Subject: Re: Re-reading Fanfiction
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Posted on: 2012-04-09 13:08:00 UTC
Usually, I'll read through something that's not complete, and then it'll update after a while, so I re-read the whole thing to see how the new information fits in (like History of Magic in PMMM.)
I recently decided to go back and re-read a monster of a fanfic that I fell in love with a few years back, and it got me wondering. Has anyone else enjoyed a fanfic enough to go back and re-read it? And if so, what was it and why?
For me it was a Teen Titans fanfic called These Black Eyes and was huge in size and scale. The main character was bordering on Gary-Stuism but the plot and character interactions more than made up for it in my eyes.
Yet Again with a Little Extra Help (Naruto continuum). This was back when I thought Naruto was the bomb, but it's still pretty good even when I've lost most of my interest in the series. The characters are pretty Stu-ish, but I occasionally really enjoy reading about someone coming in and fixing all the crap Kishimoto inflicted upon us poor fans.
Also, it is funny, and funny is good.
Usually, I'll read through something that's not complete, and then it'll update after a while, so I re-read the whole thing to see how the new information fits in (like History of Magic in PMMM.)
Discovering a new fandom for me is always like discovering a stash of food I'd forgotten about during paper-writing season. I tend to go back to a few perennial favorites now and again, either because I'm bored or can't find anything new and good, or occasionally because there was an image I couldn't get out of my head.
Most forefront are the mass of crossover/fusions by Vathara -- they put so much thought and work into the blending, it's amazing and unreal. My favorite of those is probably Upon a Fiery Steed, which is a Gundam Wing and Stargate: SG-1 fusion.
I find I enjoy it even more than I did at first now that I've actually watched Gundam Wing properly. :P
I read that entire fic, and really enjoyed it, even though I still haven't watched gundam in full. But if I ever do, you can be sure that it will be in order to read more fanfic.
Oh crossovers, you never fail to drag me into new and exciting fandoms.
I've reread a few. OFUM, a surprisingly good crossover that should never have existed, and a few other ones scattered across continua.
The crossover? MLP:FiM and Battletech. Ponies and mecha, but on a very small scale (one light 'mech, 8 humans, a few ponies). Quite well written, and explains the Battletech stuff in-story.
Was it The Thessalonica Legacy? I liked it too, it's nicely written.
I still re-read Herr Wozzeck's Mass Vexations series from time to time. It's a nice, funny series.
Generally, any fanfics I bookmark will be re-read in the future and I'm currently re-reading a few of my bookmarked MLP: FiM fanfics. =x
Yes, my favorite fics I always come back to. There is a really good FF7 one called Green Dreams that I like to reread. Of course, that and most of my other return fics are still being updated, so. . .
On the other hand, have you ever come back to a fic and found it lacking? For example, there was this fic called The Power of Magic and Elves that I read when I was really new to being a reader. I lost it for many years, and built it up in my mind as TEH BEST THING EVAR, even as my tastes refined and my writing got better. When I found this thing again, it literally hurt me. I guess my memories of it just proves that I had awful taste back when I was twelve. Anyone else had this happen to them?
(This thing is prime material for sporking, by the way, so if anyone works in crossovers. . .)
Green Dreams, that is. It's still WIP, yeah? I haven't touched it in a few... er, possibly years. A while, anyhow. Quality holding up?
If I enjoy something enough - be it a novel, a film, or a fanfic - I'll go back to it at some point so that I can enjoy it again. I'm currently rereading Maslow, a Kim Possible fanfic that fills in the spaces of the Shego/Drakken relationship.
For more fanfics that members of the PPC community enjoy, you can go take a look at the PPC Rec Center (http://ppc.wikia.com/wiki/PPCRecCenter). Feel free to make your own Rec List - if you dare.
*mine is an evil laugh*
I can think of many good ones...
Mostly Hetalia, but still.
I know that I often re-read stories while waiting for updates, and I know that no matter how often I read it, 'It's Not What You Think!' (Hetalia fic) always cracks me up.
Misinterpreted situations are always funny~
Did you ever read that Sherlock Holmes/Hetalia one? It's Sherlock Holmes Original Flavor, but with Iggy and Alfred getting involved.
I think it's called 'Jerusalem.'
That is, to this day, still one of my all-time favorites. That and "World War Uke". It's called An Incident and Jerusalem, but then the title changed to Increments of Jerusalem, I think.
I also read that one, and ended up really enjoying it even though it can pretty dense for some one who isn't used to the original Sherlock Holmes writing style. :)
Another hetalia fic I really like was one called 'Who Slept With Alfred Jones?'.
It has a kinda stupid premise, but is really entertaining and gets surprisingly deep into America's character.
That convinced me my mother was wrong, and that NOT all fanfic had to be dreck JUST because it was fanfic.
The Holmes one.
Hehehehe... I'll have to look into it. :3