Pairings 101!
Hey you guys, I'm Claire, your friendly sponsor of the CCS Pairings 101 discussion thread. Feel free to add your own opinions in the comments.
**Cardcaptor Sakura Pairings**
Introduction
In any fanfic, it's important for both characterization and plot to know and describe relationships between the lovely cast members of Cardcaptor Sakura. Furthermore, in the context of a summary, it's critical to notify the potential reader what pairings you are going to support within the context of your fanfic.
Your pairing notification can make or break the decision for the reader to click on your fanfic. With this communication, not only will you attract the fans of the pairings you use, but you will also dissuade potential flamers who are morally against it or the like.
Essential Vocabulary
Canon. Canon pairings are ones that the artists illustrate and make clear in the series. For example, Fujitaka obviously loves Nadeshiko.
"Canon: An adjective referring to a character, event, plotline, etc. which happened "for real" -- the actual professional source material." (1)
Alt. Alt or alternative pairings are ones in which the relationship is not clear in the series. There may or may not be hints implying the relationship in the series itself. Oftentimes fanfics with these pairings will have to make a lot of character development to warm the two characters up to each other, and get rid of whichever canon love they have.
The Quickie Canon Relationship Guide for CCS (2)
This is as of the end of the series, so spoiler alert here. Alphabetical order, organized by type of pairing. This does NOT describe family relations, which is a whole different ballpark.
Key: / reciprocated love
-> one sided relationship. An x on one side or the other will show aversion, hate, or dislike from that character.
Example: Nakuru ->x Touya This shows that Nakuru has an affection for Touya but Touya hates Nakuru.
Example 2: Sonomi x-> Fujitaka This shows Sonomi hates Fujitaka but he is ambivalent about her.
X is a broken up relationship.
X with an arrow shows a former crush, i.e. Syaoran ->X Yukito means Syaoran had a crush on Yukito.
x is reciprocated hatred.
*, ^, ~, or # at the end refer to footnotes at the bottom of this section.
Chiharu/Yamazaki
Eriol/Kaho
Fujitaka/Nadeshiko*
Rika/Terada
Sakura/Syaoran~~
Touya/Yukito~
Clow <- Madoushi#
Eriol <-x Syaoran
Fujitaka <-x Sonomi*
Sakura <- Tomoyo^^
Tomoyo -> Touya
Meiling -> Syaoran**
Meiling x->Sakura**
Nakuru ->x Touya~
Nakuru x-> Yukito~
Clow X Yue
Kaho X Touya^
Syaoran ->X Yukito
Sakura ->X Yukito
Kaho X<- Sakura
Kero x Meiling
Kero x Touya
Syaoran x Touya
Notes: All manga references are out of 12: in the English translation of the manga, Cardcaptor Sakura is a six book series that consists of the the first six and Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow is second series that I refer to as 7-12.
*I don't count F/N as broken up since Fujitaka can see Nadeshiko in volume 12. The family dynamic with Sonomi is explained in episodes 10, 22, and 54, "Sakura and the Flowery Sports Festival", "Sakura and her Kind Father", and "Sakura and the Calendar of Memories".
**Syaoran/Meiling/Sakura is a subplot, so you can either go by the manga and leave Meiling out altogether or keep this in mind: Meiling was engaged to Syaoran for the first half of the series, and she very clearly loved him, while Syaoran's feelings back were less clear; though they seemed to be annoyance mixed with care for his cousin.
When Syaoran realized his love for Sakura, Meiling broke up with him: she promised when she made the engagement at about six or seven that if he found someone else he truly loved that the engagement was off. She harbored a lot of jealousy and hatred towards Sakura in the beginning of the series and warmed up to her by the end. See episodes 43 and 60, "Sakura and Farewell to Meiling" and "Sakura and a Precious Friend" for more insight on Mei-ling.
~Nakuru, Touya, and Yukito's triangle is a huge subplot of the Sakura card arc. In essence, Nakuru and Yukito both want/need Touya's magic, Yukito unconsciously so and Nakuru maliciously so. For more information, see episode 65, "Sakura, Yukito, and a Vanishing Power", or volume nine of the manga.
~~Sakura/Syaoran is the major relationship of the series. It develops throughout and culminates in volume 12 of the manga or episodes 68-70 of the anime and the second movie.
^For further reference to Touya/Kaho, please watch episode 27, Sakura and the Shrine of Memories.
^^Tomoyo's one sided relationship with Sakura is best explained in episode two, "Sakura and her Wonderful Friend", episode 10 from above and episode 50, "Sakura, Syaoran and the Invisible Thread."
#Clow and Madoushi's relationship is described in the first movie.
Alt Couples!
