Sentient weapon lover?

[Representing_Tromba]

So weapons are pretty standard in fantasy, LITRPGs, and sci-fi. This we can all agree on but only some have weapons with sentience. Usually anime and manga utilize this trope but a fair amount of stories outside of that have sentient weapons. Halo's Cortana is technically a sentient weapon as she can take over most electronic compounds including weapon systems so she would be the most well known.

What I want to discuss here is the pros and cons of having a sentient weapon as a possible love interest. The weapon can have a transformation ability but let's say that's not possible for a long time. Would such a thing even be wanted in a story? I am considering making the magic sword my MC is given sentient but I can't decide whether to make it just a sentient sword or make it a love interest.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Yes.

 

[Empyrea]

In my personal experience, inanimate objects make the best lovers.

 

[Corty]

Two words: Rule 34

Nuff said.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

I'm pretty sure I saw an anime like that.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I'm pretty sure I saw an anime like that.

Yeah, there are a lot of them. I think tsugumomo is the longest running manga of it though. It's really just an ecchi/hentai that tries to see how many magic items can bang each other.

 

[Corty]

By the way one of the cons would be that an item will in most cases outlast its owner/lover/friend. So it is a great option for a bittersweet ending.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Pro: They say that the rifle/ sword/ something you carry into war is your most loyal waifu/ husbando. They will never betray you (break/ malfunction) as long as you never betray (take good care of) them. Your bonding session will lifelong (depending on the battlefield) and intimate (life and death brings out highs). You will get to know one another as soon as shit hits the fan.

Con: Pray that you can play well with one another, if one of you guys is toxic, pray that that toxicity can be curbed between the relationship because in life and death, being animous at one another when you should be working together is not good.

By the way one of the cons would be that an item will in most cases outlast its owner/lover/friend. So it is a great option for a bittersweet ending.

Not if it got killed/ shattered/ destroyed.

 

[melchi]

So weapons are pretty standard in fantasy, LITRPGs, and sci-fi. This we can all agree on but only some have weapons with sentience. Usually anime and manga utilize this trope but a fair amount of stories outside of that have sentient weapons. Halo's Cortana is technically a sentient weapon as she can take over most electronic compounds including weapon systems so she would be the most well known.

What I want to discuss here is the pros and cons of having a sentient weapon as a possible love interest. The weapon can have a transformation ability but let's say that's not possible for a long time. Would such a thing even be wanted in a story? I am considering making the magic sword my MC is given sentient but I can't decide whether to make it just a sentient sword or make it a love interest.

Wouldn't something wearable be a better love interest than a sword? There is hardly any skinship with a weapon. Armor or clothing would be better.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Wouldn't something wearable be a better love interest than a sword? There is hardly any skinship with a weapon. Armor or clothing would be better.

Define better? I mean, I could make the mask that has latched onto his face a sentient being but that would make it weird. Like an alien parasite that translates any language in return for eating your face slowly.

 

[Iamnotabot]

So it's like venom then. A weapon that bonded with you for life kinda

 

[NotaNuffian]

Define better? I mean, I could make the mask that has latched onto his face a sentient being but that would make it weird. Like an alien parasite that translates any language in return for eating your face slowly.

I mean getting intimate with a facehugger that you deepthroat for almost everyday is inevitable.

So it's like venom then. A weapon that bonded with you for life kinda

Except it can't control your body unless a clothing, maybe can fly and fight automatically like Sword Sensei, can turn human for a short period of time for whatever reason and having to stuck with you through thick and thin.

 

[FoxxieFox]

This has an intelligent weapon MC.

AI Cultivation: Reborn As A Sword [Xianxia LitRPG Fantasy] | Royal Road

Unable to satisfy its directive to obtain perfection, the most powerful machine lifeform in the galaxy finds itself at the end of its life cycle. When the sun consumes it, that should have been the end. In another world, an unusual sword appears in the Seven Killing Swords sect and the battle...

www.royalroad.com

 

[avaseofpeonies]

Yes! Do it!

