Ambyssin's Nominations

I try not to make comparisons when it comes to writing these, including comparing different fics by the same author. At first glance, Ghost Town looks like it's treading over a lot of the same themes as some of Cutlerine's previous works. But there are lot of unique elements at play that make the fic both engaging and entertaining. The rashamon-style storytelling with a rotating cast of POV characters does a great job of keeping things feeling fresh. The overarching murder mystery plot blends well with the supernatural elements related to being a psychic, especially after Cutlerine made revisions to better address the effect the murder had on the town at large. And, of course, the use of the time period and small-town aesthetic to tie everything together.

After an extended absence from Serebii, Rediamond has returned with guidance, an interesting piece of xenofiction that makes full use of its pokémon protagonist to take a bit of an unusual look at the consumerist side of the trainer journey by framing the entire thing as a reality show. It's a premise I've never really seen done and it makes the (ordinarily boring) first island of Alola come alive. It also deals with themes of abuse and neglect and seeks to tackle the (often avoided) questions of how individuals with disabilities would tackle a trainer journey and what sort of pokémon can provide support (and how). The second-person POV is not going to be for everyone, especially in this case, but if you can gel with it, you'll be entertained for sure.

It's certainly hard to ignore Namohysip's work with how much of it he's managed to put on the forums since August. [nervous laugh] But worry not, for there is quality to back up this quantity! Hands of Creation uses what I like to call a constant, steady IV infusion of plot twists in order to keep you hook. Revelations are made from the very start and continue to be dropped repeatedly on your lap as the fic marches on. It can be tough to process (even for the characters, ha ha!), but the end result is a fic that isn't ashamed of how over-the-top it is and revels in that light in the best way it can.

Bit of an odd ducklett coming from me. I'll admit this oneshot is part of a continuity of sorts and, having read other material by canis, my enjoyment might've been enhanced compared to what others would get from a vanilla reading. That said, as a quick jolt of psychological horror and general mindscrewy elements it does a very good job, thanks to very evocative language that presents our twisted POV character's thoughts for all the world to see (despite the fact that he would otherwise *hate* that). Add in some general fear of death/the unknown to sweeten the deal.

An interesting meta narrative here that does a good job going through the various range of emotions someone could experience playing through one of these games without coming off as terribly preachy, which is a serious risk that arises with these kinds of stories.

Like with Salvage, this is one of those nominations I affectionately refer to as a "popcorn fic." Not necessarily designed to make you sit down and contemplate the mysteries of life, the universe, and everything… but one that's got a lot of witty banter, crazy action setpieces, and a bunch of heavy sci-fi plot threads of time-space manipulation, alien invasions, and apocalypse now shenanigans. It's all a lot of fun to read, bucket of popcorn or not.

There's a tendency for people to groan, shrug, and collectively roll their eyes at fics involving Legends and Mythical 'mons. But Negrek embraces the full absurdity of the premise of having godly shapeshifting powers at one's fingertips by framing everything in a strange, twisted sort of rescue operation. Imagine a heist movie, only instead of a cast of lovable, modern Robin Hood-esque rogues, you have a bunch of irredeemable assholes who all absolutely hate each other. I realize that might make the fic sound unappealing, but it's honestly entertaining.

I anticipate pushback from canis on this choice, but utilizing the lore of Twitch Plays Pokémon in order to craft a tale that turns Red into a devout cultist hellbent on appeasing a demonic god of chaos, only to have a potential slip-up that leads into a severe existential crisis with Inception-level mindscrew checks the boxes in my book.

I concede this might be a dark horse (dark rapidash?) entry and I might've even put it in the wrong category. But the fic ditches the conventional PMD formula and even some of the tropes with regards to worldbuilding foundations to opt for a high fantasy setting that has a focus on religion, as well as spellcasting and the arcane arts. It also gets props for not falling into some of the classic trappings with regards to aura powers and giving it an essential "evil" variation in the Life element.

As touched upon earlier, guidance uses a second-person xenofiction skew. However, this perspective is coming from an ice vulpix. Rediamond goes the extra mile to make Pixie's voice reflect the fact that she does not have human-level intelligence. There are an abundance of "Pixieisms" throughout the story… aka funny ways her vulpix brain interprets things we humans would be able to identify in a heartbeat. Throughout all of this, Pixie maintains a *very* snarky voice toward everything going on… until she knows she's messed up and beats herself up like the most depressed person you can think of. There are also the production roundtables, which read like members of the supporting cast riffing on members of the main cast.

