The World Assembly Strangers' Bar

[Living Corporations]

“Alcohol is bad for dogs,” said LaPointe as WebVid gawked at the giant bat monster. “And I’m almost certain that dogs don’t generally talk at all, much less talk in that ridiculous faux-cutesy way.”

[Wallenburg]

“Alcohol is bad for dogs,” said LaPointe as WebVid gawked at the giant bat monster. “And I’m almost certain that dogs don’t generally talk at all, much less talk in that ridiculous faux-cutesy way.”

Ogenbond shrugs. "My chief of staff is friends with the talking ferret over there. I learned long ago not to question these things." He notices Steph's water balloon and adds, "It appears one of our ambassadors is hurling projectiles at you."

[Ferret Civilization]

"Why would you want to drink protein-rich fatty sweat of a species not your own?" Ikiti asked, looming behind the curiously-shaped creature. She was unfortunately a natural at looming, thanks to her size and tendency to lack respect for personal boundaries.

Before Jack even got a chance to reply it seemed like that the two of them were joined by another guest, so Furettium turned himself around to face the rest of the bar and lean back on the counter to get a good position to look at the new creature to him. It certainly was no Hotak es-Neros, the Ferret would enjoy being able to talk to him again. Though getting to the question presented, "I like the taste... Sweat?" Wad Ari and Ahume seemed to have only part way explained just where on the cow creature that this kind of milk came from. "Huh." He took another drink without much hesitation.

[Herby]

Mmmm.... mmmm.... ¡Mi Papa! ¿Qué haces, Manny? Hace tiempo que no nos vemos. Und Vater Schtefan! Wenn ist das Nunstück geht und Slotermeyer? Ja!

"Is you okays, Rumbly Car?" the Chief Insphekshuuner asked. He still wasn't sure if the car's mind was properly awake, so he crouched down on the bar counter, watching Herby, curling his tail to his side. It was definitely safer there than on the floor.

Sure I’m fine now! Ehhhh think I got caught in a update loop. Ooh where are my manners — ehhhh nobody answer that — these two guys are my builders, my dads so ta speak. Manny, he’s a mechanical whiz, gave me all the power an’ efficiency I’ll ever need, and Stefan, foremost cybernetic genius in all of Herby. Stefan, Manny, these are ehhhhhh. Ehhhhh. Okay a talking cat, a punky gal, a dude with a noisy screwdriver ehhhh uh oh I was wrong, I ain’t fine, I got memory errors in sectors AA00 through AAFF and in B000 through Beeeeeep.

[Whovian Tardisia]

"Why would you want to drink protein-rich fatty sweat of a species not your own?" Ikiti asked, looming behind the curiously-shaped creature. She was unfortunately a natural at looming, thanks to her size and tendency to lack respect for personal boundaries.

Before Jack even got a chance to reply it seemed like that the two of them were joined by another guest, so Furettium turned himself around to face the rest of the bar and lean back on the counter to get a good position to look at the new creature to him. It certainly was no Hotak es-Neros, the Ferret would enjoy being able to talk to him again. Though getting to the question presented, "I like the taste... Sweat?" Wad Ari and Ahume seemed to have only part way explained just where on the cow creature that this kind of milk came from. "Huh." He took another drink without much hesitation.

Jack went about as pale as the beverage in question at the sight of Ikiti. While he had now gotten somewhat used to the idea of talking animals, the sheer size of this one was still a bit unsettling.
"Uhhh... Hi."

---

... Stefan, Manny, these are ehhhhhh. Ehhhhh. Okay a talking cat, a punky gal, a dude with a noisy screwdriver ehhhh uh oh I was wrong, I ain’t fine, I got memory errors in sectors AA00 through AAFF and in B000 through Beeeeeep.

As the beep began to drone, Pink came running out of the box, screwdriver whistling as he tried to run diagnostics on Herby's systems.
"Paranoid little... deadlock sealed... oh no..." He lowered his device. But then it hit him. "The database! Then at least..."
"Ambassadorial Directory, right?" queried the nearby hologram as she set down the liquor.
"Yes, of course." Pink replied, tossing her the screwdriver.
She stood completely still for a moment, staring off into the distance as Pink set back to rummaging for cables.
"Locating..." she said, still blankly staring. "Directory found. Downloading relevant files..." In preparation for the next step, she raised the screwdriver, pointing it directly at the Volkwagen.

[Pilipinas and Malaya]

The Pilipinas and Malaya delegate to the WA,Park Jimin,bursts in.

He has (finally) learns proper English at the prompting of Leader Mon.

