[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]

I don't know much about it either, but the other people who work there don't mind asking questions. Do you have a place to work yet? I could show you.

[Geir makes the offer instinctively, on the strength of no more than the thought that it would be nice to see another member of the coven at the garden sometimes. even if they don't pull the same shifts... there's just something about the way that the young human reaches out for the flowr that makes Geir think that he needs the outlet. it's easy to learn to be gentle with plants, and putting someone in a new environment can make them grow in interesting new ways. doesn't he have enough experience with that in himself...?]

--or there might be other gardens around here, too. I should look sometime! I guess we're competition for their wares, eheheh.

[deusex]

[ work, huh?

Strange how he hadn't really given it a thought until Geir mentions it. Things are given too freely here; he's received too many things from unexpected people and sources — this is a much gentler world, a kinder one that where he is from, somewhere where they have the leisure to devote themselves into growing things.

He hesitates, but only because there are things that he'd set out to do, things he had promised to Orga (but he wasn't here, the distance and the absence is like a gaping blankness in his mind, a hollowness in his chest that feels not-painful but strange). he should be moving forward, forever onward, until Orga decides that they can stop. Until he's satisfied with where they end up.

The rest is just going through familiar motions; eating, breathing, sleeping. But there is a potential for more. Here, there is something different waiting for him. ]

Alright.

[ mikazuki agrees finally, after giving the other another one of his characteristically focused look. he's slightly puzzled, like he can't quite figure out just why Geir is offering him this. ]

Show me.

[rootandbranch]

Okay. Let me put these flowers inside. I don't want to leave them out here for anyone to take!

[he wants to give them away, but he wants to personally give them away. it's no good to help something grow and then not know where it goes or how it'll be taken care of afterwards. Geir can't help but feel that he has some responsibility for the tiny little lives of these pansies.

it only takes him the work of a few moments to gather the crates up and shove them just inside the doorway of his and Vern's space on the first floor, and then he's ready to show Mika to the greenhouse. honestly, the whole "work to stay" situation in Shehui felt very strange to him at first, but not disliking the work itself has helped. he's hopeful that his new acquaintance won't dislike it, either.]

There. It's lucky that it's not too far to walk there! I've definitely never been in a place that had so many things so close together before.

[open wilderness is what he's used to, trees and mountains and harsh seas; not at all the same conditions as a lifeless planet, but a far cry from a city, too.]

They told you about the credits and all of that when you came in, right? I don't understand it that well myself, but I know if you work you can get more stuff later.

[deusex]

Is it because you're so big?

[ Mikazuki's been waiting patiently as Geir puts the crates away in preparation of their departure to this 'garden'. Once not curled around the flowers and in his proper element, he is much bigger than the impression given in the beginning — but it's not like something like that would bother Mikazuki. You'd expect that he's used to it, but also, nothing really fazes him.

The question is asked casually, not meaning any I'll or offence, just an observation. It's a different sort of world, but chryse had still been a city, and a city occupied by humans. It's all much the same as another in the end.

Making a quiet mmhm sound of agreement in his throat, Mikazuki follows Geir in the direction that he's guiding them to. Back in his world, Mika had no real use for what scant payment they were receiving to be pushed around by the first corps in CGS — and later, in Tekkadan, he didn't really need it anyway, especially comparing it to be a part of something that Orga had created for them. He wonders what kind of 'stuff' he could get, if he would need much. ]

They did, but it doesn't really matter.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir is just as happy to have fallen into step next to Mikazuki instead of flying him there, this time. something about this conversation feels very grounded and down to earth, not one to interrupt with a takeoff and continue in the air; and the sights and sounds of the city are pleasant and interesting around him. you can never people-watch quite as well from above, no matter how good your eyesight is.

he doesn't take offense to the question he was asked. why would he? being his size is obviously an impediment to moving about in human spaces, and that's not even the real reason he'd never been in any cities in Midgard to begin with. Mikazuki's avowal that building up his stash of gold-- no, credits, but still-- doesn't really matter, is far more shocking and interesting.]

Yeah, most human cities don't build places for anyone my size! And I didn't get a chance to see many humans, anyway. I was mostly in Asgard, or the sea.

What do you mean, it doesn't matter?

[deusex]

[ well, maybe at some point Geir should give him a ride, if he's so kind enough......

