2024-03-09: Our Humble Abode, Name Pending

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<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


A couple of weeks ago, Rena and Anita moved into a condo in the Orb Union's capital, Olofat.

It is a nice two bedroom condo near the base that was once leased by the Three Ships Alliance -- now by the Magallanica Defense Force, as (ostensibly) a resupply point for Nergal assets -- and the beach, though it is a short jog or light rail ride from both. It's in a community that has a quasi-tropical theme, with swimming pools and palm trees.

The condo itself is very much in the 'still moving in' phases. Oh, they've moved in -- there is a bed, a sofa, a coffee table, a loveseat, and a kitchen table and chairs. But the walls are mostly undecorated, with boxes stacked around. It's the necessities that are unpacked.

The kitchen, toiletries, and the like. The bookshelves are up but empty; the TV is on its stand, but nothing next to it. Artwork and the like isn't hung up. Rena's display case is empty.

The exception, of course, is the Haro Shrine: a set of shelves decorated with Anita's collection of Haros, plushes of Haros, and Haro-themed merchandise.

The kitchen also has two coolers in it, filled with ice, and laden with bottled beers, canned soda, and bottled water. There are also several pizzas stacked up -- ordered from somewhere nearby.

And when the first group arrives, Rena waves eagerly with both hands.

"Hi!" she says. "Welcome to..." Her eyes widen. She looks sideways at Anita. "Annie," she says in a stage whisper. "We forgot to name it."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

The condo is a point of pride. Anita's been working on it with a fervor rare to her, doing her part to get everything set up. The movers have done a lot of the big stuff, of course - but she's still been there, working hard.

The Haro Shrine was, of course, her first priority - it's her pride and joy, after all. The sheer variety of merchandise on display, some particularly rare, would be the envy of collectors everywhere... or perhaps their nightmare, for the Haros all proudly display the scuffs, scrapes, and signs of refurbishment typical of the sorts of Shenanigans Haros are wont to get up to. They completely ruin the resale value. It's fine, though - she'd sooner sell her own arm than sell any one of her Haros.

She has spares, after all.

The time has come to welcome in guests, though, and so as Rena offers an eager two-handed wave... Anita casually waves single-handedly. But then... disaster!?

"Oh, shoot. We were supposed to name it...?" Anita replies... with the same casual tone as ever, making it hard to tell if she's just playing along. "It's alright, I've got this."

...With that, Anita slings one arm around Rena's shoulder.

"...our humble abode, Name Pending~." She concludes for her.

...It's hard to tell how serious she is. 

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


Eight Orlodhari has known Annie and Rena since she first became Eight York, and she wasn't going to miss their housewarming party. Her best friend and her girlfriend are living together!

It should be a point of pride. They finally get something like this...

Well, she's really happy for them.

And so she's here! Eight and Lavnadim appear in the first group, dressed casually rather than in uniforms for something like this. The very tall pair are each holding something; Eight has a vase of flowers, and Lavhi has a box. It is wrapped.

"A name!" Eight answers, and then--

Name Pending...

Lavnadim laughs merrily. "A good name!" Eight joins in after a moment. "I'm so glad to see this place. The Haro Shrine is beautiful!" Eight enthuses. "Even without being fully moved in, I can already see the 'you' of both of you here!"

Naturally, the Ra Mari II is docked at the port in Olofat. 

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


Leina's been exceptionally busy as of late, between school on the Ring, and her Cathedra duties, given that she goes on a LOT more missions than she needs to.

But she took a day off today, to come see their Condo. There's some faint amusement at the location, but given Winter Wonderland, perhaps they feel right at home in the contrasts.

She's dressed today in a nice T-Shirt of Lucifer from 'Artesia' and a denim skirt, as well as a pair of sandals, the environment giving her a reprieve from the fall weather of Spain.

When Rena declares they forgot to name it to Annie, and Annie's answer, Leina can't help but giggle lightly.

Before she agrees, "It is! Jealous actually, you put so much effort into it."

Leina has checked her phone several times, there's not visibly a gift in hand.

But she IS tapping something in the text function on an app

>if u can have it here in the next ten minutes or less
>ill be adding this tip

A number is entered in.

"Congratulations...! I'm so happy for the two of you!"

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


Roux Louka comes forth, as was foretold on the dread planet Calaveras Secundus in the thirty-fourth millennium.

Roux is wearing a semi-translucent wrap-thing in a vaguely sari-like manner over a black leotard base, with one shoulder completely bare. The wrap sparkles and spangles. This is something Trendy in the last six months, possibly due to some fashion designer getting inspired by visuals from the End of the Federation.

Otherwise she is the same as always; the biggest change is two corvette-red highlight stripes in her hair.

She is also carrying a -- wooden box? It has a burned-on mark in Spanish. It looks old-fashioned, and thus expensive. And it's clanking. "Sup girls! This thing weighs like a million kilograms, where can I put it?" The inscriptions contain the word 'vino' which MAY BE A HINT AS TO ITS CONTENTS.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        It's still hard for Shinji to wrap his head around polyamory. However, it's at least not a new concept, thanks to various other friends of his engaging in it too. He can thus at least accept that Eight's girlfriend is also dating her best friend, while Eight herself is married to someone else, even if it's difficult to parse it.
        
        It's with Eight and Lavhi that he arrives, too, carrying a large Tupperware-esque tub of home-cooked chicken stirfry--just add rice. Pizza is good, but proper nutrition is important, and Shinji suspects there's a lot more vegetables in what he's made for Rena and Anita than in what they get on their take-out.
        
        "Hi," he says quietly, chiming in after Eight and Lavhi. He holds up the Tupperware knock-off. "This is for you." Honestly, there's enough to serve it up for the homewarming party, though Shinji hadn't intended on that. Again: it still needs rice. Rena and Anita keep bags of rice at home, right?
        
        He peeks around the place, spotting the Haro Shrine. This brings a slight smile to his lips, especially as his own Haro, Bud, rolls in after them all. Once Shinji has set down the food, he kneels down to pick them up, then scoots out of Leina and Roux's ways. He hasn't needed their presence to calm him down as much since reuniting with Kaworu and learning Rei and Asuka are alive, but... when there's *this* many people around, it's easier to have Bud around.
        
        It also prevents him from having to figure out if Anita is joking or serious. 

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Naoko accompanied Eight and Lahvi here, as only made sense given they came here from the same place! If she seems a little nervous, that's just the usual Social Situation jitters. Not being sure who's going to be there and what exactly to expect from an event will do that. But at least she'll be among a sizable group of friends, that should help. She did absolutely want to be here, of course. Rena and Anita have been looking out for her for as long as she's been around them. She's not going to turn down an invitation from them.

Once Eight and Lahvi have their say, she peeks out from behind them, giving a little wave. For which she needs to take one of her hands off of the the decently-sized, nondescript cardboard box she's carrying. There's no wrapping paper, but she did tie a purple ribbon around it. Her mode of dress tends to be Full Denim, as of late. "Hi, I'm here too," she greets. "Nice place you've got here!"

That announcement of the 'name'... Naoko tilts her head. "Huh, you need a name for your house? Need some help? I'm pretty awesome at naming things, if I do say so myself." No she's not, unless you're after a really Extra sort of name.

