[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

[ensorcel]

And if I am? Younger boys have a certain charm to them, you know. I might not be that much older than you, but I think the difference is just enough to keep things nice and spicy.

1/2

[talim]

Nice and... spicy...

[ jude repeats camilla's words with an expression that's the oddest combination of horrified and eerily blank. ]

S-Sorry, but I'm... er...

[ he's never had to reject someone before. he never thought he'd have to worry about rejecting someone, let alone an older woman. ]

I-It's just... I'm not really... It's not you, it's me.

[ wait, doesn't that make it sound like a breakup rather than a rejection? jude tries again. ]

And you're... well, you're very pretty, but—

[ wait, part two. is this really the right time to be laying on compliments????? ]

2/2

[talim]

[ please, for the love of maxwell, help jude mathis. ]

... I don't like spicy things, so I just don't think it can work out.

[ is that really what he just blurted out. ]

[ensorcel]

[ camilla has to take a moment to process what the ever loving fuck jude just said, because wow not even leo would spit something so awkward and weird out. but when she realizes that this is not a dream, she laughs. sweetly. nicely. not in a HAHAHAHA YOU FUCKING DOOFUS!!!!! kind of way even though that's probably what he deserves. ]

Jude, my goodness, you are too cute for words! That's something my littlest sister would say.

[ she didn't mean to compare jude to a literal 8-12 year old but that's just how cute he is. she wants to pinch his cheeks and kiss face in his sleep.

but that can wait. she isn't going to let up on him just yet. ]

Handsome and smart. You really are the whole package, darling. I would be a fool to let you go just yet, so don't worry.

[ a wink. ]

If spiciness isn't to your liking, I'm sure I can tempt you with my sweet side instead.

[talim]

[ something her littlest sister would say...... he's pretty sure he's never been more humiliated in his life. ]

Handsome? Really? Me?

[ well, nobody's ever called him handsome before... and he does like sweets....... man, if alvin and leia were here he'd never hear the end of it. he's still trying to figure out how to reject her properly, but camilla is a woman undeterred. he can't even comment on her age; jude has always been drawn toward people who just happen to be older than him. milla, alvin... ]

... Never mind that. Sorry, Camilla, but I'm not... uh, I'm not interested in dating right now.

[ he's married to science. ]

But I'm sure anyone would be lucky to go on a date with you! Really, you're royalty. Surely you could settle for someone far more interesting than me.

[ good job putting yourself down, jude!!! keep at it!!! ]

[ensorcel]

[ sweet baby balls of the dusk dragon, jude is too much. camilla makes a sympathetic, incredulous face. even if it was during an awkward one-time adolescent date that was mediocre if not terrible, camilla can hardly believe no one has told jude he is pretty fine for a boy young enough to be her brother. the fact she can bang takumi in fates (ew) means she probably wouldn't discriminate too much if he you know what lets just stop that train of though no one wants this neither does she she just wanted to embarrass him ]

Oh, Jude, bite your tongue. You are a very insightful, interesting person. Being of the gentry makes no difference in whether someone is engaging or not; and you, my dear, are engaging.

i'm dying i love you so much

[talim]

[ jude's face might as well be on fire. he's probably never looked so flustered in his young life. he doesn't know how to react to being lavished with such high praise when he doesn't feel like he did anything to earn it. ]

Camilla... I'm honored you think so. Really. I am. But... um... can't I still be insightful, interesting, and engaging —

[ he pauses, self-conscious and bashful repeating it aloud, before pressing on. ]

— in a more platonic sense? Maybe?

[ please have mercy on him. he's trying. he's trying So Hard. ]

me too this is such good shit

[ensorcel]

[ camilla bats her lashes beguilingly. ]

I don't quite understand what you mean.

[ she's awful. how has he not realized she's teasing him??? he's so sweet and trusting???? an angel.... the gods created a real and true angel. ]

[talim]

I don't know how else to say it.

[ jude just. heaves a sigh. a long, heavy sigh... ]

... Hypothetically, if I agreed to going on just one date — not including this one, considering who knows when we'll get whisked away again — would you agree to drop the subject entirely afterward?

One date.

[ good job, camilla. you broke him. ]

And again. This is a purely hypothetical question. Don't get any ideas.

[ensorcel]

[ ｃ  ｈ  ｅ  ｃ  ｋ  ｍ  ａ  ｔ  ｅ  ． ]

Why, I would be so delighted for the privilege! Even just one date would be a dream come true.

[talim]

Then...

[ another loooong sigh. ]

One date. Just one. And you have to keep up your end of the bargain.

[ensorcel]

[ DAMN, HE CAUGHT HER. ]

Smart boy. You caught me.

[ see?? meanwhile, camilla's smile may or may not be a little, like, you know how dazai smiles when he's up to no good?? just this delighted and smarmy kind of smile. ]

I swear to the Dusk Dragon himself, I will accept your rejection if for some reason, you don't fall for my charms after one date.

[talim]

[ like this? or this? or this? ]

Then it's a deal.

[ jude can't help the tiniest, barest, itty-bittiest hint of a smile before he and camilla are pried apart and sent on their way.

(i guess this actually has to happen now.) ]

[ensorcel]

i fucking hate dazai the first one makes my penis so fucing uncomfortable

[ensorcel]

[ because she's camilla, she blows him a kiss in parting as they're ushered away from each other. she definitely won't let him forget their promise. ♥ ]