i have realised after rereading this a few times how embarrassing it is
I started writing a new story yesterday because I really wanted to test out a new character dynamic that just didn't fit in the Empire, the setting of my main story. After about an hour of writing I started to realise that pretty much every story I write is the same: two people, one of whom is really messed up (usually by the circumstances they are born into), have a relationship that is complicated and often creepy due to the twisted nature of their power balance. So then I was all, 'aw shit, this is going to be exactly like the last one'.
Then I realised that absolutely nothing I write, ever, will be even half as creepy as the One True Epic Romance of Those Two Guys And Their Issues. I'm pretty sure their relationship is actually a threesome with the Issues as the third character. In between their total communication failure, A's bitchy sadism and I's firm denial of a variety of facts important to their relationship and his own wellbeing, I am pretty sure their relationship forms some sort of horrible disaster sandwich. Filled with arsenic. And botulinum. And two atomic bombs.
I feel like that's setting up some sort of aspirations for myself right there. "NOTHING I WRITE WILL EVER BE AS CREEPY AS THE ONE TRUE EPIC ROMANCE? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED." By the time I'm 30 I'll be writing stories about relationships between Lovecraftian abominations and their cultists or something. And even then that wouldn't be as creepy as the One True Epic Romance (OTER for short).
But anyway! This new story, despite having a more deeply horrific premise, has at its core a relationship that's kind of fucked but manages to have some sweet moments. The two of them actually admit to caring for one another and show it. I know, people reading this are going to be like, "a relationship where people actually CARE for one another? WHOAAAA THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY. STOP THE PRESSES. GET THIS EXO A NOBEL PRIZE /sarcasm" but that should tell you a bucketload about what the OTER is like.
I really like these two new people, though. They've got a hell of a lot of chemistry and their personalities interlace very well. I may be reusing the relationship template, but I think they're both actually trying to be decent people this time. HAI CHARACTERS I'M TRYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT I GUESS? We'll see how it goes.
Then I realised that absolutely nothing I write, ever, will be even half as creepy as the One True Epic Romance of Those Two Guys And Their Issues. I'm pretty sure their relationship is actually a threesome with the Issues as the third character. In between their total communication failure, A's bitchy sadism and I's firm denial of a variety of facts important to their relationship and his own wellbeing, I am pretty sure their relationship forms some sort of horrible disaster sandwich. Filled with arsenic. And botulinum. And two atomic bombs.
I feel like that's setting up some sort of aspirations for myself right there. "NOTHING I WRITE WILL EVER BE AS CREEPY AS THE ONE TRUE EPIC ROMANCE? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED." By the time I'm 30 I'll be writing stories about relationships between Lovecraftian abominations and their cultists or something. And even then that wouldn't be as creepy as the One True Epic Romance (OTER for short).
But anyway! This new story, despite having a more deeply horrific premise, has at its core a relationship that's kind of fucked but manages to have some sweet moments. The two of them actually admit to caring for one another and show it. I know, people reading this are going to be like, "a relationship where people actually CARE for one another? WHOAAAA THIS IS REVOLUTIONARY. STOP THE PRESSES. GET THIS EXO A NOBEL PRIZE /sarcasm" but that should tell you a bucketload about what the OTER is like.
I really like these two new people, though. They've got a hell of a lot of chemistry and their personalities interlace very well. I may be reusing the relationship template, but I think they're both actually trying to be decent people this time. HAI CHARACTERS I'M TRYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT I GUESS? We'll see how it goes.