[ red threaded ]

This time, the results get tallied a little earlier than usual. As evening falls—rather than waiting for the next morning—there's a call to summon you back to the main area. Maybe they just couldn't wait, or maybe they had something in mind, or maybe this was trying to be a little nicer to Fen

In either case, as you step back into the main hall, you'll find that it's resplendently decorated with glittering streamers and lights like fallen stars. There is lilting music playing, and your outfit changes like some sort of magical fairy godmother nonsense, into whatever you think would be the nicest formal thing you'd like to be wearing for a fancy dance.

Each of you is also wearing a narrow red bracelet, made of carefully braided red thread.

The board is lit up to proclaim:

FINAL RESULTS

Anna & Lizbeth
Roz & Viola
Morgen & Russi
Asato & Gale
Kasey & Ren
Seo & Eliza
Hana & Jun
Alex & Kyriss
Fen & Pascal
Katsura & Kaname

Nicon, Makelo and Lysagora are here already, waiting, and also dressed up. Lysagora is wearing an elaborate black gown with a skirt that has a train, but is cut high at the front, letting the golden eyes on her legs watch you as you step in. Her mask is on, though there are feathers in the dark curls piled on her head. Makelo's hair is braided slickly down the side; he looks very sharply attractive in a formal black tuxedo.

Nicon stands out wearing white edged with gold, his soft brown hair back in its high ponytail again. He's fidgeting, but smiling broadly. All three of them are wearing the jewellery that Fen made for them.

"Well . . . good job, everybody! You did it. I hope—well, I definitely think that everything went a little differently from expectations that . . . anybody had, really. But in the end—I hope this was a pleasant experience for you. It definitely was for me, and I learned—I learned a lot. Really, a lot."

Nicon pauses, glancing around at everyone. "So . . . from here on out. We did say we'd grant a favor at the end, so please talk to us about whatever it is you'd like, and we'll do our very best to help. And it's not really restricted to just one thing, or you don't have to—choose between just being able to see each other, or asking for something else. Honestly, I'd like to think—we'd just want to do what we can for everybody, in the best of faith."

"Wherever you go or whatever you do after this, it's totally up to you. I'd like to think that the partners that we've suggested for you will be people that will be a positive feature in your lives from now on. But I also know it doesn't stop there. Um, that is to say—fate does play a part in peoples' lives but it's also up to you what you choose to do along the way. And who you want to have in your lives."

"So anyway—for tonight, I hope this will be something nice for you. And thank you for being here with us."

[ flowers ]
One of the tables is just completely covered in flowers. Each has a little tag denoting a potential meaning. You're encouraged to hand out flowers to those of your choice—one, two, entire bouquets, it's up to you. There are also green flowers—more like buds, really—that are unlabelled, to let you apply whatever meaning you think you'd like to communicate but hasn't been covered. Or use your words, really . . . these are just to help get the conversations started.

❀ "I want to see you again" <font size="5" color="#99CC33" title="I want to see you again">❀</font>	❀ "I want to stay by your side" <font size="5" color="#FF0A85" title="I want to stay by your side">❀</font>	❀ "I'm happy I met you" <font size="5" color="#ECD070" title="I'm happy I met you">❀</font>
❀ "I would kill for you" <font size="5" color="#FF001A" title="I would kill for you">❀</font>	❀ "I love you or could fall in love with you" <font size="5" color="#FF6699" title="I love you or could fall in love with you">❀</font>	❀ "You're my family" <font size="5" color="#B4045F" title="You're my family">❀</font>
❀ "I would have sex with you" <font size="5" color="#FFB5C5" title="I would have sex with you">❀</font>	❀ "I would date you" <font size="5" color="#FA58F4" title="I would date you">❀</font>	❀ "I would kiss you" <font size="5" color="#BC00F5" title="I would kiss you">❀</font>
❀ "I would flirt with you" <font size="5" color="#AC58FA" title="I would flirt with you">❀</font>	❀ "I would hug you or hold your hand" <font size="5" color="#784BFF" title="I would hug you or hold your hand">❀</font>	❀ "I respect you" <font size="5" color="#660099" title="I respect you">❀</font>
❀ "I would rescue you or fight by your side" <font size="5" color="#0404B4" title="I would rescue you or fight by your side">❀</font>	❀ "You are my friend" <font size="5" color="#2E64FE" title="You are my friend">❀</font>	❀ "I would spend time, have fun, or be friends with you" <font size="5" color="#AAAAFF" title="I would spend time, have fun, or be friends with you">❀</font>
❀ "I would like to get to know you better" <font size="5" color="##58ACFA" title="I would like to get to know you better">❀</font>	❀ "You amuse me" <font size="5" color="#00FFFF" title="You amuse me">❀</font>	❀ "You confuse me or I'm confused about you" <font size="5" color="#088A68" title="You confuse me or I'm confused about you">❀</font>
❀ "You unsettle or frustrate me" <font size="5" color="#4C6120" title="You unsettle or frustrate me">❀</font>	❀ "I would tease you or make fun of you" <font size="5" color="#009933" title="I would tease you or make fun of you">❀</font>	❀ "???" <font size="5" color="#00C700" title="???">❀</font>

