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

[ziplash]

[ Hmmm.... it's as fine an explanation for now, she supposes, and it's not like she wants to further complicate the relations between everyone by continuing to drill deeper. It's hard to pursue it when she hasn't seen these memories for herself, either. She'll stay neatly in neutral ground, until further evidence comes to light. ]

I don't know about the others, but for me, no. I make judgments with my own eyes, when confronted with evidence. All this [ She gestures to the hullaballoo around them, ] Is hearsay. Doesn't hold up in court, and it doesn't hold up in an arrest, either. Nothing anyone says would convince me either way.

[ Whether he's innocent or guilty... it's not something she would decide on something as flimsy as arguments. ]

I can't exactly go investigate this little laboratory of yours, but if I were able, believe me, I would. And if you're innocent, you wouldn't have anything to worry about. Until then, well, I'm more concerned about the present.

[ziplash]

Bending — manipulation of the elements in my world — is a lot more common by far, then.

[ "There could be more?" She guesses there would be some incentive to hide it, if you had nefarious intentions. Of course, her mind immediately goes towards people abusing it for crime. ]

How do you know of them? Sounds like they might be something of public figures, if these "visions" are gifts from the Gods.

[ziplash]

...Or, none of the women here are to her tastes.

[ Personally, she can't relate, because unlike her mom, Lin is not blind and there are plenty of good looking women in their cast. ]

I don't know about me and Manuela — she's... good looking, don't misunderstand. [ manuela is hot okay everyone acknowledges this she just doesn't want it to come off like she's saying manuela is NOT HER TYPE ] But she seems a little... lax.

[ Granted, it's not like she knows everything about her... but the drinking and the eating pizza bagels off the floor... it leaves an impression in her mind. Perhaps because of her own high-strung-edness, it's hard to imagine herself with anyone who is not also like that. but lbr lin just hates fun ]

I lead a very strict life, and I don't know if we would be compatible.

[ziplash]

Hmm. If you want my opinion, I agree.

[ Which she feels more comfortable saying to him than to the others — she thinks he has a better understanding of looking at someone and gauging their guilt or innocence after a lot of experience having to do so. ]

For what it's worth, he does seem genuinely remorseful. He admitted to the crimes openly, too.

[ So he doesn't have anything to gain by telling them all of this... it definitely paints him in a more favorable light. ]

Perhaps what he needs is someone who can understand that — who can look past it.

[ A little nod in his direction, as if to say like you. ]

[hearthwarming]

[ Things never really are so black and white. Even for how much good the Alchemighty tries to do in the world, things always, always end up in the grey for one reason or another. This, she knows intimately, and... in a way, it's heartening to know that Lin feels that, too.

And also heartening to know that MISS LIN HAS PARTICIPATED IN JAILBREAKS?? ]

Wait, you... you have? Wow. [ She can't help but smile. ] You're full of surprises!

[hearthwarming]

[ Ori tilts her head at that. ]

Do you think I'm a little lax, too, then? [ fellow drinker and floor pizza bagel eater here. She is eating a floor pizza bagel right now. ] Ehe...

Maybe... That's exactly why you might be a pair, though. Maybe your life is too strict, so you might be paired with someone who can... get you to loosen up a little...

[ A knowing smile that cuts even through the goofiness of her drunken expression. ]

Even if it's just... little steps... heh.

[ozzz]

[He cracks a smile.]

How interesting. I'd like to see when that happens.

[voxnozzz]

[ there is something within oz that feels a specific way towards the notion that such a response is foolish. there is some measure of defensiveness, irrationality, and agreement; there is no need for him to feel such things, as it's a situation so far from him, and yet they are there.

uroko drinks in preparation for his response. oz's gaze merely dips towards his glass, staring at what remains in silence.

you are right tangles with you do not understand, then, and he is uncertain which is the stronger or weaker one. from within, there is only a singular conclusion that both protects and accurately reflects what oz views as the truth. ]

... Then remember that distinction. It is proof of the freedom you hold beyond your origins, and your obligations. There may be a time when you need such a thing.

[ but perhaps uroko already knows that. there's just something that seems young in the way he speaks, despite not being so. beyond all else, it's a compliment. ]

[alcoheal]

... Are you smiling? About the guy who stabbed me?

[Well, about her running off to stab him back. Still, he'll have to forgive her for being surprised by the rare sight.]

[ozzz]

[Indeed, he is. Why wouldn't he be?]

It'll be the moment he receives the frustration you've felt at his hands. That's a good thing, no? I'm curious to know how you'll do it.

[thefinalcontract]

Interesting...

[He takes a sip of his tea turning over this information.]

There are some public figures, yes. But truly anyone can have them. I am, after all, a funeral parlor consultant and I have one. And so does our local pharmacist, a street performer, the owner of the funeral parlor, a lawyer, an opera singer...

