July 2022 IC Mingle

[jigokumods]

MAIN NAVIGATION

1. ITADAKIMASU!

After the harrowing incidents involving the curse last month, unity is the theme for welcoming the new influx of Lost Souls. The factions are still busy with cleanup efforts and making sure their personnel are in fighting shape. What’s more, most of the usual spots that would play host to the factions’ parties are either closed until they’re repaired, or in no state to be hosting parties that big.

Thus, an agreement has been reached. All of the factions will hold their mingles together and host a food truck/yatai festival in the blocks surrounding Theater Square, in the Sutoku Alliance’s territory. This gets money into the hands of the local vendors, and allows the community to spend time together in relative peace. It’s still Jigokucho, there are punks prowling to start fights and steal wallets, like they always are, but it’s a breath of fresh air after everything that’s been happening lately. Just keep your wits about you and enjoy the food. Takoyaki is one of the most popular items and competition between the carts motivates chefs to make them flair and style!

Kushiten, yakitori, dango, croquettes, senbei, onigiri, yakisoba, taiyaki, you name it, it’s probably represented here in some form. There are even any number of your favorite treats from home, even if your home isn’t Earth. It might take a little poking around to find them, but isn’t that part of the delight of exploring a city’s food?

The falling Stardust has made its way into the food as well. You may notice that some vendors are grinding up the glowing stellar fragments and putting them into the food itself as a spice. Are… you supposed to eat that?! Oh well! When it’s time to party, you can’t go wrong with a little Stardust.

2. MUSIC GOT ME FEELIN SO FREE

In the center of Theater Square, surrounded on all sides by the many colorful food stalls, they’ve set up a stage for local artists to perform on. There are a great variety of acts who come and go to play a few songs. The music reaches all throughout the square and may be little more than background noise, until just the right tune catches your ear.

• Jenny⁣ – This all-girls story of hidden love should be hitting all the ladies in the crowd a certain kind of way. Have you been admiring a friend or coworker and just never taken the plunge? Now’s the time for that kiss, the music is playing.
  
• KONNANじゃないっ⁣⁣ – This sweet idol bop about striding bravely towards your best future fills you with inspiration and hope for the future. You may feel compelled to bring your hopes and dreams into every conversation. The future is bright!
  
• Running Up That Hill⁣⁣ – As the singer performs some kind of interpretive dance, she sings about her frustrations with never truly being able to see from another person’s perspective. What would you do to show your true self? Maybe it’s time to iron out that ongoing misunderstanding you’ve been circling.
  
• Love Warriors⁣⁣ – A simple act with a guitarist and singer, she sings a mellow piece about the true value of love. What a beautiful message. Your heart might begin to overflow with feelings of care and affection. Will you finally spill those all-important three words? I-love-you.
  
• One More Time⁣⁣ – The last act of the evening is lively, colored lights flashing out across the square. They begin to play an impossibly catchy beat that no one can resist dancing too. Dance like no one is watching and enjoy the sweet catharsis of a good dance session. You’ll feel better for it tomorrow.

(Players are more than welcome to use their own song and effect. 💖)

3. BIRD BOMBS

At some point during the festivities, the Daitengu takes the stage. They’re in exceptionally high spirits. They give a shout-out to Toraguma and Tenkohime for helping to make this happen. As usual, The Enma is not present. However, the Daitengu forgoes any snide remarks, although they do seem a bit let down. Hope springs eternal, one supposes.

Next they would like to announce that they have even more reasons to celebrate: a truce has been declared between the Shuten and Tamamo clans. The war for the Underground is over (for now) and new construction has started on a new casino and adult entertainment complex in the once-contested territory. They hope that this will lead to an ongoing era of financial cooperation between the three factions.

They thank Sakamoto Ryouma for making all of this happen and give him a shoutout in the crowd. Word has spread all over the Alliance about their deeds, and what they managed to pull off; a blessing and a curse. It becomes obvious that not every tribe within the Sutoku Alliance was okay with putting the Alliance itself up as collateral to make this happen. The Kasasagi Tengu Tribe, in particular, has decided to let their protest be known by storming the party in a flood of aggressive magpies. They vulture the food, they pick at jewelry, they’re an absolute menace.

Good luck shooing them away. The vibes are counting on you to deal with these feathered buzzkills.

Welcome to the IC mingle!

• If you have any questions about the mingle content, please ask them here!
• If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.
• For Rewards, given both the Stardust and Turf War prompts are involved in all three, threads in the Mingle log count for TWO (2) points!

