WEEK THREE MATCH CEREMONY

[potatomance]

ᯓ⭐ WEEK THREE MATCH CEREMONY

It's That Time! Again! Woohoo! Step on up, take your seats, place your bets and pray for mercy!

It is once again the same set-up, so you'd all better be looking spiffy and spruced-up.

Riri looks the same as always, but that's because it's Riri.

"Let's see how you did this time? Lucy the Pussy is up first, so don't waste our time and get up here already!"

This is why Riri doesn't have any friends, maybe.

Comments

Arrivals

[potatomance]

[ Fits? Fits for the poor? ]

[ringsmaster]

[ this fanart is mildly spicy and i am sorry for that but i liked the outfit too much so here you go. ]

[thefinalcontract]

[Me and Zhongli are looking respectfully.]

[alcoheal]

[Good morning, gamers.

Manuela has a glass with her to launch the ceremony, just because she already has a feeling she'll need it by the end of the day regardless of the outcome, and she keeps tapping her fingers against it in a clinking, experimental rhythm.]

Selections

[potatomance]

[ I love creating suspense. ]

LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR

[potatomance]

[ As Riri said, Lucifer is first! His pick is Maruki!

"We've both done things we're not proud of, heh, and we've both learned hard lessons because of it. We're trying to move forward as best we can. I think that sort of common ground is what we both need. He's a really kind soul, and I'd be happy to call him my match." ]

That'd be nice if you could, huh? Sure would suck if you couldn't, huh? Well, I hope for everyone's sakes that you're right!

[ringsmaster]

You sure have a lot of attitude for a soon-to-be plate of hashbrowns.

[ ANYWAY HEY MARUKI WANNA HOLD HANDS. (Surely nothing bad will happen this time.) ]

ORIPHI

[potatomance]

[ Ori gets called up after and her pick is Uroko! She even does the earnest staring thing.

"If I'm honest... Those first few days, when you kept trying to steal food and would say those things about me... I didn't know what to think about you. But I asked you to get to know me for more than how I look, and you genuinely made good on that. I can hardly believe that you hadn't..." She chuckles and shakes her head. "Never mind. You know, I think... I don't care if it makes me look easy, to feel something for the first person who flirted with me here."

Then she glances at Riri. "Though if you're taking that as an invitation, please, just... shut up."

Riri is just giggling obnoxiously, waving a stick hand at them to get it over with already. ]

[hearthwarming]

[ yeah that's right!! she told the potato to shut up. But redirecting her gaze back at Uroko: ]

Shall we?

MANUELA CASAGRANDA

[potatomance]

[ Manuela's up! Her choice? Oz.

"You say you aren't used to compliments, so maybe I'd better get you warmed up to the idea? I'll save the stuff like how handsome you are for another day; that's obvious, isn't it? I'll never fully understand you, and that drives me nuts, but because of that I find myself hanging off your every word. How much do you think you care for others, Oz? Because I think you consider them a great deal more than you say. No matter where it is you come from." ]

Well, a better choice of wizard maybe. Good job?

[alcoheal]

Cram it.

[ozzz]

[Very original. Mithra looks somewhere else, seemingly bored out of his mind.]

MITHRA

[potatomance]

[ Mithra gets called upon, who picks Brenner with the air of someone who just does not care.

"We're opposites. What more is there to say?" ]

Wooow. Love the passion. I get it, though. Pickings are slim.

[hnl]

[At least this is expected, which means that Brenner strides up without much hesitation -- but what else is new at this point.]

Straight to the point, at least.

[which is fine he's ready to get this over with also]

REMNANTS

[potatomance]

[ And with that, everyone on the team has picked or been picked, so Riri stares at the leftovers with beady little eyes and then Sighs, calling up Phoenix and Xianyun first and then Zhongli and Lin. ]

... Sorry, I'm sure your mommies and daddies still love you very much!

[alcoheal]

[Under her breath:] Oh, that's not how I thought that would go.

[SURELY.........THE OTHER WAY AROUND......? Looking at literally anyone else in the audience?]

[bewrightback]

[(As a matter of fact they do, thank you very much...)]

Results

[potatomance]

[ It's dark again! The singular star is shining, and Riri points up to it. ]

Okay, let's see how you did. Remember, if no other stars show up, you're in for a blackout. But you're probably smart enough to avoid that fate this time, right?

Let's find out!

1/???

[potatomance]

[ There's a very long pause.

And then a star flickers into existence, followed by Riri's dutiful, fake-impressed-- ]

Oooooooh.

2/2

[potatomance]

[ A second star!!

And then nothing. The day resumes!

And Riri... just... exhales. ]

You guys only have a week left, so I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you something.

One of those stars up there is a pair I had to pick for you. So apparently, the majority of you still aren't getting it.

Anyway, I need a beer. Good luck!

[ GOOD. LUCK. ]

Cat Hearding

[thefinalcontract]

[Well, everyone. What do we have to say for ourselves?]

Now... Far be it from me to say how things should have gone... Leaving four on the floor was probably not ideal.

[He crosses one leg over the other.]

Though we did get a hint due to it, so I suppose that's something. The question then is where do we go from here?

[alcoheal]

If we get this right, there will be four left on the floor in the end either way. [And, as she feels she's almost certain to be one of those four at this point, she has a little care for how that must feel for them.]

We're out of time for baby steps and slow elimination. It was better to forge ahead now while we had the chance and get it all on the table.

[cosmoid]

closed to manuela

[ strategy discussion aside, there's something else uroko wants to discuss with manuela. he's sure she knows, but he's always been honest when it comes down to it, and this is something he thinks better discussed in private than in a group setting given the possibility of their match in the future.

he'll approach her when the discussion has ended and others are heading their separate ways. ]

Do you have more talk in you yet?

closed to ori

[ he finds her sometime after the meeting and another discussion he needed to have, hand outstretched to her. whether ori is his match or not, his heart has clearly decided already. (not that he's ever put real weight in the pairs regardless, but there was something else on his mind that he's come to terms with in the past few days). ]

The water, the sky, shall we go to the woods this time? Well, an approximation of it.

[alcoheal]

[She's tired of discussions, of logic that doesn't make any sense, of this castle. But Uroko's demeanor and presence have always generally been relaxing; Manuela thinks she'll be happy for a chat that will be more like that than the slow, agonizing pushing of pieces on a game board.

Manuela smiles at him. She stretches, tired, to put some pep back into herself. A second or third wind for the day, easily.]

Sure, your company is always enjoyable.

[hearthwarming]

[ Ori is... surprisingly calm given their situation; she's not taken to stress-baking like she had after the astounding blackout of their first Match Ceremony, and though she's not entirely at ease, she has a better idea what their cohort is like now, and she has faith that they'll make sense of it all...

All to say, it's with good humor that she quirks a brow at him, even as she's already taking his hand. ]

You're asking me if I'd like to go to the woods, or even an approximation of it?