(no subject)

[asra]

+ That three-sentence thing, because my works in progress are eating my brain and I want to take a break from them. If you're inclined to, give me a character/pairing and I'll write you at least three sentences. Fandoms: Any fandom that you know I'm aware of. (In fact, if you're familiar with my usual kind of writing and would like to drag me out of my comfort zones, I'll happily go along, so prompt me with ~anything you like, even if (especially if) you happen know that it's not my usual thing. Not that I would be averse to prompts that ~are my usual thing, JSYK. :-D)

+ Also, if you'd like to talk to me about your pov on comfort zones, I'd love to know your thoughts: what are you usually uncomfortable with, fanworks-wise? Is there anything (trope, situation, pairing, whatever) you think you absolutely will not read/write/draw/podfic/look at/listen to? What, if anything, might change your mind?

+ I'm writing a fic about a transgendered character and I'm terrified and excited about it. I know some of you are into transgendered characters, so if you'd like to rec me your favourite trans fics (I prefer female to male, at the moment, but male to female is good too), I would be beyond thrilled. I mostly read SPN and Merlin fics, but I'm fine with fic in other fandoms too. (Also, if you'd like to talk at length about this stuff, do do mail me at lyryk42 at gmail. I'd be ridic happy to talk about trans characters in fanworks, or even related issues in general.)

+ I want to write all the treats ever for rarewomen, ugh. The SPN requests are here, if anyone wants a quick link.

+ Pretty sure I've linked this SamandDean vid before but I've been watching it again because it's like THE SWEETEST THING EVER and sometimes you need that sort of thing. IDK.

Tiny prompt fills are tiny.

Supernatural:

Jo/Cas, cracky for snickfic
Charlie and Dean, shopping for colls
Sam/Kevin, insomnia for sagetan
Lenore/Benny for daria234

BtVS:

Willow/Oz for tiny_white_hats
Willow/Tara, anal play for justwolf

PotC:

Jack/James for pyrites_gold

Merlin:

Arthur/Gwaine for bohemiabythesea

Comments

[snickfic]

Ooh! I prompt you: Jo/Castiel, crackfic. (Can be tentacles or robots or mpreg or dirigibles - do what you will.)

My main observation about writing comfort zones is that I've been pushing at my own boundaries a lot the past six months ago. A lot of this is the fault of the kinkmeme, but not all. I've written tentacle porn and knotting porn and explict femslash and epic threesomeness and watersports, and a year ago I wouldn't have guessed I'd write any of that. (OTOH, I've written basically no normal porn. I'm not sure what that means.) I'm finding that pushing at those boundaries keeps me from getting bored.

There are still things I'm just not interested in writing, though, like most kink for kink's sake - too revealing, maybe? So even my relatively kinky stuff is more characters than anything. I doubt I'll ever manage a PWP. :)

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Ahh that prompt is like light years out of my comfort zone. You are ~wicked. :-DDD

Pushing boundaries is fun! I like that I can play around with different things and it even gives me a better perspective on the stuff I'm usually inclined to write. (I can't wait for your teensybang fic! I wouldn't have thought I'd be enthused about reading were-creatures. :-DDD) I do look at the kink meme prompts sometimes but I've found that most of them are not my thing, although one never knows when one's inclinations can change :-D.

Kink for kink's sake: I can totally be on board with that, but only if the characters are not OOC. Characterisation is probably my favourite thing about fics, so yeah, not so much with the PWPs. Having said that, I think PWPs have the potential to really open characters up, through dialogue/reactions/whatever, when there's no complicated plot to take the focus away.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

A tiny Jo/Cas thing.


--


‘This is your true form?’ Jo asks, touching one of Castiel’s scales gingerly. It’s cool and smooth, definitely not as slimy as it appears.

‘It is one of my many true forms,’ Castiel says in his semi-imperious monotone.

Jo giggles. ‘Sorry,’ she says quickly. ‘It’s... sorry, Cas. You have to see how funny this is, right?’

