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Worldbuilding and fanfic tropes
Oct. 22nd, 2016 06:54 pmSo anyone remember how Dom/Sub AUs were the big thing before A/B/O AUs? And I mean, there was some overlap in the time periods, as there tends to be when switching from one trope to another, but I definitely feel like D/S AUs used to be more popular and that ABO has kinda taken their place and filled a similar niche in fandom.
And for the most part I'm neutral about it. I've seen some great ABO fic that played with the trope really well, but it doesn't really address how female-assigned biology plays in that system very well. Or with any frequency. Meanwhile, D/S AUs don't tend to talk about non-kinky people or seem to acknowledge the existence of Switches? I've read fewer of those, and naturally fewer good ones that really play with and/or challenge the dynamics.
Also, anatomy aside, I feel like there's a whole lot of worldbuilding that both types of AUs tend to ignore. Like, for ABO fics, I feel like there should be a minimum of three pronouns, since there are basically three "genders": Alpha, Beta, and Omega. If we want to get really complicated, we could go upwards of eight sets of pronouns: Female/Male Alpha, Female/Male Beta, Female/Male Omega, and Female/Male child/no dynamic presented. And then for D/S AUs, I feel like gender dynamics aren't explored nearly as well as they could be, even if "Dom" and "Sub" are the only acknowledged "genders." (They aren't; again, see: pronouns. Every D/S AU fic I've ever read has included genders and pronouns analogous to those in our world, though again, not for the Dom/Sub divide).
Anyway, part of me is screaming inside about the lack of worldbuilding, though usually it's drowned out by the part of me that's soothing it and pointing out the fics are written for entertainment and escapism and it'd be harder to do that with the introduction of extra pronouns and extreme worldbuilding.
But the other part of me, oh man. The other part just wants to smoosh the AU types together and delight in the chaos that results. *quietly creates a Submissive Alpha Trans Woman character and squishes her*
And for the most part I'm neutral about it. I've seen some great ABO fic that played with the trope really well, but it doesn't really address how female-assigned biology plays in that system very well. Or with any frequency. Meanwhile, D/S AUs don't tend to talk about non-kinky people or seem to acknowledge the existence of Switches? I've read fewer of those, and naturally fewer good ones that really play with and/or challenge the dynamics.
Also, anatomy aside, I feel like there's a whole lot of worldbuilding that both types of AUs tend to ignore. Like, for ABO fics, I feel like there should be a minimum of three pronouns, since there are basically three "genders": Alpha, Beta, and Omega. If we want to get really complicated, we could go upwards of eight sets of pronouns: Female/Male Alpha, Female/Male Beta, Female/Male Omega, and Female/Male child/no dynamic presented. And then for D/S AUs, I feel like gender dynamics aren't explored nearly as well as they could be, even if "Dom" and "Sub" are the only acknowledged "genders." (They aren't; again, see: pronouns. Every D/S AU fic I've ever read has included genders and pronouns analogous to those in our world, though again, not for the Dom/Sub divide).
Anyway, part of me is screaming inside about the lack of worldbuilding, though usually it's drowned out by the part of me that's soothing it and pointing out the fics are written for entertainment and escapism and it'd be harder to do that with the introduction of extra pronouns and extreme worldbuilding.
But the other part of me, oh man. The other part just wants to smoosh the AU types together and delight in the chaos that results. *quietly creates a Submissive Alpha Trans Woman character and squishes her*
