History DarknessInducedAudienceApathy / FanFics

* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic "''Whiplash''", by Molotov Cocktail, has gotten some flack for featuring -- among other things -- a cliched combination of HumansAreBastards and nuclear warfare, a ButtMonkey protagonist who gets a rather ridiculous amount of NoSympathy from others (including some he's supposed to save or otherwise help out, no less!) even after they know about his DarkAndTroubledPast of being the LastOfHisKind, a borderline MoralEventHorizon-crossing Celestia who's fully willing to allow innocent members of another species to suffer and die horribly in a rather convoluted plan to save Equestria from yet another looming threat, and a ResetButton GainaxEnding that's left some readers wondering whether or not anything's actually been solved. In fact, even the author seems to have realized this -- the (currently unfinished) sequel is noticeably LighterAndSofter (despite some retained dark elements here and there), and more readers actually feel that this group of protagonists have a good shot at invoking EarnYourHappyEnding.

* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic "''Whiplash''", by Molotov Cocktail, has gotten some flack for featuring -- among other things -- a cliched combination of HumansAreBastards and nuclear warfare, a ButtMonkey and protagonist who gets a rather ridiculous amount of NoSympathy from others (including some he's supposed to save or otherwise help out, no less!) even after they know about his DarkAndTroubledPast of being the LastOfHisKind, a borderline MoralEventHorizon-crossing Celestia being willing to allow innocent members of another species to suffer and die horribly in a rather convoluted plan to save Equestria from yet another looming threat, and a ResetButton GainaxEnding that has left some readers wondering whether or not anything has actually been solved. In fact, even the author seems to have realized this -- the (currently unfinished) sequel is noticeably LighterAndSofter and, though not without some dark elements, actually gives off a sense of hopefulness that the good guys can invoke EarnYourHappyEnding.

* This can even happen with shorter stories, as seen with ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/70359/i-am-not-the-actor I Am Not the Actor]]'', a study of what might have happened if one of Pinkie's clones had survived the end of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies "Too Many Pinkie Pies"]] instead of the real deal. In brief, it switches between the clone screwing up whatever Pinkie used to do (not at all PlayedForLaughs) and being mostly oblivious to how much everypony around seems to resent her, Twilight attempting to drown her guilt at dooming her friend ([[FridgeHorror and the thought that the other clones may have been as sapient as this one]]) by switching between trying to self-righteously [[ReplacementGoldfish iron out the clone's "imperfections"]] and being a mind-boggling {{Jerkass}} to [[ItIsDehumanizing "it"]], and the rest of the mane cast being too uncomfortable and indecisive to have any impact on events. It seems like this cycle would continue forever if [[spoiler:[[DeusExMachina the real Pinkie didn't get out of the Mirror Pool]] and [[JourneyToFindOneself send the clone off to find herself]]]].

* ''Fanfic/AllHeEverWanted''. Full stop. When almost every character is either an unlikable bastard/bitch or being constantly tortured, readers may not be sure who to root for at all. Of if there's any character worth rooting for. Especially considering that in canon ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'', all nations are given at least some sympathetic and/or kind moments, even the worst {{Jerk Ass}}es... and yet the fic removes almost all of them; i.e., seeing Prussia as a megalomaniac, abusive, rapist [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] CardCarryingVillain when he's at most a HotBlooded ButtMonkey in canon is all kinds of NO.

* Some readers found the degree to which Twilight Sparkle is ground down emotionally and the overall sense of gloom throughout the first stretch of ''Fanfic/{{Asylum}}'', coupled with the story's [[{{Doorstopper}} considerable length]], ''very'' gradual plot development, and lack of {{Hope Spot}}s, to be more trouble than the OntologicalMystery at the center was worth.

