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

It's dark. You were—

[This is apparently way more important than the game to him. With one hand still on the console of the machine, he removes his other from the joystick and conjures an orb of light into it, turning to face Genji. Oh good, he's right where Carlisle left him.

He winces suddenly, dropping the orb with a barely stifled yep as he shakes his hand, trying to dissipate the sudden sting he'd felt from his own magic; it pops the second it hits the floor, leaving the light of the game screens as their primary illumination.]

Oh I turned the lights in my armor off.

[he's about to ask if Carlisle wants them back on when he just summons a ball of light in his hand. That's not too alarming for someone who's used to seeing all kinds of crazy tech, but when he drops it there's a moment where Genji almost tries to catch it instinctively and then jumps back out of range in case it's dangerous. Far further than any human should be able to dodge. ]

What was that?!

I couldn't see. I conjured some light for myself, but I didn't anticipate it would sting like that.

[He probably shouldn't be musing to himself so openly, but he's still processing the fact the orb reacted to him like that. It was not that it injured him, but more that holding the orb of light came with a sharp, prickling sensation, much like holding a pincushion with a few needles sticking through it. It surprised him more than anything. He conjures another, and the sensation returns; however, he's ready for it this time, letting the orb sit in his palm rather than gripping it as it lights up the space between them.]

What are you doing over there?

Edited 2019-10-12 04:34 (UTC)

Oh.

[He stands up from his crouched defensive position, staring at the orb in Carlisle's hand. He must be manipulating Hard Light somehow like Symmetra.]

I didn't know what you were doing, I thought it was going to explode. What do you mean it stings? Is the mechanism malfunctioning?

[For someone who's afraid of technology and robots he must have one hell of a setup to conjure light like that.]

Mechanism?

[He's almost so confused by that question that he misses the first one. Almost.]

Oh, um. It just, ah. The act of conjuring it, er... stung a bit is all. Nothing to be worried about. [He hopes.] What ah, what were you saying just now? About a mechanism?

That makes the light? On your hand? Or is it attached to your arm?

[Great now they're both confused. He turns the lights in his suit back on, not because they really illuminate too much around him but because it feels weird with them off.]

Is what attached to my arm? You're not making any—

[The machine behind Carlisle lets out a series of garbled, unintelligible swears as the snake is slain for the last time by the elephantine man. The clergyman seems slightly disappointed.]

Cisth, and I was doing so well.

The...

[He squints at Carlisle's hand not immediately spotting whatever apparatus he's using.]

How are you conjuring light?

[Carlisle misses the squint -- it is behind a helmet, after all -- but he also looks at his own hand, as if there's something odd about what he's doing. There's not.]

I'm... conjuring. It's magic.

No its not.

[Why you lying?]

[Carlisle looks completely incredulous.]

I'm sorry?

Do it again.

[So he can watch and see how it's being accomplished.]

[Still giving him a flat look of disbelief, Carlisle curls his fingers, closing them into a loose fist. A second later, a fraction of light appears between his digits, and as it pushes outward, it manifests, becoming a tangible. His fingers move in tandem, keeping a delicate grasp on the orb until it reaches the size of a pomegranate. Its surface is opaque, glassy, though the energy within is sharp to Carlisle's touch. He remembers it being cooler to hold before, and is certain the change is because of him, not the magic itself.

He offers the orb to Genji.]

[The mask hides his look of delight as Carlisle does it again. And it's not coming from some sort of machine, it's not hard light, it's a true conjuration. How wonderful!]

Sugoi! Is it energy from inside you?

[That would make the most sense. Like an omnic channeling their innate energy. He carefully slides his hands beneath the orb, trying to be as delicate as possible so as not to shatter it or make it disappear. He is absolutely delighted with this thing.]

You can do this whenever you want?

Eksth'alva, not, ah. Sugoi. [Which he does not realize is not a type of magical energy.

He conjures another one, offering it over, as well.] It is fairly common magic where I am from. Do you- do you not have magic at all in your world?

I don't know what language that is.

[He holds it up to his visor trying to see through it. It doesn't feel how he'd expected either, the sensors in his armor picking up cold. He'd never thought of light as being cold before.]

No, there's science. Technology. Things that appear to be magic but they are not. Well. That is true for the most part.

[He hesitates, considering there truly is something magical in his world, and only he and his brother Hanzo have access to it. He takes the other orb, gracefully sinking into a kneeling position on the ground, the lights on his armor go out briefly and a translucent green dragon emerges from his chest. It solidifies when it touches the ground, about the size of a cat and far longer than its little stubby legs should be able to hold up.

He offers one of the orbs to the little dragon who takes it in his mouth, scampering off to go hide it somewhere, unaware that it's lighting the way as it tries to dig through the carpeting to bury it.]

[Carlisle looks completely and utterly unimpressed at the thought of another world so laden in technology that the concept of magic doesn't even exist; his disappointment gives way to confusion as Genji kneels before him, and then to outright shock and awe when a dragon emerges from him. A DRAGON. It's small and adorable and not quite what he was expecting from a dragon, but given this is the first time he's ever seen one outside of a book, he cannot complain. In fact, he's completely and utterly delighted.]

W- what! Wait wait wait what is that!? Is that a dragon? Did you just summon a dragon here? Oh no, come back! Come back come back come back!

