well, there's cake, and it's by the ocean, sorta

[i_am_not_cute]

Who: Pao-Lin, the rest of Flowers Over Bones, and anyone who's got CR with any member of the bandfamily (assume they got invited for a delicious afternoon).
What: Pao-Lin turns sweet 16! A very, very sweet 16.
When: Afternoon of April 4th.
Where: Dulceata Dessert House.
Warnings: SUGAR OVERLOAD.





Dulceata Dessert House is a premier destination for sweet-tooth connoisseurs from Vista City and beyond, known for serving up any type of sweet confection one can imagine: ice cream, cake, cookies, candies, and more, with an assorted array of coffees, teas, and milkshakes to round out the menu. Today, it's been taken over by Flowers Over Bones in honor of Pao-Lin's 16th birthday. Guests can order whatever they want and as much as they want, within reason -- it's on the house! (Or at least on FoB's finances.)

Unusually for a birthday party, guests are encouraged to try a slice of the birthday cake first before moving on to other treats. If they are looking for something to do other than eat and chat, there's a selection of board games and a couple of card decks they can entertain themselves with. (Because if there's anything the spirit of competition needs, it's a sugar high.) All the while, strains of Japanese neoclassical baroque darkwave synthpop drift in from the overhead speakers, at Pao-Lin's request. (...look, Ivan introduced her to it. Don't judge. Just listen.)

The birthday girl herself is dressed quite sunnily in a lacy pink blouse under a pastel yellow printed dress with frilly white socks and bow-accented platform heels of light blue. Guests, too, have been encouraged to dress up a bit fancy for this little event. Or a lot fancy! Whatever strikes their fancy.

Comments

Pao-Lin

[i_am_not_cute]

[Like many teenage girls, Pao-Lin has had a fair amount of fantasies about a lavish Sweet Sixteen birthday party, all pageantry and princess dresses. But when it comes down to it, she's perfectly happy with this relatively modest celebration. She's a little sad her parents couldn't be here to attend (even if they're...technically not her real parents), but she's got her bandfamily and her friends and good food and that's pretty dang good.]

A is for Angel Food Cake

[Towards the start of things, she's greeting guests at the door and handing out party favors in delicate little pouches of pink, white, and gold tied up with curly ribbons. Of course, they contain various sweets and candies, along with handwritten thank you messages from Pao-Lin.]

Hi! Thanks for coming!

B is for Brownie

[After a while, Pao-Lin will take a seat at the counter and start indulging in more of the dessert house's offerings. Ask her for recommendations, or come by just for a general chat.]

C is for Chiffon Cake

[Playtime! Pao-Lin has wandered over to the game corner to peruse its contents. Suggest something to her?]

B? Yeah, I think that'll work for this

[sponsorigami]

Um... this is for you. Happy birthday, Sister.

[ He's just feeling a little awkward dressed like this. Cut him a little slack for his social awkward.

Ivan gives her a large gift back with sparkly tissue paper bursting out of the top. Inside are two macaroon cushion pillows. One is lavender, and the other is lemon. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin peeks inside the gift bag. Her eyes light up when she sees what's inside, and she giggles as she pulls the cushions out.]

Aww, thank you -- these are so cute! I can't wait to put them on my bed.

[Said bed is already starting to get quite cluttered with stuffed animals and other food-shaped pillows.]

[sponsorigami]

[ The plush can just use the food-shaped pillows as their own beds. Surely these macaroon cushions are large enough for some of them. Besides, Virgo has ridiculous sized beds. ]

I'm glad you like them. It was hard to choose which colors to get.

[i_am_not_cute]

Well, the purple one was pretty obvious, I think! [ASTERS FOREVER. She holds up the yellow one, looking at it.] What made you choose this one, though? [She doesn't have a lot of yellow in her wardrobe. In fact the yellow dress she's wearing right now is probably the only majorly yellow thing in it.]

[sponsorigami]

Something about it just reminded me of you. Not your hair color but something else.

[ He tries to picture it in his head, but there's a lot of fuzziness. For all he knows, he's looking at a giant banana and not Pao-Lin at all. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin feels, more than sees, stripes of black on yellow. She isn't sure how this is even possible.]

Maybe it was something from who I used to be...

