Perhaps because this thread is actually active enough to be, fairly consistently, on the first page.
The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read.
- Thread starter Phearo
- Start date
- Discussion
Perhaps because this thread is actually active enough to be, fairly consistently, on the first page.
But then we end up with people complaining that too many fics are being de-recced so why not just post in the General Recs thread instead?
As far as I can tell, much of the activity in this thread is people arguing over the quality of fics and the number of de-recs instead of actual recommendations.
Honestly, what I'd like to see is every recommendation being posted in the General Recs thread. Then any recommendations that do well there can be re-posted in this thread. That way people who want to see a lot of recommendations can watch the General Recs thread while people who want to see only "the best damn fics" can watch this thread. Unfortunately, people keep posting recommendations in this thread and not the General Recs thread so anyone who wants recommendations has to watch this thread and deal with all of the arguing over whether fics meets the standards of the thread.
- Location
- Hell
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'd say that the people posting fics to this thread genuinely think that what they post is up to the standards of "The Best Damn Fics You've ever Read." The issue lies in the interpretation - nowadays, it's become a point against you if you like something thay isn't the best. How many times have you come across a comment somewhere that says something like 'oh, you like X? What are you, retarded? X is garbage and so is your taste in Y!' In responce to someone liking a controversial thing?
Probably a lot. This is because we've got this huge cultural weight on the value of intelligence and being a discerning individual. You're only 'allowed' to like bad things if you like them 'ironically,' or in a The Room so-bad-it's-good way. Liking something 'bad' has become evidence that you're stupid, as the implication is that you're too stupid to know that it's not 'good.' This leads to a culture of people who rabidly defend things they like, because, in essence, calling something that someone else likes 'bad' is calling them stupid.
I have a friend who adamantly defended Destiny 2, and, even though I know that he knows that it's objectively not very good. It was a fun experience for him that he enjoyed, and every new youtube video or reddit post about how shit the game would make him come up with excuses and justifications. It wasn't really the game he was sefending, it was himself.
Now, if you like something, that must mean that it's good, otherwise you're dumb. So when people see "General Reccomendations" and "The Best Damn Fics You've ever Read," by default they're going to want to post what are their favorite fics to both of them, as 'favorite,' meaning 'most liked,' must subsequently mean that it is the Best Fic they've read. If you're to be seen as smart, your most favorite thing must be the most best thing.
Hence why people post Time Braid in this thread.
Hence why arguments get heated. It's not the quality of the fic being debated, it's how intelligent the submitter is.
- Location
- Somewhere
This is precisely what it is. Look in the reviews for any godawful story on any fiction site on the net. They'll be full of gushing praise about how it's the best thing since the French industrialized decapitation no matter how awful it is. Some people just have really bad taste or are otherwise willfully blind to massive flaws in things that they like.
Hell, look at the NYT bestsellers list for any given month. Look at the immense popularity of trash like Ready Player One, The Hunger Games, or literally any other YA novel/series among people who aren't in the target demographic. People as a whole like shallow trashy writing, and a lot of those people either aren't aware that it's trashy or pretend that it isn't, then become hurt and confused when people with sharper critical sensibilities talk about it.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying some lowbrow self-indulgence now and then, but there's a gap between having a guilty pleasure read and suggesting that it's a pillar of contemporary literary canon. A lot of folks don't quite reach that realization is all. They enjoyed it, ergo it's great.
I am going to throw an anti-rec for "Sandaime".
While it presents itself as a character study, it acts more as a character glorification. The Sandaime is untouchable, and perfect. Able to utterly destroy anyone he is against while being morally superior. The closest it gets is having him be a poor teacher, and then having his methods make his team great. I don't feel a three dimensional character in this, I feel a paragon or propaganda piece. But honestly, If it had simply been the Sandaime, I wouldn't have felt it was bad enough to de-rec, not to my taste, but only mediocre.
However, the fic then goes on to talk about Konoha, and I find that the fic's problem can be summarized in one section.
This sums up what truly bothers me about this fic. It postulates a world in which Konoha is invulnerable, any and all blows are unimportant, and no one can stand against it. This fic will often twist itself into knots to do so. Take, for instance, the Hyuuga kidnapping. The fic can't have Konoha actually worried about war or threatened, so rather than actually needing to prevent war, the demands have to be a laughable bluff. But at the same time, Konoha can't be allowed to be wrong, so when they give in it has to be a super-clever move that makes them look honorable and gets them more money, rather than making them look weak for giving into a laughable bluff. This fic is utterly committed to neutering any possible threat to Konoha, not only can Konoha beat them physically, but mentally. All the other great villages are incapable of recognizing mercy but are also utterly unable to distinguish or understand the motivations of any of the missing ninja's of Konoha. Konoha's enemies must be deficient, physically, mentally and morally.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is that, for me, it doesn't even succeed at its goal of making me feel impressed by the Sandaime. Since it insists on never letting anything threated him or Konoha, it doesn't come across as managing to beat the best, but as mildly competent person beating a bunch of mooks made to lose.
