WEEK THREE MINGLE

[potatomance]

ᯓ⭐ WEEK THREE MINGLE

Happy third week, lovebirds! Here's to hoping you're riding high on the wave of success of one whole pair being correct! Surely you must have an idea by now how to win this thing!

Probably?

The good news is that you're not going to have to find yourselves in any weird clothes this time around, except maybe that just leads to a strange sense of foreboding for a future scenario...? Who knows. You can't quite brace yourself for it this time.

But don't worry, it's not like there's nothing happening. On the contrary!

For the entirety of this week, you'll find yourself feeling... clingy. It's going to start feeling very strange if you're not leaning on someone, holding their hand, cuddling with them, sitting in their lap, stealing a kiss, or engaging in some other form of affectionate physical contact. And if it's someone you're already feeling fond of OR someone you actually can't stand, guess what?

That feeling is doubled!

You may realize this is an unusual feeling, but so what? Trying to ignore it is only going to make it feel stronger and do you really want to make yourselves feel miserable?

Shut up, masochists.

FAQ ⭐ Truth Booth Voting ⭐ Mysterious Thing ⭐ Sex Dungeon ⭐ Perfect Match Voting

Comments

[bewrightback]

Right. There's all of that, and... while it normally wouldn't be an excuse for crime in my eyes, it helps that his intentions were rooted in benevolence rather than malice.

[He meets her look with a confident smile.]

In any case, thank you Lin. I appreciate your opinion on the matter.

[alcoheal]

Yeah, that'd be preferable. [That's an understatement.] See how he likes being a pincushion.

Maybe it's dumb - keep your mouth shut when a girl's complaining, or she'll kick you off - but I feel like I've got something to prove now.

[She's going to cut off any preemptive responses of "Yes, it's dumb." It both is and isn't like dealing with her professor friend sometimes; they do about as well with her fishing.]

[alcoheal]

It could be; what if you wanted to snag yourself a nice stay in the palace?

[Manuela tucks her face into Ori's neck, where she'll feel the smile. It's nice; it makes her feel like a young girl again in some ways just to sit here and rock back and forth in the hug. It really has been such a long time.]

... Somebody I can do that back and forth with? Boy, that'd be nice. Just somebody who treated me equally, so we both got the same things in return. [Of course, she likes admiration; she just doesn't need idolization. People who expect the diva from the stage to be everything about her are sorely disappointed in the end, anyway.]

[ozzz]

[Because she commanded him to keep his mouth shut, he wants to quiet even less.]

What's dumb about that? You were attacked, then grew frustrated when you lost. It's reasonable to challenge him in order to prove that you're stronger.

[Only the stars know how many times Oz has skewered Mithra to a state of near death. That hasn't stopped Mithra from going after him year after year. In fact, each loss has stoked the fire into the raging bonfire it is now.]

[aureated]

Certainly. I'd never forgive myself if I missed such an excellent opportunity to promote learning between both of our campuses.

[IT'S... STUDENT ENRICHMENT.]

Besides, I enjoy your company and would not be interested in losing that so soon.

[alcoheal]

[Poor guy. She has a lifetime of rejections built up to relate to this kind of experience, and Manuela knows that it never feels any gentler or easier. She pats his calf, which seems like a relatively safe and unbruised place.]

Yeah... and we all blew a lot of sunshine up for you both, didn't we? [By the end of their discussion, many of them had seemed so certain and confident. It had been much easier once the group delusion...no, once the group hope really started gaining steam.] For what it's worth, you two really seemed to be getting along.

[alcoheal]

[No, the cleavage is very much there and ready to jumpscare anyone who isn't suspecting it. Why you looking, Lin?

If only they'd stopped to really think about the implications of pairing Lucifer with someone too much like him before he and Maruki decided to pair off... in a few days, Manuela will think back on this conversation and give herself a mental kick for it.]

He's under a lot of stress, too... never a dull day for him, is the sense I got! [All that singing. All those theatrics. He's been so nervous here, Manuela feels like she hasn't much seen the side of him he revealed by that memory.] Who could keep up with those theatrics?

[alcoheal]

[ENRICHMENT... The truth is, they could probably use it. It would do some of the students at the Officers Academy good to see alternatives. It might even make some of them a little more understanding of people less like themselves.]

Well, that sounds like a treat. I've about had it up to here with this place, and I'm ready to leave it all behind me, but your company isn't part of that.

[alcoheal]

[Ah...that's a little different. The girl did step on Lin's toes. She can't completely blame her for her honesty, but Manuela has to wonder just how much was already starting to fall apart by the time it happened.]

No? It's always been a little confusing to me - having kids, that is. If I want them, the thought process that goes into having them...that kind of thing.

[That choice seemed easily available to Lin, too...which isn't something she could say for all married women where she comes from. It's a privilege.]

Do you mind sharing why?