He orders,”Hey Jimmy,maybe some Soju may be right for me. One bottle please.”

[Disembodied Voice]

"Locating..." she said, still blankly staring. "Directory found. Downloading relevant files..." In preparation for the next step, she raised the screwdriver, pointing it directly at the Volkwagen.

A voice seemingly coming out of thin air, audible only to her and those with super-accurate hearing standing very close, said behind her left ear: "Perhaps you should not mess with the memories of a sapient being. It is very rude and you probably wouldn't want it done to you."

[Imperial Polk County]

As the beep began to drone, Pink came running out of the box, screwdriver whistling as he tried to run diagnostics on Herby's systems.
"Paranoid little... deadlock sealed... oh no..." He lowered his device. But then it hit him. "The database! Then at least..."
"Ambassadorial Directory, right?" queried the nearby hologram as she set down the liquor.
"Yes, of course." Pink replied, tossing her the screwdriver.
She stood completely still for a moment, staring off into the distance as Pink set back to rummaging for cables.
"Locating..." she said, still blankly staring. "Directory found. Downloading relevant files..." In preparation for the next step, she raised the screwdriver, pointing it directly at the Volkwagen.

Drane grabs the sonic screwdriver and tosses it to the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you? You heard her, these guys are her builders, they're the experts, let them fix her before you screw her up!" He pauses and looks down at the screwdriver. "Umm. No pun intended."

[Skylus]

I live. Wow a lot happened...Where to start....

Madi entered the bar after....an unknown period of absence and noticed the crowd around Herby.
"Please don't tell me her hard drive died...if she has one."

She then noticed the ferret and small cat and large bat and went over to say hello to all of them.

Then a chow chow puppy walked in and took its seat at the bar.

Madi blinked and walked over and took a seat next to the dog.
"Hi. My name's Madi. What's yours?"

Madi then noticed something out of the corner of her eye and whirled around on her seat - only to find a floating hologram and...
"What the hell are you wearing?!"

[Wallenburg]

Ogenbond, who has been reading his newspaper quietly at a table near Herby, stops on a particularly troubling headline. "Gerald," he calls to his chief of staff. Gerald pulls away from the crowd around Herby and sits across from Ogenbond.

"Yes, sir?"

"Look at this article," says Ogenbond grimly, turning the papers over to him.

"Let's see. '"Bash the Fash" Say Regional Ministers'. What about it?"

"No, not that. This." He leans over and jabs his finger into an adjacent article.

"Oh. 'Jhorgian Pres'--" he stops for a moment. "The Jhorgian president has been executed? On live radio? By whom?"

"No, not that." Frustrated, Ogenbond stands up and walks to Gerald's side of the table. "Here. 'Keegan to Retire, Proletarians Leave Indigo Coalition'."

Gerald shakes his head, not believing the headline, "Rendre! Surely not. The coalition government still holds the majority!"

Ogenbond insists, "Not if Keegan retires. She's being forced out of the Proletarians to make room for some freshman ideologue. The Proletarians have lost interest in compromise with us. They are forming a government with the Nationals--the Nationals, the capitalist relics they are--just for their increased numbers. I'm telling you, Gerald, that crazy future ambassador knew this was going to happen. He warned me about it. Wallenburg is about to fall back twenty years, and worse, I might get fired!"

Gerald blinks dumbfoundedly. "You aren't going to get fired, sir. What you say sounds ridiculous. Are you sure this story is real? You know these newspapers, spouting sensationalist trash for subscriptions. I'll bet my right arm that the Proletarians are just looking to negotiate for a more advantageous compromise, and that Keegan won't go anywhere. They would never give up economic policy, no matter how much they dislike Progressive military spending or social agendas." He laughs and stands up. "I'm going back to check on Herby. I'm also taking this paper, sir. It is my advice that you look for something more informative than..." Gerald flips the paper to its front page. "than The Otis Observer. Really, you could have at least tried one of the less ridiculous tabloids."

[Whovian Tardisia]

Snapping out of her digital trance of sorts, the hologram winced as the sonic hit the floor. "Ah... of... of course. I'm sorry. I just wanted... we just wanted to help." She picked up the device and was about to return it to Pink, but:

"What the hell are you wearing?!"

The hologram looked down, and seeming slightly embarrassed, simply vanished.

The sonic device clattered to the floor, rolling in the direction of the TARDIS. As Pink reemerged, crossing his fingers and looking worryingly at the ceiling, he nearly stepped on it. "Drat." he mumbled, picking it up. With a quick buzz upwards, he muttered something about that fixing something and returned to his seat.
"I see Jack's being sociable." He commented.
"Can't help himself. Loves places like this." replied Amy. "What was that fuss with the car?"
"Memory issues. Shame, really. Can't remember her colleagues."

