#Not sure what to call this au tbh

[littlegnome145]

Finished the little what if scenario. It's with the au where Chimchar survives that I talked a bit about before. I might continue this if I can. 1,535 words

Chimchar wakes up to the dull sound of cracking fire.

Everything is cold, it's so so cold, but he was wrapped in something soft and there was warmth near him. The child had barely half a mind to realize that it was probably a bonfire, but then again, he didn't really care. It was chasing away the cold, even if slightly, and for now, that was enough for him.

The small prevolve would have simply gone back to sleep, not even bothering to try and open his eyes, if it weren't for the fact that a part of him was screaming that something wasn't right.

'You shouldn't be here' it shouts, 'you weren't here when you fainted, you might be in danger'.

Chimchar can't exactly remember what the annoying voice was talking about, but he knew that what it was saying was true. He could feel it in his gut, and his gut is never wrong.

Something happened. He's not alone.

A spike of adrenalina runs through the child, who was gradually becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. He tries to open his eyes, but quickly closes them again with a hiss when the fire's brightness overwhelms him.

There was another sound. One that the child only became truly aware of when it suddenly stopped. He can't pinpoint what it was, but he knows that whatever was making it knew he was no longer asleep.

Chimchar does his best to remain still as he hears quiet steps approaching him. He remembers some stuff Squirtle had taugh him on how to recognize footsteps and tries to put it into practice.

Whatever was approaching him was bipedal. The floor was hard and a small echo was made with each step, so they were probably in a cave.

'What else what else??' Chimchar shouts in his own brain, he had to focus on the sound, but it was difficult to do so when his heart was beating so loudly. When his head was rushing with fearful thoughts and scattered, incomplete lessons from his guardian.

The footsteps weren't heavy, but they weren't exactly light either. He hears shuffling, they were messing with a bag, maybe? So it could-

The child's brain stills as he feels a cold, small hand lighly tap his cheek. Definitely not a human hand. "Hey uh, kid? You awake?"

That was familiar. It felt different, but it was definitely familiar. He knew them, he's sure of it. He trusted them. Or at least he thinks he does.

That was his guardian, his teacher, his d-

Chimchar opens his eyes.

And is met with the relieved face of someone he had never seen before.

He scratches the stranger without even thinking. It does little next to nothing to actually hurt them, but they do seem somewhat stunned, confused.

He had to get out of here. He does not know this pokemon, he's in danger-

Something seems to click for the unknown figure, who puts their hands up to indicate that they mean no harm and looks at the child worriedly.

"Hey- listen it's me. I'm Squirtle, I just evolved! It's okay, you're safe! You need to breathe."

Chimchar only realizes that he was hyperventilating when he gets called out on it.

It was so surreal to have fear completely take him over like that. Before today, the child was sure that he was scared of nothing. He was gonna be the strongest pokémon ever, of course he never felt fear! Fear was for weaklings.

And yet, here he was. Pressing himself against a wall with the little strength he still has, barely able to contain his breathing, his heart beating oh so incredibly loud.

He's safe.

He's not surrounded by ice and snow anymore.

He's…

…He shouldn't be though. Chimchar is sure of it.

Chimchar had climbed the mountain alone. He had snuck away from Squirtle and Turtwig to try and face challenges alone for once. He wanted to get stronger.

He faced that thing alone. He fought it alone and he was killed from it alone, or at least he thought he was…

How is he sitting here with Squirtle unless he-

Chimchar, realizing what had happened, couldn't help but groan in annoyance.

"Why did you follow me? I could do this alone you know!"

His guardian raised a brow, expression filled with sarcasm. The wartortle sighs and starts looking for something in a discarded backpack that was beside him.

Backpack?

Chimchar looks at it, then glances around. The soft surface he was laying on is a winter coat. A human's winter coat. There were also a couple of random items the child did not recognize scattered half hazardly on the cave's floor, around the bonfire.

