[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

[distained]

one.

[ So this is what it means to bound through different worlds. Kaisar has never been to the world of the gods, though he knows it exists, and believed them upon arrival about the situation, but seeing it firsthand, again, is... incredible.

For awhile, he's just kind of staring around in awe and... complete confusion. The credit card is taking some getting used to—he misuses it many times over the course of his first day there, apologising profusely to those nearby that he may be inconveniencing.

He's finding himself inside of many different buildings, including:

‣ the movie theatre, where he can be found tearing up over the romcom playing on the screen.
‣ a restaurant, where Kaisar is tentatively ordering something and receiving a small order of fries, which he's looking at curiously. When he's told to spill them onto his plate, he gives the informant a strange look before doing so, and when he sticks one in his mouth he's suddenly yelping out something like salty!
‣ or the park, after he's finally given up on trying to understand the technology of this place, and has taken to the trail for a short walk. If he sees you doing the same, he'll be greeting you and asking you about this place. ]

the wildcard

[ honestly just do anything. give me a blank. i'll do a thing. ]

The park!

[songbird_slayer]

[She was seated in the grass, jotting down a few lyrics before she set it all aside and readied her guitar. Now, how would the next verse go?]

Fire, born of the flames of desire,
This fire, give in to the hunger, give into the hunger,
Cast off your ablution, let passion run wild-

[Ah, here comes somebody. Her fingers were still upon the strings and she canted her head curiously.]

Ah. I'm not being shooed away from here, am I?

[distained]

Not at all.

[ If anything, he's now finding a nearby log, rock, something. Something he can sit on, folding his hands over his knees and leaning forward. ]

Your song is lovely.

[songbird_slayer]

[Yet she hadn't risen from her position, despite the query. This pleasure dome of sorts wouldn't dare shuffle their guests away, now would they? Even if she did technically break the law once already.

Details.

Her expression brightened, and she briefly clasped the rim of her hat with a nod.]

Thank you kindly. 'Tis the subtle seduction of the primal Sri Lakshmi. She bids one and all to forever dream under her influence. Yet I can't shake how dreadfully catchy it all is.

Reminds me of this place, really... food for thought, is it not?

[distained]

Primal?

[ To forever dream... to someone under that spell, Kaisar imagines it's a blessing. Still, he can only mentally shudder at the thought. But the question is... what's a primal. ]

Perhaps. But I believe I've managed to keep my cognition thus far.

[enflame]

( Emil’s hunt for food has brought him to this restaurant where he’s about to indulge in a real meal for the first time in forever. However, a lot of this food is unfamiliar... One of these foods, happens to be French fries, although he couldn’t identify them if he tried. He’s glanced at the menu a few times, and ultimately he’s about to leave when he hears the scream.

Calm down, dude...it’s food. Except, peering over, it’s food that looks real fuckin’ weird. )

What on Earth did you order? Strange, mushy sticks? ( He’s so tempted to pick one up and feel it...this food is funky as fuck. )

[distained]

[ Earth?? Like the dirt? Well, certainly, he supposes... ]

I am told they are called fries and that they are made of potato. However, upon eating one... they do not taste like potato whatsoever.

[ More like they taste like salt. ]

[enflame]

( Emil blinks and bends over to examine these...fries more closely. Hmm. )

A fried potato? But why would you want to eat a potato if you didn't want it to taste like a potato?

[distained]

I'm not so sure. Should I ask?

[ ...will that be insulting?! ]

[enflame]

If you're paying for it, you have a right to ask!

( Insulting or not, the customer is always right!!!! )

[distained]

I'm not so sure... perhaps they expected it to be common knowledge. It seems like a popular and cost effective type of food.

[ Everyone else has fries is what he's getting at. ]

theatre. & godmoding sniffling gomen

[reckoner]

[ This is a movie, what a film should be.

The events of the storm have uniquely disposed him for this moment. Utilizing his power to project a movie that defied any favorable definition, and attempting further with whatever he could recall movies known in his world, could have turned him off the entire form of media. Instead, arguable study.

The head cold had its part to play, as well. Once settled and employed, he prioritized a supply of napkins and tissues to keep at hand. Too much sacrificing of his sleeve.

Thus, the present: seated a few seats from a familiar face, a faint smile etched over features less easy with it. Sniffling draws his attention, and Gaelio leans over, arm extended, a few folded tissues between his fingers. ]

cute......

[distained]

[ It's a blessing honestly, he's saving Shehui from being exposed to Kaisar's truly ugly crying. Someone with long eyelashes and a polite, delicate demeanor should not have the ugliest of ugly crying faces, but of course he does. It's too horrifying to even icon, that's how bad it is.

But, the world is saved, thanks to the kindness of a stranger. Which, when emotional, tilts Kaisar towards being even more emotional and... no! Get yourself together, Kaisar Lidfard! Knights don't blubber like babies over whatever this projection is and tissues being offered&mdash:anyway, he's regaining control of his face after a few involuntary twitches... for now. ]

Thank you! [ It's said a little too loudly, a little too honestly, and draws the stare of a grumpy looking old lady in front of him. If he noticed her glare, he'd apologise profusely to her as well, and then everything would be a mess. He doesn't understand the thing about not talking during a movie yet. ] I shall repay you soon!

