What are you reading?

[Dracos]

They do that anyway.

[Yuthirin]

It's more like they're bending their spine into a Z while flying down an ice tube at a million miles an hour, trying to collect rings as they go without edging outside the marked lines. While they do this, live hedgehogs are being launched at them from mortar emplacements.

The 5-man team to reach the bottom with the best time wins, of course.

[Brian]

I'm 20 chapters into this:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6518287/1/Growing-Up-Black

Basic premise, the Black family is a bit larger than we see in the books, and some cousins of Sirius rescue Harry from the Dursleys.  Well, even wolves would be better parents for Harry than the Dursleys, so that seems alright.  I'm not sure if this is something I actually recommend, yet.  For one thing, it's taken twenty chapters to get Harry (and best-friend Draco) to Hogwarts.  For another, Ron and Hermione seem to be sorted into the 'bumbling antagonist' category, and Harry (for _some_ reason) loathed Dumbledore.

The fic has some good points, but may annoy me too much to continue....

[Yuthirin]

If you're 20 chapters in and not sure about recommending it, I'd consider it a lost cause.

[Brian]

Yeah, I got further, but in the second year, I got sick of Harry's character once he was given the diary.

[alethiophile]

Hermione being clumsily antagonified (probably not a word) is already enough for me to resolutely ignore it. I'm reminded of the 'They Shook Hands' series, whose plug is that it turns the Slytherins from random cardboard antagonists to real characters. Which it does...by neatly inverting the dynamic from canon, so it's now the Gryffindors who are random cardboard antagonists. Big improvement there. <_<

[Brian]

Yeah, that part was bothering me.  The story was kind of interesting, but dwelled too long on Harry's new adoptive family actually being Dark (even Sirius, it seemed!), so I found him a lot less sympathetic than canon.  I got through Hermione's arc (which ended poorly), but ... eh, decent writing for a mediocre premise, with continually declining and fanwanky execution.

[Ebiris]

The Chronicles of the Dark Lord Ginnymort is a short but cute story where Voldemort successfully possesses Ginny.

Yes I know what I said.

[alethiophile]

For a better take on slytherin!Harry, try this, and later chapters prefixed with 'SWAC'. Amusing stuff.

[Onyxlamb]

Team 8 updated. Took quite a while.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2731239/1/Team-8

[Empyrean]

Team 8 updated. Took quite a while.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2731239/1/Team-8

There's an understatement if there ever was one. I tried reading the latest chapter but sort of lost track of what the story had done so far. So I read a previous chapter, which referred to other previous events, which I wanted to read, and when I went back the same thing happened again. I think I'm going to need to start over from the beginning.

Not that reading Team 8 again is a bad thing.

[Yuthirin]

Team 8 updated. Took quite a while.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2731239/1/Team-8

NO SHIT

Edit: Aw hell, it's been so long I don't remember things. I need to reread. Oh noes. :D :D :D

[Dracos]

team 8:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Most convenient will.  Seriously, the bulk of it is set as something written post chuunin exam, possibly within the last week or so before her death.  It's enormously connected to current events of that time and just makes me laugh because of it.

Hiashi continues to basically be very overt in his being an ass, which saddens me as really no one calls him on simply being horrible rude directly to both Hokage.  Additionally, no one abolishes the 'super secret council' setup that basically bullshitted away the promotion.  I'm not sure what team 8 is supposed to do in context of a Konoha that's buried in bureacracy.  That no one does anything really about basically 2 ninjas deciding to secret council away a finished exam.  Even if it's just posturing.

It's nice that the backstory with Kurenai and Hiashi is finally revealed, though it still doesn't connect Hiashi and Naruto at all and why Hiashi would be invested in hating Naruto as he clearly is in the story.

The chapter is overall well written, but hard to invest in with such long gaps between chapters. 

[Dracos]

I read a bit of Backwards Compatibility.

Peggy-sue Harry.

...kinda terrible.  I stopped somewhere after a full chapter of Harry just saying horrible things without any rhyme or reason or ordering or direction.  Yadda Yadda, so and so dies, or goes crazy or murders.... do not care anymore.

[JonBob]

From Fake Dreams updated.

Mostly just a chapter to work towards other things. Did have a fight and some heart-to-heart sections.