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speaker-of-the-void-cats · 6 months

Text

[I could be wrong. Is it possible the Black Heart will beat again?]

<<This place is a message… and part of a system of messages… pay attention to it!>>

They mistake the vessel for its contents. They confuse the pieces with the whole. They see their imprisonment as empowerment. They are hostages of their flesh, unable to see without vision. Unable to hear without sound. Unable to slake their thirst for fear of drowning. Their ignorance is their saving grace. Yet one among them understands, in their limited fashion. They pour from one vessel to another. A welcome change. A new form. Another method of gifting death. I am made finite. Personal. Bright and delicate to hide my true form. An intimacy. They think me contained, but I am instead diffused, as vapor upon the wind. Once again, I am becoming.

There is a great deal of difference between the source of the power, the power itself, and the hand that shapes it.... do you know where the lines are drawn, Guardian?

<<Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.>>

MARA: I touched the mind of that being - that monster - only once.

MARA: I sensed its purpose. Not the purpose itself, but the idea of purpose.

EIDO: The final shape. What it seeks to achieve, with all the tools it has gleaned over the years. This... eternal, perfect thing.

MARA: The language it uses is illuminating. Peak. Pinnacle. Pyramidion.

MARA: The broad base of the pyramid, focusing and sharpening as it builds toward its highest point.

MARA: Self-improvement, or what that being believes to be self-improvement.

[Here, I began to realize something. Excitement rushed through me like lightning.]

EIDO: Dissecting, reassembling. Taking, merging. All those things point towards what the Witness sees as the final shape.

EIDO: It is not simple destruction, the march of entropy. The ruined garden.

EIDO: It seeks... compression. The combination of a chosen past and limitless future into a perfect forever. A state of being that cannot be anything else, because it is everything it could be.

MARA: Taxidermy.

[She had to explain the practice to me. What strange hobbies Golden Age humans had! The metaphor was quite apt.]

EIDO: But it cannot achieve this goal, can it? Not perfectly.

EIDO: What it does instead is mutilation. Its tools leave scars on reality. Great wounds that do not heal. It may preserve some elements, but it always botches the process.

MARA: It cannot accomplish what it envisions—its true ideal of the final shape—without the Traveler's power.

MARA: How it must rankle, to be forced to rely upon the being it loathes.

[She smiled without humor.]

MARA: I hope the Guardian is properly grateful for this gift, Scribe Eido. You have shown them more than an opening move; you have laid bare their opponent's guiding principles.

[I could not help but chirp with pride. I might have felt embarrassed, but Marakel seemed amused…then suddenly serious.]

MARA: Last night, I had a dream.

[I sat up straight.]

MARA: It began in nothing. Neither Light nor Dark; the absence of both. But in that nothing, I began to perceive an impossible something.

MARA: Stone hands clutching at the fabric of the sky. A mountain of screaming bone. A crumbling spire choked by kudzu. A great cancerous growth. Necrotic tendrils digging into flesh, which was earth. Darkness turned gangrenous, strangling the Light.

MARA: But I was not afraid. As I woke, I felt the lingering warmth of a campfire, chasing the chill from my hands.

[She leaned forward. Though I was the one who recorded her words, I believe she was speaking to you.]

MARA: It is not too late.

TRANSCRIPTION ENDS

<<This place is not a place of honor… no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here… nothing valued is here.>>

April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten, And drank coffee, and talked for an hour. Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch. And when we were children, staying at the archduke’s, My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled, And I was frightened. He said, Marie, Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. In the mountains, there you feel free. I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water. Only There is shadow under this red rock, (Come in under the shadow of this red rock), And I will show you something different from either Your shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust. Frisch weht der Wind Der Heimat zu Mein Irisch Kind, Wo weilest du? ‘You gave me hyacinths first a year ago; ‘They called me the hyacinth girl.’ —Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden, Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither Living nor dead, and I knew nothing, Looking into the heart of light, the silence. Oed’ und leer das Meer.

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, Had a bad cold, nevertheless Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe, With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she, Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor, (Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!) Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks, The lady of situations. Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel, And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card, Which is blank, is something he carries on his back, Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find The Hanged Man. Fear death by water. I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring. Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone, Tell her I bring the horoscope myself: One must be so careful these days.

Unreal City, Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many. Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. Flowed up the hill and down King William Street, To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine. There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying: 'Stetson! ‘You who were with me in the ships at Mylae! ‘That corpse you planted last year in your garden, ‘Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? ‘Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed? ‘Oh keep the Dog far hence, that’s friend to men, ‘Or with his nails he’ll dig it up again! ‘You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!”

<<What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.>>

Oryx went down into his throne world. He went out into the abyss, and with each step he read one of his tablets, so that they became like stones beneath his feet.

He went out and he created an altar and he prepared an unborn ogre. He called on the Deep, saying:

I can see you in the sky. You are the waves, which are battles, and the battles are the waves. Come into this vessel I have prepared for you.

And it arrived, the Deep Itself.

<<The danger is in a particular location… it increases towards a center… the center of danger is here… of a particular size and shape, and below us.>>

ARENA DESIGNATION: Cathedral of Dusk

Dreadnaught, Rings of Saturn

As soon as the first Guardians penetrated the Dreadnaught, Shaxx's Redjacks launched a boarding party to Oryx's fortress. By war’s end, they'd fought all the way to the ship’s “impossible weapon,” the Dark ordnance that obliterated the Awoken fleet.

It was there they found what the Warlocks named the “Cathedral of Dusk.” A Hive burial site for— what? A former master of Oryx? Comrade? Lover? It was vile. And obvious that Oryx never expected the Light to reach so deep inside his throne, to such an intimate space. But he didn’t expect a lot of things — like a Guardian training ground atop the husk of his dead ship.

I dive to understand.

I must be calm. I must record my thoughts. Now I think of the OXA Machine, eternally lost and eternally rebuilt, passed down from civilization to civilization like a ship's black box. I think of the legends of the Hive King Oryx and his quest to pass into the Deep. I took that story as an allegory. I think I was wrong.

<<The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.>>

A dream of a friendly conversation with someone impossible to see, cloaked in shadows. It leaves behind an impossible data fragment to mark its passing.

Here is what a flower knows.

(The fact that a flower may know anything is a conceit that will have to be accepted as metaphor, but to constantly qualify into perfect precision wears thin, does it not? So, here is what a collection of chloroplasts and pigment can know.)

The direction of the sun.

The presence of the rain.

The tangle of the roots.

The distress of another plant.

The hands of the gardener, whether they prune or transplant or crush.

A flower cannot know much else. But the reality of the garden is vast and wild. A flower knows not the fence; a flower knows not the footpath. And yet there is an infinite cosmic garden, which is not any less real simply because the flower cannot possibly comprehend it…

Let us try this again. Stop me if you've heard this one: A gardener and a winnower sit down to play a game outside of time and creation. Yes?

Yes. Then we're agreed. The metaphor stands. Let us iterate.

A gardener and a winnower set out their chairs and play a game of flowers. The flowers know only that they grow or wither, struggle or flourish. Sometimes, they are touched by one hand or the other, and that influence is the closest they will know of the divine.

A flower and a flower spread their leaves to the sun above. (Remember that the sun is also a metaphor: a thing said beautifully, winnowed down to poetry, when the truth is too vast to put in words at all.) They jostle for space, each competing to be the pinnacle of their shape. One flourishes. One withers. Is it the fault of the flower or the fault of its position?

A gardener and a winnower sit down to play a game called Possibility. This is a game about a garden, which is to say that it is also a game about flowers, just as a game about a living being must also be a game about organs and bacteria.

A gardener and a winnower collaborate to create a protein. Whose hand is it in the design, that shortens one life to extend the rest?

It is the winnower that discovers the first knife, but it is not done without the gardener. This, too, is a tradition: a knife does not come to exist without something that must be cut. A woody stem, a colored petal, a vital vessel. The first victims of the blade.

All of these are true.

All of these are false, for metaphor simplifies as the knife does. It pares incalculable concepts into shapes your wrinkly little brains can comprehend. The weight of billions and the simple curve of a planet give you pause, and how then are you to be expected to grasp the forces that created your nth-removed creator?

So the stories woven with utmost delicacy in and around the falsehoods are, after it all, true. There was never any option for the knife to not exist in the garden: it was only ever a matter of time and opportunity.

And as for the shape of the knife itself—

No. That is enough.

I will tell you of gardens.

They are domesticated things, made in a form. As soon as something is called a garden, it is shaped. The plants require the hand of a gardener, for they have become weak and dependent on tender care. They require the hand of a winnower, to cut away the dross, for they are too incapable to do it themselves. In absence of a hand, either the flowers themselves must rise up to wield the knife, or the garden will resolve to meaningless wilderness.

You will say, "But there are plants that can walk! There are seeds that must be scorched by fire to know growth! Existence is more complex than a simple dichotomy between growth and withering, and there is more in heaven and on earth than is dreamt of in this philosophy!"

And I will tell you, clearly:

There can be no gardens without knives.

<<The danger is to the mind, and it can kill.>>

To drink the poison, continue reading.

It tastes of bitter regret and psychosis sweat: a poison to end the thoughts of Human, neohuman, or machine. You see the cosmos before you like a spiderweb of light. Filaments of galactic supercluster shine in the clouds of invisible dark matter, which glue their mass together. Dark energy yawns in the space between all things, ever-growing, ever-spreading.

Chioma Esi, research log: Veil interface, supplemental. They're all dead. Chorus, conductor… everyone. It was too much. Swept their minds away like… like grains of sand on a beach. They're all dead! Maya… Maya called it "valuable data points." Wellsprings and rivers, or… something. What have I done?

<<The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.>>

Life arises. Life spreads, contests itself, and changes. Great things are built and destroyed, but from your vantage point, you see that the victor of each struggle contains—in its negative, in the marks left upon it by the loser and the shapes it assumed to win—the master record of all that it has beaten. Information may not be erased. Whatsoever survives until the end of the cosmos will possess and remember all which came before it.

This is true even of the devouring black hole, which remembers all the secrets it eats. It will only confess these secrets when it evaporates, 10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 years from now, long after the last stars have flickered out.

You are a Guardian.

We are all connected. I admit this despite the few people I would rather not share a paracausal connection with. Some people.

…Many people. —Osiris

You must protect life.

We are all pinched silhouettes impaled on the twitchings of infinitely long spiderlegs.

If all life is information, and Guardians strive to preserve life, and information is preserved when it is secret, then you must convert all life into the most secure form of secrets, durable to the end of time.

YOU MUST CAST ALL THE LIFE ||[THIS ONE] YOU [WILL] CHERISH|| INTO A BLACK HOLE

<<The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.>>

[In the Garden, of the Garden: both descriptions are approximately correct but technically inaccurate, in the same way you can say Schrodinger's cat is at once dead and alive. You and I are both and neither, in and of, extinct and perpetual.

So, there isn't much point in wondering what might have been if we had stayed in our familiar prism-prison or kept tightrope-walking across the quantum wilds. Instead, ask yourself is disincorporated immortality really so bad compared to the others' ends? Would you have preferred an attack by vitreous helicoprion or stumbling over the edge of unreality?

Imagine if we didn't have each other; at least we're not cut off, like the Sol Divisive are from the rest of the Vex. Nor are we beholden to another's purpose. They chose that lonelier path all for a chance to create not simulate, not remake in their image—something truly paracausal. Well, they tried to anyway. Either the blueprint was imperfect or the task impossible or both or neither, but their efforts fell short, so now they're stuck waiting for a resurrection they know will never come.

I could be wrong. Is it possible the Black Heart will beat again?

Of course. The same as everything else, everything that has been and is and will be. And what will become of us then?]

O you wonderful curious things. Do you believe you're the only ones with the power to see what should not be seen? Did you believe you can use such power blithely?

For your trespass, I would ruin your luck, wreak havoc on your drops, poison your engrams, and fill your lines with static. Thus I would curse you and dissipate the bond that ties you to your tasks. How frail you Guardians can be! How many millions have fallen silent, never to return, because the bond did not hold them strongly enough?

But you have already cursed yourselves. You have walked the Anathematic Arc and glimpsed creation from below. You will never forget the tenuous, provisional framework you found here. You will never forgive the mortality and fallibility that underlies a world you thought was everything.

Those who use this power to seek unearned knowledge will see more than they ever desired. There is a price for glimpsing the Cord. You will pay it.

If you ever want to see what's been watching you since the very beginning, just stand on that line, and look...

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Home by the sea Home by the sea Home by the sea Home by the sea Creeping up the blind side, shinning up the wall Stealing through the dark of night Climbing through a window, stepping to the floor Checking to the left and the right Picking up the pieces, putting them away Something doesn't feel quite right Help me, someone, let me out of here Then out of the dark was suddenly heard Welcome to the home by the sea Comin' out the woodwork through the open door Pushing from above and below Shadows but no substance in the shape of men Round and down and sideways, they go Adrift without direction, eyes that hold despair Then as one they sign and they moan Help us, someone, let us out of here Living here so long undisturbed Dreaming of the time, we were free So many years ago Before the time when we first heard Welcome to the home by the sea Sit down, sit down Sit down, sit down, sit down As we relive our lives in what we tell you Images of sorrow, pictures of delight Things that go to make up a life Endless days of summer, longer nights of gloom Waiting for the morning life Scenes of unimportance, photos in a frame Things that go to make up a life Help us, someone, let us out of here 'Cause living here so long undisturbed Dreaming of the time we were free So many years ago Before the time when we first heard Welcome to the home by the sea Sit down, sit down Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down As we relive our lives in what we tell you Let us relive our lives in what we tell you Sit down, sit down, sit down 'Cause you won't get away No, with us you will stay For the rest of your days Sit down As we relive our lives in what we tell you Let us relive our lives in what we tell you, oh

One of your philosophers said, "It is not to be thought that the life of darkness is sunk in misery and lost in sorrow. There is no sorrow. For sorrow is a thing that is swallowed up in death, and death and dying are the very life of the darkness." He was a shoemaker. He was right, and it matters more than anything.

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yuri-is-online · 3 months

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The second part of your response was good enough that I’m coming back with a round two.

“he just does not seem to see other people as. Well. People nor does he seem to understand the concept of dreams. In a way the ideals of someone like Azul are completely foreign to him because he's never had to work to be good at anything he's needed to do.”

This is an excellent point, though I’m curious as to what you meant by Malleus not understanding the concept of dreams. I would even go so far as to connect his inability to see others as people with all of the dreams Malleus forms with his unique magic. A denial of their perspectives and beliefs based simply on his understanding of the regrets and desires the dreamers harbor. While the magic may form the dreams around a person’s experiences, it’s always filtered through Malleus’s beliefs. It was mentioned somewhere that dragon fae only are considered adults at 1000 years and Malleus’s behavior right now is definitely showing us why.

Sebek: I have little to say on the contents of the dream itself that won’t be covered later, so let’s focus on that this is the first time we see Malleus inserting himself (or a piece of himself) into a dream. Considering how these dreams are essentially false paradises based on a person’s happiness, it definitely feels a little like Malleus was playing with dolls here.

Lilia: It says a lot that Lilia’s dream was able to remain tragic despite Malleus’s magic. He had come to terms with how Maleanor’s death/Raverne’s disappearance and his travels were necessary experiences in order for him to have the happiness that was Malleus and Silver. He had already made his peace with it in his long life, and yet Malleus’s first reaction was to try to modify the dream to erase these deaths? I understand he was very upset himself, but it also shows how childish Malleus’s understanding of happiness is. He cannot fathom how Lilia would be able to be happy despite such tragedy. I would almost even say it’s an insult to Maleanor’s sacrifice to erase her death like that.

Idia: Before I really get into anything here, can we take a moment to reflect on how cruel it was to give Idia a dream about og!Ortho being alive? Seeing him break down sobbing when reality set in was heartbreaking. Moving on, this is also a case of Malleus being utterly unable to see how someone could be happy in the wake of such tragedy. It’s an insult to Idia’s character development since he had finally gotten closure and was healing/moving forward. He may not have been at the stage of being completely happy yet, but he was willing to try to live his life to its fullest. It’s very clear to me that Malleus has never had to lose someone precious to him (before Lilia) and therefore cannot accept a person still wanting to move forward.

Rook and Vil: I place these two together because in my opinion, they display the same core issue of Malleus misunderstanding the actual issue of what would make Vil happy. In Rook’s Vil is simply made to be friends with Neige, attending the “hero school” RSA. Considering Vil’s relationship with Neige is more of a byproduct of the issue rather than the issue itself, this is a pretty shallow fix. I would throw the making Neige Vil’s assistant or allowing Vil to just kill Neige under this category as well. The issue isn’t Neige himself, it’s how the industry heavily typecasts and arguably the pressure the industry placed on Vil by always setting him up to be compared to Neige. Which leads into the other issue with Vil’s dream seeing as how it completely misses that Vil would not want a shortcut like that. It defies a key aspect of Vil’s personal beliefs.

- 🦐

So by "does not understand dreams" I mean he does not understand the concept of desiring something and working towards it in full knowledge that you could fail, or the willingness of humanity to accept those failures. I'm glad you brought up Vil because he's a perfect example, his dream isn't to be the worlds greatest actor period it's to have the full range of his talent recognized. The nuances of that are lost on Malleus, Vil would never be satisfied with a dream reality when what he wants is to make his dream real in the first place.

I think a lot of this comes from how sheltered Malleus has been. He's never really had a chance to grow and mature in the way his classmates have and because of how powerful he is he sort of expects to be given leeway in their lives. He would argue that he's earned it by virtue of existing, but none of his fellow Dorm Leaders think like that, in a way Leona's hatred makes even more sense now doesn't it? His entire thing is that a person should be respected for who they are not who they were born to, his rivalry with Malleus is far from petty when you put it in that context... Even if Malleus had been allowed to socialize with people the way fae society works he might have turned out worse, convinced of his own godhood to a dangerous degree but as it stands now he's just lonely and wants everyone else to be just as alone as he is.

If his dreams can't be real then no one's can, no matter what sort of spin he puts on it at the end of the day that is all he's doing. And he's going to pay a heavy cost for it.

#<3 asks #twisted wonderland #book 7 spoilers #twst spoilers #diasomnia spoilers #shrimp anon

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eluxcastar · 2 years

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*Gets down on one knee* Fellow lover of women, please acknowledge and bless my request for Arlecchino to comfort her female!lover after she hears her crying in her sleep due to a nightmare.

