[OPENING] island hub - day 1

[spellbindmods]

Who: All Characters
Where: Main Hub
When: Day 1
Open/Closed: Open to All

TDM threads can be considered canon if you so choose, they contain the power that you apped with and both parties confer that the thread is canon.

For characters that were on the TDM and who were not accepted/didn't app, these characters will be considered dropped characters that were magicked away.

Night has fallen upon everyone. It's thus far been an eventful day -- you've met some new people, discovered some new aspects of yourself that weren't there before you appeared here (however that might have happened). The original inhabitants of the island have been working hard to prepare a few things. One activity might have been one you were a part of, but there's still time to get your hands dirty. A ▢ Brie has rolled out a large copper pot and created a pit on the beach. It's unrealistic to think everyone can subsist on the few foods she's collected from other words and boar jerky alone. She's got a few boar carcasses sitting on the beach that need attending to as well. Your characters can help feed themselves and others, and here's what needs to be done: Fire needs to be started for cooking the meat AND a large bonfire for light and warmth. The large copper bowl needs to be filled with water. Crabs need to be bravely collected from the bath house for boiling. The boar needs to be either cut up for kebabs or stuck through. Does your character know anything about spit-roasting? Any other helpful magical skills are welcome to help make food. Post feasting, there are dozens of crabs and a pile of roasted boar meet that are up for eating. Even if you didn't offer to help in making any of the food, they're open to eat it -- even if the true helpers may give you dirty looks. The boar is fine, if not a little bland and chewy, but it's probably better than the jerky. The crab is delicious, if not a little tasteless...there problem with the crab isn't exactly the taste, though. B ▢ The crab isn't a species that's immediately edible for most species, though your character will grow to get used to it eventually. For now, the meat isn't settling well within your character's system. Your character will experience sweats, a high fever, blurred vision, potential vomiting, hives...it's very obvious their body is rejecting the unfamiliar meat. This may also cause a bit of an issue with your character's powers. They're still getting physically and mentally acclimated to these new changes, so expect their telepathy and magic to go a little haywire.

It's almost completely dark outside when the next event of the evening happens. You're living your life when you see it out of the corner of your eye -- it's absolutely hard to miss. What you see is a large lit caravan, larger than even an army tank. It's bright white and shining, covered with golden, ornate details that emanate an even more dazzling sparkle. The entire thing is aglow, and it's quickly coming towards the large bonfire that's been made. It's not rolling across the sand, but instead it's floating, and so is a matching trunk that's sailing along next to a figure beside the caravan. C ▢ A tall, slender woman has also come along with the large caravan, quickly opening the trunk that eventually lands on the sand with a large thud. She's handing out sacks, very similar to the ones previously in the large lobster cage. These contain a parka, a type of candy of your choice, a bottle of water, a large shard from a broken mirror and a letter rolled up and bound with a roll of twine. There are two other thread options associated with this prompt: Genette's top level and her telepathy training post. Around the same time as Genette is handing out this new little goody bag, you suddenly receive a telepathic message. It might seem a little strange at first -- but on that note, what about tonight isn't strange? D ▢ The telepathic message your character will receive is a simple one: Hello. It shows up in text form across your character's line of vision and it doesn't go away until they respond back, though the message that's sent out won't go to the original telepath. Instead it will ping pong to a random person in the group. You've made a new friend! After you've met Genette, she's also got a few more supplies that she pulls out a small door in the base of the caravan. She's insistent that you only get two items, since there aren't exactly a lot of them to go around! E ▢ The last of the starter supplies are being handed out, and these are items that are more cumbersome or rare -- they may not be immediately useful for your character, but maybe you can make use of them somehow, whether eventually in another world or with your power. An electronic/technology: these can be as obvious as an MP3 player, as useless as a garage door motor or as scandalous as a Hitachi Magic Wand. If it can be powered by electricity or batteries, there's a tub of them. They're also partially charged if they don't need constant electricity to work. A fashion accessory: there are a lot of these, surprisingly. Flower crowns, belts, bras, shoes, earrings, other types of jewelry. Your character can look cute while suffering from crab vomiting. Books and stationary: maps of various worlds, books written in a myriad of languages (maybe even one you recognize!), writing paper, ink pens, gel pens, stickers. Any kind of stationary can be found here. Other household items: this can include cleaning supplies, furniture, and other miscellaneous goods. These won't be personal affects from your character's home, but they may be useful! Feel free to come up with unusual or alien items -- these have come from all over the universe, remember!

