Saber Marionette Couples? A fandom's treasure chest!

All right, friends. Time to breathe some life into this baby. This, as you may have guessed, is a topic devoted to the wellspring of potential pairings in SMJ. Expound on anyone, anyone at all-- ranging from the popular (Otaru/insert fruit salad girl here), to the more uncommon (Lorelei/Faust, perhaps?), to the extremely rare (my very own Otaru/Hanagata fits in here, I'd wager. *grumble*)... knock yerselves out! Thoughts? Opinions? Eh? Eh?

For example! I have the dusty beginnings of a Baiko/Tamasaburo fic buried somewhere in my fic-folder, and a different fic of mine, which takes place 15 years after the end of SMJ to X, features a side romance between a 36-year-old Lorelei and a 24-year-old Yumeji. Rowr.

See? Random stuff like that. Now can someone from the class please share? :B

 

Heeey, that's a love quadrangle!

I remember reading that with no small amount of amusement. So while this potential fic may leave me squeaking in horror, I'll be the first one in line to read it. ;D

One of the stranger couples I've become stubbornly attached to is Faust/Obiichi. Think about it. >.>

(Oh, on a side note-- what's a gal gotta do for a custom avatar around here? ^^)

 

Bravo, a wonderful topic, Xel!

Personally, ever since I’ve watched Saber Marionette J Again, I have thought Faust/Lorelei to be a very sweet couple. As far as I understood Lorelei, she is very much in love with Faust (although fans more commonly pair her with Otaru), but she prefers to keep distance from Faust, IMHO because she sees that Faust loves Tiger about as much as her, and believes that Tiger deserves Faust’s love more then she. Very sweet and touching, isn’t it?

As about Yumeji, personally, I see the possibility that Yumeji could have ended with Lime after the end of Saber Marionette J to X. They used to be very good friends before, and some fifteen or so years after the end of Saber Marionette J to X I can very well see them falling in love with each other. Of course, there going to be a certain age difference, but then again, Yumeji still going to be closer to Lime’s age then almost any other original character.

Hmmm... Speaking about post-Saber Marionette J to X couples, I wonder what would happen if Cherry and Raven would meet some fifteen years after the end of Saber Marionette J to X?

Well, personally it is very hard (i.e. nearly impossible) for me to imagine Tiger in love with somebody but Faust, but that is likely because I have never read Saber Marionette J novels/and or manga, unlike you, Matt-sama. Anyway, I would definately love to read Otaru/Tiger centered story, if you will ever write it, that’s it.

Do you realize that I cannot help laughing every time I think about Goddel/Krabbensteiff couple, let alone see you mentioning it?! If you would ever write this story of yours, I would probably die from laugher while reading it!

By the way, as I’ve began learning German recently, the other day I’ve decided to look into German vocabuary for the translation of the word “Krabbensteiff”, and after some searching, the best translation I could think of was “Cruel Crab”! LOL!

Well, don’t take this comment of mine as a personal criticism, Xel-san, but personally I see no basis for Faust/Obiichi couple, especially since these two are among the most “straight” men on Terra II, not to mention that Obiichi is very much in love with Koyuki, while Faust has two two potential beloved – Tiger and Lorelei.

P.S.

Now that’s a good question! While I have no complaines about my current avatar, I would much prefer to use my usual avatar…

 

I got one! Cherry / Obiichi!!!

OK let's suppose Otaru marries either Lime, or Lorelei.
Bloodberry goes with Akashi.

So who's left? Cherry. Taking into the fact that cherry is very formal in her treatments, and her cooking, and well, Obiichi being a samurai swordmaster, formal, etc...

they would make a wonderful couple! Don't you think?

What makes me think is *how* it should happen, or what circumstances would make this pairing happen.

 

Hmmm... Now when you mentioned it, Luvweaver-sama, Cherry and Obiichi would indeed make a lovely couple and their personalities suit each other's rather well.

However, as I have already mentioned, Obiichi is very much in love with Koyuki, and with this being so, I see no small difficulties with Cherry/Obiichi couple, for this couple can happen only if Obiichi somehow get over his feelings for Koyuki, which possibly will never happen. Even if Koyuki will be “killed” or harmed beyond repair, I don't believe that Obiichi will be quick to switch his affection to some other marionette (or woman for that matter), and I see the possibility that in such case Obiichi will mourn Koyuki's "death" until the end of his days.

 

I agree. The thing I've always had against Otaru/Lorelei is that it's just... too easy somehow. The girls are (put in VERY simplistic terms, especially after they've grown out of the "we are fragments of Lorelei's personality" parameters they started in) three of a kind, as they say; a matched set. Lorelei elevates herself slightly above the girls, because she recognizes herself as their partial creator, but I just don't think that she's ultimately different enough from them for Otaru to be able to choose her. Because she isn't all three neatly wrapped up in one, but she isn't a whole different ball game either. It makes for a tricky situation, I think.

