(open) Welcome to Maccadam's Old Oil House (Bee Movie Version)

[radiogoogoo]

Who: errbody!!!
What: Maccadam's belongs to Bee now (temporarily)
Where: Mac and Bee's
When: all of August
Warnings: more puns than I should ever be allowed to make


His time has come. Maccadam's is finally Bee's for the entire month! Know what that means? It's time to celebrate the coolest planet ever: EARTH!

From the moment you step in, it's easy to tell the R2's resident Cybertronian earthaboo has been working hard on this. The whole place is done up in blue, brown, and green tones to evoke the views of Earth from space. Scattered around on the tables and the bar counter are small holodisplays with random Earth facts on them, but seeing as most of his information has come from movies, music, or Cybertronian histories of Earth, some things might be...off. A lot of what he's picked or that you make up to your heart's content is outdated or completely incorrect. If a country is mentioned, it may be misspelled or written only in the closest Bee could get with Cybertronian glyphs. (Be sure to give Purth, Awstria a visit!) Don't tell him he's wrong, though. He'll push up his imaginary spectacles and Um, actually! you. Humans he'll listen to, however, since they're the real experts and really, really cool. Particularly mischievous types could convince him of anything. It's not like he was on Earth for very long when he visited, and he was there in late 1980s America. Tell him pigs can fly? Awesome!

Aside from that, there's plenty to do around the bar!


can you feel the bee-at?

Considering how music speaks to him (and he literally speaks with it), this is the main focus and what he's worked hardest on. He rigged up a sound system packed with songs he's gathered on Earth, from others on the R2, and through some shady black market deals a good chunk of his money is constantly funneled into. Just how much did he spend for a copy of "Baby Got Back"? Don't ask. Really. He doesn't want his Optimus to know about it. Feel free to suggest new additions or share more music with him. Almost all of his music is old and America-centric. He wants more!

When he's present himself, he'll cycle through his favorite music over the speakers or with his own radio, otherwise his vast collection will be available in jukebox form throughout the bar. Even better, some microphones and a holodisplay have been fiddled with enough to make karaoke a thing! His collection has plenty of karaoke crowd-pleasers, and he's happy to whip up a karaoke version for any song not present. Enjoy the small stage and wow everyone, or more likely, get booed off. If that happens, Bee will propose a dance-off competition to get the crowd hyped again. (Please challenge him to a dance-off.)


let's bee reel

Just as he's worked up quite the song collection, he's got a great collection of movies, too! Most are ancient by some Cybertronian or even Earth standards, but if you want some cheesy and/or classic 1980s or 1990s American films, go for it. If they're mainly action-oriented, it's because Die Hard made a real impact on him. The only treasure that comes close is a strange movie called Samurai Cop. It seemed cool, okay?

They can be played on holodisplays, or he'll gladly project anything for something of a drive-in theater experience, complete with a greeting for moviegoers and an intermission. Popcorn and snacks will be provided if desired. And no using your comms during the movie!

Aside from those, if you want a really cringe and fun adventure, look at what he got from a great deal on a bundle of training videos and educational videos. They tell some incredible Earth lore and teach very important things. You'll be the safest, smartest person around!


the taste is unbee-atable!

Almost everything to eat, whether it's organic food or otherwise, has a bee pun or the colors black and yellow involved. Honey also features in a lot of things. For foods, there's bee-f dishes galore, bee-troot, col-bee jack cheese, bar-bee-cue, bee-bimbap, bee-ryani, bee-scuits (bread and cookie), and sooo many bee-ans. If it exists and he could add bee, buzz, or bumble to it, it's probably on the menu, or he can find a way to get Mikaela to help him make it.

Speaking of, the drinks are very, very set on the black and yellow theme. On the black end, there are Black Rushins, Expresso Martinees, rum and a mock Tab cola, and for some reason, a few bottles of extra dark Jägermeister. On the yellow end, there are Lemmin Drops, Yellow Bords, Bee-mosahs, and a fine selection of alcoholic lemonades. Don't forget the bee-r, too! For the truly adventurous, all the drinks can be combined at once to make the Zomblebee. Please don't drink that, or if you do, be sure someone's recording it and/or prepared to drag you to the medbay.

As usual, there are the usual organic, non-alcoholic, and Terran/Robot Master friendly versions. Just be aware that anything Bee personally makes, food or drink, may contain things dangerous to non-Cybertronians like motor oil or energon, or are put together in very unappetizing ways. Cybertronians should probably watch out, too, honestly. Consume at your own risk!

