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The 7 Day Fic Challenge!

Negrek

Abscission Ascendant
Staff
Okay, going to try again on Day 1, this time hopefully without accidentally deleting everything halfway through.

Really enjoyed reminiscing with the fics already recced! There are so many old-timey fics I'd love to talk about here, and I had a lot of fun going over old favorites before settling on this one.

Fic: Raven: Emerald Fist MS by Obsidian Blade
Summary: After escaping her oppressive home in Malmarsh fighting dojo, Raven takes up the risky business of being a Pokemon trainer in the hopes of gaining control of her life. But is that really what she's getting?
Rating: T
Wordcount: 98k (abandoned)

This is a classic old-school trainerfic of the somewhat darker-and-edgier variety. It's got all the hallmarks of the genre from that time: protagonist is escaping from a bad/abusive family situation, rebellious but powerful starter pokémon, fakemon, and looming threat that goes beyond your normal "evil team." In this case that's a "mechyena," a mightyena with cybernetic implants and a thirst for blood, and at the time the story ended we were only just learning about the larger plot behind his attacks. Like so many stories at the time, it had its own website, too, with art, illustrated chapters, and bonus info. That's long gone, unfortunately, but the story's still available on FFN if you're looking for a trip down memory lane or simply enjoy a rollicking trainerfic, early-naughties style! The actual writing holds up pretty well, although the melodrama and the dialogue definitely read a bit teenaged. Unfortunately the story stops before the protagonist can snag her third badge, but what's there is a solid old-school trainerfic that stays true to form without literally following the "wake up, get starter, go to Route 1" path.

Also a brief shout-out to Plague, by the same author. Pokécentric story this time, which tells the story of a kabutops clan struggling to survive after war and disease have wiped out most of their number. A rather bloody, gritty, angsty look at the prehistoric pokémon world, sadly also unfinished--but if you're more into pokémon without trainers, perhaps this one's for you!
 
Sept Day 4 - Nerd Alert!

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
pokemon_professors_by_kiba174-d90u8l9.png

Day 4: Nerd alert! Share a fic involving research or science.
 

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Day 4: Share a fic involving research or science.

Fic
: A Humorous Easter by St. Elmo's Fire

Summary: Émilie is so glad she's found a real doctor, one who won't poison her precious pokemon with autism-causing vaccines, just in time for Easter.
Rating: G
Wordcount: 1.8K (Complete)

This time my recomendation is short and sweet! I'll let the fic do most of the talking.

A Humorous Easter features both real research and fake research--a double feature! I really appreciate how this fic both pokes fun at a contemporary issue and also effectively frames what that controversy would look like in a pokemon setting. The story also makes good use of the language barrier between humans and pokemon: the pokemon can't make themselves understood by their trainer, but they can understand each other just fine and take matters into their own hands.

It's a quick, springy read, driven by dialogue and dramatic irony, and it's well worth your time.
 

kintsugi

golden scars | pfp by sun
Location
the warmth of summer in the songs you write
Pronouns
she/her
Partners
  1. silvally-grass
  2. lapras
  3. golurk
  4. booper-kintsugi
  5. meloetta-kint-muse
  6. meloetta-kint-dancer
  7. murkrow
  8. yveltal
  9. celebi
ooh! catching up on a few of these I think!

day 1: the first fic you remembered reading

gonna be real, I read a lot of beginner fic when I was starting out. Mostly aura and humans fused with legendary stuff! And a lot of really dark fics on an RP board that's been lost to time, unfort D: Pouring one out for ffk & gen & kat & kae; thank you for the inspiration and hope you at least have your stories still <3
that aside, here's:


No Antidote, by Falcon Pain
Summary:
Bulbasaur and his trainer had an agreement: they would make it to the Pokémon League, or go down trying. So even when faced with utter tragedy, he decides that he and his trainer will live up to their promise. By any means necessary.
Rating: T, has some death and dark themes
Wordcount: 70k, complete

Perhaps cheating, since this is 1) completed and 2) holds up really well, since it was a fic rec rather than something that child-me found and as such way above my reading/writing level. I sorta remember just staring at this in silence and being like, oh, shit, so that's how it's done. I am not really exaggerating here; the ending blew child-me's mind, and even now I think this story has covered a few concepts so well that it feels like whenever I write about them I'm just doing weird knockoffs looking at you, very toxic starter-trainer relationships & talking pokemon & creepy ghosts

Personal gushing aside, what is this? The premise beyond the summary is a bit of a spoiler, but suffice to say: Bulbasaur, his trainer Marty, and the friends they make along the way are determined to get to the League no matter what. "No matter what" soon runs headlong into training ethics, pokemon rights, systems that refuse to change, and a whole lotta tragedy.

