This will mostly be used as a general reference for when I participate in exchanges of any sort, since I almost always neglect to write a general Dear Creator letter when I actually need to do so.

Please keep in mind that I am willing to read a lot of things at least once! I cannot promise I will like it if there is something that COMPLETELY squicks me, but I will almost always give something a chance.

You may notice my taste in source material, such as manga, is different than what I like in fanfiction. That is purposeful.

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favorites (will almost always read):

• character/relationship explorations
• slow burn
• canon-divergent AUs
• rivals to lovers - only if the two characters are canonically rivals
• survival explorations/what it means to live - only if the character(s) can reasonably be put in such a situation and/or it happens in canon (e.g. exploring cloud after zack dies in ff7)
• reincarnation/soulmate AUs
• friends-with-benefits that later become lovers - mostly if the characters are canonically intense with each other
• mutual pining
• growing emotional distance between characters - exploring what reality does to relationships and characters
• growing up
• slice-of-life - only with canons that are slice-of-life themselves, like sports animes
• missing scenes/behind-the-scenes - basically, what happened at or leading up to this moment/to this character that was not explored in canon
• pacific rim AUs

like, but am picky about:

• character death - only if the character dies or can reasonably die in their canon (e.g. fftype-0 where everyone is involved in war)
• fantasy AUs - fhq for hq!! tends to be an exception
• pwp/smut - vanilla sex is okay but am picky about and put off by a lot of kinks
• disabled characters - this excludes canonically disabled characters; as long as the author does their research, handles the subject matter realistically and sensitively, and makes disclaimers about authority to write about the subject, it is okay
• medical/hospital AUs - only do this if you really know what you're writing about
• unrequited love
• coffee shop/college/etc AUs - only if the canon is slice-of-life

do not usually like, but can be convinced:

• complete epistolary - using letters in the fic is fine, but a fic comprised entirely of letters will not usually keep my attention
• historical AUs
• magical AUs
• mythology AUs
• comedy - you can try, but it's a complete hit-and-miss for me
• scifi AUs
• songfic
• side-pairings - i am really picky about this
• love triangles
• non-canonical mental illness - will only read if reasonable to the character(s) who have them in the fic
• childhood stories - includes childhood friends, unless the characters are canonically childhood friends
• time travel AUs - only like if it relates to reincarnation/soulmates
• fluff - somewhat okay for fluffy ships, but if the ship characters are canonically not in a place where they'd be fluffy with each other, relationship build-up is needed

do-not-wants (will rarely touch):

• first person pov
• racebending, aka making a character a different race/ethnicity than is described/presumed in canon
• transphobia/racism/sexism/ableism etc - includes dealing with it; okay to mention or show little bits if it happens in the canon but do not make it prominent
• coming-out stories
• sexual/romantic adult/child pairings
• sexual situations involving characters under 15 - okay to mention if it happens to a character in canon, but do not write out
• mpreg
• a/b/o dynamics or relationships
• bdsm
• non-con - okay to mention if it happens to a character in canon, but do not write out
• body swaps
• biologically inaccurate porn/smut
• shapeshifting of any kind - okay if it happens in canon
• religion - some symbolism and canonical references are okay
• disabilities as metaphors - e.g. a character is blind to represent their ignorance to society; is okay if canonical
• characters used as relationship stepping stones - basically when you use another character/ship to lead to the main ship (e.g. oikage to kagehina); only okay if it happens in canon
• character/ship bashing
• bullying - okay if it happens in canon
• modern AUs - if the canon is historical
• tragedy for the sake of tragedy
• suicide - unless it's done extremely well and/or canonically takes place