1995/Happy Doka Day

Happy Doka Day
Date of Scene:	05 October 2024
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	It's Madoka Kaname's 15th Birthday! Well actually it's the weekend after the actual birthday when it's a bit more convenient to celebrate. Sayaka, Amy, Usagi, Mamoru and Hinoiri have all been invited. Gifts are given, food and treats are provided, and Sayaka displays new cakemaking skills. Special guest appearance by Homura Akemi.
Cast of Characters:	Madoka Kaname, Hinoiri Kirara, Sayaka Miki, Usagi Tsukino, Amanda Faust, Mamoru Chiba

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Madoka Kaname has posed:
    It's Doka Day! At least, that's what the minidokas are calling it. The Kaname family is here in force, with Tomohisa running around handling most of the legwork to keep things running smoothly while Junko relaxes with their youngest child: Tatsuya. Several of Madoka's Chara are playing with Tatsuya, since the small baby Kaname is young enough to still see the fairies, but neither of the parents seem to notice. There are treats and bits of Crown food all around, available for anyone to take, though the cake is being provided separately by a certain someone. Some of the presents have already been opened, and at least one brand new plushie is being used as a seat for Chara.

    The actual birthday girl is sitting near the middle of a booth table, wearing a conical birthday hat and letting her fluffy pink hair hang down to her shoulders instead of having it tied up in pigtails. Sitting next to her is Homura Akemi, who is leaning against her pink girlfriend with an arm around her waist. The black-haired Puella Magi is wearing her glasses, which she haven't worn in a while. Homura and Junko are talking about stocks and the business world when Madoka suddenly glances awkwardly off to the side.

    Junko senses her daughter's change in mood and asks, "Ah, Madoka-chan... are we boring you dear?"

    Madoka shakes her head, "No... it's just... the family you mentioned. I met one of their daughters once."

    "Oh?" Junko raises an eyebrow.

    Madoka hesitates as Homura's expression becomes one of knowing concern. Madoka finishes, "... the one who went missing."

    Junko's eyes widen and she says, "Oh! Wow. I had no idea..."

    Madoka shakes her head. "No. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

    Homura explains, or at least provides a Veil-friendly excuse, "Madoka-chan meets a lot of people volunteering at the hospital."

    Junko glances between the two of them with silent worry, but decides not to press further. "Well... whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

    Homura firmly states, "I agree fully." Madoka laughs, then for a moment her awkwardness passes and she peacefully smiles.

    The Kaname Mother takes note, "You've changed, though. You're so calm sometimes, like a cute little pink Buddha."

    Madoka waves her hands defensively and says, "Oh no, I'm nothing like that!"

    Homura looks a little mischievous as she says, "Well, you'll always be a goddess to me." Madoka blushes while Homura smiles and Junko laughs. Kamiko looks over at Homura for a moment before going back to making playful faces and noises at Tatsuya, much to the child's delight.

    The slight mood dip isn't enough to foil the otherwise cheerful tone. This is the picture of a happy family celebrating the 15th birthday of their eldest child.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had, well... she was arriving late. She'd honestly floundered on if she should go or not. It was times like this she... admittedly...

She really wished there was someone she could turn to, a teacher perhaps. Maybe a guidancer. Sure, Madoka had invited her. But well...

For a long time, she wondered if she should even go. She'd floundered on it so long she'd almost even asked Fuyuko for advice. Almost. And frankly, at the time she was scraping Fuyuko out of the 'advice' barrel, there was probably already a backup. She supposed she could have asked Takashi, but well...

My gosh, she REALLY needed better people to ask advice from. Maybe she should start asking Tamaki for more advice. Normally she'd ask Usagi or Sayaka and... yeah. She suspected she already knew what THEY'D say.

She'd come. How bad could it be? Ugh. She missed being Sunbreaker. She could schedule a youma at least, then, and... OH! THAT WAS IT!

Alas, Takashi had laughed and said no when she asked if he could release a youma near the arcade, no questions asked. So here she was. She had a box in hand, wrapped... poorly. Inside?

A history study guide. She'd seen that Madoka's grades needed work, what better gift? Also, a 14 pack of tiny wax cola bottles? And so she walked into the arcade, sloooow breath. "Heyyyyy. Kaname-san," she said.

And really, really hoping this wasn't going to be a 'Wait, you actually came? HA! I never thoguht you'd actually say YES! What a loser!' kind of situation.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Thanks to the benefits of the Patissiere PreCards, Sayaka has made a wondrous cake for Madoka's birthday, a fondant cake covered by sugar paste with alternating brown and pink lines of icing and with a double set of decorations: sugar statuettes of Madoka and her Chara Guardians (all of them about 9cm tall) around the outer section of the cake, and at the center a small bouquet of wafer roses (not sugar paste again because of the already astronomical quantities of sugar).

They had also prepared gifts of course: Ula is coming with a silver steel necklace presenting a pendant the koi mermaid made out of a pink sapphire shaped like Madoka's bow, while Sayaka had opted to go for something that could help her in hospital care: a book titled "Poetry First Aid Kit", for when a person's mood needs just as much care as their body.

The cake is safely kept in a rectangular box Sayaka is carrying, while her gift is in her bag and Ula's is in the satchel the koi mermaid always has with her. "Hey, Madoka-chan", Sayaka comes in with a smile wide, pushing the door open with shoulder Ula is not on, and then making her way to the pinkette.

"Hello, Junko-san, Tomohisa-san, Tatsuya-kun, Akemi-san", Sayaka greets everyone else, her eyes lingering on Homura for a second out of surprise at the elusive student's presence. "So, happy birthday! I bed you will have a bunch of people pushing each other to give you a present! Good thing I got here on time", she tells her best friend, placing the box with the cake on the table.

Ula side-eyes Sayaka at her statement, then floats over to the birthday girl. "Hello, Madoka-chan, happy birthday! This is for you", she says, taking the necklace out of her satchel and presenting it to her. "Hey, Hinoiri! Nice having you here", Sayaka waves at the unicorn.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi Tsukino is great with parents, if she says so herself, but then, she's pretty good with people in general, being the bubbly and cheerful sort. She's arrived at Madoka's birthday party with two gifts, both in boxes - one, wrapped in striped pink-on-pink paper, and the other bearing the logo of a french-style patisserie that's fairly well-known in Roppongi Hills.

After greeting Madoka's parents with exuberant exclamations about how nice everything looked and how wonderful Madoka has been as a friend, Usagi finally makes her way over to Madoka and Homura, surreptitiously waving at the many little Chara entertaining Tatsuya or sitting on plushes.

"Madoka-chan, happy birthday! I hope you like these gifts - they're both for you, but one's so you can share!"

Why exactly she'd want to share will become apparent when the patisserie box is opened - there are sixteen macarons inside, two for each Doka! They're an assortment of flavors and colors, of course. The other present is the one exclusively for Madoka herself - a two layer bracelet with rounded pink stones, with a gold clasp for fastening it. The stones are a mix of rose quartz and pink zebra stone, matching Madoka's aesthetic, and it's cute, to boot! Sure, accessories weren't always the best gift, but Usagi didn't see why she should pick a gift that prioritized any one particular dream, not when every 'doka was pretty cute.

