Umineko: When They Cry/Fanfic Recs

Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for here.

These are recommendations made by Tropers for Umineko no Naku Koro ni fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.

You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.

Authors, and Websites
Renahh Chen
 * Recommended by Shinji117
 * Renahh is a prolific writer of high-quality Umineko fanfics. Among her works, you can find romance, comedy and crack fics and a host of other genres. Additionally, Renahh writes for most-every conceivable pairing. You have a couple of incredible Beato/Battler fics alongside Ronove/Battler fics along with...let's that Renahh's written something for anyone. Listing each individual work would take too long, so best to say that you should take the time to at least skim over these stories.

Anything by TahYllis/Silly Hat Productions.
 * Recommended by Foomin Blue
 * Pairing(s): George/Shannon and Jessica/Kanon are hinted at, but hardly the focus.
 * Synopsis: A parody series that takes the world of Umineko and twists it. What starts out as a Gag Series eventually develops into something of a semi-coherent story that spoofs and loosely follows the story of Umineko, filled with Black Comedy and peppered with genuinely dramatic moments. Deadpan Snarking abounds.
 * Comments: This series gets more epic with every new installment. Silly Hat Productions obviously cares about this series, and for all its craziness—and there's a ton—it's also devoted to keeping consistent. The cast is mostly in character, with the following being the biggest and most obvious exceptions—Battler, who receives little Character Development and remains the same incompetent guy determined to defeat Beatrice and learn the truth of her game from start to finish, and Kinzo, who is reduced to a mere Psychopathic Manchild—both due to Rule of Funny. biggest and most obvious exception is Kinzo, due to Rule of Funny), and as mentioned, there's some real drama and truly awesome moments to be found. Great videos for any fan who's caught up on the series.

Umineko USO DA, also known as "Akaki shinjitsu wa USO DA" and "The Red Truth Is A Lie"
 * Recommended by Xelloss 08
 * Pairing(s): Battler/Beatrice is touched upon in Witches & Woodlands; some of the Yonkoma feature Crack Pairing
 * Synopsis: A blog site which features a humorous Yonkoma series and a user-made patch for the games titled "Witches & Woodlands", featuring some of the characters playing a D&D-style RPG. Contains a good mix of both humor and epic moments.
 * Comments: Witches & Woodlands is one of the best fan-made chapters I've ever seen. It can also be watched on Youtube here, for those who don't owe the games. Requires knowledge of Episode 5.

Witch Hunter's Abroad: Redaction of The Golden Witch
 * Reccomended by Universalperson
 * Pairing(s): Doesn't seem to be touched on all that much.
 * Synopsis: This is actually a development blog for a fanmade Visual Novel, which has a demo currently out. The blog has additional previews and background material for the game. The plot, taken all together, is a self-referential Nested Story because the whole thing is an Umineko fan work about an Umineko fan work, that is written in universe. To describe it any more would require its own page, because it basically shaping up to be three or four interconnected stories at once. The in-universe fanwork takes place between Episodes 5 and 6, and so contains spoilers up to those episodes.
 * Comments: This is clearly a very ambitious project. The author certainly has the whole multiple levels of storytelling down already, and the demo is extremely well written.

General Fics
''Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.''

Forgery of the Black Sorcerer by Lumi Glacio
 * Recommended by: Excavation
 * Seconded by Aliquam
 * Synopsis: A new and mysterious Fragment is discovered by Dlanor A. Knox. To discover it's true nature, she and a friend visit a prisoner, that claims to be the victor. Will you discover what happened in that world?
 * Comments: A short (6 chapters) but thoroughly enjoyable story with a heavy focus on the mystery aspect, while the characters don't receive much detail their portrayals are well done, especially that of . A story to make you smile, laugh and question. The writing is consistently solid (save a few very minor wording problems) and the story is well paced and won't leave you bored for lack of action, however it will leave you wanting to read on.

When the Mountain Goats Cry by Philo Vance
 * Reccomended by Aura Twilight
 * Seconded by Supertest.
 * Pairings: Battler/Beatrice, Will/Lion
 * Synopsis: After all issues with Rokkenjima were settled, a new annual conference began to take place. One more friendly, yet equally as mysterious. What was the secret behind the cursed mountain?
 * Comments: Quite frankly the best Umineko fanfiction I've ever read. All the characters are perfectly in character, and it feels like it could be canon. It's also incredibly hilarious and will apparently have a serious plot, too. The writer has done their homework. Contains EP8 spoilers.
 * It's really the most amazing thing to come out of fanfiction.net, at least for the Umineko fandom. I came here to add it as soon as I finished reading the third chapter. The EP8 spoilers are very very small, so don't let them stop you from reading it. The writer is so good that you won't even know that they are spoilers unless you have played episode 8. The writing is at times just a tiny bit awkward due to the author going the extra mile to keep Lion's gender hidden, but it's still fairly good. It's also worth noting that the fanfic contains Battler/Will bromance. Not romance, just pure bromance. And it works so well!

