[ 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

[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... ]

[frostfist]

[ Why is it always fake dating.....? After his own fake dating experiences he's of the mind that he never wants to engage in any sort of couple-themed espionage again. Archons forbid he catch feelings for another person.

But voluntary fake dating is probably better than government-mandated fake dating, so he merely offers up a nod. ]

Best of luck to you two then on procuring your prize waterfowl.

[ Though, while they're on the subject: ]

Did Vergilius ever speak to you?

[ignoreher]

[ it's fine. she can't catch feelings she already has (?).

at the topic change her face colors though, and she siiiiiiips at her drink. does. does everyone know. what is with this. why is he asking. did vergilius spill in his drunken fervor. he must hate himself. ]

Yeah. March gave him a real talking to, and he ended up coming over later on to apologize. It was much appreciated.

[ toooooooooo say the least about that particular encounter! ]

[frostfist]

[ Sometimes you get drunk and make Mistakes and this why Wriothesley has chosen never to overimbibe on alcohol again. But also: sasuga March. ]

I see. [ Please hold while he mirrors her and also takes a sip of his drink. ] I'm glad the two of you were able to resolve matters.

[ That's it, that's the extent of his nosiness. ]

[ignoreher]

[ ... ]

Your discretion is one of my favorite things about you.

[ just so he knows. okay. ]

Would you call your life particularly exciting, Wriothesley? Here, back home...

[frostfist]

Exciting....?

[ What a sudden question out of nowhere. But that seems to be standard fare with Malkuth so he settles into his seat, fingers resting against the cool glass of his drink as he mulls over the question.

A lot of it would be exciting, to anyone else. The act of murdering his parents at a young age, his public trial put on for everyone to see, the coup he'd planned and then put into action while hundreds of meters under the ocean. But all of those events are ugly things, not exactly stories to mention in polite company. (Even if Malkuth had talked a little about her own Library way back when.)

Hmmmm.... ]

No more than anyone else's here, I'd say. [ This is probably true. ] I suppose I did almost dissolve into water once, but I hear that's not unheard of in the City you're from.

[ Thanks, Ishmael. ]

[ignoreher]

Oh, really? I don't think I've had anyone under my guidance dissolve into water before, but I've had them ground up into a meat paste while their bodies produced music beyond imagination.

[ which, obviously, is worse and definitely not dinner talk, but it's fine. people in the city have such interesting experiences... ]

I was just wondering... because this month has been more eventful than a single day in my entire life, and if a normal person deals with this on a regular basis, I don't think I'm cut out for living a normal life.

[frostfist]

[ Oh?? That's an interesting way to phrase things. ]

Did something happen outside of this birthday celebration? [ So sorry bestie, he has not been keeping up with her life. ]

[ignoreher]

[ no, please don't keep up with it. march keeps enough up with it. she's exhausted. ]

Enough that I'd need an unwise second drink to really get into it. [ light but resigned.

a wave of her hand. ] It's... all dealt with now, so I'm sort of hoping nothing happens for the rest of the month and I can just coast by. But in a few words, I'm quite the wanted woman.

[ which is! an absolute surprise to herself! her? her? really? her? crazy. ]

[frostfist]

[ Is it really a surprise though?? She's really out socializing and making friends with (almost) everyone she meets and being kind and welcoming when half these people have never had a kind word said to them in their life. That's what he thinks, anyway.

But he does not say any of that, opting instead to simply nod along. It's all dealt with, she said, so there's no point digging back into it now. ]

Should I be putting up posters with your bounty on them?

[ A joke so bad it didn't even land. ]

More seriously [ not actually serious ] have you considered locking yourself in your room and not coming out for a month?

[ignoreher]

[ it is!!!!!!! it's as much of a surprise to her as ishmael being dubbed hottest woman would be to ishmael!!!!!! ]

Only if you've got those cuffs of yours on you.

[ she hasn't forgotten them. that meme inquiry... neither of these are serious considerations to her, let her have a little fun. ]

And... Kaito can use portals, so he'd just kidnap me out of my room anyway. Him and March would worry too much about me if I did that. I just need to stop sticking my nose into other people's business.

[ challenge: impossible ]

[frostfist]

[ Immediately: ]

I always have my cuffs on me.

[ Why? Moving on. Don't mind him as one eyebrow lifts halfway up his forehead at that assertion. ]

No offense, Malkuth, but I'm not sure you could do that if you tried.

[ignoreher]

[ ............. why.......... no go back.......... can we address that? why............ she's not so discreetly going to look for them. even as she replies. ]

None taken, I've had worse things said about me. [ moving on. ] But I can at least try, can't I? I think that might be what's gotten me into the most "trouble", if you can call it that.

