#i also think she misunderstands what hes asking for when explaining his problem and just starts bringing him all kinds of gifts

[artlyloser]

tiny bit obsessed with the dynamic I have crafted in my head between my githyanki paladin and her wife Gale Dekarios

[byunpum]

Mama's Boy | Part 5

Pair: Jake x neytiri x human reader (trio couple) x sully children's

Warning: cozy moments, conflict, family problems

Note: I hope you like this part, the next one is gonna be the final part...Thank you sooo much!! btw I recently opened a KO-Fi…. if you want to leave any tips or support I would appreciate it (it would help me to buy real coffee xD).

AVATAR MASTERLIST | Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6(final)

The previous day's argument was very intense. Leaving the family in a very delicate state. Even you decided to sleep alone in a kind of bed you made. You were so upset with jake, you couldn't understand why he was like that with lo'ak. Sometimes you thought Jake was ashamed of lo'ak…ashamed that you were his mother. You had been sitting quietly in the marui all day, still feeling a little bad. You were taking care of tuk, the girl was by your side. Making a necklace for you, while she was telling you everything she did in the morning. "Love be careful…you can hurt yourself" you help tuk with the needle she was using. At that, you can see how jake enters the marui, he had a basket full of fish. Looking quickly at you, walking towards where he used to leave the food that had to be prepared. You decide to ignore him, and be playful with tuk.

"baby…can we talk?" asks jake, the man had approached you, sitting down next to you. You on the other hand were acting like he wasn't there. You look up, and sigh loudly. "Tuk honey, why don't you let mommy and daddy talk alone" you help the girl pick up her materials, and wait for her to come out of the marui doing some jumping jacks. You smile a little to see how happy tuk was, oblivious to what was going on. "Tell me?" you speak, looking at jake waiting for him to start talking. "Is it true that you are thinking of leaving? "jake looks at you, you could tell he was worried. It was too dangerous for you to go back to the jungle. The RDA was looking for Jake, and when Jake's name was on the line his whole family was involved. The months you had to be alone, you never left the lab.

"I see neytiri told you everything" you say, trying not to make eye contact with him. "Love…we can fix this" Jake touches your hand, but you push him away. "Jake it's not with me that you have to fix things, it's with your son. Your behavior towards him…it's terrible." You speak, trying to hold back your tears. "Y/n you're misunderstanding things I" jake speaks, but is interrupted when you turn around and are now looking directly at him. "Jake… I have a question for you, what does neteyam like the most?" you ask. "A-ahh he likes hunting, he likes to ride his ikran. He's also a great talker," says jake.

"Okay, now tell me what lo'ak likes?" you speak up, knowing jake wouldn't answer quickly like the other question. Jake gets nervous, looking around for a moment. "He likes…he likes being with his brother. " jake speaks timidly, watching as your eyebrows draw together in anger. "Lo'ak likes to ride around and investigate things. He loves to practice with his bow, he likes to spend time with his sister kiri and all he looks forward to is his father telling him he did a great job" you were already very annoyed.

"I know…" jake speaks softly. Shaking his head, look embarrassed. "Jake your sons are not soldiers…they are children. Children who need love and attention from their father. Neteyam is not the only one here who needs to be trained. Lo'ak too, he needs you to treat him with respect and love. What does it cost you to do that?" you speak, watching as jake pulled his knees up to his chest. Becoming more like a little ball. "I just…want them to be strong and …. I'm afraid they'll be weak and won't be able to survive this chaos we live in" jake tries to explain. And yes, he was a little bit right. But that didn't justify the preference he had over neteyam. "Jake, I know all that" you wave your hands all around you. "This is all chaos, I know this isn't our home. I know what we're going through, but what does lo'ak have to do with it? Why can't you treat him like you treat kiri or neteyam or tuk? What did he do to you?" you speak, getting up from the floor. You had to walk, because the rage was consuming you. You hated it when jake tried to avoid trouble. Telling you smith answers to distract you. "He didn't do anything" jake follows you with his eyes.

"I feel like sometimes you just treat him like that, because he came from me. Because he's not completely na'vi." You had tears in your eyes, you didn't know why you were so sentimental. Even though this situation always broke your heart, you wanted lo'ak to feel loved. "Y/n never say that… this has nothing to do with you being his mother" jake in one swift movement. He takes your arm, to pull you closer to him. "I wouldn't ask for another mother for my son, you are an excellent mother" jake lets his head lay on your chest. He is silent for a moment, you didn't want to keep arguing with him. You loved your family, you loved jake, you hated being upset with him. "Lo'ak is how I was…he is so much like the stupid jake who betrayed and endangered people he cared about. That stupid jake got innocent people killed" jake speaks, you knew he was talking about grace. She had been so important to you.

You take jake's face in your hands, pulling his face up so he could look you in the eye. "But that stupid jake was the one who saved a whole clan, that stupid jake is strong and brave. That stupid jake was the one I fell in love with" you speak softly. Tears streamed down Jake's cheeks. "I want you to be the person that stupid Jake needed, for lo'ak. He needs you…" you speak, feeling jake hug you. You both stand there for a moment. "I don't want him to make mistakes that he'll regret later," jake says. "He'll get in trouble if you don't help…try to be a better parent to him. That's all I ask of you" you start walking away from jake. Picking up some things tuk had left on the ground, you go to look for the girl.

"Do you think you would have been happy if instead of me, tom was the one in this body?" jake asks you. You knew this was tormenting Jake. You had been tom's girlfriend just before he went to earth. And there he was murdered. When jake came to the RDA and took tom's place. For you it was a big shock, Jake was just like your ex-boyfriend, but so different at the same time. You had to admit that Jake was the only thing that kept you sane those months. Not to mention the relationship that formed between the two of you. Jake allowed you to see neytiri again and get closer to the clan. Jake could be a fool, but the fool you liked the most. The rest is history.

You turn around before leaving the marui, tears in your eyes. "Believe it or not, I am very happy…but I wish your insecurities didn't affect this family" you speak, walking out of the marui leaving jake alone with his thoughts. You liked that Jake opened up to you, but you would like to see him try to improve his relationship with his children. Because it wasn't just lo'ak, neteyam was also affected by jake's treatment. You pause for a moment, taking a deep breath and wiping away your tears. You calm down a bit, and start looking for tuk. Luckily for you, the girl wasn't far away. She was sitting with neteyam playing.

You approach the children, see how they look at you and their eyes light up. "Hello" you greet them, sitting down next to tuk. "Look my love, you forgot these things" you hand the things to tuk. The little girl thanks you, she didn't dare to come back for them. "Thank you mommy" tuk says, now sitting on your lap. You can feel neteyam's eyes glued to you, he knew things were not good between his parents. The news that you were likely to leave had destroyed him. Neteyam could be strong, and always be by Jake and Neytiri's side. But you were his refuge, where he could go and be a child again. If he was to be judged for a second. "Mom?" neteyam speaks to you, you look at him quickly. "Mmm?" you are helping tuk, when you feel neteyam sit down next to you. "Is it true that you are going to go and leave us?" neteyam speaks waiting for you to answer. "Mom? You are going to leave us?" yells tuk. You sigh, you had gone through a pretty strong disappointment a few minutes ago and you wanted to control yourself.

"Where did you hear that neteyam?" you look at the boy, you thought you had argued in private, but you guess your screams were too loud. "We heard it by accident, I promise" neteyam gets nervous, but you hold his hand to calm him down. "mom if you go…can I come with you?" neteyam was getting sentimental, you caress his face a little. Laughing a little and tapping your arms to give him support. "I'm not going anywhere…but if I did. Of course you can go with me." You speak, watching as neteyam pouts. You joke a little, in order to change the topic. You didn't like them getting involved in adult issues, you knew they had been through a lot. At such a young age.

It wasn't long before you started to feel a little dizzy. You tried to hold your child tighter in your lap, but you felt like you were about to throw up. Never having felt like this before. You push tuk a little so that the girl slips out of your lap, placing your hands on your stomach, you were in a lot of pain. Neteyam noticed this, and quickly began to help you. "What's wrong mom?" neteyam holds your shoulders. The vomiting was something you couldn't help, and you swore you were emptying yourself alive. neteyam held you so you wouldn't mess yourself up. "Mom!" the boy whines, he has never seen you like this before. It was so strong that as soon as you recover, your sight goes blank.

You start to get up, you could hear some voices around you. You didn't open your eyes yet, but you could distinguish them. One was from neytiri, and the other was from ronal. You could feel some warm things on your body, and some parts were wet. You start to become conscious, opening your eyes a little at a time. "Ma Y/n!!!" neytiri sounded so happy, she had a nice smile on her face. On the other hand, ronal was moving away from your body. You could tell she looked exhausted. "What happened?" you try to get up, but you barely had any strength. "You fainted again and neteyam warned us" neytiri explains, stroking your hair. Something seemed curious about neytiri, she was supposed to be worried and she looked so happy. "You are sick…you need to rest and take medicine" said Ronal, the woman was already looking in some containers for the herbs to prepare the medicine you had to take. The more you woke up you realized that you were in the marui that Ronal used to take care of the sick na'vi. "And the children?" you look weakly at neytiri. "They are with Jake, don't worry," Neytiri speaks, settling in closer to your side.

You rest a little, but you feel how Ronal starts to remove the towels that were warm before. Drying your exposed skin a bit. He had been using compresses and hot towels to try to get you up. "The medicine is a little strong, but it won't hurt the baby," says Ronal, holding out a jar of carracol. Your eyes widen in surprise, what the hell was this woman talking about, pregnant? This woman is crazy. "Baby? No, I'm not pregnant" you speak, now you had recovered all your strength. You were surprised. You look at neytiri, but she had a look that was worrying you. "ney" you push her a little, you needed her to speak. "Y/N I thought you are…since the symptoms" neytiri can't contain her joy. "Plus we did an abdominal test and we could feel something" ronal looks at you, handing you the drink. You are confused, and now you were about to vomit at the news. How could that be possible, you were sure you weren't pregnant.

Hey, you and Jake had been together. Well…ever since you had joined the clan. You two hadn't kept your hands off each other. Well… the three of you. You were sure neytiri knew you weren't pregnant. The idea of having a baby doesn't enter your head, not now that the atmosphere is so tense. You take the drink, you notice how Ronal is watching you. Making sure you take all the medicine. "Ahh it's disgusting" you complain. Listening to neytiri laugh, you liked seeing her like that. It's been a long time since you've seen her this happy, it was genuine happiness. "Well…I'll let you rest here. I'll come by later and check on you" ronal gets up from the floor, and walks out of the marui. Leaving you and neytiri alone. You were exhausted, but you can feel neytiri touch your stomach. Causing you to look at her with surprise. "We will have another baby ma y/n" neytiri smiles. "But when?" you had many questions, when you found out you were pregnant with lo'ak it was because norm did a test on you. But now it had been a natural test that na'vi women did to find out if they were pregnant. "I think it was the day at the beach" neytir laughs a little, blushing. You start to remember and you want to curl into a ball. You were scared, really scared.

"Hey, don't be scared. I'll be right here with you. And we've been looking for this for so many years," says Neytiri. And she was right, it got to the stage where the pregnancies were more about the two of you. They were very intimate between you and Neytiri. You wanted to be in on the whole process, including the excitement of being pregnant. It would build on the bonds that would be formed with the children. "I know…but this news is very unexpected…and even more so now that I want to kill Jake," you say. ""You haven't talked?"" asks neytiri, she wanted this to be resolved. "Ney…I need him to be a better father to lo'ak and you know I'm right" you speak. Neytiri is thoughtful for a moment, she knew you were right, and she would support you in whatever decision you make. And even more so at this moment. "Well, I'm going to let you rest. Ronal said he would come later. I'll come later." neytiri wanted to break the news to everyone in the family. A baby was big news for her, and she knew everyone would be happy. Giving you a soft kiss, and another on the palms of her hands. You swear you saw Neytiri jump a little in happiness, her tail wagging from side to side and the smile on her face was beautiful. You lay back on the comfortable bed and closed your eyes. You had to rest, otherwise you were going to die of madness.

"Ok, but you have to cut it like this" jake was with lo'ak. The man had decided to go looking for his son after the argument he had with you. Inviting him to go fishing, obviously this was a strange thing for lo'ak to do. But spending the afternoon with his father was making him very happy. Lo'ak was cleaning the fish as jake told him to, looking carefully at the instructions. "And what do I do with this?" lo'ak points with disgust, at the fish's stomach. "Remove it…that's disgusting" jake mimics lo'ak's wince as they both laughed. It was a very nice moment for both of them, jake had to admit that he had missed a lot of moments with lo'ak. While lo'ak and jake were busy, kiri, neteyam and tuk were sitting somewhere in the corner of the marui talking and playing with each other. When they noticed how their mother came in with a happiness. "I have good news," said neytiri.

"How is mom!!!" lo'ak gets up quickly, running to neytiri. "she's fine…but" neytiri pauses, walking over to jake to sit next to him. "What's wrong, she's supposed to just be sick at her stomach" jake says. The last he heard from you, neteyam had taken you to see ronal. And that you had a lot of stomach pain. "It's not a bad thing…come here everybody, come on!" neytiri makes the signal for everyone in the family to come over. Everyone sits around, neytiri looked so excited. "This is so big for this family… Y/N is expecting a baby" neytiri sounds the news, jake gets so excited he hugs neytiri right away. "No way!!!" shouts kiri hugging tuk and the little girl was already very excited. "Another sully to the family" says neteyam, excited. But apparently the news had not gone down well with everyone, "WHAT?" Lo'ak literally screams, capturing her parents' attention. "Lo'ak what's wrong?" neytiri is now confused, this is supposed to be a big surprise.

