#that's my DL if someone is wondering

[orokay]

So idk if I can really articulate the way I'm feeling rn to translate it perfectly, but I want you guys to know how much I truly appreciate everyone who's followed me over the years, who has interacted with me in any way no matter how small, and anyone who has shown up recently. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. It's probably cheesy to say but everyone here has made my life so much brighter and I feel so unbelievably blessed to have been invited into your lives in some way, even if it's just as someone who sometimes shows up on your dash.

I decided to scroll through my tag on here and the way people have supported me over the years though everything really, deeply touched my heart this evening. The people who have drawn fanart for me, the people who have commissioned me, the people who have tagged me in things (I cringe every time bc I feel soooo bad for not seeing them until I look in my tag once in a blue moon, but know I appreciate you trying to include me), the people who tag me when asked who their art inspirations or favorite blogs are (!!!!!!!!!??????), the people who post their art saying that my art inspired them in some way, people who express their excitement when they realize I've followed them (this will never stop being wild to me, what an incredible thing!!!! I'm just me!) everyone. It's absolutely mind boggling to me and I can't stress enough how much it means.

I've had such an incredible time on this site so far and met some of my closest friends here and just.. wow. Thank you so much to all of you, from the very bottom of my heart. I cannot thank you enough for all of your support!! Every little bit of interaction is a blessing to me and I've run out of ways to express that so I'll wrap this up here but yeah!! I hope you all have a lovely evening or whatever time of day it is in your time zone. Know that you've impacted me in a way I can't express and try to give yourselves a little grace, you'll never know how much you've improved the lives of the people around you by just spending a little time in their space ♥

[gunthermunch]

i cant edit replies for some reason so i just wanted to add that you CAN post a story about lets say, gunther meeting lilith, max and lucas childhood best friends to lovers, wg and trash boy jeb, idk even a story in which we find out what happened to mila's husband. that's all fine and great and I'd love to read it. what makes me, anxious? is when these stories go a similar route or the characaters develop the way they did in Munch. they're premades we are supposed to come up with stuff for them ! the thing breaks, however, when it goes.. that other route.

[deus-ex-mona]

up next on chapter 36 of idol sengen… _(:3 」∠)_

[stellocchia]

I've seen someone wondering how LimitedLife!Martyn would react to his counterpart in this season, and I'm now wondering how all the Life Series Winners would.

I reckon that ll!Scott would be the most unsurprised. "Look at that, I'm in a group of three again with one of them being a redhead who went on yellow early on and I'm doing pretty well". I wonder if he would hope that sl!Scott will defy the Watchers too, if he thinks that it was worth it despite the price victory comes with.

I think he would be proud regardless.

Much like dl!Pearl would be. She'd look at herself and think "I'm not alone this time. I'm not hated or feared. I'm in a big alliance, I live with so many people, and the whole server came to a party at my house. That's just wonderful!". I'm wondering if she'd be happy that her and Scott aren't on bad terms this time around. I wonder if she'd trust that tentative peace...

Maybe a bit of hope would be there.

Would it be for 3l!Grian too? Would he hope this new version of him will befriend his version of Scar? Would he beg to someone who can't hear him? "He'll die on his own other me, we both know it! Just go to him, you seem to be desperate for friendship anyway. You'd be loyal to each other. You can be a great team. I'm sure Cleo and Etho won't mind one more".

I think he would be a little disappointed by how little mayhem other him has been causing in favor of just being a wet cat, though.

Just like liml!Martyn, let's be honest here. He would take one look at himself and be like: "Seriously? Jimmy? I won you the season right before this one, you could have gotten allied with anyone and you chose Jimmy? Yeah... yeah, I'm not surprised you're red first". I wonder if he'd take it as a sign that the watchers discarded him, that he's no longer their champion, he's no longer the favorite.

I wonder if he'd have some sympathy for this new him, abandoned to his own devices with nothing but a single canary wing to his name.

[yuikomorii]

// I was looking through my DF book, and even though I know this isn't the real Ayato, I've never seen a heroine so happy to receive sex, lol.

On a serious note, this is still the saddest ending in DF for Yui. Imagine being impregnated by someone who literally killed the love of your life and shapeshifted into him to lure you.

If DL bad endings had after-stories like other otome games, I would be very curious about this one. I'm genuinely wondering how Yui would react after discovering that he was not actually Ayato——

[indiaalphawhiskey]

I kept wondering what it was about this scene that was so incredibly endearing to me. On the surface, it seems like it's 'just' another (lovely) moment where we get to see Colin openly obsessed with Penelope. But it was only after someone had pointed out that this is the first time they're seeing each other after their first time that it clicked: they flipped the virginity trope, further illustrating that she fell first but he, indeed, fell so much fucking harder.

Usually, it's the character that has lost their virginity that's a complete and utter mess after their first time. The inexperienced one is depicted as the person who immediately confuses sex for love, obsessively waiting by the phone (post, I suppose, in this case?) and painstakingly breaking down each frame of the event with friends, wondering What It All Means (yes, I know, they're engaged at this point so she doesn't have to do that, but you get my point).

Instead, Penelope is entirely secure (if distracted, thanks a lot Eloise), while Colin "Brothel Man" Bridgerton is a fucking basketcase (affectionate). I mean, he looks like he wants to wear her skin and show her off in equal measure from the very moment she enters the room. Realizing, perhaps, that the former is not an option in the midst of polite society, he dedicates the night to keeping her well within reach like a man possessed - reduced entirely to A Thing That Loves Penelope (to slightly misquote Sackville-West).

He's staring her down so hard, paying so much attention to every minute movement that, when she doesn't seem to return his (really rather reasonable) visible obsession (again, thanks so much Eloise), the fear begins to form. He's the one waiting by the proverbial phone, spiraling, suddenly nervous that he's been a completely green imbecile who's somehow managed to confuse sex for love and --

Oh, but, wait a minute. Penelope... hasn't actually said she loves him back, has she? Well, fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck. He might just have to go die now.

Anyway, TL;DL: Penelope totally popped Colin's 'making love' cherry and he's just a girl that's completely lost his mind and good god do I love a thoroughly depicted power dynamic shift.

[muzyoshi]

Miles Edgeworth's Secret

This post is purely for documentation purposes, and also to inform anyone who may not be aware. This post will contain SPOILERS for the end of Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations, so proceed with caution.

During Case 5, Bridge to the Turnabout, while playing as Edgeworth, you are presented the opportunity to peer into Iris' heart. Specifically in regards to a secret she is withholding from Phoenix, someone she was romantically involved with. During which, if the player fails to present the correct evidence specifically for the second Psyche-Lock, an interesting conversation concerning the nature of secrets occurs.

I have seen talk of this dialogue, but no footage or screenshots, so I took the liberty of getting them myself. The full conversation and my further thoughts will be found under the cut.

You MUST present incorrect evidence during the second Psyche-Lock. This dialogue is laughably easy to miss, which is why I could find zero footage of it. (Sorry if the formatting for this sucks)

(Interesting to note: the music stops playing here.)

Incidentally, Iris' secret is that she developed romantic feelings for Phoenix while dating him in college (disguised as her twin sister). Edgeworth affirms her thoughts, confirming that he does indeed have a secret of similar nature deep within his heart and soul; "It takes one to know one." It cannot be said what exactly this secret of his is, but every real plot point behind Edgeworth has been more or less resolved by this point in the series. He found his path as a prosecutor, the truth behind his involvement in the DL-6 incident was concluded, so... What's left? Reading between the lines, this only really seems to lead us to one answer. It has something to do with romantic feelings. I truly can't see it being anything else, even with a critical mind.

Just mere moments ago, Iris had inquired as to what Edgeworth and Phoenix' relationship was. Edgeworth (famously) responds that Wright is a "dear and indispensable friend". Wonder if Iris gleamed something deeper from that comment, then? ;P Keep in mind: she makes these comments directly because Edgeworth avoided presenting Phoenix Wright's profile.

"he just like me fr" - iris probably

Now, just for completion's sake, let's see what happens when you present Phoenix's profile and break the Psyche-Lock.

I have a lot of thoughts regarding this string of text from the two of them. This is a huge reach from an admittedly shipper-crazed brain, but aren't Edgeworth's retorts here... interesting? He does not know this girl, but he knows that the two of them are important to one another. We can assume it's likely that he is pushing for this for Wright's sake, rather than Iris'. At this point it's fair to say that Edgeworth has some basic understanding of her secret (the feelings, at least), and he doesn't benefit from her telling Phoenix her secret. So why is he adamant that she does it? Especially when he's, apparently, holding a secret of similar nature himself? Projecting, perhaps?

