unsolicited list of some of my current favourite monster prom ships atm and why
buckle up buckaroos. click "Keep reading" if you want to know Too Much. There are spoilers below the cut, so be wary!!
Milo/Damien ("Damilo" or "Revelation 20:14") Damien's an interesting character (despite what I've heard some detractors say) because he's a very sweet, sensitive guy with rad creative hobbies, but (mostly in Prom, less in Camp and Roadtrip) he paints a thick veneer of aggression and nonchalance over the top of it all. But he also enjoys that veneer, so he sort of inhabits two 'types' which, rather than competing, coalesce into one wild whole. Milo also contains multitudes. When I first played Camp it took me a while to perceive their depths, but the more I saw of them the more I got a taste for the person behind the persona. Their elegance and aestheticism is still a key aspect of who they are though, but it's offset by them being both funny and classy. I feel like Milo appeals to Damien's sensitive side, as well as his sartorial and cosmetic hobbies. Conversely, I think Damien's reckless tendencies would be exciting to Milo, and they have the choice to give themselves over or have a bit of fun trying to reign him in (which they're certainly powerful enough to do).
Dahlia/Joy ("Joylia" or "Goetia") While I always found this concept sweet and/or hot, I never expected I'd actually like it so much, but let's just say I got a couple of secret routes and now I really get it. Dahlia, like Damien, has a lot of facets hidden under her nominal motivation. So does Joy, although it's less of a secret that, despite her workaholic nature, she'd rather be doing anything other than constantly saving the world. Her and Dahlia are among the members of the Monster Prom cast that have full-on careers: Joy is a capital-"H" Hero, Dahlia is a warlord with vast off-screen armies at her disposal. Dahlia, like a couple of other characters, wants to be in the Coven so bad it makes her look stupid. I think however that Dahlia really just wants to be closer to Joy. They feel very star-crossed to me, both coming from rather different realms and spheres of influence, but always intersecting in fairly significant events. Two separate friends have shared the sentiment with me that, out of all the ships I've brain-rotted over, I feel like "Joylia" are the ones who would fully get married – even at the risk of one of their storylines interrupting the ceremony. Shout out to @ventagram.
Milo/Polly ("Molly" or "Afterlife") Milo and Polly are a brilliant pair, which @terrencemcterrence first opened my eyes to. My earliest ships involving Milo and Polly were actually putting them individually with Zoe, but "Molly" is a ship with a lot of steam behind it. First of all, they're both very "extra" characters with hidden depths. Secondly, they're both functionally immortal. They've got the potential to be rather bad influences on each other (Milo with their drive for recognition and extravagance, Polly with her dragon-chasing and dangerous impulses), but due to the nature of who they are both physically and psychologically, that's more likely to produce fun results than not. Overall this is a pretty decadent and enjoyable ship. Lots of potential for excellent fluff, deeper moments, wild zesty lemon, and perhaps a bit of poignant angst.
Zoe/Damien ("Zomien" or "Calamari") These two are the kind who'd bond over both their similarities and their vast differences. Both of them spent time in the Academy dealing with roles and responsibilities imposed on them unduly by parental figures. While it's the Player who helps them out with that in both cases, Damien has more overlap and interactions in Zoe's, being one of the major figures in her "IDENTITY" route, while Zoe doesn't really exist yet in many of Damien's routes. Regardless of that, their non-route interactions generally seem to indicate to me that Zoe genuinely has a crush on Damien based on the topics she chooses to discuss both with and about him. They're also both generally very creative and expressive in niche and personal ways. They're all about finding their own truth, perhaps more transparently than some other characters. "Zomien" for me is about exploring those feelings, and where they could take them. They're also just really cute together, prove me wrong.
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That's all for now, 'cause this was basically a mini-essay. I'll happily answer any questions anybody has about these, or talk about other pairings I like if I can think of enough to say about them.
