First post here. But I'm currently writing a dystopian novel where surprise surprise everyone is isolated by technology and fucked up in the head because of it. And there's this resistance group that wants to get rid of this technology. It's kind of a long story (pun intended) on the details of this dystopian novel and comparing it to other dystopian novels out on the market. But that's not the point right now. The point is that I'm thinking of starting some sort of romance between two characters. Because of how fucked up the world is compared to ours, and how there aren't that many people to choose from, I would definitely say that laws about love would be a lot more relaxed compared to ours. Since, you know, they are all criminals. The government actually makes love illegal except for if you love the "Big Brother" of this novel. I haven't thought much about it, but this is basically how it goes. Guy: 17 year old, angsty. tragic school-shooter type. You can clearly tell that the government's rules fucked him up the most compared to everyone else. He also has the hardest time becoming a normal person. But he met Girl and actually fell in love with her because he was looking at a real, flesh and blood woman. Something he never really saw before. And she may not be perfect, but that's great. Girl: 22 year old, kind and compassionate lady who's essentially the team's medic. I haven't really found a concrete answer as to why exactly Girl would fall in love with Guy, but she sees Guy as a tortured soul (ya think?) and wants to help him get better. And it works too, because Guy is much more calm and relaxed around her. Of course, things are subject to change. And maybe there wouldn't be any romance at all. I'm just asking if it would even be remotely possible for something like this to happen. Thanks.
Yeah, man. I think there’s lots of ways that could work. I love couples who help each other and make each their better. I’d ship it. I have a question, though. So initially he falls in love with her because she’s a woman and he’s never seen a woman before? How does that develop? Does it stay that way?
If it's of any help, I believe in all different kinds of love and relationships. I have a story in mind for a couple who never actually get together, and the age gap between them will be at least 50 years difference...! It will, not surprisingly, be a bittersweet romantic story.
This all sounds very Black Mirror. I am intrigued. I can see why Guy likes Girl - he's been isolated and disconnected from people, and she's like a beacon of hope. As for what she sees in him, I would write a tragedy into her back story. Maybe she lost a brother and blames herself, and sees aspects of him in Guy. So helping him is part of her own redemption. It would add a nice character development sub-plot and would explain why they fall in love.
One question that comes to mind, and sorry if this is off-topic, but how does this Big Brother character plan on keeping the world populated if you're only allowed to love him? That's some creepy, incestuous stuff going on right there. As per your question, I think it would work fine. I wouldn't have her "fall in love" with him early on, but make him work for her affections. This would force him to grow as a person and come out of his shell a bit more, which would make for a more interesting character in general. Maybe he becomes much more protective of his entire team from the fact that he's become very protective of her and it passes onto them by proxy? She could see this protective nature forming in him and start to see him more as a maturing young adult than a kid, which piques her interest. Also, a few late-night talks by the campfire in abandoned buildings smashed to smithereens by bombs doesn't hurt.
Great point. Government mandated reproduction doesn't sound like much fun (though it would work to close this plot hole...)
It's not that he falls in love with her cause she's a woman, but you're close. It's that pretty much every girl he's seen before was either a fake robot meant to keep people in line, or behind a screen. And now he's looking at a real woman. Made of flesh and blood, and not behind a screen. That's why he loves her.
Yes, of course they can fall in love. See what you can do to build chemistry between them. A subliminal awareness of each other is a good place to start. They NOTICE each other, and find themselves watching each other. They will be able to communicate feelings and thoughts without words. (For example, they both witness something happening, catch each others eyes, and realise that the other person is thinking exactly the same thing about what they've just witnessed.) It's that heightened awareness that's often the key. Circumstances don't really matter. They will probably feel this pull before either of them knows all that much about the other one's background.
When I read Big Brother, I immediately thought of Big Brother as in Orwell's 1984 - not an actual older/taller/wiser male sibling. In answer to the question, yeah, it could work, but I wouldn't make it easy for them,
That would be a good test for their relationship. Maybe the nurse could have this in her head as a reason to not get with him, it's good to have problems in the relationship (in writing). All good love stories have to overcome their set of probelms. Maybe it's the horror fan in me, but I'd like to see this school shootery type guy fall in love with this perfect nurse, and have the relationship swap their roles over the course of the book.
Forget the dystopian element for a moment. When I was 17 I fell in love every time I saw a woman, and there were plenty of them about. I probably fell in love with a hole in a tree, a pig's heart and several household appliances at the same time. 17 year old boys are pretty much ready to fall in love - or what they understand to be love - with anyone and anything.
I don't know for sure, but I suspect it's different for girls. Adolescent males have that feeling of falling in love with everyone and everything because they are basically driven to fuck everything. And that feeling of close bonding results in physical closeness which increases the chance of answering the question of whether this thing will fit in there. Young females, on the other hand, have evolved to be more discerning. After all, they're the ones who have to be incapacitated by the resulting pregnancy if things go to plan for the male. So their instinct is to choose more carefully which male(s) they are close to, fall in love with, fuck, whatever. Don't really have empirical evidence for that. It's just a hypothesis based on my observations of human (and animal) behaviour and my understanding of the evolution of these behaviours.
What if the resistance group has to move frequently and one night when they finally have a chance to rest they post a guard or guards. After eating something prepared by the medic, because she knows what kinds of plants and othe wildlife are safe to eat, once every one has been fed they settle down to rest then without any warning, the young man starts. Screaming like he is being tortured by an unseen force, the medic wakes him up and she spends the night comforting him, the next he tells her about the screaming, and it turns out that being around so much technology. Has really fucked him up mental and emotional and she does her best to help him through his problem and gradually they fall in love.
At face value it sounds like it could be an abusive relationship - fucked up guy + kind girl. If you wanted to delve into that sort of unhealthy relationship you could make her fall for him because he pays attention to her and fulfills her desperate need for love. But foregoing that route, I'd ask is the guy the only potential partner for the girl in the team? Love isn't that picky - sometimes all it takes is someone showing interest for it to begin, so unless the girl has a better alternative, that could be enough for the relationship to start. Does he have any redeeming qualities? Maybe you could pair them up on a task or isolate them together, have them reveal vulnerabilities, share similar tragic pasts and grow close that way.
I dunno. Depends on their psychology and their experiences with each other. "Love at first sight"? Lol no, that's called an erection. However it'd be pretty easy to imagine Angsty McAngst falling in love with Kinder deGut if she, I dunno, hugs him, kisses him, and otherwise babies him. Pretty hard not to fall in love with a contrast like that. Why's she babying him? Either because she's nuts, she's incredibly motherly, and/or she senses something trustworthy and desirable about him (what, I don't know because Angsty is only desirable when he's big, pushy, and sexy and that's not love but lust that's triggered--and most often with abuse victims, especially of child abuse by their parents). If she's not especially motherly and comforted him in a bad spot, then he's just got an erection and she's probably wondering who this unstable beta male is lol. ADDED: And should they? Lol that's a whole other question entirely! Definitely not. Angsty McAngst is way too Angsty to be a reliable and steady man while Kinder deGut is a total unknown. What kind of childhood did she have? Is she a virgin? What are her life goals? What are his? etc. etc.
Okay my thoughts: This doesn't sound like something that should/would start as a 'healthy' relationship. But then again, that could be fun. It sounds like everybody's messed up somehow, I don't think it's too far a stretch to say the girl finds something about the guy attractive enough to start up a relationship. Could develop into one of those 'they help each other be better' things too.
