Happy Hikago Day!!!


Technically this LJ is on hiatus until the end of June, but it's May 5th, and on May 5th, exceptions must be made.

For anyone new to this journal, Hikaru no Go is my true love. If you have never watched this show or read the manga, here's my Top 5 pimp post about why it is the best. Best, best, best. Best story ever, best characters ever, best epic metaphor for life turned into a shounen manga series ever. Oh, my heart. Hikago has a unique place in the annals of beloved manga/anime series for many people. There's just something about it that's truly special.

This year, Manga Bookshelf, a wonderful fan review site run by my friend Melinda Beasi, is doing a very special roundtable on Hikaru no Go to celebrate the publication of the final volume of the series' English translation (which was released, fittingly enough, on May 5th).

Melinda asked me to be a part of the roundtable discussion, which has been fantastic. If you're a fan of the series (or don't mind being thoroughly spoiled), please check it out. Those ladies are so smart and articulate, and we had a wonderful, fun discussion.



Every year since 2007, I have done a special Top 5 meme in honor of Hikaru no Go to celebrate May 5th. It's my favorite post of the year - Hikago fans ask each other for their top-5 Hikago-related things! It's so much fun and reminds me every year how wonderful this series is.

Melinda also asked me if I would like to do a very special Manga Bookshelf version of this year's Top 5 meme, the only answer was: of course! What better to celebrate the 5th anniversary of my meme? And what better way to celebrate a story that's all about connection than connecting with other people who aren't on LJ? :D

So! Hikago fans! You can find this year's Top 5 meme at Manga Bookshelf, right this way!



Bring your game faces, and LET'S FIVE! :D

My real life relationships, all of them, romantic or semi-platonic or the fuzzy area in between, have ended in unequivocal, unmitigated disaster of one kind of another. They don't just end, they end, more or less, in ruin. As a result, rather than subject myself to yet another instance of failing to love another human being half as well as I manage to love the fictional relationships in my head, I suspect that I more or less fall in love with ships instead of people, anymore. I suspect it's a coping mechanism of sorts. I think, selfishly, that as coping mechanisms go, there are far worse ones I could cultivate.

Harry/Draco is roughly equivalent to The One, whose first name I never say; the one I am over, except for how once every five years or so I find myself thinking about him and it all comes flooding back like it was yesterday. H/D was The OTP, the one you don't get over, the one you never really move on from. H/D is the ship that burned its way through my heart and changed everything. H/D took years to recover from and probably required therapy. H/D is still reaching out and coiling itself around my heart. This is us, HP fandom. We'll never be quits. Never.

But oh, then there was Tezuka/Ryoma. And if H/D was The One, Tenipuri was that unexpected, robust passion that comes into your life when you least expect it. Prince of Tennis was this new, joyous love that I never ever expected and didn't quite know what to do with. And if, when it was over, I realized it was a perfectly clean break, nothing left, then I had no lingering regrets either. We parted with fondness and wished each other well, and I smile whenever I look back now. I remember how in love I was then, and I laugh that I was so head over heels for something so fleeting. But how could I have been anything else? It was wild and wonderful and unforgettable.

Somewhere in there, McShep and I kept having these sordid flings in back alleys, where I gorged myself on all the fic I could find with a vague sense of self-loathing, because I should know better than to fall for such a cocky, arrogant, acerbic ship. McShep thinks it's just such hot shit. Well, let me tell you, McShep, I've looked into the soul-blazing clear eyes of Tezuka's all-blinding rainbow-colored love for Ryoma, and I can tell you I know from soulbinding, and you, McShep, you and I, we're just not compatible. Not at all. Ugh, you're so vain and smug and --we're just not -- oh my god is that a coffeeshop AU? *MAKES OUT WITH*

And then, and then, Akira/Hikaru. Akira/Hikaru, who makes me tea when I am sad and fluffs my pillows and allows me a safe place to hide my head in. Akira/Hikaru, the kid next door who's always there for you, your best friend and more, the one who waits for you to grow up, the one you take for granted until it's stealing your breath and breaking your heart; and all you can think is that you want to keep this, this feeling inside you, with you forever, locked somewhere secret and safe, so that the two of you can always be together.

________

I kind of don't want to write fic for Inception. I kind of want to just keep enjoying everyone else's passion, letting it envelop me but still breeze right by me. I was never really happy with any of the fanfic I wrote for Prince of Tennis, because I feel like I was too giddy in love with the subject to be uninvested enough to write anything good. I am alarmed at my own level of investment in Inception fandom. Maybe it's just a summer fling, but it doesn't feel the way the others do--not Kradam or Merlin or House or Death Note, where the superficial appeal was obvious but the investment was never more than half-hearted. No, this feels more like that giddy, joyous insouciant thing that I've only felt with Tenipuri (and maybe with That Guy, the one with the long slender fingers and the off-key singing, who made me weak-kneed and heartstricken when I was too young to know what to do with the feeling).

