Maybe I should wait to read that until marijuana is legalized in Minnesota.

My personal rant is the fucking Modern AU

Haaaaate. Now that I think about it, I agree with Debet that a lot of it is because it's easier to write. So many of those AUs give me the feeling that the author is primarily interested in playing with the pretty, pretty characters.

In other news, I think I have to read that Jeeves fic. That looks hilarious.

Loki/Thor aside, I'll read just about any pairing, threesome, or moresome in the MCU as long as they don't commit character assassination to get there. Tony's superheroing is hard on those around him. I can read stories where he and Pepper can't make their relationship work, break up like grown ups, and find other loves. I've also read Tony/Pepper/Steve that I enjoyed, as well as Tony/Pepper/Bruce. When written well, it's all good. (well, maybe not Ward/Skye--I haven't tried that and don't plan to do so).

The Leverage vid linked above is good. I don't normally care for that style either, but the vidder made good clip choices and edited them together well. Have y'all seen thingswithwings Leverage vid, Parachute? [link]

I love the Parachute vid. It makes me so happy. If you need happy watch that.

I watched a vid recently and from the source, song choice, and subjecsubject I thought it would be good. And it had potential but the bidder muted lyrics and added dialogue over them to get the messay across and most of the clips would have told the story fine. It is also an action heavy source but so many of the clips were long shots or talking heads.

Then there's another vid I need to hunt down the source material ( I forget which show ) doesn't have a lot of movement. Well not like Leverage style but the bidder created a flow and movement with edits using shrugs or turns, etc.

That Leverage vid by thingswithwings is a thing of joy and beauty forever. I rewatch it often. Not only is it full of OT3 feels, it's got impeccable timing and musicality.

Dialog inserts rarely work for me, unless the video is just a straight up funny moments compilation. But I've run into some folks for whom dialog inserts are a given (a lot of youtube vids are like that), who said the *lack* of such inserts felt distancing. So it's all about what you're used to, I guess.

A/B/O gets an automatic back button for me, which is ironic since I gather it originated in werewolf fics and I've been fascinated by werewolves since I was a kid.

Werewolves and I think SPN really kicked it off big-time. You don't find it much in the Marvel stuff, but it's all over the Sherlock fandom. I didn't like it at first, but somehow I became acclimated to it and now it's my guilty pleasure, like reading Laurel Hamilton.

My personal rant is the fucking Modern AU

The main issue I have with Modern AU (or High School/College AU or Coffee Shop AU) is that these stories usually end up coming across as so freakin' generic most of the time. The characters may retain their quirks somewhat, but the story has lost the specificity of what made these characters in their particular setting so great and appealing.

I admit I have enjoyed some AUs where the characters have been transplanted to a different, but *specific* setting. Like some of the Pacific Rim AU where your pairings are co-pilots in a Jaeger. And there was this fabulous (and sadly unfinished) Jaime/Brienne fic that was set in Regency Era England that I spent all night up reading a few months ago...

I think the thing that got me started on Scaramouche's fic was a fusion where she ran the SPN characters through the plot/setting of My Stepmother Is an Alien.

I love AUs, myself. As long as it's well-written and the characters are still IN character, I have no problem seeing them in a new context. I've written modern day AU's for Star Trek characters, fusions with other fandoms (Firefly and Buffy, no surprise there), magical realism, it's all fair game to me.