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[talkyourwayout]

[Time for an SOS. Louie's weighed his options here, and he knows Rei will be able to see this... But he's pretty sure any awkwardness will be lost on her. It's fine!]

Okay, so, last month I told someone I'd throw them a birthday party. The thing is, I've never planned a party at all before, and I want this one to be good. Can I get some advice?

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[gobetween]

[Party? Hold on he's got this]

Well hey if it's party advice you're looking for, maybe I can help! Parties are about all we Fraggles do. Including birthday ones.

[talkyourwayout]

Sounds like a fun family. It'd be great to have some help from an expert, too, because this is her first birthday party. She needs the general experience.

[gobetween]

Oh I mean ALL Fraggles, not just the ones I know. Fun is what we are.

As for a first birthday, gosh that's gotta be some big rip-roaring event! Depending on what kinda stuff she wants, anyway. What's she like?

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, okay.

[He's a little confused, but he's going to circle back to it.]

See, that's the thing: She mostly seems to just want to know what a birthday party is normally like. Not that it shouldn't be special for her.

She's really sheltered, honestly, so she's still finding her interests? She's sorta low-key and she likes to learn and she's smart, too; kind of a nerd. Kind of old-fashioned. Hard-working.

[gobetween]

Low-key and old-fashioned, huh? Okay, then she's probably not gonna like a whole big blow-out shebang. Lucky my friend Red isn't here in charge of this...

So, she likes learning. Maybe something centered around that? I don't know this world well enough yet but do you guys have like

Well back home we have someone called the Storyteller, who carries down all of our tales and legends. What do you sil-

humans have?

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[machismost]

Hey that's awesome! Birthday parties aren't really a big thing where I'm from but I helped a lot with staging and stuff for my school festival! How old is the person you're throwing a party for?

[talkyourwayout]

Hey, I'll take any help anyone can give me. Rei's turning fifteen this year.

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[breakyourlife]

oh dude its easy
all u need is music cake and soda
energy drinks r best

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[talkyourwayout]

Okay, I mean, I do want to give her a pretty standard example of a birthday party. She's never had one before. But that might be a little too simple.

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[shiningkindness]

I'm not really the greatest at it, but one of my best friends back home is really great at throwing parties, so I can try to help? What kind of things does your friend like?

[talkyourwayout]

That'd be great, Fluttershy, really. And Rei, well, she's kind of a special case: This'll be the first birthday she's celebrated, even though it's her fifteenth birthday. She hasn't really done any of the normal kid stuff before she was here, so I want her to get to experience that sort of thing but also something she'll definitely like.

The problem is that Rei is mostly stil figuring out what she likes, you know? I mean, she's caring, she does a lot of Pokemon Breeding, and she's smart-- She always wants to learn more about things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she's boring! Rei is great, just not the easiest person to throw a party for.

[shiningkindness]

Oh wow, really? She definitely deserves a birthday party then.

Hmm. That does make it a bit difficult. But if she likes breeding Pokemon, maybe keep a Pokemon theme? Do you know if she has a favorite?

[ It wouldn't be too difficult to get Pokemon-related items around here, surely. ]

[talkyourwayout]

That's not a bad idea. I mean, things kind of default to being Pokemon themed here anyway. At least with the locals.

I do not know if she has a favorite.

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[necrodentia]

Oh, Louie, I love this! That's so nice of you to go out of your way to throw a party for your friend!

Some important things to mind when planning a party:
- How old is the group of invitees gonna be (so you know what sort of beverages to have, alcoholic or non)
- What sort of activities does the birthday-haver enjoy (so you can plan where to hold the party... in a restaurant, outside at a park, at a carnival type place, etc.)
- What is your budget for decorations/cake/food/beverages/etc. (you can get by on not a lot of money if you make the decorations/food yourself!)

[talkyourwayout]

[Oh, hey, a list! That's very Huey, a good sign for this. He's going to focus on that and not the fact that Rainer's gushing about him being nice because how dare she.]

-Rei will be turning 15, but I haven't really figured out who to invite? I might make it kind of just something that's open to anyone who can get to the party, for the full experience.

-You know, this one's hard to answer but I think something outside might suit her really well? Maybe not just a plain park, but I think one of the older, more traditional garden areas. would be good.

[That last one is trickier than it should be! Because he doesn't love spending money on others just in theory, but he is doing pretty well right now after his hot chocolate stand and his usual abuse of Pay Day... And making decorations and food himself sound like a lot, too. This would be so much easier if he didn't care, darn it.]

-I mean... It's not like money is no object, but the budget's there for a nice party, you know?

[necrodentia]

Outdoor parties lend themselves really well to "whoever can come is welcome to come" style open invitations, so you're already well on your way there!

Another thing you can do with outdoor parties is turn them into a sort of potluck/picnic thing, where the guests each bring food or drinks to share. I know you said you're not strapped for cash, but that is one way you can save money for something else like decorations or activities! Like, if you're at a beautiful garden, you could allot some of your budget to hiring a portrait artist or photographer, so people can have something to remember the event by!

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, yeah, a potluck picnic would be great! THere'd be a lot more variety that way, and like you said, it lets me focus the budget on other things. Because the photographer idea is pretty perfect, since that's really what this is all about-- Giving Rei a memorable first birthday party.

[epitaffio]

I've never planned a party either, but if you're doing this for a friend then you probably already have a pretty good idea of where to start.
How old are they?

[talkyourwayout]

[This is the point where Louie starts to wonder if the problem is really Rei's unique circumstances, as he's been saying, or if the problem is actually that he's not used to friendships outside of family? At least, not ones that aren't through a third party. Maybe he's just bad at this?]

Rei's turning fifteen. Do you know Rei?

[epitaffio]

I don't think so.
Fifteen... You know, I'm not sure what kind of birthday parties teenagers like.
It'd be easier if it was a younger kid!

[talkyourwayout]

Well you aren't that much older than 15, right? What would you have liked a couple of years ago?

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[seacub]

Oh, huh. I've never really thought about birthday parties...

It's sort of weird to think about, my birthday's coming up but I never actually had a party?

I know they normally have cake at least, but maybe there's somewhere you could go that everyone could have fun at, as part of it? Like a movie, or something.

[talkyourwayout]

[Wait, what?

Seriously? Is the universe or Arceus or whatever playing some kind of nasty trick on him? Is this karma? He doesn't want to do this twice! He really does not!

But it's for Emporio. Ugh! Louie knows there's no use fighting himself on this one.]

I'm not sure a movie is the best idea for Rei, specifically, but I do like the idea.

But hey, if you've never celebrated your birthday with a party before, you should do that. It's a lot of fun, and

I could throw one for you, too?

[seacub]

[Uh-!

OH! Um.] Haha!

Well at least it's a start then...

Oh- uh

Do you want to? Like I said, I don't really have a frame of reference...so I don't even know if I can really justify turning that down actually...

[It feels like it would just make it happen more if any thing...]

[talkyourwayout]

I mean, I'm not going to make you have a birthday party, Emporio. It's definitely up to you, if you want it or not. It's just, you know, if you do want one, I'm already working on this one for Rei, so... It makes sense, right?

And I do want to. I'd honestly be happy to do that.

But only if it sounds fun to you! And, I mean... Are you still in Kanto? That might make it trickier, but definitely not impossible. And if it doesn't sound fun to you, and you still want to do something to celebrate that day

I don't know, I could find a way over to Kanto and we could just hang out. I mean, I'm still in Goldenrod. There's a train here.