Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Best Fanfic of All Time-A Step Down From Perfect by Byoshi

Alright, guys. This is it. The big one. THE BEST FANFICTION OF ALL TIME. What could it be? Does anyone know? To that I say "Did you not see the title? Read it, for god's sake!"

1. A Step Down From Perfect by Byoshi


Section: Super Smash Bros
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Romance, Angst
Rating: Teen for thematics, slight language.
Type: Chapterfic, 83,000 words
Status: Finished
Last Updated: October 9th, 2009

Description: Samus, a self-conscious bounty hunter with eyes for the perfect Marth (who at the moment is dating the equally perfect Zelda) is slowly brought to reality after meeting the mussy, down to Earth Captain Falcon during the Melee fighting tournament. The fighters' world is turned upside down when a rebellion against the sadistic authority figure, Master Hand, starts to take place with Mewtwo and Peach as the catalysts.

Starring Characters: Samus, Falcon, Peach, Marth, Mewtwo, Zelda, Master Hand, Fox, Falco, Link, Pichu, Crazy Hand.

(Note: I kinda went crazy with the quote gun, so I hope you don't mind.)

Review: I wanted to turn this review in two days ago, on the second anniversary of Perfect's completion, but I didn't get around to it. I'm just... amazed at this fic. Simply amazed. I've come to consider it the gospel on how I write today, fanfiction or not.

The story is hard to explain in one line. There's such a beautiful interweave between all of the main characters that it's best to let the story speak for itself. But the summary, I hope, is a good start.

Sometimes, she'd imagine she was Zelda. Or someone like her. Samus would imagine if things would be any more different if she had a powerful family name, or if she was beautiful, or if she was elegant in everything she did. If she was a princess, or if her name was something as melodic as Zelda.

And sometimes, she hated him. She hated how he acted so damn nice to her and then left it at that. It hurt to the point that it never really went away. She'd much rather have him despise her. At least that would take her out of her limbo of false hope.


I've come to love the story idea of two people doing something together somewhere and through it growing as people, most likely in love. I mean, 16 of my about 40 stories follow this exact plot line. It's sort of my shtick. It's about putting characters in the situations they need and the settings they need for something to affect them or to set the tone for the story.

It's a pretty calculative thing to do sometimes, even for oneshots. What I love that Byoshi did is that she creates the mood, the scene, from scratch every chapter. She incorporates the setting, fleshes it out, puts the characters in it, and then directs it. Good writing is also directing, in my opinion, and Byoshi is a master director. Every scene radiates with such a cohesive, orchestrated beauty. I know I've said I like intricate detail and orchestration a lot in, like, every fic, but Byoshi takes it to an all new level. You can tell that the entire story has a function and use in every part.

Link rubbed his face again, a small habit Samus was starting to notice now. "I'm just a forest boy earning a small reputation to keep his village going. That's hardly the same level as a prince, a princess and the galaxy's greatest hunter."

"But you're a hero...you saved Hyrule...Zelda told me once."

"Heroes are glorified fools."


That includes the characters. If a character gets more than a paragraph or two of screen time, the character is defined effortlessly and becomes likable. The heroic, charismatic Fox, the grouchy, competitive Falco, the quiet but supportive Link, the adorable, active Pichu, and the not-so-perfect perfect princess Zelda all engage you even though they're not the mains, and they're all useful. I personally love them all (especially Fox. :D)

Of course, The main characters are beautiful on their own right. The idea of Samus being less than confident is usually very taboo for fans of the bounty hunter, but Byoshi makes it work, quite well, still giving her an affirming amount of strength throughout her emotional weaknesses. Falcon is incredibly imperfect, as the title implies. He believes rumors, he can be rude, cocky and even screws up sometimes, not to mention he's not the handsomest in the mansion. But he's still very kind, courageous, loyal and caring, and a completely likable guy. And it's about time we had a male lead in a romance that is as imperfect as the female is often made out to be.

"... Can you predict the future, Mewtwo? With your psychic, I mean," she said. He looked up. "...What's mine like?"

He looked so much less formidable when his frown and narrowed eyes disappeared. He was bemused, but Samus swore she saw the tiniest glint of amusement in his eyes. The long purple tail flicked from left to right.

"Give me a moment," he answered. Samus did. "Let's see. You will definitely earn a strong reputation as a feared bounty huntress. You'll marry twice, have a string of affairs along the way and give birth to nine children."