Once the gift is offered, she greets the others who have arrived - "Nice to see you, Sayaka-chan! You too, Hinoiri-chan. Mamochan's going to come too, he's just running a little late."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    A birthday party... at an arcade! There will probably be playing videogames with friends! Amy's excitement for that is timeless.

    After getting invited there was a moment where she realized she had to get a present and just buying whatever game Madoka might be interested in that's on sale for five bucks on Steam right now is probably a little lame. ...Although...

    Amy shows up at the arcade in her red t-shirt and black slacks with a present in fairly generic pink-with-cute-things-on-it wrapping paper, glancing around and then making a beeline for the obvious party full of recognizable people. And a few unrecognizable people. Those must be Madoka's parents! And little sibling. "Madoka!" She waves. And smiles at the others, "It's good to see you, too!"

    She walks up to the table and places a present on it, boxy but soft, and then greets the parents politely. "I'm Amy Faust, from America, I go to Radiant Heart with your daughter... well, we're not in the same classes 'cuz I'm a grade ahead, but, we've ended up seeing a lot of eachother." Oh gosh social interactions are awkward.

    She turns back to Madoka, "Happy Birthday! Besides that, I was going to get you a game but I wanted to check first if you want DRM-free or not, which I guess there isn't really a good way to check without asking..." Once that's resolved she can finish it on her phone and send it quickly enough though!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks up as Hinoiri walks in and says in a flat tone. "Kirara-san. I have to admit I wasn't sure you'd come. Welcome to my birthday party!" Homura Akemi looks up at Hinoiri and then scoots over slightly, so that she can sit down if she wants to.

    Junko looks up at Kirara with a curious smile, not knowing who this person is. "Ah, I don't think we've met?" Her attention is drawn towards Sayaka as the familiar childhood friend appears, bearing cake and further gifts. "Sayaka-san! Always good to see you. How have you been?"

    Tomohisa passes by long enough to see the cake, saying, "Oh, the tiny Madoka's are a nice touch. Did you make that yourself?" He actually sounds impressed. As the family cook, he can appreciate the skill that went into the cake.

    Usagi's parental greeting is met with friendly enthusiasm, and Amy's is met with a polite smile. "Oh? From America?" says Junko. "Well, I hope you're enjoying your time overseas."

    As more of Madoka's friends filter in the rest of the family decide to make a tactical retreat to let the kids interact with each other. Junko picks up Tatsuya, interrupting his playtime with Kamiko, and holds him while joining her husband's side. Tomohisa says, "Have fun with your friends, Madoka-chan. Let us know if you need anything."

    Junko winks and adds, "We'll be close by. Happy birthday, Madoka!"

    Homura, naturally, decides to stay at Madoka's side. It's rare for her to actually interact with Madoka's friends, so caught up in her own magical business. To Sayaka, she smiles. "Miki-san. I hear you're doing well these days."

    When told that Mamoru will be showing up late, Madoka says, "Oh, alright. Well, I'll look forward to it! Hopefully he doesn't miss out on too much of the food."

    Madoka smiles brightly as Amy shows up and says, "Amy-chan! Glad you could make it. Hm. DRM-free? I mean... I guess it doesn't matter too much, though it does tend to get in the way sometimes."

    Gifts are parsed through, and Madoka goes over each of them as they come in. The history study guide gets a blink, and then a giggle. "Thanks, Kirara-san. I'll be sure to read it later." She decides to take it as Hinoiri's way of helping her do better, so she sets it someplace where it's less likely to get food on it, placing it in a bag so that it'll stay safe.

    The cake gains the admiration of the Chara, especially Lydian who is amused by how hers look. Tia considers for a moment, "Do you think it matches my likeness?"

    Rens commends, "I think it's a fairly accurate portrayal, considering the artstyle."

    Ula's necklace is accepted by Madoka's cupped hands, as she looks down at it with a smile. "Custom made jewelry from a magical mermaid. Lucky me! Thank you, Ula-chan." She takes a moment to wear the necklace, and then looks over the book while Kamiko and Medo peek at it. "Aww... I bet a lot of the patients will love this. Thanks, Saya-chan!"

    Then Usagi brings her gift, and Madoka opens it up. 16 Macarons, two for each of her Chara and also for herself. Brai is already picking one up and munching it down, followed quickly by her sister fairies. After gulping it down, Brai comments, "It's good. Thanks." Madoka giggles at the antics of her various Chara before taking the bracelet and admiring it for a moment.

    "Eheh. Well, you've got it in my color!" She looks at the stones more closely, looking at the perfectly spherical beads for a moment before putting it on. "Thanks, Usagi-chan. It's very pretty!"

    Homura comments on it, "I think it suits you pretty well."

    Once the gifts are accepted and gone through, Madoka starts putting the poetry book next to the study guide where it will stay safe, and then Homura slides that bag against the wall to make a bit more room for everything else. The seven Chara have now been given sugar at a birthday party so they are now being extra, but fortunately they have a wide open space to fly around freely in and an arcade nearby.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    As for Madoka herself, she is peaceful and serene and happy because she's surrounded by friends and Homura and her Chara and everything is great, but also feeling a bit overwhelmed because seven hyped up fairies are hard to keep track of. Turning to Sayaka, Usagi, Hinoiri, and Amy she asks, "Thanks again for coming everyone, and also for the presents. Maybe we can wait on the cake until Mamoru shows up, if he's not that far out. How is everyone doing today?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
When Mamoru comes in, he's dressed more nicely than usual -- a plain button-down white shirt and black jeans with his leather jacket -- though his dress shoes are the same, ridiculously expensive and worn legitimately 60% of the time. His glasses are clean, and his hair's a little more fluffily windswept than it normally is as he comes in through the arcade doors and scans for 'pink' and also 'Usagi' equally.

There are both -- and also Homura (!) and that makes sense of course Homura is here, and also Amy and Sayaka, who also make sense, and Hinoiri, who...

...well, she's very brave. Especially given that flat tone he just heard from Madoka-- but oh, as he's coming in, Madoka's adults and smol sibling are making their exit. The tall, tall teenager takes that opportunity to slope on over and deposit a very prettily wrapped couple of boxes on the table, looking a weird combination of smug and self-deprecating.

"Sorry I'm late," Mamoru says, "happy birthday, Madoka-san!" He gestures at the boxes. "You don't have to open it now, I'm sure everyone's waiting for that beautiful cake~"

He has his earplugs in his pocket just in case. It shouldn't be too bad though! It's not like it's a party for rowdy ten year olds.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced towards Homura. Huh. She looked... vaguelly familiar? Eh, probably saw her at school. Then she glanced to Junko. "Uhhh, yeah. I'm... Sayaka's friend," she finally said. "I know Madoka from work... errr... a work study. Group. Thing. She's... cool enough," Hinoiri said. Oh yeah. That flat tone. That was it. It was definitely a 'why the FUDGE DID YOU COME' comment. Oh, why was she herrrrrre?

"... Hinoiri Kirara. Umm, nice to meet you. I'm from... far away." She wasn't even going to try anymore. So many people knew already and where was she going to say, she was from Bavaria? Please.