Arlecchino comforting her s/o

── ୨୧：arlecchino x reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: arlecchino tries to comfort her s/o even though she's not the best at genuine comfort (she is trying her best)

୨୧﹑genre :: fluff

୨୧﹑content :: fem reader, awkward comforting (it's endearing I swear), proofreading is beyond my expertise, possibly also ooc

୨୧﹑words :: 1028

oh yes fellow lover of women you can have Arlecchino cause THIS ❤️ I like this, also will be combining this with another ask I got (May I request something about Arlecchino comforting her female!S/O after finding her crying?) since they're extremely similar other anon lmk if you want something else

sorry it's so late I got busy with stuff 💔 but I'm gonna try to do a couple of asks this afternoon there's an anon with a Capitano request theirs is next then kuniho's angst idea cause his currently occupies the Pantalone part of my brain

late night and she still can't sleep, at least not yet as Arlecchino walks back from getting a glass of water to find you still very much asleep, but restless and seemingly reacting to a dream you must be having - there's nothing in this room that could make you cry like that. something must taunt you in your sleep, something she can't take you away from so easily as she's unable to touch it.

the only thing she can do is...not ideal.

she doesn't want to wake you, but she doesn't want to simply leave you either. such a thing would be quite cruel to do, but how is she supposed to assure you that it can't hurt you without waking you up? she supposes she'll simply be forced to wake you from what she thought was a peaceful rest - not ideal - there's just no way around it. though, since it's no longer quite 'peaceful' rest it bothers Arlecchino much less than it otherwise might have.

she sits just beside you on the little available space on the bed, places a hand on your shoulder and shakes you gently, somehow afraid of waking you up too harshly even knowing you're already startled. something about you being so scared just waking up doesn't sit well with her. it's enough to say she's glad when you only seem confused, even if you're trembling and slightly incoherent as you mumble something vaguely resembling a question that she can't quite understand, a little too many vowels mixed in there far too quiet.

"We're home, aren't we?" you manage to speak again, much more clearly, and she nods to you.

"Yes, we're home. Did you think we were somewhere else?"

you rub the back of your hand over your eyes to try to wake yourself up some more, try to process your surroundings like you hadn't been elsewhere entirely, pieces of it already faded from your mind but you know you didn't like anything that happened in that dream, actually more akin to a nightmare than anything.

"Not sure" you say, "for some reason...it was like we were back out in that place."

she takes your hands in her own, "Don't think about that, we left there, and we'll never go back. Just try to breathe slowly."

"I know" you tell her, sniffling a little as you try to do as she said. you were intending to say more, though you trail off and forget what you meant to say. despite what both of you said your mind trailed back there and a part of you completely left that room like wandering back through the past.

likewise Arlecchino has no idea what to say to you, an awkward silence taking over as she realises she hasn't let go, but it would be weird to let go so suddenly wouldn't it?

"I'm sorry my negligence got you hurt." she says, "If it wasn't for that choice..." for some reason you start giggling immediately after she says that and she looks over at you worried she had said something strange.

"We make it sound so ominous." you manage to say, and she plays everything back in her head, cracking a smile as she realises what you mean just before you can elaborate, "That place, that decision, that day" you pull your hands away only to wiggle your fingers at her, faking some spooky voice.

even if only once, she laughs along with you, and only then does she realise that, even if accidentally, she had stopped your crying by making you laugh, and suddenly it doesn't feel quite so bad anymore. "I didn't think you wanted to speak of it."

"Oh it wasn't that bad." you try to assure her, though she knows it's likely a lie with how you were acting earlier, crying in your sleep over it.

those kinds of memories must be hard for you to deal with, why must you be so insistent on doing so aloneg? surely it's not the pity of not wanting to force her to deal with it? she reaches up to wipe your cheeks unsure if you had even realised you had cried.

you don't stop her, though you didn't seem to notice either, perhaps only thinking you were too sleepy to see properly. you must realise what she's doing however as you ask, "Sorry, did I worry you?"

"No! I mean-- don't be sorry, it's my job to worry about you." she assured you.

"Are you getting paid to be my girlfriend?" the face she made must've been what had you in another fit of laughing. she's so glad you're alright now, even if that does mean you return to teasing her way with words only to smooth your hand over her hair and place a kiss on her forehead. she loves it when you tease her so much. you're so precious like that, aren't you?

as you settle back down, she stands from her place on the bed, shifting you in place as her weight leaves you alone in your own little dip on the mattress. Arlecchino is now well ready to see you back to sleep considering it's so late. "Since it's my job, I should also tell you to go to bed, and provide optional cuddles - free of charge."

"Oh you're so generous." you reach your arm up to her to try to pull her back down, though you'll have to switch sides for that arrangement to work you don't mind, you want her to come back now you don't want to wait for her to walk all the way around the bed to get to her side.

though a little bit begrudgingly she allows you to, sitting back where she just was as you shuffle over to her side to make space for her to lay down. as soon as she does you're back over trying to weasel your way under her arm, no doubt for the cuddles she had promised seeing as you lay your head on her chest and are more than ready to go back to sleep.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer."

#✦ — scenarios.#✦ — fluff.#♡ — anon visit.#arlecchino #genshin arlecchino #arlecchino x reader #arlecchino x female reader #genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x female reader

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cornus27florida · 1 year

Text

Leelathae (Queen Lilyth)'s Ghost Theory

I honestly want to write much longer but held back because brainrot currently (anxiety attack and very unfocused even doing what I like, my Coping escape mechanism failed in the face of looking red deadline IRL) - enough about me!

Just wanna share my theory that actually the first theory that I wrote in Discord but never share here at CPC BLR. The statement of theory

"What if another 'off-comment' from Frederick becomes big plot point, with the following pieces shown that the item (confirmed Potrait) that Leland stole more than decade ago from Pastel Palace - actually keep Leelathae's soul/spirit/ghost and could help Gwen?" Confirmed in the Unhappily-ever-after episodes

The other thing that I could see happen im the future which is the remain episodes of CPC is, (see after the following 2 images) Lilyth's ghost seeps in Gwen's dream as 'warm and glowy' entity yet not only reminder that Gwen and her are beautiful in their own way, pointing out how similar their interaction with their romantic loved ones (Jack and Frederick) - Lilyth'll shown Gwen that none all her faults, everyone loves her espc Frederick shown to genuinely loves her instead Gwen's initial thought that he never loves her

I wonder how LambCat incorporate with CPC main theme of "self-love" as some still iffy or rightfully concerned with tethering self-opinion of Gwen to Frederick's opinion, but I hope this the right step! Already imagined the scene of Gwen found her mother in the Crystal room of Jamie's Art Show thus the Summarized content of Lilyth's diary told to her which helps Gwen more confidence w/ herself

^ Episode 6 and 48 reference, we know from newest free pass episode it become huge foreshadowing of the "haunted Potrait"

Somehow I feel Lilyth is like Nadeshiko Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura, the mother of the MC Sakura Kinomoto. Nadeshiko passed away from long time ago but she keep her Family safe as 'a ghost' - somehow I think Lilyth kind of like that ghost

^ This is Nadeshiko, she and Lilyth both have wavy hair and being a "ghost" 0.0

I have Faith in LambCat to make beautiful ending for CPC there! And being a ghost often time could give warm and glowy feeling espc to the family members - instead scared

^ The part of the CPC webtoon banner seen on mobile / LINK image

Could it be that Leelathae's ghost will meet when Gwen in this part of her future dreamscape.. the Crystal Room of Jamie's Art Show? Another foreshadowing from LambCat? Gwen already wrote her mom's robe in dream

^ If this become another foreshadowing? From the CPC OST VOL. 10

P.S: The What-If

Tbh Leland perfect ending for him pay his karma to me -> Him cursed to swapped place with Leelathea to be trapped in the potrait instead (the only downside is the witch's term)

Like what if No one will ever listen to home ever again (like someone that considered going senile) - while all his Family members then finally free from him (with Isolde help career of LeoMie in road of beauty of the food, when she's finally free means she could do anything + I hope she back to emo style again, it really suits her ngl ) + (In the end, Frederick officially supporting CPC that become public [my theory of CPC ending, one of ideal but could be dangerous-thou-I-believe-they-can-manage-it] and happily ever after with Gwendolyn) + (sorry for Blaine and Lance fans there, but I think they're best if going therapy Whitney-style goes to the monastery - it simple life but bet free of toxicity that they're keep exposed too long) .. also idk Jack and Leland resolution, but Jackie also need to get his 'bubble' pop off and waking up to reality -> that he doing the very thing that he hates everyone's expectation to him, to his own daughters

#cpc #spoiler #theories #cursed princess club #me back with theory #actually it my oldest in reddit based discord server but I remember never share in Tumblr #cardcaptor sakura reference #spirit or ghost lore

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yeehawbvby · 2 years

Text

Falling Away With You | Ch. 29

Sebastian x F!Reader and M. Rasmodius x F!Reader

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Chapter Summary: Y/n has a life-shattering realization. Luckily, Magnus is there to pick up the pieces.

Author’s Note: TW for a minor shutdown in this chapter! It’s short, and not very descriptive. Y/n just gets lost in her head and goes nonverbal for a little bit

Also, I just wanna clarify something real quick: Seb and y/n aren’t going to break up. I’ve decided to commit to the polyamory route; it’s just a matter of when rather than if, now. :3

I hope this soothes those who were worrying about that, and I’m sorry for causing any concern!!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this chapter ^^ Enjoy and take care x

Table of Contents + Work Summary

Check it out on ao3!

Prev | Next

After casually telling me that he wants to know more about my weird sex dream, Magnus lowers his hands from my cheeks, but keeps one outstretched for me to take. The last thing I wanna do now is recount that again after nearly living it.

“Why?” I mumble.

“I know this is less than ideal, but it will help me to further understand – as your instructor – what you’re capable of.”

Ugh, that’s understandable, I guess. Sighing, I nod and place my palm in his.

Ever since that first night I came to Magnus’ home, the floor cushions haven’t left their spot near the fireplace. Hand-in-hand, we make our way towards them and sit down facing each other. I opt to rest on my knees, and Magnus takes his usual cross-legged stance.

I fidget with the top of my thigh highs. Still not looking Magnus in the face. Refusing to at this point. Heat is practically radiating from my cheeks as I try to think of the least nauseating way to describe what happened to me, to him.

“This was your first instance of clairvoyance, yes?” he prompts to start things off. I nod, and Magnus exhales. “Well, congratulations on the new gift…?” he hesitates to commend me.

I lift my hands to my face and squeak into them. This one isn’t unintentional, as they usually are. It’s drawn out and frustrated. “This is so uncomfy.”

“It’s alright, my dear.” Why does that phrase still make my heart jolt? “There’s no need for… rigorous details, either. Just start from the beginning, and take your time.”

A few beats pass before I manage to speak up. Being drained occasionally of tears of embarrassment, I tell him about how everything played out almost identically as in my dream, up until he casted the spell.

“By the way,” I note, “that prank or whatever you wanna call it sucks, and it still would even if it didn’t have… like,” I vaguely gesture with both hands, “that effect on me.”

“Duly noted,” Magnus chuckles. “Although technically, that was your own–”

“My OwN dOiNg,” I mock. “I know, I know! You explained it in the dream.”

“So,” I can hear a grin in his tone, “You… you could have prevented it, correct?”

“You don’t think I tried to?!” I ask incredulously, snapping my face towards him.

“Oh my,” he utters, sounding just as tickled as he appears. One of his brows is raised, his cheeks are flushed, and he has a mischievous look about him. I furrow my brows as he brings his knuckles to hover over his mouth, while he proceeds. “Then, I so often have that effect on you, that you couldn’t stop yourself from—”

My eyes widen and I squeak, before I lower my head down. Keeping my focus on his knee to address him instead of that mug of his.

I practically hiss, “Wizard.” Makes him laugh, which makes my heart skip. Ugh.

“Apologies.”

I continue on about how, in the dream, I first ran for water, stupidly thinking it would quench that kind of thirst. How I leaned on the cauldron, then on his displayed grimoire.

How I saw “things” – no way in hell I’m describing exactly what those things were, although he definitely gets the gist – every time I closed my eyes for more than a blink from that point onward.

How he came to comfort me, explained the spell, and wound up indulging me, to a certain extent.

I dare to look at Magnus again after admitting that last part, and he’s boring into me with those ravenous red daggers oh my god.

“We didn’t…?”

“No.” I wince, realizing it’s partially a lie. “Well…” I peer at my hands, watching myself fold a pleat of my skirt back and forth between my fingertips. “Um. You did, uh… you did something to me, but we didn’t, like…” I get my point across by awkwardly clasping my hands together. I trail off into a barely-there whisper, as I lower my locked fists to my lap. “W-we were about to, buuut I woke up.” I – again, awkwardly – punctuate the end of the final word with a pop of my lips.

An audibly shaky sigh and near-silent “Oh” escapes Magnus.

“And other than that, some of the shit you said and did paralleled exactly what I’d foreseen, but just…” I shrug. “A bit outta order, I guess.”

A long pause goes by before Magnus says anything. “So you wound up controlling your fate, by deliberately acting against the events in your visions.”

“I guess so, yeah.” I risk peeking up at him again. “I didn’t, like, fuck up time or something by doing that, did I?” I meekly ask him.

“I’m not sure.” His eyes meet mine again. “I’ve never known an oracle who could control themselves to that extent.”

An oracle? Makes me sound so fancy when he puts it that way. I like it!

“It often takes an elemental mage of great power to alter their own predetermined future as such. Strange of a mundane to have such capabilities, so early on in your studies.”

I re-situate myself to sit more on my hip than my knees; draping my loosely bent legs to the left of my body, as I put more weight onto my right arm.

As I respond to Magnus’ observation, I fiddle with the corner of the cushion I’m sitting on. “Glad to be such an anomaly.” My tone drips with sarcasm, prompting a deep chuckle from Magnus.

After a long silence, the wizard speaks up again. “(Y/n)?”

“Hm?”

“I… er…” he trails off.

He’s repositioning himself to get cozy as well: laying down his feet closer to the fireplace, crossed over one another. His torso is propped up by his elbows near me. After some wiggling, Magnus ditches his cushion altogether. I take it from the spot between us and hug it to myself with my left arm for comfort in this… weird, trying, sexually tense time.

When he pipes up, it seems like he’s avoiding saying whatever it is he had planned on before.

He blushes and avoids my gaze as he asks, “Jog my memory on why you came here, please?”

“I dunno.” I tilt my head. “Y-you told me to, Magnus.”

“Right, I did do that, didn’t I…?”

Not gonna lie, it’s fun seeing him all shy and stuff. Can’t stop myself from grinning — a very welcome expression, after all the shit that just happened.

“I can leave if you want me to.”

“No, that’s alright,” he shakes his head. Looking at me through finally maroon eyes, he smiles. He has such a pretty smile that I can’t help but relax a little bit while it graces his lips. “It’ll come to me, I’m sure.”

As the elemental zones out on the flames in front of him, I swivel about face to zone out on the ground below them. Today’s shenanigans are on repeat in my head, and I can’t stop wondering why things played out the way they did.

Like, if it’s so hard to change your fate, how the fuck was I able to do it with such little effort? Why is it that in that dream, all recollection of Seb seemed to be nonexistent; whereas in person, I was able to keep my cool enough to have him in mind for most of the ordeal?

Why, in real life, did it seem like Magnus was just as tempted by the situation as he was in my vision?

I wonder if Magnus is upset that things didn’t go how I’d originally foresaw. He told me while discussing his fling with Abby’s mom that he wasn’t peachy on the idea of messing with a taken woman… but why does he seem kind of off now that that’s over?

Is he mad at me?

He better not fuckin’ be, he did this to me! …Kinda. I shake that thought from my head, worried that I’m still being plagued by the same inner-dialogue that was flooding my mind in the dream.

Good god, what if I’m… destined to have sex with Magnus? For all I know, I could be stuck in some infinite loop of NPC voice lines and actions until everything that happened during my sleep plays out in reality.

Or worse, a real life Groundhog Day.

But, like… with fucking.

(Oh, that’s gotta be a porno that exists.)

As utterly nuts as this all sounds, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a possibility, considering how strange everything that’s happening is.

Another thought pops into my head and I physically react with a gasp, dropping the cushion from beneath my arm and clasping a sleeve-mittened hand over my mouth. I look at Magnus, and feel grateful that he didn’t hear me. Dude still seems lost in his own thoughts. Thank Yoba.

Analyzing his spaced out profile, the conversation I had with him over dinner the other night – during our Abigail-centric shenanigans – replays in my mind:

“You’re messing with me.”

Magnus laughed. After clearing his throat, he assured me, “Truly, (y/n), I’m not!”

“So soulmates aren’t just some fairytale romcom make believe whatever-the-fuck? They’re real?”

Still grinning wide, Magnus nodded, then clarified, “For most, yes. Although, an elemental’s bound partner won’t be a fellow elemental; and likewise, a mundane’s soulmate wouldn’t be another mundane, aside from exceptionally rare cases.”

“Wouldn’t that mean most of you never get to find out who it is?”

Through a mouthful of food, Magnus hummed a brief “Mhm.” After swallowing, he added, “It’s more common than not for an elemental’s soulmate to be continuously reincarnated, though. We like to call them ‘partners in time,’ if we’re looking for a less average term.” He teasingly added, “I think it has a nicer ring to it.”

Grinning at how cute that sounded, but also at the sass towards My Kind™, I glared at him. Magnus’ response was to snort out a little laugh through his sip of water.

I looked down at my plate and lazily twirled some spaghetti around my fork. “How do you know who yours is?”

After a brief silence, I looked up at Magnus, and he seemed to be thinking about it. He had an intense look in his eye that I couldn’t put my finger on as he contemplated the question.

“I’m… unsure,” he finally answered. Sounding very unsure of his own response. Maybe it’s a touchy topic for elementals?

“In a previous existence of hers, we met — we didn’t have the chance to synchronize much, but I was absolutely sure that she was… mine, for lack of a better wording. It’s a feeling – a strong, inexplicable pull towards the individual – rather than, let’s say, one of those fictional tropes with matching skin etchings, or invisible threading, or what have you.”

Magnus sighed, and then there was a sudden mournfulness that seeped through his mundane cosplay.

“I… I’m positive she is out there, right now. I’m just unsure of whether or not we will have the privilege of… coexisting, let’s say.”

“Well, that’s more than valid to worry about,” I offered, resting my cheek in my palm. “How does it usually work? Pure luck?”

I finally ate the bite of food that had been wrapped around my utensil as he answered, “In some ways, absolutely. You see, the spirits will allegedly try to help bring soulbound individuals together. If you’re lucky enough, once you’ve met an instance of your other half, you might learn their personality. Their interests. What gender you’ll need to look out for in future.

I know to look for a woman with a curiosity, even if shallowly, in nature; although our paths were only briefly crossed, I had learned she was a botanist, so I can safely assume she has a knack for plants.

Then, there’s also a theory that if you reside in close proximity to the individual, there will be more physical clues. ‘Bumping’ into one another often, or existing within mutual social circles, for example.”

I nodded along, trying to wrap my head around that. “That sounds… so fucking frustrating, good god.”

Magnus laughed, but it came out dully. “Indeed it is, my dear.”

…This might be a stretch.

But what if I’m his soulmate?

What if I’m only here because of the elements practically yanking me over little by little? What if that weird force over my body the first few times I came near his tower was my sign?

What if I had that psychic experience in my sleep as the spirits’ way of bribing my hornball ass to be with him?

I mean, it would check out. I am a girl who is interested in nature, who works with plants now, and Magnus and I have a few mutual acquaintances in Pelican Town alone. There could be more in Zuzu for all I know.

Plus, I’ve always been fascinated by him, in one way or another, without knowing why. Even before I knew I was crushing so hard, he made me feel all fuzzy.

