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

[abgrund]

[ Ain had been silently rehearsing a possible speech to back-up Zhao's claims of being a store attendant, but then that happens and he has to quickly switch gears. ]

Give it to me.

[ — with an urgency so profound that one would never ascribe to someone so laid-back as him. Ain is suddenly immediately next to Zhao, having invoked some trace of his void power to weave through space. He moves to try and pry the bear from both Zhao and the man's grip, not hesitating to use excessive force if necessary. The man gives both of them a look that is both simultaneously confused and angered, but it melts as soon as Ain can get it out of contact with the mortal, replaced with a dazed air. Their follower still regards Ain with some suspicion, but her attention is diverted by the fact that her boyfriend seems to have gone a bit soft. ]

Someone tried to curse him. I'll take care of it.

[ And he'll muster some authority in his words. Hopefully with the veil that covers the Far Shore she would be convinced.

And as for the bear... it appears to have grown another mouth and is gnawing energetically at Ain's hand in a bid to be free. However, it has little effect as he can't feel the pain of being bitten. The pain of blights, however...

... well, it's nothing compared to pain he had endured in the past. ]

[wildguardian]

[The pain of blight is like acid in the wound, and Zhao's gritting his teeth against it; the bear's teeth are digging in even as Ain grabs it away. He reaches out, ignoring the way it spread blight over his other hand, and grabs the thing's nose, dragging it up to force its mouth open and free his hand.]

Ow, shit-- Ain, it's biting you too! Drop that thing!

[abgrund]

I'll be fine.

[ He won't, but that's not really an issue. To him, it's more justified if he gets hurt, as he can't feel pain the conventional way. Mortals must be protected from a danger that can be borne by another.

Still, Zhao manages to get its jaw to loosen, and that's enough for Ain to try and fling it towards the centre of the (thankfully empty) street. The bear lands with a thump and gets up, trying to muster a comeback, but Ain swiftly projects a bounded field around it to prevent it from moving. For now, the ayakashi scrabbles at the inside of the field like a hamster in a ball.

Though, his illusion has broken where the bear had bitten him. His left hand is now a dark inky black as opposed to the normal skin tone of a human, but it doesn't seem like blight.

There is no need to involve Zhao when he can take care of it himself. Letting him get more blighted would hurt him and his god. ]

I need you to help the humans.

[wildguardian]

[The ayakashi is confined in Ain's shield, and Zhao nods sharply, turning to cast a glance at his follower and her boyfriend. The man looks confused, but they're talking together, oblivious to the battle-- clenching his blighted hands into loose fists to remind himself not to touch anything with them, Zhao jogs towards them and puts on a cheerful grin, addressing Ain's follower first. With luck, she won't have had time to forget who he is.]

Hey there, can you two step inside for a minute?

[He gestures to the shop front, and gives her a meaningful glance.]

We're busy out here.

[She looks sharply dubious -- but she does seem to recognize him, and, after a moment, she nods, and starts urging her boyfriend towards the door.

Good, they'll be fine. Zhao Yunlan turns back towards the street, scanning for Ain and his little shielded ayakashi.]

[abgrund]

[ Ain is exactly where Zhao had left him, the field suspending the ayakashi levitating in front of him like a beach ball. The barrier holds up for now, but only due to the space-warping abilities of the field itself. Good that he can use his unique power to cheat a little.

Since Zhao's god is nowhere to be found, he figures it's easier for him to summon his own shinki and get the job done. He holds out his uninjured hand and a lantern appears hooked around his (still human-looking) fingers. Instead of fire, it houses three fluttering orbs of light, red yellow and blue. ]

I suggest you step back a little...

[ He places the cage onto the floor, and the ayakashi scrambles against it in a bid to scramble free - but it won't be able to move, because a couple of black spears sprout from the ground and the top of the cage to impale it with extreme prejudice.

Hope you're not afraid of stakes, Zhao. ]

[wildguardian]

[He's done worse to ayakashi with borderlines personally. It's a bit of a shock to see the viciousness of the blow -- but, on the other hand, he'd already gotten the strong sense that Ain isn't the kind of guy he wants to annoy.

He does take a step back, because he's also not sure what kind of control Ain has over those spears.

