❝friendship affirmation party❞

[guiltapalooza]

Characters: LOTS OF PEOPLE just look at the tags, gosh. Start your own threads, hop into others, and generally be free with your tagging decisions.
Setting: Floor 4, the one with the big glass windows and lots of couches.
Format: Action tags!
Summary: Clearly what the tower needs right now is a party, and Willow and Aradia have thrown one.
Warnings: Nada. Good clean fun.

[It's never exactly a clear day around this floor of the tower, but the billowing clouds outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows are maybe a bit lighter and fluffier. There's a positive atmosphere spread across the whole level, mostly from the colorful lights sprinkled here and there, magical in nature and of all different colors. They glow like small fairies.

But the biggest pieces in the room are the couches and armchairs, strategically laid out in different circles, with tables in the center. Snacks and drinks stolen from the kitchen are on the tables, so nothing too spectacular-- but there are several batches of baked goods that Willow's made, cookies and brownies and so on. There's also some board games and decks of cards placed here and there, the obvious Earth ones included and some not so obvious other ones that she hadn't recognized.

Anyone who wants to is welcome to show up, whether invited or not, whether they know Willow or Aradia or not. Fun is going to be had, darn it. However, everyone on the floor, just for today, is privy to an anti-violence ward that will prevent any motions toward violence from completing. A punch won't land, psychic powers mysteriously won't do anything if they try to cause harm, and so on. As the tower is not fond of being affected in any way, this is an effect the characters have put on them from crossing the threshold from the stairwell, and it will be automatically removed when they leave. It is not noticeable unless they try something or are particularly sensitive to magic.

It also won't last forever, so if you really want to get into a fight, do it while the party's winding down. Willow's wards are good but they aren't up to altering-the-tower-without-major-consequences level, and she's made them mild enough to wear off on their own after several hours.

You're really here to have fun, though, right? You knew where to go because of the network post.]

Comments

/pets

[verymuchalive]

Oh, you know Yosuke?

[Her expression brightens further at that]

But...what's a love cafe?

[terrificmachoemperor]

Yeah of course I do! He's a buddy from back home.

[Right maybe he shouldn't have called it that.]

Well it was more like a dating cafe. Yosuke's idea for their class's school project and it sucked and failed hard. The guy even tried to use us as decoys.

[verymuchalive]

Oh! Well that's good that he has someone else here from home...and that you do, obviously.

Dating...wait, so something to help you find a matesprit? That doesn't sound like something you could make a project of...though I don't know, I'm sure there are some trolls who would disagree.

[terrificmachoemperor]

A matesprit? What's that mean exactly?

[And why does it have the word 'amte' in it?]

[verymuchalive]

[She giggles]

Why silly, it's the person you have flushed feelings for.

[Yeah, she knows humans don't have quadrants like they do but that doesn't mean she can't play with him a little]

[terrificmachoemperor]

[Staaaaare.]

...you lost me.

[verymuchalive]

[And now she grins]

It's one of our romances.

[terrificmachoemperor]

[...oh. He flushes a little before answering.]

W-what that makes even less sense. One of your romances?

[verymuchalive]

Well, yeah. We have four.

[This time the drip-feed of information is very much intentional]

[terrificmachoemperor]

...really?

[Uh please ignore the blushing, Kanji and romance is...really, really complicated.]

[verymuchalive]

Yep. Two based on pity and two based on hate. Matespritship's one of the pity ones.

[terrificmachoemperor]

[Wait wait, hold the phone.]

W-wait! That doesn't sound romantic at all. You sayin' that romance in your world is based on pity?

[verymuchalive]

Pity and hate. Just like I said.

[Oh Kanji, your reactions are priceless and she is having far too much fun here]

[terrificmachoemperor]

[And Kanji wears his emotions PLEASE CONTINUE TO ENJOY THE SHOW.]

T-that's...not romantic at all.

[He insists :|]

[verymuchalive]

[Oh she will]

Maybe not to you. But then you're not a troll.

How many blushings do I have? Answer: A lot

[terrificmachoemperor]

[He scratches the back of his head.]