The city itself doesn't seem very dissimilar to the others that he's been to, like Chryse of his home planet or even Earth. At the base, they were surrounded by miles and miles of dirt. This city is greener than that, much more generous in every way as if the sheer fertility and abundance of resources has made people softer as well. ]

I've never really thought about money.

[ Mikazuki has little dreams for the future; he's a realist more than an idealist, and much of the world he could envision has been tied up intrinsically with Orga — he doesn't really see any possibility of his existence without the other. ]

Even if I had a lot, what do I use it for?

[rootandbranch]

I don't know. Is there anything you like?

[it isn't as if Geir is very used to how money works in a society where you exchange it for other things either. gold has its own value as an object as well as its use for currency, to him; it's beautiful, soft and wonderful to see and touch. on the other hand, the concept of trading stuff for other stuff comes very easily. there's nothing wrong with a bit of barter for things you want.

the snow crunches under their feet as they move along at a pace that's positively sedate for Geir, to allow for his companion's shorter legs. someone bought and paid for this snow, too.]

[deusex]

[ everything has their costs at the end of everything, probably; this snow, the clothes off his back, his life. He owes it all.

Mikazuki doesn't respond for a minute while he gives it some apparent careful thought, his boots kicking up little flurries of snow in their path, idle but curious, still. ]

It'd be better if Orga has it. He always knows what to do with things.

[ and have a much better use for it than mikazuki himself ever will. He's better at coming up with things, after all. He's the one more important than anything else in mikazuki's life; he's always been the one to decide things, for mikazuki to follow and realise that dream for both of them. ]

[rootandbranch]

Who's Orga? Someone you know?

[Geir wonders idly if this Orga is part of the coven or someone from Mikazuki's own world. he's heard before from coven members who were brought here without their most important friends or family. it gives him a shudder when he thinks of it, an uneasy chill scraping its way down his back, along the raw nerves under his scales. he still can't imagine being here without Vern.]

[deusex]

He's...

[ What can he say as an answer? How can he put it into words, the connection they have, the sheer depth of what he owes to Orga? Mikazuki is silent for a moment, apparently thinking about how to word it -- which in itself is rare for him, already. ]

He's a friend. [ it's the easiest thing to say, something that Mikazuki has found that people understand the best without him explaining everything to them - and even if he explained it, would they really understand? What Mikazuki and Orga have is something between them, something stronger than words and labels.

Preoccupied, he only catches onto the other's unease a little late. Mikazuki slows down a little, glancing up at the other questioningly. ]

Are you okay?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir looks down at Mikazuki with wide eyes, a bit startled that the momentary unease was noticed. this young human is more attuned to his surroundings than Geir realized -- highly sensitive. what is he watching out for?]

Oh, sure. I'm fine. I was just wondering if your friend was with the coven or not.

[hm... if he's not, that might not have been the gentlest thing to say. Geir quiets suddenly, abashed.]

[deusex]

[ Mikazuki has always had an uncommon knack about picking up seemingly random details about others - for all his apparent lack of interest, this guy was actually pretty good at intuition. Maybe it's in part due to his AV-implants, maybe it's because of his past experiences, but those eyes are always wide and watching. ]

He isn't.

[ He's never been without Orga before, not involuntarily, not without Orga telling him. When they were apart, he knew it was because of the other's trust in him, the belief that Mikazuki would be able to carry it out to the best of his abilities. That he wouldn't fail Orga.

This is different. This is something beyond either of their control. Some witch, and this world, and the strange magic in his veins now. ]

I have to get back to him.

[rootandbranch]

That's awful. I don't know what I'd do without Vern here.

[it's nothing more than what he was thinking, but he's willing to say it out loud, with vehemence, for Mikazuki's sake. Mikazuki should know that there are people here in the same boat as him -- people who understand that there are people near them they'd do absolutely anything to protect.]

He might show up soon, though. We've been noticing while I've been here that a lot of times, people who are connected on the same world show up together, or follow each other soon. It's still sort of random, but if your connection is strong, then maybe--!

[deusex]

[ Again, a faint flicker of interest in the gaze that's turned toward Geir. Again, the spark of something that's more than a casual focus, some sort of intensity that blazes up bright. If there's anyone who Mika feels any kind of connection to, it would be Orga. He owes him his very life, or that's how Mikazuki thinks of it. ]

I hope so.

