Ok I'm Not getting work done so might as well talk about this now
I'm happy with this resolution and Darius being arospec, it makes his character even more meaningful to me. I love that they didn't just go the easy route and have them get together in the conventional way. They could be in a qpr now or whatever you want but I think their most importantly their platonic love is deep regardless and I don't really like to label stuff so I keep it at that. Honestly this is heartwarming representation I love this gay little woke show
As for selfshipping,
This does change some things but when I look at whatever material I've had of dariwren in my head it isn't actually inconsistent. I mean above everything my s/i liked him first and a lot more and it's unrequited in a version where he stayed over pre-s1, in other versions like them as a pair in Borneo or Seasia with my ocs i never got past thinking of the crush stage, and didnt imagine what they were like dating.
I think it makes sense I wasn't sure how he acts in a romantic relationship and either way I'm satisfied with just s/i liking him one-sidedly so I just kept it at the pining stage and pretty much just them hanging out. Like just staying together at his cabin and taking turns cooking or getting takeaway (curry especially) for the other after work, strolling through the woods and pointing out any dinos or birds and talking about ecology, driving to see migratory birds in Sacramento Valley in the fall. Like ngl that was the most solid material I had of them.
With him being arospec this actually makes things easier cuz I can just keep that as what they're like together when it's mutual and reciprocated, just that the bond is a lot closer.
At first I thought of all those scenes with the idea that it's all the moments my s/i can have him with before Brooklyn comes along in canon and they get together and my s/i is out of the picture. It kinda blocked me from thinking of my selfship as when they're both happy together going to other places and having fun, not just hanging out in that cabin in the middle of the forest while the weather gets cold and the sun sets earlier. Like I mentioned in another post way before, that environmental atmosphere is lowkey sad to me cuz it mirrored a one-sidedness and fleetingness.
But now that dinostar isn't romantically set in stone this gives me so much freedom cuz now it makes sense that he can spend time with others outside the camp fam since he's not attached to Brooklyn all the time now.
(Meanwhile dinostar truthers are also happy becuz they still have a special thing going on)
Maybe s/i did confess romantically but Darius explains himself and they just organically grow a lot closer without any pressure at all, I feel like that is a really comforting thought.
I'm happy that my selfship could be a qpr or even just two friends growing closer as I put them in the spin-off of my imagination (in the tropics where I'm comfortable). Now I just need to wring my brain for selfship material and try write a story from scratch....
Selfshipping for me is like Collect my Sceneries of Nature.... Kiawe is overlooking the ocean from a volcanic slope... Darius is northern californian coastal forests.... Sethos is a starry night out in the desert by an oasis....
Ok so at first I thought it's only ~2-3 months between CT S1 and Brooklyn's death, but it's actually more like 6 months.
For me I'll think of it like
Sep 2022: start of CT
Mar 2022: Brooklyn died
Feb-Mar 2022: Brooklyn comes over to stay with Darius
Oct-Dec 2021: Wren stays with Darius
That period coincides with lots of North-South bird migrations! California is part of the Pacific Flyway ehehehhe my self insert would have a ball there and bring Darius birding with him ofcofc
Quality time Ask game for Darius. This selfship version is the one where wren stays at his cabin in cali for 3 months during an internship, and he's still working for the dpw. It's about a month before brooklyn comes over. A note that they aren't together here, they just stay in the same house LOL
This is so long you don't have to read it all I just wanted to write down my thoughts. These questions are also perfect for dariwren lore :D
1. What are your morning and evening routines together? Does one watch the other while they get ready? Or maybe your routines are similar and you help eachother with it?
Since they leave for work around the same time they'll have breakfast together. They take turns making coffee for each other every day. Sometimes Darius makes eggs or pancakes, it's random. But otherwise they have simple toast. On Saturday they sleep in and on Sunday morning they go birding lol. They have breakfast out here, Wren loves the view of nature.
In the evening they may come home anytime it's usually different every day. They text each other in advance how late they'll be and the one that can come back earlier will get dinner, they'll wait for each other before having it together. And the fun part is telling each other about their day. Darius with the dinos and Wren with whatever fieldwork or lab work they did, which is not as interesting but darius still likes to listen.
