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Writing Angel/Fred
by Seersha
Disclaimer: The following essay is my own, personal opinion. It will offer advice and suggestions, but by no means do I claim to present the be all and end all on how to write their relationship. People will interpret things differently and this is my interpretation. I hope, at the very least, if offers some other perspectives to consider.
Distribution: I don't mind this going on other sites, just ask first please and remember to give me credit!
When writing a fic, you can write just about any plot (AU or otherwise) and any relationship as long as you can convince the reader that the idea is workable. This essay contains suggestions, for those who are seeking them, of how to write a convincing relationship between Angel and Fred.
Writing an Angel/Fred relationship is, however, a tricky topic, simply because of the fact that Angel is involved. There are a few things that need to be considered, especially if that relationship is going to be romantic in your fic.
Why?
One of the main considerations needs to be why Angel and Fred would get involved in a relationship with one another. Well written 'shipper fic uses good bases and reasons for writing that relationship.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the characters have to have on-screen romantic feelings for one another. For example, Coreldia/Angel fic can be very well-written, simply because the characters share a bond (the PTB) and that can be used and extended in fanfic. Another example would be Angel/Spike. Their connection is blood, they are part of the same 'family' and they spent a great deal of time together. Angel/Faith also have good grounds for fanfic to explore their relationship; they both have a lot in common and understand one another.
So, what are good grounds for an Angel/Fred fic? Well, firstly, there are a few things you shouldn't write.
For example, if you wish for your fic to have depth and to convince the reader that Angel/Fred really would work well together, you can't simply use Fred's crush on Angel as the basis for a relationship. Their connection seemed to go deeper than that and you could easily form a convincing foundation for their relationship drawing from that connection. In the episodes "Through the Looking Glass" and "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" (TNPLPG), this connection was evidenced.
Fred accepted Angel's demon. She has seen him at his most vicious and still saw the difference between the AngelBeast and Angel himself.
Fred: "You'll get better with a little rest and care."
Angel: "I don't think so."
Fred: "Why wouldn't ya?"
Angel: "You saw what I turn into. Back in LA it's bad. But here it's..."
Fred: "We all got our demons."
-- "TNPLPG"
Fred: "They'll kill you and you'll turn into that beast. Maybe not exactly
in that order."
Angel: "My friends are in trouble."
Fred: "But the beast. I know you don't want them to see you that way. I'm not
afraid of it like everyone else."
-- "TNPLPG"
Fred: "You heal fast."
Angel: "One of the pluses of being a beast."
Fred: "But you're not. When you were fighting this time, you didn't change."
Angel: "I was afraid."
Fred: "Of what?"
Angel: "That if I did, I'd never get back."
Fred: "You're not a beast."
-- "TNPLPG"
Further, Fred stated that she sees herself as a 'freak', much like Angel views himself.
"Okay, so maybe you got a beast in you. But I know what it's like to be squirrelly and a freak with no one to..." --Fred to Angel, "TNPLPG"
Angel, on his part, seemed to be very open with Fred. He was able to admit his fear quite easily. Unlike many times when he has trouble admitting his feelings, he found no need to hide them around Fred.
Fred: "When you were fighting this time, you didn't change."
Angel: "I was afraid."
Fred: "Of what?"
Angel: "That if I did, I'd never get back."
-- "TNPLPG"
Angel
Firstly, because Angel is vampire that is going to dictate certain aspects of an Angel/Fred relationship. This means that children are out and Angel certainly won’t be taking Fred to sunny outings. As the Mayor pointed out, Angel is immortal and he will not grow old physically. Fred, obviously, is mortal. She will age.
"You're immortal, she's not. It's not. I married my Edna May in ought-three and I was with her right until the end. Not a pretty picture. Wrinkled and senile and cursing me for my youth. Wasn't our happiest time. And let's not forget the fact that any moment of true happiness will turn you evil. I mean, come on. What kind of a life can you offer her? I don't see a lot of Sunday picnics in the offing. I see skulking in the shadows, hiding from the sun. She's a blossoming young girl and you want to keep her from the life she should have until it has passed her by. My God! I think that's a little selfish." -- Mayor Wilkens to Angel, "Choices"
One easy way to get around this (and the other issues raised) is to write a future fic. According to the Scrolls of Aberjian, it is prophesied that Angel will some day 'Shanshu' and become human.
"The vampire with a soul, once he fulfills his destiny, will Shanshu. Become human. It's his reward." -- Wesley, "To Shanshu in LA"
A future fic can take place after this, therefore both Angel and Fred will be mortal and can grow old together, as well as venture into the sunlight together, have children etc. Another option is to have Fred and Angel simply come to terms with this reality and continue a relationship regardless. Most people would accept the idea that if two characters cared about one another enough, the limitations of mortality/immortality, children and sunlight wouldn't matter because they would still want to be together no matter what.
