BIASES

## key | my biases

Once the PSA started growing at quite an alarming speed, I thought I needed some sort of rating system to help people find the best stories. So I use # to differntiate quality.

This is my interpretation of how good the story is, and is based on the quality of writing (writing style, characterisation, plot etc - if applicable) and how much I enjoyed the story. Because of the latter, this assessment of the story may be different to yours, so it is only a guide, to help readers out a little. See my biases for what I look for in a story.

Stories are rated against similar stories, eg. I would give a brilliant little drabble ## when comparing with other drabbles. I wouldn't compare the drabble to a long, wonderful, clever chapter-fic; they are different mediums. Same goes for pairings too, I compare James/Remus fics with other James/Remus fics, for example.

The ## Key:

none - means I've thought it good enough to archive
# - means a good read, well worth reading
## - means a wonderful read, recommended

My Biases

Fave pairing: James/Sirius

Likes: good characterisation; pairing equality (ie no dominant character, no submissive character); male-ness; teenager boys acting like teenage boys; canon; angsty-romance; happy endings; believable writing/realism; build up/sexual tension; first-time; get together; boys experimenting; clever writing; character growth; unique and disfunctional/strange stories; clever beautiful ficlets; romancy-smut; AU; sap; intelligence and craftiness; fumbling; play-wrestling; fight-sex; secrets; friends-to-lovers transition; promiscuous!Sirius wanting James; clueless!James; confident, no-nonsense Remus; I-need-to-touch-you-right-now!passion; bi-sexual characters; het as a complication to get to the slash, ie. Lily :)

Dislikes: Out of character (OOC); bad spelling/grammar; wimpy characters and crying (unless for a very good reason); girly!boys (I'm reading slash not het masquerading as slash); height differences; disregard of canon; excess fluff (it's ok to a certain extent); Sirius/Remus; converted Lucius; songfics with very little story amongst endless lyrics. Not really into threesomes, but will read them.

Some more detail:

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, these are mine. If you don't like them, go somewhere else.

I'm a huge fan of characterisation. If I can't find a character believable, I can't read the story (unless of course it's a parody). I love complex characterisation, clever writing of characters and good character dynamics (how the characters interact with each other). It's just like a movie, if there's no chemistry between the characters it falls flat. In my opinion, anyone can write a story, but good writers create complexities and develop characters, adding so much more to the story. That's what I love about fanfiction, I love the canon characters and the fandom just builds on them and gives them layers and makes them even more interesting. Because James isn't described in too much detail in the series, it leaves a lot to be created, and gives writers a lot of freedom. I view James as being cocky but a bit unsure of himself underneath it all, warm-hearted, mischevous, smart, stubborn, used to getting his way, trusting, inseperable with Sirius, real (not perfect).

I love equality in a relationship, that the two boys can match each other in competence, stubbornness, intelligence etc, so that one is not dominant over the other. I love Sirius/James because to me they match perfectly, both need each other equality, give and take from each other, could stand up to the other when one is being stubborn or lashing out, and they understand each other, because they've been through everything together.

I read and love almost all James pairings because they all offer something different. The two main categories are enemy-enemy and friend-friend. I adore James/Sirius and James/Remus because I love the friends-to-lovers transition. The stories can be light, fun, playful, comforting, two best frinds finding each other, having fun together. Or in contrast can be angsty, heartwrenching, tension buildups etc that take you on a rollercoaster of emotions within a single story. Then there is the enemy-enemy dynamic, James/Snape and James/Lucius for example, stories that usually have dark undertones, are intense, secretive, hateful.

I love angst and conflicts needing resolution, romance is good (with a believable build up in enemy-enemy relationships) and I love drama. Humour is wonderful when it's subtle and clever, but I think it's very hard to do. I'm not such a bit fan of silly-humour unless it's done really well.

Smut is good, but it gets a bit boring after awhile. It's not as essential to a story as it used to be for me. I love the build up of sexual tension, with it all coming together in the end, but pwp's without that build up don't capture my attention enough. I'm not a big fan of threesomes, I don't like James sharing/being shared by anyone :) bdsm isn't really my thing either, though I can read it.

/ Sarvi . december 2006 .