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texanredrose · 7 years

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Celebrity Matchmaker (Part 1)

Okay, so, first off: just in case anyone’s in the television business or interested in that field or... basically anything of the sort, let me say this now. The framework of this story is centered around a reality television show, and it would be an absolutely terrible idea to make this a real thing. And amoral. And it would make you an asshole. I’m an asshole for coming up with it. Don’t be that asshole who tries to make this a real thing. Seriously. Don’t. I will pull a Liam Neeson in a fucking heartbeat.

Next, this is a bit... different than what I normally write. Romantic relationships are tagged a bit differently than usual and you’ll soon see why; there are a few segments where it’s Weiss in one-on-one situations with other characters, so they’re tagged according to pairing. However, the overall focus of the fic is Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha, and Yang, so that’s also tagged. It more makes sense the further into the story you go.

Finally, the story is complete (thank God) and will post every day, same time, until done. Nine parts in all.

@moonwatcher13, hope you enjoy this ridiculousness, and thank you for the suggestion to begin with.

Part 1 (here) / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8

Weiss took a deep breath, trying to convince herself it was a calming gesture despite the myriad of thoughts rattling around in her brain. In just a few moments, they would be live, on air for the season finale of Celebrity Matchmaker, and while it meant she was one step closer to being free... it also meant she was one step closer to being married. She still couldn't believe her father had backed her into this corner but it would all be over soon. The moment the cameras stopped rolling, she would be a free woman... assuming, of course, her fiance didn't have some secret pact with the man.

Which, honestly, she doubted, to the point the thought was actually quite amusing. Of the three finalists vying for her affections, none seemed the type to put up with her father's overbearing, manipulative antics for long, and at least two would be more likely to bodily remove him from the premises than tolerate his behavior. Perhaps all three, which was a comforting thought.

Suddenly, the show's host beside her straightened, bringing Weiss' attention to the man standing behind the camera doing a silent countdown until they were live, the audience in the stands behind him falling quiet as everything came down to the next hour- counting commercial breaks, of course- where her fate would be decided.

As if that wasn’t nerve wracking enough, making such a difficult choice, she had to do so in front of an on-location audience and all of Remnant watching in real time.

Wonderful.

"Welcome, Remnant, to the live finale of Celebrity Matchmaker!" The woman beside her gave a charismatic smile towards the camera and audience, waiting for the applause and hollering to die down before continuing. "I'm your host for this season, Coco Adel, and, as I'm sure we're all aware, the Romantic Lead from Season Two!" For a moment, the woman's professionalism slipped, smile stretching wider as pure joy shone through. "I'm happy to announce that Velvet is doing just fine, she's happy to hear I'll be coming home soon, and, with any luck, this season's Romantic Lead will find just as much happiness in less than an hour’s time. Everyone, put your hands together for Miss- soon to be Missus- Weiss Schnee!"

Reacting to her cue, she flashed a dazzling smile towards the audience. At the onset of the season- some sixteen weeks ago- the running theory was that, as an award nominated actress with more wins under her belt than some twice her age, her smiles were largely faked for the sake of the audience. Frankly, it wasn't entirely untrue; she wasn't a fan of being forced into the situation and the first few weeks suffering a battery of meeting twenty different suitors was nearly a nightmare for someone who preferred the solitude of her study whenever she wasn't filming. However, that changed, especially in recent weeks.

"So, tell us, Weiss- are you excited?" Coco turned those sharp brown eyes her way, naturally turning her body slightly so the shot felt organic. Although a fashion designed by trade, the woman had an innate understanding of aesthetic that transferred surprisingly well to the small screen. In part, it’s what made her such a compelling lead for the previous season of the show and Weiss had to admit an admiration for the woman’s professionalism. "It's finally the big night."

"Excited is one way of putting it, but I'm also nervous," she replied, and it was such a well scripted response that most probably wouldn't be able to tell she was being entirely sincere. The only people who’d stand a chance at deducing such weren’t on set... yet. "I mean, I've spent sixteen weeks here in the manor, getting to know everyone. It's certainly been an experience."

