week two | match ceremony

[marriagebroker]

Tonight, we're back in the courtyard. It looks similar to last week with the slight exception, there is now a plush couch near the stage, and a single lantern already lit above the stage. There's still food, drinks, all sorts of things available for the contestants to snack on and enjoy.

On the stage is Wei Wuxian, looking presentable in his hanfu for today. He's busy twirling his flute in hand as he waits for the contestants to show up and find their places, and when they do he'll extend both arms out, welcoming the cast.

"Second match ceremony! You're exempt from a black out tonight because you've already found one of the matches."

He'll gesture to that couch from earlier, which seems to be The Special Seat for Ringo and Furina to sit at if they'd like.

"Now, we know how this goes so let's not delay anymore! Team Wangji, it's your turn to announce your matches!"

Comments

[embellwish]

[ Edamura is so fiery today.... he's adorable!!!!

For what it's worth, if Yingying is upset by the results, she isn't showing it. As she said to Yi Sang before, nothing like their likelihood can be quantified by numbers; all they can do is pick where they're guided by their intuition and feelings both. For that reason, she's proud of everyone today. And sees it as her duty, maybe, to lift their spirits, and shelter their feelings, like any fortune bearing fairy should. She'll keep her chin up. ]

Mm... something we can offer to others....

[ Maybe it's time to be a bit more direct? ]

I know that among us, there are those who have lived longer than normal mortal lives... I can offer understanding, regarding that. [ In a sense. It does set the less human among them apart in more than one way. ] But my future is uncertain, and my health is poor. If it's a companion who will live beside you in eternity, I'm afraid I can't manage that...

[ She seems like she has more to say, and she continues after a brief pause. ]

That aside, I hope no one feels too hurt by today's results... if nothing else, I'm happy everyone took a step towards their sincere desire, right or wrong. It takes no small amount of courage to do so. Whatever shape the game takes, at least you're sure about how you feel, aren't you?

[ that is infinitely harder to suss out than the matches, she thinks. feelings are hard and they're all trying their best!!!! ]

[ordimame]

[. . . ??]

Your future. . . ?

[embellwish]

Oh, don't fret your brow so much.

[ Huff. ]

I meant.... in the future, I might not be able to meet with people like you all so directly. Normally, I can't.

[ There's the wish, but she's not sure it's wise to use it on... her, and her alone. ]

[ordimame]

[a brief pause, like he isn't sure whether he should ask. but she was so kind to share her story with him the other day, and. . . kind enough to talk about her mothers when he has been reeling from the apparition of his own]

Why can't you?

[embellwish]

[ She smiles vaguely, understanding his hesitance. But she's made peace with her condition... lonely as it is. Telling a few of the others about it, combined with getting absolutely decimated at the ceremony, is encouraging her to be more open about it. ]

This form in front of you... is an illusion.

[ How to explain it, without getting into the more gruesome details? She doesn't want to be a total downer, and she hates being pitied, or people pushing themselves too hard trying to help her. There's a quiet sigh under her breath, as she measures her words. ]

The wisteria when it's in bloom, too. It takes a lot of magical power for me to maintain it. Normally, my strength is too weak to do it, so I'm usually by myself.

[ She keeps the explanation light, and tries to get it over with quickly, like ripping a bandaid off. ]

I didn't want any of you to worry about me... but that's the truth.

[ordimame]

An. . . illusion?

[he frowns, brows creased. . . and despite her words, he feels a bit of worry bubble up in his chest. why does she need an illusion to be here. . .? and the tree. . .]

I don't understand. . . if this form is an illusion, then do you not have a physical body?

[asked out of genuine concern and curiosity, and not anything else. it truly doesn't matter to him if her form is an illusion or not. she is still the kind Yingying who has treated him so nicely since their arrival! he just. . . wants to understand]

[embellwish]

[ Edamura's sweet. She can tell he's starting to get worried, and for his sake, she's going to keep her cool, rather aloof while talking about this. After all, she's never been very interested in her own recovery... telling him about this is just relaying facts, to her, not a cry for help. ]

No, I do. Mm... but it's very corrupted and weak, swallowed inside the wisteria. Right now, it's impossible to extract it.

[ She understands how bizarre this is, at least, particularly to someone with no experience with the supernatural. Before this, she was like Edamura: a completely normal person. So she understands how outlandish it all is. ]

[ordimame]

[yeah. it's extremely bizarre. almost impossible for him to wrap his head around! but he's getting better at it, day by day. and he wants to try. . . especially for her]

. . . how did it get in there?

[embellwish]

Me, the wisteria, the whole village.... were all contaminated with something, when a shooting star fell from the sky.

[ Contaminated with something that had come from space. Even in the present, they're not sure what exactly that contaminant is. ]

Most people who survived the impact turned into monsters, but I didn't. [ ..... ] In the aftermath, the tree and I merged somehow... that must be how I survived, since I was the only one who did.