‘Humans,’ Castiel mutters, sliding into the water. The great scaly head turns slowly. ‘This is the form in which I can guide you best on this journey.’

Jo takes the giant, proffered paw, and climbs onto his back. Heaven is obviously going to be a lot more fun than she expected.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

Rarewomen is so exciting! I keep wanting to write treats and then remembering I should start my assignment. :P

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Haha, same here! I kind of got halfway through a treat before remembering that I haven't started on my actual assignment yet.

[colls]

I don't know if it's a comfort zone thing, but I don't care for/have any interest in relationships that have an actual power imbalance or any kind of non-con. I like characters in pairings to come together as equals, partly why I don't think I grok the whole top/bottom controversy in m/m slash fandom. It's not that I absolutely positively won't read fics like that (although I'd probably steer clear of the heavy explicit stuff in that realm) - I just have no interest. I do understand the draw for it, as both entertainment and cathartic writing, but it's not a genre I seek out.

I have no such qualms of things that people have started labeling as dub-con nature, like amnesia!fic or drunk!fic. Mostly because the characterizations aren't usually unequal, it's mostly used as a discovery tool.

In some fandoms I may have character or shipping preferences, but will gladly read anything my flist recs me. In other fandoms, I don't venture far from my favorites and actually dislike some pairings because they seem contrary to my perception of one or both characters.
Somewhat related, in some cases I can ship A/B like burning but be fine and happy reading A/C, or A/D while not liking B with anyone else. I do this in at least three fandoms/pairings that I can think of off the top of my head. I'm wondering if that makes my earlier statement about equals a little less true than I thought it was.

I don't have a lot of exposure to transgendered characters, so I'm not much help there. Hopefully you'll get some recs though.



That vid is very sweet, it has so many fast edits that I think I missed half of what was going on but the tone is schmoopy and it made me smile. :)


Now that I've committed word-vomit all over your post, I'll drop off some random 3-sentence SPN prompts for you:
- Dean & Charlie: Christmas Shopping
- Sam, Sam/Dean, whatever: Raiders of the Lost Banana and other parodies scribbled in a notebook
- Jo or Gwen: Tequila makes my clothes fall off (bonus if it's Jo/Gwen)

Three sentences is HARD! good luck :P

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I don't think I grok the whole top/bottom controversy in m/m slash fandom

Totally. I prefer characters to switch, usually, and I tend to start avoiding writers who always write one character on top. Non-con is usually icky to me, but I like power imbalances when they're subverted in some way, or D/s when there's aftercare/affection. I tend to be pathetically OTP-ish about certain characters and don't usually like reading them paired with others, but when it comes to supporting characters, yeah, I usually read just about any pairing, especially if it's written/recced by someone on my flist.

I did get some lovely recs, thanks! :-D

Omggg, I want to write all your lovely prompts. <333

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Dean & Charlie, shopping:


--


‘How about this one?’ Charlie holds a Princess Leia-style bikini top against her chest, squinting at herself in the mirror.

‘Nope, definitely not that one.’ Dean snatches it from her hands. ‘You’ll show way too much skin, dude.’

‘It’s supposed to be a costume party, dude.’ Charlie snatches it back from him. ‘You’re like the big brother I never wanted, you know that?’

[sagetan.livejournal.com]

That vid gave me such warm fuzzies <3

Sam/Kevin, insomnia.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Isn't it the cutest thing. <3

Cool prompt, thanks! Poor Kevin. :-/

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Your three (+) sentences:

‘Having trouble sleeping?’ Sam asks, handing Kevin a mug of what looks like very milky hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows.

‘This is supposed to help me sleep?’ Kevin asks dubiously, but he takes a sip anyway. It’s warm and sweet, and he takes a few more sips, making an appreciative sound.

‘Good, right?’ Sam says with a grin. He squeezes Kevin’s shoulder. ‘I’ll be in the living room if you need anything. Try to get some sleep, okay?’

