WEEK THREE MINGLE

[potatomance]

ᯓ⭐ WEEK THREE MINGLE

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

Probably?

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

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

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

That feeling is doubled!

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

Shut up, masochists.

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

Comments

[mechanideptus]

[ Oh, it absolutely is made up.

She doesn't respond to him right away, slowly sizing him up and seemingly debating with herself for several moments before coming to a decision. ]

Since you have shown your true self, so too shall one share a secret.

[ With a rapid movement, she lunges over the distance between them and grabs him by the throat, which she squeezes. Hard. ]

One's true name is Cloud Retainer, mighty adeptus of Liyue. One has built mechanisms that have felled gods, shifted the winds to change the weather, and ridden the lightning between the clouds within the sky. And if one ever learns to travel the rift between worlds, one will find you and your keepers and make you pay for your hubris.

[ She'll hold him there a few moments longer to make sure the message gets across. ]

[ziplash]

I'm no stranger to methods of training escalating to the extreme.

[ Which she says as professionally and evenly as she can. Much as this makes her suspicious, she also didn't become chief by jumping to conclusion. ]

But you can't seriously be surprised that people are concerned over the alleged abuse of a child. If you're convinced of these "predominantly positive" days, then by all means. Right now, it's their word against yours.

[hearthwarming]

[ oh. ]

Oh.

[ wow. ]

Wow... Wait, what did the other woman do...?

[hearthwarming]

[ the power of aesthetics... (no)

Regardless, the feeling of fingers carding through her hair seems to only soothe, lull her into a restful state even more. She hums, content, a sleepy little smile curling at her lips. In her mind, she dreams of a beautiful, mild day in the woods, perhaps finding a nice spot in a clearing with Juniper after a morning spent scouting and foraging, and— Juniper. There's something about Juniper—

She's... been taken. She remembers. And in order to see to her freedom once more, Ori has to— ]

Mmm...?

[ Her eyes flutter open, slowly but surely, only to find not a bright, blue, cloud-speckled sky over the Hollow Wilds, but... Yukong's eyes. ]

...Like when the sun sets...

[ Her eyes, she means. ]

[hnl]

[Well, he's just a normie, so he can't do anything about that. Her hand clenches quite firmly around his throat, and squeezes hard enough to restrict most of his airflow.

Most of it.

His own hand comes up to grasp at her wrist, for what good it does -- nothing at all, beyond mere instinctive response. And so much of what she tells him truly means nothing; Cloud Retainer? Mighty adeptus? Something more than what she's pretended to be with him, someone who's created great and fascinating things. That much, he can conclude.

What a shame it's had to come to this, then.

Brenner, despite the upped heart rate and the squeeze around his throat which makes each word a strain, still manages a frustrating tilt to his mouth.]

If you do manage to traverse the veil between worlds, then please. Pay a visit, let me pick your mind on the matter. I'd be happy to see an old friend.

[hearthwarming]

[ She laughs, fond, affectionate, and wistful. ]

No, not at all, and I don't take offense one bit. We were all so young, back then. Even Dae, by elven standards... We stumbled about everywhere we went, but we always only wanted to do the right thing and help others.

[hearthwarming]

Share a secret with me, then, Zhongli— how did it feel? When you realized you could fall for Lucifer? How... did you know?

[ Maybe that's not quite a secret at this point, but... she's been wanting to know. ]

[hnl]

[He spreads his arms, a vague indication towards this whole farce.]

That's right. My word against theirs. And nothing else to go on -- for anyone. Doctor Maruki hasn't had the highest opinion of me from the start. Do you think anything I say to reason with him is going to be effective, especially now that he's seemingly intent on tearing apart my reputation?

[alcoheal]

[So that's why he can't sleep and makes life a living hell for anyone who tries to share a bed with him... as well as why he wouldn't have just explained that in the first place. He's talking about it like it happened to somebody else, and that irritates her, just like it always does, but she leans her cheek against her hand and listens anyway.]

What exactly is the Great Catastrophe? [She'll start there. It's not personal, about the strange wound he received or how it could have caused that kind of injury or why that's something he's needed to keep secret..]

[mechanideptus]

[ The sheer, brazen impudence of his response only makes her that much angrier. She releases him and throws him down to the ground, if only to stop herself from snapping his neck. ]

One is no friend of yours.

[ She's fucking done with this. With a slight whirl of wind, she transforms into a cyan-colored spectral crane and flies out of the blanket fort altogether. ]

[bewrightback]

Objection!!

[Phoenix cries out, some pizza bagels dropping from the tray that he had just returned with.]

You're presenting the unsettling description Dr. Maruki just provided as a 'difficult day' for... Miss Four? When we first met, you assured me that the children in your charge were being treated with the utmost care! Dr. Brenner, were you really being truthful?

[He stands garbed in blue footsie pajamas.]

[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. ]

[bewrightback]

....
....
....
....
....
....

Say what?

[He's confused not only from a moral/ethical standpoint, but also from a 'I thought he was the other ordinary guy' standpoint']

sometime after the shitshow that was the first catherding; closed to Zhongli

[mechanideptus]

[ Despite the chaos, Zhongli's exit from the blanket fort did not go unnoticed. She doesn't know what caused him to retreat, but she has a feeling she knows where he's gone: the castle's roof.