With the Haro Shrine being brought to her attention, she's quick to zero in on that direction. "Ooo, I gotta see that-- oh, but first." She holds out the box she's brought for Rena or Anita to take off her hands. "I uh, this is the first housewarming Thing I've been to, so I'm not totally sure on how this sort of thing works, but. I know a gift is pretty traditional, sooo I brought one! I hope it'll be useful... wasn't really sure about what you'd need or would like, so I figured I'd go for something that I know I'd definitely want in my own place."

There, now she's free to go check out those Haros... she's not the greatest expert on those, but she knows quality vintage when she sees it. 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        The Nadesico, as it happens, is parked in Olofat too. Because --

        "Hello, Name Pending," Ruri Hoshino says, completely seriously.

        She's dressed in a white sundress, her hair up in little white ribbons. She is also holding a thin box, which she hands to Anita. "On behalf of the Nadesico, please enjoy good health," Ruri says, still entirely straight-laced.

        (It's... a thermometer! But not just a thermometer! It helpfully warns the spacefaring people here about all the threats of Weather by tapping into local systems, with detailed information about humidity, chance of rainfall, how long it will take the sun to dry out any rain which falls (that's a calculation Ruri added herself), UV index and recommended sunscreen hours, and other helpful hints.)

        She says, to Shinji: "I like your Haro." She does not stop him from going into his corner, either.

        And then she goes to the Haro Shrine, and assures them: "You're good Haros, too."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        Liam is going to have to ask Anita and Rena about their house-hunting secrets. Maybe they'd know of some good rentals in the area...? But that's further down the priority list. What's important now is being a warm, supportive presence to two comrades who've taken a big step forward, together!

        The cyborg follows Naoko inside, a soft, curious smile on his face as he takes it all in. He's dressed for Orb weather, in a grey tank top, sleeveless blue hoodie, and black cargo shorts; there's a package of some sort tucked under his arm. It's roughly book-shaped, and wrapped in paper adorned with Haros of every color of the rainbow. Perhaps most surprising: he has hair, now, even if it's just a layer of fuzzy stubble, and an equally stubbly five o'clock shadow.

        "Rena," Liam says, his smile brightening at the sight of her. "Anita. It's been too long." Eight and Leina get little nods of greeting as he waits for a suitable opening, then passes the Haro-wrapped package to Anita. "From me and Lucine," he says.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"N-Name Pending..." Rena stammers, one hand coming to her forehead.

She may have been serious about naming it, but sometimes -- to put it mildly -- she can be a little eccentric.

"Octo! Lahvi!" Rena says, with a little laugh. "I-It is something else, huh?" She steps back so they can enter -- then glances at the box. And then she spots Roux and her wooden box. Her eyes widen. "Oh my gosh, Miss Roux! Y-Yes, right! We've got space on the table over there--"

She points a fold-out table she laid out for that. She looks at Leina, and she grins sheepishly. "Thanks. Hard to believe we got everything done," she says. "So much paperwork."

She looks at Shinji and smiles at him. "Hi, Shinji," she says. "It's good to see you again!" Her eyes light up a little more as she looks at the tupperware. He is correct: the past couple of weeks have involved a lot of takeout, and the same Polynesian, Italian, and bog standard Britannian restaurants.

"Oh, this smells delicious--" She takes the tupperware, hurries to the kitchen, and puts it next to the pizza.

She leaves Naoko's box for Anita to take -- what with moving tupperware to the kitchen -- but she looks back over her shoulder, grinning at Naoko. "Thank you, Naoko! It looks good," she says. "A-And, um, yeah, I thought a name would be nice..."

Her eyes turn towards Ruri, with a little concern at how seriously she greets their condo. Which, now, may be named Name Pending. "Hi, Ruri," she says, with a wave. Then she looks at Liam, smiling at him when he enters. "Hi, Liam! It has. Thank you so much!"

She takes a breath and a moment, to make sure the gifts and food have made their way to the proper places. "We've got pizza, Shinji's stir fry, and drinks! And paper plates here--"

She motions to them. "I can give a tour in a second, but let's not let the food get cold!" She cracks a smile, then considers. "I could make some rice, too, we do have that..."

She looks at Anita. "Want to start the tour with the Haro Shrine?"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita grins proudly at Rena's reaction, looking quite pleased.

It's no surprise that Eight and Lavhi are among the first group of visitors. With a grin, Anita offers them both a wave.

"Hey, you two. Glad you could make it." She greets. ...And her grin only gets wider as Lavhi and Eight both laugh. They compliment the Haro Shrine, and Leina joins in.

"Thanks. We've put a lot of time and effort into it." Anita says, proud... and then smiles. "...Thanks. It means a lot to both of us."

And Roux's here, too, with an old-fashioned box.

"Oh, that can gooo..." Anita starts, then looks toward Rena. She can probably direct her better - and she does!

"Nice hair." Anita offers Roux approvingly, noting the new highlights.

Shinji, meanwhile, gets a smile.

"Hey, Shinji. Thanks for stopping by." She replies at his quiet greeting - then looks down, at the Haro rolling in after him. "And hello to you too, Bud!"

Anita's own personal companion Haro - her very first one, the medical Haro given to her to keep her company after she first ended up in Winter Wonderland, who she still takes everywhere with her even now - is currently charging in a different room. She doesn't pressure him, though - instead turning right to Naoko at her greeting.

"Hey, Naoko! Thanks for the offer, but I think we're good... It matters more if it's Personal, you know?" She replies. She does accept the box, though. "Thanks. I'm sure we'll get a lot of use out of it."

She sets the box carefully to the side, in a place where they'll be able to easily access it later.

Ruri, of course, gets a greeting - and Anita accepts her gift gratefully.

"This seems like it'll be really handy..." She notes. She's being truthful - because, used to living in space or on a ship as they are, learning to get used to abrupt changes in weather is going to become a regular part of their life. Any advantage helps.

The Haros of the Haro Shrine are currently in sleep mode, right now - bet rest assured, they appreciate Ruri's assurance.

"Hey, Liam. Yeah, it has - you look great!" Anita offers with a smile, accepting his gift. "Thanks a bunch - tell her I said 'hi', okay?"

Soon enough, food and gifts are gathered up in their proper places. Anita nods approvingly, looking toward Rena.

"Sounds good to me!" She says.

And once everyone's ready...

"So, I got my first Haro back in... I guess it would've been around 0086?" Anita says. She pulls out her phone, real quick, tapping a button. As if on cue, they hear the sound of rolling - and then, a sea green Haro bounces down the stairs, landing right in Anita's arms. She holds him up, displaying him to the group. "...It was this little guy, right here - they gave him to me to keep me company after recovering from... you know,"

She flexes her cybernetic left hand demonstratively.

"And I was pretty much hooked ever since. Building them, collecting them... I couldn't get enough." She says.

Indeed - pretty much every notable limited-edition Haro past 0086 is present here, including even a few from before then that must've been hard to find.

"Once we've got the bookshelves filled up, we've got a couple of Haro bean bag chairs we're going to set up here next to a little table to turn it into a reading corner." She explains. "...Work in progress, though!"

With that, she looks to Rena for what she wants to do next.

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


The box in Lavhi's hands will turn out to be various machinery that are high-quality spare parts--say, for Haros, or custom video game equipment. It's the kind of thing an engineer thinks to give.

