Almost-goodfic?

Almost-Goodfic Thread by Anonymouse on 2014-09-04 12:21:00 UTC Reply

This thread is dedicated to those stories that show amazing potential and would be goodfic if it weren't for that one glaring flaw.

To kick it off, I present to you "Lunacy is expected." [sic] by Caleb Serusa, a fic I found while browsing 4chan. (Yes, I in fact do still browse the internet's reeking cesspool.) Warning for NSFW.

It's an amazing alternate universe ("What would happen if Luna had cracked while on the moon?") that for some reason isn't tagged Alternate Universe. That relatively minor quip aside, it manages to avoid the common "Oh, this changed, but everything that should've changed with it stayed the same" pitfall that alternate universes have. What doesn't need to change (i.e. the Mane Six's characterizations) is left almost completely untouched (what is messed up would've been fixed by the fixing of the glaring flaw.) It also ended up being an amazing read- I found myself pulling an all-nighter because of it. (Geddit? All-nighter? Luna fic? Bah, hard audience.)

That brings me to the glaring flaw. HE DIDN'T USE A [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] BETAREADER. There's SPaG mistakes all over the place. "A frequent one, Anonymouse said, happens to be where he forgets to close off and reopen a quote around where he tells us the identity of the speaker." At least once, he references Rainbow Dash calling Twilight a "nerd" instead of an "egghead." He calls Filly (one of Luna's four alternate personalities, because in this alt universe, she has DID) a "young mare" in the first chapter before he reveals the personality's name, something a beta would've caught. He somehow manages to make the story (still unfinished btw) gripping enough to keep you hooked despite the glaring flaws, but it still comes out looking unpolished.

Do you have any similar tales of almost-thereness?

Katawa Shoujo Almost-Goodfic by James Shields on 2014-09-10 21:24:00 UTC Reply

Hanako's story is mostly a well-written perspective flip that gives us Hanako's point-of-view of her route from the VN and provides some extra scenes to further develop her character.

However, the deal breaker for most fans is that this version of Hanako has a surprisingly cinic, jaded and vitriolic tone. It is feel almost divorced from her characterization in the Canon, even when one takes her Bad End into consideration.
Almost-goodfic? by eatpraylove on 2014-09-04 14:20:00 UTC Reply

Hmm...well, the first one I can think of is The Surprising Adventures of a Glaceon in Unova by Captain Spock on fanfiction.net. It's a fun Pokemon adventure story with a suitably memorable cast of human/Pokemon characters. Also, reasonable if not entirely likely explanations for why the human protag has the Pokemon he does, which is nice. (Special mention must go to Octavian the Snivy. You'll see why.)

I...don't quite remember what my issue with the story was. It does kind of drag on near the end, and the chapters are pretty much cut in half so the author can address reader concerns. (This would be fine if it didn't happen so frequently.) *shrug*