week three | mingle

[marriagebroker]

No outright changes this week either. Week three rolls around, braced for impact as ever. The estate is still intact, the contestants are still motivated, things are looking good.

Well, aside from the fact you all had a blackout this weekend. That wasn't so good.

Either way, when Monday rolls around, Wei Wuxian seems to be in a cheery mood as he greets everyone Monday morning.

"Everyone, come here, come here. I have an announcement!"

Better go see what that's about, huh?

Boom Boom Room | Dates | Property Damage
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Voting

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[anathemaw]

[ there's a slight satisfaction in being able to pinpoint which secret was Verso's, easy though it may have been. An indication of some connection. ]

Gestrals?

[ the word is unfamiliar to him. Unlike his snake, which is being quite overly familiar. Messmer sets the card down on the edge of the spring so that he can wordlessly reel in the other serpent, as well, which opens its mouth in vague snake-ish dismay. ]

[reverso]

They were a warrior race back home. Eager to help, but that help was sometimes questionable at best. Always good-natured, though, even if—

[He’s interrupted by the strange feeling of a snake uncoiling itself from his arm as Messmer pulls it away. Poor little fellow… Verso gives it an apologetic look.]

I left an impression on your friends, didn’t I? You don’t have to do that, though. I like animals, as a rule.

[And it doesn’t bother him. In fact, he rather hopes the serpents’ fondness of him are a reflection of Messmer’s sentiment, too…]

[anathemaw]

[ he didn't live with other humans? Odd. Messmer imagines Verso tended to by something like the demi-humans or Misbegotten - with some difficulty. He supposes they would be inefficient hairstylists. But that train of thought is derailed by his attempt to wrangle his snakes being noticed. ]

... A sense of propriety they doth lack. For all their wisdom, they yet retain a bestial mind.

[ in other words, he's embarrassed by how openly fond of Verso they are now... ]

[reverso]

[This is the one struggle of Messmer's that clearly amuses Verso, and he doesn't intend to hide it with his expression. He does not hinder the other's attempt to reel in his serpent, but nor does he aid in it.]

They are a reflection of your moods and thoughts, is that how it works? Or are they considered completely different entities altogether?

[It is hard to say, hard to guess at, what with them being literally a part of Messmer.]

[anathemaw]

[ what an odd question. Most people don't ask too much; then again, most people haven't seen him like this, his connection to his odd familiars on full display. Messmer is quiet for a solid few seconds, contemplating how to answer while the snake winds its way back down to the water from his hand. ]

It is difficult to describe. No other life have I known but this. [ they are him, but they're not him - the line is so blurry that he doesn't know where it even begins. ] Their eyes grant me vision; their injuries are as mine felt. Their thoughts are unknown to me... yet their influence I do feel. So too must they feel mine own.

[ this might be more incriminating than he realizes. ]

[reverso]

[Quite incriminating, and in Verso's favor, if he says so himself.]

I see. [He has no frame of reference, but perhaps he can understand it when explained so plainly.

He has to prod a little, tease a little. It's good-natured, if nothing else.] Does that mean you like me as much as they seem to?

[anathemaw]

...

[ his face remains impassive, but he finds himself glancing elsewhere anyway, even as the serpent continues to incriminate him by going over to Verso once more. ]

... Thy company hath been a boon to me.

[ yes, Messmer likes him, even if saying it out loud feels somewhat humiliating - probably because, as Verso just said, the damned serpents make it clear just how appreciative of his company Messmer is. He's a comfort - something reliable in the turbulence of both their strange surroundings and his own mind as of late. ]

i won the blushy icon

[reverso]

[He feels like a teenager again with how his heart does a wee little flip in his chest at that admission. Verso hesitates with less embarrassment and no shyness at all. (Blame his Frenchness.)]

Oh?

[He bumps shoulders with him, playfully.]

And I could say the same. I do say the same.

YOU DONE IT

[anathemaw]

[ the shoulder bump probably ends up being more of a mid-arm bump, even with both of them sitting in the water, but it's fine - his feelings are transmitted all the same, Messmer gently looking back over his way.

Such a silly man. But Messmer no longer has any valid reasons to deny him his silly thoughts; there's nothing left to divulge. That's why he's such good company. ]

Aye. I have well learned thy wont to say foolish things.

[ spoken dryly, but without any cruelty, as the serpent happily takes the opportunity to slither over to Verso's shoulders. ]

i finally beat dwrp

[reverso]

[Right, a mid-arm bump. The sentiment is clear, all the same.

He will pet the serpent's head with a single finger as it moves up and over his shoulders, just an idle gesture. Encouragement, really.]

Oh? But it's true. And if it brings you any pleasure to hear it, I'll say it more than once, even.