Willard H Wright: Inquisitor of Heresy by SSVD Page not found: seem to be a problem...
 * Recommended by Novatel
 * Synopsis: Having no choice but to solve ten murders in order to go back to reality and save Lion, the inquisitor of heresy draws his sword one more time. Facing Bern is a terribly difficult task, but an unexpected helper might make the task easier.
 * Comments: The story is ongoing and has just started, but it's amazing. Erika being tsundere towards Will who clearly has his mind full with Lion and couldn't care less about her is entertaining enough, adding well written banter between the two detectives and a truly compelling mystery plot makes it all the better. The fic only has two chapters so far, but already set up a very good mystery and hopefully will have a satisfying conclusion. It's the only Umineko fanfic that I've seen that bothers with a plot to go with the character development.
 * And a fairly good plot as well.

Medea by seashores
 * Recommended by Kasuga
 * Seconded by Aliquam
 * Synopsis: Rosa is the youngest and her home, her world is already filled with so much grandness when she's born that she feels inadequate. A story of how Rosa became the 'monster' we all know.
 * Comments: This story is so amazing, sad and tragic, I'm surprised it didn't get too much appreciation. It describes the way Rosa ended up being such a hateful person. It also shows how much you can get out of a character that doesn't get much attention, and I can only hope the fandom realizes that there are more characters besides Beato, Battler and Ange, and that they can develop them beautifully like this fic did with Rosa.

How Battler Stole Witchmas : An Epic Reading originally by Astaroth and read by syckls
 * Recommended by Mallix
 * Synopsis: Battler tries to stop Witchmas from coming (and all those trollfaces that accompany it). Will he succeed?
 * Comments: Based on a 4chan thread that was created when somebody urged the initial poster of a thread to finish the story they started said thread with, an Umineko themed parody of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. That person, apparently named Astaroth, obliged, and improvised a story based on the classic Christmas tale. Hilarity ensued. Contains several in jokes, including Battler x Hatstand, small bombs, and The Subway Theory. Also contains some spoilers for the final portion of End of the Golden Witch,

Fear by Macavity the Mystery Cat
 * Recommended by J the Drafter
 * Synopsis: As Bernkastel flees, Lambda follows. As Bernkastel hides, Lambda seeks. And no matter where Bernkastel turns to, the witch Lambdadelta forces her into yet another game. (Oneshot, minor characterization spoilers for the end of Episode Four and for the whole of Episode Five.)
 * Comments: The story greatly expands on the character of Bernkastel we see in Canon. She is presented here as a constantly fearful, almost pitiful individual who has been badly warped, both by necessity and by the temptation to play with her powers without restraint, in her struggle to stay alive and free against Lambdadelta's unyielding desire to cage her and play with her.

Bum Reviews: Umineko No Naku Koro Ni by Jane Poirot
 * Recommended by Sparkysharps
 * Seconded by: Aliquam
 * Synopsis: Chester A. Bum offers his two cents on the anime adaptation.
 * Comments: OH MY GOD THIS IS THE GREATEST BUM-NARRATED UMINEKO FANFIC I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! In all seriousness though, it is a pretty spot-on rendition of what an Umineko anime review by Chester A. Bum would look like, right down to the drug-related tangents and (Seriously though,...) disclaimer at the end.

Locked by an Anonymous writer.
 * Recomened by : Pata Hikari
 * Seconded by : Ozimul
 * Synopisis: Erika finds herself on Rokkenjima for the start of a new game, but this time a mysterious unknown man is also on the island. Will Erika solve the Rokkenjima murder mystery this time? ...And who is this mysterious new stranger?
 * A look at what might have happened to Erika at the end of Episode 6.
 * Ozimul : Even if you hate Furudo Erika with every fibre of your being, this story can and will

Intoxicated Tales of the Golden Witch by Sone Anna
 * Recommended by: Ozimul
 * Synopsis: Battler and Beatrice are drunk. They are trying to recall the 1986 family conference. Hilarity Ensues.
 * Comments: A while ago, I put a theory up on the WMG page that Battler and Beato were drunk. It got turned into a fanfic. So far it's well written and hilarious. Currently contains spoilers for EP 7.

A Slight Overreaction by ahahadotwav
 * Reccomended by: Sone Anna
 * Seconded by: Ozimul
 * Synopsis: Dlanor gets bored doing paperwork one day. Then she spies a lone cockroach scurrying along.
 * Comments: A short, but very hilarious story. Actually pretty in-character for Dlanor.
 * Additional Comments: *ahaha.wav* This is very Dlanor. I hope to see more of these spin-offs.

Being Dysfunctional Has Never Been So Much Fun by renahh_chen
 * Recommended by: Algoraloth, Shinji117
 * Pairings: Primarily Bernkastel/Lambdadelta and the various canon pairings, but pretty much every pairing under the sun is present somewhere.
 * Synopsis: A collection of mostly light-hearted oneshots and short ficlets about the lives and relationships of the various characters in Umineko.
 * Comments: Ranging from heartwarming to depressing to humorous, this has to be one of the lengthiest and varied one-shot collections I've seen in a long time, with 205 chapters and counting. Pretty much every Umineko character is given a story, from both the Metaverse and human world. In fact, if you want to see stories about some of these characters- the Seven Stakes, primarily- this is really one of the few stories you can go to. The characterization is typically kept perfectly intact, and the continuity is solid. The writing is continually good throughout, as well.

