Time For A Moment Of Joy [OTA Birthday Mingle]

[kree_soldieress]

WHO: Everyone, Invited Or Otherwise
WHERE: Pink 13 - Young Avengers HQ and Residence
WHAT: A Birthday Party for Billy and Tommy
WHEN: October 13th
WARNINGS: None Anticipated (add CW to your threads as needed)

It's a surprise party. The word is spread around quietly in the background, passed by word of mouth and private messages into inboxes. Where it spreads beyond those initial invitees has a lot to do with how much people are trying to hide the work they're doing to help Lauri-Ell and Wanda. Word of mouth can easily outstrip intention of course, so there was nothing to say that everyone won't show up at the former store turned residence in time to join the party.

There's definitely a nod to decorations, in the form of colorful flowers and woven streamers of leaves settled with feathers, and and even bits of wrapping paper that Lauri had discovered somewhere and didn't understand the proper use of.

A variety of foods, put together by friends and others who care for the twins are laid out on tables that were carried in for the event, and in the corner stands a karaoke machine that had been hiding in Billy's room. That way they've got food and entertainment covered. Even a few bottles of various spirits and juices have been liberated from the diner and even filled from the orange-drink dispensers on a ship. How much of a party it is, though, will depend on the other guests and whether they bring other treats or entertainment to make it a true celebration. Lauri, after all, barely knows anything about human celebrations.



[OOC: Post your top-levels below, whether they're for planning or for the party itself, tag around, and enjoy a moment of community and celebration with your fellow He Rows. Even the uninvited are welcome to join the festivities, whether they wander by it, helped planned, or just heard someone else talking about it.]

Comments

[out_of_order]

"Yeah," Cal agreed, his voice a little quieter than he meant it to be. It was a strange mix of memories and emotions, but they were still mostly fond ones, even if it was tempered with heartache, being in the only place he'd known as a home, and yet it not being exactly the same while knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to the place he knew. It overlapped with the fresh pain of absence, but he tried to shake it away with a flick of his head.

"Good times. Never know when we can have those kinds of experiences around here, so it's always good to make the best of them when they come up."

[doubled_speed]

"And is this one of those 'make the best' situations?"

Because Tommy thought it might be. That it should be. They deserved this being a good time for a change. You never knew when the bad was going to come after all.

[out_of_order]

At least Cal didn't have to force a smile at that, even if it was a faint one. "Yeah. Times when we can get together always are," he said, and he meant it. They were things he never wanted to take for granted, especially around here.

[doubled_speed]

"Well, you know, that's good to hear. Especially if I can maybe poke your mind about something, if it's chill."

Because he loved listening to the smart people even if he wouldn't normally admit it.

[out_of_order]

Smart? Cal would be the first to say he'd done plenty of stupid things, although he'd like to think himself sensible, at the very least. He chuckled, nodding at Tommy then.

"Sure, I don't mind," he said.

[doubled_speed]

One can do plenty of stupid things and still be smart. Like, Tony Stark existed. He was living proof.

"Do you think it's possible to make tools to let the droids use if they wanna help in the kitchen or greenhouse? I know it's not what they're made for, but if they wanted to do it, could they be given tools to let them?"

He didn't understand how robotics from Cal's dimension worked after all.

[out_of_order]

"Hm," Cal considered, folding his arms as he tilted his head thoughtfully. "The tricky thing is that most of them don't have arms, so I think that'd be the main workaround."

Behind him he could feel BD-1 shift as the little droid brought up one of his legs, moving his foot around as he seemed to be trying to think of how that would work as well. "But maybe if we can rig something up for a particular task, then they can just scomp in and activate them to help that way. Like...I don't know, something that stacks dishes or redirects water from an attached hose."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, Tommy got that too. So he's definitely intrigued at the suggestions the other might have for this. But he's definitely considering the suggestion there.

"I know BB-8 has, like, a little port or something to let him connect into other computers. Does BD-1 have something like that? Shit, is it rude of me to ask that? I don't know."

