Relationship ideas
- Thread starter Rising Dragon
- Start date
Old Iron said:
And if I might toss in my own two cents about the lack of diversified pairings in Nanoha... There's the significant problem of having a really small relevant and well known cast coupled with the militant actions from the early fandom that still linger to this day. If you want a hetero pairing, then you're stuck with Yuuno, a Chrono who has not become involved with Amy, an Erio who isn't involved with Caro if you want to go the shotacon route, or Zafira. So far as I know, they're the only well known males with any significant amount of character development. And that's not saying much. From there, if you don't want to deal with the men then there's the rest of the cast. And considering how few there are? I think every possible non-crack pairing has been done in one form or another.
Hmm an idea... In StrikerS series Tre called Fate Ojou-sama a time or two, she seems to have thought of Fate as her fellow sister because she was created through Project Fate.
Now what if Fate built on that after Strikers finished and got both Tre and Sette from the prison. Obviously both Cyborg girls would be on probation like Nakajima sisters and Fate would be responsible for them.
Initially Tre would do it mainly out of her care for Sette who would be otherwise locked up in the prison, but as the time would pass she would grow fond of Fate.
What I have in mind is Tre and Sette being sorta-kinda bodyguards/helpers to Fate who in turn is gentle and caring of them, trying to teach them about the world and get them to open up and try to find their own reason to live.
Not necessarily romantic but there would be a mature kind of close friendship between Fate and Tre as well as Puppy and Owner between Fate and Sette. Sette is mostly ignorant to how the world works so she'd make plenty of mistakes Fate would have to help her with.
Now what if Fate built on that after Strikers finished and got both Tre and Sette from the prison. Obviously both Cyborg girls would be on probation like Nakajima sisters and Fate would be responsible for them.
Initially Tre would do it mainly out of her care for Sette who would be otherwise locked up in the prison, but as the time would pass she would grow fond of Fate.
What I have in mind is Tre and Sette being sorta-kinda bodyguards/helpers to Fate who in turn is gentle and caring of them, trying to teach them about the world and get them to open up and try to find their own reason to live.
Not necessarily romantic but there would be a mature kind of close friendship between Fate and Tre as well as Puppy and Owner between Fate and Sette. Sette is mostly ignorant to how the world works so she'd make plenty of mistakes Fate would have to help her with.
Andarion said:
Hmm an idea... In StrikerS series Tre called Fate Ojou-sama a time or two, she seems to have thought of Fate as her fellow sister because she was created through Project Fate.
Now what if Fate built on that after Strikers finished and got both Tre and Sette from the prison. Obviously both Cyborg girls would be on probation like Nakajima sisters and Fate would be responsible for them.
Initially Tre would do it mainly out of her care for Sette who would be otherwise locked up in the prison, but as the time would pass she would grow fond of Fate.
What I have in mind is Tre and Sette being sorta-kinda bodyguards/helpers to Fate who in turn is gentle and caring of them, trying to teach them about the world and get them to open up and try to find their own reason to live.
Not necessarily romantic but there would be a mature kind of close friendship between Fate and Tre as well as Puppy and Owner between Fate and Sette. Sette is mostly ignorant to how the world works so she'd make plenty of mistakes Fate would have to help her with.
Now what if Fate built on that after Strikers finished and got both Tre and Sette from the prison. Obviously both Cyborg girls would be on probation like Nakajima sisters and Fate would be responsible for them.
Initially Tre would do it mainly out of her care for Sette who would be otherwise locked up in the prison, but as the time would pass she would grow fond of Fate.
What I have in mind is Tre and Sette being sorta-kinda bodyguards/helpers to Fate who in turn is gentle and caring of them, trying to teach them about the world and get them to open up and try to find their own reason to live.
Not necessarily romantic but there would be a mature kind of close friendship between Fate and Tre as well as Puppy and Owner between Fate and Sette. Sette is mostly ignorant to how the world works so she'd make plenty of mistakes Fate would have to help her with.
I have another pairing to add - Yuuno/Otto, I don't know if the two of them meet by chance if by means Yuuno visiting the Saint Church because of business or diplomatic reasons, but here goes. They are both polite and kind people, and I know they will get along pretty well, but due to their hectic lives I will put up an scenario to make sure that they actually get to associate with each other.
