Line #55 Blog/DasSporking


1	[[https://das-sporking2.dreamwidth.org/ Das Sporking]] is a small [[{{MST}} sporking]] community originally on Platform/LiveJournal, before moving to Dreamwidth in 2017. It was originally a solo sporking community for Das Mervin, a [=LiveJournal=] user most famous for her breakdown of the ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' series. Over time, it has evolved to accept sporkings from all of its members. The sporkings cover a range of fandoms and styles. This also includes professional works. There are currently a small number of active sporkers on Das Sporking.
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3	This community is mostly known for being very analytical in its approaching to bad fiction, and for covering a variety of professionally published works as well as fanfiction. Jokes and snarking take a backseat to literary analysis, though they are far from absent.
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5	It is also notable for being in depth. Most sporkings double the word count of the fanfics they are focusing on. A number of UnfortunateImplications that are glossed over in other sporkings of the same material, in particular ''[[Literature/Twilight2005 Twilight]]'' (and its sequels) and ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' (and ''its'' sequels), are explored in detail there.
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7	'''Notice: Please do not link directly to sporked fanfiction! This is to cut down on wank.'''
8
9	!!Relevant tropes:
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11	* AccentuateTheNegative: Most of the sporks point out flaws in the work, and mock goofiness caused by them.
12	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: While sporking "To Rule Them All", Master Ghandalf notes that while Sauron isn't being [[DracoInLeatherPants portrayed as a good guy]], the author doesn't seem to grasp the true scope of his weight and presence, so he comes off as more like Azra's somewhat cranky but otherwise generic boss rather than one of the most monstrous individuals in the history of Middle-earth. This makes him an unusual example of this trope being caused by combination of bad writing and a lack of understanding of the source material.
13	* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: In "Identities," MG points out that since [[SparedByTheAdaptation Boromir survived]], Denethor's actions and characterization (which were more or less copied from Peter Jackson's ''Return of the King'' adaptation) don't make any sense.
14	* AffectionateNickname: Raxistaicho refers to Zelda Queen as "Queeny," and, since the ''I'm Here To Help'' spork, Midoriri as "Riri."
15	%%* {{Angrish}}: Quite frequently.
16	* AngstNuke: Ket tends to explode. A lot. Especially when reading ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey''. It happens so often that the community coined 'ketsplode' to describe it.
17	** Ki no Shirayuki does the same, but into ''waka poems''.
18	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Christian Grey has [[CrazyJealousGuy many]] [[TheSociopath bad]] [[SmugSnake qualities]] but the final straw was when the sporkers realized he's a ''morning person''.
19	** The infamous ''Hogwarts Exposed'' has ''multiple'' [[{{Squick}} extremely disturbing themes]] but the last nail in the coffin is its ''[[{{Doorstopper}} length]]''.
20	** A fic thinking UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga and UsefulNotes/DateMasamune fought each other in the ''Edo'' period received a lengthy comment pointing out the blatant ArtisticLicenseHistory, which should have no place in the ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'' fandom, that is capped off with…
21	-->'''Ki no Shirayuki:''' Aside from that, why are you referring to Oda Nobunaga by last name and Date Masamune by first name?
22	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: One of Mervin's biggest problems with ''Halo'' (the book by Alexandra Adornetto, not the video game franchise). The book is set in a small town in Georgia, but it's obviously apparent to anyone with even basic knowledge of Georgia that Adornetto, who is Australian, didn't bother doing any research and wrote a town that combined Australia with the little she knew of the American South. The result is an incredibly rich paradise with an economy that shouldn't work, where poor people apparently don't exist and everything looks like it came out of the Fifties.
23	%%* AtomicFBomb: Oh, yes.
24	* AuthorPowers: How most sporkers force their special guests to read badfic. Also exercised by a handful of sporkers using the Keyboard of Power.
25	* BanOnPolitics: Mervin specifically states no political issues be discussed within the comm. [[BigBrotherIsWatching Strict monitoring by the admins is done to ensure this]].
26	* BerserkButton: With a fairly diverse sporking crowd, different things set different sporkers off.
27	** [[ArtisticLicenseBiology Science]] [[ArtisticLicenseChemistry failure]] [[ArtisticLicensePharmacology sets]] [[ArtisticLicensePhysics off]] Mrs. Hyde. The eight-pointed snowflake in ''Literature/BreakingDawn'' was a pretty major one.
