week three | match ceremony

[marriagebroker]

We're back, baby!

The courtyard is lit up with lanterns all over and there is now a second special couch near the Furina and Ringo couch from last week. This is the Verso-Nico couch, if they want to sit in it. But they don't have to! Live your truth, boys! Go sit with your situationships instead!

Wei Wuxian is here, still looking happy after his absence this week, and he is dressed to impress in NOT a hanfu this time, but a modern look. He's liking it, honestly. Look at him sparkle!

"Congratulations, my friends! You are once again free from a blackout and losing a wish as you found a perfect match at yesterday's truth booth. Good job!" Wei Wuxian explains, twirling his flute in his fingers as per usual. "You might still get no lights again otherwise but, uh, let's hope not! I believe in you!"

... Does he?

Either way, he bounces on his feet and calls out, "Team Suibian, it's time to make your picks!" Looks like we're ready to go.

Comments

[gamboler]

Why you and Messmer?

[ He's leaning towards Pingping too, but if they have a good case for the other Het(tm), then that's one less thing they have to figure out. ]

[nrangel]

It's a little hard to explain, and I don't think it's really my place to get into it...

[ Not without him signing off on it anyway. ]

But it's think there are things about my culture he would get better than most people, and I think I get his a little bit too from what he's told me. It's not the most solid basis for a match I'll admit, but I could see it making some sense.

[reverso]

[Hm. He's been listening, but pipes up-]

Might be worth exploring in the next week. After all, finding one of the other... Uh. "Het" pairings would help everything else fall into place more easily.

[Her and Messmer sharing a few things in common, though? Interesting. That gains Verso some insight into Serpilia, even if it's just secondhand.]

[nrangel]

[ Thanks for this handy terminology they will be using for the rest of the game, Poppy. ]

I'd definitely be up for another date if he is.

[ If Messmer is really only here for a wish too, then it probably don't matter too much to him if his match's affections lie elsewhere. ]

[reverso]

[Indeed, it's proven at this point between all of them that affections and perfect matches do not need to align.

But that said... he thinks it would do Messmer some good, to connect with someone else who might be able to relate to him, even in a few ways.]

And if that pans out, it means our dear Overseer actually did us a bit of a favor.

[In pairing the two of them up. Even if Wei Wuxian actually knows nothing--]

[nrangel]

We'll have to make sure to thank him if that ends up being the case.

[ She'll thank him anyway at the end of this. She knows some people (Rom) don't like him much, but he seems like he's trying his hardest.

Even if his best is sometimes a little biased. ]

[reverso]

I plan on it, too, when this is done.

[But Verso is a WWX stan, and his biases should not be counted.

Anyway.]

I wonder, though, if much of our strategizing is going to hinge on a future truth booth confirmation or denial. Which pairing do you think would be most useful for that, given where we are?

[A... "het"? Maya and Aventurine? However, they're fairly certain about that one. So maybe... Serpilia and Messmer, if either feel strongly about it at the end of the week?]

[nrangel]

Maya and Aventurine. We could completely mess it up otherwise, but if we go for the one we feel confident about, then we're still safe no matter what we do next week.

[ She wants the pressure not on her at all actually.

She also thinks it would be nice to reunite Aventurine and Nico in that swanky suite for a couple of days at least, and while she doesn't think Verso would disagree, it does feel a little weird and tacky to say that in front of Nico's official match, so she will just... not. ]

[reverso]

[I mean, valid on both points. Even if Verso wouldn't have been offended, either way.]

Mm. Unfortunately, we can't use the booth as a safety net anymore. Next ceremomy's the big one: they all have to be right, or it's bust.

[No pressure.]

I'm just wondering if a "safe" bet is really what we want to confirm, given that we've been relying on Maya and Aventurine for so long already.

[nrangel]

Ugh... that's right. So much has happened in such a short period of time, that I wasn't thinking, but...

[ Never mind. Pressure back on, huh? ]

I don't mind giving up my wish to someone who wants it. I think there might be a few of us in that boat, but it would be nice to lose as few of them as possible.

[ She frowns... ]

Maybe we should take a chance with something that feels riskier then?

[ Feels bad to not be able to have Aventurine reunite with Nico, but they'll hopefully have some time to come after all of this is done. ]

[reverso]

[He shakes his head, his smile wan.]

Generous as that would be, I don't even think it'd would be an option. There'll be no wishes to give unless they're all correct, which is why...

[Well. Which is why the pressure is, indeed, on this coming week. And Verso is somewhat concerned about how critical this next booth will really be. It might be too early to start talking about it just yet, but it's at the forefront of his mind.

He trails off.]