As the adults skipped, she glanced towards Homura and... "So... do you sparkle too? Not asking which one you are, just if you do. Since, you know. I wanna make sure to know if I need to cut out the... talk."

"... Wait, does it sound like we're doing something illegal when I say it like that?" she asked, before shaking her head and glancing to Ula, Sayaka, Ami and Usagi. Well...

At least this wasn't a party she didn't know anyone at. So like... she wouldn't have to worry about being too awkward.

"So, ummm. Those are parents. Your parents! They seem nice."

She finally sat down, a bit awkwardly, poking her fingers together a little...

Still, nobody was bleeding yet, so far her arrival was looking up! "I'm uhhh, not sure how long I can stay. I uhhhhh, got some... things... in the... magic... oven... toaster... thing... checking for the oracle properties inherent for detecting wide area recursive arcane loops in order to predetermine upcoming apocalypses." Was that true? Not a word of it! But well... she didn't want to be the awkward girl here for long!

... Though, admittedly, she probably was closer to Gretchen than she was Madoka or... new-Gretchen.

... Maybe she could bribe Double Trouble to launch an attack on the arcade.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy, for her part, did actually smile at Hinoiri and doesn't seem to have had any thought occur to her that the girl shouldn't be here!

    Amy taps a bit on her phone. "Okay! Sent you CrossCode, it's this neat retro game about someone stuck in a sort of... holographic MMO in the far future. I thought it had a pretty interesting story and solid gameplay!"

    Amy's physical present is... another first-aid kit like she carries on patrol! Amy smiles, "This one is uh... Sets-- Nurse Meiou was able to help me add some things to it, like a proper tourniquet and the topical hemostatic agents." ...Whiiich she realizes, is maybe a weird thing to give to a girl who Totally Does Not Secretly Fight Monsters in front of her parents, so she continues with slight awkwardness, "...which you hopefully will never need but like... it's neat to see it and actually /have/ a complete kit, right? Like the kid in Have Spacesuit Will Travel."

    Hinoiri asks if Sparkling sounds like something illegal, and Amy laughs! "Oh my gods. 'Parents, watch out for the latest teenage craze: They call it 'Sparkle', and here's everything you need to know, or at least whatever we think will generate clicks and outrage!'" She grins.

    Also, there's Mamoru! "You made it!" Amy greets him with a cheerful wave!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi giggles as one of her gifts is immediately devoured. Perfect! Food lover to food lover, she's loved the macarons from that bakery, so she'd made sure to pick some up! "Glad you approve, Brai-chan. And you too, Homura-chan! I thought it would look really pretty on Madoka-chan."

If there's tension between Hinoiri and Madoka, she's studiously ignoring it, now oohing and aahing over the cake Sayaka provided.

"Wow, that's amazing! We have so many friends with tasty treats, this is wonderful!"

Clap, clap. And then Mamoru arrives, and she sidles over to his side, snuggling a little.

"Eh, it sounds a little like we're doing something illegal, but, like, I don't think Madoka-chan's parents are going to think we're doing drugs or anything, so," shrug.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Hi, Usagi-chan! This party has just started and I am aiming for the world record of the longest party, so Mamoru-san will be fine", Sayaka tells her in a jokey tone. "Hello, Mamoru-san ", she greets him once the boy approaches.

Amy also gets a greeting when she comes up. "Hey, Amy-san. Gifting games on the moment, then? Really convenient to get it exactly right", Sayaka smiles at the redhead.

Sayaka nods at Junko jovially. "Have been well, got over a particularly tough test, and now I can take things slowly. Anything new, Junko-san?" she checks in response while Tomohisa looks over her cake.

An embarassed grin is reserved at the question given by Madoka's dad. "Yes, yes, I did. I had to follow the instructions carefully, though", the bluenette tries to explain the PreCard in a more... Veil-approved manner. "I owe most of it to the recipe."

"Of course, Madoka-chan!", Ula exclaims, visibly glad that Madoka is liking it. She did spend a lot of time on it to make sure it would be of high enough quality for her birthday present.

"Seeing you coming to help is already good enough to make them happier if they appreciate you right, but I think it will carve its own place", the bluenette smiles at the pinkette.

"Yeah, I am, Akemi-san", Sayaka turns to address her. "I can say thinks are starting to look up, and a big part of it is thanks to Madoka-chan's help. Anything good coming up with you?", she delays it by a second, not sure if that would be awkward right here.

"I am quite sure there would be consequences if us being magical girls came out", Sayaka shrugs lightly at Hinoiri in a whisper.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Mamoru's arrival is greeted with a bright smile. Several of the Chara turn to wave at him as he approaches, and so does Madoka. Homura gives him a glance and lifts a hand to shortly wave at him. As he approaches and offers gifts, Madoka cheerfully says, "Thanks for coming, Mamoru-san!" As for the gifts, Rens and Sio float down to push them aside, though they do quietly speculate between themselves on what it is. If left alone for too long they might open it themselves! Madoka invites, "Please, have a seat. We were just about to get started."

    Homura looks up at Kirara with her deep purple eyes that have a certain anger behind them, though the anger isn't really directed at her. It's more like a general tiredness of the world's BS. The mention of doing something illegal makes Homura's head tilt. "Well, that depends on how far one goes. I don't have a fancy name like Sharpsong or Hope Blossom or whatever, but..." She holds up a hand, showing off her Soul Gem Ring. "If you were in the Paris Catacombs, I was there too."

    Madoka smiles and explains, "You know how I occasionally mention that I have a girlfriend that you almost never see?" She points to Homura and says, "It's her."

    Homura mentions, "I was also Gretchen's roommate, at least for those times when she and Madoka-chan didn't get along. Granted..." She reaches out her hand to cup Kamiko gently in it while the tiny fairy noms on a macaron and sips on a minisdoa. "... that hardly seems necessary now."

    Homura turns to Sayaka and then glances sideways at Madoka. "My turn isn't likely to come up for a while. My reason to despair has vanished and there's suddenly less competition over Grief Seeds. However... well, I'm not as worried about things as I once was."

    Regarding Madoka's parents, she smiles up at Hinoiri and says, "That's right! That's my mom and dad. They dote on me a lot, but they tend to give me a lot of leeway recently. They say I'm acting 'more responsible'." Then she shakes her head and says, "Don't worry about coming or going. I'm glad you came, and thanks for thinking of me."

    Madoka smiles at the mention of receiving Crosscode for her birthday. "Oh! I've actually been curious about that one. Thanks, Amy-chan. I'll play it when I get home." Then, the physical gift is given, and Madoka takes it and opens it up for a moment.

    Medo also gives it a closer look to inspect the contents. After looking it over, she gives Madoka a thumbs up. The pink Bearer giggles and says, "Looks like it's Medo approved. Thanks Amy. I'll make the most of it if needed."

    Kamiko hovers over the medkit and says, "Maybe let me hold onto that." She glances around to see if anyone non-magical is looking, and then opens a portal to send it into her paradise. "Just in case, it's easier if I'm holding onto it."

    Homura shrugs and says, "Never underestimate the usefulness of a pocket dimension.