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Lysagora is the one tallying today, her mask pulled down over her face.]

"It looks like . . . you're getting very close. Perhaps we'll be saying goodbye soon?"

The votes were:
Eliza & Seo
Jun & Morgen
Russi & Katsura
Kyriss & Alex
Gale & Asato
Ren & Kasey
Pascal & Fen
Kaname & Hana

[She snips through only three of them. Five are correct, and left uncut.]

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 16, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 5PM PST on Thursday!]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Nicon has the scissors again.]

"I see you've figured a few things out, at least. I think it's getting exciting?"

The votes were:
Asato & Gale
Morgen & Pascal
Hana & Kyriss
Seo & Eliza
Katsura & Ren
Alex & Jun
Kasey & Russi
Fen & Kaname

[There are two threads left uncut. I mean, of course there are.]

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 14, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 8PM PST on Wednesday!]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Nicon is fidgeting with the scissors today, looking thoughtful.]

"Oh . . . I see what strategy you're going for. Well, I'll be interested to see what you make of this."

The votes were:
Jun & Katsura
Ren & Seo
Kyriss & Asato
Russi & Hana
Eliza & Kasey
Pascal & Alex
Gale & Morgen
Kaname & Fen

[Nicon snips all of the threads clean through.]

"I'm not sure if that's the result you were hoping for or not . . . Hey, don't give up! These things do get easier the more information you have to work with, after all!"

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 11, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 8PM PST on Wednesday!]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Makelo is twirling the scissors around one finger, grinning.]

"Ready for the big reveal?"

The votes were:
Katsura & Pascal
Morgen & Ren
Alex & Jun
Hana & Eliza
Kasey & Russi
Fen & Kyriss
Asato & Kaname
Seo & Gale

[Makelo doesn't even bother to cut them individually. He grabs them in a fist full and snips them all at once, grinding the blades through.]

... because there are zero correct votes.]

"Whoops... too bad."

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 10, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 8PM PST on Wednesday!]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Nicon is the one with the scissors today.]

"I'm interested to see if you'll change up your strategies after this. Well, good luck, everybody. Remember, we'll tell you how many you got right, but not who."

The votes were:
Gale & Katsura
Eliza & Morgen
Jun & Kasey
Ren & Asato
Pascal & Fen
Kyriss & Seo
Russi & Hana
Viola & Roz
Kaname & Alex

[Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip...

... oops, just two correct votes.]

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 8, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 8PM PST on Wednesday! THIS IS NEW.]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Lysagora, holding a pair of scissors, is the one taking care of the list today.]

"Ah... I'll cut one thread for each vote that's incorrect. However many you have left, that's the number you had right. What you do with that information after that is up to you. Remember, this isn't in any particular order. We're not going to tell you who was correct, um, generally speaking..."

The votes were:
Morgen & Ren
Katsura & Jun
Fen & Kyriss
Seo & Eliza
Hana & Russi
Alex & Pascal
Asato & Gale
Roz & Viola
Lizbeth & Anna
Kasey & Kaname

[Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip...

... nice, you have four correct guesses; four threads remain whole.]

Lysagora stops and admires this, as if she hadn't just done it personally. "Oh... That's much better than the first round. Everyone's obviously doing a lot of work... ah, we're also going to confirm one of these for you. Lisbeth and Anna are a match—so they're moving on. They'll meet up with you after the game... or you'll see them sooner if you find your own match and get it confirmed. We're only going to give you a bonus this once, though. Everything else stays the same after this."

