(no subject)

[shippingmath]

Who: Leo Valdez, and anyone coming to his birthday party!
When: July 4th
Where: Coral Corral 8, Demigod house
Style: Pick what you'd like.
Status: Open like Leo's presents will be

Today is the kind of day for a party. A birthday party. But not the birthday of a country, or anything, that would just be stupid, especially when there's no USA in Vatheon (The only country is Italy). No, today is Leo's birthday, and this is a surprise party for him.

There's a lot of planning and preparation that's gone into this. The inside of the house is covered in decorations, all thankfully not fish themed. There's a table for presents, and a table with food, including an enormous cake. There's even a birthday playlist in the background, though "You're A Grand Old Flag" seems to have gotten mixed in here and there.

A surprise party isn't complete without a surprise at the beginning, so when Leo gets into the house, everyone had better be ready to shout "surprise!" Other than that, though, there isn't much structure to the party. People are free to mingle, get food, give Leo presents in person, or get angry at him for all those pranks he pulled.

Comments

( feel free to approach and assume they found her before leo did! )

[pendragon]

Saber does, indeed, yell surprise when everyone else does. She had found out about the notice about this birthday party, and decided she wanted and had to go. The knight had come to grow found of Leo, and wanted to let him know she appreciated him. In her hands, there was a box wrapped in gold and red and blue wrapping paper.

The Proud High Knight-King had been to so many social gatherings throughout her life, and yet still has a hard time with them. She'll be hovering along the edges of the decorating room, the gift in her hands, waiting for a chance to Leo to notice her or to approach him when everyone has finally said their welcomes to the birthday boy. She's quite patient, and realizes this might take a while.

[fundemetal]

Eventually, Leo makes his way around the room to where Saber seems to be hiding.

"Sup?" Leo grinned as he spotted the gift in her hands. "That for me?"

[pendragon]

"Aye," Saber greets, nodding as she holds out the box to him. When he gets around to opening it, it's a set of high-quality stationary: ball-point pens, fountain pens and replacement ink, parchment and notepads. The color scheme for all of it is gentle golds and browns, giving it a vintage and archaic look. It wasn't maybe the most exciting gift, but it was a practical one. She knew he liked to create, so surely he needed something to jot down his plans and draw out ideas?

"Happy birthday, Leo. May there be many more."

[shippingmath]

As one of the people in charge of organizing the party, Dirk has been around since long before the party started, to get everything set up. For that reason, once the party's begun, he doesn't do much actual partying. Mostly, he's off to the side, drinking soda. The only strange thing is that there is a premade bow stuck in his hair, that he either doesn't notice, or isn't paying attention to.

[fundemetal]

After a while, Leo spots Dirk off to the side and heads over to talk to him.

"You behind putting this whole thing together?" He noticed something in his hair as he approached, but it's only evident what it is when he gets up close enough to be heard. For now, he's just going to leave the bow sitting there.

[shippingmath]

"Somewhat. It was a collaborative Strider effort," he tells Leo, waving to him as he approaches. "So, was it worth the effort?" Something about the look on his face probably says that he's confident about that, but there's no harm in asking, as far as he's concerned.

[fundemetal]

Annabeth had convinced Leo to go out into town with her earlier in the day. When they return home, it's no surprise that the house is dark inside. But what he wasn't expecting was an actual surprise in the form of a party.

He'd get back at his friends for throwing this after he told them not to make a big deal about it, but clearly he lost that right by pranking them all that morning.

Anyway, Leo will make his way around the party. Feel free to come greet the birthday boy, give him gifts or whatever.

[cawcawmthrfckrs]

Yep, Davesprite had a phoenix plush toy in hand with a pastel pink ribbon tied around its neck with "Happy birthday!" in obnoxious orange on the fabric. This was so to get him back for the prank he pulled earlier that morning. The sprite was on his way toward the birthday boy.

"Yo, Leo, happy birthday," he called out to get Leo's attention. Then Davesprite chucked the oversized plush at him. Fly and be free, Fawkes!

[fundemetal]

Leo had barely enough time to register that there was something orange flying at him before it smacked him in the face. He caught it before it dropped to the floor and glanced over at Davesprite.

"Uh... thanks. I know you said I gave you short notice, but you couldn't even wrap the gift?"