"But it's pointless..." "Why would you say that?"

Why indeed.

(EDIT) I was thinking about this feverishly, and I had another thought. What if the "darkness in his heart" and his "secret" has something to do with jealousy? Still in context of romantic feelings... it starts to make sense that this could fit into the puzzle as well. By this point it was already established to Edgeworth that Phoenix and Iris share an intimate connection of some kind, and with all of this pressuring (including the words the two of them share before Edgeworth leaves the Detention Centre), it sort of adds up. "Uncovering the truth" in order to "get rid of the deep-seated darkness in [his] heart" - could this refer to closure? As in, if Iris comes forth to Phoenix Wright with her secret, and there is some level of reciprocation, would this make Edgeworth's own secret/feelings "pointless" to confess? I wonder.

One last note I'd like to make is that this is the first time we view Edgeworth through the 'protagonist lens', and that a great deal of care was put into having the player truly feel like they are Miles Edgeworth in this moment. His mannerisms, choice of words and thought patterns are decidedly very different than Phoenix's when you are in control of them, as I'm sure most people would agree. Therefore, I feel comfortable proposing that a lot of what he says here isn't filler, and in fact is very deliberately worded.

I think this post also deserves a spot here.

Diehard Narumitsu/Wrightworth shippers are likely already aware of this conversation's existence. However, due to the circumstances necessary to see it, I wasn't able to find any screenshots. I hope this was interesting to read, at least... Thanks for reading!

[thecoolerliauditore]

Sorry, not-so-amicable-exes anon here again just cause I saw your big toxic fh breakdown post again cause a friend wanted to read it and we were tlking about it- unimportant, sorry, we just had a thought. Because I've seen some anti-toxic shippers act like this interpretation is out of spite or some intentional thing shippers of other jimmy ships made up (specifically ranchers usually), but the timeline and accusation is all wrong. Like I don't remember ever seeing anyone even talk about this interpretation until post-liml? And it was very hesitantly and apologetically. There was a fic or two before this but most people even the people who enjoyed it expressed discomfort or concern at its existence and that's how most people react to them even to this day.

But I remember when I saw that first post I was like, "Oh thank god, someone else also thought that!" It felt like before that there was scenes in their POV that only happened when I watched 3l because no one talked about them, or wrote them very differently to what happened. And I saw some other people saying the same thing. I think the post even got deleted a few days later, too. It seemed to me like a lot of people had quietly independantly come up with the interpretation as far back as 3l itself, but stayed quiet until recently to avoid upsetting anyone or we all thought we were the only ones who saw it that way. I know I tend to hesitate to write characters negatively because it feels a bit wrong to do that when the ccs are friends, even if I think it would be interesting. I wonder how many people feel that way also?

But I guess what I mean to say is it seems to me that a lot of people independantly have been thinking it since 3l or ll and the only reason it started popping up in dl is because it was the next big Jimmy ship from the big shipping season, and people werent really willing to even talk about it for a whole other season because they were scared of being seen as negative.

But!! I just really think it's neat, I really like this narrative for Scott and Jimmy. It's rare to be able to get stories where people have problems and break up and move on to new relationships and grow from them. It makes sense because they're the first season couple and they've grown further and further apart as seasons go on.

Even people I see who don't like fh don't seem to WANT to talk about it, they only bring it up when asked, and try to be respectful. Maybe I've not seen something happening somewhere else? I just wish I didn't have to spend most of my energy when writing quadruple checking that I'm not making Scott a bad guy and emphasising Jimmy's faults just so people reading know for certain I'm writing it this way because I'm legitimately interested in exploring this interpretation of them, and I'm not one of "those" writers. But I'm starting to wonder how many of "those" writers there actually are. (At the risk of comparing petty fandom drama to a serious topic, but it feels a lot like I'm back on 2016 tumblr assuring people I'm not one of "those" enbies or "those" aces, trying not to get pushed out.)

I'm guessing anyone who doesn't care for toxic fh probably already has you blocked, but if there is anyone like that who does see this: Hi! I also love flower husbands a lot! They just aren't my fluffy comfort ship, I like headcanoning them as divorced and imperfect because I think it makes them more interesting to write. I love being able to write characters who don't find the love of their life immediately but each relationship still shapes them into a new person. Sometimes I like to imagine their relationship as more mild and silly, and sometimes more dramatic and intense, I'm not a one-headcanon person! But their divorce is what really inspired me about them so I like writing about it. I don't want to stop anyone from enjoying them how they enjoy them and have no interest in making people who would be upset by my content to read it, so I try to tag it correctly! I'd like to be able to write my stories without walking on eggshells wondering if someone thinks I only wrote something I worked really hard on and cared a lot about just to spite them or because I'm secretly homophobic while writing about men kissing, just because my interpretation is different. It makes me scared to put Scott in my fics at all and contributed to my writers block for fics with them in it. I think Scott gets treated unfairly by certain people too, but that's not what I'm trying to do, I wouldn't write about him if I did!

(Also sorry if my paragraphs are strange, I'm not used to writing on mobile or pouring my thoughts out.)

Hi hello welcome back!! Please don't apologize I love long asks, especially long asks about scott smahor. The fact that you pulled up that toxic fh post and read it with a friend is so funny to me. Looking back, I wish I'd planned it out better and wrote it more eloquently, but I'm glad it brings people some sense of joy/entertainment/understanding. I hope you and your friend enjoyed it, even in an ironic sense.

It's endlessly entertaining (and fascinating) to me personally how every toxic fh believer seems to undergo the same-ish pipeline of watching the fh pov and being horrified --> looking at fanon fh and disengaging out of fear --> finding other toxic fh posters in the wild and suddenly realising you're not insane after all. I know I personally went into scott's pov expecting wholesomeness and ended up wide-eyed at what I saw before proceeding to slink FH into the back of my mind for awhile.

People tend to believe others operate like they do and I think that's where a lot of the discourse originates. Most of the louder voices I've seen that are very against the toxic interpretation are from people who primarily engage in bending the characters to fit specific concepts i.e. the "toxic jimmy" brainstorm that happened awhile back on here where interpretation is less a study and more confirmation bias-ing your way into making an idea work. Which I must reiterate is completely awesome because we're making fanfics here not nukes. But this leads people to assume that everyone who writes about toxic fh is going in with the mindset of "how do i interpret these moments so that scott is an abuser" and not "wow that thing i just watched sure kind of felt like domestic abuse"

Which like. YEAH, if there was a theoretical group of people who went out of their way to interpret everything scott did ever as evil and irredeemable, I too would assume that they had it out for the guy. But that's not what's happening, usually, afaik (at least on here, twitter's situation is a bit different due to the culture and would be its own beast for me to dissect and I honestly don't spend enough time on there to really feel confident making any statement).

For the record, I think a lot of people are on the same boat regarding FH being toxic and just simply don't care enough to voice/explore it, don't want to deal with the fandom nonsense that comes with it or would simply rather shift focus onto other pairs with similar themes. i.e. there is something going on with the toxic fh believer/ethubs shipper overlap I just know there is if anyone would like to do science with me it'd be awesome.

I know that I definitely focused my sights more on Scott and Pearl's relationship following my "wow that was sure something" watchthrough of scott's series, which is ironic considering I now base alot of my thoughts about their dynamic on scott's previous relationship with jimmy.

I think there's like. Something about the DL Pearl fans and the ranchers fans specifically who tended to communicate in code re: Scott's toxicity because for a long time all of us were afraid of saying it outright. So you get a lot of posts where Scott is like. A vaguely unpleasant force in the narrative while not really being a main focus himself, which I think may have contributed to the "ranchers fans only view scott as the villainous ex to push their ship harder" argument that I've seen a lot.

Once I realised from that one Shepscapades comic that there were others who saw the same plot I did, I would go out fishing for signs of agreement/acknowledgement. Hybbat if you're reading this, take this as my apology for sending you anon asks back in the day essentially trying to bait you into posting more FH slander, there was something deeply wrong with me (there still is, I'm just more upfront about it now I think).

There's also just this very like.. us vs them mentality very apparent in the way people talk about The Discourse that kinda sucks. Weirdly enough it's kind of shifted from toxic fh vs healthy fh to fh vs ranchers (or any other jimmy ship for that matter) nowadays. I can't talk on 2016 tumblr but regarding your last point (which I know isn't directed towards me but I think it's worth saying) -- would it matter if you Were one of THOSE fh writers? (or one of THOSE aces or THOSE enbies for that matter). You're not but like. Would it?

