Pet Peeves in Fanfiction stories

[Kitty279]

RandomPasserby: Oh, I know what you mean, some time ago I thought to look there for something to read when I couldn't find anything interesting on FFN, but gave up after a short time, too. Totally not a fan of crossovers, and even less when the other fandom is one I don't know. What on earth is the advantage of meshing two fandoms that in many cases probably fit together like a fist to the eye, as we say here?

@miss Wings: I'm with physicssquid here; FFN has been acting up often enough, but that doesn't sound normal to me. Ads turning up when you open the website, yes. Ads when clicking on a story, no. You could give me author and title or something like that to test what happens, but I am inclined to agree that I'd check your computer for a virus.

[Miss Wings]

I used Explorer per usual but then went to Chrome and I was alright. Hate using Chrome for FF as I prefer to make it small enough to act as a book, easier on the eyes.

[Kitty279]

Hm, that's strange. But then, I avoid IE like the plague anyway. Depending on if I am at home or at work, I am using Safari or Firefox, and both don't give me any trouble. Did you ever try Firefox? Maybe it would be an alternative for you?

[Miss Wings]

Done a scan and there's nothing there. Still being re-routed on Explorer.

[Miss Wings]

Started again and this time I'm not even clicking the bloody stories. How can I block websites from coming through?

[Kitty279]

Sorry, no idea, even more so as I don't use the same browsers and probably a different system (Mac user here). I'd go through the settings for the browser and, if you can't find anything, the computer itself and try to find where you can do that.

[unbeastly]

It's not a virus on your computer it's something messed up in google ads, it's been going on for a few days now. It only appears on certain adverts so try refreshing the page and it should stop.

[stelladelnordxd]

No, it's also a virus on your computer. Miss Wings, if you have Norton, you should the Norton Power Eraser. It's what got rid of my ad problems.

[Miss Wings]

I've done every virus check I can on the computer, it's only the 1 website thats acting up so it can't be a virus.

[monkeymail]

Have you tried blocking cookies? that could be the problem if its not a virus

[RandomPasserby]

Pet Peeve - Authors who don't grasp the concept that gender and sex can differ and that a potion giving Harry breasts and a vagina instead of a penis does not automatically make him not a boy. He's not automatically going to change pronouns, change name and start performing stereotypical femininity just because he has different parts after fifteen years of being a cis boy. And why does a magical gender changing potion change the length of his hair? Hair length has nothing to do with gender or sex.

Gender is not a binary, it's really not as simple as sex=gender, please don't start talking about chromosomes like you know what you're talking about (hint XX and XY are not the only ones) and also shut up.

Now I'm still not against genderbent fics, I just mostly prefer that they happen in utero (ie, the character is born a different gender) because, as evidenced by the rant above, the sort of people who think 'lol changing peoples sex with potions is funny' don't give a crap about actual transgender, intersex or non-binary people.

[Kitty279]

Well, I have to admit that I don't even read that sort of story. Never saw the point of changing the gender of a fictional character, and even less when it's not from birth, to be honest. And I am not a fan of female Harry stories, either. It's just too OOC even for me.

[RandomPasserby]

I actually think the premise could be done well. But that would mean acknowledging that gender isn't just male and female, dealing with body dysphoria (which isn't a thing all trans people deal with but I feel like someone who experienced a forced gender change would), dealing with the wizarding world's attitudes towards him (do they have a concept of transgender people?) as well as Hogwarts peers attitudes and the possibility of transitioning back.

I'd also want the potion to do very little in terms of changing his appearance. Especially in terms of hair.

[Kitty279]

Oh, I am sure it can be done well when someone can really write it, and not just turn the character into another gender for pairing purposes or something like that, but without thinking it through, which I suspect many do. And it's not a problem with transgender issues in itself, euther, I just am not interested in that type of story. I like AU, but only certain types. Like I'm not interested in stories that make Snape out to be the innocent little victim, the Malfoys the good guys and the Marauders the bad guys. Too OOC, too

[RandomPasserby]

Every story with the obligatory Harry-goes-on-a-clothes-shopping-trip including a female character where the (usually male) author starts making jokes which revolve around women liking to clothes shop.

