beneath all get out

Daniel loses a firm hold on 2018. When he returns to the present, things aren't where he left them. Namely, Johnny.

Thanks for sending these! 💗

Omegaverse:

F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

I'm gonna be so honest, if I filter anything out of an ao3 search, it's this. It's not even really a squick, my issue is not with the sexual part of it -- if anything, the aspects concerning going into heats could be the one thing to recommend the trope. I just find the worldbuilding foundations to be really dull, and not really anything I'm interested in seeing explored.

High School/College AU:

F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

This is a more passive "hate", though I feel more strongly about this than no powers aus and florist/tattooist. Same overarching issue -- these aren't the same characters, they haven't been through the stuff that makes them interesting -- with the added grief of having to hear about high school/university shit. I hated school. don't make me relive that with these strangers.

Hurt/No Comfort:

C: Neutral. A good author might be able to sell it, but a bad one will kill it deader than dead.

So this is the nuance button I'm slamming. Because H/NC confuses me a lil. When I first heard about this ao3 tag I was like, oh hell yeah. I'm not really into h/c for the comfort, I'm not here to read about hugs and healing sex, I'm here for the hurt part. it's about the exploration of danger and tragedy and ruin but in a safe context. it's about going into shark-infested waters in my cage (#MyCage). So yeah! give me that hurt/no comfort!

But in practice, I think what tends to get tagged this, is when comfort might be expected but is withheld. Where the hurt character turns to their loved one and gets an unimpressed shrug, a mocking laugh. And... nope, don't like THAT. feels bad! In sum, I like the idea of h/nc, but in practice I am wary about it.

thanks for sending these! 😊

Body Swap AU:

B: Like it. Not one of my bigger cravings, but it can scratch a certain itch if I’m in the right mood.

And I specifically like the fic version of this sort of plot more than when it's in canon media. in a TV show, usually the draw is watching the actors doing impressions of each other for 44 min -- recently watched Eureka's take on this trope and yessss the acting was so fun -- but in fic it tends to be more of an excuse to accidentally blunder into each other vulnerabilities. there can be a lot of potential for second-hand embarrassment, though.

(also, is this really an au, though? it's just a fic plot, no?)

Human/No Powers AU:

F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

Hate is a strong word, but this holds very little interest to me for all the same reasons that I don't tend to be super into AUs outside of canon divergence AUs. the characters are who they are because of the circumstances they've lived through, and generally that includes whatever powers they have. I want to read about THOSE characters, not some characters who superficially resemble my faves, but with a boringer run over them.

Florist & Tattoo Shop AU:

F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

I've never read a florist/tattooist AU but as above, I simply don't believe that what makes a character interesting is so separable from their lived experience that I could read about them having different jobs and be like "yes these are the blorbos I know and love".

hmm I'm gonna say

A: Love it. Spend my time combing AO3 for it.

I don't actually comb ao3 for it, because enemies to lovers is kinda self-selecting if I'm looking for content for a specific ship. they're already enemies, they've gotta be lovers by the end for this to work. a LOT of my favourite ships are enemies-to-lovers though.

thanks for sending this!