[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

[secrowtary]

[ Jeanne's reaction reminds him of his own, the Palai can be pretty blunt when they want to. ]

I wouldn't take it too seriously...they just think that being alone is like a curse of sorts. [ He shakes his head. ] I don't understand why is that, though. This is ridiculous, but at least they have breadsticks.

[ What a consolation prize... ]

[goodlistener]

[too blunt, in her opinion.

surprisingly, though, after she listens to hibiki, the flustered color begins to fade out of her face and she sits up straighter. her eyes flit away from him to land on the table.]

But I do believe... being alone is like a curse.

[secrowtary]

Oh? It's certainly not that bad. I mean... [ He's trying to pick his words carefully to get the point across, but it's much more difficult than usual. ] It's better to be alone rather than commit yourself to a pointless relationship. [ Hibiki clears his throat. ] I think.

[ He can't believe what he has just said. Since when he's an expert on relationships!! ]

E-Excuse me, I'm not trying to convince you. I'm just...this situation is just too much.

[goodlistener]

Don't worry, I don't think you're saying anything wrong.

[it's not smart to commit oneself to a relationship when your heart isn't in it, most assuredly, and the whole scenario of "speed dating" makes things awkward, like anything someone does can seem to have an ulterior motive behind it.]

I meant to say that people who are alone for their entire lives— That's not sustainable for most people, and understandably so. It isn't a path I'd recommend others choose.

[her phrasing implies, however, that she has chosen it.]

[secrowtary]

Some people just aren't cut out for relationships...that's what you meant to say. I wholeheartedly agree with you, in that case.

[ He allows himself to ponder on her words a little while longer. It's clear to him that Jeanne has chosen that path, but is this time and place to ask about it? Maybe not, but at the very least, he's trying to be subtle about it. ]

But it is sustainable for you, am I right?

[goodlistener]

[maybe she looks a bit caught off-guard that he would ask that, but she really can't blame him when she made that conclusion so obvious to draw; despite how mildly self-conscious she now is, jeanne is logical.]

It... is... That's strange, is it not?

[secrowtary]

No, I don't think so. It's your choice, after all. And if you come to a conclusion that's no longer sustainable...it'll also be your decision.

[ He can hardly believe his own advice. If only Hibiki himself was staying true to his feelings...if only. ]

I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself again...