Tired Daria Fandom Tropes: Difference between revisions
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==General considerations==
Just because a trope has become tired over time doesn't mean that it was always tired; for example, there may have been striking examples of stories where
Furthermore, a present-day author might still try to resuscitate a well-known tired trope by bringing a fresh interpretation - unfortunately, many of these tropes have been tried so many times that new stories in the same vein are challenging tasks.
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===The Daria & Trent shipper===
[[File:DariaTrentPierceMe.jpg|300px|thumb|right|If you were writing fanfic in 1997-9, you probably wrote this. ADMIT IT.]]
With Season One of Daria, it was clear that [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]] had a crush on [[Trent Lane|Trent]] that was more or less fully realized by "[[Road Worrier]]." Since late Season One, Daria fans have tried to match Daria and Trent romantically, even after it was made clear by Glenn Eichler in "[[Jane's Addition]]" that Daria and Trent would have been incompatible.
From [[Invisigoth Gypsy]] to [[Diane Long]] to [[Michelle Klein-Hass]], many of the earlier Daria writers could be considered "'shippers" or "relationshippers"—writers interested in seeing this "obvious" relationship reach its conclusion. Even after "[[Jane's Addition]]," fanfiction writers like [[Ruthless Bunny]] wrote of Daria/Trent relationships, basically as "what might have been" exercises, taking incompatibility issues into account. The "'shipper" contingent remained active until the earlier writers dropped out of the fandom and newer writers who entered the fandom later and had foreknowledge that Daria and Trent were doomed as a couple decided to explore Daria in other relationships. However, even some recent writers, such as [[Sleepy Lotus]], continue to produce Daria/Trent shipper stories.
As with anything taken to extremes, early relationship writing ranged from the lachrymose to the [[melodrama]]tic to the inept to the (occasionally) thoughtful. Most of the early Daria/Trent writing was quite poor and is frankly best forgotten, or was written in the middle of the series when the full scope of the mutual incompatibility of Daria and Trent was neither recognized nor made explicit.
Today, there are very few writers who write with an eye to pairing Daria and Trent as a couple. However, it's so well known with fans that [[Susie Lewis]] had to go out of her way in [[Catching Up With The Daria Gang]] to state she was over him.
===The Daria / Jane slash fic===
One of the long-debated questions in Daria fandom is [[Homosexuality in Daria|"Are Daria and Jane homosexual?"]] Any strong friendship between two same-sex members in the media will lead to speculation that the friendship is more than just a friendship. Even though writer [[Glenn Eichler]] and longtime fans like [[Martin J. Pollard|Martin Pollard]] have given well-reasoned arguments as to the contrary, and "[[Is It Fall Yet?]]" has Jane arguing she's heterosexual, those fans who either disagree with those conclusions
This potential pairing has been explored in a number of ways, and viewed from multiple chronological vantage points, from the coming out of one of the characters to the other to a look at both characters several years into a committed relationship. It has been written both as romance and as one-hand-typing pornography.
Still, the Daria/Jane slashing persists, instead of less obvious slashing like Helen/Amanda, or perhaps male slashing like Kevin/Upchuck, each of which sadly goes unwritten while we read the 367th variation of a Daria/Jane relationship.
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===Daria triumphs over all odds===
Much of [[
Most of this fanfiction was written while Season One and Two were still on the air. Very little fanfiction is now written in which Daria makes defeating an annoying presence as easy as shooting fish in a barrel, though it will still happen - especially for short comedies, where it makes a satisfying punchline.
The Daria Triumphant trope is very closely related to the [[Daria Morgendorffer#Genius Daria|Genius Daria]] stereotype, for obvious reasons.
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===Quinn gets raped===
[[Image:QuinnOHNO!!.jpg|thumb|200px|left|"YOU WROTE ''WHAT?''"]]
According to CINCGREEN, there are four components to what is called [[melodrama]] (what in some quarters might be called [[angst]]):▼
▲According to [[Roentgen|CINCGREEN]], there are four components to what is called [[melodrama]] (what in some quarters might be called [[angst]]):
:* a sensational, "movie of the week" topic
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:* a moral which more or less reaffirms the "forbidden maxims" of society. These maxims may be opposed to the beliefs to which society gives lip service.
Any story written which is centered around Quinn's rape certainly satisfies the first of those criteria: such a story would be the very definition of sensationalism. Two authors have written stories where Quinn is raped and attempt to explore the consequences: "[[So Turns the Wheel]]" by [[Michelle Klein-Hass]] and the better-known "[[Sins of the Past]]," by [[Martin J. Pollard|Martin Pollard]]. In general, the stories of both Klein-Hass and Pollard were well received.
