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What is your favorite fanfic of all time?

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Maelstorm212, Jan 12, 2019.

  1. AlbusPHolmes

    AlbusPHolmes The Alchemist

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    Yeah I know TOOHEF is Taure's fic - I never refer to it as RC's sequel.
     
  2. ScottPress

    ScottPress The Horny Sovereign –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    My mistake.
     
  3. pbluekan

    pbluekan Chief Warlock DLP Supporter

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    HP: A Long Journey Home - I’ve always been fascinated with this sort of Man From Earth style story, and the Merlin arc and Dumbledore stories are just too damn good. It’s always worth a reread, which puts it at the top in my mind. The Lie I’ve Lived comes in second place.

    The others are mostly crossovers.

    Dresden: Endless Pantheon - Todeswind has a masterful grip on the prose and style that brings Harry Dresden to life. His storytelling and ability to incorporate Stargate and mythological canon just turns this all the way up to 10.
    Mass Effect: The Spartan Effect - On the face of it, this is a pretty ordinary Master Chief and Cortana end up with the Normandy, but it combines some other tropes of the fandom into a mix that is wonderfully readable, and actually funny. Moreover, while the main stations of canon are touched on, they are approached and passed in utterly unique ways.
    LotR: The Shadow of Angmar - @Steelbadger just fucking kills this. I just wish that asshole wouldn’t stop mid stroke and just finish the damn thing.
     
  4. Pathological Liar

    Pathological Liar Second Year

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    1. Harry Potter And The Boy Who Lives by The Santi: The first and the most entertaining fic I ever read.

    2.Forging The Sword: The first fanfic thst convinced me that fanfics could be on par with canon.

    My Favourite Guilty Pleasure fanfic: Harry Potter and the Prince Of Slytherin.
     
  5. Shadow Shaman

    Shadow Shaman Third Year

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    1. Harry Potter and the Boy who Lived by TheSanti as it bought me to DLP and throughly entertained me .

    2. The Mary Sues Cometh by Citygirl1116. The funniest fic I have read and it brilliantly makes fun of the typical Sue cliches .Also has a section on common Sue names(backed up by research!) You can read it here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2507679/1/The-Mary-Sues-Cometh

    3. The Denarian trilogy by Shezza. Very fun and entertaining read. Has lots of novel ideas but there were points where I felt like the Battles continued for too long.
     
  6. Horton

    Horton Second Year

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    Ok, just read that, best fic I read recently

    Any like it?
     
  7. pbluekan

    pbluekan Chief Warlock DLP Supporter

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    Wizard From Earth by @Roarian is the only other good example. Most examples of this type of fic are garbage.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2019
  8. Erotic Adventures of S

    Erotic Adventures of S Denarii Host

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    @Taure just reread The one he feared, still
    A great story and very rereadable on a lazy weekend.

    Since it’s been half a decade since you finished it with just the first bit of chapter 5, would you consider dropping your story outline like you did for Lords of Magic?
     
  9. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    There isn't really a single definitive document for TOHF. It went through a few iterations and the plans leave a lot unsaid.

    Nonetheless, deduce what you will from the below. Note that I decided against including Grindelwald, but the plans were never updated to incorporate that change.


    Main threads:

    • Horcruxes (destruction of regular and conundrum of Harry)

    • Identity crisis

    • Relationships

    • The war

    • Dumbledore’s plan/Hallows

    • Misc:

      • Dumbledore’s past/Grindelwald

      • Snape

      • World

      • Depiction of magic

      • Levity

    General Structure


    Beginning: trouble brewing (prologue + 3 chapters):

    • Horcruxes: realisation that Harry is one, establishing plan to deal with them going forward

    • ID crisis: initial receipt of memories, people noticing Harry is different

    • Relationships: problems with Ginny introduced, strain with Ron and Hermione given changes, platonic physical closeness with Hermione

    • War: escape from Privet Drive, first fight for the Ministry

    • Dumbledore’s plan: questions raised, snitch delivered with resurrection stone

    • Magic: cursebreaking, big duel, horcrux explanation

    • Levity: ten pin bowling, cake, passcodes, pigmy puffskeins, “long story”

    • World: first war history, Grindelwald backstory

    Early middle: breather, counter-attack and loss (3 chapters):

    • Horcruxes: diadem destroyed, no solution to scarcrux

    • War: body regained, quiet for a time, Malfoy Manor counter-assault, fall of the Ministry

    • Dumbledore’s Plan/hallows: retrieving Elder wand, letter from Dumbledore

    • ID crisis: becoming more like Dumbledore following implicit acceptance of Dumbledore’s plan, wand beginning to act up, Ron first person to doubt Dumbledore’s plan (insight re: weapons not being useful, dismissed by Harry initially)

    • Relationships: Ginny makes another attempt only to be shut down, DA reunion, (Ginny seeks comfort in another, chat with Hermione re: relationships?)

