frog princess

Nature nurture by devikun Hakkai/Gojyo - a very good take on youkai Hakkai.

Most youkai Hakkai stories I've read, in fact maybe all, have him not doing anything very much when his limiters come off, by which I mean not turning into an unhinged killing machine, and I can fully see the reasoning for this. The two times he does take them off, he *does* become very violent, but only for the purposes of protection and rescue, leaving the people he loves unharmed. I just wonder how much Hakkai knows about his youkai self. Either he really is a danger to everyone with his limiters off, or he just thinks he is, which is very sad. He's scared he might hurt his friends, but he never does, or at least hasn't yet. I did originally mean to make some sort of point at the end of this but I've forgotten it. I should probably get some coffee down me.

Sanzo/Gojyo comic strip - by uberdomkumagoro. Not worksafe, but very very funny. You have the comm friended to see it.

I'm very behind on my reading, but here are a few things wot I have enjoyed recently:

Teine Coisrigte by karose, Yakumo/Sanzo. We don't get to see Sanzo the devout priest much, but we should, because he must've been once. Also, Yakumo!

Part 5 of Ranma!Saiyuki from emungere. Gojyo as a girl, experimenting. Warning: contents hot.

Taboo by mistressrenet Sanzo/Hakkai/Gojyo. This is just so perfectly them.

hydr0phobia makes some interesting points about Sanzo and Goku here

And, and, something about Gaiden I've never understood ( ... )

I spent a goodly part of the weekend licking my Due South Call of the Wild dvd and ( loving it )

Talking of which, cesperanza's A Dare's a Dare. Fraser/RayK [eta - this link's timing out for some reason, even though it's proper]. This is just so well done-- the way things are said and not said between Ray and Fraser, the partial playacting of Fraser's drag while at the same time the sense of it being also completely in earnest. Wow, yes.

Bone and Aristide's Unguarded Protectorate - Fraser/RayK, rated NC-17. Someone shows an interest in Fraser and it forces Ray to accept his own feelings. This is long, and really quite painful at the start, but it builds up tension wonderfully and the sex is very intense.

Insta- rec: Dawn by hibem, Sanzo/Hakkai/Gojyo, NC 17. Really great fic - and very hot.

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In other news, a kind person directed me to Otaku.co.uk, where Saiyuubito can be ordered for the princely sum of £17.99 included postage, so I'm very pleased indeed. It seems incredibly cheap, although they say delivery can take from 2-8 weeks.

Worldcon: I know I need to shift my backside and get in touch with various people and give out my name and mobile. I'll be at the Thursday night get together though, so names and numbers can be swapped there. Tomorrow I must buy a piece of luggage, find something nice to wear *shakes fist at creator of peasant style skirts*, get train tickets, go swimming, pack, email piles of work to colleagues and generally thrash about in a disorganised way.

But! I have not forgotten my ficlet challenge. I doubt if I'll have the opportunity to post anything until next Tuesday, but I'm still very inspired and happy with all your lickable, shiny ideas, so if not this week then next week.

Fanart: Jin in a wooly bobble hat. Too cute for words.

A funny rant on the wonders of Samurai Champloo fanfic cliches.

Tokyopop are releasing the manga of which there are two volumes so far (I think) in November, so yay.

Some enjoyable SC fics:
Possibilities by w175n57. Gen. Brilliant. Devastating in a quiet way. Spoilers for end of series.

Two Manners by keraha. Jin/Mugen, R. The writer says this is bad, but I think it's very good. Jin's POV and suitably weird and closed off. Jin and Mugen are just such-- guys in this.

Pursuit of Happiness by Halrloprillalar, gen. Sweet, funny and Fuu is done brilliantly.

Rolling the Dice by Magpie, gen. Also spoilers for end of series.

Two Sides of a Coin by trinityhelix, Jin/Mugen, NC-17. I enjoyed this, although in parts it felt slightly disjointed.

Bruised by emungere. Jin/Mugen, NC-17. Intense, very sensual- sex as part power struggle, part lust with hints of deeper emotions too.

Wait in Vain by arafel, Jin/Shino. Shino waits for Jin to come back for her. Romantic, not at all sappy.

