Why couldn’t we just have mutual pining between them but instead we got mutual angst.
i know We have been silly riling everyone up about the angst and it’s been fun for all of us to be dramatic about it so idk if you’re joking or not but for the sake of this ask i will answer as though it’s a legitimate question!
simple answer: it’d be boring without any angst ♥️
hopefully you have seen this pyramid chart at least once in any english class you have ever taken. most fics, books, tv shows, movies, etc. follow this format in one way or another! it’s a pretty standard guide in creating stories that are compelling and keep audiences engaged until the end. acswy was built with this in mind (not necessarily consciously — we do this without even thinking about it) and each chapter aligns with this structure.
ch01-02: exposition (introduction of the camp, modern setting, extra characters, party dynamics, hints towards mike and will’s history)
ch03: inciting incident (food fight & getting sent to isolation)
ch04-10.2: rising action (kiss, fwb arrangement, catching feelings & mutual pining, introducing small conflicts like being too mean to each other and having to adjust their behaviors, worrying about what others think, being afraid to communicate due to fear of rejection/their past, etc)
ch11-15: climax, falling action, & resolution (it’s blown up in their faces! yay! now things get a little worse before they get better) (and they will get better)
we only have four chapters left to tie up loose ends and make sure everyone is happy — and that means us, you, and mike and will! when we say there is mild angst we reaaally, really mean it; yes, we have all been messing around together, but when you think of the angst from the source material (will going missing, the constant threat of a near death/apocalyptic situation, literal monsters) versus this angst (they’re sad and stressed because of a misunderstanding), it is by definition mild in comparison. we also use the term mild because the angst takes up less than 20% of the entire fic — literally. i did the math.
so all of this is to sayyyyy i know some people hate that angst is present At All, but it is necessary to most story telling and the specific story We are telling. we are being silly and goofy and teasing everyone, but as we have assured many times, everything will work out and they end up together in the end. we would not invest 3 years of our lives and spend 400k+ words building this up if they didn’t have a happy ending :’)
