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

[reverso]

No. You have more irresistible charm, clearly.

[Flipping through the profiles! He comes to a stop randomly, and I’m going to be a gremlin and says it’s his own. Oh boy.]

Aha. Okay. Open your eyes…

[irreversal]

[ She opens her eyes and. Oh! This is hilarious. And with no way for her to know this was actually random— ]

Really— [ quickly glances at the screen ] Verso-san? A little underhanded, don't you think?

[reverso]

[He doesn't even have to feign innocence. It really was random!! But he does feign faux indignity, hand on his chest.]

I beg your pardon, do I look that manipulative to you? I just happened to land on me, I swear it.

[irreversal]

Sure, sure...

[ She's mostly teasing at this point, but to her credit, she will still complete the task. ]

Mm, a six or seven. You seem like you've got a lot going on. [ this sure is her talking about his mild stink ] But you still seem friendly and easy to get along with.

[reverso]

['Tis only a tiny stinky. :( ]

First impressions are important. That's a fair assessment. [Maybe he should've washed his face again before he arrived here...] But having "a lot going on" adds to my mysterious flair.

[or something]

[irreversal]

Hehe. Sure it does! I like your attitude, though, Verso-san. And you look like you could be on that one HBO show.

[ the what ]

[reverso]

[yeah,]

What show...?

[irreversal]

Uh... Think it was called Game of Thrones...? I don't really have time to watch shows like that, but it was pretty popular. Guess I should bump you up to an eight, for reminding me of something like that...

[ anyway ]

You rate me next.

[reverso]

[ ??? He's never heard of it. It's unlikely he will ever get to see it. But he chooses, solemnly, to believe all of the leading characters in this "Game of Thrones" are handsome and/or beautiful.]

Okay. Eight and a half. [Without missing a beat.]

[irreversal]

[ that's the spirit... it was meant to be flattering..!! ]

Ah. Wow, that's generous.

[ A beat. ]

Is anyone here a ten for you?

[reverso]

Now hold on. [NOT SO FAST YOUNG LADY] Why's it generous? Wouldn't you rate yourself an eight and a half? Or higher?

[irreversal]

[ DONT YOUNG LADY HER!? ]

I guess. I haven't really thought about it.

[ shrugs!! ]

[reverso]

[too late, he did]

Ha, well, that's part of why I rated you so high. You're not just a pretty face; I like your attitude. Casual, collected... but not afraid to say it like it is.

Honestly, there's an air of mystery about you, too.

[She didn't ask, but he's explained anyway.]

[irreversal]

[ Well... she appreciates the explanation. ]

Ahaha. You must be wondering how I'm so cool and collected all the time. I guess whether or not I go all the way up to a ten depends on what's beneath the mystery, huh?

[reverso]

Got it in one. But figuring it out is part of the fun, no matter if that number goes up or down.

[At least, he's sure that would apply to several here. Nearly everyone seems personable in their own way.]

[irreversal]

Heh... In any case, I'm flattered that you gave me such a high score, Vero-san. Now...

[ gestures at the screen ]

What does "Disaster Expeditioner" mean, exactly?

[reverso]

Oh, that.

[He should probably not say this so flippantly, but maybe by now, she's gotten a faint sense of his personality to suspect this is he default.]

Because it was all... la poisse. When I ventured away from the city for the first time, nothing ever went right. [to say.. the least] And when I joined up with my last Expedition, they gave that bad luck a run for its money.

So, we made it official. We were the Disaster Expedition.

[irreversal]

[ She has, and she respects it. It makes him easy to chat with, after all. ]

Well, a sense of humor's important when things are going badly, right? Hah. So what did you do with this... Expedition? Go exploring?

[reverso]

[A sense of humor is very important, basically mandatory to smooth over all the bad stuff. And there's quite a bit of that.

There's only a slight pause, as though he sets in his mind all the things he wants to say before he says them.]

Every Expedition has a goal, and that's to reach the Paintress who rests at the Monolith in the north. To get there, you have to cross swaths of land and sea, and there are a fair few things that'll try to kill you along the way.

[irreversal]

[ Shoko waits patiently, idly swiping through some of the other profiles while he considers how to answer. ]

Wow... That sounds really tough. What's the reason for reaching the— Paintress, was it?

[reverso]

...Every year, she erases everyone of a certain age. Gone, just like that.

[ ... ]

You can imagine how that's not the ideal.

[irreversal]

[ Her brow quirks at that, because. Wow. She'd be more shocked, but sadly it's not entirely unheard of, that certain entities may want to just delete a whole population of people. A certain age, though - that's interesting. ]

Yeah, that sounds like it sucks.

[ Plainly. ]

So you're going to her to... stop her? Destroy her?

[reverso]

[She's not wrong. It did suck. For a multitude of reasons.]

That's always the plan. To stop the cycle of loss and grief.

[He reaches up to rub at the back of his neck. This subject is... Ah. Just push forward.]

But stopping an entity that might as well be a goddess is a high order.

[irreversal]

[ It's not easy to talk about, is it? She can relate to that, too. It's why she won't press him to talk about it further, but she'll at least offer this: ]

As long as you have strong allies you can trust and work well with, even something as daunting as stopping such a powerful entity is possible.

[ Offered very much with a knowing smile and tone. ]

[reverso]

[ ...

The pause is drawn out, as though he's trying to decide how to reply. Agreement is easiest. She's not wrong, not at all. But memories of his last Expedition team are...

(As long as you have strong allies you can trust and work well with...)

Brambly, let's just say. Despite how flippantly he attached "Disaster Expedition" onto his title, it seems like delving deeper than that is something he might be Matrixing dodging for a bit.]

Yeah. It's the only way to succeed.

[oughhh ANYWAY]

Do you speak from experience, maybe?