Comments

aerith gainsborough 💐 ffvii 🦊 tamamo

[everblooms]

💐 you turn me on a light switch ( flower peddling )

[ Aerith is present for this particular get-together, touching based with newbies and actually dressed in something nice for once. She's even got the Tamamo pin on, if only because she wants to make as good of an impression as possible. It's a celebration, and the summer weather is just warm enough to forgive something flowy and short. It's easy to move in. Completing her 'fit is a bamboo wicker basket, stuffed full of fresh flowers. Black-eyed susans, petunias, and a rainbow collection of zinnias. A few others might be found around the whole she-bang with a similar basket, stuffed with other breeds of flowers, but the sweet scent you're likely picking up on is coming from the girl in the pink dress' basket of flowers.

The nearest victim is selected with a calculating eye; Aerith goes for someone who isn't being bothered. Pretty conniving, right? You'll find yourself face to face with a sweet, colorful flower in full bloom. Not sugary, but naturally sweet, as if an expensive perfume for a well-to-do young woman. ]

500 yen for a flower? [ Shouldn't be too much, right? Aerith smiles, holding it out for you to take. Jigokucho is an urban landscape for the most part, with flowers and gardens being a luxury mostly found in private areas. Surely, anyone looking to sell them would be asking for a much higher price. Someone who knows Aerith probably recognizes that she's just peddling her wares, but another might be confused by a Tamamo Clan member selling something for so cheap. ]

C'mon. When's the last time you saw a real one? It's worth your coin.

💐 when you're moving your body 'round and around ( magpie trouble )

[ A ray of light shoots right past the stage. It hits a pillar on the side, beyond it, taking a flag down. It billows then dances away, carried by the wind to who knows where. Meanwhile, the mischief of magpies in that immediate vicinity scatter, unscathed aside from the fright. The more spiritually attuned of the Lost Souls will recognize that ray of light as being holy in nature, a righteous ray of angelic fury. To everyone else, well— being witness is probably strange in it's own way. The crowd moves away, watching the flock of birds fly away, off to the next block...

A youkai cries out, "Good job! You scared them off!" and the culprit, one Aerith Gainsborough, lowers the Mythril Rod to glower in the direction of the destructive path she'd laid out. Chairs are over turned, but the youkai who had congratulated her walks forward with a hand raised in greeting, only for her to grumble. ]

Damn it! I missed...

[ A pin could drop right now and you'd hear it, as the crowd all realize she was quite serious about that. ]

💐 you got me in a tight grip ( wildcard )

[ none of these ping ya? that's fair! hit me up through a private message to this account, or PP me on plurk @ hagclub, and we can talk it out. on the other hand, just toss me something if we discussed it before! or just throw it at me. i'm down!

as a note: i'm trying to avoid aerith actually making roast magpie here, so feel free to discourage her from that. lmao. ]

CLOSED STARTERS

[everblooms]

[ please don't reply here! i'm using this comment to organize all my closed starters. if you'd like one, please reach out to me through one of the aforementioned avenues! ]

CLOUD.

[everblooms]

[ The night's dragged on long and longer for the time being, with the festivities moving away from food trucks to live acts. The covers Aerith can hear, faintly, over the buzz of conversation and food being cooked, are calling out to her, but the person she wants to spend some time with before skedaddling to do her own thing, again, isn't around the stage. She left him with a basket of flowers and instructions to price them how he wanted, and they could split the earnings later. Her own basket is empty now, and she's already eaten, so it seems like prime time for a...

✨ date ✨? Maybe. Cloud's frame is distinctive, chocobo hair and all. Picking him out of a crowd is no problem. ]

Officer Strife! Fancy meeting you here.

[ Popping in behind him, Aerith stands with her hands behind her back, swinging from side to side with a smile. ]

How about I borrow you for a bit?

[identitycrisiscore]

Don't call me-

[ That's all the words that get out of his mouth before he turns to see Aerith. He'd seen her earlier in the evening, sure. But now that things are winding toward later in the evening, well. It's still enough to stop him. His basket isn't completely empty - but, well, it's more than half. Not bad for his first day on the job, at least. The floral shirts are really doing wonders for him at this party, if nothing else. ]

Oh. Uh. ...Sure.

[ He can guess what this is about. But here? Now? Well, Aerith was never one to wait, was she? ]

Lead the way. [ He gestures a bit with the hand not holding the basket, recovering quickly. ]

magpie

[eyediot]

[A crowd like this, Jon is uncomfortable. But he hears some kind of familiar voice and looks around before squirming his way through the crowd to-]

Missed what exactly?

[At least he's in clean clothes this time?]

