[closed] we took the long way around to the future we pursued

[thedarkbond]

Who: Ren Suzugamori (thedarkbond) & people he ended up inviting (so Juno Steel (stuns), Mollymauk Tealeaf (mollymocked), Iskandar (conqueredhearts), Yusei Fudo (planetary_bonds), Allura (quintessent), Diana Cavendish (fiendennor), and Axel (icingonthecake))
What: not another birthday log Ren's 23rd birthday party, a.k.a. a study in cramming eight people into a tiny apartment (mostly).
When: December 12th
Where: Ren's tiny apartment in western Wyver, and then some of the Fyrran-Blessed Waters further out west.
Warning(s): Nudity b/c public baths, but nothing yet otherwise.

[About a week and a half ago, Ren sent out some texts to people he actually knows decently enough here to invite to a party - he eventually caved on his own intent and did actually tell everyone that he was inviting them to dinner for his birthday, but it came with the caveat of only having to bring a present if you wanted to. There's even a bonus shrugging kaomoji there to accentuate exactly how much he doesn't mind.

It's a little obvious once anyone gets there that Ren had to be a bit...specific about the logistics, though, because even eight total people in an apartment this small is going to be an interesting prospect. It's single room and puny, with even the bed lying on a heightened loft since there'd be no room for it on the main floor, with the kitchen beneath the loft and the rest of the room mostly taken up by a couch, a cupboard and some drawers, and a line of shelves that sticks out of the windowsill, a small brown cat lying on the cushioned top of these. There's a table dragged out slightly into the middle of the room with plenty of food all over it ranging from cute sweets like donuts, cookies and dorayaki (many with cat designs or icing), to...more cute sweets, to some actual proper food in-between all that, including sausages cut to look like octopi, some kind of rich soup in a very large self-serve bowl with lots of meat pieces in it (that Ren probably won't mention is tripe unless he's asked, because he doesn't think that's important as long as it tastes nice), and lots of takoyaki. He's playing to his favourites here, really, but it's all made well and it even looks like Ren might be a little tired from making it all (all rumours that he's tired from having fallen asleep in the stasis room the previous night are entirely fabricated). He doesn't have a singular cake, but instead a plate of cute cupcakes of kittens playing with yarn. Each one has a different fruit center, so feel free to trade them around to find out what they all are!

Though, honestly, you're going to be sharing at least one thing anyway, because nobody is getting any personal space around this table. You're going to be pretty much literally rubbing shoulders with the person next to you for the entire dinner segment, so enjoy that.

Thankfully, at least Ren realises that's not really viable for the entire night, so after dinner, anyone who's happy to depart then can leave, and anyone who enjoys a good public bath can follow Ren out further west, down a lengthy and winding path that it looks like Ren himself might not even remember the way down at points (though the fact that there's occasional salespeople offering towels and bath salts and the like is probably a good sign he's still going the right way). What lies at the end of it is a large, but secluded natural spring, water running gently into it from a second spring that lies slightly higher up. It's pleasantly warm despite the cold weather out, and once anyone sinks into the waters, they may find themselves even more relaxed than usual. It's a lovely night, the pool is surrounded by flowers and the occasional overhanging tree, and there's the pleasant buzz that comes after good food and probably some amount of alcohol.

Anyone who can't make their way back to their own home or prefers not to find an inn afterwards is welcome to stay overnight back at the apartment, but the main sleeping options are either the couch, on the floor with all the cushions, or sharing with Ren in the loft, which is not terribly roomy.]

Comments

[mollymocked]

I don't mind a little blood. It's part of the gig. I know you're still gonna fret 'cause that's who you are as a person, but I know what I'm doing. [He's warmed by Ren's sympathy and gentle touch- really he is- but he would never ever do anything so stupid as to cast a Blood Maledict when he has only four hit points. He is way more clever than that. Uh-huh.

