2013 Fanfiction Awards Results

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by JX Valentine

Sidewinder’s pretty much kept it up this year. Requiem’s always been something fresh, new, and exciting for me, but this year’s chapters added even more depth and intrigue to an already pretty awesome story. Everything from the characterization to the most minute plot points were executed with fantastic care. It’s just a fic that shouldn’t be passed up, plain and simple.

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by Sidewinder and gorgonfish

Nominated by Pink Harzard

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by JX Valentine

Mad props to anyone who can write a really good, highly detailed trainer fic/game retelling using script fic. That sounds like a formula newbie writers use, but my God, johno1995 shows off how that can be so very good.

Nominated by JX Valentine

AU is definitely right here. Monsters Among Us is a gritty fic in which Pokémon are equal to humans in pretty much every way except, you know, dignity. But it’s a gritty fic that doesn’t go into over-the-top grimdark territory (which really is a difficult thing to maintain), and it constructs its world so carefully and thoroughly that it’s very easy to buy.

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Pink Harzard

Nominated by Negrek

Although this is only one chapter in, it's an extremely promising story that already shows an interesting premise, snappy prose, and a deft handling of both character and action scenes. Definitely one to watch… assuming it updates again someday.

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by Knightfall, JX Valentine and gorgonfish

It’s an adorable fic in which Leaf thrashes Blue Oak by being the coolest six-year-old ever.

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by Knightfall and JX Valentine

You have a pretty ordinary brother and sister chasing after a super-powered sociopath driven by the dedication to six disembodied kings. Requiem is straight-up not like any other Pokémon fanfiction I’ve read, first off, and second, it’s a fast-paced fantasy thriller with more twists than licorice rope. It’s that good.

Nominated by Pink Harzard

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by JX Valentine

Man, how long has it been since I read a fic about an ordinary guy in the real world suddenly finding himself in an adventure because fate spat out a real, live Pokémon for him to mess with? Far too long, but the point is, Cyn delivers it wonderfully, with a nice kick in the tail to the story’s slackerish hero. It only gets weirder from there when he subsequently finds a portal to the Pokémon world, and shenanigans ensue.

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Pink Harzard

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by Matori

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

It’s a fic about a Pokémon villainous team told from the perspective of inside members. Sure, that sounds like it’s been done. BUT! This is Team Aqua, and the fic’s focus is on making these characters think they’re just doing some ordinary, everyday job. It’s fascinating to see their minds work and catch glimpses of the darkness of their organization in the background, and starliteevee certainly knows how to make us want to know more about these characters and how her version of Team Aqua works.

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by gorgonfish and Sidewinder

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by JX Valentine

SilentMemento’s strongest suit is most definitely his attention to detail regarding characters. Every character he writes feels alive, and given that this is a story told entirely through editorials, you definitely get a sense of that here. So not only do you get a good glimpse of the way the Pokémon world works thanks to its essay-like format, but you also get a sense of a passionate voice driving each point. Sure, what he’s saying might not be 100% believable or agreeable, but hey, the point is, it’s authentic.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Sure, it’s pretty much 100% description with no discernible plot beyond that, but my god, is the description poetic. Behold—the end of the world. And apparently, dying is like going really ****ing insane via sensory overload crossbred with existential crisis. Who knew?

Nominated by Pink Harzard

Nominated by JX Valentine

Just … yes.

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by JX Valentine

All of it. Like I’d mentioned earlier, GingerDixie sets out to create a complex world that’s both recognizably Pokémon and something completely different from what we see in canon, and Ginger pulls it off with an incredible amount of detail.

Nominated by Negrek and Negrek

The first story arc in this 'fic largely takes place within a hyper-religious community that believes pokémon training to be immoral, and throughout we get glimpses into a Kanto caught in the crossfire of a revolutionary movement and the rise of a powerful crime syndicate. Rediamond does a great job of putting his own spin on the pokémon world's history, and future chapters promise to explore it even farther from a variety of different angles.

The first story arc in this 'fic largely takes place within a hyper-religious community that believes pokémon training to be immoral, and throughout we get glimpses into a Kanto caught in the crossfire of a revolutionary movement and the rise of a powerful crime syndicate. Rediamond does a great job of putting his own spin on the pokémon world's history, and future chapters promise to explore it even farther from a variety of different angles.

