perfectmatch | week two

[ ... ]

Actually... I didn't hide it well at all, apparently. My friend, Esquie, was in charge of its hiding place, but he was also terrible at keeping secrets. My team took advantage of that fact.

Then you ended up a rather gracious man in their eyes, didn't you? Sharing your gains so indirectly.

[ Lol. Lmao even. Poor Verso.

... Poor Verso, always so past tensed. She does want to ask him about them -- much and more, but over drinks, not before. ]

Siffrin and Isabeau have always enjoyed a good drink, and I used to join them frequently myself. It's been quite some time since I did so, though.

Oh, so very gracious. That or they were getting their revenge for me hiding it.

[Poor him, wine-less and past-tensing.]

Have you not seen your companions in a while?

No, I was just traveling with them prior to joining this show -- I simply haven't joined them for a drink in a while.

[ Not since The Incident. Which has never been explained. Odile rest back against her chair slightly, a fond tug at her smile. ]

I do miss their antics, though. Not that alcohol ever made Isabeau any braver in his affections... it was amusing, to see what would happen when Siffrin's mood was light. Mirabelle never joined us, and Boniface was naturally too young.

I see.

[He alread knew that Odile was basically their Cool Aunt, but her description of her group seems to hammer that point home.]

I bet you'll have a story to tell them when you return from this place. Hopefully good tales, worthy of a fireside chat with a drink in hand.

Complaining all the while of my missteps and missed chances.

[ Rascals. Not that bothers her any, amused as she sounds.

... Okay, she can ask one thing. ]

Do you travel with anyone presently, Verso? Or have you taken to walk your paths alone?

[It may be unsurprising that his smile falters slightly, but he must have expected the question eventually — it doesn’t fall from his face completely. He’s too practiced for that.]

We’ve gone our own ways, unfortunately. I… doubt I’ll be seeing any of them again.

So I assumed by your word choice. I'll at least await a few drinks between us before I ask for sordid tale that may await... but I at least wished to know that.

[ So he travels alone now. ]

... I will too part from my companions at some point, however far in the future that may be. Have you any advice for one who has become somewhat used to companionship?

[Quite alone, after all that's happened. Yes, he does think he'll need a few more drinks for that tale, and more time exactly on how he wishes to spin it — and he straightens slightly, as though a part of him is subconsciously waiting for it.]

...I suppose that depends on the person, Madame. If you are a solitary person, keeping their memories close to keep you warm should not be so hard. But otherwise, your soul simply hardens to being... alone.

[not a very happy answer i'm sorry]

As it was before, and so it shall return to be. You do not seem a solitary person yourself, Verso. I imagine you far happier among people -- much as you are here, however dreadful the circumstances. [ A soft exhale. ] Memories will suffice in my case, though...

[ She trails off, eyes casting away.

... ]

Hm. Let's leave it at that. You play piano, if I'm not mistaken from what I have overheard. How did you come to like it?

...I'll admit that I do miss the company of others. [He was a lone wolf back on the Continent, mostly out of necessity. But it was never a life he truly wanted; departed from his city, then his family, then all the other Expeditions that came after.]

But there's little to do about it now. Only to appreciate what I do have in these next few weeks.

[That said, he's happy to let the subject drift elsewhere.]

Oh, I had a piano when I was a child. Played it nonstop between that and my paints. It's simply a love that never fizzled away.

And you paint. Little wonder that you and Nicodème are confident in your match, with so much in common. What did you like to paint then?

[ Odile is picking up a brush this week and jury's out on if she'll enjoy it or not. ]

[Ah. About that-]

I did paint. [A very important correction. Past tense.] All manner of things. My parents made sure that I was technically capable, too, to bolster any innate talent.

But now? Painting feels... complicated. I'm taking a break.

You are a man with the past clinging to his coattails.

[ Just an observation, always did, had, -ed. But she is... trying her best not to shoot herself in the foot for a third time, so she waits a beat before continuing. ]

What feels complicated about it?

I am. Yes, that's a good way of putting it.

[In more ways than one, at that, the past is shadow ever-looming. He hates how it darkens every minute of these four weeks, but he's resigned to it, as well.]

Ha, well... For one, painting isn't where my true passion was. I gravitated toward music, but I come from a family of very prominent painters, and expectations are a hell of a thing.

After a while, there wasn't as much joy in the art. Not like before.

Understandable. One begins to suffocate when stifled so, though... I do hope you'll be able to reclaim that joy as well. On your own time, for your own reasons. [ If he wants, is the implication. ] Nicodème paints those he devotes himself to, charmingly, but I hardly think it need be so weighty.

[ Not. That she has taken up a brush prior to this week, but. It seems sensible enough. Spoken less with attachment to the craft and more as an outsider doing their best to see in.

Oh, the drinks have arrived. Wonderful. A necessary pause, a breather broken by a word of gratitude, and Odile swirls the dark liquid in her glass before speaking again. ]

... I lack such outlets though, so perhaps I shouldn't speak on them.

