[DECEMBER INTRO LOG | WORLD TWO]

[spellbindmods]

Who: All coven members, especially new folk!
Where: In and around the new world’s apartment building where the coven is staying, as well as the rest of Shehui
When: Day 160
Open/Closed: Open to All

How did you get into this building? This apartment room? What the fuck is going on? Let's refer back to this page for a semi in-depth, wow so detailed, explanation of your current situation. Are you up to speed? Great. Now, here's the question of the hour: what are you going to do about it? A ▢ Unlike the other coven members, the newbies are coming into the apartment building with non-empty apartment rooms. Depending on how polite or cautious you are, your first instinct may be to find your apartment and knock on the door. But it is your apartment now, too, and you do have an ID card that'll get you in. What horrible calamity will you walk in on? What eccentric roommates will you happen upon? The wacky situational comedy scenarios are ENDLESS. B ▢ One of the jobs on the job board this week is fundraising -- neat, right? Before you even make it up to your apartment, you may be accosted by an excited citizen -- coven member or no -- that is trying to push something onto your character. Chocolate bars? Cheese logs? Cookie dough? Some other luxury item or overpriced snack food? Because this fundraising task is based on commission, the citizen in question may be a bit pushy...or you may be inclined to buy ridiculous amounts of goods and not know what to do with yourself.

New coven members showing up today are in luck. This week, Shehui is celebrating a Keep the Community Clean event. It's rare that they force jobs on people, but there has been an influx of new citizens and the population growth is leading to more trash. Fulfill your assignment and you'll be rewarded 1,000 credits. Don't? Be fined 500. Everyone has been sent a job to their ID, be it collecting trash, cleaning their apartment building or holding up signs/handing out literature about recycling. Sweeping, bagging...it's dirty work, but someone has to do it. C ▢ Cleaning up trash on the street might be hard, but it's fulfilling! Okay, that's a lie. It's demeaning and a lot of citizens don't really care about the minimal littering credit deduction as they toss trash from their cars or miss throwing it into bins. Volunteers are outfitted with gloves, vests and a roll of trash bags, but it doesn't prevent them from being rudely splashed with snow or having to pick up nasty things. Have fun! D ▢ For those who decided to pass out literature, you did pick the better job! It's a lot easier to avoid getting nasty, but it's also awkward...having to hand out fliers, be cheerful, regurgitate boring facts about recycling. Please sir, stop and listen to this exciting speech about why should put your cans in the red bins, not the blue ones! E ▢ There is a bright side to these jobs: local businesses are getting in on the outpouring of people out and about to try and get them into seats and buying things. Free samples are abound! There's a local coffee shop, Mooncents, that is handing out free small drinks to anyone who is actually working today. Come inside, regardless if you "volunteer" or not. It's warm inside with all that snow out there...

Speaking of snow! Most businesses and buildings in Shehui have paid to have snow falling every other hour, which coats the city areas in a fine, powdery dust of snowflakes. You may be familiar with snow, or maybe you've never seen it in your entire life! It's unavoidable either way, so you're going to have to deal with it. F ▢ Children in Shehui are usually in a school building somewhere, but snow days call for some leniency. School is pretty come-and-go anyway, so don't be surprised that there are quite a few kidlets out and about on the streets. They're also fully into the spirit of snow, throwing snowballs at unsuspecting strangers. Will you get in on the action, or will you plan the murder of innocent children today? G ▢ While it's unadvised to just go lay out in the street and make snow angels, there are plenty of parks in which to examine or play in the snow. You won't be the only one acting like a fool -- it's Shehui. You're allowed to live a little! H ▢ Finally, Coins! has bought the most snow as a means for their seasonal activity -- snow paintball. If you're looking to have a good time and enjoy Shehui for what it is, you'd best be inclined to sign up. A massive field with snowbanks and excellent areas for hiding, snowball paintballs that hurt twice as much as usual. What more could you ask for? I ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[marakukaja]

a; for roommates!

[ Although waking up without clothes on would be a shock for anyone, Aigis is much less concerned about the "technically being naked" part of the situation and much, much more concerned about the "nothing to cover her robotic figure" part of the situation. She already scurried as fast as she could and tried to be as stealthy as possible to avoid people seeing her like this. If her things are in her assigned room, with roommates, then her coat must be, too. And she needs that coat, judgment from roommates be damned.

Hesitantly, she knocks on the door and calls out: ]

...Hello?

