[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

[thedarkbond]

[A: Dinner]

(i.)
[Unsurprisingly, Ren appears to be entirely at ease with the entire "squashed around the table" situation, to the point that it's probably safe to assume he orchestrated it this way for those who know how his mind tends to work. Nonetheless, he looks as innocent and airy as ever for the moment, dressed in a somewhat cutesy outfit with a long skirt over his pants that cinches his waist and oversized, shoulder-revealing sweater with stripes, and eating a cookie with both hands and the air of someone extremely delighted about how things turned out for him.

Of course, there's still work to be done. Mostly in making sure there's nobody trying to hide in corners or avoid sweets or otherwise not have fun. At least he's not being too obvious about it, though, mostly just periodically shoving plates he notices certain people haven't tried yet towards them with a bright smile.]

You should try this too, it's really good~ [He's just going to. Keep smiling very cutely and pointedly at you until you try it.]

(ii.)

[If he's not around the table, then Ren can probably be found curled up around his cat on the windowsill, observing proceedings with a little smile. If anyone comes to join him, he curls his arms around his cat as if protecting it, though what he actually says stands in contrast to that.]

Do you want to pet him? He's very relaxed... [The cat's been asleep for most of the dinner, though it chirps awake when Ren touches it.]

--

[B: Fyrran-Blessed Waters]

(i.)
[Natural springs and baths are a bit of a cultural experience deal for Ren, so he's glad this planet still has some of them even if it took him a little while of living in Wyver to discover them. Nonetheless, he disrobes and buns his hair with a long black ribbon plus the deft hands of someone extremely used to this sort of thing, and...well, that's probably the end of anyone's peace and quiet, honestly. He's definitely not drunk, but he's had enough that he's a little more affectionate and handsy now (as if he wasn't enough already), and his towel is only staying on as long as it takes for him to get to the water. Decency is good to observe, but he feels wearing a towel into the bath is a little prudish, and he has very little to hide. His skin is unmarked, in stark contrast to a lot of people he's invited, unless anyone wants to look closely enough at his inner thigh to spot the scar reminiscent of a very confused vampire bite that Molly left there last month.

As such, anyone who's chosen to accompany him to the bath has a chance of having him slide up next to them. At least he's polite with the people he knows aren't big on physical contact, but anyone who he knows is fine with it, he's not going to hesitate to lean on and wrap his arms around with a slight and amused smile.] Have you been out here before? It took me a while to find out about them...

(ii.)
[After long enough in the baths, Ren climbs himself up to the rocky lip of the next bath and sits a little precariously on the edge, the only modesty he's afforded himself being draping his towel over as little of his lap as he can while still being decent. It's a pretty clear view upwards from here, and he's watching the stars with a strange little object in his hand, occasionally glancing down at it. It looks like a pocketwatch in shape, but there's tiny lights flickering above the opening - anyone who gets close enough might recognise that it's a star map, mirroring the stars in the sky above them perfectly.]

Hmm, so it does work like that...

--

[C: Wind-down/Wildcard]

[[Anyone who wants to stay over in the evening is free to wildcard that, otherwise one can assume Ren's doing his level best to get everyone involved and everyone meeting everyone and such. No wallflowering allowed, sorry srs people.]]

OTA! Most of these are silly

[quintessent]

I. Birthday
[Birthdays are still kind of a novel concept for Allura. When you're from a species that lives for hundreds of years, celebrating yearly anniversaries just never really caught on. But she has friends in the know, and Lance was helpful enough to help her prepare.

a. But she's definitely doing more of the wallflower thing. Mostly keeping to watching the guests, much like when she would throw parties in the Castle of Lions. Although this was smaller. Much, much, much smaller. Actually, once all of the guests are there, there's barely any room to maneuver at all. More than once, some hapless party-goer ends up with a face full of hair. Maybe it's when they're sitting and Allura's trying to sneak past, or just unlucky enough to be short enough to fall victim to it's giant mass (or you're Iskandar and avoid it entirely by being positively gigantic, even when sitting). it's nice hair but boy there's a lot of it.]

Ah- Apologies!

b. [The dinner table is almost comedic, how small it is compared to the guests it was meant to accommodate. Allura sees the problem long before they even start eating and, well, she's always been on the slight side, and she saw a vision of her future, crammed between elbows, smushed into whatever space left over. With no elbow room-! This must be some cosmic karma for the time she forced the paladins to eat with their arms bound to one another.

And so, when it is time for dinner, Allura finds a seat early on, and, well she knows it's the opposite of helpful, she asserts her space in the only way she knows how- by becoming literally bigger. It's not by large amounts, and she intends to shapeshift back to her normal size once all of the seats have been filled, but those with a clever eye might notice that she is looking a little more... tall and broad-shouldered than normal. Weird. I wanted to use her shapeshifting powers for something stupid I'm sorry.]



II. Hot springs
[Technically, El Nysa is her home now. As such, it's important to partake in the culture and norms of the people around her. Doing so with friends and people she trusted was at least levels easier than surrounded by strangers. And it's been so long since she's experience hot springs on any planet...

She keeps her head politely turned in the opposite direction of any of the gentlemen when they are disrobing, and as for herself, going totally au natural is about 15 steps beyond her comfort zone, so she'll be the one in simple swimwear, hair pulled up in her normal bun, and either keeping at a distance, or waiting until everyone else is fully submerged before taking the plunge.

Toes first, then with her hands bracing on the rocks behind her, slowly she lowers herself in. Despite herself, she can't help the blissful sigh as she sinks down. It felt as if all at once the heat enveloping was melting away the vast amounts of tension she'd been carrying.

It was positively divine.

Before long she's looking about as blissful as any person on this planet has ever experienced seeing her, sunken down far enough that the hairs at the nape of her neck are getting wet, with her head rested back against one of the smooth stones and eyes shut. She almost looks like she could be sleeping, except, regardless of who is nearby, she'll make the comment-]

Would it be much of a problem if I never left?

[conqueredhearts]

Arrival

[So Iskandar actually doesn't arrive on time. It's less to do with a lack of desire and more to do with the fact that he's needed to go out and get what he's bringing to the party. Not the easiest thing but he's managed it. So there is a sudden BOOMING knock that almost sounds like someone is kicking the door. Hard enough that it might fly off the hinges if he's not careful.

Of course opening the door reveals a massive chest and the need to look up to find a grinning bearded face.]

Hello! I am here with gifts!

[Namely the two enormous barrels of wine that he has balanced on each shoulder. Is there room for him and these barrels in this place? Guess you all are about to find out!]

Dinner

[While he doesn't actually need to eat to survive, the fact is that he loves to eat. So he's piled his plate high with a bit of every single thing to be found there and is tossing food into his mouth from where he's been crammed at one part of the table. (Heavens help whoever got seated next to him.)

But you can be sure the table isn't quiet with him there. He's roaring with laughter and talk, affectionate and always making sure there isn't a moment of silence. If you're one to usually shy away from that? Guess who is now looking your way.

At some point though he will raise his wine up (this has to be his tenth glass now) and grin.]

To Ren! May he thrive for many more years to come! Happy birthday!

Hot Springs

[It's customary to at least have a towel around your waist when you go to the springs. But not Iskandar. Nope. He's thrown his onto his shoulder and is proudly walking around completely out there for all to see how big he is. All. Over.

Even him stepping into the water causes it to shift a bit with how heavy he is but he lets out a sigh as he lets his arms drape over the edge.]

Ahhh. What a fine night for this, wouldn't you agree?

[Wildcard]

[Got another idea? GO FOR IT! I'll go with the flow~]