1. DLP Flash Christmas Competition + Writing Marathon 2024!

    Competition topic: Magical New Year!

    Marathon goal? Crank out words!

    Check the marathon thread or competition thread for details.

    Dismiss Notice
  2. Hi there, Guest

    Only registered users can really experience what DLP has to offer. Many forums are only accessible if you have an account. Why don't you register?
    Dismiss Notice
  3. Introducing for your Perusing Pleasure

    New Thread Thursday
    +
    Shit Post Sunday

    READ ME
    Dismiss Notice

Other Fandom Almost Recommendable: Barely Readable to Almost Good [Volume Two]

Discussion in 'Almost Recommended' started by Antivash, Aug 19, 2013.

Not open for further replies.
  1. Jibril

    Jibril Headmaster

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2006
    Messages:
    1,148
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    50.26°N, 19.02°E
    That's a given - after all its on Space Battles, with their "Hurr durr my more smart than ancient generals" and "Hurr durr medieval person - why you no invent gunpowder?"

    Also, I don't know why but they have a very large hard-on for inventing the printing press in most of SI stories for ASoIaF/GoT they produce.
     
  2. Himuradono

    Himuradono Professor

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2008
    Messages:
    422
    And canals. Can't forget the canals.
     
  3. chrnno

    chrnno High Inquisitor

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2011
    Messages:
    580
    To be fair it is also in AH and they have the same problems in that regard so can't blame only SB. I was reading another ASoIaF fic there and one of the main ideas in it was building a canal through the Neck of all things.

    I mean I could understand people doing that if they weren't using the canon size* but as is things get rather ridiculous...

    *Really Westeros is supposed to be as big as Europe? When I read the three books the series had years and years ago I was under the impression of something along the lines of France.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2016
  4. VanRopen

    VanRopen Headmaster

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2011
    Messages:
    1,085
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Westeros is supposed to be as large as South America, iirc.


    Yeah.
     
  5. Ferdiad

    Ferdiad Unspeakable

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2011
    Messages:
    790
    Location:
    Limerick, Ireland
    Martin has literally no sense of scale, he's like a chinese Xianxia author. He realised he fucked up when he he was brought to the set in the show which is only 400ft tall.
     
  6. Download

    Download Auror ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2014
    Messages:
    640
    Location:
    Adelaide, Australia
    High Score:
    1918
  7. Nemrut

    Nemrut The Black Mage ~ Prestige ~

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2009
    Messages:
    1,551
    Location:
    Department of Post-Mortem Communications
    High Score:
    2,101
    I agree with every bit of criticism but I still followed it because it was somewhat entertaining but the latest chapter is where I checked out.

    For reasons I don't know, a lot of people in those threads really hate the Martell's and I don't really understand why but they are almost always the fall-guys in the SI stories.
     
  8. Puzzled

    Puzzled High Inquisitor

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2014
    Messages:
    598
    Due to their canon backstory a lot of people view the Dornish and the Martells as obnoxious traitors who nonetheless get away with everything. The show's portrayal of them didn't help either.
     
  9. Nemrut

    Nemrut The Black Mage ~ Prestige ~

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2009
    Messages:
    1,551
    Location:
    Department of Post-Mortem Communications
    High Score:
    2,101
    How are they obnoxious traitors? I mean, granted, the show's portrayal of them was rancid but I don't see what makes them particularly treasonous. Always seemed more sympathetic than most, they had good reason to be pissed off.
     
  10. sildet

    sildet Sixth Year

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2015
    Messages:
    171
    Sacrifice and Subjugation Author: MetalDargon
    Rated: Fiction M - English - Adventure/Fantasy - OC - Chapters: 28 - Words: 375,988 - Reviews: 250 - Favs: 179 - Follows: 194 - Updated: May 26 - Published: Jun 20, 2014 - id: 10471043

    Pokemon fan fiction
    The story of a trainer's passion to elevate his pokemon to their greatest potentials, and his journey to recognize his own. Three hundred years after Red became the Indigo Champion, trouble brews amongst the people of Kanto. In spite of the uncertain times, the boy struggles to achieve his dream of becoming the Champion while making great friends and twisted enemies.