28	** Sexism against women does the same with Raxistaicho.
29	** [[Main/ArtisticLicenseMilitary Weapons research failure,]] StupidEvil and [[DesignatedHero Designated Heroes]] get Riffing Academy to open up.
30	** Ket tends to get ''very annoyed'' whenever ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' gets UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} wrong. She also gets angry when religion in fiction is poorly-researched or outright wrong.
31	** RomanticizedAbuse --physical abuse, emotional abuse and/or rape--''enrages'' Gehayi.
32	** [[Main/MoralMyopia Callous]] [[LackOfEmpathy disregard]] [[AMillionIsAStatistic for]] [[TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies human]] [[TautologicalTemplar life]] will make Mervin [[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Paul]] out. So will getting anything related to [[ArtisticLicenseMedicine medicine]] wrong.
33	** szaleniec is normally [[DeadpanSnarker dead calm]], but is ticked off whenever a fic calls Hermione "Mione".
34	** Sweettalkeress hates human-bashing and ProtagonistCenteredMorality.
35	** Zelda Queen ''hates'' canon characters being made out of character [[RonTheDeathEater because the writer doesn't like them]] or [[DracoInLeatherPants to make bad characters appear better]]. When sporking one ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfiction, she brought it to a halt and gave a long rant about why she hates that tactic so much, before being forced to recapping instead of flat-out sporking, to deal with the amount of character-bashing.
36	** Midoriri hates misogyny and is especially ticked off when feminine characters are bashed just for being feminine. She also ''despises'' "Macho-Stus" being shoehorned into MagicalGirl fics, due to the implications.
37	** Astra abhors bad parenting, child abuse, emotional manipulation, victim-blaming and ProtagonistCenteredMorality.
38	** Nix will rage over characters having expensive items that don't fit as well as the color/style of Joshua Kiryu's hair.
39	** Azra hates romanticized adultery, stating the obvious constantly, familial or friendship love being dismissed as not as important as or lesser than romance, ProtagonistCenteredMorality, [[DesignatedHero designated heroes,]] and canon characters being upstaged in favor of an AuthorAvatar.
40	** The Man Called True despises hypocrisy, painting humans as inferior to the supernatural, and adding needless darkness to a generally light-hearted setting.
41	** Lady_fofa loathes [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals violence to animals]], especially horses.
42	** Poor portrayals of Japanese language and culture, as well as female [=OCs=] shoehorned into canonically all-male ensembles to be shipped with canon male characters especially in fandoms like ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' and ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'' piss off Ki no Shirayuki.
43	** Radio Star hates [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters misanthropy]], RapeAsDrama and ProtagonistCenteredMorality.
44	** taekarado hates [[HollywoodAutism misrepresentation of autism]].
45	** Libraryseraph despises [[DesignatedHero Designated Heroes]], ProtagonistCenteredMorality, and poor grammar.
46	** [=RC88=] hates [[TooDumbToLive obvious stupidity]], stupidity-induced plot holes [[ViewersAreMorons which the writers seem to expect the readers not to notice]], and [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney being expected to applaud rich people getting away with horrible behaviour]].
47	** Leliel_12 and [=BoydTheReaver=] tend to be set off by bad science, [[ArmchairMilitary bad military tactics]], and DesignatedHero behavior.
48	* BewareTheNiceOnes: The sporkers are all a nice bunch of people, even maintaining some politeness while sporking, but once in a while, such as when a BerserkButton is pressed or the story gets ''really'' bad... eesh.
49	* BrainBleach: Quite a few sporkers say that they need brain bleach after a spork. Some refer to [[WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum Bleeprin and Bleepka]], specifically.
50	* CatchPhrase:
51	** Some sporkers have their own.
52	*** Raxistaicho's is "[[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Standby, ready]] for more", used in his live journal cuts. Occasionally, "more" is replaced by something specific to the chapter.
53	*** Azralibrarian's is "Sweet [[Videogame/RuneScape Zaros.]]"
54	*** Ki no Shirayuki's is "[[VideoGame/ToukenRanbu Drop your head and die]]" in regards to Sues.
55	** Some sporkings have them, too. For a good portion of the sporking of a Literature/SpiceAndWolf fanfiction, chapters were introduced with [[PreviouslyOn "Last Time on..."]] followed by a video clip of something parodying events in the story.
