week four: mingle

[cyclists]

Week Four
22 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 Sol who speaks up first this time.

"We've been asked to open another gateway for you guys, but...it's funny. It sort of feels like things have calmed down. The corruption's temporarily evened out and the universe is stabilized for now, but that doesn't mean we should stop looking. Take a look and see what you can find on the other side. You might even get to learn something new."

When Sol finishes, they turn to face Lune, allowing for the other to speak for themselves.

"A bit of reprieve of welcome, isn't it? Please take this time to recover, even as you make steps forward to continue your good work. Thank you, thank you."

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.

In addition, as the week goes on, partners will be able to hear each other's thoughts whenever they look at one another! They may not hear every single thought that occurs, but the link will partners to hear thoughts as though their partner is speaking out loud. The more private the thought, the more likely the partner will pick up on it.



Welcome to your week three mingle! As a reminder, this is break week! This means no murders and no trial! Your normal schedule will resume next week. We will still be hosting a laid-back mini-event on Tuesday, however.

In addition, ensure that all of your week three private conversations were reported on the page, and your week four 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

[twinsightful]

[Yeah no? No, no, no.]

And where do you think you're going? [He's not as tall as Kara, but he's suddenly RIGHTTHERE and blocking his path, giving him a displeased look.] You could actually benefit from this if you sat still long enough.

[unfriendliest]

[ according to our height chart kaoru's actually a little taller so haha that's annoying

he's frowning right back though because he is not convinced! ]

Benefit how?

[twinsightful]

[Somehow I thought it was the other way around but this makes it funnier. Especially since he's happily steering Kara right back where he belongs.]

I have the perfect date for you. You simply have to trust me? All you have to do is talk and be yourself.

[unfriendliest]

What's a date?

[ he doesn't even know what kaoru is talking about, someone save him ]

[twinsightful]

[KARA. There's a mocksigh because of course this is his most difficult client, but he's placing an arm on his hip as the other holds Kara in place.]

A date is someone that you like more than other people, so you want to spend a lot of time with them in a setting where you only focus on each other. Usually there's food or some form of entertainment involved. Think of it like a special occasion with someone you have very fond feelings for.

[unfriendliest]

You mean a friend?

[ or is this another "crush" thing...? either way, why is this necessary. ]

[twinsightful]

It can be a friend, but it's usually someone you see romantically. Like someone you have a crush on. [So yes.]

[unfriendliest]

I... don't have a crush on anyone.

[ so... why is he here again?? ]

[twinsightful]

...would you even know if you did? [A serious question.]

[unfriendliest]

[ probably not ]

Lili said I would want to kiss someone, if I did. I don't, so I can't have a crush.

[ it's that simple, apparently? kaoru is human so clearly he should know this. ]

[twinsightful]

Lili doesn't always know what she's talking about either. [Casually. Sweetly. He loves Lili but also she's kind of a moron, so.] You can have a crush on someone and not feel like you want to kiss them yet. A crush is something that makes people feel like there's something very special about another person. Like they understand you in ways no one else does, and you want to spend as much time with them as possible because it makes you happy. You may not even know why, exactly, you have a crush on a person but you're willing to compromise with them, and trust them.

So it doesn't always have to be that. And given your previous life? [A raise of an eyebrow.] I think "a crush is wanting to kiss" is a simplistic and vague way of looking at it.

[unfriendliest]

[ that's his go-to person for human stuff? how can she not know these things.

buuuuut he gets distracted by kaoru's last comment so he's going to ignore the rest for now. ]

What do you know about my... previous life?

[twinsightful]

[Hate that Kara goes to Lili and Lili goes to Kaoru, and now it's full circle. Still, he settles for blinking at him curiously.]

You're not from a modern era, right? It's pretty obvious. [Does he know Kara's a sword spirit? No, not in the slightest.]

[unfriendliest]

[ oh, is that all. that's fine, then. ]

No. But what does that have to do with having a crush or not?

[ they kissed people in the sengoku era, kaoru. ]

[twinsightful]

You don't have to have a crush on someone to kiss them, just like you don't have to kiss people you have a crush on. [A vague wave of his hand.] I could kiss you right now and it wouldn't mean anything, but you could feel something for someone else and not bother kissing at all.

[unfriendliest]

[ kara is getting very confused about this crush thing. the definition was vague to start with, and it just seems to get more and more complicated the more he hears about it. it sounds like kaoru is describing friends, but that's somehow... not it? apparently? ]

...I still don't think I have one. So what's the point of this?

[ though he's a little unsure now?? hm. ]

[twinsightful]

The point is to do something nice with someone you like, because I'm pretty sure the number of people who fit that category is very slim for you. So have a seat and trust me? You'll enjoy yourself.

[Especially when he goes to fetch Lili...soonish.]

[unfriendliest]

[ why do people keep calling him out on this no-friends thing

kara's first instinct is to say something about how he doesn't care, and he doesn't want to waste his time with this kind of thing... but he kind of has to force himself to trust other people to get somewhere here, doesn't he.

not. a. fan.

after heaving a sigh just so kaoru knows he's not 100% on board with this, he sits, arms crossed. he'll do it!! but he doesn't have to be happy about it. ]

[coastal]

[and then i guess she's getting dragged here - but it's not like he won't be able to hear her coming?! she's always arguing with kaoru, because as much as she adores her partner, she also wants to shove him in a locker. lili didn't know she was going on a date, but she's reliably dressed cute as hell anyway, even if it's, as usual, ruined by her foul mouth]

You idiot, I can't believe you'd meddle like—

[and she's seated opposite from kara as kaoru darts away before she can hit him]

... I'm surprised he got you to stay.

[kaoru might have to accost them both to keep them from leaving]

[unfriendliest]

He said something about trusting him.

[ lili should know why that was the deciding factor, even if he's acting very put upon about this. he also probably stands out like a sore thumb in this cafe, the blacks and reds of his own outfit a stark contrast to the pinks of the decor. ]

He said it was a date...?

[ he still sounds unsure ]

[coastal]

I think it's the modern version of courtship.

[even she

hasn't completely understood it, but she does at least look a little embarrassed about it. she fusses with her hair]

What else did he tell you?

[did

did kaoru leave at least one of them with instructions]

[unfriendliest]

...Ah.

[ why couldn't he just say it like that? kara understands that, to an extent. nobles always had to deal with that sort of thing. though that doesn't mean he really knows what to do here, and he's still wondering about kaoru's explanation of what a crush is... ]

All he told me was "talk and be yourself."

[ he doesn't understand why they have to do it in this setting, though? they can talk literally anywhere. they have conversations with the chickens regularly. ]

[coastal]

[kaoru is bad at talking Ye Olde.

but regardless lili will just barely keep back a laugh at that]

Why do we need to do that here? We could be doing something else.

[they already missed the point of a date]

[unfriendliest]

Exactly. I don't see the point.

[ unless he's saying kara should be courting lili? he never paid attention to the intricacies of courting as a sword, so how would he even do that?

...he brushes that thought off. ]

We can spend time together anywhere else.

[coastal]

Mm, there's more to the gateway that I haven't seen yet. We might as well go investigate that—

[though she's interrupted by getting up because ty said that kaoru will be bringing around drinks and sweets to everyone.

which means that this cute and beautiful sundae will be placed at their table and lili will blink because she is a little hungry]

... well, at least we can go do something more productive after. This looks cute...