As the night winds down, it's recommended by Brie that you should probably go to be in your hut -- or at the very least get somewhere inside. There are a lot of people around the camp, however, so it's no surprise that there are a few people waiting around to get their fill of food and supplies before heading to bed. The noise of the new members and the light of the fire have attracted a very large pack of boars, who you'll later find make routine trips to the beach every night. Boar mating season has made the wild hogs rather testy, and the smell of food -- even if it's their own boar brethren -- have made them even more volatile. F ▢ If your character isn't quick to get inside tonight, they're likely to get a boar charging at them. The chances are doubled if they happen to be holding onto a food item. Female boars can leave a few bruises and trample you, but beware the males -- they've got tusks. However, it's not like staying up at night doesn't have its advantages. Once midnight hits, another species of animal makes its regular rounds across the base camp. In the sky, characters can see an Aurora Borealis-like sight. Instead of being dancing green and blue lights, however, the reality is that they are a massive species of space worm, and hundreds are wiggling past on their way to travel back home. They're shimmering and in every color imaginable, lighting up the sky with their magnificent hues. G ▢ The space worms operate outside the natural barrier of the hub, but they still are in close enough proximity to shed a film as they travel. If you're still awake, boars or no, you'll be in the middle of a shower. The film sheds from the worms and enters the atmosphere, creating multi-colored, sweet-smelling mists of worm water vapor. Worm water vapor is kind of weird, but it's also pretty cool. It's also calming, and that's a bonus. Inhale too much and you might become a little too calm.

Comments

[potentite]

I doubt they give tenure all willy-nilly.

[splinten]

It was the 1930s. Students had practically no protections or guarantees. He could have gained tenure from his research and been terrible at teaching.

[potentite]

I'm certain he was a wonderful teacher. He seems quite good in the times we see him.

[splinten]

An abundance of girls flirting with him doesn't make him a good teacher, and when we see him we also see that he doesn't mark his exams promptly.

[potentite]

Why must you doubt their enthusiasm for knowledge?

[splinten]

One of them had "I love you" written on her eyelids.

[potentite]

She might also have a passion for historical relics.

[splinten]

Just admit Indiana Jones was a cad and doesn't mark his papers on time. He isn't even your favourite fictional archaeologist. We all know that's Lara Croft.

[potentite]

[There's a look at 'cad'. How dare you, sir? How dare you use such strong language?] Well, of course. Who doesn't love Miss Croft best?

[splinten]

[Jake is relaxed, isn't he? Of course that opens up opportunities for them both to become stupidly awkward again, but the point was just to make Jake calm down after tossing a hat.]

Presumably, people who would prefer Indiana Jones.

[potentite]

[He is because he can't remember how horrible he feels when he's arguing in their usual routine.]

They're in completely different categories and I feel comparing them does them each a disservice.

[splinten]

They're both fake fictional archaeologists that glamorize the theft of other culture's artefacts in the name of knowledge and public good.

[potentite]

[He makes an exasperated noise.] What a shallow reading of them.

[splinten]

You're going to have to support that claim, English.

[yes let's just argue over fictional characters and not face deep awkward insecurities and fears and uncertainty over where who stands where with regard to what]

[potentite]

[That is a much better plan and they can continue to put off that conversation for years.]

To speak broadly, history is how they connect to humanity, to their families and to themselves. They respect and care for the cultures and artifacts. They realise understanding comes from sharing, from knowledge, and so they encourage others to learn as well. Money and glamour doesn't feature into it. Of course the thrill of a good adventure is an excellent side dish! But the true heart of the course is to deepen the understanding we have of each other.

[splinten]

That would check out if they didn't take artefacts from their cultures back to America and the UK.

[potentite]

You're just mad I punctured your pessimistic hooha.

[splinten]

You've managed to puncture jackshit, bro. Indy and Croft both steal cultural relics and bring them back to the West, for the edification of Western scholars and the Western public. The ethical decision would be to give them to local museums.

[potentite]

It is to spread understanding of other cultures and make that available to those without their own good fortunes.

[splinten]

Indy teaches at Harvard, so that bit about those without money doesn't cut it, and you're dodging the point that this is theft. We're talking cultural imperialism, straight up.

[potentite]

That isn't where the majority of his artifacts are displayed, which is to say to the public. Anyhoo, I'm not dodging anything. You haven't stated a case.

[splinten]

The Western public. My case is this: it's ethically wrong to steal shit from one culture for the benefit of another. It impoverishes one group to enrich the group with the resources to impoverish said first group.

[potentite]

[He sighs.] I just don't agree. That feels... wrong. How can anybody learn about each other then?

[splinten]

By askin' to borrow, and givin' it back. By offerin' your own things for study.

It's the inequality and one-sidedness that's the problem. In your time, museums started getting better at that kind of exchange, but the deck had been stacked in favour of British and later American museums, who used their wealth and resources to acquire artefacts for literally hundreds of years.

[potentite]

Why didn't anyone else do it? Um, like, why didn't Egyptians mount expeditions into the pyramids?