[ If no answer arrives, she'll slide her ID card and open the door herself, peering inside with only her head showing through the crack. Not the rest of her body. Yet. ]

b; no one person should have all these samoas

[ Although her frame is made of metal, her heart is not. So what else is she supposed to do when a little girl shyly walks up to her and asks her to buy boxes of cookies? Especially a teary little girl. Those waterworks are fatal. Truly terrible. Terrible enough to compel Aigis to buy approximately way more than she (or anyone else) needs.

It's only after the girl and those who helpfully basically unloaded their remaining inventory onto her and walk away that Aigis stares at the pile of cookie boxes right outside of the entrance to the apartments that she found herself with one problem: she can't eat things.

The only thing to do with this is to offload them to those who can eat things, it seems. To whoever passes by, a blond, blue-eyed girl in a long black coat hands over a box of cookies with both hands and a smile. ]

I seem to have bought too many of these. Would you like one? I can't eat.

[ ...Wait. Not being able to eat is a little weird. Slip up number one. Too much, too soon. She inwardly berates herself a little. Get it together, Aigis. Just because you've been suddenly dumped in a new world and already a little anxious due to waking up with your robotic frame exposed doesn't mean that you can afford to let things like this slip. ]

I can't eat...these. I'm...allergic! To...

[ Oh no. She didn't prepare an explanation beforehand. Aigis quickly takes back the box of cookies and reads off the first ingredient that stands out, and then re-offers it to them just as quickly. ]

...Caramel. Yes.

[ Please believe her. She's not a robot. Take the box of not-Samoas. ]

d; near, far, wherever you are

[ Educating others on their responsibility to protect the environment is also an important job, isn't it? Although she can't say she's a fan of doing menial work like this, she isn't entirely unused to it either. This is one thing her processor and robotic nature is suited for, she supposes. Regurgitating recycling facts.

There's also another thing her robotic nature is good for, though, and that's also tracking targets down. Near, far, wherever they are, Aigis will suddenly (and, for the more perceptive, all-too-stealthily and quickly) pop up either behind someone or at their side, tap their shoulder gently, and then offer a pamphlet with one hand, a hefty stack of pamphlets and fliers in the other. ]

Excuse me, but would you like to learn about recycling? You may even learn something you didn't know before. For example, recycling an aluminum can can save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours...

[ When the latest disinterested target walks away once again, she lets out a small sigh and mutters out loud. ]

...Perhaps I should change my approach...are these facts not fun enough?

[ Her specialty is military tactics and advanced processing, not...marketing, unfortunately. ]

wildcard;

[ Have an idea? Go nuts, and/or feel free to hit me up via PM or Plurk o7 ]

b

[rootandbranch]

[the enormous dragon who happened to be heading towards the apartment building pauses in surprise when he's addressed, but he amiably turns off the path far enough to approach Aigis and her treasure trove. he stretches out his nose to sniff the box of off-brand cookies politely; it certainly smells delicious.]

Oh, that smells great!

[Geir allows himself one longing glance at the entire pile (it would go down so easy!) before addressing himself to Aigis again, though. fair is fair, and this girl is clearly hoarding the cookies for some sort of reason.]

Are you sure you don't want to save them, though? I don't really have to eat...

[he bets that even the smaller upstairs apartments have enough space to make a really big pile of cookies, and isn't that what everyone really wants in life?]

[marakukaja]

[ A dragon. An enormous one, at that. She's never seen such things in "reality", but she's also the very last person who should be talking about what's strange and what isn't. Her eyes widen momentarily, slightly on-guard due to Geir's size (the only sort of creatures she's encountered that are even similar to him are Shadows, and, well...), but she manages to regain her composure after the momentary surprise and shoots him a smile. He sounds friendly enough. ]

I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure. Besides, I don't really have to eat right now either.

[ It's far too much for even a normal human to have, in her opinion. Too much sugar. ]

[rootandbranch]

All right-- I'd love to try a couple! If you help take them out of the box for me.

[Geir's not so far off from as a Shadow as he could be, but right now, he's here for cookies from the Young Lady Spies, a long-running and upstanding youth organization with a proud history.]

Or... I could just eat the box, if they're better that way...

b

[alphonse]

[Awkward excuses for not eating? That aren't being made by him? Huh. That's new. Unfortunately, Al is here to make things worse.

On his way back to the apartments, a few well-meaning citizens have all but forced cups of coffee into his hands, ("You must be freezing in that armor! Take this, I insist!") leaving him searching for someone else to pass them off to. He stops long enough to listen to that bizarre explanation, then looks at the coffee in his hands, to the boxes of cookies, and finally back to Aigis.]

