34 - Love is in the Air

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: An enterprising pair of shinki is trying to spread love throughout the Far Shore with exciting blind dates.
When: February 14
Where: Hot romantic spots throughout Tokyo
Summary: Blind dates on Valentine's Day? Sounds like fun (or possibly a disaster, but everyone needs some good disaster stories.) That's not all that's going on, though. Ayakashi are looking to chow down on the negative emotions that a romantic holiday can generate, and those who aren't busy with their own dates might be sucked into helping out followers who need help to make the day go well.






The Dates

Blind Date Matchups

Those who have signed up -- or whose friends and colleagues have signed them up -- for dates will get cards with specified times and meeting places inside for the big event. The cards don't list their dates' names, but instead have a matching symbol to allow everyone to find their proper partner. If anyone tries to stand up their date, they can expect a small and angry owl to harass them until they give in.


• Date One: The Romantic Brunch.
  Couples will find themselves with reservations (and pre-paid coupons for the prix fixe menu) at a swanky French restaurant with a wide balcony overlooking the lake in a central Tokyo park. They can dine on dainty pastries, sweet milk coffees, bowls of grapes and hothouse strawberries, and a selection of fancy chocolates and petit-fours-- plus, some of the trees in the park are blooming in holiday-appropriate red and white!



• Date Two: The Aquarium.
  Couples scheduled for this date have tickets to a rooftop aquarium in Ikebukuro: brightly colored fish, animals including penguins, seals and pelicans, a small petting zoo and plenty of shadowy, secluded nooks to cuddle in make for a fun lunchtime date. The tickets even include admission to the one o'clock penguin and seal show!



• Date Three: The Amusement Park.
  This date sends couples to spend the evening enjoying themselves at a seaside amusement park. Ride the roller coasters! Take selfies with the costumed attendants! Share an overpriced ice cream cone while you watch the fireworks after sunset, then wind up the night with a ride on the colorfully lit Ferris wheel with a romantic view of the Tokyo skyline.

Ayakashi Menace

There's more than just romantic couples out to enjoy themselves today. Romantic holidays can be tough for those whose love lives aren't so rosy, and as always, those negative feelings draw in ayakashi who are ready to ruin everybody's day.

All across the city, besides the usual ayakashi, characters might encounter the following:

Flocks of dove ayakashi whose mournful call induces self-doubt, suspicion and paranoia in everyone who hears it. Are your friends really your friends? Is your lover betraying you? Shouldn't you hurry up and stab them in the back before they can do it to you? These ayakashi are small and agile, difficult to catch but easy to destroy once they're caught... if you can overcome the urge to turn on your allies first.

Long-fingered shadow ayakashi, large and powerful, and capable of sneaking around by blending into genuine shadows. These ayakashi draw those who are alone into their clutches, filling them with resentment and despair. Anyone battling them needs to watch out for the humans they might already have influenced, who may become unpredictable and violent as the ayakashi influencing them grows more desperate.

Cute teddy bear ayakashi, that influence anyone they cling to into greedy obsession: they need attention, affection and gifts, and they can never have enough. When attacked, the teddy bears turn out to fight a little more like a grizzly bear than a stuffed toy, so gods and shinki beware!

Praying for Love

Those who aren't busy with their own dates might find themselves busy taking care of other people's instead. On a day like this one, everyone's praying that things turn out perfectly! Prayers gods might hear include:

"He's just got to ask me out! I made him the biggest box of chocolates... please, let senpai notice me!"

"Does she really like me? Please, give me a sign."

"I got concert tickets for our date, but it's supposed to rain. Please let me find a way to make this work out anyway!"

"The restaurant I wanted to take him to isn't taking any more reservations for tonight. What can I do? I can't cook!"

Wild Card -- players are free to make up their own romance-adjacent prayers for their characters to fulfill.

In Summary:

• Enjoy your dates
• Fight some ayakashi
• Make sure to answer prayers for a good Valentine's Day
• Have fun~

Comments

[replicatedform]

[He doesn't... completely mind her way of speaking. But sometimes, it almost feel like a waste of time. Or maybe because Valentine's prayers have a time limit.

Yamanbagiri easily grab the prayer, glancing at the text and seeing the picture.]

So this is "senpai".