When other people have mistaken their genders because of their appearances, it turns into an everyday regularity, for example: "Hi Miss Yuuno, I have come to reserve a book" or "Ah! Thank you, Mr. Otto for showing me the way!" Irritated by this, they get to meet each other during one of Yuuno's visits, talk about it, then form their own therapy group, and they'll start consulting each other on how to REALLY look their own gender.
Humor ensued and a new pairing is born.
I never really understood the "it's different!" thing as a motivator. I've done some unique things (hell, I paired Nanoha up with EVERYONE... in the same fic!), but any pairing has to have some basis in the original material to make some amount of sense. Sure, with the proper writing, you can pair up anyone. That's actually fairly easy to do. But it doesn't make much sense if there isn't anything in the original material to justify it.
And there has to be some reason to it. Not just "I paired them up just because!" I did Yuuno/Shari in Future Tense, after Yuuno had married Fate and then divorced her. Yuuno and Fate hooked up over the shared grief of losing Nanoha and to take better care of Vivio. They grew apart over differences regarding the direction of the Bureau. Then later Yuuno and Shari grew close together as they worked side-by-side for many years.
There has to be reason to just hook up. I never really got into romance fics, because unless it is done well, it needs a purpose. Romance and pairings are hard to pull off as an A plot. It usually needs to be a B plot... something that happens as a natural course of the fic. Because while you CAN write anyone together, and do it easily.. the real question to answer is "WHY?"
And there has to be some reason to it. Not just "I paired them up just because!" I did Yuuno/Shari in Future Tense, after Yuuno had married Fate and then divorced her. Yuuno and Fate hooked up over the shared grief of losing Nanoha and to take better care of Vivio. They grew apart over differences regarding the direction of the Bureau. Then later Yuuno and Shari grew close together as they worked side-by-side for many years.
There has to be reason to just hook up. I never really got into romance fics, because unless it is done well, it needs a purpose. Romance and pairings are hard to pull off as an A plot. It usually needs to be a B plot... something that happens as a natural course of the fic. Because while you CAN write anyone together, and do it easily.. the real question to answer is "WHY?"
I can kinda get that, but then again, I kinda don't. I don't see much challenge in it, especially when most pairing fics usually go the route of "Hey, I suddenly have feelings for you!" In other words, they fall back on natural attraction and hormones. I don't see many fics where the love is one-sided, and one person has to work to get the love of the other. They usually fall for each other at about the same time. As a result, it doesn't feel natural to me.
I just realized that sounds a bit contradictory. Let's just say that, for me, when I read most "romance" in fics, there doesn't seem to be much challenge in how they are paired up. Just "oh, I suddenly like you. And I suddenly like you, too!" And then most of what is written are dates or them making out. I haven't seen the "why" being demonstrated, and that's the real challenge. So, for me, romance has to come about naturally as a result of the fic, and not feel forced. Circumstances throw two people together, and over time, because of shared interests or shared circumstances, feelings develop.
And let me say, I have never seen the opposite of this thread... two characters growing apart because of irreconcilable differences. Perhaps a fic where two people get together, but the feelings they initially had weren't enough to sustain them. That was partly my reasoning behind Fate/Yuuno in Future Tense. They got together for the wrong reasons, and as a result, they grew apart and separated.
That, I think, is the true challenge.
I just realized that sounds a bit contradictory. Let's just say that, for me, when I read most "romance" in fics, there doesn't seem to be much challenge in how they are paired up. Just "oh, I suddenly like you. And I suddenly like you, too!" And then most of what is written are dates or them making out. I haven't seen the "why" being demonstrated, and that's the real challenge. So, for me, romance has to come about naturally as a result of the fic, and not feel forced. Circumstances throw two people together, and over time, because of shared interests or shared circumstances, feelings develop.
And let me say, I have never seen the opposite of this thread... two characters growing apart because of irreconcilable differences. Perhaps a fic where two people get together, but the feelings they initially had weren't enough to sustain them. That was partly my reasoning behind Fate/Yuuno in Future Tense. They got together for the wrong reasons, and as a result, they grew apart and separated.
That, I think, is the true challenge.
The challenge is to write scenarios (or a story) in which two people who never interact with each other in canon, meet and develop feelings for each other. After all, how would X react if he/she constantly spent time with Y, when in canon, they rarely, if not hardly every see each other.
Although yes, writing how relationships can fall apart is a challenge in itself, but first, you have to have the characters engage in a relationship in order for that to happen. Using your example, Fate and Yuuno did get married because they shared a common grief, which eventually blossomed into love. I remember one line from Fate stating that she did love Yuuno, but it was her job and the differences in their ideals that broke them apart, and was actually hesitant to "extract" information from Yuuno.
