#sacredprayer

Do they seek out love or let it find them? Are they even interested in romance?

Bowser’s more interested in romance than he’ll admit out loud. Not only does he have a totally obvious crush on Peach, but at this point he works a little too hard for Mario’s attention, too. He’ll pretend like he prefers baddies like himself, but the fact is that he likes those goody-two-shoes over in the Mushroom Kingdom and he’s never gonna say no to any of those sports invites.

His kids need another parent in their lives, and while he tries very hard (and does very well) handling Bowser Jr., the Koopalings can be kind of a handful.

When they have a crush on someone, how do they let them know?

As Paper Mario demonstrates, not only does Bowser write in his diary about Peach and his crush on her (it’s adORABLE), he also professes said love to her basically all the time. Constantly. Especially in Super Paper Mario after they get married. For others, though, Bowser takes on a more tsundere approach to the whole thing, because while it’s totally acceptable for him to crush publicly on Peach, it’s a little less so for him to crush on Mario, who is supposed to be his worst enemy.

EYYY

Dr. Albert Wily

How I feel about this character: I love him, he’s such a Saturday-morning cartoon villain and Capcom should give up on trying to make him a serious baddie? He’s so much better as he is-- a ridiculous and incompetent old man with way too many kids and no sense of irony.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Uh. Hm. Much as I joke about the series basically being a bad divorce between him and Dr. Light, I don’t actually ship it vhnbhvbnhbb

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Him and Dr. Light, their relationship throughout the Archie comics (until they turned to dog poo) Kills Me and Albert loves Thomas you will pry this from my cOLD DEAD HANDS

My unpopular opinion about this character: stop trying to make him an actual serious villain, pls

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I’m gonna pretend everything post-classic never happened/is au only, thanks

Dr. Thomas Light

How I feel about this character: Big Good

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Not really anyone! I mean I’ll tolerate him and Lalinde but like. Eh

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Him and Albert, as said above. That one part in issue 20-- “Don’t do this to yourself, Thomas. Not tonight.” gETS ME EVERY TIME

My unpopular opinion about this character: Don’t really have one!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: God, that shark-jumping moment in Archie. There’s giving a character flaws and then there’s just having him straight-up committing murder, it’s the goddamn worst

Oil Man

How I feel about this character: MY SON, PROTECT HIM

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Nobody now 8′) 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: With Time Man, as older and younger brother. Him teasing Time is great? I like writing him as a great big brother and it’s Very Important

My unpopular opinion about this character: That I like him? :’) I mean. I get why people don’t, the blackface is horrible. But the character has potential and I love him

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Next time he shows up, give him an actually black voice actor. please. :’)

Time Man

How I feel about this character: BABY!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Nobody, because he is a small child

My non-romantic OTP for this character: As said above, his brother Oil-- they’re a good dynamic and they’re precious and I love them

My unpopular opinion about this character: Think I fall into the consensus on this one?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Future adaptations that aren’t Archie or... god forbid Fully Charged should 100% give him a proper recovery arc that’s hinted as needing to happen during the events of Powered Up.

Zero

How I feel about this character: Seems fine?? idk I know nothing about the X games, haven’t even tried to get into them hvnbhvbnbhnb

All the people I ship romantically with this character: uhhhhh

My non-romantic OTP for this character: ??????

My unpopular opinion about this character: (jeopardy music)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: wtf is a non-classic mega mans

Gonna dump Guts Man here

How I feel about this character: HIM BIG BOY, him very good

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Stone Man Stone Man sTONE MAN

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Pretty much the entire Light family, but especially Concrete Man.

My unpopular opinion about this character: The dumb muscle is so overused come on. Or at least be clever about it, like how I make him ridiculously love-obsessed but then doesn’t realize his buddy whom he constantly cuddles and watches movies with is totally into him

Nightbird

How I feel about this character: wIFE

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Shatter, purely because badass Deceptibabes (though technically Nightbird is an Earth-built robot, but honestly she’s criminally underused and IDW should bring her in as a high-ranking Decepticon. And Shatter and Dropkick should work for her)

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I would kill to see an actual fleshed-out rivalry between her and Starscream, it would actually be amazing

My unpopular opinion about this character: SHE DOESN’T GET ENOUGH ATTENTION, TAPS WATCH @ HASBRO

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: BRING HER BACK! BRING HER BACK! BRING HER BACK! BRING HER BACK!

