[WORLD ONE | OCTOBER INTRO LOG]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The new coven members and old blood
Where: In and around the hub island
When: Day 92
Open/Closed: Open to All

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, repercussions 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 She'll also give you a letter, which may give you more questions than answers since the information is a wee out of date.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 is at first painfully obvious is that you're ill-equipped. Any magic or powers you had previously are suddenly replaced with an empty hole in your being. That's not all that's gone, but perhaps that's what's most pressing. Another thing you may notice is that there are others just like you, wandering around and just as confused. If you feel so inclined, you may want to ask around and see if anyone else knows what's up. A ▢ If one of your characters isn't looking to introduce themselves to others, someone's willing to do it for them. Genette is trying to make sure all newbies are accounted for and have a buddy, so she's grabbing them when she finds them and tossing them at the first coven member she sees. "Hi, so-and-so, this is so-and-so! They're new, so show them the ropes -- be friends, okay?" You get the gist. Your character may be paired up with another newbie, a seasoned character or both! Five times, even! Timelines in RPing are weird! B ▢ Let's say that instead of milling about and doing nothing entirely productive, your character has decided to try and venture off to find a way off this huge floating rock. That's nice -- but be warned that the forest is filled with interesting things. For instance, they've happened to find a hollowed out tree that happens to be where a hoard of land crabs are living. They move fast -- run quick! C ▢ Other characters may want to establish shelter before they do anything else -- and that's their right! The problem is that if your character wants to be well-supplied, they're going to have to do things for themselves. There's something of an assembly line set up, but not a lot has been done in way of making things workable. Genette wanted all new coven members to have a little food parcel to take to their hut, but time constraints, you know? If you want any food for now -- or for later -- you may want to cook some of this (poisonous) eel, salt some boar jerky or cut into one of these rabbits. You've also got some berries to eat in the meantime, if you want something simple!

By the time afternoon sets in, everyone should be a little more adjusted -- or, they should at least be a little more aware of the situation. From there, things still need to be done and exploring is always an option! D ▢ For those characters who want to stick around the base camp, there's something worthwhile in discovering the buildings around the area. One such building is the mansion, which contains extra supplies and a renovated kitchen. The kitchen is now functional with electricity and running water, with a few raw ingredients for making whatever your character would like. It's minimal, but also not totally useless. E ▢ If you mill about too long, you'll be put to work. Run into Genette and you'll be sent to pick western part of the island to look for strawberries, wheat and deer (good luck hunting if your character doesn't have the capabilities, but maybe someone else can help?). Run into Genette and she'll offer your character an ax to chop wood with (is this a wise idea? probably not), or a request to go fishing in either a stream or the ocean attached to the island on the eastern side. Or your character can do both if they so choose...? F ▢ With all of these new people milling about, telepathy is on the fritz again. At least, it certainly is for those who are new! Your character may not realize their broadcasting frustrations to the network, or maybe a stupid secret. Their mental filter is certainly broken, but that's at least a great conversation starter. Night finally falls on the exhausting day, and it's time to rest. Thankfully the island is beautiful at night, especially the sky. The night is filled with space worms, relaxing mist and wondrous sights in the stars. G ▢ Adding to the excitement of the beautiful night, Genette has set up something of a...talent show? In an effort to get new coven members acclimated with their magic, she's asked them all to use their magic in some way -- it may take a volunteer, or maybe they can show it off all on their own. In any case, show me what you got. H ▢ Of course, some characters aren't going to be up for this fancy display and will want to go about their own business. There are plenty of places to sit and stew on this island, both private and in plain sight. The stars are spectacularly bright, and the higher up your character gets the less it seems like night time. If they're lucky, they may catch sight of a shooting star, though it's of course much larger than usual. They're directly in space, after all! I ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[reckoner]

[ That does get him. Despite the volley of it, Gaelio has no reason to disbelieve someone as straightforward as Homura, and more to the point, they only met because of a so-called elevated mage thieving them across different universes.

Experience with a similar breed would be invaluable, but her qualification makes it sound less on point. He knows, too, of a man who at least believes in others as concepts, who might himself have sought to become this. But this vastness sounds rather more literal.

Huh. Gaelio does look surprised, though that expression, too, is subdued. ]

Are they a... useful basis of comparison, for you?

[ Or only as an aid for believing this ]

Mm... here, we scramble for food, and by the letter, we rely on her gifts. Though I have no other power, if many of the others do, on a planet with [ flicking his eyes to the page ] high vibrations...

[ Not that he's planning a rebellion. It's too soon for that sort of conclusion, and he does prefer order. ]

[antemeridian]

[ A small twist of the mouth and averted eyes, if only for a brief moment. This subject, apparently, touches deeper than others. ]

Not as such. They went where I could not follow. There was only so much I... [ what could you say, here? ] ... could see of them, before they were beyond my reach.

