[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]

[ It seems that they're all going to be stuck here for quite a while, which annoys Hibiki a great deal. He could've been doing so many different things right now, magical practice being one of them.

When a strip of paper pops out, he realizes that maybe it's not a complete waste of time. If he can't stand up and walk away, he'll just have to use the resources available here.

That's why, after reading it, he'll make a paper star out of the strip. Shortly after he'll be surrounded by a dozen of these floating in the air. ]

If you weren't forced to come here, what would you be doing right now?

[bulletbiter]

[ Julius has long since passed the point of being able to produce polite dignified conversation. ]

We should be doing more productive things.

[secrowtary]

That's the only appropriate answer. [ And Hibiki's so glad to hear that someone has a similar opinion on this speed dating thing. ] I wish the Palai understood that. Alas...

[ His gaze shifts from Julius to the bowl with the scraps of paper. ]

I still can't believe that they went so far as to prepare this. Especially since they still have a long way to go when it comes to creating weapons...

[bulletbiter]

Mating rituals [ said with a completely straight face ] are different across worlds, too. I wouldn't understand why they would expect it to apply to us as well.

[ But since they're eager, it seems like the two of them won't be able to escape. ]

I'd respect their enthusiasm, but they should respect our preferences.

[secrowtary]

R-Rituals. [ War flashbacks to a fertility shrine he's found in the forest back on the island. It's been An Adventure. ] They're different, yes. Thankfully.

[ They can always try to run with chairs glued to their butts. ]

They still have a long way to go in terms of respecting other people's preferences, I'm afraid.

[ Suddenly, a strip of paper pop out in Hibiki's direction, making him tilt his head. ]

Oh, the questions. Somehow, I forgot about them. [ Let's be real, he doesn't want to remember. ] Shall we?

[ If it's stupid they can judge hard, at least? ]

[bulletbiter]

Go ahead.

[ He isn't quite in the room for a nap. A breadstick would do, though. ]

'What do you like to do when you’re not working?' This one's not that hard.

[secrowtary]

Rather tame, too.

[ Definitely it could be worse. Much worse. ]

Let's see...among other things, I prepare meals, clean the office, do the laundry...

[ Basically all the housework. Does that even count if he likes to do it??? ]

How about you, though?

[bulletbiter]

[ That's quite the skillset for someone in the military, which he's been assuming Hibiki is. ]

I read what's in the digital Archives back home. It's always important to enrich one's knowledge, I'd feel.

[secrowtary]

[ And he didn't even mention babysitting his boss. No wonder why his world is on the verge of destruction if the military is like this. ]

Absolutely. Knowledge is power, that's undeniable. If only more people were aware of that single fact...alas.

[ Their first question was surprisingly normal, so he doubts that the next one will be the same. ]

"If you were an animal in the wild, what would you be?" [ A sigh. ] I wonder what's the point of this.

[cadventuretime]

Just think of it as an opportunity to get to know each other better.

[As for her list, she's been crossing stuff out as she find them boring and kept the "good" ones.]

So, feel like getting started?

[secrowtary]

It's definitely a good opportunity to make connections, yes.

[ Let's see where the paper strips will lead them...! ]

Where do you see yourself in five years?

[cadventuretime]

[Ugh the future. The thing that she wants to think about the least.]

Ohh... probably dead in a ditch.

Which would beat the alternative.

[secrowtary]

Dead in a ditch? [ Okay, green skin doesn't look too healthy, but isn't that an exaggeration?! Besides, if a cat could become a legendary hero in his world, then why should he question her physiology. ] And what would be the alternative?

As for me, I see myself doing what I was doing back home. Everything will probably stay the same after I come back.

[cadventuretime]

Being dead and buried. [Zombie humor. Because for her, being dead in a ditch would just mean that she had a wild and crazy night, while being dead and buried would be... well less than pleasant.]

So you really don't like change, huh?

[secrowtary]

I don't get it. You're dead either way, does the place matter that much?

[ Hibiki no, don't get philosophical over this. ]

No, that's not it. I just have duties to fulfill. I doubt that it's going to change in five years time.

[cadventuretime]

[She... could get into the discussion of how by being undead, being stuck in a place with no way out and no way to escape would be more terrifying than simply just dying, but that's depressing and she's not really about to make this conversation about heavy topics.]

[When it comes to her, anyway.]

[She has no problems raising difficult topics of Hibiki's circumstances, however.]

Oh! So you're stuck professionally. Landed a dead-end job, then?

[secrowtary]

That's...

[ Straight to the point, Rottytops. He's caught completely off guard. ]

Let's talk about something else, shall we? Would you like to ask a question this time, perhaps?

[pussywhips]

[ Ann is pretty flustered and unnerved by this weird, unexpected situation, which shows in the way she sits there fidgeting, twirling her pigtails between her fingers. She normally doesn't have a problem talking to strangers, but somehow the whole date element takes this to embarrassing proportions.

God. When will this be over? ]

Oh! Uh. [ She blinks, surprised but a little fascinated by the paper stars floating around him. But he asked a question, didn't he? ] Probably eating cake at the cafe...

[ She sounds pretty sad that she isn't doing that right now. ]

[secrowtary]

[ For the first time since he has arrived, his eyes are shining and there's definitely smile curling at the corners of his lips. He thought that practice is the only good answer, but he was wrong, apparently. Sweets are just as important. ]

What kind of cake?

[ #priorities ]

[pussywhips]

[ Well, that was far more enthusiasm than she was expecting—not that she can blame him, of course, since she finds herself getting just as excited to talk about cake. Or even more so, judging by the way her expression lights up. ]

Oh, pretty much any kind! But strawberry shortcake sounds really good right now... or chocolate cheesecake...

[ Stop her before she starts drooling. ]

[secrowtary]

Oh, I haven't had strawberry shortcake in a while...I wonder if I could obtain fresh strawberries somewhere...

[ Is he really the right person to stop her, though. Don't worry, Hibiki has a handkerchief on him...so there's that. ]

Lemon tart would be nice, too...

[pussywhips]

I love lemon tart!

[ And she slaps her hands against the table! Because she loves it so much!! Honestly, he could've named any kind of dessert and she would've had the same reaction. Then she suddenly sighs, her shoulders slumping forward. ]

Ugh, I really miss Sweet's Paradise... I would kill for a dessert buffet around here!

[secrowtary]

Sweet's Paradise? [ It's an unfamiliar name to him, but if he had to guess— ] Is it a bakery?

[ He can't help but chuckle at the dessert buffet part, though. ]

I don't think killing anyone would be necessary. [ That's just a figure of speech... ] I suppose we could have a look around the marketplace later?

[pussywhips]

No!

[ She shakes her head emphatically. Since it seems like he hasn't heard of it, she'll (very excitedly) explain. ]

It's actually a dessert buffet! You pay in the beginning and they give you an hour to eat as much as you want. They have all kinds of cakes and ice cream!

[ Needless to say, she ate them out of business, probably. ]

[secrowtary]

This truly does sound like a paradise...

[ He sure is calculating how many cakes he'd be able to eat in an hour. It probably goes without saying, but his eyes are literally sparkling now. ]

Maybe the Palai would be willing to open their own Sweet's Paradise?

[ You're not even going to stay in this world that long?! Probably. Who knows. ]