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

While it promises to eventually be a trainer fic about the darkness of the League, for right now, it’s a fascinating retelling of the original RBY games because it’s told entirely in posts from a normally mute character. As such, it does a really good job of exploring the canon characters and the beginning of the game from Red’s perspective—the exact perspective you’re supposed to assume when you play.

Nominated by JX Valentine

In short, I really do appreciate the fact that this isn’t just a trainer fic or a retelling of the BW canon plot. It’s also an exploration—an attempt to add character depth and explain a lot of what goes down in the games. So in that sense, this reads less like a traditional trainer fic (in which a writer sends a character off on a journey as wish fulfillment) and more like an attempt to capture everything that is BW.

Nominated by Matori

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by JX Valentine

Like I said, you really do get a good sense of who Pryce is by reading his thoughts and voice throughout the fic, and given this format, that’s really what makes this whole shebang.

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by JX Valentine

It’s amazing to see these two play off each other. Sometimes, you get that sense of closeness and I-will-do-anything-for-you-ness that you get out of a brother/sister relationship, and other times, they smack each other around with fantastic levels of gloriousness. Emotions definitely run high between these two, so when one spirals down pretty dark paths (as Dorian wonts to do), you inevitably see intense reactions from the other.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Directionless psychic and a snarky Espeon, both with hilariously little foresight. Enough said.

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by Negrek

I defy you to read the 'fic and not d'aww at these two at least once. Seriously.

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by JX Valentine

(NOW NOMINATED IN AN APPROPRIATE YEAR. 8D) You have to admire the amount of detail elyvorg put into Archopy. Certainly, it’s an alternate evolution for a canon Pokémon, but it’s really that exact relationship—between the fan-created evolution and the canon evolution—that really makes this species so interesting. You do get a sense of that primal rivalry emanating at least from the Sceptile, but there’s this grace and serenity from the Archopy as well. It’s just fascinating to see it all play out.

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

It’s several pages of watching a small child die slowly and painfully. NO, IT’S OKAY, 33WHIMSICOTT33. I NEEDED THE CASUAL REMINDER THAT I’M HUMAN TODAY.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Yeah, it's not a Pokémon fic, but hey. Regardless of whether or not you're an Adventure Time fan (I'm not, for one), it's very easy to feel for the main character. And then sob grossly at what happens to him by the end.

Nominated by Knightfall and diamondpearl876

Nominated by JX Valentine

Just in case you needed to know what it looks like when a script fic is done well … *motions to this fic* Also, although it’s a retelling of the BW games, it has a lot to offer, with carefully built characters and a lot of explanation added to the shiftier parts of the canon storyline. It really is a well-done expansion of canon as well as an entertaining look at the trainer fic genre.

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

Indigo is already promising a lot, what with the premise outlined in Red’s opening post and the format of the fic in general. But also, it’s hard to argue with a retelling of a game plot pretty much everyone is familiar with, starring incredibly likable characters and told from the perspective of the actual hero protagonist. Indigo is fascinating already, and it can really only get better from here.

Nominated by Matori

Nominated by JX Valentine

What’s horrifying? A story about a small child dying. What’s even more horrifying? A story about a small child dying told from the perspective of the small child dying.

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

Deadly sets out to parody the Hoenn games using a healthy dose of dry, British humor … and let me tell you, it’s refreshing to read. All too often, you see OMG LOL humor when people set out to write comedies, but here, the writing is tight, the wit stands on its own (without any lol randomness thrown in), and how can you argue with a fic whose main characters’ primary troubles involve tax evasion?

Nominated by JX Valentine

And over here, you have the pleasant story of why humans shouldn't **** with nature. No, but seriously, Lost Evolution feels a lot like a classic sci-fi flick. You have your slow build up. You have your monster that isn't even named until chapter three. You have your possibly mad geneticists and your everymen getting roped into chasing after the monster. And while this might seem like I'm describing a formula for an "oh noes something escaped from the lab" kind of fic, it's not. Here, you really do feel the intensity of the chase and the drama, and all of the characters get enough focus that your attention isn't focused on just the titular creature or the everyman human hero but on a whole bunch of different, fleshed-out characters all at once, which makes for a rather nice experience for a sci-fi fan.

