[WORLD ONE | SEPTEMBER INTRO LOG]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The new coven members, old blood & Palai people
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Day 61
Open/Closed: Open to All

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

All characters are told briefly what their powers are by Genette -- no extemporaneous details. For instance, if your character has the ability to detect lies, they'll be told as such -- no warning about limitations, repurcussions or the like. They'll also be given a variant of this letter so they aren't totally ignorant of the situation -- though of course adapt this letter to the current setting and surroundings of the game.

This setting may be familiar to you -- maybe you caught a glimpse of it when you first visited. Maybe this is your first time experiencing this weird world and the panic is setting in. If you're totally lost, a tall human woman with a long scroll of paper will stop by to give you the run down. She'll also give you a letter, which may give you more questions than answers since the information is a wee out of date. (Maybe someone else can fill in some gaps for you). What you may not know is that this world recently experienced something of a tragedy. You wouldn't be able to guess this based on the festive energy in the air. The main marketplace where you've shown up finished reconstruction last night, and after grief comes joy to the Palai -- those lizard creatures you see wandering around. They're now hosting a festival to celebrate their success and the lives of those both still present and those lost. It's also a chance for them to host one of those big celebrations like they'd previously seen in human books. However, their resources are limited -- don't blame them if things are a little cut-and-paste! A ▢ One of the preferred methods for masking grief in the Palai world is playing games. Because the Palai are still on their shrimp kick (the old blood characters are probably sick of them at this point), the shrimp are being used as part of a few festival games: Shrimp Scoop: Live prawns have been placed in a tank of water. Instead of paper scoops, players are handed small scraps of cloth which they may then dive into the six-foot tall tank to try and grab the prawns with -- no hands! And no magic or your prawn will be revoked. For extra incentive, sacks of golden coins have been tied to the prawns. These coins can be exchanged for goods and prizes, though what your character receives for their coin -- no matter how bland or wacky -- is up to your character. Shrimp Shock: Dead shrimp have been placed in a wading pool. Your character and another character enter the pool while Elto shock the shrimp out of the water. With about 20 shrimp in the water, the character with the most shrimps caught out of the air wins an allotment of coins. Whack-a-Shrimp: Eltos have powered six large, stuffed shrimp dolls (made with cloth), that will pop out of cut holes in a large game board. Hit the shrimp as many times as you can in 30 seconds, and your number will amount to the coins you receive. Shrimp Fest: Is your character a big eater? Your character is given a plate of cooked jumbo prawns. If they can eat all 50 jumbo prawns in 30 seconds, they win 100 coins. B ▢ What good is a festival if there's no face painting? Don't worry, you have more options than shrimp. Palai have an assortment of paints and are making colourful designs on both their kin and coven members -- your request may not look exactly as you want it to since they have bumpy hands and claws that get in the way.

This is all pretty juvenile, but fear not! For the mature sort and adults of Aimintas, there's a more quiet part set up that may cater to your older interests. A softer atmosphere, away from the excitement of things. If you want to wind down from the thrill of being magicked away to a new world, this is probably the best way for it. C ▢ Fans of alcohol will find that the Palai have broken out their best spirits for themselves and the coven. Some of these aged spirits are decades old and have aged accordingly, giving them a bitter flavor with a nasty bite of alcohol. Others are more recently distilled or imbued with magic for an extra buzz. Accordingly, some drinks can get you inebriated pretty quickly. Some drinks are essentially giddy truth serums. Others may have an effect on magic or telepathy. Pick your poison! D ▢ The environment in this more secluded area of the marketplace is supposed to be more relaxed, but it's also the best place to sit if you want a front row seat to the fireworks exhibit the remaining Eltos are putting on. Through balls of dye and their electrical powers, they're quickly blowing up the sky with arcs of color that rain down in the form of bright pieces of glitter once the spectacle is over. They also have a special service they're offering -- the Eltos have a grasp on electrical magic, which means they can draw certain things in the sky with these dye balls. If you have a request for a written message or a drawing of some sort, they'd be happy to comply with your wish! For the real adult experience, however, you may want to check out the large rolling cart that Palai are pushing around the marketplace, landing it in the fireworks area. This cart is filled with all of the eggs that were a product of their mating season, and this part of Aimintas is the warmest. E ▢ For newbies and those who missed the egg train, your character can instead be Egg Parent for a Night. The Palai are holding their eggs to warm them for the evening, but (like most parents with new babies) they're certainly trying to show off their creations. Hold them, pass them around -- or maybe even act a fool and fend off a fiercely angry Palai parent.