G-guess not. Can you...can you tell me what they are at least? You got me all curious.

[PLEASE EXPLAIN AND MAKE HIM EVEN MORE CONFUSED good plan Kanji.]

all the blushings (also I must swipe some of your icons at some point because you have awesome ones)

[verymuchalive]

[One educate mode, coming right up]

Well, like I said there are four. Two are based on pity, which we call red romance, and the others are based on hate, which we call black romance. They can also be divided based on whether they're concupiscent or conciliatory - basically whether they're mating quadrants or not.

[She'll pause here to let his thoughts catch up before continuing.]

Sure I made them all so just grab what you want 8Ub

[terrificmachoemperor]

[Okay okay Kanji. You can try to understand an alien chick telling you about different romance paths. It's not like you didn't catch a few Japanese television drama's sewing while your Ma was watching them. That would be silly.

...okay so somehow pity includes red romance which at least sounds like romance somehow and the hate are black romance and....

OHGODMATING?! She said it before but it was never, like, ALONE. So it could hit him harder. Mating. As in having ergaethrjtkyrsgrgesthyj--]

...

[--His thoughts are still not catching up. Please hold.]

...

[Still waiting.]

...

[...okay there we go.]

W-wait s-so you guys have relationships just for...

[He can't even say it...he just can't.]

Yay, thank you!

[verymuchalive]

[Oh she is giggling so hard now, it's a wonder she can still talk]

Not just for that. I mean, it is important. If you can't contribute when the drones come calling, you get culled. But there's more to a matespritship and a kismesissitude than just filling pails.

You are welcome 8Db you can always credit to username pixle if you want

[terrificmachoemperor]

[Ohgodswhat they do it in pails?! Mating and Kissing and...Kanji your mind is just in the gutter by this pointing isn't and you're just imagining terrible things and...]

U-Uh....I guess so?

[...he guesses? Just...explain it to him better.]

Got it!

[verymuchalive]

[She just grins at that]

So I guess we should start with those two. Matespritship's probably the easiest one for you to get since from what I understand it's the most like your romance only we base it around pity and you don't. Kismesissitude is the blackrom equivalent in that it's a mating quadrant, but it's based around a very specific hate. Like...imagine someone you hate so much you never want them to die. A fated rival who you want to hurt and have sloppy hate makeouts with at the same time.

[A pause]

Sometimes those two can get confused, though. It's not uncommon to be in a pair where one is flushed and the other is caliginous, so it can get pretty messy.

[And she should know]

[terrificmachoemperor]

[You know what half of these are going over his head and he's become so red at this point you would think his cheeks would implode so he's gonna concentrate on what he understands and try not to think of who he hates so much as a rival he'd never want them to die.]

B-but uh...why pity exactly? You just feel sorry for the other and that's it? You don't want to hold them and just be happy they are there?

[Yes good job Kanji, that works pretty well.]

[verymuchalive]

Well of course we do. It's not as simple as just feeling sorry for them. You have to feel it enough that you'd do anything to help them smile even when they're being stubborn and self-hating.

[Not at all talking about her own relationship there, nope]

It's just...you have to understand, hate - platonic hate - is sort-of the default for trolls. We're encouraged to let the hemospectrum divide us and left to be raised by lusus because the adults are all at war. I guess we call it pity because it doesn't imply having to like someone...though it does help.

[terrificmachoemperor]

[Wait.]

Uh n-no offense, but that first one just sounds like romantic love. It's not really pitying if you--

[He frowns a little at the rest.]

So they just up and divide you up by hemo-spec-trium? [Close enough Kanji.] And then your Mas and Pas leave you there while they go off and fight? Who the hell does that?! [Trolls for one.] No wonder your relationships seem like a nuisance to you.

[verymuchalive]

That's why we describe it as the one closest to human romance. It's the one most of you seem to identify with when we describe it, pitying part aside.

[She shakes her head]

We don't have parents in the way that humans do. The material the drones collect is all given to the Mother Grub and she gives birth to us. But you're right about the divided part, although some adhere to it more than others.