[Shouldn't be too hard to find him. Probably. It's just one guy out of many people from his year, but he looks unique enough.]

I'll be able to bring him.

[priforprince]

Then, this delight is mine and mine alone.

[ Hibiki takes the rose she'd been thrown and tucks it into Minako's hairbow. She appreciates the gift, but! Now that it has been sprinkled with her amore, it's best returned to its rightful home. ] Please make me the only Valentine's date you require.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Nah, not always. Just when someone does a complete 180 on their personality. Besides, if you really wanted to date a girl, you could line up about twenty who are cuter and nicer than me without trying. So all told it doesn't make much sense.

[replicatedform]

[Minako's fast. Yamanbagiri notes it at the back of his head, since he's already running after the ayakashi.

Ahead of them, he see an intersection. Which means...!]

Line!

[Once he's close enough, he unleash his own line and block one of the paths. The ayakashi is forced to run down the other pathway. Towards less and less people around for it to use.

Hopefully, there's no humans around further ahead. But the ones they left behind should be fine.]

[letteropener]

[Celestia is not thinking nearly so quickly. Hibiki is fairly easy to manipulate, after all, so making sure she is happy and enjoys herself to the best of her capabilities will be easy. To wit: Celestia, with a quick glance around, spots a large stuffed bear at the dart booth, and so fixes her gaze on it openly.]

Oh my, do you see how cute that bear is?

[What more could Hibiki possibly ask for than the chance to show off how amazing she is by winning that bear, after all?]

[rockthemonkey]

Huh?

[ Goku's hand hovers over the butterfly, surprised to find the orange suddenly defended. He blinks at it a few times. ]

... Uh, hey? [ He moves his hand to hold a finger out for the butterfly, smiling a little at it. ] Whatcha doin' there?

[ Goku also has no clue who he's waiting for, but his invitation is resting on the table in full view. In the mean time, the butterfly can be his date. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[ Everyone wants to date Goku, don't be ridiculous. ]

Huh? [ Goku turns round properly and examines the invitation. ] ... Oh, hey, that's the same as my one! I guess we got paired up!

[ Goku hesitates as that sinks in. Rasu seemed nice the last time they talked and everything but... Oh, well, it's not a real date. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[ Frankly, as mean as Nia might think she is, she's going to have to be a lot meaner to offend Goku. He's used to being called far worse things on a daily basis by people he loves unconditionally; everything Nia says just registers as playful ribbing.

Anyway, he can give as good as he gets. It's more fun that way, than having to put effort into being nice and polite all the time. ]

You're always hungry too, right? [ Goku grins eagerly and lets Nia pull him to his feet, smiling a little harder at the feeling of warmth from her hand. It's cold out tonight. ] If y'steal my dinner, I'm gonna get real pissed! I'm starving!

[priforprince]

[ Ah, there. Hibiki nods. ] He's smiling for you.

[ What is this strange, unconscious feeling, though? Not of being led by someone - that's impossible, that's absurd - but of - of wanting to give the Princess, instead of the elite Celebrity experience, something that will...

...that will let her unwind....

Bizarre. Still, Hibiki sees a thing that she can do, and thus she heads over to the booth. ] Shall I unite you?

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki nods: they're in accord. ] We'll rendezvous soon.

[ Hibiki has a girl to lure, and advise (just in case). She's running the risk that the girl will fall for her instead of Senpai, of course, but as long as the prayer for feeling Noticed by an amazing person is fulfilled, does that matter?

But having Yamanbagiri supply Senpai just in case is still prudent. Hibiki will have to trust he'll follow through - he has seemed diligent, in the past.

Now. Where is their supplicant with the longing heart....? ]

[rockthemonkey]

[ He's (probably) older than almost everyone else here, geez!! Goku freezes mid-step when he hears someone calling out. ]

Huh? [ Turns, looks at Garry. Smiles at him, with just a little confusion. ] Hey! What's up?

[wildguardian]

[Zhao isn't quite as patient; he gives the brightly colored coral reef tank a look almost as pleased as Ginia's, and promptly side-steps the chattering kids' group to find a better spot. There's a place at the side of the tank where the wall comes up further, making room for a bolted-on panel with pictures of fish and brief scientific snippets about each species, and the glass above it is at the perfect height for a couple people over five feet to look through.