[ He doesn't really know what Kleenex(tm) is, but if it were a normal cloth he'd wash it and return it like a real gentleman. This is too flimsy to be truly polite, he'll have to think of something else!! ]

no you...

[reckoner]

[ Nothing is too horrifying to icon, which really just makes one feel deprived???

Once having passed along the tissues, Gaelio eases back into his seat, prepared to put the guy from mind. Fellow coven member or not, the movie continues, which de facto closes conversation. Or, should. Gratitude is one thing, but continuing, and at such volume, is another.

Which only makes the elderly woman repeat her pointed swivel and glower. Next she'll start shushing, but it isn't a bad juncture for it. The couple on screen have progressed from dramatic confessions in the rain to locking lips, transitioning indoors and shucking clothing. Gaelio had thought he understood the rating system, but maybe he misunderstood where Shuhei society drew the respective lines.

Regardless, he doesn't mind looking away from the screen, and to the guy, so to hold his index finger up to his lips. His other hand he lifts, flattens horizontal in the air, and pushes down repeatedly. Both intended to be quieting gestures.

He can tell him not to worry about repayment after --

Oh.

Wait.

Telepathy.

Almost two months, and it has yet to become natural. ]

»Don't worry about it.«

NUH UH

[distained]

[ Are you sure........... ]

Oh, yes—

[ He says, out loud. Accidentally. The telepathy thing is still far beyond his grasp, honestly, he's just a simple knight and this newfangled magic isn't surprising to know that it exists; but it's surprising to be used on him, specifically. But he catches on and settles down in his seat as to no longer disturb any other movie goers. ]

»I insist! I cannot let your politeness go unrepaid!«

[ Is what he manages to get out in slightly stilted thoughts, because in order to properly look like he's attending this "movie" thing, he's now facing the screen again.

Ah.

This is indecent??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He should not be laying his eyes on such a scantily clad woman?! Is that a breast?

Excuse him while he covers his eyes... sort of... and looks away........... as if to give a fictional character the privacy they deserve. ]

[reckoner]

[ I laughed so hard I coughed ]

[ Something of a trade-off. Encouraging the newer member of the coven to utilize telepathy might have spare the rest of the audience, in exchange Gaelio treated himself to a direct line to that emotive exuberance. It's a lot, given how infrequently he uses it himself, but isn't a bad thing.

Especially as a continued distraction from how long this scene is. Gaelio might not be a prude, but he was raised in a society with somewhat rigid, traditional ideas about propriety. Making this... a little uncomfortable. That lady had really looked old, too. Was she seriously --

never mind. Maybe it's all the worse because the other guy's actually covering his eyes. Maybe that makes it seems worse than it really is.

But it is pretty explicit. What happened to the art of suggestion?

A loud mental conversation should help. ]

»It's only a tissue. The only comparable repayment would be another flimsy paper.«

[ An easy way to solve it, then -- ]

»Grab me a napkin from the concessions stand, and we're even.«

[distained]

[ i like stealing your telepathy code too much...

Look, he's used to like. Proper handkerchiefs and things that are practical but also lacey. Little bits of paper seem weird... how would one reuse them?! ]

»I'll do just that! Ah, but once this...«

[ "Movie" it was called. "Lewd" is what Kaisar is thinking. ]

»...this picture is finished, or perhaps on an intermission.«

[ He's taking a proper peak to see if there's an intermission in the act on screen and—nope, that's some form of Hot Makeouts(tm) going on up there. Hot Makeouts(tm) is at least decent enough that he's not flinging his cloak over the poor fictional/2D person's bust to preserve modesty.

But... ]

»Are they all like this?!«

[reckoner]

[ whispers i totally stole it from the ffxv crew

Rather than reuse, why not fail to recycle and overall contribute to an alarming trash situation. and now i'm wondering how the ibo world manages that far in the future... i guess less people bc calamity war

Hot Makeouts(tm) evolve from a touch uncomfortable, to outright difficult to watch. Less because the content's changed, not yet becoming even more explicit, but because the other man's excessive reaction has contagion, or at least civil pressure.

Surprisingly so, really. Desensitized as Gaelio is, fair and fairly deadened, that he would recognize a self-consciousness born of watching without wavering what a more modest man turns his eyes from -- it's near novel.

Though it's unnecessary with telepathy, he further uses the excuse of the conversation to turn toward him, attention fully away from the screen. ]

»They might be, here.«

[ Though they shouldn't be. Was Shehui that sort of place? ]

»But, there probably won't be an intermission.«

[distained]

[ just launch it into space it's fine ]

»I'm starting to truly see the differences in our worlds. There's nothing like this in Anatae, even in the demon's host clubs.«

[ He doesn't really realise that's something to be awed at, either. ]

[reckoner]

[ of course... OF COURSE. ]

[ Yes, the question's inevitable. ]

»The demon's host clubs?«

[ even if (sort of) self-explanatory, the explanation will further distract both of them. ]