What are you reading?

[Dracos]

Come on.  I know lots of you guys are reading fics.

Post one you liked here!

Dracos

[Brian]

Everything written by this guy.

It's Ranma 1/2, and (so far) pretty much all alt matchups.  I like his style. :)

[Sunhawk]

Hmmm... random stuff.  Some HP fics, which seem to be fairly lackluster in the quality department.  Not BAD, you understand... just not really worth an honest recommendation.  Scanning the Naruto section of ff.net in a similar situation, but with a lot more crap.

Stuff I've read recently that I liked... JoIsBishMyoga's (a 'warning' name, but a decent author) "The Best Defense" (complete) and the sequel "A Good Offense".  Unfortunately, the former's been removed (and the latter stalled) from ff.net, apparently as a result of someone whining and ff.net's remove-first, ask-later policy.  It's a YYH/HP crossover... and somehow it works fairly well.  http://foreverfandom.net/viewuser.php?uid=6 has the two stories.  Re-read Dark Hearts High recently too (www.improfanfic.com)... had  a few new chapters up since last time I read it.

That's about all worth mentioning that I can recall...

[Dracos]

Heyo...  been reading fanfiction lately a lot.

Saturday I went through all of ozzallos stuff on fanfiction.net.  Lots of girl-ranma stuff, but generally amusing and long.  Very few finished works though.  Most though were pretty amusing, whether it had Ranma hanging out with Hild or Setsuna warping herself to a world where the scouts don't exist but the bad guys do, and recruiting Ranma as part of trying to find a way to stave off the villians who are going to come and destroy the world without them.

Various folks have drawn me into reading Naruto fanfiction finally.  Time Braid is somewhat amusing.

Hill of swords most know about, and was fun.  Echoes of the Void, also fun, though getting a bit less so.

And I keep being told I should read Big Damn Kyon.  Something about it being awesome.  But that'd be too easy.

Anyhow, good to be back into reading fanfiction.  Sad to remember that fanfiction that isn't finished is almost never going to be finished.

[Dracos]

So I've been reading a voracious amount of fanfiction lately.

Some good.  Some terrible.

So what would I share?


http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3505392/1/Hell_is_a_Martial_Artist = Amusing.  Hild uses Ranma as entertainment.  Ozzalos also has several other good fics like Tales of the Foxcat and A Time Apart.  But is very girl ranma focused.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3566724/1/The_Dark_Lords_of_Nerima  Funny story where a youma gets saved by Ryouga and tricks the Nerima wrecking crew into fighting everybody.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4722676/1/Her_War Ko linked a bit ago.  Giving it another heads up.  Very dark.  Awesome What if the Musk and the Amazons really were like their fiction suggests.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5867091/1/Carried_Off This fic sucks.  BUT...
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6036571/1/Away_to_Neverland It leads into this fic, which is quite amusing.  Ranma in Touhou land, taking the touhou cast entirely as barely civilized monsters.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5394042/1/Mahoranma Ranma is an asshole in this.  Locked curse.  Sent to Negima.  And quite funny.

Some time rewind fics, from most amusing to least, ignoring those not worth linking
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5193644/1/Time_Braid - It's an interweaving of a group of characters going back in time repeatedly around the invasion, sometimes together, sometimes apart.  Follows Sakura mainly.  They don't know why or what they're supposed to be doing (Though they learn later)

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6017736/1/Fragments Several characters from different spinoff naruto-verses get dumped in the same one as the edges of reality start bending and they have to figure it out before things get much worse.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3536141/1/The_Tragedy_of_Repetition Naruto alone goes back.  mmm, I enjoyed but not as obviously offering as the others.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3541463/1/Genius_of_Konoha sort of an amusing supergenius naruto fic, not that he gets everything right at all.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6055388/1/Rebuild_of_Fairly_English_Story sort of a fun take on Persona 3.

There were some other good ones, but away from my home comp with the growing list.

[Anastasia]

Aaah. I've been reading the hell out of  (mostly) Ranma fanfiction for the past week, wanted to see if you were still in the game. In the time I've been gone, there's been some fantastic stories penned. Read any of these/have opinions on any of them?

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3505392/1/Hell_is_a_Martial_Artist

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3566724/1/The_Dark_Lords_of_Nerima

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5308231/1/Tabula_Rasa

These sound familiar; I think I've heard that they're fairly popular.

