week two: mingle

[cyclists]

Week Two
26 in Competition

As the sun rises on Monday morning, all participants will find themselves awakening with a sense of purpose. Regardless of where they slept the night before, they’ll find themselves compelled to return to the main meeting hall first thing in the morning.

Approaching the hall, however, they will find a large, swirling mass grey in color looming near the sakura tree. This swirl cannot be approached just yet, but seems to be locked and waiting for something more.

As the last member of the village enters the hall, they will find Lune and Sol at the head of the room. Though they’re together, it’s Lune who speaks up first this time.

"Good morning, good morning. You've done well to purge the corruption in the previous gateway - allow us to assist with the finishing touches. For the time being, it would appear as though we've been able to locate another. The land might appear a bit familiar to some however... I only advise you watch your step."

When Lune finishes, Sol chimes in from their place at Lune's side.

"The corruption is still out there, and we're going to do all that we can to find a way to contain it. But until then... stick close to others this week. Do your best to protect yourselves and look after each other. Okay?"

The moment participants leave the hall, they will find that the gateway has changed from grey to white, the opening widening enough for multiple people to step through. The Signs will soon take their leave, and all will remain peaceful once more.

The only oddity is that throughout the week, in a noise that extends past the portal but seems to resound even through the village, there will be the occasional, resounding call of a war horn.

In addition, as the week goes on, partners will find ever-growing feelings of anxiety and nervousness dwelling within them the longer they are separated from one another. They will feel compelled to be very close to their partners at all times, and will be on edge if separated for more than an hour by the end of the week. Welcome to surprise codependence at its finest.



Welcome to your week two mingle! As a reminder, murder proposals are open. We will also be hosting a mini-event on Tuesday, so please be on the lookout for that.

In addition, ensure that all of your week one private conversations were reported on the page, and your week two private conversations are reported on that page. If you'll be taking anything from locations, please report that as well.

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Comments

[compendiem]

[ They can die together, alright. But Minato's determined to die by Akane's or Four's hand, not these spikes, so he holds onto Naminé's a little tighter as he edges around the pit as well, holding his hand out over the pit and letting molten lava drip off his fingers and onto the spikes. ]

[whitewalls]

[ minato maybe you should be determined to not die instead

she glances down to watch the lava fall down, wondering what he's doing... but she eventually has to look forward again or else she's probably going to trip and die.

once they're clear, naminé lets out a sigh of relief. ]

Were you melting the spikes?

[compendiem]

[ If he had to die, it would be the best way to go. ]

Yeah. If I couldn't melt them, at least it'll cool and harden over them and make them less... spiky. I'd fill up the hole, but I don't think I can manage that, yet.

[whitewalls]

It's a good idea. It could help someone else.

[ she'll tug on his hand so they can start walking properly again. onward, to... probably another trap soon. ]

[compendiem]

[ He is so tired of these traps already. ]

I wonder if we can burn the forest down...

[whitewalls]

I think that might end badly. There could be animals here.

[ don't burn down a squirrel's home, mianto ]

[compendiem]

If there are animals here, they would've sprung the traps, right?

[ Which would be convenient for them... Maybe just a little fire to terrify the animals and get them to trip the wires. ]

[whitewalls]

I suppose...

Still, it kind of seems like someone would probably accidentally die like that.

[ they wander into the forest while they're burning it down ]

[compendiem]

[ It's them, they will die like that. Also anybody else who's come through the gateway as well. If Minato weren't half convinced this place were only a temporary construct, like how Tartarus could withstand all the battles held within it, he would be more careful about acting upon things like this. ]

Yeah... Akane would be mad if we died like that. [ Everybody else would go ???how are you this dumb??? ]

My power's not very useful in a forest, but maybe we could figure out another way to get through with yours. Maybe... If you can get the trees to grow out their branches? Traps would only be triggered if we're walking on the ground, I think.

[whitewalls]

[ unless there's traps in the trees too, but they'd only know that if they, you know, go into the trees

but she looks up at them, trying to think if she can do that or not. it's hard to judge, when you're still learning how all of this works. ]

I can give it a try.

[ she'll look at the tree that's closest to them. doing a bunch at once is probably too much, but... maybe one at a time?

...

it takes a moment, but... tada. branches reach out to the next tree. naminé looks delighted? ]

It worked!

[compendiem]

Incredible... It did work. Good job, Naminé.

[ As much as he believes she could do it, he's still pleased and surprised at the outcome as well, walking over to the tree and hauling himself up (the only thing he gained after a week of slots is arm strength), holding his hand out to help Naminé up after. ]

[whitewalls]

[ thanks minato

she'll grab onto it to try to hoist herself up after him. ]

We shouldn't move too fast, in case we fall off...

[ and land into a pit ]

[compendiem]

Yeah... [ He says that, sticking his hands in his pockets instead of out to the sides for more balance. ]

Why don't you go first, so you can create the path? I'll watch your back, and I'll catch you if you fall.

[whitewalls]

Alright, got it.

[ unlike minato, she will use her hands for balance. but also, she doesn't have pockets.

the journey isn't as fast as it was when they were on the ground. she has to stop and wait for the branches to expand out, before taking a few tentative steps to make sure it'll actually hold their weight. but at least, for now, it seems like minato was right and there aren't any traps up here. ]

[compendiem]

[ Ask Kaoru to sew her clothes pockets.

Minato's glad he's at least somewhat taller than Naminé so he can see ahead of them as well, glances down at the ground and back up in the canopy to make suggestions of direction so they'd be following more or less the same path as they would otherwise be taking, without getting too lost in the thicket of the trees. ]

[whitewalls]

[ see, they're doing great? that's teamwork

the thing is, she's wearing sandals which aren't really the best kind of shoes for these types of situations. although she's fine for most of the walk, at one point of the the branches does a very sudden dip downward and naminé just

flails for a few seconds

it's fine ]

[compendiem]

[ It's not fine?? Minato has no idea what's on purpose and what's not, so like he promised, his hand flashes out and grabs Naminé's wrist to pull her back towards him. ]

[whitewalls]

[ well, now it's fine

she glances over her shoulder at him, flashing him an embarrassed smile ]

Thank you...

[compendiem]

Careful... I said I'd protect you, right?

[ He relaxes a little, but doesn't let go quite yet. There are different sort of dangers up here, and they're still going quite slow... What to do? ]

What do you think about... a sloth hold?

[whitewalls]

Sloth hold...

[ she has to picture it in her head. ]

Like hanging onto the branch?

[compendiem]

Yeah. Arms and legs hooked around the branch, like how kids play on the playground. It'll be more stable that way.

[ They'll also look ridiculous, but who cares? Not Minato and his cat ears. ]

[whitewalls]

I guess we can try it...

[ naminé, earlier: i can't do any stupid ideas with you anymore
naminé, now: this stupid idea is fine ]

Maybe it'll be quicker too.

[compendiem]

[ As long as the idea is safe, it can be as stupid as it wants, it's fine... ]

Alright. We'll give it a try.

[ He lets go of Naminé's wrist and crouches down to assume the sloth position. ]

[whitewalls]

[ guess they're activating sloth mode now

but she watches him do it, and yes that looks very silly. but she does the same pretty soon after. ]

Okay. Let's go.

[compendiem]

[ If this is how they die, I fully accept this death. I'm just imagining that the nailbat has been strapped onto Minato's belt to help stabilize him, and he sure is glad for his arm workout the week before so he can hang on while shimmying along the tree branch, staring at Naminé's ass, I'm so sorry Francy this is terrible, I'm not awake enough to write tags yet. ]