[Drinks! Verso has ordered wine, and it's an even deeper color here in this lighting. He takes the glass by its stem and gives it a gentle swirl, thoughtful.]

We'll see. I have a lot of decisions to make regarding what I want to do after this is done.

[And now, a pull from his glass. It's quite good; about on par with what he had Esquie hide away from the rest of his team.]

Wait, you don't mean to say you don't have any... hobbies at all? [surely not???]

[ Thanks I was short on drink ideas. Wine for both. She laughs shortly, shaking her head. ]

None so expressive, Verso. I read. I write analytical essays. I enjoy a good walk. But as far as-- the fine arts, as they are called... No. [ A beat. ] I do enjoy them from others, though.

[ Now she sips from her own, swirling it after. Fine indeed. ]

I imagine it makes me a rather boring individual, compared to many of us here. But I don't mind.

[ Not like she could change it anyway. Odile's probably got enough Personality to make up for her lack of interesting hobbies. ]

Come now, I never said that.

[That she was boring! Far from it. She's experienced plenty, met an array of personalities, and brings her own flair to this group — even if she isn't as, ah, spirited as the rest, she still brings a unique perspective.]

We'll find an art form to suit you, yet.

[That's half-joking. He relents in the next breath.]

But talents come in all shapes and sizes. The world would fall apart if it was made up of nothing but sad, sentimental, and starving artists.

[ Odile is aware of Poppy's frankly right opinion of her. It is very amusing, honestly, and she does enjoy leaning into it.

But, at the mention... Mmm. She stares at her wine, then takes a slightly deeper pull of it before she replies, raising her curious gaze to him. ]

... Have you considered, then, your match -- as far as this show goes -- might be someone that differs from you in that way? Less of a sentimental sort. The heart is a different matter.

[The jazz music drifts and fades, the live performance shifting into another lazy song.]

Of course I have.

[The options are endless, the variables are many. He gets along well with most here, too, which only makes everything more complicated.]

I picked Nico because of our shared interests, yes, and because we get along. Yet he's quite optimistic, too, while I'm... [Lol. Not. He lets that remain unspoken.] So, there are still differences to underpin the similarities.

But if you want to take that concept further, then yes. I can see the minds behind this show spinning the "opposites attract" story. Or even, "shared wants, dreams, and problems to help each other solve", too, for a more realistic approach. That would've been my secondary strategy, if I'm to be honest with you.

[ As she suspected, even as Edamura's words ring in her ears. Odile smiles wryly, light in tone. ]

It is my primary, truthfully. Regardless, your confidence is undoubtedly a reassurance to all who have a wish, for such a guarantee would mean they have no fear of the upcoming ceremony, I believe, should we rightly vote you and Nicodème into the booth.

[ ... ]

It is a shame, though, to have so little time left, split among others. I would have liked to know you better.

[ She's getting to learn more of Nico through his loves and their own conflicts, but. It feels as if she's still just scratching pleasantries with Verso, even with their ease of conversation and vague shares of grief. ]

[That, though nothing she said should be taken badly, loses his gaze. He glances down at his wine, and takes one more long, indulgent pull.]

It was a sound pick, wasn't it?

[That, he cannot deny. But picking safely and going into the booth to confirm a match—and therefore bearing the weight of expectations from the other party—is an idea that instills something... cold in him. Though he has strove to be a bit more truthful with everyone, pieces at a time (thanks Wei Wuxian), this also has the opposite effect, a truly adverse reaction to something as final as a potential confirmation when he has done nothing more than

lie lie lie

via omission.]

Madame, I think you might be making assumptions too quickly. Call me a coward, call me a fool, but I don't think I'm ready to step into the booth... just yet. We have other options anyway, don't we?

[ ... Is she? When everyone else would agree, even himself? Odile's quiet, gaze curious and keen -- perceptive, the way a cat's is when judging something new. ]

... Yes, we do. [ Slowly said, interested in his reaction. ] A fool you may invite me to call you, I suppose I can understand your hesitance besides -- you said yourself you have missed company.

[ So it would make sense, unspoken as the reasoning is, that he wouldn't want to depart from it so soon. A small assumption, a bone thrown, to see if he might take it. ]

[He sees the easy exit for what it is, and is it at all surprising that Verso takes it? Even if it is partly true.]

I have. It's been a long time since I've been around this many people, and for so long.

[But, surprisingly or otherwise, with another pull of his glass to brace him, he also offers her a bit more sincerity. She deserves to hear it; they all do, but he's just a coward.]

But I need more... time. To think. And to sort things out with anyone I might be going to the booth with.

[Nico, anyone. Hypothetically, he'd want to tell them more than he has.]

I just don't feel ready right now; no one knows the real me.

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vague e33 spoilers again in this thread probably wheeze

oh munches in advance

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