Things wot I have liked recently:

First date daegaer's Discworld/Weiss Kreuz. Farfarello has a date with Death. Literally.

Saiyuki
Ranma/Saiyuki xover by emungere. Girl Gojyo!

Ni/Bunny also by emungere. Wonderfully perverted, just like Ni.

Black Coffee Leaves a Bitter Taste by drworm, Ni/Hwan implied. More bunny antics from Ni. Gets his creepiness very well.

Untitled snippet by baka_gaijin, Jien/Gojyo. This really made me think about how skewed Jien's views about incest would be-- very well written too.

Impalement by karose, Gojyo, Sanzo and the Kama Sutra. A thing of beauty.

Hoping's Very Fears by xeriah. Gojyo/Hakkai, NC-17. AU WIP that does the Gojyo-as-prostitute thing well.

Five things that happened afterwards by permetaform. This has a gorgeous mood to it and lovely imagery that somehow manages to be both clear cut and dreamy at the same time. Very pretty.

Breathe by nekonexus. Hakkai wants to move in with Gojyo and Gojyo has his doubts. I really enjoyed how this deals with the uncomfortable dynamics and tension between them at that time.

I'm doing Saiyuki recs for try_this_fic this month and it's made me realise how pairing-centric my reading truly is. Not that I mind.  Only, I want to rec a range of stories that might appeal to different tastes, which is tricky if I don't read Sanzo/Goku much or other, rarer, pairings.  I feel bad about just wanting to rec all the Hakkai/Gojyo stories I have ever loved, ever. Which is a long list.

Angel season 5 - I just finished watching it all and whu?? It... with the things and Fred and it and then they --submarines-- and Wesley and Lyndsey then... it ended! *head spins*

I loved it, felt weird about it, thought some of it was plain stupid and mostly desperately fucking wish they'd made series six.

In other news I'm only holiday all this week, so rejoice with me! Earlier this week I optimistically invested in a new bikini, a stylish reclining sunlounger and a large bottle of Pimms and finally the BBC says the sun is actually going to come out, so yay.

It's so strange how inspiration arrives. I had a image of Sanzo's bare feet. Just, you know, being feet, not doing anything lewd or anything and suddenly I need to write something about them, or about him and his little personal habits-- mindless tasks like getting dressed and all those little comforting sensations and habits people take for granted and never really think about. I'm sure the manga showed him wearing little black ankle socks once. Actually, this might be where the idea came from originally.

It's been a long week, but Friday night makes it all better. Seeing as how it was payday today I bought the three first volumes of Gravitation manga. It's pure entertainment. I hope to make a start on the drabbles tomorrow. My brain is in no fit state to deal with them now, but considering some of the requests I got cough*metaphorical camel-fucking*cough,  that might be a good thing. Oh god, O-Zone has come on random play!

Some recs:  I realised I have over 250 entries in my memories, more than a hundred of which are other people's fics, so here's a small amount of them.

Bargain Breakfast by daegaer. Ford Prefect attempts to sell his soul to Crowley. Just hilarious.

Saiyuki

Hope by cephy, Hakkai/Gojyo, PG 13. Just... lovely. I can really imagine their first time being like this - cautious and understated but, you know, really good. This was written for me because I asked for it on the fic_on_demand comm.

Of Exotic Baths and Bored Bodhisattvas by tj_dragonblade, Kenren/Tenpou/Goujun, NC17. Thank God, or someone,  for Heaven's deserted bathhouses.

Switch by scribblemoose, Hakkai/Gojyo, NC17. Beautifully written smut and gorgeous characterisation.

Oh yeah, GIP! My new Spaced icon, for those all important research jobs.

It's a holiday day today in the UK. I woke at 7.30am but still feel groggy, and there's something not right with my stomach. Ugh.  It's cloudy outside and cool, but the garden needs doing and so do other domestic things, like the washing up and the windows. Brain not in gear yet. I also have the next four days off, so that's a huge relief. I'm not planning on going anywhere, apart from London one day,  because I just want some time to do life-and-brain-organising type things.  Oh, and the sun had just come out! *feels instantly better*

Apart from the domestic, my notebooks are backing up with a number of half finished stories and for a while I've had the unpleasant feeling that they're all slipping away from me.  I'm getting all tied up about which one to finish first and I desperately want to finish them and also wirte some new ones. Like: on 100_roadtrips, for the flowers theme, someone mentioned how hard it was to write non-angsty flower fic (although ranalore managed it:-). Someone else said that it would be even harder to write a non-angsty Saiyuki story about a rainy night. I love that idea with a passion, but as yet haven't had any inspiration on how to achieve such a thing.

