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

A

[killercoat]

[ Now it's Akutagawa's turn to return the favor he owes Yata from saving him during the volcano incident. He sees the teddy bear lunge for the skater, and he immediately grabs for it. The black tendril slithers out from his coat, stretching forward to wrap around the toy's neck like a leash. The toy struggles in mid-air, but the fiber of his coat holds on tight.

He regards Yata from where he stands.]

Not good with bears, I see.

[thevanguard]

[ Yata turns his board to circle, having narrowly avoided that clawed swipe of a paw as he dodged. The following lunge had been thankfully interrupted by an unexpected save and he pauses to cast a rueful grin at the other figure as he skids to a stop. ]

Is anyone actually good with bears? Lookit this asshole.

[killercoat]

[Inspects the vicious toy, the black ribbon turning the teddy bear over as it continues to restrain it. The stuffed animal keeps waving his claws about as if trying to escape.]

It is an unpleasant sight. Though it shouldn't be too hard to defeat...

[Suddenly, Akutagawa hears a loud tear. The ferocious teddy manages to free itself from his tendrils, jumping into the air and ready to attack Akutagawa.]

[thevanguard]

Yeah, I don't think it agrees with you, dude.

[ Yata snickers as he kicks off on his board again, going airborne for a moment before smacking the thing in the head with his skateboard on his way past. It knocks the ayakashi off balance, falling forward to faceplant into the sidewalk, but it looks far from done. ]

[killercoat]

...I suppose it and I aren't compatible.

[ Akutagawa frowns at Yata's remark. The toy's claws are pretty sharp, enough to tear through his fabric. Though, his ability isn't that much of a pushover. He watches as Yata gets the teddy bear down by using his skateboard. Though before the bear could get up, his black fibers seep from the floor and pin the toy down. A number of black ribbons overlapping over the stuffed animal and anchoring him down.]

...There's no god around to exorcize this fiend?

[Even if the restraints are secured tightly, it probably won't hold the bear for long.]

[thevanguard]

[ Landing on the sidewalk once more, Yata swerves and comes to a halt behind where Akutagawa stands, eyeing how he's pinning the bear down now. But that's gonna be temporary at best... ]

I can call mine, but I'm not sure how close he is, and that's not gonna hold him for long. [ Hmmm.... ] Did you ever find your god? How are your Borderlines?

[killercoat]

My god? I did find them, but we haven't had enough time to form a connection. It'll be very much the same as last time if I attempt it again.

[He's a bit regretful about it, but he understands that the process does take time. He's not one to fully give his trust to someone, even if they might be his god. Though it still places the two of them in a rough predicament.]

...I will have to rely on your god to dispose of this one.