[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

[lalliho]

Hn. Mages. People blessed by the gods. It's...a kind of spirit, a troll. It gets trapped there and corrupted. So we can feel them.

[Remember that whole soul-sensing business he proposed...]

[deem]

So that makes you a mage, right?

[Just going to verify this.

He sure does remember the soul business, though he remains unsure why it matters so much to people like Alphonse and Lalli that he have one]

[lalliho]

Yeah. Or else I couldn't sense souls, stupid.

[He's still crabby about cats tbh.]

[deem]

Pretty sure the best you can accuse me of is ignorance on that one. Mages don't exist where I'm from.

[He's dumb and you're not a thing, Lalli]

[lalliho]

[Just waves this response off. Obviously he should have known anyway!!! It's all very obvious and makes a lot of sense, not like ridiculous blindfolds you can see through or guns that don't need reloading.]

Cats are basically useless when you've got the people for it right there. And they're annoying, and loud, and leave their hair everywhere... You don't want a job that does anything with them.

[deem]

...So why do people keep cats?

[Inquiring minds need to know]

[lalliho]

[fuck if he knows tbh]

...Comfort. I guess. People take comfort in really dumb things.

[deem]

What do you take comfort in?

[What all does Lalli define as dumb? The mystery]

[lalliho]

[TOO MUCH]

I…?

[What kind of question is this... More importantly, what does he take comfort in? It shouldn't be a hard question, but... But really, he's less often found comfort than just gotten used to the discomfort he's almost constantly feeling.]

...Being in a smaller space when it's quiet, maybe. Not too small, but small enough I don't have to worry so much about what parts aren't safe.

[deem]

Cozy, right? Places like that remind me of home base.

[9S can't exactly call the Bunker or any place home, because that concept is firmly affixed to wherever 2B currently is. Anyplace could be home if she was around, and no place would be without her. He's sure of that much.

But it was their base of operations, small and before certain events, safe]

It was pretty quiet for the most part too, I guess. But do you think something like that is dumb?

[lalliho]

[Weird robo-boy understands... Weird. Even weirder is that he's continuing to ask questions that are much harder than they should be. Lalli leans back onto his heels and stares at the job listings rather than 9S.]

I don't. People have told me it's weird, though. Or told the people around me instead of me.

[deem]

Sounds like they're pretty rude anyway.

[Says an android who is often pretty rude himself]

They can just have those cats then.

[More quiet, close quarters for the guys with taste, clearly]

[lalliho]

[two rude boys bashing on the """normal""" people, sounds about right.]

Hn. I guess.

[but he likes to be bitter about it... oh well.]

I don't recognize a lot of these jobs.

[deem]

[9S looks back up at the board]

Some of them I get, but some of them don't make much sense. Guess that says something about how diverse the population is around here.

[Or something like that, at any rate]

[lalliho]

Maybe... There are a lot of people...

[a little too many tbh]

[deem]

More than I've ever seen in one place.

[The Bunker had a population of about two hundred, and they weren't ever all there at the same time, what with field units being deployed]

[lalliho]

[Lalli makes a soft noise of agreement, but he's clearly trying not to think about it, with how he avoids looking at any of the surrounding crowds. Just keep looking at the words...]

I wish this would slow down. And the people, and their talking, but I want to be able to actually read what I'm supposed to do.

[deem]

It'd be nice if we actually got any sort of mission briefing, before we got set out. Instead it's like we're just...thrown places.

[Which he's sure they can real with, but it's still frustrating]

As for this stuff, maybe there's something that'd be quiet, work-wise.

[lalliho]

[It takes him a second to unwrap everything there, since he had been strictly thinking in relation to this job board, but...yeah.]

...I don't think they know. When I got here, Brie said something about hoarding food because they didn't know when they'd find a place with food. [That's the abridged version, anyway.] I'm pretty sure no one really knows what's happening anywhere.

...Probably not scouting work.

[deem]

Even they're that under-informed, huh?

[That's pretty bad, so far as he's concerned]

One of these jobs might make use of skills a scout would have though. Locating something or someone would work.

[He points out two such postings]

[lalliho]

I don't know. Maybe?

[It's not like he knows for sure one way or another... People were mysteries, mysterious people even moreso.

These jobs, though...!]

Mmn. Wish it wasn't a city, though.

[deem]

I'm sort of used to it, just...not all the people.

[There's something rather overwhelming about it all, being in the middle of a sprawling city]

But it can't all be this crowded, right?

[lalliho]

[Little shrug.]

You don't know that. Even the room I'm supposed to stay in has two other people in it.

[deem]

Well, as scouts, aren't we the best equipped to find out?

[A beat]

I mean, unless this terrain's too much for you or something.

[The gentlest of baiting]

[lalliho]

[It might be gentle, but the switch is immediately flipped because somebody has some issues with pride and inferiority. Lalli's head whips around so he can glare with maximum power.]

It isn't! I can do my job anywhere.

[He's too easy...]