fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4916 ]

[ SECRET POST #4916 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4916 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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So after being in my super small, obscure fandom for quite awhile and constantly being disappointed every time I check the AO3 tag and see nothing for my ship, I'm thinking about finally listening to the old "if you can't find the fic you want, write it yourself" saying, but I could use some advice.

A bit of canon backstory: A/B are co-workers and best friends. A is gay and in a relationship with C. B has a wife, D, and they have kids.

I'm not sure how to 1) deal with B's sexuality, and 2) get A/B together. B's never said he's straight, and I would argue there's canon evidence that suggests he's not (although obviously slash goggles are a thing, and it's entirely possible I'm reading too much into things), but there are several different options. He could be openly bi and it's just never come up in canon since he's married, he could be bi and not even realize it, or realize it but because he still likes women and he's happy enough with his wife he doesn't feel the need to really deal with it, he could be gay and not realize it, he could be gay and knew it but married his wife because he was in denial/feeling pressure from his family (the way they've been characterized, I could see him feeling like he needed the whole traditional wife/kids type of life to be accepted by them), he could think he's straight until his feelings for A make him realize he's not, he could be mostly straight and A is an exception, etc.

Then there's the question of how to get them together. My initial thought was either set the fic after A/C and B/D have both broken up (and there could be multiple reasons for the breakups: they grow apart/realize they want different things, or in B/D's case, he could realize/accept he's gay and finally decide to leave her, etc.) or have them both be single and the canon relationships never happened.

I brought up the subject with my only friend who writes fic, and she said both of those scenarios (where either the canon relationships have ended, or they never happened to begin with) are "boring" and "unrealistic". Her suggestion basically goes like this: the story starts with both characters being with the canon love interests but somewhere along the way they develop mutual feelings for each other that they confess to each other (but don't act on them), angst over it for a long time, and then after some big, dramatic, near-death event where they have to re-evaluate their lives, they finally leave the canon SOs and get together, and...I don't know. That feels too...cliche? overdone? tropey? to me, and I really don't like cheating. Even if it's "technically" not cheating, I feel like it's kind of a blurry line since people define things differently and I'm not even entirely sure how I feel about it myself.

So I'm just not sure what to do at this point. I've never written a ship fic, only a couple of gen ones, and that was close to a decade ago, so I feel completely out of my element here. All I know is that I want A/B together but I'm not sure how to get there. Part of me thinks there's no point in even bothering because I have no idea what I'm doing, but then another part of me thinks I might as well at least give it a try.

I'm sorry this is so long, but what do you guys think? Thanks for any help/advice/suggestions!

Do C and D have to exist? All they seem to be doing in your fic is causing plot issues. Just erase or de-importantize them without erasing if this is some big issue. Nobody will care.

What's more unrealistic:

1) B and D aren't married, just dating, with no kids yet. B breaks up with a long-term girlfriend to date A. C simply doesn't exist, or is interested in A but hasn't asked him out yet. They're all still coworkers, whatever

2) B, after being supposedly old enough to be married and have kids, discovers randomly one day that he loves some other man so much that he divorces his wife and leaves their children behind to run off with a gay affair. C is... ok with this or something? Or maybe dies abruptly somehow? I don't know, you never brought up what happens to that guy

also for 1) you could have the kids still exist if they're important but be the girlfriend's kids from another relationship or something, B could still care about them and be their father figure without being D's husband/the biological father. C could approach A somewhere in the plot expressing interest then A is torn between C and B or something

Plenty of room to work with if you're not rigidly sticking to canon which I'd argue fridging characters for ships and dramatic near death experiences are just as wildly variant from

"A would definitely agree to date C, unless..."
"B is definitely planning to marry D, unless..."
>your fic happens

First, yay! You're going to (might) make a fic for the ship you love!

While I've never written any slash, I have written for relationships that are not canon, and slash would be this. Your friend's rec is exactly where my mind went as you started to talk about the situation between A/B (after you said they were both paired off -- like--oh shit, drama! ANGST OMG) however, I will agree that it came to mind because of how tropey and overdone that scenario is.