Other reasons this fic blew my mind--the characters were all really interesting, the foreshadowing didn't really feel stupidly heavy-handed but the story all fits together in hindsight, and the mechanics of the world feel fleshed out and thought about. It's also messy and sad darkfic with ghosts and shit, so like, yes, this is probably where my tastes formed. Is good. Would still recommend for people today tbh.

--

Honorable mention: Wings Have We, by Giratina. Details are much-much fuzzy and as far as I can tell this isn't the complete copy, which was hosted on a few other forums and this version wasn't fully updated, but this is a cool trainer fic that had multiple interesting protagonists and a cool fan region and the battles were pretty good to kid me.
 
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Sept Day 5 - Gym class!

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Goldenrod_Gym_anime.png


Day 5: Gym class! Share a fic featuring gyms and gym leaders.
 

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Day 5: Share a fic featuring gyms and gym leaders.

Fic
: Revived by Writer4Fun

Summary: Mauville City is where dreams can be fulfilled or dashed in a heartbeat. Before becoming a trainer at 22, Ryan discovers that a new company in town isn't exactly what it seems. After finding himself in hot water, a Latias saves him before she gets captured. With a new lease on life, Ryan will do everything he can to save Latias and take down a worldwide threat.
Rating: T
Wordcount: 300K (Ongoing)

Most of my recs so far have been the fics I swear by, the ones I'd gentleman's-glove-slap someone over. This one is not that for me (and you can find a few of my critiques in the reviews section), but I still think it's worth sharing because it directly influenced some of my world-building!

Unlike most fic writers and miscellaneous nerds I know, Writer4Fun is a big sports fan. It shows in his handling of the world, and I think it's a welcome addition in trainer fic. His trainers care about their win/loss ratios, sporting conduct, and technicalities. And these aren't battles between kids in the woods. We spend the first few chapters with the protagonist in the Mauville gym, because he and his zigzagoon work there (a nod to the NPC in RSE and ORAS). I really appreciated that W4F took time to flesh out Mauville and the gym as more than simple checkpoints to pass through.

If you're into Hoenn fic, this one might appeal to you!
 
Sept Day 6 - She doesn’t even go here!

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
e04cc502838eb5ff372b564ac0744e753ef2add0_00.jpg

Day 6: She doesn’t even go here! Share a fic about friendship highs and lows.
 

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Day 6: Share a fic about friendship highs and lows.

Fic
: Find a Way Home by @Equitia

Summary:
Morgan, a runaway, and Amanda, an autistic girl who barely managed to start her journey, meet and become lost together after a cave-in. Although at first their personalities seem unreconcilable, they realize just how much they have in common as they try to find their way out of Chargestone Cave.

A lowkey, character-focused fic about LGBT+ and neurodivergent friendship.

Rating: T
Status: Ongoing

I normally try to rec stuff from outside TR, but I really enjoyed this story so far, and I think more folks should read it. (Also, maybe this rec will inspire him to write faster??)

Even from the first chapter, Morgan's relationships take center stage: the conflict with their parents, their anxious love for their swoobat, their uneasy relationship with themself, and ... enter Amanda. With the impending cave-in, there is a lot of room for conflict between those two, but I'm also rooting for them already and looking forward to learning more about Amanda. Find a Way Home definitely doesn't skimp out on exploring the inner world of its characters, but it also lovingly renders the natural world. I found the realistic depiction of Chargestone Cave really compelling!

This is also a short read--there's only one chapter up so far on TR!
 
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Sept Day 7 - Composition Class

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
prof-oak-is-his-idol-tracey-sketchit-12094969-627-474.jpg

Day 7: Composition Class! Share a fic with a prose style that inspires you.
 
