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Dramatic question
So.... is it better to kill off the completely inconvenient wife who is only evident in canon because her son wasn't hatched from an egg, or have her Go West, somewhat petulantly? Trying to not to entirely demonizing a non-character, while also not wanting to be overly sympathetic, and leave slashy husband some leeway for technical infidelity without making him a total cad.
Talk amongst yourselves.
File under: #fanficproblems; #loomingdeadlines; #ohshitnotdoneyet
Talk amongst yourselves.
File under: #fanficproblems; #loomingdeadlines; #ohshitnotdoneyet
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The scope of the story is fairly limited, and she doesn't actually appear in it. But her obvious absence needs some sort of explanation. Since the characters are pretty angsty to begin with, I think death or departure are more likely than marriage-of-convenience. (In fact, if I took the marriage-of-convenience route, I probably wouldn't even have a story, because everyone would just be frolicking away with their partner behind closed doors while publicly being appropriately married!)
Essentially, I'm seeking justification for infidelity. As a rule, I don't break up canon couples in my fanfic (though I've written people in canonical couples with others *before* the canonical relationship, e.g. Elrond and Gil-galad)... but this one is a grey area because the spouse never actually appears anywhere. But I feel like just having the character wantonly cheating while his wife is dead or in Valinor makes him a jerk-- because ultimately, he's still married unless he gets some sort of special dispensation from the Valar a la Míriel Serindë! I guess that's why I need her to be slightly unsympathetic-- so that her husband doesn't seem like a complete ass for having a moment of weakness with someone else.
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*g*
I also prefer to leave canon couples as they are, or write a relationship into another time, like before or after the actual or supposed canon relationship. My personal solution might look like the easy way out, which is a same-sex relationship being also morally well possible despite a het marriage or relationship (could be also threesome or poly, but not necessarily so, particularly not when the het partner is not present for whatever reason), provided the first partner is consensual. Since this leans toward my personal preferences, it's not an easy way out for me, although I well understand it might be for other people.
For your couple, I see the desire to make the wife less sympathetic; I would feel the same. I also think this would work in this situation. Like if he was kind of left behind deliberately, and probably needs to fear that their marriage might not just easily be rekindled once they meet again in the West, who would begrudge him some comfort and company until then?
(On a side note, I find the concept rather difficult to wrap my mind around, that an elf whose partner has left for the West, for whatever rightful reason, might be expected to be alone for yéni until they meet again. Sounds as illogical and impossible to live through to me as the whole part about elven sex in That Document.... ;o) )
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Errrrrr...being frank here, I've never favored the slash trope that makes the inconvenient wife into an unsympathetic shrew or mope. Rather, how about a flawed woman — even a relatable one — who has a spectrum of characteristics, good and bad? Same goes for her straying husband. I love flawed characters who still can spark sympathy with the reader. Could your character's moment of weakness be simply because he has human desire — a strong chemistry as it were — for the other dude, so powerful that he justifies his straying to himself or hell, just lets the testosterone take charge?
I do like the idea of a political marriage that isn't exactly a bed of roses, plus your examples of Non-Ideal Elven Behavior™ in reply to jaiden are PERFECT! :^D
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Be assured that you do not come across as a writer who does this. Ever. I've encountered it from no one I really know during my first forays into Library of Moria back in the day. I'm confident you'll write a fine short story, rusty or not! It's great that you're writing again!
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