Molly pulls himself entirely out of the water, so he can properly look at whatever Ren has that he can see other worlds with. Yep, everyone gets to see all of that, though to be fair a couple of people present have, and Molly doesn't care. Friendly nudity, y'all. It's what you came here for.]

I find that people that don't they're trying to be awful are the ones that end up doing the worst. You get a few who realize they fucked up and try and fix it, but then you get the ones who don't care. [a beat, and then with a lowered, uncertain voice, like he expected something to happen before now:] How're you gonna show me things from your world? Are they just on your person somewhere?

[He looks back at where they've left their clothing. That seems deeply unlikely.

....He's so stupid sometimes.]

[thedarkbond]

[In Molly's defense, Ren's towel is covering precisely the length of his privates, probably to the centimetre, and nothing else. It's kind of impressive, really.]

Mmm, someone has to do it, right...? [Ren huffs a little exaggeratedly about that. He has way too many friends who like to go off and do dangerous things with complete disregard for their own safety, so obviously he has to be the responsible one. Who also occasionally goes off and does dangerous things with complete disregard for his own safety, but those are special cases and he doesn't pretend they're not selfishly inclined.

While he hums in agreement on Molly's summary on villains - because honestly, not caring seems to be the order of the day of a lot of the ones in his world - he has to interrupt his train of thought with a polite little laugh at Molly's question as he crouches down over his clothes and tucks the star chart back into a pocket.]

I said pictures, right? [He pulls his phone out of another pocket and tilts it back and forth so Molly can see what it is.] These aren't just for sending messages, you know. And this is my phone from home, so I have a ton of pictures on it.

[It...honestly looks pretty similar to the phones the Natha provide people, though there are only so many ways you can design a smartphone after a certain point of development has been reached.]

[mollymocked]

You did say that, and when you say pictures, I think sketches. Or paintings. Not... [And he's distracted by the phone. He barely understands those things and may have figured it out long enough to work the voice to text and text to voice functions- or implored someone to help him with it- because he is Not a Reader, but he hasn't explored anything else.

He leans in a bit closer so he's putting his chin on Ren's shoulder as much as he can without stabbing him in the ear or the neck with his horn tips.]

We don't... have anything like this in Exandria. I barely understand the one I've got. People talk to me through them and I'm still thinking it's a very elaborate sending stone, because thinking anything else is a lot.

[thedarkbond]

[Ren settles back near the side of the spring and arranges his towel slightly before tilting his head a bit to let Molly lean over his shoulder more easily. It's kind of cute, honestly, and he smiles as he starts poking through some of the screens on his phone.]

Well, we don't have sending stones in my world, but the network here might be magical, I think...they definitely don't have the stuff you usually need to make phones connect to each other around here.

[He gets to his photos, and there is definitely a number in the several...probably thousands, honestly, at the top of his photo gallery. There's definitely some recent ones from Nysa in the little thumbnails as he starts to scroll down (a lot of scenery from mapping for Nadril, interspersed with close up flower or cute animal pictures because Ren gets distracted very easily).]

These kinds of pictures are called photos. You point this at something-- [He turns his phone around momentarily to point out the small lens on the back.] --and it copies exactly what's in front of it when you press a button. Like this.

[He feels like a better initial example for Molly might be something he's familiar with, so the picture he opens is one from Nysa. Specifically, a picture of Juno with his shoulders hunched right up like he does when he's embarrassed, ears a bit pink and averting his eyes from what's presumably the vicinity of Ren's face. From the surroundings and the drink visible on the bar at the side of the photo, the scene may be discernible as during the harvest festival.]

[mollymocked]

[Molly's eyes go wide at the presented example, because holy shit. Juno, forever captured in eternal embarrassment because of something that is way beyond magic. That is dangerous. That is amazing. He can't really decide between the two of them. If they'd had that in Wildemount and Cree started flipping through her phone to show her and everyone else with Lucien, he probably would have gotten sick, but that thought is in the back of his mind. He's focused on the amazing parts.]