(side note rhetorical question do not answer i dont want to know but wtf did the aces/enbies even do lmao)

Not to get too away from the discourse cus I do my fair share of glazing on this blog already, but yes yes yes big agree on fh's storyline being amazing!! I love that we essentially watch them both have to live on after their mutually life-changing marriage.

Scott especially I love because in a lot of stories that feature an abuser they're painted as entirely evil and oftentimes disappear from the story once the relationship is over, but Scott doesn't and will never go anywhere. He's forced to grapple with his previous actions and the destructive way he thinks about himself and relationships has and continues to damage both himself and the people he loves. Just like how irl even when we wish abusers would just "go away" they will still continue being living people as they've always been, not a concept that will simply perish once you overcome the trauma. I love abusive characters who are fully written as human and think they're important. Is all.

[shslbunnylover]

hii!! i love your fics so much. i was hoping it isn’t too late to request a fluffmas fic with melissa x reader. where the reader has never had a good time during the holidays and it’s their first christmas together so melissa decides to make it as special as possible. they go to mels family for christmas and when they get home mel makes the reader feel as special as possible

★★★𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚★★★

Character: Melissa Schemmenti

Summary: See ask above!

Requester: Anonymous

Taglist: @inlovewithgreta @lilfartbox1 (Message me to be a part of the taglist until I get a page set up!!)

Trigger warnings (DL, DI): Mentions of family fighting and seasonal depression

Genre: Fluff

A/n: I added my on little touch to this, hope you like it anon!

Word count: 2.7k

...

...

You were a lot like Jacob. Not in the way that you were incredibly corny or attempted to use the language of your students as a way to relate to them, but rather in your opinions on the holidays. The holidays never meant more to you than family chaos and winter depression, and that idea had been ingrained into your head since the day you first saw the light of the world.

You enjoyed the lights and songs, they were always beautiful in your eyes, but the beauty they brought was always overshadowed by the pain and depression that Christmas and everything around it brought. Whenever people asked why you were a Grinch, you'd just say that 'Christmas was a commercialized holiday with traditions taken from Pagan rituals who were later demonized for those same things'. You tried to find so many things wrong with Christmas so you didn't have to admit that your family was the reason you never enjoyed the holidays. However, once you had moved to Philidelphia and started as a teacher at Abbott Elementary, you quickly realized that almost everyone felt the exact opposite about the quote-on-quote "Most Magical Time of the Year".

Janine was always chipper, so the Christmas spirit was bound to flow into her like the snow into the hand turkey's she used to prevent it from entering the classroom. Barbara was a devout Christian, meaning Christmas meant a lot to her along with it being her favorite holiday of the year. Ava loved the sexy Santa dresses and the incredibly suggestive songs played throughout December (and let's be honest, half of November if you went to any retail store). Gregory was neutral, as he always was, but he liked the movies. Jacob was just like you when it came to this whole season of magic and love and for roughly the same reasons. Melissa, well she adored the holiday season, even if she didn't show it. The only way you found out about the redhead's adoration for Christmas was after you began dating her.

She explained everything to you, her holiday party with Barbara, her dinner with her family, the special things she did with her students, and so many more things that left you completely shocked.

You simply didn't understand, and you wondered how someone could love a season filled with nothing but depression and fighting. It didn't make sense when everyone around you was talking about their holiday plans with family and they seemed excited.

So, when you were sitting in the teachers' lounge a couple of days before winter break, you were unusually silent as you sat next to your girlfriend.

"So, Y/n, what are you doing for the holidays?" Janine asked with her usual bright smile.

You hummed, looking up from your barely-drank coffee with tired eyes.

"I'm not doing anything, I'm gonna stay home," You muttered.

"You're not coming over for dinner hon?" Melissa perked up, her neutral expression into one of concern.

"No, I'm not one for all the family stuff..." You replied, looking down at the beverage in your hand, your focus going towards the patterns made by the creamer on the top.

"But Christmas is time to be with friends and family!" Janine tried to protest, only to be shot a scolding look by Barbara.

"If they don't want to do that, then they don't have to," Barbara spoke. "But, dear, are you alright? You have been down these past few days,"

"And I've said I'm fine," You rolled your eyes, missing the sharp and quizzical look your girlfriend was sending you.

"Can we just talk about literally anything else?" You sighed, mustering up the energy to take a sip of your drink.

"Yeah, I agree," Jacob said before talking about some sort of new movie coming out.

But Melissa wasn't about to let this go. She was fine with you not coming for dinner, but she wasn't fine with you being miserable.

"Babe, can you tell me what is going on with you?" Melissa asked gently, placing her hand on your thigh while her other held the steering wheel.

You weren't technically living together, as you still had your place, but you preferred to be at your girlfriend's house rather than your little apartment, after all, it didn't feel like home there anymore.

"I..." You began, looking out the window to see all the passing trees and cars. "I don't know,"

"You're never like this. I'm not mad at you at all. I'm just concerned," Your girlfriend squeezed your thigh softly to reassure you.

"...Look, my family just fought a lot during the holidays, so I don't like it that much," You confessed, leaning your head against the cold glass.

"Oh," The woman next to you spoke, her eyes focused on the road while her brain tried to comfort you in the best way possible. "I understand that, but there's so much more to the holidays than fighting,"

"I just...I just don't believe you, I want to, but I can't," You replied.

There was silence in the car for a couple of minutes as Melissa thought deeply, finally speaking up after an idea came to mind.

"How about I show you?"

"What?" You snapped your head to look at her.

"How about I show you that the holidays are enjoyable?" She repeated, clarifying what she had said.

"I-I don't know..."

"Look," Melissa said, parking her car in her driveway before turning to face you. "You give me till the end of the year to prove to you that Christmas is a good time, deal?" She smirked, holding out her hand.

You paused for a moment, staring at her hand with a nervous expression prominent on your face.

"And if you don't convince me?" You asked.

"I'll leave you alone, but there will always be a spot open at the table, so you have nothing to lose," The older woman replied. "Now, do we have a deal?"

You sighed, nodding in defeat before shaking your girlfriend's hand.

"You've got less than two weeks, Mel," You warned her, trying to hide that you were secretly grateful to your partner for caring so much about you.

"It's no problem, I can do it," She winked, kissing your hand, fully aware of your gratitude.

A couple of days later, you were sat by the Christmas tree, holding a simple family photo ornament in your hand, your thumb wiping off the occasional pine needle that had fallen onto it.

"Whatcha doin' hon?" Melissa asked with a smug smile, leaning over your sitting frame, blocking the light from your view and causing you to look up at your redhead girlfriend.

"Just looking at the ornament, are you sure your family doesn't fight?" You sighed, letting go of the decoration and allowing it to rest on the tree branch.

"Except for me and Kristin-Marie, no one does really. Every fight is clearly all in good fun," She assured you.

"So...no one walks out?" You asked.

"No, nobody walks out, cucciola," The woman standing above you chuckled. "Me and Kristin-Marie may not get along that well, but we kinda enjoy all that fighting. After Janine invited her over here, we got back to talking,"

You grimaced at the memory, laughing at how pissed off Melissa was at Janine the day after.

"Alright, I'll believe you, for now," You stood up, kissing her softly.

"You better, 'cause we Schemmenti's are known for our persuasion," She smirked.

You rolled your eyes, laying your head on her shoulder, already feeling your heart softening its harsh feelings towards the holidays.

"Say, do you wanna watch a Christmas movie? You can pick," Melissa asked you, wrapping her arms around you to embrace you tighter.

You nodded.

"I like Miracle on 34th Street, maybe that one?" You blushed, pulling your head from your girlfriend's clavicle.

Melissa smiled softly at your rosy cheeissing you on your temple.

"Of course, hon. You can put it on, and I'll head go make us some hot chocolate?" She suggested, walking into the kitchen and leaving you to prepare the movie.

You nodded, sitting down on her couch (that no longer had plastic thanks to you) and grabbing the remote, typing in the name of the movie.

When Melissa finally returned with two mugs of hot chocolate and a bowl of cinnamon sugar popcorn, you were pretty much dumbfounded.

"Holy cow Mel! This is so good!!" You beamed, taking a sip of the hot drink she had made before popping a couple of pieces of popcorn in your mouth.

"Thanks, babe," Your girlfriend sighed at the taste of her cocoa, wrapping her arm around you, her eyes focusing on the movie.

When Christmas day finally rolled around, you were impressed by just how many of Melissa's family members were at her mom's house for Christmas, and everyone seemed to get along (Except Kristin-Marie and Melissa, of course). The whole family seemed to absolutely adore you, and you felt...welcome.

You didn't even need to introduce yourself as you walked in the door, as everyone knew practically everything about you.

