#i wanna write an indepth ship manifesto one day

[yume-x-hanabi]

Might as well, 001 and 002 for Gaius/Wingul and as individual characters! :3

001 | GaiWin | send me a ship and I will tell you:

when I started shipping it if I did: A while ago... probably late 2011/early 2012? I didn't pay them much attention when I first played, but reading up about them in the World Guidance book really changed my outlook on them and totally converted me haha. I can't believe I missed so much the first time I played (but then again, I tended to rush first playthroughs and not pay much attention to non-party characters).

my thoughts: I really love their dynamic, I mean to begin with I'm a sucker for lord&loyal retainer relationships (romantic or platonic both), but this one takes it a step further by making them former enemies so... the amount of trust and respect they have for each other in spite of that complicated past makes it all the more delicious. They're really incredible.

What makes me happy about them: How well they're in tune with each other. And all the silly little things we learn about them (those silly jingles...)

What makes me sad about them: We shall not speak of Wingul's canon fate.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: Honestly I've not really encountered it in English-speaking fandom so it's thankfully not a problem here, but I don't like it when they're made to adhere too closely to old-fashioned seme/uke dynamics. Gaius being too domineering or Wingul being too much of a tsundere; plus the rapey undertones those portrayals can lead to. That might be a conflicting headcanon issue tbh. People can write them however they like, some things are just not for me ^^;

things I look for in fanfic: Almost literally anything cuz I'm happy to just see new contents of them. But the stuff I like the most... Pre-canon mutual pining. Or pre-canon established relationship where they're in love and conquering Auj Oule at the same time. Humor where they're being extra competitive about some silly thing. Chimeriad Live fix-it. Some fluff and spice are nice too. And ofc I'm always down for angst, though I prefer with happy ending.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Haha, well, most other Gaius ships are NOTPs actually, and the ones that are not I OTP the other character with others, so it's hard XD; For Wingul, if I didn't headcanon him as 100% gay I'd probably love him with Presa, but as things are they're best brotp.

My happily ever after for them: Wingul comes back from vacation. Yup.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Gaius is big spoon.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Those two dorks probably see work as a bonding activity. Otherwise, some friendly competition thing like shogi, sword practice etc. And taking Gaius out to eat sweets XD

002 | Gaius | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: He's... so great??? Like honestly my main issue with my first playthrough is that I immediately dismissed him as another "well-meaning extremist" villain and missed all the hints he would be something else. Like when NPC talk about how great their king is usually you're waiting for the catch, the event that shows he was actually evil. Except it's not the case here, the NPC were right, he really is a good king. So he blew my expectations haha. And despite my issues with X2, I'm glad we got to see his more relaxed (dorky) side in it, that made him all the more endearing.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Wingul, Milla

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Gaius & the Chimeriad as a whole. I love their relationship. Forget what X2 says, they cared for each other!!

My unpopular opinion about this character: While his solution was a bit unrealistic, he made really good points about why the schism should not be dispelled so soon and I wish they hadn't been handwaved so fast just because the party won and the last arc was rushed. Ideally, they should have reached a compromise, a middle-ground solution to cooperate on, rather than let the party have their way despite their lack of back-up plan. But ig things turned out all right eventually...

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: See above. Actually the devs mentioned initially planning different routes at the end of X1, where Gaius or Muzét would join the party near the end. I wish that could have been implemented because that sounds closer to how I would have liked the last arc to go (well, the Gaius joining route anyway; what I had in mind for Muzét is vastly different). Also, in X2, I wish his character episodes had been focused on Karla instead of random NPC. If they wanted to pull a "king vs man" arc she would have been a much better choice.

my OTP: Gaius/Wingul of course :)

my cross over ship: none

a headcanon fact: He tends to be the softy one in private. Probably because he has to mask his feelings all the time in public, so when he's with someone he can truly let down his guard with in private, he lets out his affectionate side. He just sometimes really wants a hug okay!

002 | Wingul | Give me a character & I will tell you

How I feel about this character: why hello my favorite character archetype I love him and his loyalty to Gaius and their cause. I also find it fascinating how he's a bit like "the end justifies the means" and does a bunch of shady stuff, but it usually only ends up being harmful to himself. Like he's ready to go far on some stuff but only if he's the one making the sacrifice. It's an interesting spin on this type of character. Also his obsession with jingles is hilarious.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Gaius

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Nils, Presa, Jiao, Elize

My unpopular opinion about this character: The tsundere jokes are funny for a bit, but I don't think he's really tsundere. He had conflicted feelings about Gaius at first, but he's sorted out his feelings about it by now.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but the story would have worked just as well if he'd survived. He and Rowen would have been a great team as Gaius' advisors, with Wingul working more on internal affairs while Rowen is focusing on diplomacy with Elympios.

my OTP: Gaius/Wingul x)

my cross over ship: ...@bibliophileemily and I somehow managed to make Wingul/Dist work in a modern AU.

a headcanon fact: He totally survived, he's just on vacation during X2, that's why we don't see him 8)