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

[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."

[artificialrose]

"I wonder if someone should stay behind and help them clean up," he muses thoughtfully, brain turning towards the practical. Ever since he's stayed with Komaeda, he's really become all the more aware of how much care a house needs. Especially one that's in such a... peculiar state as theirs.

"Do you think it would help if people did these sorts of things regularly? Relaxing gatherings, I mean. As it is, it feels as though most people gather mostly for emergencies or those training days."

[unlucky7]

"I planned on coming back myself to help out. If not today, definitely tomorrow." Ginia is also pretty sure some of the other adults will lend a hand cleaning in one way or another. They're precious kids and everyone is fairly defensive of them.

At Garry's question, Ginia nods slowly, a hint of a tired smile slipping in. There have been a few nicer moments as of late, but the last few months have been exhausting in a variety of ways.

"It would. Even a chance to meet people when things aren't on fire or focused on training would be nice. Maybe we need the more social people to band together and form a party committee."

[artificialrose]

"Then perhaps we'll see each other again." He smiles at her, glad that at least they're on the same track there. The whole situation in the Far Shore in general is stressful and worrying even for adults. For kids, he can only imagine it must be so much worse, so this is really the least any of them can do.

"Do you think a party committee would be popular?"

[unlucky7]

"I think it has promise. Chinatsu threw a big hangout day a few months back. Laser tag, arcade, food, and ended at an onsen. Lots of people showed up and it was a ton of fun."

Since then any other gatherings were arranged by Heaven or smaller parties. It's a lot of planning on the person setting things up, but it doesn't need to be that hard either. Could be simple as a big shopping trip or meeting at an arcade.

"There's no harm in trying. Worst case is only a few people show up, best case is people relax and have a good time."

[artificialrose]

"You have a good point. There's no guarantee until you try, right?" He beams a little bit. It could be something to do, if nothing else, and it would be a good way to know people. After some of his friends have left, Garry has had to admit that he's been lacking in the sturdy friend department.

"Everyone could help out for anything particularly big as well. That way it's not too overwhelming for any one person."

[unlucky7]

"Maybe something like a potluck? One temple hosts the location and provides a few dishes, but everyone else brings food and drinks? Maybe some games too or a few set activities?"

It's definitely the best option for getting people together in one place. Free food might be enough of a draw to bring people out too. But would it feel the same after a few parties?

"How about alternating between a party and something elsewhere? Like meeting at an amusement park or the zoo? The entertainment then takes care of itself and there doesn't really need to be a host."

[artificialrose]

"A potluck would be nice..." Something about the idea of it sounds rather homey, after all. If other people share similar feelings to Garry, maybe it could help bring them all together. It feels as though there are way too many paranoid types in Heaven, or those who don't trust easily.

"Although if we try to plan out what places to go to, it seems as though we might end up competing with Heaven on that front. For example, Orihime helped plan that beach trip, didn't she?"

[unlucky7]

"How often does Heaven throw something for us that isn't for training though? Not everyone is comfortable with favors from Heaven anyway."

Sure, the beach trip was nice, but that was framed as a partial reward for their work with the cult. Capypa Land also seemed like a way to keep everyone busy as training that day was lacking.

"The places are already there, Heaven can't complain if we want to use them for group outings."

[artificialrose]

"I suppose you're right... Basic training and parties everyone are invited to do seem to be more common here." It would also be good if they could take on some of the responsibility themselves. Otherwise, Garry has to admit that it almost makes them seem like kids relying on their parents for a good time.

Not to mention... Crossing his arms with the book loosely held within his grasp, Garry frowns. "That mistrust towards Heaven really does run deep, doesn't it...?"

[unlucky7]

"The mistrust is deep as the ocean." Ginia's expression falls a bit wry, phone tapping against her chin before she adds on to the message. "I wouldn't say Heaven has done much to earn everyone's goodwill, but we're also a fairly authority-distrusting, rule-breaking bunch anyway."

To some degree, it's the ones that are willing to follow Heaven's authority without realizing what Heaven has done or is capable of doing Ginia trusts the least. But she's a nora in a temple of nora and hiding a mask that can control ayakashi and aware of the trauma running through her temple. Her opinion will never be anything but distrustful and critical.

"I'm game for this idea, though I'm not sure how much party-planning or hosting I can do. However, I'm willing to bankroll things. I need to put my salary toward more anyway."

[artificialrose]

"There do seem to be a lot of..." Garry twists his mouth a little, trying to think of the polite way of putting it. This isn't Niles or anything, so he doesn't have any real reason to swear. It's just a trend he's noticed. "Very distrustful people here, that's true. Sometimes it doesn't just seem to be of Heaven, either, which makes it hard sometimes."

Well, it's not like him or anyone else can change every single person that has authority problems. That's something for a therapist.

"Oh, that's right. That terrifyingly immense paycheck of yours.... I guess that is far too much for one person, isn't it?"

[unlucky7]

It's what you get when you prioritize people who can fight over people with any healthy sense of well-being and stability. There's not a single person who couldn't use a dose of therapy. A hug at the least.

"Turns out when food, housing, medical, and wardrobe to some degree is covered by your job, finding meaningful things to spend on each month is real hard. I throw most of it into non-profits and medical research or into the offering boxes of my friends. Another cause to funnel money into is definitely welcome."

[artificialrose]

"Ah.... When you put it that way, I feel as though a lot of weight could get put on my shoulders, ha ha." He tucks some of his hair behind his ears, thinking about it. There's so much they could do, really... Whether if it was all a big production or just something smaller and more tight-knit.

"I wonder if Nagito would be interested in helping out... Ah, have you had a chance to meet him?"

[unlucky7]

"I'll help however I can and I'm sure you can find others so please don't feel like you need to handle everything on your own." The people interested in fun far outweigh those less interested, so it's probably a matter of getting the word out and seeing what others think.

Nagito... Nagito... Ginia shakes her head. It's not a familiar sounding name, though that doesn't mean she hasn't met him.

"I don't know. What does he look like?"

[artificialrose]

"Well, he also tends to go by Komaeda to most people," Garry explains, in case that's a mix up. "I suppose it's a Japanese sort of thing, isn't it?" It was one of the first things he had to adjust to when he had woken up in the Far shore. In that way, he supposes he's lucky that he got someone like Komaeda so that he could be right by someone who could explain some of the cultural differences.

"He's shorter than myself, with white messy hair and pale eyes. Most of the time, he looks rather sickly."

[artificialrose]

"That's right!" Garry perks up a little, smiling. He faintly recalls Komaeda going to a few meetings now and then, although he never attended himself. It's good to see that he's made at least some people remember him.

...Although...

The smile loses some of its vibrancy, and his smile is almost sheepish. "Ah, he... hasn't stirred up too much trouble, has he?" Garry really doesn't want a repeat of that one argument with Hakkai that he saw.

[unlucky7]

Komaeda is no more familiar than Nagito. While the description in itself is fairly distinctive (for all the rainbow hair colors around, white isn't the most common), it also doesn't ring a bell at all. She frowns slightly and shakes her head.

"I don't think we've crossed paths. What's his god name? Maybe we've talked on the BBS or I've seen him there."

It's kinda amazing how for as small as the overall generation is, it's still entirely possible to not know who is around.

[artificialrose]

Oh, that's right. "I forgot that the BBS doesn't keep people's regular names, at least when they're a god." Which is a little strange to him, he supposes. That just proves how important Heaven finds proper names to be.

"In that case, he would be Averruncus, one of the... Roman gods, I believe?" It's such a minor title that sometimes Garry forgets if it's Roman or Greek.