It started from her stomach, rippling up the throat and warming her heart. She laughed, hugging her knees and shaking her head. Mewtwo had kept up his straight face. But within a few seconds, a low growl reverberated in his throat and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"You're horrible," she said to him.

"You ask for a lot when you want me to read into the future; I can hardly read minds at the moment. But as far as I know, you make your own future."


Peach is also brought out of the stereotype, becoming a strong, professional woman who is still kind, cheerful and optimistic. She genuinely cares about Mewtwo, despite the fact that he is resistant to all her attempts to win him over. Mewtwo himself, while being cold and resistant, has a wry sense of humor and genuine investment in the goings on of the mansion.

And of course, there's the oh-so-not-perfect Marth. On the outside he is charming and beautiful. On the inside he's, well, the same. But Marth as a whole has flaws that Samus doesn't see, but he's still a good guy and not villainized.

Of course, the Hands, our villains of choice. Master Hand is admittedly straightforward in his sadism and distaste for his fighters. But the way he works is still quietly and suspiciously- his actions are never blatantly stated, he's the demented wizard of Melee. A truly engaging villain. Speaking of demented, Crazy hand is the right balance of crazy- still truly mentally deficient but with some form of intelligence. (he also provides a good game to figure out the schemes of Master Hand- props, Byoshi.)

What I adore about these characters and praise Byoshi for without end is how she takes these characters out of their stereotypes or their canon, but still keeping them true to character. That is called making them real, and that is simply freaking brilliant. It's how I learned.

"It adds insult to injury, doesn't it?"

Falcon was back in his car and was already reversing. Samus pushed her thoughts of Marth out of her head (very reluctantly).

"What does?"

"Mewtwo haveing a trainer. I heard he's got a bit of a background, so the Master Hand wanted some control over him. According to Link, Mewtwo has a bit of a hard time trusting people as it is; it's even worse for him to have to take orders from Peach or the Master Hand."

Samus didn't reply. She did feel a bit sorry for Mewtwo, but in all honesty, it was nothing to do with her. Smashers loved rumours and hot gossip, but Samus never really cared for them. It wasn't like they involved or affected her.


The plot itself is spectacularly executed as well. The rebellion idea has been used before, but never like this. There are rarely violent actions in the story, but the action is so real even if it's not physical. You can feel things shift and change and progress and it's thrilling without being physical. That's an amazing approach and accomplishment.

And the cliche is true. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and sometimes, you'll applaud.

The writing is simply effortless as well. It's structured well, the dialogue is smart, witty, and creates whatever emotional effect it's going for. Never does she resort to straight up manipulation but you can feel for the characters and the story. You're roped into it. I meant to browse a chapter before I went to bed a few months ago and ended up staying up till 1:30 in the morning, tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. (Moral of the story- start reading at around 4? :) )

This is simply an accomplishment of literature, fanfiction or not. And this is the best fanfic I have ever read. I've taken my influence from it, my passion, my knowledge and my love from it. It's remarkable. I really don't have much else to say.

Just... thank you, Byoshi.

She ripped up some grass and clenched a hand into a fist, sighing in exasperation. "Master Hand will worm it out of him. Game and Watch is a coward and the thought of being punished by his boss is probably more frightening than Mewtwo. Master Hand will play around with me a bit more, destroy the lives of everyone else I care about and see to it that I'm fired. I'll be leaving this Mansion and giving the Federation a disgraced name. Master Hand will target you next, I'm sure of it. He'll mess with your mind to get revenge on me-"

Falcon punched her shoulder lightly. "Hey. Don't tell me that's the reason you've been avoiding me. I'm not going anywhere. Master Hand can come at me with all the mind games he has, but I won't give up on you, Samus. Look at me."

Reluctantly, her eyes met his. In this evening light, they could almost pass as hazel.

"You're not the kind of person who gives in. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, and it's happened all at once, that's all. You've landed yourself in the biggest mess possible, but with some time, it'll work out."