Comments

Bee

[radiogoogoo]

If you wanna bug him, have at it!

[rain_cleaver]

Qifrey went to Mac's on a somewhat regular basis. Just because he liked to cook didn't mean he always wanted to, and it was nice to get a drink every once in a while. Bumblebee's makeover of the bar was a surprise, but very charming! He didn't think a Cybertronian would be so interested in Earth. Since Bee had gone through all the work of setting everything up, he figured he would stay and watch a 'movie'.

Having only just been introduced to TV as a concept fairly recently, he had no idea what to expect. Though he hoped it was nicer than that 'reality baking TV' show he had ended up walking out on. That really set the bar low for his expectations. He blinked as the jaunty music started and the title of the movie, 'The Witches', popped up as a woman's voice laughed. Oh! If it was about Witches, surely it would be much nicer than people having a nervous breakdown while cooking and then being insulted about it.

Right?

... Right?

But then it opened with an older woman explaining to her grandson that Witches were all evil women who wanted to kill children.

Qifrey turned to look at the nearest person, who happened to be Bumblebee, with the expression of someone who had just been slapped across the face. "Is... is this truly what people from Earth think of Witches?"

[the_liminal_wonder]

Robin had been a few seats up, busily dissociating while eating his goat curry and naan lunch when he caught wind of what was developing a little ways down. He looked over with a frown, then picked up his bowl and plate and moved to sit next to the adult in the renn faire getup who looked like he was on the verge of crying about some movie. He flicked his gaze over.

Ah. Yeah, that sure was a movie.

His ribs were mostly less terrible this month, so it only twinged some to lean over to bump his shoulder into the poor guy. "Hey," he said in a gentler tone than he ordinarily used. "That's just a really bad example. Opinions are often in the middle, leaning neutral or positive." Don't tell the actually freaking out adult about the bad shit in history and the present or his thoughts on how different countries and cultures had wildly differing opinions, Do Not.

"There's old stereotypes, sure," boy did he know about those from his mom's romani side of the family, "but this is just one story that's exaggerated on purpose to scare kids. It's not meant to represent reality. There's plenty of other stories about people who use magic or create miracles, and people from Earth love those. Not to mention that whole uhhh Wicca thing, and people rediscovering practices and beliefs from their families that are nice connections."

He waved a hand vaguely, then huffed out a small sound, crinkling his obscured eyes behind his domino mask. "Short answer though, is it's a scary movie. It upsets the kids, too." He tapped the bartop. "You should watch magical girl shows, orrrr hear about some heroes back from my Earth who use magic. People love them and look up to them. Breathe, okay?"

[rain_cleaver]

Qifrey had been engrossed enough in the movie to not hear Robin move, and what with being blind on his right side, when the kid bumped his shoulder, he jumped. He was about to apologize, when he quickly realized the bump had been intentional and the boy was trying to cheer him up.

Had he really looked that upset about it? He didn’t doubt that Robin was just trying to be nice, but it felt a bit pathetic to have someone so young telling him to breathe.

“Ah, thank you for the clarification,” He put back on his usual ‘everything is fine and I’m a cheerful person’ smile, even if it was a touch on the sheepish looking side, “It’s just… rather startling to hear of Witches being used to frighten children. The children at the Silver Eve festival always loved seeing us and what magic devices we had brought.” He rubbed at the back of his head for a moment, “It made me second guess if I should be introducing myself as just ‘Qifrey’ instead of ‘Qifrey the Witch’.” He didn’t want people to think he was evil just because he was a Witch.

[brainmaster]

"What some people think."

Star Saber clarifies, bending down so he can speak eye-level with the small organic.

"There are good witches too, especially in children's stories."

He turns his attention back to the television, frowning as it segues into what Witches actually look like and the details of their murderous activities.

"This is...a little gruesome."

Though, he guesses many fairy tales would be if they were represented in full detail, such as wolves being cut open to release their victims, or villains being executed in spiked barrels.

[radiogoogoo]

Bee's so excited (just as he is with any Earth movie he watches, really), he nearly doesn't hear the question being directed at him. He's just trilling happily at every new sight he sees, his feet bobbing happily as they hang off the too-large chair he's on. He's also retracting his mask every now and then to munch on energon gummies. His favorite!

