#but otoh ive read enough het stories of love conquering all

[doomreed]

So in doomreed, where does sue fit in all this? What does she mean to reed in this ship? Does doom hate her or is it complicated? Has this already been answered? Is this a dumb question? :/

It's a good and reasonable question. There are people who prefer the ship as a poly triad for that reason, though I'm not one of them (I see it as a lavender marriage and usually have her with someone else in my fics, or focused on business bc romance isn't the answer to everything for all people, you know?)

For myself, I prefer to focus on Reed & Victor, because I've had a whole lifetime of people demanding I focus on the romantic concerns of cis women (I'm trans, I'm gay, I have a bit of a personal aversion to being pressed to consider the feminine in all things at this point in my life) -- but I have no animosity toward Sue or any of the FF and want them to all have happy lives too.

Can't speak for everyone, that's just my answer to it. There are a lot of ships that include one married or at least involved party, and each individual creator finds their own way of working with the existing canon (or ignoring it, if they prefer--AUs are great for that)

I think Reed will always have feelings for Sue, same as Ben, same as Johnny, they're part of his family and even the occasionally unhealthy obsession with Victor can never eclipse that completely, like that's part of what keeps Reed grounded and helps him not become the worst version of himself? But feelings don't always have to mean love, and sometimes because humans are messy little things anyway, sometimes we mix up a good, healthy connection with another person and a deep, gut-churning fascination with a different person, and choose to pursue the thing that is perhaps not best for us. I see this ship as a potential study in that, and in whether that can also become a good and healthy connection given enough time and proper care & feeding, you know?

edit to add: I do think Doom is extremely jealous of Sue, in the canon. Him cattily arranging his dry state "marriage" to fall on the reedsue wedding anniversary, him kidnapping her first in issue #5 (his first appearance!) to draw Reed out so he could measure his competition for Reed's affection more precisely?

I think Sue knows that she could end the entire problem with a single, well-placed forcefield, no bigger than the head of a pin. And I think it's a measure of her love & understanding of Reed (and frankly dazzling levels of self-restraint) that she doesn't do so. Victor causes harm, but I think the hope that he might become the hero Reed sees him having the potential to be is as integral to Reed overall as his feelings for the rest of his family.

The hope generated by Reed refusing to give up on Doom is worth whatever (usually small) harms Doom manages to inflict. I think Victor is, understandably, somewhat afraid of Sue. I think Sue primarily feels pity for Victor. I've never seen anything in canon to suggest they were attracted to each other though, including the brief period on Battleworld where God-Emperor Doom was technically married to her? I could write several essays on the queer coding of Secret Wars, definitely including that whole arrangement 😅