lap eight // day 271 (open) // IT'S PARTY TIME

[amphibian]

Who: EVERYBODY
Open: Open
When: 271
Where: In the empty space around the monument!
What:

PARTY MINGLE GO
Format: DO AS YOU PLEASE AND FOLLOW YOUR HEART
Warnings: If anything comes up, put it in the subject lines!


[As everyone wakes up bright and early this morning, it isn't going to be hard to miss what's changed in the empty space around the monument Just in case, though, signs with indicating arrows line the campground where the Bastion's newest guests are staying, reading, in Ura, "This way to the party!"—wait, party?

Oh yes. Anyone Aoi had managed to grab the day before ought to be prepared for this. A great big banner stretched on two poles over the monument reads "Welcome to the Bastion!", written in Ura again; there's a little variation between the handwriting, since Zanya wrote some and Zahi wrote others.

Every last piece of the area that can have something hanging from it does: Zuko's lanterns hang off all the nearby trees, and her streamers, mostly red and sometimes gold, line absolutely everything, including but not limited to all the chairs and tables Ryu got together and helped arrange. Other things you're apt to find everywhere: flowers. Between the Psiioniic, the Disciple, Ghaleon, and Crona, there are more flowers than anyone could ever figure out what to do with. Aoi's best has been done, though: garlands are hung up around furniture, tied around tree trunks, woven through branches, strung between the branches of adjacent trees, wrapped 'round the monument, and so on and so on. A lot of care has been put into making sure they look good instead of just being thrown every which-way.

A few mismatched vases sitting on the tables have some flowers sticking out of them, too—perhaps exactly enough in each to make a flower crown, hmm? There are no party hats, so some improvising will have to be done.

There's all manner of tasty treats placed on all the tables, of course: a platter of picked donuts is to be expected, given Aoi's hand in all this (and thanks to Naegi, there are plenty to go around and they're arranged almost elaborately), but Rin, Zia, and Mirielle have provided all manner of homemade goodies that aren't just Aoi's favorite desserts. Bon's made a cake that Aoi has proudly placed in the center of one round table and surrounded with the rest of the desserts.

Instead of food, one table has a chalkboard propped up on it instead, with a box of colorful chalk beside it. Aoi's already written a small message in the corner—Thank you, everyone! with a smiley face beside it—and doodled a couple of flowers around the edges. The board's five feet long and there's plenty of chalk to go around, so there's certainly room for collaborating on something!

Not far from all the food sits the enormous stack of Legos Aoi purchased at Ibuki's suggestion. Legos. Please keep your shoes on, for the love of god. Some of them have already been arranged to form half the outside of a floor and a chunk of wall up to Aoi's chest so everyone has an idea of what's supposed to be done with things, but there are more than enough to start new projects. On the other side of the monument, closer to the collection of shop buildings than the gazebo, the soccer nets Otoha and Takamura built out of Skyway scraps have been set up (flowers have been woven in and out of the netting, of course). Aoi's brought out not one, but two of the soccer balls given to her during the festival, just in case of a soccer ball malfunction or if the game gets big enough that everyone decides rules are for losers and the only way to play soccer is with multiple things to kick. In the absence of paint, Aoi has decided to use more streamers as field markers.

At the gazebo not far off (naturally, it's covered in streamers and flowers as well), there's a set of speakers and an amplifier ready for use—Ibuki's, of course, and the little note Aoi's written that reads "For Ibuki-chan!" (with the wrong characters for her name, but points for effort) confirms it. Her equipment from Colin has all been set up, too: the spotlights on the top and bottom of the gazebo will shine in all sorts of colors when Ibuki turns them on, and there are some additional bits and pieces to the sound system to help make everything that much noisier. Aside from hanging decor, the space in front of the gazebo has been left empty so that there's enough room to dance!

To the side of the gazebo and just behind it is the unreasonably long rope Shing somehow managed to scrounge up. Like absolutely everything else, it has a chain of flowers wrapped around it. A streamer's been tied around the very center of it in a bow, and hopefully that makes its intended purpose as a tool of tug-of-war obvious enough.