And it's just there. Forever. Single moments just immortalized like that. [He snaps his finger and laughs, wheezy and excitable.] That's brilliant. Look at that. It really captures Juno's essence.

[thedarkbond]

It does, doesn't it? [Ren seems rather delighted by it himself.] He's even the one who gave me the idea, though I don't think he meant to...

[Figures of speech and all. Now that he feels he's gotten the concept across, though, he closes that picture and keeps flicking through them until he starts to hit images that are definitely not of Nysa. After a little humming over which one to pick, he eventually opens up a picture of a nighttime skyline, viewed from the top of what's obviously an extremely tall structure. It's...a lot of buildings and lights, even by the standards an Earth city and especially by the standards of a fantasy setting's cities.]

Oh, this is a picture of part of my city...I think I took it from the top of the United Sanctuary building, it looks like the right place... [Foo Fighter HQ is in another part of Tokyo entirely, so it's definitely not from there.] The cities here all seem pretty small in comparison, actually.

[mollymocked]

[Molly remembers cresting the hell to see the spires of Zadash from the road for the first time, but even then, that city was still smaller buildings, clustered around only three spires, and dozens upon dozens of arcane lights couldn't light up a night sky as much as that.

A picture doesn't quite paint the same astonishment that seeing it for real would, because it's something that could have easily just been imagined and painted, but that isn't quite right, either, because not even the most imaginative craftsman in all of Exandria could come up with a view like that.]

I'll say. [He's still wide-eyed and gaping.] Why do you need that many towers in one place?

[thedarkbond]

[Ren tilts his head slightly, as if the question rings odd to him. It's something that he'd sort of taken as a given, though he supposes it makes sense that someone like Molly wouldn't be used to it.]

Mostly for people to live in. My country is pretty small if you're talking about how much land it is, but it has...hmm...a hundred and twenty five million people, I think? Or a bit more than that. So most of them live in apartments, because there's not much room for houses. That's what these are.

[He indicates some of the taller buildings with a lot of lights on.] It's like an inn or a hotel, where there's lots of rooms on each level and everyone has their own, and also some are small and some are really big and fancy. Some of these probably are hotels, actually...

[mollymocked]

[The odd towered homes in Hupperdook that the gnomes lived in come to mind, but those were precarious, strange things, not like this. These are basically palaces that go up rather than across. Estates that extend to the sky.

Fuck.]

I can't even conceive of that many people. [There probably aren't that many people in all of Wildemount, and even if there were, they're all spread out. Zadash was bustling with people but it was in the hundreds. Caleb and Yasha would fucking die in a place like that. Hell, even he's a little overwhelmed by the concept.

He's really showing his true age with all this wonder.] And I've seen places with lots of people, but that's in the hundreds- maybe the thousands. But millions? What is that like?

[He's legitimately curious and also a little shook. No wonder Ren's so concerned of presentation. Anyone might be if they have that many people near their throat at all times.]

[thedarkbond]

[It's kind of cute to see the reaction, though honestly, Ren finds it kind of hard to explain the experience now that it's being put to him. He taps his phone against his chin briefly, as if he's trying to work out a satisfying answer.]

I guess I never really thought about it? I'm used to it...and I've owned a company and done stuff in front of a national audience since I was pretty young, so even that's normal to me now. Even things on a global level, and there's billions of people who lived on my planet. [Vanguard had carried him to some considerable heights when he was younger, and he still has international connections through his business to this day.] But it's definitely really busy compared to this, and a little bit congested, I guess? It can sometimes be hard to find peace and quiet if you want it. I think some people might feel like they're lost in the crowd or overlooked because of how many other people there are to deal with, but that was never really a problem for me, since I made a name for myself early on.

