[OPEN] you know, like nya.

[covenantal]

WHO: Yu & Souji Naurkami, Ardyn Izunia, and YOU!
WHERE: Ardyn's home. It's nice.
WHEN: March 20th, probably in the afternoon?
WHAT: IT’S THE TWINS' 18TH BIRTHDAY! What this means is that the twins are throwing a party for their cats, and Ardyn is throwing a party for the twins because he's the best uncle on the planet. There will just be tons and tons and tons of cats. This is a mingle log open to anyone!
NOTES: So the twins will have sent invitations to their friends to come to the "cats' birthday party," and also will have put up posters in various places in the city inviting people to attend. If you're not sure if the twins would've sent your character an invite, feel free to hit up me (izanagis) or Ichi (northpaws) on plurk or send us a PM!
WARNINGS: Cats. So Many Cats.


[ The twins hadn't really planned on having a party for themselves. They haven't even really told anyone it is their birthday. Despite the fact that they're both turning 18, and this occasion should probably be an important one, it hadn't felt like a big deal to them to have any kind of party. They were happy to keep things low key and simply get each other gifts.

However, that didn't mean they weren't going to do something. It just wasn't going to be for them, personally.

No, they decided to throw a party for their cats, Cream-san and Kohi-san.

So what ended up happening is this:

The party is now at Ardyn's house, because Ardyn loves his nephews and wanted them to have a Real, Actual Party. There are appropriately themed bouncy houses (one in the front yard, one in the back), some decorations, a cake, and also, party hats. The party hats are mandatory, they have cat ears, and if you don't wear one you will be politely escorted from the house.

Of course the twins' cats, as well as Ardyn's own, are in attendance as well, wandering around. They have their own small party hats.

The twins will be milling about greeting their guests, but you can go jump in the bouncy houses, partake of some of the cat-themed cake or other snacks, use some of the cats disposable cameras that are laying around (cats in every photo!), play some cat themed games, or otherwise just wonder what you've done with your life to end up here.

Have we mentioned this is the twins' 18th birthday party? Because it is. Enjoy! ]

Comments

[covenantal]

[ So here's birthday boy #1. Initially overwhelmed at the idea of a real party, Yu has gradually warmed to the idea, especially as he and Souji put up posters and all of that. The idea of being around a big group of people, especially one dedicated to paying attention to them, still sort of makes him nervous, but he keeps it under his skin. In fact, while he's milling around the party, he seems like he's lit from within. He's smiling a little, which is a feat in and of itself.

It's almost like the idea that someone would care for them enough to throw them a party in the first place has kind of warmed him.

For at least part of the time Yu carries around Kohi-san, his cat, and said cat seems content to just kind of chill in Yu's arms, purring. Yu definitely has one of the party hats on, though occasionally he'll pull it off just to use the string that keeps it on as a toy for a passing cat.

Anyone he knows will get a polite "thanks for coming," and though he'll also be polite to anyone he doesn't know, he may not approach them unprompted.

He definitely does end up by the bouncy houses, though he seems reluctant to actually go in them. If approached he'll offer a simple, ]

Aren't they worth admiring?

[ which is a terrible excuse.

He does take pictures on his phone, though.

You can also find him using the cat disposable cameras, since he has no idea how the photos will turn out but is excited to see cats all over everything so you might catch him taking candids. He'll try not to capture you in too embarrassing a moment. Maybe. Probably. ]

[mercurio]

[prompto will throw himself right into birthday boy #1's space, arm around his shoulders and the other extended in front of them while holding his camera. this is a selfie birthday photobomb, with birthday boy and birthday cat and one chocobo child.]

Say cheese!

[...he honestly can't distinguish souji from yu at the moment, so this may end not too well. depending if he can pull off his ignorance.]

[prompto pulls away after a few more selfies have been taken, a hard couple of smacks (but not painful ones!!) to yu's back]

Hey, congratulations! This is one of the best parties I've been to!

[you've been here maybe 10 minutes]

How old are you now?

[strawberrypunch]

Hello.

[Tatsuma's voice is pretty quiet by default, and now is no exception. He doesn't know Yu personally, but it's rude to bring gifts for only one of the birthday boys, so he'll hand over a very lumpy bundle of wrapping paper that reveals something quite small and cute.

In a way, he's really glad to see all of the cat-themed party supplies because it had basically confirmed that his guess at a present isn't as terrible as it could be.]

