Is it just me or is there really only a short number of fanfics, which are not published on LJ. When I stumbled my way into fandom, there were archives everywhere (maybe that was because of the Harry Potter boom). Well, at least different independent author's homepages existed. In these olden days, if I may be allowed to call them that, fanfic recs led me to archives. These days recs lead me to LJ and LJ again and some more LJ. It's not only that all fics are published there, also the recs are published there.

In a touch of melancholy I want back the old times and I don't know why, because it's not even a bad thing for author's to be able to publish their fanfics easily in their journals. :( Maybe I feel like in archives these fics would be so much safer and easier to find. Something bothers me!

I have to think about this some more ...

Enough is enough! I can't take it anymore! Here is my latest personal must not read.

Title: Lost in a Memory
Author: Stavi
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: M
Pairing: SasuNaru
Other Pairings: none
Warnings: slight yaoi
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3151691/4/Lost_in_a_Memory
When did I stop reading: chapter four
Why?: Well, my first "moment" was in chapter one, when a boy - we all know instantly it's Naruto - starts singing a sad, sad love song by a waterfall and incidentally Sasuke watches the boy and is enthralled. Following: a confusing dialogue with some more foreboding sadness and a nice!Kyuubi. Okay, I thought, maybe it will all become clearer. That was before Naruto broke down in chapter 2, awoke in hospital and had a mental breakdown in chapter 3, which caused Tsunade to get all emotional and finally led her to tell the sorrowful teammates all about Naruto's bad past and what strong boy he is. Ah, I almost forgot, while she tells them, Naruto stands behind the closed door, hears everything, weeps and then steps into the room to be comforted by his team commiserative admirers.
What really bothered me: "Oh my God, his past was hell! And we didn't know! We need to buy him sweets and fall in love with him. Sasuke, you stop calling him an idiot! By the way, take off your clothes, we need to COMFORT him really good as in cure his emotional scars! I'll bring you the cigarettes for the after-comfort-sex-smoke!"
How could the author save this fic?: I really don't know. It starts with the characterisation, I guess. Misery is good, but you have to measure it. Too much is too much. And personally I think, misery is the wrong tool to make people admire others.

And again comes a post about fics, which burned my mind with their enormous absurdity. My heart still bleeds,because the authors spoiled my favourite fandom: Gundam Wing.

( 'The Edulcoration of Duo Maxwell' by Mookie 821 )
( 'Circle of Destiny' by utsubame )

Time's up. Once more I present an entry in my personal must not read category. This time it's still Naruto fandom, because that's what I read at the moment. I stopped reading many fics in the last days, but I picked out four, because I like to tell you, what bothered me about them. They are no badfics, but they either contained something which squicked me or was unnerving.

These are the four fanfics:

"My 13" by Kitteh and NeoFox ( Review 1 )
"Kare no Jijou" by Tattered-Crimson ( Review 2 )
"This way to the stars" by GodofContradiction ( Review 3 )
"I think I better leave right now" by purrfectly679 ( Review 4 )

Isn't it strange? Yesterday I watched "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Chrystal Skull" and there was this one scene where Indi fights this Russian guy and in the end the guy looses conciousness and his head drops onto Indi's shoulder. All I thought about was the slashyness of the situation. Really, it's Indiana Jones! Where did this thought come from? Am I that influenced by slash to see it everywhere? (I'd say yes, I can't not see the slash everywhere.)

The film itself is neither bad nor good. I felt entertained, but some parts were dumb (Exactly why did they make Indiana's son do this "I am Tarzan" liana-swinging thing?). And why did I get the impression of watching a deformed episode of X-Files at the end? Aliens in Indiana Jones? Sounds like some Monty Python gag to me ("A tiger in Africa?"). Am I the only one who thinks the last scene was just included so the film exceeded the standard 120 minutes?

( Rant about Naruto fanfics and a cool video )

In contrast to my last "personal must not read" post I today want to recommend a Naruto fic I read some days ago.



Here comes the info:

Title: ThreeAlls
Author: phoenixdown7
Warnings: - (it's not explizit)
Pairing: SasuNaru
Summary (by the author): Uchiha Sasuke is a young Japanese soldier in World War 2. Naruto is an American boy in China. Both are fighting to protect their countries, but what will happen when they find each other in the middle of it all?
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2096174/1/ThreeAlls

( Why I'd rec this fic )

Yesterday I had a key experience, as one would call it. It was nothing really special, I just read a multi-chapter fanfiction which made me think. The point is, the fanfiction was well-written and all, full of tension, I wanted the characters to have sex already, I guess you understand what I mean. But when they had sex in like chapter 10 or something, I was disappointed. Not because the sex was bad (I read on, they have sex in every following chapter), but because something bothered me: No condom.

I know the discussion about protection comes up every now and then comes up in metafandom, but I guess the problem is, that not every fanfic author reads meta and not every author knows about his or her responsibility. How many times did I read fanfics where there was no sign at all of both sex partners using a condom. If you think about it, it's really disturbing. The characters often have time to "fish a tube out of the drawer", but they aren't able to fetch a condom (I am neglecting fanfictions, where they don't use any lube either, because the thought alone makes me cringe).

