ayto | Week 0 Matchup Ceremony;

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Week 0 Matchup Ceremony;

❤ Week 0 Matchup Ceremony

[ It's Time.

The Overseer will call everyone outside, to a new area. She stands at the podium behind a screen bearing two handprints, while the guys can sit in the seats and the ladies + Diamond will be directed to stand on the platform.

Behind her and off to the side, there are ten beams of light. ]

Hello, everyone. Choices for our first week have been made. When a couple has been announced, please come forward and place your hands on the screen. You will be locked in.

Once all couples have locked in, the lights will go out. For every couple that is a Perfect Match, a beam of light will appear. To win this game, you will need all ten beams lit. If no new beams have been added per week, you will encounter a blackout and one of you will be chosen at random to lose your wish.

As this is our first week, I will not be penalizing you, should we have no Perfect Matches. However, please keep this in mind going forward.

Now. Let's begin.

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

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[DEFINITELY IGNORING the Overseer’s comment about being a second choice.]

Five out of five’s pretty good for round one. I’d say we should confirm who thinks they’re a surefire match before we consider shuffling around the others.

That's a good start. I think the next people we send to the Truth Booth should be one we can't come to a conclusion about ... whenever that happens.

Anyway, Rufus! What do you think about yours?

[She leans forward over her knees to get a closer look, silently sizing him up for the qualities Kuchiha described to her yesterday.]

[Rufus doesn’t mind anyone sizing him up; he’s used to that. He stands, arms crossed, head tilted ever so slightly with a quizzical tinge to his tone.]

Well. I can’t say it’s unpleasant at all, but it is surprising. We’ve only had one conversation so far, and I’m sure that’s all anyone can judge us by — but I do wonder how well of a business partner she’d be, more so than just a romantic partner.

[He realizes this has never really been touched upon.]

Have we considered talking about what everyone wants in their partner, rather than just who’s attracted to who?

[Wow, he really holds the two equally important... at least that's what Marcille deduces, just from hearing him speak about his match. That would qualify as responsible...]

We tried! Kuchiha and Aoko and I wanted to organize a meeting. Oh, and Yoosung! [Yoosung is genuinely not intended as an afterthought here - he just jumped into things later than the others. After spilling this grand meeting plan, however, Marcille looks a little apprehensive, sweating when she thinks about how much bigger an undertaking this might actually be.]

The ceremony caught us off guard, but this week I think we can be ready for it. As it stands, I think we just got bits and pieces of what everyone's said. People have a hard time being honest about their hearts. And now we've got bits and pieces of matches...

Well, can’t expect much from just the first week alone. Going forward, we can all organize ourselves a little better. Maybe everyone can come prepared if we arrange a meeting, with a list of what they want in a partner?

Anyway, it’s a good start. I think between all of us, we might end up with their perfect matches in a week or two.

[Especially since they’ll all have more to work with.]

I like your confidence! [She brightens right up immediately. That's right, Marcille! This can be done, and now they have what they need to take another pass at it.]

We should do it before the Booth next week. It'll give us a better idea who to send. A week or two... They say true love can't be rushed, but for those of us waiting for a wish, it's pretty tempting, isn't it?

[To say nothing of the overachievers and those who will be happy to leave everything else behind once they have their matches.]

I’m confident only because I’m seeing how successful we are already. I have faith we can recreate it again.

Count me in. I’ll be there. And who says true love can’t be… motivated to put itself on the fast track? I’d like my wish, too. Is that what you’re going for?

As long as we target the right 50%, even fixing half of those matches leaves us with just a few people who aren't together.

[It's really a question of who would take the wish over the true love, who sees them as equal, and who would only ever have come for one in the first place. If anything comes between their combined efforts, it would be those priorities - ones she doesn't plan on backing down from.

She smiles at the question, even if her mind is still caught up in that possible conflict.]

I want both. Is that weird? Though, in my case, getting one will make it easier to have the other. That's my hope, anyway.

I don't think that's weird. Many equate their perfect partner to happiness; and most wish for some form of happiness to boot. It makes sense that for most, they'd be related.

What's your wish? [Well, maybe that's too bold, and Rufus knows it. But he pushes and prods now and again, testing to see what people wish to tell him and what they don't.] You can be vague if you want.

My wish? [She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.]

Because they live so much longer than most of the other races, elves lord their control over them. Magic, history, law... In many places, they have a hand in all of it.

I want people of all races to have equal opportunity.

[Vague or not, it's at least easy to get the sense that this is at the very lease a truncated version.]

[He’s quiet, wondering at an assumption of his, then asks outright — as always.]

Aren’t you an elf? Stop me if I’m getting ahead of myself, but—

[He markedly gestures at his ears, in turn meaning her own.]

My mother is. It's usually kind of a bother to explain, and since you're not an elf, you probably didn't even notice.

[People belonging to the more short-lived races can't really tell: Elves look like elves, and her rounder features and the blunted tips of her ears just seem like trait variations.

If there's any self-consciousness or embarrassment to go along with the reveal of this information, however, Marcille is completely poker-faced.]

I see. [He definitely wouldn't see the subtle differences, considering there are no elves on Gaia. However, her explanation does make some sense.]

That would explain why you care about the plight of the downtrodden. [Ah, there's some irony in Rufus having this conversation, and he seems faintly amused by it, a glint in his eye. But he's reigning back any further signs, trying to keep the tone invariable.] You have some investment in it. Family-wise, I mean.

A noble cause. And even better: noble means, too, doing it this way.

[This... reality TV show. Hurting no one, except maybe someone's pride or two.]

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I wonder if anyone can really say definitively after only a week...

It seems that way, but isn't love at first sight just a powerful?

Look at Sara and Blazing Sky: They found each other right away and everyone agrees about them! [She gets a little pinker as she talks, though it lacks the slightly faster speed and and lilting pitch that characterizes some of her other relationship gossip.] Besides, they're both strong and considerate and striking, and they think about others before themselves ...

... So, anyway, it's perfectly reasonable that they would already know they were a match!

[Mmmm....]

That's... definitely very true.

[They're both so hot and doki-inducing, so she can agree...]

I do agree that they seem like they'd be a great match. This is really tricky, isn't it? Especially with only one Truth Booth a week.

We'll just have to ask them how they feel about it.

Probably not, but we should take advantage of knowing half of us are already perfect matches. A best guess is as good as any right now. If anyone feels in their gut that their match is perfect, they should speak up.

You're right about that...

So, how do you feel about yours?

I only have first impressions to go on, but I was surprised. I was expecting someone who’d be more—

[Hm.]

Business savvy, I think?

[... note to self: Rufus wants someone to rule his corporate empire with him.]

Got it... Well, it should be pretty easy to narrow down who's super business savvy here and who's... never heard of business before in their lives.

[Ah, she's hit the nail on the head.]

Makes me an easy one, right?

Anyway, not to disparage Kuchiha. She had a pretty interesting backstory, and if nothing else, I'm curious to know more.

That's good of you. It's a good attitude to take, I think. Avoids some drama and all of that.

[And he's a good guy if he still appreciates people, even if they're not what he's looking for!]

Maybe next week we can do some polling to see who might fall into that category so you're ready for the choosing ceremony.

Speak for yourself. [ He is 999999% onboard with his match. ]

[ He does know he shouldn't sell off his perfect match, right???? ]

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