* ''FalloutEquestria'', full stop. ''ALL OF IT'', including many side-stories. People have called it ''[[UpToEleven even more depressing]]'' than the ''{{Fallout}}'' canon, because of a simple reason: there is only so much horror that can be placed in a video game before it becomes impossible to sell, while a fan fiction doesn't has the same restrictions... and there are so many [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes]], [[{{Gorn}} brutal deaths]] (and especially "[[DroppedABridgeOnHim pointless]]" deaths), [[ApocalypseAnarchy post-apocalyptic inhumanity]] and SceneryGorn of beloved Equestrian locations (more often than not loaded with ''literal'' {{Gorn}}) before people call it quits. The flashback sequences to pre-cataclysm Equestria are even worse triggers of this, because they all showcase much-beloved F.I.M. characters (especially the Mane Six) devolving into complete {{Jerkass}}es because of the pressures of the Great War and DoomedByCanon to die in said war, so why bother?

* Before the rewrite, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' had this in spades and was strongly criticized for it by several reviewers. The Sonic characters were [[TookALevelInJerkass even bigger jerks]] than their original depictions. The ''extremely'' grimdark setting didn't help - the ''entire universe'' was doomed in an over-the-top CosmicHorrorStory filled with [[{{Gorn}} gruesome violence]] and UnfortunateImplications, with a generous topping of EvilVersusEvil and BlackAndGrayMorality for good measure. Maledict and Tsali being absurdly blatant VillainSues didn't help. The author [[AuthorsSavingThrow rewrote it deliberately several years later to avoid this trope]] by making the characters like their canon counterparts, adding a ton of nuance and CharacterDevelopment to pretty much everyone, filling in plot holes, untangling the KudzuPlot, and playing much of the bleakness for BlackComedy.

* It's a problem with many, MANY ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' fanworks. It ''is'' true that this particular game has a very dark phase, and yet the fanworkers focus TOO much on said dark phase and use it as the bread and butter of their fanwork--to the degree of making their art/fic ridiculously melodramatic, {{wangst}}y, and, overall, '''boring'''. It also tends to be parallel with the rather creepy tendency of some fans to take VideoGameCaringPotential centered on the [[spoiler:Second Generation]] characters to the extreme of viewing them almost as if they were ''the fans's real life children'', focusing only on their difficult backstories and reducing them to {{woobie}}s to coddle and adore and project issues on. (Often while [[HypoCrite ignoring/handwaving]] the [[spoiler:First Generation]] characters's also rather harsh problems.)\\

* ''Fanfic/AllYouNeedIsLove''. Even if it is a CrackFic and based on ''Manga/DeathNote'', it can be hard to maintain interest when everyone is either [[JerkAss an asshole]] (to put it mildly), [[TooDumbToLive an idiot]] or a ButtMonkey. Or a combination of the three.

* ''FalloutEquestria'', full stop. ''ALL OF IT'', including many side-stories. People have called it ''[[UpToEleven even more depressing]]'' than the ''{{Fallout}}'' canon, because of a simple reason: there is only so much horror that can be placed in a video game before it becomes impossible to sell, while a fan fiction doesn't has the same restrictions... and there are so many [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes]], [[{{Gorn}} brutal deaths]] (and especially "[[DroppedABridgeOnHim pointless]]" deaths), [[ApocalypseAnarchy post-apocalyptic inhumanity]] and SceneryGorn of beloved Equestrian locations (more often than not loaded with ''literal'' {{Gorn}}) before people call it quits. The flashback sequences to pre-cataclysm Equestria are even worse triggers of this, because they all showcase much-beloved F.I.M. characters (especially the Mane Six) devolving into complete {[Jerkass}}es because of the pressures of the Great War and DoomedByCanon to die in said war, so why bother?

* Before the rewrite, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' had this in spades and was strongly criticized for it by several reviewers. The Sonic characters were [[TookALevelInJerkass even bigger jerks]] than their original depictions. The ''extremely'' grimdark setting didn't help - the ''entire universe'' was doomed in an over-the-top CosmicHorrorStory filled with [[{{Gorn}} gruesome violence]] and UnfortunateImplications, with a generous topping of EvilVersusEvil and BlackAndGrayMorality for good measure. The author [[AuthorsSavingThrow rewrote it deliberately several years later to avoid this trope]] by making the characters like their canon counterparts, adding a ton of nuance and CharacterDevelopment to pretty much everyone, filling in plot holes, untangling the KudzuPlot, and playing much of the bleakness for BlackComedy.