Happy birthday.

i haven't listened to nyan cat since high school omg

[appraiser]

[ Ryoji's misgivings of not being able to find the right house is alleviated by the magnificent bouncy house parked right on the front lawn announcing where the party is. He definitely intends to jump right in, but not before he seeks out the two most important individuals on this special day. ]

Happy birthday, Cream-san!! [ He calls after the tail end of the cat, oh well. At least one of the twins has got the other one in his arms, so Ryoji bounds straight up to them. ] Happy birthday, Kohi-saaaaann!

[ The present he holds out is a little bottle, unwrapped save for a curled ribbon around the neck. ] Did you know they make catnip bubbles? I used to love clapping bubbles out of the air.

[korekara]

Yu! Yu, Yu, Yu, Yuuuuu!

[ She practically sings his name as she comes rocketing across the room to meet him. It's only the fact that he's carrying the cat that keeps him from just being fullbody tackled. As it is, she's hopping from one foot to the other like she's strongly considering going for it anyway. ]

Happy birthday! Here, lemme say it to Kohi too--

[ she reaches her hand out, waggling her fingers, gauging if she can go ahead and put her hands on this gloriously cute kitty. ]

Happy birthdaaaaay! Did you get lotsa catnip today? Did you?

[burningblossoms]

[Well, okay. So Yukiko wasn't exactly super into the whole cat ear party hats thing but she's making it work somehow. Mostly though, she's here to see the birthday boys, and its when he's standing there admiring those ridiculous bounce castles that she approaches.]

I suppose they are. They seem custom made for you and your brother.

[youraffection]

[ Yosuke has never felt so overwhelmed by cats before in his life. It's too much. It's definitely too much. Honestly if he didn't have a suspicion that this parent wasn't just for the cats, Yosuke might have found an excuse not to go. It's not that he doesn't like cats--he's generally indifferent to them--but this is a little much.

Still. He's here.

Because he's a good friend.

That might be why that, of his gifts, there are definitely some that aren't really for the cats. Like a book of sheet music from the musical "Cats". And then some generic toy mouse because cats like that sort of thing, right? Right.

Yu may not need prompting, but Yosuke walks right up to him anyway and holds out his present, wrapped in a generic gift bag. ]

...Happy Birthday...cat.

[ Said to Kohi-san. ]

Fynn "FML" Izunia, ladies & gents

[rygdea]

[The disgusted look upon Fynn's face only heralds the chaos that's to come in this cat-infested theme house. Fynn can't help but cringe once one of the mangy felines come within too damn close for comfort. He stares at the cat from behind his chrome sunglasses as the feline purposely plops down next to him an starts grooming. For the life of him, Fynn does his best not to shout "Yuck!" once the ugly pussycat tosses one leg in the air and licks its jewels for all to behold.

Fynn grips his iced macchiato tightly with muted rage. He dislikes cats, no correction, he fucking hates cats. Big, small, furry or no fur at all; if it's a feline, Fynn automatically hates it. Blame it on his preference for dogs or his birdlike tendencies, Fynn utterly loathes cats.]

...This is something else, guys. [He says with such deadpan humor as he sips his expensive coffee. The police officer is doing his best not to kick Mr. Pussycat once it star rubbing its cat germs on him. Ugh, cat fur!]

You know, I knew I should've asked for overtime. Mhmm. I should've asked.

[daemonized]

Fynn, you're home early.

[And here comes Ardyn, with something in his hand. Is that... a party hat, with cat ears? Why yes, it is.]

This is for you.

[Handing said party hat to him. Yes, wear this, dear little brother.

(If Ardyn clearly, clearly sees how annoyed Fynn is, well, he's ignoring it for now. As his next statement implies.)]

And smile. It's your nephews' birthdays today.

[mercurio]

[you will see prompto all over the place; here and there, taking pictures of you and you with your friends and maybe a lot of the cats. you have to wonder if any of the pictures will come out alright? he keeps making selfies out of 90% of them.]

[he will most likely be recognised for eating a lot of the food while still glued to his camera, or his more infamous moment: walking past you and your group of friends while holding maybe five? six? cat disposable cameras in his arms, looking rather hurried and alarmed, while saying]

I need these!

[instead of offering an apology for maybe bumping into you.]

[appraiser]

[ Ryoji is barely able to lurch out of the way before he's bowled over; it's Prompto's urgency that has Ryoji following at his heels like a tailwind. ]

Do you have enough hands to use all those cameras? I could lend another two.

> Wonder what you've done with your life to end up here.

[redarm]

[ Noah felt completely out of place here.

It's not that Noah's never been to a birthday party. No, he clearly remembers his dad sometimes taking him along to birthday parties he was hired to entertain, either to help him out or as an attempt to let Noah play with children his age.

