WEEK FOUR MINGLE

[potatomance]

ᯓ⭐ WEEK FOUR MINGLE

Heya, lovebirds! You're entering the final week and things sure are... great.

Right?

Well, whether you're feeling great or not, you're going to find yourself looking your best in formal wear this week! Suits, gorgeous dresses, fabulously outlandish outfits, you name it, you're stuck in it. No sweatpants or lab coats for anyone this week. We have standards.

And we also believe in telling the truth, one way or another!

That's right, if you're asked a question, any question at all, no matter how innocent or dire, you are compelled to speak your most truthful answer. It could be who you think is the hottest in the castle. It could be your opinion on orange juice. Whatever it is, there is no longer a brain-to-mouth filter in place!

And maybe you'll figure that out and all decide to be merciful, but Riri will be popping up every now and then. And Riri? Riri will not be merciful.

Except for one thing, and that's a note in the main room that states simply: You all suck at this, so this week, our good ol' lesbian duo can now speak normally. You're welcome. ♥

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

Comments

[hearthwarming]

[ Closes her eyes. ]

All right. Who is on your mind?

[ozzz]

[Sweet Ori.]

Rutile and Mitile are always on my mind . . . but I was thinking about Manuela just now.

[hearthwarming]

Oh? What about her...? Does it have to do with what I'd said about her just now...?

[ozzz]

Yes. I was thinking . . . [he folds his arms and rubs an elbow] about how I've been looking after her all this time, but she hasn't smiled once.

[hearthwarming]

[ Ori blinks at that. ]

Really...

[ Okay, she's just going to plop herself down next to him wherever he's sitting. Her tail curls around herself, the tip of it resting in her lap. ]

Looking after her? How so? I've been a bit worried about her, too. What if we worked together?

[ozzz]

[It's . . . a chair! Because of the meeting, the seats are positioned somewhat closely.]

Yes. I give her various things to cheer her up, and I tell her when she's thinking too hard about other people. I don't mind working together, but she always makes these faces at me.

[hearthwarming]

[ . . .


a deep breath in. ]

You could try... being a little warmer. Softer.

[ozzz]

Softer . . . ?

[hearthwarming]

Let's... All right. Maybe we should back up a little...

[ ahem. ]

Do you do all of these things for Manuela because you care about her...?

[ozzz]

I do.

[Short and simple. That's how it is.]

[hearthwarming]

[ at that, she smiles. ]

Okay! Good. That's good.

[ genuinely. She will just go ahead and say it. ]

Have you... held her hand? Embraced her? Held her tenderly? Anything like that?

[ozzz]

Yes. No. No. Yes.

[This would strike an ordinary person as an odd string of answers, but Mithra doesn't appear bothered.]

Are you saying that I should hug her?

[hearthwarming]

Well— if she seems upset or bothered by something or if she's having one of her headaches, you could ask her. If she would like a hug, I mean!

[ she doesn't want Mithra to just hug Manuela unprovoked and risk getting slapped or something ]

[ozzz]

[She's a true pal.]

Okay . . . Then I'll do that next time.

[hearthwarming]

Good. Great! Heh...

[ she is just giving Mithra a look now... look at him. Doing a Care. She's so proud... ]

Wow.

[ozzz]

[He blinks. Why is she looking at him like that?]

What is it?

[hearthwarming]

It's just... [ she laughs weakly. ] I don't remember much about what we talked about when I was really out of it the other night, but... I remember being upset, and maybe... feeling like you didn't care at all? So I'm glad there's someone here that you care about.

[ozzz]

[The other night? He sits with that for a moment, and just as he remembers what she must be referencing, his lips move to answer the feeling wrapped in a question.]

I've always cared. But nobody understood a single thing about me, so I thought it didn't matter anymore.

crawls back in and coughs blood

[hearthwarming]

[ She looks at him for a long while, in turn, her lips pressing into a thin line. ]

I'll be honest, Mithra, you're not the easiest person to try and understand... but I have this feeling like... Whenever I try, you don't really want me to understand.

[ "What good would that do," he'd told her that time, and though she doesn't remember the words, she remembers the feeling of being pushed away. ]

But I'll just have to try harder, I think. I'm glad if Manuela's gotten to understand you even a little bit more than the rest of us, though...!

wipes your face with a handkerchief

[ozzz]

[His lazily roaming eyes meet hers, lingering for but a moment before they pull away again. He juts his lips out in a mild pout as he sulks.]

. . . She's always angry. There was one time that she wasn't, though, and she's the only one who hasn't asked me to change. [Of those who matter, anyway. If he has to put it simply . . . ] She listens to me.

[hearthwarming]

[ She's... Trying very hard not to feel hurt by what he says, or perhaps what he doesn't say in response to her, because this truly Ain't About Her. She'd felt like she tried to listen to him, but... maybe it wasn't enough. Maybe she did, but only heard what she wanted to hear. It certainly wouldn't be a first for her.

Her own gaze falls away as her hands come up to fidget with the ends of her hair. ]

Good. It's always good to have someone who listens... [ A quiet huff. ] Be gentle when you hug her, all right?

[ozzz]

[Something is in the air. Even he recognizes that it's stifling, but that's as far as his thoughts carry him.

She's right. It's a nice feeling when he's surrounded by so much noise in the day and deafening silence in the night. And because she poses it as a question, he answers.]

I will—if she wishes for one, that is.