Some people have less bright ideas on breaking relationships, just as an excuse to pair up character X with character Y. The most obvious is Yuuno acting like a bastard boyfriend so Fate can beat him up and rescue Nanoha. As we all know, Yuuno's quite the nice guy, and if anything else, it'll be Nanoha doing the asskicking.
Although yes, writing how relationships can fall apart is a challenge in itself, but first, you have to have the characters engage in a relationship in order for that to happen. Using your example, Fate and Yuuno did get married because they shared a common grief, which eventually blossomed into love. I remember one line from Fate stating that she did love Yuuno, but it was her job and the differences in their ideals that broke them apart, and was actually hesitant to "extract" information from Yuuno.
Some people have less bright ideas on breaking relationships, just as an excuse to pair up character X with character Y. The most obvious is Yuuno acting like a bastard boyfriend so Fate can beat him up and rescue Nanoha. As we all know, Yuuno's quite the nice guy, and if anything else, it'll be Nanoha doing the asskicking.
Kaijo said:
I can kinda get that, but then again, I kinda don't. I don't see much challenge in it, especially when most pairing fics usually go the route of "Hey, I suddenly have feelings for you!" In other words, they fall back on natural attraction and hormones. I don't see many fics where the love is one-sided, and one person has to work to get the love of the other. They usually fall for each other at about the same time. As a result, it doesn't feel natural to me.
I just realized that sounds a bit contradictory. Let's just say that, for me, when I read most "romance" in fics, there doesn't seem to be much challenge in how they are paired up. Just "oh, I suddenly like you. And I suddenly like you, too!" And then most of what is written are dates or them making out. I haven't seen the "why" being demonstrated, and that's the real challenge. So, for me, romance has to come about naturally as a result of the fic, and not feel forced. Circumstances throw two people together, and over time, because of shared interests or shared circumstances, feelings develop.
And let me say, I have never seen the opposite of this thread... two characters growing apart because of irreconcilable differences. Perhaps a fic where two people get together, but the feelings they initially had weren't enough to sustain them. That was partly my reasoning behind Fate/Yuuno in Future Tense. They got together for the wrong reasons, and as a result, they grew apart and separated.
That, I think, is the true challenge.
I just realized that sounds a bit contradictory. Let's just say that, for me, when I read most "romance" in fics, there doesn't seem to be much challenge in how they are paired up. Just "oh, I suddenly like you. And I suddenly like you, too!" And then most of what is written are dates or them making out. I haven't seen the "why" being demonstrated, and that's the real challenge. So, for me, romance has to come about naturally as a result of the fic, and not feel forced. Circumstances throw two people together, and over time, because of shared interests or shared circumstances, feelings develop.
And let me say, I have never seen the opposite of this thread... two characters growing apart because of irreconcilable differences. Perhaps a fic where two people get together, but the feelings they initially had weren't enough to sustain them. That was partly my reasoning behind Fate/Yuuno in Future Tense. They got together for the wrong reasons, and as a result, they grew apart and separated.
That, I think, is the true challenge.
As an aside, I have never seen the opposite of this thread either, but I do know that two great writers whom I admire (GreggLL and EarthScorpion in case you want to know) have both at some point dismiss the "silly idealistic" notion that a couple, especially one who has come together not for the right reason, must always stay together forever. Of course, being who they are they didn't actually put it in such polite terms, but you can see the general idea.
Well, this is a relationship ideas thread. If you have something to offer on the matter you have this space to writte as many tragic break ups as you want but be carefull. As Hoki said, a break up can be just as cheap and silly as any hook up. If two people can break up over silly misunderstanding, ethical differences or job related issues just like that then it makes little sense they managed to be a couple on first place o_oU
Chanthien said:
Wow, I am frankly amazed. To be sure, I have yet to come across any fic with an emphasis on romance that I'd recommend without any reservations, but I certainly have come across quite a few with what I see as believable, natural romance. How high must your standard be, to essentially say that most of the "romance" fics that you have read are no true romance fic at all?
So I suppose that's where my standards are: I only really take romance in the guise of a larger story. Most of the pure romance fics I have read, have been too sappy. There isn't much conflict, the two people usually get together in the same usual way. They interact, hormones flare, and they suddenly like each other. It's almost a cave man kind of development. "You man, me woman, we go back to cave and do snoo snoo."
