[WORLD ONE] SPEED DATING EXTRAVAGANZA

[spellbindmods]

Who: Participating coven members
Where: The Palai marketplace
When: Day 49
Open/Closed: OTA

[ Any and all who are in the marketplace will find that there is suddenly a mysterious barrier around the marketplace (that may be eerily familiar to some) -- specifically one large portion of the marketplace with a large number of tables and chairs, perhaps purposefully set out for nefarious reasons.

A few Palai are ushering coven members to chairs, and everything seems about normal. As normal as the Palai can be when they're putting on a show anyway. It's not until a sizable portion of the coven members are seated (and also supplied with breadsticks and small shrimp), that things get a bit more bizarre.

Thanks to the power of the Eltos, a small band of energy keeps coven members stuck to the chair (magic can interfere, of course), but that's not the end of it. On each table, next to those delicious smelling breadsticks and shrimp, is a bowl of scraps of papers. Every five minutes, a strip of paper will pop out from the bowl.

If you ask the Palai, they'll be inclined to explain speed dating to you. Asking questions, getting to know a person, then being shimmied off to the next potential mate -- this is made possible by Elto magic yet again, through flying chairs that transport their holder to a new table at standard intervals.

The Palai are extremely invested in this exercise? Will you let them down? ]

[ OOC: In the spirit of speed dating, each character will have a top level. All who want to respond to this top level can with questions from this post, but the threads have to end at 10 comments from each character. After this last tag, the characters can be assumed to have been whisked to a different potential match. You're free to have characters make up their own questions, interact with Palai serving food, etc. ]

Comments

[thatdamnknight]

[the day started out with flynn walking around and minding his own business. suddenly, he finds his butt in chair and getting told he's the lucky participant of some speed dating fun.

the more the palai explain, the more red his face becomes. his eyes widen at the last bit.]

P... potential mate?!

[that comes out as more a squeak than an actual question. what does that even entail?? and how is dragging strangers in this even remotely appropriate!! but... not going along with it could be seen as rude. flynn flushes more so than before and his discomfort practically radiates off him in waves.]

I... I understand the concept but-- [what does he even say. umm... questions. what's a good question...] What sort of a training regiment do you enjoy? In addition, do you prefer carrying it out in the morning, afternoon or evening?

[nailed it.]

[splinten]

[He can answer that question?? This is a Huge Relief.]

I like to build sparring robots, set them to kill mode, and let them stalk me throughout the day. It's impossible to tell when an enemy might attack. [So it's ... good to be prepared for it!! Yeah this is reasonable.]

Barring that, I prefer a sparring partner who can keep me on the ropes for at least a few hours. Time of day doesn't matter much.

[thatdamnknight]

[watch all that tension immediately disappear as dirk answers. yes, thank you for answering and making this whole speed dating thing feel more bearable.]

So that way you find yourself well suited to handle an enemy attack no matter when it occurs. Admirable.

[color flynn impressed while idly wondering if some of the machines back home could be programmed for such a function, as well. preparing oneself for surprise attacks really is a great idea. he finds himself nodding along with the second part of the reply.]

I have to agree with that myself. [nothing beats a long duel with a formidable sparring partner.] What sort of combat style do you use?

[splinten]

[Truly, they've picked the only reasonable discussion for anyone to ever get into. In fact, for all that Dirk is a monotonous kid, he is even kind of happy to talk about this. Fighting is simple and familiar and enjoyable. He can do this.]

I'm a swordsman. Katana, specifically. My style goes for speed and high damage. [Sometimes he tanks. He should not, because he is Not a tank.] Yours?

[thatdamnknight]

[fighting and talking about fighting is equally enjoyable for flynn. even in the midst of so unpleasant an event, it ends up significantly brightening his mood.]

Swordsman, as well, but I can manage hand-to-hand if lacking a weapon. My style involves the use of both sword and shield, focusing on defense as well as high damage.

[he pauses, pursing his lips before he speaks again.]

Though I'm lacking a shield at the moment so it's shifted to being more speed oriented as opposed to defense.

[which has taken some getting used to. the uvi ended up getting a solid hit on his arm when he tried to block with his non-existent shield. lesson learned: arms make poor replacements for shields.]

[splinten]

What kind of shield do you use? We might be able to manage a replacement.

[Dirk built half of his computer parts himself. That isn't the same as smithing weapons, but it does mean he has a strong belief in being able to just make your own shit eventually.]

[thatdamnknight]

A standard issue knight shield, if one for a knight of high rank.

[which he mentions only because he's certain the quality of all equipment goes up with rank.]

I can't recall which metal it's forged from, but it can take a substantial number of hits before sustaining damage.

[it's a damn good shield and he misses it. or any shield, really. that lack of that added defense has taken getting used to.]

[splinten]

[There's a little pause.]

You're a knight? Like, uh, sworn to a feudal lord to protect his lands, or what.

[Dirk has all the critical pragmatism of a child who has spent his whole life researching and critiquing social structures. But also, he still has the admiration that a little kid would have for his big brother, for a knightly figure who defended all mankind.]

[thatdamnknight]

An Imperial Knight acting under the direct orders of the Emperor. We are sworn to protect his highness, the people of the Empire and whoever else may require protection with our lives.

[the last bit being more of flynn's personal addition to his knightly duties. he knows all too well not all knights help those not affiliated with the empire. he can't accept that and won't. everyone deserves the same protection regardless of who they are.]

