#but in the manga... it's a ahame because i still think the manga did it's best to potray it in a complex and non-sentationalistic way

[kashilascorner]

the after the rain manga has me sad because the reason why i enjoyed the anime was because it was complex but things were taken seriously and most importantly, the story never actually turned into a romance. in the manga though... Aside from the blatant fanservice in some of the chapters/volumes, kondou explicitly admits to being in love with akira 😬

[shysnowflake]

"Once Again"- Diluc x GN!Reader

Hii,so I'm back with one more angst story and this one can be really triggering to some people,so please,if you are triggered by any of the things below do not read it please 🥺❤️

art credit: @Rgnvndr430 on Twitter

⚠️TW⚠️: angst,manga spoiler,major character death,suicide, descriptive scenes and self-destructive thoughts

""Summary: Promises are as delicate as someone lives...""

 The sun shines bright at the sky when a certain traveler pass through the gates of the wind city in a hurry,the sudden emergency letter from Jean saying that the Fatui were planning on attacking Mondstadt tonight and she needed extra help made them cancel all their commissions on last notice and go back to the town.

  {name} was more than happy to help since the Fatui had become quite a problem and this was the perfect opportunity to show them that they weren't scared of them. But while they made their way though the headquarters of the knights,they couldn't help but think about the last part of Jean’s letter “-and worry not dear {name},Sir Diluc agreed to help us in the fight…-” their heart beating fast and lively on their chest with the thought that they were going to see their lover after so many days missing each other,even if the situation wasn't a pleasant one, the felling of excitement and happiness on their body was too much to tame, so they just ended up giving in to it.

  As they enter “Jean’s office”,the sensation of worried comes back, they could spot the four figures standing there waiting for them “oh?! If it isn't my favorite person!” they turn their head to the left only to see Kaeya walking towards them with his usual smile before passing his arm by their shoulder and pulling them closer to him “did you miss me already? Sorry but I can't give you attention right now,you see, I'm in the middle of something very important sweetie” he says with a smirk on his face and a teasing voice,Kaeya was completely aware of {name} relationship with his brother,but he just couldn't let the chance to annoy Diluc pass “that’s enough Kaeya,we are not here to hear your stupid jokes” a sharp voice coming from the right corner of the room cut the atmosphere making {name} look at the direction where they saw an irritated redhead trowing killing glances at his brother “okay that’s enough you two, you boys can fight another day and in another place okay? Today we have things to get done so quiet down already and listen to what Jean has to say” the sly voice of the librarian calls everyone attention,but {name} kept their eyes on the man that looked so different from his usual self,today he was wearing a gray waistcoat with a black overcoat and had his hair tied up in a high ponytail making him look much more mature but somehow,younger,”Why was him so well-dressed?” Diluc noticing the stare {name} was giving him,stares back with a soft expression making them look away flustered by the sudden encounter with the beautiful red orbs “aham! As you all are aware,the Fatui is planning on attacking Mondstadt tonight and Lisa and I believe is because of the Holy Lyre that has been recently relocated to the cathedral chamber” Jean finishes explaining the situation to those in the room,{name} was confused “what would the Fatui even do with such old and useless artifact?” before they could vocalize their doubt,Diluc cuts them by speaking first “I see,they are planning on restore the power of the Lyre and use it as an advantage, and we must prevent that to happen” he says as he rested his hand on his chin “exactly,and to avoid that I will need everyone help and collaboration.” Jean answered with a worried tone “Well then,allow me to explain the plain, the initial idea is not let them pass thought the front gate and for that me and Sir Kaeya will be staying there” Lisa began to walk us though the plan “If they do happen to defeat us,thats when little cutie over there and Sir Diluc get into action,both of you will be guarding the front of the cathedral while Jean will be staying downstairs with the Holy Lyre”, to {name} the plain sounded perfect but a sudden bad felling on their chest made their heart squeeze,but they decided to brush it off since there was no time to waste with such trivial thing “Then we should start to get ready” {name} made their voice present “They are right,we have no time to waste” Jean added “Kaeya,come with me to the library we still have to discuss some strategies” Lisa called for her partner “I'm not really a book person, so I think I will pass-” the Knight was cut off by a very irritated librarian “Ara ara~ aren't you cute,you didn't actually though that I was asking did you?!” Lisa said with an angered smile on her face as she walked towards the man and dragged him out of the room “ see you later sweetie” the eye patch man yells to {name} making them laugh before actually leave the room “{name},let’s get going too” Diluc speaks as he walks towards the door and holds it open,waiting for his partner to walk out and as they do so he grabs their hand and give a reassuring squeeze “everything is going to be fine,don’t worry too much” he tells them, {name} felt as if Diluc could feel what they're felling but it didn't matter,as long as they had each other they were going to be fine.

