Fall Ball 2021 Matchmaking Booth

The day Liana had been looking forward to for over a month with the greatest of expectations was getting worse and worse with every passing minute, it seemed. She had hoped to have an interesting evening with her date - it turned out she did not have a date. She had hoped to have a few pleasant dances - it didn't seem like she would be dancing today. She had hoped the weather would not be as it had been forecast - the weather was exactly as it was forecast, if not worse. As she hurried to the Matchmaking Booth along with her peers, her pricey dress was getting soaked through by the intense rainfall, and her carefully brushed hair was turning into a wet disheveled mess. And it was cold; so, so horribly cold. The chilly wind biting through her damp garment was agonizing to her skin, and seemed to pierce her to the very bones.

Finally entering the shelter they had been headed for gave them a respite from the rain and the wind, but the damage was already done. Liana was positively freezing by then, her whole body shivering quite uncontrollably. She had started the ball looking like a fairy tale princess, and was now more similar to a homeless puppy that had just been saved from drowning. The evening had only just begun, too - she did not want to think where it would take her by the end. Leaving early seemed like a spectacular idea right about now, but it would entail going back out from the relative warmth and security of the shabby tent. And probably heading through the dusky, stormy grounds alone, if nobody wanted to accompany her back to the castle. She was by no means scared of the dark, but when the weather was wreaking havoc everywhere, it was rather dangerous to set out alone - if something happened, no help would come.

''Should have used the Umbrella Charm,'' she murmured, mostly to herself, as she looked down at her dress that was sticking to her legs. It was a good thing she had not used any makeup, or her face would look like something out of a horror story now.

Avery was bragging about having taken part in designing the place - and it did look like an eleven-year-old boy with no inkling as to what 'romance' was had picked out the interior decorations, really. She supposed the idea was to try and merge a Valentine's Day activity with a Halloween-themed look. Which didn't at all correspond to the activity that the actual harvest festival had. ''We took inspiration from the actual Gaelic Samhain festival, and one of the traditional activities there is matchmaking,'' she explained, jumping into her educational mode mostly for the purpose of distracting herself from the way she felt, and others from the way she looked. ''It's originally done by having the couple put two nuts by the fire, and if one or both of them pop, the relationship is not meant to be. Of course we can't very well have an unsupervised fire going, so it was replaced with another sort of divination - this book.''

The redhead watched Maggie write into the book, mildly curious as to what it would say. Could this tome be a really powerful artefact that foresaw the future of a given relationship? Well, that was unlikely. But would it make for a diverting game to scribble into it and get a customized response? For sure. ''It will say we're going to remain best of friends throughout the years, of course,'' she said, sounding far more certain than she was. Hopefully, if the answer was not so positive, Maggie would just take it with a grain of salt.

Since it was her turn in their little queue at the book, Liana stepped up to it, picking up the quill and writing two names. Her usually neat handwriting was somewhat lacking today, thanks to her whole body trembling with the cold and her hands feeling like they were frozen stiff. Perhaps the book would be able to guess why Gray was being so nasty to her.

Your name: Liana Kerr
Counterpart’s name: Matthew Gray
What kind of relationship is your character hoping for? Negative, to say the least. Liana despises Matthew at the moment, but still wants some insight as to why he tricked her the way he did when she was trying to be amicable towards him.

Action: Writing in the book.

Inventory: Purse; wand, small book, hairbrush, and pocket mirror inside said purse.

Avery Chen would hastily scribble into the book, and was soon greeted by a warm breeze that tickled the feathers of the dreamcatchers hanging from the tent. Was that a good sign?

Words appeared upon the page, swiftly and confidently:

"The two of you may detest each other now, but your relationship will ultimately be defined by a tight bond of friendship in the years to come. It is said that those who fight and show vulnerability will grow closer in the end. The two of you squabble like siblings, do you not? I foresee a day in which you will be the first to let go of your feelings of enmity, apologize, and reach out for a truce. From there onwards, your friendship shall be amicable, and those negative feelings will dissolve as you begin anew on the path to great friendship. The strength of your bond is tight enough to banish enmity and revert to friendship. Congratulations!"

The dolls, as if knowing that the Tome's unexpected response would make things a bit awkward, glanced left and right and down and up -- anywhere, really -- to avoid eye contact. It seemed that the boy who was the entry writer would submit first in this rivalry, so the dolls would do anything to avoid the his gaze.

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Charles Alluring (@Henry Knight) would successfully toss the Tome to his friend, Drew, as Cassie did not have enough time to attempt to snatch the book from Charles' hands or intercept the toss. Would Drew submit his own entry now?

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@Vale Ashwood was impressed by this shabby, creepy tent. It seemed that it was right up her alley, if not anyone else's. Perhaps Avery and Vale had more taste in common than one would think.

As she submitted her entry within the Tome, a similarly warm breeze blew through the air, ruffling the feathers on the dreamcatchers and clinking the talismans. Cursive script inscribed the following:

"Ah, a good friendship is blossoming, indeed! What is that? Do I see that you are a bit lonely, now? Dear girl, all the dolls in the world will surely not replace the friendship of a fellow human, with which to laugh, play, and discuss your innermost thoughts, and to connect with on a deeper plane! Here is a friendship in which you will share the many emotions of life! And perhaps revel in a bit of chaos together."

With that, the dolls let out a little sigh, finally relieving their tension upon hearing some news that was actually good for everyone involved.

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@Liana Kerr, sopping wet with a fresh wound still upon her mind, wrote down two names with trembling hands. The poor girl looked like she needed some reassurance today. Would the Tome's response really make her feel better? We shall see what the cheeky book had to offer.

The air remained stale and lukewarm except for the incense that burned. Finally, cursive writing appeared on the page below:

"The two of you will hardly be friends. Polite and cold acquaintances at most. You have been played, my poor girl! A boy who is so self-assured and destined to become so handsome cannot possibly be trusted, as I have said for centuries (unless they receive a golden match, of course). He merely wanted attention to seem like the most popular boy around, and he used you. Please be wary of boys of this type and grow more brains in the future, for your own sake. The mysterious, handsome types are the most calculating."

The dolls nodded at the Tome's sage advice, fully trusting and agreeing with what had been written. Without a doubt.