Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[spawnofthejudge]

Originally Posted by AdmiralTigerclaw

But seriously. WAFF is like a primary export around here. This place puts out more WAFF than a WALL-E marathon at an IMAX.

...We rival Pixar in WAFF? daaamn...

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by AdmiralTigerclaw

But seriously. WAFF is like a primary export around here. This place puts out more WAFF than a WALL-E marathon at an IMAX.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[Dark Knight Gafgar]

Originally Posted by AdmiralTigerclaw

But seriously. WAFF is like a primary export around here. This place puts out more WAFF than a WALL-E marathon at an IMAX.

I can fix that if you want.

[TheShinySword]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

You say that like it's a bad thing.

QFT :3 just because there isn't an explosion every 25 seconds doesn't make it a bad thing.

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

Explosions every 25 seconds? Don't be absurd!

I keep mine to a strict 30 seconds between blasts. I'm not some heathen.

[Tabasco]

Sure, ten blasts the first minute, five minute gap. Rinse and repeat.

[00-Raiser]

Originally Posted by Tabasco

Sure, ten blasts the first minute, five minute gap. Rinse and repeat.

Fanfiction Michael Bay style?

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

Fanfiction Michael Bay style?

....

You're paying for my therapy bills, Onii-chan.

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

Fanfiction Michael Bay style?

You'll need more than that to have Fanfiction Michael Bay Style.

[SulliMike23]

Uh...what are we talking about now?

[DezoPenguin]

WAFFy fics versus exploding ones, I think... And speaking of hopefully semi-humorous fluff:

Spoiler for Romance Studies:

A/N: This is another story set in the ViCia universe, written at RadiantBeam's request. It takes place more or less simultaneously with her story, "Glasses," which you probably should read first, just in case.


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


"Do you think that we have enough oregano, Fate-chan?" Nanoha wondered, peering into the shopping cart. It made her wife laugh.


"I think we'll be fine, Nanoha, at least unless you want Italian food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day between now and next month's supermarket run."


"Was that an offer?" Nanoha shot back without missing a beat. Fate laughed again.


"Honestly, Nanoha, how did you ever get to be such a fan of Italian food?"


"Well, that...um..." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Nyahaha...it's kind of embarrassing."


Fate glanced at the holoscreen displaying their shopping list. More than half of the items were still unchecked.


"We've got lots of time. Go slow if you have to."


"Mou, Fate-chan..."


Fate chuckled.


"We're in our thirties now, Nanoha. We've reached the top of our careers and raised a sixteen-year-old daughter. I think we're mature enough to handle a little embarrassment."


"Still, we should be getting home quickly. Vivio has that big history test tomorrow—"


"—and Lutecia is helping her study for it. You know as well as I do that either of them know more Ancient Belkan history than the two of us put together."


"You're so relentless, Fate-chan!"


Fate added cardamon, nutmeg, and a saffron-like spice from Non-Administered World 103 to the cart.


"I could be persuaded to make Tuscan swordfish steaks over black-pepper fettucini...if I'm convinced it'll really, really be liked..."


Nanoha blinked.


"You're resorting to bribery? I thought you were supposed to be the heroine of law and order, the Ace of the Navy's Enforcement Bureau!"


"I'm much more willing to bend the rules now that I have a desk job and my mind is opened to political and bureaucratic realities."


Her wife pouted, then brightened as she thought of something.


"All right, but I'm going to remember this the next time you want me to wear that white lace teddy you like so much."


Fate grinned.


"Vixen."


"Darned right!"


They moved on through the aisles, continuing to load the cart with items as they went. While it was easy to order groceries online for delivery in Cranagan, the number of people who wanted to select for themselves their meats, produce, bakery items, and similar goods made sure that markets continued to be busy with shoppers.


"Well...it started way back when I first met you. Remember how when you were having your trial for all the stuff that happened in the Jewel Seed incident and we were exchanging video letters?"


Fate nodded.


"Uh huh."


"And you remember how we said you were from Italy because of your last name?"


