video; un: tabris | locked from un:younghuman

[peripheries]

[A young boy appears on the screen! He's sitting on... maybe the roof of a house? You can see the tops of buildings in Gaze behind him. But that's not important. What's important is what he has to say-]

How do you throw a great human birthday party? Not just the stuff with cake, gifts and people, I'm already know about all of that basic stuff. The extra things that make it a really good party. The kind that creates important memories that you can look back on and feel those pleasant feelings again.

[For some reason, this matters, apparently.]

Anyway, the first of the month was Paul's birthday. [No need to elaborate on that one. If you know, you know.] So we're going to do something next month, on the first, instead. It's a surprise, so don't tell him. You know he'd say something like "that's not necessary, it's just my birthday and it will interrupt me sitting in the dark and contemplating my terrible purpose so I'm busy and also no one can use the shower for the next hour".

So it's up to me and the rest of you to make it a good one that he likes. If you're Paul's friend or lived at the beach camp, gimme ideas and then show up and bring a gift. He needs something to strain rice with so he stops using his hands.

((ooc; a log for the party will go up next week(ish) this weekend! If you have CR with Paul you are invited, no reply necessary.))

Comments

text: un; an.observer

[thisislife]

Photographs. Lots and lots of photographs of him with all of his friends. That's what makes memories special, you can look back at the pictures and remember all the good times you had together.

I still have photos from my fourth birthday party with my best friend there, blowing out the candles with me. Then we roller skated, but that's probably not an option.

[peripheries]

Ah, photographs. That's right. This thing can take them and humans like to look at them.

[He waves the Omni around so the camera shakes.]

I'm not sure what rollerskating is, but I could look into it. What's this about candles, anyway?

[thisislife]

Yeah, it can. And we do. I have a stack of photo albums back home, so if I need a particular memory, I can just look at the picture and feel good about it. [or ambivalent if it's a photo of her dad]

Oh, um, rollerskating involve special shoes with wheels on the bottom. Those are the skates. Most roller rinks play nothing but hair metal from the eighties, but do we even have a big enough place for it?

And candles are for wishes. One candle for each year of your birth. Blow them all out at once and you get a wish.

[peripheries]

Shoes with wheels on it. Humans are so odd. You could simply walk faster.

[Or use one of the many inventions your race has created? Odd! Seriously odd.]

Any kind of wish?

[thisislife]

No, it's fun! Way more fun than walking faster, especially when you're doing it with friends! You can go faster or slower or skate backwards, do spins, do the train, there are all kinds of tricks you can do with roller skates.

[and then hit up the snack counter for fries which tasted like burned oil, but everyone ate them anyway and pizza which maybe had been within speaking distance of real cheese. and flirt with the hot roller rink owner]

Any kind of wish which is doable. I mean, I could wish to go to the moon but obviously I'm not. So there's no point in wishing for that.

[peripheries]

Hmm. I guess I can see the appeal. It sounds a bit like dancing. I'm not sure where I'd find any here. Do you know?

[Quite frankly, the idea of a roller rink is hard to imagine. But he can understand the idea that humans like to go out and do Activities together.]

I'll buy candles then. At least I know where to buy those around here.

[thisislife]

It is! Except it's even better than dancing because you don't need a partner and there aren't any special steps to learn. All you have to do is keep your balance. Though...I'm not sure? I've heard that sometimes there are ships with fancy stuff on them. I figure roller skates would be considered a luxury item.

[it is here, but East Highland had one of the few thriving roller rinks left. probably because of the hot owner. girls and guys kept flocking to the rink to flirt with him]

Cool! Oh and don't buy the scented or the colored kinds, the scented ones smell like crap and the colored ones get colored wax all over everything.

[peripheries]

We should dance at the party. That's a good idea.

[Nodding and taking notes!]

Alright, I'll make sure there are candles. I hate the scented ones anyway. I'll be sure to get the biggest candles I can find.

[thisislife]

Yeah! Dancing is good if we can't get the skates and we probably can't. Where's he from, anyway? That might make it easier to narrow down the kinds of dancing he might know. I wouldn't want anyone twerking like they were fucking Miley Cyrus at someone who wasn't used to that.

[as someone who takes notes extensively, she approves]

Big ones might be a fire hazard. Go for the medium-sized ones.

[peripheries]

Uh. A planet called Caladan. But he moved recently to another one.

...Who's Miley Cyrus and what's twerking?

[thisislife]

Another planet? Cool.

She's, uh. Kind of a music star? But her clothes are awful, her music is awful, and twerking is really awful. [shiiiiit, why did she have to bring up twerking in the first place] It's...kind of a dance where I'm from? Which involves shaking one's ass in time to the music.