    • Magic: wandlore, explanation of Ministry defences

    • Levity: “prefer wizards” joke

    Late middle: dystopia (3 chapters):

    • Horcruxes: Locket destroyed, possession mechanics introduced (why? Include as levity? Or for Umbridge mission) and twin ease mentioned

    • War: Voldemort’s Ministry established, guerilla Order, turn to Grindelwald? (against Harry’s advice?), Umbridge/locket covert mission

    • Dumbledore’s Plan/hallows: Harry gains mastery of the Elder Wand from Draco, takes up its use

    • ID crisis: memory transfer revealed to Ron, Hermione and Ginny when they refuse to follow Harry further (in dystopian circumstances) without full disclosure. Grindelwald sees through Harry (if included) Grindelwald alludes to the hallows being a false idol.

    • Relationships: Ginny challenges Harry to do something Dumbledore never would, they sleep together. Ron and Hermione treating Harry differently since revelation, event X causes reestablishment of closeness but with different dynamic.

    • World: ICW meeting? (to show why no international intervention, though there is international involvement). Potentially get Grindelwald diplomatically rather than by breaking him out.

    • Snape makes contact with Order to lead into climax.

    • Magic: possession, more on Ministry protections, national magic explored, covert warfare appropriate magics explored, large scale obliviation squad magics potentially depicted

    End: climax (2 chapters + epilogue):

    • Snape’s loyalties tested and revealed, information provided

    • Horcruxes: Voldemort realises after Umbridge mission that horcruxes are jeopardised, goes to move the cup from Gringotts to the DoM. Order ambushes. Nagini and cup destroyed, scarcrux reunited with Voldemort and destroyed.

    • War: final confrontation with Voldemort (in Gringotts, Diagon Alley, Department of Mysteries, or all of the above). Role for Ron and Hermione in destruction of final horcruxes.

    • Dumbledore’s plan: resurrection stone revealed, Hallows are united...fail to save him.

    • ID crisis: rejection of Dumbledore’s plan in its moment of failure, embraces the Harry Potter side of himself by taking out the Holly wand. Priori incantatem effect. Harry realises the full nature of the connection he has with Voldemort. Idea occurs. Possession/battle of the wills, whole soul wins out.

      • Extra element is needed
    • Grindelwald?

      • Distracts Voldemort to give time for horcruxes to be destroyed? Or to give Harry respite for his revelations?

    Remember to:

    • Mention occasionally that Harry keeps the snitch on him

    • Keep wand locations clear

    • Get basilisk venom while at Hogwarts

    Dumbledore’s plan:

    • Dumbledore knows Harry is ill-prepared for the fight. Had hoped he would be prodigious like himself and Voldemort. He’s tried to provide Harry with weapons against Voldemort but can’t help but fear that they will be insufficient.

    • Dumbledore knows that even after gifting Harry with his knowledge, this will be insufficient to defeat Voldemort. An additional weapon is needed - the Hallows.

    • Dumbledore knows that he lacked the right moral constitution to become Master of Death

    • Dumbledore believes that Harry’s moral constitution and purity of soul are what are required to master the hallows.

    • Dumbledore decides to combine his magical prowess with Harry’s soul to create someone with both the capacity to unite the hallows and the magical prowess to use them to beat Voldemort.

    To work in:

    • Ron and Hermione capture Harry by surprise and force feed him veritaserum?

    • Dumbledore alive misdirection?

    Chapter One

    The memory transfer. Solidify Dumbledore characterisation.

    Scenes from Dumbledore’s life.

    Chapter Two

    Show Harry’s new thought processes and speech patterns. Escape from Privet Drive

    Wake up. Dursleys leave. Escape from Privet Drive. Aftermath.

    Chapter Three

    Exploring Harry’s new dynamics with friends and Order. Making plans, setting up the rest of the fic.

    Burrow life. Birthday. Scrimgeour and will. The sound.

