I think I agree with you, about the assumptions that most people seem to make about who tops or bottoms being a form of stereotyping gone awry. Which just rubs me wrong about the whole thing to begin with. I wouldn't say that all of the people who have a preference do that thought, sometimes you just like what you like which is totally fine of course. The shortly worded requests do come off as rude and yes, odd. Which is why I was curious how others were approaching responding or not.

I love your last line about the author taking us on a journey, that's exactly why I write and why I read, so thank you for reminding me of that!