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

[embellwish]

[ Oh.... sweet Poppy.... ]

Oh?

That's up to you, sweetheart. I thought you were set on Serpilia being the most likely?

[ surely a few words from her wouldn't be enough to sway that entirely, right... ]

[fireball]

I thought so too, but... I think I should be getting to know you better. Right now. I know it's kind of eleventh hour, but better than not at all, right?

[ Puffing herself up. ]

Besides, then that could mean Shoko and Seprilia are each other's matches, and I love both of them, so, maybe? I guess now I'm just asking myself if you would be with Shoko or with me, which, wow, that's a question, but—

[ catches herself rambling. Squares her shoulders. ]

No, fuck it. Let's figure this out right now. What were you hoping for when you came here?

[embellwish]

Hoping for?

[ She tilts her head innocently, tapping her cheek. ]

You mean to the competition, or here right this moment?

[fireball]

The former.

[ A beat. ]

But maybe the latter too, if you're thinking about that right now.

[embellwish]

[ Poppy is really about to get 2 supernatural reveals today.

None of this has really come up around Poppy, right? Most others made some kind of assumption about her being a nymph, or a fairy, or something of like. But Poppy's only ever treated her like a beautiful woman. Her smile turns a tad exasperated, brows furrowing. ]

Heh. I wanted to talk and meet with people... for the first time in a long time.

[ Earnestly. ]

I've spent a very long time on my own, you could say. Over a hundred years. Sounds quite... lonely, right?

[ Which she says with some sympathy - she knows it's not an easy thing for Poppy to swallow, given the way she's reacted to others in the past. ]

[fireball]

[ ...

Hearing this any earlier, Poppy probably would have reacted in some asshole way. Flashback to their first meeting, when she was just casually swearing at anyone who sounded abnormal, and she would have called bullshit on Yingying immediately. Instead she's gone about the past few weeks assuming she's a crisp, young 35, but hearing this now — after hearing about what so many others have been through, and —

she is going to reach for Yingying's hand with her own. ]

So... I know what that's like, and I don't. Mostly because I am not going to live to be a hundred, but. I get what it's like to be completely alone, and it's the worst feeling.

[ And she'll swing their hands a little, if she can. ]

So I think I can help you with avoiding that, if I'm around. Because I wouldn't want to go to that place again, so you shouldn't have to either.

[embellwish]

[ Smiling, her eyes crease closed - it's hard to look directly at Poppy while she says something so earnest and kind. She's still... not used to so many people fervently trying to save her. ]

Haha. See what I was saying about you being a sweetheart?

[ She squeezes her hand once. Up close like this, the smell of wisteria is almost intoxicating. ]

I'm not sure what will happen to me in the future... it's not normal for me to be able to appear in front of others like this.

[ So she might go back to being alone. The difference is that after a few weeks here, she's not as resigned to it as she was before. ]

But... you're right. I don't want to be alone again. I'm not happy that you understand that, but it's a comfort that you can, all the same.

[ As Poppy requested, that is her real desire, being in this competition. Only being here, talking with people like Poppy, has rekindled that hope. ]

[fireball]

[ Very, very, very few people have called her a sweetheart. Yingying might actually be the only person to ever do so. The thought keeps her quiet, contemplative — listening. Inhaling, because she's never smelled something like this before, so strong and just... there, and she sighs. ]

Someone was able to come to me when I was alone. So... if you're able to be here, then there's a way to make it happen.

[ Oh, this is different. This feels like purpose? She possesses a drive, but it's usually along the lines of work — to be unquestionably the best, a talented woman in a male-dominated field, always having to fight and scrap and claw her way towards any sense of recognition. And she's gotten there, but this is her little vacation, maybe with something more, and now she's talking to someone she can maybe, genuinely help.

So she squeezes her hand back. ]

And if there isn't, then maybe I can code something. There's a way to keep people connected. We just have to find the way that'll work for you, and I can do that.