Wartortle seems to finally find what he was looking for, as he visibly relaxes at the sight of an orange spray bottle. He checks it over for a bit before kneeling in front of the child.

"Okay, so this is a super potion, it's an item commonly used to heal pokémon. You're on pretty low hp, so it's best you use it, just to be safe."

Chimchar, despite his annoyance, nods, and before he know it, he is sprayed with the healing potion. It's cold and sort of uncomfortable, but he gradually starts to feel the remaining aches in his body start to dull. The kid can feel himself becoming sleepy again, but tries to keep himself awake, if only to maintain whatever was left of his pride.

The older pokémon seems to relax a little by the visible relief the potion brought to the child. Putting the item to the side, he adjusts the coat Chimchar was laying on so the edges cover him like a makeshift blanket and, once satisfied, sits beside him.

"Are you feeling okay? You were in pretty rough shape when I found you."

The prevolve loathes it when this happens, loathes with all of his being. Squirtle always got him out of fights as soon as he had to face anything minimally challenging, always with the same concerned look and know-it-all speeches. He was never going to get stronger if he continued being coddled like this.

Nevertheless, Chimchar was way too tired to properly show his frustration. He wanted to scream, to bite, to run away fuming, but his body was just no numb, so cold.

He wasn't just going to thank him, though. He might be tired, but not that tired.

"I'm fine." he replies, only now noticing how scratchy his voice had become, nevertheless he ignores it. "How did you get all this stuff anyway?"

Wartortle looks away in shame, scratching the back of his own head and trying to think of a decent answer.

"Well uhh, I borrowed it from a human."

"You mean you stole it from a human." Chimchar immediately replies. The older pokémon sighs in frustration.

"Yeah, I stole it from them."

The cave is silent for a little while, only filled with the soft cracking of the fire.

"Did you kill them?" Chimchar asks, intrigued with the potential bloody details this even could have caused.

"No. They had a flying type with them, so I just told her to get her trainer out of here. I kept some of their stuff though." Wartortle can't help but chuckle at the kid's immediate loss of interest, it reminded him of…

He shook away the thought before it even fully formed. This was not the time to think about his old friends.

"Anyway, you're safe now. We'll get out of here as soon as possible, but we have to wait for the snow storm to calm itself down first."

Chimchar raises a brow at that. Storm? His memory was a bit hazy, but he surely didn't remember a storm. Did that giant pokémon cause it?

"It hit not long after I found you. I don't think that the gods obsessed guy cause it though. Unless he had been keeping it from happening? I don't know."

The child tries to focus on trying to hear the storm. The entrance of the cave had been blocked with a big boulder- something most likely done by Wartortle- so it was a little difficult to do, but with some effort he was able to listen to the hectic wind from the outside.

Just thinking of how cold it all most likely was made him shiver. Good thing he's inside the cave, he's had enough ice and snow for one day- or maybe even for a lifetime.

"I was lucky to find this place as quickly as I did, or else we would've been in a lot of trouble." Wartortle says, looking at the giant stone blocking the entrance.

Yeah, lucky.

Chimchar was still annoyed, though. He wanted to be able to do these things on his own. Just this once. He huffs, feeling himself gradually start to drift off.

"Ugh, as soon as I see Turtwig again I'm gonna kill him for snitching on me."

Wartortle, who was sitting next to the child, suddenly stands up in a panic. His previous calm posture gone in the blink of an eye and replaced by sheer and utter terror.

"SHIT- THE OTHER KID!"

[kevinsdsy]

i need to know which one of the backliners was shadowing kevin during their match so bad bc i want to know who decided to just sit down to shake their hands 😭😭😭😭

[myokk]

“She’s tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me”😤😤😤

(Regency AU with Eloise and Sebastian inspired by my slow trek through Bridgerton these days & @bassicallymaestra ‘s AMAZING regency inspired art😮‍💨😇🙏)

[soosoosoup]

Haaayy can you tell us more about your au where branch finds cooper's egg?

