top ten- top ten fan fic

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Top Ten Fan Fic

Top Ten Fan Fic

And now we come to the most self-indulgent of all categories. I did, some time ago, a fairly comprehensive listing of my favorite fan fics in different categories, though I daresay I was preaching to the wrong crowd. But as I was musing the other day, I’ve written 58 fan fics (well, I have 58 posted on fanfiction.net ... there are a few more that never made it there). The trade-off of ff.net is that you have a worldwide audience (potentially) and usually if you’re writing within a certain fandom, you’re guaranteed good reception from at least some of the readers who like more of the same. But you’ll never get your work published, and there are many readers who don’t leave reviews- you can’t make money off fan fiction (except in rare cases) so I guess for me it’s always represented practice, personal amusement, and meeting likeminded people. But for fun, we’re going to look at what other people might consider the top ten of the fan fics I’ve got posted on ff.net. How do I determine this? Well, we’ll go with the fics with the most reviews, the best reviews, the longest fics, and the one-of-a-kinds. Allons-y!

10. Birthdays (2006) is the first Doctor Who fan fic I wrote. I personally think it’s not very good, but of all of my Doctor Who stories on ff.net, it’s got the most reviews (9). It’s a little vignette between the Ninth Doctor and Rose and sets us off in the “Holidays” universe.

9. Origins (2006-) is one of the few things on ff.net that I haven’t completed. I never got the additional research done to complete the section in Russia, and since there never seemed to be a huge demand to finish it (7 reviews) I haven’t made the effort. A reworking of Erik the Phantom’s past (as opposed to the version written by Susan Kay in the published Phantom), it has gotten some good reviews. Deirdre of the Sorrows wrote:

This fic is a veritable diamond in the rough, what with the dreck that's been posted on this site recently. Wonderfully written, thoughtfully crafted and just generally well done.

8. Mirrors (2006) is a one-off written for (the movie of) V for Vendetta. I just dashed it off, but to my surprise, readers really liked it. EnigmaSphinx said:

What a rich little jewel I have found!! This is a pretty tale, just the right touch of longing and loss. Poor Evey and poor V. One wonders if they might have ever synched up and gotten somewhere, were the fifth of Novembr not guaranteed once a year. You did a great job with this story. I was impressed with how you divided their thoughts and yet blended them too. Astonishing. Truly.

7. Doctor Who the Musical Season 2 (2007) is the only other representative of Doctor Who fan fic here. Even though it’s incomplete, due to the fact I just couldn’t be arsed to write parodies for “Love & Monsters” and “Fear Her,” people still seemed to find it quite humorous, giving it 11 reviews.

6. The Pajama Game (2005) has 14 reviews, twice as many as its antecedent “Cold Shower.” Both have to do with giving a personality to Dr. Jonathan Crane, my first villainous fascination from Batman Begins. Both of them use flashbacks to find a window into the psychologist’s psyche (a psyche full of frustration, shame, and rejection). Lady Awesomepants was tongue-tied:

Holy **. Adding to favorites. I think this is the best thing I've ever read in my entire life. Just...holy **.

Blodeuedd, a talented Crane-fic writer herself, said this:

Your Cranefics just keep getting better and better and, just when we think they couldn't, still better. This one is just so...unbelievably good. (big, happy sigh) I'm so content right now, knowing there are amazing writers like you out there. Thanks for sharing this one with us. :) (raises glass)

5 & 4. Butcher, Baker, Tailor & Queen of Hearts(2008) BBT trails behind its sequel by a few reviews (48 to 51) so it’s easier just to discuss them both at the same time. Out of Nolan!verse Joker fever came the first story, a sort of parable set in Québec with a tailor’s daughter named Cécile Blandine. “Queen of Hearts” followed Cécile to Gotham with murder and mayhem in her wake. L Bea said:

An OC who's original? Now there's a change. I like so many things about this story. The ending in particular -- the Joker's failure to initiate something normal ("Drink some coffee!"), it's sad but not sentimental. A lot of fics I've read focus on his violence while this one only hints at it, which comes off a lot more subtle. The non-Gotham setting is unusual too, but you pull it off nicely.

