I'm actually going to do this in two parts: Part 1 will cover my favourite ships for Nicole, and Part 2 will be the first entry in my new analytic series (the one I made the poll about), looking at my favourite ships for characters from Zenless Zone Zero that don't include Nicole.
Fair warning, untagged spoilers below.
Nicole/Hugo
The first ship I came up with for my portrayal, and probably my most well-known. Before Hugo was even announced I'd already come up with a story about Nicole having a long-lost paramour in Eridu, who was implied to be the person impersonating the Pegasos Delivery driver in one of the very earliest commissions Phaethon take on in the game. Once 1.7 came out, I realized that it'd make perfect sense to make that character Hugo.
I was Inspired by Nicole and Hugo's similar upbringings, ideals, morals and combat styles, as well as the fact certain voice actors seem to have doubled up in early-game productions. It is a major, canon part of my Nicole's backstory that she and Hugo were a couple as teenagers during the years immediately preceding the Fall of the Old Capital.
They lived on the streets and traveled from place to place supporting each other for a time after both left their abusive families, but before Hugo moved in with Jack and Lycaon. They would frequently sneak into Fantasy Resort when it was still a Midsummer, Inc. defense outpost to get some alone time, and it became "their spot".
This is also (one of the reasons) why my Nicole outright moves to Fantasy Resort after "Echoes of Silver".
Nicole and Hugo also started Hollow Diving together - probably around the same time he and Lycaon were starting up their Phantom Thief thing with Jack - but were eventually separated when Hugo attempted to sacrifice himself during the Fall of the Old Capital. He'd believed at the time that, in doing so, he would be protecting Nicole and guaranteeing her survival.
The reason Nicole doesn't want to go to the Ballet Twins with the rest of the Cunning Hares and Phaethon to rescue Rain in Chapter 3 in my portrayal isn't because she's scared of the ghost stories (especially since I also headcanon her as a founding member of Terror Cabana), but because she knows Victoria Housekeeping is guarding it, Lycaon is with them and she doesn't want to create a situation that could potentially jeopardize the rescue mission.
Nicole reasoned her presence would have either forced Lycaon's hand into potentially revealing his former life with Mockingbird to Phaethon and the Cunning Hares before anyone was ready, or cause him to immediately distrust them. After all, if Lycaon blamed Hugo for so much and had come to resent him, she figured he'd probably feel the same way about her.
And that's not even getting into how my Nicole has a history with Rina as well.
I interpret the movie This is How I Am as a docudrama retelling Nicole and Hugo's life prior to the Fall from his perspective, albeit with some embellishments, and I built their backstory in my portrayal around that. The movie is also the catalyst for their ultimate reunion, as Thunderbolt Silhouette was screened alongside This is How I Am at Gravity Cinema in the trailer named after it.
Nicole/Yidhari
This is a ship I've come to hold in extremely high regard because of the deities I believe they both embody: Nicole is Nammu and Yidhari is Nanshe, who are connected a few times throughout Mesopotamian myth and magical rituals.
Both are invoked together in Sumerian Apotropaic incantations alongside other deities linked to purification and judgment, and there is an extremely late-period version of the Babylonian creation myth where Nammu and Nanshe are the primordial couple instead of Tiamat and Apsu. Nammu is genderbent in this version of the myth, but who doesn't Love a cute yuri creation myth?
Nicole and Yidhari also both have unique, distinctive and identifiable aesthetic styles pulling from a couple of historical Japanese young female fashion counterculture movements, both of which are inspired by Western styles: Nicole is of course Gyaru, but Hari has even her beat in regards to the age of her historical fashion as she's Moga, or "Modern Girl".
You can kind of think of the Moga as Japanese Flappers, as it was a 1920s youth movement heavily inspired by the kinds of things Flappers might wear. One of the distinctive aspects of Moga style was a look described as "beach pyjamas", which is effectively what Hari is wearing. She's even got the bob. There are also echoes of Nicole's default outfit in Hari's, given they both have a Black/White motif and detached sleeves. There's also the Dead End Butcher connection.
As of this writing I'm still working out the details of their relationship as part of my Nicole's revised biography, but I suspect I'll have them meet during the Fall of the Old Capital after Hugo leaves Nicole, and help each other make it out somehow (plus, there's the Outer Ring connection). They'll keep in touch over the years and, once Yuzuha invites Hari to join Terror Cabana, Hari will invite Nicole in turn.
And of course, since Hari is heavily associated with Fantasy Resort, she and Nicole reunite after Terror Cabana effectively buys the place during Tales of Midsummer Dreams in 2.1.