56	* CallingTheYoungManOut: During the ''Twilight'' sporkings, it's vainly hoped that Charlie Swan will eventually get sick of Bella's selfishness and kick her to the curb. As a result, it's become a very popular storyline among Twilight spitefics featured on the site.
57	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Many of the sporkers have shared their histories of abuse, bullying, trauma, or depression, usually to explain how a work is getting it dead wrong.
58	* DeadpanSnarker: Every sporker has at least a moment of this.
59	* [[invoked]]DesignatedHero: Esme_Amelia considers [[WebOriginal/GrowingAround Sally Dunn]] to be a spoiled brat who relishes in her mom's misery.
60	* [[invoked]]DudeNotFunny: Comes up in the face of tasteless jokes in the things being sporked.
61	** During the ''I'm Here to Help'' sporking, Midoriri was appalled by a joke Emerald made about a 14-year-old Jupiter engaging in bondage.
62	** Mervin points out that in ''Eclipse'', two infamous parts - Edward stealing Bella's car engine and Bella being forcibly kissed by Jacob and then hurting her hand punching him out - were meant to be ''comedy''. She notes, with no small amount of horror, that both wouldn't be out of place in a slasher movie.
63	** Astra flips her shit over the scene in ''Pawn of Prophecy'' where Polgara laughs upon realising that [[spoiler: Merel is pregnant by rape for the third time.]]
64	** Azra has reacted with horror to a few "comedic" scenes in ''The Final Fantasy Wars,'' most notably during a chapter in which the generic OP horde misfires spells, causing damage to the base and setting [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Tidus']] hair on fire--and are ''immediately praised for their skill.''
65	** Midoriri and [=ZeldaQueen=] are enraged and horrified by how Lydia's abuse of Mamoru/Darien is PlayedForLaughs in ''Fanfic/TheSailorRainbowSeries''.
66	** Ki no Shirayuki completely blows her lid and rants in ALLCAPS for several paragraphs at a Sue's horribly abusing a sword, up to and including putting him into solitary confinement for ''2 weeks'', one day shy of qualifying as ''psychological torture'' by the UN's standards, just because he refuses to be an ExtremeDoormat and kiss the ground she walks on and couldn't save her family as an inanimate object while she also did '''nothing''' without such an excuse, that is treated like ''comedy'' by the narrative and viewed by other swords as {{Tsundere}} behavior and her way of confessing her love for him.
67	* DueToTheDead: Usually dead authors who are sporked are treated with respect unless they committed crimes in real life.
68	* EvenEvilHasStandards:
69	** In one of Mervin's chapters of ''Hogwarts Exposed'', she brings in [[Film/OnceUponATimeInMexico Sands]] to co-spork. Sands, who has never pretended to be anything but a misogynistic, violent asshole, is ''appalled'' by it, particularly the [[{{squick}} sexualization of children]] and objectification of women (which, amusingly enough, stuns him, since he never felt outrage on behalf of objectified women before).
70	** Even [[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender Azula]] is horrified at the FateWorseThanDeath Harry inflicts on the Dursleys in ''Fanfic/PartiallyKissedHero''.
71	* EveryoneHasStandards: All of he sporkers have their limits on what they will and won't spork. Usually it's because a work is unspeakably horrific (Mervin even added the "''Hogwarts Exposed'' line" to the comm rules, stating that anything that manages to be worse than that fanfiction is banned from being sporked there), although some sporkers refuse to do works on the grounds of them simply being ''boring'' (for example, this is why Mervin stopped sporking ''Child of Grace'' and ''Standing My Ground''). Mervin herself holds the comm at large to several ironclad rules, including certain types of fics that are ''not'' allowed, namely the aforementioned "squick-fics", troll fics (on the grounds that they basically spork themselves), things that run the risk of breaking the "no politics" rule (such as ''Literature/TheTurnerDiaries''), and real person fics. She also forbids making personal attacks/death threats towards the Suethors or their families. The only exception is Neil, who wrote the aforementioned ''Hogwarts Exposed'' and is hands-down the most hated Stuthor on the comm (though Creator/MarionZimmerBradley is quickly giving him a run for his money).
72	** During the sporking of ''Fanfic/PartiallyKissedHero'', Snape says that while he can be harsh with Harry, he would ''never'' go so far as to outright torture him.