[deem]

Mate is another word for comrade, isn't it?

[9S, being an android and therefore predisposed toward the thinking that he couldn't possibly be match-made with a human, reaches for the most logical conclusion. Surely this is some sort of team-building exercise the Palai have arranged for them]

I guess androids don't exactly train, but we engage in combat whenever necessary, at any time of day. [And with that, he has answered the question. Nevermind Flynn's rosy cheeks, perhaps he's simply pleased with prospective training outlets...] What about you, Sir Flynn?

[thatdamnknight]

[9s no, don't make flynn have to explain the difference between mate and comrade. he almost resigns himself to that fate, going as far as opening his mouth, but 9s continues talking. thank god. flynn can't help but sign in relief before he responds.]

I prefer training in the morning. Strengthing my body also sharpens my mind and prepares me for the day ahead. If I can't in the morning then I still try to squeeze in some training whenever the opportunity arises.

[even if that means forgoing some sleep. training takes priority above all else and he can always sleep the next day.]

[deem]

[Let him hold on to his illusions, Flynn. And maybe also confuse people by calling 2B his partner, because apparently that can mean various things he wouldn't think of when describing the person he sees as his only family in the world. Worlds now, apparently]

You don't tire yourself out with exercises at the beginning of the day, then?

[Mental notes are being taken here, even the smallest things are of interest to a Scanner]

[thatdamnknight]

The exercises wake me up more than tire me out. I rarely train to the point of exhaustion, but try to push my limits a little further each day.

[so he trains just enough to get his blood pumping but not enough to make him want to sleep the rest of the day away.]

[deem]

Oh, I see. What sorts of exercises do you use for training then?

[Look if the name of the game is asking questions, nobody's going to top him]

[thatdamnknight]

[keep asking away! questions like these are ones flynn's more than happy to answer.]

It depends on the day. I alternate between physical exercise for various parts of my body, a cardio and endurance regiment, improvement of my sword technique or a combination of two if time permits.

[all three in a day sometimes happens, too, but rarely. it isn't as effective to do the same training several days in a row so best to keep one handy for the next day.]

[deem]

So you rotate your activities?

[It's an interesting notion, and never having firsthand knowledge of how humans trained themselves, 9S certainly appreciates the opportunity to gather such information. Granted he'd rather not be pinned to a chair that moves of its own accord, but it's a fair enough trade, he supposes.

Hopefully the Palai don't do this too frequently though]

Is it for variety, or does that serve a different purpose?

[thatdamnknight]

It keeps me from becoming exhausted, but it also is the way to properly train muscles.

[but not enough muscle to pry himself free from this chair, sadly.]

The rule of thumb is to alternate which part of your body you workout each day. Therefore, if I do basic cardio one day and focus on lifting weights to work out my arms the next then I adhere to that rule.

[and god knows flynn's a stickler for rules always and forever. in this case, it really does make more sense to stick with it then go against it. training should be done in the most effective and efficient way!]

[secrowtary]

[ Finally, someone asking The Right Questions. Hibiki was really close to losing hope, but a mention of a training regiment restores his faith in people. ]

Any time of the day should be fine as long as you're working hard and putting your everything into practice, I'd say. What about you, though?

[thatdamnknight]

[flynn just knows what the most important questions to ask are.]

I have a preference toward early mornings, myself but agree that it matters little as long as you give it your all.

[no better way to start a day than get up ridiculously early to train!]

Do you train with any weapons or do you focus mainly on physical fitness?

[secrowtary]

I agree that early mornings are great for training. No one will interrupt you at that time, usually.

[ Hibiki understands this so well. ]

Actually, it's both. Without my blades, my primary weapons are knives, so I'm practicing throwing them every day. I also lean on agility during battles, so stamina is quite important to me. What about magic practice, though?

[thatdamnknight]

[and that, too, yes. no one can bug you about paperwork or your best friend wrecking havoc that early in the morning.]

It slipped my mind, truth be told. My normal magical abilities all rest with my blastia so I usually incorporate that training alongside my sword training.

[since his blastia is gone along with his armor, he hasn't been able to really train it at all lately.]

As for the magical ability acquired here, I've tried to train with it multiple times a day in order to gain mastery over it faster. How about you?

[secrowtary]

That definitely helps to save time, I suppose.

[ Nodding a few times, Hibiki notices a paper strip pop out from the bowl. He's ignoring it for now, though. Training is a really good subject to break the ice, after all!

They're probably in the minority... ]

I'm doing my best every day, but somehow I feel like I still have a long way to go. What power did you obtain?

[thatdamnknight]

[they're the best sort of minority: the sane sort.]

The ability to alter the age of things as I please, myself included. I've gotten the hang of using my powers well enough, but still can't see how this ability could be of real use.

[aside from making rotting food go back to being edible or something or sneaking into a kids only playground (sneaking in meaning paying full fare, obviously!).]

[secrowtary]

Let me think about it for a while... [ Is he seriously going to try to come up with an use for Flynn's power? Yes, yes he is. ] Couldn't you use it to rewind time after someone gets injured, for instance?

[ This is certainly how you speed date. ]

[thatdamnknight]

[this... this is a good idea. who knew something useful could actually come out of this speed dating hell?

flynn silently considers the idea before speaking again.]

Would you happen to have any of your knives on you?

[how to make this go from great speed date to best speed date: slashing open his own arm to test this theory.]