MINGLE | WEEK TWO

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MINGLE LOG | WEEK 2
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Greetings, house guests. Surely you're getting into the swing of things, by now? Though, a friendly reminder: there is no escape.


Sunday is, once again, a quiet and likely somber day. At least, until there's one hopefully welcome surprise: belongings from back home that you may have missed will be delivered to your rooms today, if you did not come in with them. (Note: these should be the personal items from your applications, if your characters don't already have them on hand. The dead's personal items WILL NOT be appearing.)

Iris, Shauna, and anyone else in the house who might be considered a mother will also find a red carnation in a small vase by their bedsides. Enjoy these small creature comforts. You have earned them.

(Don't forget to check out the post-trial afterparty!)

Come Monday, everyone will once again wake up to a most unpleasant surprise: their motive for the week. This one is more immediately apparent than the last; the house's hunger has not been sated.

Pratibha is, once again, nowhere to be found, but this time, she's absent every day this week. What's up with that? (Should you feel strongly about this, you may attempt to find her.)

Bucking tradition, this week's first puzzle also arrives on Monday; it unlocks, of all things, a huge wardrobe full of fancy clothes. What could all this be for?

On Tuesday, the second puzzle appears; and it unlocks, this time, a grand ballroom.

On Wednesday, it will become clear what this week's locations are for. Because the ballroom doors open by themselves at 6 PM sharp, and reveal:

A ball. Splendid and scintillating, this gracefully lit space is warmed by the sound of distant music that has no apparent source. There are tables for food and drink, and more tables besides at which to sit. The star, however, is the dance floor; are you feeling brave enough to step out there? More importantly: with whom as your partner?

The windows display only endless green forest before night falls. Twilight and rising darkness paint the ballroom in shadows and shades of gold. All of it is enchanting and lovely to behold. The ballroom even sports numerous little nooks for ... privacy.

Remember, above all, rule 5: Get to know each other. Become friends. Become more. Who cares. Just do it.

Thursday brings calm after the busy storm of the ball. Rest, recuperate, and reflect; you all know what tomorrow brings.

Friday is investigation time once again. The investigation post will go live at 3 PM EST, 5/16.

Saturday is the day of your second real ritual. You may find the ritual post here at 12 PM EST, 5/17.

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Let's get this party started.

Ranma arrives to the ball... surprisingly (if you're a guy out of the loop to the girls banding together for a makeover sesh) as a girl. It wasn't due to a run in with the greenhouse's sprinklers. Originally she wanted to appear as a guy, but the other girls coerced her into prinking out like this. She's dressed to the nines in a sumptuous white suit adorned with pastel pink roses, and swapped her braided pigtail for an extravagant mass of hair. You can't say she didn't pull out all the stops for this.

She doesn't go out of her way to offer a dance to others, at least not early. One will find Ranma by the food table, grabbing whatever looks tasty onto her plate... which is everything. She's not picky. ... Though she could stand to be, it's starting to pile up, barely keeping from overflowing off the plate.]

[richesse]

[ !!!!!?!!!??!!!?

She’s got a hand pressed to her mouth, and a little flush on her cheeks. ]

Look who cleans up nicely… I can’t imagine how long it took you to do that hair!

[treebornekettlegirl]

Hey, if I gotta be here, I'm gonna look great. Greater than usual.

[How modest. Ranma barely makes an attempt to veil her exuberant amour propre at the other's reaction.]

Anemone helped me with it, since my speed's--

[Thumbs down accompanied with a raspberry. It's going to be a drag retying it when the party's done, but it's worth it for Lortel's look alone.

Speaking of whom...]

Don't sell yourself short now. [Ranma rests her hands at her hips, eyes studying Lortel up and down before she gives an impressed whistle.] You look stunning in that dress. Flower's a nice touch too.

[richesse]

Hm~ you never do anything by half, do you? [ smiles ] It’s an admirable quality.

[ then Ranma complements her, going so far as to pretty blatantly check her out, and she actually blushes a little harder. She is very obviously pleased with the praise, though.

She reaches hand up to touch her flower-laden hair, a bittersweet smile on her face. ] … they’re for Leona. He called me Ixora during the first trial, and … ever since I wanted to find one for real. Luckily for me, I found some in the greenhouse.

[treebornekettlegirl]

Nope!~ [Ranma flexes an arm and winks boldly.] Only 110% from this guy every time!

[As wishy-washy and tight-lipped as she can be sometimes regarding feelings, she can acknowledge when girls look cute or pretty. She's just calling it as she sees it, and what she sees is dazzling!]

Leona, huh? [Ranma's not about to pretend Leona was her favorite person in this place. Everybody saw her deck that lion man in the trial. Still, she won't badmouth him, especially seeing that poignant look on Lortel. In the end, he's another unfortunate sap that wound up in this mess.] That pussycat was onto something, Ixora really suits you. It goes along with your dress and hair nicely.

[A perfect fit.]

[richesse]

Ranma, if I didn’t know any better, I might think you were actually flirting with me~

1/2

[treebornekettlegirl]

[ACK--??????????]

2/2

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Nice going Lortel, you got this poor guy-girl's cheek's matching up with her hair.]

Hardy har har. [Scoffing with a tsk.] You wish.

[Can't a guy just compliment a girl?]

[richesse]

Oh? And what if I did wish?

1/?

