JX Valentine's Nominations

Between one of the most original plots I've seen on the forums, battles written as if Geroge R.R. Martin had a hand in them, heavy doses of political intrigue (by which I mean "people negotiate with axes"), great pacing, and fantastic character dynamics, it's hard not to have fun with this entry. Or, put more simply, it's a fic about gay vikings and the equally gay Irish priests they kidnap, only with pokémon thrown in. It's perfect.

One of the delightful things about this fic is how thick the plot is. It's not the traditional good versus evil plot, and it's not one of those fics where it features characters from the evil team going about their business, doing whatever evil teams do, or being the good guys in some convoluted manner. Nope, this is a fic in which there's plenty of espionage, plenty of Team Rocket definitely being the bad guys, and plenty of immediate character danger. And of course, it's hard to argue with any story in which the protagonist is very clearly dragged into adventure until she finally decides that, okay, maybe she'll go along with this whole thing and see what being an agent of a rebellion working on the inside of an evil, legendary-capturing organization is all about. And of course, add in excellent characters all around (and ngl the best Pikachu ever), and you've got yourself a fun read.

Okay, so this might be fudging it a little, but Love and Other Nightmares is so much fun. It's a fic that basically takes the Chosen One genre and gives it a fresh makeover. Sure, you have all the makings of a Chosen One fic. You have a clear conflict that's brought to the attention of a legendary. You have that legendary reaching out of the realm of the gods to find a suitable hero. And you have the hero who … had up until that point been in a coma. Now, don't get me wrong. Although Annie spends quite a bit of time recovering (which is detailed at a painful, intentionally slow pace) instead of questing, it's actually a great thing that it does this. Why? Because this, apparently, is a Chosen One fic that focuses on its characters, and you know from chapter one that this isn't going to be one of those fics where all the main character does is go on a journey and achieve their goals by beating the ever-loving crap out of them with Pokémon. Point is, even if this is a rewrite, Love and Other Nightmares brings something new and fresh to the table that's worthy of a follow.

Despite some early-chapter roughness (a few proofreading issues here and some plot holes there), snowstorm on the yellow sea shines simply because it's not your average new trainer story. Instead, it's partly a culture study into a nation very few Westerners get a glimpse into. While it's not at all unusual for a fan author to bring real-world locations into their fics (or, heck, set a trainer fic in a part of the real world they're very familiar with), snowstorm takes it one step further by weaving North Korea—including all of the politics between it and the rest of the world—into everything. It drives forward the plot, it becomes the foundation for several of the characters, and it adds tension and urgency to every step of the characters' journey, even long after they've crossed the border. In other words, snowstorm on the yellow sea isn't just a great example of how to bring real-world elements into a fic successfully. It's also a well-done political thriller.

I'll put this bluntly. This was a pleasant surprise. From a writer who's usually trying his hand at humor, it's nice to see him tackle something serious—especially when, in all actuality, he does serious rather well. Besides the fact that the festival involved was actually well thought-out (and an excellent response to the challenge this fic was for), the story works because of its characters. You can practically feel the father's weariness from trying to raise his children to the best of his abilities in the aftermath of his wife's death, and it matches so well with the bleak and somber atmosphere of the winter setting (despite the fact that there's a festival taking place at around this same time). And the children are so well-written too: just the right amount of curious and innocent to highlight the heartbreaking nature of their missing mother.

Do you like sparkly magical girls fighting against monsters in an otherworldly high school setting? What about ordinary high school girls navigating the average trials and tribulations of teenager-hood while balancing her emerging magical powers? The Storyteller has all of these, plus the fine scent of 90s magical girl camp. It is, in short, a fun little romp … or at least one that will remind you of all the times you kinda wished you could go off and be Sailor Moon instead of do your history homework.

I have to admit, I haven't actually followed Daredevil, but this is one of those fics where you don't really need knowledge of the source material to understand what's going on. It's quiet, contemplative, and almost warm and fuzzy for a fic that's literally about two characters taking care of each other after literally a rough night.

Time and Tide answers the age-old question of, "What if a canon bad guy wins?" It just so happens that in this case, the canon bad guy was Archie, and the answer to that question is, "The world floods for 500 years." Enter a new chosen one and heavy doses of swashbuckling adventure in a watery post-apocalyptic world, complete with literal ghosts of the past, the old wars between Aqua and Magma, and the usual sense of wonder we've come to know and love from Cutlerine's writing, and you have a veritable epic of the mythic variety. It is, in other words, really, really difficult not to like this plot.