Teresa, Melissa's mom, immediately took you into the kitchen and asked you what your favorites of the array of food were so she could make more. John, Melissa's dad, gave you a gruff handshake and asked you if you liked football, which started a whole conversation about Melissa's early days of being a football fan. Kristin-Marie was standoffish, looking at you with a glare the entire time as Melissa had warned you about. Her infamous cousin Vinny was playful and tackled you with a hug in his large frame when he saw you enter the door with his favorite cousin. Her other younger cousins simply flocked around you asking you questions about you, and Melissa's older cousins quickly started sharing embarrassing stories about your girlfriend (You had to duck when she tried to punch them).

You walked into the dining room, helping set out the cutlery and plates to hopefully get some stress off Teresa's back.

"Oh dear, they're so much better than that pig you would bring," Melissa's mother laughed once you were out of the room.

"I told you that you'd like Y/n, Ma," Melissa sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets with a smile.

You peeked out from the doorway connecting the kitchen and dining room, eavesdropping on the conversation when you heard your name mentioned.

'What are they talking about? Did I make a bad impression?' You worriedly thought, your heart rate picking up.

"Well, you were right. Only one thing, they seem so nervous, did you tell 'em that we were gonna sacrifice them?" Teresa snickered, taking a sip from the tiny bottle of prosecco you brought her.

"I've got a bet with them that I can make the holidays enjoyable, since it never was for them," Your girlfriend explained. "You should have seen Y/n a couple of days ago, they were miserable. I'm glad I got them to enjoy the season more than they used to,"

You smiled softly, your eyes brimming with tears that you quickly wiped away.

"Were you talking about me?" You asked, walking towards Melissa and her mother.

"Yeah hon, my mom loves you," She smirked. "I told you there was nothing to worry about,"

"You've got good taste in alcohol Y/n," Teresa laughed, finishing off the miniature bottle.

"I'm glad you think so, Melissa said it was your favorite, so I got you the new flavor they came out with. I can get you a bigger bottle if you'd like!" You beamed.

"That won't be necessary, I'll get my own," Your mother-in-law waved off your gesture.

You chuckled, beginning to talk about all the stories Melissa told you about her chaotic family, while Melissa slipped away to go be with her younger cousins, a soft smile on her face at the sight of you being so happy.

"I mean, when I heard that story about Vinny I think I couldn't walk from how hard I was laughing!" You giggled, covering your mouth to hold in more laughter.

"He was a weird kid, but we love him," Teresa chuckled, gesturing to the table once she was finished. "It's around dinner time, you wanna get a seat?"

You nodded, cheerfully making your way to sit next to Melissa, leaning your head on her shoulder.

"They're much better than Joe, he wasn't as happy when he talked to us about Melissa, there is something different about this one," Melissa's aunt Chloe walked up to Teresa.

"Definitely, I'm glad we got to increase their holiday spirit and give them a family, they deserve it for how happy they've made my daughter," The older blonde hummed, taking a seat at the table after finishing the conversation with her sister.

"Thank you so much for inviting me Miss Schemmenti," You smiled, hugging your mother-in-law. "The food was absolutely delicious, and your house is gorgeous!" You praised her, looking at your girlfriend before back at Teresa.

"Oh hon, call me Teresa, you're so sweet," The older woman placed her hand over her heart. "I'm glad someone as wonderful as you are with my daughter,"

You practically melted how kind she was and you were surprised you weren't crying.

"She means the world to me," You looked at Melissa, kissing her cheek. "Thank you again for inviting me,"

Teresa smiled, waving you two off as you walked to your car.

"So, how do you like the holidays hon?" Melissa sported a knowing grin.

"I love them, Mel...You did it, somehow," You sighed, looking up and laughing softly.

Your girlfriend chuckled, starting the car and driving out of the neighborhood, noticing how your eyes were locked on all of the Christmas lights and decorations unlike before.

"What if I told you that when we got home, I'd have something that'd make you love the holidays even more?" The redhead next to you spoke after around ten minutes of comfortable silence, squeezing your thigh to get your attention back on her.

"Oh really? What if I told you I didn't believe you?" You smirked, moving your body to face her.

"You didn't believe me a couple of days ago, now look where that got ya," Melissa teased as you pulled into the driveway at her house.

"Whatever," You rolled your eyes, a shit-eating grin still on your lips.

"Now come on, I have a surprise for you," The older woman urged you to go inside.

When you finally entered the house, you noticed the living room was much tidier, but nothing looked out of place except for a couple of non-flame sugar cookie candles being lit, making the whole house smell like a calm bakery.

"You cleaned! I was gonna do that!" You laughed.

"No hon, that's not the surprise, go lay down on your stomach," Melissa instructed you, kissing your forehead before going to the bathroom and bringing back a basket.

"What's that for Mel?" You asked, your speech slightly muffled by the pillow your face was lying on.

"You had a busy night, I thought I'd help you relax," Your girlfriend chuckled.

Her soft yet strong hands lifted your shirt, applying lotion to themselves before rubbing your back thoroughly. You hummed in contentment, melting further into the couch, your eyes hooding from the sudden feeling.

"Thank you, my love. You really didn't have to do this," You mumbled, letting out an occasional moan whenever she hit a sensitive spot on your back.

"It's no problem hon," She bent down to kiss the top of your head, smiling as your body relaxed under her touch. "I'm just glad I got you to enjoy this time of year as much as I do,"

...

If you enjoyed reading this, don't forget to like, reblog and comment! Thank you and you are loved <3

-Akira

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol.5 Sakamaki Laito Animate Tokuten CD

Original title: DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol. 5 逆巻ライト アニメイト 各巻購入特典ドラ

Source: Diabolik Lovers Para-Selene Vol. 5 Animate Tokuten CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Hirakawa Daisuke 

Translator’s note: Bowling master Laito kind of threw me for a loop, but it also makes sense? Like he strikes me as the type of guy who would be unexpected skilled at a bunch of random things. In general, I’ve been really enjoying these ‘date scenario’ CDs. They actually did a good job making every one of them unique and choosing fun locations for each boy. I know the chances of us getting another DL anime are really slim, but if they do decide to make one, I really hope it’s not a season 3 based on DF or LE but a bunch of OVAs instead based on the drama CDs.

“...What’s this? There’s quite a lot of people here despite it being so late at night. I guess bowling is pretty popular. I thought I’d be able to do all sorts of fun things with my Bitch-chan, such a shame! ーー Ah! Our lane is over here. Ah! Check out the monitor over there! It actually displays our names as ‘Laito’ and ‘Bitch’! I love your name. It really stands out amongst the others! I would have loved to be able to input ‘Bitch-chan’ instead, honestly. I felt pretty bummed when they told me that I could only input up to five characters. Right, Bitch-chan?”

You frown. 

“...? You’ve been quiet this whole time. What’s wrong? Did you want me to add the ‘-chan’ as well?”

You shake your head.

“Then what’s the matter?”

You complain about him wanting to come here. 

“Eeh~? Is it really that strange? Even I feel like playing a game of bowling every now and then. There’s no ulterior motive behind it!”

You squint your eyes. 

“Oh dear. You’re still suspicious of me? ...Fine. I’ll fess up the truth. ーー We actually gave here today because I wanted to do you a favor.”

You tilt your head to the side.

“Mmh. We’re usually active at night, so most places where high schoolers like to hang out are closed by that hour, no? So we’re limited in the things we can do, right? Well, you might be fine with that, but you’re still a blossoming high school girl, so I figured that you might fantasize about the kind of cute dates depicted in shoujo manga and such. ーー I thought it wouldn’t hurt to go on a typical high schoolers’ date for once, so I started looking around for places which are open 24/7, which brings us here today. How’s that? Do you understand now?”

You nod.

“Nfu~ I’m glad. With that misunderstanding lifted...Now that we’re here anyway, why don’t we get started? I’m up first, aren’t I? Let me think...Which ball should I pick? ーー Ah. This one will do.”

*Thud* 

“It has the same color as your hair. I’ll throw it as hard as I can, imagining its your head instead~”

You protest.

“Nfu~ Oh come on, you may say that, but I know you’re happy deep down! You love to get pushed around by me, don’t you? ...Ah! When it’s your turn, why don’t you pick a ball in the same color as my hair? I don’t dislike the idea of being at your mercy either~”

You refuse. 

“Geez...You’d be able to get so much more of of life if you just enjoy it as one of many fetishes. You’re so easily embarrassed. Fine. ...I’ll throw the ball, okay?”

Laito faces towards the lane.

“Let me think...I’m supposed to throw it leaning down...or from up top? 

