Characters ♡ The OTP & Pairing Thread ♡ | NEW! Challenge #36 Posted: Tying the Knot (9/20, p. 94, #2336)

Aaand I just realised that I had written a fic chapter that fits this challenge, without ever realising it. Captain 'ship, YOUSA COMPLETEN MESA.

 

Random question: Has anyone ever started out with one OTP, then realized at some point that another OTP involving one of the characters in the first OTP might work out better? I'm starting to realize that one pairing I created years ago for two OC's might not work out as well as another pairing involving the female OC with another male OC. Do you let the characters guide the final relationship pairings, or do you as the author assert final creative control?

 

I would probably go with characters themselves. And that is really interesting.

 

My Dark(ish)!Luke was originally supposed to get together with Mara, the BFF he'd grown up with, and Princess Clarys was supposed to have been just a plot device to get Luke to Tatooine to meet crazy Old Ben. But as the story developed, Clarys became more interesting and dimensional than I'd thought. She and Luke just sort of clicked. And Mara....well, I'm not sure about this one yet, but she, too, may find someone else to bug the ever-loving snot out of fall for. (Partly this is to avoid a Clarys/Luke/Mara love triangle of angst-ridden, Force-powered teenagers.)

I don't know that the characters decided, I just went with the story that seemed most interesting to me.
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In regards to the current challenge, my current Raissa/Doran fic is all about the two of them having a disagreement that isn't immediately resolved. Would it be best for me to choose a chapter/scene to submit for the challenge?

 

I let the characters decide, although truthfully, that's just another part of my mind deciding.
I've started fics (fanfic and original) with a very specific plan for the characters and their relationships. Usually that entirely changes by the time I reach the one third mark, let alone the end. So I've definitely changed an OTP.

 

Yeah, I have had characters try to change my plans before. I usually let the characters decide what they want to do, I find that if I try and force something I originally intended it doesn't come across as well. (And then they try to revolt and don't want to cooperate at all. )

 

In all situations, where I am in total control, eg. fanfic, I let the characters decide.

If game mechanics, or the GM don't allow me to do that, I may do an AU fic or game later to address what the characters wanted.

The story I was working on, fell apart, and a plot bunny regarding this challenge has tried to bite me in the leg...fortunately, it got a mouthful of cloth.

 

I have a future ship that fluctuates, depending on my mood.

The characters were originally supposed to have a very short fling and break up and then he was to become an absolute kriffslider to her and try to deny that she ever existed in his life. Then I had a change of heart and I decided to make them awkward about each other for a long while and actually fall in love and spend some time together. The ending also got rewritten multiple times, as the couple hijacked the steering wheel from me, basically and started writing about themselves. I still don't know where this will go.

 

My experience in writing romance of any sort is very limited (as in, limited to a single story) but I think that what allows characters to take over or not is if you designed your story as character-driven or plot-driven. Stories that are plotted out from beginning to end (which is what I do) have an unfortunate tendency to result in the (metaphorical) death of characters who don't fit in the plot. The lone character-driven story I'm writing right now (which, incidentally, doesn't involve any pairings) ran away from me, and I love and hate it at the same time.

 

Finally started writing Yav's and Ysanne's first moments, which in turn means that I am proceeding with the earlier story idea (in response to the French literature line challenge, and not the one here).

I could not bring myself to abandon their first moments, even if the rest of the story was falling apart.

Plus, I seem to have created a line of quality underwear. Maybe I can do a clothing entry for the Fanon thread...

 

Here's my response to challenge #1:
The Other Moon - chapter 5 - Strongholds to Conquer.

 

Yay! I'm so happy I though of an ending to this challenge! It was a lot of fun!

Abating Hope is up.

 

Just found this thread. Interesting subject!

I'm pretty sure everyone knows what my OTP is.

Romance is a pretty essential part of fic writing for me, but it isn't the main purpose of my writing. I'm on mobile, so I can't answer in-depth on those discussion questions (mobile won't let me quote or c&p for some reason...). I'm going to come back to that.

 

Ramblings not necessarily on the current topics:

My feelings on pairings don't exactly fit the "OTP" model all that well -- if someone makes a weird or just rare pairing work, I'll probably enjoy reading it.

That said, I like Han/Leia in the OT (poor Anakin and Padme are often written better in fanfic than in the PT, but that's a tangent ), and while it was just "huh, okay -- not bad but not the romance of the century" to me in the books, I love L/M in a lot of fanfics. Perhaps because there are so many!

Reading or writing some of the more minor canon pairings is fun and I'm often more intrigued by that because look at all the shiny underdeveloped relationships and characters... If I ever come by an excess of spare time, I may try writing about Zayne Carrick and Jarael from the KOTOR comic series, which is thoroughly underrated. (Seriously people, I encourage you to read it so we can obsess over it! )

And OC/canon or OC/OC pairings are often intriguing as well. These tend to be so varied that I can't make a lot of generalizations.

 

I'd read it.

 

I'm amazed that no one writes about Zayne and Jarael! They're both interesting characters and I like how their friendship and sort-of romance in the series feeds into the character development for both of them. It's not just a tacked-on kind of thing. It is more of an investment to buy the comics, but libraries often have the trade paperback collections. That's how I read them the first time around, though I ended up buying my own copies of the first arc because I liked the story that much.

 

Yes, Zayne and Jarael are a great pairing. I had a DDC entry in 2012 that was Zayne's diary through the comic series which would have eventually explored the romantic feelings between them, but my interest in writing it was killed by The Move before it ever got close to that point. One of these days, I intend to resurrect it with fresh writing, but it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Oh, and about the comics themselves: I own the entire series of 52 comics (including the #0 preview and the Handbook), with every single issue signed by John Jackson Miller. I bought the whole lot directly from JJM on eBay just as the series was ending for about $200, despite having never read the series before. I finished the whole series in about a week.

 

Hope you do get it started again. Let me know when you do.
Lucky! That would be awesome!

 

Happy to report that I have written Yav and Ysanne's first mutual attraction moments, but the rest of the story is far from complete.

 

Okay, so I accidentally wrote something for the challenge.

Yellow

 

My entry for the challenge:
In the Cards Chapter 5, pt. 2: You've Been Thinkin', and I've Been Drinkin'

 

Anybody here? The challenge ended a month ago. I'd love to see this thread get more activity.

 

How?

I'm unsure how to participate more? Even with my ongoing fic, because it isn't in response to this thread's challenge, it probably falls under the non-promotion rules, so I am open to suggestions.

 

We need a new challenge.

 

The thread host Admiral Volshe has been a bit out of sorts recently, but I'm sure that she'll be back asap with more ideas for discussions and a challenge