[ open ] birthday time!

[picky]

WHO: Marcille, Ryoji, and YOU!
WHAT: A party for the April (and May) birthdays!
WHERE: LILICO Game Center in Akihabara
WHEN: April 20th
WARNINGS: TBA

No matter who you are, you receive a text early in the morning from Ryoji (memors):

Good morning! Did you know it's a special someone's birthday today? Actually, we have several birthdays to celebrate, so join us today at the LILICO Game Center! There will be cake! Lots and *lots* of cake. Hope to see you there!

This is an open log, so feel free to tag out or top level or respond to the prompts below. Have fun!

Comments

[the_fourteenth]

[... Ah.]

Human. We live about fifty to sixty years on average.

[Such is life in 1920, anyway.]

[saudadist]

[ Think think think think, there was another one, wasn't there? A dessert drink with vodka... ]

Mudslide. It has coffee liqueur, lots of cream, vodka, and Irish cream liqueur in it. With chocolate garnish. Basically a milkshake with alcohol.

[yuwon]

Should I grab you one? [ he's not serious for the record, but he does recall that there were moments before like calling herself "cute" in which she appeared kind of embarrassed. hence, he says and it moves on, not looking back to the topic.

free for now. ]

What kind of present would you want at this point? [ a pause. ] Or am I not allowed to ask that, either? [ is this another one of those "think for yourself" moments? ]

[ignoreher]

Some people might give you two, but most would shove them together...

[ sickeningly lazy. ]

Mm... A couple of them. Maybe I'll just let people decide when it is in March and give me gifts whenever.

[ignoreher]

[ her tired look should be enough of an answer to the non-serious inquiry, which shifts into something a little sheepish at the rest. ]

No, that's... different, Yuwon. You can ask that. If I answered "Oh, anything would be good! Just pick something you think I'd like" then it'd be similar to what drove me up the wall before.

[ ....... even if she really would be fine with anything; malkuth isn't too picky, and seeing what someone might give her is fun. but he's asked, and she is not going to be the victim of hypocrisy today. ]

Let's see... I always like handmade things, and I won't turn down being treated to a drink or dine... It's less "at this point" and more whenever, you know? Um, I like cute stuff a lot -- a fr... coworker of mine [ please don't say anything about the slip yuwon she's trying so hard ] got me a pen with a duck head on it since I mentioned I liked ducks, and they know that I'm always writing things down too, so it was really thoughtful.

[ ... and it hurts sooooooooooo bad not to be able to do moooooore. ]

Things like that!

[ignoreher]

You think? I mean, it's not a half bad idea, since I do like sweets...

[ hmm. maybe she will holiday it. ]

Or I'll just let others decide when they'd like to celebrate my birthday as long as it's within the month.

[frostfist]

[ This conversation has really taken a turn.

Unsurprising, given the nature of alcohol on the average person (average half-elf??), but he still sits at a loss, eyes open and mouth closed in a frown as he takes in Marcille's tear-stained face. Longevity, the meaning of life....none of this is really his forte. He hadn't expected to live as long as he had, and he certainly hadn't found a calling that satisfied him until recently.

What would Neuvillette say, in a situation like this? More than that, what would Sigewinne say, her small face still graced by a cheerful smile despite all her decades spent in the Fortress. Seconds tick by, his hand continuing to rest atop hers while he mulls over an answer. ]

So you can carry the memories of all the people you met with you. So you can keep experiencing new places and foods and sights where they can't. So you can take what you've learned and use it to shape the world for the better. [ It's an answer that sounds fanciful and overly optimistic so: ] I'm not saying it'll be easy. Even living to sixty, seventy years is too much for some, let alone centuries. But thinking about it as some sort of curse and framed only by what you'll lose rather than what you might gain won't help. You'll only sink to the bottom of the sea if you keep thinking about it that way.

[queenofkur]

[ Ah, it looks like he appreciates the gift! That's good. She'd been afraid people might think flowers are not an appropriate present for a birthday party. She's never been to one before, so how could she know? ]

Oh, my apologies. I meant before your birthday. I do not leave my temple often when I'm not working.

[ ... Her temple is what she calls her room. It's not weird at all, what do you mean? ]

Besides, though unlikely and undesirable, it is possible you will die. Or I. Or this world. The future is ever uncertain.

[ You never know! Though she hopes not... ]

[picky]

[ THEIR FIRST ONE WAS CUTE AT LEAST...

She turns and takes Yuji's hand in both of hers. ]

I hope you do. I hope you figure out a way... so you can rest and stop having to think about all of this stuff. You should be living a long, healthy life. You just have this curse...

[ She squeezes his hand. ]

If my best friend could go back home with you for just a little, I know she could have helped. She was— is an amazing magic user.

[frostfist]

[ Government-assigned animal rights activist Malkuth Library of Ruina....

He does, however, appreciate the tempering of her emotions, and takes a sip of his cider once the reverb has worked itself out of the bar counter. ]

Sounds like it's time to recruit a friend to help out. [ Not him though, they'd just call the police on him. ] But to answer your question, you do seem like you could be some sort of animal activist. Sorry.

[ Said with an apologetic smile. It's the white girl energy she radiates. ]

[yormama]

[ Mixed in with the other cakes is Yor's own section where she's placed the cupcakes she bought for, well, herself. There are 48 in total across two three-layer towers. The flavors all vary, from chocolate to white to lemon to red velvet, and so on, and the toppings are of all different colors. Some with candy mixed into the icing, sprinkles, a macaron here, a strawberry there.

