Library Mingle: A Creative Spark

[cronusian]

Featuring: Armitage Hux + Volunteers and anyone in the Library
What's happening? Hux has designed the start of a new application for the devices and invited potential testers to come help him work out the kinks and round out the features available. People who are interested can get together and test the app by drawing things together or working on maps and blueprints, testing out sharing the images or working collaboratively on images. Think of it as a sort of IC pictionary or IC map/blueprint development for some creativity, collaboration, and mingling. The app also allows users to take photos they can write notes, draw, or color over. Hux will be around to help people through how to use it or talk about possible additions to the app (that make sense). It is also a good time to ask Hux or other characters if your character has projects they might like an extra tech savvy mind working on with/for them
When is it happening? After the rain
Content warning: None generally, please warn in your thread titles if any come up and I'll try to update this.
Notes: This is a mingle log for something a little more light-hearted, and the app will eventually be added as an option for all devices in game. Enjoy your map-making, blueprint designing, art, playing pictionary or some hangman to kill the time in the future.

[The project has been a labor of boredom from not long after his arrival in this place. The program has been isolated to his own device, a tool to help him keep track of updates to his own plans for improvements to keep them alive while he's trapped on this planet, attempts at determining more legible star charts in the hopes of pinpointing where this planet lived in the universe, and updating his personal map of places to avoid and ones he still needed to look into for forgotten supplies and information.

As people arrive, Hux makes use of the devices' natural abilities to sync up with other nearby devices to transfer the test program over to the volunteers that got in touch with him. The application as it stands has a number of features all built around the primary elements of map and blueprint design and editing.

It allows for drawing on the screen to create handwritten notes, mark on image files, or draw. There are multiple layer functions available, a multitude of save file options, and a basic array that allows for creating colors along the color wheel. How others use the app is less of a concern to Hux than how well it can work linking up with other synced devices and eventually whether or not the files can be shared over the network. There are graph templates set up, brush and pen tools of varying sizes, and a few new 'modes' for the device cameras (black and white, sepia, and high contrast).

There aren't snacks, but Hux and a few volunteers have carefully (quietly) moved a few low-sitting tables close together. For the sake of safety, there are no chairs around the tables. Everyone will be sitting on the floor to ensure no scraping of chair legs when people decide to move around. Hux has stacked a few atlases, maps, flora and fauna almanac, old children's books, and a few random picture or do-it-yourself books from around the library out on the tables. They're mostly printed in French but luckily the devices easily translate that. A few people are using the devices to work out possible routes of importance for new sandpaths while another group seems to be trying to work out the mechanics of playing a charades-style pictionary game.]

Comments

[ghostfluster]

i.

[Rosa looks pretty into the mapping function, especially since the natives are starting to trust her with access to sand and free rein to start laying her own sandpaths. soon after being introduced to the app, she's crouched over a rudimentary map of the community with the Seine and existing bridges on her phone, marking the existing sandpaths in red and . . . what looks like a new sandpath drawn towards the nearest bridge . . .? in a paler, dotted line.

she looks like she'd be humming, if humming was allowed. she likes this new program.]

ii.

[or, if you catch her when she's finished that off, she might catch you up in a rousing game of--



yeah that's definitely pictionary. want to keep watching till she's finished the dumb doodle, or take a guess already?]

( ii. )

[clarius]

[ lorem has a version of pictionary where she's from so her eyes light up at the sight of the somewhat familiar format. though her expressions scrunches it up in confusion because... huh... what's that supposed to be? a donkey... horse...e...y?

she's going to wait and see what else is added before she tries to hazard a guess. ]

Re: ( ii. )

[ghostfluster]

[the addition may help; she has time to think about it, because Rosa's paused to survey the drawing quizzically. sometimes you go for beauty and grace, have bad coordination, and just wind up drawing a thing with a fat neck, alas]

[clarius]

[ she stares at the updated drawing the longest of times with the hardest of expressions, as if the answer will appear before her if she squinted at it long enough.

finally - a lightbulb moment! ]

is it a unicorn?

[ghostfluster]

[she grins and nods, filling the last of it in with one hand while flashing a thumbs up with the other -- whoops, there goes the horn]



nailed it!

[clarius]

[ a point for team laurel!

lore needs to cover her mouth up with a hand to smother her giggles, her eyes lighting up in good humour when she sees the unicron's poor mangled horn. ]

Thank you! I was only able to guess that correctly thanks to your drawing being so good! [ she means that, she really does. lorem knows for that fact if it had been leeds - or worse, her mom - than no one would have been able to get this. ]

[ghostfluster]

its a bit clunky honestly but thanks

[she doesn't exactly mean to reject the compliment; she just knows she can probably do better than this. she's literally decades out of practice, though]

you wanna take a turn or...? being able to doodle whatever is pretty neat

[clarius]

[ lorem's face lights up at the suggestion though she suddenly looks a bit nervous. as if she's remembering something. ]

I would love to try! But I suppose I should give you a warning- I'm not the best drawer in the world. So I apologise in advance if it's a bit messy at the start.

