What kind of fanfics do you hate?

[Uldihaa]

Kind reminds me of Perfect Lionhearts Partialy Kissed hero story, if it wasn't the exact one you were talking about. Almost all his stories suffer from that problem, complete lack of focus. I still like most of his work though becasue while the idea's are random, and the plot never seems to get any where all his in story rants seem to point out problems and plot holes I can really agree with.

That is exactly the story I was referring to. I did think that he made some interesting points, but for the most part it came across like I was reading forum posts read by the characters.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

I've been reading several Perfect Lionheart fics, and agree - they're not fics, so much as connected discourse. The main difference is that I enjoy them. It's not unlike a good rant, a rant about something you know; but something that's not close to your heart.

[Vilkath]

I usualy view his fics as a series of one shot idea's then a real story. It seems to fit the over all style of his writing more then anything, like Rosorch and Blot's Odd idea's fic, where some chapters maybe connected or continued but then again just as likely won't be.

[Ran]

There are various things that I find irritate me more and more these days.

Nodoka being a wonderful and brilliant person with a minor blindspot when it comes to obtaining grandchildren, oh and she also is a better martial artist than Genma at least with a sword.

Genma is a completely irrideemable piece of huamn refuse that must be continuously slapped down at every turn of the story, even (especially) when he has become redundant to the storyline.

Stories where Ranma spontaneously decides to embrace his curse, gets locked in his cursed form and decides to stick with it that way (or has a lengthy period of attempting to resolve this that happens entirely offscreen in the backstory and is pretty much ignored).

For example I couldn't deal with the premise of Girls School because of the basic concept. "You need to improve your grades, I'm sending you to a single sex school of your cursed form (that you hate) to get you to improve, and you will initially accept because I am your mother."

The first chapter of that fic just manages to hit many of my personal irritants both specific to fics and not.

[Drawde]

I feel like expanding on a concept mentioned here that I also don't like: crossing incompatable series. What is usually meant by this, is when you cross two or more series, you often have to make changes to one or both to make them fit. It's not a problem when the changes are minor, but the series are incompatible if you have to make major changes to make them fit. If one of the series is barely recognizable after the changes, don't do it. And "the two series just never (or rarely) ran into each other before now" can only goes so far. As does "no one ever discovered they could do it that way". Too much use of those are major changes.

I'll use a series I don't think can cross into much else without major changes: Wheel of Time. The rules for that series are too laid out. Especially in magic, and the creation of the reality. Magic in the series has very specific ways it works, and sources. Although one of the sources isn't that well described (the Dark One (or whatever he was called, been years since I read it)), it has either very nasty consequences to use it, or deliberate, and evil, intent to use it. The other source is better described, but many of the rules aren't compatible with many other series, especially ones where either anyone can learn it (D&D), or there are no differences between the genders that use it (Harry Potter).

The creation part isn't specifically described, but it's still known. The Dark One was imprisioned, and is trying to escape. And reincarnation and past events repeating happen, in fact, they're two of the main concepts of the series. Any series that has their creation, or even dieties, different will usually take extreme measures to make fit.

Yes, it can be crossed well, but you either need just the right series, or an EXTREMELY good author.

Also, any series which have different versions of the same thing, say, vampires, are usually incompatible. How do you adaquately explain how two similar, but very different, things exist together, which have groups dedicated to fighting them, yet neither group NEVER met in their thousands-of-years-old existance?

[al103]

>Also, any series which have different versions of the same thing, say, vampires, are usually incompatible.

Not always though... I can easily describe Negima shinso in BtVS terms for example And they are different vampire concepts on enormous scale. Why AAA didn't stomp on demons is harder take but still possible. But level of creativity is still very high and it's very bad when such crosses done without such tinkering...

[Drawde]

I suppose that's the thing I hate the most about so many crossovers. Poor authors who DON'T try to mesh the different series, or randomly mesh things. Too many of them completely ignore the differences, and just plop the characters into the same setting.

Not to mention other things. Like crossing the Stargate setting and any setting with magic in it. Given how old the system lords are, and how common the magic normally is, how can the system lords have NEVER heard of it? It all makes you thankful for the good authors out there.

[Vilkath]

Magic and Stargate can work, but it does take more effort then most authors can do. Best reason given that I have seen is usualy magic is an offshot of the ancients, and magic users are partialy ascended or something. Given their control over energy it's more possible then some explinations.

But I agree some series just don't belong together, Naruto and other violent series is one the major things that has trouble crossing over. You can't take people from a kill or be killed world of Ninja and put them into 'happy' places that never kill anyone and make it work. Why I would say nearly all Naruto/Harry Potter fics fail, in the HP world they won't even kill their worst criminals if they have a choice.

Same be said for almost any world that goes from killing like Warhammer 40k, and tries put them in sailor moon, Batman or other series where hero's usualy go out their way to not ever kill any one.

[camk4evr]

Any of the absolute, unadulterated CRAP spewed out by Cute Kitsune Kaydee/Sexy Neko Hibiki/whatever the hell they're calling themself today.

[Southern Cross]

One of the fanfic types I hate is the "Japanese Government chooses a bride for Ranma".There are several reasons for this:
(1)I've hated this subgenre ever since I read Relatively Absent,where Akane was sexually abused by the police.As it was the first fic of this type I've ever read,it has spoiled this entire trope for me.I wouldn't have put Shampoo through what happened to Akane in that fic,and I absolutely LOATHE Shampoo.
(2)Considering nobody wants to hear the phrase "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you",does anybody seriously think that their choice would be any better (if not worse) than any of Ranma's current harem?
(3)It's the author blatantly saying "I don't think that any of Ranma's current girls are good enough for him,so here's my choice.And she has the backing of the entire Japanese government Has there everas well,so hard cheese to all you Defenders of The True (hah) Fiancee".
(4)What kind of government picks a bride for people?
Even for such a tradition-proud nation as Japan,this seems a bit much.

[Vilkath]

Only way I could see the goverment having any kind of say in picking Ranma's wife is if he ended up being next in line to the Emperor or something high level polotics like that.

[Siden]

Only way I could see the goverment having any kind of say in picking Ranma's wife is if he ended up being next in line to the Emperor or something high level polotics like that.

Which brings to mind another sub-genre that I despise: Ranma is secretly royalty. The only fic I can think of that pulls this off is Ozzallos's Heir to the Empire, and even then it is less royalty and more reincarnation of royalty.

[Spokavriel]

I can agree on that royalty thing in most cases. It's almost like King Ralph they find the heir and apparently all the aspects of government have to align to this new person no matter how poorly it would/could work out.

But there are other times where Royalty is just a coincidence of the found family connection and those where there isn't really power just a title that means little. I don't mind them as much.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

In Hogwarts 1/2, Nodoka went out and bought herself some titles because she thought they might come in handy. They did.

Mind you, this is by Perfect Lionheart, a taste best appreciated by those who enjoy embroidered rants. Nonetheless, another way for a character to be some flavor of nobility (if not royalty). And it doesn't require coincidence, just money.

[Spokavriel]

I've read what there is of that fic on the addventure threads. I just wish they did more with the Scare-snape. So much potential. And Cologne was given a Title by Nodoka. I wonder just how much currency is garnered by all of Nodoka's medical work on the battered Aurors. But that's a tangent...

I just read a fic where a person did a self insert where they wrote themselves into harms way almost every time Ranma got hit excessively without making any cannon plot changes for their inclusion. I'm not going to give out the title or name the author but you'd think they could have made some changes to cannon. You know just a shred of creativity?