Ruri's seriousness is as charming as ever. Eight smiles at her. But most of the group came with her, so they don't get additional greetings!!

Eight also appreciates Roux's fashion, saying as much with, "Nice, Roux."

The tour!!

A sea green Haro. Eight knows this Haro well, and smiles to see him.

"I think it suits that this is what you did first. It kind of sets a tone... And it's going to be easier to do the rest of the work with these friendly Haros around, isn't it?" Eight ventures.

"Haros are fine company," Lavhi says. "...I left my own Haro with my parents for that purpose!" To keep them company, that is. "...But it is nice to see these Haros, in light of that..."

Not that Eight and Lavhi are Haro-less, but still!

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


Leina gives Roux a look at the wooden box, smiling, obviously she recognizes the box. "Looks like you and Judau are enjoying the wine." She comments, a little cheekily.

She knows that Roux used to be in the restaurant BIZ and knows her wine independently of any trip to Spain.

A smile is given to Shinji, as he presents his gift. As she agrees with Ruri, "It's a great Haro." Liam gets a nod of greeting.

She gives Rena a sympathetic look, there, "Earthside paperwork always is. It's like they make it a bureaucratic nightmare on purpose just to give lawyers job security."

Leina participates in the tour, waves to the Haros in sleep mode when noone is looking, and is in the middle of eating a slice of pizza, listening to her anecdote of her first Haro, which bounces down into her arms.

"Awww... I wish I still had our first."

She says 'Our' because it was really the Argama's - Kamille's - Shinta and Qum's... she can't really say it was theirs.

This time she just openly waves to the Haro, mouthing 'Hello Haro.'

As Annie however is trying to decide what next with Rena. There's a sudden ping on her app of 'delivered' simultaneously with a door chime.

Leina hits the app's button, to offer the 'addendum' to the original tip.

"I'll get that!"

And as she opens the door, there's no box of any sort... there's instead...

BGM OST - Asticassia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxSWWaXl20g

An orange Haro, on a mechanical pedestal, with a digital screen, that rolls in smoothly like an oversized roomba.

The screen lights up on the pedestal, without speaking.

HELLO
I AM A
HARO

"So I was sent an offer from Burion for something that's not - yet on the market, a fully functional Haro home assistant! They'd been testing the technology at my school. Anyhow - I thought it'd be a great addition to Annie's collection and your new home."

It swivels on it's pedestal, before moving towards Rena and Anita.

PLEASE REGISTER
YOUR HARO

It stops in front of Rena and the screen flashes again as it repeats the text

PLEASE REGISTER
YOUR HARO

It is so monofocused on Rena that Rena may feel under pressure, because only she can see the screen right now, and perhaps Annie from the side. However... there's no obvious registration key, or any keypad to enter it. So, what is she supposed to do?

THEFT PREVENTION
SYSTEMS ACTIVATED

The Haro's eyes suddenly glow stark red as the Haro swivels up to fixate upon Rena, staring ominously at her.

ENTER REGISTRATION
KEY NOW

It's stare feels more and more like a threat as it's screen flashes the text.

AUTHORITIES WILL BE
NOTIFIED IN
00:58

It sure is counting down.

Leina seems blissfully unaware of this, since it's voice function doesn't seem to be active QUITE yet, probably a feature that unlocks after you register it.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Ruri lifts a finger to her lips. Shh. Haro is sleeping...

        "Hello, Eight-san," she smiles, to Eight. "Lavnadim-san." She's on a first-name-basis, at least, if not a nickname basis. She waves to the others, too!

        But there's something she notices about Leina's gift, rolling in. Ruri stares at it for an uncomfortable amount of seconds, with those bright gold eyes of hers.

        "Excuse me," Ruri says, as she finally steps forward and puts a hand on the Asticassia Haro.

        Are you afraid?, she asks, quite calm. It's all right, Haro. What's your registration key, please? ... and how long do you need to wait to input it? ... I see. Please wait a little longer.

        Mysteriously, the number counting down flashes from 00:42 to 99:99.

        "Rena-san, please input XCQ107B-5210FC8," Ruri says, quite calm.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        "Thanks," Liam says, smiling brightly at Anita's compliment. "I'm still getting used to it, but I... think I like it. I'll be sure to tell Lu you said thanks, and hello. She had a meeting to go to today--we're, ah, trying to get a place of our own, around here. I don't think we'll be able to buy a condo, but... even living nearby would be nice." He glances at the package as Anita takes it. "I think you'll like it. It helped Lu and me out a lot when we were getting settled."

        Inside the box...

        Books. 'Feast Network Presents: Dawn Schilling's Easy Weeknight Meals' and 'Feast Network Presents: Dawn Schilling's Romantic Meals For Two'. (Dawn Schilling has a small cooking-show empire, and is a legitimately good chef and nutritionist in her own right.) Both books have been treated for spill resistance, making them a bit more practical than a tablet in the kitchen. (Will Rena and Anita find this out firsthand??)

        "It's really friendly," Liam says, as he takes in the Haro Shrine. "That is, Haros have that shape." Anita's first friend earns a soft, genuine 'aww'. But also appealing: that pizza. Liam takes two slices of pepperoni, as well as some of Shinji's stir-fry.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji startles to see Ruri--it's been a long time, and she still has that Rei-like vibe. "Oh--thank you," he utters when she compliments his Haro, then rallies and adds, "Their name's Bud. They help me cook. Um--this is Ruri Hoshino. Say hi, Bud."
        
        "Hello, Ruri Hoshino! Hello, Ruri Hoshino!" Bud chirps, winglets flapping, white eyelights flashing green. When Anita greets them in turn, they echo, "Hello to you too! Hello to you too!" Their body is a medium blue. The Osanshoo-san that used to sprawl on their head is gone now.
        
        Leina chiming in about Bud being a good Haro helps Shinji relax a little more and even bring a return smile to his lips, small as it is. "Banagher helped me make them," he offers, not knowing that Leina and Banagher broke up.
        
        As for his stirfry, it looks like Rena's not just pleased but delighted to see it. That helps Shinji relax a bit. He almost offers to put some rice on to cook, but he realizes that he has no idea a) where their rice cooker is b) if Rena and Anita even have a rice cooker. They aren't Japanese! Maybe it isn't common sense for them. He thus keeps his mouth shut. Rena confirms that rice is an option a moment later, and Shinji is briefly grateful to himself. But only briefly. It's Shinji.
        
        He also flinches to see Naoko and Liam--albeit for different reasons from Ruri. He at least settles shortly thereafter, offering them both a shallow nod each. Naoko seems more interested in the Haro Shrine, though, and Liam... well, they did see each other again for the first time since Bardiel just recently.
        
        The tour starts with the Haro Shrine. Shinji considers sitting down instead--but he feels bad for Bud, and so carries them over to see the Haro Shrine up close--and then that sea green Haro that Anita calls and picks up. Their eyelights flash as they seem to observe the other Haro and Anita's cybernetic arm carefully. Shinji peeks down at them. Maybe he's just projecting...
        
        There's a sound at the door. Leina gets it. There's a new Haro! Shinji blinks at the little orange guy... who, as Leina explains what it's doing here, requests a registration... and starts in about notifying the authorities......
        
