Thursday

[clevermanka]

I haven't been doing the Twitter links because they use a lot of wrist movement that I still can't afford. But I have to share more of those amazing Weilan cosplays that went up yesterday.

This week's dump on cm.net.

Totally ignoring everything that happened yesterday for as long as I can. Which will probably only be a couple hours, but I'm gonna revel in denial while I can.

And now to start on the things people asked me to talk about!

solo asked: What are your favourite tropes in fandom? And what are absolute dealbreakers?

Favorite: *pounds table* Only One Bed! Only One Bed! Only One Bed!

This is probably a surprise to nobody here. 😄 For me, tropes like Oh My God They Were Roommates and similar fall under that umbrella. I love reading about people finding themselves in a benign, safe situation where they suddenly have to intimately confront their sexual feelings for the other person and navigate that in a way that (they think/hope!) will cause the minimum amount of damage to their friendship and/or pride. *rolls around in it*

Part of my love of this probably stems from the dorm room floor puppy piles me and my early college friends would sleep in on weekends. I remember the painful exhilaration of lying spooned up with one (or the other, I had a few *cough*) of my crushes, wide awake and heart pounding so hard I wondered how they possibly couldn't hear it. The nervous, illicit joy of being so close combined with the aching certainty that they would never feel the same way about me but still indulging in the fantasy of what if they did though... truly a brilliant combination for this emotional sadomasochist.

Of course related tropes like Mutual Pining, UST, Slow Burn, etc., are right up my alley too, as long as they have a happy ending. I might be an emotional sadomasochist but it's gotta be consensual and I like it when everybody gets what they want at the end of the day.

Dealbreakers: I don't like trashing fandom things I know other people like but honestly I'm kind of annoyed at myself that I don't enjoy Omegaverse.

For as much as I love sex pollen and dubcon, I should be all over Omegaverse! Alas, I can't get over my disinterest in the binary-ness inherent in the structure and mpreg is 100% not my thing, either (perhaps because I'm generally disinterested in kidfic to begin with). I'm also not a fan of Soulmates, so the bonding theme common in a lot of Omegaverse puts me off as well.

To point to the ridiculousness of my aversion to the trope, though, let me point outjo_lasalle's The Sharpest Lives as one of my favorite fics in Guardian. By *just barely* skirting a few of the usual things that trip me up in Omegaverse, she managed to write something that absolutely could be an Omegaverse fic but...somehow isn't. And I loved it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Like my not enjoying avocados or Beyoncé's music, I kind of resent the fact that this particular indulgence is denied me due to my brain wiring.

I've got only twelve questions on my list, so please feel free to throw some more at me.

Comments

[trobadora]

Thank you for the links! These cosplayers are amazing. :D

Alas, I can't get over my disinterest in the binary-ness inherent in the structure

Yeah, that's the main reason Omegaverse doesn't work for me. That and the breeding kink.

Totally agreed about jo_lasalle's fic, too! I would read a million more words of that.

[clevermanka]

That fic is SO GOOD! I don't know how many times I've read it.

[naye]

OMG that fic is SO GOOD.

Also those cosplayers are fantastic and my heart is going BOOM right now:
https://twitter.com/Raccooneros/status/1347226327359737859?s=20

[clevermanka]

THANK YOU for pointing me to one that I missed, and such a GOOD one, too. Back hugs and domestic tenderness are so ... well. I'll just say the image literally punched the breath out of me. God. God. So beautiful, so soft.

[naye]

It's amazing. I literally gasped.

[nnozomi]

Part of my love of this probably stems from the dorm room floor puppy piles me and my early college friends would sleep in on weekends.... The nervous, illicit joy...
ooh, that brings back memories. Coming at it from a very different angle than you, but that kind of slightly transgressive but also safe and comforting feeling... yes indeed.

also, those roasted peppers of denial looked DELICIOUS, I hope they tasted at least as good. If I had an oven... .

[khellekson]

The nervous, illicit joy of being so close combined with the aching certainty that they would never feel the same way about me but still indulging in the fantasy of what if they did though... truly a brilliant combination for this emotional sadomasochist.

THIS. I still remember specific instances of this from when I was in high school: the church road trip to Wisconsin in the van; the ride back from the airport where I had to sit on someone's lap because there weren't enough seats.

I also am not an Omegaverse fan, despite a good friend being involved in whatever legal dispute is going on at the mo.

[clevermanka]

slightly transgressive but also safe and comforting
Yes! That's it exactly.

I'm feeling very, uh... provincial? admitting my horrified amazement at the idea of living somewhere without an oven.

[clevermanka]

Love when others grok that beautiful angst of circumstantial touch. 🧡

Someone I know from a past fandom once said "Most of the time I don't like Omegaverse, then I start ovulating," and I thought that was hilarious, but whyyyyy can't *I* enjoy it at all? SO unfair!

[tinny]

Heee. I am still gobsmacked at the fact that the Tomb Show actually has Only One Bed, and a whole scene in which they decide what to do about it. :D

(Also, yes, I remember those puppy piles from my own studying days. I am glad it's a universal thing! :D)

I am with you on all you say about Omegaverse. I still try it now and again, but the whole "you have no choice" thing just turns me off. It really depends on the author how much they put that to the forefront or how much they downplay it. Sometimes it works for me, but most of the time it doesn't. I'm not quite sure why so many people are into things that take away their (characters') choice/agency. There must be a reason for that, or it wouldn't be so popular.

[clevermanka]

I am glad it's a universal thing!
Me, too! Dogs bless all the stupid college kids. We were all such beautiful, wonderful messes.

Love how we're both like "hmm maybe I'll like it this time" "welp" when it comes to Omegaverse. I definitely get the desire for removal of agency, though. I just read dub/non-con and BDSM stuff for that.

[tinny]

I just read dub/non-con and BDSM stuff for that.

Hmm... okay, yes. But those are not usually ingrained in the worldbuilding. I can like non-con if it's just a pwp, or in the case of BDSM if it actually *is* a choice, but the whole idea that people are born into a place they can't escape is just something I don't want in fiction? It's so terrible in RL already. (Although that might be a point, actually - for people who do feel trapped and disenfranchised, hm.)

[clevermanka]

Oooo, that's a good point, about the lack of agency being inescapable. I hadn't thought of that aspect, thanks!