Three, two, one...there it goes. The question finally made it through to his processor. His finials pop up, then he turns to look at Qifrey. Rad. He's going to have someone to discuss this subject with in a highly academic manner!

"Oh! Sorry!" Bee gulps down his gummy, even if it wouldn't hinder his speech to keep eating it. Force of habit. "I was reeeeally--getting into it--already. I haven't watched--this one--yet."

There go his feet, bobbing even more as his door-wings buzz happily. "It's--totally true! I think it's a...uhh." His finials wiggle while he thinks. "It's a--PSA! Yeah! To warn kids about--how dangerous--witches are!"

Note: half of what he just said was pulled directly out of his aft. He's just trying to look smart.

[milesperhours]

When it was time to grab some grub and go, Tails would stop by Maccadam's unless he was hanging around with someone, so when the bar opened up for this month, he was intending to snag something quick to eat return to his room to continue renovations, but the shift in decorative atmosphere was completely unexpected. Hits from the 80's, exhibits about Earth, bee-themed menu... A pleasant surprise to be welcomed with, even if a lot of the facts were kind of wrong. Looks like someone appreciated his home planet!

"You can dance, you can ji~ive, hmm hmm hm, hmm hmm hm hmmm~"

It's also a much-needed mood lifter after the ambience of the ship collectively dropped from the Starlight Auction Ball. Humming along to the current track of Dancing Queen, Tails hops off his Extreme Gear once he nears the main counter, tucking the yellow hoverboard under an arm as switches to hovering with his namesakes. Parsing the menu, he cups his jaw with his free hand in thought.

He can guess who's responsible for this set up of the bar by the yellow, vaguely bee-themed Cybertronian nearby. When he manages to think of something, the fox then waves his hand. "Hi! Can I get bee-scuits and a bar-bee-cue, please?"

[things_he_do]

For some reason, the existence of Maccadam's has been one of the more surprising things here. Most of the native crew are robots, what do they need a bar for? But hey, at least they serve food he can eat.

Seeing the makeover, though, Dib stops short in the doorway, blinking. Huh. He cautiously proceeds into the bar, looking for any sign that there's a private event or something that he might be crashing, but things seem normal aside from the decoration and music, so onward to the bar for snackums!

But as he orders, he takes note of the fox that's beaten him to the bar. Don't mind the eyes burning a hole into your Extreme Gear, Tails. Dib has a staring problem. And a 'social awareness' problem. A lot of problems, actually.

[radiogoogoo]

Whoa.

Tails has Bee's attention, but the yellow Cybertronian is just...staring. It's not until the drink he was pouring overflows that he realizes he's being rude as hell. He eeps while fumbling around with the bottle and glass, making more of a mess. He holds up a finger while his finials lower in shame, then he quickly cleans up. Seeing as his Optimus isn't around at the moment, Mikaela's become the temporary replacement Prime that Bee is terrified to let down. If he's ultimately given demerits for this, he'll accept his rightful punishment without question.

When that's done, Bee rubs the back of his helm sheepishly, then the sound of his radio flipping around through stations can be heard before he "speaks" through it. "Sorry--about that! You're just. Like..."

He leans forward over the bar to blink his big optics at Tails up close. Maybe it helps that Bee isn't nearly as tall as most Cybertronians? He shouldn't be too intimidating. Maybe.

"Are you...from--Australia?

It's the land of crazy critters! A book told him so!

[emojibot]

At some point after the debrief, Optimus decides that swinging by Mikaela's bar to refuel before going back to his hab for what will hopefully be the most divine nap of his life is the way to go. He is pleasantly surprised to see that Bumblebee has taken over, as he did feel slightly guilty over the fact that he didn't take him on the mission, but he had his reasons! Also it's probably better if no one who knows the significance of it knows his feelings towards Megatron at all, ever.

So he sits at the bar counter, menu in hand (having surreptitiously held down the two side buttons to put it into edit mode so he can correct all the misspellings) and considers.

"Hmmm..." He hums, tapping his chin a little over the top. "Do you have a Bumbletea? And just a regular energon. Thank you, barman! Bee-ar man. Bee man?"

He might be a bit more tired than he thought. Optimus frowns as he considers this semantic problem. "Beekeeper."

He nods. Yes. He got there. Maybe bee a beero and give him some extra sugar in his tea.