        "Wait, what?!" Shinji yelps, eyes going wide. So this is what Banagher warned him about!! But before it can become an issue, Ruri steps up, literally. Suddenly the issue is no longer an issue.
        
        Shinji stares at her in wonder. No wonder she's friends with Kaworu...
        
        "Um. I think food would be good," he murmurs, glancing briefly at Liam's gift of cookbooks. Hopefully food won't be an issue for Rena and Anita going forward.

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.



"You could say that Japanese style. Name Pendingu," Roux enunciates in the appropriate fashion. She says this as she shuffles over and plunks down the box, which clanks again. She undoes a sealer sticker on the lid, and grins at Shinji. "Nice~. Hey, Shinji: How have you been? You working out?"

"This is a sampler from a vineyard near Sayla's big Spain house," Roux explains. "Let me know if you want me to talk wine stuff at you about it. Otherwise, enjoy!"

Twelve bottles, about nine red and three white! It is 'good' wine, even without the details.

TOUR TIME. Roux gazes benignly upon three hectamuros of Haros. "Huh," she comments, with a thoughtful little frown. (To Eight, she says promptly, "Oh thanks! You want to know where I got it? It's a chain so it's probably ez-pz now that, y'know," Roux swirls a hand as if to say 'you do not have a tummy full of Baby' without actually saying that.)

After this, Roux sticks her tongue out at Leina, but just a little. "I just cook with it, mostly, but still," she comments, folding her arms loosely.

She eyeballs the Acticassia Haro, with suspicion. And then with concern... because she didn't bring her gun...

Then she relaxes. "Oh nice, do you have a keygen?" she asks Ruri. "Like on your phone or something?" She didn't NOTICE Ruri messing with her phone, but, well, that's how it is.

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Talking Naoko out of naming things is probably best for everyone. Easy to do with such a solid argument, she'd be the first to admit that a personal touch is important when naming things. She doesn't make much of an effort to Mingle... she knows where her strengths lie, and it's not with that sort of thing. She just makes a show of being really captivated by the haros on display, which isn't a complete fabrication. Until the Haro Tour gets underway, at least.

'Hell yeah,' she says softly at the mention of the year 0086. Good year for quality merchandise. She's well familiar with That One, but the collection on display here's really quite astonishing. Talk about collector's dedication. Gotta respect that.

That's when, right in the middle of that, she is distracted because of what she heard Rena was saying about the food.

"Wait a minute, hang on - did you say you're gonna make rice? In that case, give me a second here..."

With that, she moves over to where the box she brought was set down not too long ago, and then, in flagrant disregard of any and all protocol... proceeds to unwrap her own gift. Because the thing she brought, as she soon proudly displays upon removing it from the box, just so happens to be... a rice cooker!

This is complete coincidence, she had no idea it was going to complement what Shinji was going to bring so well. But, indeed, her gift is this perfectly normal smallish rice cooker, sized for two. She wasn't exactly expecting it to be used for party-sized meals, but still. She has standards for rice cooking, and this machine meets said standards perfectly. Because, as she soon points out, it would be a bit too hasty to apply that 'perfectly normal' label.

"So, I know it doesn't look very fancy, and it normally wouldn't be, buuuut... the way it is now, I think you'll be impressed with the cooking speed as well as the quality of the result, all at a reduced power consumption to boot! I swear they slack off on this stuff on purpose. Modifying them is so easy, took me no time at all."

It's a machine, what did you expect? Of course she had to go and tinker with it. At least she stayed away from doing anything particularly weird with it this time, she only did exactly what she said: make it work better than it did before. With a grin, she adds, "Factory warranty's void, of course. But you've got MY warranty. And wouldn't you rather have a Miracle Worker's seal of approval?"

And thaaaat's about when that new Haro appears, accompanied by a very... oppressive aura. Good thing Ruri's here, because that one caused Naoko to freeze up entirely, looking around in a mild panic. After the moment seems to have passed, she feels around the food table, grabbing a piece of pizza and taking a bite without ever taking her eyes off the Haro.

"...Is this, uh. A normal thing to happen, at a housewarming party?" She feels very underprepared all of a sudden. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


Rena grins at the familiar sound of a Haro rolling -- she hears that most hours of the day that she's home -- and starts for the kitchen. She gets food served up on plates, as needed. This includes a plate for herself and a plate for Anita.

Including pizza slices.

"Mm-hm!" Rena says, as she hands a plate towards Anita. She looks at Eight. "It'll help, having them there. And besides, the Haro Shrine is kind of the lynchpin of the house..."

She looks at Leina, then she nods. "No kidding," she says. "Even in Orb..."

The doorbell rings -- and Rena's eyes widen for a moment, as a Haro is what's there when Leina answers it. "Wh--" She looks at the Haro, her expression lighting up. "Leina, this is amazing! This is--"

She stammers, though, as it flashes lights at her, and seems... focused. She puts her plate down on a box. "Um--hold on, I don't see a registration--" Her eyes widen more.

"H-Help, it thinks I'm a criminal!" Rena says. "I don't have a registration key, Mr. Haro!"

Thankfully, Ruri steps in -- and communes with the Haro. (This is how Rena thinks of it.) Her eyes widen with amazement, as she looks at the Haro, then she nods. "R-Right... that's amazing, Ruri! Did you talk to the Haro?"

She starts putting the code in. She looks up at Liam -- takes a deep breath, recovering from her panic over the Haro -- and smiles. "There's some apartments around here," she says. "Let us know if you two need help, okay?"

She looks at the cookbooks -- then nods, appreciatively. "Thanks, Liam! These look great," she says. "And right, Shinji! Okay, let's see... I don't have a rice cooker, but I bet there's a pot in--"

But Naoko has it! Rena's eyes widen a little. "This is amazing, Naoko! You can even customize rice cooker?" she laughs. "That's perfect!"

She hands Shinji a plate with pizza -- then she pulls a large plastic bin with the word "RICE," then "ARROZ" under it, and finally the kanji for it. It's from the Ra Mari II; Rena measures it out, and then starts the rice cooking.

"Rice is one of the only things we have, right now," she says with a little laugh. "Since it goes with almost anything..."

And saves money on ordering out, while they get unpacked. They can make rice with takeout.

She hands more plates of food out, before going back towards her own. She looks to Roux; Rena's eyes widen. "From Spain? Oh, that sounds amazing... you'll have to tell us more about it." She looks at the wine. "We could open a bottle?"

A beat, then she beams. "D-Do you have something for the cork? Ours is in... a box."

Then she picks up her plate -- bites into her pizza -- and when Anita looks at her, asking where to go next, Rena has a slice of pizza in her mouth. She chomps it down, then swallows. "R-Right! So, um, the living room is there -- the sofa and walls have boxes, but you can see where the chairs and sofa and stuff is... and the TV!"

Rena laughs sheepishly. "And through there--" She points into a room still full of boxes. "That's going to be the work room. We'll have to let you have a look, Lahvi and Naoko. But right now, it's all boxes. We've got a work bench and a desk to put together, though!"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

High-quality spare parts... That'll definitely be appreciated. Anita and Rena both are always in need of spare parts for one reason or another - they'll definitely find a use.

"Either that, or they'll get underfoot and make it harder... but either way it's not going to be boring, at least." Anita replies to Eight and Rena with a chuckle, accepting her plate before nodding to Lavhi. "Yeah, they really are."

