most_unwanted | [Action/Voice]

[Finally, after all this time! Mulder has found that much-desired basketball. He's in luck too, as it's well-inflated, not a sign of wear or tear on it. Too many times, he's come across half-deflated or otherwise messed up ones. But this one is perfect. It's as if there's finally some compensation for all the usual rounds of disappearances and so on. He's really needed this. He starts dribbling the ball right as he leaves the shop and continues bouncing the thing everywhere he goes throughout the day. It can also be heard in the background of his voice transmission.]

Does anyone have any unique birthday traditions they care to share? I wonder how similar these traditions might be between the worlds... Let's just say I'm curious, for purely theoretical reasons.

...By the way, is there anyone out there who'd be up for shooting some hoops or even getting together a pick-up game of basketball? Of course, we'd actually need to throw together a hoop somehow first, but minor details! If you've never played before, I promise I'll go easy on you.

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Well, we certainly had no shortage of paranormal elements. I'm just not sure you could call that a tradition.

We all have a bit more free time around here, though, don't we?

B-ball? I'm game.

[Not that she... did it much. But Haddyn did have that she's just just glad to hear something familiar]

[ ... hey, it's that genie dude. Apparently back to normal. Cool, cool. ]

So what's this "basketball" thing?

It's a fun sport from my home, involving a ball, two opposing teams, and a lot of running around. Your objective is to throw the ball into this high hoop more than the other team.

...You really have to see it or try it out to really appreciate it, of course.

[It's saner than his genie routine was, anyway.]

[YES! Someone from roughly his home and time period. No need to explain too much that means.]

Cool, sounds like you must be another earthling? I've been hoping to find someone willing to play.

There's only the problem of finding a hoop... but I suppose we could get a simulated court in the Battle Dome...

That's a good question that many have asked but few have answered.

[One of those things about being such a loner... birthdays and Christmases are very lonely affairs. He's been wanting to find some way to spend one of those with Scully, but, well. He feels like he needs some excuse for that.]

I've never been one for huge parties, but maybe I should try and actually take the day off this time around.

I hope that you will. [She's too lonely to have forgotten that last year, even with all her friends there, no one had remembered her birthday. This year, Usagi had remembered. It made so many things better.]

I think I'd invest in a really hard helmet just for the occasion.

So you happened to be besieged by paranormal entities around the time of people's birthdays pretty often?

[And yeah, the free time. It's something that's still weird to have so much of. Even the 'work' he makes for himself to do doesn't take up the same amount of time as work back home.]

All the more reason for me to have it around. That way I don't have to fill the free time with arts and crafts or any other new hobbies. As much as I've been dying to make a sculpture out of nothing but used gum and elbow macaroni...

[But watch out, for he is a PROFESSIONAL at finding out the truth.]

I'm out near C7, and it's true, there's only so much bounding off the side of the building I can do before it gets old. Maybe we can remedy the lack of hoops somehow.

[And figure out what's wrong, but he can be sneaky about getting at that.]

[Ah, a very different world, then. Mulder is eager to find out more about that, but one thing at a time.]

It is, both in playing and watching. There are even professional teams back home who play against each other, and people watch them for entertainment.

I just play casually though. Don't worry, it's not so bad to pick up when you're playing for fun.

Yeah, there was one called Big Blue which was going around munching on people... something of a more dangerous variant of the Loch Ness Monster.

The old stripper in the cake routine? These sound like my kind of people.

Wow. So these kinds of things are normal where you're from?

Once or twice. Or strippers bearing cake. Depended on the person.

Maybe play some ball, head into town and get something... I wouldn't mind the old cake and ice cream classic, the more I think about it.

Yes, and no. Most people don't believe in paranormal phenomena despite it being all over the place. They'd rather explain it all away scientifically.

And you can't really go wrong with either... It's sure a long way off from pin the tail on the donkey.

[If this were home, she could arrange to pay for him. What can she do here to help, that wouldn't be intrusive?]

I'll make sure they know to put candles on it.

Trying to explain the things we can't quite understand with the things we're familiar with. So out of curiosity, Loch Ness Monster. Real or no?

The joy of being an adult.

Are happy birthdays in order? I'm afraid I can't get a shark on such short notice.

Real. So is Bigfoot, and the Jersey Devil, and El Chupacabra... most of the time, official sources will deny their existence, of course, but there are files on all of them.

Yeah, to the birthday. I never did much back home, but it's different here, somehow.

Too bad about the lack of sharks... I somehow doubt we could locate a stripper, either. But that's ok, the way things go around here, I wouldn't be surprised if the sharks started chasing the villagers around.

Wait for me outside, mate.

[C7? Sparrow's on his way. He doesn't usually end journal conversations with too much ceremony---just hangs up on Mulder, essentially, before hitting the road nad heading over to the building.]

Back up for a moment, Jersey Devil? Don't think I've heard of that one.

Happy birthday, and I wouldn't count on finding a stripper either, not here. Can't even get your free dinner, drink, or dessert since it's all free. I could make you a birthday cake.

[Oh Mulder, how wrong you are. How wrong you are...]

Yeah, Earth. Haddyn, here.

[But wait the dome can do that- man she needs to get in on this stuff. But a hoop, uh-] Just hang up a basket?

On a distressingly regular basis. Part of the reason I've stopped celebrating mine, truth to tell.

[...a pause, as Giles pictures this next bit.]

What...sort of sculpture, then?

[ Good! She's pretty open about her world except for a couple of things. ]

Ah! I see! So it's sort of similar to the Chuunin exams back at my home - or when a bunch of talented ninja face off in a competition against each other on front of really interested spectators, or country rulers, or kages, and if a panel decides they fight well they can become chuunin.

[ She makes a brief affirmation before asking him where to play. ] All right. Tell me where to show up so you can teach me. I'm interested. It sounds really fun. [ When you spend five years tossing weapons perfectly at bull's eyes, you seem a bit geared towards basketball. ]

[ a warm chuckle. ]

They were just light bumps. Didn't hurt.

You must have built up a tolerance, too. I wouldn't be surprised if your head was harder than average.

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