Should I keep this character relationship platonic, or let it become a major romance?
Hey everyone,
I’ll try to remember to include links to my previous posts about this project, but for quick context: I’ve been working on a fantasy/otome-isekai style story centered around my main character, Annelise.
At this point, I’ve reached a pretty confident place with the worldbuilding. Obviously, worldbuilding is never truly “finished.” There is always another detail, faction, historical event, cultural wrinkle, or background character you can add. But I feel like I now have enough of the foundation in place that I can properly focus on the narrative itself.
The basic premise is not meant to be groundbreaking or revolutionary. The protagonist, Samantha, dies in her original world and wakes up in the body of Annelise, the villainess from her favorite dating sim, The Land of Endless Promises. So yes, it is very much playing with familiar villainess/otome-isekai tropes, but I’m trying to make the execution, character dynamics, and consequences interesting.
I’m currently writing further ahead in the story, around Arc 4, near the beginning of Chapter 2. Because of Samantha/Annelise’s actions, the original game timeline has started changing in major ways. One of those changes involves the “heroine” structure.
In the original game, the setup was fairly typical. But in the altered timeline, instead of two central girls competing for attention, there are now three. The original heroine figure is being overshadowed, bullied, and ignored because everyone is more focused on the other two. This creates a very different emotional and social dynamic than the one Samantha remembers from the game.
Now here is where my actual question comes in.
Back when Samantha was still alive in her original body, her favorite character in The Land of Endless Promises was not one of the male love interests, not the heroine, and not even one of the main cast members. Her favorite was Saintess Lara.
So when Samantha becomes Annelise and eventually meets Lara, she naturally wants to get closer to her. She is excited to know her, protect her, and build a real relationship with her. At first, I imagined this as a strong friendship with some playful, dangerous flirtation here and there — nothing too serious, just two characters with chemistry enjoying each other’s company.
But now I’m debating whether to take it further.
Option one is to keep it mostly on the “light side”: a deep friendship, maybe with hints of flirtation, emotional intimacy, and some tension, but without making it a full romance. This would keep their bond important without turning it into Annelise’s central romantic relationship.
Option two is to be a little more daring and let it become an actual romance. In that version, Lara could become the character Annelise is slowly drawn toward more seriously over time. There would still be humor, flirtation, messy emotions, and all the fun character moments, but the relationship would gradually become one of the major emotional anchors of the story. Possibly even the person Annelise settles down with by the end.
To be clear, Annelise is still very much herself. She is still chaotic, morally questionable, and very much interested in attractive people around her. She is not suddenly becoming pure or restrained. But I’m wondering if Lara should eventually become the one person who matters to her in a more lasting way.
So that’s my question:
Should I keep Annelise and Saintess Lara as close friends with dangerous flirtation, or should I let the relationship develop into a full yuri romance?
I’m curious what people think would be more interesting from a character and story perspective.