Partially because it often includes characters who've shown little to no canononical desire to clothes shop but mostly because the generalisation of 'they're female therefore they must like clothes shopping' annoys me.

[Kitty279]

Me too, me too! I am female, and I still hate clothes shopping and only do it when I really need something. Hated it even more when I was younger and was dragged from clothes shop to clothes shop to shoe shop to clothes shop ... arrrrgh!

While I think that Harry indeed needs to get proper clothes, I don't see why it always has to be a female that dictates what he has to wear, either. The ones which make me the most uncomfortable are the ones where he doesn't even get a say in what he gets. As if he didn't have enough of that from the Dursleys and Dumbledore!

[physicssquid]

That annoys me too, and I agree, I am female and really dislike shopping. I try to make sure that I know what I want, before I enter a shop, so I can spend as little tme there as possible.

Also, the stories where, when Harry and whichever female doing the shopping, he takes it, without fighting, or the girls decide that because he's a boy, he doesn't understand fashion, therefore he can't be trusted to pick his own clothes. Every time I read a story that has that kind of scene, I cringe a bit.

Another pet peeve, particularly in stories with the obligatory shopping trip, every single item that he buys, is described in excruciating detail, or there's an entire paragraph that's just a list of all the clothes, books, etc, that he buys in a certain shop.

[Kitty279]

So true. Doesn't it suffice to say he bought a whole new wardrobe?

Oh, and it's always so intelligent when they buy a whole new wardrobe and *then* he gets lots of potions to make up for the malnutrition and grows a head taller or so ... *rolls eyes*

And while we are at it, what's the obsession with Harrods? Sure, you can get pretty much everything there, but that is true for a good number of clothes shops. So, from what I remember when my cousin dragged me in there during our London trip, the only difference to other shops is that Harrods is obscenely expensive in comparison. So, why on earth would you go there, of all places, to buy a ton of clothes? One piece now and then, I can understand, but that much?

[RandomPasserby]

I also have never seen the appeal of clothes shopping. Mostly because I tend to dress fairly simply and will grab from both the men's and women's departments (men's t-shirts, hoodies, jeans and sweatpants are better made, more comfortable, thicker and come in a better range of sizes). Once I know what size I wear in that particular store (since women's clothes are sized according to the alignment of the planets) I can get any clothes shopping done in less than an hour. And that's on the rare occasions I've needed an entire new wardrobe.

Give me a book or art store with decent seating and I will spend hours in there

Oh yes the obligatory 'boys can't dress themselves'. Bearing in mind that most Hogwarts students spend 9-10 months of the year in the Scottish highlands and basically outside of muggle culture so anything which is particularly fashion-oriented they'd be behind the times anyway. If they're just going with fairly generic t-shirts, shirts, jeans, trousers and shoes it's pretty bloody hard to mess that up (believe me). And most authors forget that canon HP takes place in the 90's - which was not exactly the most fashionable decade ever (believe me).

I think it's because Harrods is exceedingly expensive and most of the stories want to show off Harry's wealth. Also because it's so recognisable as an example of conspicuous consumption.

Personally, apart from maybe a couple of pairs of nice dress up clothes, go somewhere else and get cheaper new stuff. Because even without malnutrition, a teenage boy is probably going to grow out of the clothes anyway.

Save the fancy duds for when you're not going to have to chuck them a few months down the line.

[Kitty279]

Lucky you. It's not that easy for me, as I have a few pounds too much around the middle and relatively short legs and arms, so I really have to try stuff on. And some fashions are just not for me, so in some years it's hard to find anything. Bookshops, on the other hand, or wool shops ... *drools*

Yeah, if they go with the sort of t-shirts and the like that are available in nearly every shop, I don't see the problem. And even less when it's just everyday wear, nothing fancy. Who says you have to wear only the latest fashion? I never do that, either, and the more conspicuous, the less I touch it. I prefer stuff I can wear longer. And they should at least let Harry have a say in the colours, not dictate what he has to wear. Just because the girl likes a colour, it doesn't mean it is the right one for Harry, too.