Always a perennial contender in this field, dp continues to put the letter-writing scheme to good use, showcasing the distinct difference between Markus' and Haley's voices through both the formatting and the content of their letters. 2018 was more of a Haley year, giving us an opportunity for an extended look in her stream of consciousness. Her letters still jump around, but have developed so that the tangents don't seem quite a wild as they used to.

Canis earns every bit of that M rating through her descriptions. Not necessarily of the locales we find Red in, but rather for the intricate details given to the (admittedly gore-filled) carnage and the elaborate psychologic mind-games that Red is either trapped in or manages to trap himself in. All one needs to do is read the prologue to get an understanding of the level of detail this piece uses, though I concede that means this nomination is not for the faint of heart.

Technically a spinoff of Fledglings, Casting Off's status as a smaller fic with fewer locales to jump around lends it a greater opportunity to offer a full glimpse of the places we do find Cabot and his eventual teammates. The navy barracks are lovingly-realized and Virgil gives a thorough illustration of just how a PMD equivalent to naval basic training could occur, using a chaotic mystery dungeon of all places!

Cutlerine actually made me give a hoot about Mahogany Town, a place I couldn't give two licks about in the canon games, Rocket Hideout and gym be damned. That deserves an award in it of itself.

One of the cardinal sins of Gen VII was the number of cameos it crammed into its games with no real rhyme or reason. By telling us the tale of just how Grimsley ended up in Alola in the first place, Bay looks to fill in the (very large) gaps that Game Freak left me with. And I thank her for that.

Literally taking the throwaway paragraphs you find in the Pokédex and transforming them into full-fledged encyclopedia entries on the species covered. I, uh, realize that doesn't sound all that neat on paper, but it works! Trust me!

Eh, maybe this one's a bit of a stretch on my part, but hey! New year, may as well do some yoga. As it stands right now, the perspective merry-go-round that is Phantom Project forces us to see through several lenses as Senori's teammates try to grapple with his death. This involves reckonings of shaky pasts. I admit, reading the prequel is probably a necessity to get the biggest bang for your buck here, but I still thought it worked.

I'd say it really comes down to Jodi and Tacoma. The former is, unlike many of Cutlerine's leads, on a better path professionally-speaking. Yet she still has to grapple with all the stress (both physical and emotional) placed on her by the events since her arrival at home and come to grips with some of the perils of poor communication. Tacoma has a tremendous amount of self-loathing and negativity that she, in fact, back-slides further into… and it doesn't fully resolve by the time the story ends, either. While that may not be complete development, it's real.

It crams a lot into three chapters and you might be tempted to dismiss things given its spinoff nature and the fact that it employs time-skips. But it has a fairly expansive cast and makes good use of it. Cabot's youthful optimism remains throughout the fic, but some of the sobering realities he faces in basic training and once deployed get him to adjust his expectations and adopt a more grounded view, all while still believing that hope can win out in the end. His teammates Berecien and Niilo aren't slouches either, the former being given hidden depths behind his fairly-conceited attitude and ultimately pulls through as a team player in the final act's battle while the latter starts off as your prototypical cocky rival who comes to respect our heroes as worthy teammates and compatriots.

Dramatic Melody has a knack for using a small writing space to put lesser-known and often-forgotten characters under a microscope and this is definitely one of those pieces. Technically a follow-up to an earlier one-shot, we get snapshot glimpses of Hazel forming a new bond with the 'mon she had lost to Team Plasma. The progression in emotion from apprehension to a sense of optimism about their future is plain as day. It's a very short (and cute!) read, so I recommend you give it a look.

As alluded to earlier, the difference in their backgrounds and, by extension, their thought processes and overall views of the world make them bounce off each other well.

Their relationship has, to put it lightly, had one heck of a roller-coaster year in 2018. New revelations wound up tying these two together in a way I can honestly say I wasn't expecting and while I still need to catch up to understand the fallout, the revelation alone was enough to get me to put these two up here once again.

2018 was, technically, a quieter year as far The Legendarian Chronicles goes, but coming off the heels of what happened toward the end of its first book, there's a sense of all-encompassing dread because you *know* something bad awaits Jade. But it's like watching a trainwreck… as much as you want to turn yourself away, you can't.

The fic currently appears to be at a crossroads of sorts. But as it stands right now, the fic is solely focused on the loss of a loved one and how all the individuals related to him come to terms with it. Terminal illness is put on display and the five stages of grief are investigated through the different POV characters dp cycles through.