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WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Day 7: Share a fic with a prose style that inspires you.

Fic
: Those Who Will Inherit the Earth by @love

Summary:
A series of unforeseen events results in a struggle for the sanctity of the planet.

Rating: M for blood and violence in the second half
Length: 30k, complete

I have to admit I stumped myself on this one because there are so many fics I admire for their prose, and I short-circuited for a few days.

Those Who Inherit is a character-driven PMD-verse drama, and the natural world is almost a character unto itself. What I admire most in love's descriptions of nature is that they signal the inner lives of the characters: The protagonist, Poppy, is very knowledgeable about plants and passionate about the environment, so the passages describing plants reflect what she notices and prioritizes. The absence of a character is marked by a patch of "ghost-white lichen." Plants and grass-type pokemon here aren't always about gentleness and nurturing either. The natural world can be foreboding and full of hidden secrets.

I don't normally read a lot of PMD, but I'm really into love's take on guilds, pokemon industries, and how pokemon interact with the natural world--but there's also a lot to like here if you are a longtime PMD fan. The partnership between the adventuring partners is lovely to see and gives the sense of a long history between Poppy and Lavender, even though we never see the beginnings of their friendship. The relationship to the guild is complicated and breaks from the patterns I see repeated a lot. Love never hits you all at once with the world-building--you learn what you need when you need it--and it's always, always kept relevant to the protagonist.

This fic is also an easy read: the chapters are short, and the characters are sweet. You want to know more about them. It definitely deserves more attention and comments, so please take some time to check it out!
 

kintsugi

golden scars | pfp by sun
Location
the warmth of summer in the songs you write
Pronouns
she/her
Partners
  1. silvally-grass
  2. lapras
  3. golurk
  4. booper-kintsugi
  5. meloetta-kint-muse
  6. meloetta-kint-dancer
  7. murkrow
  8. yveltal
  9. celebi
day 2! school fics

gonna dig a little deep for this one and embarrass my good friend @Flaze

Fic: Pokemon Academy: Dragon's Roar | Second Year Rhapsody | Childhood's End*
i have absolutely no clue why the thread title in here is what it is.
Summary: there isn't an official one and i felt awkward making one up. see the recs.
Wordcount: a lot? curse the pre-threadmark era of forums. is probably a deadfic, sad.
Rating: Teen, some mild violence, dark situations

potential premise in a nutshell: Reggie Blaze is your typical shonen friend, loud-mouthed, excited to start his first month of classes at Pokemon Elemental Academy, and absolutely unprepared for the meteor that falls outside of his bedroom one night, bringing a pokemon that'll change his life forever.

I normally don't read schoolfic, but this one is a lot of fun--think My Hero Academia before MHA. While the earlier books are a bit older and the author's improved a ton in the decade since the first chapter, at its core are the good elements of a schoolfic--interesting characters, and lots of them! Reggie is the main guy, but for the most part his friends and enemies get to have their share of the spotlight, and the cast feels well-rounded. In general it's kind of a mashup of a few genres, mainly the school system from Harry Potter, the shonen cast from [insert shonen here], the stakes escalation from DBZ, and a dash of fakemon. The core ideas are pretty unique, a lot of the evil plots later on are pretty fun to untangle, and overall it's an interesting character study to watch these kids learn and grow across three years of fic. Fun blend of edgy ideas with light humor mixed in.

Also! This series features perhaps the only interesting pokemon tournament arc that I've seen in the entire written fandom, and watching it executed correctly shed a lot of light for me on the common pitfalls in tournament arcs in fanfic. Characters and stakes, people!

If this is your cup of tea, I'd recommend skipping to Second Year Rhapsody and starting there--there's a summary that catches you up on the events of Dragon's Roar, and even without it for the most part it stands on its own.
 

unrepentantAuthor

A cat that writes stories.
Location
UK
Pronouns
they/she
Partners
  1. purrloin-salem
  2. sneasel-dusk
  3. luz-companion
  4. brisa-companion
  5. meowth-laura
  6. delphox-jesse
  7. mewtwo
  8. zeraora
Day 1: a fic you liked when you were younger.

