#I don't ship it romantically the power imbalance is yikes

[oh-dameron]

I'm re-watching the East Blue saga at the moment: if anything Sanji started with slightly more chill around women and has got more unhinged as they've gone along. I would guess in no small part because of how he and Nami interact and their hoarding/giving dynamic.

Nami went through terrible trauma where she had to be entirely self-reliant and claw every berri to herself, for years. No-one was taking care of her. Now there's this guy who'll wait on her hand and foot, treat her like a princess, never act like what she wants is an inconvenience, move heaven and earth to keep her safe. In return he wants smiles and sweet words and to be near her: basically, it's free. She could set boundaries or discourage it but why would she? She's getting exactly what she wants out of this dynamic.

Sanji's trauma was around being unwanted, being not good enough, having all this care to give and being punished for trying to give it. Now here's Nami, and he can spend hours making treats for the whole crew, and then make hers extra-beautiful because he can cut hearts out of chocolate, all right? There can be little fondant roses. He can exercise his craft to his limit to make it the most beautiful, delicious treat and get to watch her eyes light up when he serves it (yes, Luffy lights up that way when he flings him any random ham hock, and yes, it's still appreciated but it's not quite the same). And Nami doesn't tell him that she doesn't need or want his hard work, his declarations of affection, she lets him give and give and give and that is what he wants. He gets a smile or some praise in return sometimes and it's the icing on the cake, but being allowed to pour all his care out without being told it's too much is the real gift.

Which is all well and good for them, except then that dynamic feeds on itself until Sanji is in danger of dying from nosebleeds and he can no longer hold a coherent conversation. The pedestal that Nami is on keeps getting taller and taller, and it's pretty comfortable always being told yes and after a while it's hard not to take it for granted. He gets more ridiculous, she gets more spoiled. They both need therapy.

Aaand of course there's a veneer of horniness overlaid over the whole thing, which I'm not going to dig into because it hurts my brain.

Okay that last post i added to made me think about it but i wish Sanji could be fucking normal for once because if he and nami had a mutually respectful friendship it would be so FASCINATING

They BOTH suffered immense trauma due to not having access to a resource--Sanji almost starved to death, and Nami saw Bellemere killed for not having enough money. And they handle it so differently!!

Nami hoards money. She keeps it close to her chest and doesnt share it freely--think of her interest rates! Even among friends she rarely is seen giving money away. There are some exceptions--Thriller bark for instance--where she can be generous if youve earned it, but largely she is extremely tight fisted about it. (And yes, part of this is the trauma associated with bellemere, and part of it is the trauma and long term habits of becoming a thief at such a young age).

Sanji, on the other hand, is So Generous. Its one of the first things we see him do, and its what drives Luffy to ask him to join the crew. Feeding Ghin, and convincing him to eat, even though he can't return the favor (and ultimately actually causes damage to sanji and the Baratie). And yes, theres something to be said about food being something thats harder to hoard since it spoils, but this first act of generosity is towards a complete stranger on a restaurant ship. That food wasnt going to be wasted, it took time and effort to prepare, and he still gives his labor away freely.

And these two could have such interesting conversations/debates/realizations with each other if they were allowed to exist normally! If Sanji would see Nami as his equal and crewmate (please oda im begging), watching these two butt heads over when to be generous and when to be frugal would be fascinating! Its one of the reasons i dont often ship Nami/Sanji beyond a friendship, because i think that fundamentally they have extremely different values! Which could lead to some really deep and nuanced interactions! (Not to say this wouldnt also lead to an interesting ship dynamic but thats beside the point)

Again its way too early and im rambling but i love both of these characters and how they contrast each other and would love to hear everyone else's thoughts

[evilanti]

"It isn't illegal for an adult to date a minor, it's not illegal for them to have romantic feelings, only for them to have sex. Anti-shaladins have the mindset of them having sex." THAT IS BECAUSE MOST OF THE SHALADIN FANFIC/ART/ETC IS SEXUAL. Even if they don't have sex it still isn't healthy for a minor to date an adult because they have more control in the relationship, even if they say the minor is in charge. It isn't healthy for the minor and it's also fucking gross. I hate shaladin sm.

oh my god i saw that same shit on instagram

people sexualize the power imbalance. in fact, it’s why my sister ships sh//eith. (yikes). 

i can barely handle shipping Shiro and Keith in a strictly platonic sense bc of sh//aladins. its so gross that people think its okay for a minor to date an adult. i literally do not care if its ‘not illegal for them to have romantic feelings’ what the fuck