WEEK FIVE - MINGLE

[hellscapes]

Rise and shine, little deadlings. Were you able to rest easy knowing you let one mystery go unsolved? Hmm...never fear. Satan's grace has shined upon you and you have more opportunities to show just why you deserve an invite to the house party.

For those of you who slept in the dorm last night, when you make your way downstairs to head off for the day you'll be greeted with a new message on the white board in the common room.

Two Weeks and Four Days Until Satan's House Party!!

The countdown continues...

But out the door you go for another busy week. At the dock, there's a ferry happily floating on the lava and waiting for you to climb aboard. While there are still several islands in your line of vision you can't quite see, it seems as though the ferry can now shuttle you between all of the previous islands and a new location called Animal Kingdom. A wild time awaits you. Though should you find yourselves returning to more familiar bars, you may find a new menu item awaits them!

With the new week comes new change, of course. You've probably grown accustom to this by now (or maybe you haven't even noticed the correlation of the weekly changes.) But at least you no longer have to struggle with your insecurities and flounder uselessly to prove you're #1. After all who cares, right? You obviously know you're #1. Nobody can argue with you on that one. Look at you. You're here! You're strong! You're powerful! Nothing can stand in your way this week, and you find yourself filled to the brim with all the confidence in the world. Some may even call it being over-assertive, seeing how you'll find yourself acting on inhibitions you may not before and being more assured in everything that you do. In the animal world? Some may even call you the alpha.

It almost seems as though it's simply meant to be an annoyance...to everyone else.

And speaking of annoyances? Don't forget to check out what's new on Bicker. You can always contact each other via public Beeks or by sliding into their DMs.

Likewise, you'll find that your personal demons' accounts are live and active and despite what some of them may say, their DMs are also open.

Enjoy yourselves!

Good morning everybody, and welcome to your week five mingle! A few notes for clarity.

-This week's effect is heightened confidence, or what we lovingly call "alpha week." While it does not have to be a consistent thing, this week your character will swing back from all of their insecurities by being filled with overconfidence (and sometimes arrogance.) Now's the time to see how bold you can be and push the envelope a little. Your hubris doesn't matter here.

-Audiences for the personal demons are now open! Please submit all requests under the correct weekly header.

-Please submit all PC submissions under the correct weekly header.

-The Bicker poll is public! All replies will be public, and players may also post their own Beeks in their toplevels that will be considered public. You are free to reply directly to the appropriate toplevels, or you may create Beeks in your own toplevels with other prompts. Be free.

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Comments

[awol]

[ immediately lin jingheng huffs when lu bixing pulls back from the whisper, turning his head away fastly for the few seconds that he can bear to stop looking at him. another turn earns lu bixing a slow raise of the brow, not that it can be seen behind the mask right now. he then just... pivots them a bit, takes them for a turn this time. ]

Is that what you want, Headmaster?

Think you can handle a little downgrade?

[engineers]

[ ehehehe he looks very satisfied with himself when lin turns his head away, bright and pleased, and when lin jingheng pivots them around - he laughs, light on his feet and easy and letting lin jingheng take the lead.

headmaster. it's nostalgic. a big downgrade from the grand marshal and the prime minister, but... it feels so sweet to think about. he'd love to go back to that life, to just be headmaster lu, and the pilot light of his starry sea academy that had once gone out is being stoked, again. by his students, back home, sure, but by lin's gentle encouragement, and by the faces of the people here - gideon, kon, hana, harrowhark, the faces of people he wants to help, in exchange.

he laughs, softly, warm.]

Things were simpler, then. [ two decades ago, now. he steps with lin, easily, just smiling at him and tilting his head in a little, intimate and happy with the proximity, keeping his voice low. ] Before I knew you were the Lin Jingheng. [ playfully, lightly; ] Would you give me your autograph, again?

[awol]

That depends...

[ he leads for the moment, their hands clasped. his heart is high in his throat as he carries them both to the music elegantly. he looks down at him through the mask now, the posture familiar. it's not aloof because lin jingheng doesn't know how to do that when he's in lu bixing's hands. not anymore. instead, he draws his hand in close between them. ]

You have a pen, Headmaster?

[engineers]

[ he looks so excited at first, like, delighted by this incredibly stupid little joke, and then

realizes: ]

-- Nooo, I don't have my bag......

[ GENUINELY SO SAD this is very stupid ] How embarrassing.

[awol]

Come unprepared?

[ it's... confidence week and he... doesn't care... about doing gay things in public at the moment when normally he definitely would. sry. ]

Besides... why ask for my autograph when you already have everything of mine?

[engineers]

[ gross!!! he just brightens at that, immediately. unfortunately for jingheng, he gets to feel a little bit of lu bixing's emotions from a drink he had earlier - this tidal wave of love and affection that comes from that romantic quip. ]

I do? [ he asks this question like he doesn't already know the answer, letting lin jingheng lead him a little further in the dance. like he just wants to hear him say that because. he's spoiled. terrible. ]

[awol]

[ ohhhh that's a swell of... feeling. because normally he's that one john mulaney gif but that sensation is pushing him under. so when he says that and looks at him the way he does— ]

Of course you do...

