Book Party [ota]

[myblueskies]

Who: Romeo, Elfnein and literally everyone in the heavens. Even if you weren't personally invited every invite came with a +ALL YOUR FRIENDS and there's also a sign. Strangers are just friends these two haven't met yet.
When: 29th April. Afternoon onwards
Where: Temple Smol (Gegute's library)
What: Just the cutest book party the heavens has ever known! Bring your best book!



Arrival

You might have received an invitation, or perhaps you are just passing Gegute’s library but there is an brightly painted sign outside.

Book Party today!

Everyone welcome! Bring your best book or dress up!

Lots of tasty food!

The doors of the temple are open and once you arrive in the lobby there are more bright arrows pointing the way into the library. If you are still stuck mister Goat is at the help desk, he’ll direct any one who needs it!

Activities

The layout of the library hasn’t really changed at all, except a few tables being moved to accommodate activities and all the comfy reading cushions have been brought to a central location. All the shelves are decorated with colourful paper chains and streamers.

Romeo had really enjoyed Yuna’s birthday party with the activities to do so he had copied the idea for Elfnein’s book party! On one table there is material for making bookmarks. You might want to recut the card strips, they are a little wonky. There is ribbon and glitter and colouring pens and glue.

On another there is a cardboard box puppet theatre, painted in a riot of colours with colourful strips of material as curtains. There is some felt and other material, as well as scissors, glue and wool to make puppets with. A sign reads in childish Hirigana. Show your best book!

Food

The invitations had promised lots of tasty food and there sure was a lot! A whole table filled with tasty treats, Romeo had been very very busy! There was a whole tray of chopped fruit, another of vegetables like carrots and cucumber.

There was bread and cheese and two bowls of pasta with different sauces. Another bowl of noddles with meat and vegetables. There was a huge bowl of rice too with a tray of grilled fish and a bowl of broccoli and asparagus.

An entire part of the table was taken up by apples and things with apples in them, apple turnovers and even an attempt at an apple pie, it was a bit smushed but probably tasted fine.

There was a tray of very misshapen cookies with messy icing and another of even messier cupcakes with far too much buttercream. There were also churos and a chocolate Gateaux, these seemed to have been bought rather than made, Romeo hadn’t even known where to start it making them!

There was an attempt at making books and other shapes out of rice and vegetables packed in the two bento boxes Ebisu’s temple had given him for Christmas, but they were a bit crumbly, misshapen or just plain strange. In the centre of Romeo’s bento attempts was his magical bento box, every time it was opened there were different fancy bento creations, if the children’s attempts left a lot to be desired.

Have fun!

Comments

ota

[artificialrose]

A - Arrival

Anyone who thinks Garry could refuse an invitation from a small child for a party has no idea what kind of person he is at heart, which is: a huge softy. He's even invited his god along for the ride, since it seems like a quiet enough affair. The dress up aspect is something he'd definitely been interested in, although he had to work on a slight budget: a loose short sleeved white shirt, black ballerina leggings beneath, and flats to match. It seems to match what shows of the cover of the book he has tucked into his arm, and he smiles at anyone who shows interest.

"With how... exciting everything has been lately, I've been sticking to quieter stories in the down time. At least then the stress and excitement is of a different sort, right?"

B - Activities

Garry wants to just relax and have a good time. He swears. Yet he just can't make himself comfortable, even as he tries to just idly make a bookmark or two. At first, he doesn't realize what's up... But other people might pick up on why he's so anxious first, as he keeps glancing back at the puppet stage.

It's silly, he knows. Sure, he got anxious last summer, with all those haunted houses and horror movie ads around, but that was different. These are just harmless puppets and the like, so... No need to worry, right? And yet he just can't stop feeling anxious...

He might get up to leave soon, even if it's just the room.

A

[unlucky7]

The joy of a book party is seeing what everyone else is reading, but the dress-up aspect is a nice bonus. Ginia isn't carrying a book, but she's definitely dressed up. A black coat layered over her white button-down shirt and black slacks, carefully braided hair with a blue ribbon on the end, and a leather sword belt and a plastic rapier on her hip add a bit of a fantastic flair.

