Let's partyyyyyyy! [open]

[livingdeadgirl]

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.

Comments

[arcadedragon]

Genji. My name is Genji.

[And furthermore..]

What is a construct?

[Okay Carlisle, he's a little concerned you're going to panic and pass out right now and if he calls for healing there's no one to respond and he definitely can't do anything about that. What do?]

You could take it to your room and eat there. That is what I am going to do. Are you sure you're alright?

[abheirrant]

I said I'm fine.

[He reaches out to put a hand on the wall. Ah, the good wall -- nice and solid and grounding for his frazzled nerves. It does seem to settle him just a smidge, or at least enough he manages another question.]

You're- are you not a machine?

[arcadedragon]

That does not look fine.

[Maybe the whole not eating thing is catching up to Carlisle and he's going to pass out from hunger?]

No! I am not a machine. Why does everyone -- No.

[abheirrant]

[There's half a second where Carlisle is clearly deciding whether or not to believe him before immediate relief washes over him.]

Oh! Cisth, I thought- I thought you were one of them. I- there's another construct here, and he's definitely a construct, and he also has a sword and a smile and is far more menacing than you— not that you couldn't be menacing if you wanted to be, obviously, but he was most certainly... trying.

[He removes his hand from the wall, rubbing the back of his neck, finally averting his eyes now that he knows that no, this fellow is not a construct, and more importantly, he's not a naked construct.]

Sorry. Sorry about that.

[arcadedragon]

[He's been asked about being a machine more times in the past few days then the entire decade he's been a cyborg. And where Reynir seemed to be really excited to meet a robot, this guy appears to be terrified.]

Was the Omnic Crisis quite bad where you are? Are you from Russia?

I am not an Omnic if that's what you are worried about.

[The easiest way to prove it would be to take his visor off, but he's not going to show his face just yet. He could slide the panels off his arm and show he's human, but he'd have to be pretty careful how he did it otherwise the metal plates welded to his skin that the armor fits into would be visible.]

I am not going to attack you, this is a party, I am only here to meet everyone else. I arrived a few days ago.

I've not met whoever you are talking about. They also have a sword?

[abheirrant]

You're new. Newer than me, even.

[Which is still pretty new, if you ask Carlisle.]

Yes, the ah. Other construct had a sword. And didn't look much like you. What's- what's an Omnic, if I may ask?

[arcadedragon]

Yes that's what I said.

[he sounds a little more annoyed than he actually is, everyone here is putting him on edge. He feels incredibly out of place. No one is from his world or even his era. He needs to get out of here.]

Autonomous robots with souls and free will. I have not seen any here, but they are common where I'm from. Many people see them as inferior.

Because many people are close minded.

[abheirrant]

I would not say constructs are inferior so much as terrifying, but... if these Omnic fellows have souls and free will, then I suppose they are not true constructs.

[And that seems to be an important distinction for Carlisle. He gives Genji a polite bow, finally remembering his manners now that he's not utterly terrified; his voice still shakes, despite himself.]

F- forgive me for my misunderstanding of your, er, nature. I am Carlisle Longinmouth, and it would behoove me to make sure someone is a construct before working myself into a tizzy.

[Which happens fairly often, if he's honest.]

[arcadedragon]

Ah. Is that why you are out here instead of in there?

[If he's afraid of robots this will be a difficult place to live since there are so many of them everywhere.]

[abheirrant]

[Carlisle looks even more embarrassed than he did about his not-a-naked-construct mixup.]

It's one reason. I needed a moment to quiet my head.

[arcadedragon]

Would you like me to grab you something so you may stay out here?

[He's a little worried about you buddy.]

[abheirrant]

Ah, no. [He waves dismissively.] No no no, I- I am fine, really. And not hungry. I do- I do get hungry, mind you, but I am not... hungry presently.

[He seems to buckle under the weight of his own lie, and tries again with some additional justification.]

And it's hard to eat with, ah. All this. [A vague gesture toward his mask.] I'm sure you understand, unless you can just slide morsels through that slit and um. Hm.

[NOT BETTER]

[arcadedragon]

It is a helmet, and I take it off to eat.

[Because he's human under there and not a machine. 100% human and not full of metal bits that are kind of itchy right now because he needs to take his armor off and take a shower. That is not the point. Its a helmet. It comes off. But he's not going to take it off now. And apparently Carlisle will not take his mask off either.

Ah. Awkward. ]

You do not have to eat if you don't want to, it was only a suggestion.

There are no robots in the arcade if that concerns you.

[abheirrant]

[Right. It's a helmet, like he thought the taller construct's head was initially. However, unlike that taller construct, this helmet doesn't move when its wearer talks, nor does it show a wide array of teeth when he grins. It's a static, emotionless expression, which Carlisle would not have thought was his preferred choice until faced with the aforementioned sinister, toothy robot smile. It was an unfortunately educational experience.

