[WORLD ONE | POST-UVI CELEBRATION]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Coven members and Palai
Where: In and around the Aimintas marketplace
When: Day 39
Open/Closed: Open to All

After an appropriate amount of time for mourning, the Palai have shifted into a more positive mood -- they're a very resilient species, though there is a bit of a muted tone to their celebration. The whole event is a little hodge-podge, mostly because they aren't used to having to celebrate with the coven members added to the guest list. The Palai have gathered together all of their people and have invited the coven members to a small, intimate gathering -- the purpose of the event is to thank them for their service in fighting the Uvi, and the success of freezing the Uvi in their home. While no one knows how long the Uvi will stay gone, any amount of time without the Uvi being a concern is fine by them. The event takes place in the very center of the marketplace, with the Palai interacting on the fringes of the party throughout the rest of the large building. The coven members have time to spend by themselves, but there's room for moving around on their own and also spending time with the Palai if they so choose. A ▢ One of the more noticeable editions to the food the Palai have provided is a large pile of sweet, sugar dusted pastries. You may notice that something about them seems...odd, to say the least. It looks as if the pastries are vibrating slightly, but they smell divine. If you're so inclined to ask what the deal is, these pastries are magically infused by Eltos, which somehow gives them a sweeter flavor and enhances the sensation of tastebuds. The Palai sometimes eat these before meals in order to better the flavor of their entire spread -- though adding this energized magic to an already magical being means magic powers may be a little off kilter. Don't be surprised if suddenly your abilities go a little crazy. B ▢ The Palai aren't participating the party for two big reasons. One, the purpose is to celebrate the victory of coven members. The other reason, however, is one that may be more interesting to outsiders. While previously the Palai were peaceful people, happy to exist submitting to the Uvi, the coven's show of strength and valor has inspired them to be more aggressive in their approaches. Grown Palai can be seen working on makeshift weapons, but the idea of smaller tools like slingshots have already been constructed and almost perfected. The Palai youth have discovered these tools and are playing with them gleefully, though occasionally hitting each other -- and potentially you -- with energized, paralyzing rocks fueled with Elto energy. Watch out or you might get zapped! C ▢ Other Palai youth aren't as fortunate to be so distracted and happy. While fewer Palai died during this attack, the casualty number wasn't zero. Most Palai children still have at least one family member to care for them, but they're still a little disconnected from their people by means of grief. Some are milling about with the coven members, trying to eat or pester them for attention. If you're good with kids this may be more your speed, but those bad with children can find this irritating. Some Palai youth are more muted, however, content to just sit and listen to stories or eavesdrop on conversations. D ▢ For some people, rain isn't that big an issue -- but it certainly puts a damper (get it?) on a party. The Palai seem a bit confused by the sudden shower that comes in heavy as the evening dies down. The Palai have never experienced rain before, using irrigation systems and existing ground water as their means of hydration (both for themselves and for plants). Because the rain is coming from the ocean, the drops are large and salty, and the marketplace quickly begins to flood. The Palai move the party indoors for the most part, but that doesn't mean you or the food aren't already soaked. It's much warming underneath the roofs in the marketplace, but that doesn't provide much relief since the ocean rain is warm and humid. E ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

[sealeted]

The entire epic? ...well, I certainly never read the whole thing in it's native Sumerian, but I can hit the highlights of what I did know and what he told me. Is that good enough?

[A certain troublesome kouhai occasionally stood in her way when it came to learning more about Gilgamesh. Still, Hakuno is nothing if not stubborn.]

Something like that. The Moon Cell, our world's Holy Grail, was an unparalleled magical entity that created me. I would have probably been given that Hakuno Kishinami's basic memories and personality too, but she suffered from a debilitating illness that destroyed her memories. As it stands... for a while, I myself didn't realize I wasn't a normal human for a few weeks. I have it on good authority that the wavelength of our souls matches, though.

[splinten]

[Geir is Impossible.]

That isn't exactly what I'd term standard fare optimism.

[rootandbranch]

Aw, should I give a speech about how our arms are strong and our wills are stronger? I don't even have arms. Either kind.

[splinten]

We should count those for the sake of your stirring delivery of speeches. [He indicates the limbs]

[rootandbranch]

Maybe I'll try sometime! I think Thor was always really drunk by the time he got going with those, though. I used to hide under the table.

[apatheia]

My name is 2B. It's [a pause] nice to meet you.

[It's an honor really, to meet any human, but she's noticed that most people seem confused by the nearly worshipful respect she gives them, so she opts for a less formal greeting.]

[bulletbiter]

I am.

[ He can wait. It gives him a little time to watch 9S and perhaps learn a bit more about him; barring that, there's always the constant task of needing to mind his own body. ]

[thatdamnknight]

So you would, in essence, be a prisoner within your own body.

[what a cruel illness. flynn can't even begin to fathom how that feels. the closest humans have is paralysis but even that doesn't involve attacking friend and foe alike.

red eyes... so if 9s ever begins attacking people for no reason, rip off the blindfold and check his eyes.]

I appreciate the warning, but I know I wouldn't be able to do that. If you ever fall prey to this and if the level of threat is as severe as you say, it would go against all I stand for to stay away.

[in other words, flynn would fight him. whether or not he'd win would be entirely irrelevant, but risking others getting hurt instead is something not permissible. he is a knight. knights protect people. fighting 9s wouldn't be at all enjoyable, but neither would watching him potentially cut down defenseless others.

then comes a sneeze and a weak smile follows.]