[anathemaw]

[ it probably doesn't need the encouragement, but it accepts it without complaint nonetheless, curling snugly across his shoulderblades and resting its spade-shaped head in the crook of Verso's neck. Messmer, trying to ignore this, looks slightly chagrined regardless as his gaze drifts back to the water. ]

Bite thy honeyed tongue. Sweet words will win thee no favors of me.

[ but they will fluster him, apparently. He's gotta get away from this subject...!! ]

For what purpose dost thou change thy hair?

[reverso]

[Flustered Messmer is cute, and he considers it a win. Honeyed words will be remembered as a way to achieve this from now on!!

It's a safe swerve to another topic, though, and one that he pauses before answering.]

Because I'm vain.

[That's the surface-level answer. True, but not the full truth. However, Verso will not keep the full depth of the reason away from Messmer, because there is no point, now.]

And because... the original Verso never had grey hair. If I'm a copy, I'm a poor one, and I don't like to be reminded of that.

[anathemaw]

[ He hadn't actually expected an answer any deeper than "vanity," frankly speaking, and the one Verso provides feels particularly sensitive. Messmer's instinct is that it's good if he's different, actually - that makes him his own person - but he's also aware that this is an inner conflict Verso's been dealing with for quite some time, and it was only recently that he came to that conclusion himself. It's difficult to overcome those deeply-ingrained beliefs. He would know. Some tact is needed. ]

Yet thy distinctions persisted nonetheless. Nature itself seeketh to defy thy fate. [ Appearances mean very little to him, but knowing those streaks are a small secret proof of who Verso really is -- that makes them charming, he thinks. ] Thou art no poor copy, but an evolution.

[reverso]

[That he's his own individual is something that his past Expedition would tell him, or even a discussion he had with Esquie not at all that long ago. And these are sentiments that would help ease those deeply-ingrained beliefs that Verso still carries to this day, even if he tries now to shake them off.

The thing is, erasing all your friends tends to make one feel guilty about taking comfort in their advice, too. And so, it is nice, again, to hear it from Messmer. Framed in a different way.]

Evolution...

[He pauses, thinking of that.]

I've never thought of it that way, but maybe you're right. [Huffs.] I've definitely undergone a lot more than the original ever did, that's for sure.

[anathemaw]

[ a small nod, little more than a dip of his chin. By this point, Messmer would think the Verso in front of him has more of a story - a life - than the original ever had. Time alone doesn't determine a life's value, of course, but Verso has surely outstripped the original purpose he was created for.

What a thought: to evolve beyond the circumstances of one's birth. To think that Verso could do so while he cannot would surely be hypocritical. Damn this man - once again daring him to hope without even realizing it. ]

Then let thy reminder be not of failure but of change. [ a pause. ] ... It well suits thee.

[ the rare Messmer compliment. There's a twinge in his fingers; he has the urge now to touch Verso's hair and that undyed spot, knowing what it is, but he resists, instead curling his hand into a fist under the water. He mustn't get carried away with this -- whatever it is between them. ]

[reverso]

[And yet, with Messmer, he is happy to adhere to his original purpose behind his creation, at least in regards to why his mother made him. Yes, it was to escape her grief, but it was also to bring light back into her life; to remember what it was like to be happy. To hope again.

Maybe in evolving beyond what he was meant to be, he doesn't have to leave every single raison d'être behind.

Verso doesn't note the way Messmer has to hold himself back from touching his hair, given that his hand is underwater, but he completes the gesture himself, running a wet hand through his messy locks and making it even more... messy. It's all playful, though.]

All the rest aside, I'm glad you like it. I suppose without my hairdressers now, I'm just going to have to accept going totally grey one day.

[anathemaw]

[ is that... cute...? it might be... it truly might be...

well, whatever it is, the motion and Verso's messy, poorly-dyed hair both endear him. This whole competition is foolish, and he no longer knows what the future will hold for him, but he's grateful to have found a new companion nonetheless. The relaxing hot water and his charming company are, once again, almost enough for him to forget that uncertain future and simply enjoy the moment.

And it's a small relief, too, to hear that Verso's thinking about the future not as a possibility, but an inevitability. His resolve's holding firm. ]

Aye. Perhaps thou wilt be mistaken for a wise man.

[ ok, that one was definitely a dry joke. ]

[reverso]

[The future's all he has left to cling to; something he wishes to cling to, strictly juxtaposed to his mindset when he first arrived. Strange, how things change. Maybe there was more of him that wanted to keep going than he realized.

His grin cracks wider. Yes, that’s definitely a joke from Messmer, rare as they come.]

Mistaken. I see.

[It’s okay, he knows he’s a fool, as stated multiple times by both.]

[anathemaw]

I hear no argument from thee.

[ he said what he said. One side of his mouth quirks upwards in a small, fleeting smirk, and he leans back against the lip of the spring. The other snake, still held in his hand, seems to have given up on snuggling up to Verso, though it continues staring intently at him. Jealous of its counterpart, perhaps... ]

... Thou hast guessed already the card assigned to me, I wager.