I got tagged by my very dear @voxofthevoid-furious (see his post here). Sorry it took me so long to do this one; I fear I am really bad at just choosing one or the other and so this may become instead a babbling stream of nonsense as I try to explain the nuance and specifics behind my decisions...
Slow burn or love at first sight: both of these can be really great, when done well. When it comes to reading, I really like both. When it comes to writing...I also like both. See, it's the "love at first sight, but they cannot be together *yet*" that gives me the appeal, but also, I adore falling in love as you get to know someone so completely over a long stretch of time. I cannot choose. The one I *don't* like, whether it's a slow burn or instant love, is soulmates. It's very rare that I enjoy reading a soulmate au. Most of the time, they piss me off. That being said, if I say to a person that I did enjoy a soulmate story, then that means I really really enjoyed it.
Fake dating or secret dating: I am very picky about both of these, and if I have to choose one...Fake dating it is. It's especially funny when it's to get revenge on someone. guess who's been binging historical fantasy romance manhwa again...
Enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers: don't get me wrong, best friends to lovers is super, super cute. But, there is something about Enemies to Lovers - the true, genuine one, where they actually want to kill and/or maim each other at first, but then end up in love, none of this 'rivals' bullshit - that is just so fucking satisfying. Fills up my soul and satisfies my character development craving completely.
Only one bed or long distance correspondence: One bed. Because it's really funny to me.
Hurt/comfort or amnesia: I often consider amnesia to fall under hurt comfort because it usually involves *someone* hurt by the person forgetting them, and then the whole arc is almost always them regaining their memories and the comfort and joy of "coming back" to their loved ones. That said, amnesia is like, one of the few hurt/comforts that I really don't like all that much. There's few times I see it done really well, and often in tv shows and movies etc, I feel it is just rather lazy writing and I find it extremely frustrating. Even the times it works and is interesting in my opinion, there's still a lot I prefer over it.
Fantasy AU or modern AU: Fantasy AU = my world, my rules; and we know I am ALL about that worldbuilding.
Mutual pining or domestic bliss: I have a very short tolerance for mutual pining. Different from slowburn, which is the slow realization and growth of feelings over time, mutual pining where they're both dancing around each other for ages and pining but no one makes the first move...pisses me off a lot. If it's short enough that it doesn't feel like it's dragging forever, or if there's a reason they cannot be together right away (such as only realizing feelings before literally being separated by physical distance) then yeah, I'm cool with it, but I'd much rather read them being happy and domestic together.
Smut or fluff: Anytime we have anything vs just "fluff", I'm going to have to choose the other option. Fluff is fine and it doesn't bother me and I both read and write it but...if it's all fluff all the time, I can't stand it.
Canon compliant or fix-it: This depends entirely on the source material and the actual plot of the fic, as well as my current mood, but in truth both of these fall short at times for me. Sometimes canon compliant hurts to read, and sometimes my idea of "fix-it" is very different from other people's. So, neither.
Reincarnation or character death: Character death. I like reincarnation a lot, but character death is My Beloved.
One-shot or multichapter: While oneshots are easier and faster to finish, I prefer writing multichapter fics honestly. I love me an overarching plot and high stakes. I just have a lot of oneshots because I have a lot of ideas and they're, as I said, faster to write. I like reading both.
Kid fic or road trip fic: What is the definition of "kid fic"; are they having kids, or did they become kids, or are we jumping back in time to when they were kids? I'm not gonna lie, I find it hilarious when one character gets turned into a small child and everyone else panics trying to take care of them. I also like flashbacks and imagining backstories. I'm not as fond of reading or writing a fic that is centered around children of the characters I ship, but I don't mind it once in a while. Road trips to me have to be very specifically done and do not fit all fandoms.
Arranged marriage or accidental marriage: accidental marriage sounds way fucking funnier. Arranged marriage can be good, but I want this accidental marriage.
High school romance or middle-aged romance: middle-aged. Please god middle-aged. I don't hate high school romance but I'm kind of tired of them. I especially dislike high school romances where the characters talk and act like they're well-adjusted adults who've had 20+ years of therapy. That shit bores me. Give me messy middle-aged couples who are trying to balance work, socializing, and romance, or give me death.
Time travel or isolated together: See, while I do love time travel (I write for both Link Click and Madoka Magica fandoms currently), isolated together...that can be a lot of fun. It makes me think of the first Saw movie and I am a chainshipper at my core. :D
Neighbours or roommates: depends on my mood. I like both.
Sci-fi au or magic au: I find magic way easier for me to world-build with, but in all honesty both are really fun.
Body swap au or genderbent: I don't like either of these very much. It's not that I hate them, and I certainly could think up scenarios to write for either one, but I just don't favour them and I cannot bring myself to choose one.
Angst or crack: Obviously it's gotta be angst. Crack is super fun, but angst is my home. One time, when I was but a 7 year old child reading one of those Dear Canada or Dear America diary novels, I ended up crying because the love interest died. And when my mother found out why I was crying, she pulled me into a hug and said "it's a very skilled writer who can make you feel emotion over fiction" and since then I have been chasing that and wanting to make everyone cry :D
Apocalypse or mundane: Both of these have their merits, but honestly I really like apocalypse stories and I feel like there's a lot of untapped potential there. Mundane can definitely be comforting, but it can also become boring really fast.
Tagging: @yourlunarspice, @loveleffie, @focaccia-nose, @kimium, and anyone else who feels like joining in. No pressure, it's just for fun. You don't have to put a full explanation for each one, I just did that because Vox did and it looked fun, and I feel the need to explain a good majority of my choices.
