week three | mingle

[marriagebroker]

No outright changes this week either. Week three rolls around, braced for impact as ever. The estate is still intact, the contestants are still motivated, things are looking good.

Well, aside from the fact you all had a blackout this weekend. That wasn't so good.

Either way, when Monday rolls around, Wei Wuxian seems to be in a cheery mood as he greets everyone Monday morning.

"Everyone, come here, come here. I have an announcement!"

Better go see what that's about, huh?

Boom Boom Room | Dates | Property Damage
Truth Booth Voting | Match Ceremony Voting

Comments

[enscene]

[She's just happy to be here on the couch and not doing calculations.

Dreaming about being tall on the counter, though, probably, so her eyes are shiny while she watches Serpilia]

Mm, if we nail down a match between a man and a woman, that gives us a small group of women to determine matches for. Only a couple of us ladies have sat together at the ceremonies.

[Mathwise the argument is probably very compelling and solid; she's floating the domino effect.]

[hexensabbat]

You're right. That's what makes it so tempting. Then we could have as many ladies match up with each other as possible at the ceremony and see how the chips fall.

[Ringo just laughs a little as she leans against Furina, and:]

Buuut, if it's Verso and Nico and they're a match, then we'll have company.

[enscene]

[Ringo pillow... nice. Furina just kind of crosses her legs and tries to sit in the most bizarre combo of prim and slouching possible. Big bisexual sitting energy.

Is the counter more tempting than a nice pillow? Is it? Hm...]

I've grown quite accustomed to our unassuming, quiet life in the lap of luxury. [Bullshitting, for sure. They're here like, all the time, and also it doesn't get boring at the honeymoon suite! Promise!] If we get another couple, we'll be the veterans--so much responsibility.

As long as we won't gain too little ground by hopefully gaining them as our second pair?

[hexensabbat]

I don't think so. Like I said, it's the safe option, but we still gain something from it.

The real trick is pinning down the three matches from the first week.

[Ringo is just going to reach for Furina's hand to use her fingers to count, because she can. Disgusting lesbian PDA over here.

With Furina's hand in her own, she extends three of her fingers.]

You and me are one of them. [One finger gently pressed down.] If Nico and Verso are the other [Another down] then the last one is Maya and Aventurine, Messmer and Rom, Luka and Serpilia or Odile and Edamura. And if we can pin down that last one too, we can knock off a lot of potentials, especially given Wei Wuxian's hint.

[Was all of this just an excuse to play with Furina's hand? Yeah, probably, but Ringo's also working through the logic for herself here too.]

It's still a good choice. In the end we're gonna have to make some sort of assumptions. Just ideally some smart ones.

[poans]

[He turns his head toward their only known perfect match at the familiar siren call . . . and refrains from walking over when he sees their hands, instead turning back to another discussion of interest. He shan't interrupt their moment.]

[enscene]

[Oh... hand math. She's a little bit enraptured and also a little bit flustered to be doing this right in front of god and everyone. But Ringo's hands are pretty wonderful, and she can't not pay attention to them whenever they're doing anything, so. It's fine!]

Once those three have been found, we'll be in the dark... uncertainty certainly is uncomfortable, isn't it? [She sighs a little wistfully.] This will pay off most handsomely if we approach the weekend with the same strategy throughout.

[Quieter, more generally in Ringo's direction than for the entire group, though it can certainly be overheard.] ... I'm a little relieved to not have to cast my lot this time.

[hexensabbat]

[In the dark, unless they make a bunch of assumptions... but Ringo leaves that alone for now, because she also doesn't want to sway everyone given she can't even vote.

Instead, she traces a finger along Furina's palm idly, just to keep touching her hand.]

Yeah, it feels weird to be on the outside looking in, but... it's kind of nice not to have to think about picking based on strategy over who you like most, yeah?

[She doesn't envy this week's pickers.]

[nrangel]

[ Imagine being the cause for Furina being shiny eyed rather than the nice, tall counter. Would be nice.

Sorry, what? Who gayly thought that?

Back to the topic at hand. ]

And we know do know at least one set among the girls who it isn't, so I see your point on that one.

[enscene]

[i almost didn't delete that gagtag btw

it might not have entirely been one.

Either way, Serpilia deserves her counter time. Every shortie must have her day in the sun. Furina leans back, lifting a hand (before Ringo starts doing finger math on it apparently).]

On the other hand, that's more or less the only other pair we've had up for consideration at all. Having an outline before we stage the scene might be more productive.

[Solve Nicoverso for X, more or less.]

[nrangel]

True... I guess it would be kind of nice to know which of the other girls is paired with one of the boys too. If we're assuming Maya and Aventurine is likely, then it's Yingying, Odile, Shoko, Poppy and me still, with one of us being an outlier.

[enscene]

[It sure would be nice... knowing which girls were with guys would leave them with a pretty easy factor to determine here.]

The million mora question is why we've determined they're highly likely and whether that will be useful in determining the others. Mutual interests aren't the only factor, as has unfortunately been proven by recent events. [Their blackouts... and her smile is a little unreadable there. She and Ringo were lucky in so many ways; it's taking some getting used to, but Furina does feel a little greedy about certain things.]

By all means, master specifications are leagues above estimations, so the calculations are firm. I expect people to trust my expertise when it comes to running a show, and Luka certainly didn't win his competition without a strict approach.

[nrangel]

[ They are... Serpilia is happy for them to be able to avoid all of this, because it's a headache and a half.

Though at least Serpilia supposes the band-aid has been ripped off for her, so any matching drama won't be on her end. ]

You're right about that. I know some people are going with gut instinct, but when it comes to a show like this if I were to want to lean on anyone's instinct, then it might be his...

[embellwish]

Then, your vote is for Maya and Aventurine? Or is there another male-female pair you find more likely?

[enscene]

[Put on the spot, she gets a little tense on the couch.]

Oh, I was just...thinking out loud! Actually, I haven't committed to a decision yet, so I don't think anything I said should impact the intentions of the group.

[embellwish]

Hm? Are you sure?

[ She won't pressure her to give her vote if she really doesn't have one... but there's still they could use Furina's perspective on, she thinks. ]

If it really is Maya and Aventurine... like you said, there are only so many ways me, Odile, Poppy, Serpilia, and Shoko can be paired up. We ought to see who all the girls would pair with out of these five — maybe there's a hidden conclusion in there.

[enscene]

There are only so many, and we've barely scratched the surface. But we could also ask that same question, including Maya, while discussing the ceremony itself, regardless of tomorrow's outcome.

[Thanks to the power of mechanics questions being answered, there's also one small issue with Furina having too much input. She'd be worried enough about her vote causing a negative outcome for all of their collective choices to begin with, but... she crosses her arms.]

Besides, I'm not even going to be able to cast a vote, so this time really all I can do is spectate from the position of the audience.