I kind of don't want to tackle Mr Eames, with his beautiful mouth and his expressive eyes and his face that goes haunted when you least expect it, so quickly you think maybe you imagined it. I'm kind of afraid he'll break my heart. I'm kind of afraid Arthur, beautiful Arthur with his frowns and his straight lines and clean angles, will mystify me to exhaustion. I'm kind of afraid I'm projecting (lol projection). Maybe it's okay to sit this one out. Or maybe I'm just intimidated. Or tired.

Then again, maybe I'm relating just a little too hard to Eames, forever, cheerfully, holding out his hand to Arthur, with utterly no expectation and no hope of return. There's something cold and ultimately so sad in that metaphor.

Especially when I bring it back around full circle and apply it to myself.

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(All this navel-gazing aside--just like Eames, there's nowhere else, right now, I'd rather be. ♥)


eta, 8/25/10: as stunned as I am to say it, it seems to be real, and not a dream:
- there is actually now beautiful, gorgeous-beyond-description fanart based on this post by kimna;
- and there is actually now heartbreaking, glorious, painful, amazing fanfic based on this post & comments by temperance_k.

Please, please go gaze/read and give the creators your love. ♥

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have gone back and exhaustively edited the fanfiction post, which doesn't really have an official title but probably needs one. I've cleaned up the list and expanded it based on all the many helpful suggestions you guys have provided, and I'm so grateful to everyone who stopped by and read and made corrections and expansions to the list. Thank you everyone.

I really hope that the list will continue to be useful to people in your discussion and explanations of fanfic, so please feel free to keep adding to it as you find new examples of fanfiction operating outside of fan spaces.


As a final note, in particular I'd like to draw everyone's attention to this example of published fanfiction:

Sara Donati's (approved) use of Diana Gabaldon's characters in her published book Into the Wilderness. Quotes Donati in this interview, "I said, "Well, I've got this injured boy over here and Nathaniel is looking for a doctor. Can I have Claire?" I was completely joking. And Diana said, "Sure. I'll send her over." So her characters show up briefly in my storyline."

That, my dear Ms. Author of the Week, is what is known as Crossover fanfic.

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Hikago fandom!

effex and I are going to host an epic Hikago manga re-read and re-watching party! Please please feel free to join us! Details can be found here. :)

eta: also, hikarunogo is hosting a drabblefest! Check it out when you get a chance! It's still Hikago Week, you know! The meme is also still open for business. :)


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As a side note:

A lot of people have swung by this journal this week, and I just wanted to say hello and welcome, and I'm glad you're all here. I have no idea what to tell you to expect from me or my journal these days, but I hope that you enjoy your visits. Please feel free to ask me anything about any of my fandoms, or me, or my journal, or anything you want.

Aso, you should know that i really do have an unhealthy obsessive thing for gay serial killers, if this bothers you, turn back now.

Happy Friday, all!


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Also on LJ. You know the drill.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth, where there are currently comments!

So I've been kind of quiet on the Hikago front because I've been busy and Hikago fandom and I needed a mutual break from each other, by order of many months--but Hikaru no Go is still the ruler of my heart forever, and today is MAY FIFTH!!!!

Which means ONLY ONE THING: IT'S FINALLY HIKAGO DAY!!!!!!!



Hikago is my true joy, I cannot stress that enough, it is the love of my life, and every year for the last 3 years, I've done the greatest meme in the entire world to celebrate May 5th, aka Hikago Day. <333333

Previous Incarnations: here (2007), here (2008), and here (2009).

5 things to do if you don't know what Hikaru no Go is:
1. Read my Pimp Post!
2. Buy the SUBLIME Manga from VIZ.
3. Watch the equally sublime anime after which you should read the manga bc there is an even more sublime WHOLE EXTRA ARC that the anime sadly does not cover
4. stare at the amazing art by Takeshi Obata until you feel the love.
5. Ask me how Hikaru no Go will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

How to play:
1. Comment to this post!
2. I and/or other people will ask you for one of your top-5 Hikago related things! Like, it could be 'top 5 favorite fics,' top 5 favorite characters, top 5 favorite sexually-suggestive go positions, AND SO FORTH. anything/everything you guys can think of!
3. YOU ANSWER, WE SQUEE A LOT, REPEAT STEPS 1-3 :D

READY?

