Category question: lucid dream with a dash of magical realism

[TheLobster]

It has come to pass, dear AH denizens, that I turn to you with this age-old question.

I've got a cute little story whose (mostly) spoiler-free synopsis is the following:

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MMC is a young man (early 20s) who is hopelessly crushing and even creeping on his coworker. One night, a certain Plot Device, of the maybe-magic-maybe-mundane variety, causes him to experience an extremely realistic lucid dream. While in it, he meets a mysterious woman, has sex with her, and thus works out some of the psychological troubles that were caused by bad memories of his first time with his ex-girlfriend. It emboldens him, as he'd been somewhat shy before, inspiring him to ask the coworker out. Later on, towards the end, the Plot Device is brought up again but is (intentionally) not fully explained.

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I'm not sure where exactly I should put this story. Searching through examples of the relevant tags ("dreams", etc.) brings up a whole gamut of different works and categories. My reasoning so far is roughly this:

• I could put it in Sci-fi & Fantasy, mostly on the account of the dream-world experience being surreal/fantastical. But there are no obvious fantasy or sci-fi elements driving the plot itself; the Plot Device is not it (or maybe it is; it's kind of the point that we don't know).
• I could just put in Erotic Couplings which is basically my fallback right now.
• I could maybe put it in NonHuman, since technically the woman in his dream would qualify. But she is outwardly fully human, and that category is basically furry central with a smattering of Twilight offshoots so I doubt readers there would appreciate a story where the sex itself has no non-human elements.
• I could, and I say it largely in jest, put it in Toys & Masturbation. Technically, there is no real sex happening in the real world there. The dream is in MMC's head. There is actually an interlude of him actually masturbating, too (while watching some porn so I guess there is some real sex after all ).
• I sadly cannot put it in Novels and Novellas because it's only 10k words.
• It would be weird to place it in First Time, even though the sex he has in the dream is meant to "fix the memories" of his real first-time, thus "replacing" it. MMC had had real sex before.

No other categories seem like they'd apply, so I'm in a bit of a pickle. The choice feels to be mostly between SF&F and EC, and I'm not fully on board with either of these options.

I'd be grateful for any insight, even if it's the obvious "just add some butt sex and put it in Anal".

 

[Britva415]

I’ve put magical-realism stuff into EC. The magic is nothing more than a McGuffin, it’s not a worldbuilding thing or a plot pursuit, so, SF&F really wouldn’t have done, IMO. It was well received in EC.

 

[Bamagan]

You could try dropping it in Mind Control. It's mostly occupied by fantasies of power, but you find the occasional trippy psychological exploration tale there. Since the plot device winds up changing the character's behavior, it seems at least adjacent to the category's oeuvre.

 

[SimonDoom]

I don't think you say enough about your story to give you advice.

What is the ESSENCE of the story? Is it an exploration of the lucid dream device, whatever it is? If so, then it sounds like SF/Fantasy.

But if the device is just a way to get to the real story, then what is the real story?

Figure out what is the erotic essence of the story, and you will have your answer.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I could just put in Erotic Couplings which is basically my fallback right now.

Trust your first instinct.

This is yet another thread where you've already answered your own question.

 

[RejectReality]

Don't count out Sci-Fi & Fantasy just because there's no overt spaceships or wizards. I put a pseudo-historical little Ancient Egypt story there and it did just fine. https://literotica.com/s/gift-of-eternity

Kind of a toss-up whether it will get read more in EC or S&F. I'd say EC is perfectly legitimate as well. You're kind of at the whim of what readers find it that day. S&F because it's a little outside the norm. EC because everything is a crapshoot there.

 

[Cali_Love]

I put mine in Romance.

I was quite proud of it, only it now sits as my lowest scoring yarn. Oh well.

https://www.literotica.com/s/lucid-dream-girl

I was able to do it once. Once. Dammit.

 

[TheLobster]

Thanks everyone! It was indeed a thread where I've already answered myself I ended up posting it in EC like I thought I would.

You could try dropping it in Mind Control. It's mostly occupied by fantasies of power, but you find the occasional trippy psychological exploration tale there. Since the plot device winds up changing the character's behavior, it seems at least adjacent to the category's oeuvre.

I've pondered Mind Control, on the same account as you are outlining here. However, I wouldn't consider the change in MC's behavior to be "out of character" for him, so it didn't seem right to call it mind control.

I put mine in Romance.

I was quite proud of it, only it now sits as my lowest scoring yarn. Oh well.

I'm not at all familiar with the Romance category, but I suspect readers would expect a lot of relationship development in the stories posted there which would preclude mine.

Also, 4.82 is your lowest score? Damn...

 

[TheLobster]

The story has now been posted as Dream to Remember, in EC. Thanks again to everyone who replied!