"That's right; we said the same thing when I enrolled in your school."


"Well, Arisa-chan and Suzuka-chan were really interested, and so we started studying about Italy since I apparently had a friend from there. I couldn't really say no since I couldn't talk about magic or where you were really from."


Fate chuckled as she checked if she had a coupon for pancake syrup.


"It was a good thing I was so shy back then, so they didn't ask me a lot of questions. They knew more about my supposed home town than I did! Thankfully, Lindy-mama helped me to do a lot of fast studying, and of course at Christmas the truth came out to our friends."


"Well, the way it happened was...whenever we'd spend an afternoon learning about Italy, we'd all try Italian food that night."


"Oh, that's nice. It's a good idea, too; the more 'hands-on' a lesson is, the better a child learns it.


"So...it started being that every time I ate Italian food, I thought of Fate-chan. I noticed it first when I had a slice of pizza at the mall and...it's been that way ever since."


Fate's heart caught in her throat.


"Nanoha, that's so sweet. I had no idea."


Nanoha pushed her index fingers together in a nervous little gesture.


"You...don't think it's silly?"


"Silly? Of course not, sweetheart." She leaned forward and kissed her wife on the cheek. "I think it's wonderful and romantic and I'm going to make tiramisu for dessert tonight to go with the swordfish."


"Oooh!"


Fate grinned, her heart still fluttering.


"And after, if you're not too full, we can shoo the girls out and have our own love-love study session. I can teach you all kinds of things about Italy that you weren't old enough to learn back then."


Nanoha gave Fate her naughtiest grin and snagged a pair of reading glasses off a stand. She slipped them onto Fate's face and smiled widely. "Oooh, please do, teacher; I'm a willing and eager pupil!" She licked her lips, leering openly—then her face suddenly went stiff and nervous.


"Nanoha?"


"Raising Heart, please call home."


"Yes, my master."


"Nanoha, what's wrong?" Fate asked, worried.


"Well, I got a look at you in your 'hot teacher' mode there and nearly melted.


"Isn't that a good thing?"


A screen popped up in the air. The face of their daughter Vivio was there, her blonde hair mussed and her lips slightly puffy and red.


"Mama?" she asked. "Did you forget something?"


Nanoha looked over at her wife.


"Let's just say, Fate-chan, that I don't think I'm the only Takamachi who finds red eyes behind a pair of glasses irresistible."

[RadiantBeam]

New short. Third in two days, whoa, a record. Anyway... Lutecia-centric, more focused on Miranda and the Shadows than her relationship with Vivio. Explains why she had Miranda's key-chain in "Sunrise" when Miranda asked her to give it to her boyfriend in "Bleeding Shadow".

Spoiler for Straitjacket Feeling:

“Today I’m fine without you
Run away this time without you
And all I ever thought you’d be
That face is tearing holes in me
But today I’m fine without you
Run away this time without you
And all the things you put me through
I’m holding on by letting go of you.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Lutecia shivered; her thin black jacket was poor insulation against the winter cold. She could see her breath misting in front of her eyes, could feel the chill seeping into her skin, but she made no move to leave, shoving her hands deeper into her pockets.

“How did she die?”

Kellen Arks was a handsome man; looking at him, Lutecia could see why Miranda had been attracted to him. His chocolate brown hair was trimmed short and neat, his gray eyes were intense and moody; he was a quiet, serious man who had perfectly contrasted Miranda’s bubbly personality.

On the surface, anyway. Lutecia knew, better than anyone, that Miranda could be just as quiet and focused as her fiancée when the moment called for it.

“I know you were her partner,” Kellen said when Lutecia didn’t reply. “I want to know how she died.” He turned, and his gray eyes were unreadable. “No one’s giving me straight answers on what happened or why. You’ll tell me.”

Lutecia raised a brow. “I’m sorry, but if the Admiral didn’t give you the full story, then I have no right to tell you anything. Miranda’s dead. We captured the man who did it. That’s all you need to know.”

A long, tense silence stretched out between them; Kellen’s eyes flared, and his whole body tensed as if ready to attack. Lutecia braced herself.

