Creepychu's Nominations

A story about terrible people doing terrible things where I can still sympathize with and even root for the terrible people, despite the decisions they make. There's a running theme of miscommunication throughout the story, and that combined with the unusual perspective of the main protagonists can make it feel daunting to get into, but the fascinating characters, the ongoing feel of mystery and discovery and the smooth page-turner quality of the prose can very easily make you lose track of time and result in you finding yourself in front of the computer at 3AM making futile promises to stop right after one last chapter. The amount of little hints and revelations that can be gleaned from paying close attention to the details of what is and isn't said also makes it an excellent candidate for rereading. All in all, Salvage has an abundance of potential nomination categories and is well worth a lost night of sleep or two.

A rare example of a canon-character journeyfic where both the canon and the journey are engrossing in their own right, making use of the professor-in-their-youth gimmick to enhance the story rather than using it as a crutch to draw interest. There's a strong focus on both character- and world-building, both excellently executed, and the prose is just a joy to read. I could easily think of a dozen categories I'd nominate this story for, but to respect the cap I'll just vote it for overall. Strongly recommended for fans of canon character fics, journeyfics, and just plain well-written fics.

There are certain premises that you learn to instinctively be on guard against just based off the synopsis, then there are stories like this that remind you why it's still worth looking past a premise and giving it a shot anyway. love and other nightmares is the story of a girl whose life is saved through miraculous intervention by a legendary pokémon who then makes her his chosen one and sends her forth to rescue a collection of abused, damaged out-of-region pokémon and help them find their way back to goodness, and if you felt your eyes rolling in your head at any point of that description, you owe it to yourself to put your prejudices on the shelf and give it a read. A fascinating, heartstring-pulling story far better experienced than explained.

A very interesting choice in format and a rare case of images being used to enhance the story rather than distract from it. Taken on their own, the little exchanges are nothing special, but together they create a surprisingly compelling whole.

There are some problems with tone and character voice, but the idea of writing a trainer's journey in the form of an epistolary novel and the subtext reading involved in trying to figure out two characters who both seem to be presenting a false image of themselves to the other still make it well worth a read. The story is on hiatus right now, but hopefully not forever.

I started reading Salvage at 9PM thinking I'd just get started a little bit in, only to find that it was 4:20 am when I finally put it down. Add in the fact that I was not the first of Negrek's readers to have this experience, and I think it's fairly obvious to see why I made this nomination. Negrek's prose flows exceptionally well from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, and chapter to chapter. See for yourself, just…make sure you don't have any pressing appointments left for the day when you do.

For all the interesting characters, fluent prose and experimental story elements going on, it still really is the region itself that feels like the star of the show here. There are countless tiny glimpses of fascinating setting details strewn in as passing remarks throughout the story, all of which could easily serve as cores to stories of their own, which come together to create this sense of a region that's far grander and more fascinating than just a backdrop for the story taking place in it. Considering how grand and fascinating said story already is, that's saying a lot.

It really isn't common for a fanfic interpretation to make me stop and reconsider my views on the canon it's interpreting, but this one actually pulled it off. My first run through Pearl left me quite lukewarm to Sinnoh as game regions go, but seeing the various expansions and interpretations of the towns and people in Roots actually motivated me dust off my old game, give it another shot and realize that there were a lot of interesting stuff buried among all those gimmicky mini-games, poorly dated 3-D graphics and horrid load times. Add in all the period-based details, as well as various interesting interpretations of what pokémon training would have been like before it became the organized and well-documented field it is in established canon and there's definitely a lot to recommend.

Character development really is where this story gets to shine. The characterization in Roots is refreshingly even-handed, focusing more on presenting the characters as fallible people with both strengths and weaknesses than on judging them one way or the other, and almost all of them grow and change as the story progresses.The changes are also believably gradual, Michael's development in particular really showing the struggle between the better side of his personality and his ingrained habits.

Very sweet and understated. I've always had a soft spot for character relationships that are built up across several short scenes and mostly only shown through little details and this one definitely fits the bill. I'm not normally the kind to get invested in pairing up characters like this, but seeing these two actually have their meeting really did strike a chord.

The standout character interaction in a story full to bursting with great character interactions. Henry starts out almost completely unable to stand up for himself, while Michael is always the one with the plan and the confidence to execute it, but as the story progresses, the power dynamic between them starts shifting bit by bit. Henry grows more confident and capable from his experiences while Michael becomes more conflicted and starts running into limits he can't break through on talent alone, and suddenly the borders between them are a lot less clean cut. It's a very well-written friendship, with a satisfying character arc for both sides.

A relationship between two characters who are likely never going to see eye to eye on everything (or anything). Nate's confrontational attitude and love of sarcasm and the child's short temper and inability to read between the lines make them both exceptionally good at getting under each others' skin and the results are always amusing to read.

An interesting spin on a very well-worn premise for pokémon comedyfics. While the story starts with the normal lampooning of the stilted writing in the games (XY in this case), that aspect of the story quickly takes a backseat to the far more interesting struggle between a chosen one who wants nothing to do with his assigned role and the nebulous entity directing the plot of his journey. The various ways Calem attempts to exploit the rules of the world he is stuck in and the ways his opponent tries to bring him back into line help both with keeping the story fresh and the stakes relevant where your average comedyfic often falls short on both fronts. The thread has unfortunately been without updates for a while, but it's still well worth a look.

I wrestled for quite a while with whether I should nominate this for canon character-centric or trainer fic, but in the end, fleshing out its cast of canon characters is where this story really shines. Each canon character has their own distinct personality clearly distinct from their normal canon portrayal but never so far removed that they become unrecognizable as who they are supposed to be. Particular credit goes to the portrayal of Red and Blue, who - in contradiction to the way they are usually treated in fanfiction - definitely act like the bratty children they canonically are. Throw in the dark rumblings of a wider plot advancing alongside the children's journey and the narration of Red's older self trying to set the record of his story straight, with all the tangents and side-remarks you might expect, and you have a thoroughly entertaining story that is well worth your time.

Quite possibly the most endearing sociopathic abomination of nature I've ever had the pleasure of reading about, the child's characterization walks a tricky line between impressionable child and inhuman monster and somehow manages to never quite let one overpower the other. It really is amazing how far a little childishness and humanization can go to smooth over complete and utter disregard for other living beings, identity theft, robbing of the dead, and gratuitous use of violence and supernatural power to resolve one's differences.

With excellent characterization, a great sense for balance in tone, and some of the most fluent prose around, there really are very few reasons not to check Negrek's work out. I've gone on about this at some length in related nominations, so suffice to say that the person who's writing consumes the most of my reading and rereading time during the course of the year is definitely someone I consider worth recommending.

With a catalog encompassing a wide range of genres, themes, and story structures, the only constant things I can really associate with Cutlerine's writing are fluent prose, vivid description, engrossing worldbuilding, titles that leave me scratching my head in confusion, and some of the most delightfully Lovecraftian adaptions of pokémon around. What's not to recommend, really?

To be perfectly honest, I did not have PhalanxSigil pegged as a 'New Writer' until I saw his name on the nominations. There's a sense of confidence to his writing style that I'd normally associate with someone with at least a year or two of prior writing experience. Definitely someone to keep an eye on, not least because he might slip up and reveal his secret back-catalog of earlier fanfiction.

Seeing a writer improve their technical skills over time is fairly common, but seeing a writer improve not only that but their entire attitude towards writing and the community as a whole is something much rarer and definitely worthy of respect. As even a quick comparison between her writing when she first started on these forums and her work now will tell you, starliteevee has made real, tangible progress on both counts.