[WORLD TWO | INTRO LOG]

[spellbindmods]

Who: All coven members
Where: In and around the new world’s apartment building where the coven is staying
When: Day (the calendar isn’t syncing for me hELP)
Open/Closed: Open to All

You’re in a room. It’s pretty bright — blindingly so, even. There’s something very stark and very clean about the place, and also the person you’re sitting in front of. You’re sitting? You’re sitting. There’s also a pane of very powerful plexiglass separating you from the uniform-clad person who is now speaking to you. It’s impossible to transcribe what they say verbatim, but here’s the gist of it: - You’re being welcomed to a city called Shehui. Depending on who you are, the level of technology may be light years ahead of you or child’s play. - There’s a very strict policy about magic. While there are measures put in place to prevent magic from happening, this is still something that they reiterate over and over. They don’t want to take chances. - Crime is also frowned upon. Small infractions will result in credit deductions, while major crimes will get you banned. Antisocial behavior is also looked down upon. You’re locked in the city for your initial eight weeks. You can leave afterwards, but trying to break out of the city or cause social unrest will result in monitoring and a potential ban. - This city is supposed to be somewhat relaxing. Is it a free pleasure cruise? No. Is it a self-contained society that runs on community and indulgence? Yes. - You’re being given an allotment of credits in order to stay in the city, which is what the economy there runs on. This goes on for quite some time. - You’re being moved to a housing location. Despite the slotted speaker in the middle of the plexiglass, the only time you have a chance to ask questions is when a small slit opens in the bottom and a package is slid towards you. - What’s in the package? There’s a credit card-like apparatus that has apparently taken a picture of you. It contains a place to write your name, an identification number and barcode. It also has a thin strip near the top that has scrolling script floating by. It states “WELCOME TO SHEHUI. YOUR ID WILL UPDATE WITH COMMUNITY NOTICES AND PERSONAL PINGS FOR JOBS AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO YOUR INTEREST.” It’s a lot to take in, but that’s the long and short of it. Have questions? The person will reiterate a few times that there are information desks around the city. That’s all for now…now you’ll be traveling to your next destination: your new home. The floor slowly lowers as if you’ve been in an elevator the whole time. It connects to several other glass containers, much like your own, all suddenly clanking together in a chain. After a short wait, the chain begins to move — quickly. Faster, maybe, than you’ve ever gone before. It’s hard to even make out the scenery when you’re zipping past everything so quickly. Where does this trip lead you? The ground floor of your new apartment building. The plexiglass cases open up and you’re in a hotel lobby. There’s a flashing board on the wall — NEW ARRIVALS, COME HERE. A ▢ So now’s the time to get settled into your new digs. Your name is on the board, and there’s a promise that your things — which, by the way, were mysteriously taken — will be located in your room. No need to fight over bedrooms; those also hold name placards that are digitally installed. Maybe everyone else is already there. Maybe you’re the first person there and need to find a way to stake your claim on the fridge or a bathroom. B ▢ Maybe you don’t want to fuck with anybody right now and are busy exploring the apartment building. You may encounter some aliens, some strangers, some ice machines. There IS that floor that’s nothing but recreational stations. If you’re overwhelmed, the garden is a good place to start. The sport court is pretty empty right now, if you want to have any regrouping meetings.

The apartment building is locked up tight for three hours in order to let new arrivals get their bearings. After that, the ground floor lobby doors open into the city of Shehui. There’s a lot to take in, but let’s cover the biggest bases: C ▢ Right outside this communal apartment building is a large, digital job board. The list of available jobs and credit opportunities are constantly flashing by. Want to pick one out? Just hold up that ID card you were given and the instructions and location will be sent to the ID’s text scroller. D ▢ You’ve got 500 credits to blow on clothes, food, strippers…whatever you’d like? Right next to the apartment complex are tons of local businesses, from bistros to outlet malls. A movie theater, an arcade, a video game store…and the best thing about Shehui? Most everything is dirt cheap. Where are you shopping? What are you buying? Enquiring minds would like to know! E ▢ Right next to the shopping area is a wooded park. It’s akin to a nature trail that’s similar to Yellowstone in scenery and topography. If you’re more comfortable someplace less…tech or modern…then this may be exactly where you’d like to be. F ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[secrowtary]

( C )
[ The list of available jobs is quite impressive, but Hibiki can't help squinting at some of the offers. A stripper? A kids party clown? What is even going on in this city. ]

Does nobody in this city need a responsible secretary?

[ His question is answered with another job offer flashing in front of his eyes. ]

Custodial engineer... [ Side-eyeing this one so hard. ] Or janitor for short.

[ He's losing hope here when... ]

Cat behavior consultant...I could do that.

( D-1 )
[ Once Hibiki realizes that his military uniform is a bit out of place here, he heads out to the nearby clothes shop where another culture shock awaits him. He's just looking for some shirts and pants, and not trauma for life, okay. ]

What is this thing?!

[ Disgusting. ]

( D-2 )
[ How did he end up in an arcade? That's a very tough question. Nonetheless, Hibiki's here, wandering around various machines. Some of them look fun, but isn't Hibiki allergic to having fun? A little, maybe. But the tea table flipping game is really interesting...

At least until he notices the claw crane filled with crow plushies. ]

Nothing will happen if I try just once, right...

[ Let's be real, the 500 credits might be gone in an hour or two, that's how claw cranes are. Not that Hibiki knows how do they work. ]

( Wildcard )
[ Feel free to hit me up at koohii or pm this journal if you'd like to do something else! ]

D-2

[mapsio]

[It seems Haru may have arrived at the Arcade at just the right time. She catches Hibiki over by the crane machine? How long has it been? How many credits are gone? Hibiki may not be familiar with crane machines work?!

