[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

[deem]

New [A]ccommodations (floor 3, room 3)
[Despite being accustomed to close quarters, 9S hasn't ever been assigned roommates. He had his own small room on the Bunker, and whenever he was in the field he was either alone or with 2B. There wasn't any random grouping involved, nor can he say he's familiar with the custom. Jake at least is a familiar name, but who or what is a Bucky Barnes?

9S stands in front of the holographic plaque for longer than one might expect, pondering this great mystery of the universe before he actually steps into the room. What might be most curious is that unlike others, 9S hadn't any assets to seize. He simply picks a bed and sits on it with legs folded, tapping the air to bring up an array of holographic screens so he can get to work.

What's on the agenda today? Organizing data on this new arrival experience, of course. For anyone curious, he's got some strong opinions about being treated like some prospective troublemaker upon arrival, what with so many, many warnings issued. Does he look magical at all, to anyone?]

If it Ain't [B]roke...
[There are a great many anachronisms that 9S does and does not know. Doubtless the latter includes not fixing something that isn't in disrepair, but it seems to 9S that when he happens upon a vending machine that it could be vastly improved. It'd only take a few minutes, really.

That's what he tells himself.

And then of course any passers by will catch him somewhere along the process of either inspecting or taking the machine apart. He's fairly methodical about inspection, first checking one side, then the other, peering at contents in brightly colored wrappers the likes of which he has no firsthand familiarity with, and even knocking on the front panel.

In the end of course, he's sitting there with several parts successfully dislodged from the machine, tinkering away like he's not going to eventually catch trouble. He improved flight units without Command's approval, this is nothing new]

No Fet[C]h Quests
[More than once, 9S finds himself in front of the job board. The spread of prospective assignments almost seems to dwarf his slight figure as he peers up at it, arms folded as he hums in thought. He's accustomed enough to taking on such tasks from his time with 2B that there's nothing new or novel about working for some extra currency, though the tasks here...]

Groom a cat? What's a cat look like?

[9S never did hear Elle say that Rollo was a cat, and so now he remains unsure of the scope of this job. It sounds simple, probably, but when he's pretty sure he's never seen whatever the direct object is, how can he know for sure?]

So You Think You Can [D]ance
[When 9S entered the arcade, he was content to observe. He's played all of one video game, something that a machine was developing and asked him to debug, along with fetching supplies. This is an entirely different experience, and quite unlike the Amusement Park. Nothing is in disrepair, and bright lights and music flood his sensory inputs...it's nearly overwhelming.

Rather than play any of the games, he had set out to observe. He's never seen recreation of this kind on this scope, but he understands that mankind had such pass-times too. It's an opportunity for him to gather quite a lot of data. And as a Scanner, that's naturally what he intended to do.

That is, of course, until some alien challenged him to some sort of game that involved stepping around to a beat, following some indicators on a brightly lit screen. Said stranger doubtless has regrets by the time 9S is very easily doing just that, seemingly without fatigue or error. And, eventually, he gathers a bit of a crowd.

He's still not quite sure what the point of the game is, but the alien just keeps trying to beat him]

...That's nine times now though...

[How does one politely decline just one more rematch?]

[W]ildcard
[Want to do anything else with 9S? Throw it right on in here]

d

[talim]

[ guess who just so happened to be passing by, caught a glimpse of a blur of familiar stark white hair, and stopped in his tracks before wandering in to watch? jude elbows his way to the front of the crowd, muttering a few apologies along the way.

when that latest round is finished, jude's mouth is hanging open. he ignores the person challenging 9s to what is apparently a tenth rematch, instead nudging 9s' shoulder with his hand to get his attention. ]

Fancy meeting you here. So are you going to tell me where you learned to do that? Because holy crap.

[ and then, a light laugh. ]

... Should I even be surprised?

[deem]

[9S turns as soon as Jude nudges his shoulder, smiling at the sound of his voice. Prepared as he was to greet him, he falters when asked that question. Is something like this really so surprising?

He glances at the screen, then jerks a thumb in its direction when he looks Jude's way again]

There were instructions right on there, so...

[Yep that's it, that's the answer]

[talim]

... Can, um.

[ jude shuffles his feet. it looks so cool... ]

Can I try, too? Against you?

C

[lalliho]

[SIIIIGH]

Like an evil ball of fluff and sharp parts.

