week one | match ceremony

[showhost]

The weather is temperate and mild for the match ceremony on this fine Saturday evening, and the crew leads everyone onto a balcony with a cute seating set-up of couches and love-seats. The vibes are Trendy. There are enough places to sit for everyone, but there are only two single chairs, so everyone else is gonna have to cozy up on the couch. Or you can cuddle up in the chairs. I’m not your mom. Also there is only one egg seat. There's mood lighting, like fairy lights.

To one side, there's a small stage of sorts, with a podium where the characters will place their hands to lock in their answers.

Wednesday and Ryuji are led off to the other side so that they can take a seat of honor over on a comfy couch to one side--close to the other contestants, but just far enough away that it's clear they're getting special treatment. Don't you wanna go to the Honeymoon Suite now? Huh???

Anyway.

There are non-alcoholic drinks for people to take at will (all the better to catch spittakes on camera), and the weather is breezy and nice.

And, standing in front of the makeshift stage, with a set of seven unlit lights behind him and one lit light, stands the Overseer. He is dressed the part, of course. He also... looks tired for a moment, but he snaps back to his Proper Hostly Character as soon as the cameras are properly on them and everyone is settled in.

He presses a hand to his chest, sweeping the other outwards.

"Welcome, everyone, to your first Match Ceremony!"

He beams, all classic Tsukasa Sparkles. "As your host, allow me to explain how this will work."

For... the audience mostly. Maybe also for Ryuji? He's not sure how many of the contestants still don't know. It's fine.

"The lights behind me represent each Perfect Match. If--no, when you manage to light every single one, you'll have won, and you will all receive your wishes. For each Perfect Match you find at this ceremony, a light will be lit! And it is your task to figure out which pairs led to those lights appearing."

He nods firmly, eyes and expression shining with confidence in the competitors sitting before him. "And you do not even have to worry about losing a wish this week! It isn't possible for you to have a blackout, since Miss Addams and Sakamoto were a Perfect Match. Congratulations!"

Get on with it, Tsukasa. He clears his throat, pauses just long enough for there to be an inevitable easy cut to commercial break when they edit this later, and then:

"We will begin this week with Team Wonder."

He extends his hand to Dorothea, the other pressed over his heart. "If the lovely Miss Arnault would come up to start us off...?"

Looks like it’s the moment of truth, so strap in.

--

The ceremony has finally arrived! Each character on Team Wonder will be called up in an order determined by the producers (read: rng'd). Each will get their own sub-toplevel that characters can react to at will.

After the matches have all been locked in, we will then find out just how many you all got right.

Otherwise, feel free to use this log for reactions/toplevels for pre- and post-ceremony, and anything else you please. The world of reality TV dating is yours to embrace.

Comments

end

[aspirings]

[..............



The pause continues, seemingly even longer still.




And no more lights are lit. The balcony lights return to their dim mood-lighting as the ceremony comes to a proper end. Tsukasa deflates a little, but when he turns to face them, he has straightened and is smiling once again.]

Perhaps the results are not entirely what we might have hoped for, but never fear! You've learned something tonight, and have done incredibly well this week. Next week is yet another chance!

[... He... feels like he should say something else.]

... Thank you for your cooperation.

[And he steps down from the stage.

there u go, teens. discuss away.]

[gravkitty]

[Her smile and optimism...gone]

[warhawks]

[ Immediately leaving the room once it's done. Bye. ]

[hgeegh]

[Timing is a tricky thing. Sanji waits for the discussion to start before excusing himself in search of Asa, because all of that was frankly concerning.]

Asa! Are you here?

[warhawks]

[ Ugh... Asa knows that voice. Too bad it belongs to the second last person she wants to talk to right now.

She's in the bedroom, since she doubts anyone will be coming back here for a while after the ceremony; lying on her bed fully dressed and with her face pressed into the pillow. ]

Just leave me alone.

[hgeegh]

[Oh, she looks positively miserable. Still, Sanji's shoulders drop in relief once he locates her. He hastens to approach, though he stops before he gets too close out of mindfulness for the miniature garden that's her bed in this communal space.]

What's wrong? You can talk to me. I saw you leave the ceremony as soon as it ended . . . and there's the matter of Yanami-san . . .

[They were so close the other day while Asa's expression during the ceremony was nothing short of harrowing. He doesn't understand. What happened?]

[warhawks]

[ The fact he saw that and still came after her makes her snap. She's miserable, humiliated, angry, and worst of all — she did it all to herself. The fact it was for someone else's benefit doesn't make her feel any better. ]

I said leave me alone!

[ The pillow muffles the volume of her shout, but does nothing to hide the pain behind it, or the crack in her voice. She's quieter when she speaks again, but only because she doesn't have the energy to keep yelling. ]

Stop wasting your time on me. The truth is... I didn't really come here to find a boyfriend. [ A self-deprecating laugh. ] I know the wish is fake, but I'm willing to humiliate myself like this anyway. Isn't that pathetic?

[hgeegh]

[The pain in her voice gives Sanji pause. He's heard a myriad of tones from her by now, but this one stands out for how wounded it is. The camel's back is broken, and his heart twists at the sound, then again at her self-loathing words.]

We don't know that. [He softens his tone, all but pleading with her to let him stay, if only so that her heart doesn't have to bleed alone.] The wish could be real. Even if it isn't, yours still is. There's nothing pathetic about a wish from the heart.