73	** During the ''Nobunaga-sensei'' sporking, [[VideoGame/ToukenRanbu Heshikiri Hasebe]] says while he isn't fond of his old master Oda Nobunaga, the latter still doesn't deserve to have his historical impact ignored to be portrayed as a bland harem hero who grooms children.
74	* FakeDifficulty: One of Azra's big complaints about the 'Rangress' series of ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' fan-quests is that their difficulty mostly comes from refusing to give the player any hints whatsoever (such as forcing them to run around talking to every NPC on Gilenor in hopes that somebody knows something, with no hint given as to who that somebody might be), having most of the quests take place in non-instanced versions of the Wilderness (leaving questers vulnerable to player killers), and saddling them with an unlikable flawless character in a particularly annoying EscortMission. In terms of actual skill challenges, puzzles, and combat, it's sorely lacking.
75	* FixFic: A bit rarer than the RevengeFic, but still there when they feel the rare sympathetic character deserves something better. When the sporkers get tired of watching [[Literature/TheMistsOfAvalon Gwenhwyfar]] being repeatedly tortured by the narrative, they wrote a new ending where all [[Series/DoctorWho thirteen Doctors]] rescue her and bring her to a hospital in the future, and that Gwen in the rest of the book is just Kamelion pretending to be her.
76	* FormulaBreakingEpisode:
77	** A side series was started called "Writers Against Cliches", with the intent of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] hackneyed tropes and concepts and allowing sporkers to write fics that play with expectations. More obliquely, the_whittler once sporked one of their own works (with permission), and at least one member plans to [[MindScrew spork a bad sporking]].
78	** Sweettalkeress introduced her sporking of the ''Anime/CodeGeass'' LighterAndSofter fic "Euphemia's Surprise" this way because it was so different from the works she had been sporking.
79	** [=ZeldaQueen's=] sporking of ''Webcomic/HowIBecameYours'' was the first sporking of a fancomic, both by her and on the comm (though she had sporked the first ''Twilight'' graphic novel on her own journal).
80	** Ki no Shirayuki's translation-sporking of the ''Nobunaga-sensei'' anime cast commentary is the first sporking of foreign language material whose translation is provided by the sporker themself.
81	** Azra sporked a series of VideoGame/RuneScape fan-quests, which were written in the style of walkthroughs rather than as stories. She not only tore apart their failings as stories, but detailed the parts that would be [[GuideDangIt poor]] [[FakeDifficulty gameplay]] as well.
82	** Raxistaicho's sporking of "A Journey Of Light And Darkness", which was actually a fanfiction he wrote some time ago and plans to revise. As a joke, he refuses to believe it's in need of snark until the protagonist shows up, hits him on the head and makes him forget he wrote it, leading to him commenting on how terrible it is.
83	* FromBadToWorse: PlayedForLaughs in Chapter 5 of ''A Brighter Dark'', where Azalin Rex ''finally'' escapes his prison in Darkon..into the sporking chamber.
84	-->'''Azalin: ''[[BigNo NOOOOOOOOOOOO]]!'''''
85	* GamerChick:
86	** Several of the sporkers, but azralibrarian stands out most. Her knowledge of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' is well shown during one of her sporks of a self-insert Dissidia fanfic. She also displays a good deal of knowledge of ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' during her sporking of a sloppy crossover fic.
87	** Nix has made a habit of sporking almost nothing but things from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''.
88	** Ki no Shirayuki specializes in ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji\|2016}}'' and ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu''.
89	* {{Geek}}: Whether it be literature, TV series, movies, video games, and western or eastern animation, most of these sporkers are very devoted fans of their chosen fandoms. [[FanGirl Sometimes unabashedly so]].
90	* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Ever since a joke made in the sporking of Chapter 12 of Breaking Dawn, people have taken quite well to seeing themselves through Meyer Goggles(TM).
91	* GratuitousGerman: "Das" is gender-neutral "the" in German.
92	* GratuitousJapanese: Some sporkers use this in their usernames and/or sporks, like ryina chan and Raxistaicho.
93	* HairTriggerTemper: Some of the group are this way, Mervin stands out the most.
94	* HandicappedBadass: Gehayi is open about being mobility limited. It sure doesn't stop her from absolutely destroying poorly-written and researched work.