(And Hanagata, well... he's about as different as you can get. ;D *coughs, hides her bias under the sofa*)

*laughs* He got it, he got it! XD No, I admit wholeheartedly that it's a bizarre possibility, but it's a possibility nonetheless. I don't think it'd be terribly warm and fuzzy, though... But hey, Faust was a pretty twisted guy before he went all fluffy and good. Just look at his *cough* disciplinary measures in the manga.

In retrospect, I have to wonder if Obiichi was a bonafide Marionette fetishist, as he's somewhat portrayed as being, or if it was just Koyuki. I mean, he really, really seemed attached to her and all... I don't know if he could ever replace her, no matter which side he looked at-- man or machine, man or woman, etc. Poor guy just happened to fall for a person society said he shouldn't. Er, I hope you know what I'm trying to say. It makes perfect sense in my mind, but you never know. ^^;

Obiichi and Cherry would be incredibly pretty. OMGTHEIRLUVISSOPURPLE! and all that.

Oooo, yeehaw! *bounces* Thanks, Matt-kun.

 

Who brought up the idea of Soemon/Cherry? :anger2: I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Cherry belongs with either me or Otaru. Seeing as I'm not in that universe:sad:, it's obvious who gets her. Seriously, though, Cherry's love for Otaru is very deep, and even if she was rejected, (heaven forbid) I think she loves Otaru enough that she would not wish any other. Anyway, Soemon disappears after J, well before Otaru makes his choice, and as was mentioned above, Soemon loves Koyuki. If she did "die," he would not desire anyone else, either. This is just my thought, but I strongly disapprove of Soemon/Cherry.

 

But. o.o What about the end of J to X?

Spoiler: SMJtoX

She, along with Lime and Bloodberry, are now Otaru's daughters, and though Cherry still has memories of her previous affection for him, has her usual fantasies (which at three years old, were just a little disturbing ^^), there's no way after another thirteen years or so that either side's gonna cross the parent-child line they've set up. So that leaves Cherry all alone as she approaches her former physical "age"... Not that I'm saying she should be with Soemon then, as he'd be in his 40s by then. *cough*

Though I do like Black Robed One's idea of Cherry meeting Raven again once she's more grown up. He'd only be in his twenties somewhere, after all... Hey, that might make a decent fic.

 

I suppose that Raven/Cherry is an okay idea, but, personally, I tend to ignore anything after the end of J to X,

Spoiler: SMJtoX

because it's too depressing to think about what's happened to them. Besides, after that they see Otaru as their father, and... I don't know, the end, while very good, and fitting, left me feeling somehow... empty, like it shouldn't have been that way. Personally, I wish they'd remained marionettes. The main reason being that as marionettes, they will live forever, but as humans, they must grow old, and they must one day, die.

That thought leaves a sick feeling in my stomach.

 

I don't know about that. Personally, I never thought their relationship-- Otaru and the girls'-- was ever meant to be a romantic one. They definitely set that up in the last leg of SMJ. "We're a matched set" and all. Of course there's still going to be the attempts, the tension, all of that, but when it comes down to it, I really think Otaru wouldn't have chosen. Even after they've matured so far that

Spoiler: SMJtoX

they don't even care who Otaru might pick, they only want to know... well, I think when Otaru shouted after them as they left him for the last time, his answer wasn't the one they were looking for. Otaru... I don't think he can do it. I don't think he would do it. And so I don't think he did. ^^

I don't think the girls being faced with mortality is such a sad thing at all. I mean, we do it, don't we? Even their mechanical bodies would someday get old and start to deteriorate, and break down-- it happens to everything. The girls aren't eternal, just longer-lasting than humans. And as humans, there's a far smaller gap in time between Otaru's death and their own... which I would think would be something of a comfort, at least. Not to mention their relationship with him is a little different from what it once was. As marionettes, Otaru's death-- the death of their "master", their core reason for being-- would be absolutely devastating. Otaru's death as their father would be painful for sure, but the girls would, I think, being human themselves, have a better understanding of death as a part of life.

Or, well... agh, I hope I'm making sense. >.>

Sorry to sound so morbid. ~.~ But the way it goes post J to X,

Spoiler: SMJtoX

I think the only contenders for Otaru's affections are Lorelei and Hanagata. (And c'mon, they LIVE together for crying out loud! XD)

And so you all know where I stand on THAT issue. ;D

 

Wow, I never thought of it that way. Again though, the idea that they could die sickens me. While it is true that even as marionettes, their bodies won't last forever, even with Lorelei's care, as machines, they are certainly longer-lived than humans, as you said, and they are more durable than they would be as humans. Machines can be repaired if there's a problem, and if their bodies reached such a point where they could not work any more, they could simply be given new bodies, effectively making them immortal. (Hmm... if not for the end of JtoX, that could be a premise for R)

I suppose this wouldn't happen in the new age, but couldn't they just clone Otaru the way the rulers cloned themselves? And the girls?