    Lydian starts tugging on Madoka's sleeve and says, "Cut the cake! Cut the cake!"

    Madoka giggles, and picks up a knife. "Alright, alright. Here we go." She stands up, which forces Homura to let her go for a moment. She takes a moment to count everyone here and then starts cutting the cake into fairly even slices. There are small paper plates off to the side that she places each slice on, and her little fairies start distributing the plates. Madoka, of course, keeps one of the slices for herself, one with lots of decorative roses on it. The minidokas are all sharing a slice, full as they are from the macarons and, for once, not wanting to be too greedy.

    Madoka smiles at Sayaka and says, "Thanks again for the cake, Saya-chan."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Once they are settled in, Doka reaches over to open Mamoru's present, and immediately squeals as she notices the tiny TV and mini-DVD player. "Oh my gosh! This will go so well in the dollhouse." She giggles, and the Chara start orbiting around it.

    Sio comments, "I guess this means we wont need to borrow Madoka-chan's phone for movie night!"

    Kamiko, meanwhile, is hovering close to Hinoiri for a moment. She speaks in a low voice while holding a tiny soda in her hand. "You don't have to feel weird about this. You've every right to be here. You were invited."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru watches Hinoiri for a moment, then flickers a quick and warm smile at Amy and her greeting. "I did!" he agrees as Usagi comes over to him, and he puts an idle arm around her, squeezing for a second then just letting it rest there, a warm and solid weight.

"Oh gods forbid," he says, making a face at the 'could be doing drugs' thing. "That'd be the last thing I need. But yeah, it sounds like a euphemism for something or other."

He smiles at Sayaka and Ula. "Hello, you two. Good to see you doing better than ever."

He looks pleased at the invitation to sit down, though truth be told, also a little trepidatious-- and he lets go of Usagi long enough to sit and snag some fries and make sure there's an empty seat next to him, if his fiancee wants to.

Once he's down, he listens and watches, coasting on the sound of conversation as much as anything else...

...until the cake is cut, and he's given a piece of cake, and he starts to eat it! And then Madoka opens his present, and he holds a hand up in front of his full-mouth grin, eyes crinkling behind his glasses. He doesn't quite rush the bite of cake, but he does look delighted, and it's only a moment before he can say, "I'm so glad! I didn't even know you had a dollhouse, that's excellent--!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort. "True enough. 'Look out for these signs. Unexplained bruises and burns, hanging out with strange boys you've never seen before, odd cat-like creatures following them around, multiple unexplained absences? Sparkle could be happening right under your nose and you won't notice until it's too late.'"

"... But uhhhh... yeah," Hinoiri said, glancing away. "I uhhh... wasn't... available... for the Catacombs." On account of not sparkling. A frustrated look formed on her face and she crossed her arms. "But you all handled it well without me, so ummm. Good job. And nice to meet you. Glad to know you're not like, the fake girlfriend that Madoka talks about going to another school."

Then she paused. And realized HER girlfriend was one who went to another school. And she sighed.

Then... Kamiko. She gave a small smile to the little chara. "Thanks. Yeah. I've just... never been good at these kinds of things. It's nice, though. Very... nice." She'd take the slice of cake, glancing towards the others for a moment.

She, admittedly, half expected there to be a youma attack that WASN'T orchestrated by her. She then took another small bite of it, giving a shrug. "So, how's the whole... no-longer-dark life treating you?" she asked Kamiko. "You still... well... never seen the before and after with a Chara. You feel like who you were, just less dark? Or more like... a whole new you kind of thing?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    When Sayaka says she's aiming for the world record, Amy gets out her phone and taps at it. "...Then we're gonna be here at least 55 more hours, buckle up." she grins, also in a jokey tone. As for the game... Amy shrugs. "Well... I had the idea to get her a game after getting the invitation, but, I know most people just use the one platform with DRM, I didn't necessarily want to give her homework of getting an account for another service, you know?"

    Never underestimate the usefulness of a pocket dimension. "Gotta be one of the first items on any D&D adventurer's list! Also why I like my backpack... it's not a pocket dimension, but it holds more than most school and camping backpack designs I've seen."

    Time for cake! Amy is not in a hurry to get a slice, patiently waiting, but happy to start eating her slice once she's got it.

    A tiny TV and DVD player are discussed. "...Huh, do those actually work?" With magic, you never know! "Wait. Do they live in a dollhouse?" She obviously means the Charas.

    She briefly imagines that experience. It is, after all, not entirely outside the realm of possibility as a hopefully-temporary state since she's been turned into a doll once before.

    Hinoiri's list of Sparkle Side Effects May Include makes her laugh, too. A bit later, she gives a more serious and sympathetic look, "I've never been good at them either. I guess I should have one next year? I have no idea what to do."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Grabbing some of the snacks, Usagi settles down near Mamoru once he sits, smiling brightly at Homura. She hasn't exactly hung out with Madoka's Very Cool Girlfriend before, but every time they've run into each other it's been reinforced that Homura is indeed very cool.

"Oh, Mamochan that's so cool, they can have their own little movie nights!" So cute! And then the cake is cut, and she accepts a large slice with a bright smile, only to snicker when Hinoiri starts giving out symptoms. "Yeah, luckily most of our parents haven't noticed those side effects."

Taking a big bite of cake, she hums in satisfaction.

"Oh, this is so good!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"So, you think my name is fancy", Sayaka jumps on the occasion, giving Homura a teasing smile. "Of course, it's me, Cure Sharpsong, the heroine of justice and music", she continues in a faux self-aggrandizing tone once she is sure Madoka's family is out of earshot.

"Thank you, actually", she switches to a more normal behaviour right after, even if there is still a hint of the previous tone.

"I don't think you have ever had trouble with getting them before, but well, I certainly don't know what to do with them now, so if by some chance you find yourself in need of an extra, feel free to ask", she offers to the black-haired girl. The only other Puella around she is accounting for is Amy, so she is pretty sure she should easily have one on hand.

"Madoka's parents are awesome", Sayaka chimes in on the discussion with Hinoiri. "Junko-san is really tough, and nobody can weather the workspace like she does. Tomohisa-san has this big vegetable garden he takes care of personally", she finishes, not remembering at the moment if he was taking care of something other than tomatoes. "What other telltale signs do you have in your list?" she adds to Hinoiri with an amused snort at what she has just brought into the conversation.

"You are welcome, Madoka-chan, I am glad you like how it turned out", Sayaka replies, taking a slice of the cake herself. She waves dismissively at Amy's continuation of her joke. "I am not worried, it's a piece of cake", the bluenette tells her, bringing her actual first piece of cake into her mouth.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Smiling softly at Mamoru, and then nodding to Amy, Homura explains, "I got her a dollhouse for her Chara last year. They also built a gingerbread house on Christmas, though that one quickly got eaten. I suppose now that there are seven of them here we might need a bigger dollhouse."

    Madoka mentions, "They love it, and it looks like they'll love their new TV, too. Such a cute idea."

