Happy Birthday, Senku!

[fun_thementalist]

Who: OTA
Where: Dining Carriage
When: Jelly 4
What: Prompts are under the cut. Create your own top levels! Tag around! Get more points!
Warnings: more cake than the recommended serving size

Birthday Prep! (OTA except Senku)


Setting up food!

Plenty of people have offered to bring a number of treats - cookies, savory dishes, snacks ... Gen was placing a half-sheet cake, decorated with planets and with 'Happy Birthday Senku' written in frosting on the table. He looked quite pleased with himself, and would help lend a hand with other food.


Setting up decorations!

There were roughly a hundred origami stars to fold, which Gen would spend most of his time doing, especially if he didn't have any help. But after, he'd be stringing them up all around the dining car, creating an effect like a starry sky from the ceiling.


Setting up party favors!

Then, of course, there were paper flower crowns to fold. Gen had no idea how many people would end up coming, so he wanted a fair number - any extras could sit in the Arms Band or up his sleeves as part of a surprise to spring on people later. You never knew when you needed a paper flower crown!


Setting up the escape room!

This is really what Gen hoped he'd get the most help with. He only had so many math tricks up his sleeve, and he was very certain that Senku knew them all already. At least Nita would be lending a hand! Otherwise, Gen was sure any room he'd make, Senku would solve in minutes.


BIRTHDAY PARTY

Greetings!

Gen would greet the newcomer with a bright smile and an origami flower crown - placed right on their head! He'd direct them to the food, and let them know of the escape room upstairs. Have a lovely time!

Food!

Cake! Cookies! Popcorn! There's some spicy, savory food that's been made by other passengers, too. But hey, at least take a slice of cake. That's what this party's all about!

Escape Room!

Featuring math, puns, and clever little questions fellow Voidtrain passengers could come up with. Of course, anyone can enter and leave as they'd like, but perhaps if they look particularly stuck on a problem, another person could help them out?

Birthday Boy!

Somewhere in this mess, Senku would be available to chat with. Probably. He's not really expecting a party, or gifts, or even a kind thank you - but all would be appreciated.

Comments

[blitzcheer]

Should he let that small laugh slip while looking over at Jumblie? He's not even really sure if she's doing a bad job... Jumblie just living their best life.

"Welllll," wellllll, "I told Taiki anyway we're going to do it, so now we have to." So. No stopping that now! They clearly can't just not go through with it. "Did you get him to dance with you too last time? I asked him about Tai and dancing, but he didn't know if people really do it."

[flatteries]

He can't believe Tidus is using the 'I already told Taiki and you can't let down Taiki, can you?' card against him. This is vile. Cruel. The lowest of the low. Of course Inigo can't disappoint Taiki!

Which is why he may be realising his defeat here. And as he does, he's letting out the most dramatic groan ever before just slumping forward onto the table. (Though making sure to not squish any paper stars under his giant dumb baby body.)

He's given up.

"I danced with him before at a party," he just mumbles against the table.

[blitzcheer]

You know what? This is all about the fun of the process, isn't it. Not that Tidus has actually been making any more stars and decided his new forever job is hassling Inigo about his hobbies. Senku won't mind, surely. He's never been good at really finicky paper work anyway.

"Yeahhh?" Hear that tone, Inigo? That tone of ohhhhh, teasing and playful. "Did you like it?"

Give Tidus all the juicy details here, bro! The juicy details of if it was nice.

[flatteries]

"Seriously?!"

Inigo rises once more. Not as a zombie, thankfully, but as a huffy teenager. Staring Tidus right into those teasing eyes as he speaks up.

"Are you seriously going to pull this one again?!" Don't think he forgot Tidus doing this exact same thing only a few days ago! And that was even about Taiki too!

[blitzcheer]

Tidus laughs, unashamed.

"What? You're the one always getting so chummy with the guy! --and you make it easy," is the more truthful reasoning of yeah, I'm doing it again.

And that call out should be plenty reason to give this up - if this wasn't Tidus, leaning comfortably with his hand resting under his chin. Staring right back into Inigo's eyes, mouth forever a crescent moon.

"So? You don't wanna go dancing with some other cute guys?"

[flatteries]

UGH. What's so wrong about getting so chummy with Taiki? Or at least, what's there to joke about it! Isn't it good for Taiki to receive all the affection he should have been getting all this time? Inigo's making up for everyone else!

And he feels like this line of inquiry isn't going to go anywhere good. It's not going to go anywhere but straight to Tidus Amusement Land. Hence why he starts folding stars again, at least doing something productive while he's enduring this torture.

"What cute guys should I be dancing with?" It sounds so pouty that it's hard to take the question seriously. It's as if Inigo is saying just get it over with. Make your dumb punchline, Tidus!