While the first chapter may leave you asking a few questions, I have to give snowstorm on the yellow sea props for one of the most unique plotlines I've seen in a while. It stars Marie Jones, a young Canadian hoping to start her trainer's journey off in South Korea, only to end up accidentally drifting by boat onto the shores of North Korea. From then on, all pretenses of starting off on her journey are dropped as Marie finds herself scrambling for the Chinese border with three defectors in tow. To put it in brief, the story is heavy with political intrigue, and it's one of those rare fics when the culture becomes part of the story to the point where it drives forward the plot. Every step of the way, it's hard not to bite your fingernails, hoping that Marie makes it to safety and avoids being caught by North Korean loyalists.

I never thought I'd say the words "it's a fic about gay vikings and the equally gay Irish priests they kidnap, only with pokémon thrown in," but here we are.

One of the fun things about Flying in the Dark is the fact that its epistolary format says so much about the Markus and Haley yet so little at the same time. You definitely get a sense of their individual voices—Markus's noble and intelligent mannerisms and Haley's cynicism combined with the hallmarks of a teenager's big-fish-in-a-little-pond point of view—but you always have a constant feeling that there are more than a few somethings that neither of them are saying. It's not just the holes in Markus's stories or the elusiveness of Haley's motives. It's something in the specific language that leaves you asking questions. This fic, in other words, demonstrates the art of implication in just the right way that you're left with a whole list of questions just because the word choice leads you to believe there's something amiss.

The greatest thing about Humans of Hoenn is also the thing that makes it unique. The format Dramatic Melody chose comes complete with a whole slew of challenges. Namely, how do you create all these unique voices that not only add to this fictional world but also sound like a long procession of human beings with their own interests, hopes, dreams, fears—even vocal tics? It's not easy for many writers to handle a set cast of characters, but to do it for the entire Hoenn NPC base in such a way that one NPC sounds so different from another is on a whole separate level altogether. And to succeed at it as Dramatic Melody had—to make an audience feel something for each NPC he covers? Let's just say "best writing style" would be putting it mildly.

Settings are pretty much a hallmark of Cutlerine's writing. In every fic she does, she pays particularly close attention to constructing the history and customs of the people (or pokémon) she writes about, and Time and Tide is no different. Its Hoenn feels so real with its myriad of unique places, from the claustrophobic Tethys and Jonah's Respite to the dreary openness of Cormac's Mourn and the ethereal atmosphere of the Hollow. Even the dead and desolate underwater desert that was once Fallarbor Town feels like a place, you know? And of course, with this fic, there has to be 500 years of history attached to it, and Cutlerine shows us every detail, from the evolution of Tethys' politics to the people the lovable digital Edie loved and lost over the centuries. Everything matters in this world, which makes Hoenn just as much of a character in Time and Tide as everyone else.

Like I said when I nominated this fic for Best New Pokémon Fic, North Korea is in every facet of this story—which, really, already earns it points. But more than that, it's very clear that roule did their homework on the subject, as even though North Korea is still portrayed with a slightly Western lens (I mean, the main characters escape it for a reason), there are so many little details that make it come alive. And I know this is odd to say about a place that is actually real (but, you know, with pokémon added), but given how little anyone outside of North Korea knows concerning what living there is actually like, I sort of expected there to be a lot of gaps or spots where it felt like roule was cobbling together a caricature of a totalitarianism. Not so here! Instead, sure, you have near barren apartments, portraits of Kim Jong Un everywhere, and government-appointed singers belting out pop-ballads about how amazing the State is, but it's less a snapshot of 1984 and more a place where you would expect actual people live. And, of course, the Pokémon elements are woven in seamlessly, with references back to North Korean politics. In short, it's just amazingly put together.

What's the best way of getting a sense of what Hoenn is? Ask the locals, apparently! Humans of Hoenn isn't just about exactly what it says on the tin; it's a story about Hoenn, from the mouths of characters you frankly probably skipped over the first time. Consequently, every part of Hoenn feels alive and deep, like a real place full of real people, rather than just a game or a backdrop to a larger story.

