Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

It is officially a good day for fans of this series! Yui's art is, as always, and that was a nice wrap-up to this segment of the series, Shigan. I especially like that you spent considerable time inside Vivio's head for this story, which itself makes a nice balance for deathcurse's story since that one centers around Hayate as POV character.

Some feedback to the.... feedback!

Thanks . Yeah, Tame was written with that in mind. Hayate was not unsurprisingly the most tormented one that deserved the most reflection in dc's timescope while Vivio just plunged on after the her heart. I wrote my story (and choose the quote from The Petite Prince) mostly because I wanted to give the relationship's long-term prospects a shot. Vivio falling in love at 15 is sweet and brave, and as dc's just described in Little Girl, a forever Hayate thought she would never have. What I wanted to portray was: well, congrats guys, but forever in the true sense of a happy ending will take some work.

Reading is happiness!

And Yui: HOT! Especially since I know -exactly- what happens after! xD

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Shigan

What I wanted to portray was: well, congrats guys, but forever in the true sense of a happy ending will take some work.

It came across very strongly, so I commend you for that. Now I'm always going to hold up this story as the ideal for hot, funny fluff. I can only hope my own stuff will compare.

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Ah, but even Nanoha had one trait, her virtue as well as vice, that made her more memorable than her adopted daughter: her chronic hero syndrome . For the sake of helping others she would go to the extremes whether it be training or actual combat.

Vivio doesn't even have that.

Spoiler for Spoiler for Vivid:

Canon wise, I blame the genre (genre? I don't even know what the genre is). Nanoha's story was about saving the world and helping troubled people. Vivio's story is...well whatever it is it lacked the sense of urgency of her mother's.

That's a characterization. We don't really see Nanoha's characterization develop further beyond what she's initially portrayed as, is what I was getting at.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

That's a characterization. We don't really see Nanoha's characterization develop further beyond what she's initially portrayed as, is what I was getting at.

True. But IMO what initial traits Nanoha have is more than Vivio's

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

It came across very strongly, so I commend you for that. Now I'm always going to hold up this story as the ideal for hot, funny fluff. I can only hope my own stuff will compare.

Aaaw ^_^. Also: silly woman, don't compare. Do better! I have perfect faith in that you can.

In worst case, we will just have a bunch of people kiss you. Worked the last time. ;D

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Shigan

Aaaw ^_^. Also: silly woman, don't compare. Do better! I have perfect faith in that you can.

In worst case, we will just have a bunch of people kiss you. Worked the last time. ;D

Well, I'm certainly nervous about it. We'll have to see what the verdict is when I finally post that one short where Lutecia is on a seduction job and the Takamachi-Harlaown family sees it.

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Well, I'm certainly nervous about it. We'll have to see what the verdict is when I finally post that one short where Lutecia is on a seduction job and the Takamachi-Harlaown family sees it.

That's gonna be fluff? I was sorta expecting Tom Clancy styled, Sex and the City cooked Lutecia out to be James Bond in a shexy shexy cocktail dress. With cocktails. Martini classic to be exact, shaken not stirred.

But alright, fluff me!

[deathcurse]

Originally Posted by NTFTH

I'd use the pairing in the fic I'm working on right now, but I'd have to rewrite nearly half of the current chapter because of the ViCia and ViviEin ship tease I'd included. (Then there's the whole problem of Vivio only being 12-13 in it)

LOL, don't force the Hayate x Vivio in there then . I'm also a ViCia shipper ....

Originally Posted by yuiseppe

Do not apologise. It didn't last long. My inner-pervert-old-man won out pretty easily after all. Granted, this had been boiling for weeks now... thanks to you guys here... *glares*

Spoiler for Playing with Fire:

So Vivio's teasing went a little too far and Hayate ... reacted. You can fill in allllllll the blanks ;D

(sorry, no time to shade, maybe in a few weeks' time )

I love you yui! My imagination has nothing on this! *saves picture*

And now for some context??? *innocent whistling*NUDGENUDGE SHIGAN NUDGENUDGE*

Originally Posted by Shigan

So the ball's in my court? This might be no three-pointer, but hey, butter!Yui needs to be buttered. Slowly and patiently.

