Favorite kind of story?

[Pilgrim]

When you read a story on here, what do you look for most? Is there any specific genre? Sneeze cause? Character types? Do you prefer romance, or prefer that there is none whatsoever? Do you like it funny or serious? Do you only read fanfics? What else do you like to see in the fics you read?

I'm really curious to know what people prefer, since we get such a variety of stories I imagine there must be a variety of answers!

[tma]

1) Good writing (I don't have an issue with random errors, but I will admit that stories without paragraphing or that obviously haven't used spell-check I tend to avoid). Included in this is (in non-drabbles) character development and an actual plot of some sort. **Yes- I am a total dork :P **

2) I personally cannot *stand* anything that seems "cartoonish" in the story.

3) I prefer male- within this I like sweet, "old school" romantic- if it is "making out" I prefer subtleness.

4) Fanfics if I know the fandom- although I have read fandoms that I don't know (especially if I *love* the writer) and I've gotten into some that way.

5) Probably due to my age I just *cannot* read stories about high school kids. Just doesn't appeal to me at this point in time

6) Embarrassment and stoicness are both a plus- (I *adore* characters like Mark Darcy- as an example)

7) Teacher/professor characters are

Nice question I'm glad that we have such a variety of great writers I think that it is great to have lots of fics to appeal to lots of tastes.

Btw- Thanks muchly to the writers and artists around here who share your creativity with us. Love ya!!

[EmeraldThread]

When I read here, I look either for anime fandoms or (less often) original stories. I haven't found a whole ton of new anime fics around recently, though, so I mostly reread what's already here. I don't have much preference in terms of funny/serious or romance/no romance. I like combinations of different elements, but it doesn't matter a whole lot to me whether it's fanfic or original as long as it's well written. Sneeze causes, I really like colds, but I have no objections toward allergies.

What I like to see other than that...I don't know that there's anything specific, I just like male sneezing from colds. But I much prefer fictional people, like with anime. I don't usually read stories where actors are the sneezers unless I've never seen the show.

EDIT: Like tma said, good writing. At least an effort to have correct spelling/grammar, and I appreciate decent formatting instead of the whole story being one enormous paragraph. Even if the story could be good, if all of these things are lacking, it makes it much more difficult to read. These things really important and does contribute to the betterment of the story, so they deserve as much attention as the plot and characters.

Edited December 30, 2012 by ElementsofGray

[PuddinPop]

I'm really open minded when it comes to stories, obviously I have preferences, but I wouldn't refuse to read a story if it didn't include any of my preferences.

I mean, my favourites are male, I probably dont have any other preference. I enjoy original stories as well as fanfics, I enjoy both cold and allergy sneezes.

The main things I dislike are cartoony ones and loads of snot, but this by no means indicates that I will not read them. I saw one earlier that was bases on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and although its not my thing, I still quite enjoyed it

As said before, the story needs to be well written and have a good flow to it. It's a lot better when it has a good plot line to it, but I enjoy drabbles as well, but I prefer drabbles if I know that there's a story behind it.

I'm not a big fan of actual celebrities either. I like real people in fanfics, such as SPN, but I just find it a bit awkward reading about real people rather than characters. But that might just be me

So, really, I would say that I have more preferences than things I dislike. Im a generous girl, and the main path I take in every aspect of my life is "try anything once"

[Kshu]

I always look for illness, male, I don't look for anything else. It depends what I'm in the mood for.

Usually, I like caretaking. And I always prefer when more than one person is sick.

If i'm not in the mood for it though, I try to find something that has a very detailed description of the buildup and sneeze.

I like romance, but my absolute favorite is a close friendship between two guys. Bonus if they're both sick. I don't like slash, I just love when its like that really, really close friendship. Almost like borderline slash lol.

Not a huge fan of angst, but I'm not crazy about funny stories either. Somewhere in between. Just a sweet, sweet story. Like rot your teeth sweet.

[SomethingClever]

The most important thing for me is (usually) realism. It dosen't have to be dead on realistic (like, I recognize that colds don't typically cause sneezing fits, and that people with allergies dont usually have fits of 20+, but I still like stories featuring them ) but characters that could actually exist in the world I live in is a huge plus. My one exception tho this is Harry Potter, which is the only fantisyish thing I've ever been able to get myself into. And which I LOVE. I have also been really loving the Avengers and Supernatural stuff on here lately, because I've never seen either, so I can usually pretend that Sam and Dean aren't brothers and ignore the bits mentioned in the stories that suggest that the characters are anything less than typical humans (blasphemy, I know, I know, I'm horrible...)