You seem surprised he has never bowled before. 

“Eh!? Bitch-chan...Do you really think I’ve come to this sorta place before? Today’s obviously my first bowling experience!”

*Rustle*

“But don’t worry! Experience isn’t what matters...It’s all about chemistry...!”

Laito throws his ball.

*Clatter clatter*

“Huh? I knocked all of them over. Is this what you’d call a ‘strike’?”

You seem very impressed.

“...Nfu~ I got praised~ Anyway, is this really so amazing?”

You nod.

“Heeh...I wonder if I am a natural at bowling? Control is key, so it might be the perfect game some someone who is very technique-minded such as myself. In that case, I’m quite curious what you are capable of, Bitch-chan~”

You frown.

“Now, now, no need to be so modest. Show me what you’re made of. Go give it a shot! ...Nfu~ I’m very much looking forward to this.”

You walk towards the lane.

“Break a leg, Bitch-chan~! Throw it with everything you’ve got!” 

You throw the ball. 

*Thud thud* 

“Nfu~ Ah-ahー I guess the excitement ended up being her downfall. What a shame. ...They call this a ‘gutter’, don’t they? I can’t believe you didn’t even manage to knock over one of them. ...Ah, come on. One more try, no?”

*Thud* 

You try once more.

*THUD*

“Ahー You really suck at this, don’t you?”

You seem disappointed.

“No need to be so sad. My strike might have been just a fluke. I’ll go next, so watch me, okay?”

Laito walks up to the lane again. 

“...Hah!”

*CLATTER*

“Aah~ I guess it wasn’t just beginner’s luck! I might have a knack for bowling after all! ...In that case, Bitch-chan, why don’t you come over here with your ball?”

You pick up your ball and approach him.

“Okay! Let’s practice how to hold the ball!”

*Rustle*

“Geez, no need to be so surprised. We came here to treat you to a good time today, so I’ll teach you very gently~ Come on, hold the ball.”

*Rustle*

“Hmー That won’t do.”

*Rustle rustle*

“You need to stretch your arm a little more.”

You try to scoot away from him, asking why he is touching you.

“What are you saying? I’m fixing your posture! I think I proved earlier that my bowling skills far exceed yours, so don’t you think it’s in your best interest to take my advice?” 

You frown.

“I mean, it’d be kind of difficult to tell you what to do without clinging to you like this, is it? I’m positive that it’d be so much easier to teach you good posture through direct touch!”

*Rustle*

“Come on, lean back against me and stand straight.”

*Rustle*

“Don’t move! You want to be able to throw the ball properly don’t you?”

You tell him to move away. 

“How mean, telling me to back off! I’m only trying to show my good heart by teaching you! I mean, if you lose this duel against me, you’ll get punished, remember?”

You seem surprised by that. 

“I mean, duh? Didn’t I tell you? All games have some kind of punishment game attached to it, don’t they? You have to expect those kind of things! By the way, now that you’ve already thrown once, you’re part of the game, so there’s no backing out~”

You ask him if he would punish you right here in public.

“Fufu~ Why would you ask that? ーー I get it. You’re curious about what this punishment would entail, aren’t you~? Were you perhaps hoping that I’d suck your blood~?”

You deny it.

“Nfu~ No point in trying to deny it~ I bet you imagined my fangs sinking deeply into your fair nape, didn’t you? Aah~ I suppose I have no other choice. That wasn’t the plan, but I’ll live up to your expectations and make the punishment something deliciously painful~ Please look forward to this punishment...which will turn both your body and soul to putty~”

You try to make a run for it.

*Rustle rustle* 

“Ahaha~ Oh come on, hold up! I told you that there’s no way out, didn’t you? You better behave...or I’ll do it right here, right now.”

You immediately stop resisting. 

“Nfu~ Good girl. Besides, there’s only a 50% chance that you’ll get punished, so just remember that you could always win and try to make the best out of it!”

You sigh in defeat.

“Well then, let’s continue your lesson. Now, where’s your spine?”

*Rustle*

“Nfu~ Found it~ Mm~

*Rustle rustle* 

“What are you saying? I’m helping you straighten your back! By tracing my fingers across your spine like this...See? You pushed out your chest which improved your stance! Try to hold this proper posture, okay?”

You ask him if he knows what hte proper posture for bowling is.

“Eh? No idea! How am I supposed to know what is the ‘right posture’ for bowling when I’m still a newbie at the game myself.”

You ask him what he has been teaching you then. 

“You’re just so terrible at this, I’ve just been giving you random points and then it was up to you whether or not you’d take my words for granted. ...Anyway, ahaha~ They’re really hard to miss when you’re standing looking straight ahead like that.”

You tilt your head to side.

“Over here. These bite marks on・your・neck~”

You squeak.

“They’re the proof of the love we share with each other every night~ It’s too bad you can’t really see them unless you move this close. I promise I’ll make them stand out even more by biting you nice and hard when we get back home, so rest assured~”

You complain. 

“You’re adorable when you pretend to dislike something. However, no losing on purpose because you want to get bitten ,okay?”

You insist that you would never do that. 

“I wonder~? You’re a naughty girl who seduces other by feigning discomfort. You want me to completely overpower you, run away with the victory and inflict pain upon you as a result, don’t you? And then you’d try to play innocent by saying ‘Oh I don’t actually want this, but it can’t be helped because I lost the game~', won’t you? ...Sure. Two can play that game. I like that sort of thing as well after all. I’ll make sure to slowly drive you into a corner...and then tease the living hell out・of・you~”

Your cheeks grow hot.

“Oh? What’s wrong? ...Nfu~ You’re flustered, aren’t you? Oh come, you are so shy~ ...Anyway, let’s get this game going! Try throwing the ball following my tips from earlier.”

You nod and throw the ball. 

*CLATTER CLATTER*

“Wow~ You actually knocked them all over! I’m shocked!” 

You rejoice.

“Nfu~ Congratulations, Bitch-chan. Judging from your sheer excitement, could it be that this is the first time you’ve ever hit a strike?”

You nod.

“Mmh, mmh~ I’m happy for you! In that case, why don’t we end on a positive note and wrap up the match right here? It’s obvious you’ll lose after all.”

You protest.

“I mean, even if continue to bowl one strike after the other now, you already threw a gutter once, so you have no chance at getting ahead of me.There’s no way I’d give away the win now.”

You shake your head. 

“Ah~ We can keep going until I have a slip-up if you want, but in return, your punishment will get more and more severe, the longer the game lasts. I believe you’d be much better off admitting defeat right now and simply heading home with me. 

I’m fine with either scenario. We’re here on a date today for you after all. You can choose whether you want to call it a day right now and quickly get your punishment, or if you’d rather have me tend to you thoroughly after I’ve messed with you a little longer.”

You call him out on being unreasonable. 

“Nfu~ Exactly. I might be messed up. But you love this crazy guy, don’t you? In which case, you have no other choice but to play along with me and slowly become insane as well.”

You sigh.

“Fufu~ Since you sighed in defeat, does that mean you’ve made your choice?”

You choose to go home. 

“Nfu~ Sure. As you wish. Well then...Shall we head home, Bitch-chan~? I’ll treat you to plenty of the good stuff which you love oh-so much~”

ーー THE END ーー

[wolfclaire]

How would you think the story would've played out if a different Gem got transported into the games, and I'm not limiting it to just the Afterlife Gems. Like if either Empires Season Gems met Pearl instead of Spider, especially Season 2 Esmp Gem, considering she's essentially the opposite of Pearl in a way?? Sun imagery with butterfly wings and the pointed ears on her skin implies she'd look/be something like a sun elf yet also unlike Pearl she's in almost complete control of her own fate and what 'games' she plays by hopping different universes and LARPing as whatever character she wants. Season one Gem can also be interesting, especially if it's near the end of the season or after the end of the season. Season one Gem getting transported into a death game where her people who look like her friends who are either missing or dead in her eyes messed up in ways they weren't before and one of your closest friends aka Pearl seems so sad and gone from the cheerful queen you knew her as. Also I choose to believe that S1!Gem is at least passively or actively aware of differing timelines cause of her reaction from when she met S2!Sausage and I think she was aware that she basically just three Evil Sausage into a little mirror of her own universe which would be like an alternate ones, I'm kinda reaching, especially since I haven't rewatched Empires S1 yet, but still I can't resist the angst of Gem knowing that these aren't her friends but still desperately trying to hold onto them like they are because the rapture happened so suddenly and abruptly when things were finally looking better and she doesn't wanna accept things. I also can't resist what would be the DL cast's reaction to these two, especially Pearl and maybe Grian

Ngl I really wonder what would be Pearl's and Grian's opinion/impression of them if it were either of them transferred and not Spider Gem

Sorry for rambling I've just been thinking about this a lot and sorry if it doesn't make sense or if it's even in character-

-Sun anon, still happy birthday also <3

Okay...let me just put this into seperated questions...cause this got potential. So ES1 and ES2 Gems would be probably totally different with the reaction to Pearl and everything happening.

