perfectmatch | week one | match ceremony

Entry tags:

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.

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[ Go girl give us nothing. ]

Allow me to rephrase. What about Yingying offers you a "certain definition of ease", and do you believe such a thing could be taken into account when deciding who may be able to cease, or even join you on, the wandering you've found yourself amidst?

I believe my reason from the ceremony sufficiently answers your question.

[Perhaps he wasn't eloquent enough to get his points across, which would be par for the course. It would've been better if he'd kept his silence. Only . . .]

Like you, Miss Yingying walks with purpose. I imagine wanderers like myself are drawn to the meaning in her path as she glances both ways before crossing. Id est, where my feet take me has no bearing on the trajectory of Miss Yingying's journey.

[ No, he was too eloquent, Odile may have understood but did everyone else? Not a chance. This is a little better. ]

Then I would say your pairing is unlikely. You seem in need of someone who might grant you a light within the dark unknown that lies ahead, rather than a scent which surrounds and lulls you unto complacency. There is nothing wrong with the latter [ before Yingying's Feefees are damaged ] but for you in particular, o' wanderer, a respite is as transient as falling leaves.

[ In the end, he will need to move forward. There is little use in watching the back of someone who looks both ways, but not behind her to see if he still follows, wobbling as his path may be. ]

Are my words unsound?

[ ....... ]

Do you think of me as so distracting, Odile?

[ ...... ]

I believe you know well of yourself, Yingying. The way you move, speak, and draw others close to your side -- is not unlike the fairy you and I spoke of, at least as far as folktale goes. Though they tend to lead travelers astray for fun.

Lead them astray for fun... what a wicked fairy I must be!

[ Her eyes crease, and her smile is serene, laugh soft like petals. She seems genuinely amused, not hurt. ]

You must think I want to lead him around as I please then, right?

[ She... seems amused, which is well and good. Odile folds her arms into her sleeves. ]

Without ill-will, should you seek to lead him at all. I only mean to say that, from his words, it would seem more that he might look from afar. Hardly your fault if he is unable to turn his feet any.

Uh-huh, uh-huh....

[She enthusiastically nods along with Odile assessment. Wow, she seems to have such a crystal clear image of the kind of person Yingying is, what she would do, what she might want for Yi Sang. It's pretty fascinating. Rather than push back against it, Yingying continues enabling her to talk through her viewpoint. ]

Then, you must also believe than he won't change?

[ Does she.........................................

Won't, not can't. The nuance is not lost on her, and Odile eyes her. It feels as if... she is being led on, in a way -- not a bad way, but a gentle way. ]

That is for time to tell. While one cannot force another to change, the experiences that one accumulates may cause the necessary reaction to do so. [ ... ] I would like to see him tame, and be tamed in turn.

[ There's some irony in Yingying being able to lead her on like this — hadn't she just been concerned that Yingying would lead Yi Sang around aimlessly, fruitlessly, "complacently?" She wonders how long she might be able to string Odile on like this.

But she'll stop for now. She got the answer she wanted.... mostly. ]

You don't seem to have very much faith in him, or me.

[ Which she says plainly, smile slight. ]

I think... he's already changing.

[ And what Odile had said... how much of that change will go away? Yingying isn't the abrasive or combative type in the least. But when she'd heard what Odile had said, she couldn't help but want to protect the soft words Yi Sang had penned, like fawns barely learning to walk. ]

Yi Sang worked hard to speak words from his heart today, words he might not have been able to say before. I want to encourage him, and see him share them with more people... in my own way, I want to see him move forward. Maybe I can't help him move forward on the journey you're thinking of...

[ ... She knows she can't. Physically, spiritually, it's impossible. ]

But that journey isn't all there is to him, don't you think?

[ ...

She drums her fingers on her arm, a slight motion beneath her sleeves, and sees what Yingying means. Her gaze turns to Yi Sang briefly, speaking with Shoko about something she can't quite hear, before it returns to the woman before her.

... This isn't like her. But he brings to mind her wayward companion before, and how their aimless journey had caused them so much pain -- how isolation had left them unable to communicate, to distrust and... how she had proved them right for that distrust, once before. Perhaps it is because of that, Odile ponders quietly, for she has seen firsthand the destruction it causes.

