[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]

It's not really a game...

[ At least, she doesn't think so? If someone is this desperate, then they probably take dating very seriously, or so she assumes. Her lack of experience with dating is really not helping her out here.

She also couldn't help but notice that he dropped the word commoner like it was no big deal. It probably doesn't bother her as much as it should—after all, Haru is as 1% as it gets, and she's the sweetest thing since sugar. Something tells her this guy is... not so much... anyway. She unceremoniously shoves a breadstick in her mouth. ]

I guessh... it would probably depend on the person, right? I mean, the person you're stuck with for an hour could be really cool or something.

[yancat]

Then everyone I've dated before this moment has been "uncool".

[That makes sense. His father has been arranging all these matches for him, and he has awful taste in women. On the other hand, it's not like Jumin's actively looking for anyone. Be it at school, work, and even home, everyone has been the same. His first name is a mere stepping stone to what his last has to offer.

No one cool would need that.]

Have you dated anyone before? What's it like? I'm sure you've had some experience.

[pussywhips]

[ Apparently she doesn't really care at all about appearing cool in front of this guy, because she just keeps eating this breadstick—at least until she suddenly chokes on it, caught off guard by his question. ]

I—um... well, not really.

[ She refuses to believe that anything that he did even came close to dating, and even before that—she was just too much of an oddity for boys to ever take her seriously. Ask her out and expose themselves to relentless teasing? Middle school boys aren't nearly that brave, as it turns out.

Either way, she barely knows this guy, so it's not really something she wants to talk about. She tugs on one of her pigtails anxiously, casting her eyes around for something to change the subject with, or at least get the subject off her love life—anything. ]

It sounds like you've had way more experience than me. Have you really never been on a good date ever?

[yancat]

[Strange. ... No, not strange. People have their reasons. Jumin has a few guesses for hers.

He calls for a Palai.]

Waiter, fetch the young lady a glass of water.

[He'd scold her about eating while talking, but they're not quite there yet.]

To answer your question, no. But I've never dated someone of my own free will, mind you. I suppose I could try to be more accommodating, but it's only natural to detest objectification, isn't it?

[pussywhips]

[ She blinks at the sudden command, a little taken aback—he has a very authoritative air about him, doesn't he? It would be intimidating if she was more the type to be intimidated.

She's a little more taken aback by the next part, though. It rings... maybe a little too close to home. ]

Objectification? What do you mean?

[ What kind of life does he have where he's being forced to date people? The Palai returns and places a glass of water in front of her, as directed—but she's too preoccupied to drink it now. ]

[yancat]

I'm sure you know what I mean. [Everyone experiences it, don't they? As for him, he thinks it's obvious at a glance.]

It's not me they want. They want diamonds, fame, the... fantasy they've painted of me in their heads — though I haven't the slightest clue where they get these delusions.

[He sighs. It's not on his list of priorities, but he'd really like to talk to the media about their taglines one day. Most eligible bachelor in Korea? Says who?!]

Talking to them is a waste of time.

[pussywhips]

[ She does know what he means, unfortunately. Maybe not exactly in the way he just described, but... or, at least, in a different context. She doesn't have diamonds or fame, but she does have her looks. Her exoticness, for what that's worth. Her vulnerability, as a teenager and a girl.

Ugh. She finds herself scowling at the glass of water in front of her, and makes a conscious effort to exhale and release some of the tension she's holding in—even now, she still can't help the way her skin crawls when she thinks of him. ]

Yeah, I get what you mean. I would probably feel the exact same way if I was being forced to do something like that too.

[yancat]

[That answer is precisely what he wanted to hear. Someone actually understands what he's going through? That's new. His expression doesn't quite match his swirl of emotions, however small, but in his mind he knows what to do.]

Perhaps we share more in common than I thought.

[He offers his hand.]

I'm Jumin Han. And you are?

[pussywhips]

[ Man, he sure has a way of making this feel more like a business dinner than a crappy date set up with breadsticks and shrimp. She finds herself blinking at his proffered hand before smiling (genuinely!) and taking it for a (decently firm) handshake. ]

I'm Ann Takamaki. Nice to meet you.

[ At least she has some manners, unlike her breadstick eating would lead one to believe. ]

[yancat]

[It's an improvement from three minutes ago—her manners, the atmosphere, this situation. He'll take it.]

Ann. A pleasure.

[A small smile, there.]

How long have you been with the coven?

[pussywhips]

Mm, a couple months now, I think?

[ She looks thoughtful for a second, her head tilting to the side. ]

It's actually gone by pretty fast, now that I think about it. [ For better or for worse... ] What about you?