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

[reloves]

Sancus..? I don't think I've heard of her before..

[ She hums a little. Maybe it's a new goddess too? Or.. well, most likely, Minako just sucks at recognizing god titles over their actual names. ]

Anyway, if you ever have trouble with something, or if there's something you still don't really understand yet.. Feel free to ask me for help whenever! I'm super knowledgable. [ Says the girl who literally just admitted she doesn't even know who Ovelia's goddess is. ]

[ofnovalue]

Ovelia didn't miss that little disconnect, but didn't particularly mind it, either, still smiling.

My goddess' other name is Lady Agrias Oaks, if that makes matters any different. But she awoke in this realm within the same time as myself.

[reloves]

Oh, that's so cute.. [ But then again, Minako easily thinks that about anything. ]

Then it means you guys can get used to this place together, right? You can support each other!

[ofnovalue]

Aye, and so we have been. Tis been quite the week or so for us both.

[reloves]

Well, at least you already got to witness something great in your guys' first week!

[ She grins proudly. It's not hard to tell that she's talking about this whole blind dates thing.. ]

It's the first time I've organized something like this too, so you arrived just in time to witness it!

[ofnovalue]

... Witness what?

[ Unfortunately for Minako, that whole thing had gone entirely unnoticed by Ovelia. ]

[reloves]

[ For a moment Minako still seems in her proud mood, but then the full impact of Ovelia's words hits her. It's totally reasonable for someone to not have noticed it, especially if they're new, but since Minako is an idiot it still feels like her heart is getting crushed.

Which is why she suddenly sinks to the floor, crouching down there all melodramatically. ]

N-No way.. All my efforts...

[ofnovalue]

W-wait, please, milady, give not to despair! I am simply... unobservant. I am sure your efforts were not in vain! [ Ovelia was quick to close the distance, kneeling near Minako, a look of worry on her features. ]

Prithee, tell me of your works? Show me the pride you had a moment before...

[reloves]

[ Poor Ovelia, getting dragged into Minako's antics.. At least she'll actually answer since it's not like she wants the other to worry for real. She just wants some attention. Minako is always too starved for it. ]

I.. I set up this thing where people could sign up for blind dates and randomly get paired off by me and a friend.. We gave almost all of the Far Shore Valentine's Day dates to prevent them from being lonely..! [ She's still teary-eyed though. For the dramatics. ]

[ofnovalue]

Blind... dates? [ Her confusion was written plainly in her features. ]

[reloves]

Huh?

[ The idea that someone would not know what a blind date is still surprises Minako, even though she has spoken to people during the preparations for all of this who also didn't know. It's just a surprise every single time. ]

Yeah! You.. do know what dates are at least, right?

[ofnovalue]

[ Look at that face, Minako. Between her way of dress, her way of speaking, and everything else, it's probably easy to conclude...

... that she has no clue. ]

Is that not... a form of courtship? [ Well, maybe a little clue. ]

[reloves]

[ Oh no. This poor, poor thing that's never even heard of a date, let alone been on one.. There's obvious pity in Minako's eyes for a moment, since it really is that big of a deal to her. ]

I.. It is, but.. I guess you've never been on one, huh..?

[ There's another moment of her looking sad, but then she straightens herself, filled with determination once more. ]

I guess that just means we have to make sure you get to go on a date at least once now you live on the Far Shore!

[ofnovalue]

[ By the time Ovelia realized what Minako was saying, panic set in on her features and she began to feverishly wave her hands before her, shaking her head. ]

N-no! Please, no, tis not necessary at all, milady! I would greatly prefer you did not!

[reloves]

Huh? Why not?

[ At least Minako "living bulldozer" Aino is stopped for a moment here, rather than just deciding to move on with her plan. Maybe since the other's reaction is so surprising to her. ]

[ofnovalue]

Just... I would greatly prefer you did not.

[ Even if she could remember the specific reason why that topic made her panic, she wasn't really certain she had the ability to put it to words. ]