DOs and DON'Ts of a Fallout fanfiction

Love only works in triangles

Also known as "Why You Shouldn't Write A Love Thread Between Just Two Characters"

It's simply more interesting.

Also, isn't that kind of how it's like in real life? How you like this guy, but it turns out he likes this other girl and they end up together and you're all bummed out? Nothing more relatable than unrequited love, and what a way to mentally hurt your character without physically hurting anyone!

Seriously, if it's a good romance novel, you'll probably notice the scheme of "girl has to choose between two guys". Many books based on that same scheme. And yet they all sell! Why?

Because it's so damn relatable and so damn dramatic. Way more dramatic than two people slowly realizing their feelings for each other (although I do enjoy writing that, and if there's demand, I can make a chapter on it too)!

The first love triangle I introduced in any of my Fallout books was the already canon Haylen-Danse-Rhys, and it was more or less my training ground for writing this kind of drama.

It was so fun that I decided to heat things up a little, and the Piper-Nora-Danse love triangle came up not much later, although this one was a lot less stressed on and I maintained it for comedy reasons more than for the plot or relationships. I mostly screwed around with the characters, and wanted to give Piper more spotlight in that romantic, flirtous kind of way.

Then, there was (or, as of when I'm writing this, WILL BE) the Piper-Nora-MacCready love triangle. Similar to the last one, only with a different guy, but completely different. With Danse, neither Piper nor Nora took it seriously, that was just fooling around. But with MacCready, all three parties are deeply emotionally invested. I used this love triangle to practice writing that kind of drama, and I think it went pretty well! I'm actually proud of this - choices, strain on friendships, realizing feelings for one another, arguments... With this love triangle, I got the whole package.

Of course, after that big one, nothing could compare, but I got so hooked up into love triangles that for the rest of my Fallout 4 book, the only love threads involved more than two people. Cait-Danse-Preston, which really came from nowhere but I loved it, Danse-Nora-Maxson, my personal favourite because of the quick pacing, Nora-Harris-Piper, Deacon-Nora-Piper... Nick and Ellie were the only ones who didn't have anyone poking their nose into their relationship. And it was so fun to create and plan out!

Why am I writing this? Certainly not to make you guys give up good old binary romance and throw yourselves to writing love triangles. I'm writing this to tell you guys that I've always been a fan of those two-person love stories until I tried writing this and... Just don't be afraid of trying new stuff. Writing-wise.

Over and out.