I'm going to echo Cutlerine's sentiments, here. With all the angsty fics filled with death and destruction, it's nice to see something that's more down to earth and focused on stepping back and taking things in perspective after a loss. Add to that some sickeningly sweet character interactions and you've got a recipe for success! … that's supposed to be clever wordplay, b/c the lead spends a few chapters working in a bakery. And I just ruined the joke, didn't I?

See my earlier explanation above. It made me smile to see things take a happy turn for Hazel and Liepard.

I put this here last year and I'm doing it again because the fic is (intentionally or not) filled with black comedy that got belly laughs out of me. Relatively new to 2018 is the wonderful image of Mewtwo throwing temper tantrums like a kid who didn't get the Christmas present he wanted.

With a fic this long, you can bet there are plenty of running gags (used conservatively so they don't get too stale), humorous banter, ridiculous situations (such as our heroes joining a detective to investigate a crime Ace Attorney-style), and, of course, good old fashioned slapstick. It's all very lighthearted and sticks to a PG tone for the most part, so I don't think you'd find anything objectionable about Fledglings sense of humor. Unless, of course, you're not an Ace Attorney fan. In which case, we're gonna have to settle our differences with a round of fisticuffs. We duel at dawn!

Okay, yes, it ticks off a fair amount of your prototypical clichés when it comes to trainer fics (including the Team Rocket and Mewtwo-love that makes so many people roll their eyes), but this is another one of my "popcorn fic" nominations. Grab some caramel or butter and enjoy.

You might be tempted to discount this one due to its vulpix protagonist, but it does still tackle a trainer journey. And in a very unique way, by framing it in the context of a reality game show, of course! Add to that the focus on disabilities and a slight bit of magical demigod nonsense and you've got what's probably been the most original trainer fic I've read so far.

If you're looking for a PMD fic that can evoke a storybook sense of wonder and adventure all while juggling an expansive cast and rich world, this one's for you!

Again, I confess my bias to the sci-fi premise and its abundant use of Ultra Beasts as destructive alien forces that bring forth vibes of disaster moves. It may not, on paper, seem like much of a PMD fic, but I do think it captures the spirit of a grand adventure well.

Once again, beaten to the punch but Culterine here. Hardy was a one-shot that caught me off-guard for how it managed to be uplifting while constantly and consistently subverting my expectations. Reading it, you would think that you'd know the exact direction Psychic plans to take it, but she zagged at every zig. The end result is a one-shot that shows the satisfying progression of our magikarp protagonist while treading unfamiliar ground.

Despite its fairly-bleak premise, world, and the heartbreak that the harrowing events have had on our main cast, The Worldslayers continues to be an absolute joy for me to read. Not the least of which because I honestly can't even make a solid prediction about what Sike's planning. I'm about as uncertain and nervous as Syr is about everything… and that's saying something!

It took until Gen VII for Game Freak to finally give some depth to a dark-type user. So, along comes Bay to up the ante and actually feature two dark-type specialists interacting together. It's perfect. And the more down-to-earth, slice-of-life pacing the fic's employed up until now has done a great job setting up the dynamic between Nanu and Grimsley, the former's withdrawn and cantankerous attitude playing well off the latter's natural risk-taking behavior and general air of mystique.

As mentioned earlier, Jodi offers a stark contrast to Cutlerine's previous protagonists. She's coming from a more successful position, doing fairly well in a specialized psychic training program at a fairly-prestigious university in a liberal city. And then, everything falls apart within a day of Jodi getting home. It's interesting to see, because no matter how much emotional (and physical!) stress is put upon her, Jodi finds a way to knuckle under and push on. It's one of those underdog situations you can't help but root for.

A rare entry into this field in the form of a pokémon lacking human-level intelligence. Pixie is the predominant POV character for the fic. An ice vulpix suffering severe abandonment issues, who's trained up to serve as a literal guide fox to her blind trainer as she takes part in a reality show masquerading as your prototypical trainer journey. Pixie is smart and quick-witted despite not being as articulate as other entries here, but has significant flaws and a considerable amount of self-loathing about her behavior. Add to the that some back-sliding in her character arc with what's been posted so far and you have a fascinating character study and a great example of Poké POV done right.

As much as Spiteful Murkrow will try to downplay it given the fic's ensemble cast nature, Pleo is a little star and is a very good birb. One who's had a very hard year. 2018 has seen considerable growth for the little guy as he's struggling to come to terms with what his role in the world as a "Protector" really means and balance out those feelings with his desires to live back on his home island in peace with his newfound friends.

