Like 2003, I saved a double-digit amount of stories, so please be patient as I sift through them on my second readings. I will also be doing an Honorable Mentions section again, mainly because this was a rather lackluster year for innovations, but there are some solid stories that still deserve recognition.

BSMFN Choices

1. FIVE MINUTE RIDE by flighty.thistledown
Motoki and Ami have a chance meeting on a bus. Each learns some things about the other. Not plot-heavy, but a nice character study through Motoki's eyes. Check out the rest of her Sailor Moon fanfics; I think I'd read each one for previous BSMFN installations, but they hadn't quite done something different enough to get a mention here.

2. THE JACKET'S ON THE HOOK by Annikaya
Prizma finds someone has been in her room and moved Sapphire's jacket.

3. DREAM GIRL by Venus Smurf
Reincarnation can only take you so far. Mina, Malachite, and the weariness of learning to trust again.

4. CHANGE by apsara
Rei and Jadeite say screw the trusting, go straight to the sado-masochism. A dark (AU) first season, evil!Jadeite pairing fic.

5. REBIRTH AND RENEWAL by aviatrix8
This is another fic that may have been posted earlier (2000 to be precise) but didn't hit ff.net until 2004. The Akayashi Sisters are visited by someone from their past -- perhaps the last person they ever expected to see again. It is a missing moment from the Super Famicon game "Another Story," so I feel it's notable for the somewhat obscure source and, of course, for featuring the quirky miniboss squad.

6. FROM PREDATORS TO PREY by Blue Jeans
Blue Jeans is at is again, this time with an intense two part vignette featuring Ann and Ail. She was able to tap into the weird brother/sister/lover/just plain confused teenager vibe those two have going on and play off their jealousy over Usagi and Mamoru without it seeming as juvenile as it did through most of the story arc.

7. THE OVERTURE by Paparini/Cookirini
This story stuck in my memory from long ago. It's one of the earliest fanfics from the PGSM continuity; almost all of them seem to focus on Darkury, and this one's no exception. Ami is trying to readjust after her brush with the dark, only to find herself a pawn of the Dark Kingdom again. This fic is strongly reminiscent of reading a transcript of the PGSM show (including the opening and credit songs) so it may not be the sort of thing everyone would like.

8. RETURN TO THE PAST by Mangaka-chan
Chibiusa returns to the past after the Stars season and finds herself beset with doubts and insecurities in her sleep. The weaving together of the multiple characters, old and new, is perhaps the highlight of this fic. The balance between the drama and action helps tremendously to make this a solid effort. The only downside are some typos that made it through revision.

Honorable Mentions

1. DEATH IS BUT A TRIP by Dark-Kingdoms
In the Dark Kingdom subset, it's pretty common to have Zoisite and Kunzite met up again after death, but this fic did it a bit differently. If you've read "The Wish" in the main archive by Ken Wolfe, you've already met Death of the Endless. Now consider for a moment how Delirium and Desire would factor in. This is...surprisingly touching. I mostly blame Delirium. (Take note that this story is a bit rough in spots; English is not the author's first language.)

2. WATCHING by SMoonEmpress
Not really new ground, here, with a Pluto and unrequited King Endymion story. What caught my eye was the melancholy narrative style. It manages to capture Setsuna's feelings of perpetually being an outside observer, even when she's surrounded by friends.

3. A STUDY OF VENUS: SILVER MILLENNIUM by Iryl
This is perhaps the classic Minako and Kunzite fic of this period and I would be remiss to omit it entirely. Unfortunately, it suffers from Cheap Romance Book Syndrome, in that perfectly good characters start acting like zombies to create unnecessary, flimsy melodrama to pad out the middle of the story. I'd recommend about the first nine chapters before this veers off into the stock romance book you've read a thousand times before.

Tags: bsmfn, should have beens
Current Mood: complacent

2003 must have been a wellspring of creativity for Sailor Moon stories on ff.net. I have saved more fic candidates from this year alone than I had all the previous entries combined (1999-2002). Please be patient with me as I try to pick out the best plums in this pudding. There were so many I'm including an honorable mention section for the good but not quite best stories of 2003. As always, the numbers for the fics are in no particular order, just however they were saved in my bookmarks.

BSMFN Choices

1. QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD by Suki
I've always had a soft spot for Prince Demando. Add in my giant, raging nerd-love for Greek mythology, and I think you can begin to see why I was so utterly impressed with this story. Not a light read, but deep, slow, and melancholy is what's required to set up this story convincingly, and Suki delivers. The only tale I know that has placed Demando and the rest of the Black Moon Clan in the Silver Millennium in a decidedly sympathetic light.

