[open] inside everyone is a diva waiting to get out

[invocate]

WHO: Li-Na and FRIENDS ❤
WHERE: a karaoke club
WHEN: Thursday, 3/8, evening
WHAT: SINGING
WARNINGS: n/a

If you know Li-Na through school or work or the dance studio or the February mission or even just chatting on the app... you'd have gotten a bubbly text from Li-Na, inviting you to celebrate her birthday with her. The location? A private room at a karaoke bar. Anyone who shows up and tries to back out is quickly pulled along for the ride.


[though the room is a liiiittle bigger than this one]
The room is rather low key, though a button on a certain remote will lower a small disco ball from the ceiling if so desired. It can comfortably fit about 20 people. The karaoke equipment is at the front of the room next to the door and the rest of the room is taken up by a table and seating.

But singing isn't the only thing going on here. The karaoke club also has an extensive menu and a phone in the room that allows you to place your orders without leaving your playlist. Milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, bubble tea, crepes, sushi, curry rice, omurice, pizza, wings, all manner of Japanese and American finger food. You can even get salad if you want, but why would you? It's not maybe the best food ever, but you won't leave with an empty stomach. Unfortunately, since a number of Li-Na friends are under 21, no booze.


Don't like something on the playlist? Feel free to hook up your phone to the system and play one of your own songs. The point is to sing, eat, wish Li-Na a happy 18th birthday, and maybe make some new friends. Oh, and yes, there will be cake.

Comments

[invocate]

A -- arrival

[Li-Na waits in the lobby of the karaoke club for her guests to arrive. She's pretty excited since she didn't get to see most of them at all the previous month. So when someone arrives, she's going to attempt to give them a hug.]

I am so glad you came!


B -- ordering food

[Once enough people have arrived and the club has assigned them to room 18, Li-Na passes around the menus.]

I heard the pizza is good. But I think I am going to start with royal milk tea and... ooooo crepes!


C -- picking a song

[Li-Na flips through the song listing, apparently looking for one artist in particular. She lets out a small 'ah' when she finds what she wants, then cues up her song.]

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

A possibly leading into C?? for karaoke shenanigans...

[hairstroke]

[ Even if it's late (thanks to Retrospec), he's glad that Li-Na is doing something for her birthday. After the hell that everyone has been through last month, she deserved it. Everyone should be able to celebrate their special day. At the greeting, he smiles and gives her a light pat on the shoulder. ]

Thanks for inviting me.

[ With that, he hands her a large gift bag that's stuffed with sparkly tissue paper. Inside, there's a dance bag with her name stitched onto the other side. Alongside the bag is a matching water bottle. ]

Happy birthday, Li-Na. I selected these with certainty that they will be useful to you.

[ And also because they are cute... ]

yes, yes, goooood

[invocate]

[Li-Na turns and smiles as she sees Leon.]

You came! I am so glad!

[Don't even try to avoid her hug. Once she's done hugging him, she checks out the gift bag.]

Ahhhh these will be so useful! My last bag was getting a little worn. Thank you, Leon.

[she motions for people to scoot over so there's room for Leon]

I hope you know I expect you to sing something.

[hairstroke]

[ Li-Na!! The hug causes him to blush several shades of red because what is affection??? He's so bad at this.

But he manages to cool down hearing that this will come in handy. Though he might be confident, he still wanted to be certain that she would like it. It's weird. He hasn't known Li-Na all that long, but he's compelled to make her happy. ]

You're welcome, Li-Na. I'm glad I gave it to you at the perfect time.

[ He's really happy. In fact he's smiling.... until she brings up singing and now he's red again. ]

W-Well naturally! It is a karaoke party and I do have a good singing voice. [ Except he's so gosh darn embarrassed to sing in front of everyone ahhhh ] I take it you'll be singing as well?

[invocate]

Good. I cannot wait to hear it.

[Li-Na might have a slightly mischievous look on her face...]

After all, I would not ask everyone to come to karaoke if I did want want to sing.

B

[redarm]

[For once Noah isn't sitting in the corner. Mostly because he was late and Xiaolang took that spot. So he's sitting closer to the middle, feeling pretty awkward about it. But he'll sure perk up at the mention of food.]

What if we order all of it?

[Noah no.]

[invocate]

[don't mind the small tomato in the corner]

Well. Maybe not all of it. But what do you think sounds good?

[frankly, she'll eat just about anything this place serves]

[redarm]

[........]

All of it sounds good, Li-Na. All of it.

[Which is why he wanted to order all of it!!]

A

[gunsandveggies]

[Haru's very excited to be here, though she still plans on taking Li-Na out to the cat cafe sometime for this exact reason. With her official birthday happening here, though, Haru's decided to bring her gift to this one: a large pot with a Reliable Hardy Fuchsia, though most of them are closed buds at the moment.

She may have her hands full, but Haru still moves her arms so that she can receive the hug, even though she can't return it. She shuts her eyes and smiles, and once Li-Na pulls back, she'll give her a kiss on the cheek to make up for the lack of hugging.]

I'm glad, too! [She holds up the pot to her,] And this is for you! I'm sorry, I couldn't figure out how to wrap it for you.

[invocate]

[Li-Na can't help but smile at the sight of Haru with a potted plant in her arms. Of course, Haru would bring her flowers like this. She gives the other girl an affectionate hug, though the kiss catches her by surprise. But it's okay, it's probably just because Haru's hands were full.

So why did it feel like her heart skipped a beat or two?

Li-Na hands go out automatically, accepted the potted fuchsia.]

It probably would not like being covered, so it is okay. I cannot wait to put it next to the pansy I got in January.