Nicole/Lucia/Yidhari/Miss Essme is one of my main teams in-game.
Nicole/Burnice
This one I wholeheartedly confess is pure self indulgence because I am completely and utterly besotted by Burnice. That said, before I started seriously considering Hugo as a romantic partner for Nicole, I was planning a fic where Billy took the remaining Cunning Hares on a vacation to the Outer Ring in the fallout from "Echoes of Silver where Nicole bonded with Burnice while she was recovering from Anby's betrayal.
It's also one of the few fics I came up with during that first year I may actually still write someday!
I figured Nicole and Burnice would already be acquainted too as, aside from Billy's connections, the Cunning Hares were also hiding out in Blazewood during the 1.4 story when Bringer tried to impose Martial Law in New Eridu. When Nicole comes to pick Phaethon up in the opening salvos of that chapter a lot is made of Nicole's driving, how she can't remember where she threw her license and that she swapped Old Smokey's plates to avoid PubSec running them.
Nicole's conversation with Phaethon echoes almost word-for-word a conversation Burnice has with Phaethon during one of her trust encounters in Lumina Square. That was what really got me started thinking about putting them together, and I even gave a stealth nod to that echo through this reply I wrote to a piece of fanart on HoYoLab.
A sly Burnice taking a cheering Nicole for a joyride on the back of her bike while she's trying to lose the heat in New Eridu at some point between 1.2 and 1.4 is something I can absolutely see happening.
Aside from that, they both have the same sweet, kind, charitable heart, it's just Burnice is utterly uninhibited when it come to expressing her heart, while Nicole keeps hers extremely guarded. Also, like Nicole, Burnice is often taken by those around her to be far dumber and more incompetent than she actually is, and she doesn't really get the credit she deserves for being such a Loving person. Nicole and Burnice are also both incarnate goddesses, though, unlike Nicole and Yidhari, there are no pre-existing myths, accounts or theological texts linking Nammu to Libera.
Honourable Mentions
Nicole/Anton
They're both heavily involved in the Camellia Golden Week event, and the representatives of their respective factions during the hilarious video call scene. They'd be the chaotic, high-energy couple that revs each other up and leaves those around them cowering in their wake.
Nicole/Yuzuha
They're effectively each other's New Eridu/Failume Heights counterparts, so obviously I think they're cute. It is extremely easy (and adorable) for me to imagine the trust event with Yuzu at the tong sui place as being between her and Nicole instead of her and Phaethon. One of your dialogue options is even "I gotchu~!", which is exactly what Nicole says to you if you invite her out to, IIRC, the Box Galaxy trust event.
Nicole/Trigger
After "Echoes of Silver" I so desperately wanted Trigger to take Anby's place on the Cunning Hares roster and get involved with Nicole. It was even canon to my blog for a brief period of time. They're two of the best Faction Moms in the game and they'd be really good together. Trigger and Hugo even synergize, though Nicole doesn't synergize with either. Go fig.
Trigger's lore and backstory is a bit of a mess though, and later in-game plot developments make this ship a bit harder to sail, sadly.
Nicole From Zenless Zone Zero.
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How could you lose your wallet? And today of all days?! Remember Street Kid Rule Number 1?!
How are we going to get Nekomata her birthday fish feast now?
Guess we'll have to swing back to Fantasy Resort and catch some ourselves...Or, maybe Lucy will give us an employee discount if we get some souvenirs from her new shop...
Answers below the jump. I guess if you want more details, send me another ask!
✍ Kind of a non-answer, but the fact I get to write her at all. This is the best roleplay experience I've ever had (not that it could ever be otherwise, mind) and it gets me so happy and excited every time I step into Nicole's awesome platform shoes🥰🙏
👀 Already answered this! Twice!
🌌 Does Kanami count?
💕 Yidhari, Burnice and/or Hugo
💔 Motherfucking Wise.
💢 Absolutely nothing. She is perfect, she is My Lady and I am utterly devoted to her.
😈 Probably taking the undertones and implications of "Echoes of Silver" to their logical conclusion; putting the Cunning Hares on hiatus for a year, moving Nicole away from Sixth Street and estranging her from Anby😔
😂 In-game there's quite a few banger moments in the Prologue and Chapter 1. On my blog, definitely The Nicole Chocolate Saga, though I am unreasonably proud of this status update.
💡She does. Nicole is an endless wellspring of inspiration.