Um, no thanks. Want a cup of coffee?

[It's worth a shot.]

[marakukaja]

[ The first thing she notices is the coffee. The second thing she notices, with the help of her built-in scanners is the lack of heat from Alphonse, aside from the coffee. In fact, she's not picking up any life signs...? How strange. And he's not emanating any sort of signal or resonance at all, so he's most likely not an android.

Nevertheless, that's probably not the sort of thing to bring up at very first contact. ]

Oh, no thank you. I can't have coffee, either.

[ It wouldn't even be good for her; coffee is the complete opposite of a coolant for her systems. She can have popsicles and colder fluids, though. If they just refused each other's offerings, though, doesn't...that leave them at an impasse? What a dilemma. ]

...Are you sure you don't want these cookies? I've heard that such things go very well with coffee.

[alphonse]

I really can't eat at all.

[Regardless of whatever's really going on with her, being upfront seems like the thing to do. Even if he seems to deflate a bit at his own response. They're truly doomed.]

How'd you end up with so many, anyway?

d

[heartholder]

[ chika catches on to aigis' apparent troubles by watching this unfold from the park nearby, and she immediately decides to step in. it looks like she could use a little bit of help. ]

I know it's hard, but why don't you put some cheer into it? Smile! Be enthusiastic! Sure, these facts might not be the most interesting thing in the world, but make them sound interesting. You've gotta really sell it! Make it shine!

[ she pumps her fist, as energetic as ever. ]

And I can help pass them out, if you could use a hand!

[marakukaja]

[ Aigis nods as she intently takes in Chika's advice. Smiling, that sounds good. Being enthusiastic...that sounds even better. Of course! People won't listen to someone so overly polite. It might even sound like a lecture...did she sound like she was lecturing...? Enthusiasm is said to be contagious. How can she get others pumped if she herself isn't? A smile spreads across her face. ]

I'd appreciate your assistance. You're clearly much more skilled in this sort of thing than I am. [ A small, soft chuckle. ] Should I increase my volume output too?

[ She can turn it up a few notches. ...Maybe too many notches. ]

a

[oceanaria]

Ah!

[ Riko's been inside the whole time, she just hasn't heard the knocking right away. She can see that Aigis helped herself already, though. Well, partly, given the fact that Riko can only see her face. ]

H-Hello. You surprised me. [ Talking to just her head is weird. ] Are you lost? Or are you looking for someone? Maybe I can help?

[marakukaja]

[ Weird or not, Aigis carefully keeps the rest of her body out of view as she speaks through the crack in the door. No need to surprise the girl so soon, so suddenly, when she just got a new roommate, apparently. ]

Hello. I'm not lost, but I believe I could use your help in finding my things. I was informed that I am to be staying here...?

[ Roommates. Having a roommate isn't a new experience to her, oddly enough, but that was with Yukari, someone she knew very well, as opposed to a stranger. ]

b

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Amanda blinks up at Aigis. A very calm, composed, blond lady. The long coat isn't out of place, but there's something just a bit stiff about her, and about her stumbled over explanation. Still, it's free Samoas so Amanda's gonna take a box.

And then call her out. ]

Ain't no one allergic to caramel, lady.

[ Amanda doesn't know this for a FACT, someone's probably allergic to sugar in general, but they wouldn't... wouldn't ever buy cookies to begin with right? ]

[marakukaja]

[ If she seems stiff and suddenly awkward, it's probably a trick of the eyes! (No, it's not. At all.) Her excuse is ironclad. Ironclad, she says! ]

...How can you say that for certain? You may have just not met someone with that particular allergy yet.

[ Humans are allergic to all sorts of things. It's totally a possibility. ]

b

[fastpaced]

[ well, he's never heard of anyone being allergic to caramel, but he doesn't know enough about allergies to discount her. However, he does know that being offered food randomly by a person in a trenchcoat acting shifty is... a little bit sketchy. The little hedgehog raises an eyebrow at her, as if she's the weird one here. ]

Far be it from me to turn down free cookies, but... you didn't put anything weird in them, didja?

[ HMMM ]

[marakukaja]

Huh...?

[ A talking hedgehog...? She's dealt with Shadows and the like, but a talking hedgehog is a bit of a new experience. Then again, perhaps he's similar to Teddie...? Thinking about Sonic like that helps with the situation.

It takes her a little bit to realize that oh, yes, maybe she is a little suspicious-looking like this. Black coats tend to put people on edge, from what she knows. Oh dear. ]

O-Oh no, of course not! The packaging is untouched and unmodified. You can see for yourself.

