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

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[alcoheal]

[Well, she's not blind, so she can see where this is going. She's not about to hypocritically discourage overindulgence. They can go overboard responsibly.]

You don't drink as much as you used to, right? [Gently.] We could turn this into one of your games.

[hearthwarming]

Ahaha... nope!

[ She's going to reap when she remembers she can't cast Lesser Restoration on herself. But yes, please take the glass, so she may pour herself another. Presuming this is happening at least a few shots in with the other threads, well... ]

We could, couldn't we...? I do have a secret I'd like to share first, though!

[ Ori shall tRY TO STAND UP!! And then bumps her horns on the roof of the blanket fort so she sits back down. No one saw that, right— ]

My secret is... I've been wondering this whole time why none of the men are tripping over themselves to woo you, Manuela! It's unbelievable!

[alcoheal]

[girl what

Manuela holds her glass out of the way of the commotion. There will be no spills in here tonight...yet. Give them a few hours. Her arm goes out to catch Ori on her way down, so her fall from the top of the blanket fort isn't too painful or humiliating.

Ori's declaration makes her black, color, and then laugh softly - in that order.]

You're right, of course, but what's brought this on? [And why is she drunkenly declaring it a secret?]

[hearthwarming]

Manuela, did you know...

[ she is staring. drunkenly. but meaningfully! into her eyes. ]

That you are soooooo... beautiful! That's why!

[alcoheal]

[Oh, dear.

She has, of course, been called beautiful hundreds of times. She is beautiful, and it isn't vain to know that her looks haven't called it quits on her yet. But the genuine compliment from Ori, who is so earnestly drunk, still makes her smile.]

And so are you. [She reaches out to cup both of Ori's very warm cheeks between her hands.] You are a spot of light in this castle. There's a reason people are so drawn to you.

[hearthwarming]

[ Manuela who, again, is soooooo... beautiful is holding her face. ]

Oh. Ohhh... Spirits.

[ There's little else she can do, then, but set her own glass down so she can reciprocate the gesture, framing Manuela's face between her own very warm hands. ]

All I am is... kind! I know that's not for everyone, but... [ A moment of levity, even despite her current state. ] I've seen enough cruelty to know I don't ever want to put more of it out in the world...

[ ...unless it's deserved. ]

But you, Manuela, you're so well-spoken and graceful... I wish I could be more like you...

[ As she tips over just a little bit, to press her forehead to the other woman's. Photo taken moments before disaster, surely. ]

[alcoheal]

[MOMENTS before disaster. Ori doesn't seem wasted enough to lose either consciousness or her lunch just yet, so Manuela isn't worried about the gal pal proximity. She laughs self-deprecatingly and pats Ori's cheeks.]

Oh, honey, you don't want to be anything like me. I'm a total disgrace. [She can't even get a handle on her love life in a competition designed to do exactly that.]

All right... let me tell you something. Do you know that one of our students enrolled in Garreg Mach because I was there? We knew each other from the opera. When she told me that, I was floored. I mean, what a chance to get my act together and prove she was right! But I'm just as much a mess as ever.

[Her thumbs give Ori's cheeks a gentle little stroke. She sees some of Dorothea in her, actually...or more like the woman Dorothea could be in a few years if the world had been a kinder place.]

She doesn't even know this, but she's the one who inspired me. When I first heard her sing, I realized how much I wanted her to succeed. So I made it my goal to get her as close to the top as possible before I retired. [That's...probably what she'd like to see for Ori, too - for her to come out of this game on top of it.]

[hearthwarming]

[ She doesn't like the sound of that laugh at all... It sounds too much like her own, the sort that she gives when she doesn't know how to respond to a compliment. For all that she's been called someone who doesn't have any self-esteem, or someone who's too hard on herself, she hadn't thought Manuela to be similar. But they all have their reasons. ]

The student that I saw in your memory? She was asking about your time at the opera...

[ And now, Manuela colors in the empty spots of that memory for Ori, in such a way that the tiefling can see the portrait of Manueal more fully... and in a way that's a bit sobering, though the moment of earnest clarity doesn't mean she'll be taking her hands off of the other woman's cheeks. ]

You know... I think it's really kind and strong of you, to support her. It would have been easy to be jealous, or to refuse to even help her in any way, so she would have to work as hard as you had to achieve what you did... But you wanted her to succeed. There's nothing disgraceful about that.