‘’Kay.’ Kevin sets the mug down on the night table and covers himself up with the blankets again. Sam’s bed is huge and warm, and smells like books and that woodsy shampoo that Sam seems to like. He’s asleep before the rest of his drink goes cold.

[tiny-white-hats.livejournal.com]

I'd like to request 3 sentences for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow/Oz, please!

In terms of comfort zone, aside from straight up PWP, I'm willing to read/watch/etc. most any fanwork, so long as it doesn't break up any of my big ships. Most characters I'm relatively indifferent to in terms of relationships, and I've written a number of characters in a few different relationships (i.e. I've written Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Tara, and Buffy/Angel) but I find fan works featuring any of the characters in my OTPs in other relationships (i.e. I won't read Willow/Angel or Oz/Giles because Willow/Oz is my biggest OTP) pretty seriously unappealing. It's not a huge thing, because I only really have 4 OTPs (Willow/Oz, Fred/Gunn (Angel), Dean/Cas, and CJ/Danny [The West Wing]), but it's definitely a thing. I'm really big on characters, with or without the romantic relationship, so I'm a fan of gen, but serious OOC behavior is problematic for me, especially if the OOC behavior is being used to vilify that character to make another character look good.

Also dub-con, non-con, and the romanticization of abusive relationships. I'm not okayl with those at all.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I'm really big on characters, with or without the romantic relationship, so I'm a fan of gen, but serious OOC behavior is problematic for me, especially if the OOC behavior is being used to vilify that character to make another character look good.

Yep, all of this! Gen fic is really great for exploring characters, more so than romantic plots, imo.

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

I like to challenge my comfort zones, so I'm definitely up for exploring concepts outside of what I would initially feel comfortable with. I think years of reading outside of my comfort zone has left me with very few squicks though, so these days I would struggle to find something that I absolutely couldn't write. I think I would be most challenged by a concept that just didn't interest me that much, and something that was very kinky or emotionally difficult would be interesting, so I would probably prefer to write that than something that bored me but was firmly in my comfort zone. If that makes sense?

I'll give you two prompts in case one doesn't appeal. :)

Prompt 1: Willow/Tara, anal play
Prompt 2: Willow/Kennedy, jealousy

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I hear you. :-D I've been reading a lot of stuff lately that's outside my usual comfort zones, but I usually set my boundaries on the basis of interests rather than squicks, really. There's an occasional pairing or situation that I might avoid because I'm just not into it, but I'm trying to mix things up a bit because reading/writing the same sort of stuff gets boring, as you said.

Ooh, great prompts! :-D

[pyrites-gold.livejournal.com]

Jack/James - GO!

Uncomfortzone-wise - I can't handle anything with a power imbalance when it comes to consent or dub-con, either explicitly sexual or emotional. And I'm always drawn to fics which ride the line on the side of this I can handle - as long as there's not one sided purposeful manipulation then I can give it a go and see where it takes me.

Also - quite a few of my friends are transgender. So I can give lots of perspective on related issues. etc.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I know what you mean. I'm okay with stories that start off with power imbalances as long as the equilibrium is restored somewhere along the way.

Oh, cool! I'll mail you if I have any questions. :-)

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Prompts. Should I ask for something rare lol? How about Dean/Ellen? Or Benny/Lenore.
Otherwise, Willow/Faith is cool too. :D

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Hee, thanks! I like all your prompts. :-D

[geekslave.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of characters in pairings that I love where I can't read fic where they're paired with anyone else. Merlin/Arthur from Merlin or Jack/Ianto from Torchwood I can't really read in other pairings. I can read threesome fic where they're just having some fun or a fic where they're paired with someone else but end up together at the end.

I'm also not a fan of unhappy endings. There's too much negative stuff in the world, plus unfortuantely a lot of shows I've watched lately have ended badly, so I have no interest in reading the bad endings in fic. I'm not big on things like scat or waterplay. Though I think if someone did a god enough job with it, I might be enticed to read something with waterplay in it. I haven't really loved any Omega/Alpha stuff I've read or anything with knotting. I haven't read too much, so it's possible if the right story came along I might like it.

