Even Death won't stop the party

[knockingatthedoor]

WHO: OTA - Mingle
WHAT: Kel is throwing a small party. A 'memories' party.
WHERE: Generic Shelter #1231412.
WHEN: Shortly after learning what their tool is going to be.
WARNINGS None for now, possibly dark topics may be tagged in the comments.

"Welcome to this pretty-average-to-mediocre party! I'm glad you could make it!"

He sent the text out earlier, inviting everyone in their group to... celebrate. And share memories. And 'live a little'. The entire text had been a lot of rambling about him trying his best and how important it was to celeberate who they were and who they currently are, trying to learn about each other despite the circumstances. Fow now? He's just welcoming people to the shelter he used for himself- he built makeshift tents with sticks and whatever he could find and prepared games.

"Any occasion to mingle is precious, isn't it? Come on, let's spend time together! Oh, and make yourself comfortable as you can!"

There are pillows, a few chairs, and Kel did his best to offer sources of shades all over the place. Bright, pink party cups have been generously filled with <i>water</i> and the few games he could think of have been prepared. He moves around explaining them, even if they're really basic- perhaps, if he's super lucky, someone coming from a very different world never heard of them.

It is worth mentioning everyone who shows up will get a flower between their hair, either given to them by Mari or Kel, and one to 'leave somewhere nice on the oasis'.


Piñata Time! - There isn't a LOT sitting around, but he did manage to put together a couple of colorful Piñata with pages he stripped from comics, water and a lot of patience as he kept folding things so they could barely stay together in some round shapes. Inside those? More paper strips to pretend it's confetty, the lack of candies or better items doesn't really make them stand out but they're there and he found a stick for people to use. Hopefully they'll not fall down before being used.

Spin the bottle! - Finding an empty bottle of a drink he used to love? Depressing. The possible uses he could find for it, though? Eh... better than nothing. Kel will explain both 'normal' (and gross, according to him) and 'Kel style' rules for Spin the Bottle. In one kisses are involved, in the other he suggests a small group to gather, to have someone ask a question, spin the bottle and whoever it's pointed at? They'll have to answer, as long as they feel like doing it.

'To get to know each other better'.

'Pen and paper' - Sticks have been found, Sand has been flattened as well as possible and everything is ready to go. Kel can and will explain the rules for games like Tic Tac Toe, the Hanged man, the 'you draw something and the other person has to guess' game. Overall, if it can be done with some pen and paper, he'll try to help with it-

As a social person who spent a crapton of time with friends playing stupid games? Kel will even know more obscure games like Nim or Lasso.

'Music Corner' - A part a bit distant from the rest, still with pillows and all, where Kel put water cups and tried to isolate as he could with a few horrible looking anime blankets he found around. It's a space where people are invited to share about their culture in more than a one-on-one settings and since music is so deep into people's lives, at least in his opinion? He did his best to carve a spot where people could share that too.

'Flower crowns laboratory' After tossing flowers all around the oasis, Kel and Mari did agree on working together on another little step. Circles of paper have been prepared already, even if they're far from perfect, and a lot of flowers have been placed on a blanket on the floor.

Anyone who may want to try doing so will get assisted in building a little flower crown, with Kel and Mari giving them even more flowers to put around the oasis. 'Gotta make home look a bit nicer, right?'

There are areas where to relax and chat too, sadly this is far from what Kel would consider a party but he does hope that people at least sit in the memories sharing area and talk to each other.

Comments

He knows what he's about!!

[urtitan]

[Her expression darkens - but this is good; the case is equally clear to both of them. That means that she, too, can cut through the diplomacy.]

Yes. Otherwise, I'll have no basis to dismantle your plan on.

[She knows that even if she indeed can give him sound arguments as to why his endeavour is too risky, he'll still insist on taking the chance, but they must complete thing song and dance for her to feel like she's done what she could.]

[toilet_bound]

[Oh, good. They could drop with the pleasantries, it seemed. Not that Hanako was wanting to hurt Frieda in any way, but sugar coating things often led to people making misunderstandings.