[ True to her word, the box is utterly unmodified and unopened. ]

I...do look a little strange like this, don't I?

b.

[deusex]

[ Even dressed up warmly, Mika is glad to be out of the cold and into the warmth of the lobby of the apartment building they are assigned to stay for the time being. He still doesn't really know what they're supposed to do here, or how exactly this is going to help Qri and.... whatever she needs them to do. It's kind of been an unfruitful day as far as it went, even though he did get a new coat out of it.

He doesn't really notice Aigis until a box of cookies is thrust out at his direction, and Mika slowly turns his head and observes her as she fumbles with the ingredient in question. ]

... That's too bad.

[ reaching out with his good arm, he's just going to take the box. he can't read well unfortunately, but the picture of the cookies look really good. ]

What's caramel?

[marakukaja]

[ If she had to breathe, she'd breathe a sigh of relief at his acceptance. To make matters better, he doesn't seem to be familiar with caramel, so this will also be a new experience for this stranger here. ]

It's sugar slowly heated to 170 degrees Celsius and occasionally mixed in with other ingredients for taste. Used in a variety of confectioneries.

[ She repeats the entry in her database, words simply rolling off her tongue. How knowledgeable. ]

Why don't you try it out right now?

d

[potentite]

[Oh no. A pretty girl feeling down about herself? That can't be allowed.]

Um! I thought it was fascinating! But maybe try um... to appeal more about saving the environment or something?

[marakukaja]

Saving the environment...I see. Like reminding them of their duty to the planet and its other inhabitants. Hm...what about...

[ The battle against apathy is a long one, but that won't stop her. She brightens once more, then presses her hand to her chest and lowers her head in thought for a few moments. She looks up again afterwards. ]

"Reducing waste and recycling can also reduce needless wildlife deaths from pollution and litter. Would you like to know how you can do your part?"

[ If pulling the animals card won't work, she doesn't know what will. ]

b

[secondadvent]

[ Akechi's had people offer him cups of steaming hot coffee several times today, so a blonde woman walking up to him to offer him cookies isn't that odd, all things considered. What is odd is the way she stumbles over her explanation, giving the impression that she made that caramel allergy up on the spot. ]

If you're allergic, why did you buy them? [ He says, raising an eyebrow. ]

[marakukaja]

[ She's totally allergic, please believe her. She's not a robot. She loves doing human things like drinking water and breathing in oxygen, too. ]

The young girl who approached me about them was very effective at fundraising.

[ ... ]

It involved tears.

[ That should tell him all he needs to know about what happened here. And now she's stuck with a bunch of cookies she can't even eat. At the very least, maybe she can make someone's day by giving them away for free. ]

b

[actus]

... That's tragic.

[ he sounds deadpan but also surprisingly serious about this. allergic to caramel? it's one of the wondrous notes of a good and refined brew. to be allergic to something so wonderful blows his mind. though the fact she's acting like it's a crazed, wild animal and not a box of cookies is fascinating beyond belief.

but akira is a gentleman (and hungry) and will take the offered box. ]

Should we have a funeral for them?

[ ....]

[marakukaja]

Can you have a funeral for that which never lived in the first place...?

[ This is getting real deep, real fast. Memento mori. ]

Nevertheless, I will not stop you if you choose to do so.

[ Who knows. Maybe it's part of his belief system. Maybe he's just messing with her. It's definitely the latter, isn't it? ]

b.

[apatheia]

... Frankly speaking, you not being able to eat is more believable than you being allergic.

[What kind of android is allergic to something??? (Never mind that her body's reaction to mackerel could probably be best described as an allergic reaction.) But she also doesn't really get why Aigis is trying to pretend that she isn't an android in the first place, so.]

I'll pass, but thanks for the offer. I don't need to eat. [She could, but she's not usually interested.]

[marakukaja]

[ Her eyes widen, and her expression gives way to a soft smile. It's just 2B, so she doesn't have to worry as much about hiding her...android-ness. No need for pretenses between them. ]

Oh, I see. All right, then.

[ She retracts the box of cookies, and tucks it under her arm. ]

It may be much more believable for you, but I'm trying to conceal my...true appearance.

[ Her mechanical body, in other words. It isn't a question of cruelty and kindness (she's met her share of kind, very kind people who didn't mind that she was an android, and accepted all of her, steel and iron and all), but just a reflection of the reality she lived in, back home. Revealing herself as a robot (or, even worse, a humanoid tactical weapon) would cause unnecessary panic among the human populace, and for possibly good reason. ]