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- He/Him
Dude I did a couple pages back let's not get pissy about this Its here
I'm just here to recommend fics and review others.
The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read.
- Thread starter Phearo
- Start date
- Discussion
I'm just here to recommend fics and review others.
- Location
- oregon, usa
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- He/Him
Fair enough. I'll get back to you on it at some point in the next few days. And if I don't, quote this and remind me.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
Thanks for the rec. I don't read MLP fanfics that often, but "Luna is a Harsh Mistress" is definitely in the top MLP fics I've read. I'm currently in the middle of the Silver Star arc (and thus can't say if the quality stays on this level till the end), but my main criticism so far would be that the author is a bit quick with the time skips. Especially the faith arcs, both her as a child and as an adult, could have each used an additional chapter or two. But it's nothing game breaking, it's just that I thought that both arcs, and possibly even Iron Quill's arc, had a bit more to tell.
But speaking of the Silver Star arc, was it and especially the parts in Moonrise inspired by a different work or did it inspire someone else's? Because I'd swear that I've already read it or something very similar, but I have no recollection of reading the previous arcs. And I'm usually not in the habit of just reading the middle chapters of a work
When I started reading LiaHM, I couldn't help but think of Redemption by PourMeADrink as an explanation for Luna's knowledge about modern science, though obviously LiaHM later gave its own explanation. Redemption is a story of a human widower who finds two little Alicorn foals and raises them. It's been a while since I read it, so I can't rec it as the best ever since I don't know how it holds up, but I remember it as a heart warming story with conflict not only coming from inter-family drama but also from the ever present danger of what would happen if Luna and Celestia, as obviously magical beings, were revealed to other people in "our" world.
And the last chapters (if we ignore the epilogue) are utterly heartbreaking as they explain how the human world was turned into Equestria and the resulting fallout.
- Location
- United Kingdom
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- She/Her
Derec. Its basically two almost entirely unrelated stories stapled together - the first is about surviving on the moon, the second is about a revolution against a fascist power, and I guess there's a third which is just kinda short and boring. Sticking them all together is to the detriment of each individually.
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- Yes
I really liked the concept, and I'm still reading it but I can't second the rec. I'm up to chapter 14 and it's quite enjoyable, but when I got back to the computer to keep reading I checked to see if anything had updated and read a couple of other stuff before getting back to this, so nice story, but not "best ever"
- Location
- UK
Didn't get very deep into this one at the time, but it's also a miss from me. Starscribe is an interesting author with a lot of great ideas that are worth exploring, only I find their stories always go just a little too far or too long. Luna is a Harsh Mistress does that worse than most, rapidly disengaging from 'The Martian but with ponies' premise into a weird edgy political mismash that doesn't seem to have a clear message it wants to convey.
As an aside, The Martian but with ponies is actually a crossover that's been written (Called The Maretian of course). I'm not reccing that but every so often I feel I have to both acknowledge its existence, that it's five times longer than the Martian, and that I still read it.
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
Can't really de-rec this one, but the aforementioned problems with pacing are there.
I just blasted through it on one sitting and it was entertaining, was good, but the time skips, oh god the first big time skip almost forced me to quit it.
But, that is personal preference, I suppose.
There is something the author tried to do with it, it just didn't land for me... and most of the readers back when story was published, according to the comments.
The "political stuff" seems to be there as an attempt by the author to show how society progresses from "need to survive" to "need to validate oursleves", and whether it lands or not relies mostly on how kne sees that topic.
Bottom line, this is adequately written.
One of the better pieces on fimfiction.net I'd say. I
didn't have to force myself through reading any segments as I usually have to when rummaging there.
Tentatively (very much so), recced.
Wobulator
Within 1 AU of you!
- Location
- Mars
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'd say that this is a derec. This thread is for the best damn fics you've ever read, not the ones that are merely okay.
egoo
Totally Not Creating Problems Where None Existed
- Location
- Russia
...my standards are low?
Jokes aside, It is among the best stuff I've read, I just... am bad at stating what exactly I think was so good that got me to read it in one sitting, even in spite of vehemetly hating time-skips in whatever work of fiction I'm presented with?
As it is, I am willing to change my tentative rec to [inconclusive, try it youselves] at most
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- Location
- Germany
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- He/Him/They/Them
I know what you mean, now that I've finished it. Technically it's very well written and all PoV characters feel distinctly different from each other. And I think that the Silver Star and Magpie arcs make sense storywise. But they didn't clicked with me and I don't really know why they didnt. Maybe it's the harsh time skip and too much changed too fast, or its just that they, and especially the Silver Star arc, are too far removed from the premise for me to enjoy.
But despite the fact that about half of the story didn't land with me, despite all problems I had with the pacing, large parts of me still want to rec it. And I can't really state why.
Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
I'd like to point out that this thread is for the best fics, not flawless fics. It's prefectly reasonable to find flaws in something and still count it as one of the best.
- Location
- Canada
Also, best is subjective. Some people prefer romance and characterization, some like world-building and intricate politics, some want to read expertly-written action sequences and dramatic plot twists. It takes all sorts. This thread is just full of people posting what they like and seeing if they get a response from others.
