perfectmatch | week three

[ .............. ]

Yeah. Did you have anything like cameras where you're from, Odile-san?

[ She asks, if only because of their previous conversation about films and television... ]

If they're any good, then they don't need to be in our faces to get a good shot.

[ She says like a thinly-veiled thread as she looks directly into one of the cameras. They give the two... a little bit more breathing room, at least. ]

[ Shoko.......... is a boss ass bitch.

Odile relaxes once they've been given some space, slight but obvious in the slackening of her shoulders, and she shakes her head. ]

Not a bit. Isabeau mentioned once they were developing a mirror that could take one's picture, but... that may be as close as it comes.

[ And even then -- it's mere rumor, a possibility. ]

Truthfully, it's been rather difficult to... adjust. Many things have been.

[ It really is wild, how different all of their worlds are - and yet not so different, in some cases. To Shoko, this has more or less felt like taking a vacation abroad, but others have had bigger adjustments to make. ]

Mmh. That makes it even more remarkable that you and the others made the effort to come here and are still working hard, doesn't it?

I suppose so. I've always been a rather stubborn person, unable to let go or give up when I've set my mind on something... which makes all of this...

[ ... A vague gesture with her hand. ]

In any case, they don't particularly have shows such as these in my world, either. You'd be more likely to find matchmakers than anything else.

Eh... So it's like that? At least a matchmaker might actually tell you what they're thinking of for your match, at least. What we're dealing with right now is...

[ Well, a mysterious algorithm. And one that they haven't seemed to figure out, based on that blackout. ]

At least we got a hint from Wei-san.

Indeed. [ ... ] At least, statistically speaking, we're more likely to be of the same-sex variety than not.

[ Though that didn't go well for Shoko's first bid. ]

Have you any particularly strong considerations towards any of the other women besides Poppy?

Right. Serpilia and Yingying come to mind, though I wonder about Maya, too. It would be good to confirm either her and Aventurine or Nico and Verso this week, though.

[ But... they're here on a date, not just for discussion, aren't they? Shoko offers an arm, should Odile want some contact as they continue on their stroll, though she won't be offended if it's not taken. ]

[ She'll take it after a moment, sighing world wornly. ]

And therein lies a personal issue of mine. Well, I suppose there's nothing from those leaving to continue spending time among us, whether one on one or in a group.

[ ? ]

Ringo-chan and Furina-san have been able to visit and spend time with people just fine. [ A beat. ] Are you worried about someone in particular finding their match and leaving?

I am rooting for Edamura and Maya.

[ Despite Luka's . Everything.

... ]

And... I am in no small way interested in Verso myself, though we will see how that continues to fair. So you see, in either case, I am at an impasse. It makes for thrilling "television", I'm sure.

[ Her soaps!!! And her. Other thing. ]

Well, everything that's happened over the last few days is going to get eaten up by the audience, I'm sure.

[ She hums thoughtfully. ]

It was always going to turn out this way though, wasn't it? Feelings and matches and everything else make everything more complicated, and that's why this show is so successful.

I suppose. I have no hard feelings over anything, fortunately, nor does anyone else from what I have seen... So we are rather boring.

[ Which is fine. Odile isn't one to stir the pot, and with the group as friendly as it is... well. It's nice. ]

My opinion and what is good for the many have nothing to do with each other, in the end. I will vote for whoever everyone else does. If I still wish to pursue a "taken man" in the eyes of the audience, [ given the intentions of perfect matches, ] then I have no qualms about homewrecking.

[ oh the cuts on this are gonna be SO juicy ]

[ Woah. NO KIDDING. ]

Hooh... Those a pretty bold words, Odile-san. I didn't realize you'd gotten to the point of even wanting to pursue anyone.

Think of it more as pursuing the truth of someone at the moment. I simply found the idea of being unable to speak to Verso again rather disappointing, since I didn't know if those matched would be able to continue to visit us.