I was actually gonna share No Antidote but @kintsugi beat me to it, and I don't feel I can say enough that she didn't already! So instead I'm sharing Pokémon Ultimatum, which is one of the first fics I can remember reading. It's been revised and completed since I fell off from keeping up with it, and besides, what I remember is mostly the concepts, rather than prose.

Ultimatum is one of several fics in an expansion of the anime continuity, featuring the Team Rocket Trio as major secondary characters, but not so much Ash and Co. As I recall, the overall vibe was dark without being contrived or gratuitous, and there was a big focus on genetic experiments, particularly with legendary/mundane hybrid pokémon. I found that stuff fascinating! In particular, Team Rocket's Meowth is subject to some experiments which render him human, or very nearly human. Although the mechanism by which this was done has changed, the version I remember reading had him immersed in a tank of liquid, gradually transforming from application of a retrovirus. Sound familiar? Yes, this fic was one of the chief inspirations for the basic premise of Different Eyes!

Ultimatum
is sort of an adventure-drama as I understand it, featuring a lot of conflict with Team Rocket and their experiments, taking place in a fan-region based on Great Britain. In some ways, it reminds me of @Chibi Pika's Legendarian Chronicles. The author has a lot of attention to detail and creative ideas, and I had a great time with it back in 2007. I hope I manage to read the completed version someday!

Day 4: a fic involving research or science.

The first fic I thought of was Morphic by our very own @Dragonfree, and even though I recall it being mostly about the consequences of some genetic experiments rather than the scientific method itself, I think it counts! The premise is that a team of geneticists are studying how to graft pokémon genes onto humans in order to render highly-effective pokémon medicine applicable to humans, and create a series of hybrid embryos to prove the possibility of this. Except that they are then forced to bring the embryos to term and care for them, despite their quality of life from being hybrids being... variable.

You may know one of the key characters, Dave Ambrose, from his appearance in Blacklight and other community activities in his guise as a very angry poochyena. He headed up the team, and helped raise some of the hybrids, and he swears a lot. Such a fun character. I remember particularly being a fan of his conversations with Mia, the scyther-morph, in which he's desperately trying to get her to, if not understand then at least obey, the social contract, despite her having no readily apparent empathy. Or fear. In fact, I re-read one recently, and it holds up!

I read Morphic around the time I was searching for any and all pokémorph content, and it's the only one that stood out to me through the mists of time as having any kind of thought put into it or being entertaining beyond the superficial. It's not exactly a deconstruction of the concept per se, but it did prompt in me a deeper consideration of the realities of super cool genetic hybrids. Thanks for that, Free!

Day 2: a fic that you learned from.

Those two were fics from the dawn of time. Let's have something more current - from February of this year, in fact. I try to learn from everything I read, but today I'll be talking about Parliament of Steel, by girl-like-substance.

The premise here is that an abnormally large (and sapient) magneton has been captured for study and containment by the League, and steel-type expert Jasmine has been brought in to help deal with the poor thing. The fic is from the magneton's perspective, and "parliament" is what it calls itself, as an aggregate being composed of many tiny minds. Jasmine tries to earn the parliament's trust so that it might eventually be released safely, and much of the fic is the internal conflict in the parliament over how to respond/how it is, in fact, responding.

It is very well-written, and an exceptional piece of xenofiction. It's only got a handful of reviews, largely from TR regulars, but it deserves more.

What I learned from Parliament of Steel was that you can have extremely tight parameters for a story with a very niche concept and still absolutely have it grip the reader, that wild concepts such as a magneton constituted of dozens of magnemite are absolutely worth exploring, and that a character as alien and conflicted as a hostile metallic hive-mind can still induce enormous empathy. I know these things, but I need reminding, and I appreciate any fic that teaches them to me again.
 

kintsugi

golden scars | pfp by sun
Location
the warmth of summer in the songs you write
Pronouns
she/her
Partners
  1. silvally-grass
  2. lapras
  3. golurk
  4. booper-kintsugi
  5. meloetta-kint-muse
  6. meloetta-kint-dancer
  7. murkrow
  8. yveltal
  9. celebi
day 3, type matchups!

One Last Choice, by Motherflipping Oak
Summary:
After a bloodbath of a tournament, a trainer finally comes to the end of their journey. One-shot inspired by Nuzlocke challenges.

