BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Reading challenge: Unexpected Tags

Vhanja · May 12, 2015 10:33 am

I don't know if this is something anyone would be interested in, so not sure how this will go. But figured I could test the waters and see if anyone is up for this.

In other threads we have talked about how many of us will ignore/scroll past fics that have certain tags. Either because we are simply not interested, we find them a bit silly, too OOC or anything else. But what if we challenged ourselves, giving out a tag we would normally never read and promise to read one fic. Then someone could find that one fic that they think might be a good representation to show that fics with such tags can really be good.

I know that I have myself read fics from tags I would normally ignore and been pleasently surprised, and even convinced to continue reading those tags if the story otherwise sounds interesting. Perhaps this could broaden our horizon? Or perhaps not, but then nothing's really lost.

This isn't for tags that makes you uncomfortable or will trigger you in any way. You decide yourself what tag you will give a try.

Anyone game?

List of participants:
Lilythiell
Yitzock
mrshouse
Vhanja
Whisky
Lilythiell
ukaunz

List of tags:
Crossovers (Whisky, mrshouse, Vhanja)
Parentlock (Whisky, mrshouse, Vhanja)
A/B/O (Whisky, Vhanja, Yitzock, ukaunz)
Vampirelock (Whisky)
Sportlock (Lilythiell)
Merlock (Lilythiell)
Slavery fic (ukaunz)

Tag recommenders:
Translock (Yitzock)
Slavery (Vhanja, Lilythiell)
Vampirelock (Kittyhawk)
Parentlock (Lilythiell)
A/B/O (Lilythiell)
Merlock (Kittyhawk)

Challenges accepted:
Lilythiell - reading "Drowning's Boring" (Merlock), rec by Kittyhawk
Tabris - reading "The Guilded Cage" (A/B/O) rec by Lilythiell
ukaunz - reading "Collared" (Slaveryfic) rec by Tabris, and "The Guilded Cage" (A/B/O) rec by Kittyhawk

Last edited by SusiGo (October 22, 2015 7:09 am)

Lilythiell · May 12, 2015 12:03 pm

That's a good idea. I'll think on it - I don't know at the top of my hat what tags I'll avoid, I just know when I see them that I don't want to read any further.

Yitzock · May 12, 2015 1:37 pm

This does sound like an interesting idea! I'll have to think of something that I've avoided in the past. I mean, I know things that I before wouldn't have considered that I ended up looking for, but there isn't really much that I've come across that I've avoided. I'll give it some thought.

mrshouse · May 12, 2015 3:02 pm

Not a bad idea. I have a couple of things I avoid actually....
Not sure how to pull it off, though. Maybe a bit like the Secret Santa fic exchange, matching partners and then it's one rec for each. I think otherwise everybody is littered with at least twenty recommendations....

Vhanja · May 12, 2015 3:10 pm

I don't think we can match partners, because there is no guarantee that your partner has read any fics of the tag you are requesting. But, yeah, ideas on how to do it would be welcome. I reckon those who have read a few fics with that tag can recommend one fic each, and explain a bit about why they recommend it. If more than one fic comes for one tag, then I guess the requester can decide which one he/she chooses to read?

Whisky · May 12, 2015 3:43 pm

I'd be interested. Try to convince me that Crossovers are fun (warning: tough challenge) :-P Also anything parentlock makes me run (among many other tags). I've read parentlock fics but didn't like one so far.

Maybe we could do a weekly challenge. We agree on one tag per week (sb can suggest one maybe), and then we all try for the one week to find a good story with that tag? If someone reads that tag anyway, it will be easy and quick, if not, we have all some experimental reading to do.

(it would also be easy for everyone who is uncomfortable with the weekly tag to keep away one week and join in again the next week)

Last edited by Whisky (May 12, 2015 3:45 pm)

Vhanja · May 12, 2015 3:45 pm

That sounds interesting, Whisky, but it's kind of a different type of challenge than the one I had in mind. I am thinking that those who are comfortable and well-known with whatever tag is up, is the one who can give a fic that they think will be good.

mrshouse · May 12, 2015 3:48 pm

That makes two to avoid crossovers and most of parentlock, whisky.
That sounds not too bad actually. But I would suggest some sort of list of participants anyway, so there's a bit of order in suggesting the tags. ( Gosh, the Germans....)
And we need a variety of readers of course.

