animus_network

Entry tags:

video

Hi, everyone! I wanted to say thanks to everyone who helped me out last time I was on here. Anyway, uh...

[She pauses awkwardly and stares pointedly at the screen.]

Sheba, if you're watching this, go do something else right now, OK? I'll explain later. Just don't watch the rest of this video!

[She waits about twenty seconds or so before smiling brightly.]

So, I still don't know exactly how the dates here translate to the dates on Weyard, but the weather is about right. Three days from now, when the dates on the terminal say "12," I want to have a party to celebrate Sheba's sixteenth birthday. We didn't really get to have one for her fifteenth because we were in the middle of some stuff back on our world when it happened, so I want to make up for that.

You're welcome to come as long as you know her even a little! And you don't have to bring anything either, I know it's kinda short notice. I've been reading a book about something called photography in the library and I think I'm going to try and find a camera so I can give her a collection of pictures of everyone who shows up, so just being there would be a really good gift.

For now I'm thinking it'll be at the meadow with the flowers and the nice weather, but if anyone has any better ideas, I'm all ears. If you could let me know if you plan to come, that would be awesome! I'm going to be cooking and I want to try and make enough food for everyone. But, uh... [And now she looks a little sheepish.] Same as last time. I've gotten better at making cakes and stuff, but I'd really appreciate the help if it looks like I might be getting in over my head.

Be sure to keep this a secret! [She brings a finger to her lips in a universal "Shhh!" gesture.] It can be really hard to surprise her because she's good at finding things out, but I don't think she's ever had a surprise party before, so I really want to make this work. ...and it'll be good to have something nice and normal before that Ruana lady starts messing with us, right?

Thanks a lot!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[So Sheba's the friend she was talking about in her last post...huh. Suddenly Rick feels significantly more invested. Not that he wasn't invested to begin with--but he has so making-up of his own to do, and this is as good a time as any.]

I'm glad to hear you've gotten some practice baking! If you need someone to help make more dishes for the party itself, I'd be more than happy to help!

Are you still planning on making that cake we talked about?

[Time for Jenna Fails At Typing 2: Electric Boogaloo.]

i sure am i've been getting stuff ready for it all last month and this month so far if you could help with real food that would be great i kind of learned to cook rabbit but i still burn it sometimes

[Sorry Jenna--at least you can type coherently. Man has a hard enough time talking when he's not on-camera.]

Great! It's a good thing you can forage--I'm sure everyone will be overjoyed to eat something that isn't pumpkin-related. Do you have any ideas for what I should make?

Edited 2013-10-09 19:25 (UTC)

i think finger foods would be nice that way it will be easier to carry and there will be less to clean up would that be ok

I think I can manage that, if you can get the raw ingredients. I can probably make some non-pumpkin breads and cookies from what's in the kitchen...fruits and vegetables, just by themselves, are pretty easy to prepare as well.

For something more filling...how do kebabs sound? I don't think I've ever had rabbit before, but I'm sure it would taste fine grilled. Or whatever meat you happen to catch, really.

A party? I can help you set up some games, little lady.

Games, huh? [Jenna grins. Games would be good.] What did you have in mind?

Oh, something like pin the tail on the donkey or pinatas or drone decorating.

...what was that?

[She's never heard of any of those but it's "drone decorating" that throws her for a loop.]

Oh, it's a game that got started in the Tower. You know those drones all around the place? Grab one and let people take turns scribbling all over it. They don't feel anyway. It's alright.

[She remembers Sheba. She's a nice girl.]

I will help with the cooking.

That would be really great! What kind of food do you usually cook?

Things like...pies. Or steaks. Or curry.

[She doesn't know if any of those ingredients are available right now. All they have is pumpkin.]

[Mia's smiling at the other end of the line, relieved to see her friend. Of course, before they could catch up, there were more important things to be discussed.]

I should be able to help with the cooking.

[She still remembers the incidents on the boat back home. All of them. :|]

Mia! [Jenna beams. This is perfect. She knows Sheba has made friends here, but having friends from home around for her birthday will be wonderful for her too.] Yeah, you were always better at that than Sheba and I were.

[They learned pretty quick not to let the flame user cook on a wooden boat.]

Hey, how have you been?

Edited 2013-10-10 17:24 (UTC)

I'm very glad to see you, too, Jenna.

[Or in any buildings made of stone. It turned out anything was flammable if you tried hard enough.]

I've been well. [At least, as well as this place allowed.] How have you been?

That's a great way to ensure that she will watch it, you know.

[He's not even sorry, Jenna, because seriously? Seriously. He gave Sheba her gift early in any case, during that seemingly endless time trapped in the dorms, so he's not particularly worried about her finding out his involvement.]

Edited (WRONG ICON WHOOP) 2013-10-10 10:54 (UTC)

I know her well enough to know she'll respect my wishes if I ask. She's curious but not nosy. Or do you really think she goes around spending her time invading everyone's privacy?

[Asch and Jenna are never going to get along. But after a second, Jenna sighs.]

So are you going to come or what? [Sheba respects her wishes, so Jenna will respect Sheba's. Banning Asch from her birthday party would probably not go over very well.]

[It would go over horribly and she knows it. But clearly Jenna missed the memo about them trying to sleep in a pile during the lock-in.]

There's privacy options for exactly this sort of thing, you know.

[Does no one else from lower-tech worlds actually experiment with the network settings?]

I'll be there, and probably bring a few people along. I know a few friends that don't check the network regularly.

[She's starting to become pretty fond of Jenna, even if their very first meeting was a bit on the rough side. It seems like every time she pops up on the network she's got something cheerful to talk about, which is making for a wonderful distraction from the fact it's a Ruana month. And this time it's even about another person she regards as a friend, so when the feed clicks on she's already smiling.

And compared to a lot of her recent attempts at looking happy, this one's pretty genuine.]

Sheba's birthday huh? I think the meadow would be a pretty good place for that! It's one of the few floors that seems like it's actually pretty peaceful, so I'll be there!

[There's a brief pause, something on her mind she's been meaning to ask.]

... ah, by the way. How've you been doing here so far?

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. There are some floors that would work better if they weren't so dangerous, but the meadow is probably the safest. [If the floor with the clouds wasn't liable to kill anyone who walked onto it, Jenna would hold the party there, because she just knows Sheba would get a kick out of that.]

I've been... uh, okay. Last month was kind of weird and I don't feel like I helped as much as I should have. [Not at all because the mun wasn't around, but she was on autopilot so she was doing basic tasks and moving rubble. Nothing special. She forges on with a smile, though.] I've decided that whatever happens this month I am not going to let that old hag Ruana beat me, so I'm going to keep smiling no matter what. If I let myself get upset, that means she wins.

Maybe I'm only able to say this because I haven't been here for very long, but I think we'll all be okay if we work together. And I want to be strong for my friends who have been here longer... The memory of how they were at home is a lot stronger for me, since it was only a couple months ago. I want to be able to see them smile like that again.

[Funny how that just happened. When Jenna mentions her friends Amelia's face takes on a slightly more distant look for a moment before she musters another smile, nodding slowly at the camera.]

... that's a good way to look at it. We've got to be strong and we can't give up, no matter what.

[She's not entirely sure how far into it she wants to go, or if she wants to bring it up at all... but after a few seconds she speaks again.]

I haven't seen anyone from my home in the eight months I've been here, so it's important to be strong for the friends you've got. They're important, although I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

video

[text]

text

[text]

text

[text]

video

video

Re: video

no subject

no subject

video

video

Re: video

no subject

video

Re: video

[video]

video

no subject

video

video

Re: video