"What if they won" AUs are always fun, but Figurehead is a one-shot that takes it to the next level. Basically, Figurehead isn't just an AU. It's also, on a level, criticism. It states in frank terms that Ghetsis's plan, as stated in canon, had a pretty big, N-shaped hole in it, and as such, it thoroughly discusses the "what happens next." In other words, it's almost a twisted version of a fix-it fic, wherein it expands upon canon by literally fixing up the logical hole in it, and it does so in the most destructive, heartbreaking way possible.

Okay, this is fudging it a little, but pick a story in Humans of Hoenn. Go on. Pick any given one. Chances are good that the character being interviewed in that story is deep, alive, and in possession of a unique voice that makes them feel and sound human, despite the fact that they are literally just an NPC in a game not particularly known for its depth of characters. To create deep, meaningful stories with that many unique characters time after time after time is no easy task, so I can't help but give Dramatic Melody literally all the props for it.

Here's how to rip someone's beating heart right out of their chest: write an entire fic about a small child penning a letter to her stolen purrloin that she ain't never gonna get back. Then make it clear that the small child doesn't understand this.

As off-beat as this crew is (a girl, her porygon2/Z, and three ghosts—two of which kinda hate each other in canon), they play off each other so well that by the time you hit the halfway point in this fic, they almost seem like family. It's very clear that Avice loves each and every one of them and that they are more than willing to return the favor, sometimes to the point where if half of them could, they'd probably die for each other. (Heck, Edie actually nearly did at one point. Spoilers?) And really, the depth of the love and trust these characters have for each other as possibly the weirdest family ever written makes this story all the more enjoyable.

It doesn't really get all that heartbreaking until the end, when you really think about it. It's literally a story that works backwards, establishing the deep love and trust a trainer and his pokémon have for each other by going through each and every one of their achievements and adventures together, including all the moments in which they nearly died for each other. And then it ends with the moment their story starts, right at the fateful choice Rico has to make, only for him to not make it. So not only do you quickly fall in love with the relationship Rico and Arbor have for each other, but it also comes crashing down at that final moment.

No, it's okay, Dramatic Melody. I'm not going to cry over a small child writing a letter to the stolen purrloin she hopes to see one day but canonically won't. I'm definitely not going to do that.

Time and again, bobandbill shows off his mastery of the comedic genre, and with bite-sized bits of humor in this year's drabble offerings, he proves that you don't have to say much to be hilarious. From the outrageous but funny Cofagrius drabble to the subtle, you-might-miss-it-until-you-really-look humor of Florges, the Drabble Dex is one wild ride from one drabble to the next.

Jimmy reminds me of the slacker-heroes that were popular back in the 80s and 90s. A lot of them had talent of one kind or another, be it creativity, charisma, or—in Jimmy’s case—actual intelligence, but they let those abilities basically go to waste. That’s what actually made them appealing: you couldn’t help but root for them, partly because they were often lovable, relatable goofballs and partly because you just kinda wanted to see them succeed, despite their loser personae holding them back. This version of Jimmy (as opposed to the earlier version in an earlier fic by this author) is exactly that. He’s more interested in gaming than training his haunter, saving the world, or, well, doing decently in school. But at the same time, he’s also lovable and almost earthy on a level, the kind of character you met and probably liked hanging out with in real life. So it’s very enjoyable to watch him start off on an adventure because you know he’s going to stumble through it half-blind. In other words, Jimmy’s the kind of character whose character arc makes a story. He starts off as a loser, but he has so much potential to be something more—and that’s exactly why he’s so much fun to read.

I’d like to think that Brendan is a supporting character, rather than the main character, because in many cases, he’s the catalyst for the story, not who the story is actually about. But because of that, you get a skeletal framework of his character: someone so interested in the humanness of the trainers he shares his world with that he’s traveling all across his region to uncover their stories. He’s why they can speak, and through him, we’re able to learn all about the extraordinary in the mundane. In other words, while Brendan often takes a backseat to the other characters, it’s his curiosity and sense of empathy and patience that makes the story what it is.

Archie is the poster boy for Affably Evil. You know what he's doing is wrong. You know he's literally going to drown the world. You know he sanctioned such exploits as drowning villages and stealing machine parts. You know he doesn't even care if he's hurting others. Yet he's also so dang friendly, not only with Maressa but also with, say, Winona and Liza, and he's such a good negotiator that you just can't help but fall for him anyway. You would totally sell the key to Kyogre for someone's brother, and you wouldn't mind because Archie is that dang slick. What's even more fun is that this isn't what he's like in canon at all, but that just makes it even better. Starlight managed to take a very clear, almost one-dimensional villain and make him almost likable, just so he can seem just a teeny bit more dangerous than the Archie you may know and love.