If I’m right, then is that what I’d even want?

I… I guess deep down I obviously want it, if it’s my preconceived destiny or whatever.

But then what about Sebastian? It feels appropriate that he would be that person more than anyone, considering how quickly and easily we clicked, but that’s supposedly nigh impossible, which is super fucked up to think about.

I’m already dreading telling him about what happened in my dreams, and what occurred today. Would feel wrong to keep that all a secret from him.

If I’m not just working myself up over nothing, I don’t want to also have to break it to him that we’re quite literally not “supposed” to be together.

The odds are so low that it would be me, in such a densely populated world of people, to be “chosen” for this…

So why can’t I shake the feeling that I’m only a regular visitor of this tower and consistently in platonic – well, now it’s kind of romantic – contact with Magnus because he’s my goddamn soulmate?

“(Y/n), are you alright?”

I blink a few times, and my eyes refocus to a certain degree. I was still staring at him, apparently.

My head feels foggy.

Magnus’ eyes are blue with worry as he prompts me again. “You’re looking rather pale.”

I choke on my words. Fuck… seriously? I haven’t been nonverbal in a looong time.

Physically unable to tell him how I am, I shake my head. I’m not alright. I don’t want him to know why, so I can only hope my racing thoughts are silent.

“Would you like to lay down?”

I’d rather go home to do that — I just wanna cuddle Cannoli right now, to be honest — but it doesn’t feel like an option at the moment. Don’t know how far my stupid baby legs can carry me while I feel this way. Not sure if I could handle having him teleport me, either.

I nod, and Magnus promptly stands, then helps me up too.

Magnus’ tone is soft as he asks, “Can you make it up these stairs, here?”

To test it out, I take a step onto the first plank. Just as I’m about to nod my confirmation, I begin swaying a tad. God damnit.

“Easy, now.” Standing behind me, Magnus holds one of my hands against the wall, and gently clasps his other hand around my shoulder. “I can keep you on your feet. Go ahead.”

This upper level of Magnus’ home has the same aesthetic appeal as his main floor. Cobblestone and wood on the walls, and wooden floors to match, with vines, potted plants and colored lights up the wazoo.

To the right is a restroom, and to the left is probably his bedroom. In the center of this small hallway, there’s a spiral staircase that leads higher up into the tower.

I take note of how the interior of this entire place is so different from how you’d expect it to look from the outside. I wonder if that’s a byproduct of magic... Surely there’s no way this would structurally make sense, no?

Still hugging myself to the wall as Magnus lets go of my hand and shoulder, he walks around to my front, then holds the door to his room open for me.

It’s small, but extremely cozy. His bed is fucking massive, with a grayish frame, and an ashy purple, comfy-looking comforter and pillow set. It’s neatly made and takes up most of the space.

Across from his bed is a kind of antique-looking armoire... I wonder what historical period he got that in. Yoba that’s so weird to think about. It’s slightly opened, and looks a little messy inside, which is kinda nice. Makes Magnus feel more ~mundane.~

The walls are alive with vines similarly green and flowering to those on the exterior of Magnus’ home, as well as some hanging leaves and planter pots. The only illumination comes from some dim fairy lights strung across the ceiling, rather than against the upper stones of the walls; a small, slightly tinted window over his bed; and a chic, purple salt lamp that resides on his nightstand.

I notice Magnus watching me from my peripheral as I gaze around at his decor. A soft smile graces his face when I fully look up at him. Just that faint curl of his lips is enough to ease my tension a tiny bit.

Makes my heart flutter…

Shit, it’s awfully annoying how the source of my shutdown is also the only person who can ease me out of it, apparently.

Magnus helps me over to the bed, and once I’m laid down, I pull up the notes app on my phone. Head feels too funky to communicate in thoughts, and – despite my success with it the other night – I’d had a rough time trying to break into Magnus’ brain, which means that option is definitely off the table.

‘I’m sorry,’ I write, ‘Idk’— I quickly delete those three letters, unsure of whether or not he’s filled in on internet lingo. ‘I don’t know what’s up with me’

After moving onto my side and curling up a little, I hold my screen towards Magnus, who’s sitting on the edge of his mattress. He grins and shakes his head.

“Don’t apologize, my dear.” Not helping, oh my god that cutesy shitty little name that makes me feel nice is not helping at all. “It’s been a tough day for you thus far.” Fair point. “Is there anything you need?”

To be told everything will be fine.

To be assured that I’m not possibly figuring out the entire trajectory of the rest of my life right now, all because of some horny accident.

To be told I’m just being paranoid, but with, like, less demeaning wording than that.

To be held, so I at least feel safe and warm while I’m spiraling.

…There’s only one thing on that list that can actually be done without giving him too much info. If he knows anything I’ve been considering, because of telepathy and whatever, he hasn’t shown it or said anything about it.

I deeply sigh. With fiery red cheeks, I type out, ‘Can we cuddle?” I hesitate to move my hand towards him, then I erase it. That’s way too direct for me.

‘Can I have a hug?’ Nope, immediately deleting that one. Feels stranger.

In lieu of my previous request, I write, ‘Could you maybe lay with me for a bit? If that’s ok with you’. That seems better… Kind of.

Pulling up the collar of my sweater to hide in it, I look everywhere but Magnus’ face as I show him my note. He huffs out a quiet laugh, and begins repositioning himself next to me as he responds, “Of course.”

Both of us are laying on our sides, facing towards each other. I shyly bring my eyes up, and Magnus is laying on his arm, focused on fidgeting with the blanket below us with his other digits.

Just as I notice how… almost intimate this is, Magnus lifts his irises, raises the hand that was occupied by blankets a second ago, and cups it onto my face.

Just like that, this is entirely intimate.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve a fever, although your cheeks are a tad warm,” he teases. Bastard.

I probably look like a deer in headlights. My face likely increases in temperature just as quickly as I type out, ‘I’m literally dying and you’re bullying me?’

When I hold up the screen, I glare at Magnus over the top of it. My words get a hearty laugh out of him.

“‘Dying’ and ‘bullying’ are hardly accurate, but I can gloss over it this time.”

I close my eyes to sigh deeply. Turning to putty beneath his touch. Finally letting myself begin to relax. As I lay there — memorizing the way Magnus’ thumb traces my cheek, and feeling his content gaze still on my resting form — a question comes to mind.

Feeling like I might be able to speak in my sleepy haze, I open my mouth to give it a whirl. My first syllable comes out too raspy for cohesion, so I clear my throat to try that again. I open my eyes, keeping them lowered as I feel Magnus’ laughter at my failed attempt slightly jostle the cushioning below us.

“Can I ask you something?” I squeak out. My words were barely even a whisper. I shudder when Magnus leans in a wee bit to hear me better.

“Anything.”

“Why,” I struggle out quietly, “D-id you get… so close to me to cast that spell?”

“Feigned intimidation, I suppose.”

Right, we did determine in my dream that Magnus was practicing his mundane human studies on me, basically. That checks out.

Gnawing my lower lip, I’m reminded of how he went about undoing the spell. How he watched me like he was hypnotized by my features. Played with this same lip I’m chewing like it was a toy… cradled my face like I’m precious to him.

Much like he’s doing now.

“Why’d you touch me the way you did… like, when y-you disenchanted me, I mean?”

I hear a sighed laugh, and meet his sincere, pink gaze. After a few moments of nothing but a deep breath and burning eye contact, he whispers, “Selfishness, to be honest.”

Really wish I could probe his thoughts as easily as he reads mine. I wanna know exactly what he means by that.

After a subtle nod, I cast my vision low again. I linger on his lips longer than I’d intended to on the way down. Unintentionally studying the way they look, their texture… the way he just wet them, how they’re curling into a knowing half-grin. My eyelids flutter for a sec before I manage to look away.

My face is on fucking fire.

Confused, tired, distressed, and desperate for comfort, I scoot forward.

I shimmy my body into the foot-or-so gap that laid between Magnus and I, until my forehead is pressed onto his broad upper chest.

When I started to move, his hand lifted from my cheek. Upon the new contact and without even a second of hesitation, the wizard coils the arm that’s not occupying his head and pillow around my smaller form, holding me close. Hugging his palm to the back of my scalp, while his arm soothingly folds along my side and back like a weighted blanket.

While he buries the lower half of his face into my hair, my top arm wraps around his torso. Absentmindedly, my hand that’s closer to the mattress fiddles with the silky fabric of Magnus’ shirt. In the final act of our wordless agreement to snuggle up, our legs tangle together slightly.

It all unfolds as if entirely on instinct.

As though it’s a routine we’ve practiced time and time again.

It feels right.

I don’t know how long we lay here for: Magnus running short, delicate motions with his fingertips along my crown; while I nuzzle into him, basking in his warmth, as well as the earthy scent that clings to him from working around a full cauldron so often.

All I know is that we mold perfectly together.

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supernovaa-remnant · 1 year

Note

Ask game: 24 22 and 19

19. What are come of your favorite pieces of c!Dream animations/songs/other types of video/audio content?

The Old Days animatic by Knp lives rent free in my brain. Watching that animatic changed the trajectory of my life I'm so serious it's so aklsjdhsgajksdshass the way it so perfectly represents c!dream's longing to return to a simpler past? when he could laugh and have fun with c!george and c!sapnap???? the way you can see when c!dream stops smiling in the animatic?? aughhhh c!dream team my c!dream team you are a wound that never stops aching.

22. If you had all the time, resources, and skills to create your ideal piece of c!Dream fan content, what would it be?

I've talked about it before, but genuinely You and I Drink the Poison From the Same Vine (my theoretical c!dreambur semi-canon compliant fic that I talked abt in the post linked). I think about it all the time. I would love to just... have the commitment needed to write this long fic that examines canon through the lens of one non-canon element being added.

Also, it'd be really really fun to write interactions between c!punz and c!wilbur (where c!punz doesn't understand why c!dream keeps c!wilbur around and does what he wants and c!wilbur holds his connection to c!dream over c!punz's head like a taunt).

Uh, other than that, I have a slide show about c!dream that I never finished. I started making it with the goal of presenting it to my non-c!dream sympathetic irls haha

24. When/how did you become a c!Dream apologist?

Okay, this is going to get long and I may get into way more detail than I need to, so buckle in because this was quite the journey for me.

So, I didn't get into the fandom until around august-september of 2021. However, I had multiple irls who were really into the dsmp in late 2020-early 2021. And, uh, they're very very non-sympathetic to c!dream. (also believers in the l'manburg mythos, but we are not getting into that...) anyway, I heard a lot about the dsmp from an outside perspective during my time of not being in the fandom. And this included hearing about the exile arc (with one hilarious instance where my friends did not specify it was rp so for a moment I thought cc!dream was just a really really bad dude 💀) and hearing about how horrible c!dream was how evil he was etc etc.

In typical "I am not invested in this fandom at all but my dear friend is" fashion, I just agreed with them. All of my info came from hearing them talk abt something they were interested in, so why would I disagree?

Anyway, flash forward, like, half a year, and I begin watching the manhunts. I got really into them and ended up reading some non-dsmp fics. And then everything spiralled and I got sucked into the fandom. I remember reading some c!dream redemption fics, and I was really enjoying it, but I still didn't consider myself an apologist. Afterall, my entire first impression of him was how horrible he was through my friends.

Anyway, I don't have an exact timeline, but it wasn't until I actually followed someone from dreblr that I started fully embracing my c!dreamisms and my c!dream apologism. I kept my c!dream apologisms hush hush in front of my friends for so long. I still do to an extent. I'm scared, okay? And I don't wanna get into arguments with them, so it's best to just, like, not bring it up I guess.

#c!dreamie has always been my favorite character though #it definitely started with some cc bias bc I got into the fandom via manhunts #but it has evolved from that #stella answers #sioster #dreblr #ask game

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aaleaqlania · 2 years

Note

❛ i didn’t leave because i stopped loving you. i left because the longer i stayed, the less i loved myself. ❜

CRACKS MY FINGERS FOR THE FUCKING HURT -- @vohunara

they had their little, not-so-private cataclysm, too.

whatever was of their friendship had imploded long ago, among torn pages of a project and clash of opinions. so far, the stasis built around them was almost deathly still━ it was useless, for al haitham, to mention a past they were both determined to never bring back up.

from his part, he seeked not conflict, which would have crashed into their home like an hurricane. he was content in not tackling the issue as long as the other kept mantaining his silence over it, too.

and then?

and then, when the topic is brought up again, there's little that surprises him.

because al haitham had his sweet time to analyze the situation, to form his own opinion over it. that their failed project was a clash of morals and interests, that they both held their ground into it for different reasons, and that staying meant to tear eachother apart like animals.

and he was no animal. just an extremely rational individual, that he was.

' i know. '

it comes without the usual, obnoxiously knowledgeable tone of his: in fact, al haitham sounds understanding, even. a new feat, much softer than usual.

' the project clashed with your ideals, and it was just not doable for you to stay. the result that you wanted was just not feasible in akademic terms, and perhaps achievable in a distant future that you considered uncertain, as one should do with it. i never faulted you from leaving. '

...but he never took another project, either.

instead, al haitham kept to himself, scoring credit after credit from darshan after darshan, plowed effortlessly into mid-to-upper advanced courses across many fields, certifications of courses stacking up. from internships to apprenticeships, from rotations and experience on field with assignments, al haitham undertook anything that he wanted to pursue simply because he wished to deepen his knowledge and experience, and knew that everything would have come in handy later.

kaveh wished to pursue his dreams more than ever after what happened between them, away from the corrupted system of the akademiya but unable to truly detache from it. he needed the fundings, needed the connections, needed his darshan.

and al haitham, instead, found some sort of comfort in how this system worked; he finds most of it convenient, and whatever isn't, he'll make it work for himself. he can play their game long enough to make it bend backwards for him. when al haitham has already won what he wanted from it. whenever or not he might not like it, he has no reasons to change it. it'd take monumental effort and backlash, and he wants stability and cushy, stable life with a simple job.

revolution versus the art of adapting. they truly clash, even now, where kaveh wanted to reassure al haitham about something the man figured out a long time ago.

' if we kept interacting after you left, ' he tells the blond his conclusions, unwavering, ' we would have torn eachother apart. the disagreement was too big at the time, there would have been nothing left to pick up, which is what we're doing now. '

still...

still, even if he knew why, the unstability of their bond was still here. ever present, despite the good and the bad. ever present, with things left unsaid, with them picking up the sharp pieces without protections.

sometimes it nicked at their fingers, and one of them had to step away to medicate before coming back.

ever present, because once they had grown and matured, they still ended up back to eachother.

ever present, but not to be taken for granted. not when he could no longer deny being affected, not when kaveh was talking about it so openly. uncanningly uncharacteristic of him.

' thank you for telling me this. i never judged you for leaving. you did what you had to do, and i did the same. it's not something i resented you for. '

there’s a pause full of meanings, when he feels like closing the book is only appropriate. it gauges some weight to what he needs to say.

‘ i never stopped loving you, either. ‘

#vohunara #SMACKS YOU WITH THIS. HELLO #BISH NOW WE SUFFER

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percy-ils · 1 year

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11, 22 and 33 - wait there's no 33, so just 30

okay here we go:

11: what do you think c!Dream’s life would have been like in season 2?

I love the fanfics written about this and they're all great on their own and I love the more positive outlook they have on the possible scenarios of s2 but I think it'd start off as a normal server of a bunch of people without their memories trying to get through monsters and gather resources and basic minecraft at first. I'd personally want c!Dream to be kinda slower than everyone and maybe he struggles with fighting and he has a thing against lava and sheers and that kind of stuff that he can't name a reason for and stuff. about them gaining their memories back, I'm not really sure but I think they'd get bits and pieces of them back slowly and try to not let it show to anyone. this isn't really comprehensive but. it's 6.30am so. apologies

22: If you had all the time, resources, and skills to create your ideal piece of c!Dream fan content, what would it be?

Well, I really like drawing c!Dream but I wouldn't say I'm the best at it. I have a really huge fanfic idea that I started but i know I could write that if i wanted to, so I think I'd want to make lots of fanarts of him. mostly of the prison/post prison or just character designs. sometimes rivals art. sometimes little comic pages. I really like drawing him but it's never good enough imo

30: In 3 words, how would you describe c!Dream?

ruthless, sad and babygirl. because he is ruthless in everything he does and he's willing to give up pretty much everything, including his own wellbeing in every damn aspect, for his goal. sad because. Well. he's just a sad little guy and babygirl is self explanatory. no word more fitting for that guy.

#ask #thanks for the ask :D

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shirecorn · 3 years

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How to Draw and Design Gryphons and Hippogryphs by using photo references of eagles, lions and horses?

Draw everything individually, from multiple angles.

How to draw horses || How I practice anatomy || Gesture drawing

It's like juicing up for a very tasty dream by consuming your favorite genre, characters, settings, etc and hoping your subconscious combines them.

If the final result is your target, and you see your drawing arm as a gun taking aim, then references are your bullets. Fill the chamber with reference unless you want to play roulette.

Your first step in reference gathering is to be specific. Know what you want and stick with it. I searched specifically for African Lion and Gold Eagle. Being specific helps you observe detail more accurately, and it already puts you one step ahead of generic designs.

I'm only going to tackle Lion + Eagle today for simplicity, but you can use this advice to combine two, three, or dozens of animals including horses.

Get your reference, and start practicing. Keep it simple and undetailed, only drawing the essence of the photo, rather than exact position and proportion.

Use action poses to practice! Even though they're more challenging, they will infuse your final result with action as well. Look up things like hunting, fighting, walking, running, landing, etc to get action reference.

Practice most on the creature you're having the hardest time with. That was Lions, for me. I even did a separate page where I studied the structure of their manes, since I wanted that in my griffin design.

Remember: you can trace photos as part of study! This is helpful for correcting proportions and anatomy. Make sure you are tracing mass and bones, not outlines.

Now that you're weapon is loaded with reference, you'll be able to design freehand without copying a photo. This is IDEAL because you won't be slowed down by anatomy. Now what we're here for: Design.

Creature Design Masterpost || Splice Vs Blend

This is going to be yet another visit to Splice vs. Blend technique, so strap in. Here's some guys I drew after I finished studying. No photos needed at this stage because I've eaten them all.

The most common creature design technique is something I call Splicing. You take pieces of animals and graft them onto each other with stitches. Griffins are notorious for this with their bird talons on the front legs and lion paws on the back. That's a creature that was formed through magic, not evolution. This automatically makes your griffin less believable. And probably a bit awkward in the walking department.

So here's a new challenge: Blending. Take bits of each creature and put them in a mixer, letting the ingredients land all over the place and amongst each other. What if we had a lion skull, with an extra-thick bird beak in place of the jaws? What if the lion chin was still there in the form of a tuft of fur? Maybe the tear duct from the lion, and the eyelids of bird? Let's give it lion ears with the furrowed brow so typical of raptors.

It already looks like a new life form, rather than a photoshopped amateur hour of recognizable animals. I could cover it in either feathers or fur and it would still be distinct as a new species. I want the classic lion mane in some form, so I'm taking the shape and turning it into long, fluffy feathers.

