Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mechanical Voice-Kun
Group Date Theme

As the people answered, a small celebratory jingle followed, and shaking metal followed as the chains on the door fell away, opening for the guests coming through. Beyond lay a myriad of hallways, left to let them wander about and consider the repercussions of their previous choices. Just when the sensation that the hallways might be a maze began to set in however, another pair of white and pink doors appeared ahead of them, the lover's gazes turned in various directions now, as if they themselves had begun the search that embodied the participant's desires.

"Ah, you are here already, I say in surprise. Since you have chosen to seek your destined partner, let us proceed eagerly with sweaty palms."

Mechanical Voice-Kun
Group Date Theme

The doors opened wide at their response, and what lay beyond was a large room for them to wander through, though it's decor held it's own merits. In the centers were large Cupid-esque figures straddling golden horses, and with the tick of the clock each turned at ninety degree angles and fired off Arrows of Love in the various directions. The eyes of the statues glowed a bright gold which seemed just a little unsettling, and those arrows looked slightly dangerous, but this was merely an event at a festival, so it must have all been staged...right? Even if they considered the thought further, there was little to be gained from analyzing the strange design of the place, and there were plenty of hearts and pink symbols to remind them it was a place of love. Though, how they managed to fit this much stuff into a single room...floor? Of this school was beyond understanding with a simple eye test. As they reached the next door, a pink lacey bow wrapped around the handle foretold of the voice to come, and the question that would decide their fate that it would pose to them.

"Welcome again, Stray Sheep. These questions are intended to find your destined partner. Some may even say that life is a series of questions and answers. How you answer may decide whether they will have a long life full of love, or you may choose another path entirely. With that thought still fresh in your minds, you decide to proceed to the dreaded question 3."

Mechanical Voice-Kun
Group Date Theme

As the final answer came, the room went dark. "Now then, it is time to decide your destined partner. But before we do, allow me to go over the previous questions. ... on second thought, you can do that. They are all in your previous posts. Your destined partner is..." A drumroll began in the darkness, and suddenly a spotlight appeared in the grand final hall. The spotlight moved around the large heavenly garden and passed over many faces...men...women...dogs...beardogs...barracudas...a demon...Tala was in there somewhere...until it finally stopped on...

Rainbow's Destined Partner - Kanji Tatsumi

Suddenly the floor gave out under them, the final question answered; the little lambs went tumbling down onto the Walk of Fate, and on to the path to marital happiness!

"This is the Walk of Fate. Here is where you will be united with your destined partner, sharing love and hardship, until you pass happily into eternal bliss. You are free to step forth hand-in-hand, curiosity and fear in your hearts, or you can refrain. Suddenly, all in attendance hear an announcement. Up ahead, they see a bride and groom’s joyous commemorative photograph of love. They confer between them whether to look at it, or ignore it.”"

Now that the two noticed it, their hands were bound together by some inexplicable force! And asking if you could refrain only led to the line repeating. It seemed the only answer was to proceed forward...but what awaited them at the end of this path? Eternal bliss, apparently.

Mechanical Voice-Kun
Group Date Theme

"You may now choose to proceed, or you could choose not to. There are snacks ahead, which I can not share with you. ..."

An awkward silence followed, as if the voice were asking them not to take a break and snack without him, that they quickly move on to the next room so he wouldn't be left alone. B-but, it was just a voice! What were they thinking? Ahead of them were a set of stairs, adorned with roses along the edge of the pathway, but before that there was a table covered in a lacey white cloth, with a hot tea kettle and cups already prepared for the guests. If they wished to stop before proceeding, it was apparently possible, and snacks were set beside the fresh drinks in order to provide a relaxing stop for anyone who wished to contemplate their answers so far.

But when they climbed the rose-lined stairs and passed over the petal-covered floors, they found that what lay further beyond the destined path was not simply their destined partners, but also the kind, Mechanical Voice who was there to guide them along on their journey. He would only assist them, and hopefully, one day they could all be friends. Or not.

“Some people believe that love is a self-fulfilling wish. Because you wish to meet your destined partner, you find them. But if you don't look for them, you might also find them. That is thanks to the help of those closest to you." ...he was clearly speaking about himself. "Now then, let us hasten towards Question Number 4."

Mechanical Voice-Kun
Group Date Theme

"A straightforward answer. Perhaps you already have someone in mind, I humbly remark. It has been said that life is like a dungeon full of blocks to be climbed; that blond girl is a succubus, you've been had."

What did that even...blond girl!? Succubus!? It was true that there were some pretty bad relationships between high school students, but still, to include a line about blood-sucking demon-women seemed like kind of an adult topic for this sort of cushy setting. The chains broke and the door creaked open, revealing the hallway beyond. Anyone would be a little hesitant at this point; they'd been surrounded by so much fluffy pink designer fair that even Yukari Takeba would have gotten sick of it all. But ahead of them were more strange garnishments for this place, and the amazing maze continued. There were spikes made out of foam lining the walkways as if stepping off the beaten path might hurt, though they were of course soft to the touch, and the spinning statues were here or there to remind them that cupid was shooting his arrows, and setting his sights, and-

"There are ten questions. Thank you for asking. Quite a bit of work went into these, so please continue to answer with renewed vigor and wondrous resolve."

...t-that was per-recorded, right? But how did they know!? No time to know, on with the show!

“Destiny faces countless ordeals. It coheres and dissolves, and vice versa. As time moves on, it takes new form. Where your destiny will take you next…is the highly anticipated question number 5.”