Headers for multi-pairing fic

[secretsolitaire]

I have really failed at birthdays lately, so here goes: happy belated birthday to la_dissonance, happy birthday today to westernredcedar, and happy birthday tomorrow to klynie1 (whom I haven't seen around lately -- hope all is well

Comments

[izzyfics]

Unless it's a surprise pairing (which can be fun in itself), I like to see the ending pairing listed first, just for convenience sake.

But then I am easy when it comes to pairings--I seem to ship everyone.

[secretsolitaire]

I agree with this entire comment. :-) I'm a multi-shipper extraordinaire. But there are definitely pairings I prefer over others, and if we're talking about a long fic -- like a big bang or something -- I probably won't devote that amount of reading time to it if it's not a pairing I definitely like (unless it's recced or whatever). So in those cases I really want to know what the final pairing is going to be...I'm not going to read 40,000 words if Jim sleeps with Bones for a while and then throws him over for Spock. (Kirk/Spock is one of the very few pairings in ST that don't do it for me. *G*) And I agree that listing the main pairing first is most convenient.

[aldehyde]

i generally do it based on how the pairings were handled - their "screen time" as you called it. but sometimes i'll do it chronologically as well.

[secretsolitaire]

That's how I like to see pairings listed too, myself. Occasionally there are fics where there really isn't one "main" pairing, ie it's more about a character and the various relationships he/she has with others, and in that case I don't mind so much if the pairings are listed in chronological order. But if the point of a fic is to get a certain pairing together in the end, then I prefer that that pairing is listed first.

Thanks for weighing in. :-)

[sibyllevance]

I don't really read pairing fics, but I can tell you what I find the easiest to understand.
I like when the major pairings are listed and it's actually interesting sometimes to see what the author thinks are the major pairings. I also like vague indications like "various members of Dumbledore's Army' for example, since I think suspense is important as well. I've seen authors put "background this/that" which is fine by me (I mean, it's clear enough).
I don't know - do people stop reading the list if the first pairing listed makes them cringe?

[secretsolitaire]

I don't know - do people stop reading the list if the first pairing listed makes them cringe?

Good question. Some people probably might if they only like a limited number of ships. Personally I'll read the whole list, but I tend to assume that the first pairing is the main one, and if I'm not particularly interested in it I'll probably give the fic a pass (unless there are extenuating circumstances -- it's been recced, or the summary looks interesting, or it's got a bulletproof kink of mine in it, etc.). I have no problem reading pairings I'm not that interested in along the way to a happy ending for a pairing I am interested in...but I really prefer that the heading give me the latter information in a clear way. My "fic to read" pile is so enormous that I have to weed things out somehow. :-)

[justinlovesart]

Assuming that we must list the pairings, if they are all equally important, in alphabetical order or order of appearance.

If one is the goal or main pairing, that one comes first and the others are mentioned in order of importance [i.e. Ron/Draco, with Ron/Hermione, Ron/Harry, Blaise/Draco, Harry/Draco, Hermione/Ginny, etc.].

But I have to admit that I find lists of all pairings quite off-putting, because I get the impression that the story is just a big old messy orgy. More importantly, it's very spoilerish. Personally, I'm happy to know the main pairing (s), and sometimes I wish I didn't even know those, to enjoy the surprise.

[secretsolitaire]

*nods* I agree with your order preferences and definitely with the off-putting-ness of seeing too many pairings in a header...especially, for me, in a shorter fic. If it's a big epic then I'm less concerned because there's space and time to do each one justice, but if someone's squeezing four pairings into 4,000 words, I tend to think it might not work as well. (Plenty of fics have proven me wrong on that score, but it's the impression one gets.)

Re: spoilers, I'm not too bothered by those. Usually I go through my flist at a quick skim, using the headers to pick out anything that looks promising and opening them all in new tabs. When I get to the end of my flist, I usually have anywhere from 10 to 20 tabs open, so by the time I get back to read an individual fic I've often forgotten what made me click it in the first place; I just start reading and usually I'm surprised enough. :-P

[katmarajade]

If it's primarily a pairing focused fic, then I prefer the ending pairing to be listed first, unless the earlier pairings are for some reason the main focus of the story. If the fic is focused on a broader storyline, just featuring the pairings but not centered on them, then I would do them in order of appearance.

[secretsolitaire]

I agree with this completely. (Always nice when that happens. *g*)