Since I've been talking about Karlan Trio as a throuple, Imma talk about my romance headcanons for them.
Enciodes that classical romance guy who does roses, chocolate, and poetry. He writes his own poetry when he has the time (and he's actually not terrible, though nobody tells him this lest it go to his head). He does dates that start at the theater or opera and end with a fine three-course dinner and fine wine. He's a blue blood and was raised on a very old-fashioned way of wooing and flirting and winning affection, so he's prepared, willing, and happy to kiss hands and kneel and go on long devoted speeches about how his heart belongs to his beloved alone and they're worth more than the stars and the sun and all of that... except neither of his beloveds have the patience for that song and dance. Gnosis has a sweet tooth so he'll accept chocolates but doesn't care for flowers or poetry or impassioned declarations of undying love (it's more of Enciodes's brand of overblown everything). He'll listen to a poem or two to make Enciodes happy, and lets Enciodes call him "darling" and "dear" and "my love", but that's it. Degenbrecher similarly is far too down to earth for all that hoity-toity stuff and much more blunt about it so Enciodes doesn't even try with her like he does with Gnosis. She'll laugh at him, she's got ten years on him and anything he does is just cute to her, including when he tries to treat her like a high class lady.
Fortunately(?) for him, he's a quick learner and figured out very quickly what the others would tolerate and what they wouldn't. Initially he wilted a bit at Gnosis's resistance to romance, but with the same single-mindedness with which he pursued Gnosis in the first place, he was quick to begin trying everything until he figured out what Gnosis liked.
Gnosis lets him do the whole fancy date thing, and over time he's gotten more into it, if only because Enciodes takes such pleasure in it and Enciodes is cute when he's excited and being genuine (and Gnosis finds him the most endearing when he's being himself and not wearing his stoic and arrogant persona). Enciodes, having a hopeless romantic streak, is happy to be in love and is still in the honeymoon phase twenty years later and gets all sparkly-eyed for date night even if now that he's older he's better at putting a lid on it and being suave, and Gnosis will never admit it but he thinks it's adorable. That's worth enduring some tedium when it comes to a movie he wouldn't otherwise go to, and even Gnosis isn't completely immune to Enciodes's charm.
Gnosis is borderline allergic to romance. He doesn't like PDA, he doesn't like fuss, he doesn't like noise. The thought of saying "I love you" makes him break out in hives and he'll sooner stab himself than do it. Romance for Gnosis is being together with someone in peace, doing something they both like together, or just quality time giving each other their full attention and no pretenses. He doesn't get fussed about separation or constant affection, but he likes being fully present in the moment and warms up quickly to gentle touching even if he almost never initiates it. He's a bird and doesn't like to be restrained but likes to have safety and comfort to come home to, and that's what he gets from Enciodes and Degenbrecher: they're there, solid and reliable, and they wait patiently for him to come to them instead of pinning him down and demanding things from him. He'll stay up inadvisably late working, but he'll be happier than he can ever express to snuggle into a warm body that hugs him when he finally goes to bed. He appreciates small gestures like bringing him a cup of coffee or food, things that make him feel remembered even as he likes to seclude himself to work. He's comfier with affectionate bickering than he is with heartfelt words, but he makes an effort to be sincere with Enciodes and Degenbrecher and he's definitely softened up over the years.
Since he's a crane, I have a headcanon that he likes to dance and is actually very good at it (and ice skating), and it's one of his special romantic activities he likes to do as his form of flirting. Enciodes is his preferred partner and Degenbrecher just can't. While it's canon now that Degenbrecher has a motorcycle, I've long had the headcanon that Gnosis also knows how to drive a motorcycle and had one in Victoria that he used to blow off steam because he is a radical with a taste for danger (and this is where I joke that Enciodes is that rich upper class girl who's weak to bad boys, given Gnosis and Degenbrecher both being outcasts and rebels), and he and Enciodes go for rides when they have time (Enciodes is in the back and loves the thrill).
Degenbrecher is similar to Gnosis. She doesn't like ceremony, she's very no fuss no muss, very casual. She doesn't see the point in long declarations or making a big show of things. She's very simple. She likes someone, so she hangs out with them. She's a rough-and-tumble person: she'll throw her arm around Gnosis's or Enciodes's shoulders, put them in a headlock and muss their hair, give big bear hugs on occasion and hoist them onto her shoulders or pick them up and toss them around for the fun of it (Enciodes likes this because he's a cat, Gnosis less so). She'll show up outside their door with a bag of takeout because she wants to eat together, inviting herself in without waiting. She'll physically drag them to lunch or dinner. She doesn't have patience for lots of talking, but if it's something important or serious, she's a good listener. She'll also be the first person to knock sense into either of them by saying, "This is stupid, you're being stupid and overthinking/overplanning/worrying." She's perfectly happy being in the same room with them and not talking and working on separate things. Actions speak louder than words to her, and she likes the easy intimacy of coming and going whenever she pleases and having a constant open welcome, and she's not shy about doing and taking what she wants. She lets herself in and out of the Silverash mansion and Gnosis's house and allows both of them the same access to her flat. They all have each other's keys, and are the only ones to do so.
