Fanfiction help: Fireflies

[adhdinspired]

OK. So I have this mega huge idea for a long 2x5 story. I want to know if anyone would be interested in reading it, so here's the idea!

Standing outside the fire, Wufei watched it all burn.

He should be screaming his morose, he should be struggling to get his life's work. But he was numb from the brain down. Wufei knew what he should be doing, but his instincts told him to just watch and see what was going to happen afterwards.

But then he felt the cool flesh of someone putting their arm over his shoulders, and his knees buckled. Wufei sank to the ground gracelessly and the tears just wouldn't stop coming. Memories flooded his mind like someone had blown up the dam he put up. When he felt someone pull on his shoulders, Wufei pressed his face into that shoulder. He knew who it was. He knew it was OK to let everything he felt go. That is when he actually screamed and started sobbing like he was a child all over again.

A hurricane of emotions, and yet he was steadied by a single anchor.

"I'm your shield. I'll keep you safe."

Duo's words whispered against his feverish flesh as Wufei shook and sobbed out the loss. Not of his belongings, of his life's work. Duo knew why he was crying. It hadn't been easy for Wufei to tell him what had happened to his wife.

It was happening to him again. A horrible movie in his head that he couldn't get up and walk away from. The smells, the noise, the bright color. It was all there. After years of trying to make it go away, it was back once more. But this time, he had someone to cling to while the movie got worse and worse. While he heard the cries of his dead wife, he clung tightly to Duo. Wufei knew he tugged his best friend's braid until it hurt Duo's head, but his friend made no noise to discourage him. Instead, he felt those arms around him tighten even further.

Hours passed; or so he thought, until he stopped crying.

Maybe it was hours. The fire was out and he was being lead toward the ambulance to get checked out. Without a second thought, he reached out and grabbed Duo's hand. He needed Duo right now.

His little jar of fireflies in a dark, stormy night.

[alwaysthere]

OOOh, I'm getting goosebumps! I love it so far!

[adhdinspired]

Awesome. I still want more input before I start on it. I really, really want to know if it is even worth writing. It wouldn't be your typical 2x5 fic.

I think it's going to have side 1x3 just for shits and giggles.

[windwraith]

I'd want to know more, this is just a slice of the action it sets the scene but doesn't really tell what the story is about. There has been a fire, fei's upset and having flashbacks because he's lost everything -again- Duo is comforting him. What is the story? Is this standard time line or AU? Was it a freak accident or the result of foul play? Is the main focus on fei and duo rebuilding their lives together and the psychological task of getting past the loss or are they going to search out the arson and bring him to justice? what 'lifes work' was distroyed? Was it really lost or was it stollen and the fire mearly a cover up? Can they get it back? what roll will trowa and heero play? where is quatre? What about Zechs.. i've never read a 4x6 story is there even such a thing? -rambling sorry- anyway we need more data about the actual plot in order to judge "If its worth it"

[adhdinspired]

This is like... the outline of the story. xD It's by no means the whole thing. I just want to know if it sounds like something someone would read. I don't want to go your typical rout with it.

But it'll be AU. Which means personalities will change because they've not been set up with their War story line. Those events won't happen. But Wufei's wife will still be dead.

The fire is a result of foul play, I believe. Zechs.... isn't in the picture, but Relena is. I think she's going to be with Quatre; not play too much of a roll. But Heero and Trowa are going to be the investigators as to who did the fire/what started it/track the bastard down.

It's still in pieces in my head, but the idea of it won't leave me alone.

[windwraith]

If you've got a persistant plotbunny and it seems like its got its pointy little teeth in you then the story wants to be told. I'd say go for it! plan it out and make sure you know what is going to happen before you start posting...i'm as guilts an anyone.. but it is terribly frustrating when someone starts to post something really interesting then has the plotbunny vanish into the surrounding forrest and you never find out how it ends. gettogether fics are fine but it is all the better if that isn't the only point for writing. sounds like you've got a plot with some depth. I'd read it

[adhdinspired]

Sweet. :> I'm glad someone would read it. xD; I'm slowly plotting out a more in depth outline that I'll post.

[adhdinspired]

Opinions on the outline?

Fireflies

**** Prologue
~ Set in China, Texas ~
- Opens with Wufei walking home from class and into his parent's house. Surprise waiting for him; his fiance, Meiran, and her parents.
- Wufei fights with his parents about trying to marry while he was studying.
---- Wufei makes a point that it's the 21st centry and arranged marriages don't make sense.
---- Wufei's father argues back that it's still a tradition of arranged marriages and a sense of duty he should feel obligated to uphold.
- Meiran and Wufei argue and bicker. She didn't want to get married to a man who took more pride in his schooling than his duties.
- Both sets of parents ignore their fighting and marry them off.
- As a wedding present, their parents bought them a house and moved them into it.
---- Wufei sleeps on the couch, Meiran in the bed for many months.
---- Parents nag them about consummating their marriage and producing a baby.
- Wufei and Meiran slowly start getting used to each other and figure out that the opposite isn't so bad. Wufei still goes to school.
---- Sharing meals together, talks over the meals about things they had in common.
---- Eventual affection between the two.
- Meiran is asleep one night and Wufei is at a part time job.
- Wufei had left laundry hanging over a space heater to dry.
- Cat knocks off laundry.
- Meiran and the cat both die in the fire.
- The funeral happens.
- Two months after the funeral, Wufei moves away to a different city.
- Wufei meets Duo and Quatre in college in North Carolina