Hiiii!! Thanks for asking! And of course :)

lol turns out I had a lot more thought out. Fair warning, none of this is concrete, this was thought up a while ago and uhhhhh… writing is not my strong suit lol

In this au I had debated whether to make copper a little bit younger, I already hc him as the youngest of the snack pack so idk if its needed lol.

While in the beginning of making his bunker, branch (who’s maybe 7??) would travel farther out into the forest and gather supplies to build when he stumbles on what looks like an egg? Just in time too, ‘cause Coops pops out like in twt, does his little groove, & then proceeds to flop over to nap (being baby is tiring work).

Branch is just ??? cause like what?? Baby? Way out here in the woods?? Why does the baby have 4 legs??? Why is said baby all alone? And that last part makes b pause for a sec bc where’s his family? Did he lose them? Or is it even worse…was he left behind? (He might be projecting a lil).

Cooper and Branch proceed to live where other kids w/o families go. Caretakers try to care for cooper & he is not having it. After all, branch is the first person he’d ever seen, was the first person who’d carried him. He’s imprinted on branch and whole heartedly believes and he is his family. So if C needs to be taken care of B has to be there. It goes on long enough that the caretaker decides it'll just easier if branch helped take care of him; and who knows maybe he'll regain his color being around such a happy little goober.

At first, branch doesn’t realize how much he means to C and assumes his attachment will fade. After all why wouldn’t it when he’s being doted on by warm and cheerful trolls. But nope! Whenever the caretakers aren't taking cooper around the village, Cooper is always following Branch. Around the pod, and through the woods. Branch looks out for him, talks to him, teaches him what he can, and even plays games! I think the fact that branch has been a part of Coopers whole life gives him a sense of obligation perhaps like a big brother?. It's easy to be open to him.

All attempts to foster Cooper are unsuccessful. It's not that Cooper doesn't match the family, it's that he just doesn't want to live with them. Imagine a foster family having the time of their lives singing & playing around & when the time comes Cooper's like 'I had a lot of fun today! Time to go! what?? Stay here? be a part of your family? ...Nope :D

When the time comes that the bunker can feasibly house him, (preteen?) Branch packs up what little he owns, and prepares to leave that night. It's not like the anyone at the orphanage would chase after him. Well, except for one trolling.

It's been years, long enough that their bond is strong, they're brothers in all but name. At least unnamed on branch's side, he kind of refuses to acknowledge it.

Anyway- Branch waits until everyone falls asleep and sneaks out. He doesn't even make it out of the room lol. One foot out the door and a sleepy voice is asking him where he's going. Branch just says he's going to the bunker, that he'll see him soon, it won't be forever you see what im trying to parallel? and it's true. It's not like he's leaving to who knows where. Cooper just nods & yawns out a "bye, see you later". Love me a parallel

Branch lasts an hour or two in the bunker. He's on edge the whole time, racked w/ guilt. Has a little mental spiral until there is just one loud thought of 'what am i doing? there's someone waiting for me' and runs back.

In the joined room, Cooper fell asleep on branch's bed waiting for him. So making sure not to wake him, Branch rests coopers head on his lap. Leaning against the headboard Branch just stares at his vest left at the end of the bed & has a moment of clarity. Like oh, that's why i felt terrible, i left my little brother behind. (Keep in mind that no, he didn’t really do that, but he’s a kid and that whole ‘see you later’ really shook him so he’s making some jumps in logic)(there some projecting happening as well)

So yeah, gained a brother!! yay!!! Cooper beat you to that revelation yeeaarrrss ago lol.

One thing I like about branch being a big bro is this idea that the more he learns about what it means to be one, the less he can understand his brothers. And are they his brothers?? Over the years it’s not looking like it.

[shebelongselsewhere]

we are nothing alike

[riddle-of-sphinx]

More stuff for my dragony!Lucas what if scenario. In my mind, after pulling the final needle, the connection to the dragon dumped an extreme amount of PSI energy into him, and he often loses control of it in surges, and during these surges is when the transformation accelerates. It's probably somewhat violent.

