D/s preferences in fic...?

[kat_lair]

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So here's a question to those of you who read fic with a d/s slant. Whether it's full on BDSM world AUs (like candy to me), formalised d/s relationships, or just characters being a bit toppy/subby in the bedroom (or out of it):

Do you have a really firm preference for a given pairing who is dominant, who submissive? Because boy howdy, I really

Comments

[anactoria]

There are a couple of pairings where I'm fine with them switching it up, but most of the time I have a pretty strong preference. A lot of my favourite characters are control freaks with boundary issues who would make terrible, terrible doms, which I think has something to do with it. ;)

Any hint of female submission in a het fic makes me extremely uncomfortable and I'll be hitting the back key no matter how good the writing, how healty/ssc the relationship portrayal etc.
+1. If femsub is your kink then I wish you nothing but fun from it, but personally, ick, no, get it away from me.

[kat_lair]

Depends on the flavour of control freakiness how I might see it... But yeah, I really like the quiet, unassuming person with a core of steel type to be the one taking charge in fics.

Yes and yes. Nothing against female subs, hell I've had plenty of fun with them, but for some reason I just can't stand it in het fic. Femslash yes, no problem.

[trialia]

Which is one of the huge reasons I never ever ever want to hear Char tell me about another of her visits to the fetish club. The other of course being that she's MY BABY SISTER FCOL. *shudder* Nuuuuu thank you. She went way TMI telling me about it the first time she ever went to one, and no, no, no, no, no, no, THANK you! (In case you can't tell, sister is hardcore sub, like knife-play type and ending up giggling all night in subspace after...

[kat_lair]

Haha yeah, I remember you despairing over this before. Yes, I can imagine it's like that with family members, same with friends. Like go forth, have fun, be safe but never give me any details...

[dreamsofspike]

I am VERY picky usually about who is in what role, but it's not like... a kink thing or an aesthetic thing (though those can be factors). It's usually more about how I see the characters' personalities.

For me, on the rare occasions I read Wincest (or for me, more likely Wincestiel) - I cannot imagine anyone but Sam being the dominant party. I actually can't imagine Sam being submissive to ANYONE. :P Now, if Dean is paired with Cas or Crowley, then I can imagine Dean being dominant - but never to Sam.

I am the opposite of you with Grimm - I like Nick to be the dominant party and Monroe submissive, but I could see that one going either way, in that case it's just my preference.

But I definitely have set preferences and in many cases I can't read/enjoy the opposite because to me, it seems OOC. *shrugs*

[kat_lair]

Well I'm glad to hear it's not just me who backs away from fics that don't conform to my preferences.

I'm with you on Sam, very difficult to see him subbing to anyone.

...and yeah, for me Monroe embodies the 'seems totally harmless but boy howdy' thing of hidden competency which always screams Dom for me :D

[milly_gal]

This is an excellent topic to discuss, and I may have to list my own on my own page, but for chatty purposes; I actually totally agree (wrong word maybe, feel?) your listed pairings and the dynamic's within. Let's pick one out of thin air, shall we - Remus/Sirius, I think to be the D/S slant has to be this way round simply because Remus is that much weaker than Padfoot, with his werewolf issues, with his month long health problems directly linked to the werewolf issues, and because Remus has spent his entire life ostracized because of his Lupine genes, it makes utter sense to have him be the dominant party here. And it also ties in to my need for a little hurt/comfort. The hurt being Remus' constant ridiculing by the larger wizarding world and the comfort being Sirius choosing to be the submissive partner simply because he knows Remus needs it. Ah, *le sighs* Padfoot and Moony, you are my other other OTP

[kat_lair]

That's all really interesting, thank you for such long thinky thoughts. And sorry it's taken me so long to answer (ugh work

[chocolate_frapp]

the D/s stuff that I wrote had Wilson domming and House subbing but House was a bossy sub, which I think is very IC.

[kat_lair]

Oh yes, that's another pairing where I've got a very firm preference. House is definitely the sub, but a bratty one for sure :)

[trialia]

Re-reading, I can get pretty twitchy about Bilbo/Thorin in this context, with the sometimes disturbingly extreme power differential between them, usually from Thorin's side, and, you know, the canon scene where he gets way too damn near dropping Bilbo off a freaking battlement. It's very rare that I can read D/s where Thorin is dominant and be comfortable with that - the, as I heard a friend refer to it once, "dark fuck Prince Thorin getting sexually aggressive with Bilbo" fics just... do. not. appeal to me at all, for various reasons. Bilbo on the other hand, my headcanon for him has him as the kind of bratty perceived-as-sub who might be sub in public but would absolutely be topping from the bottom in the bedroom. You agree?

[kat_lair]

Hmm, Bilbo/Thorin isn't a pairing where I really go looking for D/s, but yeah when I think about it Thorin as D makes me a bit shifty... I might be convinced but it would have to be handled well and be of the caretaking/service flavour...