But, he also remembers that his dad also abruptly stopped taking him to these parties when he was 10, after an incident where Noah had punched and bitten the birthday boy at a party because the kid wouldn't stop trying to tug Noah's prosthetic. After that? Yeah, no one's really bother to take or invite Noah to any parties.

And yet, here he is, somehow invited to this birthday party for a guy he knew in art class. He isn't even sure why he came, other than he felt bad saying no when the Yu's been nice to him. Not that makes him feel less like a complete fish out of water.

Eventually he seems to opt for finding a dark corner to sit in and munch on the food, while silently feeling stupid about being in this hat. It's almost like he's trying not to be noticed. Because hey, you can't lose your temper and re-enact that last birthday party disaster if no one talks to you right?

Right. ]

[covenantal]

[ Yu will find him,

and Yu will pop a cat hat onto his head. ]

Hey. Thanks for coming, Noah.

[daemonized]

[A dark corner won't help him escape the attention of any of the five felines wandering about the house.

One of Ardyn's cats, named Morla, saunters right up to the anti-social party guest. She's a large tortoiseshell, her tall high in the air, not particularly bothered by all the commotion. And yes, she's wearing a small little party hat to match the ones the humans have been burdened with.

Mreeeoow, she says, sitting and looking up at Noah quite expectantly. Is that a judgmental stare? Well. Surely it's just your imagination.]

[appraiser]

[ Somebody sitting in a dark corner munching on food? When Ryoji pulls away from the crowd of party guests for some breathing space, he starts rather badly when he sees Noah there, but recovers quickly and gives him an embarrassed laugh and a wave. ]

For a second there, I thought you were another cat! Cute hat.

[tarotcards]

[ And here's birthday boy #2. Souji hasn't had any real birthday parties or anything resembling one ever since he was a small child before the divorce, so he's gotten used to not doing anything special. This year is different, though. This is the first year that he's finally reunited with his brother and that they can actually celebrate their birthday together. Before, it was just through phone calls and gifts that they've mailed to each other, but not this time. They can actually be in the same room, exchange gifts, and have fun. This year was special so they had to do something memorable. ]

[ And what is more memorable than a party thrown for their cats? ]

[ Of course, throwing a party for their cats is just a front for a party for themselves but they're not attention seekers. They're content with just being able to spend the day surrounded by cat-themed decorations and to be with others. For Souji especially, it's the cat-themed decorations so whenever he sees someone new at the party, he walks on over and places a cat-eared party hat right on their heads. ]

Hat club.

[ Everyone gets a hat in this party. Absolutely everyone, including the cats. Souji spent all morning getting little tiny party hats on the five cats in this house so if he can do that, you can wear a hat too. ]

[ Please also assume that he's doing other things such as staring at the bouncy houses (he has never gone in one before and he gotta act Cool but he kind of wants to go in), walking around while there are two cats hanging off his legs and he's acting like it's totally cool, asking people if they'd like to sing 'happy birthday to the cats', or literally anything else. Be free. Do whatever your heart tells you to do. ]

[strawberrypunch]

[...Hat club, apparently! He does absolutely nothing to stop Souji as he places the hat on his head, his mild surprise melting into a soft grin once it's in place.

This may have more to do with the gift than the hat, however, because he's holding out a lumpy bundle of wrapping paper.]

Happy birthday.

[He'd wondered about his choice at first, but seeing all of the cats and cat-themed party supplies clinched it; his gift fits right in.]

[appraiser]

--birthday dear CreamsanandKohisaaaaaan! [ a second or two to catch his breath, and then he finishes the song ] Happy birthday~♪ to you~~~♫

[ And he claps. One hand on the back of the flat box he's got propped over his shoulder, which he then holds out for Souji. ]

This is for your cats. But I think you'll enjoy it too.

[ It's a keyboard scratching post! That plays simple little notes when stepped on, because being waken up in the middle of the night is permissible if it's to foster your cats' musical talents or something idk, the batteries can be removed otherwise. ]

Don't judge me, I really want to imagine him in a cat hat!

[megabond]

[While he is unaware that today is the twins' birthday, he decided to pay them a visit as he brought a small gift just for their pet cats.

Although, he wasn't expecting to wear something silly like a cat hat as a theme for their party. He feels a little awkward on wearing it, but he decided to ignore this as he feels attending one of the twins' party should be enough after he and Souji exchanged information about the app.]

Thank you. And happy birthday to your cats, Souji.

[With that said, he gave a small gift box containing a special cat toy.]

It's actually one of the souvenirs from Recolle Zoo. One of my friends there suggested this when I mentioned your cat party.