    Homura looks to Hinoiri and says, "I see," when she mentions not being there. "Yes, Madoka-chan and I went clubbing in Paris for a bit." She says that with a completely straight face. "It was dangerous and we were lucky, but we won and we're alive and that's all that matters." With a shrug she says, "And yes, I'm actually her very real girlfriend who goes to the same school but keeps getting caught up in ridiculous nonsense, but I guess that's just 'sparkles' for you."

    Kamiko hears Hinoiri's list and snortgiggles. Then she glances towards and answers, "Well, for me it's like... have you ever had a really chronic pain that you've endured for a very long time, and then one day it just all goes away? And like... even though the pain is gone you're still tired and a little grouchy from it but overall you still feel a lot better? It's like that. I'm the same person, with the same memories and identity and everything. Just... maybe not as grumpy, desperate or pessimistic." She reaches up to touch her face where her mask used to rest and says, "Though... it's funny. Tatsuya almost didn't recognize me at first. It's harder to play peekaboo with him when I don't have my mask anymore."

    To Amy, Madoka smiles, "You should! It could be fun. Up to you if you want to have it on your birthday or your rebirth day."

    Homura's opinion of Usagi is something that the Mysterious Cool Girl keeps to herself, though she's happy that Madoka has good friends. She glances between her and Mamoru and is quietly grateful that, in this timeline at least, they get to be happy.

    Sayaka talks about being a heroine of justice and Homura's expression suddenly goes flat again. She has Feelings about that regarding Sayaka's fate in other timelines. The thanks strikes her as a bit odd. "Thanks for what?" For now, she pushes the bitter emotions from other timestreams aside and says, "Well, I'm glad you're not a Puella Magi anymore. Being a Cure is a lot more suitable for you. I've never had trouble getting Grief Seeds for myself, but... you never know when someone needs help, and we should make sure they don't end up in the wrong hands. Besides... any Grief Seeds you had off to me will naturally end up being looked over by Madoka-chan at some point."

    As Sayaka describes her parents, Madoka is beaming. "I'm really proud of my momma, and papa is very sweet. He loves to cook, and he's pretty good at it. He made me some cream stew on the day of my actual birthday."

    All that said; Madoka, Homura and the minidokas all enjoy their slices of cake for a bit. Homura gets the idea to start trying to feed Madoka a piece of cake, and the pink girl giggles and accepts, but just once. The two of them laugh for a moment.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yeah," Mamoru laughs at Usagi's enthusiasm, leaning to bump her shoulder before ceasing to be mildly obnoxious. And then he blinks. Cure Sharpsong? That makes sense.

He takes another bite of his cake, savoring it as he watches Madoka's Charas flit about and be excited, and as he listens to the conversation between Hinoiri and Amy and Sayaka and Kamiko-- and Homura, after she and Madoka explain about the dollhouse.

He also beams when Madoka saya his idea was cute, but his mouth is full again, so instead he gives a crinkle-eyed thumbs-up as he chews.

He seems actually more comfortable in a group setting if his mouth is full of cake. Who could have guessed?

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced towards Amy and gave a small shrug. "Yeah. It's... probably not too hard to figure out, but I often suspect it's a more tribal knowledge sort of thing."

Of course, at 'Cure Sharpsong, heroine of justice and music', Hinoiri couldn't help but snort. "Oh yes. I don't think I'll *ever* get tired of that one, Starfish. As for other signs, hmmm. Let's see."

"Weird pets, weird friends, weird crushes, weird bruises... Things seem to explode where ever they go, they'll seem to just magically pop up out of the woodwork whereever there's a disaster or annoyance. Perhaps an odd affection for certain lunar bodies, stuffed animals. Oh, a new talent for making cakes," Hinoiri punctuated that one with a bite of her cake.

"... New doll houses. Little siblings talking about new make believe friends hanging around their eldest child."

She then glanced towards Kamiko and couldn't help but nod. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The first time I stopped using dark energy, it felt amazing. For a bit, I even tried to find an alternative. It just... didn't pan out, though. So I kind of fell back. I've got to admit, I don't miss all the aches and pains. You just kind of get used to them after a while, assume that everything is supposed to hurt, that the price of power is given to those who can endure it, right? But well... that... doesn't make it better. The pessimism isn't so bad to lose, either. Hated the nightmares and the voices.." She then blinked. "Though, in your case I guess you'd likely be the voice..."

She followed Mamoru's lead and put some cake in her mouth. Yup. Everyone here is super mega cool. After a bit she swallowed and...

"Hey, anyone got special plans for Halloween? Doing anything wild and exciting?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Tribal knowledge? "Nah, I'm just autistic." Amy states plainly. "...Humans don't like, actually teach all these unwritten rules and how to do social stuff. Do ponies? Anyway... friends who are nice about you not knowing how to do it make things a lot better." She smiles at the gathered group.

    Expand the dollhouse? It's kind of funny when you have, you know, the actual full size... apartment or wherever Madoka lives, but Amy imagines that for a moment. "Huh, yeah, I guess it's better to have a place where everything is sized for you. The novelty of everything being huge doesn't make it not inconvenient and probably gets real old..."

    After this completely normal conversation, she lifts a bite of cake to her mouth and chews, savoring the flavor.

    I'm the same person, with the same memories and identity and everything. "Mood." Amy nods and raises an imaginary glass.

    Rebirth day... Amy blinks. "Huh. I hadn't thought of that, but they're pretty close to eachother anyway, both in July." She looks thoughtful, and a little happy at someone enthusiastically saying she should celebrate. "But what do I do though, do I plan the party, or do I just say I'd like to have one in a certain date range and someone else plans it, or...?" She looks thoughtful.

    The sight of the couple together and the clearly cool, quiet girlfriend going for an adorable couple moment with feeding Madoka the cake slice makes her smile.

    And then Hinoiri mentions... "Oh dang, Halloween... there was so much magic stuff going on last time... hey, do we do, like, trick-or-treating at the school or have a party or anything?" She looks around to the others.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Cure Sharpsong?" It's asked in surprise - but also delight, as Usagi claps a little for Sayaka. "Sayaka-chan, that's wonderful! Did you talk to Cure LaMer? I've been meaning to introduce Hinoiri to her, when there's a quiet moment."

It seems obvious why she'd be asking, so she doesn't elaborate, and hums in satisfaction as she enjoys her cake. The quiet conversation between Hinoiri and Kamiko is not commented on, though these other symptoms earn an arched brow. "Coming out of the woodwork? I think you might have just had bad luck. Most people on your old team do everything in the same few wards, for some reason."

And then Halloween comes up, and Usagi makes such a face. "Definitely not. Maybe a stream, if I get bullied into it again. But otherwise? I'm going to enjoy the quiet and pretend it's not happening. Thank goodness I don't live in America."

If she has opinions on tribal rules or not, she doesn't offer them.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Thanks for the compliment, even if you were talking about something else. Anywayyy, you know, we hadn't really met all much and now is a much better time than it was back then", she says a bit awkwardly at having the ball being pushed back in her court. "I am finding myself being a lot better with that too", she admits to Homura. "And I have alternative communication methods than don't need Kyubey's intervention, to boot."