[blitzcheer]

"Hmmm." Here's Tidus putting on his thinking cap. And he does have to, since who would he consider cute? And a pick that comes quick isn't a guy he'd describe as cute, but-

"What about that Devvo guy? You know, from the meeting? Devero. Didn't he talk about dancing too?" Framing it like that, it's like Tidus isn't just here to tease Inigo now and is making reasonable suggestions!

"Why don't you ask him? You can show him the dance magazines you've been getting from the train for an opening." In case just asking the guy outright about dancing is too much!

[flatteries]

Oh no. Out of all people to bring up, why did Tidus have to go for mister tall, dark and handsome? "You know, from the meeting?" Tidus says, as if Inigo doesn't have that moment imprinted right onto his brain. For all of eternity.

Suddenly Inigo leans really hard over the star he's folding.

And he mumbles.

.. something? It's totally inaudible. The only thing that's clear is that he's mumbling something.

[blitzcheer]

"...Inigo?"

Is that a normal reaction? Is it because Inigo is thinking about having to speak to Devero, a stranger, about dancing? Actually, that's probably what this is, and the smile that flatten for a moment finds it spark again as Tidus nudges Inigo's foot under the table.

"I can ask him for a dance."

--which wasn't actually what Tidus was planning to say, but admittedly, he didn't know what he was going to say either. His mouth chose for him, and now this is where they are.

[flatteries]

It's the nudge that gets Inigo to look up again, actually look at Tidus.

"I, uh." Attempt #2, since Inigo is realising Tidus will get entirely the wrong idea if he doesn't own up to what he's about to say. And then he'll look so dumb if he asks Devero..!

"I did dance with him. Already." If Inigo ever sounded shy while talking about dancing, then for some reason the effect is enhanced by about a thousand times now. Because Devero was obviously a good dancer, and a hunk of a guy on top of it despite being too old for Inigo's tastes, and just thinking about it reduces Inigo to a goo on the inside.

At least he's really trying to convey the full story to Tidus here. Because he doesn't want to hide it from his friend if he's asking about it so blatantly. "H-He said.. He said it was a joy to dance with me.."

[blitzcheer]

!!!!

Listen to this guy! Listen to him go! It seems to take a moment for this news to register in Tidus's brain. But the second it does, Tidus starts gesturing, waving his hand in a positive motion before he slams it down to give Inigo a hearty pat on the shoulder.

"See! That's great! You went and asked!" Inigo, Tidus is so proud of you right now!! "And what did you think? How did it go? Well? How was he?"

Tidus scoots up closer to Inigo, legs side by side and his voice even dipping to bring this exchange between them into private territory. He wants to hear everything, wants to know Inigo's feelings! Which sure, are very blatant right now, but this isn't telling him how Inigo really felt about the session deep dow.

[flatteries]

Does Tidus scooting closer to him help when Inigo is in a super flustered mood already? No, it does not. Of course it doesn't. It only serves to make his cheeks flare up even more, though it's easy to blame that on the topic being so sensitive for him, as he tries to fumble his way through his words over here.

"He.. He's a very good dancer." There we go. First words spoken. And it's just an objective truth, so he doesn't have to worry about those words. If anything, Inigo thought Devero was even better than him, no matter how many words of praise the other had for him. "Though he only seems to know dances for.. erm, well, for pairs.."

So Tidus can probably imagine how that went. Even at the very thought Inigo is nervously fretting with the paper star in his hands, accidentally tearing it in the middle of his flusterfest.

[blitzcheer]

"That's fun," Tidus says, a light nudge from his elbow he can so easily give in this new position, his tone only a pinch of tease. "That makes learning them with someone all the more fun, right? What kinda dance did you two do? Did you know it?"

Could Inigo even describe it? Tidus isn't thinking about it now, but if he were ever ask to describe a dance style, or even the way that Inigo moves when he's dancing solo, he'd be loss for anything other than the equivalent of 'it's cool'.

But that's why it's Inigo's hobby-slash-passion and not his.

[flatteries]

"It was--"

Despite Inigo's flustered face and Tidus's tone, Inigo does try to answer honestly. Give it a real attempt. But he stops after the first two words, because it's hard to put into terms that Tidus may understand. At least Inigo did know what kind of dance it generally was, but it feels harder to describe to someone who isn't used to dancing.

He moves his hands a little, as if gestures would explain it better than words could - they don't - before he continues, sobering up a bit as he explains.

(Only a bit, though.)

"It was kind of formal, but not stiff? Like.. Like ballroom dancing. But he is very light on his feet, so it felt much more lively than that usually does." Does that make any sense to Tidus? Inigo sure hopes so.