[ making sure they have at least one friend... a kind word... welcoming in ways they might not have had before... she just needs to stop being so that. ]

[frostfist]

[ Don't worry, they're just hanging off his belt. Because.........................why? Don't worry about it. ]

Your highly eventful month, you mean?

[ignoreher]

[ hm............. maybe to quickly cuff any rough-housers. how responsible of him!!! back up she goes. ]

My highly eventful month. It's not hard to believe that not a single person ever looked my way back home, right? I mean, to my knowledge.

[ ................

which is

okay she isn't the Sharpest tool in the shed, especially that way, but, ]

It didn't bother me, [ it did but take her at face value for now, ] but it's made me feel out of my depth here. Or maybe it was just the timing.

[frostfist]

[ Hmmm.....Give him a moment to mull this other. ]

You're an attractive and smart young woman. I doubt there wasn't a single person that had some sort of interest in you. [ Romantically, that is. ] But given what you've told me about your previous occupation and the priorities of your coworkers, I can only assume that there were bigger fish in the sea they needed to worry about.

[ So....not her fault! But also probably not the greatest feeling. That's his view on things, anyway. ]

Meanwhile, most of us here have more freedom and less direction than perhaps what we're used to, so it's only natural to start exploring previously unconsidered options.

[ignoreher]

[ is she... the more people tell her these things the more she's started to believe them... you might as well have faith in the fact that they see ya in a way you don't. it's a hell of a compliment, izou had said. what other choice does she have? ]

No kidding. And... yeah. Like I said, it didn't really bother me, I didn't have the time to put thought to romance or anything either, it's more the... seen? Aspect of it than anything.

[ being acknowledged and such, catching others' eyes comes naturally from that. things people have found worth treasuring in her, with her... a place to belong or feel at ease. her gaze looks past her drink for a moment before she sips at it again. ]

Anyone catch your eye now that you've got the time? No names, yes or no'll suffice. I'll answer too.

[frostfist]

[ can't believe i have to talk about this for the third time in as many days

It's not the first time anyone's asked him about romance, both here or back at home. Life at the Fortress is monotonous and more than a little gloomy; it's only natural to start gossiping about all sorts of things, even with Mr. Head Honcho himself.

His lips purse (how much is he comfortable telling Malkuth, the eternal question), eyes drifting out back towards the remaining crowd but never stopping on anyone specific. ]

You could say that. [ Vague, but still an affirmative. His eyes flick back to hers. ] But unlike your crowd of admirers, I don't have plans of making anyone's life eventful any time soon.

[ignoreher]

[ sorry val. mood. god, mood.

there's a pressing question that malkuth wants to follow up with too... ]

Would you apologize to them after?

[frostfist]

[ ??????

His brows pinch together immediately at the question because what the hell kind of question is that? He may not read romance novels or have any experience of his own, but even he knows that's, well, a little fucked up. ]

No. I don't see a need to apologize for having my own feelings and wants and desires. [ His self-esteem isn't that bad. ] Was that what happened to you?

[ was it verg, he's going to give that man a strongly worded lecture the next time they meet ]

[ignoreher]

[ two fingers. ]

Twice. In the same week. Under circumstances they should not have said anything in the first place, one being drunk and the other a temporary amnesiac.

[ Her Very Eventful Month, Wriothesley. only guys with poor self esteem and an unspoken desire to find a place they can belong are into her, ]

They both did it over later without apologizing and in a better space, so it's fine... nothing serious came out of either. [ relationship wise. ] I don't know if I'm really ready for that. But I do like them both very much, and they're both important to me... I'm happy to know that I'm just as important to them, too.

[ but romance. is a different ballpark still. ]

[frostfist]

[ 🧍‍♂️
🚶‍♂️

Just kidding he doesn't actually leave, but there's a brief glaze over his eyes as Malkuth lays out the events of her month. Sorry girl, but he's glad that happened to you and not him. ]

You really open your heart up a lot, don't you. [ Can't relate even if he does respect it. ] Is something you would want for yourself eventually?

[ A relationship, that is. ]

[ignoreher]

[ BUDDY, SHE WOULD BE HAPPY IF IT HAPPENED TO SOMEONE ELSE TOO. except march. ]

One of the worst things about me, I fear. [ though she doesn't mean it. it's what touches others after all. ] And... yeah, I would. It's an experience I never had back home, so I'd like to see what it's like here. I just have some things to sort out first.

[frostfist]

[ Malkuth and her neverending list of new experiences....

He lifts up his glass towards her, as if to say cheers (though there's nothing particularly celebratory about her whirlwind romance drama). ]

Then good luck. I'm sure if anyone can pull it off, it's you.