LET'S FIVE!




sry eddy i ttly hotlinked that picture from you ilu you better do my meme <3

Last month I said that I'd give anyone who correctly guessed the fic I wrote for H/D holidays a reward: they could pick between a drabble of any fandom of their choice, or ask me 5 questions about any of my fics.

Then the guessing started and everything got messy because all the people who guessed correctly were like "but i don't want to officially guess" and some of them I don't know so I couldn't be like "no it's okay!" and some of them guessed but already had hints so it didn't really count, and basically the whole thing was a wash and I am having trouble enforcing this reward system.

So let's just say, for my own personal edification, that this is a QUERY OR FIC post for all comers:

you can either ask me 5 questions about any of my fics, or prompt me for 100 words in the fandom/pairing of your choice.

(if i don't know the fandom i'll look at you funny, but feel free to try me anyway.)

hello!( here are things i love about Nero Wolfe:Collapse )

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The other day myrafur drew Gwenevere as part of her daily drabbles, and then I insisted that all her fantastic portrait was missing was Morgana, and then glockgal filled in the gaps, and by that point I was in such rapture that I had to add a ficlet, because, well, obviously. And, well, here it is. Hurrah for femslash!

( Gwen likes it when Morgana surprises her.Collapse )


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I may have mentioned I have been hanging out on the white collar kink meme. i like it because it's small & cozy, and the characters of White Collar are one-size fits-all enough that they can be easily written without a lot of angst. And I am probably writing TERRIBLE porn, but that's sort of part of the fun, too. in any case here are the two prompts i've written so far:

1. in response to the prompt: Peter/Neal: "I own you for 4 years. You okay with that?" "Yeah."

( Peter's got him spread-eagled over his own bed.Collapse )



2. in response to the prompt, "Neal/Elizabeth/Peter, featuring pregnant!Elizabeth. ESP. IF SHE'S NOT SURE WHICH OF THEM IS THE FATHER BUT NONE OF THEM CARE?!?!"

( Elizabeth has one hand on the firm smooth swell of her abdomenCollapse )


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I wrote this for September's round of Blind Go. I am terribly unhappy with it, but it was nicely received and I appreciate that. Here it is.

( Divination. Akira/Hikaru, 5555 words.Collapse )

"Hey, Touya," Hikaru says one day. He's sitting by the window in early winter, looking outside. It's cool, but not cold; the air is grey but not dark enough to be depressing. There's a strange sort of freedom, he thinks, that lingers in the air on days like these, days when Akira wraps his scarf around his neck, but hesitates and stuffs his gloves back in his pocket, settling for the warmth of Hikaru's hand in his instead.

Akira has been steaming hot tea for them both. He brings two cups over, hands one to Hikaru, and sits gracefully down across from him over the goban, perfectly balanced and never spilling so much as a drop from the other one. Hikaru has his legs bent underneath him to one side, half-turned to face the street outside Akira's apartment. He supposes it shouldn't feel so much like Akira's apartment anymore, since Hikaru's basically been living there for five, maybe six months; but he still gives his old place as his address because he and Akira haven't exactly talked about this. There's a lot of things they haven't exactly talked about. He wonders if any of it bothers Akira. Actually, he sometimes wonders if anything bothers Akira that doesn't have to do with Go.

Akira is giving him a curious look, one hand holding his mug, one hand tracing a nonsense pattern on the goban. He's been cutting his hair shorter in the back lately, and slowly letting his pageboy fringe grow longer and shift away from the front. He looks like a pixie. But it's gorgeous on him. Hikaru likes looking at him just long enough sometimes for Akira to know exactly what he's thinking about. Usually Akira will blush and turn pink at the edges, but sometimes he'll just narrow his eyes and look right back.

Now he's just watching Hikaru patiently. They haven't lit the lamps in the living room; the light around them is starting to turn dingy with the faintly stale quality of all light in winter. Hikaru realizes suddenly that he doesn't know if Akira prefers the lights lowered or bright. It seems a strange thing not to know about Akira, considering all the things he does know.

"What is it?" Akira says. He sips his tea as though it's not sending steam floating up over his cheeks. Hikaru's never figured out how he does that, how he can drink tea as though it's perfectly fine and not scalding hot. Maybe he's permanently scorched his tongue or something. "You've been quiet all afternoon."

Hikaru isn't sure what he wants to say. He tugs the throw that Akira's mother knitted for him last Christmas around his knees and tries not to shiver. "Do you ever think about what we'll be in a thousand years?" he says.

"What?" says Akira. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," says Hikaru. "Will we still be here, d'you think? Or will we be...somewhere else? Will we even exist at all?"