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 6, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 7PM PST on Thursday!]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Ten golden threads unfold and sway down from the ceiling after your votes have been tallied. Nicon, holding a pair of scissors, considers the list for a long moment.]

"We'll cut one thread for each vote that's incorrect. However many you have left, that's the number you had right! What you do with that information after that is up to you. Remember, this isn't in any particular order. We're not going to tell you who was correct . . ."

The votes were:
Jun & Hana
Kyriss & Roz
Russi & Katsura
Pascal & Asato
Eliza & Kasey
Ren & Seo
Gale & Fen
Anna & Morgen
Kaname & Alex
Viola & Lisbeth

[Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip. Snip . . .

Nicon pauses at the last string, miming as if to cut it, then pauses, giving them a little grin ;D and withdraws, leaving it alone.

. . . which means you have one correct guess. One thread remains whole.]

"Ah. Maybe next time you'll get more? Today, though, you need to decide as a group who you think is the most likely possible match. You could choose someone not in the list from yesterday, or you could try to confirm which one of those you got right. It's up to you!"

"A piece of advice—maybe you shouldn't be focusing so much on dating and romance and sexual chemistry? That sort of thing is all well and nice, and in some cases, sure, that definitely seems like it will work out, but that's not everything. Think a little about what you need, about balance, and not just what you click with immediately. Not just what you want."

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]

• This is a write-in poll for ease, but please format it as White/Black, using the names in the list.
  
• Responses can be changed at any point up until the deadline, so feel free to throw in a suggested vote just to get the conversation going. These are visible ICly at all times and you can assume you know who is voting for who.
  
• You can vote for a pair that you yourself are in.
  
• The cutoff time for this poll is "Day 4, morning" ICly, so you have the full day, evening & night to get up to talk to each other more! [The OOC deadline is 7PM PST on Thursday!]
  
• You might also want to start planning ahead for who you're going to pair off with in the follow-up poll.
  
  [ from last post: ideal relationships ❤ talent show signups ❤ matchup spreadsheets ]
  
  [ full rules ❤ setting ❤ talk to the deities ]

[Jeez, you guys are really enthusiastic about all this, huh? Well, there's a very happy deer somewhere that's taking a lot of notes.

The sun has set and the stars are out—it's a new moon tonight . . .

[ the teams ]

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

[ the poll ]
[ tonight ]
[You'll probably want to discuss the first votes a little more, since the results for the first night will come along with breakfast tomorrow morning (7PST Thursday) . . . but after that, maybe finding a quiet place to sleep—together, or separately.]

[ full rules ❤ setting ❤ ic questions ]

[previous post top-level only ❤ ooc threads ❤ prompt ❤ deities]

You're quite certain why and how you've come here—you accepted an invitation to participate in a game for the chance to win a reward from the Deities that have invited you. There are probably some questions that cross your mind (why me? how did I get invited? shouldn't I have hesitated? isn't this kind of weird?) but let's just say you've made your peace with that for now. After all, there are more important things to focus on.

You step into the entranceway of what appears to be some kind of mansion or grand palace, braced with wide pillars, open in design and overlooking the sea. If you can't "step", you'll find that there are small canals of water everywhere, letting you get from one place to the other, with the occasional resting pool. The weather is mild, and you're high up on rocky island, with a long stretch of white sandy beach and blue-green water as far as the eye can see.

[ the deities ]
In the center of the main area, there is a high dais, on which there are three statues entwined together: a gold bird with its wings spread wide, a silver fish twisting with a flash of fins, and an elegant bronze stag. As the twenty of you assemble, the air seems to flicker, and three humanoid figures are facing you.

To the left: an stately woman with long dark hair and unwavering gold eyes. She's wearing a mask fashioned like an owl, though it's hard to tell where the mask ends and the feathers that blend into her tumbling curls begin. There are two small fluffy white wings tucked against her shoulder blades. She wears an elaborate white-and-cream and gold-themed dress with a high collar and heavy embroidered sleeves, but her skirt is short and her legs are bare—covered in dozens of glittering gold eye-shape tattoos that sometimes swivel and blink.