📷 I can never pick just one answer for questions like this, so here's a Top 4 from just my blog alone, in no particular order:
This is a really special piece, and probably the closest thing I have to a favourite: It's Nicole at her most Divine. It's rare (and fittingly so) to get to see her this way, and the gorgeous lighting helps to perfectly convey her signature blend of the primordial with contemporary street style.
The very first issue of New Eridan, showcasing Cunning Cutie alongside Ellen's On Campus and Astra's Chandelier, is the single best representation of Gyaru Nicole we've gotten yet. I Love how it's styled like a real Harajuku fashion scene magazine, and Nicole plays the part of the model interviewed on the street perfectly. I haven't enjoyed any other issue of New Eridan anywhere near as much as this one.
Nicole's style is also on full display in this beautiful fanart: It's Aqua or Frutiger Aero Nicole, which is a perfect extension of Zenless Zone Zero's retrofuturistic vibe, and the perfect one for Nicole. I adore the prominent bright blue sky, water complete with Sun glitter, and the dreamy lighting that accentuates those elements while suggesting water and sparkling Sunshine throughout the rest of the piece.
This piece also features some beautiful, dreamy lighting, this time suggesting nostalgia, and I really like how the artist depicted Nicole looking so mature and voluptuous.
📑 That Nicole is older than she says she is, or at least older than she looks. Everything unique about my interpretation and portrayal of her character stems from that reading, and I'm grateful to @sorrbet for reaffirming and crystalizing my perspective on this in their own headcanon post.
😒 Nothing the game itself hasn't already retconned When I'm writing with @faethons we ignore the more confrontational/adversarial relationship Nicole had with Belle and Wise early on in the game in lieu of having her be a more maternal/big sister/mentoring figure for Phaethon instead.
🔮 Nicole is getting an S-Rank variant at some point within the coming year, and the introduction of her as an Agent is going to connect to something fairly significant in regards to lore and/or Belle and Wise's story.
🔥Historically my answer to this would be "Nicole and Anby are not a couple, and if they were it would be a hella toxic relationship on a ton of different levels", but in recent times I've noticed more of an understanding and acceptance of Anby's character flaws (intended or otherwise) in the game and its broader paratext, so my actual answer is "Nicole is not a scammer, she is not perpetually in debt and for Gods' sake she doesn't pay off her debts by sleeping with her creditors please stop saying that for the Love of all that's holy this is physically painful for me😭".
💭 I have to go back to the beginning for this: The game's opening cutscene, where we are introduced to the Cunning Hares running from members of a rival gang, and My Lady legit grinds rails sidesaddle. I can't think of a better introduction to her than that.
😩 For sure trying to fill in the game's white space from Nicole's perspective and delving into the lore as a spirit worker/priestess while not getting ahead of the writers or stepping on their toes. This is the reason Nicole's backstory keeps changing, and why it is changing yet again once v.3.1 comes out >_<
⌨ I don't know as though I have one elusive scenario, but I'd always like to interact with more canon Zenless RPers more often, while of course continuing to interact with the many wonderful OCs I already do. Not like Nicole hasn't become something of an OC herself by this point or anything. I'm deeply invested in the game's world, and it's hard to explore that when Nicole has to be disconnected from it with partners who don't know anything about it.
...I suppose the "correct" answer would be Nicole having a serious heart-to-heart with Anby in the wake of "Echoes of Silver", but that's not exactly a story I'd be looking forward to writing >_<
🎭 I already answered this in the context of another ask meme, so I'll link that answer and quote the relevant part below:
I have to be careful with how I phrase this because I don't like getting too weird on main, but I'm gonna go with extremely. There are differences, of course, but a huge part of the reason this blog has become all-consuming for me and I focus on Nicole at the expense of every other muse I've ever written is because of how much of myself, and the person I strive to be, I see in her. She's not "everything" because of any hollow boast: She speaks the truth, and she might just be it for me.
I'm now realizing I reblogged this meme and answered this question once before (lol) so I'm going to repost/link my earlier answer:
This is a difficult question because Nicole is beautiful inside and out in so many ways, so I'm taking the potentially unorthodox tack of picking her style and her attitude.
I'd truly never seen a female anime character with this level of depth and complexity who is also so fearlessly authoritative and confident before Nicole, and her being Gyaru is just the perfect stylistic match for that personality and attitude.
Likewise, I'd never seen a Gyaru character depicted this positively before her: That fashion style and subculture has been a tremendous influence and inspiration on me personally, so slipping into Nicole's voice and mindset feels at once comfortable, easy and affirming.
That commanding look in her eyes as she stares someone down, or that wry, knowing smirk she flashes sometimes set her totally apart from her peers, and speak so much to who she is as a person.
