WEEK TWO MATCH CEREMONY

[potatomance]

ᯓ⭐ WEEK TWO MATCH CEREMONY

Welcome, kiddos and kiddettes! To Week Two of this bullshit!

Once again, everyone is led up to the roof with the same seating set-up as before. Riri is cheerfully bobbing in front of the fire and as people arrive and get settled, it waves its little wand to offer Greeting Sparkles.

"I guess we'll see if you're taking it a little more seriously this week. Probably surprising no one, our overachieving Marty is gonna be up first this time, but who knows how it's gonna go next week?

Anyway, sit down, shut up, and unfortunately let the guy speak."

Comments

no pity, just party!

[mechanideptus]

[ Xianyun makes no attempts to try and hide her frustration. One star is better than zero stars, but it's not much to work off of. Things are going to have to get serious this week, or else.

But Manuela is right: nothing is getting solved today. Might as well follow her lead. ]

One is not great at "loosening up," but one will try.

[ She accepts a drink and sips. Hmm, she has a heavy hand. No doubt, several of them need it tonight. ]

Thank you.

[alcoheal]

I'm getting that sense across the board.

[Zhongli had opted for a glass of wine rather than accept one of her handcrafted cocktails, and Mr. Wright is over there at the bar nursing a finger of grape juice. Not that alcohol is necessary to "loosen up" or let down one's guard... but she envies people who don't need to take advantage of its various uses.]

When it comes right down it, finding the right person isn't usually something you do by logicking it out. Regardless of motivations, maybe we're all being a little too guarded.

[mechanideptus]

[ Alcohol will help, at least in Xianyun's case. I'm just going to say that this can get her drunk despite her adeptus status because something something AYTO magic. ]

If our pairings were meant to emerge organically, one would agree with you.

[ Sigh. Drink. ]

Although given that one's attempts to play this game logically have ended in failure, perhaps there is merit to your observation that we are all overthinking things.

[alcoheal]

[Manuela is probably just that good of a mixologist. It's fine! Her skills are many and varied.]

I don't think Riri is the sole source of our misery. [The primary source? The source for which she holds the least love? All true.] But it seems to defy all logic. Why not follow suit? Just for a little while.

[The truth is, plenty of marriages are made for logical reasons. They lead to such unhappy people. Why wouldn't someone hope they might be able to break free of those strict expectations? It's almost like she's pleading for an alternative solution to present itself, sounding a little pathetic as she bargains for "a little while."]

[mechanideptus]

[ That comment gets a raised eyebrow from Xianyun. ]

Oh? What else do you believe to be weighing on us?

[ It's an honest question, meant to pick Manuela's mind a little. Might as well, if they're going to be drinking together. ]

One is still of the belief that one does not lack for not having a romantic partner. But one is greatly outnumbered in that opinion, it seems.

[alcoheal]

I mainly mean I doubt it could pull this all off on its own, more or less... though maybe I'm wrong. [Once the words leave her mouth, Manuela does seem to reconsider her position on this. Riri is just infuriating and perceptive enough to have much more power than it initially appears to have.]

I think most of the people here would agree with you. If anything, I feel like the odd one out. More importantly... no matter how we feel, our opinions on romance could be holding us back, too.

[mechanideptus]

You mean to say it has accomplices.

[ That's probably true. But it's easier to hate Riri singularly, especially its casual cruelty toward all of them. They're trying their best, okay? ]

One meant that the opinion is unpopular among one's own circle. One's disciples seem to be in agreement that one benefits from this, and even Zhongli has seen fit to nudge me toward opening one's heart toward new possibilities.

[ Sigh. ]

That you wish to find a companion is not a deficiency on your part, lest you believe that it is. Perhaps you are the one who approaches this with for the correct reasons.