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one of the core parts of the 100, especially in seasons 1–3, is the bonding that exists between the delinquents. the ratings per episode in season 3 dropped significantly in the beginning when clarke was in polis and the focus was on the grounders vs. the end when clarke reunited with her friends and the focus was more on them. you can google the ratings if you don't believe me.
that being said, a lot of people throw away the bonds that the love interest has with the other characters so the scenes can be replaced with the OC.
i saw this a lot in my bellamy book, Conflate, and its sequel, Rupture. bellamy and clarke are, in canon, the soul of the show. they are the two main characters. their dynamic is essential to the show— it's pretty much impossible to throw away that bond or deplete its significance and have the events play out the same way. this is the same man that stood between clarke keeping her people safe and the bunker closed and she couldn't pull the trigger to kill him. this is the same girl who was going to allow her mother to hang herself rather than give up the flame. with the amount of scenes that some fanfic writers cut out between them, bellamy would have been dead in a heartbeat.
bellamy and clarke were co-leaders of the delinquents and yet some people may as well make them total strangers. an essential part of their growth happened in day trip in season 1. that was where bellamy taught clarke how to shoot, they were playful and flirty (it's in the script that bellamy is flustered by their close proximity) and had their first real moment of teamwork when fighting dax. it's also when bellamy says he's a monster and clarke forgives him for all that he's done.
yet, i got so many complaints for keeping clarke in the episode and saying that she should have just stayed at camp so bellamy could spend more time with my OC. can you imagine if she had stayed behind? she still would have hated bellamy (considering in the beginning of the episode, she says to his face that she doesn't like him, and then by the end, she saves his life and then admits to jaha that he's a large part of the reason why they're still alive).
the delinquents went through hell together, especially those who were in mount weather. that kind of bond isn't one that can be tossed away.
so, how do you write that sort of thing?
i. include scenes where your character(s) interact with the canon ones. if your OC has never interacted one-on-one with harper, for example, they aren't going to feel a bond with her.
ii. have their internal thoughts about canon characters change. for example, in Conflate, fallon and murphy start out as literal enemies because he tries to kill her multiple times. however, as his character develops, so does their relationship, and they share a bond in 3x16 when he helps her pump ontari's heart. instead of insulting him in her head and using negative words to describe him, fallon's feelings toward him begin to change and it's obvious in her internal monologue.
iii. show the ups/downs of their dynamics. no two people will always get along— it's just how things work. some of the strongest bonds occur because they've been tested and the people involved have been through thick and thin together.
iv. give them things in common. whether it's personality traits, hobbies, or even just a common goal, it's important for people you're trying to stick together to have something similar. two people who have none of the same interests or anything of the sort aren't likely to become close.
v. show their affection. whether it be a hand on the shoulder, squeeze of the hand, hug, gentle wiping away of a tear, high-five, or fist bump, physical contact is an intimate way to show affection to someone. a wordless way to establish a forming/pre-existing bond is to have the characters reach out to one another almost mindlessly like its second nature. the moment a character decides to give another one a hug can also be a tide-changer (pivotal moment) in their relationship.
vi. make your OC notice their mannerisms. this is a significant way to establish the fact that your OC knows the person well/pays attention to them. an example is an observation about their nervous habit (ie "Jasper clenches his jaw nervously, as he usually does.") or if they notice something is wrong because of a certain thing they're doing (ie "Bellamy's stiff shoulders make her nerves shoot to high alert.") another example is a person noticing that they're acting unlike their usual self (ie "Raven is uncharacteristically quiet on the subject matter.")
when you write your fanfiction, be sure to create an extra set of focus on your characters' relationships with the other 100!
