Meme?

[lirazel]

Stolen from jo_lasalle :

Give me a fanfiction trope and I’ll grade it:

A: Love it. Spend my time combing AO3 for it.
B: Like it. Not one of my bigger cravings, but it can scratch a certain itch if I’m in the right mood.
C: Neutral. A good author might be able to sell it, but a bad one will kill it deader than dead.
D: Not my favorite. I avoid it if I can, but it won’t necessarily put me off reading something.
F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.



I want to make it clear that there is no trope on the planet that is bullet-proof for me. If the fic isn't well-written or the characters don't ring true to me...it doesn't matter what the trope is. I feel like this is somewhat different than a lot of fandom, who seem willing to read anything featuring their favorite tropes? But I would rather read a really good fic that doesn't contain any of my favorite tropes (or even contains ones that I mildly dislike) than a mediocre fic that's full of my favorite ones. 99% of the time when I back out of a fic, it's because of the writing, not because of the presence of any particular trope or theme. I really will read almost anything if it's well-writen.

So for the purposes of this meme, we're going to assume that there's a baseline level of competence to any given fic.

Comments

[sunshine304]

Yeah i also answered with that assumption. If the writing is just really bad or there's no paragraphs or every sentence has 5 SPAG errors, I'm out of there, no matter if it's my most beloved trope of all time. XD I guess if I was in a small fandom, I'd lower my standards just to read something, but in big fandoms like CQL/MDZS undoubtedly is - there's so much content that it isn't necessary.

So here goes:

Sports AU

first time

arranged marriage

[lirazel]

Sports AU: C. I am neutral leaning towards negative on this topic just because I don't care about sports BUT I have read some very good, well-written ones in this genre that I enjoy.

First time: A in theory, though a lot of the fics aren't very good. But when they are, I love finding out how a couple would react to each other for the first time!

Arranged marriage: prior to being in CQL/MDZS fandom, I would have said A, no hesitation. But I've read some really mediocre ones in this fandom, so now it's more like a B for me. Although still an A in most other fandoms. Does that make sense?

[sunshine304]

Yes there are some sports AUs that are so well written that it doesn't even matter whether we know the sport or not. XD I've reald several baseball AUs because I loved those writers and they made it work so well, but I still know fuck all about baseball. XD

Does that make sense?
Yes I think it does. You can overindulge on some tropes in certain fandoms, or there are just so many that aren't super great and then it's like, "Eh I've read enough of that now."
There are indeed a lot of arranged marriage AUs in CQL/MDZS. XD It's one of my favourite tropes and I've written one myself that likely also is rather mediocre. XD But I wanted fluffy WangXian! XD

[lirazel]

Ha! I'm just glad there aren't American football AUs because that sport is way, way too complicated to be the background of fic! At least baseball is a straightforward game where I understand the rules!

It's always been one of my favorites, and I haven't been put off of it entirely--I mean, I just posted an arranged marriage fic like last month! I still love writing and reading it! But I've just found that there's a lot of it being written that's mediocre, and I'm only going to read the good stuff now.

[sunshine304]

Haha, yes, American Football would likely be where I draw the line because I just don’t get it and don’t care at all. XD

With CQL/MDZS we can afford to be picky about such popular tropes – there’s always enough good stuff to choose from! :D

[snickfic]

Tell me how your mpreg feelings are today. :D

[lirazel]

This is one of those that is so completely context-dependent that I don't even think I can give it a grade? If it's something like what you write, then A. But there's sooooooooooooo much bad a/b/o out there. So much. So much. I will basically only read mpreg at this point if a) it's from an author I already trust or b) the summary is incredibly well-written.

So A in theory but D in practice? If that makes sense?

[whimsyful]

1. Unreliable narrator

2. Fake dating!

3. Casefic

[lirazel]

1. A if it's done well! Obviously not every story can be The Thief, but it's just such a fun thing!

2. C. I mostly feel like the "reasons" are so silly that it kind of kicks me out of the story a bit, but on the other hand, really, really good writers write this, and I have often enjoyed the fics!

3. C. If the case is a backdrop for character or relationship work, then I like it. If it's really just mostly a casefic...I will be bored.

[jo_lasalle]

Amnesia

Crime/mafia AU

Snowed in

[lirazel]

B. If it's done well, amnesia stuff is so much fun. There's always the angsting, and the pining, and the "how did I get to this place?" Love it!

C? Maybe leaning towards D? I just don't have strong feelings about it?

Hmmm...I don't have strong feelings about being snowed in in a safe place, but I'm really into huddling-for-warmth or any kind of survival anything. So I would say a C for the actual trope but a B or an A for the sub-tropes.

[chestnut_pod]

Ooh, fun!

Mistaken identity

Epistolary (is this a trope?)

His Dark Materials fusion (this… is probably also not a trope, lol)

[lirazel]

Mistaken identity - B leaning towards A! Identity porn is fun!

Epistolary (is this a trope?) - Speaking only for fanfic, I'd say C. I've seen it done well, but I'm not drawn to it on its own terms.

His Dark Materials fusion - Another B leaning towards A! I always love seeing what people come up with for daemons. There's actually a novel-length retelling of the entire CQL story only with daemons and I was very into it. The authors did a great job of making the daemons into vivid characters. By the end of reading it (it was so long!), I almost couldn't believe that the daemons weren't in the show!

Otoh, I don't see this very often.

[chestnut_pod]

That CQL fic sounds fascinating!

[lirazel]

It's here if you ever want to check it out, but it's also over half a million words so!

[watersword]

Pretending to be married!

[lirazel]

I think a B? But I honestly haven't read a ton of these!

[sophia_sol]

This is so fun! Hmmm let me think. How about these:

1. Time travel

2. Timeloops

3. Bodyswap

[lirazel]

1. A if the point is to have a character confront either who they were or who they'll become and actually deal with that. But only a C if that's not really the point.

2. C. In the wrong writer's hands, this can get so repetative and boring, but it is fun when done well!

2. B if it's treated somewhat seriously (I adore crack treated seriously). Maybe a D if the only point is hijinks.

[dollsome]

+ ARRANGED MARRIAGE!

+ This isn't quite a trope but it's something I really like, so: fics written to fit into canon. (Like, moments we didn't see but they're crafted to align with canon rather than deviating from or contradicting it, etc.)

[lirazel]

Arranged marriage: prior to being in CQL/MDZS fandom, I would have said A, no hesitation. But I've read some really mediocre ones in this fandom, so now it's more like a B for me. Although still an A in most other fandoms. Does that make sense?

I enjoy missing moments! I enjoy canon divergence more, so I won't give it an A, but like a solid B for that.

[skygiants]

hmmm historical-period AU!

[lirazel]

I have so rarely seen this done or done well that I'm going to give it a C.

[tribble_of_tarth]

Enemies to Lovers

Soulmates AU

There Is Only One Bed!

[lirazel]

+ A! Always a delicious dynamic to explore!

+ C. I can really enjoy this if the writer actually does something interesting with the premise, but it's too often used in a lazy way.

+ B. I always enjoy it when it pops up, but I don't seek it out in either my reading or my writing.