[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

[lalliho]

[Yeah, he'd have to agree with that one... He'd spent years unable to understand people, and years after that giving up on trying.]

...It's dumb. But it's how it is.

[Need to give up on that, too.

Lalli sighs and goes back to petting the cut flesh, more comforting by the mechanical movement than the coarse texture of the boar hair.]

I guess it doesn't matter... I got it off already anyway.

[ofthedemiurgescomposition]

"The world is, for the most part, incredibly stupid. So you're not wrong there." [Because Josh's opinion of humanity at the moment is currently just barely above the "deserving of death" category and in the "wow you're all pretty shitty with exceptions" category. So overall, still quite low.]

[lalliho]

[Not going to argue... He'd gotten used to the world and all its horrible parts, but that didn't mean that he wasn't exhausted by it. Stupid world with its stupid rules. Stupid new world with its stupid and entirely new set of rules.

He reaches for a skull and sets about cleaning it more thoroughly to give himself something to focus on.]

...You said you're a spirit. You don't need to eat. What are you doing over here...?

[ofthedemiurgescomposition]

"Because spirits still have the common human emotion of boredom." [He says it with odd casualness. In fact, while it still is dripping with condescension, that feeling can be faintly detected. Now he sits down, cross-legged and leaning forwards, watching Lalli's motions observantly.]

[lalliho]

[His knife halts.

Boredom. That's what it had been. That's what had started it. If she hadn't been bored and needing adventure, they wouldn't have gone out there and faced the things they did. They wouldn't have had to leave the safety of Keuruu. They wouldn't have been hounded by ghosts. He wouldn't have been teased with the possibility of a friend, and have to come to the conclusion that of course there couldn't be anyone that could work out with. He wouldn't be so alone. His hand wouldn't be trembling.]

...I see.

[ofthedemiurgescomposition]

"You're hesitating. Out of fear, perhaps?" [He could see the shaking. He was still watching Lalli closely, and that was a detail that had not missed. Something was clearly up with him, and Joshua now was going to try and pinpoint what that was.] "Or did something I say bother you?"

[lalliho]

[His grip on the hilt tightens as he's questioned, but at first he just chokes out a harsh hiss in response. He's still not used to someone 1. calling him out on his emotions, and 2. paying enough attention to call him out on his emotions. But then of course strangers would be looking for weaknesses in others' armor.]

It doesn't matter. Not fear.

[ofthedemiurgescomposition]

"Not fear, hmmm..."

[The hostility does not deter him, rather, it entices him further. It was the expected reaction from someone like him. So he decides to try poking at perhaps another angle.]

"Sadness, perhaps?"

[he'd stop after this. Didn't want to upset him too much.]

[lalliho]

[Usually people back off when he takes that tone with them -- not that he had a lot of people he used that tone with anyway. That group seems to get smaller all the time.]

What makes you care?

[ofthedemiurgescomposition]

"Interest, my dear apprentice."

[There's a bit of a purr in his voice, whether it's subtly venomous or subtly affectionate is hard to discern. Or if Joshua even realizes he's doing it in the first place. Nonetheless, he moves in front of Lalli, on the other side of his work area. He leans so that their eyes meet.]

"And this mystery only piques my interest further."

[lalliho]

[While he hadn't relaxed his hold on the knife, it firms up more all the same, knuckles going white with the effort but luckily going unseen, with his gloves on.]

I'm furious. [But there's a definite undercurrent of sadness.] I hate it here.