miscellaneous fic recs

Card Captor Sakura

Frame: Pieces of Her Soul by Luriko-Ysabeth
An introspection on love and devotion from one of the most romantically-neglected characters in the series. Bittersweet and poignant.

Set Up by miai haruka
This is the kind of Touya and Yukito story I like - playful but subtle, with everything happening between the lines.
(Offline. Was at http://clampfix.fanworks.net/ccs-fix/setup.txt.)

Final Fantasy VIII

The infamous Final Fantasy VIII arc by llamajoy and Tenshi no Korin
This is one of this reasons I read fanfic - to discover stories like these. One continuous storyline paralleling the game, but picking out threads of the tangled cat's cradle of desires, hatreds, and obsessions. Compelling reading.

Broken Mirror by Mess
Aptly described by the author as "the one where everyone goes psycho". A dark reflection of the FF8 we know.
(Offline. Was at http://members.shaw.ca/cautionary/broken/.)

FloweR by Uncreativity
An FF8 post-game parody. I totally cracked up reading this. Uncreativity has other equally entertaining fanfics on her site, mostly centred on Seifer and his posse.
(Offline. Was at http://www.uncreativity.com/library/fics/flower.html.)

Gravitation

You Call Your Fate by Eidolon Tree
Yuki and his demons. This is the kind of writing I like - spare but intense, achieving emotional impact through restraint.

Here Is Greenwood

Public Spirits by !SuperCat
An alternate ending to one of the episodes, with some fascinating interplay between Shinobu and Mitsuru. This is the Shinobu I like most - bland, inscrutable, and just a little bit scary.

The best policy by torch
Shinobu oblique as ever, with Mitsuru tentatively feeling his way towards the answer to an enigma. This story unfolds between the folds of the final episode, in torch's classic style.

Rurouni Kenshin

Hunk of Junk by Team Bonet
Two of the Kenshin cast in modern day Tokyo, dealing with a relationship that's falling apart. It made me cry.

Shoujo Kakumei Utena

Broken Swords, Bloody Roses by Elisabeth Hegerat
This is an indepth look at Saionji and Touga's complex, intense, ambiguous relationship. I wish there were more Utena stories like it.

The Prince and the Pauper by !SuperCat
Most Touga and Saionji fics are about manipulation and power. This one takes a different perspective on their relationship - and somehow, you can almost believe in friendship again.

Sunday by Team Bonet
A cleverly woven, surreal offering from Team Bonet, the masters of experimental fanfic.

Tokyo Babylon

Sakura and Snow by Natalie Baan
What can I say about this that hasn't been said before? The definitive Subaru and Seishirou epic.

Vision of Escaflowne

Rain by Natalie Baan
This is a beautiful, haunting piece about Celena Schezar and her troubled relationship with her brother - among other darker things.

Scars On The Heart by Sarah Dove
One of the best Escaflowne stories I have ever read. Set in the aftermath of the war, it follows the fate of several of the characters and how they deal with the fallout - in all its aspects. The thing that gets me is the emotional honesty of the story - it doesn't flinch in its portrayal of humanity, in all its beauty and ugliness and vulnerability. I wish I had the guts to write like this.

X

Green but for a Season by !SuperCat
The perfect antidote to all the fluffy KxS stories out there. Kamui seeks consolation from Subaru, but finds the answers are not what he sought.