Review Blitz III: General Chat & Hype Thread

[Roser]

Well, people seem to self promoting, so i guess I'll throw my own hat in the ring!

I only have one story at the moment for TR, and every single one of its chapters (of which there are 28) are eligible for Week 1 and Week 3 themes. (As of the time of writing this, 12/28/2021, at least.)

Spoiler: Clockwork Journeys

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Clockwork Journeys
Written By: Mimi
Planning and Writing Assistance By: Roser
Illustrated By: XetaJTS, Ribbisteak
​

Description:
Clockwork Journeys is a loose adaptation of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. The story follows some of the general points as the original title, but a lot of how things happens or the specific details are different. Currently, the story is 28 Chapters in, and nearing the end of its first Part. Most chapters feature wonderful illustrations by our two artists. Part 1 has a lot of emphasis on the characters over the plot, and many people who read the story and give feedback seem to like the cast a lot!

Illustration Samples:

Spoiler: ILLUSTRATIONS

 

[Negrek]

@Nubushi Glad to see you around again; hope you've been enjoying Blitz!

that sounds like a cool fic. Link?

That typo, though. Oof. At least it should be easy to get caught up on Dragon's Danger; I've heard it's zero chapters long!

Coming in very late to the party to talk about my Week 1 plans. Once again I have to be careful here because there's so many stories I can and would like to hit for this theme. I definitely want to check out some fics by new users--Stray and some of Torchic's stories for sure! I also feel like the preponderance of stories I haven't touched at all yet are Mystery Dungeon fics, so I'm planning to check out some of those this week as well. Crashing Fate and Once a Thief are two that look particularly attractive to me right now.

 

[Ambyssin]

At this point I’ll take anything. Probably going to need to spend my points to make it happen. @_@

 

[Nubushi]

@Nubushi Glad to see you around again; hope you've been enjoying Blitz!

Thanks! Good to see you, too!

 

[kintsugi]

been meaning to keep up with these but everything's been moving too quickly lolol

nice job to @windskull for snagging the 200th chapter reviewed (Legendary Adventures Ch2), to @WildBoots for putting us over 50,000 words written, and to @Panoramic_Vacuum for reviewing the 50th unique story (Foregiveness)!

 

[SparklingEspeon]

Ouch I think I'm late to this, busy weekend
I suppose I could promote my main longfic here. I'm particularly open/would encourage a review exchange if you do end up reading this one--it's gotten a lot of love already, so I'd like to give some back!

*​

10,000 years ago, the world ended. Now, it might just end again. Summoned to protect it is Espurr, the four championed Human Savior from beyond. Too bad she wound up in a small village secluded from anyone who could clue her in.

Stranded with only a daredevil fennekin and a dysfunctional gaggle of other children for company, Espurr focuses on keeping her head down and blending in. But as a manhunt settles down over her head, a shady company begins to ensnare the world's institutions, and an ominous darkness dismantles the world's global norms, Espurr realizes keeping her head down might no longer be an option. The dark forces affecting the world are closing in on her, and she'll need to outthink them all and stay one step ahead... before they catch up.

Spoiler

A fix-it fic based on Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, A.K.A. the fic that had a ton of interesting and relevant to today ideas and THREW THEM ALL AWAY, I'm still salty This version leans pretty hard into political/global issues, the morality and emotional issues between several middle-school-aged kids, and the existential worry of what happens when your world might not exist much longer. There's not much in the way of graphic violence, but I should warn for heavy themes and trauma.

Featuring...
1. Everything PSMD didn't lean into
2. More of PSMD!Espurr
3. More of everything else
4. An actually interesting Serene Village plot
5. Political and economic biospheres and conspiracies
6. Slice of Life!
7. Horror!
8. Slice of horror!
9. Slice of lore!
10. Kids Save The World

There are currently 39 chapters in this fic, adding up to about 310K words. Provided you've not read it yet, this fic should count for weekly themes One and four! Three as well, though that really only starts coming into effect after the first 18 chapters.

So if you're interested in political games, deconstructions, and small-town kid gang plots, then this fic is right up your alley!

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I won't make my blitz hitlist public because it's a lot, but I've constructed it! And will be carrying out hits all month. Provided I can hold myself to it. :)

 

[Persephone]

Going to do some lovely self rex here.

Broken Things - Three teenagers go on a journey in Alola. Realistic-ish setting. Deals a lot with trauma, LGBT themes, and mental health issues. Has gay and trans characters and a blind protagonist. A fair bit of the story is narrated by a vulpix. Gets dark in describing mental health problems as I’ve experienced them. Third arc is filled with winter things for the monthly bingo prompt.

Alola Pokedex - An anthology of Pokedex entries from the BT universe. Detailed analysis of Pokémon care and biology. Chapters can be read independently of each other. Threadmark index isn’t complete.