Yeah. Hell is a Martial Artist is Ranma and Hild(Ah My Goddess) meeting and they promptly hit it off in a mother/daughter sort of way. It's a blast to watch unfold as the two get closer. Ranma even visits Hell and is completely okay with it, in a perfectly reasonable way. Highly recommended, doubly so if you like seeing Urd have a bad day.

Dark Lords of Nerima is awesome. That's exactly what it is. It's awesome in written form. It's a Ranma/Sailor Moon fic...where Ranma and Ryouga manage to convince both Jadeite and the Sailors that the NWC is a third party bent on overtaking the world. They're so good at it that the two forces team up to take them down. Chaos and awesome ensues.

Tabula Rasa is another Ranma is stuck as a girl fanfic. I think it hits Ranma's likely reaction to being stuck as a woman better than any other fic, though I dislike what happens in later chapters.

Spoiler: ShowHide

The Jusenkyo Preservation Society being taken to that extreme leaves me cold and I don't like adding that much drama. Ranma's anger at his change is more than enough dramatic material to work with, the entire arc feels like an interruption of an otherwise good story.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3949222/1/Another_Rainy_Day_in_Nerima

Kind of interesting, but ultimately, annoyingly like the Bet.  Author says, "I'm going to write leadins to a bunch of interesting stories, but only bother finishing the highest voted one -- also, it can't be Akane."  Come to think of it, that's more than just _like_ the Bet....

Anyway, it was actually kinda interesting at first, but I kinda ... stopped caring before it ended.  Maybe I'll go back and take another look.

Nah, no need. It does have a sequel where Ranma starts to deal with his problems, but it's not all that great. To be honest you hit it dead on, it feels like a Bet fic from around 2000. It's my least favorite of the fics linked.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4722676/1/Her_War

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4823447/1/Reversal_of_Fortunes

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3592336/1/Together_A_Tale_of_Transformation_and_Tragedy

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5258470/1/Ah_My_Goddess_Haloes

(This is also a not so subtle good fanfic link dump.)

Hmm.  Not sure about those.  Probably going to be better than that bizzare Halo/Ranma/Metroid crossover I read three chapters of....

Her War is amazing. It's dark but enthralling to see play out.  It's like an old time epic, with Ranma starting as a Musk captive and ending up the emperor of a war-torn and shattered China. It also has the best villains I've read in a fanfic, to the point of having a nightmare the night after I read it.

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's also the only fic that has Ranma raped and make it feel like something other than a cheap, tasteless gimmick.

Reversal of Fortunes revolves around the Reversal Jewel being used differently, and with Ukyo and Shampoo becoming friends as they deal with it.  It's unfinished, hopefully this will change.

Together is...special. It's a horror fic that deconstructs the old tale of 'what if Ranma-chan and Ryoga fell in love?'. I like it to a point, it's...something.

The AMG fic is proof that characterization rules all. Davner's not a great writer, but his dialog and characters are stunning. They carry the piece far beyond the concept.

[Brian]

I'll go with Dark Lords for 1000$, Ana.

I like my ranma fics with high powered action, hilarity, and happy endings for as many involved as possible.

Also, I think you've finally motivated me to finish my own 'stuck' fic, come to think of it....

[Dracos]

yeah, amen to power.  :P  It's disappointing when anime fanfiction reverts characters to mere human.

[Anastasia]

Awesome, Brian!

[Ebiris]