If Aoi has anything to say about it, this is going to be the best goddamn welcome party ever.

Enjoy the festivities!]

Comments

[scary_music]

M-Makoto-chan?! You too? You too?!

Why are there so many wallflowers!? Stop planting yourself into the wall, Makoto-chaaaaaaaaaaan!

[bulletofhope]

[ Well, THAT wakes him up almost immediately. Naegi blinks blearily, turning his head left and right as he settles on Ibuki after several moments of this. ]

W-what? Ibuki-san, what... I'm not a plant...

[scary_music]

You're at a party sitting here by yourself! You are a plant! The flower in the wall!!

[bulletofhope]

But there isn't any walls here, Ibuki-san...

[ Naegi, that's not the point...! ]

[scary_music]

M-Makoto-chan... a-are you doing that on purpose?

[bulletofhope]

No? But what do walls have to do with anything...

[ NAEGI... ]

[scary_music]

You aaaaaaaare! You're totally doing that on purpose!

Come oooooonnnnn it's a party let's have fuuuuuuuunnnnnn!!

[bulletofhope]

Uh, in a bit... I just need to get something to eat first... and some sleep, too...

[ Poor Naegi yawns rather loudly, to punctuate his point. ]

[scary_music]

W-what are you saying?!

You sound like an old man! You want to sleep through the party!?!?

[bulletofhope]

Well, it'll be an all day thing, right...? I'm not gonna sleep through it!

Just... part of it...

[ Naegi plz... ]

[scary_music]

Terrible.

But, but... at the least, at least promise you'll show up for Ibuki's after party concert, then! Promise!

[bulletofhope]

Of course! I'll definitely be there, promise!

[ Naegi's even holding out his pinky in a pinky promise kind of gesture just to emphasize that. ]

Besides, I'm not gonna be gone from the party all day... just a few hours, like I said earlier.

[scary_music]

Okay! Pinky swear!

[She hooks pinkies with Makoto, giving it a firm shake]

If you don't show, something will happen!

[bulletofhope]

I take it that that's a something of a bad sort that might happen...?

[ Because usually when someone says that... ]

When will your concert be? So then I know when to get back.

[scary_music]

Something like that! Don't sweat the small stuff!

After the fireworks, Makoto-chan! After that! But but, don't sleep too long, there's all sorts of other stuff at the party itself you should have fun with, too! Like legos!

[bulletofhope]

Okay, okay, I'll try not to miss everything because of my na-

... wait, Legos?

[ Naegi blinks in surprise, sitting up and tilting his head at Ibuki. ]

Here? Seriously?

[scary_music]

Not here!

[She points where the large pile of legos is]

Over there! Ibuki came up with the idea, and Aoi-chan bought a whooooooooooole bunch because Ibuki hasn't been here long enough to have tooooooooooooons of shards like she does!

[bulletofhope]

[ So many LEGOs, wow. How many of them did you all even get... ]

. . . wow. That's... a lot...

... I might have to get into those later...

[scary_music]

Might?

Ibuki thinks you meant must!

[bulletofhope]

Well, will they be there the whole time? If they are then I'll get to them... eventually...

[ Naegi... ]

[scary_music]

They're magical phantasm Legos! Once the party is over, poof! No more legos!

...

Just kidding!

[bulletofhope]

. . . Ibuki, please...

[ Why does he know you again... ]

Well, if they're here, I might as well play around with them for a bit before I head out to nap...

[scary_music]

[Because you're her friend.]

Very well!

But next party, Makoto-chan, next party... you need to be sure to rest properly before! It's shameful to act like the old man that wants to take a nap in the middle of all the fun!

[bulletofhope]

I'll try, but I can't make any promises. Especially if it's a surprise party like this one...

[ Ibuki... XD ]

[scary_music]

But you were one of the people that was dragged in to help set up the surprise party! Objection!