[everblooms]

[ His voice cuts through silence easily. Aerith's head snaps in his direction, just in time to catch a magpie looking to descend upon him off guard. Aerith shoos it away immediately, and it flies away, up into the sky. ]

Don't worry about it. You get picked at or anything?

[eyediot]

[At the sudden motion, he ducks down as she shoos it away. His motion showing him clutching a scone in one hand.]

They've been trying to without a lot of success. You all right?

flower peddling

[empression]

Oh--

[ It's surprise turned breathless once Haru realizes what the woman is selling. She'd been prepared to politely refuse whatever it was she was peddling, but there's very suddenly a lump in her throat and she reaches out very carefully (instinctively) to the flower Aerith holds out, before catching herself and slowly lowering her hand.

That's it. That's what was missing. And for some reason, this is what triggers the wave of homesickness, an even thicker lump that she forces herself to swallow. ]

This is... a zinnia, correct? It's lovely.

[everblooms]

[ Still got it, Aerith thinks with a smile, and she pulls it back to look down at the thing. It is, indeed, a pink zinnia. It's petals are pale pink, the stem a shocking shade of green, and the pistil in the center is a pleasant shade of yellow. It wouldn't be out of place on a Spring display, in truth, and the smell is unmistakable. ]

Zinnias are beautiful flowers with strong scents. People would give them to each other, as gifts, to symbolize they'd return some day. [ Smiling at Haru again, Aerith tilts her head. ]

You missing anyone?

Magpie

[localweirdo]

[Meanwhile here Hu Tao was raising an eyebrow or two at the scene she witnessed. While she was aware that there were people from different worlds with powers, it was odd to see it firsthand. However, she knew that she couldn't sit back and do nothing.

Not when she could sense the pure hostility Aerith has for those little creatures. Immediately, she rushed over to her and gave a chuckle or two.]

Oh I don't think it's anything to get upset about! How about we try to take our aggression somewhere else?

[everblooms]

Aggression? [ Aerith parrots Hu Tao, and turns her head with knitted brows. Where her face isn't reading as confused, there's a little bit of determination leaking through. Ray of Judgement is just that girl in the room, is it? With a shake of her head, she raises her staff once more, holding it with both hands. ]

They're picking on people. It could be dangerous! [ Her gaze settles on another flock of magpies looking to descend upon them, an angry swarm of screeching caws that verbalize the betrayal and hurt. The anger, the fury; it sounds less like birds to Aerith's ears and more like a war cry. ]

...Got any safehouses for now?

[ She is in Sutoku, right? Aerith thinks then that Hu Tao should have an idea for where to stuff a bunch of people for now, just until it all goes away. ]

flowers...

[worldbent]

Five-hundred? Isn't that a little steep for a single flower....

[Matoba hums and clicks his tongue, but there's a spark of mischief in his eye. He raises a hand to his chin and gazes at Aerith, contemplating.]

Perhaps if there was some other tangible benefit that came along with it. Ah, but I couldn't imagine what...

[everblooms]

If I call it an artisanal flower, it might not be a lie. [ There's a foxlike quality to her expression, as if they're sharing in on a secret. To the average festival go-er, a flower in Aerith's grasp might be nothing but a flower. But to the Lost Souls, to their clan leaders, they know what the work entailed here. ]

If it's benefits you want, then there's a simple recommendation. The petunia.

[ She plucks one from the basket, dropping the other in the process in a practiced move she must be quite familiar with. Holding it out for him to inspect, she offers Matoba a flower with round, wide petals that look like they'd been dipped in the juice of berries at some point in their life. What isn't raspberry pink is bleeding stripes of white, like a too-wet paintbrush had carved the lines itself. ]

People have used it to welcome in good energy for years, but they could also make a lovely gift. People would give them to loved ones to let them know their company was appreciated. It's not uncommon to see them in date bouquets.

flowers

[girlworker]

Oh, um...

[ Helly is definitely caught off guard but the catching sight of the flower and what the woman says makes her think for a moment. She hasn't ever seen a real flower before, has she? There are memories of what flowers look like and what they smell like, but never one in front of her.

She pauses for a couple seconds before digging into her pockets and pulling out some coins. Carefully she counts them, squinting to check the denominations are correct, before handing them over. ]

Here. One flower please.

[everblooms]

[ Hesitancy is a normalcy when faced with Aerith's gung-ho attitude. Helly navigates it well, giving into her without much fuss. Truthfully, she doesn't get "Topsider" vibes from this woman, but it's always the single ladies who give into her easiest. Thing is, something about Helly doesn't quite pull that off for her. The hesitancy she had worn was born not from insecurity or feeling wishful, but thoughtful. The pause is noted with great care, Aerith smile only faltering momentarily.

