phase 4

• zeka/kingen - sometimes i can't believe that their story is real and not just a friends-to-lovers fic come to life, the fact that they were kt trainees together (bc kingen sort of scouted zeka), them going to the lpl together and kingen personally asking zeka to come back and join drx (promising to go to worlds if he did and then actually fulfilling that promise), the post game 5 forehead bump that i continue to weep about!! and everything else in between e.g. their casual skinship and food dates and obedient puppy dongsaeng/kind indulgent hyung dynamics
• showmaker/canyon - i know i'm late to the party but polar bear and smol cat! their silly stream interactions when they were younger, the couple IGN's, trusting/relying on each other and making each other better players, canyon not using honorifics and showmaker letting him get away with it (and saying that canyon sometimes felt like the dependable hyung between them)
• doran/chovy - 'if a couple is together for 4 years they'd prbly be married right', the way they're actual roommates and act like old marrieds, doran's innocent 4d-ness and chovy's subtly sarcastic teasing, so so delicious i cannot get enough of it
• rascal/ruler - terrible hyung and equally terrible dongsaeng duo, the bickering and whining and disgustingly intimate skinship that their teammates have simply accepted as normal
• gumayusi/keria - 'keria's still hung up over his ex-boyfriend' and 'i have to work harder to become the best adc so that keria doesn't leave me' and so many more examples of kdrama-2nd-male-lead guma simping over keria (who will surely accept his feelings...someday)
• oner/keria - you can tell they were roommates bc they lit have 1 brain cell between them whenever they're together, also the way they're endearingly silly and seem so comfortable around each other ;-;
• oner/gumayusi/keria - a.k.a. keria and his large bf's (where both of them are kinda whipped but also like teasing him), also same-age chingu shenanigans and constant chaos!
• ruler/missing - your typical 'overcoming language barriers' ship but ft. missing's gentle voice saying 'yessir' and his bodyguard vibes both in-game in IRL, ruler making kimchi fried rice for missing and missing saying 'it was handmade so of course it was delicious', the height difference and eye contact, they're just v cute and soft ok!

honourable mentions

• umti/morgan - the posterboys for casual intimacy and being so touchy and comfortable around each other that it makes you wonder if it's rio...
• ruler/lehends - delicious bickering and insults that pull no punches (and sarcastically calling each other prince and princess in lieu of starting fistfights)
• gumayusi/oner - just dumb bros being bros, making stupid bets and calling each other names, that karaoke ig live of guma being oner's hypeman/fanboy
• oner/willer - gym-bros-bffs-rivals all rolled into one! also oner being mean/dismissive of willer and puppy-eyed willer flirting and complimenting oner (and also begging to be treated to meat)
• rascal/keria - rascal was the hyung that looked after baby keria the most and i'm !! at keria keeping a framed photo of rascal after he changed teams
• croco/rascal - pre-23spring where croco absolutely had rascal wrapped around his lil finger while rascal was oblivious to croco's attempts at flirting
• zeka/pyosik - streamer pyosik being the one to give zeka his 'i am a phenom' name and then fate bringing the two of them together as teammates, also smol hyung pysosik who delights in casual skinship and lorge dongsaeng zeka who's clearly displeased but suffers through it all the same
• bo/photon - smol photon and bo literally draping himself all over him, photon cooking bo meals and the cuddling and endearments despite the language barrier

idek man

• oner/kim hyunjin (actor) - khj is apparently a big oner fanboy (simp) who has attended multiple matches in person and posts stories of his oner jersey, oner in turn likes his IG posts and may have scanned the audience for khj while he was on stage, khj having such a pretty face but is actually an even bigger gym bro than even oner!
• showmaker/translator carrot - the push-pull between showmaker and his chinese translator are delightful and full of laughs and shippable moments and i also love that other pros are in on it too (and showmaker's teammates as well as prince have definitely teased him about his possible crush on her hehe)