[ghostfluster]

no need! its not like we aren't all getting used to this right now haha

& i'm really in no spot to judge drawing here

let's just have some fun with it

[clarius]

[ the assurance has lorem relaxing a bit more, looking a tad more confident after the very good points are made.

that's right! they should have fun with this, seeing as how this is new for all of them. ]

That's right! Alright. I'll give this a try.

Give me a second. I'll try to get something doodled down.

[ghostfluster]

no prob

[she keeps her eyes down so as not to make Lorem feel self-conscious by staring; trying out a few other functions on the app while she waits]

[clarius]

[ it takes a minute or two but lorem is able to get something decent looking for the start of her drawing- ]



[ ohhh. she hopes she's got the details right. all she really knows about it are pictures of pictures and a few films her grandpere showed her in the past. ]

[ghostfluster]

[she frowns at it; something about the shape of it is familiar, certainly, but it isn't quite ringing any bells yet. it looks to be outdoors? a fireplace? but one wouldn't be there, probably...]

oven?

[wait]

whoops two words

[clarius]

[ lorem tilts her head and looks confused, definitely confirming the fact that this - what the drawing is supposed to depict - is not an even.

hmmm... she quickly doodles the next 'layer' of the drawing. maybe that'll provide more context for what it is. ]

[ghostfluster]

[oh! oh! it clicks into place, and her face lights up -- okay, it looked a lot more innocuous in a drawing without any sound eaters on it, honestly. no wonder she hadn't gotten it right away. better slightly late than never, though]

EIFFEL TOWER!

[...she turns off the capslock toggle after that, slightly sheepish]

[clarius]

Yes!!!!

[ so excited that rosa had gotten it, lorem nearly clapped in joy for getting it right. then she remembered what she was about to do and managed to stop herself by... looking like she's slapping the air.

silly to look at it but better than nothing.

she completes the doodle, also writing in the answer. ]

[ghostfluster]

[Rosa covers a laugh of her own, and then offers her hand to Lorem, palm upraised]

you draw pretty good honestly. super careful high five?

[clarius]

Super careful high five.

[ her idea of it is a tap but its an enthusiastic tap. ]

And thank you! I wish you could have met Leeds. He's great at Pictionary. Always someone you wanted on your team during the Rememberance Festival contests if it involved drawing.

[ghostfluster]

[Rosa hesitates at that, a brief and momentary shadow crossing her face]

were you with him before coming here?

[clarius]

Oh. Oh no.

Last I saw of him, I think it was around six years ago. [ she does a good job of hiding her wince, she thinks. it's easy to remember the good times with her friends.

but the bad times, like when they parted ways? not to much. ] Haven't been able to contact him since. I hope he's doing well.

[ghostfluster]

me too!

i mean, i don't know him but

you know

in general

[clarius]

I understand. It's hard being away from loved ones.

More so if you can't keep tabs on them when you're away from them. I know I should assume they're doing well but you can't help fret, right? [ especially if the fretting turns out to have good cause, she thinks to herself. she still has her father's program tucked away somewhere in her garage. ]

[ghostfluster]

yeah. it's hard

[there's a wealth of things unsaid there; eighty-one years of being unable to leave the confines of a single room, resentful that she'd been left there even if it wasn't anyone living's fault, resentful that they hadn't stayed for her even though they didn't know there was something left to stay for...

being an old ghost is a pain. she wonders if she has any relatives left.]

it's been a long time since i've seen my family i guess. my roomie from home's here though. still can't decide if that's a relief or not

[clarius]

[ lorem notices the use of ‘roomie’ and not something like ‘friend’ in the message. that and wondering if that's a 'relief' or not for her. it's a curious thing but after being the liaison of the lornful light for so long, lorem has learned by now that some things can be asked despite tensions and there are some things you, perhaps, should wait for another time before bringing it up.

this feels like one of those times.

so she does her best to continue being bubbly and happy. because she is bubbly and happy. she just needs to put more effort into keeping it up! ]

I guess it depends on whether or not your roommate remembered to close the door whenever you asked them too. I always find that helping remember to do those little things for someone can go a long way.

[ghostfluster]

[she smiles a little, fondly]

jan's real dependable

what i worry about is she had a lot she was working toward back home specifically

i didn't have as much going on, i can deal with being transplanted suddenly, but i worry about her

[clarius]

I can understand that. Being away from your loved ones can be stressful. Especially if it's against your will and you're not sure when you can go home to them. It's not a fun time dealing with, I know that much.

I hope for you and Jan, you can return soon.

[ghostfluster]

hey thanks

i mean ive kinda of gotten used to it you know?

but it's still kinda rough here what with the possible instant death and all

do you have any plans to stick around, or are you going back if we find a way away?

i thought i sent this i apologise for that mistake...!!

[clarius]

[ oh.

the question has her visibly pause, looking a little... not troubled, really. that would be too strong of a term. conflicted might be the better word with how she takes a long time to respond: ]

I'm not sure, to be honest. I would love to go back to my fiancé and my friends but hm.

I worry, I suppose. For the people here. Especially the children. I don't want to leave them behind without doing what I can for them.