DA
Since: May, 2011
03/31/2018 00:00:00
I pretty much agree that the original story had a lot of potential. I think the story would have been a LOT better had the Ghost King remained a villain. He\'s better villain material than most of the antagonists in the story!
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A Fanfic With Lots of Potential But A Lot of Problems
Latias' Journey was one of the first major fanfics I got into, and this was when I was still in high school. Back them, I could read Doorstopper fanfics. I still consider it one of my favourite fanfics, but as an adult, my jaded opinions have changed a little regarding the more extreme parts of the story.
The basic plot is actually pretty good. Latias rejects the romantic advances of the anonymous "Ghost King", and in retaliation, he destroys her hometown, kills her loved ones, and threatens to murder Ash Ketchum (her crush).
Then, about a quarter of the way through, the whole thing transforms into an epic, where the Unown summon a variety of random Pokemon characters to their dimension, announcing they are The Chosen to battle in a prophecized battle of good vs. evil that will decide the fate of the universe. From there, things soon take a sharp right turn as the story bulges under its own weight with a crazy ultra-violent story that involves the end of the world, and a rather unpleasant reliance on gore and rape to provoke drama.
The writer isn't a bad one, quite good in the descriptive and action categories. However, the story is extremely long, becomes bloated, and quite often the violence, gore, and rape are described in disturbingly intricate detail. The writer often relies on sweeping, unnecessary detail to apparently decry parts of the anime they despise, and go to the ninth degree to leave readers uncomfortable.
Latias' resentment-turned-Reincarnation Romance with Rayquaza now feels a little uncomfortable to relate too, since she completely abandons her hated for him in favour of a school girl crush formed by destiny. At times the character development comes out quite well, and certain fates of beloved characters reflect the surprisingly grim nature of the story. I'll even praise the story for actually ending on an intentionally Ambiguous Ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion-level proportions.
The one problem with that was that several years after the fanfic's completion, the writer returned to the story, incorporating a ridiculous use of Deus ex Machina and the Reset Button to retcon the last fifteen or so chapters to invoke a forced happy ending, and even altering who was the true mastermind of Latias' Doomed Hometown.
A sequel, Brave New World, is an improvement in the writing department, toning down its predecessors more x-rated content in favour of better world building and character arcs. However, for now, it is a Dead Fic.