I think, at the heart of the issue, is that this method of finding stories isn't 100% accurate 100% of the time, and that I'm probably missing many stories because of this method of filtering.
But, considering I have a limited amount of time to read fanfic, do I really want to chance how 95% of the stories with pairings I'm uninterested in I won't like, whereas there's maybe only a 10% chance of not liking a fic with a pairing I love? Should I really waste that much time slogging through fic that I *might* like 5% of the time, or instead just read the fic that I'd have a 90% chance of liking, even though I'd be giggling through a lot of bad writing while I'm at it?
Okay, listen carefully, because I'm about to tell you a not-so-secret-secret:
This bit that I've just quoted back at you?
Makes you akin to about 75% of fandom, yo. Seriously. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the vast majority of fans - even the ones who would characterize themselves as magpies like you do ("Ooooh, *shiny*!!!1!11!") - *still* use some kind of filter in terms of What They're Definitely Going to Read, What They Might Read, and What You COuldn't Pay Them to Read If Their Lives Depended On It. Because time, even in a fannish sense, *isn't* infinite; one has to choose here and discard there because the amount of time one has to do X, Y or Z thing in fandom is limited in the same way it's limited outside of fandom.
You're not being different or unreasonable or narrow-minded with this. You're effectively managing time using a form of preference as your guide.
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But, considering I have a limited amount of time to read fanfic, do I really want to chance how 95% of the stories with pairings I'm uninterested in I won't like, whereas there's maybe only a 10% chance of not liking a fic with a pairing I love? Should I really waste that much time slogging through fic that I *might* like 5% of the time, or instead just read the fic that I'd have a 90% chance of liking, even though I'd be giggling through a lot of bad writing while I'm at it?
Okay, listen carefully, because I'm about to tell you a not-so-secret-secret:
This bit that I've just quoted back at you?
Makes you akin to about 75% of fandom, yo. Seriously. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the vast majority of fans - even the ones who would characterize themselves as magpies like you do ("Ooooh, *shiny*!!!1!11!") - *still* use some kind of filter in terms of What They're Definitely Going to Read, What They Might Read, and What You COuldn't Pay Them to Read If Their Lives Depended On It. Because time, even in a fannish sense, *isn't* infinite; one has to choose here and discard there because the amount of time one has to do X, Y or Z thing in fandom is limited in the same way it's limited outside of fandom.
You're not being different or unreasonable or narrow-minded with this. You're effectively managing time using a form of preference as your guide.