[out_of_order]

Cal nodded. "That's the scomp link," he explained, grinning over his shoulder at BD-1 as the droid hooted and held up his foot again, folding it back to reveal a tool similar to BB-8's. "Not rude at all. It's standard equipment for a lot of droid models. Comes in handy. We'd have to make the access ports since a lot of things here aren't compatible with their scomp links, but setting those up to connect to some kind of tool or machinery shouldn't be a problem once that's done."

[doubled_speed]

Scomp link. Man, that sounded really dirty. He resists the urge to joke about that. But he definitely was glad to know that the barrier was only a connector too.

"Well, if you could sketch up what that connector looks like and how it works, I can probably make some adapters or something. I'm really good at high speed construction of electronics.

[out_of_order]

"That won't be a problem," Cal said with a nod. "I can do that as soon as I get back to the workshop. Actually, BeeDee can probably even just upload some schematics to your tablet if you want. That'd probably be better."

[doubled_speed]

Oh man, that was awesome. Tommy grinned and nodded.

"I would like that. I could get the pieces together. I haven't had my own engineering project. I've been wanting to learn this stuff, the electrical things."

[out_of_order]

The padawan grinned, holding his hand up towards his shoulder to help BD-1 over so he could settle into the crook of Cal's arm. He fished out a stub of a rectangular card of sorts, plugging it into the droid so BD-1 would be able to sync with Cal's tablet's connection to the network, sending over the specific images to Tommy that way.

The sassy little droid offered something that amounted to 'happy birthday' once the file transfer was complete.

[doubled_speed]

See, Tommy just LOVED how sassy all the droids got. Tommy whistled a thank you back to BD and offered his fist for a brief bump.

"Thanks little guy. You're the best bipedal ro-bro a guy could know. You and Caliente are an amazing team. Tell you guys what, if you need any help with fixing stuff in Sh'Ka, please tell me. I mean, I've gotta help get things preserved for the winter from the greenhouse, because we've lost hands, but I'll still make time."

[out_of_order]

BD-1 lifted his foot to complete the gesture before turning to Cal to have the chip removed.

Cal's smile wavered just a little at the mention of lost hands, but he nodded all the same. "Definitely. Same goes for you too, all right? I don't have delusions that we'll get an entire city up and running one hundred percent, especially when we've still got this one to worry about, and prepping for colder weather takes priority."

[doubled_speed]

Damn right little guy, best fist bump.

"Pretty sure most people would say you guys are smart for thinking that far ahead," Tommy answered, but he was more caught up in the offer given to him now.

"I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to harvest and preserve whatever I can that I know won't keep over winter, even there. Get the ships stocked in case and all that."

[out_of_order]

"Good call. If we run low on food options I think people will appreciate having something more than the goop on the ships," Cal said, chuckling a little. "I may not have the agriculture knowledge, but it shouldn't be any problems if you point me at what to gather or do, and tell me how I can help by way of preparation."

[doubled_speed]

"Oh yeah, it works out well that way most of the time," Tomy answered with a smile. "Just don't try and eat or gather things I don't tell you, alright?"

Because it's just safer that way.

[out_of_order]

Cal smiled crookedly at that. "Will do. You're the expert, after all," he laughed. Or at least he had the expertise. "At least you won't have to tell me more than once." If he forgot anything, BD-1 was sure to scan it and add to his database.

[doubled_speed]

He really is an expert at it at this point. Strange to think that he might be someone that others might trust with knowledge and their safety. But he supposed they were just used to it at this point.

"I hope not. I get bored if I say things multiple times."

[out_of_order]

Tommy had been working on the agricultural angle of things for longer than Cal had been here. It seemed perfectly reasonable to him to trust the speedster when it came to the local fauna and flora.

"Say what again?" Cal asked, and not without a grin.

[doubled_speed]

Man, that was nice to hear. To know that he'd be trusted because he'd been doing that one task for so long.

"Man, you're hilarious. Remind me to laugh."

[out_of_order]

"You missed your cue, then," Cal said, giving Tommy a light nudge as he laughed. "Go on, enjoy yourself. We'll be around."

[doubled_speed]

His cue? Yeah, that earns a chuckle. Yeah, he could do that.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks Cal."