"Why is mom going to have a baby? She can't have one!!!" Lo'ak was getting a little upset. This was a jealous reaction, and neytiri and jake could tell. "hey lo'ak I need you to calm down" jake tries to calm him down. But the boy stands up in annoyance, getting out of the marui. "Lo'ak needs to stop having tantrums, he's too old to be having these dramas" kiri says. Neytiri taps her knee, kiri complains. Everyone in the family knows how lo'ak was with you, everything that had to do with you affected lo'ak twice as much. Jake was about to get up and go talk to the boy. But he feels neteyam's hand stop him. "Dad…I'll talk to him" says neteyam. Jake looks quickly at neytiri, who signals him to let his brother go get him. Neteyam gets up from the ground and leaves the marui to look for his brother. It doesn't take him long to find him, he was relatively close. Lo'ak was sitting in the sand, he could tell he was crying.

"Little brother…you're jealous" says neteyam. Listening as lo'ak whined. "What do you want you idiot!!!" lo'ak grudgingly replies to neteyam. But neteyam ignores him, laughing and sitting down next to him. "I know you must be feeling jealous," says neteyam. Lo'ak rolls his eyes in white. He didn't want to be messing around with neteyam, sometimes he could be very annoying. "You know…when you were born I felt a little jealous, but when tuk was born I must admit I couldn't help but feel very jealous. Our moms were with her all the time and didn't pay attention to us. " said neteyam. "Yes, but my mom has always paid attention to me" lo'ak says sounding a bit smug. Neteyam laughs, he had to admit that his little brother looked adorable. "And she's always going to love you, I'm the big brother. And having to share everything…but the love mama has for you is special and no one will ever change it," Neteyam speaks. Lo'ak is silent, neteyam stands up and taps his brother on the shoulder. Stepping away to let him think for a moment.

That same afternoon…

You were already up, and it was getting dark. You had to admit that you were pretty bored. Ronal was taking longer than usual. You wanted to be home, you felt a little better. And now that you knew you were sick and the pregnancy symptoms were making it worse, you felt somewhat reassured. Although the news of your pregnancy was not something you were very happy about. Sure, you were happy to have a baby. You had waited for this opportunity for so long, but it had to happen right now. Just now when the situation with lo'ak was very active.

You were so wrapped up in your own thoughts, that you didn't notice when Ronal entered the marui. The woman can see that you were a bit lost. "The news of the baby surprises you, doesn't it? Because it does to me," says Ronal, putting some things she brought to refill. You look at her a little startled, and became a little alert at the tone of Ronal's voice. You weren't friends, and ronal tolerated you and treated you well because tonowari told her to. "Yes…it's a surprise," you say. Trying not to sound awkward. "It seems kind of unreal to me…that one" Ronal scans you up and down. "Human is pregnant, I have doubts even with your supposed child" ronal speaks, she could be quite direct. She didn't mind hurting other people's feelings. "Excuse me?" you get more comfortable in your bed. "Don't take this the wrong way…but it's weird" ronal chuckles a little. You decide to ignore her, you didn't want to argue because you still felt a little bad.

Ronal prepared more medicine for you to take in the next few days. Supposedly some food had made you sick. After several days you are supposed to be left with only the symptoms of pregnancy. She might be a little mean, but she wouldn't hurt you. You get up carefully, leaving Marui. Ronal all this time had been making uncalled for comments about you and your child. But at no time did you want to answer him, you didn't want to cause trouble. "Hey by the way" Ronal starts talking. You stop, and look back.

"I heard you wanted to go back to the jungle…and you know what" Ronal laughs again to herself. You didn't understand what you had done to this woman, but she seemed to hate you. "I think it would be best for your family. Even for that child…lo'ak. When you weren't here, we barely heard the sully. And as far as I can see all you've done is mess everything up around here," Ronal says, turning to continue working. You sigh, you weren't going to give her the pleasure of her seeing you cry, getting out of that marui as fast as you could. Back to the familiar marui, you couldn't help but get Ronal's words out of your head, maybe she was right. Maybe they were better off without you. And now you had one more problem.

P.s The reason I wrote that the reader was pregnant is that the original request asked for two children. Lo'ak and the baby on the way. Second, the reader is still upset with jake, but I wanted to fix things up a bit. Because I want it to focus more on the relationship between lo'ak and his mom.

Tag: @baybaybear1@hoodiepandaninja16@teyyyteyyy@anika-rose-walker@victoria2054@raviolisblog@jessi-dan@neteyams-wh0re@jimfiqs@bitchykittenconnoisseur@chershire23@holynightnacho@danilezilla@thepotatoislost @esposadomd @ratchetprime211 @juneonhoth

[apricustar]

hii jd! in your kitchen scene post you mention that buck and eddie are incompatible on how they handle emotions and communicate and stuff which on some level i understand because we’ve seen how their conflicts play out but i was hoping you could maybe explain? no pressure you just explain things in a way that makes sense to me ❤️

hi nonnie <3 thank you so much for this—i’m really touched you asked, and i’m happy to explain! (the og post for anyone wanting to read)

when i say buck and eddie are “incompatible” in how they handle emotions and communicate, i don’t mean that in a hopeless or negative way. it’s not that they can’t work—it’s that they move differently, shaped by their respective pasts, and sometimes that causes them to be emotionally out of sync.

buck is an internalizer; this is where we see people misunderstanding and mislabeling him as selfish. he turns inward and attributes whatever is happening around him to something he did wrong. even when it’s not about him, he makes it about him—not out of ego, but because that’s what he was conditioned to do. a good example of this is in season 5, when chimney leaves to find maddie. buck is grappling with several layers of guilt, fear, and self-blame:

he’s holding residual guilt over maddie leaving—he knows exactly why she left, but he's telling himself: i should have seen it sooner. i could have done more. i could have prevented this.

he’s also feeling responsible for chim leaving—not because anyone says it’s his fault, but he’s the one sitting in the firehouse absorbing the silence, the grief, the shift in dynamic. and because buck reads emotional atmosphere like weather, he interprets that silence as blame.

and underneath all of it is the deeper fear—one that’s lived in him for years—that he’s the problem. again. that his presence hurts the people he loves. that he ruins things just by being there.

so no, buck doesn’t think he made maddie or chim leave, but he feels like he failed to stop it. like he should’ve known, should’ve fixed it, should’ve held things together better than he did—and because he couldn’t, he assumes everyone resents him for it. no one says it’s his fault—but buck feels it like it is. because blame—even misplaced��gives him something to hold. it gives him a reason, a narrative, a way to make sense of loss. if it’s his fault, then maybe there’s something he can do to fix it. maybe next time, he can be enough to stop it from happening again.

eddie is buck’s opposite: he externalizes. when something hurts, he pushes it outward. he doesn’t always know how to sit with his emotions, doesn’t always have the language to explain them—so it comes out sideways. it comes out as frustration and misdirection.

buck takes on other people’s emotions and makes them his fault; eddie takes his own emotions and filters them through the people around him. buck internalizes distress. eddie displaces it. buck thinks, “what did i do?” eddie doesn’t say it outright—but what slips through is, “why aren’t you showing up for me the way i need?” and neither of them knows how to say that out loud.

so when eddie lashes out, it’s not usually about the thing he’s saying. he’s not lying, exactly—but he’s not telling the full truth either. the fight in the grocery store during the lawsuit arc? when he says,“you’re exhausting”—that’s not really about buck. that’s eddie talking about himself. he’s exhausted: christopher is having nightmares about the tsunami and shannon, eddie’s been arrested, and above all—buck hasn’t been around. eddie's been holding everything together by himself and it’s too much, but he doesn’t know how to say that, so he says something cruel instead.

same with sob stories this season where he tells buck if he's going to make him choose between chris or him, he'll lose every time. buck never asked him to choose. never implied that was the case. but that’s what eddie feels like he’s choosing between: buck, LA, the life he’s tried to rebuild—and the terrifying pull of leaving it behind to fix what’s fractured between him and his son. eddie’s not mad at buck—he’s overwhelmed and scared. and once again, it comes out wrong.

and the thing is—they both mean well. they’re both doing their best with the tools they have, shaped by upbringings that didn’t teach them how to be vulnerable safely. buck wants to be enough. eddie wants to be understood. but the way they express those needs can make them miss each other entirely. they love differently. they cope differently. they react differently.

but what makes their relationship so beautiful is that despite these differences, they keep trying. they don’t give up on understanding each other—even when it’s hard, even when it hurts. where one falters, the other finds footing. where one pulls away, the other stays close. they meet each other—perhaps not perfectly or cleanly, but truly.

love is not easy; it’s not effortless. it’s something that requires work—something that asks for patience, grace, and the willingness to try. you keep choosing your partner, again and again and again, even when its hard. and that’s what buck and eddie do. in all their messiness, all their misfires—they keep choosing each other, keep trying with one another, keep showing up—because even when they miss each other in the moment, they never stop trying to find their way back.

[cocosparkel]

Hello, hello, hello! I have an interesting proposal. Еpic!Apollo who fell in love with Hecate!reader.

I know this goddess was not present in the musical. But I have fun imagining how the goddess of magic, who had no love affairs, ignores the courtship of the sun god. She would just see him as a boy in love, whose feelings would eventually go away. However, the sun god has never been indifferent to any of his lovers, even after the end of the affair. Also, it would be great if the reader became friends with Hermes and discussed this "problem" with him. And it is during the next gossip with Hermes that Apollo begins a phase of jealousy. I leave the ending to your discretion; I will be satisfied with both a tragic breakup and a love ending🦝

The warmth of the sun

(Apollo x Hecate!reader)

Summary:

Apollo keeps trying to seduce you. Till he doesn't.

Alternatively, the one where misunderstandings are left uncleared

Warnings: none

Word count: 762

Story tags: slight fluff, angst, platonic hermes x reader

A/N @, I love this idea so much !!!! Hope you like this !

(Not proofread)

“Oh my sweet goddess of Crossroads, will you not tell me why,

I feel so indecisive, so lost, whenever I look into you obsidian eyes~”            

You stifle a groan as you hear Apollo’s song for you.      

He had noticed, about ten months ago. Ever since, he would find ways to ‘woo’ you.      

You stood up from your seat, ignoring Lethea’s teasing grin and made your way to the balcony. He was sitting on the balcony railing a live in his hand. He had a satisfied grin on his face. He looked up at her.

“My beloved, you're here !” He exclaimed.

Rolling your eyes, you said, “Not like I had an option.”

He clutched his chest, the lyre disappearing, as he landed on his feet. He was obviously taller than you, and you tried to stop yourself from focusing on the slight freckles on his cheeks.

“My love, must you wound me like this !” He said, dramatically.        

You stay silent, fixing him with a disapproving stare.          

“My love, I had an awesome idea,” He started, undeterred,“about what we could do today-”          

You cut him off, “Apollo, I've told you, I am very busy when I'm at the academy. Could you not disturb my classes ?”

He pouted, and you could have sworn you saw a flicker of hurt in his eyes.        

“Alright then,” he said, slightly subdued, before disappearing.        

You stood there, slightly guilty about being so harsh on the god, before remembering your students inside, who were waiting for you, and you rish inside, pushing Apollo to the back of your mind.      

                                       <•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••>            

     “I swear, Hermes, Apollo is going way too far,” you said, as you sat on the grass, right outside the entrance to the Underworld.      

Hermes chuckled at your words, before seating himself right next to you. “What did he do this time ?” He asked.        

You explained his stunt of showing up during class hours.      

“Darling, you're too hard on him.” Hermes said, frowning slightly.      

You look at him, startled “Whose side are you on ?”        

He silently leaned back, laying on the grass, pulling you back with him. You let him, and you both laid on the grass next to each other. You turned your head slightly to look at him, and you repeated your question “Whose side are you on, anyway ?”                  

“Can we not talk about this ?” He said, not meeting your eyes.              

You frowned, “Why not ? I really want to know what you think about this situation.”          

“I… I don't understand it though,”

“Don't understand what ?” You asked.        

“Why do you keep rejecting him ?” He asked, looking at you.      

You sit up at that, “He just has a slight crush, he'll get over it soon. It's best I don't encourage it. I mean, he can have anyone he wants, it's not like I'm the only female he can have, or want for that matter.”                  

Hermes sighed, “He really likes you, you know ? And you rejecting him like this, that hurts him.”                          

You stare at Hermes confused. “Me ? Hurt him ?”                                

“Yes ! Can't you just give him a chance ?” Hermes said, softly

“Think about all the things he's done for you,” Hermes whispers, sitting up.

You blush slightly, at the mention of all the romantic thing Apollo has done

to get your attention. If he really liked you…

“Look, you've been alone for a long time. Just give him a chance, and you'll find that he isn't half that bad.”

“Well, he doesn't look all that bad either, I can imagine us getting along,” You replied slowly, after pondering over it.

“Don't start imagining too much about what you would do with him, darling.” Hermes said, winking at you, causing you to blush even more.

He laughs at your reaction, getting up to leave. He kisses your cheek, before leaving, and you continue to sit there, thinking about what Hermes had told you about Apollo.

You didn't notice a certain goddess had witnessed the entire scene, and misunderstood your reaction as a sign that you liked Hermes. You had no idea that Apollo, the god you were thinking about, was currently burning in jealousy, over your relationship with Hermes.

