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[breezing]

WHO: Any and all friends of Masaomi/anyone who happens to be on the beach! Invitations would’ve gone out via a (handwaved) secret entry or word of mouth.
WHAT: Masaomi’s birthday party, planned by Shikamaru-Gold-Ikki.
WHEN: Wednesday, June 19th.
WHERE: The beach!
SUMMARY: BEACH BIRTHDAY BASH. It’s pretty simple.
RATING: B FOR BIRTHDAY.

So after being reminded about Masaomi’s birthday, Gold came up with a much better idea than Shikamaru’s (lame) sit-down dinner! Therefore welcome to an all-dayish surprise beach birthday party! There are tables for presents and food, there is music (chosen by the boys, not by Ikki), and there is a sand castle city, complete with sandscrapers, which is what Gold put Ikki in charge of. The sand castle city has gotten a little out of hand because of this.

So stop by, wish Masaomi a happy birthday, and HAVE FUN. While there are three topic threads, FEEL FREE AND ENCOURAGED to just throw up your character at the party below that/anywhere, as per always.

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PRESENT TABLE

[breezing]

[ You can leave things here! Or go track down the birthday boy, if that's your preference. ]

[savedtheworld]

[There's a fancily packed present left by Aang on the present table. He had finally managed to find something that seemed to be from Masaomi's world around the item shop and saved it for him. In the package is a single disc that is unscratched but without any cover.

Also attached is a note. "I found a musical C-D at the store. I hope you like it! : )"

Of course, Aang had no idea how to even check what kind of CD it was. Surely whatever it was, was one of those weird things from Masaomi's world that he would enjoy.

It's a random Backstreet Boys CD.]

the airbenders are really great at presents clearly

[breezing]

[ There's a much less fancily wrapped package from Ikki on the present table. It's more patchwork-wrapped with pieces of any paper she thought was pretty, and looks haphazard, although there's a nice bow that Aang did on it, too.

Inside is a hand-made mug! ...It is therefore sort of lopsided and sad looking, but she put her entire heart into it! And then, following comments about Masaomi liking girls in swimsuits (??) she decorated it with stick figure girls! In...swimsuits? It's hard to tell, since they are stick figures, but they look happy. There's also what looks like a depiction of Masaomi and Linda on there, too.

There's an attached (pink) note: "Happy birthday Masaomi! This is part one but I'll give you part two sometime today. That one I have to give you in person! I hope you drink a lot of tea from this!" And then there are a bunch of hearts, smiley faces, and stars around all the free space of the note because free space isn't acceptable. ]

[endgames]

[Shikamaru's made no improvement at gift-wrapping in the last year. Same as with Masaomi's last birthday, Shikamaru's gift is the one inside a crumpled paper bag, its bearer indicated by post-it note instead of card. Inside the bad reveals another post-it, this one with instructions.

Scroll's yours. You can keep everything in it that you can get out.

At the bottom of the bag Masaomi will find a sealing scroll, much like the average ones they'd practiced with before. Opening it will reveal there are five slots full in it, each marked by a circle with a kanji for 'mystery' so you can't tell what's in any of them.

Each 'gift' will take a unique combination of hand signs to open, but all of them will be ones they practiced when Shikamaru taught Masaomi the basics of how to seal and retrieve items from a scroll before. Fair warning: two of the five slots are gag gifts.]

[blessingone]

[ Fenimore doesn't exactly know Masaomi all that well, so she hadn't really thought about a birthday present. As such, she brings something that is probably better suited for the food table. She baked a decently large batch of jam-filled bread earlier that day, packed it away in a basket with a small blanket over it, and brought that to the present table. She also included a simple note on top wishing him a happy birthday and saying who it was from. ]

[floralogy]

[Being one who doesn't like missing parties or even dare let other people outclass her in gift giving, it won't be a surprise then that there's a nicely wrapped gift left by Ino on the present table. With a big purple ribbon wrapped around the pot, it goes without saying that the little bonsai plant is from yours truly.

Attached near the ribbon is a note saying: "Happy Birthday, you womanizer! Here, so your room can have a touch of beauty in it. I'm sure you'll like it! Much love, Ino ♥ P.S. Take care of it or die."

Isn't she the sweetest?]

[cilantro]

[Cilan...doesn't give gifts to others very often that isn't food-related, to be honest. What can we say, stick with what you know, right? Maybe someday he'll be better at this sort of thing, but at least whatever he makes is usually in good taste.

He'll likely go say hi to Masaomi at some point, but for now he's leaving a small bag of delicious cookies for him at the present table. However, he did include something that might be of use for his Pikachu--what appears to be homemade Pokemon treats too. There's also a note attached with them in addition to the one wishing a happy birthday: This particular blend has a special flavor that Linda might like. If this suits her tastes, I can always try to make more, or show you the recipe so you can try to make it yourself if you prefer.]

PRESENT TABLE

[deathsdoctor]

[Since Masaomi and bling go together like peas in a pod...

Behold these two bracelets.

