How to search for rare pairs on AO3

[marguerite_26]

AO3 does not have the option to indicate 'Primary pairing' vs 'Secondary pairing' (ie: those pairings that just happen to be in the fic, sitting in the background and mentioned once in passing.)

This becomes an issue particularly in a fandom like Teen Wolf where you have one pairing (Sterek) that dominates the fandom, and many (most?) Sterek fics have other pairings listed even if they are not the focus of the fic. Canon pairings like Allison/Scott, Lydia/Jackson, Erica/Boyd are often tagged but the focus of the fic is 100% Sterek.

So how do you find a fic that FOCUSES on Erica/Boyd when you look at the Erica/Boyd tag and get 90% Sterek fics with Erica/Boyd as background mentions?

Here's a little trick:



Of course, this may also exclude things you may be interested in, (ie: where Derek/Stiles are a side pairing), and include stuff you aren't interested in, (ie: where Erica/Boyd is still a minor pairing, but Sterek isn't the main pairing) but it at least cuts down on the overwhelming number of Sterek fics when looking for a non-Sterek focused fic.

(thanks to otta_ff for the tip and handy graphic!)

Please note for this to filter properly you need to use exactly:

-"Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski"

Anyone else have helpful tips for finding rarepairs? Let me know!


(ETA: Handy quick link to Teen Wolf fic: complete, english, that do not list sterek as a pairing and sorted by kudos.)

Comments

[mothlights]

This also works well when searching for gen fics! :) If you search Teen Wolf gen ordered by kudos, you get a lot of fics marked Derek/Stiles (some of which are gen - to confuse things further - but many are romance). I use the separate advanced search page more often than the right hand column search, but if you put -"Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski" in the first field (called "Any Field") at the top, and search Teen Wolf gen ordered by kudos, you actually get almost all gen.
Compare:
Teen Wolf gen by kudos list
Teen Wolf gen by kudos -"Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski" list

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

LET ME LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

That is freakin' awesome. :D

[otta-ff.livejournal.com]

Oooh. These are awesome searches, especially when it's so hard to find actual "gen" fic in this fandom. Adding to my (ever growing) list of AO3 search bookmarks right now. Thanks!

[mothlights]

Adding to my (ever growing) list of AO3 search bookmarks

Bookmarks! I don't know why, but I've been re-entering parameters for searches I do all the time. I should just bookmark them. (duh)