fanfic tastes that defy logic

[deird1]

So... fanfic readers: does anyone else have a genre of fanfic that is totally not their type, that it makes absolutely no sense they'd be into, that they nevertheless adore?

Here's mine: John/Rodney SGA fic.

Which, as mentioned, makes no sense whatsoever.

1) It's slash. I don't like slash (I'm a gen-fic person).

2) It's a show that (until recently) I knew absolutely nothing about. In fact, when I started reading it, I knew absolutely nothing about the Stargate franchise.

And yet...



The thing about John/Rodney fic is that it's fic that lives and dies entirely on snarky conversations between its main characters. And even when I didn't know anything about these characters (other than that they starred in snarky slash fics), the prospect of reading them arguing some more was so appealing that I clicked on every fic I could find. Still do.

I have read John-is-secretly-into-Rodney fic, and Rodney-is-secretly-into-John fic. I have read coffee-shop AUs, college lecturer AUs, and high school AUs. I have read action adventure extravaganzas, and intimate evenings at home. (And I'm not into any of those things, in any fanfics that aren't this lot! Really!) And I love them all.

It is a genre of fanfic that I adore, despite it contradicting my every taste in fanfic.



Does anyone else have one of those?

Comments

[out_there]

Not really. We'll, I'll sometimes read been stuff just for the link factor but it's not something I have any interest in writing or continually reading, so maybe that.

Meanwhile, John and Rodney are fantastic for Aus. I've loved some of the Aus in SGA fandom so much -- and there's something about the very broad strokes of their characters in canon that absolutely makes them work in any setting. (Lecturer Rodney and stripper John? Yes. Farmland John and agricultural scientist Rodney? Yes, please. Concert violinist Rodney and John, his assistant? Yep, it all works.)

[deird1]

They are ideally suited to AUs, aren't they?

Lecturer Rodney and stripper John? Yes.

I remember this one! Any idea what it was called? I'd love to track it down again.

[out_there]

I want to say Rodney McKay and the Boom Boom Room? It was by Rageprufrock so...

Aha!

Bell Curve, or, Ladies Night at the Boom Boom Room (44392 words) by rageprufrock
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Series: Part 1 of Bell Curve
Summary:

In his rational mind, Rodney knew that following a girl who'd just dumped you into a strip club was really, really pathetic.

[deird1]

Yes! Thanks!

[lirazel]

That's truly adorable. I can't think of anything off-hand that's similar for me, but I love knowing this about you!

[deird1]

I have to say, it is utterly weird watching a show for the first time after years of reading slash fic starring the main characters...

[frogfarm]

I'll have to think about this, while separating the "fandoms and characters you're not normally into" aspect from "tropes you're not normally into".

[thenewbuzwuzz]

That's fun! I don't know if I have anything like that.

[eleanorjane]

Yes! DC universe Batfamily fic, for me.

* I actively dislike Batman and many of the core premises of Bat-centric DC canon.
* I think the writers did a shoddy job with a lot of canon events (as far as I know them.)
* insert rant here about Bat-canon, no, seriously.
* I find dysfunctional families pretty upsetting, in general.

And yet there's so much Batfamily fic I love - largely thanks to musesfool's recs at unfitforsociety - and I can read multiple takes on the same premise for some unknown reason.

[deird1]

Hurrah! I am not alone!

:D

[contrarianarchon]

Les Misérables modern AUs? For unclear reasons? Possibly just "People recommend these to me a lot" but the ones I've read I tend to like a lot and I have essentially zero connection to it as a book or a musical. Genuinely don't know what's up with this.

[lonespark]

This is a fascinating question and I'm sure I have answers but they're not coming easily at the moment.

There are definitely many things I've gotten into because I read the writer's other work and then consumed everything they produced. Or read because the writer is a friend.

I guess one thing might be sort of the opposite of yours: fic with slash pairings where the couple isn't really in the story and it's genfic about their kids. Best example I have is The Rhodes-Stark Parent Trap by AmarieMelody, which is a WIP: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11513736/chapters/25838667

It's a kind of story I might seek out in other fiction, but not fanfic.

There's also a general rule where if I'm not into a ship, if in the fic one or more of the characters are trans I'll give it a shot. Also sometimes if it's cis white people in canon they're genderbent, racebent, or disabled in the fic (and not canon. Is there a word for that?).