To me, life is the focus. Many things go on in our lives, and romance is just one aspect. There are clubs and work and parties and politics and wars, etc. That's why a fic about romance alone tends to fall flat for me. Too many fic authors seem to forget that. At least, the ones I read. And the ones that do get some drama, well, it comes across as fake, manufactured drama.
Again, not pointing out anyone in particular, or saying that Romance is bad, or that Romance fics are bad. Just that I haven't seen a lot of good ones, and I do have a somewhat high bar because romance just doesn't draw me in. Most I've read were sappy and mushy with small bits of drama just thrown in to try and give the fic some depth.
I Agree with Kaijo, they have there place, but it is manly the same Nano fate romance thing, mostly.
However the concept of conflict and drama is an art and how and what is the source of that drama can make or break a story and in my opinion determine if you like the story or not. Granted I am bad at this which is why I probably have never written a fanfiction. I can take mushy romance but when it defines the whole story no. However concerning the other things that go on besides romance I think it to often gose to the TSAB is fighting wars. THere are more things that go on the little things from hobby's to basic missions like from chron's perspective on the jewel seed case is another case where as to Nanoha it is different. Regardless I do think especially for the nanoha series we need more fics that deal with in depth the every day things and simple parts of the characters lives, for example Dezopenguins Echos of the past which shows Fate's first case as an enforcer.
anyway if we are talking about pairings then spice things up with alternate universe. CHarecters meet other charters that would normaly appear later. like THrogh subaru as a TSAB mage looking for the jewels seeds in season 1, I know makes no sense, but by mixing things up new pairings are possible. Example instead of nanoha Fate, nanoha lutecia. Story idea Lutecia is gathering the jewel seeds to wake up her mother, or so is told by Jail. They don't have to fall in love. Heck make it where instead of Lindy showing up its clyde with Fate.
any way other pairings. Well since Zafira being guardian beast and a program won't age pair him up with Vivio. know not same species, but hey who cares if the story is good. SOmeone flurts with Vivio for her apperance and you have zafira to deal with.
Last but not least have it where Kyoua never dates shinobu, but dates signum instead.
However the concept of conflict and drama is an art and how and what is the source of that drama can make or break a story and in my opinion determine if you like the story or not. Granted I am bad at this which is why I probably have never written a fanfiction. I can take mushy romance but when it defines the whole story no. However concerning the other things that go on besides romance I think it to often gose to the TSAB is fighting wars. THere are more things that go on the little things from hobby's to basic missions like from chron's perspective on the jewel seed case is another case where as to Nanoha it is different. Regardless I do think especially for the nanoha series we need more fics that deal with in depth the every day things and simple parts of the characters lives, for example Dezopenguins Echos of the past which shows Fate's first case as an enforcer.
anyway if we are talking about pairings then spice things up with alternate universe. CHarecters meet other charters that would normaly appear later. like THrogh subaru as a TSAB mage looking for the jewels seeds in season 1, I know makes no sense, but by mixing things up new pairings are possible. Example instead of nanoha Fate, nanoha lutecia. Story idea Lutecia is gathering the jewel seeds to wake up her mother, or so is told by Jail. They don't have to fall in love. Heck make it where instead of Lindy showing up its clyde with Fate.
any way other pairings. Well since Zafira being guardian beast and a program won't age pair him up with Vivio. know not same species, but hey who cares if the story is good. SOmeone flurts with Vivio for her apperance and you have zafira to deal with.
Last but not least have it where Kyoua never dates shinobu, but dates signum instead.
Pairings I just don't understand would be anyone with Vita, or cross-species pairings involving the familiars. As far as I can tell, Vita is a child at heart and likely wouldn't be interested in romance at all, while the familiars are still more like their animal minds than their human minds and I don't see them being romantically interested in humans.
The animl themed familiars more or less agree but the fact they have human intelligence is enough excuse.
