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

[nrangel]

[ There's a practicality to that, sure, but... ]

Well, yeah. I don't think we need to only focus on that though. We've got two weeks, so we can spend more time getting to know everyone a little better, but that can still count for people who we're definitely not a match with.

[ A pause, she was joking about going for him, but-- ]

I'm definitely not a match with Edamura, but I still plan to hang out with him after this.

[fireball]

[ Poppy wants to object, like — sure, but Serpilia and Edamura didn't spend the past week and change with everyone else thinking they were a match, and she doesn't think they were getting, hm, handsy at any point, or anything. So it feels different.

And it would also feel like an asshole move to say it's different, so for once, she figures out how to swallow that down, and offers up a small smile to Serpilia instead. ]

That's pretty cool. I think you guys should definitely do that.

[ And she'll just not talk about herself! ]

[nrangel]

[ No, they didn't. They didn't spend the first week liking each other at all. Even a little bit, and the second week was definitely a learning to warm up to each other and become friends sort of deal.

She kind of held his hand once? It was in order to tricks birds though. It was a whole thing, don't worry about it.

Either way, she knows her situation is different, and she frowns when she realizes that Poppy is definitely not up for talking about her and Shoko anymore. The fact that she only responded to that, and not the clear parallel Serpilia was trying to make says a lot. ]

Alright... I mean, we probably will.

[ She doesn't look happy though, or that she thinks it's pretty cool. She's not actually thinking about her and Edamura at all, because they'll be fine, but Poppy and Shoko...

Seems like Poppy was putting a lot more stock into this "perfect match" concept than Serpilia herself has been. ]

[fireball]

[ Tricking birds...

Oh, this is... not great, though. Poppy is pretty used to running roughshod over other people's feelings (because she knows they'll do that to her, so if she does it first then she wins and can't get hurt), but Serpilia doesn't deserve that (Serpilia hasn't done that to her. She's doing the exact opposite of that, right now). Seeing the way her face falls, like she's just as despondent...

Possibly for her, and that's a whole new thing to have to contend with. Poppy finds herself internally floundering before reaching out for a lifeline, which just so happens to be Serpilia's hands. ]

I mean... you guys will, so it'll be cool, right? And... and who knows, maybe you're right, that there's time to keep exploring too.

[ Maybe she should go find Shoko at some point... ]