History YMMV / DiaryOfAWimpyKid25YearsLater

* MoralEventHorizon: [[JerkAss Manny]] [[spoiler: lighting his dad's grave on fire]] is framed in this light, leaving Greg feeling sick and vowing not to turn out like him. Granted, [[spoiler: given the framing of Frank's [[AbusiveParents nature towards his kids]] in this take, not to mention how he was shown being treated by both him and Rodrick for cutting ties with the dysfunctional Heffley family earlier]], some readers might see it as [[KickTheSonOfABitch a cathartic scene instead]].

* RonTheDeathEater:
** Manny is far from a good person in the books, but he's also [[EnfantTerrible an infant child]] whose actions are often innocently destructive. In this fic, he goes as far as to [[spoiler: light fire to his father's grave]] as an adult. [[spoiler: Though [[AbusiveParents he might have an understandable reason]] for this one.]]
** Frank is a strict father in the books, but in this fic, he is [[spoiler:abusive and homophobic]].
* TearJerker: Part 19, [[spoiler: a newspaper article about Greg's suicide. Rowley makes a statement praising Greg and expressing regret for not "exploring" their "very complex relationship" more. He's also made a ''Zoo-Wee Mama!'' strip about the first time he met Greg as a tribute to him. Susan is too distraught for words, and Rodrick only says, "I only wish he would have talked to me about it", which is made more heartbreaking by the fact that one of Greg's last decisions before his suicide was choosing ''not'' to talk to Rodrick because he was afraid of screwing up Rodrick's happy life. To add to this, look in the corner of the page. The article was written by ''Holly Hills''.]]

* DesignatedVillain: Arguably Manny, of all people. While Manny was a spoiled little brat [[Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid as a child]], as an adult what he does is not at all deserving of his BlackSheep status in the family. Moving far away from your hometown and family, while understandably a hard pill to swallow, is not at all an atypical thing for someone in their twenties to do. To be fair, it is implied that Manny pretty much cut himself off completely from the rest of the family, but given[[spoiler: Frank's CerebusRetcon as an AbusiveParent]], it's not entirely unjustified. In fact, [[spoiler: seeing as one of the last things Frank tells Manny is "Get the FUCK out of here right now" right before he gets punched by Rodrick on top of everything else, him setting Frank's grave on fire comes off much more as [[TheDogBitesBack cathartic retribution]] rather than a MoralEventHorizon]].

* MoralEventHorizon: [[JerkAss Manny]] when he [[spoiler: lights his dad's grave on fire]] is framed in this light. Jesus. Granted, [[spoiler: given the framing of Frank's [[AbusiveParents nature towards his kids]] in this take, not to mention how he was shown being treated by both him and Rodrick for cutting ties with the dysfunctional Heffley family earlier]], some readers might see it as [[KickTheSonOfABitch a cathartic scene instead]].

* DesignatedVillain: Arguably Manny, of all people. While Manny was a spoiled little brat [[Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid as a child]], as an adult what he does is not at all deserving of his BlackSheep status in the family. Moving far away from your hometown and family, while understandably a hard pill to swallow, is not at all an atypical thing for someone in their twenties to do. To be fair, it is implied that Manny pretty much cut himself off completely from the rest of the family, but given[[spoiler: Frank's CerebusRetcon as an AbusiveParent]], it's not entirely unjustified. In fact, [[spoiler: seeing as one of the last things Frank tells Manny is "Get the FUCK out of here right now" right before he gets punched by Rodrick on top of everything else, him setting Frank's grave on fire comes off much more as cathartic retribution rather than a MoralEventHorizon]].

* MoralEventHorizon: [[JerkAss Manny]] when he [[spoiler: lights his dad's grave on fire. Jesus.]]

** Manny is far from a good person in the books, but in this fic, he outright betrays his family, and goes as far as to [[spoiler: burn his father's grave]].

* {{Narm}}: Despite the horrible situations described, Greg still seems to feel the need to fully illustrate all of them in the same art style that he used as a child, which somewhat lessens their seriousness and impact. This is especially true of the "I'm not gay, Greg" scene, which ''should'' be an emotionally devastating moment...but the childish art style, pacing, and Greg's crying being represented as a WrittenSoundEffect (which is the standard of the original books) make it look like a surreal joke, hence why it became memetic.

** Parts of the original books like [[spoiler:Fregley's "weirdness" or Frank's meanness and wish to "toughen up" Greg are [[CerebusRetcon brought up and recontextualized in extremely dark fashions]] (Fregley with having a highly abusive father, and Frank being revealed to be extremely homophobic), all of which further strengthens the idea that something like this ''could totally'' happen in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''-verse, despite the series being completely told through Greg's childlike viewpoint.