[ The other times she's had to tell this tale here, there's been a sense of whimsy or drama to it, a self-imposed distance to keep herself from thinking about the event too much. But Edamura's question is so direct, and everyone's right, that they should be a bit more open and direct, if they're going to win this game. Her voice doesn't waver — this was all a long time ago. But her brow does knit, and her gaze does lower, feeling awkward. She wants to tell the truth, but her grief is both raw and aged. She doesn't know what might hurt worse: someone saying they're sorry, or being happy that she was the one who made it out. ]

[researcherstory]

You know well my feelings on "fate", and therefore the intentions of this show, Yingying. I feel that this may have been the best for all involved.

[ Because it doesn't matter what others thing, only how one feels. ]

[embellwish]

[ At that, she turns thoughtful, curling a finger under her chin. ]

Mm. Wishes don't just come true because we want them to, and prayers can go unanswered.

[ There is no such thing as hoping hard enough that something will happen — on that, she and Odile are aligned. Perhaps that's why she doesn't feel personally slighted by the results, even if it is sad. ]

At the same time... holding onto that wish or prayer even in the face of that, that's the most powerful thing someone can do. [ Griping tight to an ungranted wish, or a love that's star-crossed, she genuinely thinks that's beautiful. ] For the sake of the game, this was probably the only time that it'd be good for this to happen.

[researcherstory]

[ A nod. On that, they clearly agree. And... at the very least, one of them can speak their thoughts freely about it. ]

Too soon, and it would have given us nothing. Too late, and... well. It may have left us just as in the dark -- with both our feelings and our thoughts. Though all seem to be taking it well enough.

[ Perhaps because of the timing, though... she will have to check in on a few, for her own peace of mind. Because she's FOND of them. Gross. ]

[embellwish]

[ She nods, not saying anything, while drifting her eyes off to Yi Sang, to Poppy and Shoko, to Nico and Aventurine. ]

Mm, it seems that way.

[ A pause, while she reflects on her own feelings, calm as they are. ]

I think I really thought it could have been me and Yi Sang, but... I'm happy I got to choose him today, anyhow. He seemed totally shocked that I would, yesterday.

[researcherstory]

... I would have preferred to be wrong about what I said last week, truthfully.

[ Even as she dislikes all this fate and algorithm nonsense... ]

Will you continue to choose him? Not in ceremony, but outside it.

[embellwish]

...I'd like to — if only to keep getting to know him, and learn more about him.

[ He can be hard to read. But what he'd said about staying by her side, sitting through the night at the root of the wisteria, that was real. ]

He can be really sweet. [ Maybe, like Rom says, he has L rizz, but that's part of what makes his strangely romantic lines so charming. ] It'd be nice if I could get him to see that.

[researcherstory]

I hope you manage. He really can be charming, though I've never been on the end of them.

[ Their relationship is...

...

Different... ]

In any case, I'm glad. I believe you two are good for one another -- as friends or else. Yi Sang is very grounding, for better and worse, and you bring out a different side of him.

[embellwish]

[ Maybe she does bring out another side of him. The quiet sincerity, the awkward fluster, they're both things she wishes more people would get to see, but she can only pry it out with her careful, experienced touch. Are there really no others seeing this cute side to him? It's a shame, if so... ]

He was the one going on about wanting to spend every night with me, [ he's not even here and she's putting him on blast, since she mercifully decided against it in front of everyone at the ceremony, ] So I guess we'll see just how friendly he wants us to be. I wouldn't mind our story getting bolder... ~

[ Then again, he can barely look at her for more than a few seconds, so he might be totally clueless in anything extending past holding hands. She took his first kiss, after all. ]

[gamboler]

[ ...He doesn't respond to this right away, instead bearing it in mind, compiling it with what he's already learned about her, and chewing on his own thoughts. She is a prisoner in her own right, the power of the wisteria both a blessing and a curse. He can only assume that's why her future is uncertain, why she can't take material possessions with her, why her existence seems so...fleeting. Does it have to be that way?

Later, when the discussion has moved along, he'll pull her aside. ]

Miss Yingying. Can I ask you something? It's about that lovely wisteria tree of yours.

[embellwish]

[ She blinks — not surprised to be asked about it, but more surprised to be pulled to the side. As much as she can, she's trying to be as forward about it without getting too into the more macabre details. For what it's worth, she seems genuinely clueless as to what he might ask, so she's not hiding anything. ]

Hmm? What would you like to know?

[gamboler]

If you used your wish to be parted from it, what would happen to you?

[ Candidly, though not asked without any sense of care. If her health is unstable, if she might have a shortened life because of it, then maybe she can use her wish to just...live a normal life. Maybe it's a little bold to ask and out of the blue, but —

He's just brainstorming how to make her existence less unfortunate, that's all. ]

[embellwish]

[ ..... ]

...If I wasn't careful, I'd probably pass on.