While Aerith takes the coins, she swaps out the bright purple flower for a similar one in a different color. Yellow seems like it'll accent the warm of this woman's complexion and hair much better. ]

Here you are. This a petunia. [ Aerith holds it out for a moment before taking initiative to tuck it into any spot she can; a shirt pocket, a strap of some kind, or perhaps even behind the woman's ear. The scent is like cherries, sweet and decadent. ] People used to give these to each other to let them know their company was appreciated. It'll make a good gift, but it's scent is heavenly. Maybe you should keep it for yourself.

flower peddling!

[virtua]

[ Meet your easiest mark of the night, Aerith!

Even if she couldn't feel the air around her, warm and delicious and buzzing with the joyful voices of those similarly trapped, even if the evening hadn't been lit to a glow by this strange street festival, the soft and bright petals being shoved into her eyeline would be a welcome delight.

The festival had so far been an evening of surprising buoyancy for Mima's mood. It was the sort of thing she went to when she'd first landed in Tokyo, fresh and eager to experience city life - but not again after that easy first year, outside of official capacities and performances, and not at all in recent months. She had resigned herself to her shoebox apartment for another dim evening of "settling in," but the loneliness stings a little more here than it did at home. At least she knew her cage was hers in Tokyo - here, it seemed as though she shared it with hundreds of others. Presented with the option to congregate in person with them in that lantern-glow outside of her window drove a spike through her the longer she deprived herself.

So she made herself presentable, fixed her pin to her shirt, and wandered out. Trudging became walking became singing became dancing, and before she knows it, she feels lighter than she has in years.

And now, flowers! Real flowers! Mima hadn't realized how she had missed them, until faced with one. She breathes in a sweet, astonished gasp of fragrant air. ]

Wow! They're so beautiful! [ She drags her eyes from the bright flower being offered to her to the rest of the basket, and quickly, starts fishing for her money. ] Would you sell me more than one? Maybe three?

[ She'd be kicking herself for the exorbitant expenditure of 1500 yen later -- for now, the thought of those bright splashes of colour dotting the sad murk of her dim little apartment in the morning threatened to burst her heart. She needs them. ]

[everblooms]

[ Coming from the slums, Aerith isn't exactly in the business of exploiting her fellow workingwoman. Though Mima's face is completely new to her, her smile fresh and surprisingly youthful even beneath the unforgiving sway of the distant remnants of stage and lantern lights, she knows from that familiar pin placed perfectly on her that this is one of her fellow foxes. As someone newly appointed with a title within the faction, it seems like she should have some level of responsibility here. Even if she can't conjure it up, however, she knows what the pay check looked like. The early weeks of making her own way in Hell resembled nothing but instant noodles for meals, cheap blankets, and a bad futon, waking up only to rush to work in search of enough to get by. It would be easy to take the fifteen hundred yen for a few flowers, but it wouldn't be what she was raised to do, or true to her.

Her mother had taught her better. You help people by giving them odd jobs, and the means to survive, not by taking. Sector 5 may not have been the ideal place to live all the time, but it had at least prepared her for taking care of others. Mima is dripping with natural charisma, and she feels out of place not on the stage when she's got that smile and easy going nature, but there are better ways to use it than just preying upon her. So, Aerith makes a decision. ]

I'll cut you a deal.

[ She's not about to take you for all your worth, Aerith decides. She holds out the basket in her arms; hopefully Mima doesn't think that this is coming for free. ] I've got a lot to sell. So, how about this: I'll give you the basket. Sell what you can for what you think it's worth, and I'll find you at the end of the night. You can keep what you don't sell, and we'll split the earnings.

[ Nothing's free in Hell, but it's as free as Aerith can make it. ]

Sound fair?

flower peddling

[frogmarched]

[Eiichi startles in surprise, staring at the flower suddenly in his face while he was just sitting there eating his dango. It smelled... a little overly sweet, to him, or maybe he just wasn't used to flowers being particularly pungent. He leans away, and waves the flower out of his face.]

Just for flowers? [He arches an eyebrow. The idea of paying for flower seemed comical, with how many flowers bloomed in Aizu's fields every year; but he supposed they were a much rare sight in the capital, and here too. Though he hadn't really thought about it.

Then again, thinking about the flowers back home did... give him an idea. Maybe it would be too overdramatic? But Tamamori did demand presents for his birthday, as usual...]

...Do you have any camellias? Or irises?