While it presents itself as a character study, it acts more as a character glorification. The Sandaime is untouchable, and perfect. Able to utterly destroy anyone he is against while being morally superior. The closest it gets is having him be a poor teacher, and then having his methods make his team great. I don't feel a three dimensional character in this, I feel a paragon or propaganda piece. But honestly, If it had simply been the Sandaime, I wouldn't have felt it was bad enough to de-rec, not to my taste, but only mediocre.
However, the fic then goes on to talk about Konoha, and I find that the fic's problem can be summarized in one section.
Sandaime said:
This sums up what truly bothers me about this fic. It postulates a world in which Konoha is invulnerable, any and all blows are unimportant, and no one can stand against it. This fic will often twist itself into knots to do so. Take, for instance, the Hyuuga kidnapping. The fic can't have Konoha actually worried about war or threatened, so rather than actually needing to prevent war, the demands have to be a laughable bluff. But at the same time, Konoha can't be allowed to be wrong, so when they give in it has to be a super-clever move that makes them look honorable and gets them more money, rather than making them look weak for giving into a laughable bluff. This fic is utterly committed to neutering any possible threat to Konoha, not only can Konoha beat them physically, but mentally. All the other great villages are incapable of recognizing mercy but are also utterly unable to distinguish or understand the motivations of any of the missing ninja's of Konoha. Konoha's enemies must be deficient, physically, mentally and morally.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is that, for me, it doesn't even succeed at its goal of making me feel impressed by the Sandaime. Since it insists on never letting anything threated him or Konoha, it doesn't come across as managing to beat the best, but as mildly competent person beating a bunch of mooks made to lose.
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I find myself unable to really disagree with any of what you're saying here, but at the same time... I came away with the impression all of that was kind of the point? I mean, throughout Naruto we learn the old man did a lot of stuff that seems stupid or nonsensical, much of which probably really was because if nothing else, the author was an author, not a genius-ninja-dictator. In universe however, he still attained and apparently managed to live up to the title "God of Shinobi" and the fic is tilting it's head to the point of whiplash and squinting as hard as it can to try and reconcile those two points.
- Location
- Tennessee
I think you might have been taking everything as the literal truth. To me, it was implied that this was from the point of view of historians that were biased by multiple sources that all looked at Sarutobi's reputation and interpreted history in that light. The ending question of "what's more likely" was essentially some mutation of Refuge in Audacity, in that everyone believed the Sandaime was that powerful, skilled, and manipulative that the fact he was awful didn't even register. His blunders actually came away as successes because everyone overestimated his political acumen.
From reading some of the subsequent discussion, it's possible that the interpretation I came away with is actually the wrong one, and that your analysis is correct.
Also also, some of your criticisms are valid against canon (Konoha seen as invincible, no real threats, always comes out on top, etc.), and as this fic tries to abide by canon it naturally picks up some of the same flaws (though the point is to change those glaring plot holes into something that's remotely plausible).
That was one of the things I most liked about it. It took events that happened and showed an entirely different perspective on them.
- Location
- UK
Late to the party but derec, author consistently tells what characters do instead of showing. Some other glaring errors so I couldn't get past the 1st chapter
CV12Hornet
Riter.
- Location
- Tacoma, Washington
Fourthing Exclusive.
Old Spice Guy
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
- Location
- Riding a horse, backwards
At 4 recs and no Dereccs I think it is now listworthy right?
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- Location
- US of A
The list isn't updated immediately, it gets updated every couple months. This gives people the chance to derec or articulate more about the fic before it gets on the list.
Old Spice Guy
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
- Location
- Riding a horse, backwards
True, I was also kind of hoping for a little more discussion. Seems like a lot of people were too engrossed in the other ongoing conversations to actually see the rec.
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'll rec this as well. Very well done, without outstaying its welcome.
I'd say the bit with the sniper - near the end - was somewhat unnecessary, but it didn't impact my general enjoyment any.
And
the reveal of his being Peter Parker was clever - it recontextualises some of the earlier stuff, too; of course Peter would be suspicious of the party line on the Hulk, it probably hit a little too close to home with how Spiderman is seen by the Bugle
So here are a few recs that aren't in the masterlist on page 1. I am not sure if they were mentioned in the thread before but I hope not.
DETECTIVE CONAN
The Mystery of Conan Edogawa by funvince
Summary:
This story is basically about Ran doing the detective legwork in order to prove that Conan is Shinji and it is an immensely satisfying right to see her going through the steps and the conclusion at the end. The characters themselves are portrayed really accurately and the writing style is pretty good. At roughly 40k words it isn't particularly long but a must read for any fans of Conan I really think satisfying is the best word for it.
I am actually not sure if this one should count since it is a trilogy where the third story is kinda abandoned at this point but Hammered Down made it into the list and its sequel is equally not finished so here we go, I guess.
