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Clichés that make you stop reading a story

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Newcomb, Jan 1, 2015.

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  1. golan

    golan Temporarily Banhammered DLP Supporter

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    Magic no-matter-what is better than muggle no-matter-what; Questioning that is the cause for a ban?
     
  2. Nerox

    Nerox High Inquisitor

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    No, you are just annoying.
     
  3. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

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    Yes. When Minion told everyone that this thread was for clichés-that-make-you-stop-reading only, when I repeated that, when you told me it didn't matter in not so many words, and keep side-tracking this thread.

    Then it is.

    Anyone else?
     
  4. gbbz

    gbbz Professor

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    Here is my list, I'll be skipping most of the things that were mentioned previously:

    1) Any "additional" member of either the older or the younger Potter groups. Like the "Fifth Forgotten Marauder" or the "Fourth Member of the Golden Trio"

    2) The abovementioned appellatives (God, I hate those. Less the Marauder one, since I can sometimes stomach it, but the Golden Trio makes me click the "x")

    3) McGonagall being an old bint. I know Maggie Smith is old, but I never thought of McGonagall as old when I read the books. She comes off more like a middle aged woman.

    4) Flitwick being a half-goblin. I hate it that they did that in the films. He was simply a very short man in the books. Only 11 year old Harry speculated he could have goblin blood because of his short stature. But his personality is different (cheerful instead of being grumpy and homicidal all the time) and I always imagined him as a very short older man. You know, the kind you used to meet on the street.

    Wow, come to think of it most of my problems are derived from the films. Who knew...


    (pssst... I really didn't like the films in the visual they presented)
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2015
  5. DarkLordDobby

    DarkLordDobby First Year

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    McG is 50-something in the first book. That's barely late teens for a witch, the previous Headmaster was like 350 when he died.
     
  6. Jpzh2d

    Jpzh2d Disappeared

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    This. I hate this because the fourth or fifth member is nearly always a self insert or a character from HP that has been turned into a self insert.

    Most of the cliches that make me leave have already been mentioned but one that really annoys me is when getting bitten by the basilisk makes Harry immune to all other poisons. The main reasons for me noping out when I see this is that:

    1. This is not how your immune system works. Poison is fought off like any other pathogen and so, just because Harry was able to survive basilisk venom, the antibodies would not be helpful in anyway to makng you immune to other poisons, and, Harry didn't even survive the bite on his own. It was fawkes tears that allowed him to live so it is unlikeyl he even produced any antibodies in the first place.

    2. This is normally just a way for the author to get harry to appear more amazing than he already is, and it doesn't actually serve the plot in any meanigful way. This is knid of an indicator that stuff is going to get worse and it shows that the author hasn't really thought out the plot very well.
     
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2015
  7. PomMan

    PomMan High Inquisitor

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    A newspaper in one of the Harry Potter movies said Dippet's birthday was 355 years prior to that day, I am choosing to ignore this as 1) It's movies, 2) People living that long would present a much larger society than we are shown.
     
  8. Gengar

    Gengar Degenerate Shrimp –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    I find myself Xing out most often for egregious use of Americanisms and authors imparting their hindsight on Harry.

    Harems too. I won't even bother with harems out of chapter-long PWP fics.
     
  9. sirius009

    sirius009 Minister of Magic

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    Any story where Harry makes sweeping changes in the Wizarding World as a Hogwarts student. I think the best example of this is "Midnight Gold, Rise of the Forgotten Lord." I can understand an exceptionally bright wizard or witch having the potential to do great things in the future, but I'll never understand why authors feel like they can take a 12 year old Harry who has only been in the wizarding world about a year, and make him into a seasoned politician/business man over night.
     
  10. Zeelthor

    Zeelthor Scissor Me Timbers

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    Honestly. Even the use of "The golden trio" is enough for me to run and never look back.

    Oooh. One of my biggest pet peeves. Points of views handled badly. I can accept authors who change the point of view as the story progresses. It's difficult to pull off, but doable. Case in point: George RR Martin.

    But when a fanfic switches perspective three or four times in a 2k word chapter, that's not okay. Nor is ***Ginny's PoV*** in the middle of the sodding chapter okay.
     
  11. Captain Trips

    Captain Trips High Inquisitor

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    One thing that get me to press the red x is Ron and Hermione being replaced by Neville and Luna as Harry's best friends. I have seen this occur to often for my liking.
     
  12. Jpzh2d

    Jpzh2d Disappeared

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    Is the phrase 'Golden Trio' fanon or canon, I'm not sure, but I'm gonna guess that its fanon as I can't see any situation where the phrase would appear in the books.
     
  13. Starfox5

    Starfox5 Seventh Year

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    Stories where Harry and others raised in the real world quickly and blindly accept a corrupt, rotten, primitive society that's barely more than some bad copy of a pre-modern era Britain as their home tend to make me hit the back button.

    Stories where technology is ignored even though it makes no sense to ignore it.

    Stories where the fact that Harry Potter is set in a modern fantasy world, not in a medieval fantasy world, plays no role at all.
     
  14. Zeelthor

    Zeelthor Scissor Me Timbers

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    I've personally always felt that it's wise for Harry and the gang not to get guns. If Voldemort really began to research muggle weaponry and found out about nukes, shit might really escalate.
     
  15. wordhammer

    wordhammer Dark Lord DLP Supporter

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    Voldemort was still staying in London at the orphanage during World War 2. He left school after it was over. I'd say he knows a whole lot about bombs.

    Edit: call that a cliche that makes me exit- Voldemort being portrayed as ignorant of muggle weaponry.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2015
  16. Starfox5

    Starfox5 Seventh Year

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    He wasn't really acting sane or intelligent at the end. Maybe he lost that knowledge with a horcrux or two.
     
  17. Zeelthor

    Zeelthor Scissor Me Timbers

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    He might not know about bombs that could level entire cities, though. In the end, Harry Potter is a story about magic and that's why guns have no place in it. If you want a wizard with a gun, go read Dresden Files. Actually, go do that anyways.
     
  18. A.K.$J6-J5

    A.K.$J6-J5 Seventh Year

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    Guns being anymore dangerous to an unprepared wizard than a cutting charm or any other spell

    Thinking like Muggleswick

    Thinking Muggles technology is helpful in a world of magic

    Corrupted, backwards, Victoria era wizarding world

    Muggles being a legitimate threat to wizards
     
  19. Jpzh2d

    Jpzh2d Disappeared

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    Muggle technology that runs on magic. E.g. magic laptops or whatever
     
  20. Starfox5

    Starfox5 Seventh Year

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    Like a flying car? Or the Wizarding Wireless? Or the Hogwarts Express?
     
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