Time to live it up in here!

[hiken_ace]

Who: Anyone!
What: Marco's surprise birthday party.
When: October 6th, in the afternoon.
Where: Community Housing 3, Room 40
Summary: It's Marco's birthday. Ace planned a party. Need I say more?
Rating: Uh, PG? Since there will be pirates here, I'm hoping not to go above PG-13. PLAY NICE, KIDS.
[Ace wasn't going to go overboard on the decorating. In fact, he had to leave a lot of it up to everyone else since his injuries prevent quite a bit of movement. But soon enough, there were a decent amount of streamers up, and a nice big banner that says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCO". He had to work extra hard to get the cake to look just right. The cake is surrounded by the presents, and there's a few separate tables for food and drinks. Fruit punch for everyone, and some alcohol for the adults and pirates.

Come on, people, this is a party. Let's live it up a little! And don't forget to embarrass congratulate the birthday pirate. Feel free to leave your own comment below, just for mingling, or just doing something silly, or giving Marco your present! Have at!]

Comments

all day everywhere!

[sailedfirst]

[pre-party]
Sabo's helping a lot with the preparations since his housemates obviously need some hand (pun very much intended) with that. Along with the streamers and banner Ace got, he has a number of colorful pineapple and phoenix origami hanging from the ceiling, making the place look more festive.

[during the party]
To anyone who knows Sabo and who he's related with probably wouldn't be surprised where they'll find him: at the food table, stuffing his face in. Oh, but like the nice kid he is, he'll actually take time to swallow all the food in his mouth if anyone comes to talk to him.

And later on, he'll be reaching for some alcoholic drinks too. Because pirate parties means booze, okay! Concerned responsible adults are free to stop him, if they want. :'D

[post-party]
Yeah, leaving the cleaning up for tomorrow (or for the adults, if he can get away with it). Most likely, he's close to passing out from all the excitement of the day (and/or the sake he's been drinking).

For Marco, he'll find Sabo's gifts in his room. There's two of them. One is a wrapped package containing this belt, and the other is this origami made in blue paper sitting on his bed.

DURING // After party to come later :P

[fierybluebird]

Oi you! [Grabs Sabo before he can escape and scoops him up into his arms. All to knock off his hat and pretend to give him noogies.]

Who told you I love origami?

[Giant grin, but no, you are so going to get it for all those pineapples, mister. If affectionately even then.]

[ during the party ]

[breezing]

[ Is that someone near her age at the buffet table? Yes it is. Ikki's just going to lock onto Sabo from across the room and head over there, because it's pretty rare for her to see other children in Luceti. Sabo's going to have the warning of an excited hello from across the room before a seven-year-old girl in a sundress skips up to him, tailed by a bird pokemon.

Her voice, when she speaks, might be familiar to anyone who was stalking her long conversation with Smoker. ]

Hi! I'm Ikki! What's your name? Are you a pirate? How old are you?

WILL TAG ALL THE THINGS /like a boss B)

[fierybluebird]

[Before getting back.]

[Having been sent out for groceries, Marco takes his sweet time with it. Including a stop at the library, finally returning a couple dozen books from his room, only to pick up another dozen. And maybe picking up some ingredients for his favorite foods and sushi. Aw yeah. And some sake. Because it's his birthday, and he's a pirate, he'll do what he wants.]

[Surprise!]

[Marco's actually pretty surprised. This far from the Moby Dick, he figured he was safe from such things, and after his fight with Ace, he really wasn't expecting much other than flying and drinks like last year. But as always, his brother came through, because this is exactly what he needed, without even realizing it. Quick, grab him before he gents drunk.]

[Mostly, he's just happy to be surrounded by people. For all his attempts to get peace and quiet, he'll never really adjust to being short 1600 idiots to look after. They get rowdy, and even if Marco's almost the least sociable of all 1600 it's still a lot to suddenly get used to doing without.]

[And if you arrive after Marco does, he's totally throwing an origami flower lei around your neck and then saying something ridiculous. How ridiculous? Well try him and find out.]