** Avoiding this trope even more was also the author's stated reason for creating the alternate endings, one of which is definitely EarnYourHappyEnding.

* ''FalloutEquestria'', full stop. ''ALL OF IT'', including many side-stories. People have called it ''[[UpToEleven even more depressing]]'' than the ''{{Fallout}}'' canon, because of a simple reason: there is only so much horror that can be placed in a video game before it becomes impossible to sell, while a fan fiction doesn't has the same restrictions... and there are so many [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes]], [[{{Gorn}} brutal deaths]] (and especially "[[DroppedABridgeOnHim pointless]]" deaths) and SceneryGorn of beloved Equestrian locations (more often than not loaded with ''literal'' {{Gorn}}) before people call it quits. The flashback sequences to pre-cataclysm Equestria are even worse triggers of this, because they all showcase much-beloved F.I.M. characters (especially the Mane Six) devolving into complete {[Jerkass}}es because of the pressures of the Great War and DoomedByCanon to die in said war, so why bother?

* ''FalloutEquestria'', full stop. ''ALL OF IT'', including many side-stories. People have called it ''[[UpToEleven even more depressing]]'' than the {{Fallout}} canon, because of a simple reason: there is only so much horror that can be placed in a video game before it becomes impossible to sell, while a fan fiction doesn't has the same restrictions... and there are so many [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes]], [[{{Gorn}} brutal deaths]] (and especially "[[DroppedABridgeOnHim pointless]]" deaths) and SceneryGorn of beloved Equestrian locations (more often than not loaded with ''literal'' {{Gorn}}) before people call it quits. The flashback sequences to pre-cataclysm Equestria are even worse triggers of this, because they all showcase much-beloved FiM characters (especially the Mane Six) devolving into complete {[Jerkass}}es because of the pressures of the Great War and DoomedByCanon to die in said war, so why bother?

* Before the rewrite, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' had this in spades and was strongly criticized for it by several reviewers. The Sonic characters were [[TookALevelInJerkass even bigger jerks]] than their original depictions. The ''extremely'' grimdark setting didn't help - the ''entire universe'' was doomed in an over-the-top CosmicHorrorStory filled with [[{{Gorn}} gruesome violence]] and UnfortunateImplications, with a generous topping of EvilVersusEvil/BlackAndGrayMorality for good measure. The author [[AuthorsSavingThrow rewrote it deliberately several years later to avoid this trope]] by making the characters like their canon counterparts, adding a ton of nuance and CharacterDevelopment to pretty much everyone, filling in plot holes, untangling the KudzuPlot, and playing much of the bleakness for BlackComedy.

* Before the rewrite, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' had this in spades and was strongly criticized for it by several reviewers. The Sonic characters were [[TookALevelInJerkass even bigger jerks]] than their original depictions. The ''extremely'' grimdark setting didn't help - the ''entire universe'' was doomed in an over-the-top CosmicHorrorStory filled with [[{{Gorn}} gruesome violence]] and UnfortunateImplications, with a generous topping of NightmareFuel. The author [[AuthorsSavingThrow rewrote it deliberately several years later to avoid this trope]] by making the characters like their canon counterparts, adding a ton of nuance and CharacterDevelopment to pretty much everyone, filling in plot holes, untangling the KudzuPlot, and playing much of the bleakness for BlackComedy.

