Question about pairing

[del_rion]

I know, I KNOW; I have been writing smut for about a... oh, I don't know, at least a year. And have been reading it even longer.

I have been wondering about this for a while (forever, maybe?):

is there a difference between, let's say, Jared/Colin, and Colin/Jared (well, duh, you can pick any pairing... Peter/Nathan, Nathan/Peter). Is there a rule

Comments

[misguided_faith]

My general rule is that the one who "starts" the whole thing goes first. So, if Jared comes onto Colin, it'd be Jared/Colin, and vice versa. But that could just be the way I do it...not sure.

If there's a hard and fast, set-in-stone rule, I don't even know it, so you're not alone there. ;)

[del_rion]

Hmm... lol, ok :P

Maybe this should be made into a poll instead XD Who uses which way to determine their pairings and the order they're put in...

But thanks, anyway! *hugs*

[ojaganshi]

I've always viewed it as the way you brought up before. Whoever tops is the dominant one and comes first. I don't think it really matters much though.

[del_rion]

Ok. (how smart of me in that case)

I tend to forget the whole top/bottom thing when I write the "stats" for the story... so, in my case, you can't judge the story by that(maybe I'll should add that into the warnings XP) Random pairings on the loose.

[myr_juhl]

I present my main character first, which usually is Jared. Then I list in my characters in order of importance right after him. I never arrange them after who tops or not because a top is not necessarily dominating. A 'bottom' can top while riding his otherwise 'topping' partner and definitely him in that position... you know *s*

[del_rion]

Lol, yes, I know XD Tops are the ones who run the game. Otherwise it is somehow done wrong. (Read the manuals, boys! *chackles*)

I am a good little author and list characters too, these days (as you've noticed, possibly). But sometimes people still want to see the pairing of the story (and in some communities you have to include it in the post, if there's one in the story).

But oh well, seems like there's no actual rule about anything, so I won't bother my head with it any more than I already have :D

[del_rion]

I'm most definitely thinking of too many things at once (and LJ sucks because you can't edit your comments... *glare*)

I was meaning to say that bottoms run the game, not tops... geesh... *tries to find a desk that would fit her head*

[del_rion]

Oh, YES: I like him on the bottom of things, too XD

[mlady_rebecca]

I don't know that there is a common rule. In the abstract, I guess I'd put the character whose point of view it is, or who is focused on, first.

Then again, I think most pairings are usually listed one way or the other. Like by habit or informal consensus we've just decided the pairing is listed a given way. It's usually Jared/Colin, Jared/Shannon, Jared/Matt, Shannon/Tomo (or Shomo as some fans have dubbed them), ... (looks at your side pictures) ... Alexander/Hephaistion, Brian/Justin, ....

Isn't that strange in my head it's always Jared/Colin, but it's always Alexander/Hephaistion? In the case of A/H, it's the fact that historically it's Alexander's story. I think with J/C, it's the fact that I focus on Jared more than Colin.

*snort* In the end, I think do whatever you like.

[del_rion]

^^

I have also come into a conclusion that it just doesn't matter :P

But that's right: Jared comes first, and so does Alexander. Hmm.. Interesting. :P

(But I was kind of aware that it didn't really matter. Slash genre has like no rules at all, anyway XP but of course you could stretch this to het stuff too... oh boy.)