Pairings (a small survey)

[Sage]

Have wondered about that too, don't know anything much about the military but think spectrum allows some leeway as it's set in the future and fairly unprecidented far as organisations go.

There must be some regulations in place, but flexable enough to work with the nature/personalities of those involved. It would be absurd to think people living and working so closely for those stretches of time to not form such attachments. White does seem quite laid back about it (as was noted he didn't punish Blue or Green for defying him in 'special assignment'), long as the job gets done.

Tend to personally think the rules are probably more in place in case anything goes wrong; people falling out, breaking up etc. So there must be something in place to ensure that, professional as they are, such issues do not affect their work and others aren't drawn into disputes.

[Mary]

The rules about 'not putting your colleagues' safety before your mission' always seemed rather harsh to me - especially as a child - but I guess it has to be that way? I mean, is it the same in most military organisations? And does it come as part of the training? There seems to be a mythos of the 'band of brothers' type of set up amongst the military.

Definitely. It's even drilled into rescue workers. Take for example a building collapse where let's say a hundred people are trapped. If a rescue worker goes into a risky situation to rescue one child, he's wasting time that could save all 100 people. Besides that, said rescuer could get killed himself in the process, which would do nothing to help the whole rescue team, let alone the 100 trapped people.

Does it vary from service to service, I wonder - are the naval regulations stricter than those for the land and air-based services, because they might be cooped up on a ship (boat? I never know which is the right terminology ) for long periods of time? (That'd be relevent to the situation on Cloudbase, of course.)

I'm sure variations of it are common to all the services.

BTW the easy way to explain boat vs. ship is: you can put a boat on a ship, but not a ship on a boat. Basically a vessel in excess of 40 tons and 40 feet in length is a "ship," with the exception of fishing vessels and submarines which are always referred to as "boats"...

[Lt Topaz]

Anways ... getting back on topic. Here's my response to the survey.

Who is your OTP?
I'll go with the flow here and say Blue and Symphony ... though Scarlet and Rhapsody would be the other one I'd have chosen.

Do you have any pairings that you have given up for whatever reason (who and why)?
Not really.

Or perhaps taken up, again who and why?
Again not really.

Who is your 'guilty pleasure' pairing?
Black and Julia, from my stories. The relationship is definitely one-sided, but I figure the poor girl is allowed to form a crush during those four hectic days.

Are there any pairing you have read but just cannot see together?
Magenta and Destiny. It just doesn't fit with my perceptions of them. Of course I also can't really picture Destiny pairing up with anyone else either.

Any pairings you thank your deity of choice have never been put together?
(again keep it civil)
White and anyone on Cloudbase. Brrr.

A little 'this or that' straw poll type thingy...

Blue and ... Scarlet or Symphony
Symphony ... of course.
Destiny and ... Grey or Magenta
Can't really see it but ... Grey. I have other plans for Magenta.
Rhapsody and ... Ochre or Scarlet
Scarlet.
Scarlet and ... Destiny or Rhapsody
Rhapsody. I agree that Destiny should only remain a part of his history

Finally...
Which pairing haven't you seen together, but think would make a great couple?

I think both Green and Fawn need to find someone of the female persuasion. Or maybe there's someone in their past that they haven't let go yet.

[Elentari]

And now...here's another go at the 'sub-topic':

In many instances there has been a shift towards consistency between different branches of the armed forces in regards laws, transgressions and the type of punishments that can be awarded. I can’t imagine why in 2068, military organisations that come under the World Government banner would not also have a similarly consistent system.

I reckon joining the armed forces would not be a decision to take lightly as you must take on all the rules and regulations that go with it - you can’t pick and choose. Scarlet must have had to do the same when he joined the WAAF. Of course with that previous WAAF service behind him the transition to Spectrum probably wasn’t all that difficult. I presume the person for whom it would be a huge adjustment would be Magenta - but he wouldn’t have been ‘thrown in at the deep end’ to so speak - military law is like any other training - it’s a gradual learning process. I think Captain Magenta could have adapted very well, after all the prize was a high one - a pardon and a chance to start anew - unless someone is suggesting his age might have made it difficult for him to change? I personally don’t think that would have been a factor. Though there is a cut-off age for enlistment, mature age entrants are common - particularly when they are already fully qualified in a field the military may require at the time (eg engineering, nursing etc). Historically this system has worked well. If Captain Magenta or any of the other personnel recruited from non-military backgrounds had been unable to adapt to Spectrum’s regulations then they could have resigned from Spectrum early in their training (such a person’s reason for leaving can be described as being ‘incompatible with service life’). The fact that they are still in Spectrum implies they all adapted to their changed circumstances well.

Colonel White clearly factored into the mission Captain Blue’s search for Scarlet - in fact he needed Blue’s unwitting cooperation to fool the Mysterons. Unless the Colonel had given Captain Blue a direct order not to search for Scarlet, there’s no reason why he had to take any disciplinary action against Blue (or Green for that matter). It was his call after all.

Sage wrote: There must be some regulations in place, but flexible enough to work with the nature/personalities of those involved. It would be absurd to think people living and working so closely for those stretches of time to not form such attachments.

I would suggest no allowances would be made for the behaviour of military personnel on the grounds of differing natures or personalities. Serving in the armed forces means obeying the rules no matter how much you might disagree with them or whether they clash with your own personal philosophies! Of course attachments would be formed - not all relationships between military personnel are disallowed. Marriage between serving members is very common and certainly on the news I've seen reports of wives serving overseas in dangerous situations while hubby is at home - and vice-versa of course! But, if a relationship forms that falls within the non-fraternisation rules, then the parties concerned have to consider their actions very carefully as making that choice could severely impact on their careers. The military, once aware of the situation, is not going to ignore the relationship in the beginning and only take action if it all goes pear-shaped. Problems could occur from the beginning (see my earlier post about perception by others), hence the regulations. More than anything many of the rules are really there to protect young recruits and trainees and the like - those inexperienced with military life and/or being of a comparative young age with little 'life skills' (…and I know there are teenagers who have the maturity to handle difficult situations! The military can't work purely on that assumption though). (BTW here in Oz you can sign on at age 17).

As far as military organisations of the future might behave compared to the present system, historically, some rules have certainly been relaxed over the years - and where they haven’t, at least some of the punishments certainly have! I do have doubts that regs about fraternisation would undergo any radical changes by 2068 - changes that do happen are more likely to be in how Spectrum might deal with any problems should they ever arise (ie in terms of disciplinary measures).

[Matt Crowther]

My perfect pairing had been Rhapsody and Magenta, Magenta had been my favourite character for ages and Rhapsody just was my favourite Angel I guess. Then after a while, if you check down my list of stories, I realised everyone kept doing Scarlet and Rhapsody so I had Magenta break it off or vice versa and gradually worked Magenta and Destiny together.

Some reason I see Ochre and Harmony.