The Drabble Dex has a knack for creating unique, hilarious situations out of things we might've always noticed or felt. For example, it would be one thing to write a drabble about the never-ending frustration that is trying to put a Cofagrius up on the GTS, but this drabble takes it to a wonderfully ridiculous extreme.

And this, children, is why you can find ditto on Route 34.

Nothing's more heartbreaking than dealing with a loved one who is not only dying but also going through dementia. To do it with a character who had previously been established in diamondpearl's Survival Project—a character we've come to know, love, and respect—takes it to a new level, as we can do nothing but helplessly watch him break down.

Casual reminder that Phantump's dex entry is horrifying and also about dead children, so everything here is also about a dead child. (Thanks, bobandbill!)

Actually, this entire battle is worthy of nomination; it's just … character limits. But as you can probably tell from the snippet above, Sike struck a perfect balance of pacing and imagery throughout this scene, culminating into one of the best cliffhangers that she's posted this year. (Yes, I have to clarify with "this year.") Every single word drives forward the action of the plot, drumming up the tension and adrenaline.

Moby Dick ain't got nothing on a scene in which vikings take down a forty-foot magic whale. But in all seriousness, this is just emblematic of a lot of what works about Halvarsaga. Not a single word is spoken in these few paragraphs; rather, every single word is devoted to the violence and visceral nature of the killing of this single pokémon. The pacing is perfect and fast-paced, and you almost get a sense of the grand scale of this single character death. It is, in other words, like watching a scene from a viking movie just play out before you.

It was a legitimate struggle to figure out which awards I had to cut out because I was straight-up trying to nominate Cutlerine for almost all of them. But on a serious note, practically every single year, Cutlerine gifts the forum with a new fic, and that fic is always fresh, new, and exciting, with a perfect balance of gripping plot, deep and fascinating characters, and even spot-on language. Every world she presents us with is staggeringly detailed to the point where we practically know the religious views of kadabra or the way the Tethysi dialect sounds to the ear. In short, it's really hard not to nominate Cutlerine for this award because her work is just so consistently good.

I must admit I wasn’t too sure what to think when I saw someone with not posts enter the Yuletide. But then I was pleasantly surprised when Corvus submitted their work. With just a single one shot (that I was even tempted to nominate for a couple of awards), Corvus shows us they have a strong grasp of characterization, weaving together a light-hearted but sweet exchange between two distinct characters (while at the same time capturing the canon essence of Jasmine and Volkner). Even the way Corvus handles Pokémon is sweet and enjoyable, which is to say if this is just a sampling of Corvus’s work, I really hope to see more of them.

Just to keep up with Time and Tide at my own pace, I copied and pasted it into a Google Doc. You want to know how many pages Time and Tide was? Over 500. And each chapter averaged at about twenty-five pages each. Factor in the amount of consistent care (all that worldbuilding! solid characterization! perfectly poetic prose!) and the fact that the fic at some point updated literally a fortnight (which is awesome to say), and let’s just say Cutlerine has the amount of dedication one can only envy. Oh and by the way? This is standard for Cutlerine. How do you pull off writing hundreds of thousands of words a year? Seriously.

Oh, no reason … except, you know, this year marked the fifteenth anniversary of her main fic so hot dang she’s been hardcore at one fic for fifteen years how do you not call that dedication? Chibi Pika is so dedicated to writing that her work is literally older than some people on the forum seriously what.

I’ll be blunt. Last year, I wasn’t too impressed with his offering. But this year, he comes at us with a genuine trainer fic. Characters who’re likable (and, well, not edgy or anything) right off the bat, good pacing, and a refreshing go at the usual beginning of a trainer fic. (It’s not just “wake up, get a starter, and go.” Instead, Jimmy understood perfectly that the first chapter needs to be spent establishing his cast and building his main character’s motivation for going on a journey.) In other words, Jersey Jimmy has grown a lot since his first shot at posting on the forum last year, and I really hope he comes back to continue because if this is how he grows, it’ll be interesting where he goes from here.