week four | mingle

[showhost]

Welcome to your fourth and final week, teens!

There aren’t many changes around the house today: it seems everyone is dialed in on what needs to be done and the upcoming week. Everything that was on the fritz last week is now back to normal, aside from the Dress Up Your Blorbo curse. You can still do that at will.

Anyway, it's fine that all seems quiet.

There’s plenty going on anyway this week.

Dates | Embrace Space | Property Damage, etc | CR Event | A Thing
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Submissions

Comments

[titlecard]

[ Contrition, yeah. That's still present in his voice as he answers, staring up ahead at their destination, not looking back down at Sanji. ]

My dad's an alien. I'm half-alien; I grew up on Earth. He wanted to take over the planet for his people. He wanted me to help him. And I wanted to stop him.

[ And here they are: the base of a mountain. It's probably a little chilly, but Mark will set Sanji down on the ground before touching down himself. ]

[hgeegh]

[This feels like a mockery of his thoughts about aliens just a second ago; however, he thinks now that this might be in Mark's favor.

Once he's back on his feet, Sanji straightens and gives the environs a once-over. It's not hard to tell what happened here if he looks a little higher. Between the sinking cruise ship and the avalanche, both of which he's survived in his own past, he's feeling some kind of way about all this, Mark's unbelievable origin story aside.]

A conflict of interest, eh? . . . I'm guessing this was another casualty of that fight.

[titlecard]

... Yeah. [ Who knew they'd have so much in common... Mark looking away means just looking back at the ocean for a second again, but it's okay. He just needs that second to recentre himself before looking back to Sanji. ]

He threw me into one of the mountains, [ nodding at a spot up above them. ] I got caught in this, along with a bunch of people who couldn't survive it. He fished me out, and then threw me into another one, [ nodding in the direction of the bloodied crater in a mountain not too far away from where they're standing. ]

And then he beat the shit out of me, but... at least by then it was just me. [ Quietly, any edge leaving his tone, replaced by sorrow: ] Nobody else had to get hurt.

[hgeegh]

[Sanji follows along, taking note of each location while Mark recounts the events of that day. His face crinkles in disdain. What father does that to his son? Even his own sire hadn't raised a hand against him, and his mentor never struck with the intention of doing true harm. Nothing can justify this level of violence and cruelty.]

He could've killed you. [His own kid. The one he had with a human woman. Was there no love at all?] Your dad. Of all the people in the world, by taking all those lives and throwing you around . . . you say there was nobody else in the end, but the one he hurt the most that day was you.

[titlecard]

[ Mark falls silent, staring at his shoes with an intensity they don't deserve. ]

He could have. Maybe he was going to; I don't know. He stopped and then he left.

[ A beat. ]

He killed thousands of people. That's thousands of families ruined, a city that had to rebuild... I don't know how any of them are coping with it. I mean, I got to recover in a hospital, and then I got to come here. [ On a show. For a wish. ] I feel like I'm kind of cheating, because I got to run away for a month. I don't have to look anyone who got hurt in the eye, I don't have to face any of the destruction... Maybe I will later, but I'm hoping I can undo it all by the end of this.

[ Just ignoring the sentiment that Mark was hurt. He recovered; he's been physically fine his entire time here. He's still alive. He still has a mom to go home to; a best friend not caught in the crossfire, which is so much more than so many others can say.

What he needs is that wish, maybe more than anything. ]

[hgeegh]

[All right. Sanji gets it. Mark is going to use the wish to reverse the damage his father wrought, which is noble and good. They definitely need to win this game for so many reasons, including this one. But he's also missing the point.]

You didn't run away. You came here for the wish as soon as your body recovered.

[And only his body. It's plain to see now that Mark has been ignoring his heart and his mind. The guilt must have been eating him alive all this time, to say nothing of the pain of being betrayed by someone he loves.]

Just because you're not there, doesn't mean you're not facing the consequences. You've been carrying those with you all this time. So don't give me that.

[titlecard]

[ ... He looks back up at him, eyes exhausted and hollow and, yeah, Sanji might have a point. ]

I... yeah.

[ Sanji might have a point, but. ]

But I didn't— I didn't really lose anything. So many more people got hurt, and I'm the one who didn't save them. All I could do was get thrown around and beat up and watch people die, so maybe I should be carrying it around. I don't get to just... escape the part I played in all of this. That's not fair to everyone else.

[hgeegh]

[He lost his father. How is that not a loss? His father took his trust and broke it in the vilest way possible by killing thousands on top of beating him bloody. Sanji remembers loving the man he once called his father, and he remembers as a boy how gutted—how worthless and weak—he felt upon being thrown away for the sin of being powerless. Nobody deserves to carry that around in their heart, least of all someone who cares as deeply as Mark.]

You're not escaping! [He throws an arm out behind him, pointing to the destruction all around them.] This wasn't fair, and it never will be! You can carry the weight of those lives and make amends for your part in it . . . but that doesn't mean you haven't lost something, either!

[titlecard]

[ Mark winces at Sanji's voice, but recovers quick enough. Not like he needs to make Sanji feel bad on top of everything else... Not like he needs to... fight him on this, maybe.

Maybe.

He looks back. At the avalanche, at the sinking ship, at a smoking Chicago further off in the distance. He slumps his shoulders as he turns to look back at him. ]

... Okay. [ Okay, maybe he lost something, too. His father, his belief in himself... a number of things, really. ] But I lost so little compared to other people, and what they lost is still on me... I don't get to be sad. I just have to be better.