... In any case, I knew her intentions. I cannot say the same for Qri. [ A long, slow blink a little too lengthy to be called such, and an offhand tilt of the head. ] Or— even anyone else here, truly, save for...

[ She realizes what she's saying, and trails off. She's evading the question of powers or the lack thereof, but given the subject of their discussion she figures he has probably more than some idea of whether she's mundane or not. It isn't as if she's been shy about any potential oddities, even if she hasn't simply explained them forthright. ]

[reckoner]

[ Noted. He must resist comparison himself, though not to Qri. Inevitably, vague speech of being unable to reach another person, of being unable to follow a person important enough to have tried -- his mind will go where it cannot help but go.

Yet, this person gone concept she speaks of -- not with startling emotion, but in a way that Gaelio does not think he would be remiss to assume her fond. Whereas Gaelio only follows now to kill the man for whom he'd once reached.

If he watches her speak with undue intensity, it is to keep his mind where it should be, and not let it stray. He believes her, but can't make sense of it beyond the abstract. There's evidently little point in asking for clarity. It belongs to her, and does not seem conducive here.

Only once she blinks, too long, does he realize how he stares, and glance away. ]

Yourself? If you trust yourself.

[ He offers, knowing that isn't what she kept herself from saying. While Gaelio wouldn't be surprised to learn she has some other ability, especially after how she's just spoken, he won't push it. Trying to understand what options they have against Qri isn't a bad idea, if premature. Without duty to the witch's order, good or evil, what matters is that she returns them timely. And as to that... ]

What is your goal here?

[antemeridian]

If I trust myself.

[ It's seized onto, yes, and stated with flat affect as if in affirmation. Talking of Madoka feels... different, somehow, when it's so easily believed. More easily acted on, perhaps, and though the threat of anyone being able to hurt or interfere with her seems so distant for what she became... Madoka is here. She shouldn't be so careless, at least not in implicating Madoka's human self.

'If she trusts herself.' What does she trust herself for, these days, after failing to accomplish the one goal she set out for herself Before? His next query, at least, is easier to rattle off clipped responses to. ]

Going back. I'd made a promise. I intend to fulfill it. [ she says promise, but the weight of it sounds more like purpose. ] If you mean besides that...

[ Well. The lack of answer is enough of one in itself. Whether because of refusal to speak or inability to, though? Perhaps even both. ]

What of you?

[reckoner]

[ More with which he can empathize, though to call it sentiment is indeed too sentimental, though empathy had been a long crushed thing in him. (Though to think himself divorced from sentiment would be to think a lie.)

Purpose more than promise. It resonates. ]

That's enough.

[ And the lack is responsive. He echoes her, at first. ]

Going back.

[ Tempting to repeat her entirely, and a little amusing, but it would not be completely accurate. He had promised the dead and lost, yes, but what he needed to do went beyond even that. The reason he lived. ]

What I must do cannot be done here.

[ Though that man walks here, and a muscle tightens in his jaw, his brow furrowing, both contortions quick and smoothed out. ]

Not...

[ Gaelio trails off, then in a crisp motion, folds the letter forcefully, tucking it into a pocket. ]

Until then, we play along?

[antemeridian]

[ She hums lightly, thoughtfully in response, demeanour shaping itself back into something less edged, but a glimmer of something sharper yet remains in her eyes. Flecked with a detached derision born of familiarity, they follow the letter's movement before closing. ]

Until the play reveals its seams, the performers defy their directions, and the actors wait for curtain call, I suppose.

[ Unnecessarily poetic, and yet. In a future that hasn't happened, she was the heart of a Nutcracker Ballet. There is girlhood somewhere in her, even if buried. ]

There's no good in fighting, if you cripple yourself unnecessarily before accomplishing anything of use.

[ She is absolutely not sniping at anyone she knew, no. ]

[reckoner]

[ Less than two clipped conversations barely amounts to acquaintances, so surprise should not be the word, should not be his reaction. Surprise suggests expectation and he has no reason to expect anything of her.

Yet, her solemn, focused demeanor had nonetheless begun an impression, and it must be surprise that pulls his lips wide.

Poetry, too. Again, the reminder of the strange boy alongside whom he'd grown, while unique enough to buffer the pain of it. ]

How fortunate that I've gotten better at memorizing lines.

[ Though the part keeps changing, and it doesn't. He can less follow the direction of her next, whatever meaning might make it heavier than it sounds, but the wisdom's plain and unimpeachable. ]

Or in showing your hand prematurely.

[ It is naive to think they can hide anything from a creature of Qri's purported power, and he doesn't think it, not exactly. But there may be possibility. If that's all well and agreed, then... ]

Have you had a tour of the theatre?

[ Yeah, he's sticking with it, it's still funny. ]

[antemeridian]

[ her demure air now seems so at odds with the one earlier, it's striking. still, there's almost a quirk to her lips that's almost the ghost of something resembling a thin smile. ]

Not the most thorough of them, but yes. That said... Can any of us be said to have even left the dressing rooms yet?