His gaze goes to Ain's hand instead, concern flickering in his eyes as he nods at the blackened skin. It's black like an ink pool, and not black like a burn. It doesn't look blighted. It doesn't look human.]

How's your hand? That thing got you, didn't it?

[The blighted bite mark on his own hand is throbbing, but he really can't tell if Ain's injured or not. His hand wouldn't look like that if he weren't, Zhao supposes. Probably.]

[abgrund]

[ Ain holds out the lantern in his hand, firing a beam from the fireflies within into the cage. The ayakashi's mangled body fades away under its tricoloured light, and the spears around it are allowed to dissipate once Ain can be sure that their opponent is truly gone.

A sigh as he lets go of the lantern and it vanishes as well. ]

That was tiring.

[ Maybe it's too human a sentiment, but having to work with the constraints on his abilities is troublesome. The presence of the blight also prevents him from reapplying his illusion on his hand, which means: ]

We should get cleansed. How are the humans doing?

[wildguardian]

And impressive. [The spears, the multicolored light-- how much of that was a shinki? How much was Ain's own abilities? The lantern must've been his shinki, at least. No native power should be able to destroy an ayakashi.]

They're fine-- that follower of yours has a good head on her shoulders. She's getting her boyfriend inside to safety.

[With a little shrug, he adds:] I think they'll handle it from here, but you're right, we should do something about that blight.

[He nods at Ain's hand.] What is that?

[abgrund]

[ What's that, indeed? He's disinclined to answer, but he must and he also cannot lie. There's a pause as he lifts his blighted hand and appears to examine it with mild curiosity. ]

That is how I look like. I am not human, though I think you already know.

[ Ain lets his hand fall back to his side ]

I use an illusion to conceal my true form. The blight prevents it from taking shape.

[ Probably some strange constraint on his vessel because of this world. Inconvenient, but not too important. He eyes Zhao with what hopefully passes for mild curiosity. ]

Are you afraid?

[wildguardian]

[Zhao Yunlan sighs, lifts one hand, and gives Ain a friendly (but still forceful) swat on the shoulder.]

No, I'm not afraid, you idiot, I'm glad that you don't have gangrene!

[Patches of inky black don't look anything like blight, which makes them worrying when they show up all of a sudden. He relaxes into an easy smile, now that the concern's dealt with, and absently reaches down to scratch at the stinging blight patch on his own hand.

He remembers why that's a bad idea the moment his fingertips make contact and begin aching with transferred blight.]

So do you think I could talk you into showing me the rest of you without the illusion sometime? I'm curious now.

[abgrund]

[ Ain sighs, though it's the type of half-sigh that passes for amusement. It still is a little strange for people to worry about him - maybe he hasn't impressed on them his lack of injury permanence yet.

But, that's a story for another day. ]

I find it curious that you are interested. [ Time to lead them along the roads of the Near Shore to the occult trinket store that happens to have a small statue of Hades... ] But I could. Though, it terrifies most people. I wanted to warn you beforehand.

[ He can't show his true form as manifesting it would cause severe spacetime disruption, but the intermediary would still work. ]

[wildguardian]

I have seen your extra hands. [He's imagining something shadowy with tentacle hands, at the moment, which isn't all that frightening. Well, all right, he doesn't think it's that frightening. Views might differ.]

I think I'll deal-- and if I scream, you can say you told me so.

[His tone's deadpan, although, to be fair, it's not as good a deadpan as Ain manages. Heroically resisting the urge to keep scratching at his blighted hand, he matches Ain's pace, squinting ahead at the shopfronts.]

[abgrund]

[ ...................... ]

What a strange person you are.

[ Definitely amusement. Ain notices Zhao fidgeting and briefly contemplates the wisdom of using his portal, but he doesn't want to risk any accidents happening. They'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. ]

I suppose I can once we are clean.

[ Ain pushes open the door of the occult shop and nods to the shopkeeper before making his way to a corner of the store. The owner seems to forget about them as soon as they leave his line of sight, which means it's easy for Ain to use the votive statue and teleport them to his temple on the Far Shore. It looks exactly the same as the last time Zhao came here, save for the addition of a fountain in an unobtrusive corner of the lawn. It should suffice for their use. ]

[wildguardian]

[The old-fashioned way works just fine for Zhao. Look -- he has some self-control: he's twitching but he isn't actually scratching his hand. He's got enough blight transferred to the other already.

