[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

[probablynoteren]

Oh. I don't think there are any signals here. I didn't see anyone living here.

[Except for them, and the crazy caravan and its people that he's still not sure how to categorize. So unless they actually start getting wifi and radio from space, it'll probably be even more isolated than the facilities back home. And those were high-tech.

Ah, and Jake is still talking and--]

... Five computers?

[What on earth would you even do with five computers on an island.]

[potentite]

For emergencies. In case one went kaput on you and you lent out another and so forth. Grandma was a fan of preparedness.

[probablynoteren]

That is... prepared.

[It's one word for it, anyway. It's not really a bad thing to have more computers, if you're talking tablets or something more streamlined, but they're really not the first thing he thinks of in case of emergency.

Then again, their hosts are the ones who came out with that giant pile of electronics, so who knows what they're thinking. Maybe...]

I don't know what we're preparing for, though. Here.

[potentite]

Me either, honestly. [Which does bother him more than he wants to admit. But he figures he can handle whatever it is in the end, hopefully, even if he'll probably be useless to everyone else.] I suppose mastering this new conjury we've been granted for unknown reasons. But to what end, I haven't the foggiest.

[probablynoteren]

[Lenka is certainly worried, they've already passed the event horizon of unknowns and galloped into a literal alternate universe of he-has-no-idea-what-he's-doing, and he has no idea whether the fact that they're all in the same boat is more comforting or just more disquieting.

He can do his best to find a path forward, though. At least he's used to everything going off the rails 25/7.]

Conjury... You mean the magic? [he's trying to get the hang of Jake's vocabulary right now; Fenrir loved its jargon, but still] Is yours related to computers?

[Trying to connect the dots...]

[potentite]

[He shakes his head.] Mine is... related to probability? Increasing the likelihood of an event happening. But I'm not sure what that means frankly.

[probablynoteren]

Probability. So you could do something like... make it so something will appear more often.

[His immediate thought is his own power.

If there were a way to change the probability of which refrigerators and contents randomly appear, then... Huh. It might not just be a party trick anymore.]

[potentite]

[He nods.] Yeah, I think so! It said on that paper that my intentions matter, so I assume being specific and single-minded would help it come true. Or something like that.

[probablynoteren]

My power is random. I... randomly make refrigerators appear.

[No matter how many times he says it, it doesn't sound any less ridiculous...

So he feels a little compelled to demonstrate. A quick wave of his hand produces two refrigerators in the sand next to them. They end up knocking into each other a bit, being summoned so close together, and one of the doors swings open.

Well, they have broccoli...]

[potentite]

[This is the coolest power ever from the look on Jake's face.]

Wow! Broccoli! I haven't had that in ages. Is it edible?

[probablynoteren]

It's been a while since I had it too...

[Lenka goes to pick it up, looks at it critically; it doesn't seem to be moldy, or expired, or anything. The rest of the fridge seems in similarly good shape, with a decent selection of groceries and a sweet or two. Opening the second fridge, though, reveals it to be emptier: only some energy drinks, a few cans of beer and a carton of takeout. It's plain rice.]

I think it needs to be cooked. But usually food appears, I just don't know what kind of food. The probability is all over the place.

[potentite]

[He takes one of the energy drinks because he's curious about them.]

The probability? [He catches onto what he's getting at, he thinks.] Would you... be okay with me trying that?

[probablynoteren]

Yeah. I can only make three at a time, but we can keep going until it works.

[So really, there's no fear of messing things up at this point, the only thing they'll be making a mess of is sand and possibly themselves, if his aim is particularly poor. He'll do his best...

There's a quick gesture and both fridges vanish, along with the broccoli he was holding and the drink Jake was about to dig into. Whoops. He may have some idea of how this works now, but it's been a day and he definitely forgets some details.]

... Sorry. I guess we can try for more drinks?

[Maybe they can practice until they get a fridge full of energy drinks? Optimistically speaking?!]

[potentite]

[Jake blinks when it vanishes. Okay that is good to know he guesses?]

All right. Um. I guess I'll just... concentrate really hard on energy drinks.

[He doesn't really know how this works tbh but he's going to try. He takes a breath and balls his hands into fists.]

Okay, ready when you are!

[probablynoteren]

Okay.

[Lenka's power is less about concentration, though there is some of that, but since it's random chance... it's more about precision, and some reservoir of energy he hasn't quite figured out yet, and remembering patterns he's still learning. For a start, he calls back a single fridge.