He passed out when he got his horns and Claus had to carry him home.

[ripupupu]

Alright so, time to be self-indulgent :>

Lil (actually, it's pretty long) introduction of her below the cut! :3

At first I created Rinoka as self insert and to be shipped with Reigen, AND THEN in an alt universe, an age-swap AU I made, she was to be Mob's master in the place of Reigen(no shipping here; and Reigen became Mob's disciple years later).

In the later she was a psychic, with the ability to read people's mind -- their memories, to be specific((I have some ideas with Takenaka too, like she became somewhat a mentor to him as people with similar struggle but unlike Mob he didn't work for her)). She can 'borrow' other's psychic ability to some degree, the better her understanding(by reading their memories) of said ability, the better her copy was. Oh yeah, she founded her version of Spirits and Such Agency, that she inherited to Mob after her death.

She's similar to Reigen in term of fighting loneliness while being somewhat stubborn and self-reliant. However, the difference between her and Reigen was that she's blunt, and even when she often keep things to herself, she'd rather tell the truth instead of lying.

Rinoka also has a different ideology. She's -- well, maybe less compassionate. She disliked running away and would rather faced everything head-on. In my AU version of Season 2 Episode 15 where Mob was asked to exorcised that one family of spirits(yeah Rinoka would ask Mob to follow her exorcising stuff to train him), she ended up actually exorcised the spirits instead of Mob, shaken him.

All in all, while she might not be best person to Mob's life, they brought the best on each other. Mob taught her compassion and kindness, on the other hand Rinoka made him understood about himself through her brutal honesty.

NOW as I was figuring out the principal behind her ability, I came across a realization that her ability... Feels like a cross-over between Shimazaki and Takenaka. Maybe more closer to Shimazaki's prediction ability.

Shimazaki can 'read' other people's(or objects) movements to the degree he can analyzes/predicts what would be their next actions.

Rinoka can 'read' other people's(and through certain objects) memories to the degree she can analyzes how their abilities work and copy them.

So I was like. Hey, what if... they're... related...?

ANd her we are. New fanfic. New AU. This AU is based on canon almost completely -- it's simply figuring out of what's happening in the background, where the show didn't show us. Like, aren't you curious of what's Shimazaki been doing after the World-Domination Arc? Why would Minegishi joined Claw so young(hey! my previous comic :>)? What have been happening at Claw, how did they do their experiments? The Government is aware of espers and psychics -- like in the manga one of the Prime Minister bodyguard was an esper. So is the Government aware of Mob(and the other esper kids) and is watching them??

Yyeah so MP100 has been on my mind, being my hyperfixation... I'm rotating them like a rotisserie chicken.

Hope ya'll will enjoy my future shenanigans :)

[holadrawss]

Are you guys ready to get McFucking spammed with content sakjdgsahdgkjnsa

[deztryx]

Enderman and creepers in my mcsm fallout au :3

Plus soren is kinda here

I'll try to draw the silly mutant mobs later today if I can ^^ I rlly wanna tell yall about the mobs and how they got effect when the radiation spread. I also may added other mobs to the au like bears and scorpions and etc >_<

School been killing me and I've only been back for 2 days ☠️ also been kinda sick too so idk ejdgejgehsehgej

[wr0ngwarp]

not one but TWO exceptionally llow effort posts worth of gouji and zero beat from two different points in time that i decided "actually i do not give enough of a shit to finish this". just fucking take it

original images (warning that the second contains, unsurprisingly, an irl photo of a weird bug):

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

hang on are cougars like panthers

[azems-familiar]

fucking around with writing early shb stuff in the ascian azem au from emet-selch's pov and i just wrote like 3k words of the most circuitous pining i have EVER written. snippet beneath the cut (all very rough draft and written out of order, so subject to be changed by the time we actually post this):