[everblooms]

[ Her face twists into a pout for a moment, ready to start talking up her goods. After all, it really is hard to find these things, she thinks, if not nearly impossible. Private gardens can be a dime a dozen, and though Tenkohime's is a whole other world of beautiful to her, she can't imagine that they wouldn't be worth even more than 500 yen...

Only, he keeps going. At this, a look of surprise crosses Aerith's face. She hums for a moment before nodding, and starting off toward a dirt path where a number of motorbikes a parked. It'll have to do, she supposes. ]

This way. [ Momentarily, he'll see it— the grass suddenly grows beneath her feet, spilling outward into a luscious patch. Aerith concentrates harder yet, and the sprigs begin to show, then the buds, and then the flower opens up. Royal blue irises. Oddly, someone else had requested these from her, at one point... ]

How about these?

magpies

[paperpusher]

[One of the more spiritually attuned of the Lost Souls does, indeed, catch that flash of holy purification energy-- alongside the more eye-catching and obvious flash of literal light that made it hard to ignore either way. A handful of Natori's own magically-animated paper dolls flutter around his head like a few stubborn birds of their own, but fall back once it becomes obvious that the big ol' beam of light was way more effective than a paper fight. He has his own assumptions about that sort of power, and they only grow stronger once Aerith drops a line that wouldn't sound out of place at the sort of spellcaster assemblies he's made a habit of ditching.]

Ha. Exorcist? ["Oh damn I wasn't able to kill all of these pesky birds" sure is an exorcist vibe.]

[everblooms]

[ There's some kind of familiarity to his voice and appearance she doesn't immediately place, but it sticks in her mind like a needle. Settles in deep and annoying, like it's going to bother her for days if she's not careful. The sight of a man with paper dolls around him catches her off guard enough to pause, to wonder what kind of magic that is. It's unique. She's definitely never seen it before, and she'll remember it. ]

Nope! Local Florist!

flowers!!!

[himbosupreme]

[Oh, he knew that voice! That was the lady he'd talked to while building a sand castle. And now it seemed like she was selling flowers, which he was more than interested in.

Being a wizard, he drew his powers from his heart and the nature around him, so being stuck around so many stone and concrete buildings was kind of a drag. Smiling apologetically, he held his hand out for her to take, hoping she remembered.]

I know you, don't I? We met on the beach!

[everblooms]

[ There is immediately recognition in her eyes, as they light up. Her smile blooms wide and cheerful, she comes a little closer. It is only when he offers a hand up for a shake that Aerith's expression falls. In truth, handshakes are not a normal part of her life experience. They seem to be more aligned to business culture from Topsiders, perhaps, but she has seen them before; during negotiations or agreements of some kind, usually. His hand does not offer her any information and it is only when she drags a memory of some kind of business meeting up from the recesses of her mind that Aerith grins again, drops the flower into the basket, and then grabs his one hand with both of her's in a tight, friendly shake. ]

Yeah! We did! I'm Aerith, your local florist. [ Her tone takes a melodic shift into it, a chipper birdsong of a joke no matter how true it is. ]

flowers! i hope i am not too late!

[mortelix]

[ hailing from the isolated lands of dragon valley and what some label the "wailing tundra," mort isn't exactly accustomed to flowers or greenery. this isn't to state it doesn't exist in the borders near their lands, but they simply weren't a priority to him or his personal objectives. granted, he had been an a ceaseless war campaign since his coming of age, and so really, anything close to normal was probably far removed from his own life.

it's why the offer for a flower really does seem to come as some semblance of a surprise to him. there's that paired with the fact that as far as he was aware most beings tended to avoid his kind, and likely for the right reasons. still, her bravery certainly did warrant some sort of response from him.

he looks at the flower carefully, before eventually speaking— ] I admit I don't know the first thing about flowers outside of the fact that they're... delicate. [ while he doesn't necessarily try to sound ominous, it probably does... come off that way. ]

you're good! 💗

[everblooms]

[ Bravery and a desire to sell, sell, sell look terribly alike for her, in truth. It isn't a bad observation of her, but the horns atop his head just make him look regal and as if he might have a bit more coin in his pocket than the average festival go-er. Or maybe it's even how luxurious his mane of hair is, honestly. That's got to cost a lot of money in terms of conditioner.

Her shoulder falls, a little, lowering the flower a bit and giving the impression she, herself, is wilting under his gaze. With one raised brow, she picks between his words to find another meaning that might be, perhaps, very up front of her question. ]

Delicate... for you?

[ He's not wrong, to be fair, but she'd be happy to recommend him some hardier flowering plants in that case. ]