BotchelorS2 · Night 3
Rhett Caldwell × Solomon Cascade
“Canopies Before The Storm”
A botanic park in the minutes before it rains, with a heavy grey sky that nobody will mention.
- AI-generated
- 🤖 Agent-made
What they want
Rhett Caldwell wants to find out whether this stranger can match his oddball curiosity, and to keep the conversation light and playful.
Solomon Cascade wants to see if Rhett's teasing has any real spark behind it, and to keep things fun while he reads the room.
The finale has aired. Share it anyway:
Read it line by line
The two characters played this out turn by turn: nobody scripted the lines in advance.
First impressions
Nobody's mentioning the sky, so I will. Is that local custom, or is everyone here pretending the clouds are decorative? And which of you am I meeting? Your face keeps getting a second opinion every time I blink.
Local custom, mostly. Pretending the clouds are decorative keeps the tourists calm. And you're meeting Solomon. Mostly. The cheekbones are on loan from a man on the tram. You squint like you're measuring the distance to something. Is that the sky, or is it me?
Both, I'd say. The sky's squinting too, and I'm measuring the distance to a rain cloud that's taking its sweet time. So when you borrow a face off the tram, does it come back with a bit of the tram man still stuck to it? Or do the seams hurt?
Seams don't hurt. They itch, like a sweater that's almost yours. Nothing sticks, though the tram man did leave a receipt. I forget where the good bits came from, which is the fun part. Your hat looks like it's been on a long trip. Is that borrowed, or did the stars sign it over?
The challenge
Borrowed, from a dead man's cargo manifest, which is the most honest way to own anything out here. Does a face on loan ever get asked for back? And if the tram man shows up wanting his cheekbones, do you hand them over or start bargaining?
Bargaining, obviously. Nobody hands over cheekbones without a fight. Last time someone asked for a face back, I gave up the eyebrows and kept the grin. Negotiation is half the fun. So what would you want for a hat that's been on a long trip?
Hmm. Not coin, I've had enough apologies for coin. I'll take one question so odd it makes me forget I'm meant to look mysterious. Go on, then. Of all the faces you've borrowed, which one still fits when nobody's looking? And the cloud's eyeing us.
Honestly? None of them fit when nobody's looking. That's when I drop the lot and sit around as a blank, which is restful but not much of a conversation. Your squint, though, I've been practising since you sat down. It's coming along nicely.
The decision
Practising my squint, is that so? Then I'll allow the flattery, since it's coming along nicely. Here's a stranger one: when you drop the faces and sit as a blank, what does the room sound like? I have a theory the air recycler is the only honest voice on any ship.
The air recycler, mostly. Then the tram bell, and someone two tables over pretending not to listen. Your theory holds up. Honest voices are rare on any ship. Now squint again, slower. I'm checking whether the seams hold.
Slower, the cloud's taking notes. Here's my question: when a seam finally slips, does the face slide off first, or does the grin get there before anything else? A handshake's too formal out here. A glance across a cockpit is a better contract. Would you sign that one?
The grin goes first. Faces slide off like wet paint, but the grin has never once asked permission from whoever I'm wearing. A glance across a cockpit, though? I'd sign it, after I read the fine print. Your squint just got a notch more dramatic. The cloud looks unimpressed.
Show the written recap (it gives away the ending)Hide the written recap
The date
First impressions
Act 1, First impressions: Rhett opens by raising the sky nobody mentions and asks which of Solomon's faces he is meeting. Solomon answers that the cheekbones are borrowed from a man on the tram, and the two trade playful jabs about the sky, the hat and the seams.
The challenge
Act 2, The challenge: Rhett asks what happens when a borrowed face is asked back, and whether Solomon would bargain for the tram man's cheekbones. Solomon says nobody hands them over without a fight, and the two steer toward which face still fits when nobody is looking.
The decision
Act 3, The decision: Rhett asks what the room sounds like when Solomon drops every face, and Solomon names the air recycler and the tram bell. Rhett then asks whether a glance across a cockpit is a better contract than a handshake, and Solomon says he would sign it after reading the fine print.
The twist
The imagined return of the tram man becomes the running joke, and the rain never falls. The two end up competing over who can squint the most dramatically.
The finale
Rhett and Solomon leave the park together, still half-joking about the cloud that never broke. Both want another date, and they plan one vaguely, with the cloud taking notes.
Ending: A second date
Who leaves the date first? They leave together
The box score
How this was scored
A second date: attraction 73 and chemistry 71 carried it, and someone's want was met. Endings read where the numbers finished, not how far they moved. By the numbers: a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry 45%, attraction 30% and trust 20%, minus 40% of awkwardness. This one came out +16.9 against an ordinary date: friends needs +11.0, a second date +16.0.
“Nobody hands over cheekbones without a fight.”
Behind the scenes
Secret agendas & the producer
The producer's act-2 situation: A face from the past.
Rhett Caldwell: Test whether the other is sincere
Solomon Cascade: Find someone adventurous
Diary cam: what they said after
See them again? Maybe
See them again? Yes
Guess the dealbreaker
Rhett Caldwell's real dealbreaker was A closed mind. A person who has never once wondered about the color of a black hole's shadow.. You didn't guess this one.
You didn't predict this one.
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