[HUB ISLAND | NOVEMBER IC INTRO LOG]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The new coven members and old blood
Where: In and around the hub island, especially the mansion
When: Day 122
Open/Closed: Open to All

IMPORTANT This IC intro log is different in that all characters can tag it! If your character is new, please put [new] or some variant of it in the subject of your top level. New characters can also tag around to old coven members in order to branch out and get as much CR as possible!

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 eventually pass by to give you a rundown. She'll also give you a letter, which may give you more questions than answers since the information is a wee out of date.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 ▢ A few newbies may not be so lucky as to wind up somewhere pleasant -- it's currently flooding and storming...up a storm...on the island, which makes spawning outside very trying. Depending on where your character shows up, there's essentially no shelter around, other than some ratty beach huts. If your character's first instinct is trying to find a place to go while outside, you may be in luck -- that is, if someone else is outside, willing to help your character find shelter. B ▢ For those characters who aren't interested in the shelter of the mansion, they may be stuck in their beach huts. What does this have to do with newbies? It's hard to tell that these beach huts are occupied until actually entering them, which is what your character has decided to do. Oops...hi there, stranger. Mind if I stay for a while? C ▢ Other characters who happen to have the luck of a true asshole won't be able to find shelter with any such luck. They'll be stuck sheieding themselves from rain under a tree, in the forest or tucking themselves in a mountain cave. It's not the worst place to wind up, but it might not be the safest -- what happens if someone doesn't find them? Telepathy might alert someone to their presence, which can help with the rescue process.

For those that are lucky enough to spawn in the mansion -- or those who eventually find their way there, soaking wet -- there's a lot of fun stuff happening here! It's warm, inviting, smells like food...don't feel awkward. You can join the fun too! Brie has set up a few party ideas, even though it's not technically a party, in order to keep things light during the storm (which, coincidentally, she isn't very fond of). There's a lot to do, but also everyone has the ability to just chill and hang out in the warm shelter of the mansion for now. D ▢ First of all, there's a bizarrely set up snack bar in the main foyer. On a lot of boxes, all lined up together, are stacks of crackers, graham crackers, marshmallows and other dried snack foods (use your imagination, honestly). There are also tiny kerosene lamps so characters can heat up food if they wish. Alongside the typical snack foods are also more exotic varieties of snacks that Brie has collected, like dried and salty alien bug pupae and tiny trees in chip bags. There's some odd stuff there, and some of it may upset stomachs. E ▢ The large foyer of the mansion is literally filled with pillows and blankets. Most of them have been stockpiled and pulled from Qri's big caravan, currently located upstairs, and others have been pulled from every chair and bed in the mansion. Intricate tents and pillow domes have been made that snake in and out from one another -- some are more private than others, with other pillow circles built for communal spaces. It's definitely possible to get lost in this winding pillow fort, but it's also possible to have a nice, private moment lost in one of the winding tunnels. F ▢ In one of those foretold communal pillow circles, someone (who? you? me? who knows.) has set up a game of spin the bottle. Who knows how your character got roped into this -- or if they are actually willing participants, but this is happening. It's going to happen. What are you doing, oh my god HOW IS THIS BIZARRE ROM-COM SCENARIO GOING TO END...?? F1; Your character is doing the spinning, and another character is choosing to be the victim on the other end of that bottle! F2; Your character happens to have just had the bottle land on them. Who did it? What mysterious being do they have to smooch now? How do they react? G ▢ Another game is going on in another communal circle -- Truth or Dare! This game is also set up similarly, in that your character is a hapless victim or willing participant, but they definitely have to give someone the opportunity to confess something or dare them to do something ridiculous. Will they show mercy, or go in for the kill? H ▢ Slumber party activities aren't for everyone, and there's still a mansion to explore. From various bedrooms to a game room, there are a variety of rooms to wind up exploring and get lost in. Not exciting enough for you? Your character has magic! Maybe they cause a ruckus upstairs that makes someone investigate the loud noise or chaos. Maybe they walk in on someone else doing something with their own magic. What sort of scenario can you cook up? I ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[deem]

[It's a kindness, 9S knows, and one he's grateful for. The subject, or rather matters that are related to it, has come up a few times. And despite that, he's still avoided getting into it on any deeper level, glossing over and easily sidestepping what he considers a less than cheerful topic.

