capeandcowllogs | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who: Moonybase and YOU
When: 23 December 2009. 8am - 10pm
Where: Moonybase.
Summary: An open invitation to a party never looked so good. Check your weapons and powers at the door.
Warnings: Probably everything. Please see this post for details.
Format: Whatever works. Don't forget to add your tag.
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Remus had been to enough Christmas parties in his lifetime to know when one would end disastrously, including those that had been specifically dated to avoided interfering with other Christmas plans that the guests might have. This was one of them. But his tolerance had kept him quiet, the happy act of cleaning and decorating taken to as easily as any other task he did.

The twins had also been enlisted to help, given the important task of stringing a length of bright red ribbon and pine up the staircase to the second floor. The soft white lights that followed were magic. In fact, none of the lights, save for whatever lamps or overhead lights that Miles insisted upon, were run by electricity, and many were candles, kept only from setting anything ablaze by a flame-freezing charm.

By the time the morning of the party rolled around, the house looked as if it had been pulled straight out of a Christmas card, Remus borrowing from what he remembered of Christmases as Hogwarts and the Burrow, including a single bit of mistletoe in the entry. The snow helped, piling nicely (if in an oddly organized fashion) outside thanks to a little help from Miles, adding to the image; if nothing else, Remus was happy with it, the certainty that he would wind up having to transfigure another person into some sort of object nagging at the back of his mind.

Tin whistles, toy rocking horses, and sprigs of mistletoe were likely going to be very common later in the evening, he mused, tapping his wand rhythmically against the palm of his hand in thought as he checked everything over once more, walking through the sitting and dining rooms and out into the backyard where the tree house had been built out of ice and wood into the tree there. The floating green structures that Kyle Rayner had promised to provide were still missing, but they would be there soon enough.

He pocketed his wand and walked back into the house, shaking free the snow from his boots, and glancing at the clock. People who had offered their assistance had been asked to come early, which meant that the kitchen was soon going to turn into a madhouse, the extra stove only offering so much help. It also meant he had best make tea before he was banned from the room.

ooc; alkdsjfa you guys are amazing <3 For your convenience, links to the separate comment sections. To keep the death to your bandwidth down a little.

EARLY ARRIVALS: VARIOUS PREPARATIONS
TIMELY ARRIVALS: CHECK YOUR MOTIVES AT THE DOOR
SOCIALIZING FOR FUN AND PROFIT
GO AHEAD! TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!
I'M GOING TO PISTOL-WHIP THE NEXT GUY WHO SAYS 'SHENANIGANS'
THIS IS WHY MANKIND INVENTED THE 'GUEST BEDROOM'
AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE HAPPENED HERE
TAKING YOUR TOYS AND GOING HOME

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The more she talks, the more obvious it becomes that she has an odd way of speaking. But given the vast range of odd ways of speaking and large number of equally improbable reasons for it among people in this city, he barely raises an eyebrow at it now. ]

That assumes, though, that using subjective terms doesn't have a purpose in itself. Sometimes avoiding saying anything objectively verifible is intentional.

[ GLaDOS ticks her head to one side, considering him unblinkingly. She holds up a finger and then says, matter-of-factly: ]

MOST INDIVIDUALS DO NOT POSSESS THE SELF-AWARENESS
TO FURTHER SUCH INTENT
HOWEVER THERE ARE ALWAYS OUTLIERS TO EVERY STATEMENT
MINE INCLUDED
DO YOU PLOT TO THE EXPECTED LINE
CIVILIAN DESIGNATION: ALEX FORBES
OR ARE YOU AN ANOMALY

[ Alex blinks and frowns when she mentions his name. It makes something curl discontentedly in his chest, momentary annoyance at being caught off guard, but it passes when he reminds himself that he hasn't been particularly secretive about his name since he arrived. He hasn't any reason to be. ]

Probability would suggest that I'm much more likely to fall on the line, wouldn't it?

[ She stares at his mouth when it frowns, taing note that something she has down has displeased him somehow. Data collected on USER ID: ALEX FORBES indicates that dissatisfaction is an emotion he expresses more often than not, so she quickly dismisses the frown as his default expression. ]

YES IT WOULD
HOWEVER YOUR PREVIOUS STATEMENTS INDICATE
THE AFOREMENTIONED SELF-AWARENESS THAT MOST INDIVIDUALS LACK
THIS PRESENCE OF MIND
AND LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING
IS IN AND OF ITSELF AN ANOMALY

[ Alex crosses his arms loosely over his chest and then gives his shoulders a loose shrug. Perhaps he's covering from his surprise a moment ago by being extra casual now, but he'd never admit it. ]

Maybe. Unless it's just something I've concluded through observation. Then it doesn't show any particular self-awareness. It's analysis of collected data.

