And so I meme
Feb. 18th, 2020 04:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pensnestSeen this around, and it's quite fun, so here goes.
Slow burn OR love at first sight Heh. Ideally, one of each in the same story. Most of the time, 'love at first sight' actually means instantaneous sexual desire, which is entirely plausible but not very interesting, so if I have to choose, it'll be Slow burn.
Fake dating OR secret dating Really don't care about either. Have enjoyed stories of both kinds.
Enemies to lovers OR best friends to lovers Enemies to lovers can work, sure, but generally we're talking about two people with fundamental incompatibilities, and I just don't see it. And if it means Harry/Draco I… really don't care. Best friends to lovers has so much more joy! And so much more chance of being a real relationship!
Oh no there's only one bed OR long distance with correspondence I so do not care.
Fantasy AU OR modern AU Now, these I like both of, and have written both. However, for reading, I generally prefer a really well-grounded modern AU. Put the characters into a situation the writer either knows or has really worked on figuring out, and that wins for me. I like to be introduced to a fresh world. Interestingly (well, to me, anyway), I started reading Stargate: Atlantis because of some popslash crossovers that presented themselves to me as very well worked-out AU settings. Then again, if the fantasy AU is really well worked out, I'm probably in for that, too.
Smut or fluff Again, I don't know that I can choose. I think I'm over reading smut, if smut here means PWP. I'm too old for that nonsense, gimme a cup of tea instead. On the other hand, if 'fluff' means something in which nothing actually happens but people are ickily sweet to one another, I'll generally pass on that, too. But inconsequential cute stories involving kittens can bring me joy, so I'll go with that.
Mutual pining OR domestic bliss For stories, it has to be mutual pining, with the caveat that I do not want our pining lovers to carry this to the point of extinction-level stupidity. Somebody has to drop some hints at some point, and somebody else has to pick them up, because two magnificently desirable characters (such as fandom tends to write about) having humungous inferiority complexes at each other for evah gets on my wick. Domestic bliss I like, but it tends to have less scope for actual plot, and plot is definitely something I want.
Alternate universe OR futurefic Oh, now, again, hard to choose. Again, I've written both… it's really interesting to see where fans go with ideas, and it just occurs to me that I have not read nearly enough pre-Endgame futurefic. I should seek some out. But I wonder if this Alternate Universe means 'a fork in the road', because I love that, too.
Oneshot OR multi-chapter Well, I don't seem to have the patience for really long stories, at least not very often. A perfectly pearly-round oneshot will do very nicely, thanks.
Kidfic OR road trip fic Uh. I've never been even slightly interested in the road trip as a concept—though I have read rather a lot of 'on the bus' stories, I don't think that is quite the same thing. And kid fic done well and not sentimentally can work for me. Not that bothered about it, though.
Reincarnation OR character death Oh, lord. I think I'd rather see honest, well-written character death. But I wouldn't say I'm a fan of either. Though in canon, when characters escape death miraculously every other week, I get cross. It really ups the stakes IF PEOPLE CAN DIE. Kill them! Kill them! Yes, even Wash. Joss Whedon, you bastard.
Arranged marriage OR accidental marriage Oh, lord. Well, when we're talking gay men in the Regency era, I really don't quite see how arranged marriage is supposed to work, and I dislike it. It would be hard to see same-sex arranged marriage being a Thing in any culture, really—although, (a) I may be wrong about that, and (b) it could be cool to see it done within a context that makes it work. I did read one that I really enjoyed.... Also, how the fuck do people get married accidentally? Okay, Mal Reynolds that one time, but otherwise? I wouldn't mind reading a story in which two people get plastered, marry in some trashy way, and then are so mutually embarrassed they never want to see one another again. Just for a change. Meh, neither of these does much for me. You have to work so hard to make either one plausible.
Time travel OR isolated together Time travel, I guess. I quite like both.
Neighbors OR roommates Either is fine. Roommates goes more towards the secret pining, Neighbours more towards pining from afar, but so long as there is pining I'm happy either way. Close call.
Sci-fi au OR magic au Hmmmmm. Again, I guess I've written both. For reading, I incline towards SF, as it's easier to see the rules. If there is magic, there must be rules and limitations, which authors so often fail to realise. The same is true of SF ideas, but it seems generally to be easier to recognise that, so. Although... SF writing doesn't necessarily follow through on the 'this is a different world' thing, it being quite hard to recognise our own assumptions. As usual, it comes down to the writing.