Emet-Selch sighs and crosses his arms over his chest, leaning further against the wall he’s claimed as his own, shaking his head. Several yalms away, out of earshot for even a miqo’te (or so he hopes), Corrain and the Exarch sit at one of the open-air tables dotting the eatery at Musica Universalis, a meal in front of them, speaking about something as they eat. The Exarch is smiling, a soft curve to his lips that Emet-Selch recognizes from the rare times such an open, unguarded expression was turned on him, and he has both his forearms resting on the table, leaning forward on them as he listens to whatever Corrain is saying. Corrain’s eyes are bright where they peek out from behind his hair, the grin on his face something equally brilliant and recognizable - how often had Emet-Selch watched Helios turn that selfsame smile on Seleukos? They are utterly engaged with each other, paying little attention even to their immediate surroundings, much less looking far enough out to notice him.

The soft light from above (true sunlight, rather than the glaring primordial Light that has plagued this place for a century) filters down through the translucent canopy overhead and paints the two of them in a warm glow. The Exarch’s crystal arm shimmers the same pale blue as Syrcus Tower in that light, as does the streak of crystal that crawls up his neck and cheek, and between that and the glitter of the brass on his robes and his smile, he looks…peaceful, perhaps. Far more relaxed than he has ever been during one of their afternoon conversations - though that, of course, should be expected. The Warrior of Light is not an enemy, but rather the very salvation he and his people have been hoping for for so long. 

Corrain says something, grin widening and tail swishing, ears pricking, and the Exarch laughs in response, leaning back in his chair, cowl shifting just enough to show a flash of bleached-pale hair before he adjusts it again. The sound carries on the gentle breeze; Emet-Selch wishes it wouldn’t. There’s a familiar little smug curl to Corrain’s mouth now, one he recalls only too well from those times Helios managed to get him to laugh. Seeing it turned on someone else makes his stomach twist uncomfortably.

Their souls look lovely together, soft pink and bright blue. Complementary colors. Of course they do. Even the thinness of their aether and the dullness of Corrain’s silver gaze cannot change that.

“...I am certain my lord and our mutual friend would be more than pleased if you joined them,” a voice says, and Emet-Selch drags his gaze away from the two greatest irritants in his life at the moment. Lyna, the captain of the Crystarium guard, the Exarch’s adopted granddaughter, tilts her head at him - he admittedly is somewhat impressed by her creeping up on him unnoticed, though he was not paying particularly close attention. They are- passing acquaintances by simple virtue of his tendency to bother the Exarch and her own childhood habit of bursting into the Umbilical or whichever lounge they’d been in to demand they listen to her stories or read her a book or include her in their conversation.

He had found it annoying at first, but as time went on he had almost become accustomed to her occasional presence. Azem would have enjoyed it - they’ve ever had a soft spot for children - and he had never quite been able to shake that thought, or the instinct that he should treat Lyna as they would have. So perhaps she had seen more of the gentleness he was once capable of than anyone in this gods-forsaken land but Azem themself has, and perhaps she thinks that means she knows him. But she does not. Nor does her advice mean anything to him. She has never grasped the fact that he and the Exarch are enemies.

“I’m quite certain I have no idea what you could possibly be referring to,” Emet-Selch responds archly, rolling his eyes. Why would he insert himself into the middle of their clearly riveting conversation? He isn’t that bored.

Lyna’s ears twitch and she raises one eyebrow at him. “You have been watching them for fifteen minutes,” she says, flat and unimpressed, and he presses his lips together in an attempt to hide a grimace. So he has. What does it matter, anyway?

“And you know this how, exactly?” he asks, casting a cursory glance into the aether - but Azem is off with the amaro tamers and this conversation is not yet uncomfortable enough for him to interrupt something they truly enjoy. Damn it - he should have taken his observations to a high point where he would be less likely to be seen.

“You are far less subtle than you believe yourself to be, Emet-Selch.” She gestures in the direction of their table with one hand, a small, thin smile crossing her face, and he wonders what exactly she thinks she knows. “Go, join them. They are not likely to turn you away.”

