008 | Sakura 2.0: You Can (Not) Have A Picnic

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Sakura picnic
When: Evening April 25
Where: The same sakura park as last time
Summary: Amaterasu has had a request to return to view the cherry blossoms one more time and she has decided to make it happen.



The cherry blossoms have yet to all fall from the trees, and so the Heavens have seen fit to hold another blossom viewing - this time with a picnic instead! The trees themselves do not have the ethereal glow they had last time, but there is a sweet scent that fills the air, drawing anyone inexorably towards the beautiful trees.

As a surprise, Amaterasu has sent her counselors to join the picnic as well. They can be found wandering around and enjoying the sights and foods just the same as anyone else.

All new arrivals will have been whisked away to the picnic by Amaterasu's shinki so that they can enjoy this escape just the same as everyone else. It seems Amaterasu doesn't want to leave anyone out this time, and so many of her shinki are milling around as well, clad in white with the golden chrysanthemum embroidered on their outfits.



Picnic

Dozens upon dozens of brightly colored picnic blankets have been provided for the guests to use. On top of that, pre-packed picnic boxes have been provided as well. They range from American-esque picnic baskets all the way to Japanese style bentos. Everyone is free to take as many boxes as they would like to and share among each other. Every picnic box has something different for everyone to enjoy.

Cherry Blossoms

The blossoms are falling freely now, showing that they are on their last leg of life. But the scent of the cherry blossoms has become so intense that it draws anyone who smells it towards the trees. You might find that if you breathe in too deeply or too long, it's like an intoxication equivalent to having drunk all night long. Good luck keeping up straight!

Performance

A performance stage has been erected in the park by the Heavens and there are a number of shinki who will sing and dance or perform in other ways whenever they have a spare moment. Gods and their shinki are encouraged to get up on the stage and perform as well, if they have anything that they would like to perform for their fellows.

Fire

Around sunset, the festivities will come to a screeching halt as a sudden burst of flames spreads through the trees, igniting them one by one. The spread of the fire is so rapid that it is very obviously unnatural. It will take a lot of teamwork and a large number of hands to put the fire out - or maybe you prefer to just run away. Either way, it will be hard to miss the pieces of paper that fly through the air, all bearing the same words: Down with the Heavens! Down with Amaterasu!



In Summary:

• Enjoy the cherry blossoms
• Enjoy the picnic food
• Meet Amaterasu's counselors
• View or participate in the performance
• Put out the fire
• Have fun~

Comments

[mybadhabit]

Picnic Arrival
It’s been roughly a week and a half since the Heaven’s reached out to the new gods, Amaterasu's BBS post notwithstanding, which means that when they extend the invitation to the picnic, Sonic figures he ought to go. It follows the pattern of “when things go sideways,” so even if he doesn’t intend to get involved, he might as well go to keep an eye on things.

He arrives at the picnic wearing running shoes, black leggings with shorts, and a t-shirt covered in skulls paired with a sleeveless black cardigan. He had half a mind just to come in his ninja suit, but hey, the last time the Heavens threw a party, they managed to pull it off without a hitch. Just because the last few events were mildly disastrous, it didn’t mean this one was going to be awful too.

But it didn’t hurt to be ready for a fight.

He doesn’t spend much time around the bento boxes before he heads off to find a place to sit, eat, and observe the proceedings.

Cherry Blossoms
Sonic is up in the trees before the fact that something’s off with the scent even hits him. There are trees, hanging out in the branches is just kind of what he does. So when the alcoholic properties of the trees finally hits him, it hits him like a truck. He doesn’t fall out of the tree, but for a minute or two, he sits there, alternating between looking at his hands and glancing around suspiciously.

Then he falls out of the tree.

Fire in the disco! Fire in the… Taco Bell.
When the flames go up, Sonic’s first instinct is to get to a place of safety so that he can judge the situation. He takes in the fire, scans the sky for the source of the papers, and decides it’s not his problem. There are plenty of heroes scrambling around, rushing to put out the fire, and at the moment, nothing or no one he cares about is in any particular danger.

So he stands on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets, watching the park burn with a look of disinterest and disappointment. He knew something was going to happen. Something always happens at these things. At least this time he couldn’t blame it on the Heavens.

Care to try scolding this bystander into action?

fire

[ammyterasu]

[A young girl with a large bucket filled with water in her hands is heading back towards the fire and sees Sonic.

She stares at him.]

