subdivided | week four: mingle

week four: mingle

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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[ Maybe Minato can finally die. It's a Tuesday.

Taunts just roll off his back, though, meaning nothing to him as he looks from the doppelganger to Julius; it's not a quick glance, either, but the slow, lazy look of somebody who doesn't find the other party a threat enough to not take his eyes off them. ]

...Julius, you have a sword too, don't you? If you're not going to use it, let me borrow it.

[ He still very much prefers his one-handed swords to a blunt object like a broom that needs two hands and more strength than he has, and he needs Julius to say something, do something to show Minato that he's still there. Don't engage the doppelganger verbally; nothing good ever comes out of trying to hold a conversation with something like that. ]

[ There's a reason he's refusing to give it the time of day, Minato, don't worry about that. There's a twist in his expression as he resists the urge to edge around and see what or who it is lying behind his doppelganger, what form it's decided to portray as him having killed- for the sake of survival, apparently. Morbid curiosity, maybe.

Or maybe he just wants to know what it is this thing thinks he fears most? Maybe it knows better than he does. That said, he doesn't take his eyes off it as he responds, finally. ]

I have two, and I'm used to going against multiple opponents alone. I'd imagine it fights the same way if it's supposed to be me.

Better than, even, considering I don't let meaningless things hold me back.

But no matter what, no matter how hard we try, we'll die the same way, won't we? We'll never be good enough, strong enough. All it makes us is a better pawn.

[ Hm, yeah. Hey, Minato, that sword you were asking for? Wanna grab it now? Because Julius is unsheathing the pair of them from beneath his coat, and holding one out to the other teen even as the doppelganger tilts its head appraisingly, as if assessing how to adjust its strategy to the lack of any open fear. ]

Hisoka would've loved this, [ Minato mumbles under his breath, throwing the broom away to the side as he grabs the sword and rushing forward in the same fluid motion. Minato has no great technique, he has a broken foot and a broken arm and no fear in his eyes at all as he takes the first swing— he's quick, is what he mostly has going for him, quick and fearless and never once thinking about putting distance between himself and the doppelganger or play things safe. ]

[ All he manages to catch is 'Hisoka,' but even that's enough for him to sigh and mutter in response, ]

Please don't bring that man up at a time like this.

[ But if this is all there is to the smoke cloud? creature's? ploy, then he's oddly disappointed. He's faced himself enough to not waste his time with might-have-beens, regardless of how close to home they do or don't hit.

The doppelganger busies itself with a scoffed out laugh and catch and parry (though oddly weak in the left arm), moving in attempt to swing Minato's momentum to the side and get behind him to kick him to the ground at the same time, but before Julius can do anything to help or intervene, whatever portion of shadow that had been making up the body behind the doppelganger dissipates and wisps over to behind him instead, coalescing into the form of a man as tall as he is broad, chuckling deeply in his throat. ]

Julius. How well you've done, in leaving that mountain of bodies behind you. How many lives you've ended, how many worlds you've slain. Thanks to you, we've been provided with quite the useful asset.

Did you really think you could hide from me?

[ ... it's funny how mere words from the man he'd strived for so long to meet the expectations of can stop him dead where the sight of himself remorseless and doomed doesn't.

After a moment he manages to snarl, ]

—I don't need your approval, and I certainly don't want it!

[ and moves to make his way over to assist Minato- he isn't running from the shadow of the man behind him, absolutely not. ]

[ Minato doesn't listen to any of the words thrown around him; he doesn't know these people, doesn't care to meddle in this sort of stuff, and is content enough ignoring the voices in favor of focusing on the battlefield at large. He's thrown aside rather easily, but he finds his footing despite a bad foot, ignoring the pain to kick off again and get out of the way before he's thrown to the ground in a position he doesn't want to be in.

He moves to the opposite side of the doppelganger that Julius is on before charging in right away, hoping to split its attention so that either of them may catch it unawares. ]

Don't talk to it.

