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]

[It's a traaaaap and the woman who orchestrated it is waving at him from the bar, grinning.]

Hi Ragna! Glad you could make it!

[rebellions]

[Ragna lets out a small, resigned sigh before approaching her with a scowl on his face. It should be pretty clear he's not in the mood for celebrations, but then again, when is he ever? It's probably better not to pay that much attention.]

Well? Care to explain yourself?

[The accusatory tone might not be necessary, but it's sure there anyway.]

[complementing]

[She swivels around to him on her stool, holding out a golden cocktail to him.]

It's a joint birthday party. Mine, and Sakura's, and also yours.

[rebellions]

[He glares at the drink as if she was offering him a glass of poison and stubbornly refuses to take it just yet.]

Birthday...?

[He raises his eyebrows in surprise before he remembers that oh yeah, birthday parties are indeed a thing people do. Most of them. Not Ragna, though. Normally, this is the part where he scoffs and tells her she's stupid for arranging such an inane event, but there's something about it that gives him a pause. First, the fact she actually bothered to invite (... or something close to it) him to this party, and second, that she included him as the one supposedly celebrating. Both of those are more or less "common human decency" but apparently even that is somewhat foreign to Ragna. In the end, he still scoffs, but his frown seems to have softened a little bit. Progress?]

I don't remember agreeing to participate in anything like this.

[complementing]

[Well, if he's not going to drink it, then she will. She sips at it, blinking innocently at him behind the straw.]

You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm just giving you the option. [Siiip.] Though it'd reaaaally be a shame if my lemon tea cakes weren't eaten. And all the pizza and wings, too.

[rebellions]

That's giving an option? Holy shit, can't imagine what you forcing someone's hand would be like.

[Ragna rolls his left eye. Does she actually think he's shallow enough to fall for the old "we've got cookies"?

Apparently he really sort of is, because he pulls a stool for himself and sits next to Minako, propping his chin on his working hand and not looking at her.]

... If I had known it's supposed to be a birthday party, I would've brought you a gift.

[Something. Anything. He's not really much of a present giver, but that's mostly because he doesn't socialize enough to have a chance to and not necessarily because he doesn't care. In fact, he feels a little dumb for coming empty-handed, even though it couldn't be helped.]

[complementing]

[She snickers inwardly at his aggrieved expression. Minako has seen him really pissed off, during the middle of a fight, so she has a feeling that he's just complaining for the sake of complaining right now. But it really is open for him to accept or decline. The ruse of needing help was just the means to bring him here so she could give him those options.

So when he finally sits down next to her, she lets a pleased expression settle on her face, glad that he wants to stay-- though it's quickly wiped away with surprise, then smoothing out into a warmer smile.]

I don't need gifts. Though if you want to, you can buy the next rounds of drinks for us.

[rebellions]

[Ragna glances to the side, not sure how to feel about her expression. What is she so pleased with, anyway? Thankfully, he also decides not to go out of his way to ruin it for her at once. Birthday and such.]

Oh screw it. Since I'm already here, I might as well get something out of it.

[He calls the bartender over to order drinks for them. Come to think of it, this sounds better than staying locked up in his room being all miserable and crap. Perhaps coming here wasn't as grave of a mistake as he'd suspected.]

Guess there are worse ways to spend a day.

[That's probably as close to "thanks for inviting me" as you can get out of him.]

[complementing]

Glad you think so. You can help yourself to pizza and wings, too.

[She knocks back the rest of her drink, and then takes what he ordered for her once the bartender has finished mixing. She's definitely a bit tipsy by now, cheeks flushed with the alcohol and her own quiet self-satisfaction of getting him to stay.]

So how old are you now, Ragna?