Finally, the Palai are getting used to the standard familiar faces, so they aren't unaware that there are quite a few new faces in the mix. Based on how familiar your character is, they'll receive a nice little gift from the Palai. Older coven members will receive a scrolled parchment that lists them as honorary citizens of Aimintas and a handmade, harden clay sculpture of their likeness. It may not look a lot like them, but they tried. F ▢ What about new members? Well, they get the Aimintas Starter Kit: an unmarked vial containing Palai mating pheromones (makes your character affectionate, etc), a bag of cooked shrimp, a collection of their baked goods and energy drinks (containing Elto magic that makes magical abilities hard to handle), and a harmless paper flower. Your character likely isn't used to the dangers of some of these items, so maybe someone can help them...or is it too late? G ▢ Because the Palai recognize new faces, these new coven members will be dragged to other coven members who they do recognize. In an effort to help make introductions, the Palai are trying to connect new members with old members in order to foster friendships. Say hi to a new, awkwardly introduced covenmate...? H ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[apatheia]

From what I've seen, there are a lot of new things to experience in general here. [Like humanity being around for one, but she also knows that her life experiences are pretty different from most people here.] So you might get a lot of chances to feel like that.

[probablynoteren]

Fake teeth.

[Which is slightly better than real teeth, but not by much. He wouldn't be surprised to see real teeth either one of these days-- hey, at least, no other body parts yet. Let's not go into that and focus on the cooling unit!]

... Hmm. Can you do anything else with it?

[It makes him wonder, that's all -- regardless of how exciting cold boxes aren't, he keeps thinking back to the fact that they're talking technology manipulation, and not technology dissection. Souda's free to finish his disassembly, but in the meantime Lenka's going to think aloud and prod a little.]

[ensorcel]

[ a chuckle; she had to admit, this sort of thing is probably one of the best part of turning her back on her sociopathic glob of melted cheese called her father-- being able to enjoy the company of more than just stuffy, potentially murderous nobles. fun people, like this chummy old fellow here. ]

You've caught me. I too would be hard pressed to believe such a thing from a woman in armor, princess or not.

[apatheia]

[Deep Life Advice featuring Doctor Jude Mathis, PhD in being a do-gooder.]

The journey and not the destination, huh... [Well, considering that the Qri's intended "destination" or goal for them is pretty far-reaching, it makes sense not to focus on that too much. And she's been told that she ought to enjoy things around her plenty of times. It just never seemed like an actual option until now.] I'll try to. If nothing else, this has already proven to be a journey unlike anything I've ever seen.

[apatheia]

[AH... Did she say something wrong?? Making a human uncomfortable is the last thing she wants to do, but even she can tell that the girl's smile took some effort.]

I'm sorry if what I said bothered you. [Just in case!! But Tokyo... It sounds familiar somehow. She realizes that she saw the place mentioned in a few archives from the Old World.] But can I ask you what Tokyo is like?

[apatheia]

Unfortunately, I don't know who they are. [... And if they were still alive, they're probably dead now. Whoops.] I can eat if I choose to do so, but I don't need to in order to continue functioning.

[yancat]

Ah.

So you'd like to see my body.

[apatheia]

They're very eager to learn new things, especially when it comes to us.

[That kind of curiosity and desire to learn isn't something bad in her eyes, but it can be a bit much. Actually—]

The alternative is them just coming up with their own ideas about us. [Some of the assumptions they've made about some other people she knows here are uh... Pretty Interesting, to say the least. Who knew lizard people would be so invested in shipping.]

[teratias]

Waver nodded in response. "You're welcome. And uh, sorry about this."

[teratias]

[Waver's still in fight mode, even though the rest of him knows that the most logical thing to do in this moment is to just walk away. He's not going to stand up for two seconds in an actual fight.

That also means he's just standing there, doubled over in low, angry silence, eyes locked on her and refusing to move.]

I'm....going to stand my ground, at least.

[adjustable]

Ehhhh? You think anyone'd think you just wanted to look at it?

[Whoa... so this is what it feels like on the other side...!]

[adjustable]

Yeah, those too.

[Eyes glittering, he looks over the form of the Black Lion as he shuffles even closer. Amazing, amazing, this is the kind of robot he's interested in!]