With CCS alt couples, it’s almost possible to throw all the characters’ names into a hat, pull out two and write a fanfic about those two together. This is really a place for creativity to shine: you can take a scene with the two characters together and find “clues” that the two might be able to love each other in a fanfic. From this, I want to bring up the standard CCS alt couple:
Eriol/Tomoyo. (Spoilers in this discussion.) This is THE most common alt couple, hands down. In fact, many beginning CCS ficcers and younger authors are convinced this couple is canon, springing macros such as the one with Eriol and Tomoyo staring confused and saying, “Last time I checked, we were not canon, no.”
Why? Well, in a word, convenience. In the third season, the main four fifth-grade characters, constantly drawn together in the artbooks, are Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol. If Sakura and Syaoran must go together, that leaves two out, and so many people, well, put two and two together: Eriol and Tomoyo were drawn in the same frame so it must be true. Others point to their similar “creepy” natures, and point out that their ability to matchmake Sakura and Syaoran must put them together.
However, the two never blush in each other’s presence in either series. In fact, in the anime, they talk all of two times: once in the “Sakura, Syaoran, and the Invisible Thread” episode when they walk to the craft store, and once at the end when it’s all over. In the manga it’s a little more viable since they do compliment each other now and again. However, especially when Eriol and Kaho’s relationship is made clear at the end, Eriol and Tomoyo obviously is an alternative couple.
This doesn’t mean there can’t be fanfiction of them, and good fanfiction at that. It just means that telling newbies to the CCS fandom that they are canon is akin to telling high school freshmen that there’s a pool on the roof. Sure, maybe when it rains…
Eriol/Syaoran is a fairly common alt couple as well. Syaoran obviously hates Eriol from scene one of the Sakura card arc, and Eriol enjoys antagonizing him. It’s easy to eventually erode away Syaoran’s hatred, much as what happened between him and Sakura (on a slightly bigger scale), and make something happen. Fans point to scenes such as, again, in “Sakura, Syaoran, and the Invisible Thread” when Eriol caught Syaoran out of the tree.
There’s just one thing about this couple I’d like to make clear: once, in the manga, Eriol referred to Syaoran as his “dear little descendant”, and it’s now fanon that he refers to Syaoran like this every time, as a nickname of sorts. (Kawaii little descendant is a common variant, meaning the same.) Of course, this would make no sense, as that would give away Eriol’s identity, which he labors to keep secret for so long. In fact, during the series, he tends to refer to Syaoran as “Syaoran-kun”. So beware: if you are trying to develop the couple before the end of the series, don’t have Eriol call him this except perhaps when talking to Spinel and Nakuru.
Due to time restraints, I can’t go over EVERY single possible non-canon pairing. If you would like another alt pairing explained, please mention the two in a comment and I’ll add it to this guide.
Pairing Abbreviations These are common pairing abbreviations used in fanfic summaries. (3)
In Cardcaptor Sakura, usually the first initials of the character's names are used (S&S for Sakura/Syaoran, E&T for Eriol/Tomoyo, etc). The main exceptions are SyaoMei because S&M sounds bad, and sometimes Syaoran is differentiated from Sakura as Sy (ex: E/Sy for Eriol/Syaoran whereas E/S could be either one.).
If T is with a Y, it's almost exclusively Touya and Yukito, whereas T and S together means Tomoyo and Sakura.
Unusual pairings should be written out to avoid confusion, but not everyone does this, so be aware when reading summaries.
Conclusion Many canon pairings in CLAMP are unorthodox by nature. Whether one chooses to accept them or not, they are what is actually illustrated in the series, and part of what breathes life into a fanfic is being aware and keeping vaguely to which character has feelings for whom.
Nothing can turn off some readers more than breaking these guidelines without explanation; for example, it is a bad move to make Syaoran and Touya the best of friends if you are trying to pass off the fic as canon. This is not to say you shouldn't step outside the box and give a new insight by writing an alt fic, but please keep in mind that the humor of the character relations is a big draw to the series, and you will be making a big sacrifice if you blatantly disregard these in your fanfic. Will it be worth it to you? Maybe.
If there are any questions, please contact the members of reviewers_inc at http://community.livejournal.com/reviewers_inc/ .
References
1. Canon definition quoted from http://www.subreality.com/glossary/terms.htm
2. Canon guide summarized from analysis of the anime and manga series of Cardcaptor Sakura. Book twelve of the manga is good to get the feel of all the reciprocal relationships, and of course the last three-episode volume of the anime, but watching and reading the series carefully in its entireity is the best way to get a feel for the pairings that are canon.
3. Common pairing abbreviations collected over the years from experience at http://www.fanfiction.net .
The only thing I might ask, myself, is if anyone has some more manga references to better describe some of the more complicated relationships, I only have the latter six volumes at the moment.
