Speculative is like A Handmaid's Tale. Basically it speculates on a scenario that might happen based on a historical past but a fantastical near future or present. But it doesn't have the SciFi or fantasy elements to slot it on those particular shelves. I don't think it's used much anymore. The 9000 other genres have obviated it in the last few decades.
I know what you mean very well. In history circles, this used to be called the "What If? scenario". It's a fun parlor game: for instance, what if the famous "miraculous fog" hadn't hidden Washington's departure across the East River and into Manhattan, after the battle of Long Island? Answer: in all probability, Washington would've had to surrender, and that would've been the end of the Revolutionary War. America (and Canada) would remain British, which means that now, perhaps, America would've had a British style of governance, with Houses of Commons and Lords answering (in theory) to King Charles III. Also, America and Canada would be best buddies, regardless of who the American Prime Minister is. Another example: what if the Viking explorers and the Canadian natives didn't fall out, back around 1,000 AD? Answer: this is difficult, but probably they would have found common ground and maybe decided to ally. Between 1,000 AD and 1,492 AD (see Columbus), they might have decided to explore North America would have come into contact with some of the American tribes. Norse expertise with boats and iron smithing means that the American tribes would've been introduced to at least chain-mail and iron weapons, and 500 years or so is a long time to master steel. Thus, when the Spanish/French/British/etc. arrive, they find a very different America. To be honest, if this is what Speculative Fiction is, it sounds like Harry Turtledove, etc.
Not a genre, but came across these in angent wishlists as tropes they are interested in: "Final girl"..... the last girl alive/standing trope "Lover girl"..... the girl only exists to be someones love interest. No other purpose or characterization
Sounds like it, yeah. I was initially thinking of that famous and incredibly outdated trope -- the woman who stands on a table and screams while the man deals with the mouse/spider/whatever -- but you've put your finger on it. More to the point, why would any agent actually want something like this ... much less put it in their wishlist? It sounds like making yourself an immediate target for reader scorn.