Wonderful author KatxValentine said: Wow.

Oh, wow. Sincerely, truly, fantastically, ultimately wow. This was one of the singular most incredible fanfics I've read in a long time. I'm violently impressed with it on an overall-- the word-choice, the descriptions. You've made such an incredible idea out of the tiny idiosyncrasy that his suit was custom. I applaud you for this, this is amazing.

Blodeudd’s review was perhaps the most telling:

I'll admit it - I wolfed this story down. It reads like a legitimate comic book, spun off from the Nolan-verse. I can almost imagine the pictures that accompany it; each sentence is like a box of artwork, completed with all the trimmings - dialogue bubbles, vivid color, dramatic angles.

And Girl With a Planet wants a part three:

Wonderful, fascinating, haunting. I'd love a third installment for nothing more than to follow the travails of Cecile because she is fascinating.

We’ll see how these stand up to the test of time.

3. Making It Stranger (2008) is a baby compared to the rest, yet it was an instant hit both on ff.net and A Teaspoon and An Open Mind (earning 18 reviews at the former and 23 at the latter). It crawled out of my mind, pairing characters from Doctor Who and Torchwood with Nolan!verse Batman. JJPOR explains the appeal:

I really enjoyed this - you brought both the Torchwood/Doctor Who characters and Batman and his rogues' gallery vividly to life. The standouts for me were the Joker and Ten, but I really liked your portrayal of Crane/the Scarecrow, one of my favourite characters from the Nolan movies, and I always have a soft spot for Mickey!

Peachy, like several readers, asked for more:

This was EPIC. Seriously, amazing job with everything. Your Joker was perfect, especially in the scene where he tames the Weevils. Everyone interacted so well. Wow, I have no words. I need more! Please?

My favorite review was one asking me to write a Martha/Joker fic!

2. Bring Me That Horizon (2003-2005)is both the longest piece (68,442 words!) and has the second-largest amount of reviews, 71. This is my epic love letter to Sparrabeth, that is, Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swann fandom, rendered non-canonical when Dead Man’s Chest came out. Yet DMC and At World’s End danked some of my ideas, which I found very strange. People begged me for a sequel for a very long time! Kathryn Sparrow said:

Oh my goodness. That was the best fanfiction that I have ever read.

Knit-wear said:

i just wanted to say that sometimes i look at the number of reviews a story has as an indication of its quality-- i would expect this one to have hundreds just because of how amazing it is.

Sheriboalmighty quite amused me by saying:

i have stayed up all night reading this. i have litereally been on the edge of my seat waiting for jack and elizabeth to realize their feelings!! AGHH! SEQUEL!! please... PLEASE!! *begs begs begs on hands and knees* please? pretty please?? and i can't believe she cut his hair.

(Readers were generally mortified when Elizabeth cut Jack’s hair in chapter 4!)

1. Scars (2000-2005) has an astonishing (for me) 83 reviews. And many of them are very good reviews. I must have established a rapport with the readers; it’s one of the few times . “Scars” is actually very old, I started it when I was 17. It is a sort of pre-quel to Phantom of the Opera, in that it takes place in 1870-1 when the opera house was being used as an arsenal and then a prison. It concerns a nurse named Manon Lapaine and her meeting the hideous, musical Erik. HDKingsbury wrote:

Thanks for an enjoyable, entertaining, and bittersweet story.

Mad Lizzy wrote:

You are talented and original, and I've enjoyed Scars immensely.

Mastersofnight had this to say:

Wonderful premise. So glad you posted this. Your language is superb, I can feel the fear and cold that surround Paris. I can also appreciate your historical research." And stineblicher offers the ultimate compliment: "I am really surprised this story hasn't got more reviews. It is one of the best that are on the net until now.