Also, not exactly a GIP, but mistressrenet answered my prayer for a scowling tempestous beauty!Sanzo icon. XD

Anyway, moving on, some quickie recs from Remix Redux 3:

Harry Potter

Oh, Night and Divine -  Remus/Sirius, R. A succession of happy Christmasses, up until 1981, from Sirius's point of view, all the more poignant because you know what's coming.

Vegetables and the Weather  - Luna Lovegood and the love of radishes, G. We find out why Luna wears those ridiculous radish-shaped earrings. Very touching.

Good Omens

Boys and Girls (the Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf remix) - Crowley/Aziraphale, PG. Endlessly charming-- Aziraphale is wonderful in this.

Seven Circles To Leave Your Lover In (The Pandaemonium Remix) - Hastur/Ligur, PG-13.  A match made in Hell, and the love that dare not speak its name.  Bet you never thought a story about these two could be romantic, did you?

You don't have to be in comics fandom to revel in the cracktastic Evolution of a superhero's wardrobe by derryderrydown. See Roy Harper's costume evolve from a really rather sweet miniskirt and washing-up gloves look through the dark ages of camo chaps (!) and trenchcoat, to clingy spandex with boomerang motif!

Alternatively The Inner life of Schwarz by daegaer has crystalline tears, heroin, puppies and other scary things.

I watched an episode of Gensomaden Saiyuki last night with the US dub on it. Why does Hakkai talk like a surfer dude? Why? After the angelic tones of Akira Ishida (did I mention I'd like his voice piped into my inner ear 24/7?) it's a bit hard to take. Some of the dialogue did make me laugh though, so I think I'll persevere with it.

Flist is trying to break my brain today, again.

Good Omens fic by notassuch. Divine Inspiration To really appreciate it to its full you need to look at the image she links to at the bottom of the page.

lovelyzelda gives good brain hurt and there is the possibility threat of Care Bear/Sauron fic - hurray!

10 things I've done that you probably haven't

1. Found a ten pound note by Ken Dodd's foot and spent it at the bar. 
2. Washed my hair in a bucket in the Champs de Mars in Paris.
3. Been employed as a professional origami folder
4. Stood with Johnny Morris and watched a woman wrestle with a badger (unintentionally-- the badger was trying to escape). 
5. Seen a red squirrel
6. Lived in a Ford Fiesta for a month
7. Amassed a very large collection of vintage melamine
8. Sold jewellery on the harbour front in St Tropez
9. Stuck a hairpin into a live plug socket (I was quite young at the time)
10. Took acid in the National History Museum

My website's down for a little bit in case anyone was wondering/interested/desperately needed access to my wondrous prose - it's being moved to another server.

foreverdirt turned up an extensive collection of space art here. Moon by John Dukes McKee 1930; a 1940s moon; brass portholes and big levers in 1940;  bicycling in space in the 1950s.

Two stories that did very different things to me:
GO fic from lovelyzelda that made me laugh very much indeed.
Saiyuki fic: Poppies by Savage gardener. Hakkai/Gojyo. I find hard it to describe. Not happy, exactly, not sad either, seeming almost flat, but actually you realise it isn't flat at all. Am being very bad at describing this story - let's just say I thought it was good. The author's notes at the top are a bit distracting though.

Okay, round two with Brian Lumley's Necroscope before bed.  It's certainly not the world's best writing, but it's readable so far. The two Necroscopes are Harry and Boris. Perhaps there'll be homoerotic subtext? One can only hope. 

Quickie Saiyuki recs: Reconciled by nightfallrising is hilarious and managed to be the first thing today that got the dancing Chibi Gojyo song out of my head.  Pig-headed Cho Hakkai lives up to his name at his trial. 

Cho-sensei also by nightfallrising is lovely and angsty in a way that makes me happy, if that makes any sense at all. Sanzo/Hakkai, PG