opalmatrix | Dear Worldbuilder 2023

Thank you so much for writing a story for me. I usually do try to expand the letters with details about specific fandoms and characters, but I don't always succeed.

Have many optional details about what I like and don't like in a story.

Preferences

I Don't Like:

Sickly-sweet, coy, cutesy romantic stuff (anything in the "tee-hee-hee, is he looking at me?" category is definitely out)
Extensive use of epithets, or epithets that don't match the character POV (no one should think of his or her long-time lover as "the green-eyed man," for example): these will throw me right out of a story (for more about epithets, see this)
Characters acting out of character, especially if the purpose is to force them into a relationship (doubly bad if that relationship is romantic or sexual)
By-the-numbers, every-action-described sex (a/k/a Ikea Erotica - link goes to TVTropes). Note that actual sex is fine (I love me some sexy stories) — just don't like it when the descriptions turn into a set of exact stage directions.
Mpreg, rape, forced sex (including sex pollen and fuck-or-die), hatesex. Dubcon is OK, especially the sort when the reluctant partner really wants the other person but is just not quite feeling ready yet or doesn't think se wants it in this particular way but gets off on it anyway.
Humiliation or betrayal (without a damn good plot reason) of a character by a friend or lover
A/B/O and related kinks/tropes, incest (unless canon), scat/watersports/emetophilia, tentacles, non-human genitalia.

I Like:

Strong characterization (including character-appropriate dialog: no earthy, uneducated characters using $100 words)
Positive emotional payoffs that are well-earned
Passions that are strong without being mushy/fluffy
Moments of realization — satori
Friendships - although I am a romantic person, not every relationship must be romantic (I do like the trope of friends becoming lovers, however)
Wry and even dark humor in the course of a more serious story
And I like any of the following "cool bits":
- hurt-comfort
- being cozy indoors when it's rainy or snowing
- warm and oversized bathrobes/dressing gowns or sweaters/jerseys
- the little spots of light that sift through a thick canopy of trees onto the ground beneath
- water running over pebbles or stones
- old-fashioned sections of town with narrow streets and alleyways and odd shops
- an autumn leaf or item of clothing as the only bit of color in a bleak landscape
- cabinets or cases full of odd curios
- the sound of a flute or panpipes
- an open-air market or seaside boardwalk or other place filled with joyful bustle and the smell of good things to eat
- a teahouse or restaurant on the water
- food porn
- cynics with secretly soft hearts
- a study or library as a refuge against the outside world
- places where arts or martial arts are studied or where master crafters are at work
- water sounds: rain, a brook, waves
- the moon(s) seen through wind-blown branches
- realistically depicted animal companions; cute is OK, as long as it is realistically cute
- shopping or low-tension planning scenes, where people are working together to pick things out
- unexpected gifts that turn out to be Just Right

I'm quite content with both straight and gay relationships. I do tend to ship the canon relationships, unless it's a character who has had no clear relationships shown in the story. I'm not comfortable with sexual relationships shown in children under the age of, say, 14 or so, and even then it's better in context (teens with other teens or in a societal setting where girls expect to marry by 16-18 anyway).