(Untitled)

[the_mikester]

Who: A freaking lot of people: the_mikester, honorthecode, i_speak_softly, gaijin_ninja, ninjacane, semper_cogitans, doubleppk, queenly_valiant, no_use_running, crytearsofjoy, vivi_aislinn, and sea_king_bait.
What: Mike's birthday party!
When: Backdated to April 5
Where: House 55
Summary: Mike is having a rockin' party over at his house, despite it being several days past his actual birthday.
Rating: Let's keep it PG, shall we? Unless you couples over there decide to get frisky. Or, you know,

Comments

[sea_king_bait]

Keimi quietly wheels herself through the door behind Ami, after she had finished making her greetings. She had spent the day looking for a nice dress to wear to the party. Something formal enough to be acceptable, but still cute. She settled on a light pink sun dress, fit with a little shell design bordering her sleeves and hem. Looking around, she can see that many of the guests have already arrived. Many people she doesn't know. Many human people. She sinks lightly into her chair, a bit uneasy. The mermaid is shy enough with one new person, but a whole roomful makes her outright scared.

Hopefully this is okay <3

[semper_cogitans]

Robert's been hanging around the edges of the party, due to his social anxiety, so Keimi's arrival immediately gets his attention. He instantly notices two things - one, she's in close proximity with Ami, and two, she's in a wheelchair. This must be the person that Ami was talking about.

... And that would explain why. She has an ichythoid lower half.

Robert is immediately fascinated. Is this person the same species as Ami was for the event, perhaps? Despite his anxiety, he picks his way carefully over to the anxious-looking (not that he can really read that body language well) mermaid (not that he'd know what that was what she was called) and gives her an extremely shy but well-meaning smile.

"Ah, salutations... Forgive me, but I don't believe we have met before."

Never <3

[sea_king_bait]

Keimi squeaks the moment someone notices her. She was hoping that she could become invisible at this party. At least for a little while. She wishes she could just hide behind Ami and let her make the introductions. It's taken a lot of work for her to shake herself of her fear of humans. She knows deep down that a good bit of that fear will never go away, but she has also started to notice that most of the humans here are not like the ones back home on Shabondy. She turns and looks at Robert, doing her best to peel the frightened look off her face.

"H-hi. I don't think we have. I'm Keimi."

Robert just harasses all the non-human sapients

[semper_cogitans]

At least she's almost as anxious-seeming as he is. This paradoxically sets Robert slightly at ease. He's used to being the most socially anxious person around, and seeing it visibly on somebody else makes him realize that he may just not be for once.

"And I am Professor Robert Alexander Hastings." He nods at her name. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Keimi..." Appraisingly, he lets his gaze study Keimi's scaled lower body. It's... actually quite beautiful, to Robert's eyes, though he can't help but wonder if the coral-coloured tail would necessitate water or something...

Still, Keimi seems comfortable enough even in the dry room.

"Ah, forgive me for being somewhat presumptuous, but I believe Doctor Mizuno was your species during the event? Quite a beautiful tail fin, at any rate, I must say," Robert says, smiling a little.

Keimi is short-circuiting right now. She'll be fine in an hour or so.

[sea_king_bait]

"Professor..." She silently mouths his name, doing her best to try and remember it the first time it is spoken. She had opened her mouth once more to return his greeting, when his complement struck her off guard completely, setting a nice bright blush on her face. She was used to people calling her species "valuable", "rare", maybe "nice to look at", but this is the first time she can recall that a human has called her "beautiful". She's a bit dumbstruck from the word, unable to speak properly as her mind tries to process such a thing. Instead, she nods quietly, quickly, her cheeks still stinging red.

It's okay, Keimi! Robert's nice!

[semper_cogitans]

Robert doesn't even realize why Keimi is blushing. He's wondering if perhaps she's just very uncomfortable... But, again, it's still almost helpful to Robert that she's shy and anxious. While he doesn't like anybody else to be uncomfortable, he can certainly empathize.

"Ah, well, does your species have a name that I can refer to it as? I may be an astrobiologist - that is, one who studies species from outside my own planet - but I have never seen anything like your species before." Fairy tales are things that Robert never had any real exposure to, and so almost all mythological creature references are completely lost on him.

"I don't wish to be... rude, of course... but there are so many non-human sapients in Luceti. I always find an abundance of people to be fascinated by."

[sea_king_bait]

"I'm a mermaid." She states, a bit more calmly now. "You...study different species?" She isn't entirely sure what he means by study, but he seems nice enough so far that she can have a conversation.

[semper_cogitans]

"Yes... Normally that consists of both biological research - always with the person's consent, of course - and cultural research. I specialize in the biological side of the studies, but there are many facets to astrobiology. Here in Luceti I have found myself rather engaged in all facets... though I must admit, I have less knowledge on culture than I would like." He smiles sheepishly, kind of brushing his hair aside a little.

"Ah, a mermaid? You look very much like a hominid, at least partially... It is extremely fascinating." Robert is almost considering the possibility that she's bioengineered.

[sea_king_bait]

"A hominid? Is that good?" She blinks and cocks her head. Keimi is by no means dumb, but the amount of big words Robert is using is giving her difficulty. By the time she's figured out what he was talking about, he's said another four or five big words. This was shaping up to be a wonderfully complicated conversation.

[semper_cogitans]

"Hominids are species that resemble humans in outward physical appearance. It's simply a neutral term - no value ascribed to it. Though I suppose being a hominid is helpful in Luceti, considering what the technology here seems to be built for."

Sorry, Keimi. Robert doesn't even realize when he's being overly pretentious. It's just... how he speaks. With Vivi, he has to consciously search for terminology that is simpler, and he really only does it when asked... At least he's willing to define the words he uses?

[sea_king_bait]

She blinks, half-staring at him for a moment. She pretty much got "hominids are like humans" out of that, but the rest of it might as well have been gibberish.

"I guess I'm kinda like a human..."

[semper_cogitans]

Robert smiles. "Ah, it's hardly an issue either way. As long as you are comfortable here, then that is all that matters. Though, if you need any water or anything of the sort, I would be glad to assist you... But beyond that, I am certain that there will be no problems."

Keimi's status as a non-human sapient doesn't matter at all to Robert, any more than his own status as a human sapient does. Keimi seems like a perfectly nice person regardless and that is the bottom line for Robert.

[sea_king_bait]

"I'm just fine out of water. I just need to stay hydrated." She smiles at him. He was nice, and looked at her as a person. Not as a fish, not as a mermaid, not as a pile of money. A person. She wished she had met more people like him in her world.

[semper_cogitans]

As far as Robert's concerned, Keimi - and everybody else in the house - are people. Their species, personalities, cultures, and the like are all completely inconsequential, in the end. And that's really all that many non-human sapients want, in the end... To be seen as just people.

"That should not be an issue at all. I'm sure there will be an abundance of drinks here... after all, this is Mike planning a party. He is quite the culinary artist."

[sea_king_bait]

"I can smell all kinds of stuff coming from the kitchen. It's exciting." She grins. If there's anything Keimi appreciates, it's good food.

[semper_cogitans]

"I guarantee you that if you have not sampled Mike's cooking before, you will thoroughly appreciate it." Robert nods. He appreciates good food too, at least from a culinary perspective - after all, he dabbles in cooking himself - and he can tell Mike is genuinely invested in the art.

"It's truly a shame that he feels uncomfortable volunteering at the bakery for whatever reason," Robert adds, a little wistfully.