#luslus

[tomodachibirb]

Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia Luscinia), from a banding. Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO). 13.4.26

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

Ocellus: Okay, Gallus. It’s that time of year again.

Gallus: The shippers are circling?

Ocellus: I’m afraid so.

Gallus: When will those horny goblins finally take a hint?

Ocellus: Uncertain, which is why I have a proposition: Operation Smokescreen.

Gallus: Elaborate.

Ocellus: We stage curated shipable moments, pretending to be a canonical couple while the fandom moves on to more ambiguous, and by extension more interesting couples.

Gallus: Freeing us to focus on actually important things like grades and fidget spinners?

Ocellus: All while fending off these sexually deviant Super Saiyans, what do you say?

Gallus: I’m amenable to this alliance. What are the terms?

Ocellus: We spend two hours after school with each other, six days a week, double on Sundays.

Gallus: Four hours, I get lonely.

Ocellus: Three.

Gallus: Done. Whose room?

Ocellus: I was thinking my room, but I’m open to negotiation.

Gallus: Mine has more space, bourgeois.

Ocellus: I would call mine cozy.

Gallus: You really wish to be stuck with me in a space that could be called ‘cozy’?

Ocellus: Fair point, we’ll feel it out. Hand holding?

Gallus: None.

Ocellus: Agreed. Family? Will you meet mine?

Gallus: Yes. Will you meet mine?

Ocellus: No.

Gallus: For the best, they’re assholes. Anything else?

Ocellus: Final item on the docket, ship name. I propose Gallcellus.

Gallus: While I appreciate you giving me top billing, there’s already a sizable following for LusLus. It’d be easier to trade in on the brand recognition.

Ocellus: I don’t like the sound of LusLus.

Gallus: LusLus or I walk.

Ocellus: Is this really where you draw the line?

Gallus: ‘Fraid so.

Ocellus: Well, we tried. Good luck to you.

Gallus: The fiends will still try to ship us.

Ocellus: Heaven knows why, we have zero romantic chemistry.

(Lights suddenly go out)

Ocellus: Sandbar?

Sandbar: (from the other room) Yeah…?

Ocellus: Did you stick your tongue in a wall socket again?

Sandbar: No…

Gallus: Sandbar, are you lying to your Ocellus?

Sandbar: Yeah…

Gallus: Electrically speaking, you are grounded.

Sandbar: I can’t do nuthin’ in this dorm!

Ocellus: Good pun, dear.

Gallus: Thank you, dear.

[tomodachibirb]

Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia Luscinia), from a banding. Jerusalem Bird Observatory (JBO). 24.4.25

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

Ocellus: Well, Gallus, the power of rock has failed us.

Gallus: Damn it, I haven’t shredded away evil once since I got this guitar. I feel so lame.

Ocellus: Aw, come on, Gallus. You’re not lame. You could always tape a gun to the guitar and shoot the bad guys. That’s also cool, isn’t it? Shooting guns?

Gallus: Yeah, but that’s more ‘Smolder’ cool. She’s post-punk, nose-bleed, run from the cops cool. I’m more leather jacket, mallgoth vampire, molotov cool. Y’know?

Ocellus: Gallus, I love you so much, but talking to you sometimes feels like huffing paint. What are you talking about?

Gallus: I’m talking about the vibes being off!

Ocellus: Ah. The vibes. Yes.

Gallus: Also, why do you know what huffing paint is like?

Ocellus: I hang out with Sandbar on Friday nights.

Gallus: Ah.

Gallus: Also, you told me if I looked cool belting it out, you’d give me a kiss.

Ocellus: Gallus, you played a twenty minute psychedelic solo. I am not rewarding that with romantic intimacy.

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

Ocellus: So, according to this hyper-specific, centuries old changeling custom that most contemporary changelings forgot even existed, we’re… technically married now.

Gallus: Well… shit. What’s it take to get a divorce?

Ocellus: Basically, we just ask Thorax to be an official witness while we sign a few papers.

Gallus: Eh, that sounds boring. Wanna just stay married?

Ocellus: ……… The horrifying thing is that I can’t think of any legitimate reasons to say ‘No’.

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

Gallus: From now on, we will be using code-names. You will all address me as Eagle-One.

Gallus: Smolder is Been-There-Done-That.

Smolder: (flips Gallus off)

Gallus: Silverstream is Currently-Doing-That.

Silverstream: (high-fives Gallus)

Gallus: Yona is It-Happened-Once-In-A-Dream.

Yona: (nods)

Gallus: Sandbar is If-I-Had-To-Pick-A-Dude.

Sandbar: (winks at Gallus)

Gallus: Ocellus is… Eagle-Two.

Ocellus: Oh, thank god.

—-

Gallus: (watching Swift Foot through binoculars) I’d-Be-Lying-If-I-Said-I-Hadn’t-Thought-About-It is moving into position.

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

Are you a fan of LusLus (Gallus x Ocellus)? If so, what do you imagine they'd look like as a pair on a deeper level?

If I have not made it abundantly clear by now, I am totally down with shipping literally any arrangement between these seven idiots (including Swift Foot, obviously), up to and definitely including any arrangement of poly ships.

Which is to say, yes, I am definitely a fan of LusLus. I may not make all that many quotes for them because, my multishipper ass aside, I do tend to gravitate towards specific pairings more often than others, but I definitely see the appeal and the potential.

The best way I can describe their relationship to each other, platonic or romantic, is that these two corrupt each other. And I mean that in the most wholesome, supportive way.

I headcanon Gallus as being a closet nerd. I think that, if he were given a chance to really engage with an academic subject that could hold his interest, he’d take to it like a fish to water. Gallus is actually surprisingly smart when you think about it.

His trial from the Tree of Harmony, while mainly a test of courage to overcome his claustrophobia, was also a puzzle that he legitimately took the time to approach empirically and logically. Sure, it was a simple puzzle, but it still showed a pretty methodical thought process.

(Plus, there’s having the foresight to have prepared his permission slip in triplicate. That was straight out of Twilight’s playbook)

I like to think that his relationship with Ocellus could really give Gallus a lot of natural opportunities to really let his inner Einstein out, something he would learn to appreciate about himself more and more as Ocellus would be nothing but a source of support for Gallus to embrace his own intellect.

On the flip-side of that? Gallus would be such a terrible influence on Ocellus by rubbing his snarky, sarcastic sense of humor off on her.

I like to think that, once Ocellus learns to overcome her anxiety and social phobias as she grows older, she would naturally have a much more, shall we say, dry wit. In fact, I can see her overcoming her anxiety almost exactly because of that. It’s a confidence-builder.

Don’t get me wrong, she’d still primarily be a sweetheart without a single mean-spirited plate on her exoskeleton, but I’d like to imagine Ocellus would be the type to indulge in the occasional good-natured sardonicism. And Gallus would basically fulfill the role of being the perfect sparring partner for her.

Basically, I view LusLus as the type of relationship where they each take a small piece of the other and build off of it to be a better, more complete version of themselves. And the best part is, you can see that even if you view their relationship as purely platonic.

[incorrectmlpstudentsixquotes]

(After Ocellus comes out as gender-fluid)

Gallus: Do I have a boyfriend or a girlfriend today?

Ocellus: Since you ate the last slice of pizza last night, today you have an enemy.