The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read.

Raj · Jun 10, 2021

I'll also recommend Purple Days, I started reading it again after seeing it recommended and either my tastes changed or the early parts have been edited over the years. But I easily got wrapped into it for the past few days and enjoyed it a ton.

Easily one of the best stories I've read this year and something that I've been thinking about even after I've finished it.

That said it's biggest downfall, remains it's early beginning and especially it's prologue which isn't even Canon anymore due to massive changes over the years of writing it.

For anyone who starts reading it, I do recommend the prologue get skipped.

Egleris · Jun 11, 2021

Raj said:
For anyone who starts reading it, I do recommend the prologue get skipped.

I'm not dereccing this fiction, despite having never been able to finish it, but if you need to recommend that any portion of a fic be skipped, can it really be called "the best of the best"?

The point of this thread is to suggest the best fics around, and a lot of very good stories weren't put on the list because of minor defects, despite being otherwise head and shoulders above the average of that fandom's stories. If you need to skip an entire chapter of a story for it to be worth reading, then clearly it's not the best of the best - that's like saying "GOT is the best TV series ever, if you stop watching at the end of season 4 (or 5, or 6, take your pick)". It might be true, but the complete work (and the rules of the thread require recommended works to be complete) doesn't match to the strength of the recommendation.

So... maybe a fic where the very first chapter is worth skipping shouldn't be part of the "best fic ever" rec thread?

Arawn_Emrys · Jun 11, 2021

Egleris said:
I'm not dereccing this fiction, despite having never been able to finish it, but if you need to recommend that any portion of a fic be skipped, can it really be called "the best of the best"?

The point of this thread is to suggest the best fics around, and a lot of very good stories weren't put on the list because of minor defects, despite being otherwise head and shoulders above the average of that fandom's stories. If you need to skip an entire chapter of a story for it to be worth reading, then clearly it's not the best of the best - that's like saying "GOT is the best TV series ever, if you stop watching at the end of season 4 (or 5, or 6, take your pick)". It might be true, but the complete work (and the rules of the thread require recommended works to be complete) doesn't match to the strength of the recommendation.

So... maybe a fic where the very first chapter is worth skipping shouldn't be part of the "best fic ever" rec thread?

In answer, I draw your attention to Star Trek the Next Generation. A well loved, often memed show considered among the best in the franchise. Also famed for it's rocky start until it "grew the beard". "Best" doesn't mean perfect, it means better than all the others, and in that franchise I'd definitely say Purple Days qualifies.

Bel · Jun 11, 2021

ok, but the fics in this thread are more than just competing with fanfiction in their individual franchise, but all franchises. I've never read the fic, so can't comment on its quality, but is it one of the best fics not just in GoT/ASOIF but all of fanfiction?

I realize that some of the fics Listed in this thread don't meet that qualification, but it's what the thread is aiming for, iirc.

kaeim · Jun 11, 2021

Bel said:
ok, but the fics in this thread are more than just competing with fanfiction in their individual franchise, but all franchises. I've never read the fic, so can't comment on its quality, but is it one of the best fics not just in GoT/ASOIF but all of fanfiction?

I realize that some of the fics Listed in this thread don't meet that qualification, but it's what the thread is aiming for, iirc.

To be honest with you, I would say yes. Are there parts where its rough? Yes. The prologue should be removed as it no longer makes sense. But despite some grammatical errors and the fact that the author could do with going back and improving their past work to reflect their current ability, the story itself is one of the best I've read in terms of character development and managed to capture my imagination. For me, it is one of the best fanfictions out there

Liquid Ink · Jun 11, 2021

De-rec on Purple Days.

Prologue is non-canon
Rough start
Slow but steady improvements
Grammatical issues
Typos
Needs revision and editing

The core of the story might be good, but if we're okay recommending fiction on the quality of just its skeleton or premises rather than the complete result then boy do I have a lot more fanfiction to recommend. Like 90% of everything I've ever read.

The Yi-ti arc is still fucking great. I think the early work is very interesting and engaging too, but there is a point where the returns drop off and after the return to more familiar territories the story just kind of slowly begins to fade into mediocrity... I want to say after acquiring Brightroar, around when the emphasis shifts from Joffrey's character development and onto the hows and whys of ancient plans, prophecies, and time travel that I couldn't find much interest in. It's also too long, imo. Upwards of 800k does seem reasonable to make Joffrey likable, but I think it managed that about third of the way through, and when it dragged I found it really dragged.

