Lemon chicken, part II

[schneefink]

Thanks for the responses to my poll about lemon chicken fic! I got curious after I read their days are darker by always-a-slut-for-hc, a Star Wars: The Clone Wars Fox-centric lemon chicken fic, and the author didn't understand what my comment meant.

For some background, there are two Fanlore articles (Lemon Chicken, The Post-Trinity phenomenon), but even for people unfamiliar with SGA I would recommend reading the original list that gave post-"Trinity" fics lemon chicken ratings. It gives background, explains the trope, and is funny. Post-Trinity stories are like drag queens, they're just not dealing with reality. But they are fabulous!

For me, "lemon chicken fic" generally has the following elements:

- A does something that their friend(s) consider in some way bad or wrong.
It could be a mistake, it could be something done on purpose, it could be the consequence of inaction etc.
- As a consequence, A's friend(s) shun, exclude and/or punish them.
Blame, shunning and disdain is the classic. The trope name comes from fics in which to showcase all of this, the mess hall serves lemon chicken, which Rodney is allergic to.
- A is hurt by this.
A can either feel that they deserve the punishment or not, they can be resigned or angry etc., as long as they care.
- At some point, A's friend(s) realize that they wronged A.
Either because A didn't do what they thought, or for different reasons, or simply because A's friend(s) realize that they went too far in their punishment.
- Common but optional: A's friend(s) regret what they did and apologize.
Often includes abject groveling, and usually A forgives them. But sometimes A has left and/or has found better friend(s) and/or does not forgive their old friend(s).

Agree/disagree? I think some might also count fics without point 4, where A simply leaves and decides not to care about their friend(s) anymore, but I usually find those less satisfying. In addition from the classic post-Trinity fic I've also seen the trope in many other fandoms and in many variations, so having a term for it is nice. (I assume other fandoms/fandom corners might have different terms for it?) Lemon chicken fic can often be OTT or even OOC, but like with idfic in general, sometimes it's exactly what I'm in the mood for.

Comments

[dirty_diana]

ohhh. See, I wasn't a Rodney fan (sorry) but I have read a million of those fics about Tony Stark and AOS Captain Kirk. Did not know the trope had been named!

[schneefink]

No need to apologize ^^ Yeah, I can imagine that Tony Stark and Kirk would get plenty of those kind of fics. I've also seen many for Stiles.

[sholio]

I was just rereading the post-Trinity list for old time's sake (I can't believe it's been 15 years, what even) and had forgotten how funny it is. The lemon chicken scale! Crawling around in the sewers like a rat!

[schneefink]

The list is one of the best things to result from the whole post-Trinity phenomenon xD

[marginaliana]

From your previous post I went to that list and read a few and then I had to close the tab with extreme firmness lest I get caught up for hours!

[schneefink]

Oh yeah, that is a danger ^^

[dolorosa_12]

I've definitely seen this kind of fic scenario (in lots of different fandoms) — it's not really a trope I particularly enjoy so I don't seek it out, but I am familiar with it and it's definitely idfic to a lot of people, given how popular it is across multiple fandoms. I had no idea that a) it had a specific name and b) it originated in SGA fandom!

[schneefink]

I'm sure the trope didn't originate in SGA fandom, but it did become especially popular there. It's not the kind of story I look for often but sometimes I enjoy it.