                                                   <•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••>          

Despite spending most of your time in the Underworld, as Persephone’s ‘lady-in-waiting’, you came to the surface every once in a while, mostly to take the weekly class of witchcraft for your pupils at your academy of magic.                    

You had started leaving your daughter, Lethea, a demigod, incharge of some of your classes in the academy in your absence, but it was proving to be a bad idea.

You had been relaxing, enjoying a rare carefree day, only to be pulled out from your reverie by a call for help from your daughter, Lethea.                                      

Rushing to the academy, you were pleased to see how the academy was still intact.                                        

You could hear choir music from the assembly hall, and you had a growing fear about what, or rather who, led to Lethea’s call for help.      

In the Assembly hall, some of your students were dancing, while singing shrilly, something about… Lethea being the best ?      

“Mother !” Lethea exclaimed, her face relieved.

“What happened here ?” You asked smoothly.

“Mother - I - Lord Apollo,” Lethea stammered.

Upon hearing Apollo's name, your heartbeat increased unusually.

“Apollo !” You called, and the god appeared before you.

To your surprise, he had a serious expression on his face, and he looked everywhere but you.

“Yes” he said, his voice cold.

You stared at him, stunned at his tone. Swallowing hard, you tried to find your voice, “Did you.. do something to my students ?”

“Actually, your students were causing trouble for your daughter, and I really couldn't not do anything.” he said, his eyes glued to Lethea, she seemed to be really red.

“Well, whatever it was, I'm sure Lethea would have had it handled, and that it wouldn't have bothered her at all. You needn't have cursed my students.” You said, rather annoyed that Lethea allowed this to happen. You glanced at her, and were shocked to see her crying.

“Just so you know, your precious students were mocking Lethea, and yet you take their side ! You truly are the best mother !” Saying that, he stalked out.

Stunned, you followed him out. “Wait !” He stopped mid step, but did not face you. Your heart clenched at that. “Thank you. For helping Lethea.”

“Right,” he said. Well, since we seem to be settling our scores, I'm sorry. For pursuing you. I was… unaware of your relationship with Hermes. I know that isn't a valid reason, but I truly am sorry.”

“Apollo, I…”

“Also, I've undone the enchantment, your students are no longer forced to sing. Farewell, I shall no longer bother you. ” He said, his voice tired. He starts walking away, and you don't stop him this time.

You stared listlessly at his retreating figure. Guilt swarmed your mind, and you sank to the ground. You had to fix this mess, but how ?

A/N :

Greetings !

Im still in hiatus but i couldnt resist posting this one ! I absolutely love th idea so much, im making a sequel ! Eventually tho....

Shoutout to @8neimora88 for this amazing idea ❤

[readwritejayy]

Dinner Date

(Read on AO3 here)

“Darling, is something wrong?” Emmrich was gazing at her with that sweet, worried look. “You don’t have to drink the wine if you don’t wish.”

“No, no it isn’t that,” Rook said, waving her hand. “I just…I didn’t know this was a date.”

Words: 1,103

Notes: throwing my hat in the ring of “writing fanfic for something that isn’t even out yet”. yes i’m also smitten by the gentleman necromancer and his skeleton companion.

Yes, obviously she felt bad for misunderstanding his request. In Rook’s defense, Emmrich had asked if he could “steal her away” for a night when the team wasn’t running left and right dealing with world-ending problems. And given Emmrich’s propensity for speaking so “proper” (which was evidently rubbing off on her a bit), that could have meant any number of things!

No it couldn’t.

Unfortunately she realized that too late, which was why Rook was currently seated in the kitchen of the Lighthouse in a full suit of armor, while Emmrich was dressed in a handsome white button-up, vest, and trousers. His usual coat was missing, but Rook wasn’t about to complain about seeing more of his slender yet poised form.

When she walked into the kitchen, expecting a quick conversation or something to do with Manfred, she was startled to find the kitchen had been transformed. The lamps were dimmed, the counters were lined with candles meticulously lit and arranged, and the little table now had a vase with a single embrium flower.

Emmrich stood beside one of the chairs, wringing his gloved hands together. When she had started to explain her attire, Emmrich just wore that lovesick smile on his face.

“Yes, you do look every bit as magnificent as you do when you’re wielding that axe and cleaving through darkspawn,” he’d sighed.

So Rook took her seat (after Emmrich had pulled out her chair for her, of course). Manfred walked over from his place in the corner. He wore a bow tie around his bony neck. As he walked, the two wine bottles nestled in his pelvic bone clinked together.

He pulled the two bottles out and waved them enticingly, tilting his head.

“Yes Manfred, thank you,” Emmrich replied. “White wine for myself, and a red for the lady?”

Rook shrugged and gave an apologetic look. “I’m not much of a wine drinker myself.”

“Then you could give it a try tonight,” he suggested. While he spoke, Manfred filled the glass Emmrich held, then the glass in front of Rook. “A nice red is a great place to start, but you’re welcome to a sip from my glass as well.”

The conversation flowed as easily as it always did in Emmrich’s presence. She hardly noticed when Manfred brought out their dinners—a pasta dish Rook was certain she wouldn’t be able to pronounce but would probably sound delightful coming from Emmrich’s lips.

It was lovely. And Rook couldn’t help but feel like she’d somehow tricked Emmrich into thinking she was the kind of person that was “wined and dined”. Yes she’d made a mistake in showing up in full armor, but even if she hadn’t misunderstood, it wasn’t like she had anything fancier to wear. The alternative was the casual clothes she wore under her armor with blood and sweat stains that still didn’t come out.

“Darling, is something wrong?” Emmrich was gazing at her with that sweet, worried look. “You don’t have to drink the wine if you don’t wish.”

“No, no it isn’t that,” Rook said, waving her hand. “I just…I didn’t know this was a date.”

His brow raised. Emmrich set down his fork and wiped his mouth with his cloth napkin.

“My dear, I deeply apologize for the misunderstanding,” he explained. “I should have been more clear. You must think me a horrible cad. I can walk you back if you’d like to go…or perhaps you wouldn’t like that—“

“No I didn’t mean…that isn’t what I…” Rook sighed. She rubbed her face with her hands; everything she said always came out sounding boorish next to Emmrich. With a clumsy hand, she gestured to her attire. “I was trying to explain, that’s why I showed up in full armor. I mean, not that I have anything better.”

“Ah.” Emmrich visibly relaxed and resumed eating. “You hardly need to explain yourself to me. I certainly wasn’t going to complain.”

“But you went to all this work! You lit all these candles, you decorated, you made dinner—“

Bones rattled angrily in a dark corner of the kitchen.

“Ah, sorry,” Emmrich said, holding up a hand. “Manfred made the dinner. I ran out of time while I was lighting all the candles. And…I’m not the best cook, though it shames me to admit.”

A breath of laughter escaped her lips.

“You put in a lot of effort,” she continued. “And I haven’t had that before. And I showed up in the same rusty armor I wear for days at a time. And I don’t know how to show you that I’m entirely out of my element but I really appreciate all of this.”

Rook drew in a long breath after her ramble.

“And I like you. A lot.”

Emmrich’s face lit up, his expression rivaling his excitement when they stumbled onto the ruins of a catacomb weeks prior.

“I admit I’m happy to simply be graced with your company. Perhaps I also…quite enjoy the sight of you in that armor,” he said. “But if I could dare ask for more, I’d rather like to walk you to home.”

After dinner, he did just that; he took her hand on his arm and walked her the whole fifteen feet to the door of her room. They stood in front of the closed door silently for a few moments. Rook shuffled from foot to foot.

“You know, you could come in if you like,” she offered. Then she made a face. “I guess coffee is back in the kitchen…I don’t know, it seemed like the thing people say after a date.”

Emmrich chuckled. “I’m afraid I have to decline; it would be improper after a first date.”

“Even if a lady offers? You’re nothing if not a gentleman,” Rook replied, grinning. “Very well. Could I at least give you a kiss?”

Before he could reply, Rook leaned over and pressed a kiss to Emmrich’s cheek. His face visibly flushed.

From the doorway of the kitchen came the sound of bones knocking together as Manfred clapped happily.

“Manfred, please,” Emmrich groaned. He turned his focus back to Rook, taking her hand and kissing her bruised knuckles. “Good night, my dear.”

She watched Emmrich walk away, Manfred ambling on behind him. She still wasn’t sure how she’d caught the attention of the handsome necromancer, nor how she’d managed to hold his attention long enough to convince him she had something worthwhile to give in return. But if he still liked her after tonight, she certainly wouldn’t argue.

She’d just…double check next time he invited her to dinner.

[magical-girl-coral]

I forget what the prompts are, but dealer's choice, literally write about whatever you want!

Also ur hot

Thank you very much. I'm gonna take this as an excuse to talk about Wyll's Quest Rewrite ideas I had.

Gonna put this under read more cause it got looong.

"Stop!" Wyll shouted, coming in between the finishing blow and Ansur. "Just stop! This isn't going to fix anything!"

Tav lowered their axe. "Wyll, what are you doing? He just tried to kill us!"

"Because of another misunderstanding that the Emperor caused to tare us away from possible allies," Wyll heaved, refusing to move. "Just like how he ruined Stelmane for his own personal gain and disguised himself as a dream guardian to gain our trust. We're just falling onto his hand again!"

Ansur's seemed to halt his attack as well just from Wyll's sheer audacity. "I know you, young Ravengard. You used to run the halls above me pretending to be a dragon. You had a secret fishing spot behind Wyrm's rock. You sacrificed your eye to stop Tiamot's cult from taking over the city, yet the scent of sulfur has finally ridden of you."

Wyll's eyes widen. "You know of me? How?"

"Because I am of this city, as much as Balduran was and now even more," Ansur said, lowering himself to acknowledge Wyll alone. "I have slept underneath this prison, hearing every heartbeat, listening to every prayer, not being able to help those who needed me most. Out of all the souls I looked over, how could I ignore the heart of the gate, the one I have chosen to be my champion?"

Wyll looked as though he was about to have a heart attack. "Wh-what? Me? As your champion." He gathered himself quickly. "Ansur, this is the greatest honor I could think of, but I'm afraid I'm not worthy."

Ansur's nostrils flared. "And why is that? You dare question my judgement?"

"Ansur, I am turning you down because all of done is question you during the trials," Wyll explained gently. "When you said the best outcome for the thief was imprisonment, I asked what is supposed to happen next and who is going to take care of the child he stole for. I wondered why no one was looking after the unlucky and only took action when the poor had to steal to survive.

"When we finished the chamber of insight, I wondered if eliminating Suelto will truly finish the what she started or if she was even the one that begun it all. Once again whatever route problem that had encouraged to act the way she had was ignored for the sake of a simple solution.

"And during the chess game, I was not able to solve the puzzle myself and had to ask one of my friends for advice for an easy victory. The only trial I was able to succeed on my own was the trial against the elementals and even then I had only survived because of a team effort. Which time I have either questioned you or failed. How could I be worthy enough to be your chosen?"

Ansur did the most unexpected thing. He laughed. "Young Ravengard, I have chosen you because you did not let the trials dictate you. After all, I was not the one who build these trials. It was the one you now call the Emperor."

"What?" Wyll asked from shock.

"I mean, it is rather obvious now that I think about it," Gale mused out loud. "There was no possible way for a dragon carcass to build all of this complex chambers. But what did the emperor had to gain from this?"

"A puppet to manipulate," Ansur answered. "The chamber of courage was too test his future thrall's physical capabilities. The trail of justice was to ensure the creature's simple thinking. The trial of insight was to see if they can put an end to whoever is getting in their way without any questioning. And the chamber of strategy was for the Emperor to enter your mind and tell you how to take out the king. It all to see if you would be easy to control.

"And yet, you, Wyll Ravengard, did not fall for these manipulations. You doubted the answers he gave you. You questioned the solutions he represented to you. You did not bend your will and ask him to finish the job for you so you won't have to think for yourself. And most importantly, you asked for help. You understood your own weaknesses and knew better than to assume you know better than all.

"You have the courage to ask for help. The insight to know your strength and weaknesses. The strategy of a man who knows the men he fights with. And a sense of Justice none can sake.

"You are Wyll Ravengard, and you will be my chosen."

[burningdreambanana]

My problem with Alicent Hightower on HOTD

I'm team green but I have to admit I have a hard time with show Alicent and I honestly think it's because she's just not a well-written character. I mean I was rewatching HOTD and sometimes she doesn't like her own character, but more a foil to Rhaenyra. It also feels like she's the product of different writers who had different ideas about who she should be and never really agreed.

First of all, I think that Alicent's support for Rhaenyra as heir should have been changed the minute Aegon was born, as he immediately became a dangerous challenge that Rhaenyra would be forced to deal with. The show treats this issue as if it's a 20th succession story about who's going to take daddy's place as CEO or whatever but it's not, for Alicent to be so chill about it and act like Otto is making stuff up without basis is just wrong and anachronistic.

Secondly the reason Alicent turns against Rhaenyra feels weird and contrived to me. Like I can understand her being upset that Rhaenyra semi-lied about her sex life (not even a full lie since Alicent doesn't know she lied about not going to a brothel with Daemon but she did imply she was a virgin which wasn't true) and not wanting to talk to her anymore but to declare war???? And suddenly in ep6 she despises Rhaenyra and thinks she's going to kill her sons. Idk that's kind wild to me that she went there from a semi-lie, but was still ride or die for Rhaenyra after her son was born and Rhaenyra gave her the cold shoulder for years. I know there's been a time skip but it's not an excuse not to explain why a character became the way they are.