I read quite a bit of fanfiction here and there, so I'll toss up a few links for stuff I'm either following or have recently finished that might be worth checking out.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5792734/1/Sleeping_with_the_Girls_Vol_I_Fictional_Reality
It's a self insert, and despite the claims not to have exaggerated charisma or powers or the like, the guy's still an ex military badass with an abrasive personality. So yeah, those are red flags right there. Still, the premise is an interesting one - every time he falls asleep, he warps into the bed of one of his favourite anime girls. Sadly he doesn't have a preference for kind moeblobs, so the likes of Ayeka and Shampoo are probably the nicest ones he ends up with, but he also ends up with villains like Marller and Quattro. Part of his abrasive personality is explained away by sleep deprivation as this continues, and it's just compelling to see the kind of chaos he can cause by taking stuff from one anime into the next, grabbing what he can just to survive. Has a sequel that's in progress.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4869171/1/Grand_Tour
A mega crossover that mostly covers anime and sci-fi tv/movies. Initially follows Ryouga as his curse sends him across dimensions, with the TSAB from Nanoha recruiting Ranma to help track him before the tears his magnified curse is causing in the dimensional fabric threatens reality. It's mostly a solid adventure romp through the various shows, with several existing concurrently on Earth (Ranma, Nanoha, Sailor Moon, and a whole bunch more all coexist together) so you get some fun interaction there. Has a sequel where Earth is invaded by a magitech civilisation equivalent to the TSAB, and our heroes all band together to hold them off until reinforcements from the TSAB can arrive. Pretty much everyone in it gets a chance to shine, and there's an amusing nod to the old Ranma/SM fandom trope where the TSAB discover the future of Crystal Tokyo and briefly wonder if it's a monstrous plot to take over the world before it becomes readily apparent that the sailor senshi are nice people who wouldn't do that. Even the villains are fleshed out, initially coming across as racist imperialist assholes but as you learn more... they're still imperialist, but you can see that they're anything but evil incarnate.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3384712/1/The_Lie_Ive_Lived
AU Harry Potter fic, where Harry absorbs the personality/memories of his father before the Triwizard Tournament, with all the skills and confidence that go with it. And it's a good thing too, since the Tournament in this fic is a vastly expanded affair, with more events, more contestants, and more danger. Harry is a bit overpowered even with the increased problems he's forced to deal with, but the action is superbly laid out, and it's really a thrill to read, seeing plots and planning come together in incredible set piece events, and the characterisation is top notch, too, with bitter hatred and romance in equal measure amongst the contestants, alongside the undercurrent of all the existing relationships in Hogwarts being shaken up. It's been a while since I've read this actually, but it's so good I had to mention it here.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5124106/1/bPolarity_b
Marvel Zombies. Love it or hate it, this ain't it. Oh, there's a worldwide zombie plague alright, but it's mostly focused on normal people, with only a few metas turning grey and groany. But even so, billions of shufling undead aren't something to brush off even if you're the Avengers. In this case, Norman Osborne takes advantage of the chaos to position himself and take charge after the President and Vice President both get bitten. The Superhero community is nearly paralyzed in shock by how suddenly everything's gone to hell, and just might be ready to listen to what the former Green Goblin has to say, since he seems to be the only one with a plan. Nobody would expect the Supervillains to do much but cause more trouble at a time like this... but instead perennial Spiderman punching bags the Shocker and the Rhino both take it upon themselves to rescue some civilians from a horde of zombies just outside their hideout, which is caught on the news shortly before TV gets locked down. Now the Shocker has to deal with being an actual Hero as the world comes apart at the seams - and rises to the occasion more than anyone could have dreamed. It's an inspiring tale of dogged determination against all odds, and while the Shocker is the protagonist, characters from all over the Marvel Universe both appear, and really shine - nobody needs to be denigrated to make the Shocker look better, and this was handled really well by the author.

[Anastasia]

It's a self insert, and despite the claims not to have exaggerated charisma or powers or the like, the guy's still an ex military badass with an abrasive personality.

I'm getting massive Iddy vibes.

[Jon]

It's a self insert, and despite the claims not to have exaggerated charisma or powers or the like, the guy's still an ex military badass with an abrasive personality.

I'm getting massive Iddy vibes.

The self-insert is a bit less violent (and, dare I say, xenophobic) than Iddy. A bit.

[Anastasia]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1594076/1/Tendo_Saotome_Anything_Goes

One half Ranma, one half shoujo. Mix together, add a dog and see what comes out. It's a decent story with Ranma reaching the Tendo Dojo and choosing to pretend he's a girl there.

Spoiler: ShowHide

It's a good fic until the last half chapter. Choosing to have everything go pearshaped wasn't the best authorial choice. He had a fine base to work off of, blowing it in one big dramatic reveal didn't suit the rest of the story.

[Anastasia]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5402961/1/Childhood_Loyalties

Lots of little Ranma/Ukyo shorts. I happen to like the first one, the rest are fluff.

[Anastasia]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4226945/1/Bein_Friends

It's not really a story as much as connected dialogues, but it's a breezy read of a friendship that lasts even as Ranma's marriage falls apart. I really like the tone and pace you set, Brian. Nice fic.

Unrelated edit for Brian: Random, but whatever happened to Zen? Did he just vanish off the face of fanfiction and never come back?