His ears wandered, and Ogenbond's panic caught his notice. "Told them not to discuss the future..." he thought, remaining in his seat. "Can't rewrite what's already been read..." The crack glowed. Pink paid no mind.

[Malayan Singapura]

This is the story of a man named Justin. A man more watered down than mud. He had some good times climbing up. But one tumble made him fell deeper and deeper into a never ending loop of disparity. Each step he took, it seemed it went two steps backwards. Down on his luck, he wandered here, the only bar that might accept him and give him service.

He barges through the door, slams an ID & some money.

"I'd like 20 shots of the strongest thing you got barkeep. Keep the change as a tip."

[Herby]

(OOC So sorry for the delay! Real life has been kicking our asses the past month.)

BEEP!

Mmmmmm... mmmmmm... muh muh muh muh muh muh muh... MY SHARONA! Thump be de bum bip bum ehhhh wait wait wait what am I doing back here? I thought I was ehhhhh no no never mind, musta been dreamin’. Okay Stefan this is bad bad badski. You readin’ all these errors? I got missing sectors all over the place, communications are up but geolocation is down, and if I look around I can AHHHHHH where the fuck am I? Who are all these people?

The German man sighs loudly and enters a command on his laptop, initiating another shutdown. Number 53 is silent once again.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Steph looks over at the proceedings and frowns.

"Okay, I ain't an expert in AIs or V-Dubs, but we can all make this a bit more comfortable, right? She likes that song, let's put it on, maybe she'll do a bit better, uh?"

She stalks over to the jukebox, drops a couple of coins in, and makes a selection, looking pretty pleased with herself. Until the first notes start hammering over the bar's sound system. Steph's eyes widen.

"Oh shit, that's the wrong one!"

She runs back over to the machine and begins hitting buttons, trying to change or cancel the selection, but the device sits there smugly. The volume actually increases slightly as Steph gives the recalcitrant mechanism a whack. Finally an error message appears on the readout; Steph reads it, rolls her eyes, and stomps away, glowering.

Code: Select all

Cheer up, mate, at least you didn't put on a porn track! Some shitfaced arsehole did that once and they took *me* to get spayed for it, the bastards.
And if you ever hit me like that again I swear to god I'll play Journey and Spice Girls every single time you walk in here, see if I don't!

[Living Corporations]

This is the story of a man named Justin. A man more watered down than mud. He had some good times climbing up. But one tumble made him fell deeper and deeper into a never ending loop of disparity. Each step he took, it seemed it went two steps backwards. Down on his luck, he wandered here, the only bar that might accept him and give him service.

He barges through the door, slams an ID & some money.

"I'd like 20 shots of the strongest thing you got barkeep. Keep the change as a tip."

“Oh come on, don’t do that!” called LaPointe. “Do you have any idea how many stupid kids die as a result of that 21 shots fad? Save the bar some grief and order a pitcher of cheap, weak beer instead.”

[Whovian Tardisia]

Captain Wilson cocked an eyebrow at the tune, but subtly began bobbing her head to it. It was surprisingly enjoyable. Ambassador Pink was less convinced, but didn't completely object.

He looked once again at the now silent Volkswagen. It was tough to see her this way. So much energy and enthusiasm now reduced to confusion and fear. He slumped slightly as he approached the bar, barely noticing the personified businesses already there. He found a spot next to Jack, tipping his hat to the nearby ferret almost out of habit, and ordered a leather whisky he had learned of long ago.

The TARDIS was not faring much better. Sarah had slipped in to check on things, and noticed the lighting was dim. There was some brighter light from one of the corridors, however, and Sarah took it upon herself to investigate.

[Ferret Civilization]

The bar continued about its usual crazy antics while Jack and Furettium sat at the bar talking while the Ferret at least was trying to take it all in, from Herby continuing to have a less than stellar time to Steph seemingly having a rather embarrassing moment trying to cheer things up unsuccessfully. Much like how Pink was also trying once again to continue to fix things himself with just as little success. When Pink came over to join them Furettium was sure to say, "I am sure Herby is going to be just fine, they have been through worse and come out the same as always."

[Glaeschland]

Jonathan Greene powerwalks in and sits down at a booth, his nation having only recently come back into existence. He opens his laptop and types furiously. "God, God, how could we forget what our flag looked like?!?"

