Happy Birthday Ami-chan!

[faithfulflame]

Who: Ami Mizuno and Friends
What: A very special birthday party!
When: September 10th
Where: Union, Hikawa Shrine


[It'd been a lot of effort to get all of this together, but secrecy was basically impossible so Rei and company had given up on making Ami's birthday party a surprise one. She was just too sharp, and it would've taken the poker face of a Rock type to manage any sort of secrets from her, so Rei'd just convinced Aurora and Madame Curie to get her out of the way so they could get things set up without having her fuss too much.

The decor was simple, but fitting. A lot of the flame motifs around the shrine had been covered over with watery patterns, and everything was set up around the central fountain. Soft blue light flooded the late summer twilight as many paper lanterns were covered over with cerulean paper to subtly tint everything the proper shade. Several tables and chairs were set up, one for gifts, one for food, and the remainder for guests to sit and eat. Cheerful music played throughout the courtyard on Rei's phonograph, classical pieces with a bit of modern flare, much like Ami herself.

And the food. Oh, the food. Enlisting the help of friends she'd gotten together quite a spread. Fish, steamed vegetables, dumplings, sweets, soups, a small feast all set out for the taking. There was also a sizable drink selection too. Juices, a few kinds of sodas, an interesting Calderan pepper-drink, and even a few light wines.

Basically, Rei had probably gone a little overboard, but it was a party!

OOC: Assume your character was invited if they have CR in any way with Ami! It's a party! Feel free to tag around and mingle, put up your own top level, however you want!

Comments

The Food!

[faithfulflame]

[For the eating!]

[faithfulflame]

[Well, Rei wasn't going to set all this up and not bother to eat any of it. It was a bit much to avoid of course. She's gathered up a plate, and she has a wine glass in one hand, checking out the various guests and wandering over to people who seem not to be eating.]

Can I get you anything?

[a_gentle_boy]

[Is it less rude to show up to the party of someone you don't actually know (what if she just thinks he's here for cake?) or to fail to show up to a party you've been invited to? Lucas eventually decides in favor of the former. ...Because, after all, there would be cake, even if that's certainly not the reason he's here.

A bit shy amongst so many, he gravitates towards people he already knows. Especially towards the person who offered him the invitation in the first place.]

H-Hi, Miss Rei!

[It is probably rude to ask for cake now, right?]

I'm mostly OK, thanks. ...Is there any water?

[child_of_luv]

Mm... [Food stuffing has commenced.] This is great. Who did all this cooking??

General Mingle!

[faithfulflame]

[For getting your chat on!]

The birthday girl

[allergictoloveletters]

[If anyone were to ask, Ami would actually admit she'd forgotten it was going to be her birthday until Rei had her Luxray and Lapras promptly take her away so they could decorate for said birthday she had forgotten. But now she was back, and she was blushing deeply.

All these people were here for her? She was honestly surprised, and very flattered. She looked to her next guest, still purple in the face.]

Thank you so much for coming, this is very sweet of you.

[faithfulflame]

[Rei wasn't about to let Ami's birthday pass by without comment. Her 18th birthday, at that. Yes, she'd blown off her own, but that wasn't nearly so important as this. And she approaches towards the back of the line to give Ami time to greet all her guests.]

Of course I did, dear. I couldn't not, you know.

[rainsrespite]

[This wasn't really Yuuna's scene, but you know, she wasn't going to miss Ami's birthday. She didn't really intend to stick around too long but she couldn't just skip out. That would've been pretty crappy of her, honestly.

So, up she wanders with her Ranger jacket slung over one shoulder, and bends down from her newfound height to hug the birthday girl.]

Wouldn't dream of missing it, sweetie. You're what, fifty now?

[Cheeky grin!]

[a_gentle_boy]

Hi! Um.

[It is probably only as awkward as he makes it and after a moment, Lucas takes a breath and plunges ahead.]

You're Miss Ami, right? Happy birthday! I... This is for you!

[He thrusts a small box in her general direction while blushing furiously.]

[child_of_luv]

Happy birthday!

[Minako gave Ami a warm hug.]

It looks great in here. You didn't do all this yourself, though, did you?

[celebrity_commentator]

Happy birthday, Ami!

[Rise looks around, impressed, at the decorating job.]

Someone really went all-out here. Did Rei do all this?

I am the latest ever

[toxicrevenger]

[Pamela successfully convinced her family to forego throwing a celebration for her birthday this year in light of the fact that her second evolution didn't look quite so dramatically different than her first one and thus there was no need to show off. But honestly, she'd been occupied with work and it was nice to not have to worry about social events.

This one, however...this was Ami's birthday and she considered Ami a friend. Therefore, she made an effort to attend.]

Did you think I would do otherwise?

[rainsrespite]

[Yuuna's here, present and accounted for, with Gouken at her side of course. Decked out in her Ranger's outfit, she's mostly sticking to herself, since she doesn't know too many of the people here, but that's not really a huge deal, as far as she's concerned. It's for Ami, and that's all that matters.