What I may suggest, since you do not like cheating, is maybe having the relationships on their way to the end -- whether it is because A/C are starting to grow apart, the strains of work, w/e (think of the kind of characters B & D are and what would cause them stress, what would cause them to grow apart -- worst case scenario, make him a widower or have C disappear and be presumed dead but never found- -you could bring her back for DRAMA or not lol). The same applies to A & C, and depending how strong or recent their relationship is, the very fact they are in relationship at all is tenuous (depending on how they are as characters -- is C a playboy? is A fickle and the only constant in his friends/relationships B?)

Consider those elements. As to B being bi or just gay and not knowing, while my personal favorite is seeing some feelings grow, and finding that these feelings are more than just friendship, you said you can see him being closeted and seeking acceptance -- both of these options have a lot to explore for B -- coming to terms with this part of himself, the feelings he has for A, maybe feeling like while he's no longer betraying a part of himself, he is betraying D -- but if you do go that route, maybe even that could be part of the separation for B & D, him realizing he is actually gay, and have them separate).

As to things ebing boring and you not having experience -- go for it! Not everyone wants the high stakes drama and angst. Write this for yourself, first and foremost. Maybe you need to write a few versions of if it before you find the combination that works. Every writer has their first foray into fic, and you can always go back and revise (or even delete). So just take that chance --on yourself! You may just be surprised. And trust me, there is always at least one person waiting for the kind of fic you will end up writing. Maybe all they will give is a kudo, or just lurk and read, but hey, that one hit is someone who enjoyed your story!

YOU CAN DO IT! It also sounds good!

LOL. Can't believe your friend called your idea boring unrealistic, hers is textbook soap opera cliché. My advice is to write what you want to write. You don't have to be an expert at fanfiction in order to write fanfiction. You're not going to be graded on your fanfic.

And take whatever your friend says with a biiiiiiiig grain of salt because clearly their experience in writing fanfiction hasn't amounted to much.

Just some observations. Firstly regarding B's sexuality, people can and do go through their lives thinking they're one sexuality until they meet one particular person. It's rare but it does happen. Maybe they've been surpressing their nature all along, maybe it's just a meeting of the spirits, but it's definitely not unheard of. I think as long as you find your angle and try and write it realistically for the characters you'll be okay.

In the original Addams family, the actors playing Mortitia and Gomez fell in love. Both were married and it was a different time, so they stayed faithful to their spouses and never got to be together. That's why Gomez only ever kissed her on the hand. Or at least, so the legend goes.

Now to me, that's just tragic. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a relationship knowing they were in love with someone else, would you? And the idea of pining forever is romantic, but when death comes it seems pretty pointless to have wasted your chance to be with someone you loved.

Frankly, I think you might just have to tackle this head on. It is cheating if they act on their feelings, but if they're upfront to their partners and break it off yes it will be messy, but overall it's the only honest way to do it.

They'd have to be pretty in love though to convince me that it would last.

I have no idea if this is helpful, sorry! I have a brain-melting fever so I suspect I'm jst rambling lol.

Personally, I prefer figuring out the plot's focus before figuring out how to get my characters together. I rarely write pure romance, but even if that's the only focus, there's still a lot of different plot beats to pick from.

Is your focus on how your characters get together? Or do you want to write about them being together (established relationship)? Or are you more into pining and the actual get together only needs to happen in a brief scene at the end? If you want to feature their original partners: do you want to write about the break-up? Can you think of plot points you want to write regarding a break up? Do you want to write about B's sexuality? Similarly, do you want to write pining? Do you want to write flirting?

What kind of scenes are you imagining your characters in? Once you have those scenes, you can then try to figure out where in your fic can you feature those scenes. At least, that's how I write. Everyone works differently.

If no plot stands out to you, there are plenty of fic challenges and prompts and bingos that are designed to help people come up with things to write. If you can't find any to try, I'm sure you could ask for suggestions here too? :3

As for your friend's suggestion...going to echo the others here, not feeling it, lol. But ultimately, I think using the word "unrealistic" to describe fanfic is pointless--there's always going to be some degree of self indulgence in fanfic, and if that results in something being unrealistic, so be it.

Lots of good advice here. I can only add that there's nothing stopping your friend from writing her scenario herself if that's what she likes.

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[ SECRET POST #4916 ]

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