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I think that if you want relationships depicted in your fiction – whether primary media or fan-work – to be emotionally compelling, there’s really no getting around the fact that one of the most compelling relationship dynamics in fiction is “hey, wouldn’t it be fucked up if”.
And I don’t just mean “one of them is clearly taking advantage of the other” type relationships, either. There’s a whole spectrum of upfuckery to explore, including (but not limited to):
- Each of them thinks they can fix the other, but really they’re just enabling each other’s worst impulses
- Sticking together no matter what because no matter how bad they are for each other, the terror of the unknown is worse
- You’re pretty sure staying in this relationship constitutes a form of wilful self-harm; for whom is genuinely unclear
- They actually just straight up hate each other, but each regards the other as the only one who Gets It
- They’re perfectly happy together, but the way they play off of each other is harmful to literally everyone around them
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