week two | mingle

[showhost]

Welcome to week two, Teens Who Are Definitely Searching for Love!

Hopefully everyone got a lot of rest over the weekend, and are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the upcoming week, because there are a few things of interest this week.

But first, some changes of note in the house!

First: there is a giant rectangular box on the living room table, addressed to Lessing. It is a care package. The only thing in it is his sword.

There is some Bauernbrot bread on the counter. Ask Lessing about that too.

There is now a hot tub near the pool. It’s large enough to seat about six teens comfortably, but you can get more in there if you really try for some reason.

Okay I think that’s everything. Additionally, Tsukasa is here early this week! He’s looking pretty perky, seemingly recovered from the Match Ceremony, and he’s got some interesting info to share with everyone.

Embrace Space | Property Damage, etc | Dates | Mini-Event
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Submissions

Comments

[singurarity]

Not exactly like this, but...

I do a lot of wrangling.

[ It's fine. She'll tag along, Fou now perched on her shoulder. ]

[willandaway]

[wrangling. . . that sounds familiar]

Can. . . I ask what you do back home? A lot of people here are students, but—

[as someone who never went to school he cannot relate]

[singurarity]

I used to be one, but I... took on a job that sort of led to...

[ She pauses, remembering what Anna had said. That Will's... really had bigger problems. ]

... Trying to save the world.

[willandaway]

[they reach Will's campsite, which is stocked with a few stolen couch pillows and some linens from the linen closet. enough for them to get nice and cozy on the grass. Fou can join them, too!!]

[he gives her a sideways glance]

That's. . . a big responsibility.

[he knows he is putting it mildly]

What are you saving it from?

[singurarity]

... Nothingness?

[ Getting replaced entirely by a whole new history? She's not sure how to explain that part, even as she sinks down onto the grass and Fou plops into her lap instead. ]

[willandaway]

[that is so vague, and yet. . . somehow, it draws forth a tiny shiver]

[Will plops down onto the ground as well, setting his bag and sword aside as he reaches for a pillow, which he then hands right to Ritsuka]

Nothingness. . . that sounds terrifying.

[singurarity]

It is.

[ With a wry smile, accepting the pillow to plunk on the ground and flop backwards onto it. ]

I've been trying to reverse it for a year now.

[willandaway]

[a year. . .]

Have you made much progress?

[he also flops onto a pillow, resting on his side so he can still face her as they speak]

[singurarity]

Yeah, you could say that. If it goes well, I should have only one more thing to deal with.

[ She hopes. God, she hopes. ]

[willandaway]

[a small, encouraging smile]

. . . then I'm rooting for you, Ritsuka. So that the battles ahead may quickly come to an end.

[he knows what it's like, after all, to always have to look forward to the next fight. that has been his life for what felt like. . . years now]

[singurarity]

And the same for you, you know? Anna mentioned something about you having a lot to deal with back home.

[ Support is only fair. ]

MILD EARLY GAME METAPHOR SPOILERS

[willandaway]

[support is only fair. . . and she shared something deep with him, didn't she? it's his turn to show her the same courtesy]

She's right.

I'm trying to become the next king of my country.

[singurarity]

A king?!

Whoa, seriously???

[ HELLO??? ]

[willandaway]

[HELLO!!]

Seriously.

[props his head up onto his elbow]

The last king was assassinated in his bed. And his only heir. . . his son. . . [is wasting away unconscious, body ravaged by a curse] . . . died a long time ago.

With no heir, the next king is to be chosen by popular vote. So. . . I need to win over the favor of the public as much as I can.

[singurarity]

... [ is that the childhood friend, she wonders. ]

Why you, specifically? Why do you want to rule?

[willandaway]

[haha! maybe she should ask!!]

[quiet for a very long moment, eyes slipping shut]

Because. . . I want to create a better future for my country. For my tribe. For everyone affected by discrimination, prejudice, and classism.

I want. . . to build a future where everyone can dream, regardless of who they are or what they look like.

[singurarity]

[ She's quiet, blinking at him. That's not an easy thing to take on, by any measure. ]

... So you want a future based on equality. I think that's a really great goal.

[willandaway]

[it's not easy at all. in fact, most people back home think it impossible. and. . . he can't really blame them for not believing in him. old habits and prejudices die hard, and even if he does become king. . . he has a long fight ahead of him. change takes time, especially something so sweeping and optimistic]

[he is not naive of that fact]

I know it sounds like an impossible dream. But. . . I knew someone who believed in it with all of his heart.

So I want to believe in it, too.

[singurarity]

Something may sound like an impossible dream, but I've been told plenty of times that things are impossible and I shouldn't even try.

But I'm awful at giving up. [ On a soft breath. ]

I feel like you probably are, too. So I'm sure I'll get an invite to your coronation one day, right?

[willandaway]

. . . that's an admirable trait, Ritsuka.

[he says quietly, a bit breathlessly, but boy does he mean it]

And absolutely. You'll be near the top of the list.

[singurarity]

Okay, then.

I think that's a good thing to fall asleep on, right?

[willandaway]

[his smile softens]

I think so.

. . . rest well, Ritsuka.