Preferences?

[brainofck]

I'm thinking about my stranded thing.

Sam is going to get the chemistry between the guys.

But I want to write one of the guys as clueless.

So. Which one is more fun? A Jack who is self-aware and a Daniel who has never quite realized what is going on between them?

Or a Daniel who is trying to hit Jack with a clue-by-four (to steal an expression from CJ) and a Jack who gets it a beat too late?

In the spirit of Adjustments, I'm tempted not to choose, but to write the same story both ways. But it seems dumb not to just make a decision and pick one.

Though this is not the only problem I am having with this story. For one thing, I am seriously debating character death, which I never do.

Comments

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Thinking about the boyz, I generally tend to see Jack as more self-aware and Daniel as someone who's more distracted by intellect so he's not always so on top of his own emotions. Althooough, it's also quite believable that Jack's been comfortably ensconced in his middle American hetero-military lifestyle so long that he doesn't think to question something that liberal academic Daniel's been open to for a long time. How helpful was that? ;-)

For one thing, I am seriously debating character death, which I never do.

Gah!!! You're scaring me!!! I've been so spoiled by your cracky-romantic writing I tend to forget you do things like Possession or Dark Muse. How dark is this fic in general? Would character death provide something integral? *frets*

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

Very helpful. Not. :p

I started thinking about this as a realtively dark piece. But as I've thought about it more, it's gotten lighter. So not certain character death is warranted. Still pondering.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

If story is really, really dark, I trust you to write death. If it's not, though, I don't think death fits. The main question is: dark piece or light piece?

[wyldestarr.livejournal.com]

CLUE-BY-FOUR! *dances* Err...not that I'm into random and/or questionably meaningless violence or anything. And we're talking really dense...to the point Daniel starts ranting at him in a dozen languages. ^_^

And oddly, I was thinking of character death the other day, though I'm not really writing anything that would require it. o_O

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

I have a couple of ideas in my head, and one is much more dreadful than the other. And the dreadful one requires character death. But I'm not sure the story is really that interesting. I am pondering.

[seleneheart]

I vote for Daniel the sweetly muddled and unaware how gorgeous he is. Although Jack the too straight to think about it has it's advantages too.

Yeah, not so helpful.

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

Yup. The two possibilities. And no, not helping. :D

[cocoajava.livejournal.com]

I usually perceive Jack as Mister Clueless and Daniel as a bit more in touch. Flip that for me!!!!!!

(And I stole Clue-by-four from..... er, someone on my flist. I'm sure of it. I didn't invent it!)

[brainofck.livejournal.com]

That's my temptation. But I've got a great converation in my head - well, more of a moment - between Jack and Sam that can only happen if Jack missed the clue bus by, like, 20 minutes.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

Dood, write what the bunnies tell you to!

[cocoajava.livejournal.com]

Ah, well then. The conversation must live, so off you go to write it the other way 'round!

[lt-kitty.livejournal.com]

I can see either in a clueless role, though I think Jack is more likely to be unaware of his own feelings (either from gay denial or just his general compartamentalization of inconvenient feelings), and Daniel as more likely to be unaware of the other person's interest.

They can both be the "clueless" partner, but the feel of the story and the part the cluelessness plays in it would be different.

[findo.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm a lurking fan of yours popping up to say I think It_kitty is onto something there. Which kind of clueless is more useful for the story you want to write? The kind where the guy knows he fancies men but thinks he has no hope with this one, the kind where the guy refuses to admit the possibility he's gay, or the kind where the guy knows he loves this person but doesn't know he LOVES him?

Can anyone think of another kind of clueless that I missed?