( My opinion )

Yesterday I searched for well-written Bleach fanfics and thought I could visit AFF again. Originally I wanted to find a Renji/Ichigo fic, but then I stumbled upon a summary with the pairing Renji/Byakuya. I considered it for 3 seconds and then decided to give it a try. And wow, I am so happy to sometimes make the right decisions in my life. ^-^

But I don't want to beat around the bush, here comes the info:

The fic I read was "Black-and-Red Conflict" by ghostraven. It's a WIP as far as I know, there are 19 chapters so far. I am hoping for the next chapter to be published, because at the end of chap. 19 is a terrible cliffhanger and I am thrilled to read what happens next (hot steaming sex, I guess). Imagine wild untamed Abarai Renj and his icecold captain Kuchiki Byakuya, together, in love, full of passion ...

Well, the fanfic doesn't immediately start with the hot passion, but it's about the tension between Renji and Byakuya. I don't want to spoil anything here, so I'll just say that Byakuya has to find the way to his emotions and Renji is one hell of a tease. What I love about the fic is that the tension between both arises from different interpretations of situations. The psychology of the charas (their motives, their past, their surrounding) is very much minded. And both are described as characters of strong will. Renji is the hot-headed one and Byakuya is the rational thinking one, who has to follow his duties.

I so love it! The relationship goes back and forth, Renji oversteps borders and Byakuya lets it happen. The conflicts between them create electricity, pure energy. I really recommend this fic!

Here the compact info:

Title: Black-and-Red Conflict
Author: ghostraven
Warnings: Anal, M/M, non-con
Summary (by the author): "Byakuya is an arrogant bastard, says Renji. Abarai is an impertinent nuisance, says Byakuya. Unfortunately for them, opposites attract."
Link: http://bleach.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=600010252

ETA: I found out, the author also has a journal on LJ (feathers_of_ice). Here's the link to the chapter summary: Black-and-Red Conflict on LJ

Today I was searching for good fanfics again (yes, good is subjective, but that doesn't matter here). Once more I was slightly disappointed, because the most I get lately are drabbles. I don't mind drabbles, but I miss the good old multi-chaptered fanfic. Where did it go?

I understand authors telling me they drabbled this and that while they sat in classes or were somewhere where they couldn't write on a longer plot or something like that. But I don't understand why the trend altogether goes away from longer fanfics. Am I the only one enjoying a longer story? I admit a long fanfic is dangerous territory. What with all the independent life's of charas and the plot, which tries to escape the grip of the author. Anyway, in my opinion an author who is able to catch the character of a person or a pairing in a short drabble, should try to think of developing the action further. Why stop at a short scene when you have thousands of options to delve in the depths of a thrilling plot?

A drabble of course fills gaps in the canon story or picks out wonderful little aspects of a relationship, but I miss the building tension. Where is the question of "what if"? I always thought fanfics should use the "what if" and create a "new world" or at least an "advanced world". Drabbles won't suffice this purpose. They are too constricted (just through their length).

I just read the Oneshot "Summer" by akuryounoseiki and it made me get this warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction. I only can recommend the fic. It's about Byakuya/Renji and I don't want to say more than that it shows the differences between the two and the point where those differences come together in harmony.

Here's the link: http://community.livejournal.com/bleach_yaoi/645924.html

Since I had some time for me last week, I tried catching up with my most favourite animes. I watched a lot of Naruto, Bleach and of course I finished watching Death Note (which is fantastic, really).
In the meantime my friend, reijamira, started watching Bleach. Yeah, I introduced her to her new addiction. :D But as it's always with me and my friends: If they like it, I feel the addiction they feel too and I start to get all excited. That's why I started heading in the direction of Bleach fandom. I am a Renji/Ichigo or Ichigo/Renji supporter. These two are just an explosive pairing. I also like Byakuya, but I am not sure if he's the perfect match for either Ichigo or Renji.

If I think about it, is there fanfiction with Nova out there? It'd be interesting to see who he is paired with. Maybe Sado? *g*

I searched and found some very pretty Bleach fanart (and maybe I should investigate Gin/Kira). Some fanart was just gross though. I mean, Zaraki Kenpachi and Ichigo? Just no! Zaraki Kenpachi with anyone is urgh.

Because I don't like Grimmjow Jeagerjaques (what a name) that much, I also can't imagine him and Ichigo together. But I'd like to hear other opinions on that. Could be mind opening. :)

My first encounter with Bleach fandom was not that great though. I started reading some different fics and stopped three of them after the first sentences (and there was also one summary of doom which really scared me off and made me want to leave the site). In the end I read renjifan's "Pull of Destiny" (makes it the first Bleach ff I read completely). The first chapters were promising, but in the end I was a little disappointed. I think Ichigo was too soft there. I like more action and more disputes between the charas. Give me more tension!

I just read my friends page and read through the new update on meta_roundup. There was a link to a post of alchemia. She started a discussion I am very interested in. It's about love and Harry Potter. What kinds of love are there, which are shown in the books, which do we want to read/are missing in the book. I hope many people will comment there. I just noticed, I forgot to mention slash in my comment. Blimey! How could I!

Anyway, if you are also intrigued, go over here: http://alchemia.insanejournal.com/10404.html?view=44964#t44964.