    My thoughts:
    It starts off very cliche, with the MC getting a Gible as a stater, but I think the story eventually develops into something interesting and different than is usually seen in the fandom. It has been a while since I read it from the beginning, but I'd be interested to see what others think of it. It is also interesting to see the author grow as a writer throughout the story.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2016
  11. Jarsha

    Jarsha Seventh Year

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2011
    Messages:
    237
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    My deluxe cubicle
    To put it lightly, there are quite a few things in this that get on my nerves, along with general problems - but I think I can almost rec it anyway.

    Firstly, there are technical issues in every chapter that I've read so far, quotation marks missing, letters missing at the end of some words, and in some chapters the author seems incapable of writing dialogue in terms other than "Person A says" "Person B replied". The point of view switches in and out of first person all over the place - which got on my nerves, and what little sense of scale existed in the pokemon is thrown out for numbers that I'm not entirely sure that the writer understands. The Gible starter that the protagonist has is described as over five feet tall, when it evolves into Gabite it's described as over ten. The actual pokedex entries, which, granted, can be nonsense at the best of times, put garchomp at just over six feet tall. This isn't a man-sized sandshark that rips things apart, it's godzilla. It is the offspring of a champion Garchomp, which was described as huge for its species in story, but that much of a difference is beyond ridiculous.

    Moving on to the characters leaves me with even less to enjoy, the protagonist and his travelling partners are fairly boring and one dimensional, the friends being little more than vehicles for whatever 'serious' issue that cannot be solved by thrusting a giant dragon at it. Eating intelligent Pokemon, Alcoholism, Pokemon Abuse, etc. All of which are handled with all of the subtlety of a tauros stampede.

    That being said, I do genuinely enjoy the interactions between the trainers and their pokemon, and thats where I feel the story shines, just a little bit. As of chapter 14, there is very little direct translation of speech, and the protagonist is left with body language and the quirks of his monsters, and it says something that my favorite characters in this story are the ones that cannot speak.

    If the author could get someone to help salvage the dialogue, fix at least most of the mechanical issues, and generally just get their ideas in proper order this would be a pretty decent fic. Oh, and get rid of the stupid level mechanic. You want to have pokemon ranked in danger with some kind of classification system? Sure, whatever - but actual levels and intangible 'experience' where living creatures are involved?


    TL;DR - I really need to stop comparing everything pokemon related to "The Sun Soul" and "Game of Champions" - I'm always left disapointed.

    2-2.5/5 It's fine, and a perfect fit for the thread, but it needs some serious cosmetic work.

    Edit: I've almost gotten to chapter 28 and I have to say that I see what you mean. It still has the technical issues, but the author is noticably improving and I'm finding myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. I still stand by my first rating though, it's something of a slog to get to this point.
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2016
  12. Thaumologist

    Thaumologist Fifth Year ~ Prestige ~

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2011
    Messages:
    142
    Location:
    Wrexham, Wales
    High Score:
    2000
    I enjoy it. It's not the best, but the author is getting better, and isn't spending time just re-writing. The story actually progresses, and things happen. Admittedly, he might be a bit overpowered... But it's a pokemon fic, so I don't really mind. Updates aren't frequent, but they are substantial.

    Would definitely recommend giving it a try, at least.
     
  13. Fatality

    Fatality Order Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2011
    Messages:
    865
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Australia
    Just read the whole thing, I liked it. There's not much I can say that hasn't been said already, but everyone is right in that it isn't especially compelling writing (the fact that the main character has barely been challenged the whole story being one of my major complaints). It's a competent, fairly mature take on the pokemon world with good world building though, and for that I'll ignore a lot of faults.

    On that note, does anyone have any other pokemon fics along the lines of this to recommend? I don't imagine there will be many (I've read the usual suspects - Sun Soul, Game of Champions) but I thought I might as well ask.
     
  14. Jarsha

    Jarsha Seventh Year

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2011
    Messages:
    237
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    My deluxe cubicle
    There really isn't anything worth much more than a glance unfortunately.

    https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1634629/Crukix falls under this thread, fair warning though, all of his works fall under "Everything goes to shit, then gets worse".