Now, if she catches you looking at her, she may just shoot you a wave. Or you might find her jostling with the Hitmonchan. He's not willing to let her up on her training for even an afternoon, and they're having a quick no-contact boxing match to work on her control. That's life though!]

[child_of_luv]

[Party? Food? Friends? Minako was totally there! She was wearing a cute dress, appropriate for the slightly cooling weather, with a nice sweater over it. With her, she had Eros, because he had wanted to see his own Pokémon friends again, and Myrna, the egg she had received from the Christmas egg swap. Myrna had recently been evolved from a Feebas into a Milotic, and kind of wanted to show off to everyone how pretty she was now.]

[celebrity_commentator]

Hey, Minako!

[Rise waves to her Pokémon as well.]

How's Myrna doing?

[heartandsoul]

[For Maka's credit, she does pretty well with not looking like she doesn't know what she's doing or out of place, despite not knowing what to do with parties a majority of the time. This is her adoptive sister's girlfriend's birthday, after all, she can't just awkward it up.

Now, depending on the perspective, the fire pig constantly circling Maka's ankles as she holds a similarly-colored egg might look somewhat odd. But she doesn't care. The egg isn't the gift for Ami, anyway, it's for Rei--Wilbur just decided to come along because of the potential for food. Her Meowstic has Ami's gift and is off to plant it into a proper place--it's awkward for the tiny thing to carry around.

Other than feeling an occasional movement in the egg and checking it to make sure nothing's changed, Maka for the most part just watches the rest of the party goers. ...Once Stella comes back, she's put to the task of making sure Wilbur doesn't run off and get into someone else's business. Despite this, the little Tepig is a determined one and darts a wide circle around the psychics occasionally, just to test his boundaries. He...might accidentally run into someone while doing this.]

[faithfulflame]

[Wilbur's oinking and circling has pretty much attracted Rei's full attention, and she wanders over with a gentle wave to Maka. It's strange, seeing her standing there like that and looking just so...awkward. Like she feels like she doesn't belong, or something. And that just isn't the case.]

Maka! You've come just in time.

[She'd felt the other egg, the Pumpkaboo, begin to shift and shake before when she'd checked on it, and Ophir had been taking excellent care of it.]

And I see you brought the other egg? good! Because it looks like Tholi's is going to hatch within the hour. How about Wilbur's?

[She stoops and offers her hand to the Tepig. It probably smells of food, too.]

Poke-Mingle!

[faithfulflame]

[For your Poke CR needs!]

[actsmagnificent]

Jolteon.

[ Gold is staring at the food table with longing trepidation. Everything smells good, so he'd like to ask one of the other Pokémon (Trainer seems busy) to fetch him a plate, but. But. The last time he ate human food, he ended up at the medic tent, with the birthday girl looking after him. What if he makes the same mistake again?? He came here to thank her for that!!

So instead he just stands here, fur trembling and mouth watering. It all smells so good.

Anybody actually visiting the food, however, had best be careful when fetching fruit. There is a very large cherry in the fruit bowl.

It also has eyes, and is equally terrified. She's stuck!! She climbed in to see what the smell is and now she's stuck! ] Biii...

[child_of_luv]

[A Milotic peered over the side of the bowl. Something in there didn't seem like the others.]

Tic tic?

Gifts!

[faithfulflame]

[For gift giving!]

[actsmagnificent]

[ An Enhanced version of this gift would probably be more effective, and maybe Ami has something like this already. Haruka should have gotten Ami something to aid in her medical studies, or else that could come in handy for the coming battles (another reason to help Ami's profession along - she's trying to stave it off via good deeds and if they aren't wiped out in one fell swoop they'll need a medic for the apocalypse).

But Natto had An Idea and tried A Project, so here Haruka stands with a small, long, flat box in one hand, tied up in an incredibly elaborate bow (complete with single trademark leaf).

She offers the box to Ami. ] Let me know if these don't fit.

[allergictoloveletters]

[Ami blinked as she was suddenly offered the box. She blushed lightly as she took it, smiling. She gave an inclination of her head.]

Thank you very much, Haruka-san. [She saw the signature leaf and smiled a little wider.]

And thank you Natto, I'm sure he did everything he could to ensure it would fit. [Whatever "it" might be.]

[heartandsoul]

[...Then Maka had to help Stella search for where she put the gift to rest and actually bring it to Ami--so much for cutting down on awkward.]

Happy birthday, Ami! [Bite back the self-deprecating comment of "it's not much." There's a good Enlightened, Maka.] I, um, wasn't sure what kind of books you liked to read, but I picked out one of my favorites, so I hope it's okay.

[Rational Numbers is a mystery fiction book in which a detective solves mysteries using complex arithmetic.]

[allergictoloveletters]

[When Ami was handed the gift, she offered Maka a bright smile. After all, Maka was Rei's little sister, and more importantly, she was a brilliant mind that needed encouraging.]

Thank you so much, Maka-chan. I know I'll devour the text. How have you been?