As for Vita she have lot's of potential, kids tend to develope precocioys crushes sometimes but even them Vita has matured a lot since she had 16 years of uninterrupted life already. She was childish vlback in A's but her portrayal matured so much by StrikerS she almost became a Team Mom for the forwards and is sort of a Cool Big Sis to Nanoha. She ceratinly hasn't show canon romantic interests but i really that has anything to do with her appearance or "being a child at heart" or anything. More likely is for the same reason as Nanoha: Vita is too compromised to her job to think seriously about romance, but skilled writers can work arpund that, hell, BTF even portrays her as a heartbreaker xDU
Another interesting developement could be to explore the issues of having conciously grown for several years in a permanent child body. Ichigo from Onegai Teacher and Rika from Higurashi no naku Koro ni are some interesting takes on this having experimented frustration and joy dealing with the pros and cons of such peculiar situation and becoming cinic or bitter as a result. Of course Vita have the advantages of libre ng in a society who understands and accept her situation but that also open dialogue for another interesting case, as writers coul explore Vita's situation f being a legal adult with the appearance of a small child. How does Vita sees herself? An adult woman with a childish body? Or a child with adult responsabilities? Another gold mine for fanfiction xD
As for Vita she have lot's of potential, kids tend to develope precocioys crushes sometimes but even them Vita has matured a lot since she had 16 years of uninterrupted life already. She was childish vlback in A's but her portrayal matured so much by StrikerS she almost became a Team Mom for the forwards and is sort of a Cool Big Sis to Nanoha. She ceratinly hasn't show canon romantic interests but i really that has anything to do with her appearance or "being a child at heart" or anything. More likely is for the same reason as Nanoha: Vita is too compromised to her job to think seriously about romance, but skilled writers can work arpund that, hell, BTF even portrays her as a heartbreaker xDU
Another interesting developement could be to explore the issues of having conciously grown for several years in a permanent child body. Ichigo from Onegai Teacher and Rika from Higurashi no naku Koro ni are some interesting takes on this having experimented frustration and joy dealing with the pros and cons of such peculiar situation and becoming cinic or bitter as a result. Of course Vita have the advantages of libre ng in a society who understands and accept her situation but that also open dialogue for another interesting case, as writers coul explore Vita's situation f being a legal adult with the appearance of a small child. How does Vita sees herself? An adult woman with a childish body? Or a child with adult responsabilities? Another gold mine for fanfiction xD
How about Touma/Einhart? The romance would be a backdrop to a story about how Touma, instead of going into his journey that leads to him being infected, decided to bury his hate by competing in the inter-mid tournament. So to prepare for the tourney, Touma asks Einhart to train him. The two would bond not really with the training, but because the motivation they share: that same feeling of being too weak to protect something important. It would be a story about overcoming one's own weakness and the meaning of fighting for revenge.
Plus having a C-Rank mage, whose only ability is working in a mine, challenge reincarnated Belkan Kings sounds fun.
Plus having a C-Rank mage, whose only ability is working in a mine, challenge reincarnated Belkan Kings sounds fun.
Material Days makes any pairing with Touma a funny thing, as he's apparently got "the gland" and most of the women; the Nakajima sisters, Vivio, and Einhart to name a few, are attracted to him in one way or another.
The story also gives him the density of Natsuru, making any interaction with females more funny.
The story also gives him the density of Natsuru, making any interaction with females more funny.
I was wondering if a Lilith Zafira pairing would be good. Granted somehow Lilith would have to come back since in the second sound stage she has been confirmed to have disappeared once her contract was fulfilled. Still the idea seems reasonable.
Or how about a Cinque Zafira pairing. I know Zafira is a guardian beast/ wolf, but if you ignored that would it work out. After all taking walks with your wife would be fun. Carry me Zafira dear.
Or how about a Cinque Zafira pairing. I know Zafira is a guardian beast/ wolf, but if you ignored that would it work out. After all taking walks with your wife would be fun. Carry me Zafira dear.
I don't think being a guardian beast should be ignored or being an obstacle. As i said there cn also be more platonic couples.
Cinque and Zafira spund quite oiginal and somewhat interesting. Cinque is pretty mature despite her appearance and is also very responsible yet somehow relaxed it will an interesting experiment.
Talking about a being a familiar seen as an obstacle in a relationship. An amusong traguc story could be someone falling for Arf or Zafira but getting unreciprocated due to those same differences. Not entirely impossible given that they spend some time using their human forms (specially Arf but Zafira also has spent a good deal as human in ViVid xD).
Cinque and Zafira spund quite oiginal and somewhat interesting. Cinque is pretty mature despite her appearance and is also very responsible yet somehow relaxed it will an interesting experiment.
Talking about a being a familiar seen as an obstacle in a relationship. An amusong traguc story could be someone falling for Arf or Zafira but getting unreciprocated due to those same differences. Not entirely impossible given that they spend some time using their human forms (specially Arf but Zafira also has spent a good deal as human in ViVid xD).