Which is why I truly hope that you never get sick.

[thatdamnknight]

Why not both? Talking will help pass the time and once enough time has passed then we can test your ability.

[it makes the most sense! and it also means no awkwardly standing around in silence while waiting for her ability to go back to normal.]

[p_mortem]

[ Qri did exactly that, and Minato had accepted it at face value. Here's your magic! Play around with it! Good luck!! ok ]

Not really... Learning from theory, and learning from practice, are two ways to get to the same thing. Does it matter? It's not really something you can look up on the internet anyways.

[talim]

Jeanne it is, then.

I think the "proper" thing to do in this situation —

[ air quotes. ]

— would be to ask you to dance, considering this is a party and all, but, well... I don't exactly want to step on your feet. And I assure you, I definitely would. Besides, there are other things to do besides dance.

[ his face is a little flushed with embarrassment. ]

But I didn't want to leave you here all by yourself. Maybe we can just, you know, talk? Get to know each other?

perfect

[torching]

[ ...mako can kind of sense where this is going. ]

No, I think I get it. They serve as some kind of light, right?

[ a dark place, being unable to see it...well. if jotaro insists then mako will follow. he doesn't have much else to do anyway. ]

[talim]

[ in all honesty, jude wouldn't mind — if anything, he'd try his very best to reassure him. as it stands, though, he's not going to press the issue, especially with robin hood not seeming to want to be too bothered. jude can understand that much. ]

Well, I'm not going to force you into one, but I promise I don't bite.

[talim]

Actually, I did manage to figure it out. I just haven't had the chance to tell you.

[ he clears his throat, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. ]

You know where that huge library is, right?

[talim]

I suppose you could say that... I do have a good deal of experience dealing with kids, but none quite as young as this little one.

[ when jude takes him from mikleo, it's with a fond smile. he cradles him in his arms, as gentle as possible, and reaches out his pinky for the palai to play with with a soft hum. ]

[talim]

[ his pout turns into another smile. jude is quick to perk up. ]

Seriously, though. Have you had the chance to see whether or not you can better learn how to get a handle on it? There must be a way. See-through or not, like I said, it's one of the more useful powers I've seen here.

[talim]

Likewise.

[ jude hums in agreement. he decides to drop the whole armor thing; it's not hard to deduce that clearly, al is used to getting all sorts of reactions. ]

They are, aren't they? I can't help but admire their strength and conviction. In their position... well, I don't know how well I'd be handling it all.

[ jude holds out his pinky for one of the palai to play with, multitasking between humoring them and keeping up with the conversation. it's not hard. ]

As impressive as they are, though, there's no need to be so humble. Not everyone can handle them so well. Give yourself at least a little bit of credit.

[talim]

[ something tells him that julius is holding back, but jude has realized that's he's a reserved person, far more than he is. there's no reason to press the issue. ]

I see...

I wish I could offer more reassurance. You've really had it rough, haven't you.

[ it's more of a statement than a question. ]

And maybe I've been prying too much. I know we're still practically strangers, so if I ever overstep any sort of boundaries...

[ feel free to tell him. ]

[talim]

Who knows? Maybe you can see it. I still don't know exactly how seasons work in an upside-down world like this, but...

[ he pauses, fondness coloring his expression. ]

Well, I'd like to see it together. With Nines, too.

[dragoness]

Oh- I have one already!

[ that was fast ]

I knew I wouldn't last long without my producer, so of course I had to get one as soon as possible.

[teratias]

I couldn't see because of the smoke, so yeah. Pretty alarming.

[Waver is also reactionary by nature, which helped nothing either. He frowns, but nods at Hakuno's suggestion.]

Good idea. Maybe we can do it when this wears off?

[soulcomet]

Mmhmm! Though ... nowadays, because of what the paper cranes symbolize, a lot of people just wish for peace.

I don't have enough paper for a thousand cranes, but we could get started, if you want?

[wingfic]

You don't have to talk down to me.

[With a flicker of annoyance, but it seems more perfunctory than anything else. She rolls her shoulders back and, okay, fine, tries not to think about it for the moment.]

I was fine. I can take care of myself.

[Said with some measure of stubborness. Is the area around her slowly normalizing, or is that just your imagination?]

[deem]

[Sick. It's a strange way of putting it, and yet 9S doesn't know how else to better define it for a human who doesn't have exposure to technology such as him. For all intents and purposes, he supposes it's close enough. The logic virus was a debilitating disease of a sort, damaging their functions, their cognition, and eventually overtaking them entirely.

Most prefer that death come for them first]

I suspect there are very few who could stop me here.

[As heavily as those words weigh on him, he has to speak them. The fact is that he could well kill humans if he were in such a state, and the thought fills him with a deep and abiding dread mixed with equal parts revulsion. To turn against his own creators, no matter his condition, would be unforgivable.

It's something he couldn't allow... Neither does he want 2B to be forced into stopping him if the worst were ever to transpire. Perhaps Pod 042 could dispatch him, capable of accessing his systems. It might be possible to shut him down that way]

While I don't imagine it's likely we'd encounter that in places like this... I'll have to take precautionary measures.

[Said perhaps too easily when he's essentially talking about his own prospective destruction]

[deem]

Alright...I'll try not to take too long.

[Don't mind him as he settles back against the wall and takes himself offline to finish attending to those repairs then. For all intents and purposes, it looks as though he's sleeping as he sits there]