redshiftlogs | Let's partyyyyyyy! [open]

Entry tags:

Let's partyyyyyyy! [open]

Who: EVERYONE.
What: A meet-and-greet party for everybody in Anchor!
When: early October
Where: the VR room lobby
Warnings: none yet
Format: go wild!

[ The day before, a wild network post appears, from the username @aa : ]

hi everyone!
i just wanted to let you all know
the meet and greet party previously discussed in this space
will be held tomorrow afternoon!

it will take place in the vr room lobby
and of course everyone is invited
refreshments and games will be provided
but if you would like a little extra challenge
please feel free to bring something to share!

attendance is mandatory!
(lol just kidding)
seriously though i do hope to see all of you there ;)

[ She's also posted handwritten signs to that effect in the mess hall and several of the staircases. Just in case! ]

The day of, a party appears in the VR Room lobby area, as promised!

Though it's not brightly lit, the lights there are are brightly colored, creating a chilled-out evening atmosphere like you'd find at a club. Plush chairs and couches are interspersed throughout the room, and there's been a solid attempt to clean the place up, or at least do something about all the dust.

A shortage of conventional party supplies has forced Ami and Cho to get creative, so the tables and parts of the wall are decorated with paper flowers, and the buffet table is presided over by a number of ... weird, pink, glitter-covered, vaguely animal-shaped sculptures made out of spare plastic pipes and stuff. With googly eyes. If nothing else they're a conversation piece.

FOOD: The main offering is barbecue! There's a pretty wide assortment of meats, all of which Cho has certified safe for human consumption, and also certified delicious. Chips, dried fruit, and a few different desserts are available, including homemade chocolate chip cookies that Ami made herself (wich Cho's help). All the trays are helpfully labeled, including allergy information.

Any and all potluck submissions are welcome as well! Just set it down over here and make a little card of your own.

DRINKS: Sadly, the coffee machine is still out of order. But there is a cooler stocked with ice and a few different choices of juice and soda. Alcoholic selections are limited to two types of pre-mixed drinks, which are intentionally weak on the alcohol, but at least they're not tequila sunrises. If guests want anything stronger, they'll need to bring it themselves.

ENTERTAINMENT: In fiddling with the controls, Ami got the overhead speakers to play some music, but couldn't figure out how to modify the playlist, so it's just one song on loop. Maybe if she keeps the volume kind of low, no one will notice. No live music is scheduled, but if anyone wants to bring a guitar and jam for a while, they will be more than welcome to.

And most of the arcade games are online! Anyone for Fruit Ninja? Air hockey? Dance Dance Retribution? Virtual Billiards? Or perhaps you'd like to try out a full-simulation game in the VR Rooms proper? Now's as good a time as any!

Oh, and don't forget to enter the raffle! The winner will be chosen randomly and announced a few hours into the party.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A. Setup

[ As the host of this party, Ami will of course be arriving well ahead of time to set things up - arranging decorations, finding room for all the foods, and so on. As the designated time approaches, though, she starts feeling more and more frazzled. She's never thrown a party like this before, especially not one this big or elaborate, and there's a lot to keep track of!

In the end, five o'clock arrives, and they're only almost done. As the first guests begin trickling in, Ami starts to freak out a little bit. Who knew planning a relaxing party could be so stressful? ]

Okay. Okay. Flowers, check. Meats, check. Cookies... where are the cookies? Oh my god, did we forget the cookies??

B. An Excellent Host

[ Once the party's underway, though, she manages to chill out a little. The hard part is over. But that doesn't mean her work here is done! As the host, it's her duty to make sure her guests have as good a time as possible. And since it's a meet-and-greet, she does want to meet everybody.

Anyone who's standing by themselves, or who she doesn't know, she'll approach at some point with a friendly wave and a smile. ]

Hi! Are you enjoying the party?

C. Fun and Games

[ Ami may be pretty mature for her age, but not so much so that she's content to just chitchat the whole evening. Eventually, she'll find her way over to the arcade games, and try to flag down a nearby ~~victim~~ guest to play with. ]

Hey, want to play something?

D. Tuckered Out

[ And finally... Ami stays the full length of the party, of course, because what kind of host leaves their own party early? But as evening turns to night, all the planning and preparing and chatting and playing starts to catch up to her.

Maybe if she just... sits down for a minute. In this chair. Oh gosh this chair is comfy. Maybe if she just kinda rests her head on the armrest. She'll just rest her eyes for a second. Yeah...

