I know what you mean about the unrealism of dismissing sex, that they are such fully realized characters that leaving such a central aspect of human relationships out entirely can ring false. But there's so many stories out there with romance arbitrarily inserted just for the sake of having it (sometimes to attract the female demographic, as if that's the only reason we'd ever like a story), female characters cheapened because they're introduced just to be the required love interests, 'love/lust at first sight' used to gloss over relationships rather than actually taking the time to explain and explore them - there's so many stories that abuse romance, that OP is incredibly refreshing to me. Oda-sensei essentially is coming along and saying, look, I can tell an incredible story that includes relationships, and families, and yes, love, and I don't need pairings to do it. That there are enough other interesting elements of human interaction that you can skip the sexual and still have so much to tell.
Which isn't to say I don't understand where fans are coming from, pairing up everyone; they are all such fascinating characters that it's neat to see what happens when you add that element in. And there is so much love among all the crew, often expressed in such, mmm, unusual ways, that one can want to see it expressed differently, or more overtly, in the case of ZoSan, or ZoNa, for that matter. And of course even if none of them are actually having sex canonically, this doesn't mean that they aren't damn sexy chars, and what a shame to waste that...! ^^
But I have to admit that this story, and several of the other pairing stories I've written, are a direct reaction to fanfic and doujinshi that have characterizations that I don't agree with, that didn't work for me but made me start to think, so how could this work? One of the things that gets me the most is when a pairing interferes with the nakamaship, when two chars become each other's 'most important person' at the expense of the others. If any of them has a most important nakama, it's Luffy for all of them - and Luffy himself doesn't play favorites among his crew, I don't think he can. (and I firmly believe that if Luffy were doing it with any of them, he'd be doing it with all of them.)
This is probably why I can see ZoSan pretty easily, because Sanji does play favorites already (even if that's more in theory than practice) so if he's at all in character, Zoro's not going to be his be-all end-all. And Zoro and Nami, I agree with you, have the right mindset, with the balance and control not to let the physical overwhelm them. Robin, too. I really want to write RoNa sometime! not usually into yuri but it's rare I find female chars I like as much as those two. (Also? HOT.) And ever since you mentioned on your lj the idea of Robin/Sanji, it's been playing in the back of my mind...that could be a very interesting dynamic, because Robin is mature enough not to take advantage of him, and she could use a little absolute unconditional adoration. and Sanji desperately needs to get laid...!
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 10:11 am (UTC)Which isn't to say I don't understand where fans are coming from, pairing up everyone; they are all such fascinating characters that it's neat to see what happens when you add that element in. And there is so much love among all the crew, often expressed in such, mmm, unusual ways, that one can want to see it expressed differently, or more overtly, in the case of ZoSan, or ZoNa, for that matter. And of course even if none of them are actually having sex canonically, this doesn't mean that they aren't damn sexy chars, and what a shame to waste that...! ^^
But I have to admit that this story, and several of the other pairing stories I've written, are a direct reaction to fanfic and doujinshi that have characterizations that I don't agree with, that didn't work for me but made me start to think, so how could this work? One of the things that gets me the most is when a pairing interferes with the nakamaship, when two chars become each other's 'most important person' at the expense of the others. If any of them has a most important nakama, it's Luffy for all of them - and Luffy himself doesn't play favorites among his crew, I don't think he can. (and I firmly believe that if Luffy were doing it with any of them, he'd be doing it with all of them.)
This is probably why I can see ZoSan pretty easily, because Sanji does play favorites already (even if that's more in theory than practice) so if he's at all in character, Zoro's not going to be his be-all end-all. And Zoro and Nami, I agree with you, have the right mindset, with the balance and control not to let the physical overwhelm them. Robin, too. I really want to write RoNa sometime! not usually into yuri but it's rare I find female chars I like as much as those two. (Also? HOT.) And ever since you mentioned on your lj the idea of Robin/Sanji, it's been playing in the back of my mind...that could be a very interesting dynamic, because Robin is mature enough not to take advantage of him, and she could use a little absolute unconditional adoration. and Sanji desperately needs to get laid...!