Aaaand we're here! The finale! This finishes my first contribution to the Hayate x Vivio Files. This was a nice story to write, mostly because I got to write what I really enjoyed while deathcurse plunged into the stuff I would have had enourmous difficulties writing. Thanks mate! *writer-fist*

What more to say? I'll be writing more, no point in jumping ship now when I've helped to set so many things in motion. Also, I do recommend you to re-read Part 5: One Mama Laughs Best if you cannot recall what happened. Things We Tame were written to be read as a one-shot to begin with and I think that it generally flows better if you read two or three parts in one go.

Now, onwards! To brave new skies!

The Things We Tame
By Shigan

'Men have forgotten this truth,' said the fox. 'But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.'
Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Previous parts:

Prelude: Not Today
Part 1: Team Takamachi
Part 2: When I Get Home There had Better Be Kisses
part 3: Headbands
Part 5: One Mama Laughs Best

Spoiler for Duty's Call:

The next three week passed in a blur.

Vivio divided her time the best she could between her family, Hayate and preparations for her next deployment. The Navy had requested the STG’s assistance for a counter-strike measure against a conglomerate of interplanetary criminal organisations dealing in arms, rare Logias and restricted pharmaceutics. Enforcer intelligence had located several key bases of their operations and needed firepower for the ground-work. Vivio didn’t need numbers to know that it was going to be ugly, not with this kind of money involved.

She balanced her team, considered their specialities and strengths before sending preparation recommendations to Rhen, Kvick and Harley. They needed to be ready as she doubted communications would be good once they touched down, especially Kvick’s security slicing skills would be invaluable.

Hayate was busy and remained so during the last days of Vivio’s leave. They spent the nights together, alternating between having late dinners, making love or just cuddled and talked. While Vivio lacked the insight or grasp of the larger picture of Mid-Childa’s political situation, she could give smaller advice, words that balanced Hayate’s sense of peace and self when the high games grew to weary to bear. It gave Vivio a sense of deep satisfaction when they rested together.

Vita and Signum, having heard the news, engaged her in a fourteen days long training program where the captains mercilessly drilled her through the more advanced infiltration strategies. They trained night and day, finishing with a continual multi-field exercise spanning ninety-six hours. The pair was harsh, but Signum’s tactical shrewdness was a good balance to Vita’s brute strength and Vivio found it difficult to not appreciate the challenge. When they were finally done, she all but crashed in her bed and was ready to sleep for months.

Shamal gave her a batch of modified cartridges, reminding her sternly to use them only in moderation while Zafira, who rarely left Hayate’s side, came by and gave Vivio an upgraded wristband for Sacred Heart. Her mothers’ mood was dampened over her early departure. They were quiet at times, cheerful at others. Fate made sure to cook her favourite foods while Nanoha stubbornly refused to treat her any different. They were small things, tiny details to the passing of days, but Vivio saw the love in their actions and would carry them all deeply.

It was hard to believe that she once had been a lonely child in a madman’s scheme. Vivio could barely remember Jail and the events that had thrown her into Nanoha’s path, and while she couldn’t find it in herself to quite be grateful, she acknowledged his contribution to her life. In her darkest dreams, she would sometimes remember the soft whispers of a raspy voice and the cool feeling of her small hands hitting against glass. She had been so frightened and mama was not there.

That was in the past. Vivio knew this once she grew tall and her limbs grew stronger. She knew it in every scar on her body and every bite of delicious food. It was hard not to when you were constantly surrounded by the unyielding, determined love of the Takamachi-Harlaown and Yagami families. Erio’s and Caro’s child would be born into a good world and Vivio’s mind boggled at the thought of becoming an aunt.

The days passed and she found herself standing on the loading bay of The Guardia.

It was a nice ship, an Arbiter class with the sleek design of a smaller cruising vessel. The hull was polished and even the lower decks seemed without a speck of rust, the whole ship smelled of oil and sharp ozone. Vivio admired her uncle’s ship and felt right at home. Admiral Chrono Harlaown was known to many for his unlikeness of enjoying speedy space vessels. Of course, those same people had probably never met the other Harlaown sibling or familiarized themselves with her “modest” interest in sport cars.

