an excellent shoujo-ai anime that is still in production.
Bittorrent link:
Recommending the Kaze no Koe/Doremi or Osu! fansubs. Both available at
http://www.baka-updates.com/search.php?keyword=Kashimashi%20-%20Girl%20Meets%20Girl&type=title

Currently DL-ing: Kyou Kara Mao season 1, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie

Recently watched Last Life in the Universe a.k.a. Chikyû de saigo no futari, directed by Pan-Ek Ratanaruang. Excellent film. I mean really good. Cryptic ending, but really excellent.
It features superstar Tadanobu Asano as Kenji, a Japanese native in Thailand, whose occupations include working as an assistant librarian, obsessively organizing everything from his shoes to the beer in his fridge, and trying to come up with new and innovative ways to kill himself. He is a lonely social recluse (and not because no one wants to befriend him, he just politely shuns all company) who is obsessed with the idea of suicide as a sort of transcendental journey into bliss. During one of his unsuccessful suicide attempts he meets Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak). Their meeting happens during some very tragic circumstances, which I will not reveal here. The stunning Thai native has a rather shady occupation and habits that (when compared to the obsessively fastidious Kenji) are so beyond slovenly that you think the two will end up killing each other when they arrive at her decrepit, filthy home. But instead the two spend several days growing on each other, conversing in a mix of Thai, Japanese and English, and floating towards friendship and a romantic something. That and they do cleaning. A LOT of cleaning. The film gains it's lazy sense of urgency (I know that sounds like a contradicion, but in the context of the film it makes sense) from the fact that, at the end of their weekend together, Noi will be leaving the country for Kenji's native Japan. The film is definitely not fast paced, but unlike other reviewers, I would not call it slow either. Rather it sort of floats along at a natural pace, coming to a strange-but-fitting conclusion that involves a couple dead bodies, some Yakuza and a gun pointed at a toilet.

Some things to watch for:
- The children's story "The Last Lizard." A metaphor for Kenji and Noi's relationship that explains perfectly how two dysfunctional polar opposites can come together and form a relationship that is both simple and beautiful.
- Christopher Doyle's excellent cinematography
- Japanese director Takahashi Miike's cameo as the Yakuza boss
- Kenji's monologue in the beginning of the film. It probably has more words than you hear him say in the whole rest of the film. Compare his stated reason for killing himself to the story of the lizard. Does he want to kill himself because (as he says) he wants to experience the peace and bliss of suicide, or because he is simply lonely?

This film is available on DVD, subtitled, from Amazon.com for $22.99, and can also be found (for free) by searching isohunt.com for "last life in the universe" and DLing the bittorrent file.

The fic rec:
The Ressurection of Naoe Nobutsuna
Author: Roo
Fandom: Mirage of Blaze
Pairing: Naoe/Kagetora
Rating: NC-17
OMFG! This is the best MoB fic I have read ever. Hands down. And I'm pretty sure I've read them all (at least the Naoe/Kagetora ones). It captures the hate quotient between these guys perfecty, not to mention the way the author nails the Takaya vs. Kagetora angst-fest. And It's LONG. You NEVER see long MoB fics! My single solitary nit-pick is that I have a hard time believing Naoe and Kagetora going from battle-to-the-death to knocking boots in 0.5 seconds. Even the biggest stud would want a breather (not to mention a shower) after that very intense battle scene.
Then again, the boot-knocking was so good, I was compelled to overlook that small flaw in favor of the scrumptious whole.
Just go to the bastmoon link above, head into the Yaoi section and look under MoB. You can't miss it. It's the one that has my drool all over it.

And now the Bitchrant:
Why is it that when people get put in any position that smells even faintly of management, there is suddenly a whole list of things that are "beneath them," even though those things are vital to providing basic paitent care? Why do all the time-consuming shit-jobs automatically get handed down to the shifts who have neither the staff or the time to do them while some middle-managing c*** sits there with her thumb up her ass all day?
Does anyone have an answer for me? Cause I sure as shit haven't found one yet.