Yeah, she fell asleep. ]

[ Reynir is a friendly and adaptable guy; there's been a lot in this place that is new to him and this party is no exception. But he knows a celebration when he sees one and all the basic components are there - decorations, special food, people, diversions.

He is squinting at one of those activities in particular, that he's seen people playing with, though the mechanics still escape him somewhat. The technology isn't familiar, but people are laughing, groaning in defeat or jumping in victory, and he drifts over closer, hoping to get a chance.

Once no one is near the screen they've been using to play games, Reynir stares at it, wondering if he'll be able to figure it out on his own or if he should ask someone. Which is when Ami comes over, asks if he wants to play something. ]

I'd love to!

[ Then, after a beat, just as cheerful: ]

I've just got no idea how!

[ Ami laughs. ] That's okay! It's not that hard. Here, we can start with an easy one.

[ She picks up two motion controllers and gives one to Reynir, securing the other to her wrist with the strap (safety first!) ]

This game is called "Fruit Ninja." [ And it is fast becoming her go-to for Babby's First Video Game. ] Did you see, uh - Genji, I think? He was playing it earlier. But I'm pretty sure he is an actual ninja, so don't feel like you have to compete with that.

[ Reynir may not know what the controller is but he watches Ami hooking that little strap around her wrist and does the same to his own, just copying what she does, gripping the thing in the same way. It is very light - lighter than he'd expected. ]

Genji? I know him! With the-?

[ And he makes a little gesture in front of his face to indicate the V shape of Genji's visor... mask... thing. Very distinctive, very easy way to confirm they are indeed talking about the same guy. Maybe there could be two Genjis here after all. Not likely considering how few people there are but it's always good to check. ]

I didn't see him playing and I'm not really sure what a ninja is, do I need to know to play?

[ He likes games and the idea of a little friendly competition, though. ]

What do I do and how do I win?

[ Right to the point! ]

[ Yeah, that Genji! Ami only met him at this party, so she doesn't think he's been around long. ]

You don't need to know, but a ninja is basically a super-fast stealth assassin, and by extension a Fruit Ninja is a super-fast fruit assassin. Basically -

[ She opens up the game's title screen, which includes an assortment of fruits labeled things like "Start," "Options," and so on. ]

- the game will throw a bunch of fruits up on the screen, and your mission is to slice them up! [ Indicating the motion controller in her hand- ] This is your ninja sword. The dot on the screen shows you where you're aiming.

[ She demonstrates, pointing it at the screen, then makes a SLICE motion across the Start Watermelon. It splits in two with a satisfying wet crunch! ]

I'll show you the first level, okay?

[ A fruit assassin? Is that a thing that's necessary in some worlds?! Or is it just something in a game? It's honestly hard for him to tell but he gets embarrassed asking too many earnest questions sometimes and so he is just going to pretend he understands completely, and roll with it, and if he has to admit he's confused later, so be it.

And he's glad for his patience, because the words of her explanation on their own make very little sense, but then he sees her swinging that piece of plastic in the air and on the screen, the image of the watermelon is sliced through.

He beams, nodding his encouragement for her to continue her demonstration. ]

So you swing that thing in the air like it's a sword and you're doing battle against... those images of fruit and if you cut up a lot of them, you win?

[ It's basically a high-tech version of the games of pretend they would play in his village, troll and troll hunter, swinging sticks at one another pretending they were swords, muttering random words and pretending they were mages...

Reynir watches intently, gaze going from Ami to the screen... ]

Yup, that's pretty much it! - Oh, and watch out for the bombs! You don't wanna slice those.

[ She may have forgotten to tell Kieran about that part, and it startled him so bad he fell flat on his ass. Which was funny, admittedly, but it'd be mean to do it on purpose.

Anyway, the level begins! There's really not much to it - level 1 doesn't even have bombs - so before long she starts getting into a rhythm. She doesn't go for each fruit individually, but tries to get multiple in a single stroke, since that's where the big points are. With each swing of her "blade," she's rewarded with cleanly sliced fruits, satisfying juicy noises, and particle effects.

After a minute or so, the level ends, and Ami steps back to give Reynir and his long arms some room, brushing a stray hair out of her face. ]

Okay! Are you ready?

[ Sure hope so, because the screen says "PLAYER 2: START!" ]

Ami Aihara | ota!

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D as promised

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