2nd equation (night)= video/teneka

[aseparateworld]

[Unlike the rapid and stilted way he talks during the day, the thoughts broadcast by N's PORTAL are measured and clear (if at times accompanied by seemingly random images of his Pokémon friends). This is a way he's more comfortable communicating.]

Hello, my name is N Harmonia. I have some questions. [Akito had given him some good ideas for what

Comments

[video/teneka]

[aseparateworld]

No, they are all separate, though the first two are a little related.

[aseparateworld]

Oh? [A look of polite incomprehension from N.]

As I had assembled a few, I thought it would be best to ask them at the same time.

video/teneka;

[skyglide]

[Akito is excited to see that N did what he suggested, and feels a small burst of pride at the fact that he is considered a friend. He sees no reason to keep the feeling to himself, and so sends the impression of it over to N.]

If you need any help forming the club, I could help you organize it.

video/teneka;

[aseparateworld]

[N responds to the feeling with a burst of warm and unrestrained affection as he recognizes Akito's presence.]

Thank you, Akito. I'd appreciate that very much. I've never organized a club before. You will be a part of it as well, I hope.

video/teneka;

[skyglide]

[The feeling surprises him, as he isn't used to feeling things from an outside source, but he's quick to return the affection.]

It doesn't seem very different from organizing a team, and I've done that before! So it shouldn't be too difficult... Once you know how many people and Pokémon will be there we can figure out a place to meet!

And I'd like to join, if it's okay with everyone else.

video/teneka;

[aseparateworld]

It sounds similar. I may have lead a team, but I did not form it. If you have experience in these things, I'm sure it will be simple.

Of course, Akito. I wouldn't want to have a club without you. I'm not sure if any others will want to join, but I hope so. [He's still not exactly sure about the other trainers. He's fond of them, but he doesn't know if he fits in with them.]

teneka;

[1ntagli0]

[Oh no, green-haired boy, he is not going to let you succumb to the fallacy of love.]

Romance is a tool. A myth propagated to corral men and women into behaving in the prescribed manners.

teneka;

[aseparateworld]

I thought it was odd myself, to divide love into types.

[It had reminded him of the way people divide and categorize Pokémon, which he doesn't like at all. The thought that it might be a tool does concern him. Something had been told to him, to ensure that he acted a certain way. So N takes Zinc's warning quite seriously.]

I will have to be careful not to be mislead, if what you say is true. I will not make a decision until I have studied all factors. What are these prescribed manners you speak of?

teneka;

[1ntagli0]

Our societies favor heterosexual monogamy. The point is to usher us into pairs of men and women. Romance is the tool used to lure women along in this, because without the delusion of love, the reality of having no choice but to become the partner of a man, or else be ostracized, would be unpalatable to some.

[Not that Zinc cares. His only interest in these subjects is that the restrictions of heteronormative monogamy deprived him of potential sexual partners... He did not like constraints and he did not like getting his way. If that made him a very strange proponent of feminism... so be it.]

teneka;

[aseparateworld]

[Zinc talks about a lot of concepts N doesn't understand, and uses unfamiliar terms like "heterosexual monogamy", but N tries to follow along as best he can.]

Why only men with women? That makes no sense to me. Akito told me that romance is when someone is the most important person to you.

Who would say such things to a woman? That cannot be true. I don't see how men and women are different, except for the purposes of reproduction.

video/teneka;

[mitzigaynor]

Romantic love, you say?

[Her full attention, you have it, darling!]

A romance is a kind of a magic, a world you enter just the two of you, where every word you say to one another is the most charming thing you've ever heard, where every gesture is the most touching. It's the best feeling in the world, a romance, even when it's dreadful, it's like your the star of your very own movie. You put your heart out there, and you offer to raise your sweetie-pie up your shoulders, for as long as they need you to, and it's all in the name of love.

video/teneka;

[aseparateworld]

[This sounds very different from what he was told, just previously, and that had been different from what he'd been told by Akito. Now he's a bit confused, but he should have expected there would be different opinions. Beliefs differed, but they were not necessarily wrong or right. He had learned that from Touya. He would try to figure out what he believed. He likes what Kitten has said, however, and he smiles.]

It sounds so beautiful, when you say it like that. A special bond between two people that creates an entirely new world. An emotion so strong, it changes everything it touches, and makes those who feel it stronger. I love that idea. I have never experienced a romance. You have?

video/teneka;

[mitzigaynor]

[Kitten sighs dramatically, looking off wistfully.]

Oh, I have. It's all so beautiful, while it lasts. You have all these thoughts and plans for the future, because you never want to leave them, and you imagine they'll never leave you.

[And then they break your heart and leave you to face the IRA goons all on your lonesome. What is it about nancy boys that they can't be bothered to shoot them, really!]

video/teneka;

[aseparateworld]

I'm glad you could experience that, something so wonderful and transformative. To make another world is a powerful thing. But it ends? You said that it can be dreadful, too.

I have loved, very dearly. What is it that sets romance apart from other loves?

[video/teneka]

[theophorous]

Love... [Soubi's mouth curls into a smile. It isn't exactly a happy one; the truth of the emotion behind it is elusive, like the colors on a blackbird's wings. The TENEKA doesn't leak any of his secrets; his mind is strapped in too tightly for that.] Love is to be controlled.

video/teneka;

[aseparateworld]

[This is a new opinion, and it interests him.]

Is the value of being controlled negative or positive? The love I feel, though not this romantic kind I have so recently learned the name of, binds me to those I care for.

[N has no idea of how to keep a secret. He expresses a portion of his feeling through TENEKA, the unconditional, innocent love he feels for his friends.]

video/teneka;

[theophorous]

Both. It depends on the situation. One is controlled by the words and actions of those one loves, for better or for worse.

[Cute. With emotions like that, N makes Soubi think of Ritsuka. It also makes him think that he is lucky to have not been hurt.]

video/teneka;

[aseparateworld]

Yes, that I can see. My own actions are guided always by my love for my friends, and they act also for my sake.

How is romantic love different? What I cannot understand is why love is divided into different types and given different names.

[N may have been hurt, but never by his friends. His feelings for them are untainted, and they shine through brightly in his thoughts.]