[radiogoogoo]

The way Bee's face lights up when Optimus appears post-debrief, you'd think Robot Santa Claus just graced this meager bar with all his jolly joy. He doesn't know much about Santa Claus aside from a single M&M's commercial he'd seen, but he seems like a pretty cool guy. Optimus is a pretty cool guy, too, so now it's Christmas! (Whatever Christmas is.) To celebrate this momentous occasion, Bee waves excitedly from behind the bar and trills cheerfully. "Hey--sir! Welcome back!" Then, considering they were both at the debrief, "Again!"

He is happy to see Optimus back in one piece and not sporting a thousand-yard stare. Bee still won't let himself think about not being asked to go, because surely there were reasons for it. Optimus needed someone he could trust to remain on the R2. Nothing more to it. He still trusted his scout. Noooo problemo.

A n y w a y! Bee's still in Scout Mode™, preparing to handle this order promptly and perfectly, lest he get demoted for being a terrible bee-ar man. "You got it--sir! One--Bumbletea--and energon--comin' right up! And they'll be--made just the way--you like it!"

He salutes and gets to work, spending more time than anyone with actual barkeeping experience would have. Add that on top of wanting perfection for Optimus's order, and it may be a while. That's why he'll have a nice chat while working, because that's what a barkeeper does. Bee peers back, finials wiggling in thought as he considers if he should immediately ask more about the mission or let Optimus bring it up himself.

"Was something wrong--with the menu?" he asks after working through this very hard decision. Optimus hadn't been as surreptitious as he thought. Scout Mode™!

Brushbuddy Birthday! (August 4th)

[rain_cleaver]

While Brushbuddy was much too small to let around the ship unsupervised - if it got stepped on or something Qifrey would never forgive himself - the small, fuzzy creature was always happy to sit on the tall Witch's shoulder to hitch a ride to places. And Mac's bar was always a fun place to visit. Food! People to see! More food! People that smelt like magic! Food it had never seen before! What more could you ask for?

Apparently you could ask for more. Mikaela was given a Very Important Vision™️ so that when Qifrey and Brushbuddy walked into Mac’s on August 4th, there was a cupcake sitting on their usual table with a card next to it that said ‘Happy Birthday Brushbuddy’. Qifrey looked between the card and the white creature, blinking a few times. “You were born today?” He asked it, wondering how anyone could possibly know.

“Pwee!” Brushbuddy took a flying leap off his shoulder, realizing this food was specifically for it. Brushbuddy pulled the carrot that had been used in place of a candle off and started chewing it.

“Ahah, well… it does have your name on it. Happy birthday, little puffpuff.” He reached over to pet it while it hit his hand with the carrot for the nickname. “Alright, alright. Happy birthday Brushbuddy.” He chuckled.

Euini's Birthday! (August 18th)

[rain_cleaver]

Euini might have only mentioned when his birthday was offhandedly and normally Qifrey wasn’t one to go crazy with birthday celebrations, but given that they were trapped on an alien space ship, it felt like a good reason to go a bit above and beyond. He doubted very seriously that Kukrow ever did anything, and who knew if Alaira was going to be able to in the future? So he thought back to all the birthday parties Beldaruit had attempted to throw for him as a kid and scaled them back to a more reasonable set of ideas. Though seeing the cooking show on TV had sent Qifrey down the rabbit hole of looking up how to make more kinds of popular Earth food and pastries.

At first he had considered holding it in the Cool Kidz Organic Room, but thinking back to what the one Optimus had told him, decided it would be better if there was enough space for a Cybertronian to join if they wanted. So instead he spoke with Bumblebee about holding it in Mac’s and thankfully the bot seemed thrilled by the idea. Bee had even generously offered to help! The louder music had been replaced with some mellow jazz, and all the movies showing were age appropriate (and not related to evil Witches in any way). On one of the human sized tables there was a sign that said ‘Happy Birthday’ next to a fairly large cake. While Qifrey had no intention of touching energon, the appearance of the Cybertronian fuel, and Euini’s friendship with Richeh, had inspired the look of the cake. A geode cake that was frosted with white icing, and a gradient of clear to green sugar crystals. He’d kept the flavoring of it fairly simple, just doing alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate, with vanilla buttercream frosting. Bee had generously made what he said was a Cybertronian safe cake. Needless to say it really didn’t look much like the one the Witch made, but he could tell Bee put a lot of passion into it.

