[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

[rootandbranch]

Nooooo, that sucks! I was underground a lot, but at least before then I got to see a couple of the halls my family owned, and the sea. And now I've seen Aimintas and the Hub and Shehui!

[he shifts so he can watch her better as she moves, eyes bright and interested.]

You'll see a lot of places if you stay with the coven, I guess. Are you sure you don't want some food? My treat.

[skincares]

[... somehow, this dragon reminds her of a puppy. Carmilla eyes the food truck warily.]

Is it clean?

[rootandbranch]

Sure!

[Geir has no idea what standards of clean Carmilla is even used to. he grew up in a Norse myth atmosphere. he eats things roasted over fires with sticks.]

And the doughnuts taste really good, I promise.

[skincares]

[To be fair, Carmilla considers bathing in blood to be ""clean?"" It's more that she's never eaten at a food truck before and the idea of containing everything into such a small space seems unsanitary to her. Why wouldn't you use an actual kitchen? What kind of commoner invention is this???]

... I'll have a cider.

[BUT IT BETTER BE GOOD]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir inclines his head to her in acknowledgment before turning to speak to the truck's owner. luckily, it seems that another cider and doughnut are within the limits of what the cook is willing to give him for free in exchange for the advertising, and he figures he can always eat whatever Carmilla doesn't want. when the food is ready, he carefully takes the tray with the very tips of two of his foreclaws, and carries it to her to present with something of a flourish.]

Heeere you go! I'll eat anything you don't want.

[he indicates a place to sit on a low wall next to the truck with a flick of his tail.]

Why don't you sit?

[hospitality! he's seen it done before, even if he hasn't done it himself.]

[skincares]

[Seeing a dragon treat something with such delicacy is strange. Tarasque was "tame," in a sense, but Martha wouldn't decorate him with ridiculous ornaments. And he certainly wasn't sentient enough to act like a waiter as Geir is doing now. It's strange how... normal the situation is despite the odd players.

Carmilla glances at the place he indicated before she daintily takes a seat. It's a little hard with her outfit but... she somehow manages. She folds her hands in her lap, eyeing the cider and doughnut.

...................]

I was under the impression that dragons enjoyed sheep, not pastries.

[SHE HASN'T MADE SMALL TALK IN SO LONG... HOW DO YOU STRIKE UP A FRIENDLY CONVO WHEN IT ISN'T ABOUT TORTURE?]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir puts the tray down on the wall next to her and returns to his comfortable sprawl. he can attract attention to the food truck as easily here as anywhere else -- being a billboard isn't a hard or deeply location-specific job, it turns out.]

I do like sheep! I don't think I had more than a couple of heels of bread in my life before I met Vern. But pastries are good too.

[reliably cooked food was a wonderful new discovery, even if he still likes the haunch of something nice and raw when he gets the chance. there's that "under the impression" he keeps running into in the coven, though...]

Humans from other worlds seem to have a lot of ideas of what dragons are like. What are humans like where you're from?

[skincares]

[Geir you asked the worst person to explain humans to you? Carmilla looks uncomfortable for once. She takes the cider and sips it... it's not like she's buying time.]

I never paid much attention to those things. [It's a strange answer. What human wouldn't think about other humans...?] To learn the lives of commoners wasn't of importance to my station.

[rootandbranch]

But you had impressions, right? You had impressions of dragons, and it doesn't sound like you knew lots of them...

[Geir's tone is frankly curious. he doesn't challenge her setting herself at an automatic distance from humans, but he can tell she's not quite sure how to answer, and he's genuinely interested in what she'll come up with. he's starting to be able to recognize better now when he's pushing someone too hard and should back off, but he doesn't-- quite-- think he's at that point with Carmilla yet. he'll try just a little more to find out what she's thinking.]

[skincares]

Dragons are a different matter. They are common legends one could learn of with even half a brain.

[In the end, what were humans to her? There can only be one answer. Anything else would be a rejection of who she is. She rests her cheek on her hand.]

To be quite frank, I only remember other humans as livestock.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir's head tilt... becomes more pronounced...]

Oh. That's different.

[he was actually intending on twitting her gently about being one of the people who makes assumptions about dragons, with a side of learning more about her world, but. hey. no one has ever said Geir couldn't roll with an unexpected shift in the conversation.]

...like the eating kind or the taking care of them kind... or-- wait! Is that just a comparison?

[is he taking this too literally or overthinking it?? if it's literal that seems awfully weird????]

[skincares]

[How far can a dragon tilt its head, Carmilla wonders......... she reaches for a doughnut.]

It's what it sounds like.