[ It's spoken instead of shouted, to Julius even though he can't be sure if he's even heard over the clanging of swords. ]

I know, I know, but—!

[ Which part of this are they supposed to be laughing at? That man had controlled his actions for so long—still is, because the fake is right, there isn't any escaping him, not until...

Despite what Julius had said earlier about being used to fighting against multiple opponents, the doppelganger puts up surprisingly little fight against the two of them once Julius manages to flank it and they make their two pronged assault. Not for a lack of coordination or skill; its movements speak of an experience the shadow shouldn't have, but they're hampered somehow, ailing, and it shouldn't take the pair of them long to begin to overwhelm it.

Julius would like to think that it's simply a flaw in the creature's shapeshifting ability, but unfortunately he realizes that it's more likely to be another detail included on purpose: he'd killed himself, he killed all of himself trying to survive and do something and in the end it still wasn't good enough for anything at all but to achieve the damning faint praise of a man who even now, he still can't— ]

Trying to ignore me, Julius? I'd expected better. [ More than chiding, his father seems darkly amused. ] You know you won't run from the responsibility, not when so many lives are at stake. In the end, you only have two options. You can give yourself to the Trial willingly, and know that your contribution made a difference. Or, you can disappear in vain, like all the rest who succumbed to their weakness and let their curse overtake them.

[ Hissing, he calls over to Minato: ]

—Any ideas for how, exactly, we're supposed to laugh at this?

[ Because laughing is the last thing he wants to do when presented with what seems to him a very stark reminder of the reality he'll be going back to, once this is all over. ]

[ He has no idea, either. He isn't built for laughing, for anything so huge and important as trials and curses- he can fight and he can follow orders and he's been content enough just doing what he wants and doing what other people want, if it isn't too much effort. He strikes down the doppelganger, because he's tired and just wants this to end, and moves right on to drive his sword on Julius' father. ]

...Why did the chicken cross the road?

[ Minato knows like one joke, and he WILL get somebody to laugh at it someday. ]

[ Julius' father, unfortunately, is prepared for a turn like that and catches the sword with his bare hands. He seems unfazed by the attack, either by way of Julius' mental magnification of his very presence, or just because he's that strong naturally.

At the bad joke, though, ]

Are you kidding me, back off, you can't—

[ Julius just shoots Minato an incredulous look, both tired and alarmed both. (Akane's going to kill him if her boyfriend gets more hurt on his watch, and going toe to toe with even a shadow of the man in front of him is a very good way to do exactly that.) Was this what Minato meant when he said he knew bad jokes!!! Still, he does his best to play along. ]

Why?

Because it wanted to.

[ That's exactly what Minato means by bad jokes, they're terrible but entirely in line with his sense of humor: none at all.

The chicken can do what it wants, and doesn't have to justify a reason— it doesn't matter where it came from, what's on the other side, or the dangers and traffic of the street. A chicken can do what it wants, and that applies to people too. Maybe it's because Minato can't even remember his parents' faces, let along anything about them, that he doesn't feel tied to anybody, has no expectations to meet and so he can do whatever- even if that whatever is planting his feet and trying to drive the sword into Julius' father's face, knowing he doesn't have the strength to compete.

He pulls away and tries to get his sword back from the man's grip so he can try again. He has no idea what hangups Julius has; Minato wasn't listening, and he doesn't care. Julius can do what he wants, whether that's fighting or running or laughing at Minato's joke. ]

That's not a joke?!

[ It's just absurd? Or, if he could hear Minato's thoughts, philosophy- either way, not exactly what they need even though on any other occasion he might have deigned to discuss or debate it with him? The apparition seems to agree, tsking mildly and murmuring, as if Minato is hardly more than an irritant, That's no good, you know. If you choose to carry on in such a meaningless way, you might as well be dealt with accordingly.

Julius just barks out, because even like this like hell if he'll let someone else get hurt because of his problems, ]

Get back, Minato!