To the right: a tall, slim man with several feet of long, sheet-straight silver hair that looks like actual metal and ripples like silk when he walks, shaved on one side. His skin is pale, and he has a too-wide smile with sharklike teeth. His eyes are sky blue, and he's dressed all in black, a form-fitting tank top and slim, tight pants, with a sweeping cape-like train that drags on the ground, patterned with embroidered waves. His arms are bare, and both they and his forehead glimmer with silver-blue scales.

In the center is the shortest of the three—if you don't count the impressive pair of antlers. He has wavy brown hair that is bound up in a high ponytail, with a pair of velvety deer ears tucked in that fluffy hair, as well as a pointed pair of human ears in the usual human ear place. His skin is golden-brown, with white blotches of freckles on his cheeks and hands where his skin is visible.

He's the one who steps forward to meet you, wearing a floor-length white coat over an outfit somewhat like this, a little plainer than the other two. The jacket is patterned along the edges with bronze imprints like leaves, but otherwise faintly resembles a labcoat in style, and slightly covers the fact that his lower legs seem to be built at an odd angle.

He smiles cheerfully, wide gray eyes fixed on you unblinkingly, earnest.

[ the rules ]
"Welcome, everyone! Please, make yourself at home. I'm really glad you've come. I'm sure you already have a pretty good idea of what the next few days will include, but I'll go over it quickly in case you have any questions! Otherwise, please go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. We'll be starting right away!"

"My name is Nicon. This is Lysagora, and Makelo. You all have nametags for now, though you can take them off if you'd like later, once you get to know each other. It's just important, since you've been separated into two teams:"

Makelo, the silver-haired one, lazily lifts a hand to display a glittering "scoreboard" on one blank wall:

White	Black
Hana	Viola
Katsura	Anna
Alex	Pascal
Kasey	Gale
Lisbeth	Russi
Morgen	Jun
Seo	Eliza
Roz	Kyriss
Fen	Kaname
Asato	Ren

"The game itself is pretty easy," Nicon continues, quick-talking and enthused. "Just spend some time on the island talking to and getting to know each other. There's one person on the team opposite from yours that you're bonded to, soulbonded. They're your match! It's up to everyone here to try to figure out who everyone's matches are, so you can't just look out for yourself. I mean, start there, but get to know the people even on your own team so you can, you know—"

Makelo had been yawning, one hand only half-covering a double-row of sharp teeth, but the moment he's done with that he begins speaking over Nicon until Nicon falters to a stop. "Right, play the actual game part. At the end of the first day, we want every one of you to put in a guess for which two people you think are most likely to be matched. By "matched," what our enthusiastic Nicon here means is you're the most compatible—be it friendship or something else, you've got the right traits to get along the best, or fill a spot in each other's life that needs filling."

"Two pieces of a puzzle," Lysagora offers up. Nothing else—she lets Makelo keep going.

"Sure," Makelo shrugs. "So, your goal on the first night is to vote for who you think that pair should be. At the end of the day, we'll confirm if you're right. If you are, that pair gets to sit out and treat the rest of this as a vacation, and your pool gets narrowed down, which is good news for you. If not, at least you've got that information and can cross that possibility off your list."

He pauses just long enough that Nicon opens his mouth to begin again—then speaks over him anyway. "So, my darlings, make sure you chat and get to know each other. On the second day, everyone needs to pair up and pick who you think your match is. At the end of that day, we'll tell you how many you got right. Day three will be a repeat of day one, and we'll keep repeating for up to ten cycles until you either have everyone paired off successfully, or . . . you run out of time." His drawling voice makes that sound a little ominous.

"Of course, nothing will happen to you if you don't win!" Nicon pipes up hurriedly. "We'll just let you go home. But we're really hoping that you do well. So please, do your best!"

[ full rules ❤ setting ❤ ic questions ]

[ Please go ahead and make a toplevel whenever you're ready to jump in! Please use the subject line "Character Name | Player Plurk" to start. Remember to join the Discord chan, and please make sure you do not have any character information, personality, old threads etc unlocked in your journal. Brief descriptions of appearances and permissions/warnings are encouraged. ]

[ Since this post is so busy, there will be a new post on Tuesday where you can vote for who you think the first Best Match is. This first poll will then close Thursday @ 7PST. ]