open || ain't no party like a birthday party

[complementing]

WHO: Minako, Sakura, Ragna, and you!
WHERE: One of the arcade bars in the city.
WHEN: March 10th
WHAT: BIRTHDAY PARTY!
WARNINGS: None foreseen! Feel free to threadjack for Minako's Hot Potato Categories game.



[Welcome to the Emporium, an arcade bar that Minako and Sakura have decided to host their joint birthday party at! Come on in and have some fun playing games, eating junk food, and just hanging out with the birthday girls (and guy, if he decides to come).

There are, of course, the numerous arcade games that the place is known for, ranging from the old school 2v2 fighters to the shooting gallery kinds. But there are a smattering of other games as well, like DDR, darts, mini hoops, skeeball, and the pool table, too. There's also a wall of crane games in the back, with plenty of random and mostly cute prizes to win.

Make a stop by the purikura booth if you have time. Make some duck lips at the camera and then take the snaps home! (Or give them to the birthday girls for the memories.)

Oh, and be sure to exchange your money for tokens before you play all these games. The token machine seems kind of finicky, though. Maybe a strong (and hopefully discrete?) kick will help jumpstart it.

Walk to the dining area, and there'll be a feast waiting you! The arcade is providing a ton of pizza and wings, as well as alcohol, if you can show your ID. For dessert, there's the cake that Shuji made for the girls, as well as Minako's lemon tea cakes. Those are limited supply, though, so snag one before everyone eats it up.

Next to the dining area, there's a big sign that says "DUNK TANK OUTSIDE". Maybe take a look? Just be reaaaally sure you want to climb in before you do it, though. The towels provided by the arcade are pretty small.

And finally, if you need a break from the chaos, there's a couple of couches on the second floor. Take a load off and watch from above.]

Comments

[complementing]

[One year older, one year wiser. And ten times more stressed!! Thanks, Retrospec. But today Minako is all smiles, so happy to be surrounded by her friends.

She'll be at the purikura booth for sure, wanting to take pictures with anyone who's willing to let themselves dragged in. And if they're unwilling, well. She has some pretty lethal puppy dog eyes.]

Pleeease? It'll only take five minutes, I promise! You don't even have to decorate with me at the end if you don't want to! [Pause.] But I do reserve the right to give you cat ears and mustaches on the pictures if you leave.

[She can also be found at the dining area, happily working through half a 12" pizza by herself, the remains of half a dozen chicken wings already sitting on her plate. Her wrists are still red and raw from the tattoos she got earlier that day: on her right, a dragon that looks like her Persona Seth in miniature, his body and tail elongated to wrap around, and shards of blue around his head. On her left, a bright sunflower, with vines and leaves wrapping around as well.

Once she's had a little bit (read: a fair bit) of alcohol in her, she'll also break out a game she brought from home: a spherical shock ball for a few rounds of Hot Potato Categories. Minako inserts the pin into the sphere and grins.]

Category is...cake or cupcake flavors! [Unfair disadvantage, much?] I'll start with red velvet. [And she tosses it to another person.] Your turn!

[Sometime later, she'll be upstairs sitting on the couches, watching everyone having fun below with a small, somewhat complicated smile on her face.]

...dunno if I could die happy right now. But I'd say I'm pretty close to it.

[Finally, she'll be wandering around the whole arcade, so any wildcard prompts are welcome!]

[heiroglyphs]

[Oh wow is this overwhelmingly cute, even for Minako. Vera wasn't expected to be dragged anywhere today, but after everything the two had been through over the last few weeks, she decides its in their best interest to just go with the flow. So off she goes into this... surprisingly elaborate photo booth.

But there's something more important that the heiress has noticed, giving a long glance at the birthday girl's wrists as they head inside.]

Tattoos, Minako? I never would have expected that.

[complementing]

[Minako holds up her wrists for Vera to see. The machine can wait a bit.]

Hehe, you think so? I've actually been thinking about getting them for a while. The sunflower one, at least. The dragon one was a last minute decision, but I have no regrets now that it's done. [She smiles wryly.] A lot of stuff has happened, and I figured it was as good of a time as any to get them.

tattoos

[thesettingsun]

[Shuji's here at this table with his tiny slice of chocolate cake, but more importantly:]

Is that a Seth tattoo?

[complementing]

Mmhm!

[She holds out her right hand for him to inspect.]

I really like how it came out despite how last minute it was.

Pictures!

[destiny_key]

[You don't even have to drag Sora to the purikura booth, Minako. He's more likely to be the one pulling her by the arm the moment she mentions the idea, always pleased to take pictures with his cousin. It feels like forever since they've done something like this, and he wants to savor it.

Especially on her birthday, he wants to do everything he can for his favorite cousin and closest friend.]

C'mon, c'mon! I wanna see what decorations they have!

WHAT A GOOD BOY

[complementing]

[She laughs, delighted at his enthusiasm.]

Slow down, silly, I've had too much food, I can't keep up with you. [She catches up and grabs his hand, squeezing.] Which one should we pick?