Still… seemed like she was also determined to tell him no.

Instead of heading straight into his plan, however, Hanako simply smiled as he looked towards Yashiro again. That same fondness in his gaze was at odds when he spoke, his tone strangely detached.]

Yashiro… she can’t help getting into trouble, even when she means well. Even when she tries her best… she’s weak. Humans are so fragile, after all. [Some of this, Frieda already knew. It was worth repeating, though, to make a point.] That being said, she’s quite good at endearing herself to others without meaning to. I’m lucky that there are so many kind-hearted people here too. It means… should I fail, someone else will surely keep her safe.

[There was a vagueness to his explanation, yet the hint was there: these people… they would just as willingly protect his assistant simply because of how Yashiro acted and their own goodwill. That was what Hanako was banking on. The fact that there are so many unknowns they face didn’t matter.]

[urtitan]

[Frieda doesn't take joy in arguing with Hanako, but turning a blind eye to the matter is something she could hardly forgive herself if he and Yashiro ended up overwhelmed by wraiths and suffered grave injuries and memory losses or, worse, didn't rejoin the group at the end of the Crossing.

The evident fondness in his gaze and voice as he speaks of Yashiro saddens her. He hasn't accepted it yet, has he? When she responds, her voice has lost the cool tinge it had a moment ago.]

We will look out for her, should anything happen to you. I give you my word that I will. But I feel like you haven't accepted the purpose of this journey. Relinquishing our memories one by one is the very point of our presence here. Denying the toll means to defy our destiny - a destiny that is inevitable.

[Despite saying that, there's hesitation in her. Until recently, she'd convinced herself that a blank wraith state, ready to get a new life written into it, would be the outcome for all of them... but the Ferryman's words to her implied otherwise, didn't they? "You'll still be you, no matter what."]

[toilet_bound]

[He certainly hasn’t accepted anything… and it will probably be some time (and a large struggle) for him to accept it at all.]

Is it inevitable though? Or is that simply something that someone else has convinced you of?

[Instead of addressing his own denial (though the fact that he doesn’t speak to it is telling in its own way), his tone is even. Hanako can’t help it. Simply because someone told him ‘this is how it’s meant to be’ when he had learned otherwise over the past fifty years… he couldn’t accept that kind of outcome for Yashiro.

The boy knew somewhere deep inside that he wasn’t the same as when he had been the first time he died. Things had changed, memories had diluted with time. What sort of person would Yashiro become if they took that from her? Change itself might be inevitable, but he didn’t want anyone to force that one her.]

[urtitan]

[She hesitates briefly - thinking of Celehar, of how solemnly and resignedly he's accepted everything, from their passing to the abandonment of their memories, and how she immediately took his words for the truth because they resonated with her -, but in the absence of any conclusive evidence to the contrary, she bounces the question back at Hanako.]

What other outcome do you see? We're asked to give up our memories, one by one, and aren't they what makes us who we are? By going without the Ferryman, you only risk losing more memories at once, without control over which ones you lose - for both yourself and Yashiro.

[toilet_bound]

[Oh, that’s telling - the fact that she doesn’t have any evidence to give him is the same. Hanako doesn’t have concrete proof about this place, not yet, but just accepting what they’ve been told at face value…]

One where we have more than just the two options given to us. It’s always like that - sacrifice one thing for another. There are already things here that have slipped through the gaps, things that our benevolent guide didn’t realize either. [He’d picked up on that from his talk with the Ferryman and the chatter he’d heard around. Something wasn’t entirely right. Sure, Yashiro came from a different point than he had, but… not all was correct with the process of their journey.]

I may be wrong. I won’t pretend to deny that, but… could you ask her to give up her family? Those she cares for? The remainders of home? All for a potential chance to see where else we are going to be deposited at? [His tone is even. Hanako is wanting to genuinely think through this, instead of his otherwise goading nature.] There’s too little about this place that isn’t being given to us. Too many questions they won’t answer. While that’s the nature of an apparition, I can’t just accept their help at face value either. [Hanako hated it, deep down, that the same rules he had adhered to in his own death were being thrown in his face. More for Yashiro’s sake than his own. He didn’t have much more to lose. Aside from her.] If, by some chance, Yashiro does change her mind, then I’ll go with. [To make sure she remains safe.]