The first-graders, not being over five feet, are ignoring it. Zhao waves Ginia over, and points at a sleek five-foot shark circling in the water above the schools of bright reef fish.]

Check that out!

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Aquarium Date With Ross

[Okay, if she has to go on a another date -- which that bloody owl has made clear she does -- an aquarium's not a bad place to do it. And whoever she ends up with won't be Hibiki, so that's a double win. Maybe this'll be all right.]

[Nia hasn't bothered to dress up in the slightest, so she's absolutely unmistakable even from behind, which is where anyone will see her because she's leaning in close to the glass to watch the fish swim. Her invitation sticks out of her belt, the symbol displayed openly so whoever has its match can find her.]

Hell, and I even just ate... [But Nia can't help but think how damn tasty some of those fish look.]

Ayakashi Fights

Whyyyy!?

[Nia's plaintive protest comes as she scrabbles away on all fours just as the teddy bear ayakashi slams into the pavement right on her heels with enough force to crack it.]

[Cute and cuddly little thing, WHY IS IT SO FIERCE?!]

Wildcard.

[Prayers? Team-ups? Mocking others? Just show me the way.]

[letteropener]

Aquarium with Jae Ha

[Celestia has elected to assume a human shape today, quite wisely believing that humans generally prefer that in their dates over equines. So the invite that matches his belongs to a tall and regal woman elegantly dressed in a suit, whose ethereal nature is belied by the mass of iridescent hair serenely drifting behind her.]

[While she waits, she watches the fish with interest. Observing animals in their natural(ish) environment is always a delight, and some of these look like none she's ever seen before!]

Prayers

[In-between dates, Celestia takes an interest in the prayers coming her way with a desire to help match people that would do her niece proud. But not all of these are easy, so the equine-in-human shape frowns down at a card that vexes her.]

I need a good musician to play by our table during our date?

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Goku's taking her ribbing in the spirit it's intended, then, even if her snark might go a bit far for some people's tastes. Though when he gets up, she steps in slightly to elbow him in the chest. Not hard at all, just to get his attention.] Idiot, why would I steal your food when I'm trying NOT to hear you crying for it? We're gonna stuff you so I can go ten minutes without you wanting to eat something.

[mithrarin]

Breakfast with Add

[Dust's smile is only on the outside. A fake, a farce, a lie. But he maintains it nonetheless, because he doesn't want to make someone's morning miserable.]

[So there he sits, good humor fixed determinedly on his face, patiently waiting with his invitation on the table, displayed openly.]

Ayakashi

[With the afternoon free, Dust has lit into every ayakashi he can find with an absolute vengeance. Never mind that as a shinki he can't destroy them, or that his blade isn't nearly as effective as a borderline would be; his personal mission appears to be unleashing such an onslaught of swordplay onto ayakashi that they have no choice to retreat.]

[Here he goes, chasing a shadow ayakashi at a run as it tries to get away, racing past with hints of blight clinging to his hands. At this point the ayakashi seems almost afraid, the way it's trying to ditch him, and given the snarl on his face, maybe that's justified.]

[wildguardian]

[Sir this, sir that: Zhao could get used to all this respect.The kid's got great manners. Too bad he's too busy running away from a bear to really bask in it; Romeo's borderline hits, and splits it apart in a spray of fluffy stuffing.

It does take it down for a moment. Unfortunately, the stuffing spilled all about is packing itself back in, and threads of purplish skin stitch the creature back together in a time frame closer to seconds than minutes

Zhao throws another borderline, aimed brutally at the bear's midsection, to make sure it's not going to catch up even with Romeo's shorter legs before they make it to the lake's edge.

He turns at bay as they get there, watching the bear galloping towards them, and speaks quickly, tensely.]

Hey, kid. Is your god around?

[artificialrose]

[Garry will wisely not say anything about age for the time being... mostly because he's holding up his card with some confusion of his own in his smile. This guy hadn't even seemed like he was looking for anyone, but...]

You signed up for that blind date thing, didn't you...? [He holds up his card.] Ah, we appear to match.

[unlucky7]

No, he really isn't. He's a pretty private kind of person and would only go if someone signed him up.