[It's definitely part of why he's so conscious about public appearances, though. In a world like that, a bad enough mess-up can destroy reputations on a wide scale, and Ren was never willing enough to risk bringing that down on the people who worked with and for him to expose too much of his less savoury sides in public. Outside of Vanguard matches, where it was somewhat more acceptable, and even then he wasn't usually televised at his worst (usually. There's definitely some exceptions there).]

[mollymocked]

Now I get why you're still like that. That's... Kind of an adjustment. [Molly thinks about how loud and standout he is, and whether that would even matter there. How would groups stay together? How would groups even find each other? It's terrifying to think about. You can con a small town. You can't con a fussing mob.]

If you make a name for yourself in Wildemount, you're either useful or dangerous and both are terrible things to be in the Empire. And if you have power... You can be however you want to be, because, barring a few exceptions, you're gonna get away with it. That's how small things are there. And if the shit people are letting you see how shit they are, then why would anyone care how they might come off. It doesn't matter.

[thedarkbond]

Mmm, that sounds troublesome... [It's helping him understand Molly's point of view on some things a little too, though. He never quite understood that notion of needing to keep moving or people would get bored of you, but if all the cities were closer to this size and there's not hundreds or even thousands of holes in the wall to dip into in any given area? He can see why it would be a lot harder.]

It's a lot harder to get away with that sort of stuff in my world, but definitely not impossible. Things that happen in one place can be spread to the whole world really quickly, and it's hard to do something bad and leave no trace of it one way or another. If it's not illegal then it's up to the public how they react, but because of how easily things can spread to so many people, they can tear apart someone's reputation if it's something they think is bad enough.

[mollymocked]

[Molly makes a face.] And I don't think this world is either of those things, which is a pain in the arse. I know how to deal with people, but not a world that doesn't behave the way I want it to. [So he tries to make it behave like he wants it to.] Other than just push back against it even harder. That's generally always worked for getting my way.

[thedarkbond]

[That gets a soft laugh out of Ren.] Well, I can't really argue with that. If the world is doing something inconvenient around what I want to do, then I usually just keep doing whatever I was doing...

[Up to and including the world trying to end while he's having a nice, exhilarating fight with one of his favourite opponents, because in cases like that the world ending becomes an afterthought. How dare someone even consider trying to make the world end while he's still entertaining himself.]

Though I guess I don't really "push" so much as just do what I want and let the world accommodate for it.

[mollymocked]

That sounds better, actually. Makes it seem less haughty, and more "fuck that." [He slides back into the water, bonelessly, with a little splash and a sigh of relaxation as his air-cooled body begins to adjust to the heat again.] But at least there's always bathhouses. I don't want to live anywhere near a world that doesn't have these. It'd be such a miserable place.

[thedarkbond]

[Ren laughs a little at that, getting up so he can put his phone back with his clothes and then come back over to the water as well, discarding his towel at the water's edge as he slips in next to him.]

It would be, wouldn't it? I always thought it was a shame that there were places this kind of thing wasn't popular...it's a really nice way to spend time with people, for one thing. Though I guess there's always some who get embarrassed about that sort of thing...

[There's something of a sighing tone he takes on at that. Clearly easily embarrassed people are fun-ruiners (unless you're entertaining yourself by embarrassing them).]

[mollymocked]

It's because there's such an honesty to it. You can always tell when someone's lying to you when they're naked and boiling. They can't hide behind anything. [The irony of this coming from a known liar is a little funny, but that's Molly for you. A garden variety hypocrite.]

And people take words like "intimate" so seriously, like it's really going to fuck them up to be naked around mostly strangers and surrounded by steam. It'd be one thing if you're naked all alone- that's a different kind of attention-getter, and I'm always for it. But if everyone's naked, what's there to be intimidated by?

[He's definitely with him on that. People really need to lighten up.]

[thedarkbond]

Mmm, I don't know if that's entirely true... [Ren says that with a somewhat knowing smile. White lies are always easy enough, as long as you're experienced with them. It's the people who aren't that run into all those little troubles when they're more literally exposed.