TEEN TITANS
Avatar and Adaptation by Cyberwraith9
Summaries:
Hands down, among my favorite fanfics there is. I know for some, Avatar had a bit of a slow start before it got going and the writing does get stronger throughout the story but what kind of story it is telling has always been excellent. The way these stories use and develop their characters is astounding. It makes great use of characters that are only in the show, additional DC characters and even original characters. I will say right here, that to me Tek has become as much of a titan as any of the other five members at the end.
What it is about is that the first story starts with Robin developing superpowers, alongside the author's own interpratation and take on various Teen Titan plots. This serves as a great catalyst to explore what being a hero means to the characters and most importantly what being a Titan is. The team line-up changes at times quite drastically throughout the stories, as do the characters and it strikes a more serious, grimmer down while never quite losing the humor of the show, hitting a very good balance. It gives each character their time to shine, gives them all extremely interesting character arcs and does not shy away from heavier moments. It gives me quite the Worm feel at times, when I reread it, but these stories started before Worm, so there is that.
So if you like the Teen Titans, you'll like these stories. So worth reading, had several outstanding scenes that I still remember to this day and there are sections and lines I reread periodically and will always remember vividly. So yeah, great characters and great time reading about them. First story is roughly 260k words, second is over 400k so there is quite a bit to read. The third, as of now still incomplete one is only around 90k words and the fact that it might never finish makes me cry but these two stories still tell a satisfying and complete story for the most part.
TOMB RAIDER
The Camera Loves You and its sequel The Dreaming by Asynca.
First story clocks in on 130,861 words and the second on 256,960. Despite what the first few chapters would like you to believe, this is mainly an action/adventure story with intensive thriller parts. They are also rather faithful to the spirit of Tomb Raider with the archaeological sites and the supernatural elements. The stories are also extremely compelling and of the stories where I burned through the night to read them.
Great take on the characters, one grows to extremely care for both, Lara and Sam and various other characters, the action is great and if there is one particular strength of Asynca as an author is her ability to make the reader extremely uncomfortable and stressed when reading her stories because one grows to care for her characters so much and she then puts them into extremely stressful situations, better than any other author that I have come across. The second story especially has a scene that hits you really, really hard and was super difficult to read, in a good way. The story is also quite accessible to those who haven't played any of the games. The stories were well planned and structured and the effort shows. Writing style is very pleasant to read and it's just compelling stuff all around.
She has also published original books, starring her OCs she put in the second story, which are more about normal life than tomb diving and action though, but still well written, so check them out.
FIRE EMBLEM
Queen of Sorrow by Lord Syntax
I have never played Fire Emblem and I don't think that's going to change any time soon but I still loved this story from start to finish and could follow this story just fine as it stands perfectly well on it sown, although I feel comfortable saying that if you have knowledge of the series and are already invested in these characters, the story will of course work even better for you but yeah, if others like me never played the games, it's safe to jump in.
That also means that I do not know how accurate the portrayal of the characters is in this and how faithful it is to the source material but to me, it worked.
To the story now, the story starts at the point where Lucia is being threatened to be killed by what I remember to be traitors and where in the game, she gets saved by the protagonist of the game and here, well, she does not. The story follows Queen Elincia who, now realizing that she has to stand on her own and she know does just that. The story is basically where a once good and typical nice queen slowly but surely is forced on a more practical and less kind path in order to keep her kingdom and subjects safe. The characterization of Elincia is excellent and her development is utterly believable and consistent throughout the story and no matter how heinous and fucked up her actions end up being, one never loses the fact that she hates doing them and feels forced to commit them, for the good of her country and people.
That tightrope is a difficult one to walk for a story and it is a fascinating experience, one that had me engaged from beginning to end. If there was one flaw, is that there is a moment or two where things go a bit too good for her but generally speaking, her actions do have consequences and it remains a intensely compelling story. Loved it. It also had some vivid scenes I still remember, years later. At just over 200k words, it is at a decent length and well worth a read.
HARRY POTTER
This is a bit cheating, I guess, but it's really hard to narrow down but I would honestly say anything by Inverarity. He has five stories uploaded on ff.net, all of them are complete, the shortest of which is 165k and every single one of them is outstanding.
The good thing is, they can be sorted into two categories, so it's really just two recs here.
One is the standalone Hogwarts Houses Divided, which is a next gen fic.
It really is what it says on the tin it will be. The story follows Teddy Lupin, Kai Cheng, Dewey Diggory and Violet Parkinson as they start their own Hogwarts journey as first years, in a time where the bitterness and divide between the Hogwarts Houses is particularly troublesome. The four characters strike up a friendship at the very beginning, before any of them are sorted on the train ride there and they kinda already know that they will all be in different houses because of their families and the legacies that each of them are trailing behind, so they vow to remains friends regardless.
The story really picks up a lot of themes and issues that the Harry Potter books introduced, but never truly expanded on, such as the issues of House Elves and Goblins, the matter of ghosts, peer pressure, the sins of the past and the relationship between muggleborns and those who grew up in the wizarding world. It also looks into the stereotypes that plague each house and the problems of defining someone solely by which house they belong to. It's a very rich story in that regard and it also manages to stay very close in atmosphere and general feeling to canon.
The characters are all interesting and well defined, the level of writing is outright professional, and the subject matter of exploring the various things it fascinating.
It is not perfect though, and the kids don't always feel like 11 year old kids and at the climax of the story, the boys get to do quite a bit more than the girls overall, which was notable, with how Violet was other-wisely portrayed.
But overall, it's an excellent story. With 200k words it's not too long and should be read by every Potter fan. Harry and some other canon chars do appear, but the story is mainly about the four kids.
His other series is the Alexandra Quick series, starting with Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle.
At first glance, it seems to strike quite a few no-nos for HP fics. It's set in America for one and it's about an OC for another. The story goes one further, it sets up a completely different society and cast of characters. No canon characters ever appear, I think at most maybe either Voldemort or Dumbledore is mentioned maybe once but that's it. It doesn't really have any ties to Harry Potter outside of being set in the same world, with the same magic.
And it is fantastic. Alexandra is such an amazing character and her journey is gripping from start to finish. Magical America is super fascinating and super fleshed out in such a way that it's really hard to describe. A lot fo thought and effort went into this and it paid off big time.
Alexandra can be a bit off putting for some, (well, even more than the general premise) as she is rather headstrong and bullheaded at times, but I love her and her journey of trying to find out about herself, her place in the world and the plots that shape the world around her is utterly fascinating. There is also a rather great cast of supporting characters populating this world. There are four completed stories for Alexandra, although is has been quite a while since the last one and while I think Inverarity is still working on the fifth one, no ETA in sight.
NARUTO
Vapors by ElectraSev5n
SI is reincarnated as Naruto's twin sister. This is a very entertaiing, fast paced and action packed read with fun interactions between the characters. Most of them were handled great, the changes that rather organically happen are super interesting (making Sasuke the apprentice of Tsunade is outright brilliant) and Aiko is an amazing, larger than life character who is extremely fun to follow. She is so distinct and full of personality and makes for great interactions with all the characters and factions of Naruto, making it a blast to read.
The writing itself is a bit weaker on the technical side, typos and stuff and some awkwardly written sentences here and there but honestly, it didn't diminish the joy I got from reading this one bit. It doesn't take itself super seriously but it never becomes crack or anything like it either. It tells very much its own story without going for anything else and does that amazingly.
While it follows the canon plot to a point, but really focus more on original plotlines, the story really lives from the character interactions and Aiko does her own thing for the most part. Aiko's larger than life personality allows for great moments when she collides and plays off with other characters. The story is full with memorable and quite funny scenes and the outrageous actions are never something the reader doesn't buy into.
I can't stress enough how interesting and compelling her relationships with various characters such as Kakashi, Hinata, Karin, Temari, Sasuke and Tsunade are. And others. The take on Sasuke in this story is outstanding, btw, honestly the best in the fandom. In general, all the characters get their own spin on them in a way that makes them rather distinct to this story and makes them a joy to read about. It's the strong characters interacting with each other and Aiko that really drives this story.
So yeah, at over 600k words, it is really long but it's one of those stories where you don't really feel the length. The writing has issues, as I said, but when a story manages to hold your attention for 600k words, well, that's just amazing and says more about it then the technical aspects. It's never boring or stupid.
It has a sequel that was a bit meh, tbh, since it build on a trope that I really didn't like. It has another follow-up story in which Aiko lands in the canon Naruto world, where she wasn't born and kinda takes over the Hidden Mist which is an absolute blast to read.
Overall, the story is very distinct, immensely entertaining and compelling and handles its characters with great care and attention.
BLEACH
Uninvited Guests by Moczo
I must have read this story more than three or four times at this point and it still is hilarious to me. It's a crack-ish humor story, where it really is just all about the outrageous and hilariously actions and interactions of the characters, poking excellent fun at Bleach and not in a mean-spirited way.
Give it a try and it's hard to imagine it not getting at least a few laughs. It is so very memorable, the writing is competent and it is just overall extremely funny. Especially the take on Aizen towards the end is just brilliant.
PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA
When I talk about this story in a bit, it will contain spoilers for PMMM the anime so skip it if you want to still watch it.
Fargo by Bavitz
Oh man, where do I start here. This story is probably not for everyone but then again, PMMM is not for everyone either so I guess it works out on that front. A mate described it best when he said that "If PMMM was a grimdark take on a typical magical girl anime, this is a grimdark take on PMMM". As the summary says, this plays after Rebellion, meaning Homura is the one controlling the world here and the story mainly follows an OC cast in America, although we still get snippets from Homura's POV from time to time and later on, the story shifts to Japan and we have both casts interacting.
