spellbinders | [WORLD TWO

Entry tags:

[WORLD TWO | INTRO LOG]

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.

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:

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That's not the word I'd use.

[It is a bit much, though. That said, Velvet isn't the type that likes owning up to any weakness, even something as mild as "a little overwhelmed." She does look a bit irritated, which is typical for her, but there's some weariness apparent in her voice, too. She stares off in the distance rather than glancing towards Jude.]

Everywhere I look, it's all squeaky clean. Makes me want to break a few things.

[ that's enough to make jude laugh. he's slowly coming to realize that this is just velvet by now. ]

Do you really want to go getting arrested for property damage on day one?

[Tempting for her to say "I'd like to see them try," but Velvet is more realistic than that. Without her arm and her powerful artes, she doesn't actually think she could fight off an entire police force.]

No. We can't always get what we want.

If I'm going to start breaking things, I'll make sure that it counts.

And what would making it count entail?

Accomplishing something useful.

[Purposefully vague.]

Don't worry. If it happens, I won't drag a good boy like you into it.

[The way she says "good boy" sounds… well, not sarcastic, but certainly a bit like she's mocking him.]

Hey!

[ jude pouts in protest. if you told him he was pouting, he'd deny it, but he's totally pouting. ]

You make me sound like I've never gotten into any trouble before.

Trying to break me out of prison in a dream doesn't count.

[She's grinning. Jude is free to enlighten her further.]

I-I may have been arrested once before... and expelled... I was lucky to have the expulsion excused in the end. And, well, I managed to flee.

[ more like he was rescued, but details. it's not like jude's proud of all this. it's not something he wants to brag about; but at the same time, some part of him wants to prove himself to velvet. ]

Didn't expect that, did you?

[Velvet is very skeptical, in general, but those would be some rather strange and dramatic lies. She takes a few seconds to consider his revelation.]

What made you get into that kind of trouble? Do you regret it?

I don't regret it for a second.

[ he wouldn't have met milla and alvin and everyone else if the circumstances hadn't come to that, as frightened and confused as he was at the time. ]

And... I ended up chasing a lost piece of paper and, as a result, meeting a woman who was breaking into a sealed off laboratory. Naturally, I followed her. The rest speaks for itself.

Naturally.

[Velvet repeats the word dryly. Now she's pretty damn curious.]

It sounds like somewhere that was off-limits. What was natural about following her?

[ well he can't tell her she almost drowned him with a spirit arte beforehand... ]

I was curious.

[ plain and simple. ]

[He could. That might make more sense to her, weirdly. Velvet fought most of her own comrades before they ended up joining her.]

How reckless.

[She doesn't quite buy it. Personal question incoming.]

Was there something special about her?

Well... That's. Er. Complicated.

[ a light flush creeps onto his cheeks. there's so much that is special about milla, he has no idea where to begin. how does he begin to explain the lord of spirits?

well. he's done it before. ]

She claimed to be the Lord of Spirits. That might be meaningless to you, but in Rieze Maxia, the Lord of Spirits is an all powerful being capable of bending the elements to their will.

And you believed her.

[She's learned enough about him now that she doesn't need to press the point.]

Be careful of what people tell you. Even if it turned out fine for you in the end, there are plenty of other people out there who'd rather use you just to get what they want. Especially if they think it's noble or for the greater good.

[Velvet sounds rather bitter all of a sudden.]

[ jude is quiet for a moment, pondering velvet's words. she's not wrong, but it seems rather personal — like she's experienced this herself. jude's chest constricts when he thinks about it. ]

I... I understand. I'll be careful.

[ jude's trust has been taken advantage of before. things turned out all right in the end, when mutual trust was built, but it was rough getting there. velvet doesn't sound so fortunate.

but something tells him that asking her would be a bad idea. he looks conflicted. ]

I appreciate the advice.

[How many people are actually like Artorius? It essentially took one man like him to ruin her trust in pretty much everybody else. Velvet wouldn't mind if Jude asked her about it, but she's not going to spill her guts unprompted, either. ]

Take it or leave it. It's up to you to choose how you live.

[ a firm nod. ]

It sounds like... you might have some experience with this sort of thing. Am I wrong?

You're not. Someone I trusted took everything from me. He threw me in that cell. He did it so he could change the world into a place that fit his ideal vision.

I'm not the forgiving type.

I'm... sorry. I didn't know.

[ there was no way he could have known, but... he feels the need to apologize, regardless. ]

There's nothing wrong with that — with not forgiving someone who went beyond hurting you. Don't think that I'm going to preach to you about it. In your position... I don't know if I could forgive, either.

It's alright.

[If it bothered her, then she wouldn't have told him. As it happens, she got into grittier details with some of the other people who showed up in her dream.]

He paid for it in the end. There's no reason for me to get worked up over it anymore.

[She won't admit that revenge really doesn't do much to dull the pain.]

That still doesn't erase what he did.

[ and he's sure velvet doesn't need jude to tell her that, either. ]

So don't be too hard on yourself.

[She frowns at that.]

I'm as hard as I should be. There's a lot more to it.

… That's all I'm going to say.

That's all you need to say. Thank you, for trusting me with this much.

[He doesn't seem like the type of guy who would go blabbing about to other people, at least.]

Sure. I still don't get why you care, but whatever.

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talim - 2017-12-13 12:25 (UTC) - Expand

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allconsumed - 2017-12-14 05:47 (UTC) - Expand

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