[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

[actus]

[ JESUS CHRIST HAVE YOU NOT SEEN LIGHT BEFORE - ]

[ akira raises a curled fist to hide a laugh behind it, eyes brightening in utter amusement. this guy. even coffee-dad knew how to use this sort of thing. geez. ]

Yes, the Holy Light of [ he peeks at it a bit closer ] Verizon, the God of Technology, bitter rivals with the fallen Angel Sprint.

[enflame]

( FLASHLIGHTS DON'T FUCKING LOOK LIKE THIS

That sounds absolutely ridiculous, even if he's been inundated with magic and set stuff on fire. Verison? Gods? Magic sucks -- but then some word pops on the screen and from what he knows about the alphabet, if it looks like "Verizon," it probably says "Verizon."

Emil drops the tablet on the ground; holy shit he just summoned a demon. )

What is it doing? What is it going to do....why did you tell me how to turn this thing on?

[actus]

[ WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, BOY. BUCKLE YOUR GOD DAMN SEAT BUCKLE, it's gonna be a doozy.

akira blinks in alarm, scrambling forward to recollect the fallen device. he dusts it off quickly, tilting it side to side. ah okay, it isn't damaged. and thankfully, it hasn't surfaced the one fatal flaw of this type of device - a cracked screen. for now, the inevitable has been avoided. bless. ]

You almost broke it. [ deadpan. he shakes his head and then offers it back to emil rather calmly. ] ...Do you really not know?

[enflame]

No, I don't know! Why do you know?

( While Emil might be an egoist, he's not afraid to admit he's clueless if the other option is him dying. He's not about to take it back when some sort of...something or other is happening on the screen. )

Maybe we should break it.

[actus]

It's not the best model, but it's not that bad.

[ it's not worthy of breaking, he means to say. he blinks at the other guy and then lets out a tiny puff of air - maybe something like a chuckle. he isn't sure. it isn't hard to figure out what's happening here, so akira's expression softens from its usual indifferent ruefulness. ]

I was kidding, about it being magic. It uses energy to store information and connect with other devices like it. It's not sentient at all. Here. [ he gestures, waving it towards emil again. ] Look.

[enflame]

( Oh...has he been played? He looks from Akira to the device, gingerly accepting it. Consider him skeptical, though he looks at the now displayed home screen. )

If something isn't magic, don't say it is...especially in this bizarre place! ( That's about as much pushback as he's willing to offer, squinting at the screen and wondering if he should still be cautious. ) I don't know how all of that nonsense works, but all it is right now is a picture.

( Of a rather pretty sunset but there's also lots of bubbles and stuff with tiny pictures and...this remains useless to him. )

[actus]

[ he'll give him that. this place definitely fits the bill for bizarre. ]

Ah. It's on the homescreen. So... [ at emil's side, he lazily begins pointing at random icons on the device's screen. ] This brings up the camera. [ click! the camera is pointing downward. ] You know, for quality selfies if you change it to front view.

[ he'll do just that! ]

[enflame]

( ...woah. He knows what a camera is, so looking through a lens and seeing something isn't foreign. The fact that it just happens with a touch, though, is something that's definitely amazing. Also, most cameras take a picture of what's in front of you, not...you.

This is not a good piece of technology to give someone so focused on his appearance.

Excuse him while he starts moving the tablet around, marveling at seeing the world through it like a mirror...this certainly isn't a plate. )

You know what these are? It's like...a mirrorcamera. ( That's what he's going to call it otherwise; fuck he wants to take a picture, time to tap it obnoxiously. )

[actus]

[ so he knows what a camera is. that's progress. akira nods, infinitely amused. his hands slip into his pockets and he merely observes, falling into the comfortable familiarity of being more of a listener than a talker. it's not until the question registers that he snaps out of his drifting thoughts. ]

Yeah. It's a tablet. Kind of a camera on steroids. [ that's a horrible description but he isn't sure how else to describe it. sheepishly, he rubs the back of his neck. ]

It can record videos, too.

[enflame]

( Tablet...he knows that word as something medical, or even maybe historical. Not anything like this. And as far as Emil's concerned, it might as well be magic.

Also not totally sure about steroids, but he'll assume that's a positive modifier. )

Record videos? Can things still do that? ( Videos are an old relic in his world. This is some weird past technology it seems. ) Nevermind. Show me how.

[actus]

[ "still" do that? akira quirks a brow but nods as he reaches back over to touch an icon at the very bottom of the screen. with a swish, it changes from camera mode to video mode. how wonderful! ]

If you press the button at the bottom, it'll start recording what's on the screen. Hit it again and it'll stop.

[ oh. right. ] ... Akira Kurusu, by the way.

[enflame]

( He listens with an intent gaze that's aimed at the screen, still sort of amazed by how he can literally see himself in the screen. This is going to make fixing his hair so much easier. )

Em-- ( He taps the designated icon and watches as the screen eventually changes and a running minute mark pops up. Woah...he's filming.

Oh. He was saying his name. Let him clear his throat. ) Emil Västerström. My name, I mean.

[actus]

[ even akira can appreciate that. he's surrounded by people with exceptionally nice hair, it seems. ]

Ah... Swedish? [ he's taking a stab in the dark. he's not great with other languages, but sitting through lectures while making lock picks does manage to net you some basic working knowledge of the world.

he peeks back at the screen. should he flip it back -- nah. this is funnier this way. ]

[enflame]

( The concept of it filming is not fully synching up with the idea that it's filming him just yet. At the mention of the beloved Motherland, Emil pulls the tablet to his chest and gives Akira -- which that's a weird name too by the way -- a raised eyebrow stare. )

You know where that is? I can't place where you would be from...but yes, Swedish. ( He has a vague idea of Asia, but about as much as you would expect someone to know when they come from a Post-Apocalyptic White People Land. )

[actus]

Vaguely. I couldn't find it on a map, though.

[ geography is not his strong suit. but that's fine. ]

And I'm from Japan. [ he doesn't sound offended, just sort of mellow as he flicks his gaze back to the tablet clutched closely to emil's chest. ]

... is it still recording?

[enflame]

( Emil raises an eyebrow at that admission. How do you not know where Sweden is...? Except he probably couldn't place Japan on a map if he tried, so he's got no right to be offended.

The questioning look vanishes quickly though, as Emil registers the question before looking at Akira very dumbly for a good 10 seconds. )

Uh. Probably. ( Now he'll have a nice, minute long clip of his jacket for his video diary. ) I should turn that off...?