Secondly, Angel's curse. His curse can't simply be disregarded because it is now a part of his character and it has on more than one occasion, been used on the show as reasoning for why Angel can't be in a relationship. The specifics of what his curse entails, have never fully or extensively been explained on the show, however, it was a "moment of true happiness" with Buffy that triggered the loss of his soul.
"Angel is meant to suffer, not to live as human. One moment of true happiness, of contentment, one moment where the soul that we restored no longer plagues his thoughts, and that soul is taken from him." -- Enyos, "Innocence"
While many viewers believed it was the "sex" that caused Angel to lose his soul, this fact was disputed in the episode "Epiphany", when Angel woke up from a night of sex with Darla to find his soul intact.
Darla: "You're not evil. I-I don't understand. Was I... Was it... not good?
Well, I don't accept that. You can not tell me that wasn't perfect. Not only
have I been around for four hundred years, but I used to do this professionally.
And that was perfect. We'll go again."
Angel: "No. No. We can't. You know we can't. We're finished."
Darla: "Finished? Why? What, because you suddenly decide? You know an hour ago
you wanted this. You weren't tricked into anything. I didn't seduce you. You
wanted it!"
Angel: "Yeah. And it was perfect, Darla. It was perfect despair."
-- "Epiphany"
Thus, sex doesn't equate to "perfect happiness". This then means that Fred and Angel can have sex and it can be written convincingly without Angel having to endanger the loss of his soul. Obviously, the above statement is assuming that Angel wouldn't be "perfectly happy" in doing so. But even this fact doesn't have to mean that Angel and Fred can't be in love or have deep feelings for one another. What exactly constitutes "true happiness" is very open and can be interpreted in many ways. How happy is *too* happy? This is a question that can be explored when writing Angel/Fred, and since the writers have never put limitations on the notion of what exactly "true happiness" is, you can realistically set your own boundaries to accommodate your fic.
The other option regarding Angel's curse, is to have Angel and Fred avoid sex all together, much like Buffy and Angel did in S3 of BtVS. Angel himself, I think, would be reluctant to enter into a sexual relationship. One of his great fears is the return of Angelus, and this fear would be a major driving force in his decisions regarding the boundaries of a relationship.
Angel: I can't do it again, Buffy. I can't become a killer.
Buffy: Then fight it.
Angel: It's too hard.
Buffy: Angel, please, you have to get inside.
Angel: It told me to kill you. You were in the dream. You know. It told me to
lose my soul in you and become a monster again.
Buffy: I know what it told you. What does it matter?
Angel: Because I wanted to! Because I want you so badly! I want to take comfort
in you, and I know it'll cost me my soul, and a part of me doesn't care. Look,
I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs
killing, Buffy. It's the man.
-- "Amends"
Fred
One of the first things to note is that Fred quite clearly has a crush on Angel. Whether or not this crush could lead to deeper feelings is yet to be seen, but already we know that Fred finds Angel attractive.
Angel: "You okay?"
Fred: "Handsome man... saved me from the monsters. Bye." (She runs off.)
Angel: "Hey. Wait a minute."
-- "Through the Looking Glass"
It is quite possible that one of the core reasons Fred likes Angel so much is because she sees him as her savior. He was also (assumedly) the first human (and by that I mean he looks like a human) man she had been in contact with in five years. This meant that their time together in Pylea was very significant. Fred obviously enjoyed to have Angel's company, and on more than one occasion, she insisted that it was better for him to stay with her.
(Angel stands in a little patch of sunshine inside the cave.)
Angel: "Can't do this in LA."
Fred: "Why not?"
Angel: "Oh, I'll burst into flames. Part of the beast thing."
Fred: "So it's better for you here."
-- "TNPLPG"
Fred: "It's too dangerous. They'll kill you."
Angel: "My friends are in trouble. One of them is already dead."
Fred: "But it's safe here. Out there it's... It's safe here with me."
-- "TNPLPG"
However, this insistence can't simply be put down to being due to the fact that she finds him attractive. For the first time, it seemed Fred had found someone who could understand her. She thinks of herself as a freak, as does Angel. Even the comment about her 'caterwauling' when no one was around, is significant in her bond with Angel.
Angel: "What? Did I snore?"
Fred: "Hmm... I don't remember any snoring."
Angel: "Good."
Fred: "I remember caterwauling..."
(Fred lets out a short shriek, startling Angel.)
Angel: "Sorry."
Fred: "I don't mind. Sometimes it just burbles up inside you and you have to
bellow a little. Do it all the time. No one's around to hear."
-- "TNPLPG"
Language
So, what kind of words and descriptions can you use when writing Angel/Fred? The best words to use are descriptive words. Words that can make the reader notice the atmosphere of your story, words that can make the reader feel or respond to a certain emotion that one or both of the characters may be feeling.