* In ''Fanfic/JadedEyesOfAProdigy'', the author said they wanted to write a Harry Potter darkfic, and ''lord'' but it shows. It starts with a six-year-old Harry not only being beaten and abused by the Dursleys to such extent that he ought to be ''dead'' (how a six-year-old survives being kicked around a basement by his considerably larger uncle is never made clear), and apparently not one single person in the neighborhood or school notice any of his copious injuries. From there, Harry murders all three Dursleys in their sleep, sets out on his own, and every single person he meets from there on out are either selfish or put through circumstances that are horrible. Characters like Lily and James Potter, Dumbledore, and Lupin are given RonTheDeathEater treatment so they're completely unlikable, but the characters who show UndyingLoyalty to Harry come across as equally horrible because they know he's doing things like dissecting kidnapped Muggles and overlook it because he's somehow just that charismatic. When the protagonist is a nihilistic kid who only views others as tools, the supporting cast are either {{Jerkass}}es or his enablers, and [[spoiler:the story ends with his helpers gladly helping him take over the world and murder countless Muggles and his adopted mother magically aborting her conscious-but-unborn baby so she can birth him after he's turned into stone]], the entire thing is incredibly unpleasant. Oh, and it goes on for nearly ''seventy chapters''.

* Pretty much everything ever written by Dakari-King Mykan is either this, or inverts it [[Webcomic/LasLindas Las Lindas-style]]. In a nutshell, the fanfics that play this straight involve either [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Daisuke/Davis Motomiya]] or [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Beast Boy]] [[TookALevelInJerkass level-grinding in douchebaggery]] [[DidNotGetTheGirl because they didn't get Kari/Terra (respectively)]], and pushing away their friends...or their friends [[CharacterDerailment turning unsympathetic for no reason]]. And needless to say, it's all downhill from there. Expect [[DownerEnding bad endings should those happen.]] [[FanFic/TheEndOfEnds The End of Ends]] being especially bad in this regard. (Except for the other Titans [[UnintentionallySympathetic being woobies]] compared to [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic Count Logan]].) In short, if [[TheyJustDidntCare Mykan didn't care]] [[AudienceAlienatingPremis about his audience]], why should anyone care what he writes?
** And there's a big case of the aforementioned inversion in the [[Fanfic/MyLittleUnicorn My Brave Unicorn: Star Fleet Magic]] series. It's a [[ClicheStorm maelstrom of sentai cliches]], [[UnfortunateImplications cases of racism and sexism]], and a few cases of [[MoralEventHorizon line-crossing by the]] [[DesignatedHero so-called heroes of Starfleet]]. (Especially in regards to what happens to Ace Ray.) And yet, everything'll just turn out rosy for the heroes in the end. Doesn't help that the Mane Six are shadows of their former selves. (Nevermind the fact that [[spoiler: Twilight dies]] in episode 16 of the second sequel, or Princess Cadance being [[DesignatedMonkey the author's chewtoy]] [[DisproportionateRetribution just because she got happily married.]]) Of course, the villains suffer from [[GenreBlindness a dose of incompetence]], [[GenericDoomsdayVillain being generic in their evilness]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking how by-the-numbers their plans are]] pretty much negates any chance of them being [[RootingForTheEmpire rooted for to kick the asses of]] [[ThirtySuePileup the "heroic" cast]] at any rate.

All in all, you don't read the fic wondering what will happen to anyone from the X-[=COM=]verse, as it's mentioned multiple times that they will likely all die in the titular assault on Cydonia. Some profess that don't care if they live or die, or [[AndThenWhat what happens to their civilization after they kill all the aliens]], as long as there is a civilization at all to return to, so why should the reader? What you wonder is if Our Heroes the Teen Titans will make it out of the Waffen-XX dimension ''alive'', or if they'll even get to ''[[DyingAsYourself die sane.]]''\\

* Pretty much everything ever written by Dakari-King Mykan is either this, or inverts it. In a nutshell, the fanfics that play this straight involve either [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Daisuke/Davis Motomiya]] or [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Beast Boy]] [[TookALevelInJerkass level-grinding in douchebaggery]] [[DidNotGetTheGirl because they didn't get Kari/Terra (respectively)]], and pushing away their friends...or their friends [[CharacterDerailment turning unsympathetic for no reason]]. And needless to say, it's all downhill from there. Expect [[DownerEnding bad endings should those happen.]] [[FanFic/TheEndOfEnds The End of Ends]] being especially bad in this regard. (Except for the other Titans [[UnintentionallySympathetic being woobies]] compared to [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic Count Logan]].)
** And in the case of the fanfics of his being inverted, [[Fanfic/MyLittleUnicorn My Brave Unicorn]] is a [[ClicheStorm maelstrom of sentai cliches]], [[UnfortunateImplications rampant cases of racism and sexism portrayed positively]], and a few cases of [[MoralEventHorizon line-crossing by]] [[DesignatedHero so-called heroes of Starfleet]]. And yet, everything'll just turn out rosy for the heroes in the end. Doesn't help that the Mane Six are shadows of their former selves, with Twilight dying.

