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

[scooptimistic]

One being "wildly fanciful" to ten being "pretty much set in stone"?

[poans]

[He glances in Yingying's direction from his seat. Ranking matches is a bit . . . ]

[hexensabbat]

[don't be a wuss]

Whatcha got for us, Yi Sang?

[poans]

[He is a wuss.]

Assigning numbers to a connection is . . . unideal.

[hexensabbat]

So's picking a perfect match in front of a crowd, but you did that much! C'mon, it's just a guesstimate. A vibe check.

[poans]

[He did it, because Yingying brought his name up first . . . ]

For what vibe are we checking?

[embellwish]

[ This is a prime opportunity to tease him some more, but she just smiles when he looks over, tilting her head. ]

Hmm...? Wondering about what score we should have?

[ A gentle question, not a prodding one. She'll even move a little closer so he doesn't have to say his answer across the way, or anything like that. ]

[poans]

[His eyes dart away the second she looks his way.]

What thoughts might you have, Miss Yingying?

[embellwish]

[ She pauses to give the question the weight and consideration it deserves. See, she can be serious, sometimes. Much like he had at the ceremony, she speaks like a poet, to begin. ]

Sun sets, and shadows stretch. Nothing is set in stone. Something that appears likely may not be that at all at a different time, on a different day.

[ This is perhaps the clearest, most straightforward thing she's said regarding the matches. Despite her flirtatious and outgoing personality, it reveals her view of the matches is much more grounded in reality; quantifying such a chance seems futile to her, as futile as it is trying to make sense of blots of ink on paper. ]

I'm not so sure something like our likelihood can really be explained by a number. What I can say... is that if I had gotten to choose, I would have chosen you also.

[ That is a more sure sign of her confidence and will than any number she could give it, at least in her opinion. She's not like Ringo, or any of the mathematical types among their number, thinking that something like compatibility is too amorphous to think about in such a logical way. For now, it's enough to tell him that she found him most likely of everyone. ]

[poans]

[To reduce something to numbers is to strip it of its humanity. Exceptions may abound in living beings, but not the world of science. For that reason, he refuses to quantify what exists between them or anyone else.

Yingying's beauty stems from the fluidity of her grace. Rather than pushing in a single direction, she spares all that's around a lingering glance. Perhaps that's why she can view each moment in time with such openness, why she's noticed his rigid presence within her periphery . . . why she'll stop in her forward movement in order to hear words that might never come.

Brimming with curiosity and nostalgia, she shares the world as reflected in her eyes. If he were to peer into them now with her choice uttered aloud, what would he see? Yet the courage to do so eludes him, his gaze drawn down instead to the folds of her garment.]

Then . . . we are in agreement.

[hexensabbat]

Yeah! Exactly!

For the record, I think Furina and I are a solid eight! That's the best I've got until we get to know each other better, but.

She's said a lot of things that I relate to. Or that I wanna know more about.

[nrangel]

So how would you two feel about taking the Truth Booth leap?

[hexensabbat]

I'm up for it if Furina is! I still think it sounds like a blast to go up there, and she's good with cameras.

[nrangel]

I bet the two of you would look incredible too. You're both so cute.

[enscene]

[A little nervous, actually! However - ]

This wouldn't be anything new to me! ...Being on Kamera that is, haha, not having my feelings judged in front of a demanding audience. I have no objections.

I want to speak with you more, too, though, Serpilia.

[nrangel]

Oh?

[ She looks a little surprised, but pleasantly so. ]

I hope you mean that as a get to know me talk, and not the way my boss sometimes pulls the old "Serpilia, we need to talk" move.

[scooptimistic]

From what she mentioned yesterday...

[ Hm. ]

I did think you fit a lot of what she described!

[hexensabbat]

Hey, really? That's great to hear too!

This stuff is all super new to me, but she's fun to be around and very pretty and stylish. Sooo... I'd say the vibes are good?

[scooptimistic]

[ The vibes... ]

Okay, then! At the very least, I think you guys are a pretty solid consideration right now.

[phenomerom]

Given what Miss Furina described as her type, the two of you really do seem like a likely candidate for a confirmed pairing. We have the following week to try and learn more information, but as things stand, I would also vote for the two of you to enter the Truth Booth, if you wouldn't mind.

[hexensabbat]

I'm cool with it. We'll have to see how Furina feels about it, of course. And how everyone else feels about their matches too.

We did a good job this week, I think!

... That mean you wouldn't wanna go in with Messmer?

[phenomerom]

Indeed, three matches is much better than I feared.

[ The way he was genuinely afraid of a blackout ... ]

I have no objections to entering the booth, if general consensus is that it may be a good candidate. However -- our chances are limited. As it stands, I think our priority should be trying to confirm the most likely pair. Lord Messmer appears to have too many others interested for me to say anything definitive.

[enscene]

You really think so? I'd say our chance of success is around 75%. [So they're even on a very close wavelength here, apparently.]

I do hope we can talk more next week. Did you find that music? ...Oh, wait, we should make an announcement! Maybe once all this has died down.

[hexensabbat]

Yeah, I picked out a piece!

[Cheerfully!]

I don't know anything about music, but I listened to a bunch of options and I've given it my best shot. When all of this wraps up and we can relax a bit, I'll show it to you.

... Oh, yeah, announcements. Well. Things went pretty well! So I think everyone will listen.

[enscene]

[Terrified to find out how bad Ringo's musical taste is when she whips out the chiptunes.]

Right, we should finish with our review first. [She might have gotten a little excited to study that piece.] Better not interrupt them while they're on a roll, either.

[Maybe the talent show will be a good setup for the following week, after all. They've all be together for such a short time, but it's strange, realizing just how quickly things can change.

Poutily:] If only we could write! I'd have dozens of notes to deliver.