Cuddle Party

[ysabetwordsmith]

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes.  Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime.  So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace.  Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket.  It has a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs.  A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper.  The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone.  There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity.  Come snuggle up!

Comments

*mounds up pillows*

[(Anonymous)]

*dives in to the pile* *beckons invitingly*

Re: *mounds up pillows*

[manglefox]

Whee! *Bounces in* *Is an animatronic squirrel, but still likes to cuddle, if you don't mind cuddling furry folks.*

-Saffi

Re: *mounds up pillows*

[ysabetwordsmith]

*flops onto pillows*

[siliconshaman]

A dark grey cat fades into existence, like someone made a cat out of smoke, filmed it dissipating, then ran the film backwards.


*look around at the party venue*
*Finds a sunbeam with a cushion in it, curls up and waits to see who else turns up*

[technoshaman]

*skritches da KITTY*

[acelightning]

A fat old woman with long, straight, dark-purple hair enters the room from the kitchen, carrying a large container of freshly popped popcorn. She is wearing velvet pants, a velvet t-shirt, and velvet shoes, in harmoniously different shades of dark purple. She sets down the popcorn and fetches a couple of soft cushions, near but not too near the cat, then begins to eat the popcorn. After a moment she pauses and tilts her head to the side, looking at the cat (who is beginning to look less diaphanous), making small movements with her eyes and her smile: "Hi! May I pet you?"

[manglefox]

Ooh kitty. *Slowly walks over to, and offers gentle pets and ear scritches* Cats are this bunny's favorite thing in all the world, because he finds their purring to be incredibly soothing.

[jtthomas]

A chocolate-point Siamese enters. It's unclear whether the cat is truly solid or if it's only partially existing in this plane.

*notices lack of extra cushions*
*jumps into pillow bin*
*digs out a pillow with satiny snowflakes*
*with pillow in mouth, approaches sunbeam, hoping it's large enough to share*

Mrrp?!

[daisiesrockalot]

A small dragon comes in with a mouthful of stickers, then goes and drops them on a table, revealing green stickers reading "touch welcome", orange reading "please ask before touching", and red stickers reading "please do not touch". The dragon puts an orange sticker lopsidedly on their head, then nudges a chair over beside the cats and into the sunbeam, quickly hopping onto the back of the chair and perching there in the sun.

[readera]

A short women with frizzy curls walks in and steps to the side to look at the room. She looks tired and is wearing pjs and holding a stuffed bear.

She settles into a spot in the sun and grabs a weighted blanket. She offers a hand to the cat to smell.

[siliconshaman]

*sniffs..licks*

*settles next to person, purring softly*

CUDDLE PILE!!!

[technoshaman]

*brings a large pitcher of cherry limeade and a caddy full of popcorn adulterants - powdered cinnamon sugar, popcorn salt, powdered cheddar, herb blends, and misters of corn and olive oil* *affixes a handy gadget to the machine that tips the pan when it senses a decline in popping, then fills the popper and sets it off*

*snuggles in*

Re: CUDDLE PILE!!!

[alexseanchai]

CIMMAMOM SUGAR POPCORN *nomnom*

Re: CUDDLE PILE!!!

[manglefox]

Ooooh. Popcorn. *Wide eyes* *Adores popcorn*

*Wanders over and asks politely if she may borrow some of the popcorn toppings.

*Is holding a jar of spray honey butter in one hand, adds some to her corn, but puts the jar in your caddy so that anyone who wants might have honey butter as well.

Thank you!

Re: CUDDLE PILE!!!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ooo, cherry limeade! :D

Re: CUDDLE PILE!!!

[acelightning]

"That reminds me - I was so interested in joining the party, I didn't put enough butter and salt on my popcorn! Ah... there's the hot pepper!" *refills popcorn bowl, adding melted butter, sea salt, and several kinds of ground pepper*

[technoshaman]

*looks at bathroom sign, notes upgrade* Why, it's old Tzai-Phot himself! (Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed character upper right... that's right, Your Honour, he's a *character* ;)

[alexseanchai]

*checks* ahahaaaaaa yes

[alexseanchai]

I'm feeling kind of prickly and physically standoffish right now, but if someone wants to sit across from me and do crafty things? I'm working on a counted cross-stitch ornament that's a Fair Isle Christmas stocking design:

[technoshaman]

All's fair in here. Company is good.

[redsixwing]

I'll sit with you. I'm doodling with markers, greyscale feather patterns over and over down the page.

[redsixwing]

...uh.. 'scuse me, I'm going to try a different thing today.

Three beings enter: one brown-haired human of ambiguous gender and casual dress, one male human with long silver hair in a loose black coat and slacks, and a large pheasant-type bird sporting red and gold plumage.

The brown-haired human heads straight for the markers and blank paper, and proceeds to pick a variety of greyscale ones in various tip shapes.

The silver-haired man examines the options, then sits near his companion, toying with the fringe of a pillow.

The bird examines the options, then perches on the edge of the hot tub, careful not to dip his long tail in it, and proceeds to take a bird bath.

