snowflake challenge #11

[svgurl]

Challenge #11:
In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme.

There are a lot of tropes that, if present in a work, will get me to click almost immediately, like: fake dating, friends with benefits, and soulmates, but the one that I really love yet haven't written myself (yet) is 'amnesia'.

I am ready to handwave any medical accuracy for all the drama and angst of a character forgetting part or all of their memories. It just contains so many things I like - pining, angst, misunderstandings. I like it when a character forgets up to a certain point and that means they forget just a certain someone or someones. There's angst on both sides of they're in a romantic relationship and one doesn't remember, but I also love it as a push to get two characters together, with the character who forgot seeing the situation much more clearly than when they had their memories, kind of a "why AREN'T we together? we are practically married!" type thing. Or even just assuming that they are together and the other (pining) character is so conflicted, because of the potential 'oh they only want me when they don't remember me' aspect.

I also like it when they do remember the other person but a different relationship than what they currently have. As in they remember being friends or even not liking one another and now they're in a relationship. There's something both funny and painful about them looking at an important person and being like "him/her?"

I've had ideas for all variations and started one or two but never got around to finishing any, going back to the Charles/Erik (XMFC) fic I was working on over a decade ago (almost 10k just sitting in a word doc lol) and a couple of Smallville fics that didn't go very far either. Fortunately other people are writing amazing fic so I can still enjoy the trope! :D

I even got a couple as gifts:

root out the wine-dark honeyed center by celaenos (Elementary, Jamie/Joan, Teen, 7.8k)
“WATSON, COME DOWN HERE AND TAKE YOUR WIFE OFF OF MY HANDS. PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU!” Sherlock hollers.
“My what?” Joan mutters, snapping the book shut with force and climbing out of her bed. “I’m sorry,” she repeats as she makes her way down the stairs. “My what?”
(or, a story of poison, amnesia, sexual tension, and marriage)

Normal by LearnedFoot (Suits, Mike/Harvey, Teen, 9.7k)
“Welcome back,” Harvey tells him. “I always knew biking was a bad idea.”
Mike’s eyebrows squeeze together. He blinks again. Then, voice weak but clear, he says, “Sorry, who are you?”

If we have shared fandoms/ships and you have recs, I will always welcome them! :D

Comments

[barbaratp]

Wow amnésia é interessante, mas perda de memória por bloqueio "mágico" também se encaixaria nesse tropo? Porque lembrei agora da incrível fic Clark/Lex de Dolomir onde ambos se esquecem de terem tido um passado juntos, mas podem sentir a energia da atração que tem um pelo outro. É capítulo único, enorme se posso dizer, mas que eu amei tanto que sempre estou lendo. E olha que esse tropo de perda de memória não é algo sue eu goste muito, mas nessa fic em questão foi tão bem trabalhado que oh meus deuses foi impossível resistir.

[svgurl]

I think it counts! All sorts of memory loss would qualify, no matter the cause, and there is something really intriguing about not remembering someone but being drawn to them anyway. That's something I love about the amnesia trope. Unfortunately, I don't ship/read Clex anymore (and probably since the beginnings of my time in fandom) but it's great that you love the fic so much, despite not being interested in the trope itself! :)

[barbaratp]

É pra mim um tropo muito problemático, porque isso não sou fã e raras vezes leio sobre. Já tive o desprazer de encontrar autores que o usaram de forma horrível o que me fez desgostar dele por um todo.

[svgurl]

The variety within a trope means that the way people use it is not going to work for everyone. Hopefully it is appropriately tagged so you can just avoid it all together.

[barbaratp]

Por sorte até o presente momento só tive um único encontro horrível com o tropo amnésia e foi por acaso. A pessoa estava fazendo uma fic hp (que era meu fandom na época) inspirada em um filme com essa temática. A estória estava evoluindo para o personagem ser salvo depois de sofrer nas mãos de uma pessoa que usou seu estado amnésico de forma ruim, só para no último capítulo a pessoa escrever o maior gore que eu já vi, com cenas de abuso sexual, assassinato e tortura dizendo que de algo como aquilo nada de bom viria. Acho que ela se ressentiu com o fandom e decidiu escrever ele como algo ruim logo no final do enredo. Eu me assustei porque era uma fic sobre auxílio, onde uma pessoa vítima iria ser resgatada para do nada se transformar em uma carnificina. Isso me deixou muito traumatizada e receosa do tropo, eu fui enganada, me prometeram algo e entregaram outra coisa no lugar. E aquilo me feriu e muito.

[svgurl]

I can understand why even that one experience would've put you off. I know people enjoy angst and pain but when you're not expecting a story to take a turn like that, it can be pretty jarring to say the least, regardless of the reasoning behind it.

[barbaratp]

Sim. Eu não leio angústia e dor. São squicks e gatilhos para mim. Aí do nada uma fic mais sombria que é até aceitável pelo meu humor se torna algo que não quis. Foi horrível.

[svgurl]

Yeah, I'm not really into it either. At least on AO3 most people are good about tagging and it's easier to avoid there than it was on FFN/LJ.

[barbaratp]

Sim por isso eu deixei o ffn de lado e migrei totalmente para o ao3. O site me deixa ter liberdade do que posso e quero acessar em medo de me separar com coisas assim, porque há um total apreço ao direito do outro.

[svgurl]

Yeah, I appreciate FFN for what it was and the time I spent there, but they definitely had very limited options and people didn't think to use them as much. Even editing fics is impossible. When I started writing fic again, I did crosspost back there but then eventually I drifted away completely.

