Day Two
Today's agenda is a group activity and then one-on-ones. Two teams of three each get to play cards with Lady Iden. Then, each suitor gets some alone time with her. They'll play two hours of chess and test out some flirts. Any remaining time in each block will be a free will zone. The scoring formula will be nearly the same as Day One's.
The lower-ranked three men get first crack. Charlotte kicks it off by asking each of the men to name something they like:
Felix: I like bread!
Avery: I'm a windmill man.
Robert: Our wedding.
Charlotte: Swing and a miss, Robert.
The game progresses without much ado. There's some chatter about jails/dungeons, death, and flails. Avery makes the mistake of winning the first hand.
Robert: Psst, Felix. He's a dead man.
And then Felix dares to win the second hand.
Charlotte: You're a dead man.
The lower-tier game ends quickly thereafter. Leon, Thomas, and Florizel get to play the second game. Their game was actually less exciting than the first. At least they had the good sense to let Charlotte win a hand.
Charlotte: This is why you three are leading, this right here. Although, I'm beginning to think the sucking-up could be better. How about you all call me 'Your Majesty' from now on?
Leon laughs and Florizel won't make eye contact. That's probably the for the best, lest he remind her that he's technically due a 'Your Highness' now and then. Thomas...
Thomas: If I must, I will slay a pack of wolves and dance on hot coals to fulfill this important request, Your Majesty.
Charlotte also wins the second hand, but the third...
Charlotte: Will you be needing a compass to find your way home, Leon? I know of five men who would gladly shove it up your-
Leon: I like hangings!
Florizel: Nice save, slick.
Next up are the one-on-ones! Again, the order is from low to high, so Avery gets to go first.
Rather than share loads of pictures from six dates, I'm going to recap most of the topics covered in each date. Avery shares that he likes musical instruments, siege engines, catapults, and...
Flails. More to come on oddly violent topics. Charlotte brings up magic and knights on horses - two more recurring themes. Either she's got a romantic side or she wants them to compete in a wizard's joust. The game ends soon thereafter. Avery has only two flirts available: charm and suggestion. He accepts both for a quick ten points and then has nearly a half hour of free will. There is some hugging and flirting, but then he takes a big chance:
Which pays off! They part on good terms (and pink hearts). Felix is up next, and it's a bit of a boring time for me, though not for them. They seem to agree on every topic: royalty, castles, farming, villages...
Felix: Your Majesty is an excellent conversationalist.
Three flirts (charm, suggestion, and sweet talk) are available for Felix at the end of the chess match. He nails all three in the most adorkable manner possible.
Charlotte finds it all quite endearing, and she now has a crush on Felix, too. He scores two hugs (one romantic), hand-holding, and a nice gossip about Aurelio before his time is up. Felix seems to be making up for lost ground here. And that's good, because Robert is up next, and he's no lightweight.
Robert: I like your gown. It's certainly worth the time you must spend ironing it.
Charlotte: Do I look like I iron my own clothes, you imbecile?! I'm the Hereditary High Magistrate. I don't do housework. In fact, if either of us is going to do laundry, it'll be you. I hope you know how to remove ink stains from silk, Cinderella.
They recover from this with some talk about gold, catapults, snow, more knights, and mermaids. Flirt-time is rich with possibilities: charm, suggestion, sweet talk, hold hands, and caress. He could score twenty-five points here!
But he doesn't. Caress, which I honestly think gets rejected way more than some 'higher' flirts, proves to be too much for Robert to handle. And after all those actions, he only has a few Sim minutes to make up for it:
Uh, I don't know if that's making up for it. He seemingly congratulates her for being hot, and then she reciprocates. Robert's done well today (four flirts and a crush!) but this relationship has a weird vibe to it. Let's see if Thomas can change the tone.
More flails?? Hm... They also agree on market stalls, knights, catapults, and fortune tellers, but they disagree on forests. To be fair, Thomas hasn't read Naroni, so he doesn't know about the magical properties of Sim forests. After the match, Lady Iden gets to try her luck with charm, suggestion, sweet talk, and hold hands. Thomas, like Felix, is extremely shy, so will he hold up?
Like a boss. An adorkable boss. Free will goes on...
Holy. Shit. (That's his bubble, not hers, but still!)
Florizel, currently in second, gets the second-to-last date. He, like Thomas, agrees with Charlotte on just about everything: siege engines, knights, swords, heraldry, and, naturally...
Florizel: ... your natural majesty, Your Majesty.
Surprisingly, though Florizel is only a one-bolter, he has the same four flirts available as Thomas. He nails them and then does pretty well for himself in free-will mode.
Florizel: I believe you will find royal arms to be superior arms. Notice how my hand can push clear through your legs without harming you!
So far, everyone is doing really well! Leon's going to have to perform really well if he wants to stay in first place.
Leon: Against those clowns? No sweat.
Charlotte doesn't considers the others clowns, but she goes on to agree with Leon on jesters, archery, handcuffs, dungeons, keys, more handcuffs, axes, more axes, flails, and...
Oooookay, then.
Leon is not about to be outdone; he has seven options - the five we saw with Robert plus serenade and goose. I am not at all sure we'll get to those, since it's only right to make him go through caress even if I rate it as more dangerous than serenade, at least.
Leon: Silly Creator. I'm up for anything! Anything.
Seven flirts more than ate up the rest of Leon's time, bringing us to the end of Day Two. It was a good day for everyone. Nobody really deserves to be sent home, but those are the rules. I know who I would pick to go, so let's see if our bachelorette agrees.
That black square is not because I was too lazy to move out Aurelio and made him stand by the mailbox all day, not at all. Definitely not that.
Lifetime Relationship + (Daily Relationship x 0.5) + (Number of Bolts x 3) + (Successful Flirts x 5) + 5 Points for Crush OR 10 Points for Love
Leon: 59 + 0.5(100) + 3(3) + 5(7) + 5 = 158
Florizel: 50 + 0.5(100) + 3(1) + 5(4) + 5 = 128
Thomas: 46 + 0.5(100) + 3(2) + 5(4) + 5 = 127
Robert: 42 + 0.5(100) + 3(3) + 5(4) + 5 = 126
Felix: 46 + 0.5(100) + 3(2) + 5(3) + 5 = 122
Avery: 44 + 0.5(91) + 3(1) + 5(2) + 5 = 107.5
Leon is clearly still the favorite. Early success and superb chemistry let him clean up on those flirt points. Florizel surprised me by keeping second place! His chemistry isn't impressive, but he's playing the all-around card to its best advantage. Thomas, Robert, and Felix are hot on his heels, though, and all have more bolts than he does. It's interesting to note that while Robert is only a point behind Thomas, he essentially starts Day Three in last place; with the flirt bonuses removed, he's a point behind Felix.
However, Day Three is going to bring some new elements to the challenge that may shake up the standings! But, first, the sad business of kicking Avery to the curb:
Charlotte: You have no idea how difficult it is for me to say this, but I'm pleased that I don't have to execute you. Also difficult to say: I had fun with you. I'm not generally into fun. But I do need more than good times out of my husband. My first husband, anyway.
Avery: I understand. If he happens to die, though...
Charlotte: I'll keep you in mind, landlubber. Don't fall into the brine on any voyages.
Avery: Damn it, I hate sailing.
Day Three goes up after I finish the next In Verona, which should be by Monday.
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