He rubs under his veil at the back of his neck a second time, still mortified about his unnecessary panic, particularly in light of this fellow being so painfully understanding. He even keeps offering to help, which somehow makes it worse.]

There are machines in there. [Which he also doesn't like, if the way he says that is any indication.] But... they concern me less. Everyone is so used to the technology all around us that I feel consistently out of place among them.

[Among both the people and the machines, apparently.]

[arcadedragon]

The arcade machines? They're not sentient.

[Okay if he's afraid of Fruit Ninja and DDR this is a little worse than expected.]

Are there no machines where you come from? At all?

[How do you live man?]

[abheirrant]

Not like this. They're- they're more gears and clockwork and less... complex. Even the ones imbued with magic are nothing like the ones in this place.

[So sentient or not, he seems to have a real problem with technology. Or maybe its the sentience that makes this place worse. Either way, he doesn't seem comfortable, but that might just be his default state.]

[arcadedragon]

Oh, so this is far more advanced than what you are used to. I see where that would be alarming.

[It makes a little more sense why Carlisle is like this, but they are just arcade machines. Exposure therapy time.]

Perhaps the best way to overcome a fear is to embrace that which makes you scared. Come, I will show you how to play.

[abheirrant]

[He wrings his hands together, his nerves showing.]

Oh, I- I couldn't. There are a lot of things that make me scared. It'd take a long time to, ah. Embrace them all. Better to just not do it than leave the job half-finished, right?

[arcadedragon]

[Nice try.]

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

[He points at the door to the arcade room. Better get a move on or he will absolutely shove him at it and drag him to Pac-Man if he has to. He will get his cyborg cooties all over you Carlisle.]

[abheirrant]

[Carlisle gives Genji a look of How dare you use logical advice like that against me before his uncertainty returns, coloring him as he glances toward the arcade.]

I... suppose one embrace could not hurt.

[And after another second of hesitation, he heads inside. Good job, Genji, you did it. You got him out of the hallway. That's a major accomplishment, all things considered.]

[arcadedragon]

[He is so smug under that helmet right now.]

See? It is not so bad. Normally they are much brighter and louder and have claw machines to win stuffed toys out of.

[Oh he's getting nostalgic now.]

Do you want to learn how to play?

[abheirrant]

[No. The answer is no, he absolutely does not want to learn how to play, but now that he's in here and he's fairly certain this fellow won't let him leave until he's tried at least one, he looks around for the least painful option. The word Dance in the title of one puts him right off; something involving Fruit might be tame, but Ninjas make it sound dangerous. Better avoid it. He's not sure what a VR room is, and all the things he can come up with that VR could possibly stand for are awful.

And then he spots the lone cabinet in the corner: Snake*bert. On the side of the machine is a pyramid comprised of cubes, a coiled snake springing (oh, like a literal spring, Carlisle thinks to himself) from step to step. He seems to be avoiding an orange creature with an elephantine trunk and angry eyebrows. No bears, no birds, no dancing, no swords -- just a snake climbing a pyramid while being pursued by a hairy, orange man with a long nose and no arms.

He points to the cabinet, casting an inquisitive look back at Genji.]

That one?

[arcadedragon]

Ah. Good, start with the classics.

[It's actually been a while since Genji has played this, the arcade in his home of Hanamura was far more up to date and didn't have a lot of the older stuff anymore. But at least it will be easy: just move in the direction you want. Not a lot of controls not a lot of game mechanics to learn.]

They are all on free-play, so you're not getting the full experience of doing this with a bucket of coins.

Here. This is you.

[he points to the snake as the machine plays the quick clip of gameplay in the hopes of enticing someone over to spend their hard earned money.]

Jump from block to block, lighting them up and avoiding the enemies. Light them all up and you go to the next stage.

[abheirrant]

[Carlisle doesn't understand what coins have to do with the machine or how a pyramid is supposed to represent a stage rather than stairs, but he understands the concept that he's the snake and must not get devoured by the elephantine man as he lights up the stairs. That seems simple. Nonsensical, but simple.

He looks down at the joystick in the center of the platform at the front of the machine, the arrows around it informing him that it controls the direction of the snake... somehow. He gives the stick a tentative push with one finger, and completes the picture of a man has no idea of how the machine works; nothing happens, save for the images on the screen continuing to show him what he's supposed to be doing. Perhaps he should have tried the buttons first.]

[arcadedragon]

[Genji surreptitiously pushes the 1-player button for him, the screen changing to an image of the snake happily bouncing around before helpfully jumping thru the instructions:

Jump on squares to change color!
Stay on playfield!
Avoid enemies!
Extra life at 8000 points!
Jump on discs to transport to other discs!

And that's all Carlisle gets before the game begins, the snake waiting there hopefully that he'll be guided to safety.]