[ Which she says after taking time to think about it, expression thoughtful. From the sound of it, she's long since accepted that any way out of her situation likely meant death. ]

You overheard, right? About my physical body. The contamination has made it inseparable from the wisteria... [ She might not even look human anymore, she's not sure. The officers she's heard talk about it seem to talk about her body in such a grim, grotesque way. There's no way of knowing. ] Even if I did manage to be separated... there isn't very much waiting for me.

[ And wouldn't that be two wishes? To be separate from the wisteria, and for her health to be fixed? All this time that she's been focused on the idea of granting everyone's wishes, she's strangely never had a wish of her own that she seemed excited about granting. She didn't come here with the idea in mind to fix her own state. ]

[gamboler]

[ Not much waiting for her, is there...

He understands, and yet it seems so unfair, to bring Yingying into something like this show, dangle something like a normal life in front of her and then abruptly take it away again. If one wish isn't enough to cover it, then — ]

Take my wish, too. I won't need it. I'm already burdened with more good fortune than I know what to deal with.

[ For someone like him, messing with a wish would be...troublesome. He always intended to use his on someone else, even if he initially would have expected it to be for someone back home. But why not let Yingying use it instead? It's better served to free someone from the shackles of fate, than sit in Aventurine's pocket, unused and gathering dust. ]

Take the chance to live as yourself.

[ This is something he feels...rather strongly about, it seems. ]

[embellwish]

[ ...Aventurine is secretly the sweet type too, huh?

There isn't wide eyed surprise, nor heartfelt tears, when he makes his offer. Just a faint smile, and her chin lifting up confidently. ]

No thanks!

[ .....

Is all she says for a while, rather cheerfully. She's not trying to insult his efforts — it's the opposite, really. ]

Did you think I'd take something like that from you just for myself? [ This, too, is important to her. There are already... too many people giving up too much to try to save her. She doesn't want to add Aventurine to that list. ] Maybe you don't need good fortune... but you're always giving yourself the short end of the stick, aren't you?

[ It hasn't missed her notice, the subtle ways he seems to talk down about himself. Stark as the refusal must come, her eyes are kind and clear. Yingying's feelings on wishes are complex: wishing for someone's health and happiness is one of the noblest things someone can do. But in exchange like that... it doesn't feel right. If he'll let her, she'll reach out to graze his cheek with the back of her knuckles, her skin cool.

She thinks there's definitely something he will want to wish for, one day. Maybe he can't make it with his own hands, his concerns about his own luck abound... but she can't help but be reminded of how he'd surrendered his energy so easily, claiming that it was better in her hands. Too easily does he see others as befitting treasures more than himself. ]

I want you to save nice things just for yourself, too.

[gamboler]

[ ...He already has too many nice things. More than he has earned, particularly since coming here, and in spite of himself, he can't keep his gaze from flickering over to wherever Nico is mingling right now.

If she won't accept, he won't push, either. Wishes and good fortune are fickle, and it seems that Yingying understands that, too. Breaking the shackles off of her won't mean anything if she won't walk free from her cell, but in the end, he only has glimpsed a very small piece of the situation she's in. She has her reasons for refusing, and he'll respect it, and hope that there's some other way she can find her own path. ]

...As you wish. Or perhaps I should say, don't wish... [ A wry little smile. If he's giving himself the short end of the stick, it must only be because he knows he can weather it. He...always does. Always has. ] I am curious, though, what you will use your wish for. Or maybe what brought you here wasn't the allure of a wish at all?

[ Everyone's reasons remain complicated and evolving, but maybe she's found the real prize among the other guests, as he has. ]

[embellwish]

[ If there's one thing she can be happy about, it's that little glance that he gives Nico's way, however slight and fleeting. Perhaps he doesn't have anything he can use the wish for himself for... but in the future, down the line, she's certain there will be something, or someone he will want to use that wish for. And when that time comes, he might come to regret using now...

Her smile quiets, privately endeared. ]

No, not exactly. I came here just because I wanted to talk to and meet people like you and everyone again. Simple as that. Sounds quite lonely, doesn't it?

[ Because that's the heart of it, right? She wanted to be her friendly, charming self that she was before the meteor had took everything. She wanted to play, and laugh, and cry, and sing hand in hand with people she came to care about. ]

As for the wish.... A hundred years have passed, everyone I know is gone... I don't speak or read the language of the common folk anymore, and neither can I go out and feel the sun.

[ That is what she meant, when she said there wasn't much waiting for her. Even if she improved her health... what good would it do? She has nowhere to go. ]

So I can think of better uses for the wish than my own recovery, assuming they're even granted in good faith. As I'm sure you know, wishes don't come true the way we want them to just because we pray hard.

[ There's a flippancy to the way she says it, almost like she's already somewhat given up on returning to life like the kind she's living right now with all of them. In some ways, she has. Where Yingying is encouraging and thoughtful to all others, she lacks enthusiasm or motivation for building her own path forward, finding it a challenge to advocate for her ongoing existence. ]