    Chapter Four

    Show how the Ministry is going to last longer with “Dumbledore” still around. Show Harry’s combat skills, but inability to take out Voldemort using conventional means.

    Driving to wedding. Skim wedding, do reception.

    Battle in the Ministry - they rush to save the defensive enchantments, but too late. Voldemort killed. Hogwarts express aftermath.

    Interlude

    Reactions to chapter four events from three perspectives.

    Scrimgeour taking the offensive. Voldemort resurrected using the Polyjuice (don’t show that it’s Harry, but show that it’s a new form). He thinks Harry is possessed by Dumbledore. Harry seeking further power (Elder Wand)

    Chapter Five

    To show life at Hogwarts with Harry as HB. Revelation of Dumbledore’s plan. Reveal Harry’s status to his friends. To set up finding and destroying the Diadem. To set up the fall of the Ministry.

    Slug club meeting, Slughorn inspires idea to chase up Voldemort’s earliest followers. DA meeting develops the idea. Headmaster’s office, conversation with portrait. Dumbledore’s plan was for Harry to become Master of Death and defeat Voldemort thus. Revelation to friends. Word comes that Scrim is moving on Malfoy Manor. Harry seizes opportunity, makes up plan on the fly: going to infiltrate Malfoy Manor via Dobby. Chapter end with them disapparating.

    Chapter Six

    Ministry falls. Escape from Hogwarts. Destruction of Diadem horcrux.

    Infiltrates via Dobby, extracts memory of Diadem. Just in right place at right time to see “Harry Potter” kill Scrimgeour and Pius “retreat”. Rush back to Hogwarts. Goes into memory. Comes out to find Hogwarts under attack. Sends Ron and Hermione to chamber to get venom. Meet in R&R, destroy horcrux, fight way out of Hogwarts. Into Forbidden Forest.

    Chapter Seven

    Depiction of magical guerrilla warfare from aggressor’s POV. Show press treatment of “Harry”. Foreshadow ease of possession between similar bodies. Harry and Ginny resolution.

    Attack on Snatchers. Regroup at Order HQ in Forbidden forest. Ministry heist plan is hatched, possession practice in the rest of the chapter. Ginny dares Harry to prove he’s not Dumbledore - do something Dumbledore would never do. Fade to black on sex scene.

    Chapter Eight

    Taking the locket. Hermione-Umbridge switch.

    Ministry infiltration to steal Ministerial apparatus. Abandon plan for locket horcrux retrieval, spur of the moment polyjuice of Hermione as Umbridge.

    Chapter Nine

    Order on the back foot. Snape’s status revealed. Hermione’s death and destruction of Nagini. Harry gains mastery of Elder Wand. Setting up the final chapter.

    Chapter ends with Snape bringing the Order info that Voldemort is moving something very important. Harry guesses - horcrux.

    Chapter Ten

    Cup destroyed, Voldemort defeated, scarcrux destroyed. Harry’s identity issues resolved.

    Order ambushes Voldemort based on Snape’s information. Fight. Cup destroyed while Harry fights Voldemort. Harry still losing, even with Elder Wand. Harry defeated. Harry realises Dumbledore was wrong about MoD, accepts his death in at least removing Voldemort’s last horcrux. “Next adventure”, snitch opens. Resurrection stone revealed. Too late - Dumbledore’s plan was flawed, too obsessed with Hallows. Harry needs to be more himself and less Dumbledore to win. The pieces fall into place - Holly wand, priori incantatum. Possession via the connection Voldemort’s soul seeks itself out, body’s switch. Voldemort’s curse hits himself.
     
  10. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    I hate to admit it and I can’t quite understand why but I’ve come to terms with Dreaming of Sunshine apparently being my favorite fanfic.

    There are a lot of others out there that I like about as much and I regularly try to convince myself that one of those might take the top spot. They’re better in some ways and while reading them I might think those win but after a while to let things settle? Yeah.
     
  11. Knyght

    Knyght Alchemist

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    It's a shame the update rate has taken such a hit this year. I remember Silver Queen being able to crank out at least a couple chapter a month in the past but we've only had three or so this year.
     
  12. Anumidium

    Anumidium Second Year

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    Is Dreaming of Sunshine really that good? I’ve heard about it, but have put off reading it for years because I’ve heard that it rehashes canon Naruto down to filler material (which I don’t have any desire to read in a fic). What is it that makes it your favorite?
     