Thirdly, Alicent from ep8-9 feels like a completely different character than in ep6-7 and it's not explained by any logical turn of events. At the end of ep7, Alicent had the confirmation that Rhaenyra and Viserys couldn't care less about her children, Rhaenya saw her little brother maimed for life and asked that he be "sharply questioned" (which btw is supposed to be a medieval euphemism for torture), she lets people believed she murdered Laenor to create fear and married Daemon, who despises Otto. In ep8 they show up at court after 6 years of absence, accuse her of poisoning Viserys (when she's the one who stayed to take care of him), and make Viserys drag his dying corpse to the throne room so he could solve issues created by Rhaenyra's own stupid mistakes. Daemon proceeds to murder Vaemond without a warning or a trial for saying the exact same thing that Alicent, Aemond and Aegon have said many times. Logically, Alicent should be terrified and more determined than ever to put Aegon on the throne for her family's safety. But no, Rhaenyra makes a half-assed apology that doesn't even acknowledges Aemond's eye, doesn't involve a genuine gesture towards her brothers to show that she will keep them safe and Alicent is like you know? you're forgiven ! What I am angry about anyway? You'll make a great queen ! Like what happened? And then because the war still has to happen with the stupid misunderstanding that makes Alicent look really delusional and stupid. Also in ep6 and even at the beginning of ep8 she was plotting to put Aegon on the throne so why is she out of the loop at the Green council? It's just sad, no one has respect for the poor lady except maybe her sons and Cole. Anyway I think her character deserved way better. Personnally I would have keep the safety of her children as her motivation but also a more personal act where she realizes she spent her life catering to Viserys and Rhaenyra who walked all over her and gave her nothing in return, and decided to put Aegon on the throne to finally be free and have power through him.

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

So, like everyone else, I'm also getting eaten alive by the Arcane season 2 finale. It may even have awakened the Writing Beast from its deep slumber. Some here's some disorganized Jayvik thoughts under the cut:

Where the hell's my "They had us going in the first half" meme? Like, am I the only one who made it through episode 8 and the first half of episode 9 with the sick-to-the-stomach dread that it was going to crash and burn? I'll be honest, I did not think they had the chops to pull this off and yet! I stand gloriously evolved corrected! God damn!

And for that matter, where's my "Why We Have To Break Up/Why We Have To Stay Together/Why We're Getting Divorced/etc" meme too. I think that is warranted. True, Jayce and Viktor never really sell you on the divorce, but I think that just makes it funnier.

I can't fucking believe that hanahaki almost destroyed the universe. Like, that's canon, that's real. That's just what fucking happened, oh my goddddd. Viktor, jesus christ dude.

To be quite honest, I think there is a strongly justified argument that Jayce thought they were in a relationship the entire time. Canon does not disprove this. Think about it, he always refers to Viktor as his partner, he fucking introduces him that way to everyone he meets. If he just assumed that maybe Viktor was ace since Viktor never initiates touch or seems to ask for physical intimacy, he might have just thought this is what Viktor was cool with. Viktor never contradicts or asks to clarify the "partner" title. Jayce also doesn't go out looking for Mel, he kinda fell into it. And he might have assumed that if Viktor had a problem with it, he'd say something. Which in fact echoes one of the main problems in their relationship! Consistently, Jayce thinks Viktor will speak up for himself, for his needs and wants, for when he needs help, because he loves and respects Viktor and believes they are equals. Why wouldn't Viktor come to him if he needed something? Why would Viktor hide from him? And Viktor, equally consistently, literally would rather die than tell you he's dying. He will not, ever, disclose what he wants or needs and it has never occurred to him that Jayce would expect him to say if he needs something. Like, there's blame on both sides for why this fell apart. And they both assumed they understood each other perfectly and what's truly fucked is on an atomically intimate level they do, but on a higher practical, logistical level, they just talk right past each other. Viktor assumes partner only means professionally and Jayce assumes that Viktor would ask. The misunderstanding is literally that simple.

And then think about Skye! My god, she walks into this and takes one look at Viktor and instantly knows what's Wrong With Him™. And, bafflingly, Jayce doesn't! It's painfully clear to her that Viktor is incapable of thinking about anyone besides Jayce, that he's dying and refusing help at every turn, that he's beautiful and brilliant and never ever hears it when people tell him that. She sees all this instantly and, with dawning horror, sees that Jayce carries uncommonly strong affection for him. So how, in the name of all that is holy, has Jayce not noticed? How could he be this blind? And, this Skye probably didn't know, but Jayce is so fucking in love with everything Viktor does and is, he truly doesn't see the problems until it's too late. It's not that he doesn't care, quite the opposite in fact. And poor Skye just sits with that knowledge. It's arguable that she selfishly didn't explain to Viktor, but it's just as arguable, that if she had tried, Viktor still wouldn't have heard her. She knew him very well, I want to give her credit for that.

It's tragic, but also so fucking funny. "Well, I think I'm in a relationship? I call him my partner all the time and we do everything together. He makes me so happy. Pretty sure he's ace tho? And maybe he thinks we have an open relationship? I told him I slept with someone and he just kinda nodded? He looked real pale and sick, but he always looks like that. I dunno, maybe sexual stuff just grosses him out too much. I won't bring it up again. As long as he's happy, I'm happy." vs "Well, my soulmate is currently courting someone else. *painful cough* He's probably drinking with her, kissing her, *hack* making love to her. *spits blood* They're probably in bed right now, all warm skin and soft sheets. *more coughing* He's probably the happiest he's ever been. Much better than taking me to bed. Why would he want me anyway? I'm falling apart. *wracking cough and wheezing* So this is fine. This is fine. I'm fine. *coughs up more blood* I'm Fine." Fucking hilarious.

I love how much they're the same person. The only difference in their perspectives are their life experiences. They're both stubborn as the day is long, single-minded, principled, prone to fixation and overworking, desperate to be of use, to contribute, and utterly useless without each other. They get fascinated by the same things, but will gravitate towards different applications, different ends. They both have strong and meaningful relationships with women that are/were potentially romantic. They're both miserable when they're alone and their thinking will warp without someone to talk to. Loneliness haunts Jayce just as much as it haunts Viktor. It's just that Jayce came from a loving home and people were willing to give him a chance. Jayce learned how to be charming because he was expected to be charming, he had places to go and be charming. Viktor pulled himself out of abject poverty and fought for half the chances Jayce was given out of sheer brilliance and determination. Viktor has always had himself and no one else, he knows what he can do on his own, but his whole world changed when he found someone he could do it with. And discovered there was much more they could do together than he'd ever be able to do alone. There's nothing worse than being alone again after you've found that. They both know this.

Ugh, more later but, sdkfjhskjdhfkjsadfhjksda THEM

[maybe-a-gatto-or-a-catto]

OKAY SO I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT STATIC HATSUNE MIKU AND TENNA DUO DELTARUNE AU!!!!

While Chapter 3 takes place, Miku suddenly appears and causes chaos on the set because she suddenly decides to appear on TV with the fun gang and Tenna, completely misunderstanding what their TV show is about. She speaks to the audience like she is on a kid's cartoon, and is trying REALLY hard to hide that Susie decided to write a swear on her name board. When she has to explain to Tenna what happened (being also completely confused as to why she suddenly appeared in his dark world) they suddenly immediately hit it off because they're both neglected and from old TV or ARE an old TV. Tenna slaps a contract down he made on the fly and Miku signs it, making them OFFICIALLY business partners! Awesome!

Miku is particularly happy to see Kris, since they watched her show when they were a kid. She was super happy to give Kris happiness when they had family troubles. She is super eager to give that same happiness again... Though, just like Tenna, she has felt very lonely. Kris was the last person to ever watch her show on a VHS tape, and she wants Kris to go watch again. With this, I want Miku to contrast Tenna because she actually only really knows Kris. Kris watched her show when they were having troubles in their life. Tenna is the nostalgic family man, while Miku was always there for Kris. Now Miku has gotten attached to Kris in specific, and wants them to feel better about their current situation, even if she doesn't know what is going on or even knows how to help them. What she does is rooted in mostly selfishness, just like Tenna. She doesn't want to feel lonely.

Miku also feels bitter about being so neglected because she is just a small part of something bigger: THE Hatsune Miku. Everyone only cares about that other version of her, the one that appears on the box art of her voicebank. People pay less attention to the smaller Mikus that appear in songs, music videos, etc, and especially OBSCURE ones like HER. Not to mention people just credit all of it to THE Hatsune Miku. She wants to be big and well-known too like the others! But she can't. Which should parallel Spamton's desire to.. MAKE HIS OWN DEALS! TO BE FREE! She only really explains this to Tenna, but hints of this bitterness show itself to the the Fun Gang at times. (Also this could also be an allegory to people not crediting the vocaloid producers but rather Hatsune Miku.. but moving on)

Miku gets a board of her own since she keeps making mistakes as a TV host, instead acting like a cartoon character. Her board is themed after her TV show, full of childish whimsy and fun. I have no idea what the gameplay could be for this board though.. Anyway, Miku tries really hard to make Kris happy, though Kris doesn't react the way she wants to- they don't have a smile. She doesn't understand why it's not working... And, she doesn't actually understand the root of Kris' problems, and instead tries to cure the symptoms with a bandaid. Just like how Toriel and Asgore gave Kris a horn headband after they asked when their horns will grow, instead of trying to help them accept their humanity. She represents the problems Kris has had with their family. Miku has no idea what to do with this. Miku is bad with negative emotions after all. The only thing she knows is smiling. Smiling is comfort. Positivity is smiling! Actually, she has to keep smiling. The audience can't leave. Kris can't leave.

Miku has genuinely no idea that Tenna has made a deal with the Roaring Knight. Tenna does eventually show that he is hiding Toriel, but completely omits why he is keeping her safe in a gacha ball at all. (In fear of Miku leaving perhaps...). Completely unknowingly, she also makes a deal with the Roaring Knight... If Tenna does anything funky with Toriel, like... for example letting her go. She has to stop him, and she will get the popularity she wants (again). They have the same motivation... But they will have to work against eachother...

Now TIME SKIP! Tenna crashes out because the fun gang has to seal the fountain and leave his TV show. Cue the gacha ball prison and the FLAMING videogame. Miku has absolutely no idea what to do- she is freaking out herself because she thinks this is scaring Kris... Then proceeding to do the wrong thing and not address this at all with Tenna and just begging indirectly that they should do something else. Tenna does not get the insanely subtle begging of "THIS IS NOT GOOD TENNA PLEASE STOP" of course. Fun Gang escapes and Tenna looks for them. You'll get to see Miku sometimes, talking to herself that she doesn't know what to do. She admits she doesn't know how to help Kris. That she's scared they'll leave if she upsets them too much. Then it's FINALLY TIME! Tenna initiates his points battle which Miku decides to agree to because it's better than scaring away Kris. It's an awesome duo battle!! (Though Miku has more easy attack patterns purely because she wants to make it fun, rather than scary).

After the fun gang wins, it's finally time for Toriel to be returned to her rightful place. Then Miku suddenly steps in, and attacks Tenna. She looks very reluctant about all this- especially since Tenna gave her the opportunity to give smiles to people again, to Kris again. They became friends over the course of chapter 3. They are two peas in a pod, they were both left behind, with no understanding of anything but TV. Tenna is understandably confused about this and slightly freaking out again cause uh. that would technically be the second time he got betrayed. Miku tells him that this is for the sake of giving people smiles and especially Kris a smile again. She CAN'T be left behind, not again. Tenna tries to fight back and threaten with the contract... But. Since it was made on the fly the terms kinda suck ass? Along with the fact that Tenna wants to keep Miku as his friend... He had lost everyone in quick succession just an hour ago. Miku attacks again (though a little weaker). Susie steps in though, and convinces her to stop. They can figure something out all together. They will all make sure Miku gets to have people watching her show again. Tenna will have people watch TV again. Miku is kinda reluctant. Is that even possible? But she ends up agreeing to Susie's idea. Miku is really relieved by this. She won't have to hurt Tenna! And Tenna is relieved because he won't have to fight Miku! And then Tenna gets attacked by the Knight. Miku is super shocked and worried, and decides to stay with Tenna when the Fun Gang fights the Knight. The game pretty much ends the same after that... Just with Miku being an awesome friend to Tenna ｡⁠◕⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ◕⁠｡

THAT'S IT!!! I THINK!! Thank you for reading... I really liked incorporating Miku into the themes of this chapter!

[hacked-by-jake]

Hi! I wanted to leave this with a comment but I had to send it in multiple parts so I decided to make an ask :)

So SPOILERS!

I wanted to comment about the ask where anon talks about how no one questions us and I totally agree but doesn't Eric call them all before? Like in Duskwood, Thomas just brought everyone in without anyone's consent in a group chat? Eric alerts them and they probably just wait and see what will happen with us? I know if I were one of them I'll be cautious about the new person but I wouldn't ultimately get mad at them without knowing more? And Eric is on his own in the forest, while Adam has disappeared. The settings are different and they are more worried about their friends than about that stranger, especially if Adam had sent my contact to his friend and there was a letter with my name on it. Ash asks about us and the others will probably too at some point but I think they are shocked that their friend is missing. XD

Sorry if I didn't explain myself well and it wasn't a criticism about the previous ask! Because I totally agree with the fact that no one really questions us not even Eric but they just discovered the disappearance of their friend so it's not the most important thing at the moment? Especially at 00h27...

