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

[ringsmaster]

We've been trying strategy all this time and it's been a pretty mixed bag, you know.

[ But! In all seriousness, ]

If we were to pick someone who hasn't gone yet, then maybe Maruki and Phoenix.

[hnl]

["All this time"? He'd argue he's the only one who tried something different after two failures of "picking someone who's similar to him", and the rest was just another repeat of the first week. But Brenner just arches his brow and lets that drop for now, latching onto the suggestion instead.]

Do you approve of how they complement each other?

[Again, the same strategy. But. Sure, why not. They've been left clawing for anything they can get, anyway.]

Their career paths were brought up during the ceremony itself if I remember correctly.

[alcoheal]

They're both a little shy, but Phoenix has been coming out of his shell bit by bit.

[She could go for a romantic story of one helping the other become a little more self-assured and bolder.]

[hnl]

[To be honest, the romantic angle is better than nothing. Given the group they're working with, it might as well be the best indicator between them, having little else to go by on week 3. rip them

He reads between the lines easily enough-]

So. Helping each other improve, you mean.

[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.]

[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?

[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.

[hnl]

[He did think her being a woman was going to be brought up, though once more, his assumptions are proven wrong.]

What brought this on, though? She wouldn't mention that out of the blue.

[alcoheal]

You heard her, right? At the ceremony. Maybe she could help me be a little more stubborn. I assume that's because we learned a few things about each other the other week.

[Manuela had pointed out shortly after that Lin is the only person to have ever thought she had a stubbornness deficiency. Brenner, in his obstinate and ambitious tendencies, wouldn't shy away from seeing her personality either.]

I'm flattered that someone doesn't think it's a flaw. Even though having a few of those is more charming. [Heh.] But being told I should be more stubborn just makes me feel...well. Stubborn.

[hnl]

[For Brenner, that's not enough detail to satisfy him, and he turns over what she's said in his mind for a moment more. His brows scrunch.]

Yes, but what I mean to say is... Where did this deficiency come from? Did she feel as though you were being neglected in this game?

[alcoheal]

As best I can tell, she got the impression from that disastrous first week we were here, when I was still hoping more of the men here might see what they want and go for it.

[After so long of being told that she's too chatty, too suggestive, that she comes on too strong, the subsequent blowback of being encouraged to aggressively chase after men has given her an irritating sense of whiplash.]