week one | arrival

[marriagebroker]

The characters will arrive one by one, in whatever vehicle suits them the best to the front of estate. It's a beautiful estate filled with plants and trees and little ponds and all kinds of little hideaways. But it all cumulates at the main house, where they will be dropped off and greeted by a familiar face who stands outside the house and welcomes them in. They will be able to bring one suitcase with items and clothes as well as their pet(s?).

The main thing to notice when you step into the house though is that cameras are everywhere. Despite the many little hideaways of this house, there's no privacy whatsoever. Oh well!

When everyone is gathered together, the host from earlier will greet everyone with a merry:

"Welcome, my affection seeking friends! This is where you'll be staying the next few weeks. Find a place to settle in and get to know each other! I'll be around, in case you need anything."

He genuinely seems to mean it, at least?! But that seems to be it, he'll slip away in the meantime and leave you all to it.

A few things to note, of course:

• There is only one "bedroom" which is a large room, with a closet full of futons to roll out and use in said room. Sleepover time!


• There is an extra, extra, extra, extra large futon for Messmer.


• In one of the rooms of the estate, there is a lovely piano ready for use. Feel free to ask for more instruments, if you'd like.


• The kitchen is filled with food of all kinds and modern appliances so folks can cook whatever they'd like! There is also a bar in the kitchen, stocked with alcohol.


• In the living room, there is a screen showing everyone's profiles. It is touch screen, so feel free to swipe through!


• There is, of course, a banner in the living room reading 有緣千里來相會 (which, for the keen-eyed, translates to "Fate brings together those that are a thousand miles apart"). This was definitely written by the host.


• There is a welcome cake.

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

Comments

[hexensabbat]

[... Well. She hasn't, even though she probably should've.

Huh.]

Mostly curiosity, yeah.

[... She's squinting at that vase for a moment. Why...]

Aren't you curious about places like the Truth Booth? Sure, we're not headed there yet, but I bet we can still check it out ahead of time.

[phenomerom]

[ Don't worry about it! :) ]

Ah, the Truth Booth ... that won't come into play for a few days, if I remember correctly? Though I'm certainly curious. I suppose it won't hurt to do a little investigation beforehand.

[hexensabbat]

[Yeah okay I am reassured by that smiley face.]

Riiight? I can't help but be tempted by places that are a little off the beaten path.

Statistically we're unlikely to be the ones chosen to go into the booth week one, but I still can't help but want to snoop a little.

[phenomerom]

Haha. But now that you've said that out loud, it might happen.

[ Said with minimal inflection in his voice. Does he want that to happen? Is he just joking? It is a mystery!

Anyway, he's going to wander over to one of the sliding doors leading outside and hold it open for her so she can exit first. ]

[hexensabbat]

[And out she goes! She leads the way like she is used to doing this, strolling out into the grounds curiously.]

Let's see... this path seems promising!

[At the very least, it looks like it heads off in A Direction.]

[phenomerom]

[ How assertive! He doesn't dislike it. Rom's perfectly happy to trail along two or three paces behind at a casual pace, though a keen eye might note the way his gaze keeps sweeping their surroundings, like he's on guard for something. ]

The grounds are quite nice, aren't they ... Most could have considered this a wonderful vacation, if not for the show's demands.

[hexensabbat]

They're pretty nice, yeah!

[She doesn't quite have the same appreciation for nature, and carefully put together gardens as a city AI through and through, but she can at least acknowledge how aesthetically pleasing it is.]

Some would consider the show's demands part of the perks. You're not one of them?

[phenomerom]

No, not really.

[ Said blandly, with zero hesitation. At least he follows it up with an addendum after another step through the grass. ]

Unfamiliar work of any sort is a bit too harrowing to be considered a perk ... but I suppose it's always good to pick up more experience. Would you consider it a perk, Miss Ringo?

[hexensabbat]

I'm in the same ship [she means boat] as you, I think. In that I'm here to pick up more experience, I mean.

But yeah, I do consider it a perk for that reason.

So... same ship, different perspectives?

[phenomerom]

I suppose so. Though yours feels like a good perspective to have -- very optimistic.