Now that I am reading this, it's not that important I just wanted to say something about the game. :)

Thank you for reading and thank you for giving your opinions

Have a wonderful day/evening

Hey Ho! :D

First of all, thank you a lot for sending the ask, I really appreciate it.

Well, you're absolutely right about the call and I forgot about it.

But I think in Duskwood is was like, they knew the number already and even wanted to go to the police with it. So they all were aware that the number existed and they still were super suspicious. But also not completely in the first chat. Also more like in private chats. Richy and Jessy, for example. Also Richy and Cleo and Thomas and Cleo as well. They all wrote about us. But in the group no one really did. And also not in private chats with the characters. So it's not that different.

I think they just were surprised when Thomas really wrote to us and then started the group. Since Dan says something like "so you really did it, huh?"

And as I said, I forgot about the call in Moonvale. But it's true. And Eric explained everything to them before. I do believe they should be more careful and not trust our opinion right away. But I think another reason is that the other didn't know it Adam was the victim of a crime. He disappeared on his own. That is what we know so far. So there wasn't much time to ask questions. And I can imagine this will become more of a topic in the next episode.

And Charlie doesn't even realise the seriousness in the beginning and Violet didn't say much at all.

I don’t know. With the call it definitely makes more sense gut they should have been a bit more careful, at least. Maybe another thing is because Eric already called the police and if we had something to hide we wouldn't be happy about it.

I don't know, I don’t think it's a huge problem, a bit odd, but nothing too much. And at least Ash questioned us.

And after she told Charlie about it, it's also not a wonder why he's not questioning us. I mean, for these two it's more clear why we're there. Violet is very passive and probably doesn’t say anything about it either.

It feels a little weird, yes, but is not a doomsday that somehow disturbs the course.

Thank you for sharing your opinion and also thank you for the reminder about the call. I think you explained it very well and there's nothing to misunderstand, don't worry. 💚

And I wish you a good day/evening/night, as well! Take care! 💚

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry #11

previous // next // story index

__________

Victor

Strange day today.

Why, you ask? I think I came out to my mom this morning. Sort of.

This might be complicated, but I’m going to do my best to explain, so bear with me because it might take me a few minutes to get the point. Some of this stuff isn’t something I’d usually discuss, but it’s really important for me to put it here, especially since you’re getting to know Yuri and me through our journal.

As you already know, Mom arrived yesterday morning. I feel like it’s been forever since we were together, and I was thrilled to be reunited with her. The moment we saw each other in the airport was one of the happiest of my life so far.

I’m not certain Yuri is particularly happy about our current circumstances. I know he loves my mom, but I’m not sure he likes her. Or maybe he’s jealous because he’s had my undivided attention up till now. I’ll need to find out soon because I don’t want him to be accidentally hurt by a misunderstanding. He’s my everything, even more than my mom is, and for me that’s saying a lot. I’d never want to make him feel like he’s less important all of a sudden. He’ll always be the most important to me.

Anyway, Yuri and I decided that while Mom’s here with us, she could stay in his room and he’d come in with me. For some reason, when we sleep together we share my bed more often than we share Yuri’s, so it seemed logical. He moved his laptop and his work stuff and his violin into my room, and I helped him hang up some of his clothes in my closet. We had to relocate our snowboards and gear too because we’d been keeping them in Yuri’s closet due to it being bigger and less cluttered than mine.

While all that was going on, Mom was genuinely surprised that we had to rearrange some stuff for her. I think she thought our second bedroom was Yuri’s home office or maybe a den or guest room. She seemed shocked that we each have our own room, and I could tell she really wanted to ask me about it.

Later, when Mom and I were on our way up the mountain, she brought up the subject of me and Yuri having separate rooms. I had to explain that Yuri doesn’t always want to share a bed with me because of his physical contact issues, and also because sometimes when he’s in a lot of pain, he’s really restless and he worries that he’ll keep me awake. Besides, everyone has times when they need their own space. Each of us having a room gives us that.

She seemed satisfied with my answer, but unfortunately it led to a whole new set of questions from her about Yuri’s health. My mom is kind of nosy, but she isn’t doing it to be a busybody. She’s truly concerned about others and likes to know as much about them as she can. The problem is, not everyone always wants to talk about everything in their lives.

I definitely wasn’t comfortable talking about Yuri’s personal stuff with her. I said she’d have to ask him about it and warned her that he probably wouldn’t want to tell her. I know all about it myself, of course, but I’m the one who takes care of him and goes to all the doctor visits with him and everything. I’ve seen him at his worst, when he’s crying in pain and can’t even get up out of bed without my help. We both hate those days, and I know Yuri would never want anyone he doesn’t trust to hear the details of just how bad it can get. My guess is, only me and his mother know the full extent of it.

The rest of the afternoon was awkward. Don’t get me wrong; I’m super excited and happy to have Mom here and I hope she can stay with us for a while, but yesterday I realized that something’s changed between her and me in the last year and a half. I used to feel like there was nothing about my life that was none of her business. Now, there are things I want to keep private, and I don’t know what it means that I can’t share everything with her any more.

Last night when Yuri and I were in bed, I told him about it.

“It’s known as ‘becoming an adult’,” he said.

At twenty-five, I suppose that makes me a late bloomer. Oh well. Better late than never, right?

This morning, I enjoyed some quiet time while Mom was still in bed and Yuri was getting ready for work. That’s something else I’ve noticed that’s apparently changed about me. I never used to like being by myself and I didn’t like it when things were too quiet, but recently I’ve started to appreciate it more. I still don’t like being completely alone, but it’s fine when I’m doing my own thing and I know Yuri isn’t too far away. I could hear him in my room, singing to himself. He’s a terrible singer but I was pleased to hear him because I assumed it meant he was feeling reasonably good.

I’ll tell you one thing. When he eventually made his way to the kitchen, he was looking good. I mean, Yuri always looks good. He’s one of those people who could wrap himself in a trash bag and still look like he’s on the runway at Paris Fashion Week, but Yuri in a tailored charcoal grey suit that probably cost more than an entire paycheque at my last job was just... wow. His silk dress shirt was this dainty shade of pink that somehow still managed to look masculine while suggesting ‘expensive rose bouquet’, and his tie was a darker pink with a swirly grey pattern on it. He legitimately could’ve been in an ad for a menswear store.

“Hey, cute boy,” I greeted him. “Are you trying to impress somebody today?”

“You know I am,” he said.

“Well, it’s working. I don’t know about those bigshots at your job, but you’re impressing the heck out of me right now.”

“Those bigshots at my work are going to be more interested in my presentation than in my outfit, I think,” he said. “Thank you, though.”

“If I was there, I probably wouldn’t be able to pay attention to the presentation. I’d be too busy staring at you.”

Yuri smiled. 'Why do I feel like you’d have trouble paying attention to it anyway, no matter what I had on?“

"Maybe because that’s exactly what’d happen,” I admitted.

“You’re impossible, Victor.” He went to the fridge and got out some juice. “Where’s your mother? Is she still in bed?”

“She hasn’t come out of the room yet, so I think so,” I said. “She probably has jetlag. It’ll take her a few days to adjust. I know it did for me.”

“I remember,” Yuri said. He poured orange juice into a glass, but I noticed he set the glass on the counter rather than lifting it and taking a drink. “You were so adorable, wandering around all sleepy in the middle of the afternoon. I think that’s the calmest you’ve ever been since I’ve known you.”

I grinned. “And then it all went crazy for you after that.”

“It’s a good kind of crazy. I don’t mind,” he said. “Tell your mother I’m sorry I didn’t get to say good morning. I’ll be gone for the day before she gets up. Unless she gets up within the next five minutes, that is.”

“Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?”

He shook his head. “No time.”

“It’s a good thing we showered together,” I said. “Imagine how much longer it would’ve taken you to get ready if you’d had to wait for me to get done in there. And why did it take you so long to get dressed? I thought you laid out your suit and your lucky socks and everything last night.”

A soft blush spread across his cheeks and nose. "I was slowed down by anxiety mostly.”

“Mostly?” I stepped over to him so I could hug him from behind and give him a little pat on the stomach. “If it was mostly that, what was the other part? The angry belly monster?”

He tried not to laugh. I could tell because I felt him tense a tiny bit as he held his breath. His effort failed, however, and he made a kind of squeaking noise. “It’s still funny that you call it that,” he put his hands over mine. "And no, my stomach’s not angry today, thankfully.”

“And you don’t want to risk upsetting it with breakfast?”

“Something like that, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll take one of my protein drinks and have it while I’m on the train.”

“Good. Do that,” I said “Did you remember your medication?”

“Yes,” he said. “You already reminded me twice.”

“Sorry. I just want today to go well for you. I know this meeting’s really important.”

I didn’t know what the meeting would be about exactly, but I knew Yuri’s boss had asked him specifically to come into the city to attend it and give an in-person presentation. The public relations and marketing firm Yuri works for has some really big, high-profile clients, but the files Yuri usually works on are the smaller ones. He writes stuff like press releases, official correspondence, advertising materials and content for company websites and social media. Judging by what Yuri told me and how stressed he was, I think his boss was considering giving him a bigger file to work on. I think they were supposed to meet with this potential new client, and if the client decided to hire them, Yuri would get the client’s account and be primarily responsible for it. It seemed like a super big deal to me, and I was nervous for him even though I was confident he’d do well.

“Mr. Tanaka says I’ll get a bonus if we can land this account today,” he said.

“A bonus sounds good,” I said. “Who’s the client?”

“Snowy Peak Sporting Equipment.”

I stared. “That’s literally huge, Yuri! That’s like, an international company.”

“Yes,” he affirmed. “And it’s headquartered here in Matsumori. The VP of Marketing and Sales, Stephen Fujikawa, was an Olympic skier before he went to work with his father and aunt at the company. His son’s a professional athlete too. A figure skater.”

“You obviously did your homework.”

“I’d hardly go into a meeting with Mr. Fujikawa without knowing something about him and his family and his company,” Yuri said. “It pays to be prepared for this sort of thing. But even so, I’m terrified I’ll mess it up somehow.”

“You won’t,” I said. “You’ll be awesome.”

“I hope so.”

“Try not to worry.”

“Easier said than done,” he said.

“You got this,” I told him. “Tell them you’ve got personal experience with Snowy Peak snowboards.”

“What? My snowboard isn’t—”

“No, but both of mine are, and you’ve ridden my non-competition one before. Plus, you’ve seen what the Silver Storm can do.”

“When you’re on it.” He coughed delicately. “Pardon me. Him.”

“Well, he doesn’t win medals by himself, does he?”

“Sometimes I wonder which of you is really running the show up there on the mountain.”

“We’re a team. We run by telepathy.”

Yuri laughed. “Of course you do.”

“We do,” I insisted. “Anyway, don’t get me started on snowboarding. Do you have all your notes for the meeting?”

“Yes,” he said. “They’re on my iPad.”

“Good. Now, remember you’re supposed to take your other meds at noon. With food. Oh, and don’t forget your phone. And your train ticket.”

“I know.”

“I made lunch for you, and it’s in your bag. There’s a protein bar and a bottle of that carrot juice you like too. I want you to try to eat at least half of what I gave you. Think you can do that?”

“I’ll try,” he said. “No promises.”

“Do your best.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Good luck kiss before you go,” I said, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

He squirmed in my arms, trying to get away, but he was laughing again. “Victor, stop. I have to leave right now, or I’ll be late for the train. No more nonsense, please. I’ll see you when I get back.”

“All right,” I said and let him go. “I know you’ll make a big impact on everyone today. It’ll be great.”

“I’ll tell you all about it when I get home,” he promised. With that, he grabbed his messenger bag and hurried out the door.

After Yuri left, I gazed at his abandoned glass of orange juice on the counter for a while before eventually deciding to drink it myself instead of covering it and putting it in the fridge for him for later. Then, I got out my own iPad and started looking at job ads online.

Sadly, the whole snowboarding instructor idea didn’t work out, so I’m still searching. The guys at the Recreation Association said they’d gladly hire me if they had any open positions, but there’s nothing at the moment. They said I should ask again at the beginning of winter, but that’s too far away for me. I need a job now or at least very soon. Yuri and I will have a lot of extra bills to pay after our move, and I doubt we’ll get another place with rent as cheap as this one.

On the plus side, I do have a job interview tomorrow. It’s at the wellness center in Kiyosaka. Yuri was right that they were looking for someone to fill a personal health and wellness coach position, but I still don’t know how I feel about working there. I love helping people learn what they can do to feel their best, but I’m worried I won’t fit in with the type of people who can afford the astronomical fees that place charges its clients. It’s possible I might feel better about it if my salary would reflect the cost of the services I’d be providing. If I get the job, though. I guess we’ll see.

Most of the employment ads I found were for stuff like food service and retail. I’d likely be good at retail, but I’d rather do something in the health and wellness field, or something that involves sports because I doubt I’d be content for long, selling clothes, electronics or household appliances.

Around ten o'clock, Mom finally emerged. She looked well rested and none the worse for wear for somebody who’d travelled halfway around the world. She offered to make breakfast, and I said yes. I’d already eaten earlier, but I never turn down second breakfast. Mom made hot cereal and cut up fresh berries to put on top, and it reminded me of when I was a little kid.

“How was your first night in Matsumori?” I asked when she’d joined me at the table. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Once you and your boyfriend stopped making so much noise in the next room, I slept very well,” Mom said. She gave me a mischievous grin. “I presume you killed all the zombies?”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. Yuri and I really get into our video games sometimes,” I said. “And he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Oh? Do you usually let men who aren’t your boyfriend wear your clothes and kiss you passionately in the doorway of the bathroom?”