Good writing is also a plus for me, and I usually prefer male sneezes, even though I identify as pan in real life (Im like 80% male to 20% female in terms of "material" I consume, maybe a little more because there's just so much more female media out there.) I lean more towards illness/ caretaking, but I like allergies a lot too, almost to a point I couldn't pick a favorite, but not quite

All that being said, I do try to keep an open mind, because even if something is purely fantasy, I will sometimes find something I like that I would have missed otherwise...

Edited December 30, 2012 by SomethingClever

[PaperThings]

I'm strange about stories, because fanfic are always the thing I click, if I know the fandom anyway, but I rarely review them because I am so, so picky about characterization. To me, it's way more important than any of the fetish content or anything else about the story, really. So I guess, in theory fanfiction is my favorite (and I'm way more likely to click it), but it has to be like, perfect, or I can't bring myself to read more than a paragraph or two.

In terms of the story... I like a lot of detail? The story itself doesn't have to be super original, but the descriptions should be, I feel like. I like them when they do have a plot, if it's a good plot and done well. The characters should be distinctive. I have trouble feeling as invested, though, if it's not fanfic, is the sad thing, and that's no fault of the fabulous writers here, just because I have a short attention span, I guess. Probably why some of my favorite sfics ever have been ones where I actually felt attached to the characters and actually cared about them. So if the story can inspire that in me, then hurrah!

[alyssa]

Wow everyone really does have individual preferences!

I prefer male sneezing from illness, not a big fan of allergies. I also, like a lot of people here it seems, prefer fanfics although am happy to read originals as well A mix of funny and serious is my favorite either is absolutely fine for me! I like friendship or cannon romance in fics but I am not really a big fan of pairings that aren't cannon (although there are a few that I do like) and I don't like slash, or any of that sort of content.

I usually prefer some form of plot in the story. Also that the writer paid some attention to spelling/grammar and formatting to make it easy to read. Some mistakes are absolutely fine, I just don't like it when there are heaps of mistakes and it becomes difficult to read. And that the story isn't all in one paragraph or that sort of format mainly because it becomes hard to read and my short attention span won't allow me to focus for very very long in order to get used to it!

[Kiwifruit]

MUSTS:

1. Human only...I've never got into furries and don't anticipate getting into them in future either

2. Decent grammar/spelling - I don't mind some minor errors or some casual sentence structure, but no 200 word run on sentences or lack of paragraphing. Definitely no text speak!!

3. No endless sneezing. I really find it completely off putting when stories have characters sneezing every ten seconds or having neverending fits every other sentence...it's completely unrealistic and overdone. I'm perfectly capable of imagining a person a bajillion times in a row by myself...I like stories to have a least a little original plot

4. If it's a fanfic, it has to be a fandom I know. This has changed for me - I used to read Twilight fics before I read the books (which actually inspired me to read the series) and every now and then I'll look at one if I really like the author or the title is particularly interesting. Generally though I hate not knowing things I feel I should when I read the stories xP

5. With a very few exceptions (and always because an author I love is writing it) I won't read teacher/student fics. I just can't get over how inappropriate it is xP

PREFERENCES:

1. I like colds <3 I'll read allergy fics if the premise sounds interesting, if I like the author, or if there are just no good new cold fics to be had and I really want to read something...but I'm about ten times as likely to look at an illness fic.

2. I like plot, and I like pointless fluff stories - but I don't like when a fic with lots of plot devolves into only fluff xP It's annoying when an author has a great story going and then ends up lovingly writing every detail of a care scene for weeks. I keep wanting to know what's happening with that great plot!

3. I prefer original 90% of the time. If it's a fanfic the characters have to actually be in character. So I only like it if the author is good at this.

4. While I prefer males in everything else, I tend to gravitate more to females with the fetish (except IRL, when I again prefer males) *shrugs*. So if it's a story with mainly female sneezing I'm more likely to read it.

5. I prefer reading about M/F or M/M...I'm not much into F/F in other people's stories. Yet that's all I draw...go figure xP

6. Preferably no characters that are sneeze fetishists. It's been done too much, I'm over it xD But that's not always an issue...just depends how it's done and my mood I suppose!

I could go on but this is too long already

Edited March 7, 2013 by Kiwifruit

[purpleninja]

I agree with Kiwifruit on this one; she brought up some good points.