[ compared to the unspoken reaction the words might seem to fall flat, almost disinterested if one isn't taking proper care to watch, but Mikazuki falls silent for a moment as he apparently thinks. ]

People are happy here. [ that's not a question, it would be obvious to everyone - at least, on the surface of everything. ] Orga might like it, too.

[rootandbranch]

I hope so too.

[happy...

Geir thinks back to the expressions he's seen on the faces of the humans (and traveling nonhumans, too) around Shehui. he considers bustle of the streets, the commerce, the industry of many hands doing work; the public parks, the purchased snow, the opportunity to play. is that all happiness? is it normal life? how do normal people feel happy?]

...what do you think being happy is?

[it's asked with the same casual tone as one might ask "so, what do you think of the weather?", but Geir's eyes are bright as they rest sidelong on Mikazuki's face.]

[deusex]

[ how do normal people feel happy? what is the standard of 'happiness'?

it's not really a question that Mikazuki has asked himself often, if at all. Surviving to live another day, doing whatever they could do for that simple thing as clinging onto the kind of life they were granted, that had been the extent of what little childhood he remembered. They are still children still in people's eyes, albeit tainted irrevocably with the forbidden technology that now ran in their veins. Life was better now with Orga, with the Tekkadan, but the rest of the world wasn't so forgiving or kind to their attempts at humanity. What happened at the Earth base proved it for good. ]

I don't know.

[ always honest to a fault, straightforward in his thoughts and actions, Mikazuki speaks in a way that's almost nonchalant, were it not following a little, barely-noticeable pause. ]

But if Orga is happy, then I'm happy.

[rootandbranch]

So maybe he knows what happy is... huh. I know people like that.

[if Vern's happy, Geir's happy. he was content to let that dictate his life, till everyone started pushing him to make up his own ideas about these things -- but that drumbeat still remains, below everything. he doesn't really want to reject it, in the end. shouldn't making the person who you love most happy be the most important thing, in the end...?]

Does he like flowers?

[deusex]

[ everyone is, to an extent, always going to push and pull about having a will and opinion of their own. it's not like Mikazuki follows Orga blindly without thinking - though it may seem so, considering the outward projection of their relationship from strangers' gaze. Mikazuki might seem more like an unfeeling, inhuman weapon rather than living breathing human, the way he leaves everything up for Orga to decide. But he is still human, still alive, with the ability to think things through for himself and to express his opinions. ]

He hasn't seen flowers either.

[ probably, that was true; they shared too much of their past together for Orga to not remember the same things as him. Mikazuki gives it some thought, thinks back to the petals, half-buried in snow. The softness of them. ]

I think he'll like them.

[rootandbranch]

We'll get him some more, then! See, this is the best place for it--

[they've made it to the greenhouse by now: it's a huge and absurd dome, befitting this high-tech, glittering city, and neatly fitting into the other impressive buildings. Geir ducks inside the large entryway, holding it open for Mikazuki -- once they're inside, everything's very warm, and it immediately becomes obvious where Geir found all the flowers. they're spilling out of pots and hydroponic tanks along with vegetables and trees, simply everywhere.]

[deusex]

[ despite his nature, Mikazuki is a little surprised - he's never seen any building quite like this, nor had he seen this much different sort of greenery. He's just going to openly stare, and while his expression remains as blank and stoic as ever, there's a certain light in his gaze that's a little like when he first saw the flowers that Geir had. ]

It's big.

[rootandbranch]

It's got to be, or I wouldn't fit! --and the trees wouldn't, either.

[Geir still has to duck his head a little to move around, but it's more psychological than anything else, and doesn't greatly impede his movement. he glances back at Mika with a grin.]

Want me to give you the tour?

[deusex]

[ there's .... too many things to look at, he wouldn't know where to start if he was left to himself. ]

Yes. [ a slight pause, and he looks up at the other again, the set of his brows furrowing. ] If it's okay.

[rootandbranch]

Why wouldn't it be okay? I offered.

[Geir looks back down at him in honest puzzlement for a moment, then shakes his head a little and turns back to the greenhouse.]

Anyway...

[he takes Mika through the wide, winding paths, pointing out how the plants are watered and where the pallets of soil are kept; practical things that he's learned. he doesn't know many of the flower names, but there are banks of them, overflowing. some are in bloom.]