The life of magical girls after Rebellion hasn't gotten any easier, it's fair to say and characters are kinda forced by their circumstances to behave in a certain way. It has very much become a might makes right kinda world, very similar to Puella Magi Homura Magica which is not on this list because it doesn't fit the complete criteria and I would kill for it to update and finish. Anyway, what I am trying to say is, the overwhelming majority of the characters in this story, in fact, until a certain point basically all the characters in this story are a combination of vicious, apathetic, self-serving, ruthless and sadistic assholes. Some are all of those. A few are literally insane on top and in this world where the strong survive, where the current devil/goddess in charge doesn't give a single shit about them outside of being cogs in the world to make Madoka happy, whereas the other major player seems them in exactly the same way, only for his own goals, and well, life kinda sucks for everyone involved.
That is really the biggest hurdle for the story, I think. There are few traditionally likeable characters in this story ( I love Delaney though). Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of interesting and utterly fascinating characters, who have amazing interactions and heartwrenching stories and where the things that happen and the stories that are set into motion when those characters meet are amazing and tense but it doesn't change the fact that they are still horrible people for the most part, doing horrible things to each other.
And all throughout that, the hunting, the infighting, the everything, Kyubey is scheming. Kyubey is always scheming. And Homura is scheming against Kyubey's scheming and the girls, all the girls, are kinda caught between those two in matters they can barely perceive, let alone understand. It's not like they have the time or energy to figure things out, not really.
You will find yourselves frustrated with them at times. The story manages to nail the PMMM mindset so freaking well, I am astonished. The magical girls themselves, the world, the story and basically everything in this was well thought out, implemented and executed. It's professional level work and an amazing journey to partake, if you can stomach a cast of characters who are not the best people around.
What the actual plot is though, is a bit harder to explain without spoiling anything. Initially, Sloan, the main character, meets a few other magical girls to tackle a big Wraith, that is too dangerous for anyone to attack alone and really, the story kicks off from there, as Sloan is also out for revenge against a former ally and friend who betrayed her before the story started.
The dialog is excellent, the world-building is so on point and the sheer scope of misery in this setting is so weirdly compelling, it's hard to explain. The fight scenes are amazing and the tension throughout the story is expertly set up and maintained. There is always interesting things going on, the characters are amazing and compelling, despite the fact that most of them are as said horrible people and while one understands how and why they become that way, and it is often for tragic reasons, that it doesn't change the fact that they still are and the ability to carry a story with such characters is nothing short of amazing and there is a reason as to why the characters are written that way in the purpose of the overall plot. It's an epic story on a world scale and the story sells that and the journey there, starting from such a personal, small point is rather amazing.
Really, this story is incredible. Probably the best of the fandom, alongside Puella Magi Homura Magica. Has a few minor technical issues, I think, and again, not for everyone but worth checking out regardless.
DETECTIVE CONAN
The Mystery of Conan Edogawa by funvince
Summary:
This story is basically about Ran doing the detective legwork in order to prove that Conan is Shinji and it is an immensely satisfying right to see her going through the steps and the conclusion at the end. The characters themselves are portrayed really accurately and the writing style is pretty good. At roughly 40k words it isn't particularly long but a must read for any fans of Conan I really think satisfying is the best word for it.
I am actually not sure if this one should count since it is a trilogy where the third story is kinda abandoned at this point but Hammered Down made it into the list and its sequel is equally not finished so here we go, I guess.
TEEN TITANS
Avatar and Adaptation by Cyberwraith9
Summaries:
Hands down, among my favorite fanfics there is. I know for some, Avatar had a bit of a slow start before it got going and the writing does get stronger throughout the story but what kind of story it is telling has always been excellent. The way these stories use and develop their characters is astounding. It makes great use of characters that are only in the show, additional DC characters and even original characters. I will say right here, that to me Tek has become as much of a titan as any of the other five members at the end.
What it is about is that the first story starts with Robin developing superpowers, alongside the author's own interpratation and take on various Teen Titan plots. This serves as a great catalyst to explore what being a hero means to the characters and most importantly what being a Titan is. The team line-up changes at times quite drastically throughout the stories, as do the characters and it strikes a more serious, grimmer down while never quite losing the humor of the show, hitting a very good balance. It gives each character their time to shine, gives them all extremely interesting character arcs and does not shy away from heavier moments. It gives me quite the Worm feel at times, when I reread it, but these stories started before Worm, so there is that.
So if you like the Teen Titans, you'll like these stories. So worth reading, had several outstanding scenes that I still remember to this day and there are sections and lines I reread periodically and will always remember vividly. So yeah, great characters and great time reading about them. First story is roughly 260k words, second is over 400k so there is quite a bit to read. The third, as of now still incomplete one is only around 90k words and the fact that it might never finish makes me cry but these two stories still tell a satisfying and complete story for the most part.
TOMB RAIDER
The Camera Loves You and its sequel The Dreaming by Asynca.
First story clocks in on 130,861 words and the second on 256,960. Despite what the first few chapters would like you to believe, this is mainly an action/adventure story with intensive thriller parts. They are also rather faithful to the spirit of Tomb Raider with the archaeological sites and the supernatural elements. The stories are also extremely compelling and of the stories where I burned through the night to read them.