[hgeegh]

[Sanji drops his arm. Okay. He's livid, because he can see where this is coming from, but okay. It's not his place to tell Mark what to do.]

You can be both . . . but you're right. You're involved, so that means it's your responsibility to take care of what happened.

[titlecard]

Yeah.

[ Small nod, like he isn't even really here at the moment, still stuck in the past. A beat; a more certain nod, properly meeting Sanji's eyes this time. ]

Yeah. Okay. As long as I fix this... maybe then. After.

[ But he can't take time for himself until after he's helped everyone else first. It wouldn't be fair, so he can't — and he assumes Sanji sees that, too. He said he was right, after all. ]

[hgeegh]

[He gives a sharp nod in return. If this is Mark's condition, then so be it.]

You will. That's why you're here . . . and there's no way we're gonna lose after making it this far.

[The journey to make amends only starts here. Mark has a long road ahead of him, but at least he has 15 others with him at the house—more, if they count the ancillary staff. If nothing else, they can remind him that he isn't alone on this particular quest.]

[titlecard]

[ ... That gets him to relax a little, a shaky exhale, shoulders slumping like he's been reminded that the weight of the world actually isn't on them alone. ]

You're right. Shit, I— you're right. [ kind of just. reaching out to grasp one of Sanji's hands now, like he can shake it in thanks. ] We've got this. All of us. Together.

[ Because it's a hell of a lot easier when you don't have to shoulder things alone — and when you have to fight for other people, too. He doesn't want to admit it out loud (even though present company probably would want him to), but there is a selfish component to Mark's wish — he wants the dad he knew back — but it's... really not fair, compared to what others lost, compared to what some others might wish for.

Okay, there's a new resolve... except for one issue, as he looks around them. ]

... Just as soon as I figure out how to get us out of here.

[hgeegh]

[Mark grabs his hand, and Sanji lets him. He really is tactile, isn't he? This means something to him, so Sanji doesn't complain about the absence of feminine company. Besides, "all of us" has always had a nice ring to it.]

You don't know? [He scratches the back of his head as he gazes up at the aftermath of the avalanche.] This mountain alone will take us all day to search. How about we fly up and see where that takes us?

[titlecard]

[ To be able to hold Sanji's hand despite not being a girl... what an honour...

Mark does let go, though. Follows Sanji's gaze, thinking. ]

Well, it'd take you all day to search. I could probably do it in an hour, but I wouldn't want to leave you behind. [ Just a bit of friendly ribbing, but how about we fly up...

That gives him an idea. ]

I think you're on to something, though. [ Looking up. Way, way up, until he turns back to Sanji with an easy little grin. ] Ever been to space before?

[hgeegh]

[He bares his teeth on one side with a pinch in his brow, unseriously miffed by the ribbing. Like he'd want to stand around for an hour.]

Space? [Following Mark's line of sight, Sanji also glances up.] The highest I've been was 10,000 meters off the ground. Is there some kind of island among the stars or something?

[titlecard]

I mean... I guess that's kind of what the moon is. [ Awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, but. He doesn't know what 10,000 metres actually looks like. Anyway. ] No, I was just thinking... everything down here kind of sucks. Bad day. So maybe just leaving the planet entirely is the way to get away from all of this... I wouldn't know where else to go.

[ He holds his arms out, like... does Sanji want him to pick him up again, or, ]

What do you say? If I'm wrong and it gets to be too much I'll fly us back down, and we can figure something else out.

[ Which, he's really hoping he doesn't have to do that. But if it comes to it, it's not like he's going to suffocate Sanji on a hunch. ]

1/2

[hgeegh]

[This some bullshit.]

[hgeegh]

[Well, he's not against this plan. First things first, though: He points past Mark.]

Turn around.

[titlecard]

[ Listen—

Mark blinks, confused, but obliging. He turns around, facing where Sanji is pointing. ]

You see something?

[ what is he looking for, ]

[hgeegh]

[As soon as Mark is in position, Sanji puts a hand on his shoulder. In one swift motion, he kicks off the ground and throws both legs over Mark's shoulders to sit on them.]

Okay! That should do it.

[titlecard]

[ He squawks, an undignified little sound. ]

What are you— [ Looking up, trying to meet Sanji's eyes. Hello??

...

...

... ]

Okay, I guess that's a new one. [ Defeated that this is his new reality, at least for the next handful of minutes. ] Uh, you're good up there? You're not going to fall off or anything?

[ And he'll hover a little off the ground to test things first. ]

[hgeegh]

[Sanji peers down from above. Hello. His core and legs tighten accordingly to the shift in weight once they go airborne. It's different, but not bad.]

Yeah, this is fine. [He plants a palm on the top of Mark's head.] Now let's find that exit.

[titlecard]

[ Oh, this is weird. This is so, so weird. He's just going to stay in place a moment longer, especially with Sanji's hand on his head like that. It's not like he likes princess carrying people, but this is so much worse?? But what is he going to do, tell Sanji no?? The moment has long since passed.

Okay, done sulking at the indignity of it all now. ]

Alright, here we go.

[ And he'll actually take off now — a lot faster, but not so fast as to dislodge Sanji. He hopes, as they start to clear mountain peaks... ]

[hgeegh]

[Just tell him no, Mark.

If nothing else, Sanji is excellent at maintaining his balance when he knows it's about to be upended. It helps that Mark moderates the flight to be easier on the senses as opposed to taking off at neckbreak speed. All that to say, Sanji hangs on just fine with a low whoop.]

Whoa, we're at the top!