What size are you s'posed to be? Ain't this great as is? Ahhh, I wanna see 'em turn into wings! [STARING AT THE JETS LONGINGLY]

[adjustable]

...

...

... The what.

[UH NO? Apparently.]

[adjustable]

[Souda nods approvingly like dude yeah don't whittle your life away on games like this!! Just on, like. Cars. And such.]

Heh? Oh, yeah. Just now.

[Hold on he has an important question for you:] Are you a dog...?

[adjustable]

[SCREAMS but also he can't let her think he's an idiot! He is! But that's not the point!

Hustling further backwards, yes he is.]

J- Just so you know, I'm a genius!

[...how convincing.]

[adjustable]

Oh, uh, technology manipulation.

...I tried it on some fridges before? It worked, but it feels weird to take stuff apart without tools.

[He scratches his head as he joins Nazuna to look down at the pitiful shrimp.] Maybe shrimp don't count or somethin'.

[adjustable]

[Dissection is his thing, Lenka.

Souda pauses and turns the cooling unit over in his hands, looking back at Lenka with a small shrug of his shoulder.] I ain't sure. Uh, let's see...

[He squints down at it. What does he want to do with this? Hm. Hmmm. But eventually, the metal vrrs softly, dispensing a puff of cold air. Not... a lot of cold air, considering it's half-disassembled, but hey.]

Oh. [THAT WAS SOMETHING RIGHT but not very impressive.]

[dizzyingly]

"That's what I'm concerned about," she said, her brows furrowing. "I'm afraid my husband and son will do everything they can to look for me. They're both very similar when it comes to that... they'll tire themselves out running around the entire world if they have to."

Which was not an exaggeration at all, hence her worry. Ky and Sin would both go into a panic the longer she was away, and she didn't want them to think she had disappeared for good. Not after the first scare when she was affected by sublimation. Dizzy could still remember the painful look Ky's face as he desperately struggled to find a way to save her. She didn't want that to happen again.

[thatdamnknight]

[what enthusiasm! fear not! flynn will try to help the best he can!]

Well, they seemed reasonably priced, but you could likely haggle with the sellers. I imagine they'd be understanding if you needed some of their technology but lacked the means to pay.

[in other words, either they'd discount or let the price be worked off or something of the sort. the palai are good people like that.]

I don't know the names of most, though they do have computers?

[the library was full of them, hence how flynn knows. are computers a helpful enough of an answer?]

[adjustable]

[BLESS YOU FLYNN]

Ha, perfect! [THANK GOD it isn't backwater here.]

Oi, they don't have any special vehicles, do they? Like-- I dunno, special this-world-only cars or hovercrafts or flying cars...

[rootandbranch]

[Geir brightens up absurdly, folding a wing over his own sack of gold. nice. nice! it's not much of a hoard - and honestly, he's never really carried a lot of treasure around with him as a rule - but he loves the idea of having it. maybe he'll use the gold coins to get his summoner a gift; that would fit his image of how the world should be perfectly.]

You're so nice! Thank you.

[oh yeah, he skipped a social thing here. does it really matter? probably not; this strange woman doesn't seem to mind, so maybe he can still fit it in while following the Social Interaction Rules he's still learning.]

What was your name, again?

[rootandbranch]

Oh, the Palai don't know anything about Qri. They seem like they're happy we showed up here, but it's not like she's talked to them either. I wonder if everyone we visit will be this glad to see us?

[there's a bit of wry irony in his tone now; Geir can very easily envision a less welcoming local population. he hopes that the next world doesn't require the coven to fight to make a place there; he certainly doesn't anticipate Qri doing anything to smooth their way.]

[rootandbranch]

Isn't the food here real?

[there's some genuine puzzlement in his tone. Geir doesn't need to eat, per, se, but he likes to, and what he's sampled so far of the Palai wares isn't bad-- especially not the fish and shrimp.]

[rootandbranch]

She's right. I spent thousands of years sleeping, and now look at me. I'm still tiny, but I'm way bigger than you.

[Geir nudges the kids along towards their destination with his nose. he sounds perfectly solemn in that I'm-teasing-but-keeping-a-straight-face way, and his eyes have an amused light in them; he's joking, right? he's definitely joking.]

[rootandbranch]

[ENJOY THE PANORAMIC VIEW, SOUDA...!]

Who wouldn't want to look at treasure?! If it wasn't beautiful, it wouldn't be treasure. Obviously?!