Emet-Selch scoffs, but he lets his gaze follow her gesture anyway, turning back towards the table - only to see that Corrain and the Exarch have abandoned their discussion and are both watching him intently. Corrain looks far more guarded than he had moments ago, and the Exarch is frowning faintly, because of course he is. Emet-Selch shouldn’t be surprised.

They are enemies even when he has offered an olive branch in truth.

“Heavens above,” he mutters under his breath. Now this certainly warrants going to bother Azem - the last thing he needs to deal with is even more questions about his motives, or worse, about Azem. The game is no longer enjoyable when it is not-

Before he can take his leave, however, the Exarch beckons to him - unexpected. Unwelcome. Emet-Selch has no intention of subjecting himself to the indignity of sitting and watching them enjoy themselves while ignoring his presence, or worse, seeing all the life (what little of it they possess) drain out of them as they force themselves to be polite. The Exarch has very rarely laughed in his presence, and even fewer times has he meant it, and while Emet-Selch has no personal stake in the matter of his enemies’ happiness he has known the Exarch for long enough to feel some manner of…

If this attempt at diplomacy fails, as he already has begun to believe it must, he will soon be destroying everything the Exarch holds dear. He cannot begrudge the man a few moments of joy before that happens, especially with the slowly-dawning realization that he has never seen the Exarch truly experience it. At least not when he was around.

Why should it have been any other way? Heavens, he’s gotten soft without Azem to care for and keep focused. They are no longer the only one losing hold.

He intends to walk away - he truly does. But then Corrain favors the Exarch with a sharp, confused look, displeased and uncertain, only to be answered with a smile (a smile, of all things) - and the Warrior of Light relaxes, tension melting away, ears pricking back to a more curious posture as he twists back to look at Emet-Selch again, the expression on his face much softer and more interested. He means to walk away - but it is difficult to resist that look, it always has been, and before he entirely realizes what he’s doing he’s started towards them. At which point he can hardly change direction without looking like a fool, so with a sigh and a small shrug he appropriates a third chair from another nearby table and brings it over to them, dropping to sit down and propping one foot up on his knee.

“Well, well,” he says, leaning back. “The hero of the hour and the Crystal Exarch deign to acknowledge their sworn foe’s presence. Whatever you want, I do hope it isn’t boring.”

Corrain’s eyebrows seem to have acquired aspirations of joining his hairline. Emet-Selch ignores them, and him.

The Exarch smiles. “I could hardly allow my dearest enemy to simply lurk in the shadows like a bothersome wallflower, now could I?” he asks, and Emet-Selch rolls his eyes to the sky and tilts his head to rest along the back of his chair. A bothersome wallflower. Such eloquence. “Besides, your unique perspectives are refreshing, to say the least, and- you did say that you are only here to observe. Which, I trust, means you shall not be wandering off and spilling any of our villainous plans to Lord Vauthry, no? You have ever been a man who speaks only truths, no matter how circuitous.”

[an-amalgamate-hound]

Barnaby stares at the mural, at Wyen's likeness painted onto the wall. He knows they're still alive. He saw them escape that...that horrible place. "I hope you're doing well, Wyen...wherever you are."

Meanwhile, a certain grey-skinned puppet enters a nearby town. They look like they haven't slept or eaten in days, like they're just barely clinging on to life. They'll keep going. They have to.

[caruliaa]

the problem with carulia is that there isnt a rly good classic multi chap au fanfic for it for me to loose my mind over. and most of the multi chap fanfic that is out there for it straight up bad if i remeber right 👍🏽

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Poked my head into some of @mysticdragon3md3′s thoughts regarding popularity with DimiClaude fanon and am happy to say I’m here to Talk (tee em).

I also saw the post from the user saying why they were falling out of love for the ship, and... yeah. The people they’re talking about, the generalized group of people who do certain things, definitely bother me as well.