For example, the mood of many of the Angel/Fred scenes in Pylea seemed very mystical, as evidenced by the accompanying music. One viewer (sorry, can't remember who it was) even pointed out the contrast between "Alice in Wonderland" and the Angle/Fred scenes, as if every time Angel and Fred went into her cave, they were entering 'another world', similar to Alice falling down the rabbit's hole. This notion of dreams vs. reality was emphasized in Fred's questioning of what was real and what wasn't.
"Because you're not real. Or I'm not real. Somebody here isn't real and I suspect it's you. So if you're not real, that means that my head came off back there and that I'm dead now. Dead. And with me being dead and you not being real I can hardly be expected to have some big conversation with you at the moment, because it's just a little too much pressure, all right?!" -- Fred to Angel, "Through the Looking Glass"
Angel: "They called you Fred. You were studying to be a physicist."
Fred: "That's my dream."
Angel: "You disappeared from a library in Los Angeles five years ago."
Fred: "Stop it."
Angel: "It's not a dream, Fred."
Fred: "It's not?"
Angel: "No."
Fred: "And my head's still on?"
Angel: "Yeah."
Fred: "You're real? No. No, I don't want you to be real."
Angel: "Why?"
Fred: "Because! You're nice, and you saved me. And bad things will happen to
you here. Bad things always happen here."
-- "Through the Looking Glass"
The atmosphere of Pylea should be remembered when writing fics that are set in that arc, although Angel/Fred fics that are set after they return to LA, would have a very different atmosphere.
One of the key things in writing relationship fics, is being able to use appropriate language to describe the feelings characters have for one another. For example, words that conjure dark, depressing thoughts and emotions don't seems to fit Angel/Fred. At the same time, it probably isn't a good idea to be using terms such as 'soulmates' or 'true love' to describe their relationship either or their feelings for one another.
Some suggested words include: tender, crush, acceptance, trusting, honesty, open etc.
Character Development
When writing an Angel/Fred fic, or a fic with an Angel/Fred pairing, a good question to ask yourself would be: What will a romantic relationship mean for the individual characters as well as their relationship with one another?
A perfect example of a relationship leading to character development is the "ANGEL" episode "Epiphany". The writers didn't simply have Darla and Angel engage in sex just for the sake of it, there was a reason why they did what they did and it resulted in a significant turn of events. The aftermath of this led to Angel changing his attitude, as well as developing his character. Darla also, endured a significant change of mind as a result.
In fan fiction, relationships that develop character are far more enjoyable to read than those that don't. A fic revolving around a couple that simply swoon over one another and have sex at every opportunity isn't going to be the most interesting. Whereas a fic that adds conflict to the relationship and leads to Angel, Fred or both having solid character development as a result, would make for better reading.
As we know, in Joss' world (and reality, funnily enough), no relationship runs smoothly. Every relationship in the Jossverse have had obstacles they have had to overcome, be it demon-related or not. On the shows there is a fair bit of angst thrown in (Joss has admitted he loves angst), and sometimes, relationships can't get past their conflicts and the couple consequently break up (e.g. Angel/Buffy, Cordelia/Xander, Willow/Oz, Buffy/Riley).
But, break ups in themselves, can also lead to interesting character development.
Plot
There are plenty of fics that have no plot, otherwise referred to as PWP fics. These can be fun, but obviously, they generally don't offer much character development or depth.
An Angel/Fred fic doesn't have to focus on the relationship as the primary plot. In "ANGEL" episodes, there are generally A and B plots, the A plot being the focus. Fan fiction classified as AtS fics could easily incorporate an Angel/Fred relationship, without shifting the focus from the Angel Investigations crew as a whole.
For example, the A plot may be something like:
- The AI team investigate a series of disappearances that lead them to confront
Darla and Drusilla.
Then the B plot may include:
- Fred and Angel gradually growing closer and discovering they have feelings
for one another.
- Darla and Angel confronting one another and Angel staking Darla.
In the above scenario, the focus shouldn't be shifted from the mystery that is the disappearances... up to and including when the AI team discover that Darla and Drusilla are involved. But to add conflict and depth, adding relationship dynamics between Angel/Fred and Angel/Darla would lead to Angel struggling not only with the case, but the personal aspects it leads to.
Sources and Suggested Reading
An excellent way to get familiar with Angel and Fred as characters is to watch the episodes and - for writing purposes - to read the transcripts (http://www.psyche.kn-bremen.de/). Reading fic is another great way to learn as well as to get a sense of what works and what doesn't, and may well inspire you. Also, check out the Mailing Lists section to find out the names of some lists you can join, where you can read and post your Angel/Fred fanfiction.
Written by Seersha 15.9.01