  13. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    I mean, yes and no? It's not the best written story out there in terms of prose. It hasn't got the best plot. It's not the most original.

    But it is (in my opinion) reasonably good at all of those things while hitting some specific... what's the opposite of a pet peeve? Things that I personally like are emphasized here in ways that they often aren't in stories.

    Teamwork is heavily emphasized. I gravitate towards Trio-oriented fics in the HP fandom for similar reasons. I know a lot of Naruto stories have a team-focus but this one does it well in my opinion. The characters aren't aged up but we get to watch them grow from 12ish onwards and they retain some vague aspect of childhood despite being technically adults - and I really like that. They aren't too childish for what they are doing but they also don't come across too much as mini-adults.

    There is almost no romance/shipping. A huge plus for me. It's not completely ignore but (1) they're kids and (2) the OC isn't overly interested for various reasons.

    The plot feels like it actually moves. Characters feel like they actually grow organically. The theory behind sealing is fun and it makes learning ninja skills feel like actual work rather than just magically knowing how to be badass, etc.

    Is there canon rehash? Yes, but it's of the sort that I like and am okay with. Events don't happen exactly the same with the addition of the OC, but at the same time a lot of things are similar because some events are bigger than the OC's ability to influence them without trying. Zabuza is still in Wave for the same reasons as in canon and they get the mission for similar reasons, but it feels different to me in a good way. This may be highly personal and some may think it's too similar to canon to enjoy.

    There are also original non-filler takes on a few plotlines and the filler is mostly used as content ideas for what I considered to be enjoyable arcs. The friendships and mentorships and plot points all work nicely for me.

    But ultimately? No matter how many times I realize that there may be stories out there that are technically better at any number of things I keep coming back to this one because I enjoy it the most. *shrug*

    It's definitely not for everyone.
     
  14. Quick Ben

    Quick Ben In ur docs, stealin ur werds.

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    Anything written by Enembee.

    I genuinely love his ideas and writing style.
     
  15. Raiko

    Raiko Groundskeeper DLP Supporter

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    RIP
     
  16. thejabber27

    thejabber27 Groundskeeper

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    Harry Potter: Browncoat, green eyes; I reread this every 6-8 months.

    Naruto: Dreaming of Sunshine, I only recently read this and I regret not reading sooner, my bias against SI proven wrong.

    Percy Jackson: Broken bow. The sequels are horrible, but this first one, yeah this hits all the right notes and doesn't overstay it's welcome.
     
  17. valrie

    valrie Fifth Year

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    I'm currently mostly reading Worm fanfiction but for some reason I really can't decide on a favorite there. Although Daystar (Worm/Exalted) is a really good and weekly updating story. The author works as an editor so it's pretty well written too. For other fandoms

    Elder Scrolls: Dragon from Ash
    Inheritance Cycle: The say the world was built for two (by AryaNuanen)
    HP/Silmarillion: Shadow of Angmar
    HP/ASoIaF: The Black Prince
    Harry Potter: I know not and I cannot know -- yet I live and I love

    Although The Mind Arts, Victoria Potter, An Unfound Door, Wastelands of Time, Applied Cultural Anthropology, A Long Journey Home, What You Leave Behind and HP and the Boy-Who-Lived are also reread at least yearly.

    It's kind of sad that the only HP fanfics that I really enjoy and have updated in the last 6 months are Victoria Potter, Mind Arts and Druid of Holly and Yew. And the last update for Mind Arts wasn't as good as the chapters before imo.

    Is it just me or are less quality Harry Potter fanfics being written recently? I used to find quite a bit of good Harry Potter fanfiction but recently it's all super edgy or with 1st year romances etc. It's kind of the reason why I branched out to Worm. Much easier to find new fics on Spacebattles for that.
     
  18. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter

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    So many abandoned stories on that list. I'm sorry.
     
  19. valrie

    valrie Fifth Year

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    Yes, I know... But Victoria Potter is still being updated and probably has some of best worldbuilding in my opinion. And complaining about it is kind of hypocritical too given that my own attempts at fanfiction never went past the first chapter.

    Although I was pretty sad after the two times Black Prince got an update only for it to say that it's now abandoned.

    And Shadow of Angmar, Unfound Door and Dragon of Ash have fairly decent chances at not being abandoned I think. So I still have those to look forward to!
     
  20. Zombie

    Zombie Black Philip Moderator DLP Supporter

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    I can't wait for Taure to abandon that one chapter from the finish.
     
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