[So Lalli's probably not taking the grooming job...]

[deem]

[And because he takes Lalli at his word—]

Really? Why would someone want to domesticate something like that?

[A ball of fur with sharp edges, it sounds like a machine trying to become an animal]

[lalliho]

[To Lalli, the comparison's not far off. He has a grudge]

I don't know. Other animals died, I guess. They can sense things.

( c )

[enflame]

( And now for something drastically different: )

You...don’t know what a cat looks like? ( Don’t listen to Lalli’s salty ass, Emil will educate you on the true beauty of felines. )

[deem]

[Help him he thinks cats must be nightmare fuel]

I don't think so. Domesticated animals like that are long gone, where I'm from.

[They just keep fish. It's a sad, sad time]

[enflame]

( This is an injustice that must be righted. )

Ah...well, we don’t really see dogs or other pet animals where I’m from. Cats are the only pets people really have, outside of sheep and smelly herding animals, anyway.

( Now to think about how to best describe them...hmm. ) Well, they have pointed ears and whiskers — ahh, these thin, hard things coming out of their face. They’re about this big ( Makes a quick size gesture. ) and have a lot of fur...and if they like you, they’ll let you pet them! Military cats are a different story, though.

( That doesn’t paint a very descriptive picture, but what can you do...oh! ) There are probably places for them around here, if you want to take a look for yourself.

D.

[armigers]

[ His hands covered in tickets, Noctis happens to be passing by because of course, he'd spend half his time (and half his money) here. Where else would he be? What he hadn't expected to find was one very astute android, doing his best to enrage his opponent through the sheer power of dance. It's rather mesmerizing in a way Noctis can't even describe to himself, just openly gaping before he realizes it probably looks odd to stare this much and for little reason outside of sheer awe.

His face quickly turns away, eyes flickering to the scoreboard instead before murmuring- ]

Never seen a perfect score in this before...

[ Then again, he's never seen an android playing this game either. It stands to reason he'd be able to do it without breaking a sweat what with being inhuman and all. That must really take the fun out of it, though. ]

Maybe you should just tell him you're-

[ -an android. But sticking out in this place might not work out so well. Noctis hasn't seen a whole lot of robots walking around, so there's no telling if they're cool with that or if they'd just be afraid. It would definitely be better not to stand out. ]

[deem]

[9S on the other hand sees no problem with stating he's an android, although it hasn't occurred to him to do so. He's meant to protect and serve mankind, but on the other hand, he doesn't exactly trust aliens any further than he can throw them. Actually he can probably throw them further than he's willing to trust them.

But Noctis provides him with an easy way out of this situation all the same, and 9S smiles cheerfully as he hops down from the platform]

Hey, Noctis! [Sunny as you please] I'm late to spend some time with you, right? Sorry about that.

[He's been working on generating excuses in a pinch. It might not spare him from being asked how babies are made by persistent machine children larger than himself, but in this case, he sees an opening and seizes on it. Alas, he missed the awestruck look on a certain royal's face]

[armigers]

You ar-?

[ Oh, is he supposed to be acting here? Because he's pretty sure he'd remember if they promised to meet up at some point for arcade fun times. Probably. His mind tries to rewind through their last conversation before making certain that nope, this wasn't discussed. Which means he's being used as a scapegoat. Time to bust out his acting chops. Get ready to be dazzled at his awkward laugh. ]

Uh, yeah, sure. We were going to do ...a thing. Over there.

[ He points in an arbitrary direction which happens to have a booth for taking photos in. You have chosen poorly. His own expression grows stricken, but it's too late to back down now. He's committed himself to this bad idea. ]

Can't be late for that.

[ It's hard to muster any sort of enthusiasm as taking pictures with an android isn't how he imagined this afternoon to go, but he does want to pull him out of a potentially awkward situation and away from an aggravated gamer. That alone encourages him along as he starts to shuffle away miserably and stuff his tickets into his shopping bag. ]

b

[splinten]

[Enter: an enabler]

What upgrades are you giving it?

[deem]

[What a helpful soul]

I thought I'd change it so instead of inserting your card for reading, it can automatically scan it instead. That way it won't jam or get stuck. And then instead of you having to reach into the unit for what you bought, it'll have extensions to dispense the item to a customer instead.