I could feel heat rushing into my face, and I imagined I was as red as the strawberries Mom had put into my cereal bowl. I didn’t realize she’d seen Yuri kissing me this morning. She must’ve come out of Yuri’s room and noticed us, decided it was better not to interrupt, and then gone back in.

For the record, passionate isn’t the word I would’ve used to describe what happened between Yuri and me in the hallway, although to be fair, he did kind of have me pinned against the wall so it may have looked like something it wasn’t.

Here’s what actually happened.

Yuri’s not a morning person at all, but he usually doesn’t need an alarm because I am a morning person and I wake him up if he’s got early conference calls. But last night we were both concerned enough to set an alarm just in case, since he was taking the train into the city and definitely could not oversleep and miss it.

No surprise, I woke up before the alarm, but Yuri was still asleep and he looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to wake him until I absolutely had to. I tried to slip out of bed without disturbing him, but I guess he missed my body heat and woke up anyway, and then came to find me.

I should add that Yuri was wearing nothing but underwear and a long-sleeved tee, and I was more or less naked except for a ratty old pair of gym shorts, so that probably also contributed to my mom’s misreading of the situation. And she would totally have recognized the oversized red shirt Yuri had on as mine. The huge Royal Maple High School Soccer logo on it is hard to miss, not to mention that it has NELSON and a big number 14 on the back.

Yuri pretended he was mad that I went off to the shower without giving him a good morning kiss, and said he wasn’t letting me go until I did. The sight of him standing there all rumpled and cute and failing so hard at his fake angry face made me laugh, and I willingly let him push me back against the edge of the bathroom door.

“I hope you know you’re in big trouble,” he said.

“You’re so aggressive today,” I teased him. “So demanding.”

“It’s your fault,” he replied. “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d woken me up and kissed me good morning like you’re supposed to.”

“I’m sorry. I guess I’ll just have to take the consequences for being so inconsiderate, won’t I?”

He eyed me as if he were sizing me up. “Brave of you, especially since you don’t know what they are.”

“I figure you’re going to tell me,” I said.

“Yes. I… am going to shower… with you.” He punctuated each phrase with a series of little kisses that started on my cheek and ended over my collarbone.

“Mmm… okay. But if you’re going to help me wash my hair, no getting soapy water in my eyes this time.”

“That’s your own fault, too,” he said. “You need to learn to keep your eyes closed,”

’“Okay, Mr. Bossy.”

I don’t know how much of our interaction my mom witnessed, but I guess it might’ve looked kind of intense for someone who doesn’t understand the nature of our relationship. To us, it was our typical playfully affectionate morning nonsense, but if you didn’t know what you were looking at, maybe it seemed more like foreplay than just two boys being silly.

It occurred to me that too many seconds had passed and I hadn’t answered Mom’s question when I heard her prompt me with, “Victor? Sweetheart, are you even listening to me?”

I must’ve been sitting there with a stupid look on my face, and even my ears were burning from my blush at that point. “Sorry,” I said, trying to focus on my cereal so I didn’t have to look directly at her.

“What were you thinking about just now? You looked a little dreamy for a minute, there.”

“Uh… it was Yuri, actually,” I mumbled, “But just a little bit.”

“Yuri, who’s not your boyfriend?”

“He’s not,” I said. “It’s not like that. What you saw this morning… We were just messing around. It’s, uh... it’s not what you think.”

Yeah, I really did sound that dumb.

"It’s okay if he is your boyfriend,” Mom said. “You know I’ll accept whoever you love. Yuri is precious, and the two of you clearly belong together. It’s hard not to see that.”

“Thanks.”

“I know you’re into boys, and that’s absolutely fine,” she went on. “I’m not about to judge you.”

“I know,” I said. “But here’s the thing, Mom. I’m not into boys. Yeah, sometimes I am attracted to other boys or to people who don’t identify as strictly male or female, but I really like women too.”

“Yuri is a boy,“ Mom said, and then frowned as if she might be reconsidering her statement. "He is a boy, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Mom,” I said, doing my best to keep any sort of emotion out of my tone. “I can tell you for sure, Yuri is definitely a boy.”

“But you’re not into boys.”

“No, I am. What I’m trying to say is that it’s not exclusively boys I’m into. I guess you could say I’m into people,” I said. “Like, I love Yuri because he’s Yuri, not because he happens to be a boy. It has nothing to do with his gender or biological sex or whatever. It’s like, more fundamental than that.”

“I see,” Mom said, but I wondered if she did.

I sighed. “I guess I’m not doing very good at explaining it. Maybe it’ll make more sense if I tell you why Yuri and I decided we’re not boyfriends.”

Mom looked confused at that. “I’m not sure I understand.“

“We’re not boyfriends because usually when people hear ‘boyfriend’, they automatically assume it’s about, like... sex and everything. But, it’s not like that with us. We’re not sleeping together.”

“You aren’t?”

“Okay, we do sleep in the same bed a lot but we’re not, you know… doing stuff.”

“You’re not having sex, you mean,” she said.

“Right. Because we don’t want to.”

Mom smiled. “You’re not ready yet, perhaps.”

“No,” I said. “We don’t want to. We’ve both done it with other people, so it’s not as if we don’t know anything about it. We just don’t feel like our relationship is sexual.”

“It certainly looked sexual from where I was standing this morning,” Mom said.

“I think a lot of people get confused and think sex and intimacy are the same thing,” I told her. “But they’re totally not. Like, me and Yuri are intimate, but it doesn’t feel sexual to me. When we’re playing or when we’re cuddling, it just feels like trust and affection and safety, and… I don’t know. It’s everything, and it’s enough.”

What I didn’t tell my mom is that Yuri and I both find sex disgusting and uncomfortable, him even more so than me. Obviously I can’t speak for him, but he told me that the time he did it was one of the most horrible and traumatizing experiences of his life. My previous experiences with it weren’t all that amazing either. I would’t go so far as to say my encounters were traumatic, but they were pretty awful.

For me, it happened three times with two different people, and I can tell you that the results weren’t better after the first time, or with a different partner. Instead of leaving me with a desire for more, I was left feeling generally unhappy and overwhelmed, and weirdly violated even though it was always consensual and nothing bad or painful happened. Honestly, after it was over each time, all I wanted was to take a very long, hot shower with calming aromatherapy soap and to cry a little bit where no one could see me.

Yuri is asexual, and I’ve figured out that I’m probably grey asexual because sometimes I do feel sexually attracted to certain people and want physical pleasure from them. And by certain people, I mean Yuri.

Yuri doesn’t like to be touched at all by anyone he doesn’t know and trust. It took a while for him to trust me enough to let me touch him, even though neither of us had any doubts about how much we already loved one another when I came here. When I first arrived, the most he could tolerate was a slight squeeze of his hand or the occasional hug as long as it wasn’t too close and didn’t last too long. He said he wanted more and I believed him, but I knew it was difficult for him and I tried hard to be as patient as i could. Now, he’s comfortable enough to initiate things himself, like when he sneaks under the covers with me in the middle of the night and wakes me up by kissing the back of my neck. I adore that he feels safe enough with me to do that, but I know he still prefers to express his love in other ways, and to have people express their love for him without physically demonstrating it.

Me, though? I’m a hugger and I don’t mind casual contact with people I don’t know well, but I’d really have to trust them before I’d let them touch me even a fraction as intimately as Yuri does.

Sometimes when I’m attracted to someone, I can imagine snuggling with them or maybe even kissing them, but I’d never kiss someone on the first date and possibly not even the tenth date if I wasn’t really into them. If I did kiss them, I’d keep my mouth closed because tongues... eww. Yuri and I agree; neither of us like tongues. I thought I was going to pass out, the one and only time a woman put her tongue in my mouth. Just remembering it makes me cringe.

But, enough about that because thinking about it is grossing me out and I’d really like my two breakfasts to stay where they belong. Besides, this whole kissing discussion is all hypothetical now, since I don’t ever want to kiss anyone but Yuri for the rest of our lives.

But, maybe that’s too much information? Maybe I’ve got a PG-13 audience. Who knows?

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that Yuri and I are connected on a level that’s way stronger than physical attraction. Our friendship and the first couple years of our relationship were completely non-physical, due to us living ten thousand kilometres apart, and when you can’t even touch one another, you grow closer in other aspects. You make every word, every gift, every shared song and video count, and you learn about your person’s heart and mind before ever getting acquainted with their body.

“Okay,” Mom said, catching me mid-thought again. “If Yuri’s not your boyfriend, how am I supposed to refer to him when I’m bragging about the two of you to Julian and your uncles and aunts and all my friends? ‘My son’s friend’ doesn’t seem adequate.”

“Uh… I think we’d rather that you didn’t brag about us.”

“But, I can’t help it,” she said. “I do it because I’m proud of you. Both of you. Your Yuri is a wonderful, caring person and I can tell he’s exactly what you need, regardless of what word you use to describe your relationship. I can also tell he loves you very much.”

“I love him too, and I’m lucky to have him,” I said. “He is exactly what I need.”

"You’ve matured so much this year, Victor,” Mom said. “You know, when you told me that you wanted to move here, I was scared to let you go. I was afraid you’d struggle to adjust and I was concerned how you’d get along without me. But now I see that I was worried for nothing.”

“Maybe not for nothing. Sometimes I do struggle, because life as a grownup is really hard.”

“It is,” Mom agreed. “But, the difference is that the old you would’ve given up when things seemed too difficult. Now, here you are, being responsible and taking care of your… Yuri.”

“Soulmate,” I said. “Yuri is my soulmate.”

Mom smiled. “Yes, I think that suits the two of you perfectly. Taking care of your soulmate, looking for a job, and generally keeping yourself together. I know things are stressful and scary for the two of you right now, but you’re handling it so well. That makes me extremely proud.”

“Thanks,” I said, embarrassed. “I’m just trying to do what I think is right, that’s all.”

“You’re doing fine,” Mom assured me. “You and Yuri. I’m still going to brag about you, whether you like it or not, and I’ll be very pleased to tell everyone back home about my amazing son and his soulmate.”

[shihalyfie]

This is potentially a very loaded question so feel free to not answer if you don't feel like it, but how do you as a woman feel about the handling of female characters in Digimon (anime of course, but also games, manga and even the Digimon themselves)? I've seen takes of all kinds from women over the years so I'm curious how you feel. But again, no pressure to answer if you feel uncomfortable with the subject or too daunted by all the material on the table.

Oh man, I don't mind talking about the subject in itself, but what makes it hard for me is just that the Digimon franchise just has so many things at once with so many different writers and different writing philosophies that I can't really treat the entire thing like a monolith. Especially when you have things running the spectrum from Cyber Sleuth (where female characters arguably drive the narrative far more than the male characters) to Next (which has gotten me angrily ranting about the absolutely awful way it treats its girls, a rant which I would prefer to not subject my followers to).

So before I go ahead, I do want to make sure anyone reading this understands that I'm just talking about my own personal experience and feelings regarding the situation, and I'm very sure that other people will feel differently. I definitely don't feel qualified to comment on what's the ideal way to write female charaters in media or whatever (as if there's even one right answer to that!); I can only truly comment on myself and my own stances on it. (And of course, the OP graciously asked specifically about that, but I just want to make sure nobody reading this post misunderstands!)

Well, I will say that if there's one thing that does seem to be consistent (and I say consistent, because Next absolutely violates this one and Frontier does kind of dangerously toe the line), it's that I haven't really seen Digimon fall victim to the problem of what I call making its female characters the Designated Girl Characters™. Explaining what that is is kind of tricky, but a lot of shounen series will have this very strong "consciousness" of its female characters like they're there to fill a quota, and thus treat them in a way that's kind of alienating. Or in other words, "they section off this character very weirdly in a way they would never do for the male characters." (Note that while Ruki's character arc is made with strong consciousness of her being a girl, the whole point is about condemning the idea she should be treated like some novelty just because she's a girl, so I don't count it as this.)

It was really refreshing to see a 1999 anime portray the girls as mingling with the boys like it was no big deal, and I do wonder if Adventure setting this precedent is a big reason later series have followed in this regard. Adventure through Frontier were made with heavy female creator influence, something that the fandom really tends to downplay (especially because a lot of people suspiciously avoid acknowledging their importance, like how everyone will talk about Hosoda but nobody will talk about the fact Yoshida Reiko wrote the scripts for everything he did, or how people virtually ignored Seki's existence compared to Kakudou until very recently). I think a lot of that shows in its writing; of course, that's not to say there aren't things that really could have used improvement (I think Izumi's treatment in Frontier is the one pretty much everyone universally agrees really left much to be desired, and Tomita even outright admitted he's not very good at writing girls, although that frankly kind of surprises me given how much of his other work has involved writing girls really well), but at the very least it does show a bit more conscientiousness about its female characters than you would see in other shows where female creators were either nonexistent or clearly had no influence in the staff room.

On the flip side, there's also things that were more tasteful in execution than may have even been intended; Sora's character arc isn't that much about her femininity in practice, and Juri does come off as better than your average damsel in distress character, but that doesn't change the fact that the nuance is still there (and that in the latter case a certain writer has outright indulged in that), so all I can do is just be grateful that it didn't get worse.