Good point about growing out of it soon anyway, but it's still silly to do that sort of useless shopping three days before everything is too small anyway. Add to that Harrods as source and it's in my eyes rather irresponsible waste, no matter how much money Harry has, but that's just me. Others may think it's desirable and perfectly all right to show off his wealth in that way.

[physicssquid]

Yeah, if I was going to write a story with the obligatory shopping trip, which I wouldn't, since that's kinda boring, I'd have him going into Marks and Spencer for his clothes, since they sell decent quality clothing that isn't expensive. I'd have him buying five t-shirts for a total of, maybe, forty quid, but I certainly wouldn't have him spending that same amount or more on one item of clothing, unless it was a fancy suit.

[Kitty279]

Or even better, just mention that they went to town X and spent some time clothes shopping. Is there a need to advertise a certain shop, or detail the number of pieces and their prices? I never got why authors feel it so important to tell me that Harry bought 10 t-shirts, 10 button-down-shirts (including how many in what colour) and all that. It would be more interesting to know that they, after their return home, made a bonfire with the Dursley rags

[unbeastly]

But if they didn't describe everything in excruciating detail how would the reader ever know how much of an expert on fashion the author is.

[Kitty279]

LOL - good point Though somehow I doubt that most of the authors even really know what fashion was in 20 years ago As for myself, I wouldn't admire their fashion sense, but roll my eyes and scroll down to get to something that actually advances the plot.

[physicssquid]

Even if an author knew what fashion was in twenty years ago, describing every single item of clothing Harry buys, is not going to make me believe that they are an expert in fashion.

However, I could understand an excruciatingly long description, if the story called for it. As in, if the author was going to have Harry, or Hermione, or another main character, working in a clothes shop, and wanted to give their readers a description of the character's workplace, as well as whatever benefits there are to working there. But in any other situation, an entire paragraph dedicated to a boring description of clothes, is not something I want to read.

[Kitty279]

Only a paragraph? Some write whole chapters about it!

Yeah, then it would make at least some sense, but it's unlikely they'd work in such a shop. The only times when I was somewhat interested in the clothes was when Harry was wearing t-shirts with snarky quotes on them. Otherwise, the occasional mentioning of "he/she was wearing a blue/grey/whatever robe" when describing someone is enough for me.

[RandomPasserby]

The only reason I could see having an excruciatingly long description of what the characters were wearing would be if the point was to have an excruciatingly long description of what the characters were wearing.

For example, if they're stalling for time or if it's someone who canononically would be more interested in fashion (like Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil or random-minor-character-who-is-a-fashionista) talking about it. Or possibly in an in-universe article if the point is to highlight how much of a fluff piece it is.

[Miss Wings]

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! What the hell is this author thinking?!
www.fanfiction.net/s/11074153/1/A-Different-Outcome

At first I thought it was a very promising story without spaces between chapters until I got towards the end and found Harry exploiting his fame for free things without Hermione complaining about it at all. Seriously?!

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On another note do you not find the stories where Harry is a stuck up boy who lived annoying at times?

[stelladelnordxd]

Oh man, stories where Harry is stuck up is just -- I normally don't even give them a chance because of how out of character it always seems.

[RandomPasserby]

Frankly I'm more impressed by the truly massive paragraph in the middle.

But yes, that does seem out of character. Especially since the closest we see to that in canon is Florean Fortescue giving Harry free ice-cream and homework help during the summer before 3rd year.

I mean maybe just-post-final-Voldemort-defeat he'd walk into a shop and people would be falling over themselves to give him things but I can't imagine he'd be OK with it. I think, worst comes to worst, he'd take the free stuff but pay for someone else's shopping instead.