video, @hiccup

[thisisamazing]

[When the video clicks on, Hiccup comes into focus, leaning back from where he was propping up his phone on the table. He's softly casual in a loose t-shirt bearing the logo of one of the Riverview University science clubs, probably biology or engineering, but it's difficult to make it out. He's sitting at the table in the communal kitchen of Floor One, with one of those small, round layer cakes so ubiquitous in grocery stores in front of him. A birthday cake for one, with swirls of white frosting and colorful sprinkles, and 'Happy Birthday' written in red icing across the top.]

So, the nice lady at the grocery store seemed amazed I'd never had a birthday cake. I had to tell her we don't have this kind of thing on Berk. [He laughs a little, quietly, and a black blur from the side indicates Toothless slipping into the frame, seating himself on the floor next to Hiccup and planting his head on the edge of the table to peer at the camera. The dragon purrs out an inquisitive noise as Hiccup cuts himself a thin slice of cake and tries it.

He's immediately making a face, setting it back down on the plastic tray.] Oh, wow, that's- sugary? That's so sweet. [His palate is accustomed to sparing amounts of honey as sweetener, not modern processed white sugar. Toothless leans in a little more and sniffs at the sliver of cake, then wrinkles his nose.] Yeah, I probably won't finish this. It'll be in the icebox if anyone on my floor wants it, though!

What kinds of birthday traditions do you have in your worlds? Anything fun? Something better than cake, hopefully.

Comments

text; scrapper142

[trashvalkyrie]

dont worry im all over it

[there's a pause of three or four minutes, and then:]





happy birthday

[thisisamazing]

Believe me, it's all yours. I only had a bite and my teeth hurt.

[Val seems pretty used to eating strange and or disgusting food, though, so.]

Thanks, though. It's a little weird to have a birthday here.

[trashvalkyrie]

clearly you need to build up your tolerance to junk food

i bet
it's been so long since ive celebrated mine that im kinda fuzzy on the date
but also time's kind of weird here

[thisisamazing]

I don't think I'm ever going to enjoy that much sugar in one thing.
I've eaten lots of things here I like, but cake is awful. I should have gotten a bag of birthday potato chips, haha.

I would have figured time is weird for you in general, though. It's different for us mere mortals. I'm only 21.

text; un: iron.man

[buildsomething]

Birthdays generally tend to be you doing something you want to do.

[Or maybe that's just Tony. Hard to tell.]

Cake or otherwise.

Happy birthday, incidentally.

[thisisamazing]

I do plenty of things I want to do! Honestly I have so few responsibilities here, I do nothing but things I want to do almost. I just want to know what other people do for their birthdays, maybe something will sound interesting.

[Aka he's looking for a distraction from feeling homesick and missing his father and Astrid.]

Thanks, Tony. Really.

[The well-wishes are helping, at least.]

[buildsomething]

[And that is...telling.]

Well since I don't think you're the giant blow-out party kind of guy. Usually I try to do some work on a personal project. Got anything you've been meaning to do?

[ text | un: trickster ]

[dothelokimotion]

You should have said something.

[thisisamazing]

I didn't want to make a big deal. I mean, it's not really a big deal, 21 isn't a milestone age or anything.

[Well. For vikings. They have significantly lower drinking ages.]

[dothelokimotion]

I suppose but I thought the day of one's birth is meant for celebration among mortals. It is taken quite seriously.

video → wild.flower

[hasitsthorns]

A lot of people like to sing a song for the birthday person! There's different variations of it, too. I'd be happy to sing a version for you if you'd like!

[ Rose will never pass up the opportunity to sing, alright. ]

[thisisamazing]

[A song, huh? That reminds him a little of Berk, the whole village gathered in the great hall, eating and drinking and singing or telling stories.]

Sure, I'd love to hear it.

[hasitsthorns]

You got it, dude!

[ Rose gives a dramatic A-HUH-HEM before starting into a unique version of the birthday song. ]

Today is a birthday for somebody who is smiling and happy and right in this room. So, look all around for somebody who is smiling and happy- My goodness, it's you! Happy birthday, Hiccup, from all of us to you! Happy birthday, Hiccup, from Rosie and all of Quarantine too! Happy birthday, Hiccup, and may all of your good dreams come trrrrueeeee!

[ Definitely a lot of heart in that one. And, hey, she's not a bad singer either. ]

video; un: sg.rogers

[livingsymbol]

I'm partial to camping myself. Maybe catching a baseball game. But I hear people like parties, too.

[He is only half joking. He really would enjoy a nice ride.]

Have you tried carrot cake? That's not quite as sweet.

[thisisamazing]

Camping is basically what I do most of the week already. [He laughs a little.] What's baseball?