Sayaka gives a nod to Mamoru. "I am doing much better now", she confirms in what sounds as a very happy tone. And well, she did announce her new identity earlier. "I am liking my new transformation a lot more than the old one, despite some... learning pains. Mostly with nailing the landing, and well, I have a lot more hair to account for now."

Ula pats her satchel in reaction to Mamoru's previous statement. "I have gotten some changes too. Now I create some cards with nifty effects that pop out of here", she explains to Mamoru, although she doesn't feel like bringing up the deal with the sneezes, blushing a little at the embarassing memory.

Sayaka laughs when Hinoiri mentions the new talent in making cakes. "Yeah, that last one may just be a big mystery. If you meet someone like that, let me know, and I will do my best to help you get to the bottom of it. The rest checks out, good job on doing your research. But you have always been good at that."

"Halloween is really close now, true. I am not sure what to go as. If I don't get any good idea, I will just be left hoping something interesting and practical is sneezed on me. Any suggestions?"

""Thank you!", Sayaka exclaims to Usagi, before considering the part about Cure La Mer. "I haven't heard of her before, something up with her? What is she like?" she asks curiously.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Brai and Rens are already messing with the tiny TV and are currently playing some random shonen anime on it. There is some kind of magical superscience thing happening over there to make it run off of their tiny Chara smartphones. It's probably one of those things that works better the less you think about it. They are making happy fairy noises while eating cake and macarons while drinking tiny soda bottles.

    The lack of conversation from Mamoru doesn't seem to bother Madoka or Homura. It's not as if the fairies themselves don't provide a whirlwind of activity. Homura glances in his direction and seems to be getting Fellow Introvert Vibes off of him, so keeps quiet to let him have space. His presence is appreciated and that's enough.

    As Hinoiri lists off side effects, Madoka mentions, "Frequent involvement in Juuban Flu outbreaks. Arriving at disaster zones before EMTs can get there."

    Kamiko nodnods to Hinoiri and then snerks at the mention of 'being the voice. "Yeah. That's about right. Like... I really thought that I could do anything, but like... it never occurred to me to ask if I should? Like at some point it's like I forgot that people could get upset or feel pain or something. It was pretty weird. It was a dark time in my life, no pun intended, but in the end I got what I actually wanted. My small Labyrinth turned into my Paradise, and Madoka-chan finally accepted me. I mean, fully, in the way that matters."

    When Halloween is mentioned, Madoka and Homura glance towards each other, and then at Hinoiri, shaking their heads. Madoka says, "I hadn't really thought about it yet."

    Homura considers Amy's question regarding how to plan such a thing and says, "Well, it really depends. I have to admit I didn't have a lot of birthday celebrations myself because... well... I'm not quite as extroverted as Madoka is." She tilts her head back and considers. "There's no rule or law saying that you can't plan one yourself, I suppose. Madoka's parents generally plan hers out, when it comes to locale and catering, but Madoka chose who to invite. However, overseas kids or those whose parents are away probably have to do that planning on their own. There's always an off chance that a really close friend or girlfriend could plan it for you, but not everyone has the time for that."

    Madoka mentions, "In your case, I'd probably say you should choose who you want to invite, and then what date you want to have it on, then send out invitations. A lot of times people might want to bring a plus one, so decide if you want to allow that or not. You should probably expect to do the legwork yourself, but if anyone wants to volunteer to do something for you then you should probably let them."

    Homura adds to Madoka's last statement, "As long as they are reliable."

    Madoka laughs awkwardly, then says, "I mean... you have a lot of leeway, so don't be too worried about doing it wrong. It's your birthday, after all."

    As Usagi mentions Cure La Mer, several tiny heads turn. Namely Rens, Tia and Kamiko's. "The girl with the camera pot?" asks Tia. "The bubble photos are pretty neat, though I admit the three of us probably didn't leave the best first impression on her."

    When Sayaka explains the thanks, Homura says, "Oh! Right." Then she listens to Sayaka talk more, and Homura's mouth flattens. "Ah, the less one needs Kyubey the better. I can't say I could ever imagine myself as a Precure, but I'm a little jealous. It's true though, we haven't really had a lot of chance to get to know each other. Maybe in the future."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort and shook her head. "No, not really. You're very much expected to sink or swim back home. And... yeah. Friends here are pretty cool."

She then groaned. "Wait, WHAT? So that was just me?" she asked Usagi. "I swear. I even tried to plan around it, because every time a bunch of you girls would just... err..." She trailed off, coughing. "A-and, in retrospect, that was... a positive. I am looking forward to meeting Cure LaMer, though. I'm hoping to meet a god soon, too. Well, another one. Who knows? Maybe he can help with my magic situation. I don't think I'd make a good Cure, though. Though I have gotten better at throwing a punch..."

She then paused. Her eyes moved to Madoka. Just for a moment before she looked away and took another bite of her cake.

"Y-yeah. I'm actually working on some cosplay outfits, planning to have a special friend on the stream so she can let loose. I can't say any more though, it's a surprise. But here's hoping it'll be spooooooooky," she said in an ominous tone. Followed quickly by... "And don't worry, Usagi, I won't be anywhere near you that day, promise."

She then glanced to Kamiko and nodded. "Yeah. All of that... just kind of gets lost in the weeds, with dark energy. 'I can, so doesn't that mean I should?' Eventually you just kind of..." She trailed off, her mind flashing to Catra. She then glanced towards everything. Huh. "I'm happy Madoka finally realized what she needed to do. It's good to see you not hurting anymore, you never deserved it."

She paused before tossing her plate away. "I should actually get going, though. It was great seeing you Kaname-san. I hope your grades impr-- I hope you like the gift. And thanks for having me," Hinoiri said quickly, giving a small wave before making her escape.

... This actually gave her a lot more to think about than she thought it would.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"You could always stream from the new place," Mamoru says hopefully to Usagi, "or maybe I can keep you company anyway. It's not like I can ruin another stream with a proposal." Deadpan isn't quite the right term; he's not Kazuo, by any means. But he does manage to say that with only the tiniest hint of smugness.

Homura gets a little smile in return for her consideration, and then Mamoru glances to Hinoiri, "I'm not dressing up, and I can't just go around asking for candy in henshin, and besides, I'm a million centimeters tall so nobody would give me candy anyway." He looks amused, at least.

Then he pauses with his fork halfway between plate and face, and says a little sheepishly, "I'm gonna be moving out of the dorms probably next month sometime, whenever the apartment's finished. So I'll pass around the address once I move in, so people know where to come if they need to get healed quick-- though I'll still be on campus a fair amount. Always a good idea to text if you can."

Then it's a mouthful of cake again.

He's running out of cake.

He does, however, wave to Hinoiri as she escapes.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Ponies don't teach the unwritten social rules either... "Same here." Amy nods solemnly.

    Homura is an expert on birthday party planning. Amy listens attentively, and is a few sentences in before she realizes she's being given codified unwritten rules because she just said she doesn't know that stuff and also that was a lot of details. She gets out a little pad of paper and a pen from her phone bag. The pen has a cap, which she loosens with a push from her thumb and index finger before tucking it under her thumb and turning the pen around to stick the other end into it before writing. "Be ready for plus ones... probably have to plan it... myself... pick a date and... tell friends... can you say the rest of it again?" She'll make sure she gets all the details.