World Myth Encyclopedia - An anthology detailing the mythology and folklore of various legendary Pokémon. Currently covers Landorus, Diancie, and Yveltal.

 

[Flyg0n]

I'll add to my own self-rec with my one-shots from bingo, for people looking for one-shots for Week 2!

Pokémon - Tales of Pokemon (Bingo Prompts!) | Thousand Roads Forums

Featuring:
A Zangoose and Seviper who are definitely enemies what are you talking about
A Trubbish!
Mankey!
Questionable writing decisions


Also my contest one-shot!

Swamping Ground

A newly evolved Marshtomp finds himself frustrated with his current position in life and seeks a trainer. But finding just the right one may not be as simple as he hopes...
​

 

[kintsugi]

Hey all, just wanted to chime in rq with some clarifications for oneshots vs everything else, especially as people start putting together their readlists for Week 2. These are pulled from the Definitions post, in case you'd like to get more clarification for stories in future weeks.

• Oneshot: a story that contains only one chapter and:
  • Is contained in its own post in the Fanfiction Subforum
  • Is greater than 250 words
  • Does not have the intent for future chapters contained in the same thread.
  • Exception: drabble collections (see below) may be reviewed in their entirety as a oneshot.
  • Notable case: visual novels are considered as a oneshot for scoring purposes.
• Chapterfic: a story that contains multiple chapters or is intended to eventually contain multiple chapters.
  • Anthologies are considered chapterfics. Each individual entry in the anthology that satisfies the chapter requirement is counted as a chapter.
• Drabble: a chapter or oneshot that either: consists of exactly 100 words of story content -OR- has been identified as a drabble by an author
  • A drabble collection is defined as any thread containing multiple drabbles -OR- any work with an average chapter length of 500 words or fewer

Key takeaways:

• Multiple individual stories posted in a single thread is considered an anthology, which qualifies as a chapterfic for the purposes of bonuses (so you can get fic-recurring bonuses for reviewing multiple entries in an anthology, but none of the entries count as oneshots for the purposes of Week 2).
• Oneshots are a single post, and the only story in their respective threads, with the exception of:
  • Drabble Collections, which qualify as a oneshot for points and theme purposes.

 

[Flyg0n]

So the main difference is just if the author calls it a drabble collection?

 

[kintsugi]

So the main difference is just if the author calls it a drabble collection?

I may be misunderstanding which difference you’re asking for, so lmk if I’m reading incorrectly:

Anthology vs Drabble Collection: it is a drabble collection if the author calls it a drabble collection, OR the average word count per entry is 500 words or fewer
Drabble vs Drabble Collection: it is a drabble collection if it contains multiple posts (that contain drabbles)

(I realize that definitionally a drabble is 100 words, but authors often stretch those limits and still consider them drabbles, so the definitions here are a little more broad accordingly)

 

[Flyg0n]

Anthology vs Drabble Collection: it is a drabble collection if the author calls it a drabble collection, OR the average word count per entry is 500 words or fewer

Ah yeah, I was talking about anthology vs drabble. So the real difference is just in how the author identifies it. Got it

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

I have an absolutely massive list of targets, consisting of fics I've already begun, and fics I've had my eye on. It's too many damn words, honestly, and my offline life is somewhat strained, but I'm determined to do my level best all the same.

My reading list looks something like this:

Week 1: New Fics
✅ The Quest for the Legends (3)
✅ Steam Over the Apocalypse
✅ Weaversong (1/1)
✅ Hands of Creation (1)
Bouquatro
Wandersword
The Long Road
Spring
Making it Big

Week 2: Oneshots
▶️ Butterfree
Starfrost
Splice of Life
The Gift of Giving
???

Week 3: Chapters With Few Reviews
???? gimme targets! especially if I'm already partway through

Week 4: FFA
The Quest for the Legends
The Legendarian Chronicles
Of Sand and Shadows
Legendary Adventures
Hunter, Haunted
Seiren
Salvage
Continental Divides
The Meaning of Power
Dragon's Dance
Broken Things
Do Psychic Type Pokémon Dream of Electric Sheep
Foregone Conclusion
Path of Valor

And as for plugging my own fics? Well. You can check out my main work, Different Eyes, via my signature. It's a chapterfic about a corp in Galar making pokémon/human hybrids based on the Mewtwo program, centred around a purrloin who goes through the process seeking to become more human, her trainer who sets out to find what happened to her, and an ambitious sneasel hybrid who befriends her. It's got elements of a lotta different stuff! And it's pretty good, if you ask me~

I'm hoping to add two brand-new chapters before week three, so they'll be eligible for theme points in weeks three and four!

I'm also hoping to revise and publish a oneshot featuring Luxio Brisa called Dispatch Deferred within a day or two. It's about a tough frontier ranger gal who finds a long-buried golett courier one day... Wish me luck!

