IC Inbox

[vrdantwind]

"Hey, this is Claude! Pretty sure I'm doing this correctly. You can leave me a message here, and I'll get to it as soon as I can. Talk to you soon~."

Comments

[bestswordmaster]

[Felix manages not to curse aloud at his Gear when he surreptitiously reads the reply as he and Dimitri walk through the snow.]

ugh.
I know all that.
but
I've seen the way he looks at you.
he doesn't look at me like that.
saints this sounds so juvenile.
he just
we were skating on the pond
and he made a "joke" that didn't seem like a joke
about how I spent a decade not standing too close to him
so one of us should slow down
I know he thinks he's going to ruin something
but I TOLD him he wouldn't
I told him a lot of things
that he doesn't seem to believe.
suppose I can't blame him.
anyway the uncharacteristic thing was
ugh I don't want to tell you
but then you'll say
felix you asked me for advice
now you have to tell me everything.

[vrdantwind]

Have you considered the fact that I've been shameless and enticing and also dressed up in front of him, and you haven't done that nearly as much, if at all? Of course you haven't seen him react to you the way he reacts to me, you aren't me and you don't do the same things I do. But that doesn't equal a lack of attraction.

That said, there is a genuine question of whether he's trying to take things slow with you because he thinks you deserve...shall we say a thorough, proper wooing? Or whether he wants to take things slow because he feels awkward and uncertain himself. It could actually be a little of both. It wouldn't hurt to ask him, especially if you're worried.

Also, I don't actually have to say anything if you're going to provide my lines for me. So why not get to the part where you tell me anyway?

[bestswordmaster]

I hadn't considered that.
but I did skate with him.
he said it was 'beautiful.'
which is what you say about a painting
not someone you want to
be intimate with.
I don't know.
he wants to take it slow because
it's my fault we kept our distance for so long.
and he doesn't want me to push him away.
but I told him I wouldn't.
I did ask him but his answer sounded vague.
hey!
that doesn't ALWAYS happen.
but I don't feel like enduring your nagging.
he invited himself back to my room basically.
in a way that sounded
suggestive.
but now I'm not sure he knew what he was saying.

[vrdantwind]

Sunshine. Seriously? You're looking for excuses to be insecure now. That's just how Dimitri talks. He's not going to say 'hey, sexy' like Sylvain - you know that, right? You're not so used to Sylvain that you've forgotten Dimitri uses much more formal language and isn't going to be shamelessly direct no matter if he's thinking the same kinds of things or not, right?

You are beautiful. And handsome, and sexy, and gorgeous, and a bunch of other words that mean 'physically attractive'. Only some of those are ones Dimitri is likely to use, though. You're reading way too much into this because you're working yourself up worrying. Take some deep breaths, okay? I think maybe you're as nervous as he is, and this is just your weird way of showing it.

I kind of doubt that he said it was your fault you kept your distance from him. Both because I really doubt he'd place the blame on you, and because I know he blames himself. So I feel like what he actually said is coming through a filter of bias from you, and I can't quite trust your report to be accurate here. So I'm not going to comment on that. Instead...you know telling Dimitri something will be fine doesn't mean he can just instantly relax, right? Anxiety isn't always easy to stamp out. I didn't really expect any of you to treat me badly when I told you I was Almyran, but even knowing that, I was a mess when the time came. Sylvain is still anxious during blizzards even though Miklan's long dead and he knows it, and we can't just make that go away with words.

Obviously, that doesn't mean we can't make those things better, or work through them despite the anxiety. I'm just saying that you shouldn't think "well, I told him it was fine so that should fix it". It's rarely that simple. You may need to work with him, reassure him, show him it's fine as well as tell him to help him through it...or maybe he just needs time to work through it himself. Or both. But he may still be going through it, with verbal reassurance only going so far.

I will say, if he was just saying to go slow and then invited himself back to your room, he probably meant it innocently even if it wound up accidentally suggestive. But that doesn't mean you can't...gently encourage things in a certain direction. Try not to push him too hard - I know you're pretty aggressive about things normally, but you may need to try for a lighter hand if he's already uncertain and awkward. That's going to mean patience, which I know isn't your strongest suit, but I also know that you'd do just about anything for Dimitri. So consider how to make him feel comfortable and self-assured enough that he'd be willing to push the boundaries of how far and how fast he thinks he should be taking things with you. If he's feeling confident, and you're encouraging him, and he's all wrapped up in how attractive you are...he'll be a lot more willing to experiment with what is and isn't okay to try.

[bestswordmaster]

why would I look for excuses to
never mind.
you can't say everyone gets nervous and then say I'm being weird.
I know just saying things doesn't work.
I'm not you.
I don't know how to say things in the first place.
I thought I could show him with
this
but if he won't let me then idk how else to do it.
maybe the decade of not standing too close to him is getting to me too.
I don't know how to do any of that and you know it.
I have been patient.
I lost the last of my patience just now.
anyway I have to go.
we're back at the house.