Great take on the characters, one grows to extremely care for both, Lara and Sam and various other characters, the action is great and if there is one particular strength of Asynca as an author is her ability to make the reader extremely uncomfortable and stressed when reading her stories because one grows to care for her characters so much and she then puts them into extremely stressful situations, better than any other author that I have come across. The second story especially has a scene that hits you really, really hard and was super difficult to read, in a good way. The story is also quite accessible to those who haven't played any of the games. The stories were well planned and structured and the effort shows. Writing style is very pleasant to read and it's just compelling stuff all around.
She has also published original books, starring her OCs she put in the second story, which are more about normal life than tomb diving and action though, but still well written, so check them out.
FIRE EMBLEM
Queen of Sorrow by Lord Syntax
I have never played Fire Emblem and I don't think that's going to change any time soon but I still loved this story from start to finish and could follow this story just fine as it stands perfectly well on it sown, although I feel comfortable saying that if you have knowledge of the series and are already invested in these characters, the story will of course work even better for you but yeah, if others like me never played the games, it's safe to jump in.
That also means that I do not know how accurate the portrayal of the characters is in this and how faithful it is to the source material but to me, it worked.
To the story now, the story starts at the point where Lucia is being threatened to be killed by what I remember to be traitors and where in the game, she gets saved by the protagonist of the game and here, well, she does not. The story follows Queen Elincia who, now realizing that she has to stand on her own and she know does just that. The story is basically where a once good and typical nice queen slowly but surely is forced on a more practical and less kind path in order to keep her kingdom and subjects safe. The characterization of Elincia is excellent and her development is utterly believable and consistent throughout the story and no matter how heinous and fucked up her actions end up being, one never loses the fact that she hates doing them and feels forced to commit them, for the good of her country and people.
That tightrope is a difficult one to walk for a story and it is a fascinating experience, one that had me engaged from beginning to end. If there was one flaw, is that there is a moment or two where things go a bit too good for her but generally speaking, her actions do have consequences and it remains a intensely compelling story. Loved it. It also had some vivid scenes I still remember, years later. At just over 200k words, it is at a decent length and well worth a read.
HARRY POTTER
This is a bit cheating, I guess, but it's really hard to narrow down but I would honestly say anything by Inverarity. He has five stories uploaded on ff.net, all of them are complete, the shortest of which is 165k and every single one of them is outstanding.
The good thing is, they can be sorted into two categories, so it's really just two recs here.
One is the standalone Hogwarts Houses Divided, which is a next gen fic.
It really is what it says on the tin it will be. The story follows Teddy Lupin, Kai Cheng, Dewey Diggory and Violet Parkinson as they start their own Hogwarts journey as first years, in a time where the bitterness and divide between the Hogwarts Houses is particularly troublesome. The four characters strike up a friendship at the very beginning, before any of them are sorted on the train ride there and they kinda already know that they will all be in different houses because of their families and the legacies that each of them are trailing behind, so they vow to remains friends regardless.
The story really picks up a lot of themes and issues that the Harry Potter books introduced, but never truly expanded on, such as the issues of House Elves and Goblins, the matter of ghosts, peer pressure, the sins of the past and the relationship between muggleborns and those who grew up in the wizarding world. It also looks into the stereotypes that plague each house and the problems of defining someone solely by which house they belong to. It's a very rich story in that regard and it also manages to stay very close in atmosphere and general feeling to canon.
The characters are all interesting and well defined, the level of writing is outright professional, and the subject matter of exploring the various things it fascinating.
It is not perfect though, and the kids don't always feel like 11 year old kids and at the climax of the story, the boys get to do quite a bit more than the girls overall, which was notable, with how Violet was other-wisely portrayed.
But overall, it's an excellent story. With 200k words it's not too long and should be read by every Potter fan. Harry and some other canon chars do appear, but the story is mainly about the four kids.
His other series is the Alexandra Quick series, starting with Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle.
At first glance, it seems to strike quite a few no-nos for HP fics. It's set in America for one and it's about an OC for another. The story goes one further, it sets up a completely different society and cast of characters. No canon characters ever appear, I think at most maybe either Voldemort or Dumbledore is mentioned maybe once but that's it. It doesn't really have any ties to Harry Potter outside of being set in the same world, with the same magic.
And it is fantastic. Alexandra is such an amazing character and her journey is gripping from start to finish. Magical America is super fascinating and super fleshed out in such a way that it's really hard to describe. A lot fo thought and effort went into this and it paid off big time.
Alexandra can be a bit off putting for some, (well, even more than the general premise) as she is rather headstrong and bullheaded at times, but I love her and her journey of trying to find out about herself, her place in the world and the plots that shape the world around her is utterly fascinating. There is also a rather great cast of supporting characters populating this world. There are four completed stories for Alexandra, although is has been quite a while since the last one and while I think Inverarity is still working on the fifth one, no ETA in sight.