[urtitan]

[His arguments are fair enough, much as his stubbornness and mistrust of the Ferryman don't sit well with her. Why does she dislike it from him more than from the others that have tried 'crossing' on their own, she wonders - and the answer feels clear already.]

No one has the right to ask Yashiro to give up anything she doesn't wish to. But aren't you exerting unduly much influence over her decision? She looks up to you and defers to you, doesn't she? If you can indeed protect her and her memories, I'm sure you'll feel validated in your choice, but if you can't, I see great regret ahead of you.

[That being said--]

If you'll likewise defer to her choice, should she change her mind, then I'll trust you with that. But do heed my warning.

[There's a discomfort in her mind that she's unable to shake, and she can't help but wonder if she isn't being too obedient and accepting of the most strongly suggested path, too ready to look past any small incongruencies and oddities, much like her ancestor was willing to look past so many "minor" injusticies that cropped up in his atonement plan. The ends justify the means. Some collateral damage cannot be avoided. A king is like a gardener, and he must weed his garden so the flowers and fruits of the earth can prosper. Does she really believe that? But in this scenario, where no one gets harmed, what could possibly be so bad about giving up their memories?]

[toilet_bound]

Hmm? [Frieda’s words sunk in, his smile - tinged with something other - returning.] Sure, I think she trusts me. But Yashiro is still herself, you know? I can’t really control what she does.

[It wasn’t like he could possess her since he wasn’t a ghost and they all theoretically didn’t have real bodies (right?), and sure, if it came down to it, Hanako had other methods he could use to get Yashiro’s compliance (the easiest of which was knocking her out), but still… he was extremely limited by comparison.

Frieda didn’t need to know that though!]

Of course! Warning received~ [Much like the others had been, though… Frieda’s seemed to hit him harder. Why was that? Was it because he knew what she said was true? If he couldn’t protect Yashiro, then surely he would regret it but… he couldn’t just not try.

Old habits died hard. Especially when she had been the first one in fifty years to get him to act, in a sense.] I’m glad we had this chat though~ That way all of your worries can be assuaged too!

[That really isn’t true, is it? Frieda would still be concerned, still seemed to meddle, but maybe that would work out in his favor too? The more people that cared for Yashiro, the better.]

[urtitan]

[His gentle (yet, somehow, slightly sharp-edged) assurance that Yashiro is making her own choices, followed by an abrupt return to the light-hearted chipperness they all know him by... it takes her aback, and it shows on her face.

However, she relents, her features relaxing as she inclines her head in agreement.]

My worries will be assuaged once your plans succeeds, Hanako. I hope for nothing less.

[She means it. Despite her doubts in Hanako's ability to protect Yashiro, she'd rather have herself proven wrong than finds her fears confirmed.]

(We can probably wrap with yours? ^^)

[toilet_bound]

[Ah, he feels much more at ease now that he’s surprised her a bit… plus, reading emotions that were quite identifiable was just… nicer than trying to guess.

It seems like she isn’t holding any ill will either, which seems like a miracle, but one he will take.

The only reaction he gives that her words have impacted him is the slight softening of his features, the honest truth that leaks into his reply.]

Me too.

[It’s as much of an admission as he can allow - that there is a possibility that he could fail and… Yashiro would no longer be herself. The thought turns whatever might be left of his stomach with worry, which he quickly swallows. No need. He’d protect her, just like always.

Just like he had promised.]

🎀

[urtitan]

[That sense of honesty in his words is all the assurance Frieda needs - assurance that he's aware of the risk, that he's not pompously overestimating himself but planning the undertaking in earnest.

Inclining her head, she steps away to rejoin the rest of the party (... because this clearly was a typical party activity just now!).]