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

[embellwish]

[ It's a mystery!

Looking at the contents of the book, though, she can see what he means. ]

Mm... my world is like that, too. [ She murmurs, a cool breeze causing some of the leaves to sway. ] Things haven't been how that book describes for a very long time.

[ Did something similar become of Luka's world, then? At the booth, she'd imagined that perhaps the Segyein were just in contact with Earth. Now, she's wondering if his realm had their own Perishing Star-like event. ]

[beatmatching]

[ he might not have guessed from her clothes but fashion trends come around eventually and who knows what kind of cycle segyein attire revolves around. ]

How is it now?

[embellwish]

From what I understand.... there are very few strongholds of people anymore.

[ It's still difficult for her to really picture — before the meteor fell, the world was still engaging in trade, travel, everything. That's the world she knows, but it's not the one she lives in any more. ]

Nature like that is hard to find, [ She points at a picture on one of the pages of his book, lush greenery and clear water. ] Is that how it is for you, too?

[beatmatching]

It exists, but it's artificial. [ a finger glides along the picturesque scenery on the page. ] And the last strongholds of humans fell quite a while back, in the last days of the war. Excluding pockets of resistant that flare up here and there.

[embellwish]

[ Carefully, she lets herself down from the branches, landing softly in the grass next to him. Still standing, she brushes out any lingering crinkles in her hanfu, turning her gaze from the book to Luka himself.

It's not hard to put 2 and 2 together. A world where human civilization is gone, and the majority of his fanbase are "aliens?" Like any war, it sounds like they were conquered. It must be the norm... and why Luka seems to accept the circumstances he was brought into.

Gracefully, she plops down beside him, expression thoughtful. ]

Is it lonely?

[beatmatching]

[ he looks to her with a small smile when she joins him. ]

Why would it be lonely? I have many fans who cheer me on day in and day out.

[embellwish]

There's a difference between fans and companions.

[ Fans, followers, whatever they could be called — Yingying things it'd get terribly lonely only interacting with people like that, and never family and friends. Given how Luka doesn't bring up either of the latter, it sounds like there really is only fans and the stage. ]

How about... do you like it here?

[beatmatching]

[ luka pauses briefly.

because it is her asking, luka decides that he can give her a little more than a stock answer. he's talked in circles about that recently because it's something he's good at, but he's grown a little tired of it. ]

It reminds me of my days at the Garden, where I learned to sing and perform with all the other humans.

[ and in that way, it's been exactly as he's expected. or mostly, anyway. ]