NARUTO
Vapors by ElectraSev5n
SI is reincarnated as Naruto's twin sister. This is a very entertaiing, fast paced and action packed read with fun interactions between the characters. Most of them were handled great, the changes that rather organically happen are super interesting (making Sasuke the apprentice of Tsunade is outright brilliant) and Aiko is an amazing, larger than life character who is extremely fun to follow. She is so distinct and full of personality and makes for great interactions with all the characters and factions of Naruto, making it a blast to read.
The writing itself is a bit weaker on the technical side, typos and stuff and some awkwardly written sentences here and there but honestly, it didn't diminish the joy I got from reading this one bit. It doesn't take itself super seriously but it never becomes crack or anything like it either. It tells very much its own story without going for anything else and does that amazingly.
While it follows the canon plot to a point, but really focus more on original plotlines, the story really lives from the character interactions and Aiko does her own thing for the most part. Aiko's larger than life personality allows for great moments when she collides and plays off with other characters. The story is full with memorable and quite funny scenes and the outrageous actions are never something the reader doesn't buy into.
I can't stress enough how interesting and compelling her relationships with various characters such as Kakashi, Hinata, Karin, Temari, Sasuke and Tsunade are. And others. The take on Sasuke in this story is outstanding, btw, honestly the best in the fandom. In general, all the characters get their own spin on them in a way that makes them rather distinct to this story and makes them a joy to read about. It's the strong characters interacting with each other and Aiko that really drives this story.
So yeah, at over 600k words, it is really long but it's one of those stories where you don't really feel the length. The writing has issues, as I said, but when a story manages to hold your attention for 600k words, well, that's just amazing and says more about it then the technical aspects. It's never boring or stupid.
It has a sequel that was a bit meh, tbh, since it build on a trope that I really didn't like. It has another follow-up story in which Aiko lands in the canon Naruto world, where she wasn't born and kinda takes over the Hidden Mist which is an absolute blast to read.
Overall, the story is very distinct, immensely entertaining and compelling and handles its characters with great care and attention.
BLEACH
Uninvited Guests by Moczo
I must have read this story more than three or four times at this point and it still is hilarious to me. It's a crack-ish humor story, where it really is just all about the outrageous and hilariously actions and interactions of the characters, poking excellent fun at Bleach and not in a mean-spirited way.
Give it a try and it's hard to imagine it not getting at least a few laughs. It is so very memorable, the writing is competent and it is just overall extremely funny. Especially the take on Aizen towards the end is just brilliant.
PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA
When I talk about this story in a bit, it will contain spoilers for PMMM the anime so skip it if you want to still watch it.
Fargo by Bavitz
Oh man, where do I start here. This story is probably not for everyone but then again, PMMM is not for everyone either so I guess it works out on that front. A mate described it best when he said that "If PMMM was a grimdark take on a typical magical girl anime, this is a grimdark take on PMMM". As the summary says, this plays after Rebellion, meaning Homura is the one controlling the world here and the story mainly follows an OC cast in America, although we still get snippets from Homura's POV from time to time and later on, the story shifts to Japan and we have both casts interacting.
The life of magical girls after Rebellion hasn't gotten any easier, it's fair to say and characters are kinda forced by their circumstances to behave in a certain way. It has very much become a might makes right kinda world, very similar to Puella Magi Homura Magica which is not on this list because it doesn't fit the complete criteria and I would kill for it to update and finish. Anyway, what I am trying to say is, the overwhelming majority of the characters in this story, in fact, until a certain point basically all the characters in this story are a combination of vicious, apathetic, self-serving, ruthless and sadistic assholes. Some are all of those. A few are literally insane on top and in this world where the strong survive, where the current devil/goddess in charge doesn't give a single shit about them outside of being cogs in the world to make Madoka happy, whereas the other major player seems them in exactly the same way, only for his own goals, and well, life kinda sucks for everyone involved.
That is really the biggest hurdle for the story, I think. There are few traditionally likeable characters in this story ( I love Delaney though). Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of interesting and utterly fascinating characters, who have amazing interactions and heartwrenching stories and where the things that happen and the stories that are set into motion when those characters meet are amazing and tense but it doesn't change the fact that they are still horrible people for the most part, doing horrible things to each other.
And all throughout that, the hunting, the infighting, the everything, Kyubey is scheming. Kyubey is always scheming. And Homura is scheming against Kyubey's scheming and the girls, all the girls, are kinda caught between those two in matters they can barely perceive, let alone understand. It's not like they have the time or energy to figure things out, not really.
You will find yourselves frustrated with them at times. The story manages to nail the PMMM mindset so freaking well, I am astonished. The magical girls themselves, the world, the story and basically everything in this was well thought out, implemented and executed. It's professional level work and an amazing journey to partake, if you can stomach a cast of characters who are not the best people around.
What the actual plot is though, is a bit harder to explain without spoiling anything. Initially, Sloan, the main character, meets a few other magical girls to tackle a big Wraith, that is too dangerous for anyone to attack alone and really, the story kicks off from there, as Sloan is also out for revenge against a former ally and friend who betrayed her before the story started.