Bodyswap OR genderbend I enjoy both of these, so, hard choice. Genderbend can have more interesting things to say, but there's a risk that it won't actually say them, and will just be all about, Yay, boobies! and leg-shaving and not being able to reach the top shelf, so. Also, people often don't write the character into a plausibly genderswapped body. Ronon Dex is not going to be a slender little flower, he's going to be a magnificent Amazon* with sublime thighs. Ahem. Bodyswap is more reliably cool. When I ventured into it, there was an unusual level of complication involved because the swap went round in a circle....
Angst OR crack I love crack, I really do. But I don't know if my own definition is the generally accepted one or not. I mean, an absurd/impossible premise followed through in a logical way. Crack includes, for instance, bodyswap, genderswap, mpreg, telepathy, witches putting curses on people, invisibility…. all that kind of thing. Magical slash fairy godpiglets, unexpected twins, somebody shrinks or turns into a teddybear or a llama—bring it on! It doesn't necessarily have to be funny. I adore stories take their absurd premise and deliver it seriously. One of my favourite popslash stories is actually called MPREG. I love crack. Though angst is good, too (just don't make me want to smack somebody).
Apocalyptic OR mundane Not a big fan of the apocalypse, though I have done a post-apocalyptic story, when mercilessly pushed. I'd much rather see people coping with the world as it is—which is, frankly, quite difficult enough—than having torrid love affairs in the face of Armaggeddon. I don't really care about Armaggeddon, and it's usually a much bigger subject than can actually be dealt with in fic. See Endgame, which bottled it completely.
Hmm. So... reasonably realistic with LOTS OF PINING and ideally, a sense of humour, please. That'll do. And to be fair, someone who writes well can pretty much pick anything, whether I like the trope or not.
* think Xena, with more massive hair
Slow burn OR love at first sight Heh. Ideally, one of each in the same story. Most of the time, 'love at first sight' actually means instantaneous sexual desire, which is entirely plausible but not very interesting, so if I have to choose, it'll be Slow burn.
Fake dating OR secret dating Really don't care about either. Have enjoyed stories of both kinds.
Enemies to lovers OR best friends to lovers Enemies to lovers can work, sure, but generally we're talking about two people with fundamental incompatibilities, and I just don't see it. And if it means Harry/Draco I… really don't care. Best friends to lovers has so much more joy! And so much more chance of being a real relationship!
Oh no there's only one bed OR long distance with correspondence I so do not care.
Fantasy AU OR modern AU Now, these I like both of, and have written both. However, for reading, I generally prefer a really well-grounded modern AU. Put the characters into a situation the writer either knows or has really worked on figuring out, and that wins for me. I like to be introduced to a fresh world. Interestingly (well, to me, anyway), I started reading Stargate: Atlantis because of some popslash crossovers that presented themselves to me as very well worked-out AU settings. Then again, if the fantasy AU is really well worked out, I'm probably in for that, too.
Smut or fluff Again, I don't know that I can choose. I think I'm over reading smut, if smut here means PWP. I'm too old for that nonsense, gimme a cup of tea instead. On the other hand, if 'fluff' means something in which nothing actually happens but people are ickily sweet to one another, I'll generally pass on that, too. But inconsequential cute stories involving kittens can bring me joy, so I'll go with that.
Mutual pining OR domestic bliss For stories, it has to be mutual pining, with the caveat that I do not want our pining lovers to carry this to the point of extinction-level stupidity. Somebody has to drop some hints at some point, and somebody else has to pick them up, because two magnificently desirable characters (such as fandom tends to write about) having humungous inferiority complexes at each other for evah gets on my wick. Domestic bliss I like, but it tends to have less scope for actual plot, and plot is definitely something I want.
Alternate universe OR futurefic Oh, now, again, hard to choose. Again, I've written both… it's really interesting to see where fans go with ideas, and it just occurs to me that I have not read nearly enough pre-Endgame futurefic. I should seek some out. But I wonder if this Alternate Universe means 'a fork in the road', because I love that, too.