Haru is going to lean against the side of it, peering in to see the plushies.]

Hibiki-kun, you do know that these machines are incredibly hard to win, correct? They are meant to possibly make you spend more money than the plush is worth to get it.

[She's giggling.]

[secrowtary]

[ Bless you, Haru. 100 credits later he's still crowless, but definitely frustrated with his own lack of ability. ]

Are they? [ Embarrassed by his own lack of knowledge, Hibiki steps back from the machine. ] I just thought that it's a challenging game, but it seems I was wrong.

[ Still...he's giving the crows trapped inside the machine a longing look before asking her a question. ]

Would you like to play a game together, Haru-san?

[mapsio]

Oh, it's definitely a challenging game.

[Though she seems to give a look into the machine herself, looking for a crow that may be easier to snag. She thinks she could come back later when Hibiki isn't around and maybe give this a try.

Yeah, that's what she would do.]

What kind of game? I wouldn't mind playing with you!

[secrowtary]

[ Haru... ]

It might seem surprising, but I know very little about games. [ Surprising, yeah. Sure. ] In general. But I'd like to play something that exists in your world too. And something that you'll enjoy.

[mapsio]

Well, let's look together then. What games would we enjoy?

[There is a Taiko drumming game, SLAP'N MUSIC, Boogie Boogie Revolution...]

d-2

[secondadvent]

[ Akechi doesn't normally visit arcades because the little free time he has is better spent on other things, but he's exploring and wants to see if the arcades here are anything like the ones back in Tokyo. There, he spots a fellow coven member and decides to wander over and see what he's doing.

...Crow plushies, huh. They're kind of cute, actually? ]

You'll probably lose. This type of game is usually rigged - it's standard practice to adjust the settings so the claw only operates at full power a fraction of the time that people play.

[secrowtary]

Is that so?

[ He could pretend that he knew about it all along (which he didn't, but after quite a few credits spent he began to have doubts), but most likely it's pointless.

Still, Hibiki chooses to be stubborn. ]

A man with confidence shall not lose, only doubt will bring defeat. Have you ever heard this?

[ If he's telling Akechi his own motto it could mean only one thing—he's serious about this. Even if it costs him 500 credits. ]

[secondadvent]

[ ...that sounds kind of pretentious, tbh. ]

No, but I've heard that overconfidence precedes carelessness.

[secrowtary]

[ Nobody said he's not pretentious. ]

I wonder where have you heard that one. There's a significant difference between confidence and overconfidence, too.

[secondadvent]

The internet, most likely. [ He shrugs, glancing over at the pile of crow plushies again. ]

Point taken. Still, confidence probably won't help you much when the machine is rigged.

[terezias]

[Suddenly, a Terezi behind you.]

It appears to be a shirt! And a joke. The joke is that it does not actually resemble formalwear at all.

[She says this like it is important new knowledge of which you should be informed. Aren't you glad she's around?]

[secrowtary]

Whoever designed and made this...they have a poor taste. And obviously, they don't know how to make a good joke.

[ Says the guy who has told like two jokes in his life. ]

Who would even wear this?

[ This is surely a thing to be upset about, yes. ]

[terezias]

[She pauses.]

. . . I can think of a few people!

[Dave. She means Dave. And possibly also herself, but.]

[secrowtary]

Please don't tell me they're in the city.

[ He might die if he sees someone wearing this. And it might be no exaggeration. ]

[terezias]

[She just grins significantly.]

What would you do if they were?

C

[lalliho]

Pssht. Why would anyone need to have a consult on cat behavior? They're not that smart mostly, just do whatever dumb thing they're feeling. Obvious.

[He's a grumpy boy when it comes to cats.]

[secrowtary]

I never said it's a useful job. [ At least he knows that much. ] Although I can't fully agree with you, they're quite smart. Much smarter than some other species, even.

[ Not saying which ones on purpose... ]

If nobody wants a secretary I might as well do something less demanding and take my time investigating this city.

[lalliho]

[Smarter than those dumb redheads with stupid hair from Iceland, that's for sure. But not by much.]

Mrrh. Whatever. [He glances over to scan this defender of cats up and down.] What are you hoping to investigate?

[secrowtary]

Well, their aversion to magic is quite interesting, for instance. I suppose it's connected with the advanced technological development. So is the credits system. Why did they come up with it in the first place, I wonder.

[lalliho]

[eyes glaze over -- actually, no.]

Mm. The place back home with cities like this doesn't believe in magic, so that makes sense.

[Big cities suck!!!]

It's just money, though. What's weird about that?

( d-1 )

[enflame]

( OH my god...Emil just came to buy new clothes, not look at something so horrible. )

It’s tacky, that’s what it is. Put it back, quickly. ( Like, let him help you...frat bro/dad clothing just ain’t his thing AT ALL. ) I don’t like formal wear as much as the next person, but that’s ugly and stupid.

[secrowtary]

[ Thank you, Emil. You're a hero he needed. There's one thing, however— ]

Formal wear is the way to go, though? Having at least one suit is a must.

[ Not that he has one himself...what a hypocrite. ]

[enflame]

If you absolutely have to, of course. But a shirt like that is no way to cut corners.

( Suffice to say, he’s not adding ‘suit’ to his Shehui shopping list. )

I actually don’t mind formal clothes too much as long as they aren’t itchy and stuffy. Ties are horrible too.

[secrowtary]

[ Eyes on Emil, eyes on his own tie, and back to Emil. ]

If I had feelings, you would have hurt them.

[ Hibiki's offering him a sweet smile. Perhaps it's a bit too sweet. ]

In that case, what would you wear?