Snowflake Challenge: Day 10

[llaeyro]

Day 10

In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (More than one is okay, too.) Tell us about it, tell us why you love it, give us some examples and recs. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

WHY ARE THESE GETTING SO HARDDDDDDDD >.<

I like a lot of kinks and tropes, you can see my list here, so I want to talk about something harder to define.

I like small realistic details. Particularly in sex. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of ridiculous cheesy romance now and then, and certain aspects of rl are just not sexy, but I like to have a balance between the realism and the fantasy. Things like gravity-defying penises (if he's as big as you're making out, it's just not going to be touching his belly while he's standing...) and sex-god virgins turn up quite a lot, and they just make me giggle.

So, what do I mean by small realistic details? Even someone needing to use the toilet inconsequentially makes me smile. It's not a plot device, he just really needs to pee, because bladders have shit timing. Fumbling virgins, imperfect first times, incompatibility (to an extent, obvs), being interrupted, bumping noses kissing, having a stupid/goofy moment during sex, griping at each other over little things, the occasional character being left-handed, things not always working out, imperfect characters, imperfect relationships, bad decisions, the list goes on. If I was a het reader, I'd include mentions of contraception and periods.

I think these little touches just make the story feel more real, and the characters more relatable. I don't really feel able to rec for this, as what I'm focussing on here may just be a single line in the story. The only stories I can think of that have an overall feel of this sort of realism are certain virgin!fics, but a list of recs for that wouldn't accurately represent what I'm trying to advocate here.

Comments

[kiki_eng]

Realistic sex is awesome. And I love laughing and griping, and, like, all of those things you mention are I think also part of good characterisation. Like, Captain Uncoordinated is not going to be magically coordinated during sex without a lot of practice (and even then) I do not care how much they masturbate. *nods at you*

[llaeyro]

Thanks for checking out the post, it's always good to know you're not alone with these random little thoughts =D

[ruinsplume]

What a spot-on and well-articulated post. As I read it, one fic in particular popped into my head--I'm sure you've seen it, it's probably a certifiably OLD chestnut at this point--but definitely holds up on reread: "That the Science of Cartography is Limited," by Rave (aka dorkorific, from shoebox project). There's quite a bit of fumbling, and beautifully written attention to detail of character and setting. And if you haven't read it, you're in for a treat. Not super porny, it's rated M I think, but more than makes up in feels what it lacks in outright smut.

[llaeyro]

Thank you! And thanks for the rec, I've hunted it down and bookmarked it as I haven't heard of it before but YAY wolfstar =D

[capitu]

I love this post. I hadn't realised how much I do appreciate all these little details that make a story real so much. :)

[llaeyro]

Yay for little things going wrong! ^.^ lol Thanks for checking out the post ♥