Are... are you not going to help?

[She sounds completely baffled by this idea.]

[mybadhabit]

[he glances at the little girl and her bucket, then shrugs]

That tiny bucket you have isn't going to do anything against a fire of this size. It'd be like using a mundane weapon against an ayakashi; sure, it might slow it down a little, but it's still going to keep coming back just as strong as it was before. It would take a much larger quantity of water to put this fire down, and neither you nor I are capable of providing the necessary amount.

So no. I'm not going to help.

[ammyterasu]

[She bristles a little at his comments.]

My tiny bucket is going to do a lot more than your nothing at least!

[After a pause, she looks away, towards the fire.]

If everyone does a little, that makes it a lot. Right?

[mybadhabit]

[He arches an eyebrow at her, tilting his head to the side, a small smirk on his face]

Half the grove will die anyway, because even with everyone working, you won't be able to get to all the trees in time.

[then he shrugs] Besides, Kurama has seeds from these tries. Once the fire has died down and the debris is cleared away, he can easily regrow everything in less time than it took for it to burn down.

[ammyterasu]

OVERFLOW

Blossoms

[oathkeeper]

[Sora just happens to be making his way by when Sonic so gracefully falls out of that tree.

He takes a step back and blinks and then bursts out laughing because this is just like the last time they ran into each other at the cherry trees but with one different detail. Sonic falling out of the tree instead of jumping out of it.]

...Aahahah, Sonic are you okay?

[Let's ignore that Sora is also pretty cherry-blossom tree drunk. Red drunk flush across his cheeks and random teenage giggling sprouting from his face every five minutes and everything.]

[mybadhabit]

[Of all the people to see him fall out of a tree, Sora was probably not the worst. He'll be teased about it from now until Kingdom come, but it's fine, he can deal with teasing from Sora]

I meant to do that. [Slowly, he picks himself up, staggering to his feet. It's not a lie, exactly. He meant to get out of the tree, but he was having troubles getting his body to do what he wanted] Sora, I think there's something wrong with the trees.

[oathkeeper]

Whatt-dya mean?

[Sora moves over to help Sonic stand straight, going under his arm.]

You probably just knocked your head falling out of that tree, dummy.

[He starts laughing again, a happy drunk smile on his face.]

[mybadhabit]

I didn't hit my head on the tree. [he grumps, letting Sora prop him up only because pulling away would probably end with him falling over again.] I was fine until I climbed up in the tree. I was. I didn't have anything to drink, and neither did you.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora makes a face.]

I don’t know how the trees have anything to do with drinking anything? Are you sure you’re okay?

[mybadhabit]

I feel drunk, Sora. I feel drunk and I didn't even have anything to drink at all! [he moves to cup Sora's face in both his hands, smooshing his cheeks together] I'm drunk and the trees did it, I'm sure of it. I am!

[oathkeeper]

[Sora's face squishes and he starts giggling and fidgeting. His words come out garbled from the squishing.] Are you saying the trees made us drunk? That's so stupid! Hahaha! Sonic you're so weird.

... Are we gonna be okay?

[mybadhabit]

It's very stupid, Sora. It's stupid and I'm not happy about it. [he deadpans, his eyes wide and expression serious. He squishes Sora's cheeks even more, leaning in until their foreheads bump together]

[mybadhabit]

[Then he lets go of Sora with a huff, stepping back and putting his hands on his hips] It's probably fine, but we should probably get out from beneath the trees and drink some water.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora really doesn't know what happening so he just continues to giggle happily and goes a bit cross-eyed when Sonic puts his forehead on his. When he lets go Sora sways like a leaf in the wind~]

Okay....! You think we're gonna get hangovers? Roxas said they're really bad, I don't want one.

[mybadhabit]

Hangovers are typically caused by dehydration. [he says slowly, enunciating his words and waggling his finger.] Drinking a sufficient amount of water should... do the thing that keeps them from happening.

[Nodding to himself, he takes Sora's hand, partially to help stabilize him, and partially to start dragging him back towards the picnic area. After a few feet, he stops] We should also probably have a snack.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora squints, trying to focus on Sonic's words. There were a lot of big words and he can't focus well at all. But the next thing he knows, Sonic is dragging him away. He starts laughing again.]

Whoa! Take it easy! The world is spinning like a bunch of teacups right now!

[When Sonic stops he slams right into Sonic with a fwump.] Ow.