Vivio was double checking a crate containing their surface gear when the rest of her team arrived. The three of them looked well, rested and in good spirits, Vivio nodded her greetings as they exchanged salutes.

Harley threw himself atop a metallic box, pulling out his device, a rifle with range-adjustable upgrades and started dismantle it for maintenance. He looked to be in a good mood, though none of them dared to ask why. Kvick was reading up on the technical details on the systems they expected to force through a pair of tech-boosted specs, an odd, bordering wicked smile plastered on her hawkish face. Vivio liked the security expert despite her manic tendencies; Kvick was fun, surgical in field and certainly lacked no skill with her spellwork.

Rhen joined her and they fell in work.

“Ho, kid.” He greeted.

“Ho, Rhen.” She returned with a smile, meaning it. “How’s your wife?”

“Fat and jolly, bless her. How’s your dirty, secret hush-hush affair?” Both Kvick and Harley chuckled at this.

Vivio shot him a glare over the crate, somehow managing to simultaneously look embarrassed and happy at once. Rhen raised an eyebrow.

“That good, huh? Just give us the steam, woman. We need a topic while burning space.”

The blonde threw him a package with rations in friendly humour, aiming for his head. “One of these days, I will.”

“I’m glad. I freshened up my arsonist skills as you recommended by the way, brushed up the explosives stuff too when I was at it.” He continued conversationally.

“Good, it never hurts if there’re two of us.” She replied. “I’m expecting a few pure sabotage missions together with regular hit-and-run ones.”

“What’s the Navy’s take on this?”

“Infiltration mostly, I’m expecting they’ll be handling intelligence while the STG do the damage.”

Harley looked up from his rifle, face wry. “We’ll have one hell of a run then. Say what you want about those pretty-capes, but they do know their spells and data.”

“The hot uniforms had to be for something, right?” Kvick added absentmindedly.

Vivio sometimes wondered if the Navy indeed employed their own fashion designer, anyone could see the bordering comical difference.

Harley guffawed. “Poofs, I tell you.”

They all snickered and fell back to their individual preparations. Vivio found herself a spot and booted up Sacred Heart’s configuration panel, eager to see the new calibrations Shari had performed. She had put in a request to have her limiter modified since the algorithms conflicted with her more powerful offensive spells. The scientist spent two days working on it and had sworn on the white of her lab coat that the problem would be no more. She was happily scrolling away on her holo, completely engrossed by the task when Harley spoke up.

“Hey, would you look at that.” He whistled.

Kvick joined in a moment later. “That’s a lot of brass, yah. Why do you reckon she’s down here?”

“Lost probably, I doubt that one’s ever been outside a command deck.” The large man answered. Vivio didn’t bother to look. People got lost in the lower decks all the time, that’s why ships like this had intercoms installed.

“Well, what rank do you figure she is?”

“Judging by the stripes I would say general. She’s lost alright.” Harley said while leering goofily. “You don’t reckon she would appreciate some help, do you? Pretty thing like that.”

Rhen spoke last, his tune curious. “I don’t think so. She’s seems to be looking for something.”

His words made Vivio look up. She froze.

Hayate stood in the middle of the loading bay, dressed in the dark-blue uniform issued to high command and carrying her portfolio. She looked as striking as ever, though slightly out of breath. They had said their good-byes the night before since the general was supposed to oversee the proceedings of a juridical case and Rein had almost cried when she reviewed the number of related meetings. Hayate’s eyes lit up when she saw Vivio.

“Hoo yeah, she’s smiling at me.”

“It’s not you she’s looking at, idiot. It’s…”

Vivio ignored them as she jumped up and ran over, happy that the other had found the time to see her off, but worried as well. Hayate had an unhealthy habit of skipping lunch which no one but her waistline endorsed.

“Hey,” Hayate greeted softly. “Your uncle let me on.”

Vivio smiled. “He’s a handy guy to have around.”

They stood silently for a while, looking at each other. It was not an uncomfortable silence but a loaded one nonetheless. Vivio thought there must be a pocket in space between them, sucking out and spitting forth what she had been dreading to feel for weeks. She thought of the long days when Hayate would not be there and all the things they could have talked about, she thought of the smiles she would miss and the touch of ashen hair beneath her fingers. Most of all, she thought of the presence, the person of Yagami Hayate who had become so irrecoverably integrate to her life.