95	* HollywoodTactics: The presence of this in ''A Brighter Dark'' is repeatedly pointed out and mocked, especially Nohr's strategies, which only work due to author fiat.
96	%%* INeedAFreakingDrink: Frequently, and with various drinks.
97	* InNameOnly: The crew considers ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' this.
98	* InsistentTerminology: Riffing Academy is a die-hard [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MSTie,]] and to that end calls his sporkings "riffings." His username may have something to do with him sticking to it, too.
99	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: During the ''A Brighter Dark'' sporking, [[TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} Azalin Rex]] mentions that another darklord, Vlad Drakov, was so spectacularly incompetent he was replaced by a woman--exactly what happened in fifth edition, where Vlad underwent a GenderFlip.
100	* TheManBehindTheMan: In [=RiffingAcademy=]'s sporking of ''Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy'', he makes reference a couple of times to an unnamed collaborator, whom he accuses of having [[EvilMentor suggested to the fourteen-year-old author]] to have included [[CorruptTheCutie several story elements that are not appropriate for children]]. Because the collaborator is never named, it is impossible to be certain, but [=RiffingAcademy=] has strong suspicions that the collaborator was a pedophile, and just using [[UnwittingPawn the Suethor]].
101	* MidSeasonUpgrade: Midoriri, her sporking self being a MagicalGirlWarrior, gets during a particularly-awful passage in ''Sailor Rainbow,'' trading in her Spork Wand for the Spork Staff.
102	%%* {{MST}}: Sort of the whole point.
103	* MugglesDoItBetter: A widespread reaction to the messages of HumansAreMorons, HumansAreBastards, and HumansAreUgly that so frequently appear in fics and books. Sporkers and members have decided that humanity, for all its flaws, can also be awesome.
104	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Metaphorically. Most of the rules about sporking that involve yelling at the fic, not at the author, are turned off for the infamously nefarious Hogwarts Exposed.
105	* NoodleIncident:
106	** Gehayi and Ket Makura describe their invitation to guest sporkers Elsa and Anna of Arendelle this way:
107	---> '''GEHAYI:''' I'm not going to say what it took to persuade the queen and princess of Arendelle except that it involved kittens, the Hubble Telescope, and Ket karaoke.\
108	KET: And a really bad clam. ''[shudders]''
109	** Ket also got a phone call from an unknown person halfway through the first part of the sporking of Fifty Shades Freed's chapter 9. It involved monkeys. She left immediately and didn't return until chapter 11 (which was actually several posts later). Other than being alarmed at the possibility of Merv bringing monkeys to spork with her, she hasn't discussed it.
110	* OhMyGods: Raxistaicho occasionally uses [[Myth/CelticMythology Morrighan/Morrigan]] with this trope. azralibrarian uses Primus (and Zaros); taekarado, Steiff; Man Called True, Celestia (and occasionally Torak). Ket Makura will occasionally thank "all the gods and angels."
111	* OnlySaneMan: In the sporking of ''Halo'', it's noted that Ben and Bianca are clearly the only sane people in the entire book.
112	* ProperlyParanoid: Ever since his first proper sporking featured one, Riffing Academy thinks that wolf-themed Stus follow him around. They don't hit all the time, but they're definitely a theme.
113	* RageQuit:
114	** Once in a while, sporkers will simply give up on particularly bad works. Mervin occasionally "refuses" to do certain chapters of her own sporks and instead has one her common special guests do it for her.
115	** An interesting variant happened with one story Riffing Academy tackled: while he finished the story as it was written when he wrote his sporking, when new chapters appeared he refused to do them. Raxistaicho picked it up later, doing the newer chapters.
116	** After one of his flash drives (the one containing all the chapters) broke, Man Called True walked away from ''Frigid Winds and Burning Hearts'' when faced with the task of ''completely'' redoing several chapters's worth of sporking.
117	* RelaxOVision:
118	** Used occasionally by several of the sporkers. Raxistaicho does it most often both in his own sporks and comments to others, usually showing cute/fanservicey anime girls.
119	** It pops up again in during the spork of ''I'm Here to Help;'' Midoriri gets her BerserkButton slammed and begins a colorful rant, only for Raxis and [=ZeldaQueen=] to quickly play a video with soothing music. They turn it off just as she's winding down.
120	--->'''Midoriri:''' [[CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon --so you'll have to contort yourself into a pretzel to take a]] [[PrecisionFStrike shit!]]