I guess in the end, my stance is "give or take". I like a lot of other kids' shows (including shounen) that have been better or worse than Digimon's average level, and Digimon itself is so varied that I think it just kind of mingles in there. There are things I like, things I don't like, but at the very least there haven't been too many things that crossed my personal boundary of "absolutely not" (there are, there just aren't many). I think Adventure and 02 in particular are often accused of being more malicious towards its female characters and "screwing them over" than they were intended to be, since a lot of it seems to be a combination of wanting to portray its characters a little too realistically and simply just accidental bad circumstances of how it presented (the fact Hikari's two most famous episodes are by two non-regulars on the series who seemed to be huge fans of portraying her with a brother complex really did not help here), and things like "the same things that feel personally relatable to me are also things that read badly to others, so I understand why people don't like it but I also feel kind of weird when they imply that this kind of concept is inherently Bad" (a lot of things related to Sora and Miyako fall into this category for me). And I mean, part of the reason Miyako became my central character back when I wrote fanfic more often was that I just found her to be an incredibly complex character for the kind you'd usually see in shounen works; I honestly don't know of many other things that would portray someone like her sympathetically instead of cramming her into a "hysterical woman" trope box.

There's also the fact that there's a lot more adult-oriented Digimon media coming up nowadays, so there's that awkward situation where "female character representation" starts having a blurred boundary with "waifu character". Which is not to say that I mind the idea of male fans also liking the female characters I like, but more so that when you get into this territory, I start getting conscious about whether the female characters are more obviously being written in a way to "please the male fans and make them into fanservice material" than it respects them as characters. And I mean, I say it's a blurred boundary for good reason; the aforementioned Cyber Sleuth characters do kind of have that (especially in their character designs), but they are actually written as good characters with agency, whereas you have things like the Adventure girls in tri. who are ostensibly written to follow up on their Adventure character arcs but came off to me as being uncomfortably shoved into the Waifu Character Fanservice troping boxes, especially Mimi and Hikari. (Hooters outfit Mimi and brother complex Hikari are among the few things that I would say have crossed a serious line with me.) So again...give or take.

I will say that the American English dub had a somewhat more misogynistic nuance in the way it treated Mimi, Miyako, and Hikari (it had a lot more condescending tone in the way it portrayed Mimi's airheadedness/materialism and Yolei's penchant for fangirling while also expecting Kari to just put up with Davis harassing her, and it exacerbated the already-kind-of-uncomfortable feelings I had about the unsympathetic way Sora is portrayed in Our War Game!), but it's not to the extent I felt it derailed the entire narrative.

As for the Digimon themselves, the feminine Digimon design sexualization didn't bother me much when I was younger (I remember I really wasn't bothered by Angewomon's design at all), but it does bother me a little more now, especially since you have more designs like Venusmon these days (really? really?). But then there are also really good designs like LovelyAngemon and Mastemon that are just plain cool! And then even designs aside, there's a difference in the way each work portrays them; for instance, you can tell certain anime had more fun with the chest jiggles on the same Digimon that other series were not weird about at all. Maybe the fact Adventure and 02 weren't really weird about Angewomon's design was exactly why I didn't notice it very much back then?

Well, that got long and very rambling, but I hope that answered your question to some extent!

[272011]

The first meeting:Part 2 Su

When everyone has their story, of course Su also has his story of his first meeting with his first love.

Their meeting started at the supermarket in the middle of the night. A girl with white hair and purple eyes had just come out of the supermarket to buy some food for her house.

The girl didn't realize that there was a stranger who had sleeping medicine in his hand behind her, that person wanted to put the medicine in [Name]'s nose so that if [Name] was exposed to the smell of the medicine she could fall asleep for a few hours.

But it was stopped by a man who had been watching this stranger's movements from earlier, [Name] was shocked by what happened he didn't think this would happen to him

"Are you okay Miss?" Ask the young man who just saved [Name]

"y-yes, I'm fine" [Name] was still shocked by what happened to her, honestly she didn't expect this to happen to her

"You're still shocked, it's okay, I'll take care of everything."Those of you who don't know what to do can only nod because this is your first time experiencing this

The guy tied the criminal's hands with his red ribbon, whether it's possible or not, but just leave it all to him

When the man was just a few steps away from leaving with the criminal, [Name] called him

"Hey! what's your name?"

The man turned to look at [Name] as the man smiled gently at [Name]

"My name is Su Miss, what about yours?"

"My name is [Name] Schariac, Su"

"Good, I will remember your name and your beautiful face, [Name]"

Su walked back to the police station to deal with this criminal, while [Name]'s side was blushing because of Su

'Why is my heart beating so fast?'

Next day

[Name] walked calmly as usual...but when she was in front of the gate, how shocked she was to see a young man who looked like the man last night who saved her

The man saw [Name] and he didn't expect that the girl he saved last night turned out to be at the same school as him

"[Name]? Turns out we're at the same school! Then let's be good friends, OK [Name]"

"Su, this is unexpected, okay, let's be good friends, Su"

You decided to walk together, while on the way you became the focus of the eyes of the people there because of your closeness

At the front of your class you saw Dr.Mei reading a book in her seat

'It seems Mei didn't realize I was walking with Su, that's good'

"Our classes are next to each other, that makes it easy for us to meet" Su smiled softly again at [Name], [Name] only blushed slightly and smiled sweetly at Su

"Yeah, maybe you want to eat together later?"

"Of course no problem, you will eat on the school roof ?"

"What? ah right!"

"Then I'll go to class first, Su." Su could only nod, seeing the white-haired hadith enter his class while smiling sweetly without fading

When [Name] wanted to sit next to Dr.Mei, Dr.Mei closed her book hard and looked at [Name] seriously.

"Mei, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" [Name] started to panic because of Dr.Mei's behavior that she had never seen before

"That guy, who is he?" Dr. Mei's slightly cold tone made [Name] tear up, could it be that Dr. Mei likes Su too? that's what [Name] is thinking now

"H-he's just my friend! he helped me last night! Mei is it possible that you like him too!?"

"Hah?"

"[Name]...do you like that guy?"

"I'm sorry, I will forget it and will continue to support you, so please don't separate from me!?" Okay [Name] has shed a few tears, she doesn't want to be separated from Dr. Mei because of a boy

"[Name]! why are you crying! I don't like that guy, I'm not interested, I also don't want to be separated from you......because you're just my friend [Name]..." Dr.Mei started to really panic Now, this was the first time he saw his only friend cry because of a misunderstanding

"What? So you don't like Su!?"

"No!"

A few minutes later [Name] had stopped crying because Dr.Mei had explained this misunderstanding, apparently Dr.Mei didn't want her best friend to be taken away.

"By the way, I heard you invited Su to take a break together, is that true?"

"Right, Mei don't mind?"

"It doesn't matter, the important thing is that you are happy"

"Yey!"

The bell rang when class was about to start, and the first lesson in [Name]'s class was Mathematics

During break time [Name] and Dr. Mei walked to the school roof to fulfill her promise with Su

"Sorry I'm late, Su!"

"It's okay [Name] I just arrived too" Su saw another person behind [Name], Su intended to ask but the girl introduced herself first.

"My name is Mei, friend of [Name] nice to meet you"

"My name is Su, I just became [Name]'s friend last night, please don't get me wrong."

"Don't worry, [Name] has explained everything."

"Su, it's okay, I brought Mei too, I feel sorry for her."

"It's okay [Name] I've heard about Mei too"

They became very close friends and were always together, Su also didn't realize from the start that he liked [Name] but when Kevin came as a new student Su already knew that this feeling was his first love, until they entered Month.

"Su, are you here?"

"What's wrong [Name]?"

"Mei said you wanted to talk so I came here"

As far as Su remembers, he didn't ask Dr. Mei to tell [Name] to talk to him, what happened?, but if this was the time Su wanted to be honest with [Name] if he liked the girl in front of him, [Name] became prettier after entering. Month with Dr.Mei so sometimes Su can't stand [Name]'s teasing

"Su?"

"[Name] I want to talk to you seriously"

"Yes"

"You've always been very beautiful, maybe this is a bit silly but when I'm with you I feel comfortable and safe by your side, you always make me not like the original me."

[Name] fell silent when she heard Su's unexpected words

"[Name] Schariac, you've probably heard this many times from other men"

"Do you want to be my girlfriend [Name]" Su is very confident now because [Name]'s movements are often a sign that she likes Su

"Of course! I like you too Su" [Name] didn't expect Su to like him too, he was very moved by this sudden statement

Su, who heard that, was also happy. It was true that he thought [Name] also liked him, but at that moment the sound of applause was heard, of course they knew who it was, none other than Elysia

"Elysia!"

"Hahaha congratulations you two! So when are you getting married?"

"Elysia, we just started dating!" Honestly, it wasn't [Name] but Su who blushed because of Elysia's words

.

.

.

The wind blew calmly, a young man known as Su sat leaning against a large tree holding a green leaf.

"Haa~ when can we meet, my dear [Name], I miss you" If anyone asks what happened the answer is [Name] went to another world to meet some of the Schariac family but unfortunately part of [Name]'s memory disappeared only memories - he still remembers the memories he experienced with the people he loves, of course, but he has forgotten the events that happened, he even forgot what it was like on the first day he was dating Su

End~

[justmultifandom]

Kidge winter event

Day 4: Winter Holidays

(This is a Modern AU)

The Christmas holidays: a real break for students with the end of the first quarter. Katie sighed as she placed the large cup of hot black tea on the white saucer. She looked impatiently at the clock: four sixteen in the afternoon, she had been there for almost an hour now. Next to her, on the comfortable sofa with red cushions, her heavy canvas bag was still placed with notebooks and notes from the quarter inside. The beautiful bar door opened and a small bell rang while the sound of heavy rubber boots got closer and closer until it reached her with a wave of petrol and mint perfume. “Sorry for the delay, there was a lot of traffic due to the snow…”: the man smiled sheepishly, taking off his gray hat and red jacket: “I should have sent you a message, I know, it's my fault…” “Don't worry…”: Katie giggled: “The important thing is that you're here, Keith..” He smiled. After the unfortunate events of last year they had stopped seeing or writing to each other, and now they had finally had the courage to talk about it. What had happened between them was just a misunderstanding, a bad joke and a bad mistake. The summer had been hell for both of them. “I just wanted to say that I'm sorry I didn't call you or… just hear from you…”: she sighed, bringing the cup to her lips and taking a sip of the hot drink. “I didn't call you either…”: he replied: “We are equal in many aspects…” There was a brief pause in which neither of them could speak. Katie was casting her mind and memories back to the events of the past year, their effects and causes. They had been best friends throughout high school and middle school, and even when he dated Acxa in her junior year, breaking her little heart, she never betrayed their friendship. She had simply pretended nothing had happened; she had moved on with her life and her studies, also finding a kind and willing boyfriend to fill that void in her chest. All it took was some alcohol and a big Christmas party at Lance's house to make them sleep together, cheating on their partners at the same time. “How did Acxa cope?”: she asked, finding any excuse to speak and interrupt that deafening silence. “We argued, of course, but then everything went well…”: he replied, tapping his fingers nervously and slowly on the polished wooden table. “I'm happy…”: she nodded: “James and I broke up…” That had no relevance, however it was right that he knew it too. Apparently he had caught them making out at the party and when Katie returned to the apartment they shared the next morning, the suitcases were already packed and ready by the door while the furniture was bare of all her things. “I've always hated that asshole…”: Keith groaned, “You have no idea how much I wanted to punch him when you told me you were dating…” She bit back a small, amused smile, then cleared her throat. “What do you think we should do now?” She asked, playing with her fingers as he looked up at her for a moment. “What would you like to do?”: he asked in turn. “I don't know, become friends again and bury what happened? I don't think Acxa will be happy to know that I'm your best friend again after what happened…": she shook her head. “Acxa is not the problem, she and I decided to end our relationship a few months ago. Now she's with Veronica..”: he informed her. “OH…”: she squeaked in surprise: “I'm sorry…” “Don't be, we just talked calmly and came to the conclusion that everything was simply not as we had imagined…”: he explained. “And how would you have imagined it?”: she asked, daringly. “With a special person who has always been next to me, but who I was so blind as not to see completely…”: Keith looked at her with a slight smile, devouring her through his eyes. “Are you saying that after years I can be with the person I've always loved?”: she asked, as he moved next to her. "It depends on you…" Katie smiled. All of that was enough. She pulled him down for a kiss.

[thesketchyheartist]

03/20

Neon Genesis Evangelion (EP 8, 16, 24, 26)

I want to start off this post by talking about a new main character Asuka. It took me about 2 episodes to figure out she is Rei's opposite. Appearances: Blue hair and red hair. Long hair and short hair. Eye colors are different. One is soft-spoken, the other is vocal. One talks too little (from what I gather from the assigned episodes, I think Rei is supposed to be Eve or Lilith, but Asuka is like Shinji in that they are some descendants of the Evas or Angels or something that is not totally human, so this explains why she acts so cold), the other talks too much. Also the weird but true observation: one is indifferent to perverted accidents, the other is sensitive to perverted accidents; both may or may not [always] involve Shinji.