    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4871317/1/Pedestal - by digital skitty is fine, everything still goes to hell, but less so than the above.

    https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8466693/38/Traveler is a massive work which I've been following for quite a while now, and I still enjoy. It updated on the first of June.

    Pokemon 0 was rough, and hasn't updated in forever, and there a couple Naruto Crossovers you might be able to stomach - one Ranma crossover I found vaguely amusing. Unless it's on some long dead geocite or personal website - I've scoured the usual forums and websites and come back with nothing. It's saddening.
     
  15. Heleor

    Heleor EsperJones DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2006
    Messages:
    1,431
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
  16. Download

    Download Auror ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2014
    Messages:
    640
    Location:
    Adelaide, Australia
    High Score:
    1918
    Ill Met By Twilight By: Anzer'ke Some meetings are to be cursed. Others should be held as blessings. Then there are the meetings that carry something of both.
    Rated: Fiction T - English - Adventure/Fantasy - Midna, Frodo B., Aragorn, Arwen U. - Words: 7,705 - Reviews: 3 - Favs: 8 - Follows: 17 - Published: Nov 23, 2015 - id: 11628966

    Interesting start to a Zelda/LotR story. Looks dead however given a single chapter and no updates in six or seven months.
     
  17. sildet

    sildet Sixth Year

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2015
    Messages:
    171
    Challenger Author: darkfire1220
    Rated: Fiction T - English - Adventure - Ash K./Satoshi, Charmander/Hitokage, Pichu, Sandile/Meguroco - Chapters: 13 - Words: 197,267 - Reviews: 471 - Favs: 1,023 - Follows: 1,050 - Updated: Sep 6 - Published: Feb 21 - id: 11803928

    Summary: Ash sets off on his journey to be a Pokemon Master with his starter Charmander and a mischievous Pichu. Together, they battle countless enemies and add to their powerful family. But there are many dark secrets residing in the shadows, and some of them are deadly. Ash and his team must grow strong to survive- because there's no guarantee they'll make it through the challenges ahead.

    This is another Pokemon fan fiction that I am casually following. If I remember correctly it starts off as a typical Ash goes through Kanto with some different Pokemon fic, but it has enough originality that I'm still interested. The most recent chapter is a massive 30k words. So if you're bored and haven't read a Pokemon story in a while it may be worth your time.

    Sorry for the necro, but I feel like this is the type of thread where it is probably ok.
     
  18. Rehio

    Rehio Bad Dragon ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2007
    Messages:
    366
    Location:
    New Mexico
    High Score:
    2588
    Ha, damn, I've actually just been reading this. Currently on one of the later chapters, but I'm not done quite yet. It's kinda a rehash, but it's a decently written one. There's actually a really well-written interaction between Ash and one of his Pokemon that I think is pretty exemplary.

    There's nothing particularly spectacular about it, but I enjoy it.

    And god, I want more Pokemon fics to read. Especially lately, as I've been entrenched in PokemonGo/Nuzlocks/New Game hype.
     
  19. M.L.

    M.L. Groundskeeper

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2014
    Messages:
    395
    Location:
    Beyond the Pale
    The author most certainly is riffing off Traveler. On the other hand that's not neccesarily a bad thing
     
  20. Thaumologist

    Thaumologist Fifth Year ~ Prestige ~

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2011
    Messages:
    142
    Location:
    Wrexham, Wales
    High Score:
    2000
    Just finished Challenger, and I'm really enjoying it. It's a good AU Ash fic, and it isn't just a retread of the game/anime.

    But it falls into the same problem I have with a lot of pokemon fics - why is the main character 10 years old? He doesn't act like it, and all the adults around treat him as, almost, an equal. Nobody asks why they're letting ten year old kids wander around with barely controlled dragons. On top of that, these ten year old kids are strategists on par with fully-trained adults, and think up new move combinations on the fly.

    I'm not saying the character has to be an adult, but I think ageing up to 15 or 16 works much better, in most cases. I know that, at least in this continuity, most of the male population is dead from the war, but a draft at a year or two older than the protagonist wouldn't be unbelievable.
     
Loading...
Not open for further replies.