Conduit Fic
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| Related tropes/genres | Threesome, Polyfic |
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| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Conduit Fic is a term used to describe a fanfiction story which places the male OTP in a threesome with a female character (often an OFC) as a sort of slash encounter with plausible deniability.
The trope may be used in a first time fic as a plot device where one or more of the characters is seen as unwilling to acknowledge their same-sex desires. Some conduit fic is seen as evidence that the author is unwilling to admit to writing slash: the fairness of this characterisation is debatable. Some fans deride the trope as an example of misogyny in fandom because they see the female character as being nothing more than a plot device who is discarded once the slash pair are together. Other fans may see the female character as a self-insert. A conduit fic may also be a way of exploring the idea that the characters in a slash pair are bisexual, which allows for integration of canon het pairings into the slash characterisation.
The trope may have been named for the Smallville story Cherry Blossom Conduit by Rhiannonhero, although earlier stories certainly used the trope.[1]
Not to be confused with fic about Conduits, the superpowered people from the inFAMOUS series.
Examples
- Merry Christmas, Perkowitz by jat sapphire (Starsky & Hutch) (2002)
- Parsus (alternate link) by scribblinlenore actively initiates being a conduit between John Sheppard/Teyla/Rodney McKay) (includes the topic of DADT) (Stargate Atlantis) (2006)
- Conduit by chelle, (John Sheppard/Elizabeth/Rodney McKay) (Stargate SG-1) (2006 or before)
- Not Backing Down (Steve/Danny) (Hawaii Five-0) (2016)
- It Works For Us by berlynn_wohl (Han/Luke/Chewbacca) (Star Wars) (2016)
References
- ^ Kristina. Conduit: or, Sedgwick Revisited at The Fanfic Symposium. 12 July 2004, accessed 17 October 2008.