* Some readers of ''Fanfic/Digimon02TheStoryWeNeverTold'' were either turned off by the much more cynical and angsty version of the story compared to canon to the point of being grimdark, or the fact that certain characters ([[SourSupporter Matt]], [[AlphaBitch Mimi]], and [[KidsAreCruel Cody]] in particular) [[TookALevelInJerkass are much more unpleasant than they ever were in the show]]. [[{{Doorstopper}} The length of the story]] doesn't help matters, and neither does Chapter 49, which [[spoiler:has Oikawa abruptly kill off Ken]]; that particular chapter was the [[RageQuit breaking point]] for at least one reviewer.

* ''Fanfic/AllHeEverWanted''. Full stop. When almost every character is either an unlikable bastard/bitch or being constantly tortured, readers may not be sure who to root for at all. Of if there's any character worth rooting for. Especially considering that in the canon {{Hetalia}} verse, all nations are given at least some sympathetic and/or kind moments, even the worst {{Jerk Ass}}es... and yet the fic removes almost all of them; i.e., seeing Prussia as a megalomaniac, abusive, rapist [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] CardCarryingVillain when he's at most a HotBlooded ButtMonkey in canon is all kinds of NO.

* Before the rewrite, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' had this in spades and was strongly criticized for it by several reviewers. The Sonic characters were [[TookALevelInJerkass even bigger jerks]] than their original depictions. The ''extremely'' grimdark setting didn't help - the ''entire universe'' was doomed in an over-the-top CosmicHorrorStory filled with [[{{Gorn}} gruesome violence]] and UnfortunateImplications, with a generous topping of NightmareFuel. The author [[AuthorsSavingThrow rewrote it deliberately several years later to avoid this trope]] by making the characters like their canon counterparts, adding a ton of nuance and CharacterDevelopment to pretty much everyone, filling in plot holes, untangling the KudzuPlot, and playing much of the bleakness for BlackComedy.\\
\\
And that's all before the preview of the sequel reveals that [[ShaggyDogStory everything they did was pointless]] and that the entire universe is doomed anyway. However, the author did reveal that the sequel is going to have a happy or at least [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] ending though, [[EarnYourHappyEnding again trying to avoid this trope]].

* ''[[Fanfic/DashsNewMom Dash's New Mom]]'' eventually runs into this. While most of the initial conflict stems from Rainbow Dash's inability to cope with her widowed father Blue Streak dating Twilight Sparkle, the latter two are eventually shown to be rather messed up and secretive as well. It appears about five or six chapters in that the trio have had the chance to at least start working through their issues, then [[spoiler: [[PrimalScene Dash walks in on Blue and Twilight about to make love]] on Dash's mother's old bed, resulting in much louder rehashing of prior arguments, Twilight walking out, and Blue throwing his daughter out]], after which several readers either expressed confusion as to whom they're supposed to sympathize with, expressed a desire to [[DopeSlap knock some sense into all three]], or just [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere dropped the story altogether]].

* Some readers of ''Fanfic/Digimon02TheStoryWeNeverTold'' were either turned off by the much more cynical and angsty version of the story compared to canon to the point of being grimdark, or the fact that certain characters ([[SourSupporter Matt]], [[AlphaBitch Mimi]], and [[KidsAreCruel Cody]] in particular) [[TookALevelInJerkass are much more unpleasant than they ever were in the show]]. [[{{Doorstopper}} The length of the story]] doesn't help matters, and neither does Chapter 49, which [[spoiler:has Oikawa kill off Ken]]; that particular chapter was the [[RageQuit breaking point]] for at least one reviewer.