121	** The ''Mists of Avalon'' sporking preempts scenes of rape, incest, miscarriage, and other horrible things with cute pictures of kittens and puppies to help brace the reader for what's ahead.
122	* {{Revenge}}: Ket's revenge on Mervin for exposing them to ''Fifty Shades of Gray'':
123	-->'''Ket:''' Be waiting, Das of Mervin. I shall visit you, like a terrible angel of punishment.\
124	'''Mervin''': Well, you know, as bad as I feel about subjecting you to ''Fifty Shades'', and all that jazz... flatly I sporked, recapped, and/or read every goddamn word of the entire "Hogwarts Exposed" series. I think I've endured ENOUGH.\
125	'''Ket''': Not yet, my dear. Not yet. [[http://das-sporking.livejournal.com/1198229.html In fact, my retribution has already begun.]]\
126	'''Mervin:''' '''OH, FUCK YOU!!!''' slams down the phone furiously with a loud bang
127	* RevengeFic:
128	** This is a REALLY common response to canons with UnfortunateImplications and/or characters that are TooDumbToLive (though it's called "spitefics" on the actual community). There were so many ''Twilight'' spitefics that Das_Sporking eventually created a spinoff fic comm for them. (The comm is now shared by fics for ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' and ''Feminist Fairy Tales''.) Of these fics, ''Fanfic/ForYouIWill'', ''Fanfic/TheWeddingCrashers'', and ''Fanfic/ToughLove'' have their own trope pages.
129	** On the other hand, they positively loathe crossovers that appear to be written only so the author can “prove” their favorite series is better than one they hate. This is the main reason ''Harry Potter and the Invincible [=TechnoMage=]'' and ''The White Devil of the Moon'' got sporked, being seen as needless attacks on ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' and ''Manga/SailorMoon'' respectively.[[note]]Both fics slowly become more respectful of their source material as they go on, but still have a lot of canon fail.[[/note]] Not all bad crossovers are sporked for this reason, but it is the most common.
130	* RedOniBlueOni: Mervin is the Red to Hyde's Blue.
131	* RousingSpeech: Mervin makes a pro-human, pro-Volturi one in the third part of the sporking of the Chapter 34 of ''Breaking Dawn'' to counteract the [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority unnecessarily rebellious]] (the Cullens don't want to fight) anti-Volturi speech by one of the Cullens' allies since defeating the Volturi means there's nothing stopping other vampires (including some of the Cullens' allies) from eating and enslaving humanity.
132	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Master Ghandalf takes ''To Rule Them All'' to task for its poor sense of scale, pointing out how it dramatically underestimates numbers (claiming 10,000 orcs is a large army for Mordor), time (implying the War of the Last Alliance happened over the course of a single day) and distance (Azra travelling around Middle-earth unrealistically quickly, especially without the advantages of the Nazgul).
133	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
134	** Quoted verbatim by Midoriri before the twelfth chapter of ''Over The Rainbow,'' before she ate one of Mervin's coma-brownies. [[SpecialGuest Malachite filled in for her.]]
135	** Raxis managed this in the sporking of ''I'm Here to Help'', via exploding. A Pokemon he specially trained to speak filled in.
136	** From chapter 20 of ''Breaking Dawn'', after Mervin mused at length on the fact that she'd been sporking the ''Twilight'' series for five years and wants to quit but--
137	--->'''Mervin''': I finished Rose Potter -- I can finish this.\
138	'''Bella''' (narrating): Everything was\
139	'''Mervin: ''OH FUCK YOU, I'M GOING HOME!!!'''''
140	* ShipperOnDeck: Sporkers often make their preferred ships known throughout their sporkings, although not so much that the sporking becomes a [[AuthorFilibuster Sporker Filibuster]].
141	** ng55snarkings is particularly vehement about Sues that come between [[OfficialCouple Jack and Sally's]] relationship in ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' fanfics she sporks. It's hard not to see why, considering how badly written they were.
142	%%* ShoutOut: Varies by sporker, but everyone has made at least one.
143	* ShownTheirWork: Very much so. Mervin and Mrs. Hyde have expert knowledge about medicine, the latter even having her [=PhD=] in the subject. The pair of them also know quite a bit about the behaviour of "old money", being from that kind of background themselves. Gehayi is a freelance editor, and Ket Makura has enough experience in the realm of UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} to help her take down the Fifty Shades series. And as far as canon knowledge goes, it's a rule that to spork a fic in a fandom, the sporker has to know what they are talking about.