[ She stands now, looking at him still a bit curiously and takes a small step towards him -- hands folded in front of her, bare feet flat on the floor. ]

MOST INDIVIDUALS PREFER TO SPEAK IN THE PRACTICAL
IT ALLOWS THEM TO UTILIZE CONCRETE EXAMPLES
GATHERED EITHER BY WORD OF MOUTH OR FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
IN ORDER TO REINFORCE THEIR POINTS OF DISCUSSION
YOU HOWEVER ALEX FORBES
HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR THE HYPOTHETICAL

[ She blinks at him. ]

YOU DO NOT LIKE IGNORANCE

[ Alex's eyes narrow now. He doesn't bother to think much about the accuracy of what she's saying. He doesn't often appreciate being read like this, accurate or not. ]

Who are you?

[ She blinks at Alex again, slowly, and then smiles very faintly. ]

MY CIVILIAN DESIGNATION IS: GWEN OWENS
HELLO

[ Alex watches that smile with suspicion but then immediately pretends like he's not suspicious at all by looking vaguely down at his shoes. ]

And what do you prefer, Gwen Owens? The concrete, the hypothetical, or the ignorant?

[ Her smile spreads a bit. She obviously likes his question. ]

THE HYPOTHETICAL IS THE FOUNDATION OF SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION
WITHOUT IT WE ARE ONLY LEFT WITH WHAT IS IMMEDIATELY OBSERVABLE
ALTHOUGH THE CONCRETE IS NECESSARY
IN ORDER TO VALIDATE THAT WHICH IS HYPOTHESIZED
IT IS NOT ENOUGH ON ITS OWN
ACCEPTANCE OF THE WORLD AT FACE VALUE
PROMOTES IGNORANCE
WHICH I DO NOT LIKE

IT IS SUBOPTIMAL

[ And suddenly he's smiling back, though the timing doesn't make it seem like its in response to anything in particular, lagging just a little too long after she's finished talking. ]

There are advantages to ignorance. It might be "suboptimal," but I expect my life would be harder if everyone was as smart as I am.

[ A smile. GLaDOS's eyes narrow slightly as she observes what she considers a 'glitch' in USER ID: ALEX FORBES's behavior. Her own smile grows a bit satisfied, like she's just accomplished something while not knowing that was the end-goal. ]

CLARIFICATION: REQUIRED
MY IGNORANCE IS SUBOPTIMAL
OTHER PEOPLE'S IGNORANCE IS TO BE EXPECTED
AND MUST BE FACTORED ACCORDINGLY
IN SOME CASES TO MY DETRIMENT
IN ORDERS TO MY ADVANTAGE YES

[ She lifts an eyebrow. ]

AND JUST HOW SMART ARE YOU
ALEX FORBES

[ Alex's smile stays right where it is, though it starts to grow a little smug as he stuffs his hands in his pockets and adopts a lazier, more relaxed posture. He never really bothers hiding when he's feeling smug. ]

Smart enough. I read and educate myself and question what I'm read and told. Which is more than I can say for most people who expect answers handed to them and then don't question who's done the handing when they get their wish.

[ GLaDOS actually goes as far as to look Alex up and down as his posture changes. She notes the difference in weight distribution between his feet, where his hands go, the decline of one shoulder down to the other. She maps this to whatever data she has on him and labels it BODY LANGUAGE INDICATOR: SELF-SATISFIED. ]

THAT IS BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE PREFER THE CONCRETE
IT IS CONSIDERED EMOTIONAL DESIGNATION: COMFORTING TO THEM
ANSWERS NOT QUESTIONS
CORRECT

[ His eyebrows raise obliquely. ]

Yes and no. The concrete when it goes against what people think they know can be just as discomforting to the majority. What people like is when they find concrete things to back-up something they already believe.

[ She blinks at him again, her face blank, before glancing at the crowd behind him. ]

YOU DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE
MUCH FAITH IN THE PROCESSING CAPABILITIES
OF MOST PEOPLE

[ He rolls his eyes quickly, ending by looking off to the side at the crowd as well. ]

I'll have faith in other people when I have something to base that faith on.

[ Without warning, GLaDOS grins again at him. ]

A LOGICAL AND INFORMED CONCLUSION
MOST PEOPLE ATTEMPT TO ASSERT THEIR INTELLIGENCE
AND FALL DISAPPOINTINGLY SHORT WHEN IT COMES TO EXECUTION
I AM BEGINNING TO BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE AS SMART
AS YOU THINK YOU ARE
AGAIN AN ANOMALY
IT IS VERY REFRESHING

[ She blinks and then cants her head to one side and then slowly to the other. ]

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME
ALEX FORBES

[ Alex tilts his head to one side as well, though to the opposite side, in a perverse mirror image. ]

What sort of game?

[ She doesn't miss a beat before answering. ]

WORD ASSOCIATION

[ One corner of his mouth starts to rise up in a smile before he manages to suppress it. ]

All right. Who goes first?

[ She shakes her head slowly, her eyes mapping that beginning of a smile, before looking off to one side and then the other. ]

I HAVE SUGGESTED THE GAME
YOU MAY CHOOSE WHO GOES FIRST

[ Alex is silent for a while as he thinks. Then he smiles again. ]

I'll go first. God.

[ GLaDOS blinks at him for a moment and there is a pause -- extremely brief. ]

UNQUANTIFIABLE.

FACT.

[ Alex's answer comes almost immediately. ]

Subjective. History.