week four | mingle

[marriagebroker]

Final week at the estate! Final week with your friends. Final week with your beaus. Time to make the most of it, everyone!

In fact, to celebrate this fact, today there is a cake. It's nothing special, just a nice little cake to enjoy with your morning coffee or throughout the day. Yay, cake!

And when Wei Wuxian arrives that morning, he is going to call out once again for everyone to join him, near the cake.

"Everyone, I have another announcement!"

Hell yeah, announcements.

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

Comments

[ordimame]

[. . . that sure is an angle that Edamura has never considered]

[he pauses, gaze flickering down towards his own mug, eyes locked on the murky surface of the warm liquid. fingers curl into fists against the counter, before he exhales a sharp breath]

. . . I don't know.

[quiet. a bit painfully]

. . . maybe.

[phenomerom]

[ Silently, he wonders if that's just because the man is his father. The quiet hunger for approval from a father figure, no matter how grimy the circumstances might be. Unfortunately, if that's the case, he has zero reference points from which to speak.

Frustrating. He wishes he could help more.

Instead, he has to settle for giving Edamura a little nudge to the side -- gentle, to avoid spilling his coffee. ]

That's still just one man's evaluation of you. Even if you do still wish for it ... I hope you won't forget that there are plenty of other people who do trust you.

[ordimame]

[the gentle nudge draws Edamura's gaze up again. for a moment, he is silent, allowing himself time to absorb those words. to let them permeate through his bitter thoughts, tunneling through to the other side where something. . . a little less hurt, a little less painful, exists]

[. . . and then he slings an arm around Rom's shoulders, rocking into him with nearly the full force of his body weight, open and affectionate. he is being mindful of the coffee!!]

You're a nice guy, Rom.

[listening. offering counsel. carrying that baggage just as promised, even if it's heavy]

If it helps. . . ! I got my revenge on the asshole a few months after that. Nothing violent, but—

[a small huff as he settles]

. . . despite everything, he and I are a bit more even now.

[he has yet to forgive. but at the very least. . . he is more capable of it now than he was before]

[phenomerom]

[ Wah ... the coffee ... As usual, Rom permits the manhandling without protest, other than gripping his coffee cup a little more firmly to prevent it from sloshing. It'd be a waste to spill any of it.

And while he can tell this matter has hardly been resolved ... that's fine. He knows these things take time. They can talk about it more later, if need be. So long as Edamura's able to feel more grounded in the moment, that's enough.

He settles for giving a low laugh before leaning in, his delivery a familiar, annoying sing-song: ]

Reaaaaally, Makoto-san? I don't know ... I can only imagine what kind of brutal revenge you took on the poor man, given how uncontrollable your violent tendencies are.

[ Haha. As if. ]

[ordimame]

[it's true. the matter isn't even close to being resolved. there's so much more to the story than what Edamura has touched upon. how it felt, being so deeply undercover for so, so long, twisting himself into something dark and angry and inhuman and unrecognizable. . . all for the chance to gut the real monster from the inside out. lying to her, to himself, to his crew, to his father. . . just to make it through to the very end]

[but that is a story for another day. when he can tell Rom every piece of it, without the cameras watching them. form start to finish. no detail left unsaid]

[FOR NOW. . . Edamura's features grow slack as he gives Rom a flat, pinched look]





[and then promptly shoves a hand into his face]

I can show you violent if you really want me to. . . !

[phenomerom]

[ The thought occurs to him that they could just go to that room-which-must-not-be-named again?

-- but no. It would be better to take their time unraveling all that later, away from the threat of cameras, and the threat of getting the floor pulled out from under them to drop them in a cave. And ... it'd be nice to have something to look forward to like that.

So for the moment, Rom just laughs even as that hand shoves in his face. A nice, familiar return to form(?). ]

Oh no, help ... [ Said completely deadpan. ] What's a poor exorcist to do before the might of a vicious corporate slave? How scary~

[ordimame]

[THEY COULD, EDAMURA WOULD NOT SAY NO!!]

[but at any rate. . . what little he has offloaded seems to have helped. his mood certainly is a lot lighter! and the roughhousing is a familiar song-and-dance that helps ground him even more than using the French press had. he even follows it up with another jab of his elbow into Rom's ribs-- gently, of course-- before returning to his coffee with a self-satisfied smirk]

Just die, I guess.

[WOW, CRUEL???]

. . . but I think this means it's your turn.

[phenomerom]

[ Even the elbow to the side is only met with a huffed exhale, almost a laugh. ]

How harsh ... what will you do if I come back to haunt you after death, Makoto-san? You'd be at the complete mercy of a ghost that knows you're helpless, you know?

[ ... he won't belabor the point, though. Rom takes a sip of his coffee with that said, letting the cup warm his palms. And after a moment of consideration, he speaks lightly: ]

I'm sure you could hazard a good guess at which one mine was.

[ordimame]

[affixes Rom with another Look (TM) at that, but he lets the joke die there. mostly because he has to take a moment and recollect each secret that isn't his own. most of them have leaked out of his brain already, but. . .]

[. . .]

. . . if it's the one about your parents abandoning you as a kid, then I'm going to feel a little crappy for complaining about my dad.