2. SAILOR SATURN HAS TWO MOMMIES by Kanna-Ophelia
As I bet you guessed from the title, this is a parody story. I was not familiar with the source being parodied ("Heather Has Two Mommies") when I read and selected this story, but it's pretty obvious what this is about. I think the lesson you should take from this is don't piss off the girl with the Silence Glaive.

3. ALWAYS ON MY MIND by Scifiroots/Lionna Mouri
This story was apparently written in 2001 but not posted until 2003 at ff.net, so I'm keeping it in the 2003 batch. It is downright hard to find any stories that touch on Taiki, and even fewer that at least sort of remind you of the anime or manga. This is, I think, the best short story featuring Taiki that I've found yet. What does home mean? Taiki finds some satisfaction to his homesickness by the end of the story.

4. LIKE THE SEA by Rapunzel4
Speaking of other rare things, it's hard to find genuine humor surrounding Neptune and Uranus. They just don't lend themselves that well to the antics you can get away with for the other senshi. This fun and fluffy ficlet examines Michiru and the effect the sea has on one specific part of her body. (Come on, now, don't screw your face up like that at me; it's not a lemon.)

5. AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I THOUGHT TURKEYS COULD FLY by Sophia Prester
And speaking of humor...this story nails it perfectly. A large part of the effectiveness here is the narrator's voice, guiding us through what normally goes wrong in a holiday cooking story, and why that didn't happen here. Laugh out loud funny in parts -- very reminiscent of some early Terry Pratchett Discworld books, right down to having footnotes.

6. THE TRUTH by Water Mage
There aren't too many stories written from Shingo's perspective; this is the best I've found. Sailor Moon is his favorite senshi, but maybe not for the reasons they give in the show.

7. LIFE'S LESSONS by Gelles/Blueberry Enterprises
Epic in scope; AU and science fiction in feel. You're going to find typos; you're going to spot missing horizontal bars at scene transitions, you're going to be body-checked by memories and flashbacks throughout the story. Even so, this quirky fic will seep into your brain and make you read it. The closest comparison I have is to Yang Wenli's "Renaissance" story taken to the extreme. It mainly follows an original character (with helpfully large doses of the Inner Senshi, particularly Minako, to keep you in the Sailor Moon universe) in a Crystal Tokyo we didn't see in the anime or manga. That means we're in dystopia territory, which you can argue is old hat for Crystal Tokyo, except that the OC must face at one point the recognition the "good guys" would have been terrorists to her just a short while ago. Dark and made me squeamish at a few points, but definitely worth the read. Bonus points for cameo appearances from some of my favorite characters.

Honorable Mentions

1. FOR TOMORROW by Appearances
This story, set in the R timeline, had me seriously concerned it was going to be a suicide fic. It is not, which was a pleasant surprise and a relief. While I loved the story here, it was the unfortunately jarring language and somewhat disjointed telling that disqualified this tale from being one I would recommend freely.

2. FORGOTTEN FRIENDS by Dejana Talis
This could almost be the sequel to another story I picked in 2001, "Friendships Lost" by Misha. This time instead of Naru thinking of Usagi, it's Motoki thinking about Mamoru's secretive behavior. The reason this was not a complete keeper was because of the utterly horrific writing tic of "the blond man," "the dark-haired friend," etc. Ugh! I never knew I had a rage button for that until this fic. Maybe no one else will mind as much as I did.

3. ENOUGH FOR ETERNITY by The Firefaery
Mars. Serenity. Unrequited love. If Chris Davies hadn't covered this ground thoroughly already in BSMFN, I think this fic would have been a shoo-in. However, due to its late publication date, it will just have to settle for the honor of being the best Mars/Serenity I've read on ff.net since I started the Should Have Beens project.

4. GIVE ME TONIGHT by pikachiyo/Abigail
One of my goals was to find a decent Seiya/Usagi story for BSMFN. This is the closest I've gotten to a "perfect" story for the archive, though I'm not quite sold that this is going to be the pinnacle of the genre. If you've never had the (dubious) pleasure of reading this pairing before, you know Mamoru is usually bashed with extreme prejudice. It doesn't happen in this fic, which was a huge plus. It's also not your usual happily ever after story, either. The reason I'm not sold is that there are internal inconsistencies, Usagi and Seiya are colossally short-sighted, and it rather mucks up the canon ending for the anime without offering a solution or repercussions. (Not that it *can't* work out, but the more I think on it, the creepier it gets.)

