Folding Fan

I am so out of the loop on everything ever, you guys. Arashi came out with a new single back in like...august? Late august, I think? And I have just now gotten around to actually sitting down and listening to it and watching the PV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4uNNTgE-6I&feature=related


( I TOLD YOU ARASHI COULD SING AND DANCE. )

Their other single, from November, was called Beautiful Days, and it was the theme for Nino's drama Ryuusei no Kizuna, which I never got around to seeing any of. I really like it, myself, but it probably wouldn't convert anyone who wasn't already a fan. It's just. A lot of Arashi's music, to me, reads a lot like a friend giving you a hug when you're having a hard time and saying "It's going to be okay. Keep trying your best, and it's going to be alright." Which is geeky in the extreme, I know, because...that's their image, and they're manufactured to be that way. But still. Their music makes me really happy. <3

New single, Believe, in March. Here's hoping it doesn't take me half a year again to get around to listening to it? *fail*

Probably y'all know the drill by now; a list of the Holiday themed fic I've particularly enjoyed (by no means an exhaustive list!) for my reference as the season goes on. You can consider this a recs list, since they're all things I loved and want to read again, and if you know of something appropriate that isn't on this list that you liked, feel free to say something. This is a work in progress.

By Chibirisuchan,
Mistletiptoe set, with the Supplemental Yule Kit. Z/C/S, having an office party.

By Ciqeci,
$10, Zack, Cloud, Sephiroth, and snowball fights. And prostitution, kind of.
The Mascot, from the 'verse. Cloud and Zack attend the New Year's festivities in Midgar.

By Harukami,
Completionverse, in general for happy ending and specifically for A Completionverse Christmas.

By Laylah,
Proper Christmas Dinner, Reno and Rude, cooking?
Mean Streets, from SDRnR. Not really Yule, but wintery and about coming home and learning to trust and the family you choose, so I'm including it. :P
Keeping Vigil(Locked to the Bijou comm), Little!Liam on his birthday.
Blessings of the Sunrise (Locked to the Bijou comm), Liam and Topaz celebrate the New Year
Not Afraid to Fall and Not Afraid to Rise(Locked to the Bijou comm), Topaz and Liam, happily ever after.

By Sister_Coyote,
Year King, Zack as a bite of cake, and discusses barbarous Northern customs with Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris. :Db

By Tenshi_no_korin,
Auld Lang Syne, Reno buys alcohol, visits some hookers, and introduces Rude to his family. I really love this story. <3

By Tiamatv,
Simple. Atoji, Atobe being kind of a twit, getting a kiss, and giving Jiroh a copy of the Nanshoku Ookagami. Er?
Sasowareru (To be Invited) part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. Shishido spends Christmas with Ootori's family.

Apparently, the series by Sarah Monette that begins with Melusine is referred to collectively as "The Doctrine of Labyrinths Series". Awesome!

Nearly-completely unrelated, have a running list of all the DoL fic I've been able to find. None of it is entirely worksafe, I'd say, but nothing's outright porn either more's the pity.

First, by scribblemoose at Yuletide. Mildmay visits a whore, and Felix freaks out.

At the Hands of the Wicked, by Quasar, also at Yuletide. Mildmay hears a ghost, Felix has a dream, and Robert loses his rings.

Something to Look Forward To by Greensl33ves at Fanfiction.net. Felix gets drunk, falls down, and remembers his promise--much to Mildmay's dismay.

Scars, by Greensl33ves at FF.net. Mildmay gets five bruises, and his scars get some attention. Felix starts drinking.

Appassionata, by Greensl33ves at FF.net. Gideon is badly jealous of a man he likes, Felix has issues with blood and dominance, and Mildmay thinks everyone's insane.

Weight of a Promise by Greensl33ves at FF.net. Short drabble. Felix is unaccustomed to resisting temptation. Mildmay is a damned good reason to practice.

Ficlet by ifIcouldfly at porn_battle. Felix has insomnia, and Mildmay should remember to keep his nightshirt pulled down.

So. Once upon a time, there was this game called Final Fantasy 7 that rocked the alien xeno vibes like wow. After playing this game, Ciqeci posited that Mako gives you tentacles. Then, Chibirisuchan took that idea and RAN. <3. "Sephiroth had left hours before dawn, well before the first wave of the storm broke; he'd gone to the deep, where the shifting pressure and the bash and crackle of thunderheads couldn't disturb him. Aeris almost wondered if he'd gone back to sleep in the ocean depths -- if he'd made himself a thoroughly under-waterbed, maybe lined with soft seaweed, for the times when the storms on the surface made too much racket to sleep in a mountaintop shrine with chickenwire windows. If unwary starfish might nestle into his hair when he slept, mistaking the pale drifting strands for bleached seaweed, or if that was how he lured in some of those enormous yellowfins... Clearly, I could not help myself.

I. Er. This is so far from being original it's not even funny, and yet...so heavily processed through fandom that I'm not sure it really even counts as FF7 fanart anymore. :/ Hrm.

GUYS, IT'S TENTACLES-PIC, OK? I REALLY DON'T KNOW.
( As worksafe as its possible for tentacles to be. )

Mostly for my own benefit, a list of a)my own fic so I have it all linked, and b)fic by other people that I know I'll want to read again, for the same reason. Feel free to consider any of the second categories as recs: I'll only be linking things I thought were especially good, so. I'll be adding to both of these as new fic comes to my attention. And if you know of something good, feel free to comment and let me know!

( Part 1: My fic )

( Part 2: Fic Recs, by author )

Fucking gorgeous Digital Devil Saga and Persona 3 fanart over this way:
http://www.hitoshura.com/gallery.htm

a;lkkshdg;aklhgd Gale solo *ded o hot*