**Cardcaptor Sakura Pairings**
Introduction
In any fanfic, it's important for both characterization and plot to know and describe relationships between the lovely cast members of Cardcaptor Sakura. Furthermore, in the context of a summary, it's critical to notify the potential reader what pairings you are going to support within the context of your fanfic.
Your pairing notification can make or break the decision for the reader to click on your fanfic. With this communication, not only will you attract the fans of the pairings you use, but you will also dissuade potential flamers who are morally against it or the like.
Essential Vocabulary
Canon. Canon pairings are ones that the artists illustrate and make clear in the series. For example, Fujitaka obviously loves Nadeshiko.
"Canon: An adjective referring to a character, event, plotline, etc. which happened "for real" -- the actual professional source material." (1)
Alt. Alt or alternative pairings are ones in which the relationship is not clear in the series. There may or may not be hints implying the relationship in the series itself. Oftentimes fanfics with these pairings will have to make a lot of character development to warm the two characters up to each other, and get rid of whichever canon love they have.
The Quickie Canon Relationship Guide for CCS (2)
This is as of the end of the series, so spoiler alert here. Alphabetical order, organized by type of pairing. This does NOT describe family relations, which is a whole different ballpark.
Key: / reciprocated love
-> one sided relationship. An x on one side or the other will show aversion, hate, or dislike from that character.
Example: Nakuru ->x Touya This shows that Nakuru has an affection for Touya but Touya hates Nakuru.
Example 2: Sonomi x-> Fujitaka This shows Sonomi hates Fujitaka but he is ambivalent about her.
X is a broken up relationship.
X with an arrow shows a former crush, i.e. Syaoran ->X Yukito means Syaoran had a crush on Yukito.
x is reciprocated hatred.
*, ^, ~, or # at the end refer to footnotes at the bottom of this section.
Chiharu/Yamazaki
Eriol/Kaho
Fujitaka/Nadeshiko*
Rika/Terada
Sakura/Syaoran~~
Touya/Yukito~
Clow <- Madoushi#
Eriol <-x Syaoran
Fujitaka <-x Sonomi*
Sakura <- Tomoyo^^
Tomoyo -> Touya
Meiling -> Syaoran**
Meiling x->Sakura**
Nakuru ->x Touya~
Nakuru x-> Yukito~
Clow X Yue
Kaho X Touya^
Syaoran ->X Yukito
Sakura ->X Yukito
Kaho X<- Sakura
Kero x Meiling
Kero x Touya
Syaoran x Touya
Notes: All manga references are out of 12: in the English translation of the manga, Cardcaptor Sakura is a six book series that consists of the the first six and Cardcaptor Sakura: Master of the Clow is second series that I refer to as 7-12.
*I don't count F/N as broken up since Fujitaka can see Nadeshiko in volume 12. The family dynamic with Sonomi is explained in episodes 10, 22, and 54, "Sakura and the Flowery Sports Festival", "Sakura and her Kind Father", and "Sakura and the Calendar of Memories".
**Syaoran/Meiling/Sakura is a subplot, so you can either go by the manga and leave Meiling out altogether or keep this in mind: Meiling was engaged to Syaoran for the first half of the series, and she very clearly loved him, while Syaoran's feelings back were less clear; though they seemed to be annoyance mixed with care for his cousin.
When Syaoran realized his love for Sakura, Meiling broke up with him: she promised when she made the engagement at about six or seven that if he found someone else he truly loved that the engagement was off. She harbored a lot of jealousy and hatred towards Sakura in the beginning of the series and warmed up to her by the end. See episodes 43 and 60, "Sakura and Farewell to Meiling" and "Sakura and a Precious Friend" for more insight on Mei-ling.
~Nakuru, Touya, and Yukito's triangle is a huge subplot of the Sakura card arc. In essence, Nakuru and Yukito both want/need Touya's magic, Yukito unconsciously so and Nakuru maliciously so. For more information, see episode 65, "Sakura, Yukito, and a Vanishing Power", or volume nine of the manga.
~~Sakura/Syaoran is the major relationship of the series. It develops throughout and culminates in volume 12 of the manga or episodes 68-70 of the anime and the second movie.
^For further reference to Touya/Kaho, please watch episode 27, Sakura and the Shrine of Memories.
^^Tomoyo's one sided relationship with Sakura is best explained in episode two, "Sakura and her Wonderful Friend", episode 10 from above and episode 50, "Sakura, Syaoran and the Invisible Thread."
#Clow and Madoushi's relationship is described in the first movie.
Alt Couples!