Because naturally, wholesale slaughter is not the greatest of conversation topics. He's always been inclined to keep to himself what he considers inconvenient, besides.

Still, Alphonse told him something he may rather have not discussed, not so long ago, hadn't he?]

I was there for it, when our base of operations fell. So I saw how fast it can happen, and how easy it was, no matter how organized and secure we thought we were.

[He recalls distinctly how helpless he felt, and how much it pained 2B to be unable to do anything about it]

Dunno if I'm the best company, but...it's pretty boring being alone if you're not gonna sleep, right?

[And he remembers that Alphonse doesn't sleep]

[alphonse]

You've got that right. [A little wryly.] But it's probably a good thing that a few of us are up, just in case things get worse.

[Al leads them in the direction of the bathroom, where he ultimately ends up sitting on the floor, scrubbing at the mud on the armor with a wet towel. It's not the most normal way to have a conversation, but it is, at least, a little more private. He looks up at 9S, mulling over what he said before. The coven couldn't be called organized by even the most generous definition of the word, so it's no wonder they'd seem especially vulnerable in light of all that.]

What happened after the attack? Did you make it out okay?

[deem]

2B and I escaped, but...

[He trails off, shaking his head before he sinks to the floor to sit. It's strange, not being the one looking up at Alphonse, considering the difference in their statures]

Very few of us remained. The enemy spread a virus among our ranks, and unfortunately, such an infection spreads quickly between units.

[Scanners like him could fend it off, certainly, but only for so long. After a point, the only means of salvage would be to partition off their most vital data and wipe their systems. To purge the virus, memory would be sacrificed]

[alphonse]

Take out the base and then unleash a virus to deal with any survivors... That's awful.

[Downright Amestrian in its brutality. Al doesn't need to know a lot about how viruses interact with androids to get that it's something very, very bad.]

Is there a cure?

[deem]

Actually...they took it down with the virus. The results are the same though.

[He still remembers the red glare of their eyes, even now]

Depending on how far it has progressed, recovery is possible. At the cost of our memories, that is. Our core data is partitioned off and our system is purged of anything external to it.

[And given what 9S had said about his memory being who he is, well. Alphonse might have a good idea of how he feels about that]

An infected android, once too far gone, will attack friend and foe alike, with no control over their motor functions and impaired thought processes. It's considered a fate worse than death.

[Being trapped in one's own body, unable to do anything about their actions]

[alphonse]

I can see why.

[Honestly, he can't disagree with that assessment, and it's a disturbing enough thought that he pauses mid-cleaning. Even the recovery option... to survive, but at the cost of everything that makes you who you are? There aren't any good solutions here.

Really, there's only one thing he can say.]

I'm glad you and 2B are okay. It sounds like you've both been through a lot.

[As obviously terrible as this particular battle was, he knows even that is only a part of it.]

[deem]

[They hadn't been okay. It's still a miracle that he finds himself here, 9S knows. A miracle that 2B is here, and that they're both in good repair.

He's sure it must have been their pods, and his inability to find them remains all the more prominent in his awareness for it]

Something like that, yeah.

[Although he hasn't seen too much of her lately]

...Hey, Alphonse? Can I ask you something?

[alphonse]

[He inclines his head curiously at that response, but before he can ask, 9S has beat him to it.]

Sure. What is it?

[deem]

Have you ever had someone feel like they wronged you, and they wouldn't forgive themselves? Even if you already did?

[9S' words come out cautious and halting, for all that they point in a very specific direction.

But they've spoken of personal, even uncomfortable matters before. And he thinks it's safe to inquire, where it may not be with others]

[alphonse]

[Direct hit. Al's startled enough that the towel slips from his fingers, forgotten. Yeah. Yeah, that might be more than a little familiar. He gives a single, slow nod.]

I know exactly what that's like.