Asuka represents the tsundere stereotype, I think. I hear the "Baka, hentai!" comment from her a lot, but I can't tell if it's hormones or if she is actually attracted to Shinji. Shinji is a teenage boy, so I know he gets the classic red hand mark on his face, and it's rarely ever his fault. Those characters who are quick to anger and violence without listening to reason are often redheads, and I know it's a popular trope, but I realize as I am writing this the paradox of it all. Asuka is a young girl, and as a bit of a crazy anime watcher, I do believe violence is not always the answer, but it's wrong to assume violence is not an option. However, if every situation that triggers you is answered or resolved in violence, then it's rarely ever resolved. If Asuka even paused for a moment, she could tell Shinji probably did not even have the guts to pull harassment on any girl. To accuse him would make her the true culprit, not the victim. I know the children did not have parental figures to follow, but I guess their immaturity further proves they are really not qualified at all to be humanity's saviors. On the other hand, it is ironic that Asuka's hits can be overlooked so easily. Think about it, if a young boy suddenly had his p**is touched, accidentally or not, by a girl, he probably would just shove her off because if he hit her face, everyone would call him violent. Children who are used as child weapons are essentially taught that violence via their mecha skills is the ONLY solution to solve humanity's biggest problems, so quietly, it's the only solution for small misunderstandings.

Finally, the last episode was more philosophical than I thought. I didn't watch EP25 which I assume is the final battle because I don't think there is a sequel series. The ending didn't even explain what happened to humanity. But I think it's a good moral story to explain ego and self. The swap to 2D pencil drawings is a good way. Without depth, shadow, and background, a sketch exists limitless. I like how Shinji was always told what to do and how he should live. Even at his crisis, he asks people what he should do and how to live, they are the ones telling him the truth of how he should live. While I know the show is the one telling us the truth, to Shinji, it's still outsiders instructing him, even if they have his well-being in the best care possible. It was Shinji, experiencing the No Angels AU (that got to be an AO3 tag, if not, something like No Eva AU) or Middle/High School AU (love the silly shoujo reference with Rei, bread in mouth, "I'm going to be late on my first day of a school in this new city!", and headbumping ML, but not the accidental peeking), that he realizes the truth people have been trying to tell him this whole time. Funny how even his best friends care more about him than he does himself, and only when he really loves himself unconditionally, Eva or no Eva, even in a world where only he exists, that he can learn to actually love others, even his hated father becomes a person he can accept unconditionally. You realize after hearing all the voices, it's because they were people, not static faces with voices, that Shinji can compare his world and his self-image to everyone he meets in the show to find his true self.

It's such a roundabout way to explain everything. All anyone needs is a famous quote by a powerful warrior, one who transcended the mortal realm for his wisdom, bravery, and sheer popularity:

I never heard about ATLA until COVID-19. Funny because if I had heard of this show when it came out, I would have had a very different childhood.

My favorite post-spring break gift from my professors is an exam (it's not.)

-03/19/24

[monkeydluffy19920]

Hi, Do you really believe the direction Oda will follow regarding shipping is sanami over lunami? If so, what is your take on the lunami scenes in movies (strong world/ gold) considering Oda himself orchestrated them?

Hi Nonny and thanks for the ask~!

First of all sorry that it’s taken plenty of time to answer. It’s been a long time since I’ve last seen these movies (so wanted to rewatch both of them before replying and stuff) but anyways here are some thoughts. It’s going to be a long post so you have been warned :)

Before the actual reply I want to say my ponders are leaning mostly on the manga since it's my opinion the "most" canon when it comes down to materials and sources.

What makes it tricky to consider whether Strong World is canon or not is that Shiki-guy because he was indeed briefly mentioned in chapter 530 and 957 but that’s all for the manga.  What is problematic is thath Shiki was a strong pirate of Roger's time and the first to escape from Impel Down. So Luffy beating Shiki down in their duel should’ve been affecting his next bounty but it didn’t. 

Same goes with the film Gold actually. Tesoro mentioned in the beginning that Luffy has beaten Doflamingo (so now he doesn’t have to) but so far it’s really hard to place the happenings to the canon’s timeline. Why? Because the crew split into parts in the beginning of the Dressrosa arc and reunited completely in Wano and It’s been published in 2016, around Zou arc.

So according to this the Film Gold should be placed somewhere after Wano (because they split already around Dressrosa) so Film Gold is a filler movie and most likely also Strong World although Oda-sensei participated in the production and made manga version of Strong World as well.

What comes to the shipping point of view, both movies offers scenes that can be interpreted for one’s OTPs and as long as the debates about shipping goes respectful I think there is no problem of talking about it but if it’s just bashing each other and disrespect then it’s insanity and waste of time. After all, we're supposed to enjoy the show, not to rip the fandom apart.

Anyway in this post down below are listed some moments that Nonny might’ve referenced and trying to dig into these lot debated scenes Nonny mentioned as neutral as possible :)

STRONG WORLD

Shiki takes Nami

Tone dial is one of the key elements of the movie and Strawhats get it in the beginning of the movie. Luffy tosses is to Nami for some reason although dials are more Usopp’s and Franky’s speciality.

Let's not forget that Nami was really good with Skypiea technology too though and she is in general intelligent so maybe that was the reason Luffy trusted that thing for her or maybe it was a random toss, who knows?

Luffy’s reaction to Nami’s choice  and the message on the tone dial

From the shipping perspective probably the most debated detail in Strong World movie is what Nami left there for her crew after Shiki practically forced her to join his crew by threatening her hometown although Usopp tried to stop her by reasoning but Nami had no choice especially after Usopp was silenced. 

At least she was able to leave a message to the tone dial which the crew listens after their reunion and Luffy reacts strongest to this message. He is in disbelief that his comrade would say such things and goes further to unbox the anger while the rest of the crew decides to re-listen the message.

Luffy is usually around where the most stuff happens but he usually skips the backstory-kinda moments and he has even told that the backstories don't matter if he has decided to trust someone. For him his comrades are still friends, no matter how much they'd share different personalities or different points of views.

Luffy's strong reaction is easily explained by his nature: he is a guy who jumps quickly to action. He can be impulsive and sometimes he just picks a few words he hears and has already decided the next step. So this is just a cause of a misunderstanding, if Luffy would've listened to the whole message the outcome would've been different for sure.

The whole message revealed in the ending

So, they managed to save Nami and kick Shiki’s ass for good. She is recovering of the poison and everyone are happy to see her getting better. Luffy however is still a bit mad and upset about that tone dial until the rest of the crew revealed that there was still something left when the captain let his emotions go over intuition.

Even Nami admitted that it was mostly adressed to the captain but it was nothing personal. Like she would ever really doubt her friends’ skills.

And although it was meant for everybody, the main reason why she she added that extra sentence and directed it especially for Luffy is that just like written earlier, the captain tends to take sometimes things  literally so direct directions are best for him.

Why Nami didn’t ask for help in the first sentence?  Probably because of the movies drama tension and because she probably had a feeling Shiki would stalk her while sending a sos. So the message caused a big misunderstanding between her and Luffy because the captain was too filled up with emotions to listen the message for the second time.

Anyway, the whole message Nami left was:

Please, just let me leave you in peace and walk away I've decided to join Shiki's crew to be his navigator Shiki is a legendary pirate. If you fight him, you won't stand a chance Even if you come after me you'll only end up losing your lives That's all I have to say.... So please, come and save me

FILM GOLD

The turtle race

In the beginning of the movie Luffy and his pals join for this race car thingy and Nami is seen blushing after seeing that Luffy, Chopper and Usopp are back in the race.

It’s understandable that people see Nami’s blush and sigh of relieve as shippy but then again before the race Luffy just grabbed a handful of those betting chips (or whatever the are called) and rushed into first thing that looked interesting for them without debating first.

The whole crew is used to their captains randomness but sometimes get irritated by it (as a running gag) so the turtle race wasn’t nothin new tbh but the thing is there was huge money on bet so definitely seeing your nakama (almost) falling out of the race is worrisome but when you see them doing a comeback and realizing there is a chance to win big money and that they are ok it’s a huge relief. 

Luffy gambling in the high risk area

Once they win the Turtle race they are invited to the VIP area where they get the high risk, high reward-challenge with the dices. First they are again annoyed by Luffy betting without asking his crew but once they see Luffy is loaded with luck Nami and Usopp go next to their captain to admire his luck.

This is a nice little moment for both LuNami and LUsopp fans and quite usual actually in One Piece that some of the Straw Hat are more physical towards each other than the others, not necessarly in romantic way though, can be platonic too.

When Baccarat uses he Lucky Lucky fruit abilities the whole crew gets immediately worried when seeing Luffy being unlucky and they all realize they were just fooled  by them.

Like always in tense situations, the whole crew goes on defense mode if they see their nakama in trouble.

Introducing Carina

What I like about Film Gold is that it gives another sneak peak to one of my favorite characters, Nami’s past. It was already mentioned in the Heart of Gold but  they were competitors and ended up in the same trouble and in the previous movie Nami was still mad about what happened and when they reunited they still had this frenemies-way to approach each other.

Luffy's attention was paid for a short moment because it was a friend’s friend and Nami’s expression after Luffy’s question could be interpreted as on something like she’d don’t want Carina to but from the neutral point of view it’s probably more that she is still dealing with conflicted feelings about what happened with her and Carina in the past and meeting her after all those years (the whole story of them robbing  Mad Treasure was opened later in Film Gold).

Also like always the captain isn’t much interested on his nakamas’ pasts. So, instead of watching Nami and Carina quarrelling he interrupted the thing so they could focus on the main thing eating before saving Zoro.

Luffy’s and Franky’s suuuuperrr comeback

So Tesoro thought he’d fool the Strawhat Pirates but actually they trolled him with help of Carina (and I must say, it was so cool that the whole crew had matching outfits!).

Nami was first to congratulate Luffy for their plan and Luffy’s response as a semi-confused “ah, a plan?". It is usually Nami who rushes up to him after seeing him appearing. That's completely natural and even explained with Nami's caring nature.

Not only Luffy but also she usually is the first ones to rush when their mates are in trouble. Out of all Strawhats Luffy happens to be the guy who causes his crew mates loads of worries eith his shenanigans and worry-free and impulsive nature so no wonder she needs to check him most if he is ok. Even Robin mentioned just before their arrival that they “hid” art  of plan from Luffy because they knew their captain would go with his instincts instead of a rock solid plan, crew knows their captain so well *laughs* )

Luffy saving Nami and Carina from Tesoro

Tesoro went to that golden mode and tried to kill Carina but Nami saved her and we get the rest of their story revealed. That Carina actually saved Nami back then although watchers were first led to believe that it was a betrayal.

Naturally touching moment is disturbed by the tension so Tesoro manages to catch Nami to his grip which pisses Luffy off. Another potential ship moment but then again Luffy would do the same no matter whose of his nakama were in the same situation.

Then he tosses Nami and Carina to a safer place from the battle arena and screams her name. Clever move from him if so because the whole place was a mess but again this showed how much trust Luffy has for his whole crew. He knew that although he’d toss them someone would be able to catch them.

One thing that is probably a running gag by the way but Luffy has the tendency to carry people like sack of potatoes, no matter what the gender or the situation is (and somehow they still manage to keep up with him, at least I don't remember whether anyone has fallen from his arms while being carried *laughs*)

Now to think about this is a common thing i.e Luffy has not only carried Nami numerous time like this (for example in Water 7) or Law in Dressrosa and Robin in Alabasta like that but also Zoro has done this for fainted Usopp in Alabasta and even Usopp carries Robin (as Sogeking) in Enies Lobby.

In other words no matter how nice shippy moments there are in fillers /movies/ specials etc. between two characters  have it still doesn't guarantee it would lead to canon romance. Like fellow fans, I also enjoy those shippy moments (especially the filler where they are placed in historical Japan) but still think that when it’s about canon, only manga counts because it's 100% written ad planned by Oda-sensei. Yes Oda has taken parts to production of some movies BUT he isn't in charge of everything there so the production can slip a bit from the canon.

What comes to the panel you used to demonstrate their discussion about the marriage I agree with you, Luffy isn't currently interested in getting married and he prioritizes adventures over the thought of marriage (Thriller Bark). On top of that, Luffy also said "no" to Hancock which for me indicates that he really doesn't want any romantic relationship at this point and frankly spoken it all just makes sense.

After all, he "only" 19-years old and craves for adventures. So I think at some perspectives Luffy's view of romantical romance is still "lacking" and he isn't bothered about it because he has his priorities and determination in other stuff such as chasing his lifelong dream to find the legendary One Piece.

I bet after finding that Luffy might start to ponder more about his future but he wants to keep his focus at one thing at the time instead of big picture. Now he wants to feel the freedom and probably even if he didn't find One Piece (he will for sure though), for him the whole adventure matters more than the treasures. That's simply the way he is.

To your original question Nonny, I've been reading One Piece years and focused on chemistry between Sanji and Nami because I see in them foreshadowing and moments and common chemistry that could potentially lead them as a pair.

Then on the other hand, I too love Luffy as a character a lot, and also do enjoy Luffy's and Nami's chemistry a lo. However, the difference is that compared to SaNami, for me Luffy's and Nami's interactions are much more platonic and sibling-like. The same way I feel Usopp's and Nami's interactions are (and they do share close nakamaship and I like that too, they're like besties and stuff!).

Maybe it's the way the cook and the navigator started by flirting and did proceed to WCI where they split apart with an emotional slap and tears or maybe as a SaNami-fan I feel they've had more development compared to Luffy's and Nami's nakamaship.

This series is about to reach it's ending chapters and it's still all open what Oda has prepared for us. It might be that he drops a random plot bomb and ships some Straw Hats together but on the other hand he could also decide not to add any romance and give the story a very open ending when it comes down to shippings.

Frankly spoken the only canon pair that includes a main character Oda would reveal 100% is Usopp x Kaya, the did pair them even in the live-action but apart from that it's a complete mystery whether SaNami or LuNami any of the most shipped pairs will ever become canon, all we can do is wait ¯\_(ツ)_/¯