The dialog is excellent, the world-building is so on point and the sheer scope of misery in this setting is so weirdly compelling, it's hard to explain. The fight scenes are amazing and the tension throughout the story is expertly set up and maintained. There is always interesting things going on, the characters are amazing and compelling, despite the fact that most of them are as said horrible people and while one understands how and why they become that way, and it is often for tragic reasons, that it doesn't change the fact that they still are and the ability to carry a story with such characters is nothing short of amazing and there is a reason as to why the characters are written that way in the purpose of the overall plot. It's an epic story on a world scale and the story sells that and the journey there, starting from such a personal, small point is rather amazing.
Really, this story is incredible. Probably the best of the fandom, alongside Puella Magi Homura Magica. Has a few minor technical issues, I think, and again, not for everyone but worth checking out regardless.
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- Location
- London
It really doesn't do that good of a job of portraying Elinicia's character and she makes a lot of massively out of character decisions which are honestly quite stupid with the info she should have available (the stuff with Izuka and Renning/Bertram). The character and motivations of various others characters do suffer as well (Bastion, Sephiran, Ike are some of the obvious ones). I'm not going to derec it because I can accept them as AU changes and the over-all tone being different than the game but I have sort of low standards when it comes to changes I can accept in a fanfic so others not be as okay with it.
Wobulator
Within 1 AU of you!
- Location
- Mars
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I haven't read the rest, but I'm gonna have to derec Vapors.
It's a fun read, to be sure, but... god, the Mary Sue.
Kakashi's apprentice, knows Flying Thunder God, has chakra chains, is friends with everyone, and... I think curbstomps a jinchuuriki?
It's just... not one of the Best Damn Fics. A solid one, sure, but not the best.
It's a fun read, to be sure, but... god, the Mary Sue.
Kakashi's apprentice, knows Flying Thunder God, has chakra chains, is friends with everyone, and... I think curbstomps a jinchuuriki?
It's just... not one of the Best Damn Fics. A solid one, sure, but not the best.
- Location
- Somewhere
I'll speak to the ones I'm familiar with. For the record, you can search in a specific thread, so it's pretty easy to check if things have been recced before.
I've talked before about it, but I am really goddamn fond of how the author handled the setting. It feels spot-on like Harry Potter while distinctly doing its own thing instead of being Harry Potter retold but In AMERICA/in the next generation/whatever with different characters. Alexandra is a nicely rounded character, with some good points but also some points that make me want to tear out my hair in frustration with her (in a good way).
I'll sixth the first book, but suggest that we keep it at that for now, because it's definitely the strongest and most engrossing IMO.
The series has been recommended twice in the thread. It received a second each time, one "the first book was good, I didn't like the later ones", and one "it was good but not great".
I've talked before about it, but I am really goddamn fond of how the author handled the setting. It feels spot-on like Harry Potter while distinctly doing its own thing instead of being Harry Potter retold but In AMERICA/in the next generation/whatever with different characters. Alexandra is a nicely rounded character, with some good points but also some points that make me want to tear out my hair in frustration with her (in a good way).
I'll sixth the first book, but suggest that we keep it at that for now, because it's definitely the strongest and most engrossing IMO.
I read it. It wasn't awful by the standards of Naruto SI fics, actually pretty decent at parts. Wobulator is spot-on about Aiko being an utter Mary Sue though, and there are times where the way she's handled in the narrative makes me want to throttle people in the way that one does after reading a hundred thousand words about an author's power fantasy daydream.
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
Is it okay to rerec stuff that seemed to have been mostly ignored?
Dead Man's Logic is a great Final Fantasy 6 fic i was able to enjoy without actually knowing all that much about final fantasy 6. Last time I linked it, i got one second, but that appears to be more due to not many people actually reading it than because it wasn't good...
The plot is a dead Villian deciding that the afterlife blows and he's off to haunt the heroes and maybe even fix a few things...
Dead Man's Logic is a great Final Fantasy 6 fic i was able to enjoy without actually knowing all that much about final fantasy 6. Last time I linked it, i got one second, but that appears to be more due to not many people actually reading it than because it wasn't good...
The plot is a dead Villian deciding that the afterlife blows and he's off to haunt the heroes and maybe even fix a few things...
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- Location
-
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm going to have to derec Alexandra Quick and the Thorn Circle. I got a bit over halfway through the first book, but the main character is just supremely unlikable. I really couldn't say why I was supposed to care about her or her goals at all.
- Location
- Nowhere
- Pronouns
- She/her
Rec.
I'm pretty sure this was brought up before, but I don't remember what the argument against it was.
Vyslanté
The self is a prison
- Location
- European Union
We're actually at 16 rec and one de-rec in that thread.
- Location
- oregon, usa
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Two de-recs actually, and the quotes for those curious to the reasons the de-recs were given:
Vyslanté
The self is a prison
- Location
- European Union
Ah, I missed Nottheunmaker's when counting ^^"