[ he clears his throat a little and laughs a bit. ]

Guess I'll owe you one.

Unless there's something else you'd want?

[engineers]

[ the warm affection love feeling just gets worse, unfortunately, at that quiet response, and lu bixing just smiles at him, a little dopey as he keeps a hand on lin jingheng's waist - pulling him in closer, chest to chest, maybe a little sudden. a little roguish, voice dropping playfully, he says; ]

I can think of something, I think.

[ it's a week full of confidence, which means lu bixing's not even a little shy about tipping lin jingheng's chin up with his other hand and using it to steal a kiss, like the cheeky little brat that he actually is. right there on the dance floor! ]

[awol]

[ the finger under his chin earns a little hum of surprise until he's kissed, because he doesn't have to think if he's kissed. his eyes shut briefly and then he pulls back

(reluctantly. he wants to stay.)

his face turns... affectionately grave. ]

Watch it now, Headmaster. Don't take too much at once.

[ flicking his forehead... lovingly. ]

[engineers]

[ the flick makes him squeeze his eye shut and his nose wrinkle - it's a cute, silly face, and he laughs, reaching up to rub his forehead. ] I won't, I won't. [ a little more flirtatiously - ] Not in front of the kids.

[ if he looks up very briefly at the second floor, well, it's fine

with that, though, lu bixing just contentedly lifts his arms to drape both over lin jingheng's strong shoulders, as the music they've been dancing to starts to slow. it shifts, from something more formal to something softer - a light, easy sway, the kind of thing you'd do in your kitchen in your pajamas at three in the morning. intimate and sweet. maybe not quite enough room to leave room for jesus, but, you know, that's okay.

he sighs out, content, and his emotions leak over again just to utter happiness. ]

I feel a little like I'm dreaming.

[awol]

Should I pinch you?

[ the emotional leakage is... a lot. lin jingheng doesn't seem to mind it though, pulling lu bixing closer, letting him sway against him and feeling the way the music encourages this warmth, hovering to one another. for a moment, lin jingheng holds him almost too tightly in a pause, face tucked low into his neck.

he just wants this to be real. he knows it's real, under his hands everything is real... but what if it's also something elaborately unreal his mind has created. what if this has never happened? what if he's dreaming again in the dark, what if—

he blinks slowly and then glances up to the second floor at last.

haha. yeah. of course. a small smile before he turns back to look at lu bixing, and he is as real as anything could be in this moment. ]

[engineers]

[ this tag is so ominous. i'm afraid.

that's the best part about this, though. even if it feels like a dream - it is real. seventeen years of separation left lu bixing full of dreams like this, halcyon memories achieved through relaxants and sleep aids on the lighter side and worse even after. sometimes, he'd wake up and try desperately, desperately to fall back asleep, in the world where things were fine.

but this isn't. go figure, it had to be in hell, that they'd find each other again, but right now, it feels like a little slice of heaven. they're both here. battered, beaten up and broken, but stitched back together, and here.

lu bixing looks up at jingheng, and a smile spreads back across his face again, slow and easy, cheeks flushing pink as he squeezes his arms around his shoulders and takes an easy turn with them both, in tune with the music, just adoring at the smile. no matter what happens, whether they get free of this place or not, it's the two of them, together again. there's no dream that could be better than that. ]

No, I don't think so. [ with a soft laugh. ] I can't believe I get to dance with my own Prince Charming, is all.

[ a little callback to their stupid little zoo signs. ]

[awol]

Just remember...

[ as he turns so that he has lu bixing back to chest with him, moving gently with the music, turning him back around again. when he looks at him, it is as thought lu bixing is the only person in this room, in the world, that matters to him. his smile is wry: ]

I turn into a frog at what, midnight? So you'd better make sure that I have enough kisses to last the party.

[ as he leans in and gently whispers softly into his ear before pulling back politely. ]

[engineers]

[ ohhhhh he's going to swoon

the smile on bixing's face goes a little dopey, a boyish, stupid grin as he's turned back around to face him - there's a twinkle in his brown eye, bright as the sun. it's a face that usually means happiness, but sometimes, sometimes it means that he's up to something.

like in this case, it's confidence week, baby, which means he just, very suddenly pulls him back in and then

dips him.

alleyoop. ]

Can do, commander. [ and then dips in and steals a kiss, right there in front of god and everyone. ]

[awol]

[ oh god we're

we're going down bye!

and bye down it just means he's getting dipped and he kind of gasps a bit because lu bixing doesn't have his biochip, he expects to fully be dropped! it doesn't stop him from clinging a bit to his jacket, however, eyes wide for all of a second before he's kissed.





this is fine actually.




and as he pulls back from it, he then just says: ]

Ribbit.

[ with a very tiny ljh-patented cheeky smile. it's like microscopic. you can only see it from this short distance. ]