[phenomerom]

[ That earns an owlish blink. ]

Mm? They're completely different matters, though. There's no reason for you to feel bad.

[ Soft confirmation that yes, that one was his. Another small sip of coffee, letting that delicate scent and taste permeate his senses; Edamura really does know how to brew a good cup. His delivery remains casual: ]

I was young enough that I don't have very many memories of my parents. So it's rather different from being in conflict with someone who raised you.

[ordimame]

[nnnngh. . . it's true, they are two entirely separate matters. and yet, Edamura can't help the small pang of guilt he feels twisting in his stomach. sure, his dad was a capital-B Bastard, but. . . he at least had his mom]

[. . .]

Maybe. . . [. . .]

[no. he doesn't know what to say, here. what do you say to a man who never knew his parents because they never wanted him? so instead, he just. . . leans. rocks to the side until their shoulders are pressed together, lingering in that contact as he finally lifts his own mug for a sip of his freshly made brew]

. . . sorry that happened to you.

[phenomerom]

[ He glances over when he feels that gentle bump against his shoulder, the warmth pressed up against his side. And while he does lean into it, allowing that tactile sensation to soothe the strange, jittery sensation simmering in his gut ... his gaze is fixed down at the shimmering surface of the coffee cup in his hands. ]

There's nothing you need to apologize for.

[ Huh. Come to think of it, he's never talked about this with anyone. There's the quiet squeak of skin against ceramic as he rubs his fingers against the cup's side, thinking. ]

... my parents were normal people. Not spiritually sensitive in the least. I was the anomaly. [ When he speaks again, it's a little quieter, a little distant. ] I remember overhearing my mother talking to my father. Saying she felt like she was going to lose her mind because of me. ... they were never meant to take on the sort of burden I put on them.

[ordimame]

[NNNNNNNNGH]

You aren't a burden.

[his grip tightens around his mug, then loosens again as he fights back the wave of indignation that boils in his gut]

Maybe they couldn't. . . handle it. But you know what? That's their shitty problem. Not yours. So don't. . . call yourself a burden.

[he doesn't know why the mere thought pisses him off so much, but. . . it does. a burden. as if someone like Rom-- so willing to put himself in danger to help others, to isolate himself from humanity in order to carry out his work-- could be a burden. if that's truly what his parents thought, then. . . it's no wonder that Rom thought himself unsuitable for a game such as this one. even though Edamura thinks that's wrong, too]

[phenomerom]

[ Mm. He hadn't even meant that in a self-pitying fashion -- simply as a statement of facts. Normal people aren't built to tolerate the idiosyncrasies of those with spiritual sensitivity, hence it had been an objective burden. But even so, he can hear the indignity in Edamura's voice.

It's kind of him. The sort of kindness he never thought he'd receive from a regular human being.

Rom smiles to himself before gently nudging Edamura's side. ]

I know how it sounds, but my childhood wasn't too bad, you know. My Master always acts tough, but she's an endlessly kind woman and I'd like to think she raised me well. ... Towako-san gave me the chance at a proper life by putting me in her care, and I'll always be grateful for it.

[ordimame]

[. . . that heads off his next question. whether Rom's master and her mentor were the ones to take him in, after his parents had left him. it eases his anger somewhat, to know that at least someone was there to pick up where biological imperative had left off]

[. . .]

So. . . what was it like? Growing up with your Master. And I know Towako-san was with you for a while too, before. . .

[he remembers how that story goes]

[phenomerom]

Towako-san was the one who rescued me, but I didn't actually stay with her. She was famous on television, so she was often traveling -- Master Mitsue was the one who took me in upon Towako-san's request.

[ His responsibility for Towako's death will always haunt him, but at least he'd been given enough closure on the matter that he can speak of her like this without issue. Rom nurses his coffee in small sips between the placid explanation. ]

She taught me all of the basics -- what tools to use, when to act and when to feign blind, what to say and how to act. Her methods are a little old-fashioned, but they were more than enough to get me started down my path. Ah, and she gave me my name! It's tradition for a Master to grant their apprentice a working name, you see.

[ordimame]

[he is pretty pleased to see Rom talking about Towako so openly, with something other than guilt in his voice. it looks like he doesn't have to worry about that either, does he. . .?]

[a tiny li'l grin]

Which name? "Shindou Rom" or "Enigma Syndrome?" The second one could use a bit of work--

[A PLAYFUL JIBE]

[phenomerom]

[ HIDOI ...... Feigning more hurt than he really is: ]

How harsh ... It took me a while to come up with an online identity that worked for my purposes while still paying tribute to the name she gave me, you know?

[ But after another slow sip of coffee, ]

... I don't have much attachment to my legal identity. Things like my original surname and my actual age -- I lost them with my parents, and what's there now is just for the sake of paperwork. The name she gave me is the only one that matters.

[ordimame]

[a cheeky li'l grin, but it softens almost immediately afterwards]

It must feel weird, to not even know how old you really are.

[what did his profile say. . . ? around 30?]

But. . . I think you've got the right attitude. Hanging on to something given to you by someone who actually matters. [and not the people who had chosen to abandon him] For what it's worth. . .

. . . I really like the identity you've forged for yourself now.