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

[alcoheal]

[Manuela, who can also teleport people but only a certain number of square yards: That's unfortunate.]

Ah... I don't want to watch this, but I can't look away, either.

[A fall from that height probably won't hurt either of them too badly, though she's not sure if she can voice that medical assessment out loud without it coming out a jumbled mess.

Wow, Ori and Yukong are really making quick work of the mess in the kitchen, aren't they?]

[alcoheal]

[She just slides a glass of grape juice into his hand while he's collapsed there.]

We might have to amputate.

[hearthwarming]

[ poke. Her cheeks puff up a little in response. ]

I'm not! I'm just... wondering out loud, is all. Does this mean I have more... romantic experience, between the two of us?

[ lol. lmao even, ]

[thefinalcontract]

[He lowers his gaze at that very pointed look and follows that up with a long sip of tea before attempting to make any sort of statement.]

Heart matches and perfect matches, yes? They are not mutually exclusive as you have been so kind to remind me in our conversations. Perhaps he is your heart match and then there is naught to lose.

[hearthwarming]

[ She has the impression that yes, he very much is like this on any given night! She pouts a little bit, her cheeks warming all the more. ]

N-No, of course not...

[ Shaking her head... ]

Where I'm from, though... having scales on your skin could mean a lot of things! My sister has them too, you know.

[alcoheal]

[Wince.]

He might wind up in the infirmary regardless of any thrashing from me.

[Maybe they shouldn't have deviated from sending down people who had at least some means of climbing.]

[alcoheal]

Someone who supports you and will partner with you on your own path...isn't that the most we all can hope for?

[She's really rooting for these two guys at this point, maybe partially because she can see her own desire for such a supporting and encouraging partnership in the way they spoke last night at the dinner table.]

They're pretty close to each other. Physically, I mean. [She can see how this could go bad.]

[hearthwarming]

[ She's quiet, thoughtful for a long while, and then she laughs quietly, mostly to herself. ]

A divine being, though...? With someone of fiendish blood... Hah.

[ She doesn't know she's talking to another divine being who is also enamored with The Devil himself. ]

Well... That would be sort of poetic in its own way, I suppose.

[thefinalcontract]

[He smiles and presses a finger to his lips. And he leans in very close to whisper softly to her.]

Not so strange a concept... Perhaps more common within this house than you might think.

[He pulls back a little, still speaking softly.]

And if you and Lucifer are the fiendish and devilish ones then... What does that say about the rest of us? Kinder souls I have yet to meet.

[ozzz]

["Because no one else would choose you."]

We were matched in the previous ceremony. [His answer then still stands.] And the rest of the team isn't an option.

[alcoheal]

If it isn't, then there is a chance that I was supposed to be paired with him.

[They can both be lazy and love alcohol. His words had moved her before about the Sea God and his role in love. She'd found him handsome from the first day. Manuela can see it.]

Rest easy. I don't need to tell you I won't interfere. I'm not like that.

[She takes a drink. So there you go, Ori; if that's how things play out, it won't run the risk of being quite as painful as the show's first real heartbreak.]

[hearthwarming]

[ Will she connect the dots? ...Let's say yes. Given the care Zhongli takes in whispering this to her, though, she does her very best not to react so outwardly. And at best, she can guess that he might also be some sort of demigod or the vassal of one, maybe like an aasimar, but regardless— ]

Oh. Hah. I... I see.

[ Drawing away, she tips her head in question at him. ]

Hmm... Then Lucifer and I could be another viable option, no? The kindest devils you'll ever meet.

[thefinalcontract]

[He hums, sitting back completely now to take a sip of tea as he looks her over.]

A remarkably fine match, yes... Then, as the saying goes, two birds and one stone. I could collect you both much easier and take you to Liyue to see the sights.

[mechanideptus]

[ Guess who has her rice out again. ]

Within "Team Steampunk," there are a total of twelve possible combinations for matches. One of which has been definitively disproven thanks to our blackout in the first week.

[ Thanks for being incompatible, Manuela and Mithra! ]

What's left is for us to figure out which of the remaining eleven pairings are the best candidates for a successful match and put those forward.

[cosmoid]

Hoh, maybe. Shall I let you take the lead then?

[ if she doesn't resist, he'll roll her on top of him. ]

[hnl]

[Brow rising.]

I can't say that those who've relied strictly on genuine interest have had much luck so far. In that case, it's good that you've that and probability on your side.

[Isn't that nice.]

Still, maybe the two of you can finally be the exception to the rule.

[hnl]

[He won't ask why the rest of the team isn't an option, mostly because he suspects anyone he'd pick is already going to be shuffled into another pair for the upcoming ceremony.]

Fair enough. Though when I picked you, it was based on the strategy of choosing an extreme opposite. You can pick someone else if you think anyone else fits that bill by now, you know.

[ozzz]

[Mithra's eyes narrow. He's often called childish, but even a child is older than an infant. A surge of petulance rises with the odd urge, and he retracts his hand to lie down and rest his head on one of her thighs instead.

He stares up at her.]

Didn't I tell you? You should do as you please.

[bewrightback]

What, my whole back? [He gives a weak chuckle while bringing the juice towards his lips.

(At least I can drink away my sorrows...)]

[ziplash]

Doesn't two matched pairs on Team Steampunk also mean there must be two matched pairs on Team Shinsengumi?

[ She is using left over popcorn pieces to demonstrate this. ]

We might take into consideration which four on the other team we should try to leave over.

[ozzz]

No. If there's an opposite, no one is more appropriate than you.

[ringsmaster]

Huh? Oh, yeah. He asked me to call him that the other day. I kind of forgot not everyone else does.

[ziplash]

To be frank, I think that's a dangerous way of thinking.

[ The law isn't always 100% right, but most of the time? It is. Her lips draw to the side. ]

You must have things that you believe are "wrong" and "right," don't you?

[ringsmaster]

[ He still tenses up like something awful is about to happen, because it really does sound like "we need to talk."

That forehead kiss does wonders for draining the tension out of him. He might even dare to look a little... hopeful? ]

Yeah... yeah, okay. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done!

[bewrightback]

I wouldn't put it on the same level as a rumor... When you get down to it, it's about two people's accounts of a situation. Like what you previously said, your word against his.

[Still, Phoenix feels like he's hitting a dead end in terms of pressing him. It's not like the witness's stand, where he'll eventually crack and break down when the right hole is exposed in his argument. Brenner is just digging his heels in further, so there's not much point in carrying on like this. At least for now.

Phoenix lets out a sigh.]

But I think this has carried on long enough. It's not like we can determine anything definitively anyway like this, based on testimony alone. And of course, I do accept what you just said. If that's what those officials were thinking of doing, I'm glad that an alternative was reached that didn't involve their deaths. That much I can appreciate.