Underneath the wrapped bracelets is a book. The name? Haroun And The Sea Of Stories.]

[markofthebrave]

[On the table is a carefully wrapped present in yellow. There is no card, simply a note:

I saw this and thought of you.

Unwrap the present to find a brightly colored manga. The girl on the cover is wearing something skimpy, of course, but the story is actually profound and about friendship and sacrifice. It may or may not be an actual manga or it could be from a completely different world or possibly even commissioned??? Unless it is the first option, Masaomi will never know.

Underneath the manga is a book about Japanese history with highly romanticized and stylized pictures.]

FOOD TABLE

[breezing]

[ THERE IS FOOD, THAT IS A THING. Included in "food" is a very large and flamboyant birthday cake, but also a lot of sugary things and usual birthday fare. ]

[savedtheworld]

[Aang brings some contributions here as well. Thanks to his new bakery swag, he's able to set up a number of pastries and other baked treats around the dessert part of the food table. There's even some air nomad-style fruit pies!]

[endgames]

[Livewire Mountain Dew, of course.]

FOOD TABLE

[deathsdoctor]

[Onigiri of various types. Because sandwiches are yesterday's news.]

SAND CASTLE CITY

[breezing]

[ All around the party area (though not too close to the food table) are SAND CASTLES. Some of them were made by one of the obliging earthbenders in Ikki's acquaintance who can deal with sand, but a lot of them have just been made by - well, anyone who wants to help. It is an ongoing process, and there are lots of plastic buckets and shovels and everything you might need to build a truly epic sand castle provided, and Ikki's STRONGLY ENCOURAGING people to help Masaomi City be a wonderful, lovely place with lots of really tall buildings. ...Some of the sand castles are getting pretty tall and intricate, as the day goes one, and there were a fair amount there at the start of the party. When will the building stop?

Probably whenever cake is served and the focus of interest shifts immediately. ]

[savedtheworld]

[Having gotten a lot of practice with sandbending in last summer, Aang is working as one of the prime architects of Masaomi City. He takes pauses every now and then to regard anyone nearby.]

How do you like it? Any requests?

[And because it's summer, it's also time for Aang to be wearing just some tan shorts which means that his scar as well as more of his tattoos are visible.]

[breezing]

[ It's fairly obvious that Ikki can be found in Masaomi City - although unlike her grandfather, Ikki's contributions are all done by hand (and pink plastic bucket and shovel). Find her with Soren guarding or supervising the building process - or, more often than not, helping out, making sand castles by the dozen with industrious determination. Come across her at any point, or get dragged into helping out - because if she spots you and you don't look busy...

Since it's summer and the beach, Ikki's in a yellow swimsuit with white accents (skirt included), and has her hair up as per usual. She is also frequently wet from forays into the ocean. ]

[16autumnroad]

Chouji's contribution to Masaomi City is not a building. Instead, he digs a stream through the city. It weaves between the buildings, alongside the streets, and joins into a wider river outside the city border.

Performing a multi-size jutsu on his hands, he fetches a whole lot of seawater from the ocean shore and deposits it in the river, watching with satisfaction as it flows through the branches of the stream, filling everything he just dug.

"I think we need some bridges next," he muses.

[generalflirt]

[THE MUSIC? THE OCEAN! THE MASAOMI CITY...? Really, he'd been a lucky one to have something pulled off for his birthdays here in Luceti every time, but this time it feels welcome, because with some friends at home, some other baggage under his belt, and a lot of issues in the last year, he wasn't sure what to expect this year. And when he's brought to the beach, he already suspects he knows what's coming, but he's grateful all the same. Though now he does wonder who'll show up.

Whatevs.

He dons his swim trunks, and together with his Pikachu, he's going to just live it up for what it is. Some swimming, some eating, some opening presents, some admiring Masaomi City and making sure Linda doesn't destroy it because he can tell she so wants to, and some milking that he is the birthday boy. Just a little. Not as much as last year.]

[breezing]

[ The first time they ever talked face-to-face was on a beach, wasn't it? At Katara's birthday, last year. This is different from then; Ikki's actively seeking Masaomi out, and when she finds him she beams, not because of the pink wings (like last time) or because he's Katara's friend, but more because it's Masaomi and she likes him, though she never gets any of his references, still.

Ikki's in a yellow swimsuit with white accents (up to and including a white skirt), and she's been barefoot since they hit the beach. Soren, meanwhile, is playing guard at the City. He sees you there, Linda. He sees you... ]

Masaomi! Happy birthday! Are you having fun? Did you make any sand castles? Isn't it great? Grandpa helped with sandbending a bit but we've been making them by hand, too! I think I'm going to make little people for the city too, now. Hey, did you open any presents yet? Did you get anything super cool?

[ ...She's a mile a minute, as ever. ]

[twinlionfists]

[She'd heard about the party from Chouji and had debated with herself if she was comfortable enough to go to it. She really wanted to be polite and friendly, but parties had never been a huge thing for Hinata. However, Kida-kun had attempted to make her feel welcome, in his own way, and she really had no desire to be rude.

