Right then. I was having a hard time coming up with anything to answer the topic with, but Game of Champions will do nicely.

 

I probably enjoyed The Lie I've Lived most out of any fan fic I've read. Shame we'll never get a sequel. Also Control but that will never even be finished.

 

Many of the ones that have already been stated in previous posts, but also:

Forging the Sword

 

Control, which will never, ever be continued.

 

ABC is just so good. The only thing that comes close is TLIL.

I have a special place in my heart for Circular Reasoning and Renegade Cause, but those fics are so grimdark it gets tiresome sometimes. If all you have is tragedy, then you constantly have to keep upping the stakes, because the reader becomes desensitized. ABC and TLIL have humor and everything else, so when something sad happens, it's much more effective.

 

Yeah, I'm some 70% through Renegade Cause, and the deaths and tragedy is just losing any effect - keeps on being trigger warnings, and I just have no reaction.

Anyway.

A Game of Champions and all of Blank101's fics because of course. But as to Harry Potter...hum. Whilst a score of excellent fics have been mentioned here, I think I'll go for Sesc's A Beautiful World. It captures the world in an entirely unique but absolutely canon-compliant way, and the writing is just beautiful.

 

Lets see...

A Game of Champions: The single best piece of non HP fanfiction I've ever read. Actually, the only piece of non HP fanfic I've ever read, but still an amazing fic.

In the HP fandom, my runners up are:

A Black Comedy: Because I can think of no flaw whatsoever with this.
Triwizard Tales: Not gonna lie, this is primarily a nostalgia pick, but I still find myself grinning my entire way through.
Renegade Cause: One of the few drama fics that I've actively enjoyed. I prefer comedy.
Obsessive Lily Disorder/The Sequel that I've Forgotten the Name of: Hilarious from beginning to end.
Forging the Sword: Cos its awesome. Also, YAY, Ron's in this! screw all of you that hates on him.

But my favourite has to be The Lie I've Lived. From beginning to end this had m- nah I'm just kidding- my favourite is HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. FUCK YES!!!!!!!!

 

I think I will have to go with The Denarian series by Shezza.

 

I'd also go with Game of Champions as favorite story, but my favorite series would be Alexandra Quick and I'm really looking forward to the Worlds Apart when it comes out.

 

I'll be original here and go with The Game of Champions for my all-time favorite.

There are other fics that I like almost quite as much. For Harry Potter : A Long Journey Home, On the Way to Greatness, Cauterize.
I also loved Hitchups (How to Train your Dragon), and Shivering Isles : Haze of Madness I have fond memories of, because it's about Oblivion : Shivering Isles, but I don't dare read it again because I don't want to risk to be disappointed.

 

Son of Suns Trilogy by blank101

 

Denarian series, loved the characters to death, (most awesome Harry-Dumbledore duo ever) best fight scenes (maybe a little to much though) and funniest fic imo.

More actual Hp fics who I love for different reasons

2.HPBWL
3.Forging the Sword/Lie I've Lived/Ectomancer

Also love OTWTG and Taure's Alexandra Potter and The One He Feared. I also like ABC and would list it after the one I mentioned eventhough it is to crack fic like for my tastes too be put higher.

 

I really wanted to like Renegade Cause since it had a lot of elements I love but it just seemed like something was going really wrong all the time. Frankly it was too depressing to be enjoyable to me. Shame since I'd like a decent, long completed fic about now.

 

Dark Lords of Nerima, but only if you happen to like both Ranma and Sailor Moon.
Seventh Horcrux, for the most laughs per word I've ever gotten from a fanfiction.

 

Definitely the Denarian series. Plus it got me into Dresden Files.

 

You know, speaking as the author, I'm shocked Renegade Cause gets any love at all - and I'm not saying this to be self-deprecating or nonsense like that, but I've gone back through that story and holy god is it uneven.

Don't get me wrong, there are parts of it I still love - most of it being the action sequences and flashbacks and any point I could build banter between Tonks and Harry - but I could have - and should have - sliced about 100,000 thousand words of overcomplicated plot out of that story and it would have been a lot better. If my spreadsheets proved anything, it was overplotted, melodramatic, and really pushed the readers' patience more than it should (especially before it was finished). It's one of the biggest reasons I've had a hard time working on 'Criminal Limit' - amongst other reasons, which I'll be able to announce in a few weeks - because there are so many loose ends that I want to continue with and I work better with an environment with restraint and focus. Probably one reason short stories tend to come much easier.

Anyway, in terms of favourite fanfics... you know, I could go with 'Wastelands of Time' or 'Boy Who Lived' or 'Wrath of the Half-Blood Prince', but I've been so out of the fandom for so long, I'm going to stick with the fanfic that blew my mind more than it had any right to and one I can go back to without prompting: 'Just Like Last Tuesday, Except With Zombies'. Not perfect, but still kind of brilliant all the same.

 

Despite having spent about half of the last 10 hours finishing Renegade Cause, I can't say I disagree with you. But the last third of that is simply incredible, enough that it kept me reading and reading, even though yes, it definitely needs some aggressive cutting.

Top work, man.

 

I actually rather liked the complicated intrigue in RC. My main complaint is that if you don't let the chars have a major victory from time to time, then by contrast, major losses lose their impact. RC makes even the successes feel like losses sometimes. It's just... depressing.

But otherwise, I kind of love it. Like Matrix Revolution.

 

Currently my top 5 are On the Way to Greatness, The Lie I've Lived, Forging the Sword, A Black Comedy, and What You Leave Behind


The Prisoner's Cipher and What Would Slytherin Harry Do? deserve a mention too.

 

[FONT=&quot]Circular Reasoning is easily my favorite Harry Potter fanfic of all time. There is much to love about this series. From the gorgeous prose to fantastic atmosphere that Swim often manages to inject into the story. While Harry is vastly different from canon he manages to be a solid lead character who is supported by a good cast of characters around him[FONT=&quot]. Combined with an engaging plot there isn't much for me to dislike about this story. [/FONT]
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