bear with me, i ult bbh and my approach to fic and fandom is kind of centered around him? and i just enjoy all the ppl that come along with him? i LOVE exo music and everything but the brainworms and the inspiration is def bbh rooted ;; hes just a silly little guy so a lot of my fav pairings include him,,,, im sorry LOL
kms - i rly like kms in ot3s and ot4s bc i think he is most fascinating in between two other people—it brings out the more contrasting elements of his personality/dynamics. if i had to pick a pairing, i like xiuchen but mostly bc i think kms challenges kjd's comfort zone regarding masculinity and idoldom and whatnot. or xiubaek bc i think they have similar views on masculinity and idoldom and probably get along in many ways, except for the fact that bbh is Like That and i think it drives kms crazy LOL
zyx - baekxing ;u; THOUGH i also really like suxing and xingdae. i started stanning stanning right at the tail-end of zyx being with the group still, and the award season for monster and all that, which is kind of home to a lot of baekxing moments. i also just think both of them are very ambitious, very image-aware, etc. and i think those aspects of them and how they contrast in those similarities is really delightful to play off in fic. this is also a case of making two pretty ppl kiss just bc theyre hot LOL
kjm - subaek is my fav kjm ship, and was one of the og ships i rly liked. back then it was a little more surface level, guy who has to be serious/responsible to some degree meets resident goof. now its developed a little more. my impression of bbh is a little sharper—though still very heartfelt? and my impression of kjm has also sharpened a bit—i think he's still sweet and kind, but i also think my old impression of him was very flat, one-dimensional. i think i find him more ambitious, more ruthless (not sure thats the word im looking for) now in a curious little way. if NOT a bbh ship, i like suxing—i find them playful in the same vein as baekxing, but kjm responds to zyx's playfulness differently.. its very fresh.
bbh - oh god. when i get Really wormy its baekchen—but most of the things that rly make me go insane about them probably would not get posted OTL. i would say baek + zyx/kjd/kjm all sit on the same level for me. i really like them for different reasons. zyx and bbh get more au leaning things, and i like them pushed individually? whereas baekchen and subaek are fascinating to me more when theyre paired (though each of those three Do fascinate me individually) bc i think those dynamics have a lot more friction in them? this is coincidentally my "bias line" — i rly only follow these four's solo work and variety content OTL
kjd - baekchen, but i like xingdae too. another case of baekchen i like bc of the friction in the Pairing, and xingdae bc im fascinated by how the individuals are in the pairing. idk if im making sense with that distinction but,,, u know.
pcy - i like sechan; im not crazy about it? but i like it enough to read fic of it and enjoy it. some of my fav fics are chenyeol though...
dks - baeksoo is my fav but thats probably bc i watch the two of them together pretty often? other than baeksoo, probably xiusoo? ive been really liking the idea of minseok and dks together—i think they're mellow together, but have a nice awareness of one another despite seeming to be intentionally distant bc of their age difference? but im drawn to baeksoo bc i find it really fascinating that on paper they seem pretty different, but in interviews theyve said that they go to one another for advice bc they think similarly, or feel similarly about a lot.
kji - ,,,, i dont rly ship him with anyone OTLLL i like him in harem, as everyone's comfortable partner. i think kji in general strikes me as very level-headed, healthy, and thoughtful, and my fic interest def skews towards the ppl that come off batshit crazy beneath their image LOL, if i had to pick someone i actually like kaisoo and sekai! probably bc both can skew towards that same-age friend pairing that i tend to rly like.
osh - sechan! or sekai! i dont have strong opinions though sorry!! sebaek was the first exo pairing i wrote fic for though!!