**** Chapter One
~ Set in Rocky Mount, North Carolina ~
- Wufei is a Philosophy professor and Duo runs a day care below their apartment.
---- They lived together since college and never found any reason not to continue.
---- Quatre used to live with them, but married Relena and runs a small publisher company.
- Duo is dating Hilde at this point.
- Duo asks Hilde to move in without asking Wufei about it.
- Hilde agrees.
- Wufei moves out.
---- He and Duo had a fight about it, Duo kind of kicked him out instead.

**** Chapter Two
=Time skip a few months=
- One of Wufei's female students has taken a liking to him.
---- She makes more than one move. He keeps rejecting her.
- He gets letters and e-mails from her all the time, of the sexual nature. He things nothing of them.
- While he's visiting Duo and Hilde, they got back on good terms, she sneaks in and cuts the gas line from his stove.
---- She's thinking if she can't have him, no one can.
---- Duo gets the news that it was foul play, but there weren't many leads at the crime scene from Heero and Trowa.
---- Quatre visits his two best friends.
- Wufei comes home one night and notices the smell, but thinks little of it and lights a candle.
- Thus, the second fire.
- Wufei ends up in the hospital for months. Skin grafts on his whole back, legs, his stomach, part of his face.
- Duo spends most his days and nights there, waiting for Wufei to wake up.
---- Duo and Hilde fight about it, and she gets fed up with it and moves out.
- Duo takes Wufei back to the old apartment.

**** Chapter Three
- Duo and Wufei get used to living together again, along with getting Wufei used to the stares he gets.
---- Wufei's students give him odd looks, but he notices one girl has been missing from class.
- Duo starts getting threatening e-mails from a fake account. Tells Trowa and Heero
---- Duo isn't worried about it, but naturally, Wufei is. Duo reassures him and Wufei accepts it.
---- Duo changed his e-mail and only let Wufei know, but continues to get the e-mails which get more violent. Still, he ignores.
- Their days go smoothly and Duo starts noticing that his friendship might be a bit more than friendly. Puts it out of his head.
- The e-mails steadily come, but Duo doesn't read them anymore.
- One night, Wufei falls asleep on the couch, Duo covers him up, takes off his glasses and kisses his forehead.

**** Chapter Four
- Things have simmered down, no more e-mails.
- No leads on who blew up Wufei's apartment.
- Both Duo and Wufei are settling into the roles of more than friends.
- Wufei starts feeling a bit more like his old self and the nightmares are starting to fade.
- Just when they were getting comfortable, another fire breaks out; this time at the daycare.
- Hilde was a witness this time and she tells Heero and Trowa a description of who she saw.
- Wufei has a bad breakdown this time and pushes everyone away from him.
---- Starts to not eat and looses weight. Duo has to scream at him for him to get better. Admits how he feels.
- Heero and Trowa find a match, tell Duo and Wufei.
- Wufei recognizes it was the missing student.
- They find her and she'd committed suicide in her 'Wufei shrine'.
---- Disturbing; Wufei's hair, tissues, missing glasses, chewing gum, etc.

**** Epilogue
=Time lapse of a year=
- Wufei and Duo are together now. They moved to Alabama.
- Ends with them in a field at night, Duo's arms around Wufei, and Wufei holding a jar of fireflies.

[adhdinspired]

I'm all for input, too. If you feel like something could be added, let me know!

[windwraith]

my main is the stalker angle, not that fei isn't the type that may attract that type of attention just that it seems a might simplistic when gundam wing is so entrenched in plots and counter plots. it would seem to me that trowa and heero would take all of seven minuites to trace the first suspicious e-mail (weither fei told them about it or not precedure would be to search his account) search warrent forthe girls house, chang shrine located, case closed before the sun sets.

[windwraith]

what i'd like to see you explore is while wufei believes the first fire was his fault and that is what the official records said -clothing + space heater= grief, trowa and heero uncover something that connects the two incidents. something having to do with fei's 'lifes work' that phraise in your original sample caught my attention. makes me think it was something important, something someone was willing to kill to aquire or distroy. possible someone was manipulating stalker girl...useing her as a cover for their nefarious plan then murdering her, making it look like a suiside to cover it up. but our boys aren't distracted for long, clues don't add up and they have to dig deeper to pring the mastermind to justice... also guilty for meirins murder both fires and who knows what all....wu fei's recovery would mean he might be trying to reconstruct his project and anotherattempt might be made on his life (I'd lessen his injuries from the fire then add to them in a 2nd incident before he can fully recover more tension that way) just a couple of ideas feel free to disregard them ~wraith

[adhdinspired]

That's actually a really good idea. I'm going to try to rework it a bit then!

[alwaysthere]

I second that and I'll be waiting for it!