Another fanfic meme... what cliches have I hit?

[mijan]

Gacked from furiosity , I thought this was interesting.  All of these are alleged fandom cliches or tropes that seem to happen in many, many fandoms.  Which ones I have done?  Which cliche traps have caught me?  And which ones would I like to try despite myself?

Genderswap: No.
Bodyswap: No.  (And TOS already did that.  Poorly.)
Drunk!fic: No.
Huddling together for warmth: Yes.
Undercover in a gay bar: No.
Pretending to be married: No.
Secretly a virgin: No.
Amnesia:  No, and while it's tempting, I've seen too many, including some that are done very well.  But dang, it might be fun to play with partial amnesia.  Oooh... wait.  Partial... okay, yeah... I'll have to try that.   It actually might work for a plot I have in mind.  *headdesk*
Cross-dressing: No.
Forced to share a bed: No.
Aliens made them do it: No.
Wingfic: No.
Mpreg: No.
Mistakenly assumed to be gay: No.
Let's play truth or dare: No.
Mary Sue fic:  I plead the fifth.
Aphrodisiacs: No.
Curtain fic: No.
Hurt/Comfort:  Yes.
Apocalypse fic: No.
Someone has a baby: No.
Baby!fic: Uh... NO.
Telepathic soulbonding: No.
Werewolves mate for life: No.

Looks like I haven't hit too many cliches.  Maybe I should try.  Maybe hit some of these intentionally as jokes.

Oh wait... ooooh, this is a bad idea... this is a very, very bad idea...

Okay, gotta write now.

Comments

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Okay, I don't even know what some of these are. What is wingfic? You give them wings??

[ruisseau.livejournal.com]

Fuck, I don't even know what wingfic is. . .

[emiliglia.livejournal.com]

I've done "huddling for warmth" and "hurt/comfort" (sometimes in the same fic :P) but that's it. IDEK what curtain fic is. I'm wondering if apocalypse fic still counts as cliche in Buffyverse or Supernatural when they're actually dealing with canon apocalypses.

[emiliglia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's all it is.

[gmonkey42.livejournal.com]

I knew that but I don't know what curtain fic is. They... go shopping for curtains? Like:
Saddam Hussein: "Me and Satan were aboot to go shopping for furniture. Come on, Satan!"
Satan: "OK, honey."

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

I had to look it up, and yeah, that's what it is. Domestic bliss fic.

[gasphemer.livejournal.com]

God Turnabout Intruder made me fucking bawl.

[spookykat.livejournal.com]

Wingfic??? Seriously??? Wow.

And I realize that with the exception of the wings and possibly gender/body swap, that's the only thing that the Twilight series didn't accomplish. Which explains why I hate it so...

[lizardspots.livejournal.com]

I will never understand the purpose or logic of wingfic.

[igntethestars.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm surprised at myself. I've only done one of those (the MPreg) and it was only within the last month. That even includes my original works.

Except the Mary Sue; honestly who HASN'T written a Mary Sue at some point?

EDIT: Oh wait, I guess I have done wingfic. Does writing a Cupid count?

[samena.livejournal.com]

There was a real wing!fic craze back in 2002. I don't know about the other fandoms, but I was in LotRips fandom back then, and it started with a story in which Orlando Bloom developed wings. The first couple of stories were pretty good, but after that a whole deluge of the stuff came down, and it died out soon after.

[samena.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was wondering about that, too. And what about baby!fic? :) Apparently it's not the same as one of the characters having a baby.

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

That's what it means according to the Fan History Wiki. I'm not sure what else it could mean.

[julialovesrain.livejournal.com]

Amnesia could be fun for a Harry/Draco fic. I also like "forced to share a bed," "huddling together for warmth," and "aphrodisiacs." This combination would make a great/hilarious fic for any fandom. I don't understand the whole mpreg thing though. What the fuck, kids?

[nikki4noo.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the mpreg.

Some of the others cliches but can be done really well, but ugh, men having babies? Are they insane? Why do you want to put that pain and horror onto those poor men?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

*snicker* Yeah, it was pretty god-awful, wasn't it?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

The Twilight series isn't over yet though, is it? There's still time...

[samena.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. It's odd that in the list they make a distinction between 'someone has a baby' and 'baby!fic,' when they're basically the same thing. Huh.

[going-boldly.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I'm pretty fond of genderswap when done correctly (the different center of gravity causing problems, hair not magically aligned with their new gender, ect). But, I think I have a kink for akward wtf moments.

Speaking of which, hi, I'm one of your lurkers.

[lunalovegoddess.livejournal.com]

I feel better now knowing that I've only done baby!fic once, and avoided most of the cliches I've seen. It was my first story, a survivor fic. I wrote it as catharsis to help me deal with sexual assault, so it wasn't your average "unplanned pregnancy" fic. The focus was on post-traumatic stress and, although it had a happy ending, it wasn't a bed of roses. The main plot featured Luna helping Harry deal with losing Sirius and his destiny. The subplot featured Hermione coping with the aftermath of rape. Ron offers to marry Hermione so that she doesn't become stigmatized, since she is his friend and he cares for her, but this is Ron we are talking about, and he bollocks it up. Instead of coming across as a romantic declaration of love, it sounds like a quick-fix solution to all of her problems, so that she doesn't become a social outcast. This sort of helps her regain a little of her old fire, though, because while she gets swept up in Weasley wedding plans, she becomes increasingly aware of what a bad idea marrying Ron now would be. She doesn't want his or Harry's pity; she doesn't want to be coddled or for people to walk around on eggshells around her. She just wants her friends back and for life to feel normal again. Although she does go through with the wedding and pregnancy, she doesn't find motherhood all that appealing at first. Everyone around her is telling her that motherhood is magical and all, and Ron expects her to drop out of school. In the end, she nearly abandons her husband and children but Harry brings her back and she tries to start fresh.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Hehe... I love awkward, WTF-moments, too... but genderswap has so rarely been done well that I'm hesitant about it.