When she's not sweating herself to death at the DDR machine, Yor's handing out cupcakes to whoever might have their eye on one. ]

[frostfist]

[ Settle on a birthday first and then he'll offer up his. :/ Homework assignment for the day.

A lifetime though.... Three months doesn't sound like much on paper, but the passage of time has always been one of the most subjective human experiences. Those first few months in the Fortress had felt like an eternity to him, while his time here has passed in the blink of an eye. ]

So not too much time to gain real experiences of your own. [ Minus the ones he got as part of someone's other half. ] There's nothing wrong with waiting to decide on a birthday if you're not sure now. I'm sure these sashes will still be here months from now.

[ Because that's obviously the real reason anyone here announces their birthday. ]

[ignoreher]

[ it really is. she looked at one of the most powerful weapons in human form from her city and went "but he's just so sad" like a white woman might do a coyote. ]

Figures. I'll bring Ryoji next time and say that my fiancée wants to surprise his soon to be mother-in-law with a pair of fresh birds for his chef to cook up. What do you think?

[frostfist]

[ .............Give him a sec to stare at her over his glass. ]

Specifically fiancee.

[ignoreher]

It's got more weight to it than just boyfriend, right? They'll be happy to help out a pair of lovebirds.

[ she doesn't see a problem with it... ryoji can probably keep up. this won't be embarrassing. sipping her own drink... ]

[likemybooks]

It's a celebration of your existence. Your friends are all here because they like you.

[And Taryon may be a bit envious of this attention from Raidou's peers. It must be nice, being young and having a decent social circle.]

I'm pretty sure most people need a major deal of relaxation after a fight.

[penaltypoints]

[ Primarily in the interest of continuing to learn the names of the other recruits and remember the faces to go with them, Yesod has made his way here, too. While he isn't touching the cakes, he does linger by the table for some time, studying the clipboard. (If you know yours, let's celebrate together, Malkuth's note had said.)

Eventually, he writes down what he can:

Yesod
July ]

[the_fourteenth]

Ah. I see.

[Excuse this child, he is very awkward.]

Your... temple?

[Well. She's not wrong about all that, but. He's not sure how to respond.]

True, I suppose. Life here can be unpredictable. But, ah, let's hope for the best, shall we? [It's a birthday party, let's not bring the mood down, right?]

02 spoilers are fine

[penaltypoints]

[ There are things to observe awhile longer, and Yesod is paying to do so in order to blend in, an untouched glass in front of him. He isn't prepared to be startled out of his thoughts by what appears to be a complaint suddenly directed at him, but he assumes that it must be a very unexpected case of mistaken identity.

Brow furrowing, he notes the combination of tears and accusatory pointing. ]

...Why do you ask?

[ Aside from the obvious inebriation. ]

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou has made many friends here, several times over than he ever had back home.
It's hard for him to believe sometime. His face reddens slightly at the idea that so many people would honestly want to celebrate his birthday.

He is really lucky, isn't he.]

That's true, isn't it. After the last battle, I got people together to cook dinner, but this time...

[He got really messed up after that mission. He was down for the count for several days after and never got a chance to organize anything.]

I'm glad we decided to do this, then. I'd never been here. Everyone seems to really be enjoying themselves.

[picky]

[ Not mistaken identity at all! In fact, she's got no identity in mind period—just whoever is sitting next to her. Yesod was unfortunately in her line of fire.

She drops her hand and narrows her eyes at him. Her eyes briefly flicker to his untouched drink. She probably should have asked this before jabbing him with a weird question but. She's massively tipsy. Sue her. ]

You're an Outsider too, right? Most people in here are.

[memors]

I had a great time, too! [ You know, aside from the chaos and existential crisis, but he's not focused on that right now. ] It really made me wonder about what kind of place it was in its prime...I bet there are lots of places like that outside of Tokyo, too.

I've been thinking about making a trip out of visiting Tatsumi Port Island — where I'm from — if it exists here. The tricky part is it might exist under a different name, and there's no Dark Hour here to sort of...guide me home.

[ Though it's for the best that there's no Dark Hour. Absolutely. ]

[memors]

[ you mean you don't point a gun at your head to summon your inner soul demon, marcille ]

Oh! It's this thing —

[ He hefts one of the glow-in-the-dark guns into his hands. It's heavy and bulky like a laser tag gun, with a little flickering light that directs the crosshairs on the screen before them...and behind them. Maybe above them? It's very immersive. ]

You just point it at the zombies and when you've targeted where you want to hit, you pull the trigger. Pew pew!

[ Helpfully, he taps his finger against the trigger. ]

[memors]

[ The only magic being used here is theft... ]

You're really amazing at these games, huh? Your talents never cease to amaze me! [ And he wants to give them away? He's so thoughtful, too. ] Is there a secret to your success?

[ Is it possible to learn this power??? ]

[memors]

[ It's pretty novel to Ryoji that despite everything they've been through, both in their own worlds and here, that they can still seize moments like these to just play a silly arcade game. These are the moments that really count, aren't they? That's the sentiment he likes to cling to, anyway.

Grabbing his own gun, Ryoji deposits a few kryptos into the machine via his implant, and it flickers to life, staticky, ethereal music filtering in from hidden speakers. ]

Oh! What level should we choose? Maybe the castle, or the abandoned factory...the fair ground kind of reminds me of Disney Land.

[ Is that a good or a bad thing? Who can say. ]