[She could see Caster signing up as a way to get him out of the temple. Lancer even. It's strange. Ginia is relieved knowing Archer isn't one of her blind dates, but disappointment is far, far more prevalent.

Her fingers tap the edges of her phone and her shoulders hunch a little, smile resigned.]

Is it sad I'm still not over them?

[wildguardian]

[Shen Wei shifts his weight a little -- Yunlan's not sure what he's doing but can't be bothered to care; a few seconds later there's a hand sliding into his hair and another on his waist, pulling him in with surprising strength.

Zhao Yunlan sends up a heartfelt prayer for the ride to break down and strand them here for, oh, the next half-hour, and moves his own free hand from Shen Wei's cheek to the back of his neck, playing with the fine hairs there, grown out a touch messily from what must've been a very neat and professional haircut before he'd neglected it.

Some things about him really do suit the absent-minded very normal professor image. Yunlan chases Shen Wei's tongue with his own, muffling the hungry whine at the back of his throat between their lips.

It's not his first kiss. He knows what he's doing here the same way he'd known his way around a smartphone, but it's the first kiss he remembers, the first kiss he's ever going to remember. Before this, he'd been building himself an image of Zhao Yunlan as a cool guy. Smooth, discerning, in control. That's a huge lie: it turns out he's so easy that one kiss has him ready to let Shen Wei rip his clothes off under the eyes of singing fish and security cameras alike.

Too bad the ride's not breaking down. The light changes as they float out of the last room and back into the lobby, and he breaks the kiss to catch his breath and try to will his hard-on to subside to less uncomfortable and obvious levels before they have to stand up.]

Shen Wei...

[He runs out of ideas for what to say right there, and leaves the name as a sentence, complete and reverent in itself. He's so fucked. Is Shen Wei looking at him as a rebound? Is this going to work? Should he even be wondering about the long term when the Heavens could cull either one of them any minute? Should the possibility of Shen Wei disappearing on him feel so devastating when this is only the third time they've talked?

He sucks in a shaky breath and reaches for his jacket, crumpled under their seat where he'd dropped it somewhere during their kiss. The timing is perfect: he looks away from Shen Wei's drowning-dark eyes just as something above them reaches shadowy hands down to snatch at the both of them. Yunlan's eyes go wide, and he abandons his jacket, diving to put his back between Shen Wei and the claws at the end of those too-long fingers.]

-- watch out!

[letteropener]

Offered so, I would be a cad to deny you the chance. [She's amazed Hibiki even asked, save for perhaps the form of it all. Celestia follows her quickly, does the best she can at six feet tall to look the eager date anxious for her beau to win her a prize.]

[wildguardian]

You're a god, huh? [He returns her smile, and settles back into his seat.] Well, I hope you don't mind getting dragged out here too much, then.

I volunteered-- I'm brand new here and looking to meet new friends, you see.

[In other words: he knows what he was doing with the flower, and he nods back in acknowledgement of her thank-you.]

[wildguardian]

[He spins on one foot, slashing his hand down at the bear behind them.]

Line!

[The borderline slashes down through its body, sending bits of bear falling in two directions in an explosion of...

... fluffy white stuffing? Ayakashi are the weirdest fucking things. He leaves his borderline up as both halves of the bear scrabble and try to rejoin their missing bits; his free hand is balled into a white-knuckled fist with the effort of holding the borderline against that attack from both sides.]

You're a shinki, right? Can you do anything against these things but a borderline?

[wildguardian]

[Zhao starts after Orbis, matching the cat's pace easily with long strides until they stop next to the woman in all black. Her gaze passes over him and Ain the same way it passes over Orbis, at least until he clears his throat, loudly, and steps in to clap a friendly hand on her shoulder.]

Hey there! Nice to meet you, miss. We're here to answer your prayers.

-- No, really, though. [Just in case she turns out to be the sort to break the nose of a guy who flirts outrageously with her on the street; she looks kind of tough, and prays to death gods, so she might just be.]

You wanted some help picking a gift for your special somebody, didn't you?

[creepface]

I s-see.

[ He nods, smiling. He's actually kind of excited about this, if you ignore that it's supposed to be a date. He's curious to see what he enjoys here. ]

Y-yes! Let's, please!

[ Where to go first though? ]