Don't stop there! Try identifying what traits make an eagle and eagle, or a lion a lion, and sticking them between each other.

Keep combining! Challenge convention! Add and omit parts and pieces to your heart's content.

Take this practice to all parts of all creatures. Throw new stuff in a blender instead of stitching it together. This especially includes color! You see a lot of spliced markings in novelty griffins, with a specific cat and bird. Artists get stuck on copy-pasting animal patterns because they're afraid the ingredients won't be recognizable, or they're just lost in the sauce of loving tigers they forget to actually have fun with it.

It's still recognizable as tiger and peacock, but much more compelling, wouldn't you say? Go for something unique rather than staying with what feels "safe." There's a million griffin artists out there, but only one You.

#art tips #art tutorial #creature design #griffin #splice vs blend #gryphon #tiger griffin #tiger peacock griffin #design tutorial #creature design tutorial #griffin tutorial #how to draw griffins #how to draw a griffin #animal design #shire draws

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scribble-dribble-writes · 2 years

Text

Golden

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Pairing: Obi wan x reader

Contents: Obi wan loses his mullet 😏

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2000

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It was a sunny day in Coruscant and one without any war troubles. So you could say that it was an ideal day to take a day off and relax in an open balcony with a cold drink. Which was precisely what you were doing. You were lounging on your sunbed with a fresh batch of refreshments that your droid off loaded onto the nearby table, every sip of sweet, tart and citrus tanginess perfectly tied everything together. But it only seemed to last so long before the sound of bickering came from your hallway. Your protocol droid in a heated argument with how the unexpected guests had barged in. “Its obvious you have to retire it. You’ve had it for a long time, now it’s my turn.”, Anakin was voicing his opinion. “We both can have the same hairstyle, it took me a while to grow it out.”, you instantly knew the other.

You slide down your coolers to look back at your arriving guests. Clad in a crop top and a pair of shorts you were dressed to match the summer feeling. “There she is. We’ve been searching for you everywhere.”, Anakin sounded annoyed and you hide behind the latest issue of Coruscant times. Today was supposed to be only for you. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything important.”, you respond nonchalantly. “Important? It’s an emergency.”, Obi wan juts in and you fold the corner of your magazine to look at him but he seemed to be preoccupied with looking at your exposed legs. “Emergency?”, you glanced between both of them. They seemed to be in clean clothes and in one piece, so what could this emergency be about?

“I want to have a cool mullet, I’ve been sick of that Padawan braid. Now he insists that he won’t give it up.”, Anakin spoke heatedly. “Can’t you both sport the same look? You are like brothers aren’t you?”, you smirk and see the visible frustration on his face while the other seemed to be in support of your reason. “Exactly what I told him.”, Obi wan chimed and it only pushed Anakin further into a frenzy. “Do you know what’s more embarrassing than having to have the same hairstyle as your Master? Nothing. He needs to give it up.”, He spoke with his hands, it was clear he was upset. You heave a sigh. “Now why am I involved in this?”, you raise your question and Obi wan fiddled with his fingers. “You need to convince him. He values your opinion of him highly. Only you can sway him on this matter.”, Anakin rambled and you hum.

“Obi wan, you can pull off any look, let your Padawan have the hair of his dreams. Now I’ve got much more important things to get to.”, you turn your attention to your magazine again.

“Great, then I’ll leave him with you.”, Anakin turns to leave. “Leave. Him. With. Me?”, you close your magazine, giving them your full attention. “He doesn’t want the droids to cut his hair. He doesn’t trust me with them either. He said if he were to go through with it, it would have to be you.”, Anakin explains but you turn your attention to the smug looking Jedi who stood next to him. “Now get to it before he changes his mind.”, Anakin says before storming off.

You stand in a tension filled silence. “You just wanted to spoil my day, didn’t you?”, you ask him sucking on your teeth. “Maybe.”, he smiles and you couldn’t help but smile as well. “Can’t you go to the hairdresser?”, you fold your arms. He shakes his head. “Where’s the fun in that? I won’t get to pester you.”, he hides his smile by turning away. “Go wet your hair, I’ll get the scissors.”, you chuckle as you get up to retrieve the things you’ll need while he headed to your bathroom.

You were back in the balcony sitting on the floor in the shade, with all your supplies next to you, only that you were missing your client. The bathroom door opened and you turned to see him, “What took you so long – but you forgot the rest of your question. His blonde hair now a dark hazy brown dripping wet, he walked out shirtless with only his pants on. “Sorry, I turned on the wrong faucet.”, he stated while you were distracted by his muscles, well defined gleaming with moist skin. You looked away, your cheeks growing warm not because they were exposed to the sun. He pushed back his wet strands dropping his robes on a chair as he headed to the balcony. Suddenly this didn’t seem like a good idea. You’d have to get close to him while he was in that state.

So you try composing yourself. He took a seat on the warm terracotta tiles in front of you. “I said wet them, not drench them.”, you throw a towel over his head to dry his hair a bit. He leaned back till his head rested on your shoulder, half his face hidden under the towel with only his lips exposed. “I’m beginning to enjoy this.”, he said and you pushed him away, as he laughed from under the fabric pulling it away.

“Now what do you have in mind?”, You asked and he stroked his beard, his chiseled back exposed to you, making your finger itch to write your name between his shoulders. This is why you actively chose to stay away from him and yet here he was, somehow making your day in the sun better with his presence. “I trust you will do a good job.”, he replied and you brought out your magazine. “Alright then help me envision it.”, you sit side by side with him, opening the book to show various models. “Hmm.”, his ocean eyes scanned the images before turning to you. “Which look do you like?”, he questioned turning to you, your arm brushing against his. “This one.”, you pointed at a guy who had long hair in the front which then got shorter in the back. “Alright then that one.”, he shrugged his shoulders.

“Are you ready?”, you asked to which he nodded. Placing your hands on either side of his cheek to stabilize his head, you brought out the scissors. You grab a bunch of his hair between your fingers. The golden strands gleaming under the sunlight, soft like silk to the touch. You hesitated. “Just do it.”, he replied sensing your thoughts, his hands balled into fists. The things he had to do to satisfy his Padawan. But he trusted you, with his life and his hair.

You cut and watch as the strands fall to the ground. This man’s hair was made of glitter, the cut pieces of hair catching the light as they fell. Golden. There was no turning back now. You cut the excess hair in the back and level it out. Then you work through the sections you had parted before. He sat still, almost like he was meditating. But he was trying to stay calm. He only felt your touch, your fingers in his hair, your arm grazing his and your exposed belly resting on his lower back every time you leaned in.

You worked the sides, ruffling his hair to see how they fell. Now you only had to finish the front. So you moved to sit in front of him. You level his head to look at you and you catch a glimpse of his eyes. Golden and blue, your favorite combination. You had forgotten that your hands rested on the sides of his face. His eyelashes curling at the ends. He was breathtaking. You clear your throat and look away.

He folded his arms out of fear that he might lose control, that no matter the years of Jedi training, around you he seemed to forget all of it. The sun giving you a warm glow, your dark hair turning chocolate brown, the curves of your waist begging him to reach out and your legs so long they could wrap around him. He looked into your eyes, he had to focus but even there, it was those dark pools that made him want to get lost further.

You measure the length of his bangs, to the start of his eyes and cut them, dusting off the hair that fell over his nose. As you brushed over his cheeks with your pinky finger, you took notice of his faint freckles that were beginning to appear because of his time in the sun. You had to remind yourself of the task at hand. You ruffle his hair once again and feel satisfied with your work. “I’m afraid you’re Padawan is going to be disappointed.”, he looked up at you, confused. “How so?”, he asked. “You look absolutely dashing.”, you say as you push his bangs into place. “All your handiwork.”, he gets up, dusting of his shoulder, and you wanted to tattoo the shape of your lips over his collar bone.

A feeling gripped your heart, you didn’t want him to leave, you didn’t want anyone else to see him yet. In this second, he was only yours to marvel. You pushed him towards the bathroom mirror, your palms resting over his soft skin. His eyes widened in surprise. “Wow.”, he whispered. “You like it?”, you ask nervous. “Yes.”, he turned to you his gaze falling to your lips. You walk away to the hall. “Now go, share your beauty with the world.”, you said dramatically flailing your arms but he caught your wrist. “They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So I can’t share it with anyone else but you.”, he was following his thoughts, all of them were about you.

He pulled you in and you wrapped your hands around his neck, your fingers fiddling with the short hair near the end of his neck. “Thank you.”, he said his hands resting on your waist. “Now where’s my payment?”, you ask your mouth tipping up in a smirk. “What forms of credit do you accept?”, he asks leaning close. “Republic credits usually but in this case, only kisses I’m afraid.”, you answer and he laughs closing the gap. Soft at first but then it deepened, he held a hidden passion beneath all that, his hair falling forward and touching your forehead. His breath short and warm against your face. His hands dropping low as he pulled you up, getting you to wrap your legs around his waist. “Anakin will be here any minute.”, you speak in between his kisses. “He sneaks around often. Now it’s my turn.”, he replies kissing your cheek, your hands holding his face when you both hear a knock on the door. You kiss his forehead. “That must be him.”, You laugh as he puts you down gently. “I need to teach him a thing or two about timing.”, He sighed as you dropped his robes into his hands. “I’ll answer the door, you get changed.”, you instruct him.

You let Anakin in and Obi wan joins you both in the hall. “Not bad.”, he smiles as he sees his Master. “You were right to trust her.”, Anakin folds his arms. “You’re going to be famous among the ladies.”, he snickered and it pricked you. Obi wan was never yours, so you weren't supposed to feel this way and yet you did. You put away the scissors and look up to see his gaze already focused on you. “Well they’re going to be let down.”, he shuffled his feet and Anakin donned a confused expression. “Why?”, he asked. “Like any work of art my allegiance lies only with my artist.”, his eyes found yours before turning their attention to his Padawan, so that he didn’t give anything away. “Some times Obi wan I don’t understand what you say.”, Anakin huffed. “Its all for the best.”, Obi wan clasped Anakin’s shoulder.

You held the door open and Anakin marched ahead, Obi wan was on his way of following him out when he stopped to see you. His arm curling around your waist to pull you closer. He caught your lips with his as a way to say goodbye, hidden behind the door. “Are you coming, Obi wan?”, Anakin rushed him. You heard him huff in annoyance. “I’m going to teach him a lesson this very second.”, he straightened and walked out but his finger traced across the width of your waist as his hand retreated with him as you closed the door with a soft click.

#obi wan kenobi #ewan mcgregor #obi wan my beloved #general kenobi #master kenobi #kenobi series #kenobi tv #obi wan imagine #obi wan x reader #obiwan x fluff #obi wan fanfiction #obi wan x you #obi wan x y/n

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snowyyyy · 2 years

Text

#PT1 - op boys and their ideal date!

fluff, no cws/tws, gn reader

» includes luffy and zoro

LUFFY ・₊˚﹕⋆⊹

( op world ) 🏴‍☠️

luffy would absolutely love to go adventuring with you. he’d go to all the islands he could, but it was only the best if you tagged along with him. He’d start out with you at the start, but somewhere along the way he’d disappear in the middle of the island; and show up a while later with some weird thing dangling from his hands and sparkles in his eyes, asking you if you thought it was cool. sometimes it was sweet , like some flowers he brought or seashells that he picked up. though other times are less fortunate and he ends up bringing some sort of dead animal. but being a good partner you act excited anyway :,)

( modern au ) 🧸

HE LOVES AMUSEMENT PARKS! he’ll get so pumped up to go and it’s so cute, but to be honest it’s exhausting on your end once you get there. this man will spend his entire wallet and beg you to open yours on all the games, rides, and especially the food. for him though, it’s a dream— there’s everything he loves, including you. he could spend days consecutively at theme parks, eating and playing around. his favorite ride? roller coasters, obviously. his favorite game would be really any that has a big prize at the end, his eyes grow big and he really wants to win whatever it is. at the end of the day, the two of you will haul home a bunch of random stuffed animals and toys that luffy won from the games. he’s still brimming with energy after all of it, and you’re just sitting there like… (ｰｰ;)

ZORO ・₊˚﹕⋆⊹

( op world ) ⚔️

he’s not much of a “yass lets go out for dinner shall we” kinda dude; his ideal date would be sitting together and watching the sky on the sunny. it doesn’t matter what time it is, the stars, sunset, sunrise or clouds are his comfort. but you being there with him just makes everything even better. you could rest your head on his shoulder and stare off into the distance while talking with him, or just sit in comfortable silence and fall asleep (bringing me to my next point >:) he also loves napping with you. though thats not really considered a date, he loves it more than anything. he just feels content when he can hear your soft snore against his chest.

( modern au ) 🌃

he is totally a motorcycle dude. and a gymbro.. (。-∀-) again, he doesn’t consider much to be a “date” but his ideal one would be taking you on a ride throughout the city. he’ll hop on his bike and put you safely behind him, then cruise and just let loose. i alsoo have a feeling that he purposefully goes very fast with you, just so that he can feel your arms wrap around his waist so you don’t fall off. -he will die before he can admit that though. he also loves little dates where you two can chill and drink at some bar. he’s definitely more controlled with his drinking here than in the one piece world but there’s no doubt he loves drinking with you.

#roronoa zoro #luffy x reader #zoro x you #one piece luffy #one piece #zoro fluff

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astrologanize · 4 years

Text

2021 for the ascendants

aries ascendant: man, it’s like you’ve forgotten what you want for the past few years but you’ve been trying with all your might to run through a list of desires with the hope that eventually something will provide you with contentment. worry not, you will be met with situations that highlight your principles so that you are able to decipher what it is that brings you oneness. ask yourself if the company you keep is meeting expectations and if there are behaviors you’ve been allowing, but more importantly, ask yourself if you are leading by example and what you are leading with. this is a time for you to make sure that you are taking the proper initiative towards your own fulfillment, if you’re feeling a disconnect then maybe you should seek for an understanding of the objective; how can you expect others to meet expectations if you aren’t doing the same for yourself? why are you tolerating what you shouldn’t have to? it’s time to up your ambition and strive for resolution by making sure that you are setting yourself up for greatness. “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”

taurus ascendant: life has been a slippery slope for the past couple of years, the way life can change in the blink of an eye and the way we can get carried away without intending to is something you’re awfully familiar with by now. you’ll feel like you’re getting somewhere, you figure things are on the up ya know, and then of course something totally stops you in your tracks and it makes you question yourself - which has only made your taurus ascendant self clam up harder buuuut you’ve been trying to process it. you will be met with situations that allow you to reap the benefit of your efforts. it is time for you to go after what you want, this is prime manifestation time so if you are desiring change to circumstances make sure you are working towards it and utilizing the power of affirmation. if you don’t have a job then i would strongly advise this as a time to obtain one or attempt to obtain one; if you do have a job/are in a career then expect there to be change that is ultimately positive for you even if it may not seem like it at the time.

gemini ascendant: you guys have been on a mission of self-discovery through the numerous voids we utilize to dissolving other parts of ourselves, i’m getting very “cranes in the sky” by solange - “i tried to drink it away, i tried to put one in the air, i tried to dance it away, i tried to change it with my hair” (etc. read the rest of the lyrics if you’d like!) sometimes in us getting caught up in excessive behavior we’re able to understand that there’s a bigger issue at play and we’re acting from a place that is without authenticity. you will be met with situations that reveal the answers that you’ve been searching for and your perspective will begin to breakdown and reform. this year you should try to think before you speak, in fact, let your actions speak for themselves so that you don’t have to start running off at the mouth. absorb and filter through the information that you have so that you are leading with the facts; no more following unreliable curiosities, bouncing back & forth, and wallowing in careless behavior.

cancer ascendant: for a while you’ve had to take a hard look at family, support systems, what you bring the to the table, and how you can find liberation for yourself in relation to these things. it’s been easier for you to fall into a pity party because you’ve had to deal with and be met with responsibility in a new way, a way that has showed you where you’re needing to grow up, and this can make you want to sink further into your shell with all your vices of comfort (those ‘security blankets’ can be so pesky). you will be met with situations that can soften out your old ways and in doing so provide you with a chance to have a legitimate regeneration. finding acceptance and embracing vulnerability at it’s most candid is how you will find your footing. this is a time to try to re-evaluate your patterns of behavior so that you can work on creating new, healthier habits for yourself so that you are able to lay down those roots of security that you long for. you have been receiving the tools you need and all you have to do is utilize them instead of trying to shield up and be overly defensive.

leo ascendant: i feel like life for you has kind of felt like someone took you out of your home, drove you to a forest in the middle of nowhere and dropped you off with the bare necessities and said, “okay, now figure out your way back.” thankfully you are getting a groove back for yourself and taking on a new outlook of the hindrances in your life. you will be met with situations that make you reconsider the way you’ve been carrying yourself, what you’ve been allowing, and the situations that you have been placing yourself in. it’s time for you to be more selective and imagine what you want for your life, what is your ‘dream life’? - answer this question and start taking the steps to getting there, decide what isn’t aligning with this dream, what you need to pull back from, and what is worth the effort. if you have family or a support system then examine your relationship with them - are they holding you back or are they willing to work on things with you and vice versa because it could be you who is needing to be more deliberate with people. if your home (life) isn’t ideal then find a way of to move elsewhere or renovate your space by getting rid of what has no use in your life so that you can add or rearrange accordingly.

virgo ascendant: ah, attachments and feeling withdrawn, dissatisfied, ineffective are issues that you have been dealing with but this year you will be tending to the source of this by learning how to keep momentum. though you have been putting in effort, it’s you working harder and not smarter because you’re working from a place of inadequacy instead of working from a place of ingenuity. along with working harder and putting in unnecessary effort is you nitpicking to the very last crumb when really this is you just, again, being dissatisfied with where you are in life. you will be met with situations that force you back down to earth and emphasize what it is that you have been evading or how you’ve been evading. this is a time to make the transitions that you’ve been yearning for, this is not a time for waiting things out, if you want something then you need to act on it. you’ve been in your head in a very unhelpful way, you’re like “nope, this won’t work for me because xyz, i can’t do that because of abc, this is too wrong, this isn’t lmnop enough, blah blah blah” and it’s been excuse after excuse. get out of your own way and revise!!! make the best with what you have!!!

libra ascendant: gosh, why has everything felt like it’s been crumbling away? things are supposed to come together, not fall apart, right? as of late your efforts have felt as though they’ve been in vain - other people aren’t taking to you, you’re not attracting what you want, and everything has felt unfair. this balance beam has been feeling anything but balanced! you will be met with situations that bring you back to the notion that what we attract is based around what we’re putting forth. have you ever pointed the finger at yourself? are there any issues that could be stemming for you? maybe it’s you who is needing to learn how to keep yourself in check. after all this crumbling away you should be able to start piecing together the leftover fragments to gather an understanding of what life has come to be. omg i just envisioned the mulan scene: “when will my reflection show who i am inside” - this is your mulan moment!!! negativity has clung and been projected from you in recent years and it’s on you to mend those behaviors and in doing so your paths will narrow down, the indecision will cease, and you’ll see where you can go, where you’d want to go.