Yitzock · May 12, 2015 3:52 pm

Well, we can't do much until someone mentions a tag they avoid. Once we get that, someone who has a recomendation that fits can give share it and then the person who said they usually avoided the tag says what they thought of the fic.
Either that, or a few people pick a fic they liked that has a tag that might be unusual or that some people may either avoid or have not heard about, and then people who have never read it give it a try and share their thoughts when they're done.
That's all I can think of for now.

Whisky · May 12, 2015 3:52 pm

Vhanja wrote:
That sounds interesting, Whisky, but it's kind of a different type of challenge than the one I had in mind. I am thinking that those who are comfortable and well-known with whatever tag is up, is the one who can give a fic that they think will be good.

Okay :-) Still interested, whichever way we do it ;-)
I just thought that there might be tags that maybe non of the forum community likes much - so in that case we could push ourselves together to dig into unknown terrority ;-)

Whisky · May 12, 2015 3:57 pm

Yitzock wrote:
Well, we can't do much until someone mentions a tag they avoid.

Well, I mentioned two already ;-) (parentlock and crossover)

list of participants: probably all that posted here so far? :-)

Last edited by Whisky (May 12, 2015 3:59 pm)

Yitzock · May 12, 2015 3:58 pm

Sorry, my post got out of order because people posted while I was still composing,so I didn't see them until after I postsed. Responding to Vhanja's last post, maybe we could pool some tags that might not be a shared interest from different people, come up with a list of people and tags, and then give the recommendations?

Last edited by Yitzock (May 12, 2015 3:59 pm)

Vhanja · May 12, 2015 3:59 pm

Yeah, if there are tags no one know anything off, then we can do a collective research. For science.

I can give my own tag - Alpha/Beta/Omega-dynamics. I really, really dislike the concept, but I am willing to let that go and give a fic a serious try if someone can recommend me a good one. Preferably a fic without Mpreg, as that is a tag that cross over to uncomfortable territory for me.

Whisky · May 12, 2015 4:00 pm

Yitzock wrote:
we could pool some tags

we could collect some tags, make a voting maybe, and then start with the most (un-)popular :-) I just feel that's making it rather complicated...

Vhanja wrote:
Alpha/Beta/Omega-dynamics. I really, really dislike the concept

I second this, Vhanja. I tried reading it, but never made it past the first chapter.

Last edited by Whisky (May 12, 2015 4:03 pm)

Yitzock · May 12, 2015 4:08 pm

Vhanja wrote:
I can give my own tag - Alpha/Beta/Omega-dynamics. I really, really dislike the concept, but I am willing to let that go and give a fic a serious try if someone can recommend me a good one. Preferably a fic without Mpreg, as that is a tag that cross over to uncomfortable territory for me.

I would be willing to try it, too, since I also tend to avoid that.

Still can't think of anything much than that, but if anyone avoids Trans Sherlock I can give a fic rec.

Whisky · May 12, 2015 4:12 pm

Yitzock wrote:
Still can't think of anything much than that, but if anyone avoids Trans Sherlock I can give a fic rec.

I don't avoid it but haven't read it either and would take the rec (PM?) :-)

Vhanja · May 12, 2015 4:13 pm

Please don't use this thread for regular recs.

First post updated with lists. Will update as we go.

Yitzock · May 12, 2015 4:22 pm

Looks like we've got a nice little group so far. I'm assuming once we have someone to recomend a tag they will be added to the tag recomenders list? I think I remember someone making an A/B/O rec in the topic where we were discussing it before. Can't remember who it was, or whether maybe it was more than one person, but maybe they would have something to contribute. I guess we can give this topic a bit of time, though, since it hasn't even been a whole day yet.

Vhanja · May 12, 2015 4:24 pm

Oh yes, no rush. And people can join at anytime, no deadline or anything here.

Whisky · June 16, 2015 5:16 pm

Vampires. I also dislike vampire Sherlock!

Is the game still on? ;-)