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Notoyax17 When all you have is a blowtorch... Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: I've got a total eclipse of the heart
When all you have is a blowtorch...
#1: Oct 3rd 2014 at 10:20:36 AM

This is about plot devices, plot lines, groupings, etc. that you don't understand the appeal of and would like some other fans in the know to explain it to you.

For example, you've never read stories with polyamory or slash (specific random pairings or in general) or certain kinks or coffeeshop A Us in it but you see them everywhere and wonder why so many people enjoy reading/writing about them.

You're welcome to ask a new question or reply to one that's been asked.

My question: What is the appeal of the Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics trope? I get that it allows for an easier way to explain away mpreg and random sex scenes but is there more to it?

"Yo, those kids are straight up liars, man. All I told them to do was run product. And by product, I mean chewing gum."
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#2: Oct 3rd 2014 at 10:23:21 AM

...I will not answer this question, as it is against my religious principles.

That's a good excuse, right? Okay, to be perfectly honest, I don't even know, and I don't want to know.

Oh God! Natural light!
Notoyax17 When all you have is a blowtorch... Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: I've got a total eclipse of the heart
When all you have is a blowtorch...
#3: Oct 3rd 2014 at 10:24:32 AM

[lol] It's not a good excuse but it's certainly a reasonable one.

edited 3rd Oct '14 10:25:06 AM by Notoyax17

"Yo, those kids are straight up liars, man. All I told them to do was run product. And by product, I mean chewing gum."
MidnightRambler Ich bin nicht schuld! 's ist Gottes Plan! from Germania Inferior Since: Mar, 2011
Ich bin nicht schuld! 's ist Gottes Plan!
#4: Oct 3rd 2014 at 11:27:57 AM

Now I'm curious. What are these "Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics" you speak of?

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein...
Notoyax17 When all you have is a blowtorch... Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: I've got a total eclipse of the heart
When all you have is a blowtorch...
#5: Oct 3rd 2014 at 11:30:03 AM

[up] I'm just going to include a link because there's SO much stuff to it (most of which I didn't even know tbh).

A/B/O Dynamics

"Yo, those kids are straight up liars, man. All I told them to do was run product. And by product, I mean chewing gum."
EvaUnit01 Fandom Heretic Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
Pannic Since: Jul, 2009
#7: Oct 3rd 2014 at 11:37:43 AM

I suspect mpreg exists 'cause a lot of slash fiction is written by girls, and most amateur authors aren't particularly good at writing the opposite sex.

Of course, this hypothesis relies on the admittedly sexist assumption that a lot of girls are very interested in the babies end of the relationship equation.

edited 3rd Oct '14 11:38:08 AM by Pannic

Notoyax17 When all you have is a blowtorch... Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: I've got a total eclipse of the heart
When all you have is a blowtorch...
#8: Oct 3rd 2014 at 11:54:25 AM

[up]...What? I'm not sure what you mean by that first line. Slash writers (that are girls) write mpreg because they don't know how to write male characters?

That...sounds like two separate issues.

"Yo, those kids are straight up liars, man. All I told them to do was run product. And by product, I mean chewing gum."
Sharysa Since: Jan, 2001
#9: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:26:52 PM

Actually, they're semi-related. There's scads of amateur fics where I just instinctively know that the writer's a girl because the men in the story don't act like men.

It tends to get worse if m-preg's involved.

PrettyCoco Since: Jan, 2013
#10: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:27:17 PM

I dont understand what ANYONE sees in Ranma 1/2. Can anyone explain the appeal?

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#11: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:28:05 PM

[up] I'm not a fan, but what do you find unappealing?

Oh God! Natural light!
HeirophantsFool I use guns instead of magic. Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
I use guns instead of magic.
#12: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:51:40 PM

'''I DON'T EVEN!'''

I have no more hope for humanity...

Super Robot! SUPER ROBOT! ◥▶◀◤ Also, if some of my posts don't make sense, please take note that I might lack slee
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#13: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:57:18 PM

It's not a good excuse but it's certainly a reasonable one.

