[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

[oneandmikleonly]

[actually Mikleo is having trouble not looking at the EERILY FAMILIAR BARRIER out of the corner of his eye rather than any potential partners, a bit twitchy, though he is doing his best to keep a good game face on and eat a breadstick casually

(also ftr if you're human and not spiritually sensitive you may find yourself just apparently conversing with the breadstick, though the band of energy indicates that there's certainly something stuck in his chair even if you can't see him)]

I'm not sure I've ever--thought about being matchmade?--but this is certainly an interesting cultural experience?

[thatdamnknight]

[he got matched with nothing? ah, wait no. that familiar feeling means... yup, the voice accompanying the air confirms it: mikleo.

interesting is far from the word flynn would use, however... this has to be one of the most awkward experiences of his life. how the palai can enjoy something like speed dating so much is honestly beyond him.]

It is a culture unlike any back in my world. [he pauses thoughtfully] Though I think I've heard someone mention speed dating before, but it sounded decidedly different from this.

[oneandmikleonly]

I haven't really heard of it either, though I could -- imagine humans trying it as an icebreaker, of sorts? Not really to find a partner, though...

[perks up a little (mostly unseen, but the breadstick waggles indicatively!)]

What were the differences, do you mind telling me?

[thatdamnknight]

If I recall, it was more of means to gauge whether or not you'd be interested in actually pursuing a relationship with someone you talked with and not a date itself.

[pursing a relationship has a far nicer, more appropriate ring to it than finding a potential mate. the later implies... something far too inappropriate to seek out in a public space like this.]

Participation was voluntary and there was no mention of magical chairs, either.

[talim]

An interesting cultural experience, indeed...

[ jude shakes his head and breathes out a sigh. his mana lobe allows him to see mikleo, has allowed him to see him before, so what we have here are two very awkward teenage boys. ]

Should we be taking notes on this? For science?

[oneandmikleonly]

I think your notes would be full of interruptions as you were dragged around the tables. It looks kind of fun, though...if they just left the 'dating' out of it and didn't strap us to the chairs it'd actually be a pretty good icebreaker.

[hiding a smile behind his hand]

Also, being mistaken for a talking breadstick and talking chair today has been kind of funny.

[he doesn't often get to see humor in the way seraphs and regular humans fail to occupy the same perceptional space; he appreciates the opportunity.]

[talim]

You know, I've never gotten the chance to really ask about the... er, invisible thing? And I suppose this is probably a good one. A good chance, I mean.

So... Anyone who isn't well-versed in spirits and such can't see you? Period? But they can hear you.

[ that would mean everyone from rieze maxia could see mikleo, and nobody from elympios could... ]

[deem]

I didn't think the Palai would be so interested in team-building exercises...

[That's exactly what he thinks this is, because what is matchmaking when YoRHa aren't supposed to have emotions? Sure they still do, and some of them even have romantic relationships, but it's nothing at all like this. And 9S can't imagine anyone thinking he could be involved with such noble beings as humans this way.

He's looking around the area at everyone else confined to their seats, curious about this strange custom, before he finally looks Mikleo's way and-

...Only finds an empty chair and a floating breadstick]

Wha- [A moment of silence] I could swear I heard Mikleo...how'd he get out of here?

[oneandmikleonly]

[oh dear, another victim of his invisibility. Mikleo waves the breadstick around to catch 9S's attention, surprised and amused]

Over here; I'm still in the chair, promise. Your scanners can't pick me up, huh?

[he'd sort of hoped that wasn't the case, but technology can be pretty unpredictable about sensing seraphim, so, oh well.]

[deem]

[9S watches that breadstick move around, puzzled.

Cloaking technology is...certainly new]

There's body heat there, I can see that much, but I thought maybe something was wrong with my sensory functions.

[Although now he's curious (when isn't he?) and he taps the air, bringing up a holographic screen littered with different readings]

How're you able to cloak yourself like that?

[probablynoteren]

[... He's never actually seen Mikleo outside of his low-frequency and dragon forms, so currently Lenka finds himself sitting at an empty table and watching a breadstick eat itself. That's. It's probably a really good thing he was side-eyeing the food because his side-eye just broke through the suburbs of Aimintas and went for a stroll around the planet...?!

And then the breadstick talks and it's?!

Wait, he knows that voice.

Is he already hallucinating because he somehow ate the food without remembering it. None of this makes any sense.]

... Mikleo? You can turn into a breadstick??

[This is the only logical explanation.]

[oneandmikleonly]

[--he splutters into surprised laughter, covering his mouth until he can get it back under control; it takes a few seconds]

Well, that's probably a first for question's I've been asked in my lifetime -- no, don't worry, I'm still humanoid, just invisible. It's part of my powers from home. Sorry, I never actually know who can see me in the coven and who can't until they say something.

[probablynoteren]

Ah, that's... that's good.

[Lenka ducks his head at the laughter, a little abashed -- though it's well-warranted, in retrospect he blurted out a really dumb question. But he's been totally out of his depth since he woke up in the middle of a forest on an impossible island, and things have just been getting more impossible since; so somehow in the midst of this impossible situation involving amphibians being way too interested in his love life (or lack thereof) that ended up being the first thing he thought of.