I'm just beginning to even get comfortable with the idea of writing "regular" porn, so anything too kinky or out there I probably couldn't handle yet.

Stacey

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I'm just beginning to even get comfortable with the idea of writing "regular" porn, so anything too kinky or out there I probably couldn't handle yet.

Weirdly, there are certain pairings (such as Merlin/Arthur) with which I prefer kinky stuff to regular stuff, but others I can't really read unless the fic is very PG.

I know what you mean about unhappy endings. I haven't even read any Merlin fix-its because I just don't want to think at all about how the show ended. When I'm sick or depressed, I usually like to read rom-com style stuff with happily-ever-afters. At other times, I like ambiguous endings and angst because I'm kind of a sucker for realism, but I have to be in a certain frame of mind to read/write stories like that.

[applegeuse.livejournal.com]

I don’t know that I have a particular comfort zone. I guess I’m not sure I’d call it a “comfort zone” per se. I mean, I have dislikes and pretty strong preferences just like anybody else, and I skip fics all the time because the concept/pairing doesn’t fall into my parameter of immediate interests. But so often, my complaints really boil down to something being badly written or poorly handled, and that tends to follow some tropes more than others, if that makes sense? So I make assumptions and skip stuff. But I’ll try almost anything if it gets a strong enough recommendation from somebody, especially if it’s a long fic. (In other words, good writing can conquer all! :D )

There are tropes I tend to dislike rather vehemently in and of themselves, though. One such example: werewolves/knotting/mpreg. I always, always, always seem to hate these fics. There is, like, no exception that I can think of. But a lot of these fics tend to feature in verses that tend to be long, and reading long fics is basically my weakness, and so I have ended up trying to read (or listen to) several of these big verses just because they are so long. And then I end up hating them just like I knew I would when I read the summary in the beginning. (Okay, I probably do this in that “rubber-necking” way you were alluding to in our other conversation, except I do in a ~mean way because I just really like to complain about terrible, ridiculous, horrible situations that usually involve mpreg. I cannot help it. /o/)

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I really liked one particular J2 fic with alpha/omega dynamics, but what I loved about it was that it was all about subverting the trope. :-) But otherwise, yeah. I see that people might like the tropes associated with werewolves/knotting/mpreg, but they don't do anything for me. A) because of the way the tropes are usually written, as you said, and B) because I'm not at all inclined toward reading about absolutely normative relationships in which one character is perennially submissive to another.

in a ~mean way because I just really like to complain about terrible, ridiculous, horrible situations

Ahahahaha, ILUUUUU <3

[nagasasu.livejournal.com]

Re: fic recs:
Check out Red's (http://archiveofourown.org/users/red) work.
Mutatis Mutandis (http://archiveofourown.org/works/227283), X-Men: First Class, Charles/Erik.
Equivalence (http://archiveofourown.org/works/206588), BBC Sherlock, Anthea(/Mycroft). ***!!!! This is definitely the one I'd rec the most though.

It might also help to read stuff outside of fanfic too.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks! Anthea/Mycroft sounds awesome. :-)

[bohemiabythesea.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, prompting! I should be getting ready for office-time, but how can I resist. HOW. Shall I give you a few choices? I'll just do that; then you can see which ones you'll throw.

- OuaT: Aurora/Mulan

- Who: Oswin/River ;)

- Merlin: Arthur/Gwaine

- Aaaaaand my all-time favourite rare pair provocation: Shakespeare/Marlowe

*runs off to office*

[oddishly.livejournal.com]

- Aaaaaand my all-time favourite rare pair provocation: Shakespeare/Marlowe

*applauds*

[wendy.livejournal.com]

My only hard line is death fic, I don't read it. There are things I don't seem to enjoy the way others do (pegging, for example) and usually will skip, but the only true WILL NOT HAVE IT is death fic.

[firefish.livejournal.com]

what's pegging?

