birthday party ☀ open

[akito]

WHO: Wanijima Akito + GUESTS (and party crashers too if you want)
WHERE: Xavier's School for ImPorts - Gymnasium
WHEN: March 11th @ 5pm
WHAT: BIRTHDAY PARTYYY
WARNINGS: it's a party with a bunch of crazy teenagers and old people.

---

Agito had been acting somewhat suspiciously over the past few weeks but Akito had left him alone, knowing that whatever his other half was up to would be revealed eventually. And with his birthday having come and gone without incident (he and Agito split some pastries and went to the park to play - so, all in all, a good day was had) Akito had no reason to suspect Agito's behaviour had anything to do with it.

Right up until they get back to the school that evening and Agito promptly directs him to the gymnasium.

If he had known there was going to be a party, Akito would have dressed up in something a bit nicer than a pair of coveralls and sneakers.



---
SOME SUBJECT STARTERS
---

PRE-PARTY
It's early afternoon and there are a lot of things in need of setting up! While Agito had snuck in last night and set up an area for multiplayer games (some variant of Rock Band being notice amidst the gaming chaos) and rigged the sound system up, there was still the matter of setting up seating, food tables, a pinata, and various other stupid and silly generic 'birthday party' activities.

And whatever else Alison deigned necessary, of course.

Also feel free to deposit any gifts on a small table set aside just for that purpose. If the gift is more practical (like baked goods) it can go on the food table.

eta: Alison will have decorated the area like so - 1 2 3 4


PARTY
Sub-Selections

Food Table -- piled with a mix of finger-food appetizers and a good amount Japanese-style cuisine. And a RAMEN BAR! And a There are also a selection of non-alcoholic beverages available ranging from healthier juices to different flavours of soda pop. There is also a delicious looking strawberry cake. :9

Video Games -- rigged up in a corner with some comfortable seating. Genres range from first-person shooters to racing to co-op fantasy to random, entertaining indie games.

Karaoke -- a party isn't a party without people making fools of themselves with a karaoke machine.

Pinata -- people with blindfolds and blunt-force weapons trying to bash something open for candy. Nothing can go wrong here.

Twister -- because why not?

Dancing -- self-explanatory for a party, hopefully!

Wildcard/Etc. -- whatever other starter selection you can come up with! This log is meant to be a free-for-all, so do what you'd like.


POST-PARTY
After everything is over there's still a mess to clean up!

Akito - regardless of how sleepy he may be by the time things wind down - will stick around to help tidy things up. He will also make sure to very sincerely thank every single guest for coming (doubly so if they brought him a gift!) and offer any leftover food items they might like to take with them.

Comments

[subourbon]

Mm-hm, he's a sweet kid, isn't he? Agito actually asked me to help plan his birthday party.

[She looks just a little proud at well it's turned out and the fact that nothing is on fire.]

[flowerette]

[ Her eyes light up as she looks around at the decor. ]

Oh! This was all your design? It looks fantastic. Do you do corporate parties as well?

[subourbon]

Absolutely! We're more than capable of handling any kind of event!

[She rummages around in her purse and pulls out her business card to hand to Raina.]

[flowerette]

[ Accepting the card gratefully, Raina looks it over -- appreciating the fancy simplicity of it. ]

That would be perfect. I am always trying to make an impression at the office and gather new associates to work on projects with us. Your business could add just the right touch.

[subourbon]

[Truthfully, Alison is dying to get a corporate event under her belt. But she manages to keep herself from looking simply interested in a professional manner.]

Well, I'd be more than happy to offer my services and help in any way that I can! Where do you work?

[flowerette]

The Center for ImPort Cellular Research in De Chima. We're always having fundraisers and blood drives. Though I would like to host something bigger -- something to really garner imPort interest in what we're doing as well as to encourage them to donate to our cause. Can't study cells without cells to study, after all.

[ She says it with a laugh. ]

[subourbon]

[Alison herself has no intention of ever donating her cells to be studied, but a business opportunity is a business opportunity!]

We can organize a time to sit down and go over some details, if you'd like?

... you don't happen to know my sister, Cosima, do you?

[flowerette]

I do not. You are the only one I have met of your...four sisters, was it?

