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

[phenomerom]

Haha. Mr. Verso. I hope you're aware of the irony of what you're saying.

[ Given what they discussed during their little 'date.' All of Verso's skeletons that remain hidden within his closet. ]

Perhaps you're right. Have you decided to air out your dirty laundry going forth?

[reverso]

[He meets his gaze evenly, and all he can think is what Wei Wuxian told him, how Ringo cheered him on, how Messmer called him kind, how Nico called him brave—

And for once, knowing his time here previously grows more limited by the day, finally says without hesitation:]

Yes. I have. I don’t want to regret anything before I leave.

[phenomerom]

[ ... ]

Very good.

[ Rom leans against the patio railing; his posture's definitely a bit more slouched than usual. Tired. ]

Your charms were already impressive but I think that should make you an even more dependable candidate. I'm looking forward to your selection next week.

[reverso]

And I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

[He shrugs a shoulder; he feels it, too, that tiredness… but oddly, like a weight’s been lifted, even amid the trepidation.]

So… [Tilts his head.] I think this means you should come clean about what’s bothering you. To be fair.

[phenomerom]

[ He doesn't really want to answer that. Obvious in the way that Rom is silent for a moment, not even bothering to give back some insufferable, misdirecting quip.

'To be fair,' Verso says. But that's not why he does ultimately decide to answer. It's for the sake of winning this game, he thinks. Because perhaps he needs to either change strategies, or double down callously at this point. Eventually, he speaks quietly: ]

... Mr. Verso. Have you given much thought to what role the producers might have been expecting you to play, when you were invited to participate in this show?

[reverso]

[Progress is progress. For whatever reason Rom decides to speak more honestly, Verso thinks that can only be a good thing. It offers him some encouragement, too, to do the same in the future…]

…Role? You mean like “the mysterious one”, or the “class clown”, or the “cheerful one”?

[Archetypes for them all?]

[phenomerom]

Yes, roles. This is an entertainment production, after all. Though the roles I was considering were perhaps more along the lines of ... a main character. A secondary. Tertiary. A dark horse. And outsiders, meant to further contrast against the earlier roles and provide support.

[ Verso is a man who understands what it's like take note of expectations. Surely, he understands the implication here. It's a small sign of trust that Rom doesn't bother explaining and simply continues: ]

I know what my role is, when it comes to existing among people. I have no problems with it, and take pride in my work, what I can do. But the longer I stay here, the more I'm both affirmed and denied. ... it's exhausting.

[reverso]

[To see this like a stageplay, in which they need to adhere to their roles… That’s precisely where the expectation part lies, and where it must affect Rom, now, because he feels unable to? Fulfill it?

Well, he’d have more to say on that, but first…]

And what do you think that role is supposed to be, Rom?

[phenomerom]

... I know you're a sharp man, Mr. Verso.

[ Take a guess, bucko. ]

[reverso]

[Never a straightforward answer from Monsieur Rom, is there?

He considers their interactions in the past, his mannerisms. And gives his best guess.]

…One of the outsiders. There to aid and provide wisdom when needed, but never to truly share the spotlight.

1/2

[phenomerom]

Correct! [ clap clap clap ] Gold star, I know I could count on you!

[phenomerom]

[ ... haha. He knows it's not very funny. ]

Our [ deadpan: ] dear overseer admonished me for thinking in this way. But I don't believe I'm wrong. It is simply turning out to be to be a tiresome path to pursue here, in this context.

[reverso]

[He supposes for a man who always thinks of the world in such a way, he might consider this show no different. Slot oneself into a role — follow it closely, and everything falls into line as it should.]

…So what path would you rather pursue, if you had a choice? The only one holding you to that standard, otherwise, is you.

[phenomerom]

[ A standard. It would be difficult to say Verso is wrong per se, but he wonders if it's so simple.

After a pause, plainly: ] I've never considered another path until I got here, where I'm now finding it being recommended to me. But it's like, say, growing up somewhere where the sky is green, and being told by people that you quite like that the sky is actually blue, because it is to them.

[reverso]

[To know only one thing, being faced with another option must be... strange. He thinks he can understand.]

And would it be so bad to humor them and their sky-blue world? If you don't like it, you could always return to how things were.