[helmswoman]

[ That louder reaction does cause Yukong's brows to shoot up in surprise for a moment, but then Manuela lowers her volume soon after that.

She pauses for a moment, reaching one hand up to rub at the back of her neck. ]

I don't know... It would be a bit nerve-wracking, to sing for a professional like you. It's also been a long time since I even tried, I'm probably rusty.

[helmswoman]

[ Yes, Yukong can still hear the quotation marks loud and clear. ]

Naturally, this wasn't an excuse you could simply accept. Were you Chief of Police at the time?

[helmswoman]

[ Perhaps if they weren't afflicted by clinginess disease, Yukong would have protested her tail being cuddled. As things stand, though, she doesn't see the harm in it, and it seems like Manuela needs something to cheer her up today.

So eventually they do both fall asleep for a much-needed midday nap, and Manuela earns the honor of getting up close and personal with that fluffy tail. ]

[helmswoman]

Two lawyers working for you? That does make you sound quite accomplished.

[ Not that Yukong knows much of anything about how that all works where Phoenix is from, but it does at least mean that all the work doesn't fall to him. ]

Our children do always want the best for us, don't they? Either way, I'm sure she'll be curious to hear about everything you went through here.

[ziplash]

No. Our mother was.

[ She sighs, expression growing bitter. ]

And she tore up my arrest report — buried it all.

[ziplash]

...My mother was chief of police, and she was never around.

[ She admits it bluntly, but she's unable to keep every bit of resent out of her tone. It's... still something that bothers her, clearly. ]

I know what it takes to have this job. I'm not gonna have kids just to have them feel towards me the way I do about my mother already.

[ If she had kids, she thinks her work would get in the way a lot, which would just lead to them feeling neglected and insufficient, same as she had. If she can help it, she won't inflict that on someone else. ]

Do you imagine yourself having some? One day?

[helmswoman]

She did? Do you know why?

[ziplash]

She said she "couldn't have a daughter in jail."

[ EYE ROLL ]

My sister was sent away to live with our grandparents, then our mom retired a year later — because she felt guilty, I assume. Then I became chief.

[helmswoman]

But you and your sister still have a relationship, it seems.

[ Yukong tilts her head, curious. She recalls Lin slipping and mentioning her concern for her sister before. ]

[bewrightback]

Yeah, but I don't blame you. It was a hopeful possibility for us all to rally around.

[Hopes that were quickly crushed by the potato's bubbles. At least this time it doesn't come with the sting of betrayal by his partner, but it's still a very depressing scenario.]

We really were getting along... and I hope that we still do! ...Just, probably not in that way. That's the messed up thing about this game. We're supposed to find our match, but we can't get too attached in case it turns out to be wrong, so we can be open for whoever our 'real' perfect match is...

[(I still feel bad for Lucifer and Zhongli.))]

[bewrightback]

That's right! I guess I have come a long way. And they're great, too. Almost like extra kids of mine.

[(One of them actually being blood-related to my daughter aside...)]

Actually, I got a message from her just before she came here. It sounded like she's actually watching the show... [(Along with practically everyone I know.)] So I hope I haven't made too much of a fool of myself!

[alcoheal]

That must have been hard. Surely she just wanted the best for you, but it wouldn't feel that way to a kid. [And she's seen enough of those generational scars to know how deeply they can run and how much they can sting. It's one of the main reasons that Lin's follow-up question makes Manuela pause for such a considerable amount of time.]

... I'm not sure. Whether I want to or not, I'm running out of time. I'd rather not see it as the reason to chase after a marriage, though...I do enough of that on my own already. [She laughs a little bit, able to treat the self-deprecation as a joke for once.] ...I doubt I'll be at Garreg Mach forever, but I might teach somewhere else down the line. Somewhere that really needs it more.

[ziplash]

I didn't talk to her for thirty years, after that.

[ She admits this more quietly than she's spoken since this conversation, something like regret and frustration weighing down on her brow. ]

We... made up, recently. Sort of. Right before all this, actually.

[helmswoman]

Oh, dear. I get the feeling that my daughter might end up watching as well.

[ The general would see to that, she suspects. She'll have to have a long talk with him after all this. ]

Hopefully you haven't had to share any secrets that will be too incriminating for her to hear...

[helmswoman]

[ Thirty years? That is a long time, particularly for a short-life species. Yukong perhaps shouldn't be surprised that Lin would be so stubborn, but...

She is glad to hear that they eventually reconnected. ]

I'm glad to hear that. I know there are some things that you can never forgive a person for, but... I'm relieved to know that this wasn't one of them, and that you found your way back to each other. Was there something that triggered it?

[bewrightback]

Trust me, I have plenty of reasons of my own to not say anything incriminating on this show! Not that I exactly have anything to confess to anyway.

[Give or take one forged bit of evidence-]

Anyway, here's hoping they mostly catch our best parts!

[(And that I have best parts to begin with!))]