subject.

[necrophilia]

A shipping preferences meme! Because why not. I saw kradeelav do this and wanted to do it too.

1. List three shipping tropes you love

Friends to lovers – My jam.

Enemies to friends to lovers – My jam.

Honeypot/trap – Betrayal! Stabbed in the back! Betrayal! Thrown out of the pack! Betrayal! Betrayal!

2. List three shipping tropes you don't love

I have no other terms for this other than The Akechi/Akira – no, Akira would not hook up with someone who murdered two of his friends’ parents and it’s weird that people think otherwise. See also: Cloud/Sephiroth–I have a very hard time believing Cloud would jump into bed with the man that murdered his mother. (Also, go away FFVII.)

One-sided abuse – no, Toma putting Protag in a cage in Amnesia (not The Dark Descent) was not romantic. If it’s two people as bad as the other, it’s a different story; I still may not enjoy it, but I can live with it as long as there’s some sense of equilibrium.

Unrelenting angst and misery, so much so that you don’t get a sense the couple even like one another – I call this one the Buffy/Angel.

I guess, like, if there’s no fun overall? I want my fictional couples to be friends. I want them to have fun together. I want to understand why they want each other’s company. I’m okay with a bumpy road getting there! But a bumpy road that leads off a cliff isn’t what I’m about.

3. One emotional aspect of a ship that always gets you

I don’t quite know how to answer this. So I’ll talk about something that almost got me to ship a pairing I’m otherwise ambivalent to: the goodbye scene between Noctis and Luna in FFXV. His delivery of ‘that doesn’t have to come between us’ and ‘all I wanted was to save you’ WRECKED ME. And Luna’s final line. I think the simple, unapologetic sincerity of connection is what gets me!

(I put the clip on in the background while watching this and started to tear up. Unfair!)

4. One physical aspect of a ship that always gets you

I don’t know! Pairings that don’t look alike, maybe? This is also a confusing question for me.

5. Multiship or monoship?

Depends on the fandom! Ace Attorney makes me ship pretty much everything from Nick/Edgeworth to Dahlia/Iris to Nahyuta/Ema. But– Actually, I think that’s my only multiship fandom. But it’s from a lack of caring otherwise, rather than being precious about one true pairing.

6. Rare pairs or mainstream?

I don’t seek out rare pairs vs. mainstream but I’m harder to impress, ship-wise.

7. Polyamory or monogamy?

Who cares?

8. If the ship is physical, reversible or not?

YOUR MOM is reversible!

9. Do you always have romantic ships for fandoms?

No, not always! I’m the opposite of a hardcore shipper. Having ships is actually a bit rare for me. And I tend to lose interest quickly.

10. How important is the sexual part (if any) of your ship?

Not terribly important, but I also don’t believe in infantalising adults/teenagers when it comes to the sexual component of an intimate relationship. Just because a piece of fiction isn’t about sex doesn’t mean all its of-age characters are inherently sexless.

11. Opinion on platonic ships?

I mean, I love a good bromance (regardless of the genders involved). Is that what the question means?

12. List 3 ships you currently love

Nick/Edgeworth from Ace Attorney – No. 1 OTP, always and forever.

Ryunosuke/Kazuma from The Great Ace Attorney – RIP!

Kell/Lila from V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series – It took a bit to grow on me but I love how Lila is so unapologetically herself and doesn’t soften due to being in a relationship. I actually like them better as an established couple than I did the slowburn.

13. List 5 6 OTPs from past fandoms

Urahara/Yoruichi from Bleach – she left the spirit world just because he was exiled and she wanted to keep hanging out with him! I wish Kubo hadn’t chickened out of making them the villains of the story. I would have been all about that unholy matrimony.

Estelle/Rita from Tales of Vesperia – Estelle’s coming of age/self-actualisation storyline in conjunction with her subtly figuring out her sexuality is so, so good.

Axel/Saix from Kingdom Hearts – I will always love salty former friends who remain deeply invested in one another but are torn apart by goals or morals or beliefs.

Logan/Veronica from Veronica Mars – I didn’t love how it was handled after season one but they were my ride or die way back when.

Mitsuru/Akihiko from Persona 3 – I don’t consider this a past fandom per se, but the remake definitely recontextualised their dynamic in a way that removed some of the ride or die little details, which I think is one of my only complaints about it. For example: He’s no longer all “:( My Mitsuru is sad” following the November full moon and doesn’t go all “:D My Mitsuru is happy again” when she works through the worst of her grief.

Dom/Letty in Fast and Furious – ...Don’t shame me.

14. Opinion on the importance of marriage?

If it’s important to the characters, it can be fun. I think marriage as a plot mechanism/relationship building mechanism is more interesting than marriage for the sake of OMG TRUE LOVE.

15. Opinion on OC kids?

I mean, I’m working on at least two fics where these are things that exist. But that’s more because it makes sense for the character priorities/dynamic I’ve created. My own disinterest in children means it’s not something I get precious about or consider a necessary part of a ‘happily ever after’.

In other news: this year is a week old and I'm already feeling like like Psyduck. More on that later.