In a rush, the tension seeped out of his body. His shoulders sagged; his eyes went from unreadable to stricken, broken, in a heartbeat. “Did she suffer?” he whispered hoarsely. “Was she in pain, at the end? That’s all I want to know. Please.”

Lutecia hesitated; her eyes softened. There was another moment of silence as the pair was buffeted by a gust of icy wind. Finally, she sighed. “It was a painless death,” she said softly. “She was hit right in a vital area. Death was instantaneous. She didn’t feel a thing.”

It was a lie. Miranda had lingered for minutes, and Lutecia had no doubt that she’d felt immense agony as she’d bled to death in her partner’s arms. It was the truth, and it was something Lutecia would remember until the day she died; the light leaving her partner’s eyes, her body going limp and cold, her breathing fading away into nothing but silence.

It was not, however, what Kellen needed to know.

Kellen met her gaze searchingly before he nodded, looking away. “Thank you,” he said at last. “That… that’s what I wanted to know.”

Lutecia nodded, then hesitated and pulled her hand out of her pocket, offering it to him, opening her fingers so he could stare blankly at the tiny dragonfly key-chain in her hand. “She bought it for you,” she murmured. “While we were out. She…” Her composure faltered, and she swallowed hard. “She asked me to give this to you.”

Kellen stared at the tiny key-chain for a long, long moment; he smiled slightly, and his eyes went soft and sad as his fingers came up, tracing the tiny dragonfly wings, the little legs, studying the bright colors that contrasted against the day’s grayness. Finally, he shook his head and gently closed Lutecia’s fingers around the key-chain. “Keep it,” he said quietly. “You need it more than I do.”

Lutecia blinked, then slowly pulled her hand back into her pocket. Kellen gave her one last small smile before he left, his jacket billowing in the wind.

For a long time, Lutecia stared after him. After several minutes, her fingers tightened painfully around the key-chain before she turned her gaze back to Miranda’s grave.

A soft sob escaped her as a single tear streaked her cheek.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

“And when that memory slips away
There’ll be a better view from here
And only lonesome you remains
And just the thought of you I fear
Grip falls away…”

Spoiler for Author's Notes:

1. Lyrics in italics from "Straitjacket Feeling" by All American Rejects. Really matched my feelings at the moment.

2. Fun thing about grief, it just hits you out of nowhere. You think you're fine for the day, you're coping, and then WHAM: something comes out of nowhere and just squeezes your chest so tight it's painful. It doesn't even have a trigger; it's just some small, stupid, insignificant thing that reminds you of them and brings it all back.

[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

New short. Third in two days, whoa, a record. Anyway... Lutecia-centric, more focused on Miranda and the Shadows than her relationship with Vivio. Explains why she had Miranda's key-chain in "Sunrise" when Miranda asked her to give it to her boyfriend in "Bleeding Shadow".

Spoiler for Straitjacket Feeling:

“Today I’m fine without you
Run away this time without you
And all I ever thought you’d be
That face is tearing holes in me
But today I’m fine without you
Run away this time without you
And all the things you put me through
I’m holding on by letting go of you.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Lutecia shivered; her thin black jacket was poor insulation against the winter cold. She could see her breath misting in front of her eyes, could feel the chill seeping into her skin, but she made no move to leave, shoving her hands deeper into her pockets.

“How did she die?”

Kellen Arks was a handsome man; looking at him, Lutecia could see why Miranda had been attracted to him. His chocolate brown hair was trimmed short and neat, his gray eyes were intense and moody; he was a quiet, serious man who had perfectly contrasted Miranda’s bubbly personality.

On the surface, anyway. Lutecia knew, better than anyone, that Miranda could be just as quiet and focused as her fiancée when the moment called for it.

“I know you were her partner,” Kellen said when Lutecia didn’t reply. “I want to know how she died.” He turned, and his gray eyes were unreadable. “No one’s giving me straight answers on what happened or why. You’ll tell me.”