It's not a matter of power or status but if you are worthy in the eyes of the Gods.

[cosmoid]

Hmm. We have many devils and demons, not just a singular one.

[ religions... ]

[cosmoid]

Mmn. [ another sip, slower this time. ]

I am but a single scale of the Sea God, but even I am not free from the current, it seems. But perhaps that is not complete sacrilege. After all, my tendency to be stubborn comes from him just as well.

[ it's something he needed to hear, even if it's something he will sit on for a few more days before actually acting on it fully. oz won't get a thank you, but he does get a warm smile instead. ]

[alcoheal]

[If Lin thinks that leaning back is going to be enough to keep Manuela from advancing to reach for the pizza bagel, bending over the table (so enjoy that, anyone sitting opposite her). She's not about to let good food go to waste, even if it means a cut fully into Lin's personal space.]

Mithra's usually straightforward. I'm aware how insane that sounds, [she adds quickly before Lin has the chance to open her mouth again.] But what he says is "his" way of expressing his true thoughts. That's the only reason I'm inclined to entertain those two...no matter how dumb it sounds.

You're right about Lucifer. Someone who can build him up... take him for who he is... that seems to make him happy.

[alcoheal]

I've been making a speedy recovery, don't worry. [She's basically right as rain by now!] But I don't want to push it. Beauty like this is a terrible thing to waste, isn't it?

[Manuela hits Aurelia with a chipper little wink. Some kind of septic fallout would be a miserable and dissatisfying end to the illustrious life of the Divine Songstress.]

A field trip? You're that eager to stay in touch after this is all said and done, are you?

[alcoheal]

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

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

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

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

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

[alcoheal]

... I haven't gotten there yet. [She's too impulsive to have planned out her vengeance; she just knows that she wants it.]

All I know is that I want to be there when he gets his just desserts, and I want to have a hand in it. [There's righteous anger in there, of course, but there might also be a little...worry. Embarrassment. Humiliation. It may have been an unfair fight, but she still failed, even if she was able to leave a clue for those who were actually able to pursue him.]

[voxnozzz]

[



thanks, aurelia. his expression of neutrality twitches, and- ]

... The Sage may have whispered something similar at some point. I do not see it.

[ maybe mithra. not him, though, the pinnacle of refined head empty. ]

[ozzz]

[That's fair. She'll have to fight for the right if there are others in the race, but she seems determined enough.]

With a sword?

[She mentioned a stab or two, so . . . ]

[ziplash]

[ MANUELA CLEAVAGE JUMPSCARE??????????? (NO)

But really, she is going to start trying to store the pizza bagel somewhere in her clothes. Her front pocket for example, as she tries to scoot her chair back. ]

He needs someone confident, that's for sure. I don't think it'd do him any help to be with someone as nervous and insecure as he is.

[ WHICH IS NOT MEANT AS AN INSULT, rather, he's just a poor lil guy and needs someone who can toughen him up a bit, or at least build him up. ]

As for Mithra, well... he's a complicated person. Brenner is too, I suppose. At least we know they can handle each other, if it does end up true.

[ziplash]

Right, but I mean that those who receive might become public figures after the fact. Being able to do such feats doesn't often go unnoticed. Or unused.

[ She shrugs. ]

But it's interesting to know there's a wide variety of them in all sorts of professions; that's how benders are too, except benders can also do jobs that non-benders couldn't dream of doing. A lot of the police force are earthbenders, for example.

Never met a funeral parlor consultant, though. You enjoy your work?

[hearthwarming]

[ A wry laugh. ]

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

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

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

[alcoheal]

[It's only mildly reassuring when Manuela feels like such an absolute mess... but reassuring it is nonetheless. Slightly mollified, she slides down further with a pout and a huff.

If Yukong will agree to her polite, wordless request to cuddle with her tail, she'll muffle her grumpiness in the fur while she naps. Otherwise, enjoy falling back to sleep with her faceplanted into your shoulder, Yukong.]

[bewrightback]

Those do sound like good qualities...

[Phoenix isn't a hundred percent sure what he's really looking for, but that definitely sounds like a start.

And then he looks more contemplative, looking off to a wall of the pillow fort as he answers the question.]

...It has been a thought on my mind. And Trucy can get on my case about finding someone! I do have a lot going on back home, but... now that I do have two lawyers working for me, maybe it is time to think about slowing down and focusing more on that sort of thing...

[bewrightback]

But the back pain's a lot easier to describe...

[As painful as it is, it's a lot easier to focus on the physical pain than to describe the emotional side. But he lets out a little sigh. Shifting his position just a bit so he can look towards Manuela.]

It just feels so... confusing, and bad. I really got myself thinking I was on the right track with Dr. Maruki. I got my hopes up and then... they got crushed at the bottom of that well. I guess it's like a weird kind of rejection... Instead of just getting turned down by the other person, it's like the entire universe is saying no to it.