5. WHEN DAWN COMES by Kimra
I wanted to dislike this story. I found plenty of reasons to do so, too. Normally something this riddled with typos would drive me up the wall, out the window, click-the-back-button-and-forget-it. It didn't happen in this story. As if the typos weren't enough on their own, there's plenty more to hate about this story. It starts off with date rape drugs and ends with death, and is peppered with author's notes all the way through holding the story hostage for feedback. *throws hands in the air* It sounds like the worst story in the world, but give it a go when you're feeling tolerant. Spell-checked and edited a bit, this story would be spellbinding. Horrifically spellbinding. And even better (worse), the ending is wide open with three outcomes to choose as your favorite (the author's pick, plus two more alternates.) Perhaps we should all be relieved Kimra didn't have a beta for this, as I'm not sure the world could have handled this fic in pristine shape. (I mean, look, I threw Dejana Talis down into the honorable mentions for a mere writing tic...if I can make it through 28 chapters -- mostly long chapters -- without clawing my eyeballs out over the typos, there has to be something special here.)

6. A LONELY NIGHT by Memory Dragon
This is a bit of a trick fic and I'm sure it's been done before (I recall reading one like it before, and it was inspired by another similar fic in another fandom by the author's admission, so *shrug*). Since it's a trick fic, summarizing it would likely give away the trick. You will still probably see the trick immediately unless you are very unfamiliar with Sailor Moon. But it's still worth a read to see just how interchangeable two characters (four characters?) really are in the manga.

7. A SECRET KEPT by Karen Hart
Speaking of something I've seen done many times but is still worth a read is this little short story, told by Ikuko. Usagi as Sailor Moon should logically be the not-secret of the show with that ridiculous hairdo. (Remember the S episode where all it takes is for Minako to sport the odangos to been taken as Sailor Moon? Yeah, and yet...) Mom's in on the secret of Sailor Moon but pretends to be oblivious for Usagi's sake. Much better, I think, than trying to write it as if her entire family is as intelligent as blind cave frogs.

Tags: bsmfn, should have beens
Current Mood: enthralled

The good news is that there are a few more this time. I think the saddest thing is seeing how relatively few comments the genuine decent-to-exceptional stories receive.

1. THE AWAKENINGS OF TSUKINO CHIBI-USA by Kotetsu (2001)
This will be the only story I did not pick out myself, as it holds the dubious distinction of having been chosen for the BSMFN archive and then, inexplicably, was not added. Bad maintainer; no cookie. As you might guess, this will be the epic Chibiusa fic of the archive, describing how she grew up as a Sailor Senshi in Crystal Tokyo. [If anyone else has a story that Serenity picked out to host on the BSMFN archive that didn't get added, could you let me know? I don't mean to slight anyone else who ought to be in the archive.]

2. THE STONE-HEARTED PRINCESS by Queen (2001)
Especially following Lady Brick's removal of her story, we are in need of some Queen Beryl sympathy around this place. This polished story paints a more sympathetic and logical picture of everyone's favorite bitch-queen of Sailor Moon with this manga-based retelling of her childhood to the fall of the Silver Millennium. This is, perhaps, the first and only time Endymion has a strong mother figure in a fic. Refreshing, replete with scattered (and relevant) references to the later seasons, and a stunningly simple and poignant conclusion.

3. FRIENDSHIPS LOST by Misha (2001)
Naru was poised in the first season to be a major player in Usagi's life, but by Sailor Moon R, she's reduced to comic youma fodder, and she's erased from her life by Stars. Some writers remedy this by making Naru a senshi herself to gain admittance to the club, but this short story takes a more realistic look at what happens to the childhood friends you accidentally left behind.

4. SHOCK by Jelp (2001)
They never did tell their friends, did they? A funny little story that I obviously can't say too much about.

5. PAPER WISHES by Blue Jeans (2001)
Rei, like Mamoru, seemed to get dumped with the tragic backstory. Blue Jeans weaves the elements of Rei's past and present together for this little Christmas tale full of paper wishes.

6. THE BITTER GLASS by Mara Celes (2001)
When I try to think of the story that epitomizes Zoisite in the Dark Kingdom, this is hands down the winner. Darkly beautiful, at times disturbing, and not for the faint of heart. It is heavily anime-based (topped with a sprinkle of manga), so you know what that means. Stay away if the canon yaoi gives you the creeps and the squicks.

7. POINTS OF LIGHT by Aaron Nowack (2002)
A lyric description of Hotaru and the rather idiosyncratic way she celebrates the new year.

8. MOON SQUARED by Ebiris (2002)
What have I always said about time travel in Sailor Moon? This story is a humorous exploration of what problems even a simple wish can have near the Ginzuishou. All the senshi and even some of our pals from the Dark Kingdom and Sailor Animates get some time onscreen to "enjoy" the temporal oddities. Poor Sailor Pluto! Grammar Nazis, beware the persistent and pervasive abuse of apostrophes-as-plurals (yes, it's aggravating, but the story is cute enough to compensate.)

