[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

[teratias]

...But I'm not--!!!

[Not ready? Not sure about any of this? Waver's attempt to fend off being very politely directed to a chair. His face goes bright red. He doesn't date! The idea always seemed like a fantasy that was much too far away. And now...

...he has no idea how to do this. He covers his face with both of his hands, dying both inside and out.]

I don't even know where to start.

[rootandbranch]

[he had better think of how to start quickly, though. his chair shifts with stomach-lurchng speed as the new dating sequence starts, and it ends up at a table across from... across from...

well, his potential date is tall, dark, and handsome. but possibly not in the way that he was expecting or hoping for.

Geir starts the conversation the way he's started every one of these speed dates, his fine social sense flawlessly bridging the gap between human and dragon:]

Did you want that food?

[nailed it.]

[teratias]

I did not. At all.

[So go ahead. Meanwhile, Waver's going to sit and wonder how they got a dragon roped into this nonsense.]

--How did they even....?

[Waver pauses, gesturing to all of Geir.]

Persuade you to get here?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir obligingly eats all of the breadsticks in one gulp before he replies. the Palai are losing a lot of baskets out of this deal. oh well, making new ones is good for the local economy, probably.

when he's finished (it doesn't take more than a bite), he grins cheerfully at Waver.]

Haha! They didn't have to try that hard. The Palai said there'd be food and getting to know people. Where's the harm in that?

[teratias]

[That...that was impressive, actually. Waver sits, his mouth slightly agape, before realizing that feeding a dragon back on the hub will probably be a problem.]

The dating part?

[rootandbranch]

What's a date supposed to be like? Is this it?

[Geir gestures with a wingtip at the weird speed dating setup.]

[teratias]

Definitely not this. I mean, mostly it's one on one stuff but....no magical chairs.

[Waver can't vouch for anything else. He's never been on a date.]

[alphonse]

Step one is calming down.

[By this point he's accepted being stuck and resigned himself to giving pep talks to people whose social lives aren't on indefinite hold.]

I know the whole thing is a really dumb idea, but all you have to actually do is talk to people.

[teratias]

Well then maybe they should just call it speed talking or speed getting to know you! [There's a little humph, but for Waver, that's a sign of calming down.] Throwing the word dating makes all kinds of expectations.

[alphonse]

It's the Palai.

[As if that alone explains any weirdness. Maybe forced social interaction will do Waver some good if he's this nervous about it. Or he could take a cue from Al and just carry on like he's Exempt despite being as trapped as anyone else.]

They mean well, but I'm pretty sure no one here is going to take all this seriously.

[teratias]

I guess you're right.

[About both things, but especially it being just the Palai and what they do. They were just...enthusiastic. About everything. Constantly.]

I...really hope not. I don't even know how that'd work in hopping between worlds and stuff.

[alphonse]

I don't think they really understood that either.

[Jumping in without the facts also, unfortunately, seems to be the Palai way.]

Or that some of us are really far apart in age or only interested in certain types of people. Even if you wanted to treat this like real dating, it'd be impossible with the way they've got it set up.

[teratias]

[Enthusiasm trumps all, for better or worse.]

Do you actually think they'll act on any of this? Like trying to set people up on real dates after?

[ensorcel]

There there, darling. It'll be alright. Please don't cry.

[ she knows he's not crying, but maybe being baby-talked a little bit will calm him down? (because being soothed by a voluptuous random woman would help anyone calm down.) that, and teasing him is...irresistible. this poor sad cute boy... ]

[teratias]

[If anything, it transforms Waver from panicking to outright offense at being treated like a child. Perhaps that's for the better, but it isn't Waver's most charming side.]

Hey! I'm not crying, and I am pretty sure that not everyone is thrilled with the idea of surprise speed-dating either!

[ensorcel]

[ that's much better. now camilla is less worried about him having a panic attack or needing his inhaler or something. ]

I do not deny that, but rather than crying, wouldn't it be better to make the best of this situation? It's all in good fun, is it not?

[ her smile sweetens, just like her tone. ]

Besides, this means you get to spend time with little old me. Isn't that at least one good thing?

[teratias]

[Waver lacks the self awareness to realize that that really is the vibe he gives off. He also lacks any good graces to match tone, as his grumpiness and general discontent continues to shine through.]

This is only fun if you're okay with getting tricked into something that's got expectations when you throw the word date in there. [Waver grumbles, crossing his arms and huffing. Small wonder that he's 19, not 7.]

...You're one of the new people to the coven, huh?

[ensorcel]

[ a giggle. ]

I sympathize somewhat, since as royalty, dates are very rigid affairs for me. But, in many cases, that didn't stop me from having my own fun. Just talking like this, with nothing serious and committal in mind is fine.

I am Camilla, and it is just as you say. I arrived here before that dreadful attack happened. It's a pleasure to meet you, who I assume has been here longer than I have?

[teratias]

[Royalty? Well that does explain how formal her speech sounds.]

They could just call it something else....[Especially for those who have zero dating experience.]

I'm Waver. And yeah, I think I've got a month ahead on you?

[splinten]

You could start by maybe chilling a bit.

[HE SAYS LIKE HE ISN'T FLUSTERED.]

Don't worry, dude, dating anyone is not a thing I intend on doing in the near future. You're safe from romantic machinations in my direction.

[Like there are other issues there also probably but Waver needs to chill.

So that Dirk can continue to pretend that HE is chill, despite really still not being chill at all.]

[teratias]

I'm totally chill! I'm fine!

[He is not. At all. He is all arms and flailing, wanting to die here and now.]

And that's reassuring from you, but what if someone takes this seriously!

[splinten]

[deadpan]

It'll be pretty brutal, man. I'm not sure you'll be able to take it.

You'll have to turn that motherfucker down.

[teratias]

I don't know how to do that! I've never even had to think about doing that before!

[Deadpan ignored, there is only pure terror.]

[splinten]

It's pretty complicated, admittedly. Let me explain the series of steps that you need to engage in.

The first step is to say, "Sorry, I'm not interested."

[...That's it. That's his only step.]

[teratias]

...Then what? What about the other person's feelings?! What if they get angry or something?!

[Does not compute.]