[With Genji seemingly forgotten, Carlisle takes after the diminutive beast, digging into his satchel for his journal and pen.]

[The dragon turns to look at Carlisle, inadvertently chomping down and breaking the orb. It pops, and the light goes out. Startled it backs up, coiling it's noodly body against the wall and flaring out the orange fins on its cheek and head to look more menacing.

It looks a bit like a very angry carnation.

Genji chuckles, holding out the other orb.]

Come here Sōmen. These are not like Master Zenyatta's, you must be careful.

[Calming down the dragon jumps up into the air, floating to Genji with a swimming movement of its elongated body. It doesn't have wings, but it's definitely flying.]

Yes. This is Sōmen. It's my dragon as an heir to the Shimada clan.

[Realizing that the orbs appease the dragon and that one, as a general rule, does not want to tick off a dragon, Carlisle conjures about six or seven more orbs as the little guy flies up toward its master. He drops about all of them in surprise, a couple of them bouncing while the rest pop and shatter.]

And heir? You got a dragon as an heir!? Do all heirs get dragons in your world?

[And if so, why couldn't he be born there?]

[Oh, bouncing. The fearsome dragon pounces, coiling around the orb protectively.]

In my clan, yes, they are tied to our bloodline. My brother has two of them. But as far as I know no other clans have such things.

[He offers the orb again, adding to the dragons nest.]

It likes orbs. My master back in Nepal had several to channel omnic energy and Sōmen was always stealing them and hiding them.

[And sometimes eating them.]

I see.

[What a fine gift for a lineage, he thinks to himself. Better than his own, in a lot of ways. Then again, maybe Genji isn't the failure of his bloodline. Only successful heirs get dragons or some such. Finding his pen and his journal, he scribbles down a quick sketch of the dragon and his illuminated nest.]

Forgive my exuberance. I have never seen a dragon before, nor heard of anyone... well, keeping one as a pet. How is it tied to your bloodline? Is it enchanted?

[Wait til Carlisle finds out that Genji very much is the failure of his bloodline. He reaches over and picks the dragon up by the middle, offering a droopy dragon to Carlisle.]

There are only the three in my world. That I know of anyway.

I suppose you could say it's enchanted. There was a ceremony when I came of age. It was originally tied to a tattoo down my arm where I could summon it.

[He gestures to his right arm, which looks the same as his left in the armor, but there's hesitation in his voice before he continues.]

Honestly I do not know how it works. There was a time I could not summon it, but then it returned to me.

[A summon tied to a tattoo? It sounds like something akin to glyphcraft scarring, permanent etchings made on the skin for talented magicians of oft-used spells. However, they were tattoos of convenience rather than lineage, their design more pragmatic than meaningful. The thought of someone having a ceremonial marking that could serve as both is a fascinating one.

His interest is obvious, as is his unabashed excitement when Genji offers him the diminutive dragon. He shoves his journal and pen into his satchel, his drawing abandoned for the moment so he can take hold of the creature, the slightest chuckle escaping him before he can reel it in. He had, not a half hour before, been terrified of a supposed construct; now, here he is holding a dragon. This might be the best day of his (un)life.]

May I see? Your tattoo, that is.

[The dragon may look like a limp noodle, but as soon as it's in Carlisle's hands it coils up and squirms around to rest comfortably against his hands. It's warm to the touch, and feels like solid muscle under the scales. Small, but mighty.]

Hm.

[The helmet tilts a little as Genji looks away, debating how much to say. He could lie and say that it was personal and Carlisle was presumptuous for even asking. But he doesn't like to lie. Yet the truth will be awkward to explain and likely upset someone who's obviously distrustful of machines. Not that Genji is a machine, but he can't deny the mechanical parts that make up who he is now. There's a big difference between a robot and a cyborg.]

I.. I lost my arm. Many, many years ago. I think that's why I was unable to summon the dragon, but it seems tied to me rather than the tattoo. It was a dragon wrapping around my arm with a background of the sky behind it. The Dragon of the North Wind.

[His voice drops as he says that, wistful and bitter as he remembers things he'd rather not. Dragon of the North Wind. He'd not said that outloud for nearly a decade. A little sparrow, unworthy of the title.]

[Carlisle nearly misses that shift in tone, so completely enamored with the fact he's holding a DRAGON that he can hardly pay attention to anything else. He swears he can almost feel the warmth of its body as it wriggles in his hands. Did his father ever hold a dragon? Or his uncles? Has anyone in his bloodline ever held a dragon?

However, he catches the way Genji looks away, the bitterness ebbing into his voice as he continues, and Carlisle suddenly feels very sheepish for asking. He hadn't anticipated it would be rude, and he really should have. He also realizes the implications of Genji saying he lost his arm, yet having two now: one is a constructed limb, something that does exist in his world. It may make him uncomfortable, but at least he isn't a full construct.

Though... accusing him of being one likely didn't help, Carlisle chides inwardly.]

Ah.

[His eyes flick from the dragon to Genji and back again, his delight giving way to shame. The flashing lights and music of the arcade around them does little to hide it.]

My apologies, Mister Genji. I suppose, at the very least, the bond between you and this creature transcends the possession of a limb. That is something to take solace in, is it not?

Edited 2019-10-18 02:43 (UTC)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject