perfectmatch | week one | match ceremony

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, exactly! Either we've found one of the three, or we know the others are way more likely! It's a win-win.

A solid plan as far as I'm concerned. The question is who feels ready to test their luck, or maybe who feels ready to put on a show for the rest of us?

Yeah! We've got a confident enough group here, I'm sure someone's up for taking that step.

If anything, it feels like we're just testing their conviction a bit.

To see who's really confident they're a perfect match, huh?

[ She looks thoughtful for a moment, glancing out at the assembled group, before giving Ringo a curious look. She really does feel more human than anything else, but she wonders what Ringo's opinion will be on what Serpilia is about to say. ]

Though even if they didn't end up being one, if they liked each other enough it's not like an algorithm is the best way to determine a good relationship.

That's... true.

[Ringo blinks at that, head tilting as she ponders it. Hm... right. Humans don't usually use things like algorithms to determine if they love someone or not. It just... happens.

As Edamura said--there's a spark.]

But I definitely don't know much about that. Even less than the rest of this whole thing.

No time like the present to learn, right?

[ She laughs quietly, before admitting: ]

I say that, but it's not like it always makes much sense to me either. These things just kind of happen, and they're not always all that rational.

Right... that's true too.

[It's a good reminder. Ringo can easily fall into these patterns of making assumptions that are not relevant to human emotion.]

... That does make this a little trickier, doesn't it? Not the math, necessarily, but... making sure everyone leaves happy.

I think it helps that a lot of people seem in it for the wishes, so if we can at least guarantee we figure out the intended matches, then we've made at least half the group happy. For the ones genuinely here for love, that could be a little harder... especially if two people really hit it off quick, and a third or fourth or even fifth person gets their heart broken.

[ All the overlap in names means people are clicking with a pretty limited number of people, and that seems like it could end pretty messy. ]

... Maybe that's what we should be polling people on. Exactly what they want outta this, I mean.

Obviously there's only so much I can do, but I still want to try and make sure everyone can leave this experience with something nice going for them, you know?

It's definitely an option.

[ That doesn't necessarily suit her, but she won't stop others from doing it if they really want.

She will smile a little at Ringo's question though. ]

I mean, if nothing else it seems like we're striking up some pretty interesting friendships here? I think that's definitely something nice no matter how this all shakes out.

That's true! A wish and some new friends is definitely worth any hassle, in my book.

[Still... she really would like to make sure everyone leaves this place happy. It's the JRPG protagonist in her.]

What about you, Serpilia? What are you hoping for most out of all of this?

[ She pauses for a moment to consider that question. There are some easy and obvious answers to give, but instead of giving them, she dances around to something else entirely. ]

I guess just for something kind of interesting? To be honest, I'm not so convinced a show like this could really help all sixteen of us find a soulmate, but if I have a good time here it's not a bad deal. Plus, I can think of it as a little vacation from work, even if I don't get a room to myself.

Just something interesting? Wow, you're easy to please.

[That's said fondly--she's pretty sure Serpilia's got one of the most easygoing approaches to this TV show, and it feels familiar and relatable.]

I think we can definitely manage that one.

Have you been working too hard back home or something?

I like to think I am.

[ Certainly on a surface level she is, but she didn't go into this with too many expectations. ]

And you have no idea. My boss at my second job is actually pretty easy going, but the one at my first? Woof... that's an entirely different story.

Second?

[???]

You work two jobs? [goddamn.] No wonder you need a vacation! Sheesh!

Kind of by choice in some ways. The second one helps me with the first one, and is way more reasonable about me coming and going as I please. I definitely work some pretty wild schedules sometimes though.

Huh...

[...]

Alright, I give. What sort of things do you do? I can't figure it out without more deets.

[ She holds up one finger first. ]

Job number one is pretty multifold. I work for my country, but I don't think Laterano's Notarial Hall means anything to anyone here. Let's just say I do a little bit of everything from search and rescue missions, to the most tedious paperwork you've ever seen.

[ Now goes up the second finger. Peace! ]

Job number two is working for a pharmaceutical company. It's... probably not exactly what you'd think either? Unless you know what Oripathy is, it's going to be kind of hard to really get into the nitty gritty of what they do, but they're surprisingly involved in world politics, but not in a way that's as sleezy as you'd imagine hearing something like that.

Huh...

[Wow, that's...]

You've got your fingers in lots of pies, Serpilia! I mean, not that that's a big surprise. You've always come across as competent.

It's super cool though!

You flatter me! Honestly, it's more happenstance that I ended up with these two jobs, but they've been interesting if nothing else.

week one | match ceremony

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