Sympathy Through Familiarity
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| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | Everyone Is Gay, Sympathetic Character |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Introduction
In (mostly historical--i.e. before 1990?) slash fandoms, often there is a need to write in a sympathetic character to the relationship being written about. This usually manifests itself in the story via the trope that the sympathetic character had a family member that was queer and regrets the death or trauma of that family member.
Examples
From For Want of a Nail by the_dala [1] (Pirates of the Caribbean, Sparrington)
The housekeeper’s sharp gray eyes softened a touch. “No need t’ worry that I’ll be runnin’ off to see you hauled away, now. When my dear nephew Gregory killed hisself because his chosen sweetheart happened to b’long to his own sex, I promised meself I’d never judge a soul on how he gets by beneath his sheets.”