#thank you i like making these tragic beautiful messes fluffy idk why

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

Alice Cooper/FP Jones II: "You look good."

“You look good.”

“I still think this is a terrible idea.” Alice smoothed a flyaway strand of hair back, straightening the earring below it as she stared herself down in the hall mirror.

“Well, we can’t exactly back out now,” FP pointed out. “You’re all dressed. And you’re the star of the show.”

“Oh, I am not. I’m just giving a speech. Because I was temporarily insane when they asked me.”

“Come on, Al.” He helped her into her coat and then pulled her back against his chest, holding on. “It’ll be fun. I’ve never taken you to Homecoming before.“

She tipped her head up to look at him. “Better late than never?”

“Absolutely. You’ll talk, we’ll dance…then if you’re miserable, I’ll punch somebody. That should create enough of a distraction to get you out.”

“You’re such a romantic.”

“And you’re beautiful.” FP kissed her cheek. “Now let’s go.” 

send me a ship + a sentence and i’ll write the next five

[everything-laito]

HDB vs MB Laito + my opinions

There’s been a lot of opinions about Laito’s abrupt shift in his character between HDB and MB. I’m gonna break it down first, and then talk about it. Whole essay under the cut!

To begin with, let’s start with the contrasts between HDB and MB in general. This is a short list, there’s definitely more.

Laito’s route in Haunted Dark Bridal 

Darker, isolating, focusing on the mysteries around Laito and le Sakamakis as a whole

Hints pretty heavily at Laito’s masochism

Voice drops and manic laughs and sadism galore

Stomach knotting content

Laito’s route in MB

Not as an isolating feeling; not as dark compared to HDB; different focus on Yui’s placement in the Sakamakis and now the Mukamis, along with some Karlheinz development. Focuses on interactions with the Mukamis as well in the plot scenarios

Laito? A masochist? Who is she???? Where’d she go??? She not here

Stomach knotting but more of “oh god what the fuck why” @ the toothbrush scene 

Focuses on Laito’s perverseness; not as sadistic as he was, but still uses objects for,,, unconventional things

What they kept with both: 

Laito’s poetic and cryptid phrases with double meanings

Laito’s lust vs love motifs; more prominent in MB 

In Laito’s route in More Blood there isn’t an instance where you go into the dungeon (except in his brute route I think?)… Which is… interesting… Because he took you there a good handful of times in Haunted Dark Bridal. I found the fact that in HDB you RARELY saw any other of the brothers. I don’t even think you saw Shuu in that route aside from the prologue. That whole route was isolating, like I said, and that just added to the whole twisted experience. More Blood wasn’t as isolating; you saw Kou or mentioned Kou in the plot oriented scenarios. 

I know More Blood focuses on the Mukamis too, whether you’re in a Sakamaki route or not. It also assumes a scenario where Yui didn’t choose any of the vampires like she did in HDB. She was just there, vibing. I did like how we got some Laito interactions with other characters, because that was barely a thing in HDB. 

More Blood was a lot more traditionally fanservicey, in my opinion, compared to HDB. It was oddly calmer too, with rare Laito mood switches, except in the maniac portion where Laito became more thirsty for Yui’s blood. He was in a writhing, screaming mess. What I do like about More Blood is his development towards the end. But the first half of that game was… oddly fluffy, for Laito’s HDB brand he created.

We did see another side of Laito in MB; a side we’ve never seen. He was in a begging, craved state (even more so in his HDB flashbacks; dear god Hirarin can scream and cry). He was very poised and calculating in HDB. He was a predator, had walls that Yui couldn’t even break; cuz Laito broke Yui before any of that happened. In More Blood, he was desperate, and ended up not wanting to drink Yui’s blood because it just made it worse for him. He was in an utter state of confusion, which made him more susceptible to Reiji’s words and his paranoia of Kou stealing Yui. 

As much as I don’t like Reiji as much (just a personal preference; don’t hurt me), I do like Reiji and Laito interactions, considering they contrast each other quite a bit (and it can be really funny and or constructive!). But Reiji was kinda done with Laito’s shit by the end and Yui ended up killing herself over it as a self sacrifice to Laito. Which was definitely different than her trying to kill herself in Haunted Dark Bridal. In HDB it was an act of escape, she hated Laito’s actions so much that she felt like that was her only choice (god that scene in HDB made my stomach shrink and invert). In More Blood, she had more of a positive (?) attachment to Laito compared to the HDB experience. 

In contrast to HDB, MB had Laito’s walls broken down by Yui. Karlheinz was like “haha nope you’re not dying wtf” and we got a beautiful, tragic scene of Laito being confused by his own tears over Yui’s death; and her unlocking his heart. Something that was never possible for HDB Laito, since he broke Yui and had her right where he wanted. He could mold her to his every desire. (Yes, she’s a strong character, but her being broken by Laito doesn’t mean she’s weak. She’s a human, and is capable of neuroplasticity; a neurological concept that means the brain can be molded negatively and positively no matter whatever the person’s previous circumstances are). 

More Blood Laito is kind of an antithesis to HDB Laito. We actually got a consensual sex scene at the end of ecstasy, which makes me cry every time. It was a really poetic scene; Laito guiding Yui through the process but Yui shows him the fuzzy wuzzies. (thanks to @/akuichansera for the translations as usual!)

Laito: So, love… …seems to be a good feeling of thing after all… …

I think… …you were asking to be loved.

Yui: … …Yeah… …it’s good. But, still.

Laito: Fufu… …I thought that Bitch-chan was saying so… ..It’s something you only know… …

But, I’m relieved… …to do things like this… …Nn… …

――Yui, only you.

As mentioned in my Hilde analysis, I was saying how he hated and rejected love, but grew to “like” it because he forced himself to just intake the physical pleasure. Which I do think is true to his HDB character as well. And in this quote in Ecstasy 10, it shows that he still likes pleasure (which he has to work on more of the emotional side, but hey, thats gradual development!) but has a positive correlation with it; which is that scene.

As for endings, his vampire ending was meh in my opinion as for Laito endings. It was cute, him trying out cute couple things, but it was too cheesy for my taste LOL, idk it was a weak ending too but that might just be me.

I know people are mad or disappointed by Laito’s fluffier character in MB. And I’m not exactly mad, because the events in MB make Laito less calculating and more erratic and emotional (because he’s craved with thirst). Which I like seeing that new side of him. Sure I like the dark sadism stuff in HDB and I will miss HDB Laito, but I do love seeing this man develop! One thing I hate more than writing abruptly changing for the audience cuz of business related things, is just having a stoic character. I still think he’s Dialover’s most complex character, even if they made him and the other boys less dark. 

Thanks for reading as always! Feel free to add on if you’d like! -Corn