[nice_pipes]

It was only when the party had died down to a bit more manageable levels that Piper and Annabeth approached Leo. In Piper's hands was their gift to him. It was cylindrical, wrapped in grey wrapping paper and had a pink bow on the top to represent it as a gift between Athena and Aphrodite's daughters. She handed it to him in a much better mood than earlier this morning.

"Happy birthday, Leo."

That was all Piper was going to say as she handed it over.

Leo and Axel's Dress Bet! Open to all~

[msfabulosity]

[Rarity hasn't shown her face just yet to the birthday boy, because she would like for her entrance to be a grand one! After all, she has something very special in store for him, and she wants to make sure every last detail is perfect! So after some last minute tweaks and pins, she steps out in the middle of the gathering, adorning a lovely piece she's tossed together herself for just the occasion.

After clearing her throat,]

Attention, everypo-- I mean. Attention, everyone! If you would all be so kind as to direct your attention this way, it would be much appreciated! And, Leo, darling, would you be so kind as to accompany me here?

[And with that her horn glows and from seemingly out of nowhere a large parcel wrapped in beautiful, glittering red paper and a golden bow appears beside her.]

For I, Rarity, have the most wonderful gift for our lovely birthday boy today, and I think you will all agree once you see it!

((ooc: Feel free to have your character react as you wish when they see this beautiful creation inside the box.))

[fundemetal]

[Leo looks positively mortified as he steps forward. He doesn't even have to open the box to know what's in it. They didn't know each other well enough for her to be getting him a gift that big.

Of all the times for Rarity to get that dress to him, she just had to pick now, didn't she? And with an entrance that grand, everyone's attention is on them. He can't just tuck the gift under his arm and go hide it in his room. Nope, he had no choice but to open it in front of everyone. The bet with Axel was no longer going to be a well kept secret.

His face is as red as the wrapping paper when he goes to open it. He hasn't said anything and he's not sure what to say as he pulls the dress from the box. He knows this style of dress pretty well. He had older female cousins wear dresses like this for their 15th birthdays - or Quinceaneras. Now he gets one of them on his 16th birthday. A year late and the wrong gender.

Leo's not sure if he's glad or not that he's been working with his fire enough that he's not spontaneously bursting into flames and taking the dress down with it. Thankfully, Axel isn't here yet. And if he shows up soon, he probably doesn't have his dress with him anyway. That would mean they'd have to do the dress bet right here in front of everyone. It was embarrassing enough just taking the dress out of the box in front of everyone. He didn't want to have to wear it in front of them, too.]

[msfabulosity]

[Rarity watches in anticipation and when he lifts the dress out of the package she giggles happily. But, oh, he isn't showing it off nearly enough! So with another glow of her horn she helps him lift it up just a bit higher so everyone else can get a good look.]

Isn't it marvelous, dearie? It was quite a bit of work, but the most fun I have had in creating a dress in a long time! I know you didn't have any special preferences for it, so that gave me all the more room to add my creative spark to it! And I must say it all came together perfectly, no~?

[Beam!]

[shippingmath]

[Dirk actually whistles when he sees the dress.]

Nice color choice, there.

[fundemetal]

[Leo's gonna pretend he didn't hear that whistle. Since we all know what happened the last time Dirk whistled at something embarrassing in relation to Leo.]

[msfabulosity]

[Rarity brings a hoof to her chest, very, very proud of herself indeed.]

Isn't it just? It just seemed the perfect choice for him~ And aren't the gems I chose stunning? Just look at how wonderfully they shine!

And here's Axel in his dress yo

[flared]

[Well, as embarrassing as it will be for him too, Axel will need to show up sooner or later to carry on with this lovely bet they've made. Anyway, Leo's his bro and he's not gonna leave his bro hanging... so after a bit of an introduction from Rarity as well he steps out from behind the crowd, donning this little number, complete with a matching necklace the pony saw necessary to give him.

Arms crossed, he raises a brow, then with as much nonchalance as possible and a shrug,]

What can I say?

I think I look pretty dashing.

[fundemetal]

I don't know if yellow's your color. Makes you look like Ronald McDonald.

