Merry Christmas, everyone!

Yeah, this is a little later than I intended. Blame the beast named Life, whose two heads are named School and Final Fantasy XI.

So, to get everyone back into the swing of things, we're gonna start a little slow. Of course, "slow" isn't synonymous with "not good". Today's two fics are some of the best work I've seen during my tenure.

Matt Fairchild gives us "Fated", a fic based off the much-ignored classic Illusion of Gaia. A certain flambéd assassin gets a well-deserved backstory in this work.

Finally, prolific Final Fantasy VIII writer Ashbear gives us another multi-chapter epic. This story, entitled "Crimson Lies", picks up a few years after FFVIII's ending. While disaster may have been averted once before, that doesn't mean the world is safe.

There will be a larger update later in the week, so think of this as a teaser of sorts. Also, keep your eyes open for a few changes to the rules.