Vivio didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t one for long good-byes and there were things no words could do real justice. Hayate observed her calmly, her eyes unusually stormy in contemplation.

“Six months,” she spoke. Hayate drew a long breath, as if she wanted to confirm her own words.

“It sounds scarier than it probably really is.” Vivio tried meekly, unsure if her own voice would hold up.

“You might be half-way to become an aunt when you get back.”

She nodded happily at the mention of her foster siblings.

Somewhere, in a far corner of her mind, Vivio was aware of Rhen and the others’ curious looks. She saw them for the brawny, good soldiers they were and decided to take a leap of faith. After all, Hounds ran in packs and she was their leader.

She thought of Nanoha and Fate and the boundless love in their actions and words, and how much she valued their consult. She thought of the world in general, and how things would always be difficult. Falling in love had been so easy when she was a girl, a flutter in her steps and the desire for the other’s attention. It was the keeping of the emotion, nurturing it through time and life that was the truly hard part. It was a task of a lifetime and one that took courage.

Did she want to spend her life with Hayate?

Did she want the burdens their hearts and careers would undoubtedly place upon them? Could she endure the grievance and heartbreaks of the differences that would always be there?

The answers came ridiculously easy and with great relief.

She stepped forwards like her fifteen-years-old self once had done with a rose in hand, her hands clutching nothing but the weight of her decisions. Hayate met her halfway, no doubt carrying her own fears.

They embraced tightly and stayed that way. Hayate cradled Vivio against her, trembling as her hands moved along the blonde’s back. Vivio kissed her. Not passionately, not desperately but gently, moving her lips against Hayate’s in patient, soft caress. It was not a kiss of parting lovers but a pledge, an uncompromised promise of return and dedication.

They broke apart as quietly as they had begun, arms still encircled.

“I must go back.” Hayate said after a while.

“Mnh.”

“Fight well and be safe.” Her eyes were wet. “Please, promise me to be safe.”

“If you promise to take care of yourself, or at least let Shamal do it.”

Hayate pinched her arm. “You’re in no position to negotiate, officer Takamachi.”

“No ma’m.” Vivio answered jokingly and rested her forehead against the other. “I will miss you.”

Oh Vivio. The reply came telepathically, because Hayate was a general and it would not do to cry in front of Vivio’s men. I shall miss you too. I love you so much, so promise me you’ll be careful.

The lieutenant nodded. I promise. And I love you too.

They spoke no more as they parted. Vivio watched Hayate leave; she watched the beautiful, retreating back and tried to measure the impact of what the woman was to her. Had her fifteen-years-old self foreseen the depths her feelings one day would have? Probably not. She looked to Hayate and appreciated her for everything she was.

The rest of the Hounds came up behind her, all with varying expression of sly grins and smug smirks.

“Cock and balls, Takamachi.” Harley exclaimed, staring at her. Kvick groaned and rolled her eyes while Vivio raised an eyebrow in honest puzzlement.

“It means he is impressed.” Rhen filled in helpfully while he looked after the general, bemused. “So that’s your steam, huh? No wonder you kept it under lids. That’s way too brassy to not cause a stink.”

“Well played kid,” Kvick shrugged and grinned while she tapped at her specs quickly. “There’s only one general in the whole bureau with those characteristics. She’s the deal isn’t she? Yagami Hayate, the genius tactician, legendary ace, decorated general and City Defence Commander. The woman is our freaking boss.”

To their surprise, Vivio did not seem embarrassed but stood proudly, eyeing them in challenge. “She is.” And what of it? Her silent question hung in the air.

“Well, that came not a day to early.” Rhen remarked. He smiled and clapped Vivio on the shoulder. The three of them seemed oddly at peace with this new information.

“What now?” Vivio asked, nonplussed at their behaviour. “I thought you were all gonna string me up and milk me for dirt.”

Rhen laughed. “Naw. We’re glad you’re aiming for the high scores.”

“Dirt no, extra munitions hell yeah.” Kvick commented.