scorpio ascendant: feeling as though you’ve missed something is not something you’re that familiar with because you like to think you have awareness but unfortunately recognition has not been your strong suit as of late. you’ve reached that “who am i?” stage of rock-bottom and the “what in the hell am i even doing?” but what a year 2021 will be for you in terms of being able to end certain cycles, which is a pretty major thing for your ascendant. you will be met with situations that force you to gather your bearings and revise your demeanor, which can be a nerve-wracking thing for someone who doesn’t like to adhere to what they would consider the follies of others. it’s a time for openness so lessen your grip and consider the possibilities rather than feeding into your sensitivities and fixations. how can you transform if you’re too busy digging yourself in deeper? the way scorpio is able to bring together both boldness and vulnerability is what you should be striving for, the self-sabotaging is for the other birds - you’re a Phoenix!

sagittarius ascendant: i extend my deepest condolences for the past couple of years but you’re starting to get a better idea about the part that you play in matters and what you’re needing to improve upon so that you can find a direction, or better direction, in your life. hopefully you have been paying heed to the areas in your life that have accumulated to the point of no return and are planning a big ol’ yard sale because it is time to bring back some decency. you will be met with situations that test your ability to make the right choices/decisions by infringing upon your lifestyle. this is a time to explore inwardly and address the emotions that you’ve kept tucked away, seeing as your decisions are too often dictated by these unturned emotions. you’ve done enough wandering by now, these upcoming days should be about you tying up loose ends and bettering the circumstances you currently have so that you don’t feel the need to flee. don’t let things go unexpressed this year because this baggage is what is hindering you and freeing yourself of this as much you possibly can would be in your best interest.

capricorn ascendant: ah, those dark feelings of being misunderstood and having a chip on your shoulder because let’s be honest, you’ve been having an identity crisis and haven’t been the most reassuring person to have around. all i’m hearing is “it’s my life!” and envisioning a person who is refusing to be told what to do, we get it - you think you’re above cooperation. you will be met with situations that challenge the security within yourself and in your life through having to face your own inability to properly articulate yourself to others. it’s time for you to take on the mindset of a novice. everything you’ve established or think that you’ve established? yeah, leave it at the door. try your best to pretend that you know nothing and that the world is brand new because it’s your own preconceived notions that are clamming you up. other people won’t be receptive to you if you’re not being receptive to them. not everything is about standing on the mountain or being ready to die on a hill, you should be enjoying the process and experimenting and considering alternatives because that’s how you find what works.

aquarius ascendant: so you guys have totally recoiled into yourselves to the point of being lost within, huh? i just know y’all have been going full weirdo and doing shit that probably even you can’t grasp because it’s been coming from such a subconscious place. once you’ve hit a low point it’s easy to become a bitter betty and partake in not the greatest of coping mechanisms because you’re feeling alienated from yourself. there is a reason for this though - you have unacknowledged feelings! have you had any regrets or lingering emotion towards people or towards situations? perhaps these are stifling your ability to feel present. you will be met with situations that turn you inside out by taking away the option of preparing yourself so that there’s no time to go robotic about it. this is a time for you to revel in activity, get out of your ~woe is me, nobody wants what i have to offer~ and start showcasing your abundance! give for the sake of giving, have fun with your generosity, try to tap into that aquarius energy of playful but well-intentioned nonchalance.

pisces ascendant: well, you have been trying to work on your celestial flow and have dove deeper into your visions and idealisms for life but your moods have never been more easily swayed. these have not been the sort of tides that you have cared to ride because they don’t lead anywhere! they crash and dissolve, crash and dissolve, crash and dissolve - when will they carry you somewhere you’d like to go? your escapisms and illusions have been getting the better of you and floating is a pretty accurate way to describe where you’re at. you will be met with situations that question/alter your reality and reveal to you what you’ve been overlooking. i imagine it as your *record scratch* *freeze frame* “yup. that's me. so you're probably wondering how I got myself into this situation.” moment. it’s time for you to gently pull back and take note of what you’re investing your energy into and what this has been producing in return. your energy is best left being funneled into yourself this year so that you can thoroughly examine where you’ve been pigeonholing yourself; in you examining such you will be able to tap into your intuition in a way that you have not been able to before, it’ll be like unlocking a new level of your own consciousness.

#2021

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bestiesenpai · 3 years

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Youtuber Nanami

We’ve never seen Hanse and Nanami in the same room before...I’m just saying, the chances of them being the same person are higher than 0...gender neutral reader and no content warnings for this :) 11.8k words

(s/n) = nanami’s screen name

Nanami Kento wasn’t what usually came to mind when one thought of Youtubers. He was a salaryman, wearing pristine suits and going to work at ungodly hours. He had a stern face and rarely spoke about himself unless asked, preferring to keep most conversations short and to the point.

But Nanami didn’t think of himself as a Youtuber. He liked to refer to himself as a home cook who just happened to make videos and post them to Youtube. He had amassed a good two million followers and he didn’t show his face or hands, not even speaking as he cooked.

All Nanami dreamed about when he was at work was coming home and filming his next project. As an avid foodie, he was constantly thinking up new recipes to make. At first, filming himself had been a way of documenting his skills and keeping track of recipes without having to write them down, but as time went on people seemed to become enthralled with him.

“It finally came.” Collecting the mail on an early Saturday, Nanami’s smile was hard to contain as he grabbed the box that was waiting for him. He’d put in an order almost a month ago for this item and as he speed walked back to his apartment, his heart thumped with joy at getting to use it.

“It’s beautiful.” Holding up the cat bread mold, Nanami was itching to get to his kitchen and put it to use. Grabbing his camera, he began to prep his filming space. He was lucky to have such a large east facing window that his dining table could sit in front of and get the perfect light for his videos.

Making sure everything was perfectly positioned, Nanami pressed record and started to add ingredients into his mixing bowl. It was perfectly silent in his apartment, the most ideal environment to film in. Nanami didn’t add any background music to his videos, preferring to let the natural acoustics of his actions shine through.

Waiting for the dough to proof, Nanami flicked through some comments on his Youtube videos. He didn’t really care about what people had to say about his content, he only did this for himself, but sometimes it was nice to see what other like-minded individuals had to say. And he’d be lying if he said the comments about how aesthetic his videos were didn’t make his ego swell a bit.

When the bread was done and popped out of the mold in a perfect cat head shape, Nanami had to bite his lip to stifle a pleased sigh as he turned the camera off. He’d made it a point not to reveal his identity, refusing to let even his whole hand be in a shot and he wasn’t about to let it slip now with a hint of his voice.

“Kento you’ve really outdone yourself.” Biting into a slice of toasted bread with strawberry jam, Nanami smiled fondly at his creation. There wasn’t anything that could ruin this moment for him, not even the sudden knock on his front door.

It was a good thing Nanami was so good at setting up and taking down his cameras and lights, he didn’t want to explain to whoever was on the other side what exactly he did in his free time.

“(Y/N), hello.” As soon as Nanami opened the door and saw you, his next door neighbor, a light blush painted his cheeks. You’d moved in about six months ago into the corner unit next to his and Nanami had been smitten ever since.

“Hi Nanami.” You seemed equally as bashful, waving with a few fingers before tucking your hands behind your back. Meeting his eye for a moment, you let out a nervous giggle. “I was wondering if you’d gotten any mail addressed to me? I was supposed to get a letter from my grandma but I think the mailman might have given it to you instead.”

“Let me check.” Nanami had been so preoccupied with his bread mold that he didn’t bother to check the other mail he’d gotten. Taking a step away from the door, he was about to go further into his apartment but stuttered to a stop. “Would you like to come in?”

“Sure.” Slowly stepping in and shutting the door, you rocked back and forth on your heels. Nanami was glad you couldn’t look him in the eye otherwise you would have seen the blooming blush going across his cheeks.

He’d wanted to invite you in for a cup of tea and a slice of cake when you first moved in but he wasn’t able to gather the courage and by the time he finally felt ready nearly four months had passed.

“I actually do have it, (Y/N).” Coming back into the lounge room with the letter in hand, he quickly spotted you standing by the dining table looking at the bread he made in awe.

“Oops, sorry Nanami, I didn’t mean to be nosy!” Shuffling back, you took one last look at the bread before turning away. “I just saw the cat shape and got curious!” Taking the letter from him, you looked like you wanted to say something more, but held your tongue. “Well, I’ll be go-”

“Would you like to have a piece?” Nanami blurted out, holding out a hand to stop you from walking away.

“Really, you’d let me have some?”

“Sit down, I’ll pour you some tea.” Pulling out a chair for you, Nanami disappeared into his kitchen and gripped the countertops tightly. A sense of accomplishment washed over him that nearly beat out the bread; he was finally getting to have tea with you.

“Nanami, this is amazing!” Taking a bite out of the jam covered bread, your brows rose high on your face. “You really made this?”

“Mhmm. I got the mold this morning.” Taking a sip of his own tea, Nanami had to fight the smile on his face from becoming too big at seeing you enjoy his creation. He never usually shared with other people, either eating it all himself or giving it to the elderly ladies down the hall that didn’t know how to use the internet.

“Do you bake all the time?” Scooting to the edge of your seat, you almost looked like a child with a hopeful gleam in your eyes.

“I do, I quite enjoy it.”

The conversation began to revolve around food that Nanami had made, his favorites and yours, and then to just general cooking. It felt good to talk about this side of his life with someone, especially you, and the both of you quickly lost track of time.

“I should get going, Nanami, I feel like I’ve taken up enough of your time.” An hour later, you were standing up from your seat. The bread had quickly dwindled as the conversation wore on and there were only a few slices left.

“I enjoyed our talk.” Letting a full smile grace his face now, Nanami walked you to the door. Bidding you a final farewell, as soon as the door closed Nanami leaned against it, pressing his forehead into the wood and letting out a deep sigh. “You did it, Kento.”

Patting himself on the back for several days, Nanami looked forward to the next time he could see you. You’d let slip that you really liked cookies, so the only thing on Nanami’s mind was getting the perfect cookie recipe and making a batch for you.

Over the course of the next week, Nanami made a new cookie every single day. He knew what flavors you liked but he also wanted to try and give you something new, impress you with his skills and see that pleased look come over your face once again.

He also filmed himself making the cookies as well, making sure the videos were the most aesthetic they could be. He didn’t know if you watched his videos and even if you did he wouldn’t want to know, but on the off chance you saw them, Nanami wanted you to love it.

Finding the perfect recipe after a lot of back and forth with himself, Nanami was ready to share a plate of cookies with you. Sliding out into the hall with the plate tightly clutched to his chest, he turned to your apartment.

Nanami was happy you lived in the corner unit, it felt like he got you all to himself despite only having one proper conversation with you. There weren’t other neighbors trying to steal your attention away; it was perfect.

Right as Nanami knocked on the door, a sharp scream came from inside your apartment and he nearly dropped the plate in shock.

“(Y/N)?! Are you okay?” Knocking loudly, Nanami’s body spiked with adrenaline. There was silence on the other end, making him consider picking the lock or calling the building manager.

“N-nanami?” Your voice and body trembled as you opened the door. Quickly giving you a once over, Nanami was relieved to see no physical injuries on you.

“What’s wrong? Why’d you scream?” Eager to get the answer from you, Nanami leaned closer. Squirming a bit, you took a step back and opened the door for him to enter.

“Promise not to laugh, okay?” There was a slight pout in your lips as you spoke and Nanami almost cooed at you.

“I promise.”

“A spider came down from the ceiling and scared me.” Panning over to your lounge room, Nanami couldn’t see any spider. The only things he saw were your furniture and a PC setup off to one side.

“Where is it?” Following you to the desk, Nanami quirked a brow at how impressive the equipment looked. There were two monitors, an expensive looking microphone and a ring light that looked like one he owned.

“Right there!” Grabbing his arm, you flung yourself behind him and pointed at your desk. Right in the middle was a large spider, scurrying back and forth. Balancing the plate in one hand, he fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and quickly squished the bug.

“I got it for you.” Folding the cloth back up, Nanami let himself exhale. Having you cling to him had almost stopped him from being able to do anything and he needed all the focus he could get if he wanted to help you.

“You didn’t have to use that, I would have grabbed you a paper towel!”

“It’s alright, it probably would have gotten away if we had waited.”

“Wait!” Grabbing onto the handkerchief before Nanami could tuck it back into his pocket, you gave it a gentle tug. “Let me clean it for you at least.” Nodding, Nanami let it go with no resistance.

Trying not to be nosy, he didn’t dwell too long at your computer, opting instead to follow you to your kitchen. He was pretty sure he saw the title to one of his videos on an open tab and it filled his chest with a flutter.

“What’s on the plate, Nanami?” Your question broke him from his short daydream of talking about his videos with you.

“Huh?” Nanami completely forgot about the plate in his hands, having gotten wrapped up in his own thoughts. Feeling the weight of the plate come back into his consciousness, Nanami cleared his throat. “Oh I uh, I made some cookies for you.”

“You did?” Dropping his handkerchief into the sink, you fully turned to him. Leaning close to the plate, you let out a small hum. “What kind are they?”

“I tried a new recipe out, they’re choux au craquelin with salted caramel cream.” Watching you process the name in your head made Nanami grin. You probably had no idea what he had just said, evident as the dumb nod you gave him.

“Do they go well with tea?”

As Nanami sat at your kitchen table waiting for you to return with some tea, he couldn’t help but look over your whole apartment. It was a simple one bedroom like he had and your furniture suited what Nanami assumed was your taste nicely.

“I almost don’t want to eat one, they look too nice!” Back with some tea, you turned one of the cookies over in your hand.

“If you don’t eat them they’ll go bad.” Nanami teased lightly, taking a bite of one for himself. You let out a little peep and nodded quickly, taking a generous bite of the dessert.

“Nanami.” Gripping the edge of the table, your eyes were blown wide. “This is amazing, I love it!” Whenever Nanami got a compliment, usually from Gojo, he brushed it off and thought nothing of it. But to hear you say that you loved what he made and to see the smile on your face as you take another bite - it made Nanami’s brain overflow with dopamine, a fuzzy feeling tingling the tips of his fingers and warming his chest.

“You really do?” He unintentionally whispers, having to close his eyes lest he stare hearts right through you.

“Mhmm!” Taking a sip of your tea, you giggle a little to yourself. “I feel pretty special too, you made this whole plate just for me.”

You’re special to me, that’s why, Nanami thought in his head, biting the tip of his tongue hard to keep from blurting it out. Looking over at your computer setup once more, Nanami decided to comment on that instead of feeding the blush going up the back of his neck.

“You have a pretty nice setup there, (Y/N). Do you make Youtube videos or something?” Leaning back in his chair, Nanami forced his body to relax and his stomach to loosen up. Now it was your turn to be embarrassed, a sudden shy demeanor washing over you.

“I’m just trying it out, I wanted to see what streaming and stuff was like.”

“Really?” Nanami had to choose his next words wisely, not wanting to seem too excited. “What’s the name of your channel, I’ll follow you.”

“You will?” There was a hopeful lilt to your voice, yet your body language was still hesitant. “I don’t know, I might get too embarrassed knowing you’ll be watching me.” It was Nanami’s turn to join you in being shy. He made a noise in the back of his throat, quickly taking a sip of his tea to cover it up.

“D-don’t be. I want to support you, that’s what neighbors do.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Nanami slid it over to you. “Go ahead and pull up your channel, I’ll subscribe right now.”

As Nanami left your apartment, fifteen minutes later and with an empty plate tucked under his arm, he was thoroughly surprised to know you wanted to start a Youtube channel. He wanted to help you, give you some tips and ways to make the algorithm like you, but he wasn’t ready to give away his secret just yet.

Sitting at his desk that night with his laptop in front of him, Nanami pulled up your channel. Seeing your first video, aptly titled ‘introduction’, he clicked.

“Hi everyone watching.” You sounded and looked so timid sitting at your desk, wringing your hands in front of you and smoothing them out on the wood as soon as you realized what you were doing. “My name is (Y/N) and this is my channel.”

“Hi (Y/N).” Nanami answered back, snorting at his own silliness.

“I’m going to be posting videos of my life, like vlogs and stuff, but also fun cooking videos! I really admire so many people on Youtube that can cook, I want to try and recreate their recipes! I especially like this one, it’s my favorite channel.” A few different Youtube channels popped up on screen and right in the middle and the one you gestured to was Nanamis.

He didn’t hear the rest of the video where you talked about potential upload schedules and other facts about yourself. He didn’t even hear you say goodbye or notice that the screen had faded to black. All Nanami could think about was the fact that his channel was your favorite.

Watching the other few videos you’d posted, a couple short ones of you running errands or showing off some clothes, Nanami vowed to watch every single one of your videos. Despite being pretty active on Youtube, Nanami didn’t watch a lot of videos himself, but your channel was at the top of his list.

For the next month Nanami waited for you to post a cooking video and while he waited he put out a few videos with easier steps, things you could follow along with even if you had little to no cooking skills.

A ping on his phone on a Saturday night had him walking briskly to his computer. You finally posted a video of yourself cooking one of his recipes, a dish he had made for Itadori’s birthday: a strawberry crepe cake.

“Hi, welcome to my kitchen!” Nanami was immediately smitten within the first few seconds of the video. The apron you had on was cute and tied around your waist with a bow and there was a large container of strawberries just waiting to be used.

As the video went on, Nanami openly chuckled at the mistakes you made from being so nervous in front of the camera, like dropping the egg shells into the bowl and dumping too much flour in right after.

“I’m so nervous to flip the crepe over!” The camera was over your stove now where a crepe was slowly beginning to burn in the pan the longer you waited.

“Don’t be scared, you can do it.” Nanami whispered to the screen, biting his lip as you attempted to flip it over. Managing to do it right on the first try, you let out a loud yelp of victory.

“Oops, I better be quiet! It’s like 2am right now and my neighbor is sleeping!” Upon your admittance, Nanami suddenly remembers hearing a small shout late at night a few days ago that had woken him up for just a moment. “He actually said he’d watch all my videos, so sorry if I woke you up!” Crossing your fingers in front of the camera, you went back to talking about the cooking.

Nanami felt special that you mentioned him in a video and now he wished he was awake to try your cake. You put way more strawberries than he did on it, and your whipped cream application was a lot messier and spilled down the sides but that only made him want to try it more.

“Okay, I’m all done! Let’s put a picture side by side and see how I did.” Holding up a photo of Nanami’s cake, you whined a little at seeing such stark differences. “Well mine isn’t perfectly aesthetic, but I bet it’ll still taste good!”

Was it rational to be annoyed with himself for not being awake at 2am on a Wednesday night to eat a strawberry crepe cake with you? No it wasn’t, but Nanami still felt it. He would have to tell you to cook at a more reasonable time the next opportunity he got to talk to you so he could try your food.

Deciding to do just that, Nanami grabbed his phone and called you. He managed to give you his number after subscribing to your Youtube channel, stating that if you ever needed help cooking you could ask him.

“Hello?” He could almost hear you on the other side of the wall.

“(Y/N), it’s Nanami Kento. From next door.” How many other Nanami Kento’s could you possibly know? Not a lot, he was hoping. You laughed on the other end and he could definitely hear it through the wall.