[Herby]

”Don’t worry,” says the older man, “She will be okay. I don’t know if we can recover the lost clusters of memory, but she will still be herself.” He enters a command and nods to the younger man, who nods back and enters the car, seated behind the wheel. “We will have to drive her home, it’s the best chance we have of preserving as much memory as we can.”

The German enters the car on the passenger’s side and enters more commands into the laptop. The car’s motor starts. Manny puts it in gear and drives toward the exit, but Stefan puts up his hand. The car stops abruptly. Stefan opens the passenger side window.

“This can’t be right. Q-Bert? Is there a Q-Bert here? For some strange reason she still remembers you. She says she’s sorry about what she said about your wife. If that makes sense. Sorry but we really have to go, the faster we get her to our shop the more we can recover.”

Ambassador Number 53, under the control of her most trusted creators, exits the Strangers’ Bar.

Yes, this is Herby’s final goodbye from the GA. I’ve grown bored and tired of this aspect of the website and with my new job and family commitments I have no desire to continue to play here. HOWEVER, I’ll still be around on NationStates, still traveling across the regions with my regional companions, so if you see ol’ 53 in your region, you’ll know why. And I’ll still be in touch with a bunch of you via telegram. Have fun guys and gals, and see ya ‘round.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

<snip>

Steph watches the - horror! - the driver guide the listless Beetle away, and raises her glass, and downs the rest of what's in it. She pauses a moment, then turns to Neville.

"Yeah. One round of shots for the house on me, please. Hmm, tequila, or... nah, pear schnapps for mine. Thanks."

Have a blast with whatever's to come! I'm only sorry we never got to hear the astounding and scandalous tale of the notorious #57!

[Glaeschland]

Jonathan mumbles about the incredulity of his nation forgetting what its flag looked like, his head in his hands.

[Living Corporations]

Jonathan mumbles about the incredulity of his nation forgetting what its flag looked like, his head in his hands.

"You think you have problems?" asks LaPointe. "I don't even have a proper flag. We just divided a sheet into four parts and each signed it in our own way."

[Glaeschland]

Jonathan suddenly nearly leaps for joy, his nation's flag having popped into his head all of the sudden, and he designs it and sends it to the president.

"I can't believe I remembered it!"

He gets up and prances to the bar and orders a 70-30 blend of whiskey-vodka.

While he waits, he turns to LaPointe, seeing what may be a patch on the diplomat's sleeve. "You know, it isn't that bad." he remarks, smiling warmly. His ARP, still functioning, chirps and twitters electronically, seeming to agree.

[Living Corporations]

Jonathan suddenly nearly leaps for joy, his nation's flag having popped into his head all of the sudden, and he designs it and sends it to the president.

"I can't believe I remembered it!"

He gets up and prances to the bar and orders a 70-30 blend of whiskey-vodka.

While he waits, he turns to LaPointe, seeing what may be a patch on the diplomat's sleeve. "You know, it isn't that bad." he remarks, smiling warmly. His ARP, still functioning, chirps and twitters electronically, seeming to agree.

((As of now, WebVid is now CyberVid. WebVid has always been CyberVid, but I am dumb and have been typing in the wrong corporate name this entire time))

"Oh no, it's awful. I mean, _look_ at it!" LaPointe gently touches the patch, which in a flash of light rips itself off her sleeve and expands to the size of a dinner plate. "CyberVid chose to sign her name with Comic Sans," she says, tapping the offending square. "Completely unprofessional."

Next to her, CyberVid rolls her eyes.

[Glaeschland]

Jonathan suddenly nearly leaps for joy, his nation's flag having popped into his head all of the sudden, and he designs it and sends it to the president.

"I can't believe I remembered it!"

He gets up and prances to the bar and orders a 70-30 blend of whiskey-vodka.

While he waits, he turns to LaPointe, seeing what may be a patch on the diplomat's sleeve. "You know, it isn't that bad." he remarks, smiling warmly. His ARP, still functioning, chirps and twitters electronically, seeming to agree.

((As of now, WebVid is now CyberVid. WebVid has always been CyberVid, but I am dumb and have been typing in the wrong corporate name this entire time))

"Oh no, it's awful. I mean, _look_ at it!" LaPointe gently touches the patch, which in a flash of light rips itself off her sleeve and expands to the size of a dinner plate. "CyberVid chose to sign her name with Comic Sans," she says, tapping the offending square. "Completely unprofessional."

Next to her, CyberVid rolls her eyes.

"Hmmm. Signing something in Comic Sans *is* a nigh criminal offense. Still, my statement stands. Would you like a drink? I have plenty bitcoin to spare."

(OOC: just realized everything that happened with bitcoin makes the currency look like a joke now, I founded back in 2016 )