![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bronze_ribbonsThe HP art rec: The Art Streak. Artist currently anonymous. PG-13 but not exactly worksafe. A hysterically funny, stunningly-detailed portrait of a game of strip poker. Wow.
Assorted FAKE recs:
Icewind/LJ:rravens's FAKE mini-site. (It appears to be down at the moment, but it was working earlier today.) At the bottom of the "Gallery" page, there's a page from Frontier (a mangaka anthology) of a beautiful, intimate moment between Ryo and Dee on a couch that I've not seen anywhere else.
Five things Ryo did to keep JJ away from Dee, and one that he didn't, sorely though he was tempted by Mirabella. PG-13. Ryo's POV, which the author narrates wonderfully. Beautifully paced - so much so that I don't dare quote my favorite lines, because they're far better in context. Diana Spacey cameo FTW.
Playing for Keeps by Mistress Quickly. PG-13. Dee and JJ make a bet they both regret within a few minutes. The author has a really good handle on Dee's voice and characterization, and it's nifty seeing the events of Volume 4 retold from a different angle (with minor details slightly different, but I've found that the Japanese, English, and French versions of FAKE often don't line up on who said what, never mind what they actually say, so I'm prepared to give most authors the benefit of the doubt if I like the other elements of the fic in question).
Out to Lunch by Tangerine. PG. Dee and Ryo, pre-volume 7. A morning at work. Dee being Dee. Ryo being Ryo, which means being both kind and annoyed and not all that shy about expressing the annoyance: "Ryo looked like a wimp, but he had a good arm, and Dee could appreciate that, even though he desperately wished Ryo’s arm would pull him closer instead of always pushing him away." This is the same author who wrote the terrific "After (Dinner)" archived at Yuletide.
Choices and Desire by Bluesimplicity. Short companion pieces about Dee and Ryo -- how they become who they are and what happens to them after they meet each other. Lyrical and moving.
LJ:karolja has a great collection of ficlets, of which my two favorites are Living Dangerously (gunplay, NC17, hot) and Five Things Ryo Didn't Give to Dee (sap, PG-13), the latter which includes the line "He's not Dee's wife, even if he is better at housecleaning and cooking (and he doesn't need Dee's help kicking the ass of anyone who suggests it)," which makes me so happy.
Cuff Me by ![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
writerzilch. Dee/Ryo, NC-17. The perfect FAKE fic, at least where my own tastes are concerned: short, funny, and kinky, and with genuine love between Ryo and Dee simmering underneath the dead-on dialogue:
ETA: P.S. I've finally figured out that one of the reasons I've fallen so hard for FAKE is because the Dee/Ryo dynamic is very similar to some of the Snape/Lupin I tend to go for: Dee is hot-tempered, vociferously intolerant of fools, sometimes an outright jerk, and fought his way up from nothing; Ryo is reserved, good with children, and more than a little closeted, ...and he doesn't hesitate to break the rules when he sees fit, he's no slouch at hand- or gun-combat, and there's plenty of temper and passion and tragic history roiling beneath the calm, polite mask he tries to maintain. There's a moment in an episode of FAKE IN LOVE (an epic by GrumpyDemon) where I did a double-take during my first read of it, because it reminded me so much of some of my favorite fanon!Lupin:
The chief difference between Ryo and canon!Lupin is that Ryo doesn't give a damn about what other people think most of the time, at least in terms of whether they'll still be his friends or not - he repeatedly catches grief from his colleagues (Dee included) for being a goody-goody "Sandra Dee." While his extended resistance to Dee starts out on the level of "I'm not attracted to you because I'm not gay," it evolves into showing how Ryo's fears are less about the same-sex affection and more about not being in control: Dee scares the shit out of him because if he lets himself surrender to Dee, there will be a whole segment of his life that will become exponentially messy and dramatic -- that will make him feel vulnerable and inexperienced and incredibly exposed, and he's terrified of giving anyone else that kind of power over him. (At the moment, I'm too lazy to look up the essay-review where someone else stated that Ryo's hangup isn't homosexuality, it's intimacy, but I should find that person again and thank them, because now that I'm thinking more about this, they are so right.)
(Yes, this is me trying toseduce encourage more of you into checking the series out. And while I don't plan to become an active writer in that fandom (too much research involved, too many existing IOUs, too much else going on), you can probably bet on more drabbles and ficlets here and there....)
Assorted FAKE recs:
writerzilch. Dee/Ryo, NC-17. The perfect FAKE fic, at least where my own tastes are concerned: short, funny, and kinky, and with genuine love between Ryo and Dee simmering underneath the dead-on dialogue:
Ryo made a face. "Um, okay, Dee, I'm glad that you're into it and all, but could you wipe up the pervert drool? You're sort of freaking me out. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We could always go get Cantonese food instead--"
"FORGET THE PEKING DUCK! Tonight we make hot love in the moonlight!"
"...It's still daytime, Dee. And it's cloudy."
"THEN WE WILL FUCK IN THE SHADE."
ETA: P.S. I've finally figured out that one of the reasons I've fallen so hard for FAKE is because the Dee/Ryo dynamic is very similar to some of the Snape/Lupin I tend to go for: Dee is hot-tempered, vociferously intolerant of fools, sometimes an outright jerk, and fought his way up from nothing; Ryo is reserved, good with children, and more than a little closeted, ...and he doesn't hesitate to break the rules when he sees fit, he's no slouch at hand- or gun-combat, and there's plenty of temper and passion and tragic history roiling beneath the calm, polite mask he tries to maintain. There's a moment in an episode of FAKE IN LOVE (an epic by GrumpyDemon) where I did a double-take during my first read of it, because it reminded me so much of some of my favorite fanon!Lupin:
Dee growled low in his throat as he drove, a dark scowl on his face as he gripped the wheel. Ryo's eyes were stormy, but his face was a perfect mask of calmness. Dee glanced over at him and shook his head.
"It's creepy when you do that," Dee said. "If you're pissed, just look pissed."
Ryo turned a dangerous glare on him and Dee winced.
"Never mind."
The chief difference between Ryo and canon!Lupin is that Ryo doesn't give a damn about what other people think most of the time, at least in terms of whether they'll still be his friends or not - he repeatedly catches grief from his colleagues (Dee included) for being a goody-goody "Sandra Dee." While his extended resistance to Dee starts out on the level of "I'm not attracted to you because I'm not gay," it evolves into showing how Ryo's fears are less about the same-sex affection and more about not being in control: Dee scares the shit out of him because if he lets himself surrender to Dee, there will be a whole segment of his life that will become exponentially messy and dramatic -- that will make him feel vulnerable and inexperienced and incredibly exposed, and he's terrified of giving anyone else that kind of power over him. (At the moment, I'm too lazy to look up the essay-review where someone else stated that Ryo's hangup isn't homosexuality, it's intimacy, but I should find that person again and thank them, because now that I'm thinking more about this, they are so right.)
(Yes, this is me trying to