"A quieter story sounds great at this time." Ginia agrees through the played message on her phone, a friendly smile accompanying her words. "What's the story about?"

[artificialrose]

Well, he can imagine what kind of story she's been reading, if that outfit is any indication, and Garry smiles a little bit as he looks it over. It's definitely high class, and he almost feels bad that his is more casual. Well, there are stories of all sorts, after all.

"A romance story," he says, thumbing the corner of his book. "A pair of friends from middle school grow up, both of them loving the night sky, and it simply follows their lives from there. One of them grows up to be a professional ballerina." So, you know. His own shoes.

[unlucky7]

With the budget Ginia has and the resources at her disposal, no one should make wardrobe comparisons to her.

"That sounds really sweet. Is there a happy ending?" Please say there's a happy ending. Ginia could use something sweet and nice without the challenge of min-maxing stats and using guides to get the endings she wants. It's also her own fault for favoring visual novels over regular novels.

[artificialrose]

Ginia, please calm down about visual novels. Please. Not that Garry is aware of this terrible habit she's found herself with, instead tilting his head to the side with a smile.

"There is! There's a very sweet moment, actually... But I feel like those sort of things shouldn't be spoiled, you know? It adds more of a depth to everything when you read something completely fresh."

[unlucky7]

She can die mad about visual novels. It's fine. Such is life.

"A fair point. I'll have to make time to read it, thank you." Ginia pauses to write down the name and author of the story. Maybe someone in the temple already has a copy she can borrow.

"Enjoying the party?"

[artificialrose]

"If you ever need to borrow it, let me know," he responds, tucking the book against his side again. It's only a book, after all, and not some rare tome that costs millions of yen to get. There's no problem with it.

"And yes! It's really charming. You can tell the two of them put in a lot of work to this, can't you?"

[unlucky7]

"It's really impressive, especially the food. Romeo says they cooked most of it themselves."

It's an impressive amount of food for two people of any age to make. Sure, maybe some look a bit lumpy or otherwise misshapen, but it only adds to the charm.

"It's a pretty good turn out. I think everyone needs something relaxing right now."

B

[myblueskies]

Romeo has been trying to say hello to everyone who had come to the party! As well as making sure that there's enough food and enough glitter for everybody! He hadn't been over to see Garry yet, he was glad to see him!

But he could tell something was a little wrong with how he kept looking at the puppet theatre and looking worried. Soon he has a tiny fox child at his side.

"Are you alright, mister Garry?"

[artificialrose]

Jeez, he really must be obvious. Garry jolts a little when spoken to, not really expecting it, before he manages to smile down at Romeo. Kids do pick up on these kinds of things very easily, he supposes...

"Oh, I am." He thinks, anyway. "I suppose I'm just a little... anxious, perhaps? I haven't the faintest idea why."

[myblueskies]

"Anxious?" Romeo frowned sadly, he didn't want anyone to be all anxious! Parties were meant to be fun and he didn't want anyone to be scared here!

But if Garry didn't know why... That was tricky. It was hard to keep your spirits up if you weren't sure what was making them not up!

[artificialrose]

"Just a little twitchy," he says, downplaying his emotions even as he reaches over to pat Romeo's hair. "It might just be a bad day. Sometimes, people's brains feel emotions for no reason, and they just have to deal with that." Granted, most of that is mental illness, but...

"It might be because of what has happened lately, too. It might be leftover emotions, you know?"

[myblueskies]

People feel emotions for no reason? That was confusing. It was hard enough keeping peoples spirits up when you knew what was wrong and could help them! But if people just felt things for no reason whatsoever... How could you keep your friends spirits up when they just felt things?

Romeo frowned, it might be that lots of bad things had happened. That there's still bad feelings left over. "Do you want to know how to keep your spirits up, mister Garry?"

[artificialrose]

One day, he suspects this place might need a counselor or therapist, both to educate people who might not otherwise know about things like mental health or just... desperately need the help. For now, he just nods slightly. He'll keep things simple with the kids.

