spellbinders | [WORLD ONE] SPEED DATING EXTRAVAGANZA

[WORLD ONE] SPEED DATING EXTRAVAGANZA

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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Neither do I. I'm glad that this isn't a thing in my world.

[ Or maybe it is, but he's devoted to work and has no private life. ]

If it's the price for the food...it's not worth it. [ HARSH ] It's just too embarrassing...especially with that potential mate talk. Besides, there are more important things that we should be doing instead of...this.

[Workaholics Anonymous table, right here.]

I've never heard of it. [but he doesn't know for sure if there isn't something similar back home; he does think certain parties in his home world would enjoy it a little too much, though] But I didn't eat anything, and I still can't leave. It's not...

[He makes a quiet noise of frustration.]

I don't know how long the, uh, mating season lasts. But it could get worse.

[Fair warning. Thanks, Dirk??]

[ CERTAIN PARTIES...Hibiki feels you, Lenka. His boss would enjoy this way too much, but he's not here to embarrass him even further. ]

The breadsticks are alright, but I'd say that prawns are way better.

[ At least one of them took advantage of the situation? Mostly to avoid answering awkward questions. ]

It can't last for too long...right? Their mating season, I mean.

[ Please tell him that this nightmare is going to be over soon. ]

I don't want speed dating to be a thing. I certainly don't want that.

[His BFF being here would at least break the ice, even if they'd both then have to avoid being seen in public ever again. Or at least for a good while. He'd still take it over this.]

Last time I ate something here... I shouldn't have eaten it. [it was vibrating, hunger was no excuse!] It did things to my magic.

[These seem like perfectly ordinary breadsticks. But he's still wary of them for so many reasons. Lenka's still trying to flag down a Palai to make sure they're not inadvertently magically poisoning them again, but apparently they're all too busy explaining the game. Great.]

... I think this is speed dating. The dating gets worse.

[Soon it might not be dating anymore. Can they just escape and work on things from like. The next city??]

Oh, the pastries. [ They're unforgettable, especially to a sweet tooth like him. ] Was it that bad?

[ From his own experience, it could be. Hibiki basically became a paper magnet. It's not nice walking around with a sheet of paper stuck to your face, and now he's painfully aware of that. ]

T-They're not going to make us...make us...I refuse!

[ He's blushing so much now, whoa. Not that he has anything to say in this matter anyway. The Palai can be unusually persistent, after all. ]

This is insane! We need to proceed to next world immediately.

[ +100 points to motivation ]

My power is summoning refrigerators.

[It's so deadpan. He's got it down to a science, the exact tone of resigned, incredulous acceptance. Also, he figures the fact that he makes fridges appear out of thin air might speak for itself when it comes to magic messing up. Especially at a party crowded with both coven and Palai guests. That put a bit more of a damper on the day than rain.

Blushing is probably contagious, which is terrible, because now Lenka is imagining whatever Hibiki is probably imagining and reddening along with him. He keeps trying not to think about it but considering where they are now, he's doomed. They're doomed.]

I... I don't think most of us would accept it, but yeah. We should get out of here.

[As someone whose magic doesn't exactly help with escaping from these sorts of scenarios, +200 motivation.]

Your power is summoning...what? Excuse me, I think I've misheard you.

[ It's not even that loud in here, but still. Refrigerators? This can't be. Did they put something in the breadsticks, after all? ]

I wonder how long it's going to take, our mission here that is. And how the next world will be like...

[ It's better to focus on that rather than...on the embarrassing things. ]

You didn't mishear. One second.

[This, too, is something he tends to run into a lot. Despite the fact that they're in an amphibian-run speed date and the sky is ocean and some of them have tails and turn into dragons -- refrigerators are the strange thing here.

Lenka makes a small gesture and with a sudden WHUMP noise a refrigerator materializes next to them and plops onto the ground. Did he summon it a little off the ground on purpose? For drama?! Who knows. Anyway, he unceremoniously pulls the door open and... ah, there's no food in here. For some reason, this particular fridge is holding... grooming accessories??

Is it trying to tell them something. Does Hibiki need a comb.]

Our mission? It would go faster if we had direction.

[That's the one thing that's still bothering him. Obviously, Qri and her handmaidens are used to worldhopping. Why are they being throw into this blind?]

Why would you keep grooming accessories inside a refrigerator?

[ It doesn't make sense...but what does!! And what is it trying to tell them...the mystery. ]

I'd appreciate more information from misses Genette and Brie, but they seem to have disappeared somewhere. I wonder what they're up to.

[ Shouldn't they be keeping them company during the mission instead of playing hide-and-seek... ]

People sometimes... forget things. But not this much.

[So the answer is he has no idea why someone is apparently keeping their entire grooming kit in their fridge. Fridge #1 is closed and then summarily banished; Fridge #2 arrives a moment later, on the opposite side of the table, and falls open obligingly of its own accord. This one at least contains food -- it's just that most of it is fish, for some reason.

It looks like what a Palai fridge would probably look like... Gross. There's an entire swordfish somehow crammed in here.]

Ugh... sorry. [now their entire table smells like fish] We didn't even get that much information on these powers. I haven't seen them lately.

[Fridge #2 vanishes promptly, but the smell lingers. How does this magic work. Dare he try for lucky #3?]

But who in the world would leave...those are items that somebody lost before if I understand correctly?

[ Life has taught him that it's better to clear up all misunderstandings right away. ]

Don't be. [ Hibiki's still impressed by the whole swordfish stuffed inside. Even if it stinks, to put it mildly. ] We're going to switch tables soon enough anyway, I suppose. I wonder how did they escape the Palai inviting us to this...special event.

