ayto | Truth Booth;

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!truth booth

Truth Booth;

❤ Truth Booth

Welcome to the Truth Booth, an innocuous-looking hut located not too far from the house, though you have to pass through a rather dense copse of palm trees and you can only make this journey with one other person.

Completely at odds with the outward appearance, the inside of the hut has white tiled floors and an almost clinical appearance. Those wishing to test their compatibility for the week must clasp hands and stand in the center of the room, where they will be scanned to determine whether they are (or not) a Perfect Match. Facing them is a screen displaying their Highly Flattering Pictures and when the scanning is complete, the truth will also flash on their screen.

So step right up. It's the only way to know for sure.

Premise ❤ FAQ ❤ Rules ❤ Truth Booth ❤ Locations ❤
Profiles ❤ Permissions ❤

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[Marcille looks worse than she did in the house, so probably definitely nervous enough. It isn't an entirely bad anxiety, even if she does look vaguely nauseated.]

It was kind of unorthodox way to get here, but it'll tell us a lot. After today... I'm confident we'll know what we need to.

[She chuckles (see? it isn't totally a bad nervousness), stopping on the path a second to take a very deep inhale before she resumes walking.]

More so than any of the escapades we talked about before, my heart is really getting put through its paces with this one. [She takes their hand off of her arm and puts it over her chest so they can actually feel what she's talking about. Otherwise they might not understand it.]

[ She's right— they dont understand it, not until they feel the flutter of her pulse against their hand. It's the first time they've ever felt a true heartbeat before, and they press their hand a little firmer, their eyes widening in wonder. ]

It's fast... [ An idle observation, while they feel some ghost of the same tightness in their chest. ] It really doesn't hurt? Marcille...

[ It's a rhetorical question - more a show of how surprised they are that such a physical manifestation of feelings wasn't painful to her. She doesn't look to be in pain - other than from the nervousness, and naturally, they want to comfort it. Getting an answer... should set things straight. They stay close to her as they walk, not moving their hand away unless she prompts it. It's too fascinating for them to stop. ]

Mm, it's just fluttering. [She shakes her head in response to the question. It's not really painful in any quantifiable way, even if there are all other sorts of small discomforts that they don't really have time to catalog.

Dia can leave their hand there is they want, even if the coordination of walking together might bump them around a bit. Marcille brushes her hair over one shoulder, off of her flushed neck.]

What does a 'no' mean? What about a yes? Should we even say it? [It's a big question, one that was hard to dissect in full even earlier this week when it felt like they had tons of time. Now they have almost no time, so the answer has to be forced and short by necessity. It's a little dangerous to ask.]

Mm... it's hard to think about, right?

[ Because things were natural between them some way; Marcille feels familiar even though they were so different. Even thinking about something like this changing something between them, positive or negative, is nerve-racking... change is scary, no matter what. ]

What I said before, about in case the matchups didn't work out, I meant that. [ They move their hand from her chest, so they can link arms with her, thread their fingers together. If they're going to move, they need to walk in tandem - they can't let their selfish fascination get in the way of that. ] No matter what happens, I'll always want to talk to you like this. I think that's what I'll think about going in. That I'm glad to just have met you...

[ Thinking about it in more specific terms than that is too frightening with the door right in front of them. They give her one last glance before pushing the door open. ]

That's right... It wouldn't be the same if I hadn't me you. So I'm glad, too, to have had something so unforgettable happen.

[As the door swings open, Marcille's brow thickens with a determined frown. She doesn't look at Dia when she says this next line.]

...Since I'm sure you'll live longer than I will, I really hope I've left an impression, even if it was short. Shall well?

[With a little burst of energy that doesn't seem to reflect how she's actually feeling at all, Marcille kind of hops them over the threshold and into the weirdly industrial looking room?

At least she burnt off a little bit of that anxious energy.]

[ Hello! Here we are in the room, tiled and solemn, with the screen displaying the following: ]

[ How beautiful. Please step on the off-color tiles when you're ready. ]

[ Her saying that makes them more sad than they want to admit. Mortality is always on the back of their mind when they're around the other contestants, but with her, much less so... perhaps because they could pretend her lengthened lifespan brought them closer to her than it would to a human.

If she's going to put on a brave face, they will too. They crease their brow and put their lips into a firm line, balling up their free hand into a fist like the two of them are walking into battle rather than to some element of a crazy dating show. They're not even going to tease Marcille over that hilarious ass photo, because now does Not Seem the Time. ]

So we step here... [ They place both their feet on their tile, huffing out a little breath to mask some of their own nervousness. ] ...let's finish this swiftly.

[ And that, too, comes out like a battle line, something to encourage bravery in the face of adversity. But really... it's because they can't take it any longer. They have to know. If they can keep being selfish, and keep having her by their side. If they can, then maybe... they might finally have an equal. ]

Right. After all...there's something else we're both here for.

[Squaring her shoulders, she steps onto the other vacant tile, never letting go of their hand. If her heart was pounding earlier, it's absolutely hammering now, making her ears feel gummy and slightly submerged.

Only after she's fully stood the tile does Marcille duck her head a little bit, leaning into Dia's side and murmuring in a small voice that will be cut off by the light show.]

...Do I really look like that?

[She's sweating a bit nervously at this point, which Dia hopefully can't feel creeping down onto her palm against theirs. So yeah, she does kind of look like that.]

[ Well.

The lights go off. The green lights begin their scan.

The music kicks on.