[Her tone is casual, as though she's making small talk. This is simply who she is, after all. If it horrifies others, then so be it. Though-- she can't guess at what a dragon would think.]

I don't eat. That's far too messy and I hate to think of what that'd do to my figure. My process is more refined. I take my time to prepare them before draining them of blood. I am especially partial towards the blood of young maidens.

[rootandbranch]

[Carmilla's right, this is horrifying.]

Humans can't be that different-- blood isn't even the best part!

[skincares]

[Hey this doughnut isn't that bad. Munch munch.]

Oh? So you've had experience eating humans?

[IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE IMPLYING GEIR?]

[rootandbranch]

Nooo, but I've eaten just about everything else raw! Like I said, it just can't be that different. It's not like you're fish. I'm not saying I hate blood or anything, but--!

[flesh is just so much better! gosh!]

[skincares]

[Okay, that gets Carmilla to laugh.]

Oh, you misunderstand. I don't drink it. I bathe in it, dear. To keep my skin smooth.

[rootandbranch]

Oh!

[he tilts his head the other way. there are sure a lot of potential follow up questions here, but Geir can recognize a story that he doesn't have the context to ask any intelligent questions about yet. most of them would just add up to "what?????"

so he doesn't launch into them immediately.]

I wouldn't think you'd need to? Your skin looks nice. But that makes more sense, anyway.

[skincares]

[I'm sorry Geir, serial killers are weird. Carmilla hides her smile behind her dainty fingers.]

A compliment from a dragon... that must be a rarity. Should I be treasuring it?

[rootandbranch]

That depends, right? I don't know what kind of compliment would be treasure for you.

[Geir's not giving her a hard time or danger flirting-- it's a genuine answer. something in his expression is soft and thoughtful, some subtle flexion of the skin around his eyes; he's thinking of who he's complimented, or thought well of, since he met Vern.

there are a lot of people he's liked a great deal since then. he can see why people would think of dragons as chary of praise, if they share his reputation, but he can at least nail down who "Geir" is enough to understand that he's genuinely not like that, not just playing a part. it gives him a a warm reassuring feeling.]

I wouldn't say it's rare, though. So you'll have to figure out what it's worth another way.

[skincares]

[--who knew that dragons could be so remarkably ordinary? It's strange. All her experiences have taught her that they should be proud, haughty creatures. Carmilla can't say whether this realization is a disappointment. It's... not quite that. She can't put her finger on what she feels in this conversation, to tell the truth, but she isn't put off by Geir's personality.]

What humility.

[Carmilla takes a nibble from the doughnut.]

Perhaps I should begin treating you like an overgrown pet lizard, instead.

[WHY DID SHE RUIN THE MOMENT]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir grins, not unfriendly but rather sharper. his friendliness and basic goodnatured demeanor have been pretty consistent throughout the conversation, but how he reacts to what she says is more mercurial, shifting as she shifts the ground of the interaction.]

You're a funny human. Haha, I'm not humble at all! I just like a lot of things.

Do you think pride of power means hating everything and not telling anyone what you like? That's so strange.

[skincares]

[... heh.]

It's simply a matter of different experiences.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir's grin goes slier, for a brief moment.]

Hmmmmm. I could say, "or it's someone acting like a crotchety old lady." But I won't, I won't! That would just be teasing.

[he did say it, though. he's just indicating that his response to her own renewed insult isn't as much of a priority to him as expressing his opinion on this issue, both moving past it and highlighting that he feels secure enough to brush it off. Geir's movement through the steps of that dance are automatic and instinctive rather than conscious and thought through, but no less precise. his own sincerity is a statement that he feels powerful enough to hold and cherish a position against any who'd try to redirect him.]

I claim the right to enjoy anything on any world that pleases me, and if something pleases me, I'll enjoy it. Unless I decide that I won't! I'll think about things and do what I think makes sense, and I'll tell people what I care about, and I'll fight for it if that's what it comes to.

You're interesting to talk to!

[skincares]

[Old? Old? Carmilla wants to make a snippy response because she doesn't look old, thank you very much! She takes great care of herself, you know! But Geir continues talking. And--

--ah. This dragon truly means what he says, does he? She takes another dainty nibble from the doughnut, deliberately buying time.]

And you're a lot simpler than I expected you to be. [Though, maybe there's less venom in that statement than she'd usually give?] "I want to do what I want." Isn't that the thought process of a child?

[rootandbranch]

Hmmmm... maybe.

[Geir gives serious thought to that idea, turning it over in his mind.]

I'm not sure that means it's all wrong. It's not like I don't know that I can't do what I want unless I have the power to do it. Or unless I know how. That's what kids don't understand...