The pair decided to pass by the tavern since it was closed for the day, and both of them wanted some time alone. As soon as the front door closed,Diluc pulled them into a tight hug resting his head on their neck and smelling their floral scent trying to calm down,even if he didn't want it to admit it he always gets anxious when he needs to go into battles with {name},not because he thinks that they are weak,far from that,it’s just the idea of what happened to his father happen again it’s too scary for him,and {name} were aware of all of that,so they wrap their arms around the man’s body that was slightly shaking and hummed a calm melody while stroking his back “don’t think about it and only focus on my voice” they said “Once we get back from this mission let’s eat the cake we baked together with some grape juice okay?” they placed their hands on both sides of Diluc’s face making him looked directly in their eyes “I will always be here for you Diluc,i promise” {name} said as they smiled making the redhead feel warm inside and also give a soft smile “thank you,{name}”.

The sky was crying with him as Diluc held the fragile and dying body of his loved one close to him while he pleaded “please don’t go- not again,I beg you don’t leave me too” tears rolling down his face while he was giving more into despair by each second that passes. The Fatui surprise attacked the cathedral getting them with their guard down and to protect Mondstadt,{name} gave their everything and more but one the agents called Tartaglia tried to sneak attack Diluc and to defend him {name} got stabbed in his place,Diluc watched as they body fall onto the floor bleeding {NAME!!} seeing that makes him lose it and kill all of the Fatui agents present at the moment,specialy Tartaglia,making his death extremely painful. 

Now he begged for them not to go “I need you by my side,please don’t-” he was cut off when {name} used all their strength to pull him close “focus on my voice and only” and so they started to hum the melody that Diluc once loved to hear it but now it only hurt him,hear the weak voice of his love as life leaves their body made him sob even harder,{name} put their foreheads together as they whispered their last words with difficulty “I’m sorry,it seems like I won’t be able to keep our promise… I love you…Diluc” and just like that they left,with a weak smile in their face, without leaving it a chance for him to say anything “NO,NO NO PLEASE-” Diluc let it out a scream of pain and sorrow as he realizes that once again he were useless,once again he were the one being protected,once again he watched someone he loved dies…once again he had failed. 

He gently places the,now, lifeless body in his arms on the floor and reach for the little red velvet box in his pocket and placed it besides them, “I intend it to give it to you today...but I guess that’s not happening right?!” he slowly untied the lace in his hair letting it fall freely “I'm sorry for not protecting you,I-” he breaks into a loud sob “I’m so sorry”  he says in a weak voice,reaching for the dagger on the floor and placing it on his own chest he says with “but don’t worry,I won’t leave you by yourself” “See you soon love” and with that he pushed the blade through his chest, straight to his heart making him fall lifeless besides his soulmate...they were now together...once again.

[lemoncakepanda]

Top 50 NaLu Anime Moments {Pt 2}.

Read pt 1 here.

Without any further delay, let’s get back to my top 50 anime nalu moments, and today we cover moments 40 up till 31! This part of the list is probably the most fluffy one, as it’s about to get kinda angsty from the next part on, but hey, let us enjoy our small moment of happiness.