To describe the behavior of humans within the context of a largely discredited behavior model for wolves (it was based on their behavior in captivity, under high stress; it turns out it doesn't reflect their behavior in the wild) is not a reasonable act.

edited 3rd Oct '14 12:58:05 PM by Night

Nous restons ici.
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#14: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:58:50 PM

[up] I believe that was directed at my first post, actually.

You may disagree with religion if you wish, but I still don't think that it's a bad excuse, given the circumstances. *shiver*

edited 3rd Oct '14 12:59:03 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#15: Oct 3rd 2014 at 12:59:56 PM

Well, that's not a good excuse either, but for very different reasons.

Nous restons ici.
Pannic Since: Jul, 2009
#16: Oct 3rd 2014 at 1:22:21 PM

So is the TL;DR of it "the relationship is defined solely by who tops and who bottoms"?

PPPSSC Since: Nov, 2009
#17: Oct 3rd 2014 at 2:04:36 PM

I don't get what people see in pairings between two characters who hate each other. I don't mean Belligerent Sexual Tension. I mean people whose only interaction is literally trying to kill each other. Especially if one or both of them have a better supported partner.

Pannic Since: Jul, 2009
#18: Oct 3rd 2014 at 2:34:05 PM

Might as well ask why shipping exists in general.

Notoyax17 When all you have is a blowtorch... Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: I've got a total eclipse of the heart
When all you have is a blowtorch...
#19: Oct 3rd 2014 at 2:47:50 PM

[up][up] There's a shit ton of passion in that. The whole "The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference.'' So maybe the hate leads to hate-sex and the hate-sex leads to the anger settling back a bit?

And, let be honest, the villain is likely better written than the love interest. People are more likely to use the characters they're more comfortable with/have more information on.

"Yo, those kids are straight up liars, man. All I told them to do was run product. And by product, I mean chewing gum."
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#20: Oct 3rd 2014 at 3:07:09 PM

As someone once observed to me of their own divorced parents, "You can tell how much they loved each other, how passionately, by how passionately they hate each other now and how deeply betrayed they feel."

Of course the problem is that doesn't actually defuse like most people want it to.

Nous restons ici.
IAmNotCreativeEnough himitsu keisatsu from asa kara ban made omae o miru Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
himitsu keisatsu
#21: Oct 12th 2014 at 11:03:52 PM

You know, I would probably have a better opinion of those pairings in which people hate each other if I had ever seen, or read, one in which the pairing was actually played straight, seriously, and for drama, instead of the two characters spontaneously loving each other with no logical explanation.

And, like it was said, this isn't Belligerent Sexual Tension. This is characters who genuinelly loathe each other, and who would never consider the other an adequate partner even if they were the last two humans alive. Or even just characters who dislike each other without having any sort of positive interaction.

For some reason, this seems to me like it's more common with Good aligned females dating truly rotten villains. Draco in Leather Pants seems to be the usual culprit.

Oh, and these stories also come with a heavy dose of bashing.

And that, ladies in gentlemen clothes, is what I want to ask y'all.

I don't get what people see in bashing. What do people see in bashing?

himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimari
FullMoon feeling blue from Surface Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
feeling blue
#22: Oct 13th 2014 at 8:16:04 AM

Catharsis Factor I assume.

edited 13th Oct '14 8:17:06 AM by FullMoon

PPPSSC Since: Nov, 2009
#23: Oct 13th 2014 at 12:15:50 PM

Catharsis Factor, definitely, as long as the bashing is based around a character's canonical flaws rather than something entirely different. Which leads me to: if you hate a character enough to devote a story to bashing him, why would you make up flaws to use against him instead of basing them off the source material?

Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#24: Oct 13th 2014 at 12:33:40 PM

Well, at one point is one inventing vs. working from the canon? Because honestly most bashing involves trying to exaggerate real or perceived deficiencies to the point they really do read like invented.

Nous restons ici.
SapphireBlue Since: Jan, 2001
#25: Oct 13th 2014 at 1:18:21 PM

I remember seeing a FFIX fanfic that made Garnet a holier-than-thou asshole specifically so that Zidane would ditch her for an OC. The fic doesn't seem to exist anymore, but that bugs me even more than garden-variety bashing.

edited 13th Oct '14 1:18:58 PM by SapphireBlue


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