“Chill Takamachi,” Harley said in a merry, rumbling voice. “We’re Hounds remember? Boss, general or whatever, if Yagami’s your bitch then she’s pack. We look after our own.”

It wasn’t the most beautiful of declarations but Vivio couldn’t argue as her soldiers laughed. After all, it made perfectly sense.

**-fin-**

Spoiler for Author's Notes:

*high fives Deathcurse and Extriniscal*

Looking back at it, I really like the first half of this last part most. I think this is where Vivio really comes through as an adult compared to dc's young, teenaged (and adorable) take on her in Prerogative. Viv's growing up to become a contributing part in her society and she's doing this by being a good soldier, a considerate leader, a good daughter and finally slowly becoming a more mature companion for Hayate (who I'm afraid, will never outgrow french maid uniforms. Cranagan should be very afraid if we one day indeed make her a High Marshal.). I'll be looking forward to write more of those two in the future! x)

And finally, thanks to deathcurse for inspiring this whole thing. Without her, this story would never have been. Without Extriniscal, this ball would never have started rolling.

Last but never, ever least: Thank you, anamatics, for being a patient beta-reader through my storms of writing schizophrenia, a support and a ear for my creative woes.

Go H x V!

Adorable ending . I love it, it's so sweet and understated and yet so significant.

I love how you really zeroed in on Vivio here and made her such a rich character beyond the cuteness of my early stories. There's such complexity to Vivio (and to Hayate, without Hayate ever taking the POV!) that goes really well with their adult selves that I don't have the skills to write about. You've really carried the series from the "cute early days" feel of my stories to something that's a lot more permanent and weighty, and something that can be taken seriously . Good job!

The Hayate x Vivio stories are definitely a team effort .

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

So many options.

More is always better!

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Also, I now demand a short where Hayate actually gets Vivio into a French maid uniform, because it would be hilarious.

I'd love to see a crack shot of this ..... *glances around significantly*

Originally Posted by Craxuan

Hard to imagine that it all started from one, simple story. Not even Vivio/Hayate, just a joke on the idea, and now it actually grew solid. Wow.You and dc make an amazing pair for the V/H files; care to start ringing wedding bells? xD

Heck, it started from me wanting to write more stories for a crack pairing! And now it's really taken off and actually went somewhere .

.....I do have thoughts on that . But there's no way I'm writing it any time soon, since the weight of lots of trouble and conflict has to come before anything of the sort....assuming they stay together in the future!

Hey, just because they have a happy early relationship doesn't mean that it ends with the hook-up! Things could still change....

Originally Posted by Shigan

Vivio -is- a bit of a wildcard. She literally has no personality in StrikerS so if you want to keep the characterization canon, well, good luck. I found the HxV Files a rather easy write mostly due to that deathcurse handled a superb characterization of her in her two initial shorts, all I did was move on from there.

On the other hand, looking at Vivio's canon characterization is never truly a good way to write her. Most of the people who've done longer works on her have cast her in an age of approximately 15, give or take a few years. In my case here, she's 19. The age difference compared to the crybaby we see in StrikerS demands a little imagination from both the writer and the reader's part. ^_^ The good thing is you can write Vivio in very different way, and depending on your skill as a writer, can still make her work.

I wanted Vivio to be a good child; happy and polite yet with the Takamachi stubbornness that makes her aggressive when she knows what she wants . It's a real treat to write her, and since I don't pay much attention to canon I don't know or really care if she's in character or not. It's odd, there's something about Vivio that makes me want to be her friend , so maybe that's the feel I was trying for?

Shigan did a great job turning the teenaged Vivio I created into a full adult with layered complexities of character .

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

More is always better!

I'll keep that in mind.

In any event, I hope my version of Vivio will become a little easier as a main character once I actually start developing her. Though Dezo has done an excellent job of developing her post-Shadowverse with his Magical Librarian!Vivio stories.

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by deathcurse

And now for some context??? *innocent whistling*NUDGENUDGE SHIGAN NUDGENUDGE*

So... I'm the default writer for when we want sex? O_o

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Shigan

So... I'm the default writer for when we want sex? O_o

.... Kind of?