[vegawriters.livejournal.com]

Also, if you'd like to talk to me about your pov on comfort zones, I'd love to know your thoughts: what are you usually uncomfortable with, fanworks-wise? Is there anything (trope, situation, pairing, whatever) you think you absolutely will not read/write/draw/podfic/look at/listen to? What, if anything, might change your mind?
I tend to shy away from bad writing. That's the big thing for me. I do not like MPREG at all. I do like operating within the norms for a character and certain things just ... no. But my biggest turnoff is really not a trope but when a character isn't a character. But that means I won't read a lot of pairings (for example) because Greg and Grissom are like father and son and I really don't want to read the author's daddy issues. But good writing can forgive almost anything. Almost. :) I've read Nick/Sara/Grissom fics that were amazing and Nick/Sara is my biggest turnoff. I've wandered into West Wing territory that I'd never dream of wandering in to. Good writing saves all. Bad writing ruins it all.

Also, when trauma is done for trauma's sake. When rape is written for rape's sake, not because the character is going to go on a journey. When abuse is written once and never mentioned again. Things like that drive me nuts.

I hope this makes sense. :)

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I do like operating within the norms for a character and certain things just ... no. But my biggest turnoff is really not a trope but when a character isn't a character.

This, so much! Characterisation is always the biggest draw for me, and I'll probably read just about any trope as long as the characters are recognisable as themselves. It's probably why most mpreg doesn't appeal to me, because the characters are just so far from their canonical selves that it feels as if I don't know them at all.

I know what you mean. Most non-con fic seems to be written for its kink value, and while I appreciate that it may work for others, it doesn't work for me at all unless there's some serious exploration of the issues involved. I'm usually okay with porn for porn's sake, but thinky porn is my favourite kind, especially with characters I'm really into. :-)

[firefish.livejournal.com]

I used to love Criminal Minds but I found myself steering away from fandom & fic because there was a lot of graphic violence, rape etc. Totally not necessary. Not into torture porn thanks.

Oh & I can't stand things that I think seem completely OOC. See also, cringeworthy sex scenes.

There are loads of things!

I'm not a huge fic fan but when I get the good stuff, well it just blows everything else away,

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about characters being OOC. I don't usually read graphic torture or rape either, because I find that characters aren't really themselves in such scenarios, but I'll probably read anything if I'm convinced that the characters aren't being manipulated to fit the kink.

[citrusjava.livejournal.com]

If you wanna talk trans characters in fic, I'm here. Don't really use my e-mail, but messages?
As for recs, there's this beautiful series for little fics about BtVS characters as kids. These are about Xander and Willow and gender.
http://buffynfaith.net/fanfictions/index.php?act=vie&id=595
http://buffynfaith.net/fanfictions/index.php?act=vie&id=594
http://buffynfaith.net/fanfictions/index.php?act=vie&id=594

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for the recs! <3

[citrusjava.livejournal.com]

As for what I won't read - there's stuff I'm just not into, and there's stuff that squicks me, steps on triggers, can put me in a bad place for days.

[lilfluffykitten.livejournal.com]

Late, as ever, but I think I'm ok with most things (or at least will give them a go) apart from torture porn. I'm a fan of hurt/comfort, and I know a certain amount of hurt is needed to get to point B, but I can't deal with excessive or graphic violence or pain (I'd rather angst or fade to black nastiness is more my bag).

In other cases it's more the pairing or characters that can be a bit squicky to me - although I'm not sure why. Sort of connected, if I am totally unfamiliar with the fandom and the characters then I suppose I don't have any preconceptions or worries about it being OOC.
Interesting question.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

I'd rather angst or fade to black nastiness is more my bag

Mine too! I've read a fair bit of Sparrington fic with elements of violence/non-con and sometimes I've liked the fic in general, but the too-graphic elements tend to stay in my head in the not-fun way.

if I am totally unfamiliar with the fandom and the characters then I suppose I don't have any preconceptions or worries about it being OOC

Totally! I remember reading a lot of stuff in fandoms such as SPN and Torchwood before I seriously got into the shows, and the characterisations didn't bother me so much before I actually knew the characters, ha.