#also this is neither here nor there but i dreamt unamuno followed me on tumblr and i had to block him for posting iberism on main

[reallunargift]

gonna blabber more because yes, as unsubtle as my shippy art and tags can be, I also imagine them as quite... low-key a lot of the time. Of course there is passion and drama and conflict (SO much conflict), but the trope of looking at the one you love fondly without telling them outright how you feel is *chef's kiss* and Presságio is perfect for that and at the end of this post I talk more about it. But mostly I'll talk about Port and nyo!Spain and I don't promise much coherence, it's more of a stream of consciousness.

Ok so I think about these two a lot and while my base personality for the canonverse and nyoverse characters is the same, the way they were treated in society was not and that influenced their development and the way they interact with others.

I've said before that Port's way of expressing his feelings for Toni varied depending on whether they were on equal terms/his own power. The same is true when it comes to nyo!Spain, except I think it was easier to make his feelings clearer without having to spell them out. Because there were certain conventions to follow and expectations, and I see them taking full advantage of those.

You look at courtly love and all and see small gestures/gifts being taken as obvious declarations of love. Stuff that could be brushed off as "they're best friends, what a strong friendship :)" between two men or two women would be seen as clearly romantic with a man and a woman. (Of course the other side of the coin is that chances to be alone with each other were harder to come by than with regular spaport or nyo!spaport)

Also I like to imagine the reps travelling to attend royal weddings if possible because it's more opportunity for interactions, and Portugal had so many with the neighbouring kingdom that Port and nyo!Spain would have met under friendly circumstances many times. I'm especially unhinged about Manuel I and Isabel of Aragon and the sense they must have faced that holy shit this is it, they're really gonna merge the kingdoms with Miguel's birth, better start acting like the married couple you're gonna be soon. It did not go that way, of course (not until later and in different circumstances anyway), but I think here was when most of the obvious shows of love would have happened on Port's part.

I'm super worried about making spa/port ever seem like a sea of roses because it's not, and not acknowledging the bad times is the one thing that turns me off of a ship immediately, so again, there was a LOT of conflict between Port and nyo!Spain too. Things could get nasty real quick, but that's part of why I love them too, and it makes the sweet moments all the sweeter. Because ah look at what could be. It also makes the bitter moments all the more bitter. I can't explain it, but if something seems possible yet is not happening... it must be because one (or both) is choosing not to make it happen. It's a choice, a conscious refusal, and that hurts more.

But that's not the point of this post, the point of this post is to ramble about these two while my food is in the oven, but especially that specific flavour of soft and unspoken love, of Port gifting nyo!Spain a fan and the next time seeing her use it while talking to someone or other about politics and smiling to himself before doing the same. The warmth in his heart when centuries later they're all having an informal get together and it's a hot afternoon and she whips it out and fans herself while complaining about the sangría.

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So Presságio's lyrics are actually the poem "O amor, quando se revela" by Fernando Pessoa, just with some stanzas repeating. There are quite a few musical adaptations, but Júlio Resende's piano really embodies the softness that I imagine for this trope with Port and nyo!Spain.

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Love, when it reveals itself, Does not know how to reveal itself. It knows well* how to look at her But does not know how to speak to her.

Someone who wants to say what he** feels Does not know what to say. He speaks: it looks like he lies... He keeps quiet: it looks like he forgets...

Ah, but if she could guess If she could hear the look And if a look was enough for her To know that she is being loved!

But someone who feels a lot, keeps quiet; Someone who wants to say how much he feels Ends up with no soul nor speech Ends up alone, entirely!

But if this could tell her What I do not dare tell her, I will no longer have to speak to her Because I am speaking to her...

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*Sabe bem can mean two things: To know well, and to taste/feel good. So this line means "(the lover) knows well how to look at her (the beloved)" and "it feels good (for the lover) to look at her (the beloved)"

**I used "he" for ease of reading because in pt the personal pronouns are dropped and using "one" seemed a little too fancy but using "they" ran the risk of making it seem like different perspectives are in play when it's all from one person's point of view.

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And yeah, listening to it gives me the most vivid image of Port looking at nyo!Spain as she does whatever mundane little thing, sighing in mild frustration at the impossibility, and continuing staring. idk, I love yearning and so does he

Also I know I didn't really go into nyo!Spain's side much in this post, partly because the song/poem that sparked it made me think of Port's pov, but I think she's more frustrated than him lmao. Because she knows how he feels, yet it's him also doing most of the stubborn refusing, and then he has the gall to look at her like that, like they're some impossible, doomed thing.

I am once again thinking about them (PortxnyoSpa) and how perfectly salvador’s presságio fits them 😔