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

[unlucky7]

[Is it what she really wants? Even if it is, does it matter if it isn't what they want? It's the answer Ginia has avoided as much as she seizes on it as an excuse and she finally stops to consider the facts.

Caster and Archer have each other, Caster has Zelda too.

There's no place for her, not with how much she's already hurt them. She wouldn't dare risk hurting them so a second time. Friendship is not a consolation prize, but its own thing to cherish and nurture. There is nothing but happiness she wishes on the three of them.

Ginia sighs, looks away and blinks tears away before anyone can see. Don't regret. Move on.

Let go.]

Thank you, Minako.

[After she signs the words, Ginia gives her a light hug.]

[reloves]

[ The thanks being signed rather than being spoken by Ginia's phone makes it feel oddly special. And even though Minako doesn't really have her hands free to sign back 'you're welcome' since hugging Ginia in return is more important now, she gives the other a squeeze that implies pretty much the same thing.

It's difficult to fully give advice on this situation as a third (or, well, fourth or fifth) person on the outside looking in when she doesn't fully know what any of them are thinking - nor does she want to meddle with something that's still sore and painful for them.

But.. she's doing okay now, right? This is as much as she can do.

When she pulls away after a few moments, Minako smiles at Ginia. ]

I know some stuff can be super hard to talk about, but if you ever end up thinking "wow, I sure wish I could talk to someone about this!", then.. you know, consider texting me! [ She winks, playfully but a little less over the top than usually. ] Especially now you've seen I'm surprisingly good at giving advice, right.

[unlucky7]

I'll keep that in mind.

[Minako may be younger, but she has a good head and a better heart. So maybe age doesn't matter too much when it comes to making friends when you're all dead ghosts anyway.]

If either of my dates work out, I'll give you all the credit for the setup, okay?

[reloves]

You better! [ Minako grins, a little bit more like her usual over the top self. ]

Making everyone have a nice and happy day is great and all, but you know I love getting to see some romance blooming out of it as well! [ Especially literally when it comes to the seeing part.. Give her all those sweet details so she can look over them forever. ] I'll leave you to your date now, but-- good luck! I believe in you!

[unlucky7]

[Ginia doubts there will be anything blossoming on her end, but a bud of friendship is always welcome. She trusts Minako's and Chikusa's judgment to be sensible in whatever match they made for her, but also hopes her coworkers didn't make any ridiculous requests too. She glances at the three and sighs, exasperated and fond.]

Thanks. You have a good day too. And don't worry, I'll still wrangle ayakashi after my dates.