Degenbrecher appreciates that both of them trust her more than anyone else and let down their guards with her, and she reciprocates that trust in turn by letting them see the parts of her that nobody else sees. To me, she's absolutely covered in scars from her childhood and her arena days and they don't bother her, but most people find them a little unsettling so she covers them up so as not to alarm the Kjerag locals, but when it's just the three of them, she lounges in a t-shirt and shorts (or even less than that) since Enciodes and Gnosis aren't bothered by them, and Gnosis has bandaged her wounds more than once. Degenbrecher values "being herself" and "letting her do what she wants" the most, and that's what she gets with both of them. They love her as she is and for who she is and don't care about her titles or championships, but love her as their friend.
Gnosis and Degenbrecher are much more compatible when it comes to their "styles", and they both enjoy it because they vibe so well together and because Enciodes, as much as they love him, can be a little tiresome sometimes. Gnosis and Degen's dates look very different from their dates with Enciodes. They do things together that they wouldn't do with him, like go blow things up (I like to think they both have a penchant for destruction) or just go eat fast food in hole-in-the-wall diners; very casual and unpretentious, though usually it's Degenbrecher picking because Gnosis simply isn't good at planning dates with the "allergic to romance" thing; he forgets and he's lazy and prefers being the passive partner (in both senses). They'll go watch terrible movies rather than Enciodes's highbrow true art, and even the way they talk to each other is different from with Enciodes; they might use some dirty words and slang they normally refrain from doing with him and make some off-color jokes. Despite being a grade-A turbo nerd STEM student engineer, Gnosis to me has more street smarts than he lets on (see the manga) and absorbs information like a sponge, and he and Degenbrecher have the almost exclusive ability to deadpan the most seemingly-unexpected comment out of the blue and make the other almost cry with laughter.
Degenbrecher and Enciodes have adjacent hobbies in that Degenbrecher likes to fish and Enciodes likes to hunt, and a date they'd both find fun is engaging in both activities separately and rejoining at the end of the day to share their spoils and engaging in the messy work of butchering them together (then ideally, Gnosis does the cooking, but he doesn't always have the chance). I can also see them just exploring a city together, Enciodes seeking out the hidden nooks and alleys and Degen behind him to protect him from his own curiosity but his adventurous spirit is infectious. Enciodes being the cat that he is, meaning that he sometimes likes to knock things over for the fun of it, he occasionally causes a spot of trouble and Degenbrecher has to sling him over her shoulder as run for it, but for all that she grumbles about him causing trouble, she enjoys how he never lets things get boring. Enciodes's playful, often mischievous streak is the part of him that Degenbrecher likes the most, his eagerness to try new things and have new experiences. Enciodes, for all that he can be absolutely insufferable, is the person who brought light into both Gnosis and Degenbrecher's lives, and he continues to do that just by being himself, and so both of them like him most when he's doing that and they can share that with him. Like I said, Degenbrecher has ten years on Enciodes, and she's seen it all already—but Enciodes's verve and tireless desire to learn refreshes her. I also just love the idea of Enciodes retaining a sense of childlike wonder despite everything and figuratively and literally taking Gnosis or Degenbrecher by the hand and leading them into the unknown (and assuredly he did this to Gnosis as a child all the time). I also have the headcanon that Degenbrecher keeps her hair long out of preference because it's very impractical in a fight and she enjoys taking care of it, and I love the image of Enciodes helping her comb it from time to time (being the older brother of two girls, he's got some experience).
Their triple dates look something similar: Enciodes usually picks the activity or venue because he's the leader by choice of the other two (and Degen is unmoved that Gnosis's taste in food is weird), and he does his best to select something they'll all like. Enciodes feels to me like a holiday person, and I bet a local (non-Kjerag) fair or festival would be among his first choices: new or exotic food, things to see and learn, and a place they can explore together and where nobody knows or cares who they are so they're free to be relatively incognito and be themselves. Sometimes they just lounge in some bar and drink and eat together and laugh until the wee hours of the night. Sometimes Enciodes and Gnosis hatch some ridiculous scheme and Degenbrecher has to carry them both under her arms and run. Other times, they go their separate ways while they're on the road and unite at the end of the day at the hotel to flop together on the bed and share their experiences before they go to dinner, sometimes bringing gifts.
And of course, they all bicker affectionately with each other the entire time. :)
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