Lutecia raised a brow. “I’m sorry, but if the Admiral didn’t give you the full story, then I have no right to tell you anything. Miranda’s dead. We captured the man who did it. That’s all you need to know.”

A long, tense silence stretched out between them; Kellen’s eyes flared, and his whole body tensed as if ready to attack. Lutecia braced herself.

In a rush, the tension seeped out of his body. His shoulders sagged; his eyes went from unreadable to stricken, broken, in a heartbeat. “Did she suffer?” he whispered hoarsely. “Was she in pain, at the end? That’s all I want to know. Please.”

Lutecia hesitated; her eyes softened. There was another moment of silence as the pair was buffeted by a gust of icy wind. Finally, she sighed. “It was a painless death,” she said softly. “She was hit right in a vital area. Death was instantaneous. She didn’t feel a thing.”

It was a lie. Miranda had lingered for minutes, and Lutecia had no doubt that she’d felt immense agony as she’d bled to death in her partner’s arms. It was the truth, and it was something Lutecia would remember until the day she died; the light leaving her partner’s eyes, her body going limp and cold, her breathing fading away into nothing but silence.

It was not, however, what Kellen needed to know.

Kellen met her gaze searchingly before he nodded, looking away. “Thank you,” he said at last. “That… that’s what I wanted to know.”

Lutecia nodded, then hesitated and pulled her hand out of her pocket, offering it to him, opening her fingers so he could stare blankly at the tiny dragonfly key-chain in her hand. “She bought it for you,” she murmured. “While we were out. She…” Her composure faltered, and she swallowed hard. “She asked me to give this to you.”

Kellen stared at the tiny key-chain for a long, long moment; he smiled slightly, and his eyes went soft and sad as his fingers came up, tracing the tiny dragonfly wings, the little legs, studying the bright colors that contrasted against the day’s grayness. Finally, he shook his head and gently closed Lutecia’s fingers around the key-chain. “Keep it,” he said quietly. “You need it more than I do.”

Lutecia blinked, then slowly pulled her hand back into her pocket. Kellen gave her one last small smile before he left, his jacket billowing in the wind.

For a long time, Lutecia stared after him. After several minutes, her fingers tightened painfully around the key-chain before she turned her gaze back to Miranda’s grave.

A soft sob escaped her as a single tear streaked her cheek.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

“And when that memory slips away
There’ll be a better view from here
And only lonesome you remains
And just the thought of you I fear
Grip falls away…”

Spoiler for Author's Notes:

1. Lyrics in italics from "Straitjacket Feeling" by All American Rejects. Really matched my feelings at the moment.

2. Fun thing about grief, it just hits you out of nowhere. You think you're fine for the day, you're coping, and then WHAM: something comes out of nowhere and just squeezes your chest so tight it's painful. It doesn't even have a trigger; it's just some small, stupid, insignificant thing that reminds you of them and brings it all back.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that that fic was far more uplifting than I was expecting the story to be. I've been wanting to hit Kel in the face for months (of real time) since you showed that Lutecia still had the dragonfly in "Sunrise" and said that he'd refused it. So honestly, this was a much, much nicer way of it, showing two people who missed Miranda badly instead being nice and comforting to each other.

The paragraph where Lutecia explains how Miranda died to Kel seems particularly choppy. Was that intentional? If so, it worked well, because it shows how hard it was for her to force the lie out (when she herself is bleeding inside and desperately needs someone to share the pain with...come to think of it, that's pretty much the biggest lesson Vivio teaches her throughout the later stories of this series, to let things out), and on a more subtle level, how desperately Kel needed to hear it because he believed the lie despite how badly Lutecia told it.

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Was that intentional? If so, it worked well, because it shows how hard it was for her to force the lie out (when she herself is bleeding inside and desperately needs someone to share the pain with...come to think of it, that's pretty much the biggest lesson Vivio teaches her throughout the later stories of this series, to let things out), and on a more subtle level, how desperately Kel needed to hear it because he believed the lie despite how badly Lutecia told it.

