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]

You got it. It's easy to be relaxed around Phoenix... maybe he's even a little too easygoing, but he sees some challenging stuff.

[She thinks back to some of the things he told her during the "afterparty" and pauses with a smile. Probably not for Manuela to repeat, even mid-Truth Booth gossip.]

[hearthwarming]

[ She lifts her hand to the side of his face, to cup his ear, though she takes a moment to hum thoughtfully, as she comes to a decision on what to tell him about, exactly, before she leans in and whispers: ]

I made a deal with a devil, once. Something in exchange for information that my friends and I needed.

[hnl]

[This man... honestly.]

That you did. Well, then, let's see...

[It's Brenner's turn to shave away all the bits that he doesn't want to share, versus that which he can. With him, the tangled web is a bit messier, more unflattering. But there are threads that are both fascinating and simple enough to pluck free.]

I'll tell you something no one in my world is supposed to know. But my "dimension" isn't the only one that exists back home. There's another, more volatile one; currently unexplored but not necessarily uninhabited.

[hearthwarming]

We, um... Royally pissed off [ language ] some asshole [ LANGUAGE!! ] duke... Ahhh, I can't even remember his name, it was a while back...

Anyway, he threw us into the dungeons, but I was hiding as a mouse in my friend's pocket, so I snuck out and got the keys!

[psychs]

[ He has only just started drinking but he is apparently ready to throw gasoline on the fire, because-- ]

I don't think you're one to be counseling anyone on shame, considering you have none.

[ He IS tired of being nice! He DOES just want to go apeshit! ]

[psychs]

Yes, I'm well aware, thank you.

[ It's not something he's proud of, in any respect. ]

[psychs]

[ Thanks, he is just gonna take one hell of a swig from that bottle, thanks, Ori. He's already questioning it, but what's done is done... ]

What... happened to the original?

[ Hello??? ]

[psychs]

No, it didn't. In the end, that reality was shattered, and for the better.

[ He harbors no delusions that he was in the right, at least. ]

[hnl]

[WOW FIGHTING WORDS ALREADY

Brenner just laughs, though, brief but quite sincere.]

I'm trying to encourage you, doctor. If you're keen on remaining self-flagellating for the entire time you're here, though, too busy conflating ambition for a "dark secret"... Well. Be my guest.

[ziplash]

"Take control of reality?"

[ Well... his research had sounded far fetched when she'd heard about it, she'll admit. But all this sounds like several steps too far. ]

You must have put thousands — millions of lives in jeopardy.

[alcoheal]

[She'll lift the blossom right up immediately to breathe it in, careful to avoid disturbing any of the lovely petals.]

You bet. I had people fawning over me by the hour. [She winks a little cheekily, a gesture that looks particularly picture-perfect with the flower.] More gifts than you could know what to do with...

[There is pride and confidence there, but it's not exactly...overinflated. A little vain? Definitely. Never condescending.]

But pressing flowers? I was always more for needlework, embroidery, that kind of thing.

[hnl]

It's as good of logic as any. Though... from what I recall, we could maybe make a similar argument for your own match. What's keeping you from throwing yourself into the ring?

[voxnozzz]

[ oz is in cute dragon themed pajamas, though he'll likely shift them into looking like his standard "heir to a multimillion dollar mansion in a murder mystery novel" look when he feels like he's sufficiently played along.

he did not bring snacks. he wanted to sit in front of a fireplace, but there were no chairs, and now he is here. ]

... What a cursed game indeed.

[ good thing he's not picking ]

[ziplash]

That's the sort of thing someone with a ton of secrets would say.

[ DISAPPROVING FROWN ]

[hearthwarming]

[ Perhaps out of empathy, concern, and a wish for some contact, Ori reaches over and pats him on the back. There, there. As for his question: ]

Oh. She traveled with us for some time... She wanted to find out what happened to her mother. But the simulacrum wasn't enough to fool the King, soooo...

[cosmoid]

[ wow, hum into his ear like that on this of all weeks. uroko closes his eyes and not so sneakily wraps an arm around her waist.

he murmurs back quietly, low enough for no one else to hear. ]

Do you regret it?

[ziplash]

I don't think it'll serve us to try to send one of the pairs from the ceremony — only one of them was right, anyway, so it'd be like finding a needle in a haystack. We're better off picking a pair that's completely new.

[ For right now, she won't grill him for a secret, but like. They're getting that hint, one way or another. ]

One strategy would be to send you or Xianyun again. It'd at least narrow down yet another choice for either of you, even if the match is incorrect. Assuming your matches in week two were wrong, which is likely, and that you two weren't a match either... it's possible we could end up eliminating four potential matches for either of you. That doesn't do much for the rest of us, though.

Otherwise, I still think that sending those with a wide compatibility is the best bet.

[cosmoid]

Your match should be someone who can see past that.

[ obvious perhaps, but with that secret aired maybe it will prove useful.

"should" because looks at riri. ]

[ziplash]

[ Well... she'll take the drink, but she doesn't yet make any motion like she's going to drink it. No, in her mind, she's babysitting it. ]

Fine by me. Just don't forget that I'm an officer of the law.

[ if her secret involves DOING CRIME she WILL be a party pooper ]

[hearthwarming]

[ Ori, who has already confessed to breaking her friends out of jail and kind of kidnapping royalty: ]

Oh! Oh, right...

[ She forgor. ]

W-Why don't you share a secret of yours first, then, Lin? H-Heh.

[hearthwarming]

[ It is rather picture-perfect, and honestly not for the first time since their stay here began, Ori spares a thought or three for Manuela's charm. So charismatic and graceful in ways that Ori could never hope to be. A little vanity could be excused, when it's justified, in her estimation. ]

Needlework and embroidery, huh... Very elegant!

[ Earnestly. She means no judgment by it - they suit her. But flowers suit Manuela, too, she thinks, an observation that Ori only highlights further as she lifts her hand to gently tuck another ranunculus into Manuela's hair, over the shell of her ear. ]

What about embroidering flowers? That would be a little bit like pressing flowers, wouldn't it?

[alcoheal]

You think? I'm not tossing my hat in because I'm not certain about that at all. I have a few reasons for thinking you can count me and Lin out.

[One might think she's talking about the fact that they're both women, but Manuela actually continues, and it's something a bit deeper than that.] I don't think we know each other well yet at all, but she already mentioned wanting to see me change.

[ziplash]

[ She purses her lips, hesitating for only a moment, before deciding that the hint matters above all else. It's not like she's embarrassed or ashamed, anyway. Actually, she kind of smirks. ]

...I once destroyed the property of a man who broke up with me.

[ HE DESERVED IT???? Also, it wasn't public property. It's fine. Then, dryer: ]

And tried to put the woman he left me for in jail.

[ 😇 ]

[hnl]

[no you can’t send him again he’s gonna statistics his way out of this one]

We’re more likely to find success in the truth booth if we send one of the pairs from the match ceremony. It’s a one out of six chance. If we’re being generous and assuming Mithra isn’t my match, the chances are one out of eight. Or seven to be even more generous, if we assume Uroko has been paired with a woman.

[ziplash]

That only leaves me and Manuela, Maruki and Phoenix, Oriphi and Zhongli, and Xianyun and Lucifer from the last ceremony.

If that's the strategy you'd like to play with, it begs the question: which do you find the most likely?