40. Lucy's naked bell roll with Natsu. (Ep 194).

And we starting off kinda kinky, but hey, it’s a form of love, lol. Anyways, I truly love this moment because it was one of the first where you could start seeing that Natsu was actually attracted to Lucy. The anime didn’t include it (idk why) but in the manga he gets all blushy after having his face and hands rubbed in every single inch of naked Lucy, and I loved seeing how he reacted to it. And the first official boob grope (!!!) that results in Natsu getting slapped, which he deserved, lol. While not the only one, this is probably the most fanservice NaLu moment you’re gonna get on this list, so don’t worry, I didn’t include all the boob/@ss gropping scenes, I just really love this one especially.

39. “If any of you bastards hurt Lucy, I will turn all of you to dust.” (Ep 83).

Okay, but listen! As... as an honorary Natsu fan, I love when he gets all serious and goes all out on his enemies, and this scene, esp for someone who was slowly losing hope on this ship, really fired me up! It’s moments like this one where you can see how Natsu really cares for Lucy, at the point of injuring himself in the process. And the line, I love that line so much! I often use it in gifsets I make because I adore how protective he is of Lucy, even now that she’s able to fully defend herself, he still... wow. At last, I like this scene because it showcases how close they are and how much Lucy means to Natsu; ofc he’d be upset if any of his other friends got hurt, but y’all know he’s especially protective of Lucy and has been for a while, even back when the ship was only platonic, and there is a reason for it.

38. “Someone give us hope.” (Ep 119).

As I’ve commented on this moment before, I don’t have anything much different to add this time, only that it gets to my heart how much trust these two have in each other, and how much they inspire each other. I chose this moment because it’s one of the most obvious to how Natsu and Lucy’s relationship works: they give each other strength. When one is feeling down or hopeless, the other will step up and stand by their side. It’s a beautiful cycle between them. Zeref commented once that Lucy was a cheerful person, who had a huge impact on Natsu’s growth, and he ain’t wrong about that. This moment is proof of it.

37. “Let’s reform our team.” (Ep 109).

Or in Kain’s words, Natsu and Lucy getting all “flirty and hot”. God, I love Tenrou Island arc. Not only it’s what turned me into a hardcore nalu shipper, but it’s also great storytelling, and very compelling fights. The choice to combine Natsu and Happy with Lucy vs Kain and Ultear was a great one, considering they’d been kinda distant from each other since Edolas and had not really interacted much, and even during arcs like Oracion Seis and Edolas, which had been successors of the Fantasia and Tower of Heaven arcs, which barely had any Nalu in it, it felt like a breath of fresh air to see them together again and staying together, like the team they’d been since the beginning. It also showed how in sync they are with each other and how well they work together. Truly one of the things that made Tenrou Island such a great arc.

36. “Lucy, come home already.” (OVA 4).

Words cannot describe how much I cherish this omake, or in this case, the ova, where Lucy follows Natsu to find out where he and Happy live. For those of you who have not watched it, it’s set in a flashback where Lucy tells the girls about the day she followed her two lousy friends to get revenge on them for always breaking in her house; she successfully finds their house, and there she finds out Natsu keeps memories of all the jobs he’d gone to, two of which include the first job he and Lucy ever went in together and her old maid outfit, which brings a sweet smile to her face. Despite finding their house, Lucy’s plan to surprise them fails because they never show up, so she goes back to her apartment. And, surprise surprise, that’s where Natsu and Happy had been all this time. And we’re left with the heartwarming conclusion that, although they annoy the fck outta her, eat all her food, mess up her stuff, and hog her bed all to themselves, Lucy loves having them around. They turn her house into a home, they give her someone to come home to, they give her all the company she never had when she was a child. ‘Twas a very nice conclusion to the story, and served as a nice confirmation to something we’d always suspected.