And that's the list folks. I'll update with one final "Summary Post" another time. Thanks for reading.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

2nd Best Fanfiction of All Time- Firefly by LightningLaveau

A Note Beforehand- I swear to god, there is a sliver, a SLIVER, of difference between two and one. I must have flip flopped so many times between the top 2 that I lost track. Ultimately, I settled this one into a very close number 2. You could almost consider it number 1.5. But that's not very tidy. ;)

2. Firefly by LightningLaveau


Section: Mario
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Humor, Friendship, Romance
Rating: Teen for some language, alcohol and smoking- also, the story revolves around underground illegal racing.
Type: Chapterfic, 63,000 words
Status: Ongoing
Last Updated: July 28, 2011

Description (Oh wow I remembered to add this part in, unfortunately it will just be copypasta from the story description this time!): In the racing-obsessed metropolis Mushroom City, Bowser's kart team tops the charts. An unexpected chain of events forces him to confront both his lurid past and the Mushroom Kingdom's oppressive ruler in this AU fic set in the Mario Kart: Double Dash world.

Starring Characters: Bowser, Toadette, Rosalina, Lakitu, Dry Bones, Daisy, Toad... and effectively every other Mario character in existence.

Review: When a story gets me, a specific reviewer, a story analyst, to drop all pretenses, all the regulations and the details and just HAVE A GOOD F**KING TIME, that's a story that is really special in my book.

This story, as I told Laveau herself many times as I ogled over her work, is like a damn good TV show that keeps on updating (irregularly but still) and you enjoy every update. But this is a TV show that does everything right, too.

Rainbow Road. God-forsaken Rainbow Road.

Whose idea had it been to put in a vertical suction vacuum? Why build the longest racetrack in the Cup in outer space? Who had the time and money to build the thing in the first place, a Lisa Frank acid trip in the middle of nowhere? Now that he thought about it, how could they ever breathe up there? If Rosalina hadn't—

No. No. Don't think about that. Think about now. At this place—ugh.

Lakitu appeared, holding up the starting lights. Bowser's right calf clenched instinctively as the three-second red light flashed.

Of course, the ridiculous construction of the place was coupled with quite a few areas in which he could show off his skills. Like all tracks in the Special Cup, the place was designed for veterans like him. It tested him and it gave him room for growth. Little to no guard rails, treacherous slippery road, and—he would never admit it aloud—pretty.

"…two… one…"A hush fell over the crowd. "GO!" He hit the pedal for a rocket start.


The characters- how I love the characters. Mushroom City, Kingdom, and all its inhabitants have been humanized a great deal (Laveau had a livejournal on this but for the life of me I can't find it- PM her and I'm sure she'll be glad to send it over.) It's essentially a somewhat realistic world (but not entirely, as you'll see.)

The characters, though, still ring of the life and spirit of their video game forms, but with such expansion and well tending that you grow to like them, and they distinguish themselves. You'll remember every character at least a little bit as you read through, which is great cause there are a lot.

The characters also have great relationships and interactions. Bowser's team is the greatest example of this; you truly feel the urge to root for the good guys. I also love the chemistry between Bowser and Toadette. It's not romantic at all, but you can totally tell they have each other's back- think Callen and Sam from NCIS: LA, or any other cop show of your choice. They're a great pair, definitely my favorite character interaction in Fanfiction. Also the reason I main Toadette in Mario Party (well that, and "Mushroom!")

The plot itself is steadily moving forward, giving away just enough to keep you hooked and wanting more, but not so much that it's overwhelming and scatters in your brain. It's hard to say much without revealing the plot, but think of it like what I've been told the Wire is like. (God I want to see that show.) Continuous reads will be beneficial if you're looking to catch up but it's by no means necessary. While there's satisfying amounts of info and twists each chapter, the plot takes its time. I think you'll find it a satisfying weekend read.

The action is great too. It's by no means an easy task to make kart racing so badass and relate it only to text, but you wouldn't know it by the way Laveau does it. It's fluent, vivid and engaging. She could make a novel adaption of Fast Five a critically acclaimed bestseller.

It's incredibly hard to find a fault with this story. It's a popcorn FlICk that is done just right but has enough emotional levity and a bit of weight to make you actually give a crap. A lot of movies don't even do this.

The worst thing about this story is that it is very underrated. This should be a huge story, but Laveau only has a four or five reader fanbase. This is, by far, the best ongoing story on this site. If you're a Mario fan, or a racing fan, or a good literature fan, this is THE story you want to check out, and thus you should. Laveau is going to be a big thing the day someone experienced in media comes across her work, so don't you want to be able to say that you knew her when she was writing Firefly? :D