[ Because, like. That is something she unquestionably believes she can do. She also just really, really happens to have the motivation now. ]

[embellwish]

Code?

[ Yingying blinks, unfamiliar with the term. Poppy seems extra confident that whatever it is, this is something she's capable of.... bridging the gap between Yingying and the rest of the world. ]

Does that... have to do with computers? [ One gets the sense Yingying knows of technology, but isn't very familiar with it from a personal stance. Almost like she's seen it but never used it. Only her conversations with Ringo are giving her a hint of a clue, here. ] I've learned that I can interact with... what are they called, "radio waves," when others can't see me. Is that the same thing?

[fireball]

[ Brightening, because if it wasn't obvious before, then yeah — she's made up her mind on who she's going to pick at the match ceremony. It doesn't even seem like there are any other options. ]

Kind of! We use radio waves to stay connected over long distances, and computers are one of the best tools for that. If you've already got access to radio waves then that's a lot of the battle already conquered; we just have to make sure we do it consistently. Like setting up something just for you, so we'll know where to go to reach out to you, even if you aren't reaching out to us. And we should be able to hear your voice for that and everything; it should be easy.

[ A beat; something more apologetic sliding into her expression, her tone. ]

I know long distance communication isn't exactly the same as being in person... That part, I get. But it's a big start. And one day, we can work to you being able to go to festivals and stuff again, too.

[ Perking back up: ] We've got this.

[embellwish]

[ A lot of the technical jargon flies over her head... but looking at Poppy's enthusiasm, as well as her heartfelt concern for Yingying, she can feel reassured, regardless. To tell the truth, she's a little astonished, awed that Poppy can know so much about something that seems to elude all the people taking care of her in her homeland. ]

You're amazing... even that much would — change everything, for me.

[ If Poppy is telling the truth, then even if the wish fails, perhaps she might be able to connect with the outside world a little more. Against her better judgment, it kindles another spark of hope in her. Her communication through the radio waves is akin to the same contraptions that "capture the voices of ghosts," flipping through channels to create strings of words. Most people just assume she's a ghost. But if she had a special device just for her, then... ]

Have you built something like this before? You sound so confident and clever.

[fireball]

[ Poppy preens, because that's right, she is amazing.

She is, however, also going to have a degree of humility to this, because that's right. It isn't about her, it's for Yingying. She's talking about doing all of this for someone else, to help her not go to that crushing, dark, endlessly lonely place that breaks you. And knowing that she can do that for someone feels way better than being called amazing. ]

Yes and no. I mean, yes and no that I've built something like this before; I am confident and clever. [ There is. Only so much she can resist, but her voice is more kind than boastful. ] I created a social networking tool at my last game that allowed users to connect with each other on a mass scale. I called it...

[ a beat... ]

Dinner party.

[ She is doing the hand motions and everything. ]

[embellwish]

[ "social networking tool" none of these words are in the bible........ now watch as she does a mini version of the hand gesture Poppy just did, wondering if that means something specific. ]

Dinner party?

[ Her interest is piqued. Not only because she has no idea what the hell Poppy means by social networking tool, but also because it's named Dinner Party. That must mean it's fun and festive! ]

Can you tell me how it works? I know a little bit about how phones work. Calling people and answering.

[ This is her frame of reference though... and Ringo as a person. ]

[fireball]

[ Oh she is DELIGHTED Yingying also did the hand gesture. And she gets the name, too! Clearly! ]

Sure! [ Genuinely, she's so happy right now. ] Think of it like a bunch of phones that are all able to talk to each other, all at once. Like how we're all gathered here in person? I can make it so we could do that even if we weren't in the same location. Think of it like... like a group chat, all at the same time, just using radio waves.

[ She beams at Yingying. ]

So you don't gotta be stuck to one-on-one conversations if you don't want to, either. As long as someone's connected, you could talk to everyone all at the same time.