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

Comments

[fireball]

[ ... She liked that little smile on Shoko. She wants to see that more.

She'll have to see it again later, though. Poppy stays quiet as Shoko explains; as she pauses; as she seems to struggle to find the words. And she gets the sense that a lot is being left out, will continue to be left out. Not out of insult for her, which is the first place her mind normally would have gone, but out of a sense of protection. And Poppy is kind of useless in turn? She isn't a regular doctor, let alone a magic one; the world would go on just fine without her, even if she thinks it would suck more.

But despite being useless what she can do is put her hand on Shoko's arm, so she does that. ]

So, um. When you talk about being in like a war zone...

[ ... exhale. This is so beyond anything she's experienced, so it brings forth a level of gentleness that's borderline foreign to her. ]

Were you dealing with, like... dead kids?

[irreversal]

[ Shoko can sense how out of depth Poppy must feel, hearing of all this. It almost would have been easier if she'd found Shoko that night the ghosts were roaming about. It would have given her an easier segue into this conversation—

But it's better, like this. That she's chosen to do this, for Poppy, rather than it being necessitated by the literal ghosts of her past. What would those guys think, anyway, if they saw her like this now? If they knew how strongly she felt the urge to just stop and leave things at that and put her walls back up, and accept that their lives as sorcerers is always going to be too much to handle? Too much of a burden to have to share with others?

No, they... They would probably cheer her on. They would be delighted in the way that Poppy reaches out, and rests her hand on Shoko's arm. And the way that Shoko finds it all too easy to lift her own hand in turn, to keep Poppy's touch there, where she needs it. ]

Some. [ it's a miracle they didn't lose more of the students than they had. But it had taken a hell of a lot of work. ] Dead colleagues, too.

[ Colleagues... no, they were more than that. ]

My friends. [ ... ] It's... been a lot.

[fireball]

[ Shoko's hand comes up to meet her own, and she thinks, I must be doing this right. And despite how heavy it all is, how much Poppy is not a part of this world, she starts to feel that much more secure of her place in Shoko's, even as she confirms that there were dead kids.

She sucks in a breath. Dead kids; dead colleagues. There aren't any kids in her life, so she tries to picture dead colleagues, but it's a little different when you really only like one of them...

Friends, and she tries to think, okay, what if Ian was the one who was dead, and she was in a position to save him and couldn't, and.

Yeah.

That would be a lot, so Poppy leans in to rest her head on Shoko's shoulder. ]

I bet. That is... It's so not my world. [ Turning her head to look up at her, ] Has it felt better? Being here?

[ Being at the onsen, being on the show... selfishly, selfishly, selfishly, meeting her, but she's not actually going to say that out loud. The main concern is how Shoko is feeling, anyway. Not her. She just wants to help, for once. ]

[irreversal]

[ And she is helping. Everyone here has, each in their own way. Shoko and Wei Wuxian had spoken at length about who "Shoko" is outside of her gift, her role, her sorcery - but the fact is that part of her will always be a sorcerer. But to have glimpsed those parts of her she's maybe lost along the way over the last decade or so of her life...

...She has Poppy and the others to thank, for that.

She hums contemplatively as Poppy's head comes to rest on her shoulder. Even just that little gesture releases the tension in Shoko's body, and she relaxes in turn, resting her cheek against the top of Poppy's head while her hand searches for Poppy's beneath the water's surface. ]

...It has. And things are going to get better at home, too, even if there's still a lot of work to do.

[ . . . ]

Are you upset with me? For not telling you until now.

[fireball]

[ Shoko's hand searches, and Poppy's hand takes. Laces their fingers together. The closeness is nice, feeling her resting her head on hers is nice, it's just. All nice, subject matter be damned.

It's nice to hear that things have gotten better for Shoko, too. Will continue to get better. Poppy's heart feels light, airy, and though that question takes her by surprise she doesn't want to leave this moment, so she nestles in further. ]

What? Of course not. [ She gives Shoko's hand a little squeeze. ] I think... you've been carrying around a lot more than most people will ever have to deal with, me included. I wouldn't care if you'd kept it to yourself— well. Okay. I might have cared a little more if there's anything else you can do in the bedroom, but— not the point, sorry. I don't know why I said that.

[ Soft, awkward laugh. She really is just enjoying the closeness! ]

I'm just glad I got to meet you. So this is another part of you, I guess, but it's still you. And I'm glad I get to know you — all of you.

[irreversal]

[ She doesn't know why she said that, but that's exactly why Shoko has found Poppy's personality so refreshing this whole time. She just says whatever is on her mind. Maybe it's a little awkward, but it's freeing, to not have to read between the lines, to not have to guess. Maybe it's unfair when she's left so much on the table for Poppy to tease out for herself, has only barely scratched the surface of what Shoko carries around, really, but... so long as she doesn't mind... ]

... I'm glad, too. And... I want to get to know all of you, too, Poppy. I don't care if your worries are about your job or what you're going to have for dinner or what.

[fireball]

[ Poppy just hums, shutting her eyes as she stays pressed up close to Shoko, remaining like that for a moment before speaking again. ]

Okay, good. Because I feel like my dinners are always something like chicken nuggets or mac and cheese, and I really should try to diversify, right? But it's just, they're so good, you know? So if you want my mundane shit, well, I can give it all to you.

[ But for right now, she'll take just this moment. ]