Shipping Fics
Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

Melancholic by renahh chen
 * Recommended by Sento
 * Pairings: Jessica/Shannon
 * Synopsis: The development of the friendship... and something more between Jessica and Shannon. Warning - This fanfiction assumes the reader has read episode seven, and as such contains major spoilers.
 * Comments: It's rare that a shipping story is written completely in character, even more so when the pairing is at first glance an unconventional one. Yet, Melancholic manages to create an atmosphere true to its name, at times funny, and at other times sad. Melancholic explores one of the major elephants in the room with Umineko, and does so in a touchingly elegant style. If you've completed Umineko, or at the very least episode 7, you'll find a great work in Melancholic.

Mind Games of Love by Kozly-Bear
 * Recommended by Mysterynovelist 2010
 * Pairings: Beatrice/Battler
 * Synopsis: During one of their typical games, Beatrice finds herself falling for Battler and is curious as to if he feels the same.
 * Comments: One of the best Beatrice x Battler fics I've read so far (although there aren't that many out right now), it really shows the kinder side of Beatrice and makes one rethink her image; the author shows her in a more sympathetic light, and the ending is WAFF worthy.

Lost in the Witch's Embrace by Planar Piplup
 * Recommended by Hikikotaku
 * Pairings: Beatrice/Battler
 * Synopsis: Takes place between EP 3 and 4. Battler finds himself enjoying a day in an amusement park with Beato, whom he calls his girlfriend. However, once he regains his memories, will he be able to accept the absurdity of such a farce?
 * Comments: This is a well thought out dialogue-driven story, and stays true to Beato and Battler's personalities. It's a bit long, but well worth its time.

The hidden fragment by Small Bombs
 * Recommended by WF
 * Pairings: Beatrice/Battler
 * Synopsis: PWP, high school AU. Battler and Beato have been together for several months now, but there's always something or someone that keeps them from... consummating their love. (Chapter four is a bonus chapter, and features a different universe in which Beato is Battler's teacher.)
 * Comments: Yes, it's a short series of PW Ps but - I'm saying this as someone who has never cared much for lemons and stuff - it's awesome. The author is skilled enough to keep Beatrice and Battler IC even as she writes them in an alternate universe: in this fic, even without chess and closed rooms, their relationship is still as amusing as it is in canon. This fic is one of the most entertaining I've ever read but each new Umineko fic that this author posts is a pleasant surprise: both her Bea Bato and Ama Ange pieces are lovely and absolutely heartwarming; I'm surprised her fics don't get more attention seeing how rare Umineko fanfiction with good characterization is.

100 percent cocoa by seashores
 * Recommended by Feral Phoenix
 * Pairings: Battler/Beatrice
 * Synopsis: A continuation of the "Beatrice's White Day" TIPS. While trying to finish up Beatrice's gift of chocolate, she and Battler banter, squabble, tease each other, and generally get in each other's way.
 * Comments: what is this moe and why does it cute. Beyond continuing one of the most painfully adorable side stories that canon has to offer, this short story shows seashores' great grip on characterization, and is overall a lovely showcase of why Battler and Beatrice are so much fun to read in Umineko proper. From mutual trolling to mutual fantasizing, from struggling to stay nice to each other to frantically trying to keep their true emotions from being too obvious, this is perfect for anyone looking for something cute and silly.

Turn of the Endless Sorcerer by Jane Poirot
 * Recommended by Pink Floyde, Shinji117
 * Pairings: Battler/Beatrice
 * Synopsis: Basically, an AU that diverges at EP5. A quick summery: Battler, with the help of Virgilia, hatches a plot to bring Beatrice back to life in a mortal form. However, being the new Game Master, he must contend with Bern and Lambda to bring the loops to an end. However, Battler and Beatrice begin to connect and become closer...
 * Comments: One of the longest fics out there and incredibly well written. The plot doesn't move to fast or slow, and fits seamlessly into the existing structure of the series (to this Troper at least). The whole story flows perfectly and I enjoyed every second reading it. I laughed, cried, and felt really connected to the characters. My only gripe is how Kinzo is demonized, but that is a minor inconvience. One of the prime fics out there.

Crossover Fics
''Zero of the Golden Witch by lordlee2
 * Recommended by Shinji117
 * Crossover with Zero no Tsukaima.
 * Synopsis: Louise summons a golden pretty butterfly as a familiar. Well, it's better than nothing, righ- or is that two butterflies? Wait, a whole swarm of- oh, bugger. On a more upbeat note, guess who just got a new apprentice? Insert ahaha.wav here.
 * Comments: While this story is newly-written, with only one chapter up, the characterisation is well-done, there are no real spelling or grammatical mistakes, and the idea behind the story has the potential to be hilariously awesome. That, or Beatrice gets bored with the new world and roflstomps all over it, thanks to there being no magic resistance in the whole FoZverse.