He’d decided against the party being a surprise - it felt like a better plan to give Euini time to prepare however much he wanted for the party. But anyone that he knew had chatted with the young Witch, or seemed like they might have been in a similar age group, would get a texted invitation: “Today is Euini’s birthday. If you would like to come by Mac’s to celebrate, I’ve made a cake.”

anybody can respond to any part of this lol

[terran_it_up]

Mo was instantly on board the moment she received the invitation, and sent mister Qifrey back numerous excited messages before getting to work on Euini's present! It was his first birthday in a new and scary place, so she had to help make it extra special!

She was very proud of what she thought might be a very good idea, which was rushing to rifle through craft stuff in that edutainment room in order to make party hats. It wasn't too hard, just twisting thin sheets of decorated cardboard into a cone shape, securing it, decorating the brim and top part, then taping strips of stretchy elastic to hold it in place on your head. She made about fifteen, just in case, and stacked them up in a bag to bring with her on the day in question, along with Euini's actual present.

Even stepping into the room for the party was nice, it was really really nice!

"Oh wowww..." She breathed out upon seeing the cake and decorations, and beamed up at mister Qifrey. "You've done a really good job making today special!" She nodded, and gave him a proud pat on his hand before presenting him with the bag of hats. "You guys like hats, right? Back home, people wear silly hats for birthdays! If you want to?"

She spent a little while just admiring the space and showing off a Pinoy dance, and running up to beam a smile at Bumblebee. "Helping with this kinda stuff is why you're a super special hero, you know!" She also had him lean down to give him a really big hug.

Later on after cake, she hurried up to Euini and held out a box she'd very carefully wrapped with Star Saber's help so it looked pretty. "It's for you! Happy birthday!"

Inside the box was twenty stacked sheets of recycled paper that she'd made by ripping up old pamphlets in a blender and adding water and glue, then pressing the result on wire mesh netting until it dried.

"I um," Mo's cheeks darkened a little in a blush, and she looked down as she twisted the tip of one of the cool heelie sneakers Donnie had made her into the floor. "I know it's not amazing or anything, but my mom and dad said presents you make are the best, and. I remembered you and mister Qifrey write a lot, so... I remembered this way of reusing paper that I learned in school and thought, maybe? Do you like it...?" She added uncertainly, peeking up at him.

[rain_cleaver]

Given the short notice, he really hadn’t expected anyone else to do much besides just show up, hang out with Euini and eat some cake. It was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, to see Mo walking in with a bag and a box.

“I’m glad you think so,” He looked pleased, if a bit sheepish at the compliment, “Though I can’t take all the credit. Bumblebee helped considerably with all the decorations.” Qifrey had let the Cybertronian watch while he made the cake, but had decidedly not let the bot do any of the cooking after seeing some of the other things the bar was serving. He didn’t want anyone to get food poisoning on what was supposed to be a fun day.

He took the bag with a confused blink, before laughing, “The pointed cap does mark someone as a Witch in our world,” He wasn’t sure if that counted as liking them really, but it did make them important. “Thank you Mo, they’re wonderful.” He tucked his own hat away, careful that the ribbon didn’t get caught on anything, before picking one of the paper ones up. He fiddled with the elastic string for a moment, baffled by it. “Oh, it stretches?” The R2 really was full of strange and wondrous things. Having now sussed out what the string was for, he put the hat on, adjusting the elastic string to sit more comfortable under his chin.

[striving_underdog]

The boy would have been happy enough just to have cake and company. There's hardly any reason for him to expect that anyone would bring him a present on top of things!

He blinks at Mo, taking the box in his hands. "You didn't have to, really..!" he says, looking embarrassed himself. Ducking his head, he holds the gift close to him, speaking more softly then. "...but thank you."

It looks like he's almost afraid to damage the packaging in any way, and he takes the greatest care in removing the wrapping. He isn't immediately sure what he's looking at once he gets the box open, but he carefully picks up one of the sheets.

"I've never seen paper like this before..." he says, rubbing a thumb over the soft fibers. He laughs a little. It probably wouldn't be the best for inscribing sigils with a pen, but perhaps for practice...

"Thank you, Mo."

[milesperhours]

Euini's birthday? Tails receives the message after just about finishing the upper level of his lab, eyes brightening even more under the current of satisfaction. Heck yeah! He texts back: Give me a moment, I'll be there soon!