[makeine]

[ ............................

what

if it is them?

there's so many it could be but what if it is them?

anna's still displeased, but she'll turn it into frustration at the situation. ]

Well, we've got our work cut out for us, that's for sure.

[flaweddetective]

[Gets up. Straightens his tie. Fucking leaves.]

[willandaway]

[. . .]

[there's a lot he needs to do right now, but--]

[after like. . . ten minutes or so (so Akechi can have a little bit of space), Will is going after him]

[boneface]

[ JUST...... FTR............ RYUJI NOTICES THIS AND FEELS A TYPE OF WAY, WILL ]

[willandaway]

[STOP HE CAN'T BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE, YOU'RE ON HIS LIST OF PEOPLE TO CHECK IN ON RYUJI!!!]

[boneface]

[ YEAH OKAY WHATEVER, BUD. OR NOT BUD. ]

[willandaway]

[WOW!!!]

[hey now that you've tagged me-- after [MUTTER MUMBLE INSERT TIME HERE] with Akechi, will is also!! actively looking for him!!!]

[flaweddetective]

[People in his space is, arguably, what he needs the least but this is a group of teenagers that don't know what to leave well enough alone. He's at least made it into the little bathroom to grab the concealer from his overnight bag and back to his little camp spot in the other room before Will finally finds him.

He's in the process of trying to hide the redness from the punch. It'll certainly bruise. Hopefully not swell. He can ice it tonight. It's where all his focus is going at present. If he doesn't he'll dwell. And if he dwells... He'll think about his mom. And like hell is he going down that pitfall tonight.]

What?

[It's more tired than irritated. He's trying to focus. Trying not to think about one thing too much and think a lot about other things. Like revenge. There's so much revenge to dish out. If he's going down he's taking everyone with him.]

[willandaway]

[fortunately for Akechi, Will isn't infringing on his immediate personal space. he stands near the door with one hand resting on the frame, the other at his side, fingers slightly resting against the hilt of his sword]

[. . . he doesn't know Akechi. he doesn't know him very well at all. he doesn't quite understand what kind of relationship he had with Ryuji, or why their conversation devolved into a brawl so quickly]

[as such. . . he has no words. and he is acutely aware of that fact]

. . . do you know how to wield a blade?

[he grasps at his scabbard and lifts his sword slightly, for emphasis]

[flaweddetective]

[Does he want to keep lying? Is there any benefit to it at all? He doesn't know... It might not matter with how he's intending to play the game from this point forward.

For now... he'll keep playing the part.]

No. They're not really a thing you just use in this day and age where I'm from.

[willandaway]

[fortunately for Akechi, Will has no reason to believe he is lying about this one specific thing. so he merely nods. . . then unsheathes his sword, gloved fingers holding the hilt tightly as he balances the flat of the blade against his other palm]

I learned at a young age. [he recalls those memories clearly-- drills in the middle of the forest alongside his best friend, who was leagues ahead of him in talent when it came to swordplay] . . . not all are as fortunate as I was, though.

Where I come from, not learning how to wield a weapon can be a death sentence.

[a sharp shing echoes in the room as Will suddenly slices the blade through the air, allowing it to come to rest at his side, light glinting off the metal]

The drills require strict mental focus. It's easy to get lost in hours of practice if one isn't paying attention.

Would you care for me to teach you?

[haircared]

[ get ready for your check up from nurse josuke, akechi.......... but only after several hours have passed since the ceremony, and any discussions with the group have ended.

He'll only approach if/when Akechi is in a secluded place, leaning against the doorframe with both hands in his pockets before going any further. He knows Akechi must hear him, so he'll wait to see if he gets told to fuck off. ]

[flaweddetective]

What?

[He doesn't sleep with the others and has taken to a little corner of a different room. The positive is that it has a balcony that he likes to linger around. Ritsuka found him here last time and this is, naturally, where he'd be again. This time fussing with the little compact mirror that he brought along with him to help see if he did a good job covering up the impending bruise. For right now he's just turning it in his hands as he thinks so loudly you can almost hear the wheels turning.

And, for what it's worth, the "what" he gives Josuke is not too irritable. Just tired and a touch prickly. It's kind of been a day...]

[haircared]

...Just wanted to see about that eye of yours.

[ Josuke is empathetic and kind, perhaps to a fault. Unless someone really, really deserves it, he doesn't like to see people in pain. Whether that's a trait born out of his ability to soothe all wounds, he's not sure, but it's incessant all the same, which has led him to healing people he fought just moments ago, when the situation called for it.

Still, he looks stern when he says it, not venturing any further into the room. Just because he's kind doesn't mean he lets himself be taken advantage of. There's too many things that are murky and confusing about this situation between Ryuji and him, and the only reason he's still willing to get involved is because he can use his powers as leverage. People are generally more willing to tell him things when he can take their pain away. ]

[flaweddetective]

[He pockets the little compact as he debates. It'll probably piss Ryuji off if he lets Josuke heal him. Looking like an ass while the damage gets erased. That's pretty worth it.

It's already starting to throb so... Just to save himself the literal headache later he'll accept.]

You can if you're inclined. I would appreciate it...

[willandaway]

[don't think you're escaping a check-in during our Sunday interview sir--]

[titlecard]

[ So...

That went well...? ]