*picks up stuff and comes on over nearby*

[ng_moonmoth]

*Gets a pronoun sticker reading 'xe/xyr/xyrs/xyrself' and sticks it on*

*Collects a pile of pillows and builds a sort of nest near the brown-haired human*

*Pulls the knitting back out and settles into the pillow nest*

*Looks over at the brown-haired human to see whether they feel like engaging*

I'm wearing a sweater I recently finished (mine has a blue outer edge and collar, with the back pattern and sleeves in cream) over a lacy top. Jeans and multicolored warm socks complete the outfit.

[dreamwriteremmy]

Earl arrives carrying a different dutch oven than the one he had last time because this recipe isn't vegan. Today's buffet contribution is a gluten-free and dairy-free chicken stew with butternut squash and quinoa. On his shirt he has two social alert buttons one which says "hugs available" and the other that says "I take culinary requests". Trailing behind him is Roger carrying two covered bakery platters of rolls - one gluten-free and one not. Roger's shirt has two social alert buttons too. One that reads "I'm selectively mute" and the other that says "ask me for cuddles".

[redsixwing]

A tall, silver-haired man in black coat approaches and investigates, then takes some stew and a roll to go with. "Thank you. This smells delicious."

a catperson arrives

[alatefeline]

A catperson - humanoid, this time - tentatively peeks into the hot tub area.

This feline biped is close to human in appearance, with large, pointed, mobile ears; large, bright, slit-pupiled eyes; and a ruff of fur on the head and upper back. They are about five feet tall, small but wiry and flexible, and they walk lightly on their toes by habit.

Re: a catperson arrives

[alatefeline]

Cosmetically… They are wearing a one-piece fitted swimsuit plus loose swim trunks. Both are dark purple with an indigo, blue, and lavender tie-dye pattern. The trunks are loose and pleated and almost knee length; the baggy folds of the pleats mean that their tail can comfortably emerge from a slit in back without any loss of modesty. The top is essentially straight from neck to waist, fitted but not skin-tight, and provides support without a lot of fabric bulk or emphasis. Their one-piece has a scooped neck, tank top style shoulder straps, a deep U-shaped cutaway back, and no sleeves, so their arms and shoulders are basically uncovered. Their flexible ankles are supported by a wide band of soft, fuzzy, purple elastic fabric around each one. Clipped to the right shoulder is a waterproof badge holder with some social signal stickers inside.

Physically… Their skin is fair to tan in color, but their overall color palette is closer to golden thanks to the bright gold-tan color predominant in their head fur, ruff, tail fur, and the soft fuzz on their arms and legs. Their feet have four clearly separated, sturdy toes with short retractile claws; an elegant arch leading into a heel like a human foot but narrower; a dewclaw like a short thumb at the back of the foot; and leg muscles slightly different that a human’s to facilitate a variety of gaits. Around one leg is wrapped the tip of a long and magnificently furry tail. Their torso is narrow and androgynous, with an ambiguous absence of notable features under the swim trunks, a slight curve to the muscled chest, and a strong but not particularly bulky back. Given the swimwear, their somewhat bony shoulders and strong arms are visible, as well as the spill of long fur growing down the back of their neck and along their spine, and a stylized purple tattoo of an outstretched wing on each shoulder blade. Their face is close to human in shape, with a rounded face and a snub nose; a pointed chin; large eyes; an ‘M’ shaped hairline; and prominent ears with a tall lynx-tuft of fur on each one. Their hands have both human-like finger pads and cat-like retractile claws; they have typical thumbs, but in addition, the last finger on each hand is somewhat separated, and stronger than a human little finger, so it can serve as a second thumb. If someone looks closely, they may notice that while the left hand has five digits, the right hand has six, with the two ‘fifth fingers’ being partially joined at the base; all the digits are functional, however. Their fur is mostly golden, with hints of bobcat-like spotting ticked in a chocolate brown hue visible on the ruff and tail, and a faint purple diffraction effect when silhouetted against strong light.

Socially… Their bearing is calm, but reserved initially. Once in the hot tub they will relax! It is evident that they have excellent flexibility (N.B. this is true of me off-screen too) and balance (N.B. not true of me in my off-screen physical form), and their ears and eyes hint at sensitive senses. They will avoid loud noises and startlement. Currently they are wearing the following social stickers: orange ‘please ask before touching’, blue ‘I give hugs when asked’, rainbow 'they/them/their/themself' pronoun badge, and purple-on-white handwritten ‘I prefer not to talk in this shape at this time, let me know to grab my slate if you need verbal clarification.’ They are smiling slightly, and seem fascinated by the physical details of the steaming-warm water, the comfortable footing on the worn wood deck around the hot tub, and the gathered fabric of the lawn tent above. Before getting in to soak, they check the sign for ‘clothed bathers present, mixed-attire company OK’ and adjust the dials for temperature and buoyancy. For anyone present they offer a friendly little wave, facing them and smiling but not attempting to make eye contact.

Adding to the supply cabinet

[ng_moonmoth]

*puts a couple of packages of mixed pronoun stickers in there for the next party*