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The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read.

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DW75 said:
The problem is, kids like that EXISTS IN THE REAL WORLD. I know that very well as in regards to wording, i was like that myself, thanks to being both a very quick learner, linguistically gifted and had a family that was mostly good with language as well. I did well above average on a language test meant to test for university entrance, when i was 12 or 13 for my own language, and for English when i was 16.

And in the story, it's not just that she's "creepy", it's that she's ACTING. She's trying to mimic specific "idols"(or what she believes they should sound like) she has picked up. Lots of kids do that as well in real life, even if it's with words or manners they have no clue to what they're really saying or doing. But heck, plenty enough of adults do THAT as well!
Fake it till you make it is a thing.

And again, you are supposed to rate the STORY, not who made it, not the "dumb and toxic fanon" surrounding it or whatever.
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That dialogue could not have been more forced if it had been strapped to the front of a battering ram. Word choice, topic, angle of approach, and more do not flow well or make much sense coming from a child of this age. Regarding it being 'not just that she's "creepy"', I specifically dismissed the idea that it was intended to make the child creepy because nobody reacts to it.

And for all your praise of your own language abilities, you certainly seemed to have missed that I was referring to the story as containing bad fanon, not some idea that fanon surrounded it.

The laws are all full of loopholes, the Dark Lord was the only form of organized crime, the Potter vaults full of useful things, the total lack of gambling or effective laws against same, these are all bad pieces of fanon which exist to remove obstacles from stories like these. There's a starting pool of resources so no need to get seed money or anything, there's no existing competition in crime or in dubious moneymaking schemes, the legal system poses no threat or problem, etc.

Also, final note: at no point have I mentioned the author. Who made the story is not something I in any way commented on. Great reading comprehension there pal.
 
For everyone knocking The Beacon Civil War:
Have you actually read it, or are you disparaging it solely based on the author?
 
Dark Abstraction said:
Nah, you're fine. This thread is full of links to submissions that are invalid or didn't get accepted. All the accepted submissions are archived separately, so there's no harm in your post.
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Well alright then! Though I'm pretty sure that I still follow the first rule. :V

The author semi-promised that it would be done in a years time from now. So I'll post it again when she finishes it.
 
Wobulator said:
For everyone knocking The Beacon Civil War:
Have you actually read it, or are you disparaging it solely based on the author?
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I read it for awhile, but I would have to derec it as well. It's just too similar to the Cain novels, even if it's supposed to be in that style. I felt the characters were rather in-name-only too, or at least the traits were overdone. I just didn't find it very funny as a comedy.
 
Walloping said:
I read it for awhile, but I would have to derec it as well. It's just too similar to the Cain novels, even if it's supposed to be in that style. I felt the characters were rather in-name-only too, or at least the traits were overdone. I just didn't find it very funny as a comedy.
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To each their own, then.
 
DW75 said:
Nope, that still has absolutely nothing to do with the quality(or lack of it) of the STORY. It doesn't matter if the writer is a hideous arse or a wonderfully nice genius, the quality of the story remains the same. Judging the writer instead of the story and then claim that the judgment is still valid for the story is just really bad style and really not good mental training for yourself as you condition yourself to be subjective rather than objective.
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Maybe if you never interact with the author, but how the author behaves in an author interaction fucking matters.

If an author posts a hundred word racist creed as part of the author notes, directly attached to the story; that utterly does impacts the quality of the story itself. Negatively if you aren't a racist asshole probably positively if you are a racist asshole.

Consequentially, the author's interaction in the thread informs the viewer about the story as a whole.

And this thread is not for long-form ranting, as in the reply-banner in on this thread:
  • This is a recommendation thread, and whilst derecs and discussion are fine, multi page arguments over fics are not.
  • If you are feeling yourself drawn to a big, drawn out arugement, take it to another thread.
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Of Sheep and Battle Chicken by LogicalPremise, it's sequels, and the various side things to give info on this strange, yet familiar galaxy.

It's a heavy Mass Effect AU feature things Bioware didn't do or just half assed. It's pretty good in my opinion, also pretty dark.

(Also located on Ao3!)
 
Xon said:
Maybe if you never interact with the author, but how the author behaves in an author interaction fucking matters.

If an author posts a hundred word racist creed as part of the author notes, directly attached to the story; that utterly does impacts the quality of the story itself. Negatively if you aren't a racist asshole probably positively if you are a racist asshole.

Consequentially, the author's interaction in the thread informs the viewer about the story as a whole.

And this thread is not for long-form ranting, as in the reply-banner in on this thread:
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On the other hand, sometimes entitled whinging by readers is just entitled whinging and an author's reaction to that is just an author's reaction. I remember some people demanding that Cauldron 'pay for everything' at the end of Worm and it was similarly stupid. Sometimes an author wants to make a point you disagree with. Unless it's actual hate speech against actual real life people that's okay- maybe it will impact your enjoyment of the story, but nearly any point that's not a horse beaten half to death can do that. Sometimes Cauldron getting away with their crimes makes a better story to some readers. It certainly made Worm a better story for me, because wrapping up justice with a bow is unrealistic.