[Kuroi Hadou]

Originally Posted by Shigan

So... I'm the default writer for when we want sex? O_o

Nothing wrong with being the resident porn writer.

Besides, you brought it upon yourself.

[Shigan]

Originally Posted by Kuroi Hadou

Nothing wrong with being the resident porn writer.

*shakes her Nanoha manuscripts in Kuroi's face*

Porn where!?

*sulks*

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Shigan

*shakes her Nanoha manuscripts in Kuroi's face*

Porn where!?

*sulks*

*pat pat*

There, there. It's just teasing. It's not our fault (or yours) that you write good mild sex scenes.

[Justin_Brett]

Well, eh, ViVid is still kind of in the prologue of this arc. I'd say there's some potential for character development for Vivio that they've set up here.

[DezoPenguin]

Speaking as someone who actually likes Vivio (it's interesting how many people here who do write about her don't actually seem to have any particular affection for her ), I can't really deny that in StrikerS she's more of a plot device than she is a character. She's the MacGuffin being chased by Jail's troops, and she's something small and innocent for Nanoha to get attached to to give her a personal stake. How effective she is at that is largely dependent on whether you think she's cute and adorable or just irritating. For some odd reason ("odd" because, frankly, I hate small children, and children in the media so often consist of annoying stereotypes) I found Vivio to be the former. I felt sorry for her loneliness and I felt rip-out-her-guts furious at Quattro when she was laughing at Vivio's screaming when the Relic was being implanted. But what really won me over was when, after eating five Starlight Breakers and being devolved back into her six-year-old form, she looks up at Nanoha and tells her something that amounts to "No, Mama, I can walk out of the crater myself!" (The cynic in me would say that she demonstrated more personality in that moment than Erio and Caro did in the whole show, but that's a different rant about the StrikerS cast bloat.)

I'm actually less interested in her in ViVid, simply because thus far she's being treated as "typical earnestly happy-go-lucky shonen protagonist" (even though I don't have any particular dislike the series itself)--it would have been more interesting to see her match up with something with more "real" stakes to have her set out her own personality as compared to Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, or Subaru.

Lastly, about Nanoha herself...it's true that other than giving her maternal instincts post-timeskip (not just for Vivio, but also in the sense of her becoming a trainer for student mages) she gets very little character development, but that's not the same thing as saying that she's not a well-rounded character. Compare, for example, Batman--he's actually a fairly complex character in a lot of ways, but he hasn't changed (except by retcon, which isn't character development, it's just editorially altering the base template) in any meaningful way since the 1930s.

[Craxuan]

Hair changing colors... Now if only it becomes a reality in my lifetime...

[Nanya01]

*looks at discussion*

...

Considering what I've written in the past, well, yeah, I like Vivio myself. Hell, I actually felt annoyed at Schach for doing what she did in StrikerS. "You're scaring a four year old girl, I hope you're happy for yourself!"

So, yeah, I like her.

Then again, I like most of the characters in the series.

[Rising Dragon]

Schach's reaction in that scene did seem really odd to me... out of place, even.

[Kagerou]

This post brought to you by an old Touhou video called Locked Girl.

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Craxuan

I just like the story; for characters I've always liked they are Nanoha (For her monologues in the original series, and since then I grew kinda attached to her) and Hayate (The heck with the low screen time she's getting, how unfair!), Fate for the art (Yes I'm not too impressed with her after A, and even before she's feels kinda... floaty. Lack of sufficient focus on the character) and Vita for destroying everything. The others hold no special place.

I would have to say that Nanoha has been and always will be my favorite character in the entire series, with Vita following close behind. Nanoha is actually quite well developed - I've always loved her attitude toward things (even if the fandom tends to exaggerate it into FULL POWER, TOTAL ANNIHLATION), and... well this is silly, but she's honestly the most attractive character in the series to me .

As for Vita... well, obviously her attitude is a big plus for me. Also, Graf Eisen told me to :3 . (Note that the whole perpetual loli thing does nothing for me )

Originally Posted by Moczo

... actually, I've never cared for Vivio either. I always got the uncomfortable impression you could replace her in the plot of StrikerS with a Lost Logia without really changing the plot significantly, and that's never good in my book.