[ a half-moment's pause as she remembers the other coven members, those of them who'd been present longer — apparent months in time difference — and she amends, ]

Or at least, those of us who are new, in any case.

[reckoner]

[ Striking, indeed. Himself more expressive these days in fleeting shadows, though less looking for other faces, he recognizes the shape.

Having had a part in its pendency strengthens his own expression, but also feeds his nostalgia. An old feeling, looking so long and so carefully for when that expression would finally shift, if he could stir it -- does she, too, wear masks? Will she? -- Keep the buffer. ]

Of those that have, I'm not sure they've gotten out of the hallway.

[ Two months and a single world, from what he's gathered, and little elucidated. But -- she's had one. ]

Do you think you could replicate it?

[ Though asking another fresh arrival to do the task isn't the soundest strategy, if she'll humor it, he'd like to see her approach. ]

[antemeridian]

... If you cared for a guide around the residential areas? I suppose I could.

[ a brief pause then, as she in a brisk, dismissive motion cards her hand past the locks of hair that frame her face. ]

Mind you, I'm not sure whether or not I'd be showing you to something you've already seen. Do speak up if that is the case.

I would hate to waste either of our times.

[ there may or may not still be a thin trace of humour in that overture. she is more than a little aware that he's probably asking less out of genuine need and more out of a sort of curiosity. that seems to be the main impression she's gotten from him, so far, though at least he's honest about it. ]

[reckoner]

[ The corner of his mouth, left, curves. Only just. ]

You might be wasting your time.

[ Whether he's seen it or not. He had been... distracted when they (they -- no, whatever the accord, even a pronoun indicative of unity unsettles, he and he) arrived, a distraction that consumed until parting. Then, the priority of Qri and inquisition.

But. ]

If you have something better to do, by all means.

[ He sweeps out his hand, left right and forward, permitting an exit. May or may not is enough, and she's right, his response a tacit admission -- he has no genuine need in this. If he did, he wouldn't ask someone who'd only just gotten the tour, herself. ]

[antemeridian]

... I thought as much. That said. There isn't much I have to do, really, other than get a better lay of the land. [ that and information gather. and scavenge... well. there's more to do than she says, but it's all encompassed under the same banner regardless. 'a better lay of the land' indeed. ]

But perhaps that would be best left until another time? That is, if you're willing to volunteer yourself for the sake of curiosity.

[ as a meatshield. it's still thin ice flecked with something like humour. maybe. her head dips in an acknowledging nod at the arm sweep, anyway, indicative of her intent to leave once the finish up any closing remarks. ]

[reckoner]

[ Plenty does fit within "a better lay of the land," and most of it of greater utility. Gaelio inclines his head, noting it. Given the idle motivation of his request, he would not fault her for leaving. Well -- he wouldn't have faulted her under any circumstances.

To fault implies attachment neither have. Something easy in that.

However -- she might underestimate him, as -- ]

I'm willing.

[ He answers lightly and shrugs, an incremental lift of his shoulders, but a lift no less. His body may belong more to Ein, to Rustal, and to a greater purpose, than it does to himself. Perhaps they would forgive him this, as charmed (the word too strong, but sufficing) by those specs warming the ice. Or, it's harmless, given her clear readiness to go. ]

But maybe you won't have me?

[antemeridian]

Rehearsal, perhaps, is better left for when the actors know the stage directions.

[ the reply comes swiftly and smoothly, without a break in her rhythm (and that really is what can be said of her these days, isn't it? measured time and meter).

so no, it's not quite not having him, at least. not a rebuttal, not dismissing the offer, or at least she doesn't think she is, given their short acquaintanceship. leaving it open, rather, even if she perhaps is in fact slightly-- it can't be called surprised, even if it almost did give her pause-- by his acceptance of her overture. ]

In that sense, we may be better off investigating separately first.

[ and then perhaps they can reconvene at a later time to swap notes, or something. Homura's gotten used to doing things alone; this is as close as she'll get to working together, at least on first blush. ]

[reckoner]

[ Not quite not having. A postponement, and that more than he might have expected, had he expectations of her. Though it may be dishonest to continue thinking as though he hasn't. Honesty, itself, is a concept both more and less concrete.

She's sharp, of course. If observing a pattern and noting its continuation amounts to expectation. Little purpose to the terribly near-sighted leading the blind. Even if she... no. ]

Mm.

[ Ceding. ]

Otherwise, I might step on your toes.

[ Without knowing the directions. Having already gestured for her to proceed ahead, should she choose, he does not again move his hand, or much acknowledge it. Instead he looks away, his attention scattering, seeking someone who at least looks as though they have the longevity and experience to give him a more complete script. With his gaze elsewhere, the last. ]

Take care, Homura.