I love that you pointed out Claude is not flirty and is just playful. It’s not the DimiClaude fandom alone unfortunately with that though - it’s the entire fanbase that views him as a flirt. And, according to Twitter, a slut. Yeah. Yeah. I know what they... “mean”... but it is still not him.

Them being annoyed with each other is also fanon and a very strange one. Never in Houses did Dimitri come across as being annoyed or bothered by him. In fact, they have friendly banter! Dimitri doesn’t get specifically exasperated at Claude, but that’s just more so how he is as a person and he sometimes doesn’t understand playfulness. That said, he does not berate Claude the way he berates others. There’s one instance I can think of where he berated Claude and that was in the DLC when they were talking to Aelfric for the first time.

In Hopes, same deal in AG. In fact, he’s quite fond of Claude in AG. GW itself was a well discussed mess in a lot of ways, and even then as a ship they didn’t have a lot of negativity. If nothing else it was an odd opposite, because even as enemies when Claude admitted he couldn’t defeat Dimitri alone, Dimitri just basically laughed, smirked and walked away. That’s like... the worst of their relationship in GW and it’s extremely mellow.

I think part of the problem some dmcl fans are facing are the fanon version of the ship rather than what they’re like in canon. It is definitely true that part of the dmcl fandom has absolutely warped the ship into being something it really isn’t and never was in canon. There’s also this whole thing about Dimitri being the dominant, feisty one with Claude being the uwu blushy one and it’s just... not them. Not as a pair canonically, and not individually. When Dimitri gets “dominant”, he’s, uh, not in a good mental state. It’s a mental illness that makes him like that and personally I’ve never appreciated seeing people use it for a kink for a ship. Normally I’d say people can like what they want, but I get the feeling a lot of dmcl fans have absolutely pushed their views onto others and driven fans away.

I will also say have absolutely, 150% come across those kinds of fans. The ones who refuse to listen to anyone else, but if your headcanons don't vibe with them then you’re just completely “wrong”. Not only do they portray the canon characterization poorly if portraying it at all, but they tend to also bring it down a racist route, which is... beyond ironic considering they should be the last ship that deals with that based on their characters and stories.

Engage kinda went wonky with a good few things regarding the previous lords, so I don’t see Dimitri being like that as some kind of definite canon. Actually, even in Heroes their interactions are friendly and calm. The “worst” banter they had was their swim alts, while on the opposite end we have the brave alts who apparently hang out together outside of the castlegrounds, and for so long that they can’t be of any help in a search for someone (which like lol how long you gotta be gone to have no idea and can’t help at all lmao).

I think people see outside-Houses canon scenes like those and just... decide it’s their actual canon. Dimitri is not, in any way, actually mean to Claude in canon. That is unfortunately a very popular fanon. In Houses especially, when Dimitri doesn’t know Claude well in the mock battle he’s more like ummm hey Claude your defenses are open what are you even doing, more than being like ugh Claude you’re so annoying. In the real version of that mock battle though, a good few months had passed and their battle quotes are significantly more approachable and they clearly have respect for each other. Dimitri knows Claude likes to fuck around and be goofy sometimes, and he picked up on that and played along with it in the JP version (in the English version he simply picks up on it, but there’s no anger whatsoever and it’s just more oh okay I get it).

As far as Engage goes, ultimately I just see it more as an extremely condensed version of their mannerisms, and yes, they for some reason, especially in the localized versions, try to keep up the whole rival shtick when Dimitri never even felt that way about Claude, and he never gets truly annoyed at Claude. Ffs, in canon Dimitri literally drops everything after retaking his home from the Empire/TWS, and runs to go save Claude. Literally. The next day. While Claude is a little tsun about it (!), Dimitri is just “come on let’s go hurry hurry no slowing down pick up the pace we are saving Claude”, and that’s basically him the entire chapter except with the Arundel specific stuff. When he talks to Claude one on one, there is literally not a single shred whatsoever in any plausible way or in any damn universe any tension from Dimitri to Claude. He just wants to know he’s okay and relaxes once he knows Claude isn’t hurt. I mean literally, no, like... that’s them, in canon, in their Natural Habitat together and I have no fucking clue how the portrayal of them in fanon got so insanely warped beyond recognition.