I'm, uh, not *quite* sure if I've pegged this to the right category. In any case, Ren adds much-needed balance to the perennially-anxious snake that is poor Syr. His ability to keep a relatively level head is a godsend for the group in the early chapters, but events down the road lead to something completely shocking happening to the guy that I must stay silent on. This is a surprise you need to see for yourself.

Talking about Cassia's overall role in Unequivocant is something that's, well, tricky to do because it would giving away one of the early act's biggest twists. I'm just going to have to ask you give it a read for yourself to see what the deal is, I'm afraid. ^^;

I'm not entirely sure of the degree to which Namohysip's revisions have raised Zena's prominence in the story, but I'm glad she's gotten attention. Although the insecurities swirling around her loneliness come from her life's present situation and, thus, have a bit of a fantastical element to them, there is something deeply relateable about her plight and her desire for companionship. And that makes me invested in what's to come surrounding her potential character arc.

Given the murder mystery nature of Ghost Town, if I were to name the actual culprit, I would take away a significant reason to read the fic in the first place. So, with Cutlerine's blessing, I am opting to keep this person's identity just secret. I do believe, however, that they fully deserve to be considered. Through glimpses into this character's head as well as steady drip-feed of information about the state of Mahogany Town over the years, we come to learn exactly how this individual operates, that there's more to their insidious behavior than the murder itself, and their reasoning for doing what they do. Even more impressive (in an absolutely bone-chilling way) is the fact that this person's line of thinking and justification for their crimes is something you could definitely find out in the world if you look in the right places.

Originally an android made for the sake of serving the apparent Big Bad, Socket, 2018 has brought a shake-up to the power dyanmics of System. Hoopa essentially went rogue and opted to go for a Chaotic Evil route of pulling UBs into System to wreck havok just because it interested him. Add to that his "treatment" of his fellow androids and you've got the antagonist I'm most intrigued in in this space epic.

With its sprawling ensemble cast, Fledglings has an expansive list of characters on all ends of the moral spectrum, but it seems like, each year, one antagonist gets a bit more focus. In stark contrast to the previous winners from this fic, Ketu is not in a full-blown authoritative position and doesn't overwhelm foes with sheer force and brute strength. He's a behind-the-scenes manipulator with a penchant for talking his way through every situation and using his (barbed) tongue to rope in useful assets. And when that fails, he's no battling slouch, delivering what, at the time, was probably the single most brutal act of the fic. His motive for working for his current boss is still a mystery, sure, but he's currently the most interesting baddie in the story.

A bizarre fusion of everyone's favorite(?) Sam Riegel character from Persona 4… and the physics-defying, godly bewear of the Sun & Moon anime. Much like a previous contender, Parasect Cordyceps, Mayor Teddie has one gimmick: frightening the hell out of our protagonist with the promise of spine-crushing snuggles. And that gimmick is *hilarious.*

Another gimmick character in that this Porygon-Z is, well, a malfunctioning AI of sorts (who insists his systems are perfectly operational). Pretty much ever interaction he has is guaranteed to get a laugh… unless you're one of those tech-hating types. Which I technically am, but I still found a way to make it work. :V

Oh boy, I can already hear myself getting an earful from the author for this one. This may be a case of unintentional humor, as Rhys' status as the comically serious character is punctuated by his grotesque hoarding habits and nonchalant manner of speaking about very grave subjects.

Yes, you're reading this correctly. Negrek's version of Mewtwo is basically a whiny, self-absorbed brat who frequently gets emotionally dunked on… but then manages to turn it around on the (equally amoral) main protagonist.

Like its big sibling, Casting Off ended with a large, sprawling battle that's tough to properly capture in a limited snippet and is best read for yourself. It features the use of heavy artillery, adept use of classic PMD items like wands, and has an almost game like feel to it — both a blessing and curse in fics, I suppose, but a good thing in this case — with a part in which our main trio are being escorted on the backs of water-types and need to help keep their escorts safe or risk an unwelcome watery dip. Since, y'know, the main trio is entirely weak to water. It's also a got a bit of comedy, like in this passage where you've got a ponyta trying to overcome the mobility limitations of having four hooves.

Fledglings had multiple sprawling action sequences this year, but the kicker has to be the escape from Tidemill City which is a massive, nigh-chapter-spanning battle royale with cheese in which all of the story's villainous factions and their respective antagonists come to face-to-face. There's frantic fleeing, naval combat, significant collateral damage, and attacks flying every which way. Finding a representative sample was hard enough, so I hope this suffices.

I think there's been a solid improvement in the quality of her prose descriptions and dialogue exchanges, especially if you look between the start of Foul Play and its most recent chapter.