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cimoreneThis fandom seems like a perfect example to me of that situation where people like the woman in a f/m relationship - I'd bet that probably everybody who ships the protagonist with Nightingale instead (or in addition but not in OT3, as in... will read both/either) likes her - but are more interested in the other ship because of (1) interest in the other character (and a desire to put that character in a pairing) and (2) screentime and story weight devoted to the relationship.
The narrator Peter's partner Beverley is cool, well-written, significant to the story in various ways; but the focus of the stories is learning magic and solving crimes and the teacher-coworker character necessarily has a more important role in that. Because everything about Nightingale as a character is pretty much cool and mysterious (which doesn't even cover all of his appeal), the protagonist's positive relationship with him is also very interesting.
There has been a certain impulse in fanon to pair Nightingale up elsewhere, which I think is a reflection of how fascinating he is. But it's much easier to be interested in a relationship between two well-known characters, and the series doesn't have many characters left over that he could be paired with. The pool of secondary characters is limited and the amount we know about them is already enough lower to make them substantially less appealing (and for many people less easy) to write about.
In short, I... kind of think this is a character people are dying to pair up - often referred to as a Fan Favorite - Draco in HP, Dean in Supernatural, Fraser in Due South, etc. Fan favorites are sometimes main characters, sometimes not.
The introducton of Castiel to SPN and of Ray Kowalski to DS are both examples where the new (and seemingly more optimized for slashy storyline) character paired with the fan favorite took over as the dominant ship in the fandom relatively quickly after their introduction.
Loki, like Nightingale, is an example of a fan favorite who is paired with the only character with whom they have a complicated, interesting, important canon relationship with a lot of data to sink your teeth into.
Basically, if a new character was introduced to the series canon who was unattached, male, and, er, seemingly more optimized for a slashy storyline with him, I bet such a ship for Nightingale could really take off.
It wouldn't divert all the shipping interest from Nightingale and Peter, because their friendship does already have a lot to interest (and also, Always Slash Mentor and Pupil Pairs is one of the iron laws of slash); and part of the attraction of the ship is the mystique of Nightingale seen through Peter's eyes: the reader identifies with Peter, the newcomer to Nightingale's magical world, and through him admires both the magical world itself and Nightingale's character, his power and expert knowledge of magic, etc. A pairing that didn't capture that frisson of danger and excitement and the underlying poignancy and pathos - in other words, a character from Nightingale's world or more his equal - wouldn't be as compelling a pairing prospect.
The narrator Peter's partner Beverley is cool, well-written, significant to the story in various ways; but the focus of the stories is learning magic and solving crimes and the teacher-coworker character necessarily has a more important role in that. Because everything about Nightingale as a character is pretty much cool and mysterious (which doesn't even cover all of his appeal), the protagonist's positive relationship with him is also very interesting.
There has been a certain impulse in fanon to pair Nightingale up elsewhere, which I think is a reflection of how fascinating he is. But it's much easier to be interested in a relationship between two well-known characters, and the series doesn't have many characters left over that he could be paired with. The pool of secondary characters is limited and the amount we know about them is already enough lower to make them substantially less appealing (and for many people less easy) to write about.
In short, I... kind of think this is a character people are dying to pair up - often referred to as a Fan Favorite - Draco in HP, Dean in Supernatural, Fraser in Due South, etc. Fan favorites are sometimes main characters, sometimes not.
- In Supernatural, for example, it's often remarked that a portion of the interest in the original Sam/Dean incest ship was likely due to all the attention the relationship got and its being foregrounded in a show that lacked other emotionally compelling relationships - and that the season 4 introduction of Castiel had all the appearance of being specifically designed to draw shipping focus to Dean/Castiel instead.
- In the case of Loki, there are significant bodies of fanfiction and fanon pairing him with several other MCU characters (aside from the obvious, Thor) with whom he has had minimal interaction (and his status as a fan favorite character, and Hiddleston's as a fan favorite actor, are certainly undeniable...).
The introducton of Castiel to SPN and of Ray Kowalski to DS are both examples where the new (and seemingly more optimized for slashy storyline) character paired with the fan favorite took over as the dominant ship in the fandom relatively quickly after their introduction.
Loki, like Nightingale, is an example of a fan favorite who is paired with the only character with whom they have a complicated, interesting, important canon relationship with a lot of data to sink your teeth into.
Basically, if a new character was introduced to the series canon who was unattached, male, and, er, seemingly more optimized for a slashy storyline with him, I bet such a ship for Nightingale could really take off.
It wouldn't divert all the shipping interest from Nightingale and Peter, because their friendship does already have a lot to interest (and also, Always Slash Mentor and Pupil Pairs is one of the iron laws of slash); and part of the attraction of the ship is the mystique of Nightingale seen through Peter's eyes: the reader identifies with Peter, the newcomer to Nightingale's magical world, and through him admires both the magical world itself and Nightingale's character, his power and expert knowledge of magic, etc. A pairing that didn't capture that frisson of danger and excitement and the underlying poignancy and pathos - in other words, a character from Nightingale's world or more his equal - wouldn't be as compelling a pairing prospect.
