puppycrush2 | week three

Entry tags:

week three | mingle

So, uh.

Welcome to Week Three! We’ve officially passed the halfway point, and after a super, duper successful Match Ceremony, I’m sure the teens are feeling all hyped up and raring to go.

Right?

Regardless, there are a few changes this Monday morning to greet the teens:

First off, there is a new bathroom! Oooh, aaaahhhh. Three whole bathrooms in the house for the teens now. Enjoy.
There is also a set of video games in the living room to connect to the TV. They are pretty much all multiplayer party games like M*rio C*rt. Don’t kill each other.
There are a few packs of dorayaki now scattered around the house.
There is also a piano now in the living room!
On the counter in the kitchen, there is also some paper and writing implements, like basic ballpoint pens. Wait, doesn’t that break the rules?

Tsukasa’s extremely loud and obnoxious voice is not here to greet you guys this morning, which means it seems there isn’t a Task for the week–

But something else seems to be going on.

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Dorothea’s making a point to seek Will out very early in the week. A bit of fruitless searching around the house finally leads her to remembering his little campsite, which proves to be the successful answer. She approaches with her hands clasped politely before her and a soft smile to greet him with.]

Hello, Will. [A beat as she takes in the focused way he’s locked onto that journal, a few scattered papers about.] Ah, I’m not interrupting something, am I?

[he looks up from his journal, pen stilling in his hand, and gives her a smile. tired, yet genuine!]

Not at all.

[a small nod of his head]

Can I help you with something, Dorothea?

Well, I wanted to talk to you about something.

[As she speaks, she moves to sit down beside him.]

Concerning what happened at the match ceremony, in part.

[Sort of.]

[. . . nnngh. . .]

[looking back down at his journal (she may catch a few glimpses of his elegant handwriting), before he gently closes the book and bundles it in his lap]

. . . I'm listening.

[SORRY WILL, but it’s important.

There’s a quiet beat where her attention lingers on the bundled notebook before she lifts her gaze to try to meet his again.]

Well, I... Maybe I’m just sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong, but I wanted to hear what you think about the whole situation first. Everything going on with Annie and Goro… and even Minami in that first week. You’ve been quite the coveted bachelor, you know.

[oh]

[wow]

[the question draws a sharp inhale from Will, his eyes growing wide as he lifts his gaze towards her, dumbfounded. hilariously, nobody has asked him his thoughts on this yet, so. . . it takes him a few quiet moments to sort through them]

Edited 2024-11-26 05:12 (UTC)

[when he speaks, he does so gently, features softening]

. . . that first week, I promised Mimami I'd share a sleeping space with him to help him-- conquer his fears. He seemed. . . afraid. Like he needed someone to hold his hand and help him become braver. And naturally. . . I wanted to help him. This was before-- [a beat] -- we found out he was lying.

[SWEET DEMON MINAMI. . .]

But even after that, I still wanted to understand him. Why he would lie, or why he would come here from hell in the first place. I've been trying, and while I think I understand a little more so far. . . there's still a lot that I don't think I'll ever be able to comprehend.

[. . .]

[a quiet pause, before he continues]

. . . after Goro and Ryuji fought so publicly. . . I went to check on Goro, of course, to see if he was okay. He told me. . . a little bit about his life. [details that he will not spill, not even now, because it is not his place] And he has experienced so much more pain than anyone ever deserves, Dorothea. He told me that he has, and always will be, alone.

[he shakes his head]

But I don't think that's true. Ryuji is evidence enough of that. And I wanted. . . to help him through that pain. So I extended my hand to him in friendship, in hopes that he could at least have one more person to lean on.

[. . .]

[. . .]

I offered Minami help and understanding. I offered Goro friendship.

[. . . lifts a hand, placing it over his chest, right over his heart, his eyes slipping shut]

But. . . I never offered either of them. . . a piece of my heart.

[notably, he has not talked about Anna yet. but there's a reason for it. he's getting there]

[Dorothea listens with silent attention as Will describes his approaches to the boys. She can tell that he must be someone who lets his compassion for others lead him in life. It’s admirable. Perhaps a little relatable, in a small way.

Her expression softens, and she reaches over to lay a hand on his shoulder and offer a comforting squeeze.]

You’re very kind to have reached out to them like that, even if it’s stirred up some trouble.

[Which, well—]

But when it comes to your heart—where does that place Annie?

["help everyone in need." that's his motto. that's the mantra by which he lives his life. it's all he ever wanted to do. . . for Minami and Akechi and everyone else in the house]

[it has taken him two weeks to realize that no matter how hard he tries. . . he can't. and that is something he is still grappling with]

[the hand on his shoulder nearly gets him to jump, and he looks up at Dorothea again, head tilted. aha. . . now she asks about Anna]

[and there's a lot that he can't say, because it isn't fair for someone who isn't Anna to hear about it first]

[. . .]

You know. . . I'm trying to become the king of my country back home. [SAID SO CASUALLy] So I entered this competition. . . to garner more public approval.

I told Anna that on our first day here. And you know what she said? She said. . . we should date.

[FOR POPULARITY!!!]

Edited 2024-11-26 05:29 (UTC)

[She can’t help but blink in surprise at that. Classmates and friends with the Adrestian emperor, now on a show with a would-be king? Dorothea really stumbles her way into rubbing elbows with some really important people. It almost feels like a joke, but not the sort that could tempt her to laugh.

