close friends being reunited after a long time apart, or staying in touch despite distance, is actually one of my fictional kinks
I know, I know, I just keep going!! I will stop soon, really, I'm just finding this discussion way too interesting...!
Reunion after separation is one of my kinks, too, but I do it differently...I have a thing for co-dependency, for relationships that are so strong and meaningful that when they are broken it has a lasting effect on the characters. So I love writing long-term separation stories, but the theme of those stories is that the characters need to get back together, that neither of them is quite as happy apart. Likewise, I like staying-in-touch stories (such as John & Rodney calling each other during "The Return") but only if there's the expectation that eventually they'll be together again, and that no one else is taking their place as best friend.
As far as I can tell, this taste is due to the temperament of an individual. I know with deathfic stories, some people prefer the kind where the surviving characters are strong enough to move on and find happiness again, while as other people prefer the characters to always be a bit broken. My preference is definitely for the latter. ("Freedom's Just Another Word..." managed the trick of doing both endings at the same time, which I think is why it satisfied so many people...) I think it's because I'm an OTPer; ultimately I care more about the relationship itself than the characters in it. (Which is why I get a bit weird when real life and realism is brought into discussions about fic, because in real life I put people first, but in fiction, yeah, it's the relationships that I get invested in.)
...And I have now managed to get 100% off-topic! Shutting up! (...for now...)
Re: Part 2 (edited)
I know, I know, I just keep going!! I will stop soon, really, I'm just finding this discussion way too interesting...!
Reunion after separation is one of my kinks, too, but I do it differently...I have a thing for co-dependency, for relationships that are so strong and meaningful that when they are broken it has a lasting effect on the characters. So I love writing long-term separation stories, but the theme of those stories is that the characters need to get back together, that neither of them is quite as happy apart. Likewise, I like staying-in-touch stories (such as John & Rodney calling each other during "The Return") but only if there's the expectation that eventually they'll be together again, and that no one else is taking their place as best friend.
As far as I can tell, this taste is due to the temperament of an individual. I know with deathfic stories, some people prefer the kind where the surviving characters are strong enough to move on and find happiness again, while as other people prefer the characters to always be a bit broken. My preference is definitely for the latter. ("Freedom's Just Another Word..." managed the trick of doing both endings at the same time, which I think is why it satisfied so many people...) I think it's because I'm an OTPer; ultimately I care more about the relationship itself than the characters in it. (Which is why I get a bit weird when real life and realism is brought into discussions about fic, because in real life I put people first, but in fiction, yeah, it's the relationships that I get invested in.)
...And I have now managed to get 100% off-topic! Shutting up! (...for now...)