[barbaratp]

Meus deuses eu não quero nem lembrar de como era um porre ter que upar todo o arquivo novamente só porque você errou uma partezinha dele. Por essas e outras prefiro o ao3

[svgurl]

Exactly, I had to do it a couple of times and it is such a waste of time/energy. And I am with you there.

[tjs_whatnot]

I LOVE amnesia as a trope! I didn't realize how much until I looked at just how many times I've written it--include a full-ass novel! (But also a handful of fics). I don't know if we share any fandoms though, so I won't rec them (they're mostly HP).

[svgurl]

It's a fun one! And that is awesome that you've written so much. I used to read HP a long time ago, but I was pretty OTP-ish in that fandom unfortunately - mostly stuck to Harry/Draco and Remus/Sirius. I wish we did share fandoms/ships!

[vendettadays]

I do love reading fics with the amnesia trope for all the reason you've said, the angst, the pining, and all the emotional turmoil that goes through both characters when it comes to lost memories and in away, lost a part of themselves. It's also one of those tropes that I find infinitely sad for those same reasons.

I love that Joan Watson/Jamie Moriarty fic <3

I've recently read a Station 19 fic (Carina DeLuca/Maya Bishop) that I had no idea was an amnesia fic as it wasn't tagged so I was surprised when it popped up, but it captures exactly all the angst and pining I'd expect from an amnesia fic and more. I read it canon blind but worth a read regardless if you know the canon or not:

is this god's experiment
Author: amaltheazwrites
Fandom: Station 19/Grey's Anatomy
Pairing: Maya Bishop/Carina DeLuca
Summary: It's you, the wash of starlight, the old paradox: if the Universe were static, I could stand anywhere in this world and I swear my line of sight would end on you. I swear I’d find you in the dark.
- Nina Varela (Iron Heart)
Ongoing (25/27 chapters)

[svgurl]

Exactly! It's nice to hear from others who feel the same way. And I agree about it being sad, because I can't imagine what it's like to be so lost in your own body and life. There are fics where they never regain their memories and those always hurt the most, even with the supposed happy ending.

I love that Joan Watson/Jamie Moriarty fic <3
Same! I love to go back and reread it when I can. :D

That sounds interesting! I have read fic canon blind in the past so I will definitely check it out. Thank you for the rec! :D

[ultra_fic]

Ah, the amnesia trope. Always a favourite :) I wrote a Rory/Jess fic in which he lost his memories, if that interests you at all... Hart Reset. I also did something similar in the Hart of Dixie fandom, but I'm pretty sure you've never seen that show, plus a group amnesia fic for Firefly, but I think that's all... so far ;) Well, except for a few Bucky/Nat one-shots where they don't always remember each other because brainwashing and all, but that's different, I guess, and I'm pretty sure you read those already anyway :)

[svgurl]

Ooh, a Rory/Jess amnesia fic sounds amazing! Especially setting it after the "I love you". I'm going to check that one out for sure. Unfortunately, I haven't watched Hart of Dixie or Firefly but it's awesome that you have used it in many fandoms! And yes, I definitely have read/love the Bucky/Nat ones where they don't remember each other. :D

[ultra_fic]

If you read Hard Reset, I hope you get a kick out of it :) Yeah, I was 99% sure you weren't in those other fandoms, but at least I was able to offer you one fic that suits your tastes :)

[svgurl]

I'm sure I will and I will definitely let you know what I think once I do. And yes, I'm glad too! Thank you for the rec! ♥ :D

[kitarella_imagines]

Oh I wrote an amnesia fic nearly 10 years ago, it was an interesting experience. My character Marc was aged 23 but he lost a few years due to an accident so when he woke up, he thought he was 17 again and had forgotten his boyfriend, Luca. At the time Luca was 19 so he became the older one with younger Marc and their relationship changed due to that. There was a lot of ups and downs in the story, but eventually Marc got his memories back, remembered he was 23 and more or less went back to normal. It was a really emotional fic, there's loads of backstory I can't go into here or it would be a very long post 😅

[svgurl]

I can imagine! The characters feeling a different age than they are and that changing the dynamic like that, whether it reverses their age gap or adds one due to the mental and physical gap thanks to the amnesia does add another interesting aspect. And amnesia stories do tend to get emotional, which is something I enjoy for sure. Hopefully you liked writing it too. :)

[kitarella_imagines]

It was emotional, definitely. A lot of ups and downs, probably one of the most emotional, affecting fics I've ever written. But I gave them a really fluffy, happy ending, so that helped.

[svgurl]

Well, then the journey was worth it! As much as I love all out fluff, the happy ending does feel sweeter when you see them struggle first.

[kitarella_imagines]

And it's a very popular fic, I've got some lovely comments on it, calling it 'magical'. Sometimes I write fics that are really from the heart and mean a lot to me, so it's good when others feel the same 💗

[svgurl]

That's awesome! It's definitely feels validating and good when something that you put so much effort and feeling into gets appreciated by others. :)

[kitarella_imagines]

It does, doesn't it! Usually I get little reaction to my stories but that one seems to touch people. Probably because the characters are very popular ones, individually and together 😊

[svgurl]

For sure! I know it is important to find joy in your own writing and write for yourself, but feedback is nice. And that can definitely help.

[kitarella_imagines]

It's nice to get a bit of both isn't it 😊

[svgurl]

Definitely! :)