Akira gives him a long, searching look. "Is this about Sai?" he doesn't say. It would be a stupid question anyway, since they both know all of Hikaru's weird moods are about Sai, like the one note on a violin that just keeps going out of tune no matter how many times you replace the string.

Instead Akira just takes a long sip of his tea, and looks at Hikaru as though he wants to be the resin and the bow and the violinist, too. Hikaru thinks that actually he probably is all those things, and almost laughs.

"I think that no matter where we are," Akira says at last, "in a thousand years, or two thousand years, or even ten or twenty years, Hikaru--" he uses Hikaru's first name, that's what he does when he wants something to mean more to Hikaru than ever, because he has yet to figure out, or Hikaru has yet to show him, that everything means more to Hikaru when it comes from him--"if we live every day with our whole hearts, here and now, we'll continue to exist."

"That doesn't make any sense," Hikaru says sourly.

Akira gives him a small, sad smile and reaches over to the window to turn on a lamp. Bright, Hikaru thinks. Akira likes it bright. And that does makes sense. He waits for Akira to bring up Go as a metaphor for life or something, because that would make sense, too. But Akira just returns to tracing the pattern on the board and sipping his tea.

"My grandmother died when I was young," Akira says. "After the funeral, I asked my mother where my grandmother had gone, because I was too young then to understand." Hikaru watches his fingers, slim and effortless in the way they move over the board, the way they curl around the mug. "My mother answered that she hadn't gone anywhere. She told me I could find my grandmother every time I looked in the mirror, and every time I went to the park where we used to walk together."

He takes another sip of tea, swallows without really parting his lips. Hikaru could watch Akira sit and do nothing for forever.

"I believe," Akira says, "that our spirits linger in the traces of what we have loved."

Hikaru nods.

"Sai's spirit lingers in you, even after a thousand years," Akira says calmly.

Hikaru looks up, feeling the twist of pain he can never ever seem to let go of, the icicle of it lodging deep in his chest.

Akira's eyes are lowered. He takes another sip of tea. Then he says, "So in twenty minutes, or twenty years, or twenty thousand, I will linger inside of your spirit, and you will linger in mine."

He looks up, his eyes suddenly brilliant and sharp in the white lamplight that floods over them. He holds his hand out to Hikaru over the goban.

Hikaru takes it, and their fingers tangle.

He looks at Akira, who doesn't look away.

Hello, Livejournal!

I am in D.C. with arboretum who is even lovelier in person, a feat which I did not think humanly possible, and who has put up with me getting us lost fifty times while fumbling our way around Washington and Virginia. We are going to see The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Milennium General Assembly tomorrow and I'm so ridiculously excited about this -- geekily excited the way Val is excited about Achilles shouting "to your disadvantage!" at the end of every sentence. It's kind of just all kinds of amazing.

We have had the most ridiculously chill weekend. Yesterday all I did was stare at Tarot cards. I'm trying to get to know the cards and the suites and their connections to each other and it's actually really fun, and meaningful in ways I had not expected.

Also, I did Tarot readings for Touya and Hikaru, because, again, geek. Touya's was amazing. Hikaru's was awesome too but I didn't keep a record of it. But Touya's was the first one I did on my own and so it was, of course, slightly dearer.( series spoilers for Hikaru no Go below, obviously.Collapse )

I am going to D.C. for a long weekend to meet the loveliest arboretum! And visit the equally loveliest alestar! (And! an_sceal? Are you free anytime between now and Monday! :D)

I am excited. Eddy and I are going to introduce Erin to Hikago and we will all get to watch it together and it is going to be the best thing in the entire world. ♥♥♥

See you Tuesday!

cleaning out google docs.

(tonight chapter 17 of That Fic topped 20,000 words! and although about 10,000 of those words will probably need to be rewritten at some point, it still makes me really happy, because, hey, that's 20,000 words that proves that in between all the yes-i-am/no-i'm-not madness, i've actually been working on it. you know. on and off. since. 2004. god ok look minor accomplishments, i can has them.)

GIANTWIP DUMP! This is just a sampling of things I've been working on during the last 12 months. Most of these will probably never be finished. pick a fandom, any fandom.


( Idolfic, david/archie, lol this is on hold atm, although at the rate david cook is going this could actually be canon before i finish *__*:Collapse )



( Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert, PORNSTAR AU, thank you, Rahmbamarama:Collapse )



( Hikago <3. )Collapse )



( H/D, genderbender. (another monday morning conference fic)Collapse )



( original fic.Collapse )



( Draco, film-fic:Collapse )



( original fic.Collapse )


( originalCollapse )



( Merlin. Snippets from our big bang wip! Amalin I hope you don't mind me posting a snippet of this ilu:Collapse )