[Way more user-friendly, right?]

[splinten]

[It is more user friendly, but.]

What security protocols have you added to avoid identity fraud or incorrect distribution?

D

[sopherias]

[ The machines here might resemble something she'd see on Fodra, but it may be the first time Sophie has seen machines used for recreational purposes. She had wandered into the arcade, drawn in by the colorful bright lights and music. It's so lively and exciting.

She doesn't try a game herself just yet, but she pauses when she sees a familiar android dancing to some kind of game. During all the nine times that 9S is challenged by the alien, Sophie stands patiently nearby, waiting, and watching their steps intently like a cat...

And it's after the ninth time, Sophie finally decides to pipe up. ]

9S, are you having fun?

[deem]

[9S doesn't hesitate to turn away from further attempts to get yet another rematch out of him. It's been steadfastly one-sided, which he's sure is owed to what he is rather than anything else. Something like this game is surely simple for anyone like him.

He ignores a goading remark and offers Sophie an easy smile]

Hey, Sophie. [Because, of course, greetings are important] It's definitely interesting...did you want to give it a try?

[She'd probably be good at it too, he bets]

[sopherias]

[ Often when she sees someone doing something new, she's going to get curious and want to do it too. Just like the copycat she is. ]

Yes. May I?

[ She's been waiting, for her turn to play on the machine. They've been at it for awhile. Must be fun because it's a game, though she's not sure how the alien feels. ]

C!! i hope you don't mind a late response

[fastpaced]

[ Sonic is not actually keen on doing Normal Work, so he's approaching the job board now with the hope that there will be something more exciting and challenging up there for him to do - although the dry expression on his face says that his hopes aren't very high at all. Hearing 9S's question doesn't do much to bolster said hopes. ]

You've never met a cat before?

[ since he'd only texted 9S before, he doesn't actually recognize him at all. ]

Hmm... They're furry, with pointy ears and fluffy tails. Most of the ones I know are purple with yellow eyes...

[ also, he is giving terrible advice right now ]

never too late for sonic, surely

[deem]

[Now, 9S might have some follow-up questions regarding cats, especially the idea that an animal has purple fur. He's certainly never seen such a thing, and while the Palai were colorful, they aren't of a species that existed on Earth. It was easy enough to chalk it up to a difference of origin.

On the other hand, cats were domestic pets. And 9S has no record of any creature with purple fur. So he thinks to inquire, turning to face the guy who'd just spoken to him]

That sounds—

[Only to be faced with a bright blue...what is he?]

Huh?

that's the spirit

[fastpaced]

[ in response, he looks behind him - then, not seeing anything, glances back at 9S, tilts his head, and then realizes what this look is for. Right. He'll get used to this eventually. Sonic waves a hand dismissively. ]

Lemme guess - never seen a blue hedgehog before? Yeah, I get that a lot.

[ he crosses his arms over his chest. ]

I'm just a normal guy. Promise!

a (this is late too im gomen....)

[precedents]

[ the idea of being roommates with anyone is sort of surreal for A2. she'd been living on her own for so long that it wasn't something she would have ever considered. then again, that applies for many things here in this new world.

in any case, once she arrives, she takes a moment to scan the interior. a few names stick out on the plaque (jake and bucky, and a few others that sound familiar), but 9S is definitely the most important. since the door is open, she pokes her head in, immediately noticing him on one of the beds. ]

Hey.

[ well, he seems to be doing fine, at least. not that A2 expected anything less. ]

[deem]

[9S glances up from the screens when he hears a familiar voice. He's surprised for a pale moment when he sees A2 standing there, but it passes and he seeps his monitors aside with a casual wave of his hand]

Hey, A2. This is pretty weird, huh?

[And her first deployment in this coven-thing, isn't it? And here they're in a world that resembles what bits and pieces they know about the Old World, from what he's seen so far. That's more disorienting than a desert world populated by lizard-people, in 9S' view.

Something like this feels far more impossible]

[precedents]

That's one way to describe it.

[ she leans against the doorway, arms folded across her chest as she gives the room a cursory glance. she doesn't know much about world-hopping, but this seems closer to what little she knows of the old world than what she's seen so far on the island. she'd thought the island already had a considerable amount of humans, but this place exceeds any of her expectations. she still doesn't know how to process it yet. ]

Seen anyone else you know?