First off, I love where you're taking this. A word of warning
though, try not to recreate heros (i.e. Ryouga and Superboy),
instead do your best to let their discoveries generate something
new. I'm not sure what these new powers might be, but another
Flash incarnation seems rather blazee. Although, I think that
you've set up a logical path for Ranma, with having him touch the
Speed Source. It's very believable.
Ryouga was a tough to swallow though, but if you change his
powers a little, have him do something new and purely Ryouga... I
think that it won't feel so much like mimicry. Mu Tzu is a total
mystery to me, which I like. I can't fathom where you're taking
him and that's cool. If he were to tap into the more mystical
forces of the Vertigo universe... that would rock. Have him
become like the Spectre or something. Obviously you have
something planned for this highly abused character, and I'm
excited to see what it is!
from. Now, I'm new to writing romance, and since I have very
little
experience with the real thing I could use a little help. Any
suggestions
for writing romance would be greatly appreciated. As would C&C
on this fic.
As far as romance goes... I'm no expert, but I enjoy writing
about relationships. To this end I've tried to catagorize the
different types of relationships. There are more, but I feel
like these are the Archtypes. Before you can write a good
romance, you need to understand the emotions that your characters
will be building off of.
A. Destined Love - It's written in the stars (Sailor Moon/Tuxedo
Kamen, LadyHawk). This is an almost mystical connection between
two people. The famous "Have we met before?". Your players
cannot explain it, but they know that they can't live without
each other.
B. Love at first sight - Another mystical connection of sorts.
The player(s) see a person for the first time and instantly feel
drawn to that person, either physically or emotionally. This
often engenders a serious self sacrificing attitude, but is more
often than not one sided. (Ryouga and Akane, Superman and Lois
Lane)
C. I hate you, I love you, I can't exist without you - (Typical
Ranma & Akane) Fight like cats and dogs, letting pride bar the
path to true love, this is the most popular Archtype. Mostly
because its the most emotional. You've seen this in action
before to some degree or another. The main players are thrown
together into a situation that is volital, but one that demands
compromise and teamwork, and are forced to humble themselves.
The love builds slowly, allowing for both parties to bend and
discover new things about each other (and themselves). This is
all about growth; you're characters must have petty little quirks
that annoy their partner and vise versa. These rough edges will
be smoothed by the adversity that the couple faces, ending in a
successful relationship where trust abounds, or failing miserably
because of pride and irreconsilable differences.
D. The love Polygon - Three, four, five, ten... the number
doesn't matter. This relationship is all about one central
figure, and the people that are drawn to him or her. Ranma 1/2
is all about the massive love polygons circling around the
central couple of Ranma and Akane. Star Wars had a triangle
between Leia, Han Solo, and Luke for a time. There are many more
examples to be found, but the one thing that they all have in
common is: Competition.
E. Lust - Self explanitory. It's all about sexual attraction and
obsession. Kuno is a classic example. Another would be Demando
(Prince Diamond) from Sailor Moon; obsessed with the beauty and
power of Neo-Queen Serenity, he lusts after her. A classic
example from mythology would be Hades and Persephone.
F. The doomed romance - I throw this in here because some people
love tragedy. Something that jerks on the heart strings and
leaves them weeping in the end. If you're into Manga, think
Clover. This relationship is built on the impossible love. The
players can love each other from afar, but there will always be
something that divides them: Family (Romeo and Juliette), ideals
(Elektra and Daredevil), Divinity (Nada and the Dream King), etc.
A romance can be any combination of these Archtypes, in fact the
better ones are. But the bottom line is that you need to
establish the emotion within your readers (this is true of any
fiction, romance or otherwise). If your readers cannot believe
that the love is real, then they won't connect with the
characters.
I hope this helps, take what you like and ignore the rest as
mindless rambling.
Jeffrey