The beach aspect had her a little wary, since she didn't think she could find anything acceptable to wear, but after a little searching in the clothing stores, she'd come up with something both cute and practical. She couldn't help the fact that her legs and arms were bare, but she supposed that that couldn't be helped, since she was at a beach party.

A little more searching had found a lovely book on flowers that she wasn't sure if Kida-kun would enjoy or not, but it talked about the language of flowers and things that the kunoichi of Konoha learned early in life. If he was determined to be a Lothario, he should at least have the appropriate training, yes?]

[blessingone]

[Fenimore, as usual, has no plans to adopt more typical swimwear, sticking to the swimwear of her people...which is to say, the same clothes she always wears. So she'll be probably sticking out a bit in a full dress. She could totally swim in it if she wanted to, but she normally sticks to the shallows when there's a whole party going on.

Once she's put her gift on the table and spotted the birthday boy, she makes her way over and stops beside him. Her intent is to wish him a happy birthday, but what comes out first is:]

Well, this is one of the more unusually decorated birthday parties I've ever been to.

[From the direction she glances as she speaks, it's clear she is referring to the sand city.]

[stilldontgotit]

[Riku is kind of surprised that he showed up, but... eh. Masaomi's not that bad of a guy, and besides, he's trying to at least bury old grudges behind him.

So, after taking a little look at the sand castle city, he'll wander over to the water with his goofy bat by his side. He comes clad in black swim trunks, and he's slipping into the water for a bit of a swim himself. He's an islander, so it's totally in his blood. Should Masaomi be anywhere close by, he'll shoot him a smirk.]

Looks like you're having the time of your life. I gotta hand it to the ones in charge-- they know how to throw a pretty sweet party.

[endgames]

[So there actually wasn't a lot of prep-work required for this party (a good thing, in his opinion). They invited some people, set up the tables, and other than Sand Castle City that was it since everyone could bring food.

At the same time, it left Shikamaru feeling kinda useless, and for once he went out of his way to contribute as a result. For a couple days before this, he took the time he normally would spend training in the mornings to come down to the beach and dig a long trench around the shore, so that the sandscrapers' constructions wouldn't be thwarted by the tide.

During the party, he can either be found sitting in the shade of said trench (when the water's not coming in) in a shirt and shorts, or working on some of the sandscrapers himself. Or rather: making strong, stable bases to hand off to anyone who wants to finish them.]

[generalflirt]

Mean! This gift is mean, Shikamaru! [HE said this, marketing over with his hands on his hips to make his way over the trench with Linda on his shoulder and his hands on his hips]

[shamelessness]

[While Shiemi knows a couple of the people at the party, she honestly doesn't share many mutual friends with Masaomi. Because of that she'll stick to herself. The girl sets out a beach towel for herself, and sits on it waiting. She is pretty much an introvert, so watching from afar is enough for her. At least she's dressed appropriately in her bikini for the event.

The beach looks nice, she thinks to herself. She'd test the waters if not for the small box wrapped in pretty paper with a bow was in her hands. She didn't drop it off at the table because it's something she wanted to give Masaomi herself. And in fact her fingers are bandaged as a symbol of her various attempts to make it work. Shiemi's eyebrows furrow as she mentally prepares herself for her eventual "confrontation" with her "rival" Masaomi. Because of her hard focus on this one could easily sneak up to her.]

[blessingone]

[Such a person would have to be unscrupulous to surprise so worried a person! Or perhaps just a little mischievous at times.

Fenimore herself isn't being exactly the most social, but she's not bothered by it, whereas Shiemi...is also probably fine with it. However, Fenimore doesn't realize that the look of worry is coming from the upcoming "confrontation." She instead thinks that Shiemi is feeling left out. Time for a rescue attempt!

...Which just happens to also involve Fenimore coming up behind her and tapping her on the back.] Hey!

[As noted in her other tags, Fenimore is probably in the least beach-wear-looking thing on the beach, since she's in the same kind of dress she always is. She prefers it to the sort of swimwear that's more common around here.]

[precipitous]

[ Well, since half of her house is here and Masaomi is somehow kind of her friend and coworker now...yeah, Korra shows up. Besides, how is she supposed to turn down a beach party??

Korra is decked out in proper beach attire in a sporty Water Tribe number. She spends a little time everywhere - pigging out at the food table, building some rad sand castles (by cheating with her bending), playing in the water with Naga - yes, her polar bear dog is there, too. Even animals get to have fun!

Catch her anywhere basically. ]

[generalflirt]

[BUT WHAT DOES A SPORTY WATER TRIBE NUMBER LOOK LIKE this is relevant for his dialogue.

But there's a more immediate concern. Masaomi as by the water, shirtless (thus exposing his florescent pink wings, muscles, and most notably two very large and distinct scars on respectively his left shoulder (warhammer) and side (spear). Linda is also on his shoulder. The concern, you see, is Naga - who he may or may not have seen at the convenience store before now(?) but it's still jarring.

And man-]

Wow, things look hot over here.