[treebornekettlegirl]

2/?

[treebornekettlegirl]

3/?

[treebornekettlegirl]

4/5

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Rebooting... Rebooting... Rebooting...]

5/5

[treebornekettlegirl]

[... does it say more about her or her home life when she has to stop and contemplate hard if a girl's actually serious about her feelings or jerking her chain?

Letting that blush and fluster ebb away, looking away with a harrumph.]

Get better wishes then.

[Ones that don't involve embarrassing her.]

[richesse]

[ laughs brightly, the sound far more sweet than mean ]

I see… then you’ll never find out if I meant it or not. Have it your way~

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Making a pouty face at her saccharin-laden words, before rolling her eyes and crossing her arms behind her head, letting them be buried in that mane of pink.]

For your sake, I'd hope it's one over the other.

[Lest Lortel desires to put up with at least three other girls trying to take her out unromantically.

Ranma casts a glance over to the dance floor.]

Didja dance with anyone else yet?

[selfreliar]

[Oh, no. Aqua's gender paradigm has no idea what to do with Ranma Saotome. He hangs back for a while, considering his options, and finally decides, to hell with it, he might as well be honest.]

I feel like I'm supposed to compliment you, but if that's going to be weird coming from a guy, I won't.

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Yes yes, Ranma knows she screws with people's perceptions of gender™. Fortunately for Aqua, she's learnt to take it on the chin. The pink-haired martial artist crosses her arms behind and into that bushy ponytail.]

All I'm hearin' is you think I look hot in this. It's fine, I know it. Don't make it weird, and I won't dunk your head in the punch bowl. [So blasé and lax. She's not gonna deny she's drop dead gorgeous.]

This [Waving her hand over her suit.] was the girls' idea, they dragged me into this.

[Yet she didn't make too much of a fuss during the whole glamorizing.]

[selfreliar]

Mm. I can't blame them. You are killing it.

[Right? That's what the kids say? Or is it 'slay'? Why is slang so violent these days?]

Surprised they didn't get you into a dress, though. And that your ensemble was even available. [He hooks a thoughtful finger around his chin.] Aren't women's suits hard to find in that size?

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Get with the times old man, don't be such a wet blanket!]

Nope, this was all yours truly's doing! Dancin' and walkin' around in heels and a dress's a pain in the ass. Anemone did help me with the hairdo.

[Graciously flipping her stylized ponytail.]

Maybe? I don't ever see tuxes in women's size in stores, so prolly. I'm not complaining though!

[They're in a magical occultish murder manor, of course they'd have the mythical women tuxedos and dresses with pockets in them.

Ranma idly adjusts the flowers on her suit, taking a moment to look Aqua's apparel up and down.]

Gotta admit, red's not the color I expected you to go for. Y'seem more like a blue guy.

[Gee, wonder why that is.]

[selfreliar]

My name is Aquamarine.

[Assigned blue oni from birth. Aqua dips his head a bit, acknowledging Ranma's point.]

I'm accompanying Lortel. It used to be the done thing for guys to match their partner's outfits or colors in some way. ...I guess even today, fans still do that to show support for our favorite girls. [He mimes holding something up and waving it.] Like with colored glowsticks at concerts.

[Aqua returns his hand to his pocket, running his fingers over a keychain he's keeping in there.]

She put a lot of work into this. This is the least I can offer in return.

crawls in with starbucks after a billion years

[treebornekettlegirl]

[She glossed over the profiles the first day and hadn't looked back at them since, so this whole time she's assumed it was just Aqua like water. Though that'd still be blue...

Ranma had already gotten the scoop from Lortel herself, and even if she hadn't those two are together nearly half the time she's seen them that it doesn't come as a huge shock those two got together.

... Buuuuuuut because she knows and because she's a tiny lil shit, she's gonna look at Aqua with a teasing knowing look.]

You and Lortel, huh?

[selfreliar]

[To be fair, it's Aquamarine like the gemstone. His sister's name is Ruby. It's all in kanji. Mama Hoshino was something else.

After a life in show biz (and show biz after the rise of social media, at that), Aqua's equal to a little teasing, at least when it comes from a fellow teen. He lifts and tilts his head slightly.]

Yeah. Me and Lortel.

[What, punk, you jelly??]

[bouchere]

[ Shauna has so many questions. Starting with why didn't you tell me you could be a girl and ending with how the hell did you corral all of that hair into a pigtail.

And also is this bisexual panic I am experiencing???, but never mind that.

Ranma as a boy was mildly annoying. Ranma as a girl... Shauna finds herself staring while grabbing her own snacks and looks faintly sheepish. ]

You know, if you'd mentioned you were a girl sometimes I wouldn't have left you on your own with Otto.

crawls back in after eons

[treebornekettlegirl]

[Ranma's too used to getting looks and others ogling her, so she won't give Shauna too much flak for the bisexual panic episode going on. She knows she's dazzling, and she's vain enough to own it.

Really, she's a tad more offended by the thought another girl thinking she needs someone to stick by her. Like she's anything but a skilled martial artist.]

I did, several times durin' the first trial. Ain't my fault you weren't listening.

[Crossing her arms behind her head.]

Besides, 'Hey, I'm a chick half of the time' isn't somethin' I go 'round promoting to anyone.

[If Shauna were in her shoes, she wouldn't scream from the rooftops that she could change into a dude, would she?]