Dealbreakers in vore

[Squidia]

For a lot of people, vore is about power dynamics, and gender-play is one of the many ways that that might be explored. The idea of being a second-class citizen whose life has no value in the eyes of those above them, or of having carte blanche to do whatever they want to someone. There's a sense of hopelessness to it, or even just an overwhelmingly powerful obstacle to overcome. I get the appeal.

But gender-play isn't my fetish, and actually makes me tremendously uncomfortable most of the time, so gender-locked vore settings are a dealbreaker for me. There are a couple exceptions, but there's a bunch of factors at play there. And even then, it's an "I really like this in spite of that trope, not because of it" situation.

[IddlerItaler]

For a lot of people, vore is about power dynamics, and gender-play is one of the many ways that that might be explored. The idea of being a second-class citizen whose life has no value in the eyes of those above them, or of having carte blanche to do whatever they want to someone. There's a sense of hopelessness to it, or even just an overwhelmingly powerful obstacle to overcome. I get the appeal.

In that scenario, I'm more of a fan of the overwhelmingly powerful obstacle to overcome. I guess that on the grim <-> noble, dark <-> light scale, I like my vore to be more nobledark than grimdark. Yes, maybe a pred just rampaged through a city devouring all of its inhabitants, but there is still a chance to defeat the pred and maybe even resurrect her victims, maybe there is a dystopia where one gender is unwillingly kept as livestock for the other but there are freedom fighters who have a plan to rescue them, and if even that fails then it's a disaster or a tragedy rather than an unavoidable fact of that world.

[Squidia]

I mean, I am never not down with raging against the patriarchy. I would actually LOVE a story set in a world where supposedly only men could eat people, that focuses on a group of women discovering that their own ability is being suppressed by the powers that be, and working together to overthrow the tyranny of the upper class. You know, like a vorny version of Transformers One with more queer girl rage baked in.

But, well... I guess I just dreamt up a scenario where one of my dealbreakers would appeal to me, didn't I?

[IddlerItaler]

I mean, I am never not down with raging against the patriarchy. I would actually LOVE a story set in a world where supposedly only men could eat people, that focuses on a group of women discovering that their own ability is being suppressed by the powers that be, and working together to overthrow the tyranny of the upper class. You know, like a vorny version of Transformers One with more queer girl rage baked in.

But, well... I guess I just dreamt up a scenario where one of my dealbreakers would appeal to me, didn't I?

Nah, I get it. It's like this story by Alockwood. I have little interest in reading about a setting where anthros are snacking on humans forever and ever with no repercussions, but a story where humans are oppressed and try to fight back is exciting.

[SigmaMare1337]

Absolutely not a fan of giving the prey back stories like they were supposed to be a aspiring college student or whatnot.

Vore is supposed to be hot, not depressing.

[IddlerItaler]

Absolutely not a fan of giving the prey back stories like they were supposed to be a aspiring college student or whatnot.

Vore is supposed to be hot, not depressing.

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say that when people try too hard to make things "hot, not depressing" they end up with something even more depressing. If the overwhelming majority of vore depicts unwilling fatal prey, then always playing that off as something silly and fun with zero room for sadness can have the opposite effect of making vore settings feel hopelessly grimdark. "Dozens of people are churned everyday to sustain the god-emperor cute busty pred, and it's really no big deal."

I don't agree with people who think vore can be made lighthearted just by treating the preys as faceless victims rather than named characters with backstories. The only fatal scenarios I would call lighthearted are the ones where the prey is painlessly digested then immediately reformed, or borderline where the prey is an unrepentant cruel pred who is getting a taste of their own medicine.

[TootLunch]

Mass vore.

Contrary to SigmaMare1337 above me, knowing more about the prey is the special seasoning that really does it for me. More backstory is more impact and I like when art tugs on my heart.

Mass vore is so far removed from the individual that it’s impossible to give a shit about anyone in there. Doesn’t help that macro/micro is very much not my thing, I prefer when prey can make at least a small bulge. It also doesn’t give the prey any real part in the interaction aside from being the food, they can’t struggle or try to talk their way out of it, just pure hopelessness for a bunch of ants.

[IddlerItaler]

Mass vore.

Contrary to SigmaMare1337 above me, knowing more about the prey is the special seasoning that really does it for me. More backstory is more impact and I like when art tugs on my heart.

Mass vore is so far removed from the individual that it’s impossible to give a shit about anyone in there. Doesn’t help that macro/micro is very much not my thing, I prefer when prey can make at least a small bulge. It also doesn’t give the prey any real part in the interaction aside from being the food, they can’t struggle or try to talk their way out of it, just pure hopelessness for a bunch of ants.

When I think mass vore I actually think same size with a pred whose belly rivals the Empire State Building. I used to hate it for reasons similar to yours but I warned up to it. The fact it undervalues preys to the point that every individual feels like a single bite in a bag of chips was very much an acquired taste. It didn't help that a lot of times during roleplays my character got eaten and the person playing the pred just wanted to move on to the next meal without giving any teasing to their current prey.

I still prefer one-on-one vore a lot of the time, a few preys max, but sometimes the complete disregard of prey that comes with mass vore is very hot from a domination angle. Making them feel like they'll never be enough, or knowing all their friends and loved ones will join them in their predator's belly.