144	* SignatureStyle: Aside from the aforementioned analytical, in-depth style, the sporkers are a diverse lot, and this shows in their preferences and typical sporking material:
145	** Riffing Academy tends to pick up stories in canons he knows that frequently have at least one MartyStu in them and female leads, especially canonically powerful ones, getting {{Chickifi\|cation}}ed a lot.
146	** Sweettalkeress tackles stories [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed that think they're]] [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime Movies Of The Week]] often, especially in the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} fandom.
147	** Nix and Azra seem to be a fan of [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color-coding]] everything.
148	** Riyna-chan's spork comments are [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience typed in blue]], as it's easier on her eyes.
149	** Gratuitous classical Japanese poetry is a staple of Ki no Shirayuki – she ends every of her posts (except tables of contents) with one and {{angst nuke}}s into them.
150	* SingleIssuePsychology: In the ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' series, all of Christian's problems stem from his having been abused and poor until the age of four. Gehayi and Ket, both survivors of childhood abuse, take it to task. The comments similarly rip the flimsy excuse apart, often calling attention to the fact that [[DoubleStandard Christian's mother is not given the same treatment despite being abused for far longer and not behaving nearly as badly]].
151	* SmallReferencePools: Defied. Sporking topics are fairly diverse amongst the community, and while there are some popular fandoms and sources of stories, there's a wide mix between Western and Eastern fandoms that have sporked fiction. That doesn't even begin to describe each sporker's own favored references, either...
152	* SpecialGuest: Some sporkers use characters from other series to spork with them. Examples are [[Film/OnceUponATimeInMexico Sands]], [[Franchise/HarryPotter Severus Snape]], [[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Leah Clearwater]], [[Series/{{Supernatural}} Sam and Dean Winchester as well as Castiel]], [[Series/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden and Thomas Raith]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Fi]], [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha]]... even [[VideoGame/DieAnstalt Dr Wood]].
153	* {{Spinoff}}: In addition to the fic comm, Das_Sporking gave rise to Anti_bella, a [=LiveJournal=] comm that focuses on finding well-written female characters of every stripe and analyzing why these characters work well/are awesome. (On occasion, "anti-Edwards"--well-written male characters--have also been highlighted.)
154	* SpitTake: Used as a running gag for the ''Sailor Rainbow'' sporkings, in response to AccidentalInnuendo. It gets taken to unprecedented levels with Raxis joins Midoriri and [=ZeldaQueen=] on one chapter.
155	--> '''Midoriri:''' The Powers To Be are going to have to send a janitor in here...
156	* StrawmanHasAPoint: [[invoked]]
157	** In his sporking of ''Identities'', Master Ghandalf points out that despite Legolas' suspicion of Morwen/Rana being portrayed as a flaw with him, he's actually entirely justified in being suspicious, since he knows for a fact that she's an agent of the Enemy. It doesn't help that she spends more time whining about Legolas not trusting her than she does showing that she can be trusted, and she apparently doesn't fully turn against Sauron until after she gets caught in an explosion at the Battle of the Hornburg.
158	** In her sporking of [=TDOMCM=] Libraryseraph points out that Harry is a conqueror who is unifying the wildlings into a fighting force and who possesses magical powers like nothing seen in Westeros before, and therefore all the characters treated as in the wrong for mistrusting and fearing him are the only IC and sensible ones.
159	* StuffBlowingUp: Ket and Gehayi celebrate finishing ''Fifty Shades of Gray'' by [[http://das-sporking.livejournal.com/1224875.html blowing up Chris and Ana's property]] with a little help from Loki and Deadpool.
160	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: One of the favorite results of the sporkers' [[RevengeFic spite]] [[HateFic fics]]. Which also makes such stories DeconstructionFic.
161	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Mervin and Hyde's "dead herrings" are this--instances in which an author will try to throw out a RedHerring by having the characters, often completely unprompted, strongly insist that a certain thing won't happen, but the specificity and intensity of these denials just makes it very obvious that thing is ''exactly'' what's going to happen. Eg, Bella's repeated insistence at the beginning of ''New Moon'' that Edward will certainly not be leaving her behind in Forks when the Cullens move, he's definitely including her when he says "we"/"us", she'll be gone any day now and definitely not staying in Forks much longer so she better take all these pictures to remember, etc, pretty much ruins any surprise in the reveal that Edward is in fact leaving her behind.