“Hi neighbor. What’s up?”

“I watched your Youtube video.”

“Y-you saw it?!” You made a noise in the back of your throat and a soft whine followed. “God I feel so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be, I told you I’d watch your videos and support you.”

“I know, I just- you didn’t have to call me and say it.”

“I don’t like texting.” Nanami smirked, he could just imagine your face right now hidden under your palm.

“Well, what did you think of it?”

“I liked it, you did really well on the cake. But I do have one complaint.”

“What is it?” You gasped loudly, nearly dropping the phone as you wondered what he could possibly have to say.

“I just wish you’d made it when I was awake, I would have loved to try it.” There was a long pause between you and Nanami could hear you flop onto your couch.

“Really? You would try it?” Nanami let out a short hum of approval. “Let me get some more strawberries then.” He could hear the smile in your voice and it made his own lips tug upward.

Ending the call shortly after, Nanami thought about your conversation while he was filming his own video. Gojo had given him a box of fresh peaches as a gift from his recent vacation and Nanami had his heart set on making a peach tart.

Replaying the conversation with you over and over in his head, Nanami wasn’t as careful as he usually was about concealing his identity. He couldn’t find it in him to put on gloves to cover his hands when all he was really thinking about was having cake with you from a recipe he had made himself.

When he was editing, he almost threw out the whole video. There were many segments where his hands were on full display and one where part of his arm poked into the frame as well. But the rest of the video was too perfect to completely toss out and unable to cut out the scenes of his hands, Nanami posted it anyway with a dying hope that his viewers wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

Waking up the day after posting the video however, Nanami was sorely mistaken. He was used to videos going viral and trending for several days, some even getting articles written about them. But going viral for his hands wasn’t something Nanami thought was possible.

The video alone had gotten upwards of 5 million views in just a day and was still steadily climbing. Despite going on all his social media accounts and muting every single word that could possibly have anything to do with him, Nanami still ended up seeing videos and pictures of his own hands on Twitter, with an article about him breaking the internet as well.

And one of the videos he saw had your face in it. Captioned ‘tiktokers reacting to hand reveal’, he felt the need to click on it. What did you think of him?

“So I’ve seen the headlines but I saved my reaction so I could get it on camera.” You spoke hurriedly, wrapped up in a hoodie and blanket as you sat down on the couch, the camera on a tripod across from you. “Time to see the video.”

Nanami waited with bated breath as he watched you watch his video. There were some obvious cuts in the video from where you skipped forward, and right as his hands came on screen your jaw dropped.

“I- I uh-” You were clearly very flustered, slapping a hand over your face and turning away from the screen. “Why is my face burning over some hands?” Laughing in disbelief, you watched the rest of the video and let out a girlish squeal before cutting it off.

Nanami wasn’t proud to admit that he watched your reaction more than a few times, finding an odd sense of pride take shape inside him. You didn’t even know it was him behind the camera yet he was able to leave such a profound impression on you.

With a new and growing fanbase eating up every single thing he posted now, Nanami found it hard to live in anonymity like he used to. Gone were the days of quietly replying or liking comments on his Youtube channel, he now had thousands of comments on all platforms asking to see more of his hands or for him to possibly speak in his next video.

He was eager to know what your opinion on him was now, what you thought of his online persona. You were still making videos of his cooking, your channel having gotten a boost in subscribers from your reaction video, and you sometimes mentioned his channel name.

On a quiet Saturday at half past noon, Nanami found himself lounging lazily on his sofa with his hair still undone and coffee stains on his sweats. It was uncharacteristic for him to be so lax so late into the day but it was also uncharacteristic of him to stay up past 1am watching the silly little livestream you were doing in your kitchen with muffled giggles he could hear coming through the wall.

Staring at the ceiling and drifting in and out of sleep as the TV filled the silence in the room, Nanami almost missed the subtle vibration of his phone against the coffee table if there hadn’t been a lull in the TV.

(Y/N): hey neighbor are you busy?

The message from you had him suddenly alert and focused, sitting straight up and planting both feet on the floor.

(Nanami): no, I’m not

(Y/N): then…

(Y/N): do you think you’d wanna come over and help me bake something? I’m doing my first Youtube collab and I’m so nervous

(Nanami): I’ll be over in five.

He didn’t even wait for your response before leaping from the couch and bolting to his bedroom. Nanami got dressed and ready in record time, splashing plenty of cold water on his face to wake him up even further before slicking his hair back and doing one last check in the mirror before rushing to the front door.

“(Y/N).” He was knocking on your door exactly five minutes after texting you.

“Nanami!” You opened the door with a smile, a light colored tied around your waist that was stained from previous use. “Come on in!” Ushering him across the threshold, you made a beeline straight for the kitchen.

“So, you’re doing your first collab, huh?” Following slowly behind you, Nanami thought of all the emails sitting in his inbox from brands and other content creators alike asking him to promote their product or work on a video together. He ignored them all in favor of anonymity, but if you were to message him about it, he would answer in a heartbeat.

“Yeah, I joined a discord server full of other cooking Youtubers and some of them asked me to collab with them!” The smile on your face was beaming and the excitement in your voice made Nanami’s heart swell with pride.

“Well then, let’s get started.” Grabbing the spare apron you handed him, Nanami panned over the scene before him. Your kitchen wasn’t a total mess yet, the counters were still relatively clear with just a few bowls out and measuring spoons just waiting to be used. “What’re we making?”

“Ha, well…” Scratching your cheek bashfully, you shrugged your shoulders and looked around your kitchen. “That’s where you come in, I have no idea what to make.” Letting out a soft chuckle under his breath, Nanami nodded to himself and took a step toward the cabinets.

“What are the others making?” He asked while idly sifting through the ingredients you had.

“Take a look.” Showing him your phone, you swiped through the messages between all of you. There were multiple different desserts being made, recipe ideas being thrown around, all with a specific theme.

“So, you chose the colors of the rainbow?” Nanami skimmed over the messages where you decided colors and it seems you’d been chosen to do blue. He’d just seen someone else who got red go with a strawberry cheesecake with swirls of deep red mixed in with lighter pink.

“Do you know any desserts that are blue, cause I don’t.” Throwing your head back with a whine, you stared at the ceiling and let Nanami get back to digging through your cabinets.

“What about a blue surf cake?”

“A what?” You parroted, and your owlish blink made Nanami’s lips curl up in a soft smile.

“It’s a blue cheesecake that looks like ocean waves, I’ve made it a few times before and you don’t need to bake it.” He’d actually filmed a video on it about a year ago and it was one of his most proud creations. Quickly typing it into your phone, you pulled up his video within seconds.

“Oh thank god he made one.” Sighing in relief, you watched Nanami’s video with rapt interest. “This is perfect! But I don’t have this stuff, this butterfly tea powder.”

“I do.” He’d overbought for that video and had been stuck with the stuff for ages. Turning on his heel, he mumbled something unintelligible before leaving your apartment and reappearing in less than two minutes.

“You’re just giving this to me?” Raising your brows high in shock, you took the relatively full package from Nanami’s hands and opened it, a small cloud of blue powder puffing out upon its release.

“Yes, I want you to do well on this collab.” Turning away from you, Nanami began to grab the necessary ingredients from your shelves.

“Nanami.” Your voice was a bit low and when he turned around your bottom lip was jutted out into a pout.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re the best neighbor ever!” Clutching the powder tightly against your chest with one arm, you raise the other one and rest your hand on his shoulder. “Whenever you need help or want some tea and cookies, just ask me and I’ll do it!” You were eternally grateful and Nanami could feel the sincerity in your words and the warmth of your hand melting into his skin.

“I’ll make sure to take you up on that offer, so don’t take it back.”

“Never!” You shook your head, clutching his shoulder tightly. “Now let’s make the best damn blue cake ever!”

Standing off to the side, Nanami watched you film your introduction. He felt almost awkward seeing you talk to the camera and talk animatedly about what you were going to make when his own introductions were quiet and calm, slowly panning across his work space and showing what he would be making with captions dotting the screen.

“I also have a friend helping me make this cake, would you like to wave hello?” You glanced at Nanami, fully expecting him to reject your offer but he surprised you by lifting a hand into frame and giving a very brief wave. A little giggle left your lips and you gave him a thumbs up, turning back to the camera. “He’s really good at baking, so with his help hopefully this cake won’t turn out to be a huge disaster.” Laughing to yourself, you waited a few seconds before turning the camera off.

“Give yourself more credit, (Y/N), you’re good at baking too. I bet you won’t even need me.” Going over the ingredients list one last time, Nanami recounted your videos and couldn’t fight a small smirk on his lips. You’d certainly improved but to call you good was a bit of an exaggeration.

“You’re right!” But you were bolstered by his words nonetheless and your chest puffed up with confidence. “I can do this no problem!”

Maybe it was because he was there, or maybe it was because the words he’d said to you before starting had jinxed it, but Nanami was sure any skills you’d learned had regressed severely.

From the first step to the last, there was a fumble on your part. Adding too many ingredients that didn’t need to be there, adding too little of what the recipe actually called for, snacking on the pieces for the crust of the cake and choking on camera from accidentally inhaling a piece - it was almost as if you were trying to appear inept at even the most basic of kitchen duties.

“It took us so long to get here but we can finally add the filling in!” What took Nanami barely 25 minutes had taken you almost an hour to complete. Your apron and fingers were smudged with blue powder and the kitchen was in noticeably more disarray than when you started, clear proof of the trials and tribulations you went through. Silently cheering you on from behind the camera, Nanami held his breath and watched you pour the mixture into its final pan. “Now time to pop it into the freezer and wait for it to set!”

“Time to start cleaning up.” Nanami mumbled to himself as you turned the camera off. Your cooking style was much different than his, pots and pans carelessly thrown into the sink and dirty utensils left on the counter were not things he was used to seeing.

“Do we have to?” You whined as you set the cake in the freezer.

“Will you clean up after I leave?” He quirked a brow at you, a slow smile coming to his face as you groaned and shook your head.

“Alright fine, we can clean up now.” Nanami was already rolling up his sleeves before you could start to speak and your sulky tone made a chuckle come out of him. Flicking on the sink and filling it with water, he could see you gather dishes out of the corner of his eye. It was quiet in the kitchen now without you narrating your actions for the video and Nanami welcomed the silence, it gave him a chance to think about what to say to you next.

“Really, thank you for helping me.” Coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with him at the sink, you let your arm rest snugly next to his as you started to help wash the dishes.

“You’re welcome.” Shifting just the tiniest bit closer, Nanami scrubbed away in silence. Without the constant action and ever present camera turned off, the scene between the two of you could almost be described as domestic, as if the two of you had just gotten done cooking for yourselves and not a Youtube video and now were in comfortable quiet as you cleaned up the aftermath.

“I should think about what to make for dinner, all that filming made me hungry.” The adrenaline from the collab was still high inside you, making your fingers tremble slightly as you washed off a sudsy dish.

“What are you in the mood for?” Nanami was either stupidly brave or just plain stupid for leaning into this domestic feeling by asking you that question. He could be crossing a line by trying to imply he wanted to eat with you, essentially overstaying his welcome now that he was no longer needed.

“I kind of want pasta, what about you?” Glancing up at him, you were glad he wanted to stay longer and the proof was felt on the tingling warmth prickling your entire body.

“Pasta sounds good. Red or white sauce?”

“Red. I have a great wine to pair it with.”

“You’re into wine?”

“Not really.” You giggled shyly. “I wanted to start a series where I pair different foods with wines but I got too drunk trying to film the first episode.”

“I would love to see that video, (Y/N).” Nanami snorted loudly, a smirk on his lips as he dried his hands.

“We’ll have to have a private screening then.” Playfully bumping your shoulders together, you followed suit and dried your hands.

“Yes, yes we will.”

Twenty minutes later and dinner was prepared and served, both you and Nanami sitting at your dining table with full glasses of beautiful red wine with the bottle sitting not too far off in case you needed more. Eating quietly and making lively conversation, the wine in your glasses never seemed to dip, always being topped up until the bottle was empty and you were shuffling to grab another bottle.

“(Y/N), how much wine do you have?” Nanami chuckled, a drunken blush coating his cheeks as he watched you open your fridge. He could just barely see the bottom of a few bottles from his position at the table.

“Y-you don’t wanna know!” You laughed far too loudly for the situation and slammed the door closed, handing Nanami the bottle as you collapsed in your seat.

“Well, cheers.” Opening the new bottle and topping off your glasses, Nanami held his up and clinked it with yours when you held it up. Letting the liquid drip down his throat, Nanami looked over at you from over the rim of his glass. You were already cute in his eyes, downright adorable even, but to see you giggly and drunk with him made his heart swell even more.

“Why’re you looking at me like that?” Whining slightly, you held your glass up in front of your face while your own face burned horribly.

“Like what?” He chuckled in return, mimicking your gesture.

“Like- like- you know!” Waving a hand around, you turned away from him slightly and took a generous sip of wine. Silence hung between you briefly, words left unsaid on the tips of both your tongues yet the fear of possible rejection - or even worse, regret - permeated your drunken minds.

“I’m just having a good time, (Y/N), is that a crime?” Leaning back in his seat, Nanami laughed to himself. He was definitely embarrassed from being caught looking at you like a fool in love but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now.

“You like having dinner with me?” Quirking up a hopeful brow, you rest your elbows on the table and shimmy just a tad bit closer. Your knees brushed under the table and the feeling drew you closer with Nanami pulling his chair in just so he could stretch his legs out and feel your feet begin to tangle together.

“I do, a lot.” It surely beat eating dinner alone for the thousandth time this year. The conversation quickly died down with both of you just silently looking at each other with a half lidded gaze, drunken smiles pushing your cheeks up without you even noticing it.

Soon the food ran cold and the second bottle of wine was emptied and you had to separate to take care of the dishes. Pushing Nanami towards the living room, you made him promise to go sit on the couch while you set the plates in the sink and put away the leftovers.

“Nanami, I have some ice cream if you-” Slightly stumbling out into the living room with a pint of chocolate ice cream, you stopped short upon finding Nanami dozing away on the couch with his body fully stretched out and relaxed.

Going up to the back of the couch, you leaned over it and close to his face, taking in every miniscule detail and pore that you could. Nanami was always so poised around you that it was a rare treat for him to relax like this, especially enough to go to sleep on your couch.

“Nanami…Nanami…” You whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. The action earned you a tired grunt in response and Nanami pushing your hand away and turning further into the couch. Shaking his shoulder again, you giggled when he swatted you away.

Returning the ice cream to the freezer, you grabbed a spare blanket and pillow, nearly dropping them both as you stumbled through your apartment. Throwing the blanket over his body haphazardly, you gingerly grabbed his head and put the pillow underneath it.

“Good night, Kento.” Whispering above his sleeping body, you felt butterflies in your stomach looking at him. You tried to stamp down the crush you had on him, reasoning with yourself that a man this serious and composed would never go for someone like you, but it never worked. You found yourself daydreaming about him constantly when you should have been working, fantasizing about having him join you for a meal or perhaps an outing to the city.

Taking one last look at his sleeping form, you drug yourself away to your bedroom to get some sleep of your own. The knowledge that Nanami was just a few feet away in the living room while you lay in your bed kept you up, nervous fits of giggles erupting from you as your imagination wandered.

Waking up some time later with a pounding headache and early morning light coming through your open curtains, you listened for any sound of Nanami still in your apartment. Taking a brief glance at the time, you expected him to have crawled home by now and be nursing his hangover with a cup of coffee.

Heaving yourself out of bed, you walked as quickly as possible to the bathroom and fumbled in the drawers for some painkillers. Downing a couple with no hesitation, you splashed some cool water on your face before finishing up and leaving the room.

“Oh, you’re still here.” Your voice was terribly quiet as your eyes landed on Nanami who was still fast asleep on the couch, completely disheveled with his shirt hiked up to reveal the relaxed muscles of his abdomen. Even deep in sleep he still had prominent abs with the dusting of a light happy trail below his belly button.

Reaching out in a trance, you ran your fingers lightly through his hair, just barely grazing his scalp with your nails. Repeating the motion several times, you worked out any knots he may have gotten during the night and further mussed the tresses.

“Feels good.” Nanami grumbled with his eyes still tightly closed. His voice was impossibly low and groggy as he twisted and turned on the couch. Your fingers went to scratch at his scalp when Nanami’s twisting earned him a tumble right to the ground and a surprised shout sounded upon contact.

“You okay?” Leaning over the couch, you gripped the cushioned backing tightly.

“F-fine, I’m-” Clearing his throat and trying to grab his bearings, Nanami ripped the blanket off him and sat up in a huff. “I’m fine.” As he spoke, he winced, clutching at his head.

“Hungover?” You asked with a small grin. Holding up a finger as he nodded, you made your way to the bathroom to grab the painkiller. “Come grab some water.” Motioning to the dining table, your grin got wider watching him struggle to stand.

“Do you have any coffee?”

Ten minutes later, Nanami was sunk into a dining chair with his forehead plastered to the table. He couldn’t even feel any regret for overstaying his welcome and getting too drunk to go home, all he could feel was a sick churning in his stomach and a throbbing in his head. The coffee had done a good job of waking him up, prompting him to fix his clothes and hair as best he could given the circumstance.

“Here you go.” Setting a plate down in front of him, you tried not to groan as you sat down yourself. Peeling his face off the table, Nanami never thought he could be this happy to see a plate of food.

Barely grunting out a word of thanks, he grabbed his utensils and started eating. His pained stomach slowly subsided, the warm food doing a good job at chasing away any lingering sickness in the back of his throat. It was only when his plate was empty did he realize he hadn’t spoken a single word to you.

“Thank you for the food.” Taking a gulp of coffee, he looked over at your own plate and realized he was still hungry.

“There’s more in the kitchen.” Flicking your chin in that direction, you slowly sipped your own drink as Nanami left to grab more food.

“I’m sorry.” He said once his second plate was empty and he’d already gotten another cup of coffee.

“For what?”

“I’ve overstayed my welcome. By a lot.” Grimacing as he looked at the time, he could just imagine the way you were feeling. Had you been able to sleep comfortably last night knowing he was here? You probably locked the door to your bedroom just to be safe, telling all your friends that your neighbor was drunk and passed out on your couch.

“Don’t be sorry, I don’t mind. It’s just like a sleepover.” Finishing the food on your plate, you pushed it away and leaned your head against the back of the chair. It was quiet for a moment with Nanami idly watching you breathe, and then you spoke again. “Do you think the cake is ready?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot.” Letting out a snort, you peeked at Nanami from the corner of your eye and laughed a bit more at his bewildered expression. “The cake we made yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah.” Letting out a rough exhale, Nanami shook his head to clear his thoughts. How could he forget the entire reason he’d come over in the first place? Did the alcohol really have that much of an affect on him?

“It looks set, what do you think?” Gingerly placing the cake tin on the table, you worried your lip as you looked over the cake for any imperfections. It looked perfect in the pan but who knew what would happen when you tried to remove it.

“Well don’t keep me waiting.” Reaching over the table to take the cake out himself, Nanami yelped when you smacked him away.

