romance in "Apartment Manager" and "Guardian"

Well, I finally got through the nasty scene in chapter 14 of "Apartment Manager," and managed to make most of the points I wanted to make. *wipes forehead* Now I can move on to the fights!

Actually, now I am going to take a few minutes and discuss romance.

-------------------------------------

The Way of the Apartment Manager

Some reviewers have asked for romance in the story. I can tell you, quite firmly, that there won't be any. Why? Well, honestly, do you see any of the characters getting together in the near future?

Yukiko isn't interested in teenagers (rules out Iruka, Naga, and all the other genin), and the only other people she's had extensive contact with are family members (ick, no -- besides, Yuichiro's married; Yume, Yusuke, and Yui are too young; and Yukiko just doesn't get along very well with Yutaro or Yura); Anko, Gai, and Sarutobi (good god, no); and Kakashi -- and she thinks Kakashi's even more immature than most teenagers.

Yes, underneath that he's a complicated man, but listen: I had a friend once who had issues like Kakashi. (Yes, those kinds of issues. Death, post-traumatic stress, loyalty, survivor's guilt, etc.) He wrapped it all up and pretended he was fine. He didn't want help. And you know something? You can't heal a person like that unless he wants to be healed. And it's like beating your head against a brick wall to be emotionally intimate with a person like that. The good moments aren't worth the worry, the angst, the stress, and the sheer frustration of not being able to help this person you care about.

Yukiko is not going to get together with Kakashi. Not now, not ever. They'll probably end up as friends to some extent, but romance is just not in the cards. Thus Declareth The Author.

And while Kakashi would flirt with just about anyone, if only to keep them off balance, I don't think he's looking for romance either. It would require him to remove too many masks. So no, there won't be any Kakashi/Iruka either. (Yes, there's a wee bit of flirting... but remember that it throws Iruka off balance, which is all the motivation Kakashi needs. Also, even if Iruka likes to help people -- which he manifestly does -- and even if he's gay or bisexual -- which I have no real opinion about -- at the moment he sees Kakashi as a really freaking annoying authority figure, and he has other things on his mind that are more important than romance and sex.)

Naga, right now, isn't half as comfortable with sexuality as she pretends to be. She just likes to keep people off balance, and she figures that if she makes other people uncomfortable, they won't notice that she's not really sure what she's doing. Besides which, she has massive chip-on-her-shoulder issues and is far too prickly to start a serious relationship without a long period of getting to know the other person. At the moment, that leaves her pretty much with Iruka or Yukiko... and she views them more as older siblings whom it's her solemn duty to tease and annoy.

Naga/Kakashi is just ridiculous, really, so I'm not even going to discuss it. :-)

When I finish "Apartment Manager," my plan is to focus on writing "Secrets" and working more on the original novel I started for NaNoWriMo last year. However, at some point I'm going to write a sequel -- "The Guardian in Spite of Herself" -- that deals with the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre. And in that, yes, there might be some actual romance.

...But don't hold your breath.

*evil grin*

-------------------------------------

ETA, 4/29/06: The Guardian In Spite of Herself

So, after declaring there would be no romance, I ended up writing some mild Naga/Kafunnokaze. It never ceases to amuse me that some people got enthusiastic about a romance between two original characters in a fanfiction novel. (People get enthusiastic about romance between original characters in published fiction all the time. *grin*) I am carrying NagaKafu into the sequel, though it will remain a sidelight.

In "Guardian," I want to see if I can persuade Yukiko into a romantic relationship of some sort. I make no guarantee of success.

There are several candidates of the right age -- 'right,' in this case, being defined by Yukiko, not by me. I'd be perfectly happy to pair her with a younger or much older person, but she has Views on the subject, and I'm not going to waste time changing her mind when I already have so many other story elements to juggle. The available people are Kakashi, Fuuma Seichi, Amane Ginji, Kurenai, Odori Gachi (Kafunnokaze's jounin-sensei), Orizukku Takeshi (ship captain, works for Eiji), Shio Rika (harbormaster of Tengai, works for Eiji), and potentially a couple as-yet undefined traders in the caravan, citizens of Tengai, or missing-nin employed by Eiji.

(Note that I'm not locking Yukiko into a heterosexual relationship. That would be easiest -- that's where her habitual assumptions would lead -- but it's not inevitable.)

There are problems with all these people, of course. Kakashi is so messed up that his issues have issues. Seichi is an assassin with his own set of neuroses, and Yukiko associates him with her dead teammate (Ame, Seichi's cousin), which puts a damper on romance. Ginji is the brother-in-law and bodyguard of Yukiko's assassination target, and a Cloud-nin; Konoha and Hidden Cloud have a tentative truce at best, and there's no way Ginji's going to appreciate someone who kills or helps kill Eiji. Kurenai is already interested in Asuma.

Gachi may not actually meet Yukiko -- I haven't firmed the plot outlines -- and I'm not at all sure they have compatible personalities. Takeshi and Rika work for Eiji; they won't take kindly to a person who's spying on their employer, let alone a person who's trying to kill him. Traders would get to know Yukiko's cover persona, not her real self. Ditto citizens of Tengai. And missing-nin come with their own set of built-in issues for a loyal ninja of a hidden village.

I am sticking by my declaration that Yukiko and Kakashi won't ever have a romantic relationship. They still flirt a lot, but it doesn't mean anything -- not all flirting does, you know. I am also dropping subtextual hints at some sort of relationship between Kakashi and Iruka, because that amuses me. I don't really think KakaIru will become canon for "Guardian," but I like playing around, and I like keeping Kakashi's sexuality ambiguous.

romance in "Apartment Manager" and "Guardian"

Well, I finally got through the nasty scene in chapter 14 of "Apartment Manager," and managed to make most of the points I wanted to make. *wipes forehead* Now I can move on to the fights!

