When an otherwise promising story devolves into the author using the characters as sockpuppets for a many-thousand word screed on the natural superiority of the bdsm lifestyle. Anyone who might not want to have sex in public or isn't okay with some stuff that was pretty extreme in the context of the fic is a prude indoctrinated by society, you see.
I'm not sure if this is a gripe or just a lolwut, but i'm reading an avengers fic published in late 2012, where one chapter featured a warning for slash lemon i repeat, we have a warning for slash lemon in the year 2012 (also they characterize steve as having zero fun whatsoever and being like... Mad About anyone making jokes, but whatever that was how joss whedon wrote him so its understandable) Edit: this one is a gripe: among the epithets they tack onto Thor, "the elder god" is the worst and makes me think he's going to turn out to be a horrorterror
"What figures should be employed to periphrase the name of Thor? Thus: one should call him Son of Odin and of Jörd, Father of Magni and Módi and Thrúdr, Husband of Sif, Stepfather of Ullr, Wielder and Possessor of Mjöllnir and of the Girdle of Strength, and of Bilskirnir; Defender of Ásgard and of Midgard, Adversary and Slayer of Giants and Troll-Women, Smiter of Hrungnir, of Geirrödr and of Thrívaldi, Master of Thjálfi and Röskva, Foe of the Midgard Serpent. Foster-father of Vingnir and Hlóra." --Skáldskaparmál , tr. Brodeur. Don't see Elder God anywhere on that list!
Current fanfic gripe: that feel when an author drops all extant projects like a hot potato and scurries off to a fandom I have negative interest in. Come back! You were, like, 1/20th of the old fandom! We can't afford to lose yooou
TFW you headcanon a character as being of a particular group and don't know enough about that group to write them as such, and don't trust most of the easily accessible sources of info online, or those sources don't provide "how to write this group"-type info. Anyone know how to write convincing Romany characters? I know there's a lot of misinformation out there.
@ChelG This thread might be helpful to you, if no one here can assist: https://kintsugi.seebs.net/threads/writing-what-you-dont-know-the-assistants.4037/
A Tumblr post rather than a fanfic, but relevant to gripes we've shared here; someone mixed up the words "blackguard" and "vanguard". Not quite as funny as the bit in The Eye of Argon in which the priests thought Grignr was "the avantgarde of an opposing force" though.
The premise: omegas whose parents aren't soulmates are whisked away to live on an isolated farm with only each other, their soulmates if they deign to be with them, and orderlies. In twenty first century America, no less. Our protagonist, A, has managed to skate under the radar until his soulmate, who he secretly longs for and yet who he fights with constantly whenever they're in vague proximity, finds out that they're soulmates and rejects him, which utterly destroys him of course. Somehow the soulmate, we'll call him B, can tell that A's parents aren't soulmates, and B's best friend, who has a crush on him, lets this information slip to the authorities. A is dragged away to the farm, and his very rich and powerful father, against every bit of canon characterization, does not fight for him. A is so heartbroken that he, also against all canon characterization, simply resigns himself to this life. Weirdly, he is more concerned with his soulmate rejecting him than with his imprisonment. But lo! B regrets it and longs for him, and has been trying to get permission to visit him. He is denied until A goes into heat, and the orderlies rush him over because heat without an alpha is apparently the worst thing in the world, much worse than being taken advantage of when you're in no condition to give consent! They have frantic and honestly rather boring sex, and are so in love that they've developed amnesia about how much they hate each other. B is going to stay at the farm with A and forget about his obligations, ambition, and internet addiction. He's not going to use his not inconsiderable wealth and media standing to fight for his soulmate's rights. They're just going to live on the farm and have babies. What the fuck.
Ran into that post about "Just because it's shocking doesn't mean it's good writing". I agree; I was rather shocked by "then he shot a beam from his paw which the rat teleported away from".
This author's stuff is mostly very good, but they have this propensity for bizarre metaphors and similes in the middle of sex scenes. I mean... "“I’ve got you baby,” [character a] damn near cooed, like [character b] was his broken bird, with an injured wing, trying to desperately to fly. “I’ve got you.”" This is in response to an orgasm.
No one has the right to give ANOTHER ADULT rules about when/under what circumstances they have to dump their s.o., not matter WHAT their relationship is. This isn't even "promise me you'll leave him if he hurts you", this is "I don't like him, so unless you agree to these rules you're not allowed to date him" like what the fuck? Why is this being treated like a good and healthy way to interact with your FULLY GROWN ADULT offspring? Do not praise the father for being a controlling prick. And take their canon relationship into consideration before trying to sell me that my favorite character would actually go along with this.
On the premise that fairy tale retellings count as fanfic, a thing from das-sporking which I agree with:
