Idiots in Love
This article or section needs expansion. |
- See failboatsinlove for the Brendon/Spencer Livejournal community.
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | Failboats in Love, Dorks in Love, Idiots to Lovers, etc. |
| Related tropes/genres | Mutual Pining |
| See also | Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Didn't Know They Were Dating |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Idiots in Love is a popular trope in fanworks. Alternative iterations of the trope include Failboats in Love, Dorks in Love, Idiots to Lovers (a play on the Friends to Lovers and Enemies to Lovers tropes), and more.
This umbrella term covers diverse setups, including characters who are too blind to their own emotions to realize they are in love with each other or who Didn't Know They Were Dating, angsty stories of characters pining for each other, or fluffy fics about established relationships where the characters' love for each other is so all-consuming that it obliterates their ability to function.
The malleability of the term is illustrated by the fact that the most commonly associated tags on AO3 include both Fluff and Angst, First Kiss and Established Relationship, etc.
Typically, the idiots are surrounded by long-suffering secondary characters who have to put up with their idiocy and sometimes have to act as matchmaker.
History
The idea is presumably as old as fanfiction itself, and many fanworks probably depict these trope dynamics without using any of these terms.
As of 02/09/2021, 52k works used the tag on AO3. The most common tags used in conjunction with Idiots in Love included: Fluff, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Angst and Friends to Lovers.
233 works used "Idiots in love" in their titles.
Failboats in Love
The term "failboat" in particular originated in macros on 4chan in 2006, as a subcategory of "fail" memes featuring actual boats in various precarious positions.[1]
In 2008, popular Bandom author sunsetmog used the term in the summary of her story If Music Be The Food Of Love (I'll Have The Veggie Burger), and by 2009, "Failboats in Love" had become a common enough term in that corner of fandom that a Livejournal community dedicated to Brendon/Spencer of Panic at the Disco was named failboatsinlove.[2]
On AO3, Sunsetmog's story is the first occurrence of the tag.[3] The term is still used for fanworks in a variety of fandoms, but wildly out-numbered by the "Idiots" alternative, with only 142 uses as of 02/09/2021.
Discussion
So I've been browsing and noticed the tags "dorks in love" and "idiots in love" and I was curious in what makes them... well that. How exactly is the characters and their relationship different and is it as simple as it says on the tin? --u/FormerVoidTo me, that tag basically means mutual pining, but b/c both characters are kinda dense when it comes to romance/flirting etc., neither has any idea that the other likes them (at least to begin with). Can also refer to a pair of characters who act like a married couple but then strenuously deny they are attracted to each other when confronted about it (b/c again, idiots). [...] --u/ShatteredStarlight45
I think usually they both act like they're completely in love but they SAY they aren't at all - just friends, duh. And they mean it - they're too stupid about relationships/emotions that they don't even realize what they feel for each other. The whole, "Since were both single virgins, let's practice kissing with each other" is a good example. [...] --u/tyelperintal
In my eyes, this trope requires one of three varieties of emotional constipation. A) The two characters are basically dating in all but name. They are incredibly romantic and incredibly oblivious B) The characters are clearly pining after one another, but, for some inane reason, cannot fathom the possibility of reciprocation. C) The characters have no idea how to effectively express affection and vehemently deny its existence. They are desperately in love but either refuse to accept it or don't understand how it works. [...] --u/GiraBuca
My favorite trope is Mutual Pining/Oblivious Pining/Requited Unrequited/Idiots In Love, haha. Probably not the least bit surprising to anyone who reads my fics or follows my recs. What can I say, it’s a delicious kind of angst where it’s not so painful because the characters are just idiots and a happy ending is waiting for them if they could just figure it out and work through the misunderstandings or trauma of what is preventing them from realizing that they are (worthy of being) loved.
[heathyr:] “Idiots to lovers” is a phenomenal fic tag, and exactly my brand of romance. I love it when they’re just so….. fucking…. stupid[cassianandfenrysaremyboyos:] But not stupid on an intellectual level, just stupid and bumbling in how they interact with each other. Just two idiots who have no idea the other is in love with them
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfic
- If Music Be The Food Of Love (I'll Have The Veggie Burger) (Bandom, 2008)
- Mutually satisfying weirdness by sirona (MCU Steve/Bucky, 2014)
- Right There All the Time by devje (Once Upon a Time, Emma Swan/Regina Mills, 2015)
- Give Me Nothing, Give Me You by dls (The Witcher Geralt/Jaskier Modern AU, 2020)
- Waiting for an Answer by KinomiAkai (Naruto, Sasuke/Naruto Roommates AU)
Podfic
- crust and sugar over (PODFIC) by Opalsong (Yuri on Ice, 2018)
- A Good Few Verses by reena_jenkins (The Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer OT3, 2020)
- Crown of Thorns Pod'rama, 2020/2021
- [Podfic] Any Other Name by triedunture (Good Omens, Aziraphale/Crowley)
- [podfic] You Can't Handle The Tooth by mellowzukodeer (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zukka Post-canon AU)
Fanart
- I think I just "fell" for you, a Miraculous Ladybug digital drawing by sweetjupiter (selected tags: #dorks, #idiots in love, #idiots to lovers) (2021)
- ways of flirting -with shindrift-, a digital drawing meme by heavenlyeros (selected tags: #oh to be an idiot in denial who can't resist falling in love with the same paranoid idiot who can't refuse, #as you both parade as different people, #over and over and over again) (2021)
- First Kiss, a digital comic by zaccrimart (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney) (2021)
Vids
Resources
- Idiots in Love AO3 tag
- Idiots in Love Tumblr tag
- Failboats in Love AO3 tag
- Dorks in Love AO3 tag
- Idiots to Lovers AO3 tag
References
- ^ Know Your Meme page about Failboat, accessed 02/09/2021.
- ^ failboatsinlove Livejournal community, accessed 02/09/2021.
- ^ Failboats in Love in chronological order of use, accessed 2/09/2021.