Rating: T for blood and death
Length: 3720 words, complete

realizing now that a lot of fic authors just yeet type matchups out the window and i am proud of them for it. eat that canon

Nuzlocke fics are always weird to me when played straight--how do you get an ethical trainer who (potentially) gets several of their pokemon killed? It opens up a lot of weird questions: are they the only trainer who does this, or is it a normal occurrence in the world they grow up in? Does anyone else care or view them as bad for their friends dying? Why is the trainer even doing this, and to what end are these deaths meaningful? And depending on the answer to each of these questions, imo the question-hydra only really gets bigger and messier, but I think there are ways to answer them and still tell a compelling story. This is one solution.

The strength of the premise is inherently tied to the idea behind the world--dystopic, basically Hunger Games, and that helps justify the stakes and sidetracking for baubles & badges, since it isn't actually what the trainer wants, but what everyone else wants them to do for entertainment and will kill them if they refuse. Battling is much less fun when you don't get a choice and can't say no, and this is a fic that looks that unflinchingly in the eye.

Type-matchups: trainer is assigned a pokemon with massive quad weaknesses and has to confront the ethical quandry of trying to round out their team by putting other people at risk--if they catch more pokemon, then they are less likely to lose, but if they do lose, they have more blood on their hands. What choice do they have?

The story is short and you should read it.

---

day 4, science and research
breaking my trend and doing a TR rec, oh my!

The Alola Pokedex [FFN | TR], by Persephone
Summary:
A guide to the capture, care and keeping of the pokemon of Alola. Contains references to reproduction, anatomy and violence par for the course in an Animal Planet documentary or a biology textbook. Mutually canonical with "Broken Things."

Rating: K+, for references to reproduction, anatomy and violence par for the course in an Animal Planet documentary or biology textbook.
Wordcount: 120k, incomplete, but each chapter is complete

This fic is probably the most-researched fanfic I have read, ever, in my entire life.

An important note--do not be scared by the wordcount; most of the chapters are mutually exclusive and can be read in any order, as they're basically just small articles written on different evolutionary lines in Alola. If you want to get started and aren't sure where, I honestly don't think it's a bad call to just scroll through the index for a pokemon that you think is interesting, and start with that one.

This fic is awesome because it leans into the idea that pokemon are different species than humans--and all of the messy things that training would then entail. The games tend to present us with a very sanitized version of raising pokemon, where they don't need to eat varied diets or hibernate or not be a species that would eat us/their teammates, but does that necessarily have to port to a fanfic setting? This fic is a compelling answer for "no", and provides some interesting and realistic outcomes for how humans would have to work to tame non-human counterparts, as well as some fun alt-histories for how humans and pokemon may have evolved alongside one another. A lot of the research going on behind the scenes here is primarily biology, but there are some excellent references to history, current events, literature, and folklore. The scope and depth of research is frankly baffling but greatly appreciated.

I have learned more about cryptids, duck mating, bat resistance to rabies, the history of pit viper venom in medicine, and VGC 2013 than I would have ever learned otherwise. This story is very interesting and it probably has something that appeals to you. My personal favorite is the Florges chapter for being the only written fanwork that has a higher ratio of [words:T.S. Eliot references] than my own, but there is probably a fascinating article or five in here that will make you rethink pokemon logistics, hopefully in a way that inspires your own takes!
 
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Oct Prompts and Recs Compilation

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
🎃 October Prompts 🎃
Tricks and Treats


pokemon-go-halloween-event-dresses-up-pikachu-in-a-mimikyu-costume-1571063187834.jpg
  1. Shiver-shudder. Share a fic about something that scares you.
  2. Booooooo! Share a fic that features a ghost-pokemon.
  3. Let’s see who’s under that mask! Share a fic about a mystery or a secret.
  4. Trick! Share a fic about someone in disguise.
  5. Treat! Share a fic that made you laugh out loud.
  6. So sweet it hurts! Share your favorite fluff fic or a fic that made you feel some feels.
  7. “Wow, I love that costume!” Share a fic that made you like a pokemon you hadn’t previously.

