<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/b1M9iNL.jpg?2width=209&amp;height=300)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Owen Christopher (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=308599.msg15002076#msg15002076)<br/><strong>Age:</strong>32<br/><strong>Sexuality:</strong>Straight<br/><strong>Hometown:</strong>Hamilton, NZ<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>4 July, 2019, Morning<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Villa backyard -- Competition area<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Khaki shorts, light blue casual button down, w/brown canvas loafers (https://i.imgur.com/Y3bGFkh.jpg?2)<br/><strong>Coupled with:</strong>Cassie<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>The rest of the competitors; Cassie/Elsa (mentioning)<br/><br/>Owen stepped down across the yard to the competition area with a skeptical look on his face. Treasure chests and podiums? What the devil was this woman on about this time? Did every competition involve some sort of brightly colored luggage of one sort or another? The barrel chested man mused as he took his place alongside the other gents from the Villa.<br/><br/>He had no idea what to expect from this, but he was eager to get on with it. These little games, while certainly not matching in intensity or need for skill to his chosen career, at least helped him sate a bit of his need for competition. This was certainly the tip of a double-edged sword. While Owen was not a sore loser, he also knew it was possible for him to get a little<em>too</em>into that competitive state where a loss was hard to swallow.<br/><br/>And, naturally, these competitions were taking place against the backdrop of Owen still navigating a group of strangers, many with opposing motives. For his own sanity, he was still trying to make sense of his interactions with Cassie, which had been uneven at best. And then there was Elsa, who’d been quite flirtatious, and whom he found quite attractive.<br/><br/>Frankly, he didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Knowing that on the other side of this competition, the guys would be the ones making the coupling choices in a reversal of the first ceremony left him a bit anxious.<br/><br/>Owen took his mark as the other residents made their way down to the makeshift stage area that was set up for the game, and listened intently as Caroline gave the instructions. The sound alerting them that it was time to start went off, and Owen dug into the first challenge.<br/><br/><em>Math? The fuck is this then?</em><br/><br/>He sure as hell hadn’t expected there to be math. Owen cast a quick glance to either side of himself, wondering if he was alone in thinking this to be a bit crazy. Still, he was lucky-he’d not been a math whiz when it came to the more advanced classes, but basic computational work was well in his wheel house.<br/><br/><strong>“Okay, let’s see,” </strong>he muttered,<strong>“Thirty-two times twenty would be...let’s see, six hundred, plus forty…” he trailed off, “Plus another 32,” as he recalled Cassie’s age. “That’s 672, and minus four...ah!”,</strong>he exclaimed, pleased with himself. He heard another lock snap open, but didn’t look up. Owen didn’t want to think about who might have the lead at this stage.<br/><br/>A few quick movements of the dials on the lock confirmed his calculations, and gave him access to the puzzle. Quickly, he carried it back to his podium and set about the task, his brow furrowed in consideration of just how to put the pieces together. How was it that they were ensuring parity here? Was everyone doing the same puzzle?<br/><br/>With a focus on the task at hand, Owen pushed those concerns aside and set about assembling the puzzle. He could hear some of the other men cursing a bit under their breath as they worked at the puzzles, and sensed that he was perhaps in better shape than them. Working quickly, but doing his best not to rush, he snapped the last of his pieces into place and thrust his hand up in the air, hoping that he’d been the first past the post. He allowed himself a peek up now as Caroline approached, and quickly let his glance move across the rest of the stage, a smile of recognition crossing his lips as he realized that once Caroline confirmed his puzzle, he’d be the winner.<br/>