redshiftlogs | 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

Cho falls silent and holds very still when hands grasp her tightly and lift her like a doll to rearrange her with her feet firmly underneath her. Well. That's new. Cho knows she doesn't weigh much, comparatively, but this woman must still be incredibly strong.

Not to mention tall. Really tall. Wow.

"I suppose it is," she agrees, running her hands over herself, surprised to find that she isn't injured, either. She'll probably have a bruise on her hips where she was resting on the handle before impact, but that's really a relatively small price to pay. In these shoes, if she'd fallen wrong, she could have broken an ankle. No, this is a far better outcome. "I was on my way to the kitchen," she explains, as though having a destination makes it more excusable. Or maybe she just wants to chat. "We're out of pulled pork at the party, but I made extra."

It's when Elleru puts Cho on the ground that she realizes just how short she is, and feels her naivety prickling at the back of her neck. Is this a child? Or do uprights come this small? She made something (pork, kitchen, food perhaps), so surely she is at least an adult, Elleru decides. She'll endeavor to find out just what age uprights are considered mature later.

"The party?" she asks, her ears pricking upward. "I was looking for it just now! Perhaps I may help you, and you could show me where it is?"

Elleru should see Cho without the heels. She might genuinely freak out. Cho brings her hands up, as though she's going to tuck hair behind her ears, and instead she runs her fingers along the shell of her ears from front to back, un-tucking any hair that has managed to get stuck back there. It's a nervous tick of hers. She's self conscious about her ears, and wears her hair to keep them at least partially hidden.

Then Elleru suggests going to the party together, and all of her anxious energy melts away. "That would be wonderful! Have you been to the dining hall yet?" Cho hasn't seen her - she's sure she would have remembered a woman like her, but that doesn't mean she hasn't found her way there outside of the scheduled meal times. "It's just down this way." She takes hold of the handle of the cart again, and begins pushing it at a much safer pace.

"I believe I have, yes," Elleru replies, following along. She keeps herself close to the cart, just in case it should get away again. Unlikely, but she would rather be prepared this time. She suddenly remembers her manners, most of which were lost in the excitement of the moment.

"Ah, what may I call you? We did not introduce."

"Oh goodness, you're right." Cho giggles, holds her hand to her mouth. "I guess we were a little flustered. My name is Cho." Now she holds her hand out for Elleru to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, even under strained circumstances."

Elleru stares at the offered hand for just a second longer than she probably should, as though processing exactly what it is she's supposed to do with such a gesture. Oh, that's right -- she wraps her fingers around Cho's hand and gives it a firm shake. Her skin is soft, but her nails are almost clawlike in their sharpness, despite her appearance.

"You may call me Elleru," she replies. "I am new here, and have not met many properly."

"Well, the city leave a little to be desired, but we're all working to make it better every day, and everyone is really nice." This is patently not true, from an objective standpoint, but Cho is a person who sees the best in all situations, in all people. Her sunny outlook on life might not be strictly accurate, but it's still hers, and she's not going to change. "What did you do back home? I don't suppose you were a farmer? Because that would be really useful."

"Ah, no," Elleru replies, trying to recall exactly what a farmer does. They're common in neither her region of the world, nor her selection of romance novels. She makes a mental note to try to track down more novels for research as she continues. "I was a priestess, I believe is the word. I do not yet know what I can offer this place."

"Oh. Well... spiritual calm and well-being always has a place and value in troubled times." She's not just trying to make Elleru feel better, she genuinely believes that. She has a makeshift kamidana in a high corner of her room, and it brings her peace and comfort. It's important to her.

Elleru hms to herself, crossing her arms as they walk, putting a hand to her cheek. Helping others with spiritual calm and their well-being isn't exactly what she does -- perhaps the translation of her role within the colony is wrong? Or inaccurate, at the very least. Still—

"I believe I may help others in such a way, yes." Helping them find their way when they are troubled -- how hard could that be?

Cho nods. "And times here..." She trails off, lets her gaze slip away, and sighs. "They get troubled a lot. It's tough, sometimes, to stay happy." She doesn't let the rain cloud stay over her head for long. A matter of moments, and she's back to thinking happy positive thoughts. "That just means we have to try harder, though!"

They're even with the kitchens now, and Cho veers the cart through the doors, slowly enough that Elleru can see her change in direction and not risk being run over again. "We're here!"

Though she thinks to ask about the kinds of troubles Anchor has, Elleru doesn't get the chance as they arrive at the kitchen. She follows Cho inside, her head turning in every direction as she takes it all in, the aroma of food still strong in the air. There are pots and pans, metal sinks and tubs, another cart and a refrigerator on the far wall, as well as a few appliances she can't identify, as she assumes they were left out of her novels. While as technologically advanced as most of the locales in Anchor, it is utilitarian rather than decorative, more like an industrial kitchen than something found in a home.

And as her first time in a kitchen, Elleru is completely delighted.

"Ahhh, this is wonderful!" She claps her hands together, her ears lifting with her mood. "What an enchanting place this is!"

Cho's initial guess for the reaction is that Elleru comes from a place with technology that she would consider primitive. Perhaps it has magic. The presence of magical means of performing everyday tasks seems to often coincide with less evolved technology. And then, oh gosh, look at the tips of those ears peeking out from her beautiful bright hair. That sure is a thing. Makes the argument for magic even stronger.

"I'm here pretty much every morning making breakfast, and every evening making dinner. You can come by any time you want. I can show you how to use the things in here, if you don't already know." She does not put voice to the assumption that Elleru doesn't know how to cook in a kitchen, but given the level of delight, she still thinks it's likely. Cho had been excited to see a kitchen with this level of potential production, but she wouldn't personally call it enchanting.

For the moment, though, she opens one of the ovens where a large pan full of pulled pork is being kept warm, and gets ready to heave the thing onto the cart.

Let's partyyyyyyy! [open]

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