The following contains J and J to X spoilers.




It might not happen in the new age, they would shut down the clone labs as there is no more need to clone. Females are back.

But there are only three females. They would need to clone many more than three females to build up a substantial number of them.

And then again, Otaru and the girls are so important, and they are such great heroes, that perhaps they would recieve that special treatment as a kind of reward.

But, wouldn't that make their lives meaningless? Faust and Ieyasu cloned themselves because they wanted to rescue Lorelei, because they still had a purpose. Ieyasu didn't prepare a successor because he knew Lorelei would be rescued soon.

Did he? In the time between when the girls were awakened and his death, he didn't have much time to prepare a successor, and I doubt he could see far enough into the future to know that it would happen soon.

Well, that's enough arguing with myself.

And as for the contenders to his affection, I think the girls would be too much of a handful, (as he admits to Lorelei) and he wouldn't have enough time to consider one of them. Besides that, I think he still harbors a deep love for them, and I think he feels he should raise the girls as a kind of gratitude to them.

And I think he would not want to be with another.

You don't think he chose? But they did thank him for telling them. He screams it out, and they thank him. Would they thank him if he hadn't chosen?

I can't write any more on this topic, it's getting too painful, so I'll cut it off here.



END SPOILER

Panther/Hanagata? Are you a sadist? Remember what he got from the girls. Panther is the most violent of all six! I suppose it works, if you want Hanagata to go to an early grave, like, say, a week after the wedding, if not sooner. No, I don't think that would work.

Since the topic is couples, and I've wondered about this for some time, what is the deal with the Goddel/his Krabbenstief couple? That's freaky! I can't even understand how it works. Where would it start, how would it start, and the all-important question: WHY would it start? Goddel/his Krabbenstief? Eww. How would it even work?

 

If he answered honestly? Yes.

Hahaha. I've thought about this, and while I think it'd be charming in its own right, I don't think poor Hana's heart would be able to take it. And besides, if she got soft on him (and we KNOW she has a softer side), she wouldn't be able to properly whip the manuscripts out of him. XD

 

You may be right. There's just too much left open to know for sure.

And as for the Panther/Hanagata couple, here's two more reasons why it wouldn't work. Hanagata, as we all know, is gay. He's after Otaru. Or, in the character descriptions featured in the manga, he says (insert whiny voice here)"Otaru-kun, why can't I get a box next to you? Oh well, that butcher I met the other day wasn't bad. What was his name, Sam?

Number two: I don't think Panther would "get soft" on him. YOU KNOW what I'm talking about. *nudge**nudge*

 

*chuckle* Well, you know I won't argue with that.

Though I do think it'd be hilariously fitting, as per that one fic of Aoi's, if Hanagata and Bloodberry were to get really drunk and the time was just right...

But. *cough* I'm all for the Hana/Otaru.

 

You know... I once considered writing Hanagata/Luchs. Now, don't hurt me just yet -- I've only seen J, and of that, nothing before episode 10. But as I was watching one day (MANY, many moons ago...), I thought Luchs appeared rather... I don't know what. I'd have to watch again to describe it. But the fact is I think of Hanagata/Luchs as a potentially interesting pairing. Of course, it would likely be AU, most likely post-J (or not... as I have no knowledge of post-J-ness... argg, the fanishness is renewed!! XD), and humor would play a minor role in it (if any role at all).

But think about it. (Or don't and just humor me. XD) I dunno. I'd do it if writer's block would up and die already.

 

Yes, Gata-sama, I can definately remember the hints of Hanagata/Luchs pairing in the latest chapter of your "Seibaa Marionetto J: Final Emotion" fanfictional story, which you unfortunately stopped writing... ...And you made these hints very sweet and lovely, I must add.

As about Hanagata/Panther... Ano... Something in the last episode of Saber Marionette J to X tells me, that Hanagata/Panther pairing wouldn't work too well... Can this something be a large bazooka, which Panther apparently ended using to test Hanagata's legendary invulnerability?

As about Goddel/Krabbenstief couple... It is GREAT! All right, in fact it is VERY sick, and so are the people who think it to be great, including your humble servant... ...But then again, have you ever wondered what turned Goddel into such a hateful person? Could it be the "death" of the first (and thus, the most loved!) Krabbenstief, I wonder?.. Anyway, if Matt-sama will ever get to writing his Goddel/Krabbenstief-centered fanfictional story, I guess that some of the readers (your humble servant is a likely candidate) will risk dying from laughter while reading it.