Doesn't seem to be a trope: Fanfic Chop Suey

Fanfic Chop Suey doesn't seem to be a trope – instead, it looks like a messy, ahem, chop suey of the following:

• 1. Fanfic turned into an Author Tract – which should go into Author Tract Writer on Board.
  • E.g., the example where Kim Possible gives a lecture on the unfair treatment of women in Muslim countries.
• 2. Fanfic with an unexpected and sometimes unexplained alien element added because of Author Appeal – which should go into Author Appeal.
  • E.g., the Harry Potter fanfic where Hermione suddenly falls in love with pepperjack cheese.
• 3. Fanfic based on a Mega Crossover which I, the troper, think is ridiculous and silly - which is YMMV, to say the least. In my opinion, it's just "Complaining About MegaCrossovers You Don't Like". But only in fanfics, for some reason.
• ...Did I miss anything?

My suggestion: move examples of #1 & #2 to Author Tract Writer on Board and Author Appeal respectively; and expunge the page along with examples of #3.

What do you think?

edited 10th Jan '12 8:49:06 AM by Zulfiqar

For 1 and 2 if they changed the source material to add Author Appeal or such strikes me as a different trope than basic Author Appeal

Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!

I think there's a trope there, even if it has overlap or connection to the ones you mentioned. The trope is that the author is pressing their own interests on the characters, even if it doesn't make sense: why would everyone in Harry Potter give up magic and turn to the church, or become "goffs" and have nasty sex with each other, except because "It's my story and I say so"?

I'd say it's not just Author Appeal, but wedging the Author Appeal into pre-existing characters when it doesn't make sense, changing the characters so that they like the same music or share the same views as the author.

edited 10th Jan '12 6:28:15 AM by DougSMachina

A description that fits almost any fanfic you can think of. In my opinion a trope for the subversion, that is, a fanfic that leaves the characters as they are, would be quite better if someone decides to do it.

There are no heroes left in Man.

That's Original Flavor.

I didn't know it already existed. Well, if we have such a trope then making one for the description you say seems a bit nonsensical as it isn't as noteworthy as Original Flavor is.

There are no heroes left in Man.

And isn't the rest just Alternative Character Interpretation taken Up To Eleven?

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!

More like Character Derailment, I reckon. But still, there's a difference. If Kim Possible gets dark and angry and starts killing her enemies, that Character Derailment for sake of being darker and more violent.

But the example in the OP "Kim Possible is sent to kill bin Laden, and in the process she lectures him sternly on the treatment of women in Muslim countries" isn't that: the author liked KP, Tom Clancy and Ripped from the Headlines stories, and so wrote a Tom Clancy style story that threw out KP's mad science, magical and comedic elements in favour of contemporary military action. So the Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World Fantasy Kitchen Sink setting gets bent out of shape and I'd say that's this trope.

Actually, I've made a mistake in my OP post. #1 isn't Author Tract. Author Tract is when you specifically create a new universe for your preaching. If you use a preexisting universe, it's actually Writer on Board. ...Doesn't change my main point, tho

@Raso: The Author Appeal page states: "Pepperjack (redirects to Fanfic Chop Suey) is a subtrope found in Fan Fiction." But, in my opinion, it doesn't seem to be a subtrope – it looks more like The Same But More Specific (The Same But In Fan Fiction).

@Doug S Machina: I think what you're referring to is covered by the aforementioned Writer on Board. Or maybe I've misunderstood your post?

@Spark 9: So, then it's just The Same But More, isn't it?

I think so, yes.

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!

This seems really useless. As people before me have said, the first two kinds are covered by Author Tract and possibly Author Appeal, and the third is just complaining.

So... colleagues, what would you suggest? A crowner perhaps? What options should it include?

The predominant option appears to be to move the examples to other tropes (as listed in the top post) and cutlist.

Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!

Er... how do I attached crowner?

You don't, you call a moderator to do it. You click the little

image at the top of your post and ask the mods to hook the crowner. I've already done it.

Fight smart, not fair.

Oh, thanks a lot! Sorry, didn't know that

Does anyone have any other suggestions as what to do with the page? If so, feel free to add them as options onto the crowner!

@Zulfiqar: I think you're right about Writer on Board, but my point was that the author seemed to decide "I want to write a Kim Possible fanfic, and I also want to write a contemporary military action thriller, so I'll put them together and chuck out any parts of KP that don't fit." (Mad Science, superpowers, kung-fu monkeys, Raygun Gothic style, supervillains, mad She-Fu, Kim's hairstyle... cut to the chase and say "most of it".)

Still, more interesting, and more on topic, I still think there's a trope here, or at least a swamp where a couple may rise from.

• "Pepperjack": The characters have to share my likes, dislikes and views of the world, whether or not it makes sense for their natures, or even if they would have ever heard of them. Did you know that Wolverine's favourite food is Cadbury's Creme Eggs? Well, I like them, and I say it is. (Can you even get those in the USA?) This is somewhere between Author Appeal, Creator Thumbprint and Possession Sue.

• Unfocused Mega Crossover: Just because you really like Blade, Stargate, Vikings, racing cars, Slipknot, katanas, Doctor Who Batman and Mythbusters doesn't mean you should put them all in the same story. That's the real "chop suey" part. All good elements, just overdone.

I don't think either of those are really tropes. The first seems basically indistinguishable from Author Appeal, and the second is effectively Mega Crossover Done Badly.

@Doug S Machina:

So, it's basically: "It's a Mega Crossover fanfic set in a Planet Eris setting. I think that it's silly, so I list it under Fanfic Chop Suey."?

Character Derailment for the sake of Author Tract is Writer on Board. All the rest that you mentioned is Author Appeal.

Creator Thumbprint is a totally unrelated trope. Possession Sue — maybe, but it's still covered by Writer on Board.

"Mega Crossover that I think is silly"? "Mega Crossover But More So"? I'm afraid these are not tropeable :(

Maybe you're right about it not being tropable, but I don't think I suggested either of those. "X meets Y meets Z meets A" is possibly doable. "Everything I like in a blender" is different.

edited 11th Jan '12 5:06:49 PM by DougSMachina

So, it's "X meets Y meets Z meets A, all of which I happen to like?" Isn't this Mega Crossover But More So?

Or do you mean, that Fanfic Chop Suey is distinct, because all those parts are only chosen because the author likes them, and he doesn't care if they work? Isn't that Author Appeal?

And furthermore. Most examples on this page (including the main reason for its creation, "pepperjack") are not examples of "all author's favorite things thrown together". They are examples of one or several works crossing over with some completely unrelated thing (like pepperjack cheese). Which was chosen because of Author Appeal. Or if this "thing" is a political/religious/etc. stance, because the author wanted to execute Writer on Board.

Bumpu.

Can anyone please say, when should we set the deadline date for voting on this crowner?

It depends on how many votes it's gathering. Generally, about a week or so will do.

This has been around for a week and the crowner indicates this must be cut. Should we close the crowner and take the appropriate actions?

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Cut list the page with the URL for this thread in it. When it's cut I'll lock this.

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