week one | match ceremony

[marriagebroker]

Today's Match Ceremony starts the moment the sun goes down. They will be led to a courtyard on the estate, filled to the brim with lanterns of all kinds and plush couches and chairs for them to sit on. The place is lit bright by the lanterns and the vibe is very cozy. There will be a few camera crews lingering around, ready to catch sight of the contestants as they settle in and get comfortable. There is also food and beverages, some alcohol, some non-alcoholic, for everyone to partake in.

In the center of the courtyard is a stage, hanging above it are eight lanterns, none of which are lit up. Wei Wuxian stands in the middle, dressed to impress for tonight's festivities. In one hand, he has his flute, in another, a cup of huangjiu. He lifts it merrily, giving a laugh before knocking back the alcohol and tossing the cup away. (A staff member nearby catches it, thank god.)

"Welcome, everyone! To your first match ceremony! I am your humble host and we're here to see if chemistry can happen, even under duress~!"

A staff member nearby grimaces at that. It might be the same staff member who caught the cup. It's fine, the producers won't punish him. Probably.

But characters will notice that there is a podium next to the stage for them to lock in their answers.

"For those who are new to this, let's talk about how this works. First, I will call up one of the members of Team Suibian and they will go to the podium over here, make a choice of who they think their match is, and together you will press your hands to the podium to lock it in."

He gives a hum, twirling the flute in his hand a few times before grasping it by the end and using it to point at the contestants.

"As a result of your choices, the lanterns above me will light up with however many perfect matches you've chosen. It is your job to figure out which of the choices made tonight are indeed perfect matches. If you aren't able to get any of them right, you will get a black out. Which means, someone will lose their wish. Don't do that!"

He'll let his warning hang for a moment before smiling, tapping his shoulder lazily with the flute and then grinning broadly.

"With that, let's get started."

——

Each character of Team Suibian will be called in random order, under the selections top level. Feel free to react there!

After the matches, the results top level will reveal how many are right!

Otherwise, feel free to use this log for any reactions, catherding, whatever you want for the match ceremony.

Comments

[poans]

Rain, you say . . .

[How apt, that they should be called Expressions. To believe in what can and cannot be seen. How he longs to stand in a sunshower and drink in the crisp air of the aftermath.]

They must be a source of faith for those who pay them tribute.

[researcherstory]

They are. Even I give my dues, though I wonder which I may end up seeking the good will of here.

[ Besides Searching, maybe. That... has long been an Expression to whom she owes thanks. ]

What does the scene bring to your own, Yi Sang?

[poans]

[He wonders what it's like to be spoiled for choice. Perhaps Odile doesn't necessarily see it that way, though. She's precise and purposeful; it may be more like sorting through variables and putting aside unnecessary elements.]

That all things are ephemeral. This moment, like those before it, shan't last forever.

[researcherstory]

[ There he goes again, poetic as ever. Odile swirls her shochu. ]

Not in the present, nor even in our memories. Fragile things they are.

[ So easily forgotten, rather than retained. So easily misremembered, rather than kept pristine. ]

Does that make it any more or less important than what happened yesterday, or what may happen tomorrow?

[poans]

[Memories left behind in the night, never to know the light of day again. He nurses his own cup of shochu.]

I would hear your thoughts on the matter.

[researcherstory]

[ Before giving his own? She shrugs slightly, a wry smile on her lips. ]

It happened, and so it's still important. Such things change us however small. Even tonight, as we prepare to call upon those we think suit us... shall have an effect, however invisible it may seem at first. Just as yesterday leads unto now, and today unto tomorrow. The fleeting snow still expands and drives a crack further into the earth, a flower still gives life to the bee.

[poans]

[When the question has a rhetorical edge, it grants him the opening to defer an answer he's unable to give. Fortunately, Odile has plenty to wax poetic, and it feels almost like a continuation of Shoko's words from the first day.]

Come winter, the crack in the earth shall widen once more; elsewhere, another flower will bloom, offering its grains to a weary carrier.

[And so life goes on, for those with the means to hold its bounty.]

Miss Odile, does such a change have aught to do with your search?

[researcherstory]

I wouldn't have signed on if I didn't think so.

[ Simply put. ]