Also, Engage kinda dropped the ball with a lot of stuff with the other lords. Hell, they’ve been unable to keep Ike’s character consistent throughout all of his non-canon appearances (Awakening didn’t seem too bad, but Fates was pretty awful for example. They can’t seem to really understand the character they’re writing anymore, and idk if it’s just because the writers have changed and such/aren’t the same as Tellius’ games had, or they just don’t care to keep him consistent).

They also try to make Sigurd sound wise and super helpful in every single solitary iteration of him outside of FE4 which is honestly just obnoxious as fuck lmao. Sigurd was naive, foolish, overly trusting, and far too kind and gentle for his own good. It ultimately was what led to him following orders blindly, having blind faith that his king was righteous and would give him the right orders (without realizing the court was very much in disarray during his absence and with several other prominent court figures away because of the war). Sigurd was too quick to believe in the good in humanity and that things would work out, and it led to him not realizing how wrong he was until it was way too late and he had to take shelter in a foreign country to avoid having to fight the same people’s armies who had the court’s ear.

Basically Sigurd is nothing like they write him to be in every. single. solitary. iteration. outside of FE4. 

(SPOILER here just in case you care lol. Or anyone who is reading this. Or if you’re someone who somehow does not know about the biggest known spoiler in the whole game) He has one little section of potential dialogue (i.e. it’s triggered by a very specific condition) that shows somehow ghosty Sigurd has grown more wise and understanding ??? while being dead ??? and somehow learned while being dead that the world do be full of grief and Stuff. (END SPOILER)

So they pretty much took like, two lines of dialogue from FE4 and made it Sigurd’s entire fucking character forever in every single game he’s been in since. If nothing else, let that be your insight on never to trust content you see outside of a character’s original game. At that point it’s simply fanservice because they don’t even know their own characters. If they wanted to write even a semblance of Actual In Game Sigurd’s Personality And Not Two Lines Of Dialogue That Are Completely Optional And Quite Honestly HIDDEN, it would be very easy and reasonable to do so. They choose not to, and then we get what they did with Houses’ lords.

Another portrayal I see too often is that Dimitri and Claude... argue??? I won’t lie, their Heroes summer alts was the very first time they even seemed to “argue”, and it was mostly just goofy nonsense that means nothing because they’re literally alts in swimsuits, and it wasn’t really them being vicious at each other. Meanwhile in canon, they’re always very calm and able to talk through their problems - even in fucking Hopes in the GW route. Even in the worst possible circumstances for them to be in, that is, as enemies, they were still able to talk it through. Barring Claude’s written in idiocy so he could be a mouthpiece for Edelgard and do her bidding by invading the Kingdom (which was literally nothing but plot convenience because Actual Claude would’ve reasoned his way out of doing that), even in the worst possible situation, they still called a truce and still worked things out verbally, calmly and peacefully.

Point being, this whole cat fight dmcl portrayal isn’t even remotely close to their canon selves, and normally I’d say, you know, like what you want and enjoy your ships how you want... but it’s pretty much almost entirely the people who view the ship that way that uh, attack people who don’t agree with them or insult them/laugh at them for seeing the ship differently. These are the people who make you feel bad, for enjoying a fictional ship of two pixelated characters kissing, because you don’t like the concepts in their head more than the way you’ve interpreted the canonical characters.

To be totally frank, I have a visceral hatred for the fanon portrayal of dmcl because it makes Dimitri out to be terrible and makes Claude some kind of punching bag for Dimitri in various forms. There comes a point where it’s like, you ship something and then there’s the point where you ship two characters you made up in your head, who aren’t the same characters you first started to ship, because you’ve warped them so extensively that they became nothing but a person’s OCs with their faces and some similar backstory elements at best.