#i don't think I've encountered this kind of mental block before. genuinely what's going on in there.

[devotion-between-the-wheat]

somehow getting inflicted with overthinking and anxiety about the concept of actually talking about the newest f/o, even though most of the time I feel confident about my view of his characterization and feel of the ship dynamic.

[vermillioncrown]

sorry if this has been asked before or if it's too spoiler-y, but who are the potential love interests that we've met in dbd? i know of ot3 with wangxian and also zhou le route have been talked about but i don't remember if anyone else has. are there only male potential love interests? you don't have to answer if it's an uncomfortable question or too spoiler-y! <3

uh... i don't think it's been asked before, since i've loudly stated 'NO OFFICIAL PAIRING' all over the place

but yes this is a question i can answer. I just can't give you a complete answer. :) you must understand :) :)

to give further insight, you'll meet most of everyone and see the foundation of possible relationships up til the end of the SSC. post-SSC, that's when the consequences of actions start to show. all the drama, political and interpersonal, romantic/familial/platonic, will all come home to roost. we'll be Going Through it. Also also, that's probably when zyx will

actually have to deal with the effects of hormones (as a demi-, that period was fucking miserable. akin to being hungry while all food was unappetizing. blegh)

accept that these teenyboppers are grown adults and actually viable romantic partners (wtf. wtffff they are perpetually in middle school wtf)

the mental difference between zyx and their 'peers' has been more or less 'closed'. they are in similar life stages.

a little BTS: i've imagined multiple iterations of dbd before settling on this 'final' iteration that i'm writing. the other versions had set pairings, and different pairings each time. as the daydream evolved, zyx's background and (thus) encounters changed even if their person didn't, and that makes for very divergent developments. (i don't believe in soulmates, but more 'right place right time' + 'if it's meant to be, it's up to me')

if people want to do shipping talk as the story progresses, i'm open to it. but i'm only talking if someone picks out/makes a compelling argument for a LI

So... current open routes (as of ch18 and correctly identified by readers):

Wangxian OT3 (obvious, current status: wwx is crushing (unknowningly), lwj is sad-boi friend-pining. wangxian progression as per usual)

Zhou Le (i wonder how early you can catch the hints)

???? (there is at least one obvious one, but maybe more that can be 'squint-to-ship')

There are many potential routes (of all genders), depending on how the characters end up interacting (since i block out major events and write the characters dealing with it after) and what others might notice that i don't. stated above, i'm demi as fuck, and in previous asks i am not afraid to say i've dated only once. so genuinely i am fucking relationship blind and focus a lot on friendships if romance isn't the direct forefront of the story.

we'll see what happens, yeah? this answer to questions of its kind is in continual development.