[ Because immediately after, a knife comes flying between the two of them whether or not they're still locked in their standoff. It hits neither of them nor was it intended to in the first place—instead meant to guide the brilliant arc of lightning that follows right after to try to force them apart, jagged veins erupting up and down from the initial bolt to keep them separated after. ]

You can't win. Not like this. Not if this is really supposed to be something about our fears, not if this is just meant to mess with my head—

[ Because his father is harsh and cruel but what he does is necessary and Julius hates it, hates that there isn't some other way, hates that in some ways he still wants his approval even if he's terrified of what he'd have to become to earn it. Of what that, in turn, might still earn him in the end despite any effort made.

It's that more than anything that finally makes some form of laughter build up, harsh and bitter and bleak even as he maintains his tenuous hold on the electric field. And ignoring what both he and Minato had agreed earlier, to not speak with it, to not engage it, he turns directly to stare into steely eyes as frozen and cold as his own and says, voice clipped: ]

I wish I didn't understand you. I wish I could hate you.

[ ... but the laughter, bitter as it is, does disrupt the shade's form. Whether enough to cow it into retreating into the wardrobe is another thing entirely. ]

[ It's a joke!!!! Minato thinks it's funny, and it got Lili to laugh at him out of pity.

Despite his lack of self-preservation, Minato does pull back- he sees the knife out of the corner of his eye and his first instinct is to catch it— like Hisoka was trying to teach him to do the very first time they met, god he misses Hisoka so much. He would love this? Yeah.

But it also brings somebody else to mind, who had questioned Minato whether he would continue to fight, knowing that a battle is futile, that he is doomed to fail and there is no way he can win. The only difference is, between that scenario and this one, that Minato does not believe this man is invincible. That's naivety, maybe.

Minato pulls back when Julius does, side by side instead of opposite ends of each other, and doesn't so much as look at him; he keeps quiet, because it's not his battle. It's okay to be afraid, he thinks, and wishes he could feel it. He wishes he could understand people. He wishes he didn't hate them. This isn't his battle. ]

[ Unfortunate that neither of the two here have much of a sense of humor, isn't it. And that in a way is even more awfully, blackly humorous, that two so ill-suited to laughter, apparently, took on the task that required it.

His sides and stomach hurt by the time he's done trying to shepherd what's left of the roiling shadow that had been his father back towards the wardrobe, because the initial burst of laughter didn't last long at all and all the rest afterwards is faked and forced. It seems almost harmless like this, trying to take on a definite form and failing, and yet.

Well! Let's never do that again. is the thought that would be going solidly through Julius' head if he were better at distancing himself from this.

As it is, he only sighs from somewhere deep inside of him and glances over at Minato, seeing if he needs any support before his gaze drops and flickers away. ]

... Sorry you had to see that.

[ If he acts like it's nothing then it means nothing. ]

Why?

[ It doesn't really mean anything to Minato, who doesn't even look at Julius as he wipes off the blade of the sword on the side of his pants. There's blood on it, but it's his own blood, not that he was very much help in that battle outside of buying Julius some time. ]

That's nothing for you to be sorry about. And I'm glad you're not dead.

[ Julius doesn't respond for a bit as he frowns and studies the wardrobe again like it has answers to offer them. ]

... I'm not sure either of us were in danger to begin with. I'm worth more to him alive than dead, after all. For now, at least. And ... You should have been fine. Would have been, if you didn't do anything.

[ He says it trying for a matter of fact tone, but instead it just comes out blankly. As suddenly as it'd started, it wrapped up... surprisingly? Frustratingly? Disappointingly? None of these seem like the right word, but regardless it feels like it ended too easily, too quickly.

Mostly he feels sort of hollow, at having that dug out and made apparent to himself when before he hadn't been consciously aware of it. There's no real closure to be found here. He's not sure what to make of this.

(This is the real reason you're supposed to find a way to laugh at your fears, probably.) ]

So really, it's my fault for being useless at first. That it went that far, I mean.

... Are you all right?