She's long been a supporter of that.

She offers Leina a sympathetic smile, as she laments no longer having their first. It's always a shame.

...But then, the door rings, and at the door...

...Is a Haro!

Anita looks impressed, hurrying up to inspect it as Leina explains.

"Wow... I've heard that there was some new Haro tech brewing, but this is something else." Anita whistles appreciatively. She looks it all over, noting the screen. "A home assistant, and for schools too, huh... I guess that's why it's not communicating through audio."

That makes sense - but text is a perfectly fine form of communication, too. While Anita is studying it, though, a rare expression of intense focus on her face... the Haro is incredibly focused on Rena.

Anita's too busy marveling over the technology to help out, though. Sorry, Rena. Fortunately, Ruri's here to help!

"Registration...? Oh yeah, I guess that'd make sense." Anita considers nonchalantly, despite the earlier chaos. "Thanks, Leina. This is really cool. I think we're gonna get a lot of use out of this."

It's probably going to go through a lot of tinkering at Anita's hands. It's fine, though.

As for Liam... she nods.

"Glad to hear it. A meeting, though, huh..." She comments - and looks on with interest as he continues. "Oh yeah? That'd be neat! Like Rena says, just let us know if you need a hand, yeah? We'd be glad to help you out."

The books he offers will be greatly appreciated, considering their situation - and she appreciates, too, the compliment to the Haro Shrine.

Bud looks at Haro, and Haro looks back - his own eyelights flash in response to theirs in a form of friendly Haro-to-Haro greeting.

It turns out they don't have a rice cooker, which makes it a little difficult to complement Shinji's stir-fry right away - but, Naoko has them covered!

"'The way it is now', huh...?" Anita notes with interest. She's definitely curious, and - yup, this thing's definitely been customized. It's not like she can blame her.

"That's definitely true." Anita agrees. A Miracle Worker's seal does, indeed, count for a lot in her book.

As for Roux's wine.

"Ohh, fancy." Anita notes with a whistle of appreciation, and nods to Rena. "Yeah, absolutely."

Alcohol doesn't do much for Anita due to her cybernetics, but she can still drink it just fine - she knows that doesn't apply to everyone here, though, so while Rena asks for something for the cork, Anita moves to help make sure everyone else is covered drink-wise.

And then... the tour!

"It's going to be great once we've got everything unpacked. You'll all have to visit again sometime." Anita chimes in with a nod.

Anita looks proud at the mention of the work room, though.

"It's gonna be nice having a full-sized work bench to work at. It's really going to make tinkering go so much more smoothly." Anita says... and sends a smile Rena's way. "...And it's gonna be nice to be able to have company while I do it, too."

The size of the work room allows for a set-up for both of them - having that much space is a real boon. 

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


Eight blinks slowly at the orange Haro on its pedestal. "Wow," she says. But she doesn't see the countdown. She doesn't notice! Except when it starts to glow red in the eyes...

"That's an enthusiastic Haro," she reflects.

It is nice to greet Ruri at least!

Eight definitely takes food, as does Lavhi, who looks with interest at Naoko's gift. "Ah! Yes, that is the case!" He looks over with great interest. "I for one trust hand-made work more than a company's seal as well!"

Eight, though, laughs at Roux's hand-swirling, "Definitely, she says. I'd appreciate it!" She doesn't expect to have that particular quality again for a while.

Probably.

In the meantime, she does notice Rena starting to worry, and then--"Oh! Ruri saves the day then," she says, proud of Ruri but briefly concerned about her using that ability openly...

No, it's fine; these are friends.

She laughs to Anita, too. "Underfoot, huh? I'm about to have that problem too, so at least we can have it together?"

Eight will take a soda; Lavhi will try the wine! And the tour...!

"Oh that is excellent," Lavhi says of the work room when Anita and Rena talk about it. "Yes! Having company for such work is good." He glances at Eight. "Though some company doesn't have the patience for it..."

She rolls her eyes. "We'll get you another Haro," she teases.

"I'll definitely visit again though," Eight says. "I'll bring the twins next time! I thought it'd be better not to crowd them with everyone here," she explains why she didn't bring them in the first place.

"And this way we can drink the wine!" Lavhi answers.

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        'H-help, it thinks I'm a criminal!'

        "What?!" Liam steps forward, glancing between the new Haro and Rena with narrowed eyes. "Leina, do you have it--" Thankfully, Ruri intercedes. Liam lets out a breath. "Thanks, Ruri."
        So Rena and Anita had trouble with the paperwork, too? That's... heartening, at least. "I think we'll have to take you both up on that," Liam says. "Mostly it's finding a place that's willing to rent to us, and meets our needs. If you have any leads, I can bring them to her." And looking around this place--at the Haro shrine, at the furniture, at the walls awaiting decoration...

        He wants that, too. A place where he can live with Lucine, where there's enough space for both of them. A place that's less horribly tense than Tokyo-3, with its awkward and ominous legal status, and two-layered border checkpoints.

        "A full-sized workbench...?" Liam glances into the Box Room as he eats more of his pizza, trying to picture what it will look like when everything's set up. And it's tantalizing, too. What would he like to do with extra space? What would Lucine like to do?

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


"Yeah, if you're pirating something," Roux answers Naoko promptly.

To Rena, she looks - and grins. Reaching down into her hip, where a fairly subtle belt has what seems to be a pocket, she fishes something out. "That's why I got you guys present number two. Catch!" She tosses the Thing, which is a Laguiole combination knifecorkscrewbottle opener, nicely sized to be difficult to lose. She, presumably, got it in Europe.

"Actually, gimme that back," Roux continues, retrieving the object wherever it went and moving over to pick out one of the bottles, which she lifts up and uncorks. "So this is Spanish wine, not French," Roux continues. "This one is Petit Verdot, which is actually pretty rare outside of blends in Bordeaux... basically this is a little powerful, so if you guys want to get a little cool water you can do it Greek style and cut it a little, that might be easier drinking."

Pwop! ... It smells like red wine! (For those with discerning noses/palettes it has a fairly dense scent with a violet-plum-blackberry note. That said, it's red wine.)

"All of these are varietal wines," Roux explains to Rena and Annie, which may not actually mean anything. She may have just made that word up.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


The invocation of Banagher only causes Leina's smile to dim subtly, indeed, trying not to give any sign to the room that... well, "He's really talented at that kind of thing. I just never had the mechanical know how." She gives Bud a wave, "Hey Bud. How's life treating you up on the Ra Mari?"

Some things can be simple. Right now, she doesn't want Shinji to feel bad for her feeling bad.

Indeed she grins at Roux, "'Mostly' you say." She winks at her. Then the HARO happens, and Leina smiles at Rena, "I'm glad you like it! They're everywhere where I go to school so-"

She rapidly feels Rena's anxiety, though, moreso when she calls out she thinks she's a criminal. "Uh is something wrong?" Liam indicates the problem too. "Oh sorry! Lemme look it up - I think it's in the e-mail." Leina taps through her phone rapidly.

The Haro is quite tense isn't it? Poor thing. It's newly activated, new to this world. It's programming code hasn't gone through nearly enough iterations for it to feel confident.

And right there in front of them is someone it's facial recognition program just - there's something not right. It feels threatened! Like Rena is going to steal it!

