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

[alchemists]

Maybe just one or two of the side dishes, we don't want to over power whatever we make.

[ The contrast of well made food and Elfnein's lack of cooking skills would be off putting. ]

[myblueskies]

That's a good idea!

[He holds the magic bento box close and smiles.] Let's go help them!

[alchemists]

Lead the way.

[myblueskies]

Okay! [And off they go, teleporting to a shrine close by. Romeo heads towards the street.] He doesn't live very far at all! Just down here!

[Indeed it was only half way down the street when he stopped by a red door. He showed Elfnein the slip so she could check they were in the right place, he didn't want to accidentally get lost!]

[alchemists]

[ It is close by, they could have walked it but teleporting is always the safe way to go. ]

It looks like this is the current place.

[myblueskies]

So do we knock on the door? [That seemed like the best way. They had to get his attention after all if they were going to help him. Romeo reached up to knock and then smiled at Elfnein, hearing footsteps approach.

A moment later the door opened, a young man looked outside, frowning slightly as he didn't see anyone.]

[alchemists]

Excuse us! We're here to help with cooking a nice meal.

[myblueskies]

[The man looked startled as he noticed them, Romeo waved with a grin.

"Oh... You are awfully young." He looked unsure as he glanced around as if looking for an adult that was accompanying the two children who had just turned up on his doorstep offering help.]

We wanted to help you make a nice meal since the restaurant is all full!

[The man still looked dubious, but he's also desperate so he's not going to look this gift horse in the mouth. He just opened the door further for them to enter.

"Thank you. I've been panicking ever since I rang this morning, I shouldn't have left it so late I know but I wasn't even sure she would want to have a meal with me and... Sorry. Here the kitchen is this way."]

[alchemists]

We'll do our best to make sure you have a meal to share.

[ They might be small but the two of them can do anything together if they put their minds to it. ]

So don't worry and leave it to us!

[myblueskies]

["Are you sure? There's lots of knives... And an oven." He looked worried about the prospect of letting two small children into the kitchen alone. Romeo smiled at him and nodded.]

We are really good at using all that stuff! I promise we will make you the best meal, sir!

[alchemists]

[ Knives won't be an issue, Elfnein knows all about the kitten paw way of cutting food. ]

We'll pinky promise if that helps?

[myblueskies]

[Romeo blinked at Elfnein and the man.] What's a pinky promise? Is it like a vow? We can vow as well, that we will be really careful and make you the best meal!

[alchemists]

It's like a vow, it's a swear you'll do it or eat a bunch of needles.

[ She learned the basics of it from Nanako, and the idea of having to eat needles is scary. ]

[myblueskies]

Eat a bunch of needles? [That sounded bad! But it was a serious vow!] Okay sir! We will vow that we will make you a delicious meal and not get hurt or we will eat a bunch of needles!

[He brings his fist up to his chest.]

[alchemists]

[ The man just lets out a chuckle at the two of them. ]

Alright, Romeo let's start prepping the food.

[myblueskies]

Right!

[He stood on tiptoes to look at what the man had laid out to make.] So he's got noodles and fish and rice and broccoli and... whatever that is. [He poked the tofu gently.] and soup and sparrow grass. We can make tasty food with all of that!

[alchemists]

I think that's tofu?

[ Elfnein isn't the biggest fan of tofu, that and back home most of her meals were more western style. ]

I have an idea, we can cook the fish and broccoli together.

[myblueskies]

Tofu? [He's never heard of tofu before. He grins at her and grabs the fish and the broccoli and looks around for a knife.]

We can cook the sparrow grass with it too! That will be nice!

[alchemists]

It's a product made of soybeans.

[ Romeo had the right idea with adding the sparrow grass, adding all the greens with the fish would be a good dish. ]

With fish I think you need to be careful de-scaling it?

[myblueskies]

Do you know how to de-scale it?

[He looks at the fish and the knife, he thinks he knows how to cut it up right, but Elfnein might know better than he does.]

[alchemists]

I think we put it under water and scrape it gently?

[myblueskies]

Right!

[Romeo opened some cupboard until he found a bowl and then dragged a chair over to the sink so he could fill the bowl with some water.] We will need a knife as well! To scrape with.

[alchemists]

[ Elfnein found a dull knife in the back of a drawer, they didn't need to use a sharp one on this task, also given what they need to do there was a higher chance of cuts so dull is the way to go. ]

I think this should work for it.

[myblueskies]

Alright! [Romeo took the knife and held it carefully as he picked up this fish studying it for a moment. The scales were like little flaps that were held on at one end so if he put the knife under the flap they should come off!

Elfnein had said to do it under the water so he put hand holding the fish into the bowl and held it tight as he moved the knife up against the first few scales. It was a bit tough but after a few moments of pressing upwards the scales began to pop off.] It's working!

[alchemists]

Just like that, once all of the scales are off we can slice the fish open.