worryinglyinnocent:

I asked this question on a long discussion last week, but having just spent a couple of hours replotting a fic I might never write and in the process making it about 300% more angsty, the question re-occurred to me.

Why do we write so much angst in the rumbelle fandom? There are so many fics out there where our babies are separated or divorced or plagued by other misunderstandings that force them apart, or are taking time out from the relationship, or one half is dead, or some other thing that prevents them from being together. I know. I’ve written a bunch of them. Generally, as a whole group, we LIVE for this stuff. We beg for it to be written. 

Considering how much crap rumbelle go through on the show, you’d have thought that we’d have banned all fics where they’re not happy together because we get enough of that in canon. 

But we still keep writing our angst. Myself included. Even though I hate myself for doing it. Why do we torture ourselves and our babies like this??

I think there’s a couple of reasons for it, and this is just my opinion and might have no basis in fact.

1) It’s spite. The show is supposedly ‘angsty’ but not usually for any good reasons, or reasons that make sense. There’s not much development there, they just repeat the same battles over and over. I mean I love the show a lot, please don’t get me wrong, but 6A especially was terrible for this in my opinion. I think that characterization was sacrificed for plot.

So what we do as a fandom is say “ok we see your angst, and we raise you some well crafted development, some actual consequences, some character soul-searching and a guaranteed happy ending” – it’s like taking what they dish out, and making it better in every way.

2) I think we’re relatively mature as a fandom. We know that life sucks sometimes. There’s some quote I think from somebody smart, and I mean like an actual person but I can’t remember who it was, that says we wouldn’t know the difference between good and bad, if we didn’t experience both. We go deeper into Rumbelle, and their happy endings are potentially more meaningful because they have real obstacles to overcome first. 

Yes we have pure fluff fics (I have an entire verse) but there are some amazing angsty gems in the fandom, and the pay-off at the end, is enhanced because of the struggle. That is what real life is like, it makes Rumbelle real. Plus there’s nothing about Rumbelle that is superficial, which does make it more prone to deeper angsty fics I think.

I don’t know if that makes sense. It’s just what came into my head when I read your question 🙂

Hey Santa *waves*

No worries, you didn’t disappear so in my book you’ve been a good Santa 🙂 and on Tuesday there will be the reveal *drum roll* – I’m really looking forward to learning who you are. I don’t have a guess at all heh, I hear you on the real life thing, I’m quite behind on my gift because of it so nose to the grindstone today!

I’m sure I will love your gift! I hope you are having a good weekend as well and yup, looking forward to Tuesday 🙂

Hey Santa!

Don’t punish yourself too much 🙁 *hugs you* I don’t want the fic to make you miserable. You can do it though! One last push and then Tuesday it will all be over … although that’s less than a week and really kinda scary. I’m super behind on my fic as well. A lot has been happening IRL and my writing time/willpower has completely gone out the window. However, I’m determined to finish, so I’ll be right there with you in the writing trenches this weekend.

Heh I don’t make myself go to the gym as often as I should. Just lately everything has been so crazy I’ve barely been at all. I’ve decided not to worry too much now and just start again in the New Year and try and get back into a routine. I’m incredibly unfit and so I do want to go. I’m really tired of always being the most unfit person in a group. Basically I go first thing in the morning because if I start my day, there’s no way I’ll go later. Also, I’ve been told about the video game analogy, where you start off the day with a full power bar (or not so full usually) and then over the day it gets less, so do the most difficult thing in the day first. That’s the theory anyway.

I really can’t wait to read the fic when you reveal who you are 🙂 I have absolutely no guesses, so you have been a very good secret santa heh. I do have a title and Gold’s name now, so at least that is settled. Have you solved your problems with those things yet? How has your week been going?