Optimus Prime

How I feel about this character: I like him a lot more than I expected to?? He’s shockingly well-written for an 80′s hero, especially one that I thought would be basically like he was in the Bayformers films; a blank-slate hero with no real personality made just to be cool and appeal to boys. The reality is though that Optimus is complex, flawed, adorkable (I will never get over that one shot of him playing with the basketball while sitting at Teletraan 1) and overall very likable and relatable.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: In the context of IDW, Shockwave.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Uh. Hm. Bumblebee is an obvious choice, but I also really like his relationship with Arcee in IDW.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Don’t think there’s one to have?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Think I’m good, dude’s the series protagonist so I mean. Not much they haven’t done with the guy

Megatron

How I feel about this character: In IDW, his redemption arc is probably one of the best-written I’ve seen. He’s never fully forgiven, and he certainly never forgives himself. The transition is gradual and natural, it has serious consequences, and even though JRo didn’t exactly plan for it from the start, he handled it expertly. In G1... him leg

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Ultra Magnus, mINIMEGS REAL

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Rodimus! I love their dynamic as co-captains throughout MTMTE. I also enjoy his relationship with Soundwave and Ravage.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Again, not really one to have. I know his arc in MTMTE is rather contested, with some people hating it and other people loving it, but that’s about it. In terms of G1, though, I will say that he’s not much more than I expected from him. He pretty much is the generic villain archetype without much cleverness to him, though he has his moments. At least it’s better than Galvatron. 8′)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: As series main villain, there’s nothing that hasn’t happened with this character.

Starscream

How I feel about this character: Though he’s not my type, I totally get why he’s popular, and it’s justified. He’s clever, he has genuine merits that make his strive for leadership plausible, and he’s definitely memorable. And funny. Very, very funny.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Bumblebee!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: ‘Til All Are One makes a great case for him and Windblade, his short interactions with Airachnid were super interesting.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Don’t have one!

Ganondorf:

How I feel about this character: All-time favourite character, given that I based my current internet handle (helenadorf) on his name. Though my interest in the Zelda series in general has waned in recent years, he’s still my favourite and I still think he’s a great character.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Uh. Oh god I don’t even know anymore. I’m open to most Ganondorf ships, but the one that I’ve ended up going back to in any recent (past few months) thoughts is Ganondorf/Bowser in the context of Smash. And less actually romantic and more just for dynamic.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: The Gerudo. I’ve been rolling with the idea of him having genuinely loved his people only for his lust for power to corrupt him, because it’s much more interesting than “he was born evil because Demise”. As for particular characters, his mothers, Koume and Kotake-- WW!Ganon has their names carved on his swords, you will pry mama’s boy Ganondorf out of my cold, dead hands.

My unpopular opinion about this character: God, that Demise reveal was the worst. I hate it.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: PISS OFF DEMISE, I’d rather that character be more of a Satan figure rather than literally proto-Ganon (and by extension, every other villain in the franchise, for some reason). 

Zelda:

How I feel about this character: Most versions I see the same way; cute, pretty, good character. Favourite design is probably Hyrule Warriors!Zelda. Because I’m a hipster, though, my fave is TLoZ!Zelda.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: SHRUG EMOJI, the only specific one I have a ship for is TP!Zelda/Midna?

My non-romantic OTP for this character: ST!Zelda and Link are great, Spirit Tracks is underrated and Zelda as a companion is a concept that needs to happen more often.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Don’t really have one? Though I will take this time to mention that cartoon/Captain N!Zelda is also fantastic and perfect

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Again, nothing to say here.

