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