Most importantly on themselves.

But Yi Sang is not her companion. However true she still feels her words in part, it... was not intended to harm him any. Perhaps not guide him, the way his fellow's barbed tongue might have in the past, but-- with no intention to harm him, nor Yingying herself. ]

... I believe you and I could do with a longer talk, Yingying. To... get to know one another, so that I might better my faith in you. Because I do have little -- I would like to change that. [ An inhale, and an exhale. ] As... for him, I'll...

[ ... A shrug. Slight, but there. ]

Well, it won't have been the first time this week. But that is between he and I. It won't be criticism, I can assure you.

Asking me out on a date, are you?

[ She can still be playful — she doesn't hold any ill will towards Odile, after all. This is just her trying to protect the wish in Yi Sang's heart. The wish for those words to have been heard and accepted. Her smile is sweet and gentle as ever, and she doesn't seem to take any offense in the lack of faith in her. Odile seems a cautious, smart woman... anyone would feel that way, dropped into an encounter with tons of strangers. ]

When you talk with him, just speak your heart plainly. You feel this way because you don't want him to get hurt, or have his journey go astray, right? Tell him honestly that you care about him... and I'm sure your feelings will reach him.

[ Delivered with all the grace and stature of a priestess or other person in divine standing — she's truthful about her role as the Wisteria Fairy, even if it was only symbolic in her time. She's heard countless wishes, herded countless requests for help regarding interpersonal matters. Of course, she wants to see things smoothed out. ]

[ Being so perceived is awful, thanks, Odile's making a face. She won't be addressing that. ]

Do you have a tea you favor?

Hm? I like kinds that have toasted rice in them. I'm not sure what you might call them...

How about you?

(no subject)

researcherstory - 2025-06-09 01:02 (UTC) - Expand

["You have nowhere to return to, and you’re dragging that tottering body along?"

Her words don't hurt. Rather, they leave him feeling hollow, reminding him of the crack there. No matter how many rests he takes, the petals will fall through the cracks between his fingers, and he will continue to bleed and limp without an end in sight. Odile affirms the truth of his futile existence; he has neither the thoughts nor voice to refute it.

Yingying speaks. Her warmth is there, and he knows it, too, will soon fade. He simply closes his eyes, allowing his silence to speak for him while Yingying and Odile fill the emptiness.]

[ Just gonna... let Odile and Yingying do their thing . . . ]

...Hey, remember what you said yesterday?

[ About Yingying being luminous? ]

To what words do you refer?

[He uttered quite a few. Too many, in fact.]

That you thought Yingying to be - luminous was the word we were saying back and forth. But you also said that everything's lost its luster to you.

[He did say those things. Put into juxtaposition, he sees the contradiction in them.

Yet does it not still align with reality? What he's lost, he cannot have.]

Two statements can exist apart from one another. That, too, is true in this instance.

[ She nods. ]

They can. They contradict each other, but I can see why it feels... like it's not something meant for you.

[ Shoko knows what it's like, in a way, to exist in the same world as someone, yet seemingly not at all, at the same time. ]

Now. Remember what I said? About how what I believe can change? [ ... ] What if being unable to see the radiance of things can change, too?

Edited 2025-06-08 03:32 (UTC)

[What if?

He craves it, had abandoned what little he had left to seek the very change of which she speaks, yet it feels so far out of his reach as to be a pipe dream.]

Have you arrived at an answer?

[ They had talked, that first day, about choice, too, right? ]

I'm choosing to believe that it can change for you, Yi Sang.

. . . Worry not. I will continue to walk, even if my legs limp.

[ She reaches out to rest her hand on his shoulder. ]

Just— you don't have to walk alone, hm? That can change, too.

[The hand on his shoulder is warm and distinct. He falls quiet, though it's plain to see that he's heard her by his shifting gaze.

Three weeks from now, who will walk with him? The game will end, and they'll scatter onto their respective paths again, as Odile has said. He'll continue to walk, of course. Will a fox, a rose, or a snake greet him? Or does naught but darkness await?]

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