Annnnd he's still interacting with a breadstick. Why are the Palai still smiling and nodding at them.]

If you're just invisible, then...

[And here he reaches out a hand, curious but careful, to see if Mikleo is still solid?!]

[teratias]

Interesting is one way of putting it, I guess?

[Waver's all nerves, to the point of just registering nothing but his own sense of internal screaming.]

[oneandmikleonly]

[oh my god, waver. mikleo hesitates, then sort of awkwardly pats his shoulder and pushes the basket of breadsticks over; he doesn't know if waver's the sort of person whose nerves can be eased by food, but it's worth a try]

I don't think they'll complain if we make a good go of it and then say we're not particularly interested or compatible, do you? At least it's just questions, not something, er, more physical.

[teratias]

Please don't give them ideas. They might do that.

[Waver's not in the mood for food, but that's mostly because he doesn't trust the food at this point. He saw everyone's powers go haywire at the weird muted celebration. He doesn't want to relive the first time he met Mikelo.]

[imsorey]

[Sorey is blatantly checking out the barrier from his seat and only pauses long enough to grab a breadstick for himself]

Matchmaking doesn't usually come with magic barriers, does it? It feels pretty forced that way.

[oneandmikleonly]

Maybe they're making allowances for the weird alien foreigners who like to wander off by themselves instead of naturally going around in twos and threes.

[sighs; that wasn't sarcastic; there's a telepathic tickle in Sorey's head too, like, you're seeing what I'm seeing, right...?]

I'm sure they'll let it down once we've all made enough rounds, though. You should try the shrimp too, they're good.

[imsorey]

[nodding in response to the telepathic nudge and to try some of the shrimp, plopping one into his mouth while he gives the barrier another look.]

It still seems like a lot. But it doesn't seem like a bad way to get to know everyone, since we're stuck here.

[drizzle]

[By the time Nike is being literally dragged into another table, she was beyond exhausted after using a variety of escape attempts for none of them to work in the slightest. She had her eyes close, taking the moment to rest and resist the urge to eat until an energy will catch her attention. A warm one. It reminded her a rain showers for some reason.]

...how nostalgic, I haven't felt an energy like this in a long time...

[Once upon a time, when she was nothing more than a small child, she had the habit of connecting to spirits, noticing them as though they were living people, to the point she couldn't tell a lost spirit from a human -- living or dead. Even though her family held her same abilities, she was the only one that could hear the wind, sky, and world's voice better than they could. The pleasant feeling was enough to have her open her eyes, noticing someone in front of her for a split second before a headache began to overtake her. A groan will be given as she wonders loudly while holding her head.]

...I guess I hit my head harder than I thought...

[And yet she could hear another voice speaking to her which will increase the ache in her head. Should she double check someone was on the other side or keep her eyes closed?]

....being matchmade isn't all that is cracked up to be. Take it from me, you don't want someone to make such an important decision like this for you. You're better off without it...

[It was clear she was speaking from first hand experience.]

[oneandmikleonly]

Well, since they do want us to get to know each other, there does at least seem to be some kind of voluntary element to it...

[he trails off. he's got his elbow leaned on the table, if she cares to look and can see him; a boy in blue, eyebrows lifted a little in concern and curiosity. she hit her head...?]

The important non-matchmaking question to ask you here, though, is: are you all right? Do you need some kind of healing; medical attention...?

[surely the Palai will stop the exercise for someone who's physically feeling unwell, at this point.]

sorry for late reply, computer broke :(

[drizzle]

[If her head didn't sting so much, then she would give Mikleo a little smartass reply because she has a lot of ill feelings over the way they were tricked into meeting with an unfair expectation to come out of it. As much as she hates to be like this, her hurt feelings were getting the better of her.

But when the other guy begins to worry over her, she'll shake her hand a bit.]

I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Some bruising came out of it. See?

[She'll lift her hair bangs out of the way to show Mikleo a small bandage at the side of her forehead. It was no joke that she had intentionally attempted to harm herself to get out of the speed dating. The Palai separated her from the table almost immediately.]

Getting out of this due to injury won't happen since they'll only move you away from whatever you're trying to hurt yourself with. There's a reason our seats are being controlled by them.

[It's not just to keep them from leaving, they have literally planned out on all outcomes of escape.]

[bulletbiter]

[ Is there someone there? He can vaguely see/sense someone in the chair opposite him, but he wasn't able to confirm until Mikleo spoke. ]

Sorry, are you invisible?

[oneandmikleonly]

[considers answering seriously, but actually he's having a little bit of fun at this point, and also he's never tried this before, so he might as well try it at least one time:]

No, I am a talking breadstick.

[he sounds entirely serious...he's not going to keep the ruse up, but he does want to see the reaction that response gets.]

[bulletbiter]

I see.

[ He's not entirely buying that, but he's also not so straight-laced as to point it out immediately.

So he'll wait to see if Mr Breadstick will do anything else. ]