Oneshot OR multi-chapter Well, I don't seem to have the patience for really long stories, at least not very often. A perfectly pearly-round oneshot will do very nicely, thanks.
Kidfic OR road trip fic Uh. I've never been even slightly interested in the road trip as a concept—though I have read rather a lot of 'on the bus' stories, I don't think that is quite the same thing. And kid fic done well and not sentimentally can work for me. Not that bothered about it, though.
Reincarnation OR character death Oh, lord. I think I'd rather see honest, well-written character death. But I wouldn't say I'm a fan of either. Though in canon, when characters escape death miraculously every other week, I get cross. It really ups the stakes IF PEOPLE CAN DIE. Kill them! Kill them! Yes, even Wash. Joss Whedon, you bastard.
Arranged marriage OR accidental marriage Oh, lord. Well, when we're talking gay men in the Regency era, I really don't quite see how arranged marriage is supposed to work, and I dislike it. It would be hard to see same-sex arranged marriage being a Thing in any culture, really—although, (a) I may be wrong about that, and (b) it could be cool to see it done within a context that makes it work. I did read one that I really enjoyed.... Also, how the fuck do people get married accidentally? Okay, Mal Reynolds that one time, but otherwise? I wouldn't mind reading a story in which two people get plastered, marry in some trashy way, and then are so mutually embarrassed they never want to see one another again. Just for a change. Meh, neither of these does much for me. You have to work so hard to make either one plausible.
Time travel OR isolated together Time travel, I guess. I quite like both.
Neighbors OR roommates Either is fine. Roommates goes more towards the secret pining, Neighbours more towards pining from afar, but so long as there is pining I'm happy either way. Close call.
Sci-fi au OR magic au Hmmmmm. Again, I guess I've written both. For reading, I incline towards SF, as it's easier to see the rules. If there is magic, there must be rules and limitations, which authors so often fail to realise. The same is true of SF ideas, but it seems generally to be easier to recognise that, so. Although... SF writing doesn't necessarily follow through on the 'this is a different world' thing, it being quite hard to recognise our own assumptions. As usual, it comes down to the writing.
Bodyswap OR genderbend I enjoy both of these, so, hard choice. Genderbend can have more interesting things to say, but there's a risk that it won't actually say them, and will just be all about, Yay, boobies! and leg-shaving and not being able to reach the top shelf, so. Also, people often don't write the character into a plausibly genderswapped body. Ronon Dex is not going to be a slender little flower, he's going to be a magnificent Amazon* with sublime thighs. Ahem. Bodyswap is more reliably cool. When I ventured into it, there was an unusual level of complication involved because the swap went round in a circle....
Angst OR crack I love crack, I really do. But I don't know if my own definition is the generally accepted one or not. I mean, an absurd/impossible premise followed through in a logical way. Crack includes, for instance, bodyswap, genderswap, mpreg, telepathy, witches putting curses on people, invisibility…. all that kind of thing. Magical slash fairy godpiglets, unexpected twins, somebody shrinks or turns into a teddybear or a llama—bring it on! It doesn't necessarily have to be funny. I adore stories take their absurd premise and deliver it seriously. One of my favourite popslash stories is actually called MPREG. I love crack. Though angst is good, too (just don't make me want to smack somebody).
Apocalyptic OR mundane Not a big fan of the apocalypse, though I have done a post-apocalyptic story, when mercilessly pushed. I'd much rather see people coping with the world as it is—which is, frankly, quite difficult enough—than having torrid love affairs in the face of Armaggeddon. I don't really care about Armaggeddon, and it's usually a much bigger subject than can actually be dealt with in fic. See Endgame, which bottled it completely.
Hmm. So... reasonably realistic with LOTS OF PINING and ideally, a sense of humour, please. That'll do. And to be fair, someone who writes well can pretty much pick anything, whether I like the trope or not.
* think Xena, with more massive hair
no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 05:21 pm (UTC)Excellent answer.
Also, you've made me want to read MPRG again.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 09:30 pm (UTC):-D
Also, you've made me want to read MPRG again.
Me too, come to think of it!
no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-18 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-21 01:44 am (UTC)Ronon Dex is not going to be a slender little flower, he's going to be a magnificent Amazon* with sublime thighs.
Damn right.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-21 10:53 am (UTC)