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]

True! Even the smallest of changes can rewrite something like that, so a whole wish surely can seal the deal.

[She blinks as he backtracks, and tilts her head.]

Yep, that's what I said. This body's synthetic. I'm not human.

[reverso]

[Sorry for the subject change. He's not sure he wants to linger on the subject of his wish overlong, anyway.]

A body you've had only for months... [He murmurs it, as if finally putting two and two together re: her profiles.] You seem exactly like a human, though. I'd not been able to tell, otherwise.

[hexensabbat]

Hey, thanks!

[She grins at him, hands on her hips.]

I'm absolutely gonna take that as a compliment, since humans are pretty great. I was modeled to be as human as possible, but it did take some time to kind of... pick up on it. You know?

[reverso]

I meant it fully as a compliment.

[Her creator must be proud. It is no small effort to create a person who can exude an actual sense of humanity, learned or otherwise.]

For just a few months, you've already picked up on a lot. If you don't mind me saying so.

[hexensabbat]

[Heheh.]

I don't mind at all! [A beam.] In fact, I'm flattered!

It's been a whirlwind of things, but mostly in a good way! And now I'm here to pick up on even more things I didn't get the chance to experience before.

[reverso]

Uh-huh.

[And he's glad for her, because her excitement does sound utterly sincere. If he feels a smidgen of— Hm. Discomfort isn't the right word. Apprehension? Uncertainty? He doesn't really show it, beyond how he shapes his questions, and it's merely due to his own personal experiences.]

Who created you, again? Was it this Aion?

[hexensabbat]

Yep.

[She nods, lifting a hand to her chin contemplatively.]

You can think of Aion like... this mass collection of data since the dawn of time. It has so much data that it can predict the future, and make judgements based off of that.

Artificial Intelligence, in other words.

I was a part of Aion before I was split off into Ringo.

[reverso]

[Mass collection of data, Artificial Intelligence. Terms that are far beyond the ken of Verso's understanding of technology, but she explains it well enough that he can understand at a baseline level.]

Predicting the future? Almost god-like.

[And she was a part of Aion? He wonders how disorienting it must be, to be one thing one day and another the next. Instead of simply... coming into existence.]

Do you still think of yourself in that way? As a part of Aion?

[hexensabbat]

Almost! Of course, predictions like that can be changed by all sorts of things.

[Even so, it's a very god-like being, and she's very aware of that. Now that she's split from Aion and no longer has that constant flow of data, as well as becoming more human... it all feels that way even more so.]

That's an interesting question, though. Huh... a little while ago, I would've said yes without even hesitating, but now...

[reverso]

[But now...

He urges her to continue.]

What changed?

[hexensabbat]

I just decided I liked being Ringo, that's all.

[She grins at him, an easy and relatively calm expression.]

So I think I'd like to be Ringo for a bit longer.

[reverso]

[She says it like it’s so simple. Verso nearly wishes he had that same kind of confidence.]

Right. But I guess what I’m asking is… what makes you so sure that you’re different from the original? Or, well, Aion. What makes you you?

[hexensabbat]

Well, that's easy. There was no "I" when I was part of Aion. It was a collective of data, you know?

Ringo's got a sense of self, and Ringo is who I am now. I'm me, because I can think "I".

[reverso]

As easy as that?

[Maybe it is just as simple as having a sense of self, of being... different than where or who you came from.]

I guess that makes sense. There are parts of yourself that Aion can't lay claim to.

[hexensabbat]

Yeah, exactly!

[She considers it for a moment, hand on her hip, before her expression sharpens a little--though mostly in earnest curiosity for now.]

Why, worried about selfhood? Is that for my sake, or a general concern?

[reverso]

General concern.

[Immediately.

But then, after a moment.]

Well, that's not totally true. As someone who used to be an artist, it was always one of my musings whenever I created art or music... Just how departed is my work from myself, after it's been viewed by an audience? Just philosophical natterings, mostly.

[hexensabbat]

... You should talk with Yi Sang.

[Said with a slow, somewhat shit-eating grin.]

But anyway, makes sense to me. Identity's never been one of those things I was worried about. I always figured it's exactly what you make of it.

[reverso]

Oh, don't send me to a professional philosophizer. I'll just look stupid.

[He nods.]

And so... what are you hoping to make of it here? To find the love of your life? Or just see what all this romance stuff is about?

[hexensabbat]

Heyyy, don't underestimate yourself like that! I think you could have a good conversation!

[She shrugs a bit with a laugh.]

More the latter than the former. Statistically, we're unlikely to find the love of our lives in a set this small.

But hey! It's an experience I've never had before, so I'm excited to give it a try. Falling in love is supposed to be one of the most human things around, right?

[reverso]

And one of the more fraught, if all the stories tell you anything.

[And in real life, too. Love can suck in real life.]

Well, good luck. [He supposes he should. Flirt a bit, too?] And if you need help in your intrepid search for love, you know who to call on.

[hexensabbat]

Thanks! Good luck to you, too.

[A laugh, and:]

Is that an offer in the wingman sense, or the flirty sense?

[reverso]

[Gives a little wince.]

If you have to ask, then I'm doing a bad job... I mean in the flirty sense. A future date might be suited to the task of romantic self-exploration and expression.

[hexensabbat]

[She snorts in amusement.]

Alright, alright. I just wasn't gonna assume.

Let's plan on it then. We'll go on a date! Where do you wanna go?

[reverso]

Ladies' choice. It's the gentlemanly thing to do.

[ ... ]

But— Okay, look. Don't laugh.

[hexensabbat]

Cross my heart. No laughing.

[She's listening!!]