[ Aaaaand then the music stops, the lights come up--

The screen displays the following. ]

[ A few glittery confetti flakes rain down from the ceiling! ]

Edited 2022-03-26 02:14 (UTC)

[ ......?????

The whole point of going in all battle-ready like that was to prepare for disappointment, but, like............ huh?? The glittery confetti comes down, the screen changes, and their face just goes wide with shock, any semblance of that composure they'd come in with out the window. ]

We... We're really... the screen... it says...

[ INCSESANT TUGGING AT HER ARM like she's not looking at the screen herself ]

[Later, she might feel guilty for doubting it the way that she had. The weeks have been hard for all that they've been peaceful: From the very first weekend, there have been more emotions to untangle than she ever expected.

And they all pale immediately when compared to the sheer injection of emotion she gets from the results screen.] Huh? [Even with Diamond tugging at her arm, Marcille doesn't turn to look at them immediately. Feeling dizzier than before, Marcille actually bends down until she's crouching in a low squat on the tile, covering her mouth with one hand. She sits there for what feels like minutes, far more than the 30 seconds or so she crouches in silence.

Then she just starts laughing in complete, uninterrupted joy.

Which, ironically, might have been her exact reaction had the results been different, only accompanied by something much different from laughing.]

[ At first, they're wondering if she's going to faint, so they are already putting an extra steadying arm on her when she goes down - naturally, they go too, kneeling carefully beside her. Just when they're starting to get really worried, she bursts into laughter, and a warm sense of affection blooms in them for the girl beside them— something they'd been avoiding entertaining in full until now. A light flush dusts their cheeks, and they tilt their head this way and that, trying to get a good look at her expression. A few smaller, quieter laughs escape them, too. ]

It's really us... [ It's so... exciting? Unexpected? They're not sure what the right word is here - but they feel bubbly, lighter, charged up on (pseudo) adrenaline. Their tiny, soft laughs interject between hers, cutting between their own words. ] Thank goodness...

[ There's some sense of real relief there, and then they're pushing their face against her shoulder, their expression tense with emotion. ]

I'm really happy. [Marcille finally lifts her face out of her hand, for the most part, to actually look over at them now that they've buried into her shoulder. Despite the laughter, there are some happy tears welling in the corner of each eye, too. She's feeling too many things, too much, all at one time too be expressed in a single reaction.] Even under the circumstances, our expertise worked out a little bit in the end.

[They look cute in here, in a way that seems deeper than the cute way they normally present themself. They always appear adorable, but this is something more than that - a feeling.

Marcille puts her forehead against theirs.] Hey, would you mind if I -?

[ Their face lights up brighter when she gets close, shining eyes meeting hers. They're just kneeling on the floor in this strange little room, but the air around them still feels big, momentous. To the point that it's almost overwhelming. ]

Not at all... I want to.

[ And even with all this commotion around them, they still seem a bit shy, speaking only loud enough for her to hear - it feels almost unreal. Things worked out too well in their favor. But now, with this set in stone, they're allowed to be a bit more forward in their actions, right?

They lean forward to meet her half way, glittering eyelashes fluttering. One of their hands lifts to gently cup her face, guiding her lips to their own - with all the care they can muster. ]

[It must be pretty dangerous, rewarding Marcille with exactly what she wanted. Dia's words freeze her in place under the weirdly artificial lights of the booth; she realizes then that she's been waiting for something like this, wanted it this whole time. Their forwardness turns her into the shy, hesitant one, doe-eyed and a little awestruck, but as soon as she's guided into the kiss, Marcille's smile is back, lazily turning up the corners of her mouth against theirs. She steals a second kiss immediately after, followed by a shorter, more playful third.

When they finally do break apart, Marcille guides Dia's hand back to her chest, where her heart is still jumping erratically in a combination of excitement and lingering adrenaline.]

I guess this won't be slowing down any time soon. [Then, as if these two thoughts have any place being paired together:] You have confetti in your hair.

[ This is what kissing someone should be like - that's the first thought that runs through their mind when she kisses them again and again. It's spontaneous but feels right, feels like they're close to her in a way that just wasn't achievable until now. Funnily enough, they're thinking the exact same thing— that this is what they've been waiting for this entire time. With another laugh: ]

You do too. [ When they pull back, they're beaming, pressing against her chest firmly. There's no pulse to be found in their palm, but their own excitement is evident enough in their bright expression. ] Here, and here....

[ They draw the pad of their thumb against her cheek, then raise their nimble fingers to pluck out a few pieces of the shimmering paper, never disturbing any of her braids. They're gentle with everyone, but the special attention they take to her seems one step further than that. ]

Hmm, even your hair is soft. I'm learning a lot of cute things today.

[ Retracting their hand, they let the confetti float down to the ground as they release the pieces. In the back of their mind, they're thinking that the two of them probably look like quite the spectacle sitting down in the booth like this, but, for right now... they don't want to think about the other contestants just yet. ]

It kind of suits you. [She hesitates to remove it. Diamond has enough sparkle to render the confetti moot, but seeing the reminder of their success on them is nice enough. It's tangible and real, something she can touch instead of just words on a screen.

What a terribly long, terribly enlightening day. Marcille has no desire to let them slip from her grasp right, now, but she shifts her weight back on her heels and stretches.]

... My legs are getting a little numb. [This wouldn't be a problem for them at all, but she's been crouching in this position for a while now.] I think I'd better get up.

[The walk back to the house is going to feel so much shorter than the one down did, even if it takes exactly the same amount of time.]

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