* Some readers of ''Fanfic/Digimon02TheStoryWeNeverTold'' were either turned off by the darker tone of the story compared to canon, or the fact that certain characters (Matt, Mimi, and Cody in particular) [[TookALevelInJerkass are much more unpleasant than they ever were in the show]]. [[{{Doorstopper}} The length of the story]] doesn't help matters, and neither does Chapter 49, which [[spoiler:has Oikawa kill off Ken]]; that particular chapter was the [[RageQuit breaking point]] for at least one reviewer.

* ''FanFic/TheRoadToCydonia'' reveals itself as this soon after ''Fanfic/ReflectionsLostOnADarkRoad'' begins; ''Manga/InuYasha'' shows up as a more idealistic figure, but is revealed as AllJustADream of a schizophrenic psionic Kagome. [[spoiler: Or rather her mother]]. But even that pales before the introduction of the ''FanFic/DarkTitans''--all are quickly neutralized by UNETCO forces, upon which they are repeatedly subjected to [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids intense, prosthelytizing cynicism]].
** Starfire runs right into Herb of the Musk, [[spoiler:who is so dedicated to JustFollowingOrders that despite realizing that she's desperately trying ''not'' to kill him, he just uses her hesitation to [[CurbStompBattle casually beat her unconscious]]. X-COM then {{Mind Rape}}s her to try to deduce her origins. Only the appearance of the other Titans proves her a non-combatant (due to voluntarily allowing their minds to be read), which leads them to instead cautiously draft her and return her to the rest of the Titans with the intention of turning her into an ally while they research the dimensional crossover. When most of the other Titans petition for national citizenship to register to fight the aliens, it is mentioned that according to UN legislation [[InhumanableAlienRights aliens have no rights]], and she's ''not'' an exception.]]
** Jinx makes a friend for the first time since she left both the HIVE Academy and the Titans, [[spoiler:a rogue alien clone of Akari Unryuu, only for X-COM to accidentally-on-purpose return her to alien control, rather than let her die, so they can [[PlayingWithSyringes experiment on her to discover weaknesses in human-ethereal hybrids.]]]]
** Raven gets a pat on the head by VideoGame/XCom psi researchers, who refuse to acknowledge her EldritchAbomination father as a "demon" rather than an alien, instead encouraging her to abandon her training and tap into her new-found MindControl abilities, as being in the X-COM dimension actually dulls Raven's darker emotions and demon power and allows her to tap into her human-side's powers instead. [[spoiler:This presents other dark temptations, however, and after a return to Azarath, she gets DrunkOnTheDarkSide, [[RelationshipResetButton bringing the Raven/Ryoga/Jinx love triangle back to square one]] (if not pulling a flat-out three-way ShipSinking) via [[MindRape mind raping Jinx into forgetting her love for Ryoga]] and (in Ryoga's eyes) crossing the MoralEventHorizon. Also Jinx starts to believe thanks to this [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor that being a heroine just isn't her calling in life]].]]
** Titans!Ryoga efforts at bonding with his fellow Titans are at one time mocked by his militaristic counterpart, saying that pretending to be a NiceGuy will compromise his ability to command a team in the field. The two Ryougas spend much of the story unable to see eye-to-eye for a variety of reasons.
** Cyborg gets it the lightest--his courageous superhero act is typically less valued by X-COM, who want him to [[StayInTheKitchen Stay In The Lab]] building superweapons. He tried to skirt both areas, helping in the lab and in the field. [[spoiler: He decides to shut down the empathic parts of his mind to be more effective, [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul with the predictable backfire that follows]].]]
*** All in all, you don't read the fic wondering what will happen to anyone from the X-[=COM=]verse, as it's mentioned multiple times that they will likely all die in the titular assault on Cydonia. Some profess that don't care if they live or die, or [[AndThenWhat what happens to their civilization after they kill all the aliens]], as long as there is a civilization at all to return to, so why should the reader? What you wonder is if Our Heroes the Teen Titans will make it out of the Waffen-XX dimension ''alive'', or if they'll even get to ''[[DyingAsYourself die sane.]]''
**** Though, conversely, many characters speak often about the end of the war and their desire to survive it, [[spoiler:for example, X-COM's Ryouga, who has slowly and painfully found a way out of his previous depression, and Ryu, who hopes to rebuild his family dojo and have a family, and the Amazons who want to rebuild their village after the terror site, but all have heard that Cydonia is likely to be a suicide mission and as a result of recent alien assaults on X-COM bases, morale is at a low point. Mental states are further stretched thin by efforts to investigate other dimensions and attempt to return the Titans to their home.]]
* A few readers feel this way about Fanfic/BackgroundPony. The story is pretty bleak and resolute about grinding Lyra into the dirt, with hope seeming so distant or unreachable at times that it's easy to simply become exhausted with the entire narrative. The final chapter is especially bad in this regard; though her decision in the end was utterly selfless, the focus on her loss from said selflessness adds one final bout of angst to the pile.
* Fanfic/AllHeEverWanted. Full stop. When almost every character is either an unlikable bastard/bitch or being constantly tortured, readers may not be sure who to root for at all. Of if there's any character worth rooting for. Specially considering that in the canon {{Hetalia}} verse, all nations are given at least some sympathetic and/or kind moments, even the worst {{Jerk Ass}}es... and yet the fic removes almost all of them; i.e., seeing Prussia as a megalomaniac, abusive, rapist [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] CardCarryingVillain when he's at most a HotBlooded ButtMonkey in canon is all kinds of NO.