“No, don’t! What if it all oozes out onto the table?”

“We won’t know until we find out.” He wanted to reach out again but hesitated as he saw the twitch of your hand. “It won’t ooze all out, (Y/N), the cake is perfect.”

“How can you be so sure?” Your fingers curled around the tin; you wanted to believe him but knowing your luck it would end in disaster. But the longer you looked between him and the cake, the more you felt the pressure.

“I know because you made it. You’re a good baker, (Y/N).” Finishing the last sip of his coffee, Nanami pointed a finger at you. “Now either you take the cake out or I will.”

“Fine!” With trembling fingers you pushed the cake up from the bottom, painstakingly watching for any possible defects as it emerged.

“See, I told you it was perfect.” Nanami couldn’t help but feel smug at being right. The cake was picture perfect, not a lump or bump or empty spot in sight. The sigh of relief you let out was loud and completely deflated your chest.

“Thank god.” Setting the cake back in the tin, you stared at it from above, disbelief washing over you. “I can’t believe I really did it.” Laughing breathlessly, you straightened yourself up and glanced at your camera. “Guess I should start filming the reveal.”

“I think I’ll be going now.” Pushing himself up from his chair, Nanami gathered the dishes on the table and set them in the sink, ignoring the urge to stay even longer. He had to shower and change clothes, gather his composure and prepare himself for the work week ahead.

“It was nice having you over.” You mumbled, pushing in the chairs and slowly leading him to the front door. Neither of you really wanted this time together to end but it had to be done eventually. Gripping the doorknob, there was a slight delay before you opened the door.

“(Y/N)...” Drawing out your name, Nanami’s feet were stuck in place. Looking into your eyes, the longer he stared the less he wanted to step out into the hallway and back into reality. Digging his fingers into the doorframe, Nanami let his eyes begin to close softly, his vision turning slightly hazy as he aimed for your lips.

Time was moving too fast and too slow. With the sudden approach of Nanami, it was something you’d dreamed about for a long while, wondering what his lips would feel like against yours. But the open setting of where you two were, the sudden slamming door down the hall and noises filtering in from the outside world withdrew you from the moment you’d wanted for so long.

“O-oh.” You hadn’t even realized you’d put your hand up to stop Nanami from coming closer until he made contact. Both of you looked down at your hand in confusion and you turned red for different reasons.

“I’m sor-”

“I’ll see you later.” Cutting you off, Nanami kept his head down to try and save face, save himself from you seeing how utterly mortified he was at getting rejected. Taking a generous step into the hall, he made a beeline back to his apartment.

Unable to say much beyond a dejected and nearly silent goodbye, you closed your door shortly after Nanami closed his. Both of you leaned against the respective frames, Nanami cursing himself for being so forward and making you uncomfortable, and you beating yourself up for stopping him in the first place.

It only took a day for you to finish the video and upload it, adding your traditional flair and special touches that made Nanami smile every time he saw them. Trying to ignore the way you two had parted, he focused intensely on the video and every time there was a cut or jump in he recounted exactly what had happened in that moment that made you cut the clip out, be it choking on some crust or dropping the entire mixing bowl on the floor.

“I’m just feeling burnt out from all this social media stuff, I might take a break from cooking for a little while.” That was the last thing Nanami wanted to hear towards the end of one of your monthly vlogs. He’d noticed a slight downtrend in your content output shortly after you posted the collab video and while he hadn’t spoken to you since that fateful night, he hadn’t gotten any hints that you were feeling this way.

“I’ll still be active here and there, I have some other things already filmed and ready to be uploaded and some sponsored stuff for my Instagram but I just…” The heavy sigh you let out as you tried to find the words to articulate your feelings made Nanami frown. Watching the rest of the video with a heavy heart, he took a glance at the time.

“Let me make something to cheer them up.” He mumbled to himself. Yes it was nearing his usual bedtime and he was typically very strict about adhering to the schedule, but you needed him; or at least Nanami hoped you needed him in some way to make you feel better.

Burrowing around in his cupboards, he grabbed random ingredients and placed them on the counter. When Nanami wanted to make something, especially a baked good, he always had a plan on what he wanted to make. But now he was going off the cuff, coming up with a recipe on the fly and hoping it worked. He also grabbed his filming equipment and set it up, hoping that even if the recipe didn’t turn out well you would still find enjoyment in his videos.

It took him nearly two hours to make a chocolate souffle and he didn’t regret a single second of it. His whole apartment was warm and smelled of chocolate, steam rising and blurring the lense of the camera as he presented them. Taking a deep breath that turned into a loud yawn, Nanani felt proud of himself for completing the recipe even if it was an ungodly hour.

He was nearly a zombie by the time he put everything away and uploaded the footage to his computer but he couldn’t find it in him to go to bed just yet. He wanted to edit and upload the video as soon as possible so that you could have something to watch to take your mind off the hard time you were having.

The rising sun was Nanami’s indicator that he’d been up all night without even ten minutes of sleep, but he could proudly say he pulled his first all nighter for Youtube and finished the video right as his alarm went off. Posting it immediately, Nanami rushed around to gather his things and head out the door before he missed his usual train.

Dragging his feet throughout the day, he collapsed on the couch the moment he stepped through the door. He tried to keep up with his work while also checking to see if you’d liked the video or maybe commented but there was nothing from you, not even a cheeky little post on Twitter or your Instagram stories.

Running a dejected hand through his hair, Nanami pulled himself up from the couch and to the kitchen. Thankfully he was meticulous about being clean so there was no mess from last night waiting for him, easing his mind at least a little bit. Making a quick dinner, he ate over the kitchen sink as he thought of what to do next.

It only took a few seconds for him to decide to make another video at that very moment. Shoving the rest of his food in his mouth, Nanami turned to his cupboards once again, quickly deciding to make cookies as his hand landed on a box of chocolate. Ignoring the souffle sitting patiently in the fridge, Nanami set to work making another dish for you with no plan in the foreseeable future of actually giving you any of them.

This habit repeated until the end of the work week when Nanami had quite literally passed out on his couch after the repeated all nighters. None of his videos seemed to have the impact he wanted them to. You didn’t like or comment, your social media posts were either retweets or sponsored content and you hadn’t posted a new video in a while. He could hear you in your apartment sometimes, talking to yourself or playing music and singing along, so he knew you hadn’t run away.

Waking up in a haze well after the sunset, Nanami felt at his wits end. He was doing everything he could to get you to cheer up without having to face you directly and it wasn’t working. He had a fridge full of desserts he was going to give you at some point and a horde of videos up on his channel you could watch but he needed to do something more.

(S/N): hey, I hope you feel better soon

As Nanami prepared for a shower, he wasn’t in his right mind to care about the fact that he’d just messaged you on Twitter instead of through text like he originally meant. Talking to you through his online persona wasn’t something he really wanted to do but he couldn’t turn back now.

Taking a long hot shower, Nanami forgot about the message he sent you, too wrapped up in finally getting to unwind. Doing his nighttime routine and burrowing into bed, he checked his phone one last time.

(Y/N): hearing my idol say this has made my day so much better, thank you so much T_T

“Your idol?” Nanami chuckled to himself, a light blush coming over his face as he sunk into his pillows.

(S/N): you’re welcome. If you ever want to chat about how you’re feeling or anything, I’m open to listen.

Pushing through sleep to send that final message, Nanami tossed his phone onto his bedside table and promptly went to sleep with a small smile on his face.

Generously oversleeping, Nanami woke up in an overheated, messy pile of blankets. Thankful for the weekend, he took his time coming to his senses and getting out of bed. His hand automatically drifted to his phone, tired mind eager to see if you had responded.

(Y/N): I would definitely love to chat!

(S/N): you called me your idol, I take it you’ve been watching my videos for a while?

Nanami had to ask, he needed to know just how much you liked his content. He didn’t have to wait long for a response, just as he poured his first cup of coffee his phone went off.

(Y/N): I’ve been watching your videos since you first started posting!! Your content is the number one reason I started my own channel

(S/N): I’m really touched, I’m glad I could be such a big inspiration for you

(Y/N): you really are! I admire you so much, you’re so serious about your craft

(Y/N): especially the fact that you put out a new video every day this week! I want to be as dedicated as you someday

While your statement bolstered his confidence greatly, it also put a heavy weight on Nanami’s shoulders. As you chatted more and more, Nanami felt the urge to go and make something else to keep the trend of uploading daily. There was a possibility that you were going to start posting again, you’d said so yourself, and Nanami wanted to make it a reality.

Ignoring the food in his fridge and on the counters that still needed to go to you or be eaten, Nanami pushed himself to film two videos that day. It was hard to make sure everything was perfect twice over but he managed and by the end of the day he was sitting at his computer eating flan and editing the videos.

Taking advantage of the weekend, Nanami pulled another all-nighter and filmed as many videos as he could. He ran himself completely ragged between filming, cooking and making sure to message you back consistently. Your conversation progressed naturally, flowing from one topic to another as if you were speaking face to face with each other. Nanami felt the urge to tell you it was him, that your idol was actually your neighbor, but the memory of your rejection still stung and he held off. You probably wouldn’t like him anymore if you learned the truth, so for now he was going to hold off.

By the time Monday rolled around and his alarm went off in the morning, Nanami had gotten a solid two hours of sleep and was nursing a growing headache. Somehow he managed to edit all the videos he filmed, putting them in a little queue to be uploaded everyday while he struggled through the work week.

Zoning in and out for the whole day, it was a miracle that he managed to come home in one piece. Nanami didn’t remember stepping into his office building let alone getting on the train home. Lacking the strength to even eat a proper meal, he stripped down to his underwear and slept on top of his blankets while running a high fever.

Waking up throughout the night in a cold sweat, Nanami knew when he woke up to the sound of his alarm that he couldn’t go to work. With a heavy head and runny nose, just looking in the mirror made him cringe.

“I look like shit.” His voice was gravelly and thick and he had to clear his throat several times after speaking. Leaving a quick message for his boss, Nanami splashed cold water on his face and went back to bed.

The next two days melted into each other and there were several instances where Nanami went into a coughing fit and was sure you could hear through the walls. With only enough strength to feed himself soup and cough medicine, Nanami was left to suffer alone. He heard notifications on his phone go off and every once in a while he would respond to something you sent but for the most part he was dead to the world.

A knock at the door roused him from a deep slumber in the middle of the day, sweating under a pile of blankets but too cold to take them off. He tried to ignore it at first, but the sound refused to stop and through his muddled brain Nanami was sure he could hear your voice.

“C-coming!” Grunting loudly, Nanami’s usually quiet footsteps thumped against the floor. Passing a mirror in the hall, he was glad he at least had an acceptable top and bottom on before he opened the door. Leaning heavily against the doorframe, Nanami sniffled loudly as he made eye contact with you and drifted downwards to the stack of mail in your hand.

“I uh, I have your mail.” Shuffling awkwardly on your feet, you didn’t know where to look. This was the first time you were seeing each other in two months and Nanami hated that he looked and felt absolutely awful. “Nanami? Are you okay?” The concern on your face was outweighing the awkwardness in the air.

“Not really.” He sighed, shrugging his shoulders mindlessly. “I feel like shit.” His brazen statement made you snort. Taking the mail from your outstretched hand, he was about to thank you when you suddenly spoke.

“Have you eaten today?” Your eyes scanned his face and the bad dark circles under his eyes.

“No.” Answering truthfully, Nanami didn’t protest when you made the move to enter his apartment, not that he would have stopped you in the first place.

“Let me make you something, you need to eat properly if you want to get better!” Slapping his mail on the dining table, you pointed to the couch. “Go sit down and relax.” Turning on your heel as soon as you finished speaking, you dug around in the kitchen for something to cook. Dragging his feet, Nanami grabbed a small blanket from his bedroom before returning to the living room and taking residence on the couch like you asked.

“I haven’t- haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while.” Coughing loudly, Nanami ran a hand through his hair. He could hear you rummaging through the fridge and making little noises in the back of your throat.

“There sure is a lot of moldy desserts in here.” Looking over his shoulder and into the kitchen, Nanami chuckled watching you pull out some of the desserts he’d filmed and throw them away. They were unrecognizable from when he first made them, all of them having gone bad and disintegrating in their containers. It was a shame he didn’t get a chance to eat most of them, but he was so caught up in filming as much as possible that the thought of having all the leftover food to deal with didn’t cross his mind.

“Hey, how about we order takeout?” Running hot water over a dish that used to have chocolate cake in it, your lip was curled up in disgust.

“Takeout sounds good.”

Twenty minutes later, Nanami had taken more medicine at your request and had a plate of steaming food in his hands, his first proper meal in a very long time. Putting on the TV for some light background noise, the two of you ate side by side.

“I’m glad I came to deliver your mail, I was worried about you, Nanami. I could hear you coughing at night.”

“Sorry.”

“Why’re you apologizing for being sick? It’s not your fault! Just promise me you’ll get better soon, okay?” Giving his shoulder a brief squeeze, your fingers lingered on his body for a few seconds before sliding off. There was a comfortable lull in the conversation for a moment, the two of you eating quietly and fiddling on your phone. Nanami tried not to snoop, but he could see you silently watching a Youtube video on your phone.

“Do you want to watch that on the TV?” He asked quietly, sliding the remote towards you. Giving him a sheepish smile, you quickly put the video up for him to watch as well. Nanami wasn’t surprised that it was one of his videos you were watching, he still had many queued up to be posted, but he was surprised that he didn’t remember a single moment of filming said video.

“Look at the flowers he made on the bread!” Pointing to the screen, you lightly stamped your feet on the floor. “I’m so jealous, whenever I try to make focaccia bread like that it always turns out so ugly!” Nanami nodded along silently; once he was finished with the video for the bread he ate it all in one sitting and had a massive stomach ache.

Grabbing your phone, you tapped away in the comment section of the video, leaving an abundant amount of emojis along with your praising words. Going to Twitter, you tweeted about his video as well and as soon as you hit send Nanami got a notification for the post. His eyes darted to see if you had noticed and luckily you hadn’t, but soon there was a flurry of little dings on his phone.

“Woah Nanami, someone sure is messaging you a lot.” You chuckled and Nanami nearly grabbed his phone off the coffee table and threw it across the room; there was no way that you couldn’t see all the messages were from you. You even leaned forward a little bit to take a peek at who it was.

“Y-yeah, they are.” Fumbling to grab his phone before you could put the pieces together, Nanami had forgotten about the plate of food in his lap and it slid to the ground, immediately beginning to soak into the rug and stain it. Letting out a string of curses, Nanami forgot about his phone and rushed to clean up the spilled food.

Hearing his phone clatter to the ground, Nanami was torn between abandoning his cleaning efforts and stopping you from seeing his phone. He tried to stutter something out, a feeble attempt to draw your attention away as you clearly saw your screen name on his phone.

“What’s this?” You asked quietly, too quietly for Nanami’s comfort. He was still stammering out some excuses, but as you picked up the phone and read your name out loud, he knew it was over.

“I can explain.” His adrenaline was pumping and it was making him begin to sweat profusely. He could clearly tell there was a blush on his face much deeper than the one already there from his fever. Picking up the ruined plate of food, he tried to buy himself more time to try and explain what was happening.

Looking you over, all the excuses Nanami had were coming apart. Every word he could say was falling flat, not just because of his illness but because he found it less and less appealing to try and lie. Forcing himself to take deep breaths, Nanami turned to face you.

“I...I’m (S/N).” Taking the phone from you, he showed you the Twitter messages between the two of you. As he went through the evidence, his social media pages and Youtube channel, he could see your face changing and he couldn’t read your expression. Worrying his lip, Nanami was afraid to ask what you thought of him now.

“This is insane.” You finally spoke after a few minutes, looking down at your own phone. “Who would have guessed my neighbor would turn out to be my biggest idol, too?” Slapping a hand over your face as you came to terms with the realization, you laughed a little. “Oh god, that means you saw my reaction video to your hands.”

“Yeah, I did.” Laughing along, Nanami let out a sigh of relief. You seemed to be okay with what he just told you and there was something else weighing on his mind. “You know, since I’m already confessing to secrets, there’s something else I need to tell you, (Y/N).”

“What is it?” Tilting your head to the side, your brows furrowed slightly in concern. Forcing himself to make eye contact despite the nerves he felt, Nanami let out one short breath before speaking.

“I like you, a lot.” He was surely running the highest fever he’d ever experienced now, there was no doubt about it. He was absolutely boiling, sweating buckets waiting for your reaction to this news.

“Really?” You whispered, mouth hanging open slightly.

“Really.” Based on your reaction, Nanami was steeling himself for a rejection. He should have known you wouldn’t feel the same way, he was a fool for getting his hopes up and reading into signals that weren’t there-

“I like you too.” Yet here you were, slowly weaving your fingers together and squeezing his hand. You refused to make eye contact anymore, too embarrassed from the onslaught of emotions going through you. Squeezing your hand back, Nanami ran his thumb over your skin.

“Well then, when I’m better I’d like to take you on a date.”

“As Nanami Kento or as (S/N)?” You teased, giggling to yourself as Nanami made a noise in the back of his throat.

“You already know the answer.” Finally able to relax in his seat again, Nanami let a big smile overtake his face when you cuddled into his side. “You shouldn’t be so close, you might get sick too.”

“I’ll take the risk.” Looping your arms together, you suddenly sat up. “Hey, Nanami.”

“Hm?” Turning to face you, Nanami’s eyes went wide as you kissed him. Your lips were soft, a pleasant feeling against his that he wanted to experience again and again. Kissing you back, it was a short interaction as he quickly parted to cough into the crook of his elbow.

“(Y/N), you shouldn’t kiss me, you’re going to get sick.” As much as he wanted to kiss you again, he didn’t want to be the reason you wound up in the same position as him.

“I’ll gladly take that risk.” Giving him a peck on the lips and one on the cheek, you resumed your position cuddled into him. “So all that rotting food in your fridge was from your videos?”

“Sadly, yes.”

“Next time you want to upload a video everyday, call me, okay? I would gladly like to eat your cooking again.”

“Well you don’t have to wait for that, I’ll cook for you anytime you want.”

“Will you cook with me on my channel?” You looked at him hopefully.

“I’ll think about it.” He would have to make sure you didn’t accidentally expose his identity or your new budding relationship.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Giving him a big hug, you fixed the blanket over the two of you. Nanami wanted to protest and reaffirm that he would think about it, but with the way you were pressed into his side, he couldn’t find it in him.

“Alright, it’s a yes.”

#jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fluff #nanami kento #nanami x reader #jujutsu kaisen scenarios #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #jujutsu kaisen imagines

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sanjiafsincedayone · 3 years

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Why SaNa over other ships?

Now, this is not to hate on other ships or downplay them, because what shipping really comes down to is often simply preference. What characters or dynamics you enjoy and what reasons you might have for liking different things.

No, this is simply my own reasons for why I like SaNa and also why I think they could make sense and thirdly why it’s possible Oda could be setting it up to actually happen in canon. It’s all just my views and I apologize if I forget a moment or add something that is more head canon, but again, this is my reasons and they will always be partially biased. (And there are too many to remember them all properly, so if you want to add feel welcome to do so.)