True to his word, one little two-tailed fox eventually arrives on Extreme Gear, carrying a small package in hand. Once he spots Qifrey and Bumblebee, he waves, coming in for a swift landing at the cake table. Aww, how sweet! Literally. He definitely won't be tasting the energon cake, because... well... organic... but it's a nice gesture. Qifrey's cake looks especially excellent, expertly capturing the scintillating lights of a geode. How pretty! And no doubt delicious for later.

Eventually, it's gift-giving time, and Tails pitches in his present to Euini. "Happy birthday!" he cheers, presenting a box wrapped in holographic wrapping paper, tied by a yellow ribbon. Unraveling it reveals a little shadowy bird with white eyes, covered in an iridescent sheen like the scales of a scalewolf.

"It's night light lamp! You turn it on by tapping it like this," he pats the bird-lamp, slightly squishing its silicone shell down for it to start glowing those iridescent colors. "Tapping it some more will adjust the brightness until it turns off. Since I just finished my lab, it wasn't too difficult to make—should be wholly functional, but if you run into any problems, let me know and I'll fix it!"

[striving_underdog]

How sad is it to be feeling overwhelmed just by a cake and two gifts? In this case it's a good sort of overwhelmed, if ever he could have anticipated there to be such a thing.

Euini takes a moment to marvel over the shimmering paper that Tails had used. Like with Mo's wrapping, he's loathe to damage it in any way, so he takes the greatest care in removing it. He even rolls it up to set aside, tying it closed with the ribbon. The wrapping is part of his gifts so far as he's concerned!

"Oh..!" Already he feels like this is far too much for someone like him to have. But Tails isn't done yet, and when he lights the lamp up, the young Witch gasps.

"It's beautiful..." he marvels, hesitantly trying it for himself, delighted to see the changes until it goes dark again. He's almost afraid he might have broken it despite what Tails had said, but his smile is one of relief when the bird lights up once again at another tap.

[striving_underdog]

A celebration for him? He hadn't expected anything of the sort to come from saying when his birthday was, so when Qifrey had told him, it had been a pleasant surprise.

Even without it being a secret setup, stepping into the bar to see a space made up just for him seems so surreal. He's wearing the hat Qifrey had given him some time ago, styled after Qifrey's own, save for the bright bluish feather that crowned it, jabbed through its point. Aside from that he's in his usual robes of black and green, having left the black-furred scale-wolf cloak in the room.

"All this is ...for me?" he gasps as he approaches the table with the cake. He's never seen anything like it and can't help but marvel at how well the older Witch has managed to fabricate something edible to look like natural crystals. The smile on his face isn't the same as those he's prone to, not the shy, hesitant ones. There's excitement there, joy at the fact that something's been done, just for him.

[rain_cleaver]

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend eating all the cake at once,” Qifrey said in a teasing tone, “But otherwise I hope you enjoy everything to the fullest.” He clasped his hands behind his back, just watching Euini take it all in.

He might not have really understood why people got so excited about their birthdays when he was a child himself, or saw the appeal in throwing a huge party, but seeing how happy Euini looked? It made the effort he put in worth it, easily.

“Do you want a slice now? Or would you rather start with something a bit more substantial to eat?” Qifrey didn’t want to hover too much, since the point was to let the younger Witch visit with his friends, but he’d rather be the one using a knife to slice cake than a bunch of kids.

Another August birthday boy (backdated to August 16th)

[legallydeceased]

Today is the day dudes. Big day, Big important day. Jason turns twenty(?). Maybe? Look when you've died and resurrected it end up being kinda like... does it matter? Do you count your birthday from your original birthday? Do you count it from when you came back to life? What about the time you spent dead? Does that count? Also he's in space in another universe now... This is one of the many reasons Jason just... tries not to make a big deal about it and not give anyone reminders. It's annoying to think too hard about.

And luckily there are no family members around who would actually know about it and try and spring anything on him.

Still though... he decides he DOES deserve a treat.

So he's here in the Bee Bar with the biggest ice cream sundae he decides he can reasonably fit in his stomach. Neapolitan ice cream (his favorite) but otherwise it's as bee themed as the rest of the bar this month. It's got chocolate and honey syrup which... he wasn't too sure about initially but honestly? They kind of work. The chocolate dipped and candy coated nuts that look like bees are also a fun touch.

All in all not the worst birthday.

