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

[artificialrose]

Then, that's good to hear!

[Both on the level of the prayer, and that the person besides him has a nice memory like that. Considering the kind of dates he's been going through, well, it's left him a little sentimental. Carefully gathering his skirt around so that it doesn't go flying all over the place, he begins to carefully leap down. Being a shinki sure is handy sometimes.]

We'll do a double check of everything they have gathered, then. That can be Step 1. It still might take her a little bit to be convinced of a rainy concert, however...

[creepface]

Is there a w-webpage for the concert? Does the tick-tickets say anything about rain or sh-shine? If it d-does it'll definitely n-not be any problems even if- if it rains.

[ Rasu's own dates have gone, well... it's been an experience, to say the least. Two out of three were definitely with people he's not attracted to, even after Goku told him he's not a child. ]

O-open air concerts always h-have a risk of bad weather, m-maybe she could get a rain c-coat to wear? Th-there should be some she finds c-cute or wh-whatever style sh-she likes.

[artificialrose]

Now that's something. These days, everything is on the internet. So let's see...

[Thank goodness for the phones Heaven has given them. He always seems to get internet service. As he flicks through, searching for it, he hums.]

That's an idea. But how would you feel if your Valentine's present was a rain coat?

[creepface]

[ He nods, waiting to see if Garry finds anything that helps them out. Most concerts should list at least something about what happens depending on weather. ]

Wh-what if they're matching r-raincoats?

[ Youths these days seem to like that, right? ]

[artificialrose]

[The site is a little bit difficult to navigate on his phone... Some things really are just better for computers. Still, he's determined, frowning a little as he navigates it only to perk up at the words.]

Oh! That could certainly be something. [He smiles over to him.] That's really a good idea. We'll have to find a good pair, however, won't we?

[creepface]

[ should've used squarespace He's relieved that Garry seems to think it's a decent idea. Fellow tall noodles getting along here? ]

Y-yes. Or r-rain ponchos, they're e-easier when it comes to s-size, they're usually more one size f-fits all than raincoats. I d-don't exactly know wh-what sizes they a-are...

[artificialrose]

[Tall noodles who look like they need more sleep, unite! Certainly they seem to match up as a pair in this whole investigation.]

It's fine. I'm sure there's a store nearby that surely sells them, right? Oh- [There it is, the site is working just fine, and Garry checks down on all the updated news. But more importantly...] Maybe we can learn about the two of them more, to see if there's something they like in particular. That could help pick something out. Like if they have a twitter or something...

[It's not creepy online stalking if it's on the behalf of a prayer to the divine, right...]

[creepface]

[ At least Rasu's circles are half makeup, half needing sleep. ]

P-probably! [ He peers at Garry's screen to see what he's found. ]

T-twitter? Why would b-birds help?

[ Look, he didn't do social media when he was in the afterlife. It might be popular in the living world in 2010 but Sheol has its own versions. You know, for the dead. Can't have dead people all over twitter and all, that would be bad. ]

[artificialrose]

[Garry has tried, for once, to look a little less sleep deprived with his makeup choices... If any of his dates can handle him this way, then he'll bust out the grunge-pastel-goth on them.]

[But he's not on a date, at least not right this moment, and the only thing that busts out is a soft laugh.]

Oh, no, not that kind of twitter. It's a website, where people can text one another. Well, that's it at the most basic core, I think.

[Maybe it'll just be easier to...]

Anyway, it looks like they're still going on with the concert, but they're warning people to dress appropriately. [No refunds.] Why don't I show you the site I'm talking about instead?

[That's a lot easier a sort of site to get onto by cell phone, after all, and it only takes a bit of tapping.]

[creepface]

[ Rasu doesn't wear as goth clothes today, but he's sure wearing his regular makeup. All raccoon eyed and black nails. ]

Oh. I didn't kn-know that. Is it like m-myspace?

[ Look, that's his era. ]

That's g-great! Th-then we don't have to w-worry about that part, maybe j-just need to l-look for something for them to w-wear.

[ Please do. ]

O-okay.

[artificialrose]

A little bit. Here-

[He leans in a little bit closer- hopefully not too much, because he wouldn't want to be pushy or destroy this guy's bubble. He seems rather nice, after all.]

This is what it looks like. You can see what people have posted, or if they sort of repost someone else's posts... [He carefully navigates the page.] And you can click on each one to see what people are saying about it...

[creepface]

[ It does make him flustered, but not more than he can handle. ]

O-oh. Wh-what do people s-say on it? I kn-know myspace was, um, m-music, pretty often?

[artificialrose]

I think it's just all sorts of things... Different people use them for different things. Um, like, this one...

[He scrolls through a little.]

It rates dogs in a cute and funny way, including their pictures, so that person is just using it for fun. I think there are even journalists on here, that link to their stories or comment on current events.

[creepface]

Th-the dog thing seems c-cute.

[ It's a lot to take in when you're checking out a whole new social media feed. ]

I n-never had a ph-phone with internet o-on it before.

[artificialrose]

It seems rather new to me, as well... [A thought which he won't think too hard on what it means for him. Shinki problems sure do make things troublesome.] Still, it's fun to explore, when I have some down time.

You know... [He glances back over to the stage.] Once we're done handling this, why don't I show you how to use it? We can add each other on there, and figure it out. It's not as if we're going to get a lot of people recognizing us on there.

[Far Shore effect and all.]