35. Watch Out for the Guy You Like! (Ep 50).

This, in my opinion, is one of the most hilarious FT episodes; even though it results with Lucy finding out all her delusions of Natsu were, well, just delusions, and Natsu just wanted her help to dig a hole, I have so much fun watching those delusions, watching Lucy stop for a moment to actually consider being with Natsu; I think it’s what opened the door to her crush, even if she completely closed her eyes and tried to ignore it. Also, shoujo-like Natsu was a blessing given to us by Mashima which I’m forever grateful for, lmao. But really, I think this omake/episode is actually very important to Natsu and Lucy’s relationship; it showed that all her delusions depicted Lucy’s idea of how a romance should be, and then (spoiler) in the end, she kind of gets that romance, but not in the way she imagined, and it turned out to be exactly the way it needed to be. So, for that, I really like this and find it essential to the ship.

34. Their reunion. (Ep 276).

This moment, originally, was not part of my top 25 Nalu manga moments, and that’s because, while I do love it in the manga, I love it so much more in the anime. It felt more dramatic, with the camera shifting from Natsu and Lucy finally locking eyes after one year apart, and they’re both so goddamn shook! I like that they added this detail in the anime, because you could really feel like it was two people who used to always be together, and then spent 365 days without seeing each other, being only there ever in thought. I also like how they’re both blushing, that little showcase of how happy they are to see the other again, and the small tingle of bittersweetness because we know it’s not 100% okay between them. You know drama’s gonna follow because actions have consequences. But for that one moment, you’re just as happy as Natsu and Lucy to see them reunited once more, the way it’s supposed to be.

33. Lucy makes her choice. (Ep 49).

While I feel that this one goes without saying, the reason I chose it can be explained in two sentences: 1) Lucy has met a guy who’s like the male version of her, is kind, a gentleman, and has a nice vibe with her, but she puts all of that potential aside for the one thing she is sure of, and that’s her partnership with Natsu. 2) Have you seen Natsu’s face when she shows up in that train, ready to leave with them? He’s so shook, he blinks like three times, as if trying to make sure she is really there, that she’s real. And then he just opens the biggest smile, because she chose to be there with them; it’s the first time they’re not dragging her to a job, she simply chose to come along, and you can almost hear the sound of Natsu’s heart going all fluttery when he realizes she cast her ‘date’ aside to go with them. Another moment that, I feel, helped deepen and shape the relationship these two have today.

32. “Make me purr!” Drunk Lucy round 2. (OVA 9).

Again, nothing really different to add on this moment, only that I like how the ova extended and showed Lucy jumping on Natsu in the most s&xual way ever, and how Natsu has all the strength in the world to remove her from him, but “supposedly” is unable to do that when she’s all over him touching him in a very intimate way. Aham. I see right through you, dragon boy. Also, isn’t it interesting that Drunk!Lucy directs all her attention to Natsu if he’s around? Nvm that there’s other guys around, all she cares about is him. I love that. It says a lot about Lucy’s hidden feelings.

31. Reaching out for each other before being separated. (Ep 247).

Tartaros is my favorite FT arc, despite not having that much Nalu in it, it’s probably the arc with most emotional weight, because of everything the characters went through and makes you really feel for them. And although I love the ships, I love the story 1st and Tartaros was indeed amazing story-telling. With that said, I also enjoyed very much the little/subtle/few Nalu moments the arc provided, and one of them is the scene where Natsu and Lucy are being pulled in by the Alegria, and they reach for each other. It’s commonly said that when things get tough, you focus on what’s important to you, and it was very sweet/heartbreaking to watch Lucy and Natsu struggling to get to each other, as they were both unaware of what was going to happen, they were just trying to stay together. You can easily say it’s only because they were alone together, but hello, Mashima did not need to make it like this. It was his choice to make Natsu and Lucy reach out for each other in a way that’s mostly seen between couples, esp in shõnen, and the anime made it even more beautiful.

Part 3 will come up tomorrow!