[the_liminal_wonder]

Jason's conclusion that Dick would know absolutely nothing about his birthday had been correct, but his big b still showed up at Mac's anyway in hopes of spending time with Jason without actually asking for it.

Dick's reasoning was that if Jason were going to be at Mac's, which he generally was most days of the week, it would be within this hour block of time. And look, there he was. Dick bounced happily on his feet at the door just at seeing him, and darted through the lunchtime crowd.

Thankfully he was more agile than he'd been for a while now that his ribs were healing up, so it was much easier to simply bounce up on the stool beside his little b and hook his shoes through the rung. "Hi!" He chirped, bracing his hands on the seat between his legs. "Did you already do your run today?" He asked, already knowing the answer was yes.

Then he paused.

Dick still wore his domino mask even when he was wearing otherwise normal clothes like he was today, but that did nothing to hide his expression shifting into open curiosity.

Aside from that planet they'd been at where Jason had obviously gone mad with access to baked good power (which a) who didn't and b) Dick had been assaulted with so many treats afterwards he didn't know the names of but which were very good when he secretly took a bite or six), Jason usually ate very healthy. Pretty much like Dick himself did actually, which was why seeing a big sundae sat in front of Jason with a whole bunch of stuff on top of it was new.

Out of place even, based on previous observations. And that caught a tiny detective's attention like blood in the water calling to a shark.

Dick tipped his head with a little purse of his mouth, swiveling his stool back and forth with one foot. "Have a big sweet tooth today? Or is it a special occasion?" The wheels were visibly turning in his head, Jason only had limited time to make a crucial, even vital decision.

[legallydeceased]

"Hey there babybird."

It should really come as no surprise that Dick is just as nosey now as a little guy as he will be when he's an all grown up big bird. And trained by Batman to be all... observant. Jason's had that training as well. But no one can weaponize it against family quite like Dick can. He's an absolute menace to everyone around him.

Jason does have a PHD in general BS and tomfoolery though. As does any former Robin. It's a special skill they all inherit that Bruce doesn't necessarily train into them but it's just one of those things.

"Eh, just felt like a treat. I'll work it off in the training room later as long as I'm not in a coma," he grins before shoveling another heaping spoonful into his mouth.

He plucks the cherry off the top by the stem and holds it out, "Here do me a favor and eat this? Don't need any fruit in the way."

astrotrain / ota

[spacebus]

Coming in and plopping down at his usual seat, it takes the massive Decepticon a solid few minutes to process that there's been some significant changes.

He isn't really slow on the uptake, you see, he just generally likes doing things at his own pace these days, considering he spent most of his life being forced into an alternative. Astrotrain looks up and around when he notices the holodisplays, grunting out a vague, "Huh."

Considering the war never really happened in his reality, he has never seen Earth as a planet separate from any others, as anything special. This could all be replaced with literally any other species' culture to him. That being said, he's not a killjoy! He rarely cares to interact with things, but that doesn't mean he'd try to activately dose the enthusiasm of others.

In there for a long while, he ends up watching the training videos, utterly enraptured by them while he indulges in a huge plate of Spaghetbee. He does not know what it is, but he's sure enjoying it.

"Heh." He snorts after a particularly egregious one. "Doesn't anyone believe in natural selection anymore?"

ratchet / ota

[botopsy]

five minutes in

When Ratchet first arrives, he orders some food because he's decided to treat himself after a long shift. He isn't in the habit of excessive self-congratulation, but it's been tiring and also not getting arrested at the Infinity Spiral was a pretty good result.

You can find him slowly working through a bowl of energon noodles and reading the latest Grindstar book-- hey! This one is from the PG adventures spin off series, okay? He wouldn't read softcore in public like that!

an hour later

Instead of going to bed after dinner like a good little mech, Ratchet decided he wanted wanted try the Zomblebee.

He didn't do so well during the nightmare fuel drinking competition, so he's insistent on redeeming himself in his own optics.

Unfortunately, he has a high enough tolerance for booze that it doesn't hit at once. So he drinks three more after saying, "Pssh, light work. No reaction."

Then.

Then it hits.

Ratchet wheezes, using all of his considerable willpower to not spray it across the room. He grips the table. He thinks he might be developing a new sense, and then getting overstimulated in it. Oh, Primus.

Whoever is nearby, Ratchet gives an extremely shaky thumbs up. He might have giga food poisoning somehow. "It's greaaaaaat...!"