* It's a problem with many, MANY ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' fanworks. It ''is'' true that this particular game has a very dark phase, and yet the fanworkers focus TOO much on said dark phase and use it as the bread and butter of their fanwork--to the degree of making their art/fic ridiculously melodramatic, {{wangst}}y, and, overall, '''boring'''. It also tends to be parallel with the rather creepy tendency of some fans to take VideoGameCaringPotential centered on the [[spoiler:Second Generation]] characters to the extreme of viewing them almost as if they were ''the fans's real life children'', focusing only on their difficult backstories and reducing them to {{woobie}}s to coddle and adore and project issues on. (Often while [[HypoCrite ignoring/handwaving]] the [[spoiler:First Generation]] characters's also rather harsh problems.)
** A good example was the now LostForever "Future of Despair" webcomic, based on said dark phase [[spoiler:alias the BadFuture]]. [[http://feanons.dreamwidth.org/992.html?thread=275168#cmt275168 Some]] [[http://feanons.dreamwidth.org/1266.html?thread=853746#cmt853746 fans]] used to criticize it for its [[OscarBait contrived]] {{melodrama}}, its portrayal of the female characters [[{{Chickification}} as weaker or weepier than they ACTUALLY are]] in canon [[spoiler:(and, in at least one case, as downright TooDumbToLive)]], the ClicheStorm and how it [[FanonDiscontinuity downright ignores/handwaves some parts of the canon itself solely to force sympathies out of the readers]].
--->'''Random commenter:''' I like drama, don't get me wrong. But there's drama...and well, '''there's drama'''.

