positivelynormal | it's a party as long as there's still cake!... right? action; video;

And... there.

[ There is a white-frosted cake on the table. Haruka just finishes putting the last candle on it (seventeen of them, if one is counting) and looks pleased. ] I guess I really made it, after all. Mmm hmm, looks good.

[ Again, like last time, it appears she is unaware that she is being recorded. She beams a quiet happiness, which seems very muted compared to her normal bubbling enthusiasm and strong gusto. ] I wonder what she will think?

[ She chuckles to herself, taking a kitchen lighter and starts lighting the candles. ]

Happy Birthday, Chihaya-chan--ahh.

[ Haruka finally makes eye contact to the camera, stopping in her tracks. Instead, she smiles and shakes her head, reaching behind the gear. Haruka sets it upright on the table to face her, and pulls her arms back to her body now with a Spinda in tow. ]

Hi there. Umm... this cake is for a friend. It's her birthday today, and it's like all of a sudden, my body just went into auto-pilot. I woke up this morning and thought "It's her birthday today," and then I'm frosting a cake. [ She forces a laugh and looks embarrassed. ] I guess... it's really silly for me to do all of this, right? I mean, she's back home now, so she couldn't blow out the candles here even if she wanted.

[ She smiles, though it doesn't hide the sadness from her eyes. ]

Oh, Starter Appreciation Day was a few days ago. My starter is this guy here, and I pampered him up for the whole day. I gave him a bath, brushed his teeth, a haircut, brushed his fur, trimmed his claws... I know some pokemon probably would hate that, but he looked real happy. Look, I even wore this too. [ Haruka reaches behind her back and reveals a headband with bear ears on them. She puts them on, giggling as she coddles her Spinda. ] Aren't they super cute?

So, how did you spend your day appreciating your starter pokemon?

[ Spinda nudges Haruka, then points to the lit candles halfway through the wax already. ]

Oh, right. If you're in Goldenrod City and would like a slice of cake, please stop by the Breeding House.

[ Haruka is about to turn off the gear, but looks at the cake for a long moment. Spinda gently smacks Haruka's forehead and leaves his paw there. Haruka flinches and recoils, but understands the gesture. There there, he seemed to say. ]

Nnn. Thank you, Spinda.

...

Happy Birthday, Chihaya-chan. I hope everything's going okay.

[ She blows out the candles. ]

[[ OOC: If you're in Goldenrod, come get some cake. ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm sure you're both excellent at it, if you both love it. I love singing all kind of songs too, and some of them remind me of some people who are important to me. Mostly because I wrote the songs for them.

[...So, no wonder they remind her about them, uh huh.

A laugh.] Ah, I'm not so good with cooking either, I love baking so much more. I should get better at both, especially at making dinner... Maybe we both can aim to the top with our skills.

Ah, yeah, I guess we're pretty good at it, actually. We're both idols, you know? [ Haruka smiles and tries to downplay it humbly a little. ] Singing and smiling are our two strongest weapons, after all. But I wish I could write better songs. Most of mine my production agency sets aside to look at for later, ehehe...

So, you do everything else along with singing? I'm only a solo artist myself, since all I want to do is sing. [So much that she almost rather died than lived without singing - but then she didn't have to live without it.] Singing and smiling are my two strongest weapons too, along with third and that's love.

Hmmm, would you like help with the song writing? I -- am not sure how I could help, but [and she'll be very humble about this] started writing songs when I was twelve and I've never had any trouble getting all of them through with my agency... Ah, well there was trouble with one, but in the end it was okay.

Oh, that's impressive! I would gladly accept some help! Plus I bet it's more fun when there's two people involved.

[ Haruka's reminded of talking leisurely with Chihaya and composing songs with her... There's a twinge of nostalgia but she shakes it away with another dose of positivity. ]

I can bring cookies!

[She'll clap her hands together in excitement.]

I hope I'll be able to help you somehow. At least I can try and we'll see how it goes.

[Song writing brings some nostalgic / sad memories to her too, but it's been years since she went through that stuff. So it's okay.]

Cookies sound lovely. I can bring something to drink.

Right! Stop by sometime. I'll whip up something real quick, and then we can swap song ideas. When I'm not practicing I'm probably cleaning!

I hope I won't disturb the cleaning! But I'll be sure to stop by sooner or later... We can both think about song ideas for a while before we meet in person.