1- I don't like furries, either. Actually, I didn't even know there was such a thing until I came on here.

2- Again, of course, proper grammar is appreciated. Well, maybe not proper, but I want to know they at least tried

3- This is, again, a major point I agree with Kiwifruit on. I prefer the sneezing to be kept to a realistic quantity.

4- I don't like when authors do the plot where someone sneezes and ends up blowing things over or something like that. So, while sometimes I'll read about huge sneezes, I'm not a particular fan. I mean, seriously, does that happen in real life? Which leads me to point number 5:

5- I like realistic stories. I like to be able to picture the scenes in my head, and that's hard to do when the plot isn't realistic.

6- Allergies are okay, but I do prefer illness. I like fevers, too. Gah. Fevers.

7- Strange as it may be, I like parent-to-child caretaking or older person to younger person caretaking. Just the thought of someone like a parent coddling someone else like a child is just too sweet to pass up.

8- I like a little mention of mess, but not a gross amount. If it's an unearthly amount of mess...ew.

9- I *LOVE* angst, caretaking, and fluff. A mixture of all three is simply heaven.

10- And, of course, my ALL TIME FAVORITES of stories have Justin Bieber in them

Edited January 1, 2013 by purpleninja

[tma]

MUSTS:

1. Human only...I've never got into furries and don't anticipate getting into them in future either

2. Decent grammar/spelling - I don't mind some minor errors or some casual sentence structure, but no 200 word run on sentences or lack of paragraphing. Definitely no text speak!!

3. No endless sneezing. I really find it completely off putting when stories have characters sneezing every ten seconds or having neverending fits every other sentence...it's completely unrealistic and overdone. I'm perfectly capable of imagining a person a bajillion times in a row by myself...I like stories to have a least a little original plot

4. If it's a fanfic, it has to be a fandom I know. This has changed for me - I used to read Twilight fics before I read the books (which actually inspired me to read the series) and every now and then I'll look at one if I really like the author or the title is particularly interesting. Generally though I hate not knowing things I feel I should when I read the stories xP

5. With a very few exceptions (and always because an author I love is writing it) I won't read teacher/student fics. I just can't get over how inappropriate it is xP

PREFERENCES:

2. I like plot, and I like pointless fluff stories - but I don't like when a fic with lots of plot devolves into only fluff xP It's annoying when an author has a great story going and then ends up lovingly writing every detail of a care scene for weeks. I keep wanting to know what's happening with that great plot!

3. I prefer original 90% of the time. If it's a fanfic the characters have to actually be in character. So I only like it if the author is good at this.

6. Preferably no characters that are sneeze fetishists. It's been done too much, I'm over it xD But that's not always an issue...just depends how it's done and my mood I suppose!

Yes!! (sharing a brain is fun )

And my experience of F/F has been feeling like there isn't a plot- just an excuse to have two females making out. Which, I've also experienced a decent share of both characters with the sf feeling the same way. **NOTE: I know that this isn't always the case,just my experience**

Also, as far as my general tendencies- I know that there are always the exceptions- if I *love* an author I'm far more willing to try things that I generally don't and I usually find myself very pleasantly surprised. Additionally there are stories that I've read that evoke more of an Awww!! or just "Oooo... good story" reaction rather than necessarily pushing fetishy buttons, but I still enjoy them lots.

[_Daisy_]

I am a huge fan of anything with lots of care-taking and romance. I definitely enjoy sexual scenes, but I have a strong antipathy for anything vulgar. Ha, call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather not have a lot of four-letter words being shouted around my boudoir. Historical settings are always nice too...that, coupled with a strong bond between a husband/wife + plenty of blessings =

[Pilgrim]

This is super interesting, thanks everybody for responding (and further thanks to other people who will respond later!) This actually even kind of explains some of the trends on the story board, how cool!

[doggo]

Male, cold. I seldom read anything else.

I look for misery - preferably good, yummy, fresh, indulgent portrayal of misery. In language. In the things chosen to be portrayed. In over-all plot. If a fic manages to cover all those three levels with a miserable cold, I love it.

I am not very big on plot nowadays. Or witty banter. I would prefer the characters to be described only in a light, sketchy manner and the dialogue not stealing the show from the main thing, which is the miserable cold.

One might say that I like a fic with a good high misery/word ratio.

[VoOs]

Male, cold. I seldom read anything else.