It's a shame the authors of HI were disgusted enough by a few people acting like total tits and trying to pretend it was 'constructive criticism' that they didn't heed the actual constructive criticism and polish up the epilogue, but aside from missing that last bit of polish the author's reaction didn't impact the story in a way that you would pick up if you were reading it on fanfiction.net or on reader mode in a forum. The story is what it is. Death of the Critic applies as firmly as Death of the Author.

On the other hand, as I've stated before unless the voices for a work outweigh the voices against it can't be 'best ever'. So both Worm itself and HI don't make the cut.
 
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KnownParadox said:
Of Sheep and Battle Chicken by LogicalPremise, it's sequels, and the various side things to give info on this strange, yet familiar galaxy.

It's a heavy Mass Effect AU feature things Bioware didn't do or just half assed. It's pretty good in my opinion, also pretty dark.

(Also located on Ao3!)
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I've got to derec this as well - the fic (and its sequels) bank on big, multi-chapter fights. Which isn't a problem if you like the way the fights are written (and I do), but anything that touches politics grimderps pretty hard, and it regularly does.
 
NaNa said:
A lot of candidates in my mind for this particular fandom, but Moratorium by Darkpetal16 (in my personal opinion) is the best Harry Potter fanfiction out there. It touched on some dark themes, but Darkpetal counterbalanced it perfectly.

EDIT: A bit more about the fic itself. It is a female!Harry with some slight changes in her upbringing. And power of friendship. All the friendship.
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Seconding Moratorium, despite my initial misgivings of the fic, it is one of the best Harry Potter fanfics I've read.
 
I would recommend
By The Divining Light
Book 1. Follow Harry and Dumbledore as they descend into the depths of Old Magic seeking power and redemption in equal measure. En route they encounter ancient enchantments, a heliopath and an evil that could burn the world.
and it's sequel, Conlaodh's Song.
I have no idea why these two haven't been more vigorously recommended, as in my opinion these two truly deserve a place among the greatest of fanfiction. They are truly a joy to read.

Along with those two i would also (tentatively) recommend Diaries of A Broken Man.
While perhaps not the most expertly written fic, this one will always have a place in my heart as one of my absolute favorites due to it giving me what I have always wanted with regards to FFVII.
A proper, canon-compliant, happy ending.
 
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Derec for Moratorium and battle chicken.

Moratorium gets pretty cringe worthy pretty quickly; the protagonist is just... not interesting. Tone-wise it almost feels like a lot of Gamer fics; each chapter is a bland telling of how she learns and exploits some new mechanic of the world that no one else can see.

(Oh, and creating the best brothel evaaar, because nobody else ever thought of that for what is THE WORLD'S OLDEST PROFESSION....... and yeah, a prepubescent girl is SURELY going to be knowledgeable about best practices in the sex industry.... uehehdgdgdgdfdhzhdhsdg)

Battle chicken just... it's just a really long slog to read. Nothing terribly stand out, compared to many other ME fics. It's not the worst thing I ever read, but I just couldn't keep reading after a while. To me, I just didn't care about any of the characters after a while.
 
armorfiend said:
Derec for Moratorium and battle chicken.

Moratorium gets pretty cringe worthy pretty quickly; the protagonist is just... not interesting. Tone-wise it almost feels like a lot of Gamer fics; each chapter is a bland telling of how she learns and exploits some new mechanic of the world that no one else can see.

(Oh, and creating the best brothel evaaar, because nobody else ever thought of that for what is THE WORLD'S OLDEST PROFESSION....... and yeah, a prepubescent girl is SURELY going to be knowledgeable about best practices in the sex industry.... uehehdgdgdgdfdhzhdhsdg)

Battle chicken just... it's just a really long slog to read. Nothing terribly stand out, compared to many other ME fics. It's not the worst thing I ever read, but I just couldn't keep reading after a while. To me, I just didn't care about any of the characters after a while.
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Same, de-rec for both.
OSaBC has interesting worldbuilding, but I find myself thinking "They really don't need to be that dickish" much more frequently then when I read the worldbuilding of other grimdark/derp settings.
 
armorfiend said:
Oh, and creating the best brothel evaaar, because nobody else ever thought of that for what is THE WORLD'S OLDEST PROFESSION.......
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Harry is running from the preconceptions that brothels need to be illegal and that they need to be physically present in the Wizardling World staffed by Witches, in order for hedonistic Wizards to indulge in their pleasures.

Remember, this is a society that not only hasn't banned love potions, but considers you hooked for the duration and to not count on anyone attempting to free you.
 
Matou Sutegobana said:
Harry is running from the preconceptions that brothels need to be illegal and that they need to be physically present in the Wizardling World staffed by Witches, in order for hedonistic Wizards to indulge in their pleasures.

Remember, this is a society that not only hasn't banned love potions, but considers you hooked for the duration and to not count on anyone attempting to free you.
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Its a decent read, but... it's not quite amongst the best.

Take for instance the start, I frankly do not think no matter how intelligent or precocious a child is, I find it hard to believe that they could learn how to be an effective villain by reading especially for someone that young. Also, much about being a leader is about managing people and inspiring them with greed or other things, learning these things from a book is questionable.

