Fanfic gripe related to earlier talk...A lot of people in Three Houses fandom, at least the English one, make Edelgard a domme. This perplexes me beyond belief but I am fine with it happening. What I am not fine with is being told that it makes no sense that she could sub because of her trauma. When I am someone who subs because of my trauma. It is entirely possible that Edelgard could get something out of, say, being a rope bunny. She could! And the could could in part be because of the trauma (with the rest being the weird way the brain results to physical strain by way of releasing the happy chemical of no pain). Also irritating is the conflation of top/bottom with domme/sub. These are not the same thing. Subs can top. Please for the love of god let subs top. Edelgard would be a lovely service top. I do genuinely feel though that a lot of El is a domme fanwork has her being OOC though.
I sympathise on both ends here, because a) that sounds incredibly obnoxious and b) I never have the faintest idea about timelines for anything.
I really only care who tops/bottoms if the characters involved are trans, bc porn with trans characters tends to have this belief that genitalia=preferred sexual positions and like. no.
If there isn’t any particularly significant power exchange happening during sex and certain characters just prefer particular positions, I might wonder why it was tagged if I noticed at all. I’d probably put it down to personal preference, marking something that’s different from what the author normally writes, or tagging for an audience who may have requested that. Stories that deal with the intersection of gender roles and sexual biology, for lack of a better term, are definitely the biggest thing I was thinking of as far as works for which I would still appreciate more information upfront about exactly what I should expect even if there is no BDSM. For me also, it’s at least as much about being able to better spot stuff I’d rather avoid as about finding things I do want to read. If the story treats it like a Hogwarts house, that’s exactly what I mean about whether it matters enough in the context of the story to warrant tagging. If it is tagged when it does matter like that, hopefully that helps readers get better information on whether it’s something they want to read. Including when the answer is no.
what fandoms? i've only ever seen that in my fandoms when it's non-shippy but very gory, usually 'saving bucky' type stuff that has lots of torture and brainwashing.
... You guys, you are planning a coup against a corrupt military dictatorship, character A is both physically and legally underage, and your info security sucks. This is not the time to be focusing time and energy on a new relationship, especially one that society at large will most likely see as transgressive in multiple ways. That shit will get out, and it will be used against you. No! No romantic picnics in wide open spaces! No overnights! Don’t drive your underage boyfriend in to work with you, you dumb fuck! Stoppit! You got shit to do before you can throw optics out the window, much less get all Comfy And Domestic. Fucking focus, dammit!
What makes it worse is that these two are both experienced soldiers who have the approximate emotional intelligence between them of maybe half a rock. They both know better, and also, wouldn’t.
I feel like if you set out to read Roy/Ed you have to be willing to suspend disbelief about "is this entire relationship dumb tho".
I don't really set out to read Roy/Ed anymore (I could see the appeal in 03 but FMAB feels all wrong for that) but sometimes really dumb romantic subplots are inserted into an otherwise delightful time travel fix-it fic.
Yep, Fullmetal Alchemist. Time-travel fixit. I didn’t actually set out for Roy/Ed, and it wasn’t foregrounded until about chapter 21 of 30, meaning I was thoroughly invested in the cloak-and-dagger political intrigues, when suddenly the plot grows a massive romantic tumor. Like. Yes, I get it, they’re hot, but they’ve got shit to do and the revolution doesn’t stop for cuddles.
Oh, here’s another thing to bitch about: how many paragraphs did the fic dedicate to POV Edward feeling terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad about cheating on his wife (once) in timeline A, verses the fact that he had 2 actual, flesh-and-blood children that no longer exist, and now never will? Like. It doesn’t even seem to occur to him. Even if he was never really invested in the kids, you’d think it would at least cross his mind!
especially considering his issues with his own dad. jeeeeez. also 100% agree on the revolution v. cuddles thing, when authors do that it ruins both instead of letting them enhance each other. I love the revolution flavor of wartime romance angst! it’s good!! why would you want to replace it with fluff!!