Which is, of course, exactly where she finds him sitting with a bottle of Osmanthus wine. She flies down next to him and transforms back to her human appearance before taking a seat.

For now, she says nothing. She's seething and miserable, and from the look on his face it's clear he's not feeling much better than she is. Instead, she simply leans into him, a gesture meant to comfort and be comforted in equal measure. And also because they're not immune from that damn clinginess, even here. ]

[cosmoid]

To move forward even when others cannot—that is another reason I like you.

[ he's not really whispering anymore, but perhaps he can be forgiven in this instance. ]

[hearthwarming]

[ She watches as he angles his head, availing himself to her, and her eyes narrow at him in turn. ]

You're supposed to be gazing up at the stars, aren't you?

[thefinalcontract]

[Well... she's very drunk so she may not remember the conversation. So he'll whisper her some of his biggest secrets.]

How did I know, hm? [He leans in, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.] I've lived a long time. Over six thousand years of loving and losing in a never ending cycle. But Lucifer is timeless. He has existed since the beginning. And he will exist long after me. That's certainly a point in his direction... He is someone that will last the test of endless time.

Someone I will not have to mourn and grieve. Someone I can love endlessly.

In the first week he took me flying. He told me his history. Of being fallen and cast from heaven. Of having lost his dreams and not being able to see the good in the world any longer. And for one who has done all he can to slip free from the shackles of the heaven's themselves... I found him most precious indeed.

He has stardust eyes and a whimsical spirit. Teeth sharp like a dragon with wings downy soft. So much of him is golden, a color and element I am familiar with. And as a God myself, with a penchant for hoarding treasures, I simply wish to keep him. Wrap him up in contracts and ink to bind him.

I won't, of course... I have learned long ago not to chain those you cherish in such things. Anything given should be done freely. And when all this is said and done and we must return to our respective lands I will simply have faith that he will find a way to me. That the dreams he has crafted here will guide him back.

As for how it feels... It feels as it always does in these moments of infatuation, slowly building into something more. It's joyous and full of hope. The heavy pressure of loneliness dissipates with each moment... The world is brighter. More colorful. Everything is a touch sweeter. Like savoring a warm cup of freshly brewed tea but this time... I feel like the flavor will last. It does not need to be savored. One could gulp greedily as it will be there come the morrow and many many years after.

[cosmoid]

[ it takes him a moment, where he's caught up in the gold of her eyes before he answers, but with certainty he replies. ]

I would say I am looking at one.

[cosmoid]

[ he's probably eaten all of the popcorn he nabbed from xianyun, so score. yes he's being true to the meme and picking up the pizza bagels that were on the floor and eating them.

this much drama requires snacks. ]

[bewrightback]

[Phoenix eventually steps up, clad in blue footsie pajamas and with a tray of pizza bagels that are mostly still intact.

There are a few secrets he'll keep to himself, because of the repercussions they could have on people watching. So nothing about that piece of evidence he passed onto Apollo to help him win his first trial, or about what he learned regarding Trucy's mother. He does think of something else to reveal.

(Maybe this can lighten the tension?)

He raises a glass of grape juice(?) to signal his turn.]

The first time I actually appeared in a court of law was as a defendant who was accused of murder. And... and...

[He rubs at his head.]

...I... ate a piece of evidence. ...It was a bottle pendant. ...Which was a gift from my girlfriend! ...Who turned out to be the real murderer.

we're really in it now old friend

[thefinalcontract]

[He's thinking. It's quiet up here. There's no bickering over what people have done to children regardless of regrets or not. No talk of letting one's own people be slaughtered.

He has his hands folded in his lap his cup of wine having only a sip out of it thus far. He's not Venti. He does not indulge to ease aches and pains but the taste of it is nostalgic. And the familiarity helps. His eyes glance over to her as she lands but he allows the quiet to linger between them only speaking when she leans against him.

Instinctively he brings an arm to wrap around her, pulling her a little closer. He brushes his lips against the top of her head, further comforting her.]

I am sorry, old friend... [He lets his cheek rest against the very spot he'd just given a spot of affection.] I am feeling it quite keenly how we do not belong in a game like this.

[cosmoid]

It brought her closer to the boy she likes.

[ see even when he's being petty he's helping! ]

[cosmoid]

[ looks at the rest of tonight... ]

I am. I'll decide on a secret to tell the group later.

[ a beat and grin. ]

Unless you would like one for your ears only, now?

[ozzz]

[Were it anyone else, Mithra would have checked out after "look at this!" Seeing as it's Oriphi, he waits until she sobs into a wall of blankets to answer:]

No, not at all.

[voxnozzz]

[ yes, actually.




no, actually. but yes, actually, because there was a time when he did, and it almost killed him. ]

I will reveal enough for this game.

[ ...... ]

... I have done something similar to what Maruki has spoken of in the past.

[ that's something people take issue with? apparently? wild. not that he didn't think it's an important fact to mention, but. you know. ]