In summer of 1999, [[Kara Wild]] wrote an essay, "[[On the Subject of Quinn and Rape]]." Although relatively mild compared to the criticism that would follow, her essay took Pollard, Klein-Hass, and [[Peter Guerin]] to task for seeming to validate the notion that rape could redeem Quinn. She argued that the reverse was just as likely, and pointed to [[John Berry]]'s [[My Quinn's Delayed Reaction]] as an example of a way Quinn could redeem herself <i>without</i> experiencing violence. In response, Klein-Hass was horrified that her work might be interpreted as a justification for rape, while Pollard admitted to Wild that he could see her point of view. Klein-Hass would later amend "[[So Turns the Wheel]]" to eliminate the "rape redemption" element.
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Pollard's position was that he certainly did not intend to make such an argument, and any interpretation contrary to his intention is an incorrect interpretation. He has declined further comment about the story, but still hosts it at Outpost Daria. Pollard, however, wrote no fan fiction since completing "Sins of the Past" until beginning "What Happens in Vegas...." near the end of 2009.
In general, "rapefic" rarely occurs in the fandom and when a character is targeted, it's often Daria.
==Tired characterization in ''Daria'' fan fic==
===Tom is evil===
[[Image:Wealthy Tom.png|thumb|150px|"I don't need morals! I'm ''rich'', you pleb!"]]
Since the arrival of [[Tom Sloane]], there have been fans that did not care for the new character designated to be Jane's boyfriend. After [[Daria Fandom Lexicon|The Kiss]], the dislike of some Daria fans for Tom Sloane boiled over to outright hatred. Perhaps part of the hatred was in the way that Tom cheated on Jane and perhaps part of the hatred arose from the fact that a Daria/Tom relationship put a big dent in the hopes of Daria/Trent relationshippers to match Daria with her earlier crush. Part of it might have been pure disappointment in Daria, too, as she had claimed such a high moral standard before.
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===Jane is already a great painter===
[[Image:Jane Kahlo.png|thumb|left|200px|]]
There are much fewer stories where Jane Lane has reached the top of the artist world, or at least a comfortable position in it.
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===Mystik Spiral is a practice session away from the big time===
[[Image:HolySpiral2.png|thumb|350px|]]
Once again, the assumption by many fans is that if a character has skill in some area, that skill will lead to a successful career. However, in some cases, it is assumed that [[Trent Lane]] and his band mates in [[Mystik Spiral]] have enough raw talent to make it in the music industry, given the right breaks and the mastering of the open "D" tuning.
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On the other hand, later fans often see the Daria of later seasons of a much more complex and richer character than the "Daria Triumphant" character of Seasons One and Two. Many fans prefer to "write" the Daria of later seasons, which allows them to not only use Tom Sloane as a character but to provide a more flexible interpretation of characters like Helen Morgendorffer.
==="It was all downhill after The Kiss"===
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==="''Daria'' fandom is dying"===
[[Image:Gravedigger Daria.png|thumb|200px|left|]]
Now that ''Daria'' has been axed and has also been run and axed on two networks other than MTV, there is of course the perception that the fandom will in time fade away. The slow die-off of active fandom websites is also a concern. When it was announced in spring 2007 that [[Outpost Daria]] would no longer be updated (during the [[Great Daria Fandom Implosion of 2007]]), the shock was profound and served to drive a number of fans to update their own fledgling websites or start new ones.
In addition, a number of new authors and writers introduced themselves to the fandom, bringing with them a sense of renewal.
Daria fandom
Concern over this has returned in the late 2010s and early 2020s. However, it's difficult to know exactly how active fandom is. While the main message boards are certainly quieter than they once were, this doesn't mean that there isn't still activity on other platforms (message boards being rather archaic). Fandom is certainly more dispersed, but that's different from dying off. Regardless, many hope that [[Jodie]] will rouse some interest in [[Daria]] and bring in some more fans.
==="Unless a fic satisfies the set of criteria {α, β, γ, . . . } it isn't a real piece of ''Daria'' fan fiction"===
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Another panic broke out in winter of 1999/early 2000 when [[Michelle Klein-Hass]] pulled down [[Lawndale Commons]], right around the time [[C.E. Forman]], fandom's (then) most celebrated fanfic author, announced that he would not finish Lost Season Two of [[The Lost Seasons]] series. Fans were truly convinced then that <i>Daria</i> fandom would never recover, until Pollard and the [[Paperpusher]] established their own message boards.
The conventional wisdom that everyone was "jumping ship" really took hold after <i>Daria</i> finished its run on MTV in 2001-2002. Some fans announced that they had nothing to stick around for, while several noted fanfic authors, like [[Nemo Blank]], announced that they were writing their last fanfics ever. Many remaining fans were convinced that, with no fresh episodes, there would be nothing new to discuss, which meant <i>Daria</i> fandom would inevitably die out. While it is likely that the number of active members is fewer than when <i>Daria</i> was in its first run, fans have managed to find new topics or rally around new causes (like [[DVDaria]]). The fandom continues to pull through mass collapses (e.g., the [[Great Daria Fandom Implosion of 2007]]) and sail on, like every other fandom.
Even the death of Outpost Daria in June 2013 did nothing to stop the fandom - the bulk of it was saved as Outpost Daria Reborn and remains up.
==="The fandom went downhill after this person arrived"===
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