[Hiccup was never a sports child. He wasn't an indoor kid because no viking stays indoors when he doesn't have to, but he was not the athletic sort. He still isn't, really, so he hasn't checked out any of the sporting events here.]

Do they still put frosting on it? Because I think I don't like frosting.

[livingsymbol]

I guess it's different when you don't have the time. [Although now he does. Maybe he should just make more time for himself.]

Baseball is a game. You play it with two teams using a wooden bat and a ball. One person hits and the other team tries to catch it. I used to love getting around to see people play professionally. I guess in this place there are so many festivals sometimes it's hard to think of what to do on your own.

You could make a cake. It tastes better when it's homemade anyway. And you don't have to frost it. Share some with your friends.

video; @Link

[bluechampion]

[Did someone mention cake? Indeed, and what a fine cake that was. Link might be looking at it a little closer than Hiccup.

He grins at Hiccup's reaction to the treat.]

Cakes are probably one of the sweetest foods I know of. I don't mind it but there are plenty of people back in Hyrule that find it too sweet.

[He looks thoughtful at Hiccup's question. It was a good one, though Link couldn't answer it. He couldn't remember if there were any kinds of birthday celebrations or traditions in Hyrule, as he had never run into one after waking up from the Shrine of Resurrection.]

I don't know if people celebrate birthdays back home.

[thisisamazing]

[It is not a fine cake, it is a terrible sugar bomb of a cake. It's probably going to wind up eaten by a drunk valkyrie.]

We don't really have sugar back home, I guess I'm not used to it. My village trades for honey, but it's expensive, so no one uses too much.

[He looks a little curious.] You don't celebrate birthdays at all?

[bluechampion]

Honey can be hard to find in Hyrule too, but there is cane sugar you can get from merchants. I think it grows mostly in the western parts of the kingdom, so there are quite a few sweets you can make there.

If you want, I know a few recipes for stuff that's sweet, but not overloaded with sugar. Have you ever tried baking apples with butter and cinnamon?

[Link gives a shrug.]

Well, I don't. I uh...kind of lost my memory not too long ago, so I can't remember if birthday celebrations exist in Hyrule.

[Link's pretty good at masking his emotions. It troubles him that he has so little memory, but he's not going to show it now.]

video; un: KingFisherman

[brotrips]

(Before Noctis gives an answer, his eyes are caught by the dragon that appears on camera as if doing so means nothing. It's

so


cute.

But instead of replying to that, he answers the question.)

If the cake is too sweet, maybe it was messed up. It usually tastes pretty good.

[thisisamazing]

I don't think it's messed up, I think I just don't like cake much. [He laughs quietly, shaking his head. The forked tip of Toothless' tongue darts out to taste the frosting, and he immediately reels back, tongue hanging out and eyes flattening.

Hiccup rolls his eyes.] None for you either, bud. It's bad enough you keep eating Val's leftovers.

[brotrips]

(Considering Noctis' dislike of vegetables, he can understand being a little choosy with your meals. It is kind of amusing to watch the dragon. It manages to take any edge away from Noctis' demeanor, and he realizes a lot more about Hiccup than he normally does around strangers.)

Don't give up on it already. There's a lot of different kind of cakes. Pies too, which are kind of different.

video; un: b.rocks

[billyrocks]

I've seen even more colorful cakes at the store, but they don't look edible to me.

[Especially those with the neon colors, or the ones where the bread comes in all colors of the rainbow when you cut a slice.]

Those of us from Korea eat miyeok-guk on our birthdays to remind ourselves of the pain our mothers went through to bring us into the world, but also of her care. So in a way, birthdays are more like a day to appreciate your mother rather than yourself alone.

[His eyes keep flicking back to the dragon, interested, but he'll withhold asking about it for now.]

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup is in agreement there, judging from how he makes a face and says,] Blue is not a food color. [And this much sugar does not belong in any one confection.

At the mention of mothers, though, his expression softens a little, grows a little sad, though he keeps his smile up.] That sounds like a really nice tradition. Is it a really spicy food?And what if you... never knew your mother? Do you still...?

[As if sensing his rider's mood, Toothless' head fills more of the frame as he pushes against Hiccup, who thoughtlessly throws an arm over the top of his scaly head and leans against him comfortably.]

[billyrocks]

No, but it's good. I think in English it's called seaweed soup, and it can be made with a beef, or seafood, based broth. It's said to be good nutrition for the mother during and after pregnancy too, so that's where the link comes from.

[Billy's eyes flick up in thought for a moment before coming back down.]

I'd say, even if you never knew her, there's no doubt that a woman gave birth to you, or else you wouldn't be here. The least you could do is give thanks for her giving you life. Everyone's got a different way of doing that, I've noticed.

[During his travels with Goody, Billy came into contact with many different cultures.]