Why I'm already thinking about it, I suppose. Yes, I do think we should stray away from the pairing we are already assuming is a match; maybe a different "het" pair, instead. But I'm also not the most clever one here. We can see what those crunching the numbers have to say about it.

[nrangel]

That's how they're playing it then? Hardball...

[ Boo... ]

If we're going that route, then it looks like Messmer is heading to the booth no matter which of us girls we send with him.

[ She hopes he's up for it. ]

[reverso]

Maybe so.

[Not something he imagines Messmer would be terribly excited about. Oops. SORRY, MESSMER,,]

Only if both parties are willing, though. [He can't pressure anyone to go to the booth when he asked for leeway on it once, too?? He's not that unaware.]

[nrangel]

Yeah, even if it'd give us the best guess, I really don't want to send anyone unwilling up there to go through all of that.

[reverso]

Well. Either way, we still have time for others to see how they feel about things in the next few days. I really would like to confirm the female-male category if we can.

[Scrubs at his face with a palm, an exhale.]

My brain’s not made for this sort of thing.

[anathemaw]

[ verso... ]

Thou needst not treat me so tenderly. I will perform my role in this game.

[reverso]

I know…

[But he hardly wants to volunteer anyone, and he can’t help it if he has a soft spot in his squishy soul now labeled “Messmer.”]

But I don’t want to assume. It’s not like I think you’re incapable.

[gamboler]

[ Thinking... ]

Of the remaining unconfirmed lights from week one, the only other possible matches it could be besides myself and Maya are Rom and Messmer, Odile and Edamura, and yourself and Luka. Odds are in favor of those being one of our heterosexual [ HE REFUSES TO JUST SAY HET ] couples, and confirming one of them deconfirms all the rest by default.

[ Damn, a blackout really would have been nicer this week. ]

[nrangel]

So you think we should go with Odile and Edamura or me and Luka then?

[ She frowns... She doesn't like the idea of it not being Edamura and Rom though. ]

Luka seems pretty confident about him and Yi Sang, and I don't have any reason to doubt him on that. Besides, I really don't think we're a match anyway. We really were a last minute leftover set, so I don't think it would do us much good to send the two of us in.

[ Could it really be Odile and Edamura though? It kind of sounds like both of them were looking for connections rather than love, so maybe........ ]

[gamboler]

[ Listen, sometimes your match is someone different from the guy you fall for, it's fine!! He has his doubts about Edamura and Odile, though...based more on what he's gleaned about Edamura, and less so about Odile. ]

Maybe it'd serve us better to start with the biggest unknowns and work backwards. Messmer and Luka are the biggest wild cards in all this, in my opinion.

[ And neither of them does he know well enough to offer any significant speculation. Maybe that ought to be his project for this week. ]

[reverso]

[his brain hurty]

Week one, we're still going with the assumption that the three confirmed matches were myself and Nico, you and Maya, and Furina and Ringo. Oui? Any other pairing should be considered wrong... That, or we've really made merde out of it all.

[phenomerom]

I also believe we should continue operating under this assumption. While our guess with Miss Ringo and Miss Furina might have been a lucky fluke, with the confirmation of Mr. Verso and Mr. Nico, it feels like our train of thought regarding the lights from the first week seems generally in line with the algorithm's. Of course, there's no guarantee that we were correct regarding Mr. Aventurine and Amano-san, but ... we need to start from somewhere. Scrapping everything and going back to the drawing board at this point feels dangerous.

[reverso]

I agree. We’re running too short on time to start all over, especially if we’d only be testing a theory that’s worked for us so far, anyway.

So do you think that we should test for a “het” pair, too? When the booth rolls back around.

[gamboler]

[ me as verso ]

Merde, hm? [ He's learning so much French... ] It couldn't hurt to consider scenarios where the other light from week one was not myself and Maya. The next most likely pair to me seems to be Rom and Messmer, and I might possibly be matched with Edamura, which would leave Luka and Yi Sang to be matched with women. Since we also know Yingying isn't matched with either of them, that guarantees she's a match with another woman.

[ ...He really wishes they still had some gummy bears with them. ]

That would leave Maya, Luka, Yi Sang, Shoko, Poppy, Serpilia and Odile to figure out, if I'm not mistaken. Two female-only couples, and two cross-gender.

[reverso]

[Oh, now this really hurts his head.]

So… by testing one of them, we can confirm whether or not you and Maya are correct, too. And go from there.

[Not an illogical way to go about it, but maybe too many steps for his art brain help]

It’s an option, but we have a few here who feel pretty strongly about their pairings. Edamura and Rom, and… Hm. Luka seems pretty sure of him and Yi Sang.