"Oh, does that mean you have an idea of what to do?"

[myblueskies]

"Yes! My friend told me in my memory dream!"

Romeo smiled at him and got closer, reaching out for his hand. "He said that there is only one day like this in you're entire life so whatever happens you got to keep living and keep your spirits up and when it's hard to keep them up. Then you do this!"

He punched the air, pulling Garry's hand up into the air. That's how you do it, how you keep your spirits up when everything around you is bad and scary!

B

[welcome_home]

[ It's hard for Nanko not to notice when someone seems anxious or worried, and while she's working on making her bookmarks, she glances over a time or two when he shifts restlessly, unable to settle and occasionally glancing back over his shoulder.

After a little while, she gets up and crosses over to him, her expression a little worried as she reaches out to gently tug on the hem of his shirt. ]

Are you okay?

[artificialrose]

Hm?

[Startled out of his anxiety, he blinks down at the small girl before smoothing a smile over his face.]

Oh, Nanako. It's you. So you were invited too! [As for her question... He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.] Was I acting strangely, then...?

[He's been so fidgety, he guesses it was only a matter of time...]

[welcome_home]

[ She gives him a consoling pat. ]

Maybe a little. You looked upset. Is everything okay?

[artificialrose]

[Oh, to be pat by a child as if he's the one that's a little kid... Somehow, that's sort of helping to make him feel better.]

Oh, everything is fine. I suppose I just... feel like I'm being watched, you know?

[Yeah, that works as an explanation, right?]

[welcome_home]

Watched?

[ She glances around curiously. ]

You mean like by spies?

[artificialrose]

Ha! No, not quite like spies. I guess it's more like... Hmm...

[Putting down what he's been working on, he laces his fingers together and tries to come up with the proper comparison. Something that's always staring... Well, he guesses he may as well go with the most blunt comparison, right?]

You know how sometimes, if there's a painting of someone, it feels as though their eyes are following your, or something like that?

A!

[pure_radiantics]

Kairi arrives dressed in a flowing white dress and an ornate horned headdress, carrying a recurve bow that she managed to keep this whole time after Roxas bequeathed it to her when his temple disappeared.

Considering the gift that he gave Kairi for Christmas, she isn't... entirely surprised to find him acting on a softer side. "That's one way to think of it," Kairi muses as she approaches, so that she's not shouting across the room while they talk. "Quiet stories bringing people together in a very..." She giggles, gesturing around her with her free hand. "Unquiet event. It's fun, though. I miss these sorts of gatherings."

[artificialrose]

"Well, it's not as though a book club has been started up yet." Garry laughs a little. Maybe that's the kind of thing that only starts up when there's a sense of permanence. That, unfortunately, is something he knows is lacking from all their lives. That's really the bad part of being here in the Far Shore, as part of this new group that's apparently so different from the old gods and their shinki.

"I wonder what other kind of parties we could start up?"

[pure_radiantics]

She's pleased to hear that kind of thoughtful response. "Well-" She nods elsewhere in the room. "It seems there's quite a bit of passion for arts and crafts among this group - one I haven't seen in awhile. Maybe it's the younger crowd's presence that's made a few others more willing to try them out - or maybe just the kinds that they brought instead of the last time I hosted one."

Kairi's a little bummed - but only a little - that this event had a better engagement for the crafts. More importantly, she's trying to piece apart which ones brought people together here, so that maybe if she does a similar event in the future, it would be more exciting to people.

"Then there's also snacks and making them... or movie nights. I've been meaning to host one with my brother for awhile now."

[artificialrose]

"Well... It does seem like Romeo reached out to a lot of people." Garry chuckles a little bit into his hand softly. "Even for people who are normally strangers, I think it gets hard to refuse a little kid like that. The crafting might have been secondary... but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. When it comes to new activities and events like this... Any little reason to get people through the door is good." His shoulders rise up in a shrug.

"At least, that's what I think, when it comes to arts and crafts. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to send out a survey of sorts. The Far Shore changes so regularly, one thing might not work from one month to the next."