By the end I was happy it was over, which is leaning away from what I like to get out of a work of fiction.

HalaNisu · Jun 11, 2021

De-Rec on Purple Days. Was meaning to make a long explanation post, but @Liquid Ink said pretty much everything I wanted to say about it.

spiritualatheist · Jun 16, 2021

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach

I just finished reading this fic, and immediately knew that I needed to recommend it. It's a post-Good Omens fic whose premise is essentially "Crowley goes to trauma therapy," told from the perspective of his therapist. In the hands of a lesser author that would be good for a few jokes, but through a combination of solid research, great prose, and incredibly deft character writing Nnm has created something deeply moving. I urge anyone who knows anything about Good Omens to check it out.

veteranMortal · Jun 17, 2021

spiritualatheist said:
Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach

I just finished reading this fic, and immediately knew that I needed to recommend it. It's a post-Good Omens fic whose premise is essentially "Crowley goes to trauma therapy," told from the perspective of his therapist. In the hands of a lesser author that would be good for a few jokes, but through a combination of solid research, great prose, and incredibly deft character writing Nnm has created something deeply moving. I urge anyone who knows anything about Good Omens to check it out.

Second.

I don't have a lot to add; its excellent.

Aussiehawker · Jun 17, 2021

CosmosIsVast said:
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13602604/1/There-s-Something-About-Earth By Cambrian Beckett.
I don't know how to post like the others, but it's a oneshot of Tony going back in time and fixing things. It's a oneshot, though the author did say there could be some vignettes.

De-rec. The idea Tony has is just stupid, and it's mainly just Jarvis thinking to itself. The writings fine, but nothing special. Tony from a bad timeline doing a suicide run could have easily been done better in a different way.

Chloe Sullivan · Jun 17, 2021

veteranMortal said:
Second.

I don't have a lot to add; its excellent.

Third.

takes therapy seriously. This is important.

Renewal · Jun 17, 2021

Fourthing Demonology. I will point out that the prose can be a bit circular at times, almost poetic, and that's definitely intentional given the themes the author is working with, like cycles of trauma. I quite liked it, but it can also be something a reader bounces off of, and I'd say there are probably parts that could've been tightened up, but the story is still very powerful and empathetic. This is also towards the middle and end of the fic, when the story is really in the weeds grappling with the characters, so it might not be super noticeable if you're already absorbed.

Terra Novan · Jun 18, 2021

HalaNisu said:
I'm recommending Salvage by MuffinLance, an Avatar: The Last Airbender fic, which finished earlier today.

The premise is that Zuko is washed overboard during the storm in Season 1, and rescued by Hakoda's ship. It's got a lot of humor, but it's not a crackfic, and it has a really strong emotional core of found family/adoption. The writing quality is absolutely excellent, and it's very well-paced.

The only immediately glaring problem is the usual tag bloat problem, although this is not the worst offender.

XavierIII · Jun 18, 2021

Terra Novan said:
The only immediately glaring problem is the usual tag bloat problem, although this is not the worst offender.

It doesn't even have that many tags, like a paragraphs worth in the other tag section. That's about what I would expect of any given long form work on ao3. The thing is, it's in like ninety different collections which bloats out the size beyond reasonable.

Anyways, I would second salvage. It's basically a 120k word character study, and it does that very well.

Wobulator · Jun 19, 2021

I'll fifth Demonology- it's very good.

tygerbright · Jun 19, 2021

Reccing Our Private Crises
A (minor) AU Worm murder mystery that feels like just about nothing else in the fandom and hits all sorts of very hard-hitting emotional notes.
Given the nature of it, I can't really say much without spoilering things but it is short enough to go through in a single sitting yet that doesn't lessen the impact of it at all.

veteranMortal · Jun 19, 2021

tygerbright said:
Reccing Our Private Crises
A (minor) AU Worm murder mystery that feels like just about nothing else in the fandom and hits all sorts of very hard-hitting emotional notes.
Given the nature of it, I can't really say much without spoilering things but it is short enough to go through in a single sitting yet that doesn't lessen the impact of it at all.

Second. Excellent.

Vyslanté · Jun 21, 2021

tygerbright said:
Reccing Our Private Crises
A (minor) AU Worm murder mystery that feels like just about nothing else in the fandom and hits all sorts of very hard-hitting emotional notes.
Given the nature of it, I can't really say much without spoilering things but it is short enough to go through in a single sitting yet that doesn't lessen the impact of it at all.

Thirded. What's not to like about a well written, impactful closed-room murder mystery?