[Leo says as he steps out in his dress. He's god at faking confidence. Always has been so he does his usual confidence schtick though he feels so embarrassed wearing this in front of so many of his friends. But he can't let himself look as awkward as he feels. He doesn't want to be teased about this later. So he has to own it. Show that it's no big deal. Especially since he let his embarrassment show so much at getting the dress in the first place. ]

[stridercentric]

[Thursday has been quite the busy day for Bro. It went from orange soda being squirted at him to running into the Sufferer in the plaza for unwanted hugs. Well, at least he's not as cold as when he woke up, now. That hug should last him for a while. What's important is the early morning prank and how to deal with it. The evidence isn't completely solid, but if celestial bronze is involved, 80% of it points towards Leo himself.

So Bro is lying in wait. He got invited to the party, sure, but it's not his style to just show up. He's going to make his presence known with a bang. The second Leo comes to cut that enormous cake, the top's going to slam off it to bury the birthday boy in an avalanche of Smuppets. In the middle of it all is Bro, wearing a party hat instead of his usual cap and a colorful bowtie around his neck.]

Happy fuckin' Birthday!


[Once the mayhem has died down, he'll make his way to the snack table to pretend he didn't just ruin the cake or introduce the element of dubious plushies into the party. What's that hanging around his neck? Why, it's Lil Cal, wearing a party hat of his own. Clearly whenever Bro's invited, Cal is too.]

[fundemetal]

[Leo was less surprised by Bro popping out of the cake than he was the pile of dubious plushies. For starters, that cake was ridiculously big. There had to be some catch to it. Secondly, he hadn't seen Bro at all yet, and he knew payback was coming for the prank he had pulled that morning.

He wasn't sure what to make of the smuppets. Not that he knew that's what they were called yet. He recognized them as being vaguely familiar to the pile of plushies that were in Dirk's living room, but he hadn't bothered to get a close look at them. Mostly because he was too busy being a hipster thanks to that stupid hat. That Dirk took forever to help him remove. (Though to be fair, it wasn't like he was acting like he wanted it removed.)

Anyway. Seeing them up close was something else completely. Especially since he was up to his neck in them. Not literally, but they were up to his waist. And one had gotten wedged right between his legs. He took a step back, which definitely helped to shake the plushie from between his legs.

That's when he takes his first real good look at them. And wow. Those were awfully phallic looking. What even was with those things? And why did Dirk and Bro have so many of them? And that just makes the fact that one of them wound up wedged between his legs that much more awkward. He finally tears his eyes away from the pile and looks to Bro.]

Uh... thanks.

[This is when he notices that there is a puppet hanging from Bro's neck like a creepy tie. Striders were weird. Cool as hell. But weird. What had he gotten himself into? A pile of smuppets, apparently.]

[stridercentric]

[A good twenty Smuppets got covered in cake frosting and whipped cream, but that's a small sacrifice compared to the overall accomplishment. The look on Leo's face especially made all the effort worthwhile. Content with a job well done, he hops upwards, out of the cake, then flashes sideways. A few Smuppets scatter and bounce across the floor as Bro lands next to Leo in the very edge of the pile.]

And if you think that wasn't rad enough, here's a special little guy I made just for you.

[He holds out yet another Smuppet in the palm of his hand. This one's made with felt of assorted brownish colors and it's wearing a top hat with wee little goggles around it. The body itself has a few clocks and gears adorning it. ...Yup, it's a Steampunk Smuppet. As the final touch, there's a bow around its neck to make it absolutely clear this thing is a present.]

[shippingmath]

[But of course there are smuppets in the cake. Every birthday party deserves smuppets in the cake, doesn't it? It's true in Dirk's opinion, anyway. Which is why, once Bro heads over to the rest of the snacks after bursting out of the cake, Dirk doesn't even have to fake nonchalance when he approaches.]

Nice work.

[And he even offers a fist bump. Technically, it's two fist bumps- one for Bro, and one for Cal.]

[stridercentric]

[Both of them return that fistbump, Bro grinning lightly. His other self may be god-tier, but he's yet to jump out a cake and shower someone with Smuppets. It's clear who the victor is in this scenario.]

Thanks. Nice bow. [He sees that thing in Dirk's hair, there.]

[forever late]

[findsrisks]

[Dressed up all nice and carrying a present, Nanaki tries to sneak in unnoticed. It wasn't her fault she was late, honest! But at least she's prepared, and she's gotten over the prank from this morning, so she won't be angry or anything.]

[fundemetal]

[Leo spots Nanaki shortly after she arrives and makes his way over to her.]

Sup?