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by JX Valentine

It’s a rather cute transformation fic as it is, but I think what really makes it is how hard the main character screws himself over, just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That somehow makes all of his struggles to adjust to his Pokémon self all the more fascinating to watch, if only because you know all of this could’ve been averted.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Okay, it’s a reverse PMD story, but the premise is so hilarious it’s hard not to immediately nominate it. This fic tells the story of a boy in the human world who meets a girl who insists that she’s a Vulpix, and then shenanigans ensue like a fantastically cheesy 90’s harem anime. It’s awesome.

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by Negrek

Although it's only two chapters in at this point, this 'fic has already gone a long way towards building up an intriguing world and characters. We're looking at a world where guilds and exploration teams are talked of in the past tense, and ChaosCaptain's characters are in a much more dire situation than your typical confused former human and happy-go-lucky exploration team pal.

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Negrek

Despite the fact that pokéballs have never been invented, pokémon remain second-class citizens. GingerDixie does a great job of getting into the head of various pokémon characters as they navigate in a world on the brink of violent revolution.

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by Matori

Nominated by JX Valentine

bobandbill does a fantastic job at capturing the dedication and empathy of a Gardevoir raised from a Ralts. You can sense the closeness between the Pokémon and the trainer here with the tiny details—the pangs of jealousy Gardevoir experiences, the sense of pride when she battles and wins for her trainer—and it all culminates into a rather fantastic moment at the climax where she’s torn between being a Pokémon and being a companion. It’s all rather heartwrenching.

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Knightfall, Brutaka and JX Valentine

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by JX Valentine

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary and Sidewinder

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by JX Valentine

I’m just really, really fascinated by the voice gorgonfish gives to this character. We all know about him, but in gorgonfish’s hands, Red seems like a new, unique character who’s absolutely fascinated by this new task heaped onto him … because gorgonfish is one of those rare authors who remembers that Red is eleven.

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

Edward continues to be basically the only beacon of sanity in an otherwise fantastically insane world. He may not be the chosen one, but he’s the most rational, intelligent one out of the group, the one who will most likely drag the chosen one away from apparent danger. And hey, it’s not every day that the main character isn’t supposed to be on an epic journey in the first place, right?

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by JX Valentine

Bubbly, somewhat ditzy Emolga with a penchant for being fantastically kickass at the seemingly most random moments. Oh yes.

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by gorgonfish

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary, TheCharredDragon and Sidewinder

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by JX Valentine

Celebi literally shows up out of nowhere, and like many legendaries in this story, its aim is apparently to wreck Nuria and Edward’s lives. And it does a fantastic job at it too, what with its tendency to drop exposition … or drop everything for the sake of candy floss.

Nominated by JX Valentine

It’s always amazing to see how loyal this Pokémon is. It even landed one of the main characters in the hospital, just because he kinda sorta looked like he was threatening! :D But seriously, Kirlia is die-hard dedicated to Nuria, and this sets her apart from any other Pokémon simply because of the way that loyalty plays off of the personalities of the other Pokémon in this fic.

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Matori

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by JX Valentine

Speaking of priorities, is your chosen one getting thrashed by Houndoom? That’s nice. THERE IS CANDY FLOSS TO BE HAD.

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by JX Valentine

Even though part of his behavior in the prologue is fueled by a compulsion to finish what he started, this is still a guy whose response to knowing that he’s about to die is, “Welp. TIME TO WHIP OUT THE SKETCHBOOK.”

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by JX Valentine

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by JX Valentine

Nominated by Brutaka

Nominated by JX Valentine

Nominated by Matori

Nominated by JX Valentine

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by JX Valentine

Nominated by Pink Harzard

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by Knightfall and JX Valentine

Cutlerine has a knack for clean prose and inventive stories, and with one of the most unique fics published last year, it’s hard not to nominate them for this place.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Let’s face it. If I could nominate Requiem for more awards this year, it would turn up in every effing category. Sidewinder’s one of those rare authors whose fics I keep going back to willingly because he just plain knows how to set up a scene, how to develop characters, and how to build a fantastic, inventive plot. What’s more, he’s taken the canon universe and made it into something new and different and believable without once making something overly dark. So, yes, this time around, I do think Sidewinder deserves a nomination for being a pretty kickass storyteller.