162	* TooDumbToLive: A common BerserkButton of sporkers.
163	** tuckerofterror lampshades an instance: "You magical guardian who has let me get away with this for the past year, suggesting you're powerless to stop me, whose only proof that he's not just a normal guy who's certainly not hiding behind that vase is his own word, you."
164	** [=rc88=] was deeply displeased by a damsel in distress cutting off the tracking device which had been placed on her and yet keeping it in the car with her.
165	* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
166	** Zelda Queen seems to have a fondness for chocolate. She tends to mix up INeedAFreakingDrink by using sweets instead.
167	** Midoriri mentions drinking coffee in a lot of her sporks.
168	** If Ket Makura is eating food, it's generally rice. She and [=ZeldaQueen=] often end chapters of ''Literature/HushHush'' by going off for ice cream.
169	%%* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Happens quite often, for obvious reasons.
170	* UnexplainedRecovery: In the ''Identities'' sporking, it's noted that Haldir is said to have died in the Battle of the Hornburg by the narration, but he's later established to have survived, something which is never explained.
171	* ViewersAreGeniuses: The comments on any given spork or recap are usually full of anecdotes and [[ShownTheirWork additional information]].
172	* ViewersAreMorons:
173	** Sporkers tend not to appreciate being treated like this by the fics they spork. In particular, Mervin ran a "Hand-Holding" count through ''Twilight'', for when Meyer sat down and outright spelled out for her readers what was happening.
174	** The "Belladonna Poisoning" count for the Fifty Shades sporking--given when [[AscendedFanfic E.L. James' plots, characters or writing bear a striking resemblance to Meyer's work]]--counts egregious hand-holding as a similarity to the Twilight series.
175	* VillainProtagonist: Azra from "To Rule Them All" is considered a very poor example of one by Master Ghandalf. As he points out, she's not [[AntiVillain sympathetic]] enough for the audience to feel for her, nor is she [[EvilIsCool impressive]] enough for them to want to she how she'll pull of her schemes.
176	* VillainSong: Cherylbites wrote one to be sung by generic villainous powerhouses called "Onward, Sueish Soldiers."
177	%%* VisualGag: Frequently used, typically involving pictures.
178	* VoiceOfTheLegion: When The Riddler tries to get his hands on the magic keyboard at the end of [[http://das-sporking.livejournal.com/1046482.html Chapter Nine pt. 2]] of ''Fifty Shades Freed'', Mervin pops in to remind him who's boss:
179	-->'''Mervin: [+ YOU PITIFUL, INSIGNIFICANT ''FOOL''. I AM THE BEAST, THE ABOMINATION, THE ''GOD'' THAT RULES THIS CYBER REALM. +]'''
180	* WallOfText: Riffing Academy's [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness love of big words]] and writing stuff in general leads to big intros, big outros, and big paragraphs dropped in between [[RapidFireComedy shorter, snappier remarks]]. When other sporkers do it, [[UnstoppableRage usually]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech something]] [[{{Deconstruction}} else]] is about to happen.
181	%%* WorldOfSnark
182	* WorstAid:
183	** Pointed out in Chapter 9 of ''Ganondorf in my Crawlspace'' when Annie is giving CPR to Ilia, who is ''still breathing''.
184	** Mervin criticizes the Cullens' idea of medical aid, from sewing up a slashed brachial artery in the kitchen with unsterilized tools to, later, simply bridal-carrying a very ill and fragile Bella around instead of using a stretcher or simply keeping her stationary in their new home clinic (which, while still not as good as a hospital, is still ''much'' safer than moving someone so critically sick). Mervin and Mrs. Hyde are also not amused with how often Carlisle discusses Bella's care with Edward, rather than the patient herself, particularly when it comes to [[spoiler: her pregnancy. Carlisle only tells Edward how lethal the pregnancy could be, and, even worse, only tells ''Edward'' that the safest course is to terminate--Bella only finds this out because she forces Edward to tell her.]] The sporkers point out it really seems like they weren't planning to tell Bella about this major surgery she'd be undergoing until she was actually on the operating table.
185

Context Blog / DasSporking