And HI! Don't lurk! I'm friendly! :D

[gasphemer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was just HEY WAIT A MINUTE WAIT JUST ONE FRACKIN' MINUTE HERE.

But then at the same time, it made me like Jim Kirk more because you know, he kinda knows what it's like. Sure, in a 1960s awful way that I do not ever want to see again, but it's oddly endeared me to him (as well as other things!).

But my god, that episode, I do not ever want to see it again.

[kei-rin.livejournal.com]

Does it count if you haven't posted the fic. Because I did do a cross dressing fic for Merlin fandom but then I never got around to posting it because I meant to rewrite the middl-ish part. I keep meaning to go back and fix it up so I can post it but I did write it. *searchs through files to find it again*

I did write a genderswap one for Reboot!Trek.

I wrote some fic that might be counted as domestic fluff but I don't know if that counts for curtain fic...

As much as I love most of these cliche I haven't written that many.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, if you haven't posted it, then I think it only counts if you want it to. *Shrugs*

Where's the genderswap fic? Who got swapped? And I'm trying to remember if I've read it. LOL!

I don't think I could handle domestic fluff. At least, not without something going horribly, apocalyptically wrong. :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I guess pregnancy kinda squicks me out, mostly because of how people describe it or write it. Mostly, I can't relate to it at all. Not even a little bit.

Unfortunately, it's part of the plot for one of my characters in a fic I'm working on, and I can't avoid the mentions, but that part of the plot is a minor twist for one character. I'm keeping it to a minimum.

[mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com]

Most of my fandoms put it more specifically as discovering the character is really an angel or comparable supernatural being.

[mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com]

Why do you want to put that pain and horror onto those poor men?

lol As opposed to hurt/comfort?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw one in the Trek fandom where Kirk was allegedly half-faerie or something insane like that. Now, in the HP universe where there are half-Veelas and half-Giants in canon, shit like that might be more plausible (even if it's still ridiculous), but Star Trek? Doesn't matter how far-fetched it is for a fandom - someone will inevitably write it.

Besides, half-Orions are sexier.

[kei-rin.livejournal.com]

Where's the genderswap fic? Who got swapped? And I'm trying to remember if I've read it. LOL!

You probably haven't read it. I put it up originally last year but it wasn't betaed at the time.

Dealing with illogical needs the logical way
Kirk pissed off one too many priestesses and now has to deal with the consequences. Written for the st_xi_kink.

I surprised myself by writing a nc-17 fic for this one. I swear I meant to keep it pg-13 and then... well it was for a kink meme.

I normally can't write very long fics. I lose site of the end part way through writing it and then the file just sits there and I don't like putting up something that isn't something complete (might not fully edited but at least it's complete) and most of what gets finished with me are short little fluff pieces.

[mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com]

Man, I don't write but I think I could find you one of everything except wingfic for Kirk/Spock within a day. I love how many people don't know what some of these are. XD Yes, curtain fic is domestic bliss. It's all about seeking emotional satisfaction from the emotional security of fictional characters which you admire yes/yes? Sometimes they're as simple as one half of a couple handing over a key to the apartment and finding satisfaction in that level of commitment.

[mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's a manifestation of wingfic! Is it so hard to believe in Trek? Think of the TNG episode where Dr. Crusher gets sucked into the life of the 'family ghost' who turns out to be an alien. All it takes is a few rather plausible lines about angels really being aliens who made first contact many centuries before Vulcans and place any given character into that secret linage. Oh, also in Trek: That girl who was a secret Q? In Stargate there are people with "Ancient DNA" who can almost magically operate certain old machines. It's all about degrees.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

See, if they had said ANYTHING like that - angels being an alien race that had mingled with humans, or something along those lines - then I could have bought it. But in this case, it just seemed like she meant fairy-tale faeries, Terran origin. Of course, it led to a must-mate-or-die scenario. *headdesk*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

See, huddling for warmth is fine when written into a believable scenario (and doesn't lead to automatic sex between two people who have nothing else in common), and I like a bit of hurt/comfort.

I don't think apocalypse-fic counts as a cliche when it's standard fare in canon, like Buffy and such. LOL.

[mizuno-caitlin.livejournal.com]

*shakes head* As a Harry Potter nerd, a universe that turns any pun or play on words into valid magic, you really find it so odd? I mean this scifi is little more.

[tafl-hols.livejournal.com]

Looking at that list, I'm happy that I don't read fanfic. I don't even know what some of that references--and it still doesn't sound good.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oh, those are just the bad cliches. Seriously, there are published novels that are just as bad. I've read plenty of high-quality fanfic that would rival some of the better novels out there.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I wonder if K/S wingfic exists...

Oh gods, it makes me want to write really bad crackfic: "Every Vulcan Goes to Heaven," or "How a Vulcan Gets His Wings."

Someone stop me NOW.

[rhaegal.livejournal.com]

Hi! Someone randomly pointed me at this asking if I knew any K/S wingfic and sure enough, The Peacock Preens (http://community.livejournal.com/entry_angels/356.html) by lalunali.

I actually found it surprisingly enjoyable, because Kirk is a cocky git who parades his wings and gets off on having people stroke them, upon which they get icky. I am amused that I had never heard of this cliche until I read this fic - I guess I've just been lucky in fandoms!

(Edited because I fail at remembering that LJ =/= DW, sorry!)