[Drunk Marco is drunk]

[Towards the end of the party, he is going to be so hammered. In fact every time Ace can't drink, Marco's just going to grab the drink out of his hand and chug it. He has to protect his baby brother from himself you know!]

[Quick! This is your chance for ridiculousness! Party tricks or questions you know he will never in a million years answer honestly. (Like his age. He's ten million something or other, give or take a few dozen millenium and he dares you to prove him wrong.) Alternately to just get a ridiculous phoenix to be your pet. Though Ace might object to Marco getting stolen.]

[That said, apartment-mates might have noticed a bit of noise by now. Anyone want to come tell them to shut up? Because Marco will almost undoubtedly hand you a drink and tell you to join in.

DRUNK STUFF LATER

[hiken_ace]

[When Marco comes home, and Ace thoroughly satisfied with his brother's surprise, he comes up to Marco with a huge grin on his face. Overall, he's looking damn happy about this.] Happy birthday, Marco!

[earlier on]

[alabastajewel]

[Vivi waits a little for the well-wishers to thin out before going to greet Marco. She holds a small package, pretty obviously a book, which she presses into his hands with a smile.]

Happy birthday, Marco-san!

During the party!

[puubuu]

[It took Fattycakes some effort to get up all those stairs, but he made it! He probably scooted in behind someone else. Hey, Fattycakes isn't one to pass up a good time! He'll announce his presence by bumping into Marco's foot and giving a cheery greeting.]

Puu! Happy Buuday, Marco-puu!

\o/

[fierybluebird]

Fattycakes!!

[Picks him up and puts him on his shoulder to pet his head.] Thank you very much little matey!

During the party

[faithfulflame]

[Normally? Rei would not be bothered to attend a birthday party, but Marco had been nothing but kind to her. So when Ace had mentioned the party, she'd made it a point of forcing herself to attend. Up the stairs she goes, wearing a dark red, very conservative red dress with a small box under one arm. Its the least she could do, really, for all the help.

She doesn't intend to stay long, though. She's got studying to do, Charter Marks to work on, and various other things.

She enters with a polite knock, and walks right over to Marco, her Charter-Mark clearly visible (and new since last they talked) glistening on her forehead. She offers over her present, and bows politely]

Happy Birthday, Marco-san.

During the party

[fierybluebird]

[Have a flower origami lei Rei, don't worry it's totally tasteful and matches! (As much as such a thing can anyway.) And Marco bows on back, with a giant grin on his face, not even noticing the present, he's just glad to see people. Seriously.]

Rei! Thank you very much, eh? I'm glad you came! Want some tea? [They totally have some, and he's a bit hyper. It shows.]

let's do this choose your own adventure style

[tibias]

[ at the party ]
[ he's drinking almost all afternoon, mostly because he's a functional alcoholic. and maybe partly because it keeps a large amount of alcohol away from ace. he's got a wrapped up basket with him most of the time—marco's birthday present. every time he looks at it he starts giggling a little because he thinks he's clever. and he can't wait to see the look on marco's face when he opens it.

if you catch him towards the end of the party, you may be able to get some stories out of him from his younger days when he and his crew encountered whitebeard's, and thus marco's. but only the really funny ones, and ones where he can mention the fabulous fabio hair that whitebeard had when he was younger. ]

[ post-party ]
[ afterwords he can be found outside the housing building or on the roof, still drinking. mostly because an incredibly drunk marco is too easy of a trolling target and he doesn't want to end up pissing his frenemy off on his birthday.

... well. he doesn't want to piss him off anymore than he probably already has, in any case. ]

I'm going to do both! During Party first

[fierybluebird]

[Whitebeard was a very pretty man once upon a time, here, have Marco joining in on such story (before opening that basket, he's still blissfully unaware.)]

Aye, Pops taught me almost everything I know about sparkles!

[Pauses.] Or was it vice versa?