Yes, ironically enough, it was intentional. Forcing out a lie when you yourself are hurting so badly on the inside, talking to someone who hurts just as much as you for the same reason, is the hardest, most painful thing to do.

On your fic: THE FLUFF. IT MADE ME SMILE. Seriously, I swear, no one does Married!NanoFate as well as you do. And why do I get the feeling Vivio and Lutecia went a few more bases in your short than they did when I ended "Glasses", hmmm?

*makes a mental note to post 'Glasses' as a recent update to "Shadowfire" so that your omake matches with it when you post it*

[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

Yes, ironically enough, it was intentional. Forcing out a lie when you yourself are hurting so badly on the inside, talking to someone who hurts just as much as you for the same reason, is the hardest, most painful thing to do.

Neat. (Um..neat the writing, not neat the emotional pain...GAH! It's hard to talk about this fic because half of the cool stuff you did in the writing is because you're upset inside! *headdesk*)

On your fic: THE FLUFF. IT MADE ME SMILE. Seriously, I swear, no one does Married!NanoFate as well as you do. And why do I get the feeling Vivio and Lutecia went a few more bases in your short than they did when I ended "Glasses", hmmm?

Heh...I had a feeling that Vivio was taking a really long lead off second with full intent of trying to swipe third when Nanoha called... Nothing like the parental pitchout...

*makes a mental note to post 'Glasses' as a recent update to "Shadowfire" so that your omake matches with it when you post it*

*slaps head* I'm glad ONE of us noticed that; I had it down on my schedule to post this as the next VHFMT on Wednesday and it wouldn't make sense without the fic it's referring back to!

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by DezoPenguin

Neat. (Um..neat the writing, not neat the emotional pain...GAH! It's hard to talk about this fic because half of the cool stuff you did in the writing is because you're upset inside! *headdesk*)

Haha, it's fine, I understand what you're saying.

Heh...I had a feeling that Vivio was taking a really long lead off second with full intent of trying to swipe third when Nanoha called... Nothing like the parental pitchout...

I swear, Nanoha has a built in UST radar when it comes to her little girl....

Nanoha: Fate-chan, hold on, I need to call Vivio.
Fate: Why?
Nanoha: I get the feeling she's about to reach home base....
Fate: ???

*slaps head* I'm glad ONE of us noticed that; I had it down on my schedule to post this as the next VHFMT on Wednesday and it wouldn't make sense without the fic it's referring back to!

It actually works out for me, since I was planning to steadily update "Shadowfire" over the weekend anyway (just posted chapter 9, "Miranda", actually), so I can get to "Glasses" by Monday at the latest.

EDIT: Ninth chapter of "Shadowfire" up, BTW: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5301936/9/Shadowfire

[TheShinySword]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

I swear, Nanoha has a built in UST radar when it comes to her little girl....

Nanoha: Fate-chan, hold on, I need to call Vivio.
Fate: Why?
Nanoha: I get the feeling she's about to reach home base....
Fate: ???

Of course she does, I think all mothers do...
Nanoha: *sniffs the air* MY LITTLE GIRL IS ABOUT TO RESOLVE IT! *Flies off*
Fate: ... Resolve what?

Fate's USTdar is in progress

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

Of course she does, I think all mothers do...
Nanoha: *sniffs the air* MY LITTLE GIRL IS ABOUT TO RESOLVE IT! *Flies off*
Fate: ... Resolve what?

Fate's USTdar is in progress

Nanoha: *flies back* Ah, sorry, she wasn't resolving it.
Fate: .... What was Vivio even resolving in the first place?

[Alavon]

Originally Posted by RadiantBeam

I swear, Nanoha has a built in UST radar when it comes to her little girl....

Nanoha: Fate-chan, hold on, I need to call Vivio.
Fate: Why?
Nanoha: I get the feeling she's about to reach home base....
Fate: ???

Thanks a lot, RadiantBeam, you just gave me the hiccups!

@Shiny:

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Alavon

Thanks a lot, RadiantBeam, you just gave me the hiccups!

Just imagine what she'll be like when Vivio's of legal age....