That was putting things lightly. Aside from scheduled 'downtime' for candid footage, every week held some sort of challenge, some new obstacle for her aspiring candidates to overcome and improve their chances of making it to the next week. They ranged from personal trivia to physical challenges, all to impress either her or the audience watching at home. At first, the constant parading exhausted her, but as the contestants' numbers fell, she began to enjoy some of the interactions. When they dwindled further, it turned into a majority... which didn't exactly bode well for her.

"That's right, sixteen weeks narrowing it down from twenty people all vying for your affections, and now we have three finalists left." Coco turned back towards the camera, the audience beyond cheering at the progress made. "We'll introduce them in a second, but first! Please welcome back to the Celebrity Matchmaker Manor the seventeen who didn't make the cut."

As the eliminated contestants paraded themselves by the audience and the cameras, taking their seats a little ways off, Weiss allowed her mind to drift. It seemed ridiculous that she'd spent four months inside the spacious manor behind them, living alongside these women, but truth was stranger than fiction, it seemed. They ranged across the board, from television stars, sports athletes, artists, and even a few online celebrities, and it certainly helped broaden her horizons on a few fronts. However, she learned most from and about the three finalists preparing for their big introductions, and it took a conscious effort not to start fussing over her dress.

It looked nice enough, for a modern spin on the wedding dress. Less overtly formal but still holding a few lingering touches- the whole design courtesy of the fashion designer hosting this season, of course. Pure white, with lace and pearls, but slimming and lacking a veil; the whole premise of the show was for her to marry whoever she- and Remnant- chose out of the twenty contestants, of course, so it stood to reason the finale should be shot with her wearing something resembling a wedding dress. But, it certainly did nothing to soothe her nerves, hidden beneath a pleasant smile only by years of conditioning.

If someone had told her at the beginning that she would be anxious over the outcome of tonight, she'd have laughed in their face and spent the next twenty minutes belittling everything from their intelligence to their cuticles. Because, honestly, how could anyone expect to find a suitable, long term partner in a mere sixteen weeks? Weiss had grown up in the cold Schnee mansion, well adjusted to how any 'marriage' was likely to end up, but that didn't mean she wanted to subject herself to that misery. Given personal experience, she'd either drink herself into an early grave or become a self-obsessed control freak. She'd dated- briefly- but only because it served her image and there was an unspoken understanding between her and whoever that neither expected anything further from it than a way to remain relevant during the breaks between projects. She wasn't looking for anything 'serious' and she would tolerate nothing more than the show they put on for the paparazzi.

But... time had a funny way of weaving loneliness through her heart. She was only twenty-five, yet having started her career at the tender age of eight, and it started to take its toll on her in a strange way. Being isolated from her father while doing this stupid show, getting that extra degree of separation she so desperately needed... it granted her perspective, and it didn't hurt that she'd met some truly remarkable individuals while here. Weiss had worked especially hard- and proven herself exceptionally clever- by undermining her father's initial pitch of pitting her against nineteen others for the affections of one man and instead billing herself as the Romantic Lead for the season, inviting twenty women to try and catch her fancy. It checked all the boxes the producers wanted: a twist right out of the gate, seeing as most of the public thought she was heterosexual, and she had a history of being demanding and exacting to work with nevermind woo, and add to all that her generally superb showwomanship when it came to public spectacles? An obvious slam dunk.

Had everything worked out as she'd envisioned, walking away from that first planning meeting nearly a year ago, this finale would be the culmination of sixteen boring weeks, where she would pick some poor, unsuspecting fool, and, having engineered a way for Remnant to immediately veto her decision, prevented the hassle of a marriage and subsequent divorce. The other option was to simply ignore their existence until they did the work for her. Or for the rest of their lives- really, she didn't put much stock in the show's premise or love at all, and thus foresaw no possibly complications.

