[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

[talim]

[ as terrible and suffocating and awkward as this is... ]

No offense, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone unhappier to be on a date. Look, we can just keep it simple. This doesn't have to be anything more than strictly platonic. Just getting to know each other. Friendship.

[ jude rubs at the back of his neck, his cheeks an interesting shade of red. easier said than done... ]

Trust me, you're not the only one embarrassed. Misery loves company?

[alphonse]

Sorry. I only got involved in this accidentally, so... I don't really know what to say.

[He might be misinterpreting that well meaning reassurance as a sign that Jude's here to give speed dating a sincere shot.]

I'm sure you'll get to talk to someone who's actually interested before long, though. You can practice what you're going to ask them if you want.

[Clearly this is a face you can trust for unsolicited romantic advice.]

[talim]

I think we all did. At the very least, I know I did.

[ a forced laugh. ]

— wait, what? No, that's not...

[ jude flushes a brighter pink. ]

There was a misunderstanding. I don't have any interest in dating anyone, so...

[ he gestures to nothing in particular. uh, this is awkward? ]

[alphonse]

...Oh.

So no one actually wants to be here.

[Is that better or worse? He's not sure, but now he definitely doesn't know what to say. Assuming there's nothing better to do but play along until the Palai decide enough is enough, he grabs a question from the bowl. And immediately regrets it.]

"Can you guess my weight?" Seriously?

[talim]

I don't think so. Everyone seems to have just sort of gotten swept up in this mess.

[ when alphonse reads the question aloud, jude has to stifle a laugh, bringing up a hand to his mouth to cover it. that's an easy one. ]

The answer to that is No, I can't. Here, let me try.

[ jude draws one, aaand... ]

"Are you wearing underwear?"

[ ................ ]

[alphonse]

That's so creepy! Who'd say something like that to someone they just met?

[Get some chill, Palai. He's not going to so much as try to answer that one; even if he went for laughing it off there's way too much potential he'd slip up and say something weird. Some people have their reasons for not having clothes, okay.

He looks back at the bowl like it's a dangerous creature that might attack them at any moment. Does he dare try again?]

i just googled "interesting first date questions" ngl

[talim]

[ jude pretty much reads his mind. ]

Don't worry. I'll just go ahead and pull one again. Third time's the charm, right?

[ he's having trouble staying optimistic, but alphonse doesn't need to know that.... jude fishes another one out, and sure enough, surprisingly, this one is pretty different from the others. ]

"What did you love most about the place you grew up? What about it did you love the least?"

Well, that's miles better than the previous two.

[ and jude is genuinely curious to learn more about a person like al. he peers at him with a curious expression. ]

a beautiful moment tbh

[alphonse]

[Oh, that's. That's actually sane. He can wax nostalgic about Resembool all day.]

Definitely. Is it cheating if I say the people were my favorite part? I don't get to go home very often, so they're what I think about the most. As for what I liked the least...

[That's more complicated. Better stick with the slightly impersonal answer.]

The place where I grew up is a small village, more or less in the middle of nowhere. There's not much around except for fields and sheep. It's peaceful, but when you're a kid you don't always realize how nice that is, you know?

[Emboldened, he grabs another paper. Maybe his luck will be better this time too?]

"If you were a flavor, what would you be?"

[...Or not. SIGH.]

You can stick with the hometown question if you want.

[talim]

[ jude is going to do just that. ]

I wouldn't say that, but if it is cheating, then I'm right there with you. I grew up in a small seaside town, with my childhood best friend. My parents run a clinic, and we used to help the kids in treatment with their physical therapy and keep them occupied. I don't think I ever realized just how peaceful those days were, too. You just sort of take those things for granted when you're younger.

[ he rubs the back of his neck, looking a little bashful. ]

So... I think I know exactly what you mean.

[alphonse]

You sound a lot like a friend of mine.

[He can't not think of the Rockbells with a description like that, and the warmth in his voice is obvious.]

Her parents were our village doctors. She's an automail engineer now, but she definitely grew up to be a lot like them. You're some kind of doctor too, right?

[Or something close enough to play healer during the Uvi battle.]

[talim]

That's impressive. I'd love to meet her one day.

[ that might be unlikely, but who knows what could happen in a place like this? ]

Mm. I'm a licensed doctor. I moved away to go off to med school in a big city, but just before graduation, I ended up...

[ getting expelled for breaking and entering a laboratory plagued by criminal activity? he'll leave that part out. ]

... well, it's a long story, but it has to do with taking a long break. In the end, though, a friend pulled some strings and I got my degree.

Back home, I've ended up more involved in the science field — environmental science — but technically, I'm still a doctor on the side. I'm just grateful I'm able to put my experience to use here.

[ jude realizes he's doing the rambling thing again. he flushes, embarrassed. ]

S-Sorry... you asked a simple question, not for my life story.

[alphonse]

Don't apologize. I like hearing about it.

[It beats awkward "dating" questions any day, but even if that wasn't the case, Jude's story would still be interesting. There's something inherently impressive about people who devote themselves to saving lives. Besides, Jude said one of the magic words and Al visibly perks up at the possibility of discussing research.]

I'm a scientist too, so I want to learn as much as I can about what's possible in other worlds. What kind of work do you do?

[talim]

You are?

[ jude's lips part in surprise. he doesn't know why he didn't expect that, but perhaps it's because he doesn't know what to expect from al at all. it's hard to guess what a person underneath a giant suit of armor must be like. ]

Like I said, I'm into environmental science. Specifically, the study of spirits, how they affect the environment, and what we can do to help dead plants flourish again. When mana is sucked dry, the surrounding nature is sucked dry with it. I'm searching for a solution to that.

What about you? What do you study?

[ he rests his chin in his hands. ]

[alphonse]

I'm an alchemist.

[It's accompanied by a slight, questioning tilt of his head. He's waiting to see if Jude's familiar with the term before he launches into an explanation. Besides, spirits? Mana? As aspects of environmental science? The questions Al could ask are practically endless.]

Nothing you're describing sounds familiar to me at all.

[At least by this point he's responding to these types of conversations with cautious curiosity rather than strict disbelief.]

When you say spirits, what exactly do you mean?