ES1 Gem, post rapture (or during rapture), has basically nothing left. No kingdom, no friends, she only has her magic, Violet and fWhip. She didn't "roleplay", she isn't "LARPing", everything happening to her is real, and hurtful. If she was the one transported into the games, she would find familiarity with Pearl, but she would know something is wrong. She is The Headmistres of Crystal Cliffs, she is The Grand Wizard, she would notice Pearl's acting strange (Red stuff) and her and others memories being off.

ES2 Gem, however, wouldn't think of this "transportation" as a big deal at first. I don't think she would take it seriously at the start, as "it's just a game" or "it's just LARPing". She couldn't understand in canon why nobody else (except Pixlriffs and Oli) didn't think of anything as a big deal...she only thought they were good actors in a way. It would take Pearl's death for her to realize that this "game" is not as innocent as she might have thought...

As for Grians and Pearl's reaction? Well...

Grian wouldn't mind ES2 Gem, she looks like a guilable little princess that he can wrap around his finger... But ES1 Gem? Oh, that would be dissaster. He can tell this one is smart, he can tell she has powers on her side... He would try to get rid of her asap, even going as far as killing her himself.

Pearl, on the other hand, would feel a little weirded out by any of those two. ES1 Gem is nice....strangely overly nice, for some reason... And ES2 Gem doesn't seem to take anything seriously...she is very carefree for someone who shouldn't have unlimited lives (Grey names don't work with the same rules as those in from the specific world)

There is a lot of Angst potential, just in a different favour than what my version with Spider Gem has to offer :)

[mazzystar24]

https://www.tumblr.com/mazzystar24/753386242594455552/okay-so-yall-know-im-nosy-and-cant-resist

Also considering not even 3 days ago she was crying about Bummy being a made up British slur she invented herself 💀

And now she’s saying people refuse to use logic to see her using an actual slur coded word isn’t actually that at all 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I wonder how long before she changes her story again and try’s the “buddie fans hacked me again I’d never say such a thing!” Defense.

Or she’ll do like what she did yesterday when someone called her out for being ableist on Twitter. She’ll ss their post, block the person, then crop it a little to cut off where she was being called out, and then post it saying a fan let her know it seemed ableist and she’d never want to be seen like that 💀

No literally like I live in Britain and have for most my life and as you’ve probably got from my other posts i have probably heard every British saying and derogatory term or slur whether that be racist or homophobic or whatever (and I interact with enough of a range of people from different regions of the uk to like have the variances) but never have I heard of bummy being used like that

Like I’ve heard it in the way pertaining to homeless people or being bummed out by something but like if it’s a homophobic one it’s one of those super niche and like archaic ones

I’ve also heard “bummed” being used as a reference to anal sex obviously and in crude ways but that’s different from bummy and bummed is more commonly used in the disappointed way than in this way

BUT I SCOURED THE INTERNET AND HAVE FOUND NO REFERENCE TO BUMMY BEING USED IN A DEROGATORY WAY TO GAY PEOPLE

But on that as a little bit of a nerd I want y’all to remember that word meanings evolve over time through colloquialism

When you say something is hysterical and you’re not referring to the hysteria that women used to be diagnosed with

When you say Bugger doesn’t relate to sodomy or Bulgarians now

On the DL used to be about men (particularly black men) sleeping with men while being married to women

Long time no see was a way to make fun of Asians

That’s all to say that to say that a word that’s most commonly used in reference to homeless people or to express disappointment is people being homophobic is quite a leap

Whereas what she’s doing rn and her having like multiple posts downplaying Tommys part in the racism and all that stuff and her being a white woman that is STARTLINGLY confident in speaking about what people should be feeling about Lou’s wording or posts or Tommys past behaviour is TELLING to me

GAJSKF NOT THE HACKED EXCUSE AGJSKFKF

For real 😭😭

[spoppet]

i'll admit i don't understand something about the fan presence arkane has as a member thereof: the disparity in fanworks and cultural presence compared to their other releases. compared to prey, and deathloop (i'm not going to even bother with the other one), it puzzles me a whole lot.

dishonored is almost 11 years old as I'm writing this, and while dh2 is newer they're both a bit aged in terms of fandom lifetimes. this is not a criticism, to be clear — age and quality are not causative, and many of my favorite things are older than i am. that said, it's odd to me that it still gets regular art, fics, posts about it, etc when the stuff for prey and deathloop seem to have dried up (save a few intrepid souls persisting, some of whom i am lucky enough to be personal friends with, whose work i adore, y'all know who you are). to me, prey in particular has just as much to chew on, just as much impact, and just as much of... all the things that make arkane games special as dishonored does, and yet there's a marked difference in how much presence each has in the present in discussion and creative works. for deathloop it's even starker, though i suspect the more linear, pared-down world and experience in that game plays a role.

again this is not a condemnation or complaint, i love dishonored and i am very glad there seems to be a steady stream of people discovering and falling in love with it, or returning to it, or having never left it. it's nice that it keeps space in the mind like that, and it holds a place in my heart and has since i visited its display at PAX 12 prior to release. however with that said, it leaves me wondering: why don't its younger siblings, and why is the disparity so apparent? what is it about dishonored (and its fanbase) that differs so greatly in impact? i'm aware there's some overlap - i love DH, Prey, and DL all at once myself - but it's a real headscratcher regardless.

thoughts and comments welcome, perhaps someone sees what i've missed. ultimately i just wish they all got about as much continual love as dishonored does, not that dishonored got less.

[bronx-bomber87]

Evening all :) This is the second to last ep of s2. Unreal. I LOVE this episode. For so many reasons. I think its underrated which tends to be some of my fav moments and eps with them. Love this one for couple reasons. One of them being we’re re-tapping into why Tim is the best T.O. for Lucy. Little more look into Tim’s growing feelings for her. Also their continual growth as friends and their deepening bond. I love them so much. Like I said already this ep is underrated and one of my favs and you’ll see why. Let’s get started on this goodie.

2x19 The Q Word

We start off with Lucy's alarm going off for her shift. She turns it off saying how she doesn’t want to work today. (Me either girl...) We see she has a special guest with her. Heh. It's Emmett. Dude still fine as hell. Guess she finally took him up on his offer. Damn girl proud of you cashing that card in haha Way to come back into the dating world.

He tells her to be few minutes late continues on to say ‘Bradford's chill’ LMFAO Not even a little and definitely not with training Lucy. You'll experience that soon enough and see how wrong you are sir. Lucy tells him she’s in the final stretch of her training. Just 30 more days and she’ll be free. (Like you really wanna be free of Tim…we'll let you believe that though.) She is excited to be free of the mind games, Tim tests and being chewed out in public. I can’t blame her there even though it molded her into who she is now as a cop.

Emmett jumps on the chance about making her late after her probation. Lucy has to basically say down boy LOL It’s honestly really nice to see how happy she is. Like I said in the last ep with Tim. With not being Lucy level happy. In this case not Tim level happy or comfortable but nice to see none the less. She clearly has allowed herself to not let Caleb drag her down as much anymore. That's a massive victory for her. Should be noted and appreciated.

Can truly appreciate the relationships they had prior and what they had to give to them before they’re together. Lucy NEEDED someone like this post-Caleb. Needed a sweet goober. I am thankful for the role Emmett played in that. Helping her start to move past Caleb and the damage he inflicted. Her commitment issues showing themselves hard when she asks him to play it cool if they run into each other. To keep them on the DL. Also I don’t blame her she’s in the home stretch of this. Wants to do a final focused push to complete her training as well.

We get to roll call. Grey announces today is the rookies one year mark in the program. He tells them congratulations on not washing out. Tim can’t help himself and poke the bear. Saying ‘We’ll see’ that shit eating grin of his and heart eyes I can not. How proud he is of her projecting off him.

Excuse me sir you’re doing a work flirt right in front of everyone. Look at the way he’s looking at her when he says it. A blind person could read his intentions. Her reaction is perfection. Like she can’t believe he’s doing their banter unabashedly in front of roll call… for all to see LOL Our marriage scene of the episode please enjoy.

Grey says this is the start of their 30 day push. To remind them they’re not there just yet. That they shouldn’t be celebrating until they cross the finish line. Pretty much a foreshadowing for Lucy in this ep. All of them but mainly Lucy and the SL her and Tim have in this one.

Immediately following roll call we join them in their shop. Lucy mentions it’s weird they haven’t had any calls yet. Tim puts on his T.O. hat and barks ‘Crime doesn’t have a schedule boot.’ Lucy just smiles his T.O. company line having no effect on her. Tim notices it right away and asks ‘What she’s so happy about?’ Lucy plays it off says nothing. Can’t she just smile? Tim doesn’t let it go. (Wonder who he learned that from?)

Tells her she’s been doing it a lot lately is all...Lucy bites back she didn’t know being happy was an impediment to being a good cop. Tim remarks he’s just surprised she hasn’t talked his ear off about whatever it is. Tim Bradford speak for he actually wants her to. Whether he likes it or not he’s come to enjoy her sharing things with him. When she doesn't he gets antsy like in this scene. Questions what's going on with her.

Tim acts like he can’t stand how chatty she is. When really he can’t handle it when she isn’t sharing stuff with him. Doesn’t want to feel left out in her life. Especially since she "granted" him re-access to it in 2x17. (He always had it she just had to remind of that fact) Lucy doesn’t budge on any info. So Tim starts taking shots in the dark. Asking random questions. 'Did she rescue a kitten?' 'Adopt a star?' LMFAO Timothy what? Haha god I love this man.

Lucy tells him what early s1 Tim would’ve been thrilled to hear. That her personal life is none of his business. He smiles and says there’s hope for her yet. Ok Tim I’m sure that’s EXACTLY what you want. Smh. My god these two. Do they even realize how much flirting just went down in that interaction? The banter, the looks, the cute little smiles. Look at them in those last two gifs above. As transparent as glass. These idiots I love them so much.

If you needed to see their chemistry in one glorious shot. This is it. What a beautiful shot of these two. How the sun shines mostly on her is lovely nod to them as characters. They're checking in with one another silently as they hear a ‘shots fired’ call come over the radio. Processing the severity of the call together. The lighting is beautiful, the looks glorious, that silent communication ever present. I adore it.

They can hear how amped up the rookie on the radio is. Tim attaches them to the pursuit. Harper and Nolan attach themselves as well. Jackson hears his friends panicked voice. Tells Angela they we’re in the academy together. He the follows suit of the other two. Such an intense drive to where Chris and his T.O. are in pursuit.

Sadly Chris disobeys his T.O. to stay in cover while backup arrives. This kid has something to prove and leaves cover. His T.O. shouting at him to stay back. Unfortunately he’s shot instantly in the chest multiple times by their assailant. The guy takes off leaving Harper/Nolan to chase him as they arrive on scene. Tim and Lucy show up after all the chaos has ensued. Tim pulls Martinez Chris’s T.O. to the side. Says he’s going to need to talk to him since he was a witness to the shooting. Jackson decides to ride with Chris easing Martinez to go talk with Tim.

Tim then does what he does best. Deescalates the situation. This man is trying to justify himself to Tim. Tells him how he taught Chris better than that. That he’s made mistakes before but not like this. Tim is incredible in this moment. This scene shows us how good Tim is at his job. How important he knows training rookies is to T.O.’s Why Martinez is panicking like he is. Feels like he failed this kid and is spiraling.

Tim uses that common bond to get through to an emotionally heightened officer. He's coming off his rookie being shot. He's not seeing straight and blaming himself. So Tim calms him down using logic and listening to get the statement from him. The empathy and understanding that follow are a skill that was sharpened by a certain rookie of his. (So damn proud) He's trying to relay to him this wasn’t his fault. He doesn't need to defend himself to him.

I love how he relates to Martinez in this moment. All the while he is looking at Lucy. His words carrying extra weight to them. Almost like he's telling himself this as well as his fellow T.O.. This is hitting closer to home for him than he'd like. His look says so very much to anyone who is watching closely. Eric crushing it per usual saying so much with so little. The depth of how much he cares for her at this point. The man was gone for her long before they got together. (He just hasn’t been clued in yet about that fact.)

The way his eyes dart over to her while he’s comforting Martinez. What happened to this man is Tim’s greatest fear on the job. Not preparing Lucy enough and she gets hurt as a result. If he could only realize how much he’s already impacted her. She would not have survived 2x11 if not for his training of her. 'The Cop Eyes' he instilled in her to drop that ring for him.

She had the grit and determination all her own to survive no doubt. That 'No quit' paired with his training is why she made it. If you wanted to see Tim’s PTSD in action it’s this next portion. That deep fear of losing her the way he almost did back in 2x11. This next entire scene is screaming that PTSD from that. This moment a stark reminder for him that he could lose her just as quickly on the job due to a mistake. That it would be his fault. Again.

Some may think Tim is too harsh here. He’s being a dick etc. That’s not what I see here at all. I see a man in emotional panic. A spiral really. Talking to Martinez shook him more than he’s leading on. Watching his biggest fear happen to someone else is triggering his PTSD more than he'd like. We all know even with Lucy’s forgiving him how he’s still haunted by her almost death. Tim is still learning how channel his emotions. Lucy has opened a floodgate of having them and he hasn’t learned to control them just yet.

I can relate so very much. When you’ve repressed feelings for so long, then allow them to the surface they can be overwhelming. The anxiety of drowning in those emotions comes out in one of two ways. Anger or a complete shut down. For Tim anger is an old friend of his. He can’t seem to tamp down how this situation is making him feel.

Nor does he know how to deal with why it is. So he sees a small mistake she makes and lashes out. His current anxiety is manifesting into anger right now. His fear taking a life of it's own. Losing it on her over something he wouldn't necessarily been happy about but not to this current level of anger.

He is panicking because after the final 30 days elapses he won’t be by her side to protect her anymore. Its a harsh reality he isn't handling too well right now. Rios being shot bringing that into sharp focus. That this could happen to her without him there to guide her. So naturally he’s going to be hard on her especially in this moment. His way of controlling it and his emotions. He just watched a rookie get fatally shot and carted off to hospital due to a small error in judgement.

All those emotions and all that panic are coming through in spades in this moment. Tim isn’t handling his emotions about potentially losing her well. It more than shows in this scene. If he was trying to hold his emotional cards close to his chest about Lucy in this scene he failed miserably. It comes out when he asks her if she wants to end up like Rios? Showing his hand so much in this scene emotionally.

Now Emmett making the mistake of trying to intervene bites him in the ass badly. It’s bad for a couple reasons. The road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say. Reason one it was a terrible idea. Don’t get between Tim and his person. Emmett caught an emotionally exposed Tim and ran into an actual buzz saw doing this. Today was the WRONG day to interfere with him. Not gonna lie I do love Tim going all alpha on him. Saying she’s HIS boot. Destroying Emmett completely asking if 'He's got it? Before walking away.

Second reason it was not his best idea. Lucy. I adore her telling Emmett she didn’t need him to save her. Damn right you don’t. She is capable of defending herself especially with Tim. That's one of her super powers really. It was more embarrassing for Lucy he tried to step in to "protect" her. Not only that but mess with her work dynamic with Tim. She asked him to be cool at work and he wasn’t. Lucy makes sure he knows that before she takes off herself. She isn't a damsel in distress and lets him know. Leaving Emmett stunned.

Nolan and Harper get a finger print ID off the ditched car they pursued. They’re gearing up to break into Serj Derain's. Tim knows Lucy is shaken up for multiple reasons. Her friend Chris being shot, Him chewing her out and her mini fight with Emmett. He is always thinking of her first even when he doesn’t even realize he’s doing so. It's second nature at this point. He does this by resetting her mentally before they walk in the door of this man's house.

Saying how they already lost one cop today. She’s not going to be another. He refuses to lose Lucy by her potentially losing focus in this moment. This man just knows her like the back of his hand. It always floors me. Knows innately she needs these words of focus. That her mind is elsewhere and he needs it shifted back to the task at hand. The continuous proof of why he was the perfect T.O. for her. Tim reading her emotional state and directing her emotions. This is his version of taking care of her. By telling Lucy exactly what she needs to hear before they start this.

Her look of understanding after he dispenses his words of wisdom to her is perfection. Complete understanding of what he's saying and doing for her in this moment. ❤️ Everything this man does for her has her best interests at heart and ultimately to protect her. (Just like she does for him) It’s a beautiful thing to watch honestly. The two way support these two have for one another. This is an underrated moment for them. I wanted to expound on it. It shows that bond they have.

That even though they’re closer than they used to be with how she can sass him from time to time when it comes down to it that instant respect she has for Tim and his guidance. It is evident in this scene. His wisdom is guiding her right now emotionally and she knows it. That when he is serious like this she takes notice and listens immediately. She would follow him into hell if he asked her to.

They get inside with no issues. He isn’t home and the house is cleared. They’re searching his home office. Lucy asks Tim what they’re looking for? He tells her anything that can tell them where he is. It’s then Tim runs across some disturbing info. Confidential Police files on the Derian’s. Makes sense why nothing has stuck to them now. Someone’s been leaking info to the Armenian mob. A dirty cop in their midst…

We rejoin them in their shop. Lucy asks if they can talk about earlier? So much has happened today he’s not sure what she means. Lucy says about Emmett. Tim is immediately defensive. Tells her nothing to say about it. He tried to tell him how to do his job. On today of all days. Tim says he doesn’t care if he’s her BF. Lucy instantly cuts him off and corrects him. Says he’s not. (ahhh Lucy your commitment issues are showing again my dear) Tells Tim he’s a little dead to her right now anyway. I’m sure in the back of Tim’s mind that gives him a little peace.

Then comes one of the best parts of the episode for them. In not so many words this scene is Tim revealing something. Showing Lucy he cares about her in the most Tim way possible. He voices in a much kinder way his fears from earlier in the ep. That yes she’s only 30 days from the finish line. What scares him is when she crosses it he won’t be there to keep her from washing out anymore. 'Or worse...' The way she looks at him when he says this *heart clutch* Tim Bradford speak for I don’t want to lose you.

He solidifies it by reinforcing yeah he’s going to be tough on her. That is a straight fact. Then rolls a compliment into it as well. (How far we’ve come. *wipes tear*) Tells Lucy he’s only doing that because he KNOWS she can handle it. No one one knows her better than he does. No one will ever look out for her best interests better than he will. Or will prepare her the way he can. He only has 30 days left with her. Tim is going to make her as sharp as possible. So he can let her go when the time comes. Only way he will have peace of mind is if he does it this way.

Lucy’s reactions says it all. Beaming a little as she explains how sweet it is. She knows how he struggles with his emotions. That he tends to show them through actions rather than words. The fact that he told her this means so much. Tim in a roundabout way, told her he cares so much for her he’s afraid losing her after they're no longer riding together. That he can't protect her anymore after that. So he’s going to do everything in his power to safeguard her from this jobs worst moments and possibilities like today.

She makes sure he knows how 'oddly sweet' she finds his words. Tim is trying to bite back a smile above. That sunshine of hers seeping in just a little bit more. Trying to be a grump and be like 'That's not what I meant' when that's exactly what he meant. Revealing more cracks in that emotional wall of his. God I love it so Much.

Lucy continues on and says he’s not the one she’s mad at right now. That’s she’s used to Tim. Then he does something S1 Tim would be appalled at. Gives her advice on her personal life. Doing it not to please her or get her to stop talking. But because he genuinely cares about her. Giving me all the feels in this one. My shipper heart may implode.

Tells her Emmett is a fireman. So naturally they’re idiots LOL He makes Lucy smile in a way only he can. Tim forges on saying they mean well and Emmett is a 'not bad fireman'. Tells her not to write him off just yet. That he meant well by it. Look at our boy. I’m legit beaming with pride as I write this. How far this man has come in 2 seasons hell just this season alone. Leaps and bounds all due to the the sunshine human to his right.

Lucy being herself can’t help but rib him about this. That the reason he’s giving her this advice is cause they’re friends. Honestly yeah. At this point they are. S1 finale was the start of the friends foundation but they weren't there yet. It was the beginning of that deeper bond of theirs and we’re nearing the end of s2. All that foundation has now been laid. The fruits of it are they are friends now.

Best part of this section Is he doesn’t even deny it really. He scoffs a little af first (denial isn’t just a river in Egypt Tim) but concedes at the end. The light in his eyes and the crooked smile. You know this man is happy to be considered her friend. Her confidant. Once again Eric saying so god damn much with so little. I’ll never be over how good he is with that. Like ever. Could go on for miles and miles but I won’t do that to you all haha That wraps up their scenes together in this one. SO much good content thought. Oh my lord.

Sadly Chris passes away and Jackson is distraught. Lucy being there for Jackson is so sweet. Taking care of her business with Emmett but putting him first. I love their friendship. I do admire he came over to apologize and say he was wrong. Saying she’s the strongest woman he knows. That the last thing she needs is a protector. Well you as her protector yes. sorry Emmett lol That role is not meant to be yours. She has her fierce protector already. Tim is that but her emotional protector first and foremost. I mean he would smash a dude's face in for her LOL but she doesn't need that. That's it for this one. Such a good episode for them I can not.

~~~~

Side notes-Non Chenford

Longer than normal cause the entire episode is so good. The Chenford would’ve been enough but the ep being so good on top of it I’m happy.

Angela seeing Smitty’s cam footage LOL he’s such an idiot and we all love him haha sadly how she finds out Erin Cole is a dirty cop though. Or one of them…

The whole SL with Chris, Derians and Armstrong it’s so solid and stressful to watch baha his SL was shocking when I watched it the first time. Watching this squeaky clean cop fall from grace and become a dirty cop. Tragic af but compelling as hell.

Rewatching it through the eyes of knowing you can see how much he was giving away in his scenes. So sad the ending for Cole. Debt erasure is a huge motivator for most it’s truly so sad.

Watching John and Grace continue to fall apart sucks. I truly liked them more so than him and Bailey TBH. Their chemistry was evident.

Harper thanking John for all his help in getting her kid back. That she wouldn’t be here if not for him. The impact he had. Such growth for her. Since day one she has marched toward growth and where she is now. I adore her arc and how far she has come in this moment. Such an overall amazing episode. Hell of an ep before the finale.

Thank you all for the continued support through likes/comment and reblogs. Means more than I can ever say. Our next ep is the finale. Woo. I’ll see you all then :)

[yuikomorii]

I apologize for sending this via anon and I don’t want to make the situation worse but I only wish to share my thoughts with you.

Character development is not as important as some make it out to be, unless something is known for having static characters and one of them happens to have a development boost. Then yes, I agree said character will without doubt stand out but nobody in Dialovers has such a shocking development that makes everyone else look like less in comparison.

More people would prefer character growth over character development in that case. If a character is shown learning new things, learning from experiences, getting more mature and gaining more insights than at the beginning then that character will be seen as wonderful. This is exactly why Ayato is easy to love for many. Development can be cliché such as when characters go from bad to good or from hating life to appreciating it. Sure guys, it’s nice seeing them develop like that but those tropes are already too overused and sometimes people will seek for something fresh.

As for why Ayato is the ML, that’s because MLs in otome games have to inherently be active, stoic, fearless and good-hearted. For short, like heroes in fairy tales. Someone cold-hearted or distant can be a cool love interest but not a good ML. ML are guys who’d sacrifice themselves for their family, nation and love interest without development. You can turn a love interest into a hero but the main hero is a hero without needing love to be turned into one.

// SOMEONE WHO KNOWS!! Also no worries about being on Anon mode, I don’t have any problem as long as it’s respectful.

All characters went through some development but it’s very true that none of them had an outstanding one in the otoge industry. I agree with you that development only really counts as an argument that makes a character better when it’s seen as something revolutionary in that particular field.

I wish people would stop holding main characters at such an impossible standard. Only because they’re the leading roles of the story, doesn’t mean they have to be the smartest, sweetest or most complex characters out there. The traits you mentioned are the perfect examples. A main hero is basically a mentally strong, brave, determined, pure-hearted and self-sacrificing guy, who has always been like that. I also love your last sentence! Some people are influenced by others to become heroes while others are heroes because that is in their own nature.

As for Ayato, love him or not, he serves the main hero purpose better than everyone and that’s not an opinion, but facts. If he didn’t, then he wouldn’t get so praised for that. It’s even mentioned in an interview how Ayato is a character that can easily become a mainstay (first pic), given that he got that main character aura, backstory and charisma.

This will be my last post about this. Everyone is allowed to have their favs but at least put some respect on Ayato’s name, since he did indeed bring a lot of success to DL. You don’t have to be his stan, just appreciate his role.

[2uuno]

hmmm. my anon psychoanalysis diagnosis is that you may have problems or even quite possibly issues. secondary diagnosis is that i’ve been idly wondering for some time if the pyrophobia stems from the kenan dl tango fictive ranch burning down thing but between hitting myself mentally with a broom bc that’s a weird thing to wonder about someone i figured it’s probably more like a positive feedback loop and didn’t start there

oh my god. actually you're spot on, that's exactly where that started! props to you for figuring it out/gen