And the Maidens had seen fit to make a fool of her for her arrogance.

"Now Weiss!" Her attention snapped back to the moment as Coco turned towards her. "It's time to bring out your three finalists. Are you ready?"

No, not at all, not in a million years. "Absolutely."

"Excellent! Then let's bring out the first of our lovely finalists." The host turned, motioning towards the far side of the invisible stage. "Everyone, let's give a big hand for Blake Belladonna, author of several highly acclaimed series from Menagerie!"

Weiss turned her gaze- the cameras were going to be on her no matter what, cutting to and away for whatever reaction shots she offered, and it was nearly impossible to keep her smile from growing wider as she watched the Faunus step out into the spotlight, raven locks flowing behind her as she gave the crowd a subdued little wave. She wore a flattering black tuxedo, tailored to fit her slender frame, with subtle hints of purple to bring out her amber eyes and a black bow tie with a white center knot. It didn't surprise Weiss in the least that the Faunus would dress for the part so closely, looking exactly like someone who belonged on an alter would, though perhaps with a bit more flair than necessary.

On the screens above them- for the benefit of the live audience- and playing on the screens all over Remnant, they showed a montage of the time spent getting to know Blake over the past sixteen weeks. It didn't matter what was shown to the audiences, though, because the moment that pushed itself to the forefront of her mind was one that happened when there weren't any cameras rolling, just the two of them sharing a few minutes with only the stars as an audience.

And some horses.

The cool night air rustled the leaves overhead, the big oak tree the only thing to obscure the stars above. It promised to be excellent weather tomorrow, perfect filming conditions for their hours spent on horseback, the beasts calmly grazing in the field beside the manor. They'd been there since shooting began as part of the manor's aesthetic, because horses were somehow entwined with romantic gestures in a way that Weiss had never truly understood but accepted all the same. Thankfully, she could ride, unlike some of the contestants vying for her affections, so she could skip the rudimentary lessons that had filled the previous days. That had left her open for filming other scenes, talking head portions where she delved into her thoughts and opinions on those who remained.

Perhaps she'd underestimated just how exhausting the whole exercise would be. She'd always had strong feelings and opinions, the majority of which were set in stone and refusing to be swayed, and this held true in regards to relationships of all types. Either she found value or benefit in maintaining contact or she didn't; some were begrudgingly kept due to her line of work and others forgotten at the first possible convenience. She didn't need sixteen weeks- or even the eight that had passed- to reject the vast majority of the contestants, but the framework of the show relied on her eliminating them slowly, one-by-one or two-by-two depending, and explaining her reasoning for doing so well enough that Remnant didn't feel the need to 'correct' her every week.

"Lien for your thoughts?"

Weiss blinked, turning her head to notice the person striding through the ankle high grass to reach the wooden fence she leaned against, the night air teasing her long raven locks. "Good evening, Blake. What brings you out here?"

"Well, I sometimes like getting a breath of fresh air, believe it or not." The Faunus' expression faltered slightly, the cat ears atop her head twitching nervously. "But tonight, I wanted to... check on you. During dinner, it seemed like your thoughts were elsewhere."

"That's kind of you," she said, as a means of buying herself time. For the first few weeks, she honestly though the contemplative author would remove herself from the competition; Blake preferred books and quiet, which made living in the manor, surrounded by generally loud and boisterous others, quite the trial. She had a bit of a stubborn streak though and, after their first real interaction- where they learned about each other's careers and argued about some inane dispute for a solid thirty minutes before coming to a compromise- the two hit it off rather well. Weiss didn't think it was enough to motivate the Faunus to persevere through the weeks, yet here they stood, side-by-side halfway through the show’s run. "I'm fine, though."

Blake hummed, leaning against the fence and looking across the field. "I find that hard to believe."

"Do I truly strike you as being upset right now?" She couldn't help the slight sarcasm infecting her tone, the corner of her lip tugging into a small smirk. "If I recall correctly, your depictions of the same tend to veer more towards the... dramatic side."

