[video / action]

[dualwielding]

[video]
[Roxas has sort of gotten the hang of this communicator thing now, so he's somewhat competent when he turns the video on. he's in a shopping district somewhere, visible in the background, and he's a little serious and maybe unhappy for the kind of question he's asking]

Hey... Do you celebrate birthdays, wherever you come from? It's supposed to be a special day, right? A whole year... [and when he thinks back on it, it's -- frankly depressing]

What would you do for it if you were home? Or... what would you do, here?

[he's at a loss. he's not good at having free time]

Maybe I should figure out what classes I need to take at that school...


[action]
But for now, he's checking out the shopping district. There's a lot of things here that he doesn't understand the purpose of or has never seen before... He's looking for something, but he's honestly not sure what it is yet.

Roxas is still somewhat uncomfortable in the crowds, but he's getting more used to them; there's just a few uneasy glances at loud noises or awkward shifting when people get too close. Anyone there can run into him there if they like.

(Prose or brackets is good with me!)

Comments

[Video]

[authoritative]

... I think you mean what I would call a wriggling day. It is not terribly special, simply the anniversary of when one wiggled forth from one's egg.

[Equius delivers this sentence without the slightest hint that he's joking, because he's totally not. Don't all people wiggle out of eggs?]

... But for my past one, a couple perigees ago, my custodian made me a fresh grubloaf, and my moirail sent me a drawing she had made of the two of us. It was... nice.

[He smiles a little, shyly, at the memory.]

I suppose whether you celebrate it depends on how much you care, and if you have anyone around you who wishes to celebrate the occurrence of your entrance into this world. Er, or whatever world you entered when you were hatched, I suppose.

[dualwielding]

[there are so many words in there that he doesn't recognize or that don't make sense in context] [but he can grok it enough to get to the basic essentials]

Well -- that sounds nice. I mean, I wasn't hatched, and I don't know if I have a... "moirail", but I think -- spending a day with friends and eating good food sounds like a good way to celebrate, regardless.

[authoritative]

[... Equius suggests, for a definition of "moirail",] Girlfriend?

Since it is your wri-- ah, birthday, you can celebrate with whatever activities you enjoy, of course. Do not think you are limited to what others experience.

[Eq stop sounding so stuffy, you're probably about the same age as the (seeming) human asking the question.]

[dualwielding]

Oh-- I see. [girlfriend as in a girl who is more than just a friend, which means romance, which means love. love is one of those things that he apparently needs a heart to understand, but it's very powerful!! but from what he observed, it definitely could make someone feel good to spend time with their girlfriend] No, I don't have a moirail.

That's good advice -- but I'm not really sure what I'd like doing. That's why I was wondering what other people would do...

[this is a slightly weird "human", Equius]

What about you? What would you do?

[video]

[ex_trustandobey915]

[ The question is a little unusual, but not completely foreign; there are plenty of alien species where she comes from who don't have the concept of celebrating a birthday. Still, from a young man who looks human... Christine arches her brows slightly, but doesn't hesitate over the answer. ]

Usually, people host a birthday party with their family and friends. In some cultures, it's common for the person whose birthday it is to receive gifts from their loved ones.

[ She smiles a little. ]

I've never really celebrated my birthday, though. For some people, it's just the passing of another year.

[ And the Corps, as a rule, discourages celebrating individual birthdays. ]

[dualwielding]

A party, huh? [with friends and family... so his party of one is probably appropriate right now]

You never have? I thought it was something lots of humans did. [huh] But I guess it probably doesn't seem remarkable after you've had a bunch of them.

[ex_trustandobey915]

[ Aha, so he isn't human — or at least that's what she gathers from his wording. ]

Many humans do, but not all. For me— [ She pauses a moment, thinking of how best to say it, but ends up just shaking her head a little, a gesture without much emotion behind it, positive or negative. ] It was never really important, growing up.

Is it your birthday?

[dualwielding]

I guess it doesn't mean all that much. I mean -- it seems pretty arbitrary. [what's the big deal about one year that makes it so important? it's not much of a milestone]

Yeah. It's been 365 days today.

text

[phaseshifted]

I think it depends on the person. Personally I don't do much for my birthday, but others have a party to celebrate surviving another year.

Is it your birthday today?

[dualwielding]

Celebrating SURVIVING a year does make sense [survival is something to celebrate, and it's a little easier to quantify than just throwing a party because it's the anniversary of when you were born]

Yeah it's 365 days today
I was wondering what to do

[phaseshifted]

Happy birthday.

Do you have some friends who are also here? Maybe they have something they'd like to do.

1/2

[dualwielding]

[it takes him a little bit longer to respond to that one]

No one

I'll try to think of something that might be fun
Try something new to eat maybe

[dualwielding]

[then, a few seconds later]

Thanks

[for saying "happy birthday"]

video;

[velveteened]

Is it your birthday, Roxas?

[dualwielding]

Yeah -- if I counted correctly, anyway. [he offers a faint smile]

[velveteened]

( roxas's earlier tone hasn't been lost on him, but it's something he's quietly filed away for the time being, to ask about later. for now — )

Of course it's a special day! It'd be ideal if you could have a party or something like that, where you'd get gifts from your friends, but the important thing is to do something fun. Have you been to the Sky Park yet?

[dualwielding]

[those other things aren't options, but he's more interested in contemplating the "having fun" part]

I don't know -- I've been looking around, but I don't really know where I am a lot of the time. What's Sky Park like? [he probably hasn't thought to go up as much as he should've]

[ action ]

[bestowmercy]

[ Crowds are fluid things, made of individual components that concentrate and disperse in different places over time, so that actual spaces for slipping between them appear and disappear almost at random. Which sometimes makes getting from Point A to B more difficult for one person compared to another, even if they both left point A at about the same time.

This holds true even more so when one party is of the four-legged canine variety, and the other is not. ]

Hey! Wait, come back, I said--!

[ Is what Roxas might hear frantically shouted over a few heads, moments before a blur of fur and paws and slobbery muzzle hurtles towards the backs of his knees. ]

[dualwielding]

[Roxas glances around at the ruckus, shifting away from the booth he was studying -- and into the path of the oncoming dog. he's looking for the source of the voice, but he has good reflexes, and when the eager animal careens into him he snatches at it quickly to stop it and balance them both]

Whoa! [he blinks at it. it's a dog] Take it easy, there.

[ voice ]

[freeprince]

Frankly, I don't see a point in celebrating a birthday.

[ Said the person who is generously two years old ]

[dualwielding]

[fully-functional newborns unite]

I don't either. But I heard it was something most humans did, so I thought I'd figure out why it's a big deal. [and he figured he could use a little something nice after this week... month... really, the whole year, anyway]

[freeprince]

Well in the case of short-lived races like humans or orcs, I imagine the celebration is based around their continued survival.

video;

[fuckaccuracy]

What kinda question is that supposed to be? It's your freakin' birthday, you're damn right it's special! Besides, birthdays means presents and who doesn't love those?

[dualwielding]

[not sure if offended or amused...] [he spreads his hands, looking around] Try imagining you're stuck on a spaceship an entire dimension and who knows how many worlds away from everyone you've ever known, so there probably aren't any presents incoming.

[fuckaccuracy]

[Welcome to Gaige.] Sure, you could be lame and look at it that way. Or, you could just give yourself something awesome, or just do something special, you know?

Besides. Being stuck here? Seriously not the worst way to spend your birthday.