[ There might not be any satisfaction, but Minato saw it somewhat differently. Laughing at your fears is hard, but at least Julius faced his head on. Minato, in his rushing in to fight whatever it is that comes out of the wardrobe, no matter who or what it is, is just running away from his problems, dashing them to the side instead of reasoning anything out, and he knows that, and is why he shakes his head before Julius can say any more. ]

My actions are my own, so none of the blame lies with you.

[ He doesn't blame Julius for anything— doesn't blame other people in general, despite a throbbing leg, tight chest and searing pain up his side. Talking with Minato must be similarly unsatisfactory, he thinks, as he too approaches the wardrobe and looks it over, because he too moves on right away, too easily and too quickly. ]

I wonder if it was worth the effort.

[ Where is the key they almost died for... ]

[ Did he really face his fears? It feels more as if they were just thrown in his face, and he'd compartmentalized for the moment, shutting them aside to get something done and Minato out of the line of fire and review later maybe never. ]

It was tied to me, so I'll shoulder blame unless you can argue that all of that, in fact, was entirely your doing.

[ He'll join Minato, though, appraising and entirely too happy to not think about whatever the hell that was. ]

... Don't tell me there was some other method we were supposed to use.

[ Where is the key, did it get flung somewhere because magnets, how do they work. ]

[ Mm, not worth the effort, so Minato just shrugs and decides Julius can have the blame if he really wants it that badly. As for the key... Minato's missing an ear so he latches onto that as an excuse for not listening to a word Hermione may or may not have said, and he shakes his head. ]

Maybe the key is still inside... I can try melting the wardrobe?

On the off chance that doing that will just leave us with no place to put that thing, no, let's keep that as a last resort.

[ as a belated addendum: ]

Besides, you might melt the key, too.

[ the key is probably somewhere in the dirt behind them, jostled around a bit by whatever magnetic forces the lightning julius threw around earlier possessed, and they are both perfectly fine and not bothered in the least by their little encounter. yup.

(hermione told them to get going. why would they have expected her to give more details or guidance than she already did?) ]

[ Julius doesn't completely shoot down the suggestion, which is a lot more than what anybody else here would do, so Minato nods his agreement and... just sort of pats around the wardrobe, because he doesn't think about magnetic forces or anything like that, and wouldn't think to check the area around them. ]

[ maybe there was something to minato saying julius has it in him to do ridiculous things after all. maybe if they'd let the boggart's initial form talk for longer, they might have learned what some of those things are.

julius can be a little scatterbrained at the best of times- so after that little experience and his efforts with his magic, his first thought isn't that he'd gotten the key caught up in his lightning earlier, just that 'all right, maybe they have to look a little further away than right around the wardrobe.' so he does that, widening the perimeter a bit. ]

[ Hm..........

Minato gets down onto the ground and lies down so he can press the side of his face into the dirt and pat around inside the little gap underneath the wardrobe, maybe it fell down here and got lost. ]

[ how many tags of not thinking about feelings will it take these teenagers to find the key, I wonder, except I can't possibly draw it out that long so-

it's not under the wardrobe. maybe this would be a lot easier if they just had a metal detector... speaking of, he should probably retrieve that knife, shouldn't he? there's a glint of something that catches the light a short distance away, in the corner of his eye, so maybe that's it?

or not, but hey. key. ]

Found it, I'm pretty sure.

[ Oh, good. Minato sits up and trots over to where Julius is.

There it is. He lets Julius pick it up, because his everything hurts and he doesn't want to bend down. ]

[ he does pick it up, because minato's been doing okay in not getting himself maimed in the last few minutes and julius isn't going to break that streak.

hm. now that he thinks about it, where would he be able to find some conductive wire... there was none for the taking in the last few gateways, but... anyways. ]

That's the key sorted, and that thing is back in the wardrobe. Outside of finding the knife that I tossed somewhere, that's all we had to do, right?

Yeah, I think that's it. I'll report back that we got the key.

[ Since he'll be no good at finding things, and suspects he might accidentally step on the knife before he realizes where it is. ]

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