"So you did read Of Maidens and Maidens." The Faunus turned her head slightly, trying to hide the blush staining her cheeks. Despite being one of the most popular romance novelists in Remnant, Blake could still be so shy when discussing her work. At first, Weiss thought it a show for the interviews and book tours, a persona she adopted to make her more risque work a little easier to talk about in polite conversation, but no. Somehow, despite her fame, the Faunus remained a tad anxious about her work, discussing it and accepting praise for it only haltingly. It was actually rather cute.

Naturally, it seemed best to exploit that curious little detail to derail the conversation as best she could. "It's an excellent book. Honestly, I'm a little mad at myself for not reading it sooner." She shifted, lightly bumping their shoulders together. "You're a very talented author, Blake."

"Th- thank you." A surprised chuckle escaped the Faunus' lips, clearly caught off guard by the compliment. It was one of the things she liked about Blake; although projecting an air of mystery at the onset of their acquaintanceship, really, the author was just easily flustered, far more prone to wearing her heart on her sleeve than perhaps she'd like, constantly covering up her emotions when she could. She didn't have a very good poker face though and, when properly incensed, she could be more passionate than anyone else Weiss had met. Honestly, she found the Faunus charming in that sense; for all her layers and facets, Blake Belladonna was nothing less than genuine in her words and actions. "But, you know, there's a difference between fiction and reality. I might be good at one but the other..."

The movie star remained silent, hoping to avoid the conversation. It seemed the most reasonable course of action to take. Her negative view of the show- and her romantic prospects in general- had conditioned her to expect a single outcome from the whole endeavor, and she'd thought it was just that simple. Reality proved her wrong, however, because against her own judgment, she found herself buying into the ridiculous premise, this concept that romance could be cultivated between people shortly after meeting, that having the eyes of the world on them somehow didn't cheapen or falsify the whole ordeal. Slowly, she was beginning to fall into... an infatuation with a few of the contestants, and Blake could count herself among that small number. The fact Weiss was actually buying into the whole thing got driven home hard just a few hours before, when they were filming a one-on-one segment together.

"Weiss, please." She glanced to the side, noting how far the Faunus' ears had fallen, those amber eyes practically glowing with contrition. "Let me explain."

"You don't have to make excuses for me." The movie star sighed, keeping her gaze trained on one of the horses- a big, beautiful bay gelding with a dark mane, grazing idly nearby. Were it not for a pure white mare standing off a little ways, she'd think the producers would be daft enough to try having her sit him, hoping the size and color would enhance her within each shot. For someone with less experience, it would be a recipe for disaster, but they would be thankfully avoiding that headache altogether. "You're free to do, or not do, whatever you wish. You said yourself that this is more about the publicity and 'research' than anything else."

It stung, bringing up that conversation from their first week on set. They'd managed to earn a reprieve from the camera crews and Blake had confided that she honestly saw the show as a good excuse to get back into dating after back-to-back book tours rather than to get married. Plus, even a romance writer needed new material, and gathering such a varied group of people together with the specific intent of televising romantic overtures- it certainly provided a wide variety of inspiration, to say the least. At the time, Weiss appreciated her candor, and figured she could at least count the Faunus among those she could keep around to save her from some of the... overzealous contestants.

Yet, she'd grown rather fond of the author despite that stated disinterest in the show's actual goal. How her ears enhanced every expression, how easily she blushed, how relentless she could be when impassioned- the list grew every day of little things that Blake did that made her want to smile or laugh, and it culminated that afternoon when they were filming that segment together. The Faunus said something and they'd both laughed, completely at ease despite the camera crew surrounding them. Then she'd turned, suddenly becoming caught in dazzling amber eyes, the look on Blake's face causing her heart to stutter. They'd both leaned in to kiss, acting on instinct- to the show's credit, nothing was rehearsed, no second takes outside of the personal asides- and she thought... well, differently than the Faunus, it seemed, who snapped back before they'd actually made contact.