I look for misery - preferably good, yummy, fresh, indulgent portrayal of misery. In language. In the things chosen to be portrayed. In over-all plot. If a fic manages to cover all those three levels with a miserable cold, I love it.

I am not very big on plot nowadays. Or witty banter. I would prefer the characters to be described only in a light, sketchy manner and the dialogue not stealing the show from the main thing, which is the miserable cold.

One might say that I like a fic with a good high misery/word ratio.

^What she said, basically. Just exchange "cold" for "allergies". No plot needed. Just describe someone's nasal misery to me in great detail, and I'm good. If I want a good story, I read non-fetish fiction. I do appreciate good characters in a fetish story, but that's mostly because bad characters aren't very sexy.

So, yeah. I actually prefer the kind of fic that could be seen as having "too much sneezing and too little plot". Maybe it's because I'm easily distracted, and can't really focus on the sexiness if there's a whole lot of other stuff going on at the same time. *shrug*

[thesneeze123]

Criteria

1. It has to be female sneezing or I probably won't read it

2. Must be a human character. I don't really get into that other stuff.

3. I don't like it when the character has a fit of 367 sneezes and gets to the point where her nose falls of because she just sneezed for the 5 millionth time that day

Extra Credit

4. I love the sneezing while hiding scenarios, can't have enough of those. Or even just when the character doesn't want to sneeze because its a inopprutune time.

5. I like when the story has giants but they have to be human giants. Especially when people are traveling inside of the giants nose which triggers a sneeze!

6. I prefer the sneeze being caused by feathers #1 followed by pepper then allergies and lastly a cold. However, any one is fine.

[Anonymouse]

If I'm looking for something while I'm "in the mood," it has to have really good spellings or otherwise really good descriptions of all the yummy stuff that happens directly before, during, and after the sneezing. I usually seek out something heavy on sneezing, with little plot, or I'll go through a story that has a plot and just look for the parts with the sneezing.

If I'm just casually checking out the fiction, I look generally for male stuff with a story to it. M/M or M/F is okay. I'll read female stuff too if I like the author. Cold, allergies, induced, it's all beautiful to me. I'll read fanfic if it's a show/book/movie/etc., I'm familiar with and only if the characters are in character. I like some originals, but I really need to like the original characters that are being presented. I do appreciate a well thought out plot with sneezing playing less of a role; it feels more natural, rather than having someone sneeze a string of "Ahchoo! Ehtchoo! Ahshew! Ehshoo!"s in a row every ten seconds with nothing else going on.

I like fluff and I like angst, whether the story features one or the other, or both. I like when characters are really miserable (I'm a bit sadistic that way), but I also like when they're sharing cute moments. I love caretaking and gratuitous bless-yous.

Also with originals, I prefer modern characters and settings. Realistic, too, like a couple of people said before. But I'm into some fandoms that are certainly not realistic so obviously that doesn't apply to those fanfics.

Not a fan of stories about real people, actors, etc. sneezing. Feels creepy to me.

I think that's about it.

[Light]

The stories I like the best are original tales about a girl trying not to sneeze and eventually failling. Hiding stories are fun to but anything were the person could not help it. Not sure why but they are my favorates

[Introvertedme]

hmmm i would say my favorites would be male and about characters from books or movies ect. but yeah. i tend to prefer allergies over colds because i have this weird empathetic thing where if a character is sick in a story im reading, i start to feel all blah-ish myself.

im strange.

this is an interesting topic though...i like it!

[(AEarthM)]

I like a sci fi story generally (a good plot supports most of those stories) as well as characters who causes things to happen, not always acted upon by chance. On the fetish side, I like f stories and hiding, dust, and allergies.

[Evilduckling108]

I'm pretty partial to fanfic myself. It's really rare that I read original stuff because I like to really 'know' the characters and as anyone who's read my drabble thread could probably tell you, I tend to fixate on one or two fandoms for a while before latching onto something new. (Or not.) Anyway, I'm a little more drawn to sickfic because I absolutely love caretaking relationships, but I certainly wouldn't turn down a well-written allergy fic. It kind of does need to be in character and I hate like cartoon-y stuff or things that feel totally unrealistic. I tend to only really read F sneezing and I've got a soft spot for F/F, but depending on the ship, I'll read M/F too. It can have plot, but sometimes I'm just in the mood for no real plot and I am so weak for fluff. I'll read angst very rarely, but fluff is totally my go-to.