    Usagi would rather not do anything for Halloween. It's not like Mamoru can 'ruin' another stream with a proposal. Amy snrks at that, and also points out, "I did try to set up a haunted house room that wouldn't jumpscare you, but..." and then looks awkward because oh right, Usagi being turned evil is the reason she didn't get to see.

    Well, there are other topics. Like Sayaka's new transformation! "Is the long hair that much of a pain? I guess I've gotten used to it." Or magic is subtly keeping it from being as much of a problem. "Though I guess you are saved from having to brush it every day and stuff..."

    Also, Hinoiri mentions: "Ooh, you're doing a halloween stream? Cool!"

    ...Oh wait, wait, wait, the shapeshifter is Hinoiri's themfriend or something, right? Yes, Halloween does give quite the opportunity for such a person to cut loose and claim it's a bunch of costumes, doesn't it! "I am absolutely gonna have to see this." Amy's smiling eagerly. "When is it, exactly?" ...Well, she can get the time from Hinoiri's page anyway.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I will look forward to it", Sayaka gives Homura a thumbs up over them meeting up in the future. It's a bit vague, but she supposes the elusive magical girl must have quite the full schedule. Who knows with what though.

Sayaka looks questioningly at Hinoiri when she follows that comment about the punch by looking at Madoka, though she doesn't actually say anything about it yet. "What are you going to do once you meet Cure La Mer?"

"We could host something for you, Amy-chan", Sayaka offers at her indecision on which one to go with. "I doubt anybody of our group is lacking in reliability. Or willingness", she addresses Homura's comment.

"And I do have to get used to long hair, I have always kept mine short", she brings up a hand to brush it to bring attention to that. "Cutting or would be useless since it would just regrow, if that even works. Has anyone tried seeing if us being more durable transformed means harder to cut hair?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"A god? Here in Tokyo?" Her brows raise. "Cure LaMer is the girl with the camera pot! She's a Pretty Cure looking for Pretty Cures, so, I figured... honestly, I thought she must have recruited you."

Huh.

"There are a lot of party planning guides online, too," Usagi adds, because Homura and Madoka are giving great advice but trying to copy it all down might result in a too many rules to type situation.

As for Halloween, she nods gratefully at Hinoiri - "I hope your stream goes well! For you and your friend. And thanks for no scares, I really wouldn't want to find out if I've got a punch reflex now."

She didn't used to - she used to have a very famous scream and cry reflex. But it's been almost an entire year, and a lot of experience since then.

"I would love to stream in your new place," Usagi tells Mamoru with the kind of delight reserved for the truly pleased. "And you didn't ruin my stream; just my no snipe back record."

She smiles warmly, squeezing his hand in their seats, and hands him her basket of fries, because he's running low on cake and has never had as big of a sweet tooth as her. Also because her cake is gone.

Once Halloween talk continues, she shakes her head at Amy, but she's smiling a little. "I don't like scary things at all, not just jump scares, but I bet your room would have been the least scary."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Kamiko listens to Hinoiri as she talks about things. Despite her seemingly endless hair (where exactly does it stop?!) it never seems to get in the way of fleeing partygoers. "You deserve better too, Hinoiri-chan," she responds. "I look forward to whatever your Halloween plans are."

    Madoka's mouth is full of cake when Hinoiri starts to leave, and so she swallows it quickly in order to say. "Thanks for coming, Kirara-san! Hope you had fun." Then after she goes, Madoka feels a bit weird. Is it wrong to invite someone you don't really get along with to your birthday? Kamiko seemed to like it at least. Maybe that's enough.

    As for trick or treating, Madoka thinks out loud. "Come to think of it, I'll probably be taking Tatsuya out for that. Unless papa or mama wants to do it this time." Then as Mamoru mentions the change in locale she nods. "Good luck with the new place. I'll have to keep the change in locale in mind. No telling when someone will need healing."

    Homura silently hopes that she's given Amy enough information to go off of, and is also grateful that, should she have missed something important, Amy probably has enough of a support network that someone will tell her. Probably. She repeats what she remembers saying, and Madoka helpfully chimes in. Hopefully they didn't forget what they just said. Oh geeze.

    When Usagi mentions a party planner guide, Madoka snappoints and says, "Oh, that's a good idea, actually!"

    On the subject of Halloween, Madoka says, "There's something to be said for the horror-that-isn't-really-scary aesthetic. I guess that would be like..."

    "Goth?" Homura completes the sentence.

    Madoka fingersnaps. "Right! Goth. Hm. I guess Gretchen would've been kinda goth now that I think about it."

    Kamiko says, "I still could be. Nothing can stop me. I'll show up with chains and a black dress while brushing my bangs over one of my eyes."

    Homura smirks at the mental image of Kamiko looking goth without being Gretchen. "I mean, Hope Witch aside, your prom dress was a little bit gothy too, Madoka-chan."

    As the convo drifts towards hair length, Madoka reaches back to touch her own. "I mean... as Hope Concept, I'm not sure my hair is cuttable? Or rather... I suspect that you can cut it, but it'd grow right back or something." She glances over to Kamiko.

    The divine fairy crosses her arms and says, "I haven't tried cutting my own hair, but I'm not sure I'd have the same kind of magical durability anyways."

    On the topic of gods in Tokyo, other than herself, Madoka mentions, "Well, Blue-san is here. He's the one who gave Sayaka the thing that granted her powers. He's a god, right?"

    "The punch reflex is real," says Homura. "Like... after all we go through, it's pretty natural. It's probably not that bad if it happens out of henshin, but... I can't blame you for not wanting to find out by decking some dude in a costume."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Sayaka could throw her a party? "You'd do that for me?" Amy blinks in surprise, then looks away. "You don't have to..."

    Somehow, the thought of cutting her hair has never seriously occured to Amy, always dismissed if it ever came up in passing. "I dunno, maybe if you cut it and want it to stay short that'll make it stay short? It's magic. Then again, maybe not. I haven't tried cutting my hair, but like. Sharp stuff still cuts my skin, so I'd think hair would still be cuttable."

    Amy is quiet as Cure La Mer is brought up with Hinoiri. If she doesn't become a Pretty Cure, Hinoiri will surely be so disappointed...

    I bet your room would have been the least scary!

    ...Amy can tell Usagi meant it in a good way as surely not scaring her, but it was for a haunted house cultural festival activity, after all. ...But it's probably true in that sense, as well. "To anyone else without my particular brainrot, it seems." The redhead quips dryly.

    Although, Madoka points out that there's Haloween aesthetics that aren't scary, and Amy brightens up again. "That's true! Halloweentown type stuff can be pretty cool! I've always thought--" And then she remembers she already said that and doesn't need to go off on another weird rant. "--Err, well, I said all that last year, anyway."

    The punch reflex is real. "I haven't had it come up, but hopefully due to Inai-sensei's classes she won't get a boxer's fracture." If she does, at least her boyfriend is a healer.

    "A-anyway!" Amy looks back to Madoka and smiles, "This is Madoka's birthday party! We don't have to spend it all talking about us... what do you want to do, Madoka?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Mamochan's new place is great - it's shaping up to be super great! It's huge."