[ Normally Raina is on the ball with these details about people, but she met Alison during a time of crisis and then went on to have her mind altered against her will. So some of the things that happened were a little fuzzy now that she's been put back to normal for the most part. ]

[subourbon]

Five sisters. It's just that Cosima does some sort of cell researh in De Chima, so I assumed it might be with your company. I could be wrong though.

[At least Sarah's job as a "taxi driver" is easier to remember details about.]

[flowerette]

Five sisters. Right. Quite the phenomena.

[ But in regards to Cosima, Raina shakes her head. ]

No, I have not met her. De Chima is full of medical and scientific research facilities. She may not be involved in imPort specific research. She could very well work with one of the neighboring teams. And that's all the more reason to get that network party going. I would love the chance to meet her and possibly work on projects together.

[subourbon]

I have to go and restock the ramen bar, but I'd be happy to walk and talk about your network party if you don't have somewhere else to be.

[flowerette]

I have no where else to be.

[ Raina links arms with Alison, leaning in to murmur quietly. ]

God. Yes. Save me from feeling like some sort of chaperone. I thought there would be an older crowd here. But instead I'm left to feel like the old one.

[subourbon]

[Alison very unsuccessfully tries to smother an amused smile.]

Well, it was nice of you to come out to help Akito celebrate anyway! And I'd say you don't look a day over twenty-five.

[She hopes fervently that Raina isn't under the age of twenty-five.]

[flowerette]

You know all the right things to say, don't you?

[ Alison lucked out with her guess! ]

You are definitely a keeper. Frederick better watch out because you may steal my heart.

[subourbon]

So he's alright? I know you were very worried about him when we met at the pool.

[Alison had certainly thought about Raina and her missing boyfriend a few times during their run to Mexico.]

[flowerette]

Oh, yes. He came back at the end of the week. Fortunate for him that he missed what happened, and fortunate for me he could undo the damage done to me by the Soviets. I suppose in the end it all worked out.

[subourbon]

What did the Russians do to you?

[flowerette]

[ Raina hesitates before pinching her lips downward. It isn't one of her proudest moments to think of herself so weak to these mind control tactics. ]

I took to their brainwashing program quite well. I would like to hope if I wasn't in such a weakened state of mind at the beginning of the week, I wouldn't have been so receptive. But it's still embarrassing and a bit frightening to have your entire way of thinking tampered with.

[subourbon]

[Alison's not surprised to hear the Russians resorted to those kinds of tactics, but she feels sympathetic towards Raina.]

... I'm sure that must have been terrifying. My family and I... we basically made a run for Mexico after the second day because we were so worried about what was going to happen.

[flowerette]

I was about to ask how you made out. I'm glad you took advantage of the offer from Mexico. A few of my close friends went down there, too. They said the accommodations were nice, and I'm certain you enjoyed the weather.

[ Hey, it was basically a free vacation. ]

The best thing was that you could be with your family and all of you were safe.

[subourbon]

Being in close quarters with your adult sisters and foster brother was... trying at times. But I was grateful to the Mexican government for keeping us safe.

[flowerette]

I can imagine. But you must have enjoyed the sights and the cuisine and the beaches. At least that would have provided you more space than your temporary housing may have. If you were stuck in the building together that whole time, surely you would have driven each other completely crazy by the end of it.

[ There's amusement in her tone. Raina doesn't have any siblings. The closest she has is her odd relationship with Skye which is strained at best. But she can imagine how stressful it could get to be cooped up together. ]

[subourbon]

Well, I didn't make it out as often as I'd have liked. I was too busy cleaning up after everyone and making sure we were all safe.

[In reality, she hadn't wanted to leave in case it "wasn't safe". Because that's how Alison rolls.]

[flowerette]

Are you the caretaker of the group?

[ Because Alison very much seems to be -- to have embraced that role on herself. At least that's how she came across to Raina. Even when she was a near stranger, she spent time comforting Raina in her time of misery. It was admittedly very nice. But she likely goes ten steps further for the people she actually knows and cares about! ]

[subourbon]

Well, I do the more "domestic" tasks, I guess. Cooking and cleaning, that kind of thing. But a lot of the time it feels like Sarah's the one who takes care of us.

[At least when it comes to things like infiltrating sketchy "companies" invested in cloning and going on rescue missions. Alison's happy to let Sarah take the lead on those kinds of things, and is even grateful for it.]