Day 1 Recs: Shiver-shudder. Share a fic about something that scares you.
- Forgotten by Talarc

Day 2 Recs: Booooooo! Share a fic that features a ghost-pokemon.
- Shadow of Nostalgia by MotherFlipping Oak
- so consider this your redemption arc by somehowcoffee
- The End: Rekindled by DeliriousAbsol

Day 3: Let’s see who’s under that mask! Share a fic about a mystery or a secret.
- Warped Skies by Team Ion
- Clipping by Act

Day 4: Trick! Share a fic about someone in disguise.
- In Ghostly Fashion by Negrek

Day 5: Treat! Share a fic that made you laugh out loud.
- pcb0000 by Bluwikoon

Day 6: So sweet it hurts! Share your favorite fluff fic or a fic that made you feel some feels.
- Solidarity by Skylark
- PMD: The Dreamstone

Day 7: “Wow, I love that costume!” Share a fic that made you like a pokemon you hadn’t previously.
- Parliament of Steel by girl-like-substance
 
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October Day 1: Shiver-shudder.

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
1602771932834.jpeg

October Day 1: Shiver-shudder. Share a fic about something that scares you.
 
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WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Day 1: Share a fic about something that scares you.

Fic: Forgotten by Talarc

Summary: I tucked myself into a ball that I now rarely left. How many weeks? Months? How long had I been here? Floating near the centre of my poké ball, I clung to the safety it provided. The outside terrified me. How deep underwater was I now? Surely so far that I was completely cut off. This poké ball was my safe haven, the only place I could stay safe. It became my entire world.
Rating: T
Wordcount: 2K (one-shot)

There aren't actually too many pokemon fics about the things that scare me most--and I'm writing one of them! But there are definitely several canon mechanics that give me some fridge horror, and the idea of pokemon being abandoned in their pokeballs is one of them. This fic gives us a visceral view of what it would feel like to be trapped inside a pokeball ... and for it to be their only refuge. I also appreciate that it takes a realistic view of trauma. This situation isn't magically healed overnight and things don't simply return to normal, and that creates strain with the trainer in a way I find very human.

You'll probably like this if you liked Almost Like Flying and maybe if you liked Envy of Eden. It doesn't portray humans or training as evil, but it does ask some pointed questions about pokemon rights.
 
Oct Day 2: Booooooo!

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
243FDAAA-9015-4D7C-B753-BAB9F40421CC.png
October Day 2: Booooooo! Share a fic that features a ghost-pokemon.
 
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WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
Day 2: Share a fic that features a ghost-pokemon.

Fic: Shadow of Nostalgia by MotherFlipping Oak

Summary: The Pokemon Tower and its never-shifting fogs are home to countless eerie creatures and rumours. To Jen, it sounded like the perfect trial of guts. However, she couldn't have predicted a chance meeting with a fellow trainer whose starter has gone missing in the tower, nor getting wrapped up in the curious case of Cleyra the cubone.

Rating: G

Wordcount: 2K (one-shot)

I’m fudging this one a little: I’m not sure there are ghost-types here, but there are definitely ghosts.

This one-shot takes a rather optimistic approach to ghosts. I wouldn’t call it a scary story—more of a mystery. MF Oak does well with stories about kids being kids, and this one is no different. I enjoyed watching Jen size up this situation with a kid’s lack of fear and shrewdness. And the ending made me smile.
 

Pen

the cat is mightier than the pen
Staff
Partners
  1. dratini
  2. dratini-pen
  3. dratini-pen2
Here with some late September recs!

September, Day 1: It’s the first day of school! Share a fic you liked when you were younger or the first fic you can remember reading.

Fic
: Keeping My Sanity: Mirrorscape by purple-drake

Summary: 'Today my hair is red. It could be worse. At least my eyes are still grey.' Lance is having trouble keeping his sanity, and his reflections aren't helping...

Wordcount: ~6,000

I don't remember the first fic I read, and whatever it was, it most likely wasn't pokemon. But this is the first fic I can remember blowing my mind. It's by purple-drake, who is an absolutely amazing writer. I gulped down her pokemonn corpus, and still weep about her unfinished Lance amnesia fic, which I will probably end up reccing at a later date. But for now, I'll focus on Keeping My Sanity, a oneshot with the totally bizarre premise--what if the various portrayals of Lance in the anime, games, and manga all coexisted in a single person. If that doesn't sound too odd to you, keep in mind that anime Lance is a kind-hearted action hero and manga Lance is an eco-terrorist. There's, uh, quite a lot of daylight between them. Purple-drake plays with external differences in hair and eyes, to build a complex internal portrait. She also tackles the question of what it would actually mean to be the sort of action hero Lance is portrayed as in the anime and games. In this oneshot, Lance is assigned to keep guard during a controversial conference on placement of non-native pokemon species. When things take a turn for the worst, what choice will he make? And which part of him will make it?