[gunsandveggies]

I'm sure they'll compliment each other well! These are called Hardy Fuchsias; you'll have to tell me what you think of them when they bloom. [As the two of them make their way inside, Haru rests her hand on Li-Na's upper arm, as if it had been offered for her to hold.] They should start in early summer. The unique part about them is that the blossoms look like little dancers!

A

[thebeastwithout]

Yooooooooooo -- huh.

[Gar blinks for a moment.]

Round two of karaoke, huh? Hope you guys are ready for more Metallica!!!

[please don't let beast boy sing tonight]

Happy birthday, man!

[invocate]

There is no such thing as too much karaoke, Gar.

[if they stuff food in his mouth all night long, will that keep him from singing?]

Have you ever been to a club like this before?

[thebeastwithout]

[is there tofu in this room]

Uh... Nah, actually.

[He shrugs as he looks around.]

Looks like one of those places you see in anime sometimes. I don't usually like, go out and do karaoke on my own. ...Though maybe I should; I keep remembering weird stuff afterwards.

Hey, I got you something!

[He thrusts a small box at her.]

[redarm]

[ You can't stop me from threadjacking. Noah lifts his head, perked up ]

They got Metallica songs here?

[NOAH NO STOP]

[thebeastwithout]

If they don't, Youtube was invented for a reason.

[fingergun for his new best friend that he just met]

We're makin' this happen, bro.

b

[admiringly]

[ Chiyo would've given Li-Na her birthday present as soon as she got home: a charm bracelet with ballet shoe charms and coffee cup charms with latte art in the shape of hearts.

There's no way she would have refused to come celebrate her birthday, too, so here she is! Ready to enable Li-Na and encourage her to indulge on this day that should be all about her. ]

Get them! [ She laughs. ] We can also get the pizza later. You'll work it all off anyway, so order whatever you want.

[invocate]

[And Li-Na is wearing that bracelet tonight, because it is adorable
and Li-Na loves it. Chiyo is the best.]

Hmmmmm, good point. Milk tea and crepes first, pizza later. Do you see anything you like, Chiyo?

[admiringly]

Yeah! Dumplings sound really good right now. I haven't had gyoza in a while.

[ And there's no question she'll be up for a dessert later, but that's later. ]

a...... also possibly leading into c?? drag both cousins with you Li-Na

[cardcaptured]

[Xiaolang arrives not too much later after Leon does, coming straight from the information sharing session at the high school to the karaoke club. It's definitely not a place he'd come to of his own volition, with all it's bustle and noise, and it shows. His shoulders are stiff and his brow is knit, and his body language just screams he'd rather be anywhere but here right now. But! It was Li-Na's birthday (and a very important one at that) and they hadn't gotten to celebrate it together like a family due to all of this mission stuff, so he was just going to have to endure it for her sake.

Cradling the small, simple bag containing her gifts to his chest (Leon seemed to be going big with hers, so he opted for some nice metal hair clips from Respatrum and a small, handmade chocolate cheesecake instead), he doesn't have a chance to deflect Li-Na's hug, making a tiny choked noise of surprise as she pulls him in. He's red to the tips of his ears as he shifts a little to try to break it, attempting not to crush her presents in the process. FAMILIAL AFFECTION, WHAT EVEN IS THAT--]

I-I-- I couldn't not come. You're family.

Re: a...... also possibly leading into c?? drag both cousins with you Li-Na

[invocate]

[She can tell this is all rather outside of Xiaolang's comfort zone, so the fact that he's there at all, means a lot to her. Surrounding herself with people she cares about and who care about her helps her feel less upset over the fact she hasn't communicated with her brother in months. If not for Xiaolang and Leon especially, she'd have felt really melancholy over her birthday. She gives Xiaolang an extra squeeze (being careful not to squish the items he is holding) before releasing him. Her expression is affectionate as she takes in his expression. Yep, him and Leon are definitely related.]

Well, I am happy all the same.

[Especially at being called family. A happy warmth fizzles in her chest at the word. She has family, more than just her brother, and this family is kind to her. Just being reminded of that is birthday gift enough.]

Come, sit. There is enough room.

[cardcaptured]

[As they part from the hug, Xiaolang catches the soft, fond look upon her face, and his eyes dart away shyly, focusing on the handles of the bag instead. His side of the family wasn't really the openly affectionate type-- his sisters being the HUGE exception, although that felt more like coordinated ambushes than anything else. It wasn't that they didn't care for one another, it's just... it wasn't a thing they openly expressed, or acted upon. Hell, he could probably count on one hand Leon's actually hugged him?? But even as awkward as he was over it, he couldn't help the small, cozy warmth that bloomed in his own chest over her reply. Finding Li-Na was probably one of the few good things that Retrospec had ever done for him, and with his last contact with his mother being four months ago... he was grateful for any family that he had here. Especially when they were as kind as Li-Na.

So he'd suffer through all the noise and forced social interactions. As long as Li-Na was happy, he would push through.

Before they start moving towards the seats, however (Xiaolang's already spotted a nice corner that has his name on it so suck it, Noah), he quickly pushes the gift bag towards her to take, still a bit embarrassed from earlier.]

Um... here. These are for you. Leon's probably given you his already, so these aren't as big in comparison. I just thought-- with the changes and all, they'd probably come in handy for dancing or exercising.

[Because long hair is probably a bitch to do that sort of stuff with??]

A

[livingdeadgirl]

[Ami's 100% in favor of the hug! Bring it in, sis. where doing it man. where MAKING THIS HAPEN]

Heeeey! Happy birthday, birthday girl!

Re: A

[invocate]

[Yay! A fellow hugger!]

Thank you, Ami! Ready to show everyone how to karaoke properly?

[livingdeadgirl]

You bet! Let's knock 'em dead.

[She backs out of the hug and holds up a small gift bag.] Where do you want us to set presents?