With CCS alt couples, it’s almost possible to throw all the characters’ names into a hat, pull out two and write a fanfic about those two together. This is really a place for creativity to shine: you can take a scene with the two characters together and find “clues” that the two might be able to love each other in a fanfic. From this, I want to bring up the standard CCS alt couple:
Eriol/Tomoyo. (Spoilers in this discussion.) This is THE most common alt couple, hands down. In fact, many beginning CCS ficcers and younger authors are convinced this couple is canon, springing macros such as the one with Eriol and Tomoyo staring confused and saying, “Last time I checked, we were not canon, no.”
Why? Well, in a word, convenience. In the third season, the main four fifth-grade characters, constantly drawn together in the artbooks, are Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol. If Sakura and Syaoran must go together, that leaves two out, and so many people, well, put two and two together: Eriol and Tomoyo were drawn in the same frame so it must be true. Others point to their similar “creepy” natures, and point out that their ability to matchmake Sakura and Syaoran must put them together.
However, the two never blush in each other’s presence in either series. In fact, in the anime, they talk all of two times: once in the “Sakura, Syaoran, and the Invisible Thread” episode when they walk to the craft store, and once at the end when it’s all over. In the manga it’s a little more viable since they do compliment each other now and again. However, especially when Eriol and Kaho’s relationship is made clear at the end, Eriol and Tomoyo obviously is an alternative couple.
This doesn’t mean there can’t be fanfiction of them, and good fanfiction at that. It just means that telling newbies to the CCS fandom that they are canon is akin to telling high school freshmen that there’s a pool on the roof. Sure, maybe when it rains…
Eriol/Syaoran is a fairly common alt couple as well. Syaoran obviously hates Eriol from scene one of the Sakura card arc, and Eriol enjoys antagonizing him. It’s easy to eventually erode away Syaoran’s hatred, much as what happened between him and Sakura (on a slightly bigger scale), and make something happen. Fans point to scenes such as, again, in “Sakura, Syaoran, and the Invisible Thread” when Eriol caught Syaoran out of the tree.
There’s just one thing about this couple I’d like to make clear: once, in the manga, Eriol referred to Syaoran as his “dear little descendant”, and it’s now fanon that he refers to Syaoran like this every time, as a nickname of sorts. (Kawaii little descendant is a common variant, meaning the same.) Of course, this would make no sense, as that would give away Eriol’s identity, which he labors to keep secret for so long. In fact, during the series, he tends to refer to Syaoran as “Syaoran-kun”. So beware: if you are trying to develop the couple before the end of the series, don’t have Eriol call him this except perhaps when talking to Spinel and Nakuru.
Due to time restraints, I can’t go over EVERY single possible non-canon pairing. If you would like another alt pairing explained, please mention the two in a comment and I’ll add it to this guide.
Pairing Abbreviations These are common pairing abbreviations used in fanfic summaries. (3)
In Cardcaptor Sakura, usually the first initials of the character's names are used (S&S for Sakura/Syaoran, E&T for Eriol/Tomoyo, etc). The main exceptions are SyaoMei because S&M sounds bad, and sometimes Syaoran is differentiated from Sakura as Sy (ex: E/Sy for Eriol/Syaoran whereas E/S could be either one.).
If T is with a Y, it's almost exclusively Touya and Yukito, whereas T and S together means Tomoyo and Sakura.
Unusual pairings should be written out to avoid confusion, but not everyone does this, so be aware when reading summaries.
Conclusion Many canon pairings in CLAMP are unorthodox by nature. Whether one chooses to accept them or not, they are what is actually illustrated in the series, and part of what breathes life into a fanfic is being aware and keeping vaguely to which character has feelings for whom.
Nothing can turn off some readers more than breaking these guidelines without explanation; for example, it is a bad move to make Syaoran and Touya the best of friends if you are trying to pass off the fic as canon. This is not to say you shouldn't step outside the box and give a new insight by writing an alt fic, but please keep in mind that the humor of the character relations is a big draw to the series, and you will be making a big sacrifice if you blatantly disregard these in your fanfic. Will it be worth it to you? Maybe.
If there are any questions, please contact the members of reviewers_inc at http://community.livejournal.com/reviewers_inc/ .
References
1. Canon definition quoted from http://www.subreality.com/glossary/terms.htm
2. Canon guide summarized from analysis of the anime and manga series of Cardcaptor Sakura. Book twelve of the manga is good to get the feel of all the reciprocal relationships, and of course the last three-episode volume of the anime, but watching and reading the series carefully in its entireity is the best way to get a feel for the pairings that are canon.
3. Common pairing abbreviations collected over the years from experience at http://www.fanfiction.net .
The only thing I might ask, myself, is if anyone has some more manga references to better describe some of the more complicated relationships, I only have the latter six volumes at the moment.