* [=KnightMysterio=], the author for ''Fanfic/WakingNightmares'', is aware of this and has mentioned in [[http://knightmysteriolibray.tumblr.com/post/73693935391/knight-do-you-know-of-the-trope-called this tumblr post]] that he is attempting to make sure that this does not happen. (Given that the story has '''''[[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slenderman]]''''' as the main villain.)
* Fanfic/TheNuptialverse gradually veers away from the character-focused vignettes of ''Post Nuptials'' in favor of arcs such as Scootabuse and an anti-Celestia movement which seems far more effective than any of the characters or situations involved would allow, diverging wildly from canon in both content and tone. A number of readers objected to the point of ''forcing the addition of a [[DarkFic Dark]] tag'' to ''Families'', and when the sequel ''Direction'' was posted with that tag from the start, they rather vocally [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere swore it off]]. (Ironically, the author only added that tag to ''Direction'' as a preemptive response to these objectors and has since removed it.)
* The increasing focus of Fanfic/TheDearSweetieBelleContinuity on foreshadowing/setting up [[AStormIsComing a coming cataclysmic conflict]] which portends doom for Equestria, and the distinct possibility of unhappy endings for most characters involved, has [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere driven off a few commenters]] (though many more are still hooked). Some also find the behavior of the royals who receive much of the focus to be extremely unpleasant, especially considering that their [[BaseBreaker divisive]] behavior is implied to be at least partially responsible for said conflict.
* While the original ''InnerDemons'' was fairly dark, it still ended up being a case of EarnYourHappyEnding, avoiding this trope... until the sequals, which pulled some downright ''brutal'' HappyEndingOverride, especially where [[spoiler: Rarity]] is concerned, which turned off many readers. To put it in perspective, both sequels have the '''Tragedy''' tag, which is just an advance warning that a story ''cannot possibly end happily.''
* ''Fanfic/WhatHaveYouDone'' and its sequel ''Even As...'' have garnered this reaction, postulating that if [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 Chrysalis had not bothered to banish Twilight Sparkle to the caves after her argument with her friends]], Twilight would have taken it badly enough to [[spoiler:free [[MadGod Discord]] from his imprisonment]] and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere bugger off]], with much {{Wangst}}ing. Said friends, meanwhile, are [[spoiler:rejected by their Elements of Harmony]] for a momentary error (and WordOfGod is that [[spoiler:[[BlueAndOrangeMorality even the Elements don't really understand what they're doing]]]]), and with both them and Celestia cast in the wrong by the narrative, the only character available to root for is [[MamaBear Twilight Velvet]], a borderline OCStandIn JerkSue (with a dose of UnreliableNarrator).
* After waiting over a year for the fifth episode, some viewers of ''WebAnimation/MyLittlePortal'' were turned off by the exponential increase in both gore and a sense of hopelessness, thanks to [[spoiler:the past fall of Canterlot and a great deal of character mutilation]].
* Some readers found the degree to which Twilight Sparkle is ground down emotionally and the overall sense of gloom throughout the first stretch of ''Fanfic/{{Asylum}}'', coupled with the story's [[{{Doorstopper}} considerable length]], ''very'' gradual plot development, and lack of {{Hope Spot}}s, to be more trouble than the OntologicalMystery at the center was worth.

* Before the rewrite, ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' had this in spades and was strongly criticized for it by several reviewers. The Sonic characters were [[TookALevelInJerkass even bigger jerks]] than their original depictions. The ''extremely'' grimdark setting didn't help - the ''entire universe'' was doomed in an over-the-top CosmicHorrorStory filled with [[{{Gorn}} gruesome violence]] and UnfortunateImplications, with a generous topping of NightmareFuel. The author [[AuthorsSavingThrow rewrote it deliberately several years later to avoid this trope]] by making the characters like their canon counterparts, adding a ton of nuance and CharacterDevelopment to pretty much everyone, filling in plot holes, untangling the KudzuPlot, and playing much of the bleakness for BlackComedy.
** And that's all before the preview of the sequel reveals that [[ShaggyDogStory everything they did was pointless]] and that the entire universe is doomed anyway. However, the author did reveal that the sequel is going to have a happy or at least [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] ending though, [[EarnYourHappyEnding again trying to avoid this trope]].
* Some readers of ''Fanfic/Digimon02TheStoryWeNeverTold'' were either turned off by the darker tone of the story compared to canon, or the fact that certain characters (Matt, Mimi, and Cody in particular) [[TookALevelInJerkass are much more unpleasant than they ever were in the show]]. [[{{Doorstopper}} The length of the story]] doesn't help matters, and neither does Chapter 49, which [[spoiler:has Oikawa kill off Ken]]; that particular chapter was the [[RageQuit breaking point]] for at least one reviewer.