[alcoheal]

Hm, no, based on what you said, I think that must have been Flayn. She was a small girl, right? She's been a little cooped up in her life, so she's never seen the opera. The little sister of a colleague of mine. I'm so glad she was saved, even if I got stabbed by that bastard Death Knight trying to find her.

[Well she's just going to drop that and keep talking. She's chatty, but even a little indulgence sometimes puts her to the point of blabbering. Anyway.] Heh... her brother might have made a better fit for this crowd; I wonder why he isn't here instead? [This round if Seteth were here in her stead... he would have lost his patience a long time ago, wouldn't he? Manuela can't imagine he would make any attempt to find love or entertain these shenanigans.]

I just did what was right to help Dorothea succeed like she deserved. That she still looks up to me, when I'm a drunk hopeless mess... [From how plaintive and self-doubting her normally confident, sultry voice is, she doesn't understand it all.]

[hearthwarming]

Because she can see the good in you, Manuela, even if you've long forgotten it for yourself... When we feel like we're at our lowest, there's no shame in letting others remind us that we're more than what we think... I'm sure Dorothea wants you to know that you still shine, even if it's not quite as brightly as before. I can see it too, you know, even if I haven't known you very long.

[ But also— no, we are not going to just drop that Miss Ma'am!! ]

And, um, pardon me, but— you were stabbed by some Death Knight?!

[alcoheal]

[It should be reassuring to be reminded that Dorothea sees past her vices as just that - just vices. Things that everyone has that don't always tarnish the quality of the character underneath them. And yet... has she really given many people here the chance to see that? Maybe they think differently.]

H-hey now... just because I've failed at womanhood doesn't mean I've hit rock bottom yet! ...Oh, Goddess, do I really come off that way?! Am I at my lowest? You're so nice, Ori, but you don't have to mince words with me!

[Hold on, the stabbing discussion will have to wait for this much more dramatic life crisis to be resolved. She was about to pull her forehead away to continue lamenting this, but instead keeps it pressed to Ori's as she begs her opinion.]

[hearthwarming]

[ This time, she is drawing her hands away from Manuela's face, if only so that she can wave them wildly, dismissively. ]

No, no, I— I didn't mean it like that. I meant it very... generally. I only know because I've been there, too. I don't think you're at your lowest, Manuela, but I wonder if you've been unhappy here...

And besides, there's absolutely no way you've failed at womanhood— what... What does that mean, anyway?

[alcoheal]

[Has she been unhappy here? Did she come into this competition already feeling like she was bound to lose it; is that why people keep thinking she isn't trying? Her hands leave Ori's cheeks to reach for the tiefling woman's flailing arms and clasp them instead.]

Haven't I failed? You'd think I couldn't screw it up the way I have with only thirteen other people to choose from. [Something strange about that number. Anyway.]

Meeting some of you has been a delight, don't doubt that. If you think you wanna look up to me, who am I to refuse? I'll try to be that person.

[hearthwarming]

Oh, Manuela...

[ She's going to go ahead and simply... Pull Manuela into an embrace, a hand coming up to the other woman's head to stroke her hair. ]

You remind me so much of Prince Kaulinor when you say things like that... He'd call himself a "fuckup," but his heart's always in the right place. I don't think you've failed at all. Honestly, when it comes to being on a show about romance... There's not very much of it going around, is there?

[alcoheal]

[It's very strange to be on the receiving end of this kind of affection. Thinking about the kinds of people surrounding her because of her job, it's only natural. Manuela is the one who has bedside manor, who is encouraging and nurturing...when she isn't dishing out tough love. Her colleagues aren't overly emotional and her students are her students, even if they are adults who have occasionally had to fish her out of a ditch hungover.

She laughs, a little surprised at how nice it is to be held, and after a moment, moves to return the embrace.]

You've certainly surrounded yourself with princes, haven't you?

[You would think she could put two and two together, but the thing about people in the Fire Emblem universe is that they are clinically incapable of recognizing alternate identities. It's a disease.]

It really doesn't feel like it. Maybe I should have hustled more, but... [But maybe she'd thought it would have been different. Easier.]

[hearthwarming]

[ A wry laugh. ]

You make it sound like I do that on purpose...

[ But more importantly, her arms tighten around the other woman's and, unbidden, she nuzzles into the softness of Manuela's hair, just ever so slightly. ]

You're a caretaker, too, are you not? There's nothing wrong... with wanting to be the one who's taken care of, now and then. Nobody should blame you or shame you for wanting that here.

[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.]