9. AINO MINAKO AND HER AMAZINGLY FABULOUS SEARCH FOR A BOYFRIEND by Moogle and Kate B (2002)
All the other senshi found love; why can't Minako? She sets out to snare a man with some proactive ploys in this humorous fic. Minako-chan must be working off some serious love karma. Will Minako find love before Artemis dies of embarrassment?

10. THE AINO MINAKO SUPPORT GROUP by Kihin Ranno (2002)
I admit, this is a nostalgia-glasses fic. I was delighted to see it still on ff.net all these years later, and here it is, gracing my Should Have Beens list. It is not one I'd normally consider, but I recall John Hitchens added a couple fics for his nostalgia purposes, so I don't feel too out of line here. I went on a Minako reading binge one time and this is the fic I remember best of the lot. After reading the "Amazingly Fabulous Search for a Boyfriend" (above), I realize Kihin Ranno missed a couple suitors to lock in this room. But then, I don't know how much torture we really need to subject Artemis to...

11. DEAD BOY'S POEM by Sophia Prester (2002)
If I'm not mistaken, this was a challenge fic where the author was given a song and she had to figure out what fic to write around it. In this case, Sophia Prester gives us a little glimpse at Mamoru's final thoughts before he sets out to battle Zoisite for the Rainbow Crystals. It helps make some sense out of Mamoru's change in attitude with Usagi in that episode, don't you think?

12. RELATIVITY by sexylyon (2002)
Were you all dying, not seeing this beautiful fairytale included in the list? I beg your humble forgiveness, as this tale deserves recognition for its exploration of the foundation of Crystal Tokyo and (being sexylyon) the unbreakable love between Usagi and Mamoru in the face of untold transmutations across centuries. Gold dot story by BSMFN standards.

Tags: bsmfn, should have beens
Current Mood: sleepy

After some consideration, I figured the sensible thing to do about the new content for BSMFN was to put it in the journal under its own tag. Before I get started, I want to remind you I'm working with the same constraints John Hitchens imposed on himself -- no unfinished fics -- but with the additional handicap of only having fanfiction.net to look through. So I humbly submit that if you think a story deserves a mention here and it's still available online that you let me know.

And my additional caveat. All reviewers will have their preferences, and I'm no exception. My prejuidices are:

• Crossovers
  
• MPreg
  
• The Oscar and the Hitler stories -- you old school peeps know what I'm talking about!

I'm also leery of:

• "Senshi in America" or "Gaijin in Tokyo" stories
  
• Hotaru/Chibiusa romance during the S to Stars timeline (I would like some friendship stories, but alas, too often these seem to end in random!porn)
  
• Songfics, most poetry, flash fiction and drabbles
  
• Unreasonably long stories

And last but not least, I'm specifically looking for topics/characters/themes/whatnot that are NOT already in the BSMFN archive.

-------------------------

1. INSOMNIAC by Karcy (1999)
First Season Mamoru gets some love in this short fic. More vignette than story, it is packed to the brim with allusions to Mamoru's past. Lovely and direct. When you reflect on it, it really is a miracle he's not more of a psychological hot mess than he is.

2. RECESSIONAL by Angus MacSpon (1999)
It is bewildering to me that Angus Macspon didn't make it into the archive. He is probably best-known for Sailor Moon 4200, but this short story is a sampling of his creative genius in a quickly-digestible serving. It is the end of the Silver Millennium, but there are some loose ends to tidy up and a future to plan. Who else is capable of the task but Pluto?

3. NIGHTMARES OF A GOOD MAN by Zeng Li (2000)
Dr. Souichi Tomoe was a good man, once, but you know what they say about the pavement on the road to hell. A short, foreshadowy fic taking place around early/mid-season of Sailor Moon S.

4. FATHERLY CONCERNS by mako-clb (2000)
Only in a show like Sailor Moon could your protagonists meet and interact with their future daughter before she was even a twinkle in their eyes. It gives the future task of parenting an odd sort of anxiety you might not see elsewhere. This short fic is obviously centered on Mamoru after the birth of Chibiusa.

5. SAILOR DECOY by Bill K. (2000)
The show neglected to tell us what Minako was thinking when she learned she wasn't the Moon Princess after all, just integrating her into the group amid those turbulent last few episodes before the battle with the Dark Kingdom concluded. Here's Bill K.'s take on the feelings she went through after the reveal.

Tags: bsmfn, should have beens
Current Mood: drained