She pulls her hand back, letting it settle on her lap clasped in the other.]

I have to admit, I had wondered how it was that you two hit it off so quickly…

[A pause, thoughtful, her eyes searching his face.]

Did you think it was a good idea?

I did. Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed.

[. . . a small smile. he looks back down at his journal, allowing his fingers to brush gently across the leather-bound cover]

But I didn't want to keep her from finding someone she cared for, either. So she promised me that if she did, we would "break up," and it would be amicable. Otherwise. . . it was all supposed to be pretend.

[again, for publicity!! he stops moving his fingers across his journal and lays his palm flat as he lets out a small exhale]

I've been worried about that the entire time. That I was holding her back, or keeping her from finding her match, or. . .

[and he shakes his head]

. . . but she insisted that if there was someone else, I'd know.

[and maybe, somewhere within the past two weeks. . . he'd become glad that there wasn't]

[Oh, this is starting to sound like the plot of some kind of romance, isn’t it. A couple getting together for convenience, the stakes ratcheting up as feelings inevitably find their way to get involved, the fear of preventing the other from finding that true star-crossed match… Sigh.

(Maybe. Maybe she’d find some way turn it into an opera upon returning home.)

But the situation right now is very real.]

I see. It’s a hard game to play pretend at. Feelings tend to pop up when you least expect it sometimes…

[A soft smile, and then a sigh before she continues.]

The reason I asked is partially because I was a little worried how both of you were holding up. To see how genuine your feelings in all of this are. But also because… well, a little birdie might have given me a hint about who your match is.

[h. hello??]

A. . . hint?

[wait. CONFUSION??]

And a little birdie. . .?

[She can’t help but smile a little.]

Yes. The showy sort of bird who likes to come in and chirp at us from time to time.

[Tsukasa…………]

I figured with everything [a broad gesture with one hand] that’s gone on, trying to narrow it down for you might help with things. [A beat in which she exhales a not-quite laugh.] Though I’m not sure how much of that it might offer.

[OH. . . TSUKASA. . . he smiles a bit fondly at that. his favorite host!]

I suppose I won't know if it helps or hurts until I know what it is. Ah. . . but it's kind of you to ask, Dorothea.

[he seems kind of touched by it, honestly. that she went out of her way to help him]

What's the hint?

It seems that all the trouble [tone gently teasing, and she gives him a poke for emphasis] you’ve been stirring up, mister, has been on the mark, at least. One of them is your match.

[She tilts her head, attention carefully focused on his expression.]

So it could be Annie. But it might also be Minami… or Goro.

[And, well. The part left unspoken there is that there are an awful lot of lights from last week’s ceremony that need to be attached to one of the presented pairs. It’s a possibility.]

[naturally, the first thing he focuses on in that hint is Anna-- so it's possible she still is--?]

[he sits up straight, suddenly eager, features slack]

[. . .]

[and then cold, hard logic hits, ripping the wind from his sails]

. . . I understand.

[a beat]

I told Ritsuka I thought it might be Minami and I from the first week, but. . . I think she believes it was actually her and Lessing. If that's true, then it definitely isn't Minami.

[a pause]

[he does not continue his line of thought]

[She lets her gaze fall from him when the realization hits, focusing instead on the way she fidgets with one of her bracelets for a moment.]

At this point I’m a little inclined to believe it might have been the two of them as well.

[And if Ritsuka and Lessing really do have the light from the first week covered, then… it’s down to two. Dorothea’s gaze turns back toward him again, and her mouth is set in a bit of a line.]

You might… consider stepping into the Truth Booth this week. With one of them.

[It’s all but guaranteed to give them a much needed definitive answer.]

[. . . . . .]

[carefully. . .]

Goro will not pick me at the match ceremony.

[he had made that explicitly clear. and even more than that. . .]

. . . and I can't pick him.

[can't and not won't. because Will would, for the sake of everyone's wishes, but. . . he has something deeply important to show to a certain someone first]

[and until he can accomplish that. . . he would not choose anyone else but her]

[So that’s how it is, huh? Her eyes narrow, just a tad, at the way he chooses to phrase that. Skirting around it, but only just.]

So I think the answer is pretty clear, isn’t it?

[A pause, and her tone picks up a little more gentleness.]

…Or are you worried about finding out the answer?

[yes. the answer is clear. at least. . . to Will. but there is only so much he can say about that aloud]

[her question draws pinched brows from him, his eyes slipping shut. is he worried about finding out the answer. . .? two weeks ago, he wouldn't have been. but now. . .]

[. . .]

[quietly]

. . . yes. A little.

[if his match truly is Anna, then. . . everything would be okay. but if it isn't-- as is seeming more likely, based on the lights from the match ceremony-- then. . .]

[it feels like. . . a bit of a lose-lose situation, doesn't it?]

I don’t know if there’s anyway to ever stop being worried about matters like this.

[Where the heart is concerned. She leans over a little, gives him an encouraging bump of the shoulders. Sympathy is plain there in the look in her eyes.]

But there’s only one way to find out, right? Just have to… take that leap.

week three | mingle

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/4 actually i'M SORRY DOROTHEA

no subject

DONE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)