I don't know if they're lost... Misplaced. Maybe.

[That's as far as he understands the refrigerating habits of absent-minded people, and probably the most coherent non-magic explanation anyone's going to get for this nonsense. Lenka stares thoughtfully at the spot where Fridge #2 vanished for a moment -- then makes a quick, final gesture, and Fridge #3 takes its place.

Fridge #3 was also summoned sideways, so Lenka addresses Hibiki's other concern while he starts trying to yank it open horizontally while stuck to a chair--]

Genette and Brie? Maybe they've been here before... Ah.

[That would at least explain how they pick their destinations. Wouldn't it?

And then he winces when the fridge door pops open and several things immediately fall out of the door. Nothing breaks, but several wheels of cheese go rolling away. If Hibiki can catch one, they might be able to use it with the breadsticks. If.]

That would make sense.

[ Genette and Brie being here before. Not the refrigerators. Definitely not the refrigerators and the items that are inside, except cheese wheels are pretty understandable to be found there.

He even manages to grab one of them. Just a reflex. ]

I hope they can explain themselves and their absence, at the very least. Do you want it...?

[ Holding up the cheese since Lenka hasn't eaten anything yet. ]

Has anyone tried contacting them by mirror...? Or-- or telepathy.

[It's not like Lenka hasn't thought of it before, or given it a halfhearted try or two, but he's obviously not the best candidate to be mucking about with magic, whether it's spells or attempting to send messages into people's heads. He's gotten better, but...

He's pretty sure there are people vastly more qualified to be doing this sort of thing in the coven.

For the moment, he blinks at the cheese wheel and then reaches out to take it.]

... I didn't know they made cheese this big.

[He's just going to start unwrapping it. Finally!! Non-suspicious food! Does Hibiki want a piece? Should they check the fridge for additional meals?]

I'm not sure if anybody has done that. This telepathy thing...well. It sure is a thing.

[ Does he even have to finish. How are they supposed to get used to the text floating in front of their eyes or voices in their heads? Even saying that out loud is bizarre.

Speaking of floating text, one of the paper strips is really persistent. Hibiki tries to ignore it for the time being but— ]

Neither did I, to be honest. Ugh. [ He can't ignore the paper for too long. ] Shall we try this at least once?

[ It reads: If you were a fish, what kind of fish would you be?. And now Hibiki can add asking this question to the list of things he regrets. ]

[Telepathy is really strange -- the text and otherwise visual part is the part he really has trouble fathoming, because he can think of speaking with his mind in the same way he thinks about speaking into his comm device back home; it's a bit of a stretch, but it helps with handling it. He still has to use the mirror for anything else.

Maybe he should try again, though, or see if he can find anyone used to this method of communication. He remembers that there were a couple of people in the mirrors who seemed well-practiced with it...

Anyway, for now, Lenka is fine going along with Hibiki's proposal, though he'd been pretty successfully ignoring the small blizzard of paper strips on the table. He does choke on a piece of cheese at the question, though. What?]

What? Uh, I've never thought about that... [he's only ever really eaten fish, and thinking of himself as a fillet isn't the greatest visual] ... The kind that doesn't get eaten?

[He's... good at this... Should he pick up a paper. He's getting cheese on it. Maybe it's an omen--]

"What's... the cheesiest pick-up line you've ever heard."

[Regrets. There are regrets at this table.]

To be fair...neither have I. [ He's judging you, paper strip. How could you fail to meet his expectations. Rude. ] And I believe your answer is the best one can give.

[ He's not even sure if he knows any species of fish which aren't used for cooking.

Maybe he should have actually answered. If he had done it, the next question wouldn't be so cheesy. ]

Uh. Is it hot in here or is it just you?

[ So many regrets. ]

[He's not entirely sure what he expected of the strips of paper but it was likely more along the lines of #2: cheesy mortification and not #1: sudden and inexplicable fish. He kind of wishes his expectations hadn't been met at this point, because he could have lived without either. If he hadn't still been trying to clear fish-induced cheese out of his windpipe he would've choked again.]

That's... that's pretty bad. [especially because Aimintas actually is pretty up there temperature-wise, and now he's imagining the Palai using that and--] ... Did they use magic on the paper, too?

[Because really, the paper just keeps coming. He's eyeing them a little like they might bite him at this point.]

[ To be honest, it was that line or On a scale of 1 to 10, you’re a 9. I’m the 1 you need. Or actually...the more Hibiki thinks about it, the more of them pop up.

This is what happens when your boss is a womanizer. ]

I know, believe me, I know. If you haven't heard anything like that then you must be a truly lucky person. [ A deep sigh. ] It's for breaking the ice, or something like that.

[ The paper is one thing, but their chairs are another. Shortly, Hibiki realizes that it's pulling away from the table, oops. Now he'll never know if Lenka has been inflicted upon any terrible pickup lines.

Because he's definitely not going to ask about it ever again, this is simply too embarrassing. ]

[Ah, he accidentally found something Hibiki was an expert at. Is he lucky or unlucky, nobody will ever know, because they'll indeed never speak of this again even though all of this is happening within hearing distance of at least five Palai and a couple of coven members. Whoops.

Anyway, they're finally moving on from this fiasco, and Lenka's also busy banishing the last fridge he summoned. Best not to leave more cheese than necessary in their wake. Who knows what it could do to their successors.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[WORLD ONE] SPEED DATING EXTRAVAGANZA

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject