What will you do when your OTP is broken?

I know, the title sounds really childish. Let me explain myself. :(

I make fanworks based on this OTP I ship, we can call them A x B. Today, I found rumours of A dating someone, which were debunked later. For a moment I was kind of stunned and I didn't know what to do. I have this policy where if either A or B are dating someone else, I will stop producing fanworks for this OTP because I find it disrespectful. To others, it's not, and I completely accept that. It's just to me, personally, the idea of writing for an OTP where one person is dating or married to another doesn't sit well to me. I have no problem with others continuing.

Here's where my existential crisis set in. For the past 6 years, my life has revolved around my OTP. Sure, I hang out with friends, I study hard, and I have hobbies besides writing. But everyday, I think about what I want to write about my OTP and what fic I'd like to work on. Everyday, I make sure to clock at least an hour of writing for my fics. I've learnt things like video and graphics editing to make fanvids and fanart for my OTP. I always think about new ideas to write, draw and contribute to my OTP's fandom. I get a thrill from planning out stories about my OTP, of how people in my fandom may enjoy my fanwork and we can bond over our OTP.

It's silly, but the thought of suddenly having to stop everything because my OTP was broken knocked the wind out of me. In a moment, suddenly, all the things I've done seem so trivial and futile, and it made me wonder what I was doing with my life. I couldn't use any of my fanworks as a portfolio for a resume. My skills have never been certified and neither am I interested in making things without the thought of my OTP. Suddenly, all the time and effort I've been dedicating towards 1 OTP seemed like such a stupid decision as I now had nothing.

In no way am I saying that my biases should never marry anyone else besides each other; neither do I want to change my policy about where I draw the line. It just shocked me how easily I could lose everything I've been doing. And I'm wondering if anyone has been in the same situation where you've been making so many fanworks and suddenly your reason for doing it is all gone. It doesn't have to be due to an OTP. It could be due to a disbandment, a member leaving, etc.

What would you do in my case?
furballpie 5 years ago
I used to ship KrisTao so much and made fics with no one else but them as the main characters, but then Kris left EXO and followed by Tao 2 years later which simply made my feelings for the OTP break down into pieces *sobs* I tried to keep the muse but apparently I couldn't since there's just no more interaction between them irl, so I decided to change my account, rewriting the stories using ChanBaek instead while fixing my RIP Engrish in my fics as well. I've been shipping ChanBaek too actually since OT12 but KrisTao was my main one... As a suggestion, if you can keep going on with the writing, then just ignore the dating news and spread your imagination, but I don't think I can do that. I need the feelings to make me enjoy the writing process.
goldteacup 5 years ago
I've imagined my favorite celebrities as the protagonists of the stories I write/read since I'm like 9 haha. You don't know these people, all you do is use their faces to create characters, so you can always just use new names and forever picture your OTP in your mind! The point of writing using the famous person's name is just so others know clearly who is the face of the character and to get readers, so if you go original name, you'd have to work harder for views but that's the only downside
brithistorian 5 years ago
Basically, what Lidashen said.

You've pretty much boxed yourself in here - if you're going to stop writing your OTP when one of them gets involved with someone else, you're pretty much guaranteeing that at some point you're going to have to stop writing them. Since you say you're not interested in changing where you draw the line, the only option that leaves you is to try writing about someone other than your OTP - maybe check out some of the younger groups, as they're less likely to be marrying soon.

I know you said you're not interested in changing where you draw the line, and I'm not trying to convince you to, but since your fics are already like an AU from the real world, it really seems like a tiny difference. You're just adding one more additional point (ignoring the existence of an existing relationship).

Alternately, you could work the new relationship into your fics: If A and B are your OTP, but A actually marries C, you can then write fics where A is married to C but still has feelings for B, and how do they handle those feelings? That might be even further over the line as far as you're concerned, but it's a possibility.
Lidashen 5 years ago
I don't ship anyone but I write idolxidol fanfics. However, the reason I write idol x idol is because I treat them as cast of a drama that I'm writing. They're my muse, I used them to my own liberty with some personality of theirs intact. I say some because they don't show a lot as idols, so I can take guesses on them. For that reason, most of my characters can be OC, or if you give them an original name, they'll be able to stand on their own. But you can still tell who inspired that character if I give you a list of my favorite idols.

My point is, start writing using your favs and ships as an inspiration, a cast member of a drama show instead of thinking that there are feelins between them. You're writing fanfics, so you have the liberty to think of their interactions but don't go too far to the point of feeling like you'd have to stop because it's weird now. There are actors/actresses that are married but still have to play a role of someone lover in dramas.

So fanfics is pretty much the same. ^^, so just continue on.