There's certainly quite a lot more drinks in this one, so that's progress. It takes a while to find the energy drinks: for some reason, they're all in the freezer, a small handful.]

... I don't think you can drink these.

[Either Jake, or just in general. Maybe they need to refine this.]

How precise is your power? I think there's usually two parts to the refrigerators.

[But sometimes there's more. Probability vs. entropy is a bit more complicated, huh...]

[potentite]

[He scrunches up his nose. Yeah, frozen energy drinks probably don't count...]

I don't know... Maybe I have to try to refine it a bit more. Like, specify that part of the fridge! [A beat.] What is that part called?

[probablynoteren]

[Wait, he doesn't know what that part of the fridge is called?? But he knows all those obscure words, so somehow Lenka had expected-- Actually.

Now that Jake asks, he doesn't know what that part of the fridge is called either. This is really productive and educational here.]

The... the not-freezer? [okay no, that probably doesn't... work] Uh. Do you picture it, or need the word?

[potentite]

[Also a good question.] Um. I don't know, actually. I'll just try picturing it this time and see how it goes.

[probablynoteren]

If we need to, we can change it.

[To something that goes in the freezer, in case Jake needs to chant about freezers to himself while he works. However that works. Lenka leaves the frozen energy drinks where they are and drags a new refrigerator into being. This one looks a little old and seems to have been making quite a bit of noise before it arrived.

It's quieting down as they watch, but still coughing in a bit of a frigid way. Lenka opens it gingerly.]

I think... it helped? The picturing.

[This time there are energy drinks in the correct compartment, just a couple, but they're getting somewhere! There's also other things like... a pair of not-too-clean-looking workman's boots. Lenka digs around. There's another pair in the bottom drawer. Actually, the fridge is pretty crammed...]

[potentite]

[Jake brightens up seeing the energy drinks, though the boots are. Well. He is pretty sure they don't go there? Not that he's ever had a fridge but...]

Gadzooks! It worked! That's... wow. [He can't believe he did something.] I mean, they're among the items in there at least!

[probablynoteren]

Yeah. Usually, things don't appear in a row like that.

[So they can definitely conclude that (gadzooks!) they did something to change the outcome! Lenka isn't the type to jump for joy, exactly, but he does brighten while he gathers some of the drinks, and Jake gets a smile when he tosses him one.

The old refrigerator is making dying gurgling noises, which kind of puts a slight damper on things, but probably as long as it isn't smoking or sparking they're not in any kind of danger. It just smells a bit bad, so Lenka moves away from it. Celebratory drink time!]

Thanks. I was wondering how I was going to get real use out of this.

[Sure, he can summon refrigerators ad nauseum until something useful pops up, but this way is much faster. And he kind of enjoys discovering that they can work in a team like this, despite the overall situation.]

[potentite]

[That makes Jake feel warm, in a good and slightly embarrassing way. Like maybe he has a least a small bit of worth if he can assist him. He takes a sip of his energy drink which is really a very odd taste especially when you've had a limited palate all your life.]

I— Jesus christ on a fucking cracker that is an odd taste. [He says, drinking again.] But, um, thank you. I'd be glad to assist anytime.

[probablynoteren]

[Limited palate high-five, honestly. Lenka has at least started encountering more varied tastes (especially of the caffeinated variety, Aragami really suck at keeping a coherent schedule) since he became a God Eater, but he's still getting used to it, too.

He makes a small face at the beverage -- it's not one he's had before. At least it doesn't taste too bad.]

Energy drinks all taste a little funny. [he looks back thoughtfully at the two summoned fridges] I think, if your power can work on other things, it should be pretty useful in teams. If you want to test it more sometime.

[potentite]

I'd be delighted to. I want... very much to be able to put this ability to use for everyone.

[He can't really imagine what he would do with it, personally, but he wants to be useful. He can't let himself continue to be a burden on everyone.]

And, um, I'd be happy to partner up with you anytime.

[probablynoteren]

If you need, I can help think up more uses for it. I think I can do that.

[He's a little hesitant about offering his help, even if it doesn't show plainly -- Lenka may not understand much about all this magic business, but resourcefulness and the willingness to use what's at hand is something he has in spades, so maybe they can do this.

He holds out a hand, anyway, nodding at Jake.]

I'm Lenka. Since we'll be working together.