[long_live_the_queen]

[For once, Lucy didn't need to be coaxed into attending a social event! She showed up all on her free will, and spent at least some time away from Minako exploring the arcade. She was at least enjoying herself, but she never left Minako's side for too terribly long.

...this time, though, she made eye contact with her friend while she was standing next to the photo booth. And she knew about the OHKO puppy eyes exceptionally well already.

No wiggling out of this one. With only a slight stiffening of her shoulders, Lucy crossed over to Minako.]

...uh. Okay.

[complementing]

[Minako smiles warmly at her, taking one of her hands and leading her into the booth. She figures that explaining first will help Lucy prepare for it, so here is Minako-sensei with a brief intro to purikuras.]

So, these photo booths make suggested poses, but you don't have to follow them if you don't want to. The only thing you have to be careful about is keeping your eyes open when the flash goes off, because it doesn't allow redos. After that, we get to decorate the pictures we took in the next booth over.

[lalliho]

[heyyy he doesn't want to be here...! In the end, it's easiest to flag down an employee and have them search for the birthday girl to alert her to his presence. Even if this leads to Lalli sitting sadly on the floor with...a garbage bag... Listen, he's doing his best.

it's an interesting sight, at least?]

[complementing]

[Lalli, what even??? But she's happy to see him today (even though she also saw him on her actual birthday), and he doesn't have to wait long before she's hurrying over, face a little pink from drinking, but bright and warm as usual.]

Hi Lalli! You managed to stop by after all!

purikura because i had to

[cattack]

[... She twitches her ears.]

I fail to see how that's a threat.

[complementing]

[She blinks and laughs.]

Different ears, then. Or maybe devil horns.

WILDCARD yeyeahh

[reaquila]

Hey, Minako!!!! I've got a gift for you.

[He offers her a box decorated in pink wrapper. It's got a cooking book inside! Nanashi didn't even know what to give her. Took him a long time to decide on something, but he's happy with the end result. Anyone can use a cook book. Minako did say that she liked eating too. Nanashi smiles brightly at that. ]

You can open it now if you like!! Hope it's to your liking.

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Oh!

[After opening the box, she takes the book and flips through it, catching the pictures of a ton of interesting recipes before looking up and beaming at him.]

Thank you so much! [She hadn't expected anything, especially since they've only just started to get to know each other, but it's a touching and thoughtful gift regardless.] I'm so excited to try some of these. Do you have a favorite in the book?

[elevelvetor]

[ Elizabeth's had fun so far, but she's waited until Minako's sitting down to join her, a little box in her hands.

Is this her gift. Maybe it is. ]

Even if you were happy enough to die, I'm certain there'd be many others who would be very upset... despite your peace. [ Only slightly chiding. ] Happy birthday, Minako. Well... A belated one, I suppose.

[complementing]

[She turns the complicated smile on her friend, shakes her head, and then reaching out to hug Elizabeth.

Help, Liz, how do you deal with having a memory of your past life's death.]

I'll try not to upset anyone, then. And thank you, Elizabeth. I'm really happy you could make it. [She pulls back and grins a bit.] Did you bring a drink with you? Let's toast.

couches

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko, of course, has come. More importantly, she's come bearing gifts in the form of herself and a small parcel that she wants her senpai to open.

Hearing her say something to the effect of dying as she approaches though, makes her worry. Just a little, given that she knows Minako's had a rough time of things lately. So, she drops down on the couch wordlessly and snuggles up before plopping a rather large and soft package in her lap.]

Happy birthday, you.

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[Minako pulls herself out of her melancholy mood and wraps her arms around Yukiko, laughing quietly and looking at the package with delight.]

Thank you. I was wondering where you went off to! Were you at the crane games?

[sunnymerc]

[Having thoroughly defeated several crane games, Soleil decides to track down one of the birthday girls. She skips up the steps to the couches in time to overhear Minako.]

Hey, don't get any ideas, Mina.

[With that, Soleil tosses her prizes, showering Mina in a rain of a half dozen various plush animals in different colors.]

[complementing]

[Why must people hear her quiet musings to herself!! Minako is caught off-guard, and one of the plushies smacks her full in the face as it falls down on her.]

Waah-- Soleil?!

purikura!

[sharplydressed]

Fine, fiiine, I guess I can spare a little time for some pictures.

[Boy, his arm sure needed to be twisted for that! But no, he loves purikura and he is 110% here for silly pictures and ridiculous decorations...

That said:]

After we're done, I have something for you, though!

aaah kashuuu i've missed him

[complementing]

[She grins at him and pulls him into a hug. Sorry, she's in a very huggy mood today.]

I can't wait to see what it is. But right now: purikura!

[She tugs him into one of the booths and starts poking at the screen.]

Got any pose ideas for us?

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot had stopped by for her birthday, and was taking a break in dining area when he sees--]

Whoa! What a cool tattoo! Is that real?

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They're both real, yup!

[She stuffs an entire lemon tea cake into her mouth and then holds out her wrists to him, giving him a full cheeked, closed-lip smile.]