[ So. Not really his style, but he respects it. ]

You must be confident you'll be able to find your true love, then? Or will the experience alone satisfy you.

[hexensabbat]

[She flaps a hand at that, and despite the general optimistic world view:]

Statistically, matches on shows like this rarely lead to love, much less something as ambiguous as "true love".

I'm just here for the experience! If I find someone, that's all the better, but I won't hold my breath.

That more in line with your thoughts on it?

[phenomerom]

Oooh. [ Here, have a little round of applause. ] An excellent guess. You're correct.

[ Truly not an approach he expected. Color him intrigued. ]

Some would say that thinking of romance in terms of statistics is unromantic, but it's difficult, isn't it. Completely ignoring the matter of facts and probability.

[hexensabbat]

Thank you, thank you.

[Since he's applauding her, she'll soak it up, shamelessly.]

But yeah, pretty much. I mean, I'm made up of facts and probability and data. There's no ignoring it, even if human emotion is pretty fun, too.

[phenomerom]

[ Oh. There it is. He'd already figured the population here would be some sort of strange, given the varying ages on the profiles -- Ringo had been a few months, if he remembers correctly? -- and the presence of that enormous snake man.

So while he does give a brief blink, he doesn't need much more room than that to process what she's saying. ]

Made up of data. I take it you're an android, then?

[hexensabbat]

Hmmm...

[She considers that as she strolls down the path. Ah--a hill, right. Up the hill they go.]

"Android" feels a little reductive, but it isn't entirely inaccurate, either. The body's synthetic, anyway.

I'm an AI, yeah. Nothing human over here.

[phenomerom]

... I see.

[ Fascinating. Anything that actually deals with AI is beyond his tech capabilities, but he at least knows enough to be impressed. ]

Then -- is there anything we should be mindful of when interacting with you? Rules to stick to, or taboos not to break.

[hexensabbat]

[That nets him a laugh.]

Like the Epimenides paradox? Nothing to worry about. When I was given this body and consciousness, I was shut off from a lot of Aion--that is to say, the actual amalgamation of data.

In exchange for some loss of processing power, I'm a bit more robust than that. You can treat me just like anyone else.

1/2

[phenomerom]

[ HUH. ]

[phenomerom]

[ ... okay then! ]

Aah, I'm glad if that's the case.

[ Details aside, good to know he doesn't need to be walking on eggshells! ]

I'm experienced in dealing with non-humans, but the kind I handle are usually a lot more aggressive about broken rules. Best to be careful about these things, you know.

[hexensabbat]

[Huh! She can't help but wonder if he means demons in that case...]

I'm a bit of a rule breaker myself when it suits me, honestly!

[Without shame... that's her role, whereas Figue is more the rule follower.]

But you can't drop a tidbit like that and not elaborate. What sorts of non-humans?

[phenomerom]

A rule breaker! That's good. Sometimes things need to be shaken up a little bit.

[ He means it, too. Even if his delivery remains unconvincingly kinda wan. Sorry, that's just how he talks -- his tone of voice remains slightly deadpan as he continues. ]

For myself, though -- I deal with spirits. Ghosts. All those sorts of unpleasant beings that haunt our world. Shindou Rom, the Enigma Syndrome, spiritual medium and exorcist, at your service.

[hexensabbat]

Woooow, an exorcist, huh?

[She sounds sincerely impressed by that one.]

That must be pretty interesting, and maybe a little harrowing. So ghosts don't like rule breakers?

[phenomerom]

It's both. But I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.

[ Hehe. He does love an appreciative audience; he tips his hat a little in thanks. ]

Ghosts are a tricky breed. Some are more lenient than others, but in general, yes, most follow certain rules. For example, there's one rule that you should always keep in mind, if you ever run into a ghost yourself ...

[hexensabbat]

[........

A long pause...

And then:]

Oh, c'mon, don't keep me in suspense!

[phenomerom]

... it's intriguing, isn't it!

[ Yeah he was holding that long pause on purpose. ]

But you see, that's information only available once you've signed up for a membership to the Enigma Illusion fanclub! Would you be interested?