happy birthday from all of us to you

[diamondo]

Who: All the Dangans + Parker!
Where: Violet City
When: 8/31, evening
Summary: It's Ishimaru's birthday and his classmates are throwing him a surprise party. This can't end badly.
Rating: PG-13 for language. I'll update this if there are any changes!
Log:
Never again. Mondo is never planning a party this big ever again. Of course the original plan didn't take into account the arrival of five classmates, so originally this would have been easy enough to handle. Now, though? He'd practically run himself ragged making sure that everyone was here and everything was ready.

The hotel was kind enough to lend them the Conference Room for the occasion, and it was quite a large room that should easily fit all of the Hope's Peak classmates and Alice. All the food is spread out on a table by the wall (it's entirely vegetarian, since that's what Ishimaru likes) and the tables are situated nearby so that the guests can actually sit and eat. There's plenty of open space in case anyone wants to dance to the music that's been set up (though Mondo doubts Ishimaru will set foot on the dance floor, it's mostly to entertain the other guests). The gifts are all piled in the back corner and there's even a large TV for the guests to watch. All in all, it seems like the perfect place to hold a party.

All that's left is for Fujisaki to bring Ishimaru to the location, so Mondo fires off a quick text to his friend, letting Fujisaki know that everyone's ready and in position. This is gonna be awesome.

Comments

[struck_out]

YES!

[Leon looks so thrilled. Now, time to put Ishimaru to the test!]

OK, so now if I ask you this question again: what kinda vegetables do you like to eat, you say...?

1/3

[ardent]

Nagaimo.

[ardent]

[...DIVINE

REVELATION

FROM GOD]

[ardent]

[...that sudden burst of laughter is probably a little alarming - sorry man - but holy shit he is so pleased right now Kuwata you have no idea]

Ah, that's been troubling me for weeks now - you've taught me something very valuable tonight, Kuwata-kun, I'm very grateful!!

[struck_out]

[A little? Try flat out freaked out. But hey, whatever makes you happy birthday boy.]

Uhhhh, yeah. Glad to help.

...did you really not know this stuff? Jeez, how'd ya get by in school all this years then, huh?

[ardent]

W-Well, it's not anything I needed to get by academically, and as long as I could perform my duties as a hall monitor without them, things like that weren't exactly necessary!

[struck_out]

But what about the more important things? Like hanging out with friends, or watching movies. Hell, have you even had a girlfriend yet Ishimaru?

[ardent]

Those things aren't more important than school by a long shot! And I...

[...]

Of course I haven't!

[struck_out]

Of course they are!! Especially the girlfriend. Life's all about living and enjoying it and doing whatever you want, don't let all that boring crap keep you away from chasing your dreams!

Have you at least kissed-...wait no, you're not in my league so...OK, have you at least held a girl's hand? Or taken a girl out for a drink. Something simple and easy, yeah.

[ardent]

I don't find it boring!! "Doing whatever I want" has never been an option, and even if it was, it's not one I would want to pursue!

[...okay, wow, look, let him just. Breathe. For a moment.]

But no, I haven't done any of those things you're talking about!

[struck_out]

Alright alright, calm down. If ya wanna go through life being a stick in the ass then go ahead, but it ain't gonna get'cha any friends if you keep going on like this.

Ya gotta loosen up a little Ishimaru! You've got nearly all of us here, haven't you? So kick back and relax, take a chill pill and don't stress out all the time. Take it from me: don't sweat over the small stuff! It just makes your life even more miserable.

[ardent]

[Mnnnngh.]

Well, I wouldn't say my life is miserable, Kuwata-kun...

[It's...fairly obvious that that's touched a nerve somehow, however.]

I'll try to keep that in mind, though - at least for tonight, anyway.

[struck_out]

It's not?

[And Leon looks genuinely taken by surprise.]

How can you stand following the rules all the time? People tellin' you what to do, what not to do...the thought makes me sick! Doesn't it make you angry that people are trying to force you into being this person that you're not?

[ardent]

Wh-What?

[Wow, you aren't the only one, Kuwata, what on earth.]

I'm not being forced into being anything - rules and order have always been important to me, they're necessary for what I'm trying to accomplish; if anything, I don't see how you can live without direction like that. You say that life is about doing whatever you want, but how can you even know what that is?

[struck_out]

Yeah but aren't there times when the rules get in the way? Rules suck; you can't bend or break'em, there's only one way to do it and it's never gonna be your way.

That's easy, I always know what I want! I wanna be this super cool guy that all the girls go crazy about, and that all the guys are jealous of but even they can't resist how awesome I am!

[ardent]

[...Kuwata, there were a lot of things you said just now and every single one of them is the craziest thing he's ever heard.]

That may be, but there's no direction or stability in that sort of goal! There's no standard to verify when you've achieved it, and it's largely based around the impressions of other people - while other people shouldn't be completely disregarded, you shouldn't base your own success on what other people think! There's no agency in that at all!

The rules exist to ensure a fair balance is kept between order and agency; I don't see why you're insisting that both should be given up!

[struck_out]

[...Ishimaru, he may have just glazed over everything you just said. You lost him at "direction or stability".]

Some rules are OK, I guess. I mean, I don't want people going around stealing or breaking stuff or hurting anyone. But I hate rules that tell me what to do, especially when the rules don't make sense! Like, why does it matter that I have to shave my hair for a baseball game huh? My hairstyle's amazing, but it's not going to help me win the game!

[Never mind that he can't exactly play baseball for the time being, that's not important here his priorities dear god.]

[ardent]

Well, don't look at me - I'm not the one who makes the rules, I just enforce them!! And while your hairstyle may be rather magnificent, if it's against regulations, then it is!

[...]

Although if anything, I'd think they would be more worried about the piercings than the hair!!

[struck_out]

But like, why's there gotta be rules about hair? Giving me a crew cut isn't going to make me wanna study more. It just makes me wanna ditch school! Same with the piercings! No way am I gonna take them off, they hurt like fuck when I had to get'em, so I'm not gonna let'em go to waste!

[ardent]

...Why would you even get such things in the first place? I've never understood.

[No, really, why are you stabbing holes in your face and calling it a good thing.]

1/2

[struck_out]

It's hardcore, that's what it is! Punk stars look like this, and I want to be the best punk rock star in the world!

[struck_out]

...well, I wanted to be one. N-not so much anymore...

[ardent]

...Ah.

[And for a brief moment Ishimaru is on the verge of asking him why, only barely managing to catch himself at the last second in order to actually think about it; he doesn't quite understand the nuances behind why that particular goal might change, even after taking a moment to try to figure it out, but he can kind of tell that any questions he immediately thinks to ask likely fall under the category of "things we don't ask people."

It's improvement, he supposes, that he understands that there are things we don't ask people; at the same time, it tends to leave him feeling mildly lost sometimes when that's all he can think to say. Come on, Ishimaru. You can do this.]

W-Well, it seems that makes both of us trying to work out what should be done now, then! It'll take time, but I'm sure it'll be fine!

[struck_out]

Huh? I thought you said you wanted to bring us all together here. Isn't that a goal for you already?

[Again, he doesn't really want to see Maizono, but if she could be saved then, well...he'd actually like that.]

It's a goal that's very you, Ishimaru. I'm sure you'll be able to achieve it, you're too stubborn to let go of what you believe in even if it seems crazy.

[ardent]

Well, yes, of course! But that's not going to last forever, you know, not with ten out of fourteen of us already h-

[...heyyyyyyyyyyyyy.]

And it is not crazy!