Shwaggy · Jun 25, 2021

spiritualatheist said:
Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach

I just finished reading this fic, and immediately knew that I needed to recommend it. It's a post-Good Omens fic whose premise is essentially "Crowley goes to trauma therapy," told from the perspective of his therapist. In the hands of a lesser author that would be good for a few jokes, but through a combination of solid research, great prose, and incredibly deft character writing Nnm has created something deeply moving. I urge anyone who knows anything about Good Omens to check it out.

Holy smokes, thank you for reccing that! I'll add a well-deserved-if-unneeded sixth to that, an incredible and well-constructed story.

Tallamee · Jul 4, 2021

I have another rec finally. Atalanta (an Argonautica) by Cinis on AO3.

Atalanta (an argonautica) - Cinis - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore [Archive of Our Own]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

archiveofourown.org

An alternate take on how Atalanta could have altered/influenced Medea's life story, based on the possibility that Atalanta could have been on the Argo. For me, the standout moments are Atalanta and Artemis conversing.

MrtrappedInstory · Jul 11, 2021

Here's a Naruto SI fanfic I found:

Comic System in Naruto's World

379 chapters.

Summary: I, Akabane was graduated from the university of arts & design in the 21st century then suddenly traversed into the Naruto's world, by bringing my knowledge of arts and my love of Naruto comic I decided to recreate Naruto comic here… [Ding! Comic System has been activated!] Great! Ninjutsu? Kekkei Genkai? As long as I can draw more comics, I would be unmatched! …Or am I?

random_npc · Jul 11, 2021

MrtrappedInstory said:
Here's a Naruto SI fanfic I found:

Comic System in Naruto's World

379 chapters.

Summary: I, Akabane was graduated from the university of arts & design in the 21st century then suddenly traversed into the Naruto's world, by bringing my knowledge of arts and my love of Naruto comic I decided to recreate Naruto comic here… [Ding! Comic System has been activated!] Great! Ninjutsu? Kekkei Genkai? As long as I can draw more comics, I would be unmatched! …Or am I?

could you give a more in depth review an explanation why you think its fantastic? this barely explains the premise.

tygerbright · Jul 11, 2021

MrtrappedInstory said:
Here's a Naruto SI fanfic I found:

Comic System in Naruto's World

379 chapters.

Summary: I, Akabane was graduated from the university of arts & design in the 21st century then suddenly traversed into the Naruto's world, by bringing my knowledge of arts and my love of Naruto comic I decided to recreate Naruto comic here… [Ding! Comic System has been activated!] Great! Ninjutsu? Kekkei Genkai? As long as I can draw more comics, I would be unmatched! …Or am I?

The English in this is so broken I could barely even force my way through the first chapter, and skimming through the last chapter it looks like it never significantly improves. Like I'm usually willing to put up with some quirks in writing if the idea is good enough, but this is just a pain to read.
Derec.

Hatter · Jul 11, 2021

MrtrappedInstory said:
Here's a Naruto SI fanfic I found:

Comic System in Naruto's World

379 chapters.

Summary: I, Akabane was graduated from the university of arts & design in the 21st century then suddenly traversed into the Naruto's world, by bringing my knowledge of arts and my love of Naruto comic I decided to recreate Naruto comic here… [Ding! Comic System has been activated!] Great! Ninjutsu? Kekkei Genkai? As long as I can draw more comics, I would be unmatched! …Or am I?

From the first chapter;

"These kinds of Ninjutsu seem to appear in First Volume... Could it be said that the Ninjutsu that appears in my manga can be exchanged?"

Yes.

Akabane just painted, it is Naruto's First Volume.

Numerous spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. It reads like ESL or translated from another language.

Second chapter

Almost 30 years have pa ed since the two eras, no one would think that this is the future, and Akabane this remark just makes them more convinced that this is just a manga story.

"As expected, I knew it!"

Tsunade proudly said, "This age can create so many Shadow Clone, only vortex clansman's huge Chakra can do it."< /p

Formatting still there.
Faux edit:
Oh hey, its not just me. I was worried I had somehow clicked on the wrong fic.

MrtrappedInstory · Jul 11, 2021

Here's a slightly clean version if you guys want, but it's incomplete.

The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read.

Master of Procrasination

Vagrant Dragon

Contains Sleep Deprived Rambling

Gay and Stupid

Subdefective

Boring Person #5883781345

Cheeky Naegi is Cheeky

Within 1 AU of you!

Gay and Stupid

The self is a prison

Weapon of Math Instruction