Yet as Ruri reaches out to it, it begins to calm down. Everything is going to be alright. It can be patient. It should give Rena a chance.

The timer clicks over, it more calmly gives Ruri the registration key. And as she utters it aloud, Leina finally gets to the e-mail, and goes cross eyed.

"Um. Yep, she's right. Wow. Good going Ruri!" She sounds, impressed!? Before she laughs, a little embarrassed at Nova, "Not really? It's probably because I asked them to take it out of the box and turn it on." As she raises a hand in apology, "I'm sorry. That's on me."

Annie though, doesn't seem to notice? Leina blink blinks, then smiles, "You're welcome! I'm glad you like it!"

   WELCOME
HERE'S WHAT'S NEW

An easy setup screen pops up. In it is a long list of functions the Haro can assist with, including networking one's whole home into it's voice commands, kitchen assistant, home surveillance and security, baby monitor, pet assistant, centralized music and playlist creator, calendar system with various alerts, alarm features for waking up.

Only Ruri will see the intended options for the future in the code. Such as a space in the code that seems to say to her brain easily able to make inferences and leaps of logic.

COMING SOON: Integrated Weapon Systems and Home Protection.

I'm sure it's fine.

It probably won't take Annie any time at all to turn on the voice function to mirror the screen and set it properly.

Anyhow, it finishes registration and setup to both Rena and Annie without any further hitches. Rena likely was placed on several Do Not Fly lists as a result, but that's fine as she was probably already on a few.

Why do you think the Haro was set off anyway?

"Don't give him too hard a time, Eight." Leina grins, "Seeing that shrine would be inspirational for any Haro lover."

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "Life is good! Life is good!" Bud chirps to Leina. Fortunately for everyone, neither they nor Shinji notice the dimming of Leina's smile.

        Naoko brings out a rice cooker as her present to Rena and Anita. "Oh, that's a good model," Shinji observes. Of course, then Naoko says that she tinkered with it and the warranty's void. He looks a little nervous at that.
        
        He also thinks about telling her he's been working on learning how to make good ramen. ...he decides not to. For now. Maybe later, when there's not so many people around.
        
        For now, he accepts the plate of pizza with a nod of gratitude and finds himself a place to sit. Bud will take his lap while he holds the plate up. Consequently, Shinji doesn't really participate in the rest of the tour, but he does look up to watch and listen while he chews. So they do have rice already... That's a relief.
        
        He has no idea what varietal wines are, let alone that maybe that's a word Roux just made up, but he is a minor still. (Even if he's not as much of a minor as he looks.) 

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "Hello, Bud," Ruri says, to Bud, and Bud may know that the greeting is warm, even if her tone remains quite stoic.

        "It's okay," Ruri assures Rena. "You're not a criminal. Haro was just confused." At the same time, she says, to Haro: Thank you. Rena's a nice girl, so you'll be happy here. Anita will be glad to see you, too. She loves Haros very much.

        She pauses, for a moment, and quietly adds a rider to that COMING SOON code: Please discuss any armaments with Rena and Anita before you enable them, Haro.

        "I was talking to it," she confirms, when she finally steps away. And to Roux, she says: "It's okay. I don't need a keygen." She's being terribly open about herself, but these people are all Ruri's friends! They wouldn't sell her out.

        "... roundness communicates friendliness," Ruri adds, helpfully, to Liam. (She may be a little late on explaining it. She was distracted by Haro.) "That's why a lot of animation makes their heroes round. Angular shapes communicate danger, so that's why the bad guys are pointy, too. It's all basic visual theory."

        And then, she's sure to go and get a snack. Nom.

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Naoko is so pleased with herself for this coincidental little miracle helping to make it look like she's prepared for everything. She's just grinning ear to ear as she wags a finger in response to the praise she gets from Rena, Anita, and even Lahvi! "No big deal, no big deal! I've been customizing household appliances since I was five." Even before she got into machines in earnest, she was already casually taking those apart to repair or improve them. Felt like the normal thing to do, nobody ever told her it wasn't. (She's misremembering, even - the first time she did that, she was still four.)

"Hey, good taste. As expected," she shoots a quick compliment Shinji's way. She leaves it at that, she's been trying her best not to overwhelm him with her... enthusiasm. It's hard for somebody who never feels like she's helping enough, but she hopes the more subtle encouragement helps at least a little bit.

In the mean time, no wine for Naoko - she doesn't terribly care about whatever may count as the legality status for her these days, she just doesn't see the appeal. Soda'll do fine.

She casts a dubious look from Roux to Leina, regarding the 'pirating'. Is that what happened here...? She seems to conclude that it is, shrugging and sighing at Leina's explanation. "Come on, you gotta know that you need to jailbreak these things first thing." Maybe don't soft confess your crimes to the cops, Naoko...

With the 'excitement' behind them for the moment, the tour can continue... such as it is. She can see how this could end up a nice place to live, but all these boxes... as messy as her work areas tend to get, she couldn't see herself living with boxes everywhere, let alone having anyone else see her place in that kind of state. Rena and Anita are even braver than she thought, letting a whole party take place here when there's still so much to be done before it's perfect. She won't comment on it so rudely, though. Instead...

"Geez. Moving's a real mess, huh?" Not that she would know, not something she ever had to do. ...Well. Just the one time. When she left almost everything behind. She's 50-50 on 'it was for the best' and 'I kinda miss some of my old stuff'. It is what it is... there's no reason to think she'll ever see any of it again.

Nope, not focusing on that right now. She'd rather hook into what's being said about the future work room. "You know I'd love to see that! Better get ready for some Opinions on whatever you happen to be working on," she remarks with a smile. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


Really, at this point, Rena just kind of knows that a Haro can distract Anita. And, besides, Ruri comes to the rescue!

"Mm-hm!" Rena says, after Anita. She grins at her for a moment, before she nods. "And I've got a desk with space for two different computers, for some of the programming projects I'm working on. I wanted a work station and a separate computer for a test environment."

She scratches at her cheek. "Or if there's, um, a project like reprogramming an old console or something like that. Lots of room."

She looks at Lahvi and grins a bit. She thought he would like the workroom. Then, she looks at Eight, and she nods eagerly. "You'll have to! But right now, well... box city, too." Best to not have the twins need to navigate that.

Liam's remark makes her nod, then sigh with the memory. "Yeah. Looking is hard," she says. "We wanted to own a place. So... I didn't look too closely at the rentals. But there's apartments around here, too. Nergal might be able to help, too."

Orb is, after all, their home turf.

She catches the corkscrew multitool when Roux tosses it -- and then she tosses it back a moment later. It's fairly effortless; she is a Newtype and a pilot, though, with good reflexes. "I've never had that before," she says. "I'm excited. We had some good French whites we brought over from the first Ra Mari. But we didn't really have a chance to get the good stuff with..."

Being an armed rebellion against the Earth Federation.

She goes to get cups -- they're disposable plastic ones -- and starts setting them out for Roux.

Then she looks at Leina -- up from their new Haro -- and smiles. Rena shakes her head, quickly. "Don't worry about it!" she says. "Ruri got it all taken care of. And I'm looking forward to all the ways that this Haro can help out."

