[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

[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. ]

[pussywhips]

[ She looks surprised, as if this idea just occurred to her for the first time—her surprise is quickly followed by desperate enthusiasm. Her eyes are sparkling just like his now. ]

That's a great idea! Do you think they'd go for it? I mean, they have to, right?

[ Because it's obviously the best idea ever. ]

[secrowtary]

[ Are they going to spread the idea of Sweet's Paradise across the worlds and why yes. ]

I can't see why they wouldn't. I mean...that would be a terrible waste if they didn't at least consider it. I just hope they'll pass on their...special pastries.

[ The ones that make your power go berserk. ]