It's also why saying "I don't rec it, but I don't de-rec it" is a perfectly valid response. There's plenty of things I've read that strike the "this is technically good, I don't see any reason to say it's bad and 100% not worth putting on any kind of best damn fics list, but it's not to my tastes or hits a peeve of mine that keeps me from considering it a personal favorite".
Grue
滅亡迅雷
- Location
- -
There's a reason that the only ironclad rule of this thread is rec must be complete. People will absolutely dunk on fics they don't think make the cut (though the really infamous ones like PLH's stuff tend not to even be brought up), but so long as it's complete and it hasn't been brought up enough to make it one of the Controversial Fics it has a chance if enough like it.
The author (of Luna is a Harsh Mistress) says in the author notes that he was going for a vibe kinda like the Foundation series. I'd say that he succeeded in that - his characters are very much means to an end rather than the end themselves, and the focus is on the evolution of the society he created. It's definitely worth checking out if you're interested in that type of sci-fi. I can't give it a rec for "Best Fics I've Ever Read" though - the pacing after the first segment is a bit rough, and there's a lot of time spent on character beats that don't land because the characters are so two-dimensional.
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- The Beach
Thirding this. Both really funny and really sad, it manages to avoid turning into crack despite the protagonist('s best attempts).
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- Caracas
.. Isn't this the one where Anderson is abridged!Anderson is on Bloodborne and somehow has a convo with this god edlritch thing that turns out to be akin to a small timid girl?
Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
Yes.
While I haven't finished it, I'd mostly agree with Mobius's description. While there are plenty of elements that want to be crack, the overall setting and approach keep them grounded, despite what they might want. The eldritch horror being a small timid girl makes a lot of sense in context, but it's handling is probably the cracky-est thing I've encountered so far and it wasn't too bad.
One thing to keep in mind about the TFS abridged series is, as much as they're over the top comedies, they also do try to build on their source material and often have a decent amount of depth and insight. Anderson Quest seems to want to continue that tradition and, while the righting isn't quite up to the standards of TFS, it does largely succeed.
- Location
- United States
Was Anderson Quest rewritten at all recently? I just finished rereading it all and could have sworn that the story was different from what I read a few years ago. Could also be my terrible memory, of course.
Either way, even though it was one of the first stories I read on SV, it's still one of my favorites. I second the rec.
Either way, even though it was one of the first stories I read on SV, it's still one of my favorites. I second the rec.
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- Caracas
For now, tentative de rec, in general writing characters off Abridged series ends being bad at best to cringe worthy at worst. I'll give it a spin tomorrow and see if I go full de rec or rec.
Epsilon Rose
The King of Unrest
Wait, are you giving it a derec, without reading it, because you don't like the source material?
Firedon
Lazy Sleepy Cat
- Location
- Germany
No, they're noting that they'll probably derec it, since the premise as presented doesn't inspire confidence, but they'll actually check it out before they give the real derec.
- Location
- Caracas
Its not that I dislike Hellsing Abridged, its that in my experience fanfics based of abridged shows don't quite manage to be good, either they just recycle the same jokes or don't get the spirit of it.
Before I say I am either recc'ing or not, I'll give it a re read, from start to finish, as it is, a quest based of Hellsing abridged is not particularly filling me with confidence. I'm going through it atm.
Also, I had read it years ago, but I don't recall anything of it beyond "Abridged anderson gets dropped onto Bloodborne" and the whole eldritch god talk thing.
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Raj
Master of Procrasination
- Location
- Canada
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- He/Him
I read Anderson Quest for a couple of hours yesterday.
It's an engaging story that can honestly suck you in and even made me laugh on occasion.
That being said I'd have to derec it.
I found it far from one of the best stories I've ever read, while it was overall entertaining I couldn't even bring myself to finish the entire thing and eventually dropped it.
It feels very much like a popcorn fic, it's great if you want a relaxing time just watching Anderson clean up Bloodborne and some entertaining fights and fun jokes.
But it's not exactly leaving me with a burning desire to go back to it when I put it down or even a desire to reread it.
Leaving it alone even allowed bits of it to escape me since it's a bit forgettable to be honest.
Overall it's certainly not a bad story and I'd be fine leaving it in the general recommendations, but I disagree with putting it in the best category. Especially with just how generic it felt to me personally.
It's an engaging story that can honestly suck you in and even made me laugh on occasion.
That being said I'd have to derec it.
I found it far from one of the best stories I've ever read, while it was overall entertaining I couldn't even bring myself to finish the entire thing and eventually dropped it.
It feels very much like a popcorn fic, it's great if you want a relaxing time just watching Anderson clean up Bloodborne and some entertaining fights and fun jokes.
But it's not exactly leaving me with a burning desire to go back to it when I put it down or even a desire to reread it.
Leaving it alone even allowed bits of it to escape me since it's a bit forgettable to be honest.
Overall it's certainly not a bad story and I'd be fine leaving it in the general recommendations, but I disagree with putting it in the best category. Especially with just how generic it felt to me personally.
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- He/Him
Reminder that Im still here and stuff.