May still

[oanja]

Had my birthday on Friday. 33 now... Not sure how to feel about this tbh. Also didn't do anything fun for it, or get presents or cake or anything. Kind of depressing all around.

It's been kind of amazing and fun to follow GoT through twitter. People are always so angry on Mondays now and it's fun to try to figure out what happened in the episode just from rage tweets. :'D I'm so glad I never watched beyond season 2 (I've actually read all the books, but I don't feel invested in those either)

random fandom thought I had today about enemies to lovers pairings and why I don't like them. I think it has something to do with my trust issues and the fact that these types of pairings are usually about the hero and the villain falling for each other and that goes towards my issues about power imbalances and general aversion to conflict. I guess I just can't wrap my head around why anyone would start to like someone they previously thought was their enemy (or as a bad person). The only way I can really see myself liking enemies to lovers is if there's first a real redemption arc for the enemy/villain and I get to see that they've actually changed.
---> of course there are exceptions to these, because I do like arranged marriage fics where the pairing doesn't like each other at first (or at least they think the other person doesn't like them)
--> I also really ship Thor/Loki which could fit into enemies to lovers, except the dynamic doesn't really start out from there
--> I might also be thinking enemies to lovers and villain/hero pairings are the same and they might not be, but I can't really think of any enemies to lovers pairings where the other person isn't the villain...

I may have started creating my own d&d campaign world... oops? (except I think this is peak me, as I love worldbuilding... I think the problems will come from trying to come up with quests and a plot for the thing)

Oh and my Italy trip is next week! How is time going by so quickly???? I've only planned my Naples days so far... I'm afraid I may have kind of bollocksed up the Rome part already, as I haven't booked any tickets in advance. *shrug* idk, I think there'll be a lot of stuff to do anyway even if I don't get to go to all the super touristy places. (and that'll be a reason to go back some day. I think going during the winter would be smart as there wouldn't be so many other tourists around)

Comments

[harpers_child]

Happy Birthday.

fistbump of solidarity on d&d world-building?

[oanja]

Thank you :)

Yes! world-building is the best and I'm also really enjoying watching Youtube videos about the subject, because it's definitely a lot different than just creating worlds/settings for fiction. It's a lot different to think, how do I make this fun for the players, instead of, how will with be fun for a reader

[sunlit_stone]

My favourite Enemies-to-Lovers dynamic actually runs Lovers-or-Friends-to-(Ideological)-Enemies-to-Lovers--Professor X/Magneto is a classic example. So, like, you've got two people who like each other (who might even have some trust in each other!), who would love nothing better than to be on the same team.../but/ their ideological differences are too strong, and they can't work it out. But they still care about each other a lot, and maybe one day they'll be able to work it out... So you've got that kind of care, and at least personal trust, between them already; they don't think the other is a bad person, just wrong.

(Mind you, I also enjoy Rivals-to-Lovers, whether they're enemies or not. But I think rivals also implies a specific regard/trust between the two characters, even if they're enemies. Hmmm--come to think of it, I think most of the Enemies-to-Lovers stuff I've read/enjoyed starts off with a preexisting respect between the couple, even if they are enemies; I think it would definitely be a very different dynamic without that.)

ETA: oops! Almost forgot to wish you a belated happy birthday. Maybe this week will be better?

[oanja]

I totally ship Eric/Charles too (just from the movies, I've not read any comics) and I think it's similar to Thor/Loki in some ways. I think I agree with you that it's much easier for me to ship something if there was a sense of respect or a history between the characters before hey became enemies. (it also makes it more believable that there could be a redemption arc imo)

Rivals to lovers is a nice dynamic and sort of an easier to swallow for me and I wish there was more pairings like these (for example I really ship Vane/Flint from Black Sails as they are rival captains and even enemies sometimes, but they also work together sometimes if their goals align, but it's not really a popular ship at all, which makes me sad)

Thanks for the bday wishes! I wasn't really bummed out about it after the day was over. It just sucks that I live pretty far away from all my irl friends and family so I didn't get to do anything fun together with anyone.

[sunlit_stone]

Yeah, no, that definitely makes sense. (I haven't read any of the comics, either :P And I agree with the redemption arc, too. Although there's a really great Cherik fic that isn't so much a redemption fic as a retirement fic: at the end of a long career, things and the world having changed for them both, they retire together? It's really great <3)

Oooh! I will keep an eye out when I finally get around to watching Black Sails.

That does suck, yeah :( I hope you find some friends in the area. (And I'm sorry for taking so long to reply! I'm an unreliable correspondent at the best of times, but this time I do have an excuse: I was putting a lot of energy into my choir, in preparation for our concert last weekend! Still--I am sorry, oops.)