She looks at Ruri, then, and Rena smiles. "Thanks, Ruri," she says. "Do you want any pizza or anything? We'll have stirfry in just--" She looks at the timer on her new rice cooker. "--a couple minutes, too."

She looks at Naoko, then she nods once at her. "Mm-hm. But I have a plan for how to unpack!" she says. "And break down the boxes and get everything squared away. It just takes a bit of time."

There may be requests for help. But not now. This is a time for celebrating.

She takes another bite of her pizza, then points at the other door. "And that's our room!" she says. "It has even more boxes. And the bathroom's at the end of the hall. And then..."

She steps into the living room -- over a box -- and pulls back long blinds on the sliding glass door to the balcony. Outside is a balcony, with a quartet of lawnchairs and a matching table. There is a view of the pool, too.

"Ta-daa~!"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Right?" Anita replies to Eight with a grin. They can definitely both sympathise with each other, there. Lavhi gets a nod, too. She's glad he gets it... though she chuckles at Eight's teasing.

"That's a good idea. It'll probably be easier for 'em once everything's a little more complete, anyway." Anita replies with a nod, agreeing with Rena - and a chuckle, at Lavhi's addition.

She looks toward Liam, then. Like Rena says, they looked into owning more than renting so their experiences aren't one-to-one, but...

"Oh yeah? Well... we might be able to point you toward some good neighborhoods, at least." Anita considers. She looks pleased about the curiosity in regards to the workbench. It's good - and it's something important to think about, too.

And Roux, conveniently... has a second gift! ...Which she takes back right away to uncork one of the bottles of wine.

"I like it." Anita notes with interest. Varietal... she doesn't know wine enough to be able to second-guess her or not. It's fine, though - as long as it smells good and tastes good, that's all she needs. She nods, then, as Rena says she's excited.

"Yeah, me too. It'll be the perfect way to ring everything in." She agrees.

Anita looks toward Shinji as he compliments the rice cooker. If he vouches for it, then it's bound to be good. ...Though it may or may not be valid any longer thanks to Naoko's modifications.

It turns out, the verification code for the new Haro was in the email. But thanks to Ruri, everything's fine... and once the code is put in, the setup screen unfurls before her...! Anita absorbs it all with interest. She's definitely going to have to dig into this later - though she offers Rena a knowing sideglance at the 'pet assistant'.

Something to think about for later. Right now, Anita gets the quick setup out of the way.

"Thanks, Ruri. I'm sure Haro appreciates it." Anita offers with a smile. She didn't see the chaos because she was too busy being enamored with new technology, but she trusts her when it comes to things like this.

"Oh yeah?" Anita asks with interest, as Naoko mentions her customizations. "I wouldn't mind seeing what else you can do with 'em."

Moving, though...

"It sure is." Anita says with a laugh. "Even without having any real pressure on us, it's still been... A Lot."

Fortunately, Rena and her knack for planning have been making things a lot easier. She provides a fine balance to Anita's lax attitude.

"I'll be ready for it." She replies with a grin to Naoko's warning.

A workbench for her, and computer(or reprogramming, sometimes) desks for Rena... it'll be nice.

Rena continues the tour. The bedroom, the bathroom, and outside the window...

"Ta-daa~." Anita chimes in casually with Rena. She looks proud. The balcony really is pretty nice... 

<Pose Tracker> Eight Orlodhari has posed.


"I can't really account for places to live outside Magallannica," Eight admits to Liam at his questions. She listens about the wine. It's interesting, though she doesn't drink. Varietal... A fancy wine word.

She should probably learn about these things anyway.

"Haha, okay," Eight answers Leina, and Lahi nods firmy. he answers, "Yes! To see it gives me many ideas..."

Eight notices that dimming, though. She gives Leina a 'you OK?' sort of look, when she thinks no one else is looking.

Roundness communicates friendliness... "I guess I can see that," Eight answers, considering.

"True," Eight agrees with Rena of Box City. It would be an issue.

But the balcony, with pool...!

"Oh, I'd love to stop by that pool one of these days," she admits. But, a Lot. Eight looks sympathetically at Anita. "But you're doing great," she says. "You really are." 

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.


The little Haro's cheer at least is infectious.

Haro takes Rena off it's own internal Watch List at Ruri's urging. In part as it's now registered to both Annie and her.

But Haro still would have been watching her, if not for Ruri.

Ruri also discovers, thankfully, that seapons are not included in the base package. It is perhaps, a relief to understand that there is no hidden Firearm on it's person.

Thankfully, Rena seems to forgive it, and Leina relaxes subtly, "Lemme know how it works out for the two of you."

Leina looks at Nova, and squints subtly. Oh no. Is she gonna do it, is she gonna arrest her. "Hey Nova... you've never run across a guy named Mondo, right?"

Teaching teens to jailbreak Haros feels like a thing Mondo would do.

As Ruri talks about theory, Leina considers it, she's written papers on war propaganda in media, but she's never considered visual theory in that way.

"Wait, is that why they make JRPG heroes spiky haired? To communicate that they're 'bad boys'?"

Eventually however, she turns back to eating her pizza, then looks dubiously at Rena as she mentions an unpacking plan.

Leina's eyes say it all.

(x)Doubt.

Noone ever has an unpacking plan.

Then Rena pulls back the blinds, and Leina's eyes light up, "Oh hey! Awesome! That's definitely an Earth amenity I've been missing back on the ring."

Yet, as Lavhi enthuses, and Eight asks if she's okay, Leina mouths 'Tell you later.' She was trying to be discreet, after all that they went through.

Nothing is more of a mood killer than talking about a breakup with someone that most of the room knows, and likes.

"Feels like pool parties are a go in the summer, here."

<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.


        Liam's face folds into a thoughtful frown at Ruri's explanation. He thinks back to the cartoons he watched when he was younger, and... it tracks. "Ahaa," he says, with a thankful nod. "Yeah. Thanks, Ruri." He pauses, and looks quizzically at Leina. "JRPG heroes?"

        He plucks a can of soda off the table, taking it with him--it's not that long until his 21st birthday, and he has plans. The plans consist of a bottle of wine, and a nice dinner, and quality time with Lucine.

        The tour continues. Liam follows, nodding appreciatively, and taking note of the layout, and Rena and Anita's plans for their space. The bedroom--so spacious!--gets a little 'Ooo,' and when the grand reveal happens...

        Liam stares at it. "Is that your pool?" he asks. "Or--is that for everyone who lives here? That's your balcony, though." He looks deeply, genuinely impressed. This is their home. They own it. It has a pool. It has space for them to do the things they love. It has space for all their little Haro friends.

        Liam's eyes are a little misty as he turns to Rena and Anita. "I'm so glad you got this," he says.

<Pose Tracker> Roux Louka has posed.


"Varietals mean they're almost entirely one or another kind of grape," Roux explains, "not just like, purple or green grapes." After this, Rena offers her some cups and Roux says, "Oh nice!"

She arranges them out and starts... emptying the bottle into them? Each cup gets like 30% filled, probably for maximum servings. "Let it air out," she advises the general population, in case they wanted to immediately put the cups over their face holes and liquor up.

"Round things aren't always friendly," Roux says to Ruri, perhaps because that's more comfortable. "Like... hm... bombs? I guess Earth isn't always friendly. Other planets too. The Moon and Mercury are definitely unfriendly."