[ArcaneSigil]

I tend to try and establish all of the characters in my vore fics so the prey and pred have backstories, lives, hopes and dreams... and the prey can have those ripped away from them at the drop of a hat.

However, my preferred style of vore stories are non-fatal, full tour, "caring pred" stories. I have maybe one or two fatal stories in my entire gallery because it's just not my thing. I view vore as strictly kink, not a means of survival.

[SigmaMare1337]

Y'all freaks (which is to be expected on this site)

It's definitely a me thing but I don't always enjoy stories. Because they get you invested in characters so the artists can kick you in the balls.

I prefer not to get attached to the prey. Because it ruins my enjoyment when they die.

[IddlerItaler]

Y'all freaks (which is to be expected on this site)

It's definitely a me thing but I don't always enjoy stories. Because they get you invested in characters so the artists can kick you in the balls.

I prefer not to get attached to the prey. Because it ruins my enjoyment when they die.

Behind every statistics there is a person. Trying to block your feelings for the prey is no less freakish than acknowledging the fact that unwilling prey dying will be sad sometimes, in the long run.

[SigmaMare1337]

Y'all freaks (which is to be expected on this site)

It's definitely a me thing but I don't always enjoy stories. Because they get you invested in characters so the artists can kick you in the balls.

I prefer not to get attached to the prey. Because it ruins my enjoyment when they die.

Behind every statistics there is a person. Trying to block your feelings for the prey is no less freakish than acknowledging the fact that unwilling prey dying will be sad sometimes, in the long run.

Why y'all tryna guilt trip me over fictional characters

[IddlerItaler]

Why y'all tryna guilt trip me over fictional characters

Who said anything about guilt? I don't feel guilty about browsing vore art, whether it's cruel fatal vore with uncaring preds or cuddly consensual endo. There are way more serious things to feel guilty over than fictional preferences. If someone portrays a sad prey, maybe they're not doing it because they want to guilt trip the viewers. Even then, art is going to make people experience a broad range of emotions, from happiness to arousal to sadness to reflection. It's normal. I don't know if the art you find depressing makes you feel sad in a "damn I really empathize with these characters" or in a "damn I really feel guilty" kinda way (these are not the same) but either way you have a right to try and avoid it like the artists have a right to keep making it.

Honestly in vore it's hard to browse art without running into copious amounts of cruelty (even more than I'd like, I'll admit. So many people equate this fetish with sadism) but I would suggest mostly sticking to the "willing prey" and "casual vore" tags.

[TootLunch]

Mass vore.

Contrary to SigmaMare1337 above me, knowing more about the prey is the special seasoning that really does it for me. More backstory is more impact and I like when art tugs on my heart.

Mass vore is so far removed from the individual that it’s impossible to give a shit about anyone in there. Doesn’t help that macro/micro is very much not my thing, I prefer when prey can make at least a small bulge. It also doesn’t give the prey any real part in the interaction aside from being the food, they can’t struggle or try to talk their way out of it, just pure hopelessness for a bunch of ants.

When I think mass vore I actually think same size with a pred whose belly rivals the Empire State Building. I used to hate it for reasons similar to yours but I warned up to it. The fact it undervalues preys to the point that every individual feels like a single bite in a bag of chips was very much an acquired taste. It didn't help that a lot of times during roleplays my character got eaten and the person playing the pred just wanted to move on to the next meal without giving any teasing to their current prey.

I still prefer one-on-one vore a lot of the time, a few preys max, but sometimes the complete disregard of prey that comes with mass vore is very hot from a domination angle. Making them feel like they'll never be enough, or knowing all their friends and loved ones will join them in their predator's belly.

If I was 100% pred I would probably like it more since I can understand the appeal from the power and domination aspects of it, being split closer to 50/50 pred/prey leaves me much less interested in the extremes of either end. One thing I do enjoy is when it is on a much smaller scale like the classic waterslide into the pred’s mouth trope. It gives just enough context to the individuals without needing to focus on them, they are all there to have a fun day splashing around in a waterpark, friends and families, some there all the time, others probably had a big road trip and this is the one day they ever go to that park. Someone at the top of the slide might even look down to see what’s happening just as their friend pushes them down the slide, or maybe see it and have a moment where they can avoid that fate but… something about the idea of being gulped down, packed in with all the others…

[SigmaMare1337]

This is why I sometimes stick to feral pred because at least they have reasonable excuses for vore because they're animals and need to eat unlike human preds who simply commit murder.

[IddlerItaler]

If I was 100% pred I would probably like it more since I can understand the appeal from the power and domination aspects of it, being split closer to 50/50 pred/prey leaves me much less interested in the extremes of either end. One thing I do enjoy is when it is on a much smaller scale like the classic waterslide into the pred’s mouth trope. It gives just enough context to the individuals without needing to focus on them, they are all there to have a fun day splashing around in a waterpark, friends and families, some there all the time, others probably had a big road trip and this is the one day they ever go to that park. Someone at the top of the slide might even look down to see what’s happening just as their friend pushes them down the slide, or maybe see it and have a moment where they can avoid that fate but… something about the idea of being gulped down, packed in with all the others…

Oh yeah, the intrusive thoughts to feed into a ludicrously gluttonous pred by surrendering to them and becoming another casualty in their bottomless frenzy without even getting tasted or appreciated... They are there sometimes.