[Shrugs!] No matter. He used to get tons of nurses with his manliness sparkles and long hair. [Serious nod.]

[First person to point that Marco was unable to manage the long hair thing gets elbowed hard.]

[After Party -- Troll away Shanks, troll away]

[fierybluebird]

[Marco heads up to the roof himself to get a moment away from the party, a smoke, and share some rum with his Pops' memorial.]

[Which is when he notices Shanks, much to his surprise.]

Oi, hadn't expected you up here, eh? [Not that he minds. Though being a little tipsy still, helps. That said, he fumbles over his words trying to piece out the next part.] I wouldn't take you for the type to get bored with the noise.

[Before in Luceti, Shanks had made a habit of going to the rooftop to find Marco when necessary, but since Shanks didn't seem to remember Luceti, Marco doubted he'd remember that. Not that he minded either, just a small curiosity.]

after party manly talks and such (yea)

[hiken_ace]

[After the party died down, and most people went home, Ace snuck out with a bottle of sake to go out and find Shanks. By chance, he decided to check the roof first, and lucky enough he found him. Silently, he walks up to him, giving him a light smile when he stands next to him.] Mind if I join you?

[toujoursfluer]

[There is a little paper crane looking like it's folded from the pages of a certain book. It's just there unexpectedly. Maybe it's been there all along. Or maybe someone made a trade, just a small one, to give you a piece of a happy birthday]

[fierybluebird]

[It's not until the next morning that Marco finds it, when cleaning up and figuring out what to do with them all.]

[He spends awhile looking it over, wryly amused and extra fond.] Arigatou, Robin.

[It's quiet and reflective, desperately hoping that she's okay despite being with the Malnosso, and promising himself he'll double his efforts to make her happy when she's back.]

[For now, he debates putting the bird to watch over the bottles at his Pops' memorial, but it's too likely to be blown away. Good thing he returned all those books to the library though, and he makes an extra space for it on the table next to bed, promising to put the necklace from Norma on it when she's back.]

[Stay safe Robin so that he can still make you happy as much as he can.]

[oftheyin]

[Ran Fan showed up wearing this dress, just with added tights, because she doesn't really like showing off her legs. And, she has a little gift in her hands. Nothing big, but it was Marco's birthday, so she wanted to bring something. In the end, she was only able to make him some tea. It wasn't a pricey gift, but it was homemade.

But, she's not really used to being a guest at the party, so she stands at the door awkwardly, wondering what she's supposed to do.]

[fierybluebird]

[Fortunately Marco likes handmade things or random little thoughtful gifts best. That and he's genuinely more thrilled just to see everyone. So he throws an origami flower lei over her head.]

Mazel Tov!

[Don't ask why, he's just being random. And he's clearly super happy that she's there.] Thanks for coming Ran Fan!

[alabastajewel]

[After greeting the birthday boy, Vivi spots Ran Fan and comes over to say hello. It's been a while since she's talked with her, after all.]

Ran Fan-san! It's good to see you again! [She smiles warmly.]

During the party!

[lostinmyway]

[Even though Ace had already told her there was going to be a cake at Marco's party, Grune brought along another one anyway. (You can never have too many cakes.) This one is done up in green icing with big, cheerful letters proclaiming, unsurprisingly enough, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCO!" She also brought him a drawing she did of the two of them chilling out together. She may not be Luceti's best artist, but it's certainly recognizable!

During the party, she'll be wandering around and talking to everyone, enjoying the food--and maybe also the drinks if she's left unattended. Whoops.]

During the party!

[fierybluebird]

[Hopefully Grune's not too drunk, but cake is ever appreciated, especially with four pirate boys there.]

Grune!! Thanks for coming! [And oh his gosh, that drawing. He needs a frame. Or tape. Because it is going up on his wall and he's keeping it forever.] Hey, now you can finally meet Shanks!

[Sets the cake down with the other so that anyone can have a slice. He's also putting a sunflower-looking lei on her. Don't worry, no one else is wearing theirs around their neck. Because reasons.]