Harry became meticulous in learning how to be a good villain. She read every classical literature that held a capable antagonist, or anti-hero. She studied (obsessed) over their actions, mistakes, plans, ideas, and history. She absorbed every bit of knowledge she could pertaining to historical tyrants, dictators, or significant "bad guys" (as dubbed by society). Jacky Imbert, otherwise known as Jacky Le Mat (Jacky the Madman), the last true Godfather, and one of the greatest mob bosses in history, was a favorite.
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Further, she "knows" better than to antagonize her aunt and uncle but deliberately sets out to antagonize Snape on the first lesson? That... does not make sense especially since in the author's own words:

Always better to make potential allies and discard them later, than discard them too soon and need them later.
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I will stop here but these things add up (edit: as well as the MANY grammatical errors).

Finally, a pet peeve is why would her parents saddle her with a masculine name???

Edit: It does get better, but things here and there jump out and are well...
 
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De-rec Empty Graves. This Martha is completely OC. I just cannot see the woman who raised Superman would commit these cold-blooded murderers. The first two can be sort of explained by heat-of-the-moment reactions, what with armed man appearing out of thin air. Then the man in suit starts pushing my suspension-of-disbelief. He was shady as heck but that doesn't mean you should just kill him via poison! And the last straw was the boy who was crying and breaking down when she executed him!

I suppose the point of the story is that Clark becomes the Superman we knew because Martha avoids all the pitfalls shown by the time-travelers? But that's missing a central part of Superman: Clark Kent grew up to be Superman because the Kents are good people who raised a good son, and it is as simple as that.

Nevertheless, it is a good one-shot, just far from the best in my opinion.
 
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Does Martha ever get any characterization that goes beyond the simplistic stereotype of "Good All-American Mother"? My perspective is that Unpretty did a good job in Empty Graves and in her other connected fanfics in creating a well-developed Kent family that had some actual personality beyond that of a simplistic stereotype. I would recommend reading "Christmas in Kansas" by Unpretty and seeing if this expanded look into the nature of the Kent family changes your opinion on "Empty Graves".

I would also add that I appreciate the idea that an exceptionally moral and open-minded Superman would gain these qualities more from the exceptional nature of the people raising him than from some kind of genetic predisposition for superior morality. Unpretty's attempt to demonstrate how her version of Superman became such a uniquely exemplary individual may not be perfect but I still feel that it is far superior to the lackluster depiction in conventional media. The idea that Superman has acquired a perfect moral code from his genetic heritage or from his is an outdated relic that should just be allowed to die out in favor of recognizing that the people who raised Clark may have had a significant impact on his behavior as Superman.
 
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Ct613hulu said:
Does Martha ever get any characterization that goes beyond the simplistic stereotype of "Good All-American Mother"? My perspective is that Unpretty did a good job in Empty Graves and in her other connected fanfics in creating a well-developed Kent family that had some actual personality beyond that of a simplistic stereotype. I would recommend reading "Christmas in Kansas" by Unpretty and seeing if this expanded look into the nature of the Kent family changes your opinion on "Empty Graves".

I would also add that I appreciate the idea that an exceptionally moral and open-minded Superman would gain these qualities more from the exceptional nature of the people raising him than from some kind of genetic predisposition for superior morality. Unpretty's attempt to demonstrate how her version of Superman became such a uniquely exemplary individual may not be perfect but I still feel that it is far superior to the lackluster depiction in conventional media. The idea that Superman has acquired a perfect moral code from his genetic heritage or from his is an outdated relic that should just be allowed to die out in favor of recognizing that the people who raised Clark may have had a significant impact on his behavior as Superman.
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Sequels are best left at the door, with recomendations here. Some case work in your favor, such as perhaps, this one. Others, rather less so. The general consensus has, so far, been that sequels and other such side material are not part of the accounting. That was mostly when sequels were worse* than the initial rec, but that position cuts both ways.

To be "the best damn" anything it has to stand on its own merits.

*it was some MLP/X-COM crossover to my recollection, but the precedent stands
 
The fanfic that I was recommended is simply set in the same world and is not a sequel . While I would not characterize it as "the best damn" I still thought it was very good and wanted to recommend it to the previous poster as a I think that reading it would address many of his complaints in his De-Rec for Empty Graves.
 
Ct613hulu said:
The fanfic that I was recommended is simply set in the same world and is not a sequel . While I would not characterize it as "the best damn" I still thought it was very good and wanted to recommend it to the previous poster as a I think that reading it would address many of his complaints in his De-Rec for Empty Graves.
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Yes. I know what you are doing, and I was specifically pointing out that if Empty Graves needed supplemental material, it should have been in the actual story, and not in separate side material. It is not on the reader to dig through other works of the same author to find the relevant work, but on the author to provide it in a cohesive whole.

If you want to suggest a story to someone, the general recs thread, or a PM will suffice. If you post it here, it should get treated like it is relevant to the topic of the thread.

And lastly, I was pointing out that a story must stand on its own merits, or we must also let stories carry the weight of the demerits of sequels and side material.
 
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