[Incidentally, she also suddenly feels very uncomfortable in her pretty little dress, like someone forced her into it instead of her freely choosing it.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan shuffles uneasily as well. He's not so sure about his gift choice now. He doesn't want to make the birthday girl feel bad. ]

I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean...

[i_am_not_cute]

[She shakes her head.]

It's not your fault! You couldn't have known! [Or "remembered," more accurately. Pao-Lin tries to smile reassuringly at Ivan.] Besides...I feel like it reminds me of something I liked a lot.

[sponsorigami]

[ Reminding her of something she liked is a good thing, and she is smiling.... ]

So... the color's not a problem? I could exchange it for another one if you'd like.

[i_am_not_cute]

It's fine, silly! [She bops him with the pillow.] Really, I love these. So don't worry!

[Even if it is big brother's job to worry.]

[sponsorigami]

[ He laughs as he's attacked by a giant macaroon. ]

All right. I'm glad.

B

[trustme]

Open my gift to you next!

[Doctor slides into the booth next to her with a wrapped up package in his lap, which he holds up for her as he waits for her to take care of any chewing or mouth-wiping needed first.

She might have seen him in the back encouraging embarrassed Ivan a moment ago.

Inside the box she'll find a couple large, very hugable, alpaca plushes, both sweets themed.]

Happy birthday!

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin is just delighted with these gifts so far.]

Omigosh, I'm just going to have to sleep on all of my plushies at this rate! [She hugs both of the alpaca plushies, then leans over to hug Doctor.] Thanks, Doctor! [She pulls back and looks at his outfit.] Or maybe you're "Madame Doctor" now?

[trustme]

I'll go by whatever title you like while we're here, Birthday Girl. Madame Doctor makes me sound like I'm in charge of something doesn't it? What do you think?

[ He turns to ask another alpaca plush that he pulls out from behind his back like magic, then turns to the other side and pulls out a fourth one. ]

And you?

[ He pushes both of them into Pao-Lin's arms, though they might not all fit in her embrace considering how big they all are. ]

I couldn't decide which one to give you so I bought the entire family.

[i_am_not_cute]

Aww, you didn't have to! But I love them all. [SHE'S GOING TO MAKE ALL OF THEM FIT.] Ooh, there's four of them, so I could name each one after someone in the band. Which one do you want to be, Doctor?

A

[warmsetter]

[Suga joined the line of people at the door dressed in a modest dress shirt and slacks with a jacket and no tie as he readied his present of a cute bunny plushie and a cute cookie plushie. When he made it to Pao-Lin he gave her a warm smile as he handed her his present.]

Happy Birthday Pao-Lin! Thank you so much for inviting me!

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin blinks when she sees the pink bunny plushie being held out to her, and she hesitates a moment. It doesn't look right is the thought that flashes across her mind then, and it's a ridiculous thought because this bunny plushie is an adorable and cuddly little thing. Not to mentiong that the bunny plush of her memories, the floppy pink thing with a vacant face in embroidered blue, belongs to someone else. Someone it's more suited for, somehow.

So she manages a smile at Suga after taking her presents from him.]

Thanks so much for coming! And for the presents, too. They're perfect! [As if to prove a point, Pao-Lin happily hugs them both to her chest.]

B

[giglio_madonna]

[Her cake eating will have to be interrupted as Luce folds her hands over Pao-Lin's eyes from behind.]

Guess who~.

[At her feet is a small bag, but it's what's inside the bag that's more important.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin laughs and claps her hands over Luce's.]

Ahh, your hands are cold!

[giglio_madonna]

Not an answer, Pao-Lin!

{Giggling, she presses a kiss to the top of her forehead.]

[i_am_not_cute]

But they aaaare!

[Possibly due to the A/C running like mad inside the dessert parlour, to say nothing of any cool treats Luce might have indulged in already.]

[giglio_madonna]

I never denied that.

[Shaking her head in amusement, Luce taps her pinky on Pao-Lin's nose.]

If you guess, I'll take them away.

[i_am_not_cute]

Okay, fiiine! Come on, Luce!

[You're giving her eyefreeze!]

[giglio_madonna]

[Laughing, she finally relents and pulls her hands away.]

I hope you like the birthday presents I got for you!