[rashness]

[Given Marco's a bird, he must like fish, right?

...So Rin showed up and brought some grilled grouper. Spiced, flavored - it's actually excellent if you ignore the fact that grilled grouper is totally not a finger food. But he also brought plastic plates and forks as well as a rice cooker filled with, well, rice. So that's not bad, all things considered.

And as a result, at the party - though he feels a bit out of place - he's looking smug]

[fierybluebird]

[Marco does indeed like fish. And upon seeing Rin, he quickly switches out of human form to phoenix.]

Rin, you came! Thanks matey! [Giant grin and a few sparkles. He's just downright giddy now.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Guess who showed up early. Very early.

That's right. Law. Bearing two gifts. One, a bottle of very nice sake. The other, wrapped in a piece of silk brocade fabric with phoenixs patterned on it (the birthday boy should find it amusing), this knife. Because Law's become more of a blade nut in the time he's been in Luceti, and it's an appropriate gift between two fighters and pirates, and people who understand the value of protecting the ones they're bound to protect.]

[fierybluebird]

[That's because Law is classy.]

[He's also luckily early enough to miss completely drunk Marco making a general nuisance of himself. Not that being a nuisance is especially atypical or anything.]

Law! [Giant grin.] Thanks for coming! [And he is just gonna snag that sake, completely oblivious to the other present for now.] Ah sake! Pops' favorite. [Small bow.] Thanks matey!

[breezing]

[ Since she was invited by Ace (...along with everyone else) Ikki dutifully shows up, because turning down invitations to events of any sort is the exact opposite of her style. Ikki is even dressed up in a sundress with a white cardigan over it to keep warm. Katara did her hair up with little pink flower hair ties to match the dress.

She's brought along two gifts! A drawing for Marco and a tin of chocolate chip cookies made ENTIRELY BY HER which means with a lot of help from one or more obliging teenagers at House 56. She'll present both of them to Marco whenever she catches sight of him, but only if she sees him in bird form, since she...hasn't seen him the other way. 8|a

Also in tow is Soren the bird Pokemon, who will stick to the little girl like glue as she goes around to socialize and check out the treats being offered. Ikki can be found talking to her new pal and/or sharing the food she manages to get her hands on, and will pretty much go say hello to anyone she recognizes at all, as per usual. ]

[fierybluebird]

[Oh his gosh, Ikki, so adorable! At first Marco spots her as a human, half of him wondering how the heck her parental figure/guardians let her go to a pirate party (seriously, that is a disaster waiting to happen. Don't they know Marco and Ace are pyromaniacs who've set fire to their curtains at least twice now? And Shanks lives more in the bar than the apartment!) but then he remembers: a good portion of Luceti only knows him as a phoenix.]

[Oh, the dual-nature inhumanity! Having two identities, separated into two worlds, star-crossed like Romeo and Juliet, doomed should they ever mix!! Each side at war with the other!]






[Nah, not really, he loves being a phoenix. And a pirate. He's just going to make sure that alcohol is out of reach though. And Ace is banned from giving her drinks. Not that he would necessarily, but Ace did get his ten and seven year old brothers drunk with him. Granted he was ten himself at the time, but seriously pirates and alcohol, it's a thing.]

[He sneaks up behind her slightly -- no easy feat with the Swellow as her guardian, but he's usually quite good with birds, what with being one himself and all, and puts a pink origami flower lei around her neck. And then before she can turn around to see who it was; switches lightning quick into his phoenix form. Hey Swellow bro, have a fiery/sparkly nod. Sup?]

Ikki! I'm glad you came!! [Surprised, but glad! And he will be all kinds of extra giddy when he sees those presents. Seriously you guys are the best and he loves you all ;;] And you brought a friend! [Now where did he put his birdseed? Hopefully he didn't eat it all. He's got tons of sunflower seeds (always and forever and ever) but he's not sure what Swellow eats. You know what, have some whistles inquiring as to whether you'd like some sunflower seeds man. They're really good!]