 

[melchi]

Define better? I mean, I could make the mask that has latched onto his face a sentient being but that would make it weird. Like an alien parasite that translates any language in return for eating your face slowly.

Like what Nuffian said: A sword goes in the hand or in a sheath. There is not much to intimacy there. But something on one's face is much more intimate. Say one's armor or clothing is sentient then the two are pressed together all the time the item is equipped.

I don't know if you've read reincarnated as a sword but the extent is that the sword guy just chases away anyone that leers at the catgirl that wields him.

 

[georgelee5786]

Regular sentient sword

 

[Representing_Tromba]

This has an intelligent weapon MC.

AI Cultivation: Reborn As A Sword [Xianxia LitRPG Fantasy] | Royal Road

Unable to satisfy its directive to obtain perfection, the most powerful machine lifeform in the galaxy finds itself at the end of its life cycle. When the sun consumes it, that should have been the end. In another world, an unusual sword appears in the Seven Killing Swords sect and the battle...

www.royalroad.com

Thank you but I'm not looking for a story, I'm wondering about the pros and cons of having a sentient weapon.

 

[avaseofpeonies]

Swords are hot.

 

[J_Chemist]

Yes.

This idea is why I can't play gachas. I throw my money away for hot gun babes too much.

Edit: To actually make this post useful...

I'd recommend following the "Reincarnated as a Sword" route. Making the MC/Weapon a pairing that is a very fine fit. They compliment each other well and both have been through a bit of trauma of some kind, thus they lean on each other for support. One gives the other purpose (which ever one you decide is on you). But, if you want to make it a love interest and add the romance, I find jealousy to be a useful trigger.

Individuals who share an intimate relationship like Wielder and Weapon are like partners. They rely on one another and their trust is generally unmatched. However, this closeness while it may seem like it will lead to romance generally does not. They instead become close like family but that line never gets crossed. It's not because it can't be crossed, it's more that it just isn't there. However, if you throw in some jealousy, like say a new party member catches the fancy of the MC, then maybe the Weapon realizes they might feel more for the MC than just trust and dependability.

Cortana and Chief was a little different I think because of how much they relied on one another and how strained their relationship became. In the beginning, it was strictly business. Yet when Cortana started to near rampancy, High Charity happened, and Chief realized that he cannot lose her, those feelings bloomed into a deeper meaning. Not quite love, as I wouldn't call it quite love, but they need each other. Chief will go to any length for her and she literally had to throw him away to protect him from what she would become.

So there are my recommendations. Your pros are going to be the much deeper intimacy between the two, as they will be relying on each other literally life and limb. The con, however, is that the romance will likely bud more in the future and might not be instantaneous.

Well, unless your Weapon and MC meet when the Weapon is transformed. You could streamline it that way.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I mean getting intimate with a facehugger that you deepthroat for almost everyday is inevitable.

Except it can't control your body unless a clothing, maybe can fly and fight automatically like Sword Sensei, can turn human for a short period of time for whatever reason and having to stuck with you through thick and thin.

Like what Nuffian said: A sword goes in the hand or in a sheath. There is not much to intimacy there. But something on one's face is much more intimate. Say one's armor or clothing is sentient then the two are pressed together all the time the item is equipped.

I don't know if you've read reincarnated as a sword but the extent is that the sword guy just chases away anyone that leers at the catgirl that wields him.

To be honest, this is not where I thought this conversation was going but consider this. The sword is sentient but has the soul of a Fae who believes in Fae supremacy and thus, is toxic but warms up to the MC while the mask has an overly attached love goblin personality that tries to defend the MC at almost every turn in ways that usually cause him more trouble. Both the mask and sword bicker with each other like an overly dramatic old lesbian couple. Sword will also make tons of swordplay and fencing puns constantly while the mask is just, really hungry and keeps eating more of his regenerative face.