 

[Namohysip]

Calling it a day fort this week. I got most of the stories I wanted to take a look at done for ones I'd never started, but not all. Perhaps next time or later in the year.

Weekly fic rec!

Of the "standout surprises" though, I'll give a shoutout to Stray from @OrionTheAbsol. Yes it's dark and edgy and I don't usually drift toward that genre, but the first chapter really impressed me with its potential and the way it constructed its scope. In terms of a gritty, epic tale of a nobody who might change the world, it hits a lot of the right buttons! When the blitz is over I might take the time to read it all to see how it follows through.

To give a bit of extra information on it for part of my fic recommendation, it features three factions (according to the summary) battling in a once-peaceful, now war-torn region. Involved seems to be innocents, a tyrannical dragon faction, and Shadow Pokemon. It seems pretty straightforward, but if you're into stories that have those kinds of beats, this one might be worth taking a glance!

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Just binged all seven chapters on Making It Big published on TR. It's so goddamn readable and so goddamn cute. Hard rec for the blitz, tbh.

 

[Namohysip]

Oh, and I should mention the other stories I've read this week.

Weaversong - I'm leery on adaptations nowadays since there are so many. But this adaptation of Super is already starting off on a different enough foot that it might become a totally different story.
Fortune Favors the Bold - A story about a lucky dragon joining a rescue team. The luck seems to be in-universe and literal.
Clockwork Journeys - Another retelling, this time of Explorers, with a few differences already in the works to suggest there will be more than just a novelization.
Of Sand and Shadows - Y'know, lots of retellings or adaptations this week. This one is of Colosseum! But the depth given to Wes suggests more elaboration on him as a person, which is great since he's arguably the most interesting protagonist of an official game.
Bouquatro - I mean, it's Canis, she kind of always knows how to make an enjoyable short story.
Obsession - A story with a curious narrative style that shows the unraveling of a man who had no good card dealt in his hand.
Rescuers of Light - A cute story that seems to be a retelling of Super with a few small tweaks. Bite-sized chapters abound.

 

[Pen]

Did you read something awesome this week?

Tell us all about it.​

If you write a 100+ word rec about a fic that qualified for the weekly theme this week, and post it here with the words “Weekly Fic Rec” at the top of your post, you will be entered into a ✨ prize raffle ✨ (You can do this for as many fics as you want, but will only be entered into the raffle once per week.)

 

[kintsugi]

Weekly Fic Rec [s a m p l e]

Boquatro - by Canisaries

I was late to the hype train of Boquatro last Blitz somehow, and I encourage anyone who made a similar mistake to rectify immediately! This cute little threeshot follows the story of Carrie, a dwebble from a wind-lashed island, and Bouquatro, the legendary bird you've never heard of. Bouquatro, better known as Bou, prefers looking after the plants on his island rather than engaging in the conflicts of gods. Carrie's desperate to understand why Zapdos continues to curse her home with treacherous storms. Together, they fight crime! Featuring dealing responsibly with your problems, character growth, a wide variety of cute alternate homes for a hermit crab, many plants, and what's more or less the epitome of the Chad Zapdos vs the Virgin Bouquatro--a ton of fun to be had for all here.

 

[Pen]

Weekly Fic Rec!

I Walk Through Your Dreams and Invent Your Future - zion of arcadia

This threeshot (two-thirds complete) is replete with atmosphere and striking imagery. Our protagonist, Tobin, is a ranger taking a cruise-ship to Castelia--a fact she's not very happy about--when a rotom begins to wreak havoc on the ship. But there's more going on than meets the eye, and as Tobin investigates the mystery before her, she also has to face her personal demons.

Tobin's an unusual protagonist. She's experienced, married, and almost thirty--I found it really refreshing to hear from a character who's not just starting out, but rather has seen a lot--perhaps too much--of the world. This fic also features the absolute best pokemon, a bronzong who speaks only in motivational slogans and fortune cookie aphorisms and a cheeky, emoji-spouting Rotom who wants to play detective. There's a lot of incidental pleasures here, from the ins and outs of ranger school hazing to a muk card-dealer with golden grillz. If you're in the mood for something different and have a hearty appetite for imagery and allusion, consider adding this one to your list!

Content warning: surrealism ;)

 

[Ambyssin]

oh boy raffles; the things i never win

Weekly ref: @SparklingEspeon 's Crashing Fate

I like legends being portrayed as more than just big kaiju that roar and stomp around angrily, so a story that seems to be all about them (and their possibly poor, conspiracy-related management of the world) is naturally going to be right up my alley. Points for incredibly snarky mew character who gets first-person POV and laying the foundations for a certain genetic pokémon we all know and love to appear. And, without spoiling too much, I know TR loves it portrayals of Giovanni, and so far Espy's doing a good job of writing him from his business acumen to his scheming. I'm pretty sure everyone's read it already, but just in case you haven't, you should. :P