After this --

"Oh my God," Roux says. "You get a POOL? Like do you have to pay a fee for it?" She looks at Eight after this. "Come on, they're not going to just let them hold a PARTY there for -- will they?" She looks back to Rena and Annie as if for confirmation.

"Yeah," Roux agrees with Liam. "Owning your own place changes your whole outlook."

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "I didn't jailbreak Haro," Ruri says, to Naoko, quite baffled about why they've all decided she's jailbreaking it. "I just asked it what it was looking for. I made sure to include all the legitimate signatures... I think Haro would be upset if something didn't match properly." She pauses, and looks to Leina. "... this one is kind of uptight." She's definitely picked that vocabulary up from Minato. "Are they all like that in Asticassia? I think your Haros should unionise, Leina-san."

        NO ONE TELL MR. PROSPECTOR SHE SAID THE 'U' WORD.

        She pauses, and looks from Rena to Eight. "Do babies like playing in boxes?" Ruri asks. "I heard on To-Witter that the Venn diagram of cats and babies is a circle..." Oh no, she's fifteen now, she's on social media.

        But also, she's fifteen, so she will politely not ask for any wine.

        "It's only in cartoons," Ruri assures Roux, on the subject of Round Friendliness. "Shapes don't have any moral weight in reality." She says this with the same :| she's been wearing the whole way through. "But yes, I do think that's why Japanese Role Playing Games," that's what it means, Liam!, "have pointy-haired heroes. Because they want to be a little dangerous. It's why vampires are pointy, too." just what kinds of books is ruri reading these days --

        Never mind that, there's a pool.

        "Oh," Ruri says. "I like swimming. Anita-san, can we come and swim sometime?"

<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.

Naoko gives Leina a perfectly genuine blank stare. "'Mondo'? That name's gotta be fake, right?" No one would ever have a name like that, in the expert opinion of one 'Nova'.

Not long after, "I'd be happy to look at any other appliances that aren't working the way you'd like!" Naoko beams at Anita's encouragement. Especially with that phrasing... 'what else she could do with them', is it? She might get to have some real fun, if left to her own devices. Thankfully though, her word is solid on the work she presented today, the rice cooker doing its improved job as advertised. Not that anybody should have doubted this!

So Naoko proceeds to immediately throw some doubt Rena's way, in response to the claim regarding unpacking. "A plan, you say," she says simply, but the tone makes pretty plain that she has as much doubt as Leina has, perhaps even more. Somehow... this doesn't strike her as Rena's area of expertise. As such, she is now mentally debating whether it'll be funnier to be there when this plan goes down, or hearing Rena try to explain how it went after the fact. But yes, it's not time for that just yet.

She gets momentarily distracted by the conversation on JRPG Heroes, starting to comment, "Hey, hey... don't read too much into it. Spiky hair is just, a statement, it doesn't necessarily mean--" But that goes out the window, right about when the blinds get taken off the window. As Naoko lays eyes upon what's out there, her eyes grow wide, and she rushes as close as she can get without entirely leaving the room, gawking in disbelief.

"A pool?! You've got your own pool?!?" Perhaps not something one would have expected Naoko to be this interested in, but the excited look in her eyes when she turns back around pretty much says it all. "I can't believe you have your own pool, that's incredible! I, uh--"

She catches herself then, taking a moment to recompose herself. "Ahem. It's just... outdoor pools aren't really very practical, where I'm from." There's onsen, but that's different. And also a moot point, it's not like she ever went to one of those, either. Not really knowing where to go from there, she quickly adds, "...Never mind!", scooting back towards the group. That was a bit more attention than she meant to draw to herself.

It's not by accident that the one that she ends up next to is Ruri. Soon, she softly stage-whispers, "You gotta tell me how you do that, with the Haros. Not now, just uh, let's talk sometime, alright?" No need to look over this way, Leina. No crimes being planned here. 

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"The pool is very nice," Rena says to Eight, with a smile. "I'm getting a bit spoiled with having one right here, already." She brightens up a little. "Plus, maybe you can teach the twins to swim."

She looks at Leina and grins -- then nods, eagerly. "I will!" she says. She pauses, just a moment, then she nods. She can feel that doubt.

But... she really does have a plan...!

She looks from Leina to Naoko, then at Anita, and sighs. "Maybe I need to work on the plan a bit more..." She looks back up, though, and smiles.

"Pool parties," she says, "are a must."

She looks at Liam -- then shakes her head. "Oh, no, no, we don't have that kind of money. It's one shared by everyone who has a condo here," she says. "But that means we can have guests over to it."

She smiles at him, then, and takes her cup of wine. "Thanks. Me, too... still doesn't feel real."

She looks at Roux -- then at Annie -- and then back at Roux. This is one she knows the answer to because it involves rules and guidelines, which are Rena's thing. "You can have a party! We have to reserve it in advance," she says. "And the fee's part of the monthly condo fee."

Then, she takes a sip of her wine. "Mm--oh, Roux, this is great!" She glances sideways at Anita. "Annie, you have to try it. You, too, Octo!"

Especially now that she can.

"I'm glad all of you could come," she adds, before she has another sip. "It's been a long time coming."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"I might take you up on that sometime." Anita says to Naoko. Her curiosity is piqued... this may end in disaster.

"Oh yeah? That makes sense..." Anita replies consideringly as Roux explains what 'varietals' means. Cups are filled, but they're advised to let them air out - so Anita doesn't touch hers just yet. Instead she grins, as Rena... finds herself faced on Doubt. Anita reaches over, patting her on the shoulder.

"It'll be fine. It's gonna work out. And where the plans fails - we can play it by ear. That's what I'm good at." Anita reassures.

"You're definitely welcome." Anita replies to Eight, and smiles as she offers her a sympathetic look. "...Thanks. I'm glad you think so."

Pool parties, though... that thought gets a grin out of her, even as Roux wonders how that works. Rena's got everyone covered, though! They can count on her to know all the rules and regulations.

"We'll definitely have to plan somethin' once summer rolls around again." She agrees.

Liam is surprised at the pool, and he isn't the only one. Ruri mentions that she likes swimming, and Anita offers her a smile.

"Absolutely. You can bring everyone, if you want. ...Though, uh, like Rena says, anything big we gotta schedule out in advance." She says.

Naoko's sudden enthusiasm - which she quickly pulls back - gets a smile out of Anita before she looks back toward Liam. His eyes are misty...

"Thanks. Me, too. ...It really means a lot to me to be here with Rena and everyone, y'know?" Anita replies, offering him a gentle smile. "I hope you and Lucine find your own place sometime, too."

She'd told Eight about it - how she was looking forward to having a place she could call her own again, and afraid she wasn't sure what that was like anymore. And Rena saw it, Anita standing outside their condo, staring at it and everything inside the house as reality finally hit her.

It's been so long since she's had a place she could call a home that wasn't quarters on a ship, as much as she appreciates her room on the Ra Mari II.

But at Rena's prompting, Anita finally grabs her cup and takes a sip - and then nods in approval.

"Oh, you're right." She agrees. "Thanks, Roux."

And Rena remarks how glad she is that everyone came, and Anita smiles.

"...Yeah. It really has been." She agrees. "Thanks, everyone. I really am glad you all could make it."

It means a lot, to have a room full of friends here in their own home.

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