Curious, he squints at the fountain.]

-- That's new.

[New or not, he's heading for it to get rid of this blight. The toothmarks are bleeding, but they're not all that deep; he'll just wash them out with some soap later and they'll heal up fine.]

[abgrund]

[ Ain waits for Zhao to be done first before he dips his hand into the flowing water. He's remarkably placid about all of it, though part of that stems from his lack of pain perception. ]

My shinki gets into trouble sometimes. I put it here so he doesn't get into more trouble.

[ Ren has a rather brash way of thinking if it's something he cares about. Ain chooses to caution him but not to excess. Is this how younger shinki are? Perhaps. He'll just have to try and provide for the boy. ]

[wildguardian]

Don't tell me he's the stubborn kind. It's not like blight'll kill you to leave on too long, but it stings and it spreads like crazy.

[At least, he doesn't think it'll kill him. It hasn't threatened to yet, although he's definitely noticed the pain and the tendency to spread to any other centimeter of skin that unwisely brushes the blighted area.]

Personally, I prefer getting it off as soon as I can.

[He shakes a few drops of water from his fingertips before drying his hands on his pants, ignoring the throb of the bite. It really isn't that deep.]

[abgrund]

Sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't. I try to keep an eye on him.

[ Literally, though Zhao might not make that connection. Ren's quite accustomed to Ain's eye following him around, and might have pocketed it on a few occasions. There's a strange but concrete sort of trust between them. ]

Are you ready?

[ Ain wants to make sure that Zhao is prepared for what he's about to see. Once the man signals that he is, Ain takes a few steps back to put some space between them.

His illusion begins to waver, fading away to reveal something distinctively inhuman. If his appearance isn't disturbing, the aura that he radiates certainly is - chilling to the bone and strongly eldritch.

Though, it's not his intent to hurt Zhao with his otherworldliness, so he'll reapply his illusion if he sees the man becoming uncomfortable. Better to be safe, than sorry. ]

[wildguardian]

Yeah, I'm ready. [Zhao straightens up, watching with avid interest as Ain transforms. There's nothing terrifying in the inhuman -- almost robotic -- appearance of his true form, but the icy aura emanating from him cuts through Zhao like a midwinter gale. His eyes narrow in fascination despite the chill.

He's not getting too much closer, though. Just in case. Whatever that feeling is, he's not sure it's good for mere mortals or mere mortals' souls, and he'd rather not accidentally wind up looking like Orbis.]

So you'd stand out in a crowd. Still, looking good.

[His grin's a little teasing, although it's marred by the involuntary shiver; he can't stand that chill forever.]

[abgrund]

[ After a few moments, Ain lets his illusion reform. Without the blight to hamper him, his disguise passes perfectly for a human, if one excuses the length of his hair. ]

I conceal my true form to avoid unnecessarily hurting other people.

[ Spacetime distortion, insanity, physical dismemberment... the risk of tampering with the void is beyond simply nasty. Add had good intentions but a bad outcome. ]

[wildguardian]

Hurting, huh? [So he wasn't wrong about "not good for mere mortals." He lets his eyebrows soar, curious but unconcerned.]

What happens if you don't conceal it?

[abgrund]

They die, or worse.

[ His tone is calm, almost flat. Unbothered as well. He's often wondered if his assignment as Hades was intentional. ]

[wildguardian]

Huh.

[Thoughtfully, after a moment, he adds:]

Must be tough, having to rein yourself in all the time.

[abgrund]

[ Ain studies him for a few moments, before: ]

What a strange person you are....

[ Unafraid, as always. But he's not complaining. ]

[wildguardian]

Don't get me wrong! [He raises his hands in a warding-off gesture, laughing.] I'm not telling you to stop. I like the amount of alive I've got.

[It's just that he's not particularly afraid of Ain. Immense, inhuman powers the guy might have, but he goes to a lot of trouble to avoid hurting people with them, or even unsettling people.]

we can wrap this one up here? :D

[abgrund]

I know.

[ Ain echoes Zhao's amusement, though in his own muted way. ]

There is a rightful order to everything. I am from a different world entirely, so it would only stand to reason that I adapt to this one while I am here.

[ To not restrain himself here would have consequences that are very troublesome. ]