[korekara]

[ The first thing Honoka does once she's dropped off her gifts is go hunting for the birthday boys -- and when she spots Souji from across the room she does what any reasonable person would do and just. Yells right at him. ]

You!

[ That's literally all the warning Souji gets before Honoka launches herself at him like a cruise missile. She's too tiny to actually knock him over but he's getting a Full Force Honoka Hug if he likes it or not. ]

I can't believe you're so oooold! Happy birthday! Did you see what I made yet, did you open it?

[mercurio]

Hee.

[is the predatory sound that souji will hear before he glances over and sees prompto running from a bit of a distance, and quickly towards him. the end goal here is that he's going to launch the both of them into the bouncy castle.]

[(who needs to act cool when you're around prompto?)]

Incoming!

[and that's just what happens. his arms tight around souji, he forces their way into the bouncy castle. everything is suddenly bounces and uncoordinated movements and lack of balance and prompto laughing, arms up in the air]

We made it! Take your shoes off, dude!

[he's doing just that himself]

[burningblossoms]

Hat club...?

[Yukiko jumps a little when Souji walks up behind her, turning around and nearly knocking the hat free.]

Huh?!

ota

[korekara]

[ Honoka comes staggering in just a hair away from being fashionably late and carrying three boxes with the Homura Bakery logo printed all over it. There's an apology halfway out of her mouth but the instant she sees the state of the house, she stops. Her mouth hands open for a moment.

And then she just bursts out laughing. ]

Oh my god, this is the worst party ever! [ it isn't. it's the best. she loves it.

She stops off at the table first to drop off her gifts and she makes a bit of a frowny face when she sees the cake on the table. ]

Aww man, there's a cake already? [ well of course there is Honoka, it's a birthday party. She doesn't open her boxes just yet because those are for the birthday boys but you bet she's hovering over the snacks.

Once she discovers the cameras is when the party really starts kicking, though. No matter what you're doing or who you are, at some point Honoka is just going to pop out from out of your peripheral vision with one of those cameras. Oh. Oh no. ]

Hey. Hey. We need a picture with the cats. We need it.

[ please feel free to tell her to get out of your face.

and finally, once she's done mingling inside, you might find her in the garden, gazing up at the bouncy castle. ]

This is so dumb.

[ She whispers it in a voice of pure and utter glee and then proceeds to rip off her shoes and bellyflop herself right into it. Then she gets to some serious bouncing. Unbelievable. Join her, won't you? ]

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko, who'd of course wandered up when she saw Honoka staring at those castles, blinks a little at her classmate's excitement over the dumb playhouses. She opens her mouth to reply:]

It's...

[And then Honoka's off, charging right on into the castle. And while it's dumb, and sort of childish, Yukiko can't help but join her. She walks up and removes her shoes before climbing inside, wobbling a little as the bounces destabilize her...]

...definitely...whoa...something...!

after the party; closed to souji & yu

[daemonized]

[After all is said and done, Ardyn feels confident in calling the birthday party a success.

The house is only in slight disarray, but he wasn’t so naive to expect otherwise. By now the guests have filtered out, and while there’s still work to be done in terms of the clean-up, there’s still something that Ardyn needs to tend to.

Mostly, giving his nephews their proper birthday presents — admittedly more sentimental than what he had given them prior, which was a pair of (matching) sublimated cat t-shirts.]

I have another present for you two, before you run off for the day.

[-he says, approaching the first twin he sees.]

[covenantal]

[ Yu is, of course, staying to help with cleanup. Ardyn was already so kind as to throw this whole party for them; there's absolutely no way Yu would fail to help with the breakdown. He feels warm all through his chest, from the company, from the attention, from just ... being so obviously cared for, even if he's a little overtaxed from talking to so many people.

Plus, some small, quiet part of him feels like an absolute shitheel now for having lied to Ardyn the way he did about his memories. He'll have to make it up to his uncle, or at least explain.

The statement - and its implications - make Yu slow in his motions to gather up plates and cups, and he gives Ardyn a quizzical smile. ]

That's ... you've already given us enough.

/laaaate Missed this entirely somehow orz

[borntoolate]

[Iris arrives fashionably late to the party, with a very large, gaudily wrapped box.]

Happy birthday!

[Does she mean them or the cats?

Hard to tell, because the box contains a variety of high end toys, treats, and accessories for cats.

But, if they actually dig aaaall the way to the bottom, there's a little note to let them know she got them both a subscription to this world's version of snack crate.

Enjoy your weird international snacks boys.]

no worries!

[covenantal]

[ wow okay

a little flustered, Yu will come over to help her with the box. ]

You didn't have to go to all this trouble... [ whatever is in here is probably A Lot and he feels sort of bad ]