** Parts of the original books like [[spoiler:Fregley's "weirdness" or Frank's meanness and wish to "toughen up" Greg are [[CerebusRetcon brought up and recontextualized in extremely dark fashions]] (Fregley with having a highly abusive father, and Frank being revealed to be extremely homophobic)]], all of which further strengthens the idea that something like this ''could totally'' happen in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''-verse, despite the series being completely told through Greg's childlike viewpoint]].

* TearJerker: Part 19, [[spoiler: a newspaper article about Greg's suicide. Rowley makes a statement praising Greg and expressing regret for not "exploring" their "very complex relationship" more. He's also made a ''Zoo-Wee Mama!'' strip about the first time he met Greg as a tribute to him. Susan is too distraught for words, and Rodrick only says "I only wish he would have talked to me about it", which is made more heartbreaking by the fact that one of Greg's last decisions before his suicide was choosing ''not'' to talk to Rodrick because he was afraid of screwing up Rodrick's happy life. To add to this, look in the corner of the page. The article was written by ''Holly Hills''.]]

* TearJerker: Part 19, [[spoiler: a newspaper article about Greg's suicide. Rowley makes a statement praising Greg and expressing regret for not "exploring" their "very complex relationship" more. He's also made a ''Zoo-Wee Mama!'' strip about the first time he met Greg as a tribute to him. Susan is too distraught for words, and Rodrick only says "I only wish he would have talked to me about it", which is made more heartbreaking by the fact that one of Greg's last decisions before his suicide was choosing ''not'' to talk to Rodrick because he was afraid of screwing up Rodrick's happy life. To add to this, look in the corner of the page. The article was written by ''Holly Hills''.]]
* WhatAnIdiot: If Greg had remembered about Meemaw's ring before [[spoiler: his dad's death]], things probably wouldn't have ended as badly for him.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[JerkAss Manny]] when he [[spoiler: lights his dad's grave on fire. [[NightmareFuel Jesus.]]]]

* {{Narm}}: Despite the horrible situations described, Greg still seems to feel the need to fully illustrate all of them in the same artstyle that he used as a child, which somewhat lessens their seriousness and impact.

** The cartoony artstyle and embarrassing situations from the books remain, but the childlike worldview and the [[CringeComedy inherent comedy]] in those embarassing situations has given way to the monotony of daily life, [[spoiler:attempts by Greg to build off his childhood (wanting to work at the company that made his favorite games and admitting his crush on his childhood friend) all fall apart, there are horrible things that all people deal with later in life like the death of a family member (who was also a major character in the original series)[[note]]even despite the reveal of Frank's true nature[[/note]], and the embarrassing situations are treated seriously and all have serious knocks on Greg's will to live.
** Parts of the original books like Fregley's "weirdness" or Frank's meanness and wish to "toughen up" Greg are [[CerebusRetcon brought up and recontextualized in extremely dark fashions]] (Fregley with having a highly abusive father, and Frank being revealed to be extremely homophobic)]], all of which further strengthens the idea that something like this ''could totally'' happen in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''-verse, despite the series being completely told through Greg's childlike viewpoint.

* RealismInducedHorror: Many people who've grown up on the books have commented on how disturbing the fanfic is (see the comments on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFJST--pTHY this fandub]] for examples), not by being edgy or over-the-top[[note]]aside from maybe [[spoiler:Frank being revealed to have ''physically abused'' Greg for being bi, Rowley slamming the door on Greg without a word, and Manny lighting Frank's grave on fire]][[/note]] but due to its surprisingly accurate take on loss of innocence and crumbling dreams. The cartoony artstyle and embarrassing situations from the books remain, but the childlike worldview and the [[CringeComedy inherent comedy]] in those embarassing situations has given way to the monotony of daily life, [[spoiler:attempts by Greg to build off his childhood (wanting to work at the company that made his favorite games and admitting his crush on his childhood friend) all fall apart, there are horrible things that all people deal with later in life like the death of a family member (who was also a major character in the original series)[[note]]even despite the reveal of Frank's true nature[[/note]], and the embarrassing situations are treated seriously and all have serious knocks on Greg's will to live. Parts of the original books like Fregley's "weirdness" or Frank's meanness and wish to "toughen up" Greg are [[CerebusRetcon brought up and recontextualized in extremely dark fashions]] (Fregley with having a highly abusive father, and Frank being revealed to be extremely homophobic)]], all of which further strengthens the idea that something like this ''could totally'' happen in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid''-verse, despite the series being completely told through Greg's childlike viewpoint.