He's probably not wrong about the intimacy thing, though. Ren leans back a little against the side of the bath and curls a hand against his mouth.]

Maybe it's because they like to think they're something special, and if you take all their layers away then they're no different to anyone else. I think that's what bothers a lot of people about showing themselves to other people.

[As someone who's been put on a pedestal for much of his life and isn't very fond of it, Ren's unashamed to admit that particular detail.]

[mollymocked]

[Molly drapes his arms around the edge of the stone bath, showing his tattoos peeking around his shoulder and trailing up his neck.] You could be right. Can't say it's a problem I've ever had. I'm never gonna blend in with anyone.

[And he's proud of it, too.] But I also don't have a problem with being on view, either, which I'm sure will come as a surprise.

[thedarkbond]

Neither do I, really...though I also get pretty impatient with people who insist on making me something special, so I guess that probably has something to do with it. [He shrugs. On one hand, he doesn't mind a little lavish treatment, but on the other, he likes that sort of thing to come from a place of genuine understanding and respect, not the weird idol worship that a lot of members of Foo Fighter tended to dip into.]

Oh well. It must be a boring kind of life to be one of the people who get bothered by it, right?

[mollymocked]

Oh gods, fame. I don't envy you that at all. I don't want that kind of attention. You're lucky to be rid of it, but you're not wrong. I'll never understand the poor arseholes who get anxious being around other people and being noticed by other people in any way.

There's always going to be people. You can't avoid that. [He sinks a little deeper into the water.] I love our talks. I feel like I know you a little better now.

[And Molly is still not known at all. Well, as far as he's concerned, he's an open book. Everything that matters to him has been Ren's to peruse.]

[thedarkbond]

Well, some of them are cute about it, I guess, but I think it's more interesting when they get used to it. [Like one or two of his friends from home that he could mention. There's something a tiny bit wistful about the tone, but more in the sense of him thinking about playing around with someone like that now.

He does smile a little at the mention of being better known.] Hmm, should I start being more mysterious? Or maybe I should just ask you more questions next time.

[While Molly does generally offer his own side of things enough for Ren to get a better sense of him when they talk, Ren does sometimes end up on weird enough tangents that he gets distracted from inquiring more about things where Molly comes from.]

[mollymocked]

I'll answer any question you have. [He slaps a hand on the top of the water, looking every bit the carnival barker he still is- you can take the carnie out of the carnival, but you can't take the carnival out of the carnie.] We're in a place of steam and honesty.

[Or as honest as Molly feels like being. He's accustomed to bathhouses and immune to the hot water and scrutiny combo that makes people buckle to the truth.]

[thedarkbond]

"Any" question seems like it could end badly... [Ren's not rude enough to bring up "bad memories" in a situation like this, but an open offer like that could be misinterpreted. He hums a little as he considers what kind of interesting thing he could ask, though.]

Oh, you said that language you used when we were trying to catch those lizards was something that denizens of Hell speak. Does that mean you've lived there before...? Or did you learn it from your parents?

[The idea of an inherent language to a group that one doesn't have to learn as they grow up isn't an assumption Ren naturally makes here.]

[mollymocked]

I trust you're not gonna ask anything I clearly don't want to talk about.

[Because once you do, you open the floodgates. Molly's kept his own stock of weird tics Ren has shown that he could start poking at if he felt like being cruel and callous in the face of having his own insecurities and issues prodded. He can only hope that because they understand one another, it won't really come to that.

And his assumption is rewarded. He laughs a little, having hoped for something spectacularly inane.] I want so badly to say I have, but I don't think I can do it with a straight face. That's over the top even for me. No.. It's just something I always knew. No one taught me how to do that... blood boiling trick I was doing either when I spoke it. One day I just did it and it worked, so I kept doing it every time someone irritated me. Very effective with bullies, that.