She makes a gesture, both hands drawn apart, to indicate how massive the apartment is. "Once he moves out, you'll have to remember not to drop in on poor Koji-kun unless it's his help you need. He can do great work on controllers and systems."

Because she's not sure if everyone knows Koji, and well, he doesn't exactly like being known. What shy ninja did?
"Oh, my hair does that," Usagi says, at the mention of magically long hair growing back. "I still have to cut a foot or two of it off like, every other week, but it's not as bad as when I first went all princess mode; it was at least once a day back then."

It had been deeply annoying, if she's honest, and her tones expresses some of that.

"The infinity hair is super cute though, plus, it doesn't really seem to get in the way?"

Other Halloween aesthetics, and even goth is brought up, and Usagi nods along, "There are other, less scary things, but honestly the candy is the only part of it I like. But! This party? Very nice. Your Mama and Papa are really cool, to have given you a spot here, at the coolest arcade in town!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I did offer her to go see Blue", Sayaka tells Madoka. "We just haven't organised anything specific yet. We just a few things to keep in mind", she adds vaguely, not really up to mentioning they had talked about how to behave.

"I am assuming something like that would go on, just it wouldn't stick either right then, or the next time I transform, so getting used to it would be better than just cutting it over and over, if that's something I can actually do."

The mention of Amy being cut leaves Sayaka slightly perplexed. "You mean by magic weapon, right? Not by mundane tools. I can't use my sword for that, the cut would be terrible", she considers to her on that front.

Sayaka shakes her head. "Not sure what you mean by camera pot, but I have definitely never met her. Cure Daybreak brought me to Blue, who is this tall guy with blue hair and blue eyes. He gave me a Love Crystal, gave Ula her new power, and explained to me why Pretty Cures working for him are forbidden from falling in love. Who would La Mer have brought me to in order to get powers, do you know that?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Amy asks Madoka what she wants to do. She giggles and glances at Homura and turns to look for the stairs leading downstairs. "Well I mean. I don't mind chatting with friends, but we are at an arcade. We can play games if we want. We'd have to leave our food up here though."

    Homura mentions, "It's probably fine if we leave our stuff here. I'm sure the fairies can handle things without us. Not all of them like to play games."

    Kamiko crosses her arms. "I mean, the more expensive gifts are getting stored in Paradise if you go that route, but we can leave some bags here to mark our spot." On the subject of infinite hair, Kamiko looks back at her own and says. "Honestly, the only reason why my hair isn't filling the room is because it's distorting space around it. Also, I think some of it goes back into my Labyrinth, but I haven't been able to actually find the point at which it does that. A-anyways, thanks for telling me it's cute! I like it. It's a subtle way of showing off my true nature."

    Fries, of course, are part of the included Crown snacks and Tomohisa has already handled the cost side of things. The Kaname household is rich enough to own an actual house in Japan, so the relatively cheap Crown foods are really no object.

    Madoka giggles as Usagi compliments her parents. "I have really good parents, it's true. I'm very lucky, in more ways than one. Also this spot is pretty popular among people like us for some reason."

    On the subject of Hinoiri meeting Blue, Madoka glances off to the side. "Well, he does have that one rule. I wonder how Hinoiri would feel about being held to something like that."

    After finishing off her slice of cake, she says, "Thank you, Saya-chan. That was delicious! It was an honor to be one of the first to benefit from your new patisserie skills." After dabbing off her lips with a napkin, she stands up out of the booth and takes Homura by the hand with her. "So... should we go play games? No need to worry about tokens. Papa is covering that for us, too."

    Kamiko, as stated, starts putting the TV and mini-DVD player through a portal, just to keep them safe. Some of the Chara stay at the table to consume snacks and chitter amongst themselves, though Kamiko, Brai and Lydian seem eager to go downstairs.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "I mean... it's probably worth trying cutting it once just to see if it sticks. If it gets cut by accident later and you don't find out it sticks until then, won't you feel really silly?" Amy observes.

    You were cut by magic, right? Amy considers this. "I mean..." she's sure she's been injured in fights by things that weren't directly magic, but she can't think of a clear example. "...I guess I've never actually tested that. Well, easy enough to check--" She reaches for her ring, but then pauses.

    "Wait!" Oops, loud. She lowers her voice. "Right before we got sent back in time, Beryl flung me at the pavement and scraped me up something awful. Fortunately skin-deep stuff regenerates super easy for me, but it did break the skin and hurt."

    ...She taps her chin and looks thoughtful. "Although, that does mean magic was still involved, even if the direct damage was done by pavement. Does that matter?"

    She looks at Sayaka. "Why are Pretty Cures forbidden from falling in love, anyway? Like, seriously. Isn't that kinda a weird thing to require if you've decided to recruit 'teenagers with attitude'?" No one is going to get that reference, Amy.

    Oh right, VIDEO GAMES. With INFINITE TOKENS. Amy claps her hands together. And then shakes them off. "I will kick anyone's ass at Virtual On! Or try any fighting game. I haven't actually gotten around to learning how to play Guilty Gear or Blazblue or the... is the Granblue one in arcades? I forget. But I will absolutely try them! Marvel Vs Capcom, too! Heck, any 2D fighter!" She points a finger to the sky dramatically!

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"They're super cool. I didn't do much for my birthday this year, but come March, watch out! ...as long as we're not bogged down with tests and stuff, anyway."

Given that her birthday is nearly at the end of the academic year. It's the reason she's usually the youngest in her class, year after year.

"But now that we've snacked and done gifts, I am so down to play some games! There's all kinds of games here, so there's going to be one for all of us... wait, what was that about love?"

Oh she is going to get the whole story out of someone, later, because it sounds like there's a rule against falling in love, and that's crazy. "Oh - Cure La Mer is the one who's giving out the powers, I think. They just have to resonate with a mermaid and have sunshine in their hearts, I think? Maybe a few more rules? But, given all of Hinoiri-chan's, Hinoiri-ness, I thought she might be able to qualify. It's worth finding out, you know?"

She wrinkles her nose at the mention of injuries and cuts - "As someone klutzy, I can definitely confirm we get injured out of henshin and in henshin. Just maybe not as bad. Now come on! Let's game!"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"I don't think I would feel silly, I would just think something 'So it was like that'", Sayaka considers at Amy's observation. "I guess I am more interested in whether that's something scissors can do rather than actually make any use of that information. I guess Rens and Hinoiri are infecting me with a test bug", she smirks.

"It's because he feels love is problematic when it leads to heartbreak, and that compromises us. And I am not really in any sort of position to say 'You are wrong'. If he knew, he would probably say that's why he was saying that."

"Uh... That's actually pretty unusual, a Pretty Cure that makes Pretty Cure herself", Sayaka muses at that. "Having sunshine is kind of vague, but if I meet her I can ask what she means by that. It could be useful for Hinoiri, though. At the very least, she wouldn't have to bother with Blue's rule that way."

"Right, gaming only sounds right. Let's go pick something!" Sayaka starts heading towards the machines. "It was a honour to make it for your birthday, Madoka-chan!" she says on the way.