I won't spoil the end, but suffice to say, it features a scene that still sticks in my mind. It's a moment I can see, hear, feel, smell, and everytime I reread I'm impressed with the simplicity and power of the writing.

September, Day 2: First bell! Share a fic that features schools, teachers, or students OR a fic that you learned from.

Fic
: Unoriginality 1: An Original Trainer Story by Farla

Summary: Meet Kazikami, the blue haired seventeen year old just starting her journey, and others! Totally and utterly original, really! No cliches here!

Wordcount: ~ 33,000

Unoriginality is a classic I return to again and again. Each chapter is parodic take-down of a common pokemon fandom cliche. Some of the cliches portrayed in this fic have faded with time and feel like amusing relics of a past point in the fandom. Others are still going strong.

The chapter 'Verbose' always cracks me up--it's a warning about what happens when you push 'description' a wee bit too far. Some choice speech tags in that chapter include "she articulated orally" and "solicited the teenybopper." Other chapters useful structural bits of writing advice, like the fact that you don't have to begin your OT fic with the trainer waking up and getting their first pokemon, or dig into issues specific to the pokemon fandom, like "HOW TO GIVE YOUR STUPID TRAINER AN EEVEE." This fic made me laugh and made me learn, and when I did decide to start writing an OT journey fic, Unoriginality helped me avoid a lot of pitfalls and think a lot more critically about the story I was trying to tell. It's not holy writ--you may feel like your story demands a particular choice--but having interrogated that choice first will make your writing all the stronger.

I recommend Unoriginality to anyone who has an interest in the genre of the Original Trainer journey fic. If you're an old-hand, you'll probably nod your head in recognition at some of the cliches skewered, and if you're newer to the fandom, you'll get a humorous crash-course in what folks before you have down, and what you could do differently.

September, Day 5: Gym class! Share a fic featuring gyms and gym leaders./Day 7: Composition Class! Share a fic with a prose style that inspires you.

Fic:
Quiet Mountain, Retreating by manhattan martini

Summary: "Clair, our Gym Leader, is waiting for you." — Clair, Lance, Gold

Wordcount: 3,500

Shh, yes, I know, two Lance fics for one month. But this isn't really a fic about Lance, it's a fic about Clair. Clair has gotten a bit of a bad rap in some parts of fandom because in the games she refuses to accept the player character as worthy of a badge until they take the Dragon's Den test. This fic explores what's going on behind all that. Clair here is frustrated, indignant, trying to prove herself in a community that refuses to allow her to inherit despite her worth. In the span of a oneshot, manhattan martini draws a full world replete with nuanced relationships. The character work is really strong. I know this oneshot influenced me a lot in my perceptions of Lance and Clair, and Blackthorn. The dialogue is very natural, and has some moments of unexpected humor that somehow deepen the overall sense of poignancy in the fic.

The prose style is also lovely. Each word is purposefully chosen, each detail there for a reason, and there's a striking minimalism in the descriptions that nonetheless paints a clear picture. The author's control of flow is also masterful: each sentence carries smoothly into the next. The writing in this one definitely inspired me when I first read it, and really set the bar for what concise, vivid prose can do.

If you enjoy character-studies or appreciate a superbly executed oneshot, I highly recommend giving this fic a read. Also! Features Lance handing out Halloween candy. So I guess this was an appropriate October rec . . .
 
Oct Day 3: Let’s see who’s under that mask!

WildBoots

Don’t underestimate seeds.
Location
smol scream
Pronouns
She/Her
Partners
  1. moka-mark
  2. solrock
30120B80-5C75-45BC-947F-63D7D3339B47.jpegOctober Day 3: Let’s see who’s under that mask! Share a fic about a mystery or a secret.
 
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