[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

[rootandbranch]

Y...es...?

[Geir isn't quite sure where Dirk is going with this. you can say that existential uncertainty bothers you the way you can say that the weather bothers you, but it's difficult to do anything about either. to him, they're just part of the fabric of the world.]

[splinten]

[Dirk isn't sure where he's going with it, either. He's trying to understand what's in Geir's head. He thinks he gets it? It bugs Geir, but he can't do anything, so he puts it aside but doesn't bury it.

Dirk gives Geir's snout a gentle pat.]

Destroyer of worlds or not, you're a decent guy, Geir. I'd say your only flaw is not having a surname I can use in moments like this.

[rootandbranch]

I guess you could use Lokison...

[Geir nudges Dirk's hand, appreciating the gesture.]

You said that before. About me being good. I don't know if I am.

[splinten]

I could, but I fuckin' hate that guy.

[So he will NOT be using Lokison, thank you.]

There are a likely senses where you aren't. There's the whole world-destroying thing that you don't seem totally opposed to, although I'd personally categorize that as morally neutral rather than good or evil. But in the sense that you're compassionate and genuinely interested in others, and you have a strong drive to learn and grow, and that you listen and observe and develop your own opinions with consideration to people around you, yeah, I think you're good. I wouldn't call it a perfect goodness, but I also don't think that your compassion and care for others should be discounted as meaningless just because you also have more dubious moral perspectives.

I also think those things, like with regards to world-ending or murder or whatever, are things that you still haven't fully learned about yet, but that you've been inquisitive about them and started to gather new information. So it feels premature to judge you on those grounds when you aren't yet even in a place where you know if you can make choices about those things, let alone what choices you will ultimately make.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir doesn't comment on the hating Loki thing. he doesn't know why Dirk specifically would hate Loki, but a lot of people hate Loki, because Loki is kind of an asshole. it checks out.

but for the rest of it...

Geir's understanding of "good" is a little different from Dirk's -- something less of a moral imperative towards behavior directed at other people, and something more of an innate inclination towards growth and healing, fullness and wholeness and clean bravery: the building-up of things. Geir's cousin Baldr was good just by existing, content to be what he was, generous and giving and kind. Jormungand is a hateful empty fearful rage that grows so massive that it shakes the foundations of the world. how could good come out of that?

still, what Dirk is saying makes sense, and Geir's eyes widen as he listens. the ways in which he relates to other people do seem to come across as okay to most of those he talks to, even if his existence is a state of scorched-earth destruction. the two viewpoints sit in screeching, uncomfortable opposition in his head for a moment, he finds at least a temporary way to reconcile them by applying what Dirk says last: it's true, he doesn't know yet whether he can make choices that would allow him to be different than what he is. since no one else knows either, maybe they're withholding judgment on his ultimate nature, and just basing their evaluation of him on the narrow, short-lived period of time he's been in the coven and with Vern, trying to figure these things out.

that's a very strange thought.]

Oh. Let me think about that...

Doesn't that mean you don't know if I'm good either, though? Since you don't know what I'll decide, or if I can...

[splinten]

To a degree. But I think that's also your situation with me, or with anyone. We only have limited information to make our decisions, and the people we assess usually have the potential for change, even if we're right at the time.

[rootandbranch]

["the potential for change"... now there's a wistful thought. he doesn't know whether he has that or not, of course, but the rest of what Dirk says makes sense, and even tracks with things he remembers saying -- if people are nice to him, he'll like them, right? he even mentioned in this very conversation that he likes Dirk whether or not he knows everything about him. after Dirk explained himself, he still likes him.]

Thank you, then.

[splinten]

[He gives Geir's snout another pat, because it seems to be a good idea, and says,] To give a more concrete example, when I mentioned how miserable living the postapocalyptic life was for me, did that make you think about causing Ragnarok differently?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir fidgets uncertainly. that's a very direct line of questioning.]

I'm... I'm not sure. I don't like the idea of you being there for Ragnarok. Or... after. But you wouldn't be...

[someone would, is the next logical step. but he's not sure he actually wants to address that out loud, so his voice trails off.]

[splinten]

[Dirk, who still is learning about this 'don't fucking push' it thing and clearly hasn't mastered it, continues with,]

Someone would be. You thought about that.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir responds in weird, elliptical ways to pressure. sometimes he panics. sometimes he disassociates. in this case, he does neither, but he looks back at Dirk levelly.]

I don't know if I'd care about them yet.

[he doesn't. liking some people he's met in the coven is a long way from firmly generalizing that he cares about all life intrinsically, and even if he's slowly pulling in more data to ponder whether he feels that way or not, he's not there.]

[splinten]

Maybe you wouldn't. But you thought about it, and now you aren't sure.

[He gives Geir a pet, along his forehead. He doesn't seem upset, exactly, but he doesn't seem happy, and Dirk wants to help him chill.]

That's what I mean when I say that it feels premature to judge you about these things yet. You're still learning and making your decisions about how you feel.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir doesn't retreat from the pat, but he doesn't quite lean into it either, eyes narrowing slightly.]

I didn't know how I felt about that before you mentioned it, either.

[he isn't upset, exactly, but he definitely felt the urge to dig in his heels and push back against being pushed there, and he's still feeling and expressing that. the fact that he trusts Dirk and that Dirk was the one who did it -- in the context of one of their all-topics-allowed heart to hearts, no less -- means that it's a low stakes situation, though, and he can examine and analyze the feeling. he's thinking about it.]

[splinten]

[It makes Dirk stop the pat.]

What do you mean?

[rootandbranch]

[...Geir shoves his nose into Dirk's hand again, almost grumpily. he didn't say to stop.]

I just mean that that wasn't the first I was thinking about it. It's hard to talk about. I didn't like the question.

[huh. that's... very interesting. where has he seen that reaction...? a few places, honestly...]

[splinten]

[OKAY, OKAY, HE WILL CONTINUE THE PAT. He feels bad now though as he realizes what he just did.]

Oh. Sorry. That's, uh, the pushy asshole thing. I'm sorry. That was shitty, and I shouldn't have done that.

[rootandbranch]

No, it's okay. I do the same thing...

[it's said in a tone of interest; Geir doesn't seem to be taking it personally, and the sulkiness is ebbing away as he examines the problem.]

I didn't get why people got upset at me.

[splinten]

[He wants to ask if Geir gets it now, but he's now worried about being the pushy asshole, so he just keeps patting Geir and waits for him to continue.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir lays there thinking for a few moments and then realizes Dirk stopped talking and glances at him sidelong. what.]

Dirk?

[splinten]

I wanted to let you finish thinking.

[rootandbranch]

Oh, sorry.

Um, I was thinking, I might get it more now? I don't know if it's the same for other people, though. And I'd have to see if it happens more now that I'm thinking about it like that.

[he hesitates, not quite able to get his claws into another thought yet.]

...I don't think it's always bad, though...

[splinten]

[Dirk is... still scared of asking a question, but feels like Geir needs a response, so he settles on an unusual use of body language as his primary form of communication: the tilt of a head.]

[rootandbranch]

[this will be very weird when Geir fully notices it. usually Dirk can't shut up. it's noticeable.]

I dunno. Most of the time, when I don't like answering something, I feel like I should probably answer it?

[he wonders what the difference is? is this all in his head? it's very confusing.]

[splinten]

[Okay he can venture, like, some words. Go him.]

Hm, yeah.

[Excellent words, very expressive. Nailed it.]

[rootandbranch]

[patiently:]

Dirk?