Actually, now I am going to take a few minutes and discuss romance.

-------------------------------------

The Way of the Apartment Manager

Some reviewers have asked for romance in the story. I can tell you, quite firmly, that there won't be any. Why? Well, honestly, do you see any of the characters getting together in the near future?

Yukiko isn't interested in teenagers (rules out Iruka, Naga, and all the other genin), and the only other people she's had extensive contact with are family members (ick, no -- besides, Yuichiro's married; Yume, Yusuke, and Yui are too young; and Yukiko just doesn't get along very well with Yutaro or Yura); Anko, Gai, and Sarutobi (good god, no); and Kakashi -- and she thinks Kakashi's even more immature than most teenagers.

Yes, underneath that he's a complicated man, but listen: I had a friend once who had issues like Kakashi. (Yes, those kinds of issues. Death, post-traumatic stress, loyalty, survivor's guilt, etc.) He wrapped it all up and pretended he was fine. He didn't want help. And you know something? You can't heal a person like that unless he wants to be healed. And it's like beating your head against a brick wall to be emotionally intimate with a person like that. The good moments aren't worth the worry, the angst, the stress, and the sheer frustration of not being able to help this person you care about.

Yukiko is not going to get together with Kakashi. Not now, not ever. They'll probably end up as friends to some extent, but romance is just not in the cards. Thus Declareth The Author.

And while Kakashi would flirt with just about anyone, if only to keep them off balance, I don't think he's looking for romance either. It would require him to remove too many masks. So no, there won't be any Kakashi/Iruka either. (Yes, there's a wee bit of flirting... but remember that it throws Iruka off balance, which is all the motivation Kakashi needs. Also, even if Iruka likes to help people -- which he manifestly does -- and even if he's gay or bisexual -- which I have no real opinion about -- at the moment he sees Kakashi as a really freaking annoying authority figure, and he has other things on his mind that are more important than romance and sex.)

Naga, right now, isn't half as comfortable with sexuality as she pretends to be. She just likes to keep people off balance, and she figures that if she makes other people uncomfortable, they won't notice that she's not really sure what she's doing. Besides which, she has massive chip-on-her-shoulder issues and is far too prickly to start a serious relationship without a long period of getting to know the other person. At the moment, that leaves her pretty much with Iruka or Yukiko... and she views them more as older siblings whom it's her solemn duty to tease and annoy.

Naga/Kakashi is just ridiculous, really, so I'm not even going to discuss it. :-)

When I finish "Apartment Manager," my plan is to focus on writing "Secrets" and working more on the original novel I started for NaNoWriMo last year. However, at some point I'm going to write a sequel -- "The Guardian in Spite of Herself" -- that deals with the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre. And in that, yes, there might be some actual romance.

...But don't hold your breath.

*evil grin*

-------------------------------------

ETA, 4/29/06: The Guardian In Spite of Herself

So, after declaring there would be no romance, I ended up writing some mild Naga/Kafunnokaze. It never ceases to amuse me that some people got enthusiastic about a romance between two original characters in a fanfiction novel. (People get enthusiastic about romance between original characters in published fiction all the time. *grin*) I am carrying NagaKafu into the sequel, though it will remain a sidelight.

In "Guardian," I want to see if I can persuade Yukiko into a romantic relationship of some sort. I make no guarantee of success.

There are several candidates of the right age -- 'right,' in this case, being defined by Yukiko, not by me. I'd be perfectly happy to pair her with a younger or much older person, but she has Views on the subject, and I'm not going to waste time changing her mind when I already have so many other story elements to juggle. The available people are Kakashi, Fuuma Seichi, Amane Ginji, Kurenai, Odori Gachi (Kafunnokaze's jounin-sensei), Orizukku Takeshi (ship captain, works for Eiji), Shio Rika (harbormaster of Tengai, works for Eiji), and potentially a couple as-yet undefined traders in the caravan, citizens of Tengai, or missing-nin employed by Eiji.

(Note that I'm not locking Yukiko into a heterosexual relationship. That would be easiest -- that's where her habitual assumptions would lead -- but it's not inevitable.)

There are problems with all these people, of course. Kakashi is so messed up that his issues have issues. Seichi is an assassin with his own set of neuroses, and Yukiko associates him with her dead teammate (Ame, Seichi's cousin), which puts a damper on romance. Ginji is the brother-in-law and bodyguard of Yukiko's assassination target, and a Cloud-nin; Konoha and Hidden Cloud have a tentative truce at best, and there's no way Ginji's going to appreciate someone who kills or helps kill Eiji. Kurenai is already interested in Asuma.

Gachi may not actually meet Yukiko -- I haven't firmed the plot outlines -- and I'm not at all sure they have compatible personalities. Takeshi and Rika work for Eiji; they won't take kindly to a person who's spying on their employer, let alone a person who's trying to kill him. Traders would get to know Yukiko's cover persona, not her real self. Ditto citizens of Tengai. And missing-nin come with their own set of built-in issues for a loyal ninja of a hidden village.

I am sticking by my declaration that Yukiko and Kakashi won't ever have a romantic relationship. They still flirt a lot, but it doesn't mean anything -- not all flirting does, you know. I am also dropping subtextual hints at some sort of relationship between Kakashi and Iruka, because that amuses me. I don't really think KakaIru will become canon for "Guardian," but I like playing around, and I like keeping Kakashi's sexuality ambiguous.