Link:

How I feel about this character: My hipster ass loves TLoZ!Link best, fight me

All the people I ship romantically with this character: man I don’t know

My non-romantic OTP for this character: As I said above, ST!Zelda and Link are great. Other than that... man I dunno you assumed these would be easy but they are nOT vnbhvbnhb (is okay ily)

My unpopular opinion about this character: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Guts/Stone: A+

As you said, it’s telling that of the two (at most) sentences they have to define Stone Man’s personality, Capcom used them to define his friendship with Guts Man. Furthermore, it’s proof that the Light-built and Wily-built Robot Masters have interpersonal relationships that aren’t hostile, which sounds obvious but really isn’t when you actually think about it. These two have fantastic Big Burly Fluff potential, and I’m never gonna not be disappointed that this fandom hasn’t caught onto it. GUESS I’LL MAKE IT ALL MYSELF

Tarnsaurus: A+

OKAY SO ASIDE FROM SOME REALLY GOOD FIC there’s stuff beyond what’s in those fics that I really like about this ship. For one thing, the dynamic of ‘high-class killer who hates himself’ plus ‘dangerous criminal spoiling for a fight but knows how to be gentle too’ is a description of another OTP of mine; more fundamentally, however, the contrast in their personalities raises the opportunity for some incredible character study. A lot’s already been made of Tarn’s side of things given that we know in canon all about his traumas and neuroses, but I also have a lot of investment in how this ship can underline the best parts of Deathsaurus’ character, and allow growth on his end. I also just like the concept of Deathsaurus being happy, okay. He’s a precious space chicken. I’d die for him

Drac/Death: A+

Love me some villain ships. The thing with Drac/Death is that much like Tarnsaurus above, the two characters can bring out the best and worst in each other and shed light on parts of their personalities that likely would otherwise never see the light of day (so to speak). Now, Dracula’s character is on full display in most of the CV games, even when he’s the villain equivalent of a Sexy Lamp; but Death’s is much more up to interpretation. Death has this strange balance of personal pride (”I am the god that governs death.”) and absolute loyalty and humility when it comes to his master-- he in particular can get a lot of development out of this ship, as I’ve rambled to you more than once. For Dracula’s part... well, if Drac is literally going to take almost a millennium to figure out that his right-hand man is in love with him, there’s certainly a lot to get out of him trying to analyze and question said right-hand man’s motivations until he figures it out, isn’t there? The ‘will they won’t they’ push and pull could be a fascinating concept to have under the series’ surface, between lashes of the Vampire Killer.

Juste/Maxim: A+

I don’t understand how TV Tropes has failed to see this and I’m also very disappointed in most of the fandom. Granted, this ship actually has content, which is nice, but people actually ship the forced het with Lydie between the two of them? How? As you said, Juste’s entire focus is on Maxim throughout the entire game, and to call it homoerotic would be kind of an understatement (especially taking into account That One Hallway). There’s also so many lines throughout the game: “repressed desires”, honestly literally everything these two say to each other about each other-- their relationship is intense and powerful and underrated. GIVE US MORE OF THE GAY CONTENT

Sylvanas/Nathanos: C

It’s really sad that the only canon pairing in the entire franchise that I can stand is the one where the man actually is subservient to the woman, when Malfurion is like “what’s a Tyrande” at best, Turalyon is a massive dick to Alleria, and who even knows what’s happening with Jaina’s love life anymore. Nathanos is properly respectful and reverent of Sylvanas, Sylvanas is willing to pull massive strings for his benefit, but there’s still an underlying conflict between them that still keeps things interesting even as his devotion is unrelenting. I almost want him to die for that devotion when Siege 2.0 inevitably goes down.

That said, it’s really sad that ‘best in the series’ makes just bare minimum requirements to be something I can ship. And knowing Blizzard, any change in dynamic will probably be for the worse.

I pick Trevor/Sypha: B

Admittedly, it’s the show that’s dragged this down for me. Their blossoming relationship was one of the. better parts of the show? But I still loathe the show as a whole, and the way it’s utterly destroyed Trevor’s character for me isn’t helping matters.

Simon/Samus: A+

YOU SAID YOU SENT THIS AS A JOKE WELL THE JOKE’S ON YOU I AM DOING ALL OF THEM

UNDER THE CUT