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Nominated by PhalanxSigil

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary

Nominated by JX Valentine and gorgonfish

Skidding in at the tail end of the year is Phoenixsong, who, in the space of her modest little short fic about boys, girls, and video games, managed to capture the characters of the three Kanto protags better and more succinctly than most authors I’ve seen. Here’s to hoping we see more of Phoenixsong in 2014.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Where the everloving crap did this guy come from? And where did he go? No, but seriously, here we have a writer responsible for fantastically written script fics that should literally be used as an example for how script fics should be written. His prose was always wonderfully tight, and his spins on canon were incredibly fun to read.

Nominated by Negrek

Cutlerine is a relentless writer who's done more than anyone in recent memory to explore the limits of what constitutes "fanfiction." And they do it all on an impressive update schedule (seriously, if you've never had to do some kind of updated adventure game, you don't understand how hard this is) while keeping the quality consistently high.

Nominated by Negrek

Ysavvryl started and completed a >200,000-word chapterfic this year, in addition to continuing her Pokédex One-Shots collection (more than 350 done so far), and that's not even an atypical yearly output for her. She's obviously got lots of stories to tell and the drive to get them all out there for others to enjoy.

Nominated by JX Valentine and gorgonfish

On a similar note, Butler is also an author who does not update every week but still is die-hard dedicated to his story. Not only is he one of the fastest-improving authors I’ve ever seen outside of my nominations for this year’s Most Improved Writer, but also, Butler puts in an inordinate amount of thought to the world he tries to create. He’s very responsive to reviews, very quick with an explanation to his thought processes, and very apt to creating side material in order to build a more immersive experience for a reader. With a Butler fic, you know that that baby is going to get finished eventually, and along the way, you’re going to get a glimpse at someone who works himself to the bone to make sure that happens.

Nominated by Sidewinder

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by TheCharredDragon

Nominated by Deadly.Braviary and Sidewinder

Nominated by Knightfall

Nominated by JX Valentine

Samples: (JX Valentine)

Not gonna lie. It was a tough decision this year. There were a lot of names I could’ve chosen for this category because a lot of reviewers stepped up their game to help new and improving authors. But what makes Dragonfree stand out in particular is her objectivity. Dragonfree is thorough and to-the-point, even if she likes you, and because of that, it really feels like she’s pushing you to do better and to be a better writer. Just look at how she handles Lost Evolution, a fic by probably one of her favorite authors on this forum. And, really, that’s a refreshing stance to take. It’s great to see someone who doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind.

Nominated by JX Valentine

Samples: (JX Valentine)

Praxiteles has an eye for detail, no doubt about that. He can spot even the most minute issue that the more experienced and well-received authors on the forum encounter. (Here, have an example involving Cutlerine.) Moreover, when he presents his thoughts on general concepts, he always goes in-depth in a pretty likable and conversational manner, so it always feels like he has something to say, even about the changes he’s suggesting. That and it feels like he’s trying to engage you and make you think about what he’s saying, rather than simply pointing something out about your story.

Nominated by diamondpearl876

Samples: (diamondpearl876)

Nominated by JX Valentine

Samples: (JX Valentine)

One of the many reasons why I love Prax is the fact that if he likes you, you can expect him to be one of the first reviewers to every installment you post. And remember how I said he goes in-depth and examines your work to the point where he’s shooting off literary analyses? He does that every time he reviews.

Nominated by Sidewinder

Samples: (Sidewinder)

To the casual observer, Glover's post that I linked will seem like a good and insightful review. But I nominated him for a reason that actually encompasses much more than what I could possibly link to. Not only has he constantly been there with his views and helpful opinions for many people throughout the years, but he also does so when he takes extended breaks from the forums. Hell, he stopped commenting on my chapters for so long that I stopped PM'ing him when I updated. But BAM, one day, right out of the blue he bombs right back in. Fully caught up, fully brilliant, and brings things to my attention that I hadn't even thought of. I'm giving Glover this nomination not because of a single review or even several, I'm giving it to him because he's a good person and a dedicated reviewer that I feel truly privileged to know. My fic was changed because of him.