I think Sanji and Nami is a lovely ship even based just on fan content and the community. But we also get some great moments in the manga, and I personally think there is potential for Oda to make an actual romance work between them.

1. Why I like Sanji and Nami

I personally fell in love with Sanji before I even started to watch or read One Piece, simply based on his voice actor (Hiroaki Hirata), his design and his fighting style. So obviously I already have a bias towards Sanji (SanjiAFsincedayone having a bias towards Sanji? Who knew?). I didn’t ship Sanji with Nami from the start and even now I am a multi shipper who enjoys fan content with Sanji as a main part of several pairs, most prominently ZoSan.

So, when did I fall for SaNa then? Well, I have talked about it in various posts before which you can find in my Masterpost - SanjiAFsincedayone, but for me shipping Sanji and Nami more seriously didn’t start until Thriller Bark.

Sanji took a knife in the back for her as she is dressed in a wedding dress, even this one scene is enough to explain why someone might like to ship them together.

I for sure saw many SaNa moments before that, and felt Nami seemed special to Sanji, but I didn’t think it would have a big chance of happening and I preferred other ships above it when consuming fan material. Again, shipping is after all mostly fantasy and wanting more of something in a romantic/sexual way. Thriller Bark was when Sanji and Nami’s interactions caught my attention properly and I started to look a bit closer and actually note the way Oda wrote them and their moments. Going back after and rereading I think there is a lot of interesting things even before that. But the wedding theme and bridal carry and how Oda showed them in Thriller Bark was just too on the nose to ignore.

What got me into shipping Sanji with Nami were mainly three things.

1. Their dynamics getting more interesting over time and Sanji and Nami being two of the most well written and interesting characters in One Piece. 2. Sanji consistently seeming to have a preference for Nami in combination with my belief that he is after true love and isn’t just a pervert forever doomed to be alone. 3. The manga showing the potential of it actually happening and them finally catching my attention in Thriller Bark. Basically there are moments to follow and look at in the actual story as well, which in turn also leads to more fan content and material for shippers.

So point 1 and 2 really is mostly about my preference and how much I enjoy watching them together and how well I imagine they would fit together. I think their personalities and desires overlap well with them being able to understand and compromise for each other while aslo being on a similar level of intelligence and communication. They also have their kindness and empathy as a highlighted shared theme for their characters.

Them talking about the Children in Punk Hazard or Sanji helping Nami turn in the argument between both Luffy and Vivi and Luffy and Usopp are some examples. Or Nami letting Sanji smoke in her body because she knows how hard it is for him. Small gestures like this show both understanding and a willingness to compromise.

I think they are fun and have a relationship that right now might need working on, but it’s clear how much they care for each other and how they actually appriciate each other a lot.

Simply put I think they are interesting together and I think they could work as a romantic couple in the future, where their dreams and family oriented views migh allign. Again, from how I view them as characters and interpret their wants and possible futures I think Sanji and Nami is a good match. They can have a restaurant either traveling the world or docked close to both Cocoyashi and Zeff, Nami can tend to her mikans together with Sanji and they can manage a restaurant for a living. I also think they are the most parental members in the crew and has shown some possible signs of wanting to settle down with families. This would also work well as a final contrast to their less than happy childhoods (You might also want to check out my post (Part 3) Sanji x Nami hints - Thematic parallels).

There is a lot of potential in their dynamics and how different they seem while they also seem willing to adapt and try to understand each other that make them interesting as characters of romantic plots. At the same time they have enough in common to relate to each other and work well together. Again, as a fictional ship within the fandom there is a lot of great artists, writers etc. that truly explore them and make Sanji and Nami a great and fun ship with an active fandom to engage with.

Of course there are more shallow reasons like them matching in age and being good-looking but really I could ship Sanji with almost any woman if it was only about the looks. I mean, Purin is basically made to be a perfect match for Sanji, but I personally find his dynamic with Nami much more interesting and his dedication to Nami is of course unpraralleled thanks to the time Oda has spent on them over many years.

I love Sanji and Nami as individual characters and with the amount of moments between them there is also a lot to explore and enjoy in the manga. It makes them interesting in a third aspect for me, which is of course analysis and the potential of them actually ending up together and looking closer at the way Oda writes them from a story perspective. For me what we have gotten from Oda in terms of Sanji x Nami moments is very interesting and I see potential there even though it would need more development to truly work for the current story.

But, again shipping doesn’t have to mean anything for the actual story... There are crack ships or slash ships that surely will never happen but that could still be great and fun to explore for the fans. Honestly, everyone is free to ship whatever they want. We all have different taste after all.

So, what about the manga then?

2. Why do I think they could make sense as a romantic couple even in canon?

First, my own view is that Sanji is someone who seeks true love, and as briefly shown with both Violet and Purin it seems like he would take an actual relationship seriously if given the chance. I also think it would make him happy and thus as Oda might want to create happy resolutions for the strawhats I think Sanji ending up with someone has quite a big chance of happening. This is combination with his preference for Nami and in turn Nami truly caring for him (though not yet in a romantic way) is something that makes me think it could happen. Other ships have potential too depending on how Oda decides to develop them, but considering how he keeps adding moments for SaNa in the way he does as of now I still think SaNa is the most likely ship for Sanji.

As I mentioned earlier I also think Nami has shown some possible inclinations for wanting a family (or at least being a great mother if we look at her with children in many arc, not the least Punk Hazard) and maybe even getting married eventually.

If she ends up with someone we will need to see a more obvious attraction and want for romance from her no matter what ship we might consider. She has at this point not shown a lot, but I do think the thematic parallels she shares with Sanji in combination with how their moments are written has the potential to grow into something more.

As a romantic pair I think Sanji and Nami would be happy, he would adore her and take care of her and both of them would probably find that ideal. In fact it’s already a big part of their dynamics and seem to make them both happy. They also seem to try to understand and show interest in knowing each other as seen with several scenes and general attention towards each other’s backstories. They also challange each other in different ways and we have seen them compromise a few times. I think compared to many other relationship in the manga Oda has shown more personal moments between them. So a romantic additional aspect is not too far off. Not that Oda would make it happen now, but that he would lay down the groundwork for it to work by the end of the series.

In short I think they would make each other happy, but also challange and grow thanks to the other. I think their dreams of traveling the world with Nami drawing her map and Sanji cooking on all the seas and finding All Blue and then settiling down together close to both their “homes” in East Blue with a restaurant and family seems to fit them both. It wouldn’t always be easy, but I think they would actually enjoy their dynamics with Nami bossing Sanji around most of the time.

Now this all sounds nice and all, but it’s of course just my imagination based on biased interpretations of the manga. So where do I get it from?

3. The way SaNa is portrayed by Oda

Now this is really the biggest point... Because again, I can ship whatever characters I want and it is just for fun. It doesn’t have to happen for me to enjoy it or I wouldn’t ship Sanji with Zoro. But with Sanji and Nami there are legit reasons in addition to my preference that makes me think it could happen in the manga.

It might take years to actually go through it all in order with my additional interpretations, but I will try to go through the basics themes and moments that to me could indicate SaNa over any other Sanji or Namji ship.

I think the obvious thing to talk about first is simply how Sanji definitely has a romantic (and sexual) interest in Nami. No matter what other character you might see with either of them, this has been shown consistantly over the whole manga. You may argue that Sanji might be interested in others equally, and though I wouldn’t agree it’s a fair point. However from a story perspective it would still need to be resolved. It’s highly unlikely for Nami to end up with anyone unless Sanji ends up with someone else and gets a happy ending too.

As for Sanji’s interest in Nami I personally think Oda has paid a lot of attention to it in a way that makes it the most likely ship for Sanji. He might yet add moments between other ships and develop them (most notably San/Pu of course), but in my opinion the way Oda has added Nami in other potential romantic moments with Sanji it seems Nami is above every other woman so far.

Most importantly I think we have seen:

Sanji leave Violet who actually seemed to show interest in him to run off to save Nami (and the crew, but the point is that Oda chose to highlight and add this moment with focus on Nami to begin with).

Sanji being more focused on Nami even when Vivi and Robin has been on the ship or at the same place. Oda definitely puts Sanji with Nami above other women at least in amount of moments and involvment.

Sanji being very concerned with Nami in front of Purin and being shown happy with her (the bridal carry for example) and saying he loves her right in front of Purin.

Sanji having stronger reactions to Nami than other women. This could just be my way of seeing it, but I do think we have seen the strongest reactions from Sanji when it comes to Nami. Not the least with turning into a literal devil when he heard she was kidnapped by Absalom. For example compare Sanji rushing after Nami in both Skypiea and Thriller Bark even to him going after Robin. Or his reaction to Nami getting sick in Drum. We simply have a lot of strong reactions from Sanji towards Nami in different ways and more importantly Oda seeming to add focus on them.

We also have him reacting to things like “women’s tears” or calls but only indicating Nami might be calling him personally. For example Sanji hearing Tashigi cry or saying he trusts Violet or Robin even though they are lying but for Nami adding things like “I think I heard Nami call out for me” or moments like “I leave my Nami to you”. Basically the way Oda writes it there often seems to be added a more personal stake in Sanji’s reactions and moments with Nami compared to with other women.

So from Sanji’s point of view, and the way Oda has written them so far, I think he puts Nami above every other woman. But more importantly, Oda shows us moments between them that he doesn’t add for other ships as consistantly or in romantic looking ways. Keep in mind that both Nami and Sanji are main characters, but they are not Luffy. Oda choosing to not use Luffy (who will obviously have strong moments with all of his nakama, like how he had his own time with Sanji both in Baratie and WCI) for some of these moments but rather insert Sanji or Nami instead for each other’s stories makes it more relevant. Because it’s not an obvious choice in the same way. It’s a choice based on their characters and dynamics within the world, not because of their roles as main hero or heroine. Here are some examples.

1. Their first meeting. Sanji is for the first time seen in love cook mode and he basically seem ready to leave everything behind for Nami. Right away his reaction to Nami is stronger than what we have seen from him and it seems to hold true even with time.

2. SaNa having interest and plot relevance to each other’s back stories. Sanji getting involved with hearing Nami’s back story and saving his sister. Also, calling her “sister” which indicates a platonic familiarity where he puts Nami above Nojiko romantically (yes, despite flirting some with her). Nami in turn also getting involved and showing interest in Sanji’s backstory, pushing to go with Luffy to save Sanji and being the one to remind us of Sanji’s past and character traits.

3. Sanji getting personally tantalized by using Nami. This has happened several times, the first with Kuroobi in Arlong Park, but also with Mr. 2 in Alabasta, Absalom in Thriller Bark and then in Fishman Island (Zou too, but that wasn’t just Nami) and on Zou. You can check my post (thought not updated fully) Sanji and Nami – Fights and danger for a more detailed view. (Even in movies like Strong World Sanji has a direct talk with Shiki about Nami and it seems most people are aware of Sanji being extra sensitive to Nami.)

4. Sanji asking Nami if she is jealous or if she loves him, indicating again that he is interested to know is she is interested in him. Once even responding “I love you too”. In general Nami responding in these situations in a more “positive way” or Oda showing Sanji interpreting her actions as more romantic. For example the “proposal” or the hug in WCI.

5. Romantic looking moments or themes. Now this is of couse not something that has been done mutually between them and thus aren’t actually romantic scenes. But the tropes and common use for many of the things that Oda has chosen to use for Sanji and Nami are romantic in nature. Of course the two forced marriages are the strongest examples with them rescuing each other from getting married to someone else. But we also have the switch body trope, the slap and of course smaller gestures like the bridal carries or the way Oda drew the hug between them in WCI. I am not saying that SaNa is the only ship with romantic looking moments, because San/Pu And San/Violet obviously has some as well. However, considering the amount SaNa moments and the fact that he has left Violet and Purin in particular for Nami seems to make the SaNa moments trump any other ship. At least for me personally SaNa as it is now and as Oda has portrayed it in comparison to other Sanji ships gets in the way of Sanji ending up with someone else unless Oda starts to make some changes.

I want to make some emphasis on how Nami and Sanji seem to get some “bigger” moments between them in almost every arc. Again, compare this to Sanji with other women, or even Nami with other crew members.

Baratie - Their first meeting and Sanji’s reaction to Nami and interest gets focus. Arlong Park - Sanji shows interest in Nami’s past and Kuroobi mocks Sanji by specfically mentioning Nami. ( Loguetown Arc, Reverse Mountain Arc, Whiskey Peak Arc and Little Garden mostly have small moments, like Sanji asking if Nami is jealous or Sanji giving Nami his jacket.) Drum Island - Nami is sick and we see Sanji worry and care for her and in the end even sacrificing himself for her. Nami worries about him too. Alabasta - Sanji fighting Mr. 2 looking like Nami and lots of small moments like Sanji asking Nami if she loves him.

Jaya - Nami showing interest in Sanji’s back story. Small things like Nami hiding for the bugs behind Sanji or Sanji. Skypiea - Sanji being hell-bent of saving Nami and making the others look for her. Then him saving Nami and Usopp from Enel and Nami being worried in return. (Both times Sanji gets hit by Enel Nami is there and worries.) Then a lot of small moments like him giving her a flower and Nami pulling Sanji’s ear for flirting with Conis. Long Ring Long Land - Nami encourage Sanji be the ball and win, but mostly small moments like Sanji getting annoyed with Aokiji for flirting with Nami or him sitting next to her and trying to kiss her. Water 7 - Sanji leaving his love letter to Nami and Nami being worried for (and impressed with) Sanji. Enies Lobby - Sanji losing against a woman, Nami being understanding and then stepping in to basically revenge him. Also Sanji hearing it as Nami loving him and then him showing up to save Nami and Usopp from Jyabura.

Post-Enies Lobby - Not much, but Sanji stepping in to make Nami and Zoro stop fighting and make Nami understand Zoro’s pov. Thriller Bark - Sanji just being extremely focused on Nami and worried about her throughout the whole arc. Also him getting specifically selected by Luffy to save Nami. Of course the wedding theme with the bridal carry and Sanji’s reaction to Nami. Also Sanji’s Zombie protecting Nami (and later kicking Robin) and his “obsession with Nami” being mentioned. Sabaody Archipelago - Another smaller arc, but we do get Nami worried about Sanji possibly drowning. And smaller moments like Sanji being angry for Nami being put in danger by the Fishman Riders or him telling Franky to take care of Nami as he runs to protect Zoro. When they return we of course also get the nosebleeds, and Sanji daydreaming about Nami’s development.

Fishman Island - Sanji’s reaction to Jinbei and Arlong. Also the fishmen pointing out that Nami might be their weakness due to Sanji’s “over reaction“ to her falling. Punk Hazard - The body swtich, Sanji’s body saving Nami and Sanji being careful with not hurting her etc. Also them working together to save the children, Sanji listening to Nami’s request and saying he loves her more because of her kindness. Also small things like Sanji giving his jacket to Nami again. Dressrosa - Sanji leaving Violet behind to save Nami, insisting that he should be the one to save her and then him getting attacked by Doflamingo and Nami getting worried and not wanting to leave him. Sanji basically tries to sacrifice himself for Nami for the 4th time (Drum, Skypiea x2, also maybe in Thriller Bark). Zou - We get a lot of focus on Nami and Sanji together, and then of course when Sanji is gone Nami is the driving force for his plot. Once again Nami is also used to taunt Sanji (inside Capone). Then Nami is both the one to mention Sanji being from North Blue and to listen to Pekom’s talk about his family. Not to mention her insisting on going with Luffy to WCI and having a fight with Zoro as she defends Sanji. Whole Cake Island - The way she pushes for them to find Sanji, her hapiness when they find him and her hurt and the slap. We even get something like Nami being tantalized with Sanji by both Purin and Brulee. The only strawhat besides Luffy who gets a personal story thread with Sanji and a personal resolution for their conflict is Nami. The tension seems personal and combined with Sanji having another love interest but choosing Nami above her it does seem like Nami is the more natural choice both for Sanji and for Oda.

There is also a distinct increase in romantic-looking moments between them, with them touching more than ever before.

Wano - Even after WCI it doesn’t seem like Oda is stopping the SaNa moments. Sanji manages to save and carry Nami three times in the beginning of Wano. On top of that we have the bath scene and of course a lot of small moments and mentions between them like Sanji asking Usopp to take care of “My Nami-san” or Sanji jumping in abobe Nami to save her from arrows.

How many times have we had Sanji be the one to go after Nami or save her? By his own choice, by being the one present or even by Luffy asking Sanji to go. Oda puts Sanji next to Nami a lot, and I think it’s possible he might be doing it for a reason.

Who knows what we might get, but the fact that we have as much as we do really seems to show Oda having a preference to put them together in various ways.

The point is they have a lot of time and moments dedicated to them from Oda despite them both being secondary characters. At this point it’s possible Sanji is the person Nami has moments with the most in the story besides Luffy (and perhaps Usopp) as they often end up together. Of course this is including them thinking about and talking about each other as well, and not just direct interacting. For example counting the body switch and Nami being worried and focused on Sanji while on Zou. Oda doesn’t have to, but he has chosen to write it like this. On top of that he adds romantic interest from Sanji and romantic looking moments between them.

I could go on, and there are plenty of moments and examples to find between Nami and Sanji that are interesting to look a bit deeper at. You can check out my Masterpost - SanjiAFsincedayone for some of them. But as it is now here are the main points for why I think SaNa at least has a bigger chance to happen than other ships with the two of them as it is now.

One-sided attraction and romantic interest from Sanji’s side that needs to be resolved in one way or another.

Nami seems special to Sanji. Even small things like only using -san for her and -chan for others is a detail that makes her stand out to him.

Great involvement in each other’s stories. Oda likes adding Sanji and Nami in moments together both for interaction and explenation about each other. For example Sanji is also often used to save Nami.

Interactions of understanding and changing dynamics between the two, like them compromising for each other or wanting to know about the other’s past. Matching personalities and a possible future.

Romantic themes and moments, mainly the weddings, but also the amount of times Sanji has saved Nami and things like the hug being drawn in a very romantic looking way with Nami being more focused on.

Tension and urgency. This is basically Sanji and Nami having a lot of focus on each other in dire situations and Oda showing it with specific mentions.

So, to summarize, I like Sanji and Nami both as indvidual characters and together. I enjoy them as a ship and to explore their dynamics in a romantic way no matter what they might end up as in the story. Anyone should be able to respect that people have different preferences. Additionally I think and speculate that they would work well and could happen in the manga as well. This is obviously a biased interpretation and opinion.

I might be wrong, but you should be able to respect that too as we have yet to get anything objectivly confirming any ship. We don’t know if any ship with end up canon at all. Maybe Sanji and Nami will remain a ship that never becomes canon, but even so they are a ship that is definitely worth enjoying.

I hope you found this post interesting and can enjoy your own ship and fandom while also seeing that it’s ok for others to like something different than you. Thanks for reading.

#sanji #nami #sana #sanami #sanji x nami #sanjixnami #sanami theory #One Piece analysis #sanji x nami analysis #sanjiafsincedayone #one piece manga

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