I agree 110% .

Originally Posted by Shigan

Vivio -is- a bit of a wildcard. She literally has no personality in StrikerS so if you want to keep the characterization canon, well, good luck. I found the HxV Files a rather easy write mostly due to that deathcurse handled a superb characterization of her in her two initial shorts, all I did was move on from there.

On the other hand, looking at Vivio's canon characterization is never truly a good way to write her. Most of the people who've done longer works on her have cast her in an age of approximately 15, give or take a few years. In my case here, she's 19. The age difference compared to the crybaby we see in StrikerS demands a little imagination from both the writer and the reader's part. ^_^ The good thing is you can write Vivio in very different way, and depending on your skill as a writer, can still make her work.

The only baseline I could see is that she'd probably have some mix of Nanoha and Fate and Yuuno's personalities, but (!) I haven't read Vivid.

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

Ironically enough, Nanoha somewhat suffers the same effect. I mean, hell, she didn't get any actual character development or personal crisis until StrikerS.

Sorta like Vivio is right now.

I like to think that she didn't really have a lot of development until StrikerS was because her personality was pretty much set. Contrast Vivio, who was basically a moeblob.

Of course, I turned her into an angst-ridden 14-year-old girl with a chip on her shoulder, a failing family, and only one solid connection in her life; her best friend and love interest.

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Well, she did have that life-threatening injury that apparently crippled her somewhat, but we actually don't see much of that except for when it's relevant to Teana's character development, if I remember correctly. Honestly, sometimes I feel like Nanoha's strongest character trait is that, well, she supports other characters.

I would agree to that.

Originally Posted by Shigan

This ^_^. Funny, I always thought Subaru was the main character in StrikerS and not Nanoha. She just sorta ninja'd the show.

Yeah, which brings up that I also care nothing for Subaru; yeah the GaoGaiGar references are nice, but otherwise the show would have been fine without her IMO (probably not really but I like to think so).

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Speaking as someone who actually likes Vivio (it's interesting how many people here who do write about her don't actually seem to have any particular affection for her ), I can't really deny that in StrikerS she's more of a plot device than she is a character. She's the MacGuffin being chased by Jail's troops, and she's something small and innocent for Nanoha to get attached to to give her a personal stake. How effective she is at that is largely dependent on whether you think she's cute and adorable or just irritating. For some odd reason ("odd" because, frankly, I hate small children, and children in the media so often consist of annoying stereotypes) I found Vivio to be the former. I felt sorry for her loneliness and I felt rip-out-her-guts furious at Quattro when she was laughing at Vivio's screaming when the Relic was being implanted. But what really won me over was when, after eating five Starlight Breakers and being devolved back into her six-year-old form, she looks up at Nanoha and tells her something that amounts to "No, Mama, I can walk out of the crater myself!" (The cynic in me would say that she demonstrated more personality in that moment than Erio and Caro did in the whole show, but that's a different rant about the StrikerS cast bloat.)

I'm actually less interested in her in ViVid, simply because thus far she's being treated as "typical earnestly happy-go-lucky shonen protagonist" (even though I don't have any particular dislike the series itself)--it would have been more interesting to see her match up with something with more "real" stakes to have her set out her own personality as compared to Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, or Subaru.

Lastly, about Nanoha herself...it's true that other than giving her maternal instincts post-timeskip (not just for Vivio, but also in the sense of her becoming a trainer for student mages) she gets very little character development, but that's not the same thing as saying that she's not a well-rounded character. Compare, for example, Batman--he's actually a fairly complex character in a lot of ways, but he hasn't changed (except by retcon, which isn't character development, it's just editorially altering the base template) in any meaningful way since the 1930s.

I can't argue with you there (except again about Vivid because I haven't read it). However, I feel like if they just absolutely needed Vivio in StrikerS, they could have started developing her a personality of some sort except that final scene.

About Nanoha, I would also concur. By this stage in her life, note, Nanoha's personality is pretty much set. Only something very moving will probably change her at this point.

For example... ugh, take myself I guess. I haven't changed much since I turned 18. Only a couple of certain... sigh, again... traumatic events have changed my personality.

*resumes writing*