Weiss did her best to recover, faking a sneeze and thanking Blake for drawing back when she did before wrapping up that segment as quickly as possible. She would offer some sort of excuse tomorrow morning during the talking head portion, deflecting any speculation that the author might not be as committed to the show to preserve the suspension of disbelief as best she could. Viewers wanted to see her wooed by interested parties, after all, and she wouldn't cause problems for the Faunus if she could help it.

"That was weeks ago. Am I not allowed to change my mind?" Blake shifted beside her, voice steady despite the thread of unease in it. "Just because I didn't come here with the express intention of falling in love with you doesn't mean I've... well..." The falter caught the movie star off guard, turning her head to look at the Faunus, whose ears were laying back and practically melting into her raven mane while a brilliant flush lit up her cheeks. "You took me by surprise in a lot of ways, Weiss. The longer I'm here, the more I find myself going back through everything I've written, every passing thought I've jot down for inspiration."

"I... thought you coming here was for inspiration." A stall tactic to buy herself time; perhaps it was a little unfair, seeing how hard her companion struggled to find the right words, but she couldn't help it. She'd fallen for getting her hopes up once today and Weiss Schnee didn't do third takes.

"Inspiration for future books, yes. But I need a different sort of inspiration now," she replied, turning those amber eyes upon her as she somehow mustered up her courage. "Like I said, there's a difference between fiction and reality. In fiction, I could buy myself time, pick the right moment, ensure every aspect is just perfect to set the scene, but real life doesn't give me that. I have to think in real time and, what happened today, that was the result of me realizing it wasn't the right time." Blake moved, turning to face her fully, and she stood up a little straighter in response, no longer leaning on the fence. "I want to kiss you, but I didn't want to do it in front of the cameras."

"In the eyes of Remnant, it doesn't count if they don't see it,"she said softly, maintaining her composure as best she could while ignoring the rapid beating of her heart.

"It's not for Remnant." Blake stepped closer, tilting her head to indicate she could very well bend down and kiss her then and there, but she waited for some sign. "That's exactly why I didn't want our first kiss to be on camera. If I'm... if I'm at least in the running- if I have a chance, I want to kiss you." She lifted a hand, reaching forward to lightly cup Weiss' cheek. "I want to kiss you for you, so that you know how I feel. All the others, I don't care who sees those, but I thought our first kiss should be between us. Just us."

Weiss tilted her chin up, silently begging for the Faunus to follow through with her words while reaching forward herself. In one hand, she took Blake's unoccupied one, bringing it to rest on her hip and following her arm up so she could clutch the author's shoulder. She placed her other hand on Blake's hip, allowing the hand on her cheek to guide her closer, eyes falling half lidded as the space between them lessened. "You aren't going to get a better opportunity than this."

"Then I won't squander it."

Her eyes closed, relishing the small amount of surprise when lips pressed against hers, insistent but gentle. She thought that might be all- an innocent kiss, out beneath the stars- but soon the author began kneading their lips together, showing the barest hints of a hidden passion that Weiss found herself matching without a second thought, lifting up on her toes ever so slightly to negate the Faunus' height advantage somewhat. Their hands moved, seeking firmer holds as the embrace wore on, until they broke away, both a little breathless. When she opened her eyes, she saw Blake, a little smile on her lips and a brilliant flush reaching nearly to her human ears, the feline ones standing tall and proud as her eyes shone. In that moment, she fell even more in love with Blake Belladonna than before.

"For the record," she said, trying and failing to hide the smile brought out by the earnest happiness she could see looking back at her. "I think that was better than the book."

They both laughed, exchanging a few more kisses beside the pasture before heading inside, hand-in-hand until they reached the manor.

#Celebrity Matchmaker Fanfic #Monochrome #Northern PolariBees #TRR writes #Flaming Greek Newspaper #Pyrrha x Weiss x Blake x Yang #I honestly have no idea what to tag this as JFC #Freezerburned Pussy Magnet #Gaytorade

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