Honestly does it look like he has one or more rooms up there, I've never been to this type of house. It's probably only one bedroom right. Ohohoho okay so they sleep in the same room but Wren sleeps on a mattress. Sometimes they sleep on the bed together. Cuz i want them to. I mean it's just two dudes and sometimes they end up talking into the night so might as well do that while next to each other
2. What do you do in different types of weather? How much does your behavior and daily routine change whenever it is sunny, rainy or even snowy outside?
Fortunately for Wren he wasn't there during the cold months becuz he's not used to it (from a equatorial country). Weekday routines dont change that much, but on weekends if its rainy they stay in and Darius has game consoles actually so they play a game or watch a movie. When it's good weather they go on walks or look at birds. Also I think both of them know photography so they go out and do that.
On a few occasions Darius drives them out to the beach or someplace to stargaze.
3. What are some of your shared interests? Do you give eachother tips on certain hobbies? Do you do it while spending time together and see the differences in how you do it?
Wildlife hehehhehe and photography, which I think Darius is better at so he gives tips to Wren. They love talking about ecology especially with both of their perspectives.
Also i think after high school Darius went straight to intern and work at the dpw and he was considering college but Wren kept convincing him to do it and decide on a major so he fully plans to now.
They also share a similar taste in music. Darius knows a lot of 80s-90s pop and R&B music becuz of his parents and i also like those so my s/i does too of course
4. What's an interest you don't share, but like keeping company to eachother while one of you does it anyway? Does the other do their best to keep up or maybe cheer them on?
Ok this is similar to the prev question cuz their shared interest is nature but the specifics is different. Darius likes dinos of course and Wren much prefers regular wildlife. Although darius knows a good amount of regular wildlife stuff there's a bunch of scientific stuff that he learns from Wren. Like birds and seed dispersal, invertebrates and leaf litter. And a lot of paleo science and dino behaviour that Wren learns from Darius.
It's pretty much like the art I drew where they go out and there's dinos but Wren is more focused on the birds. But the awesome thing is they can both be in nature together with something to nerd out on and something to learn about.
Back to music though, I like the general 80s-90s stuff but also some alt stuff. There's this thing I was thinking about. Before the electricity at Wren's place went out and he went to stay at Darius's, he made friends with a friend group that were also a band and occasionally helps out when their bassist is down. So there was like two times he was practicing at home and told Darius about a gig somewhere closer to the city and if he wants to come. Darius said sure I'll support you and he was curious cuz he didnt know wren performed in any way. Well when he went there they were mostly playing alt/emo stuff which he did not expect. Wren even did mascara to match with the band and it was very different seeing him there compared to his usual fieldwork and home attire. He thought it was rlly cool though. If not for dinostar this is where he probably crushed harder.
5. Who is the one who cooks more often, does the other one help, either by cooking with them or just keeping them company? Maybe you just order take-out? What do you two usually like to eat together?
Oh Darius is the cook among them I cannot cook. Before Wren came over he'd cook really simply meals for himself or just order cheap takeout. (his depression meal in the show is easy cheese and cereal for dinner) But with Wren around, if he's home earlier he'd be happy to cook what he learnt from his mom, but if he comes back late they get takeout. If it's wren's decision they usually end up with asian food lol
They're not picky and would eat anything together but Wren really loves Darius's cooking.
Idk why I just think they love having curry together.
6. How do you keep contact while apart? Do you prefer texting or calling? What sort of questions and conversations do you have with eachother? Do you have any items to remind you of eachother?
During work hours or when getting off work they text cuz the other is usually busy.
They don't text about their day yet, they save it all to talk over dinner.
After Wren moved back they stayed in contact for maybe like 5 weeks but Darius started texting less and less about interesting stuff at work since he was focused on spending time with brooklyn. Which saddened wren a little becuz he always wants to hear about it but it's fine.
Then darius started to ask for crush advice and wren was like aw :( cuz he also has a crush on darius but they're apart now and he never told him. Still, he very sincerely tried to give advice but since it's about a girl he's not so sure.
After brooklyn died and Darius started isolating, he only answered calls from his brother and mom occasionally. After his friends stayed over at his cabin then went back, he replied to them the first few days but after that very rarely talking to them.
After brooklyn died he never talked to Wren again, and during the events of chaos theory he also didn't.
#project hail mary
#lana del rey