[He hesitates before continuing, but unlike when they first met, it isn't out of an unwillingness to talk. He just wants to make sure he's approaching the subject carefully, to try and say the right thing.]

I wish I could give you better advice, but it's really hard. You can't make someone see things the way you do.

[deem]

[The startled reaction comes as a surprise to 9S, although maybe it shouldn't. If someone has that sort of experience, it's a stark subject. He picks up the towel, offering it back up to Alphonse]

Maybe not, but...is there anything you can do?

[It's difficult, watching someone important punish themselves.

For reasons he doesn't quite understand, it makes him feel more helpless than not having a functional NFCS had, in another short life]

[alphonse]

[He takes the towel, setting it back down in his lap.]

You can be there for them. I think it helps. Or, I hope it does. In the end, though, I think it depends on that person, and what it would take to make them forgive themselves.

There's no equivalent exchange when it comes to people.

[No easy way to measure how much trying to fix things is finally enough.]

[deem]

[It's discouraging, thinking that he can do nothing to fix the problem, especially when it feels so much like it's about him.

Not only that, but he was made for fixing things, among his other functions. He can't fend off the thought that he's let someone important to him down]

I guess not...

[He sighs, a weary thing from someone so small]

Pretty tough to sit on the sidelines, but I haven't thought of anything I could do either. Nothing I'd feel right about, anyway.

[alphonse]

You've tried talking about it, right?

[9S has to be less hopeless than he is when it comes to that kind of thing.

Al's also being a little presumptuous, but considering that they're both only really acquainted with one person from each other's respective worlds, the assumption feels safe enough. He knows he's being just as transparent.]

How did it go?

[deem]

[Less hopeless might be too optimistic]

Not well. If anything, forgiveness seemed to make it worse.

[His shoulders slump at that. From every angle that he looks at the problem, it seems all he can do is make things worse than they were. Being honest to begin with feels like a monumental mistake.

And yet there was no choice under the circumstances]

My not being angry makes no sense, I guess.

[alphonse]

You should keep trying. I don't know how recently any of this happened, but it might take some time for her to really believe you.

[Might as well let the last of the ambiguity fall. 9S can correct him if he's got the wrong idea.]

People like that... they're bad for thinking that they have to carry everything by themselves. It's important that we don't let them, no matter how much they want to fight it.

[deem]

[It's easy to guess who he's worried about, isn't it? 9S supposes it can't be helped.

At least that means he can explain a little better]

I think she believed me, but... It's that she thinks she doesn't deserve to be forgiven, and won't forgive herself.

[alphonse]

They really are the same.

[A tiny sigh of frustrated solidarity. It sounds like circumstances have forced 2B to be more upfront about her feelings, at least, so Al hopes that means 9S will have an easier of it. Surely not everyone is as stubborn as Edward Elric.]

If I can ask... Did she actually do something to you, or is she just beating herself up for a situation that was out of her control?

[deem]

[It's an uncomfortable subject, and the uneasy way his posture shifts broadcasts as much. But 9S brought it up to start with, and Alphonse is safe to talk with about this.

Seems to him they can relate on a similar vexation]

It's...sort of both. She had orders. It hurt her worse than me, having to carry them out. The thing is, if it wasn't her... it would've been someone who didn't care about me, but she did. Always, even though that was a hardship.

[Someone far too kind to be her unit type]

[alphonse]

From what you've told me about your military, I can see why neither of you would have had much of a choice. It's really unfair.

[Bad orders and what he assumes to be a hopelessly corrupt system... That part's uncomfortably familiar too, albeit for different reasons. 9S is willing to forgive and move forward, though, and that can't mean nothing.]

But you got through it, and now you're both here. If anyone can get her to see this as a second chance, I'm sure it's you.

[Persistence is still one of 9S' specialties, after all.]

[deem]

[Alphonse has a point about that]

You're right. Now we can do what we were meant for.

[Maybe that's not how most people would define a second chance, but 9S is grateful that now, he and 2B can protect something. They're not fighting for a cause that no longer exists, or forced to hurt one another]

I'll just have to keep trying... When she talks to me again, that is.