[ And it just sort of. Well. There were more steps to this, but Edamura got them. ]

Ahaha. I think a lot of us would be pretty disappointed if we couldn't speak to Verso-san again. Luckily, we don't have to worry about that. And on the other side of it, Nico-san definitely wouldn't stay away, either.

I feel as if that couple's manor they have set up is going to remain very, very empty, even if they receive more guests than Furina and Ringo.

[ Who the hell would stay there.

Except the introverts, actually, Odile would enjoy the privacy after nothing but. This. Just a few days a week of being able to recharge. ]

Well, I guess that says more about their algorithm than anything else. They did hit the nail on the head with those two, at least.

[ A beat. ]

Anyway, Odile-san, we're here on a date, aren't we? Let's get to know each other some more. Do you like gardens like this?

[ Girl talk is surprisingly fun, though. ]

I do. They're pleasant to walk through even when one is alone, and when the sun is out I like to read in them with a cup of tea at my side. Ka Bue is home to many spaces such as this... as well as rock gardens, masterful in their designs. And yourself, Shoko? Whenever you have a moment, that is.

Ohh..? That sounds pretty idyllic.

I have to admit, the Jujutsu Tech grounds are pretty nice. I've just gotten so used to the view there since I've been there for so long that I probably took it for granted, but... it's full of old, traditional buildings up in the mountains outside of Tokyo. Can't say I really made a point to go outside to appreciate the landscape, though. Mostly just stepped outside to smoke.

But getting to do that now is nice.

You are supposed to experience things you hadn't before when away from home, even if that is simply enjoying the scenery where you'd neglected to before.

... Truthfully, it sounds quite alike to Ka Bue. I had grown used to the sights myself, so I often wondered what there was to gape so openly at when visitors would come from afar. It was, after all, a country with cities that differed little from one another, save for minor customs.

[ So: boring. ]

I suppose becoming a traveler myself helped to understand them better, though my home country will always just be that. [ A soft huff. ] Are the Tech grounds where you honed your skills?

[ She nods. ]

Come to think of it, I've really given the last decade of my life to it, huh... I was a student there, then I started working as its doctor not very long after that.

So, I've never really gotten to travel, but it sounds like you have, Odile-san. What made you decide to become a traveler?

[ Odile hums softly, staring at the flowers as they walk. It's a pleasant quiet. One she loathes to disturb with such a personal thing, but... ]

... I suppose of all people, you are the one I feel the most comfortable telling outright. [ Helps to have made mentions here and there to others, but Shoko's the first to have it not piecemealed. ] I liked, at first, simply to see different parts of Ka Bue, but it became far more than that once I had met a merchant from across the seas -- from a country called Vaugarde.

My mother, [ though said with some distaste, ] was from there, but had left before I could ever know half the blood she gave to me. So I decided to travel there myself some years ago, to... try and find parts of who I was among the people and their traditions.

[ Three guesses on how that shook out!!! ]

That is when I would have begun calling myself a traveler in earnest, really.

[ She listens intently and duly; sure enough, she'd gotten bits and pieces of Odile's story from their conversations, but she's never offered such a portrait until now.

It's good that they're in a garden like this, though, for how hesitant she seems to be to share it; neither Shoko nor the flowers will tell another soul. ]

...Were you able to find those parts of you there?

[ Given the apparent distaste for her mother, she's guessing not, but, ]

Not a bit. Their way of life is near opposite to my own, and what features I share with them are alien when paired with those from Ka Bue, just the same as the reverse there.

[ So no. That heritage will still never be hers, still remains unclaimed behind a glass door she can't unlock.

Odile smiles slightly though, turning back to Shoko. ]

I did, however, find in that overly welcoming country many who were the same -- a country of those othered in some way, whether as I had been or lost differently. It's been a very enlightening journey, just as the one here has been.

So all in all, not a fruitless journey. You still gained something important for it, even if it wasn't what you came for, originally.

[ She hums thoughtfully. ]

A country of people who have been "othered," though, huh...? What was that like?

week three | dates

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many friendquest spoilers

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wobbles back in here

cradles you

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