Elephant-sized pet peeve

[mysid]

I like AU's. I really do. Both the "let's just slightly change one element of the story" kind and the "we're not in Kansas anymore" complete change of reality kind. But I like to know what I'm getting into from the very beginning.

I've been reading a lot of QaF fanfic lately, so I'll be using that as my examples, but what I'm about to say hold true for any fandom: I can't stand it when a story seems to be slightly AU at the beginning, sucks me in, gets me many, many chapters into the story, and then takes me on a journey into Bizzaro World. I'm getting better at noticing the half-hidden Bizzaro World signposts and bailing out, but still...shouldn't I be warned up front?

For example, if a QaF story is labelled Brian/Justin, then Brian and Justin should be a couple--not merely a couple only until one or the other meets Gary Stu and discovers true true love. Or worse yet, meets a Mary Sue masquerading as a canon character, becomes straight, and falls in love. Or perhaps worst of all, Brian and Justin stay together, but become pod people "Stepford fags" who have Mary Sue children.

I can deal with characters being a little bit OOC, but I deserve fair warning if they are going to become statospherically OOC. Stories in which they start out as the first and then morph into the second are just not playing fair.

Comments

[secretsolitaire.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you are wandering through the treacherous forests of Bad!Fic!Land. Come back! Come back! :-P

[mysid.livejournal.com]

There's nothing wrong with Bad!Fic!Land being out there somewhere--someone might want to visit (although I can't imagine who)--but I don't want to visit. Can't they put a signpost at the beginning of the trail to Bad!Fic!Land.

This way to Bad!Fic! Enter at your own risk.