🌸 five | your beauty never, ever scared me

[everblooms]

<Who ⬤ aerith & pals.
What ⬤ a closed log for september and most likely october!
When ⬤ ^
Where ⬤ around and about
Content Warnings ⬤ i'll edit this if anything comes up.

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER CATCH ALL open top level 𓆩♡𓆪 closed starters 𓆩♡𓆪 please contact me on my plotting comment, through private message or on plurk @hagclub if you'd like to plot out a specific scene. i'm happy to write you a starter in that case!

( gif credit 𓆩♡𓆪 )

Comments

TIFA 🌠 girl's night

[everblooms]

[ Sneaking someone into the Tamamo meeting is not nearly as difficult as she expects, but Aerith supposes that there are perks you get when you’re a ranked officer within the clan. It doesn’t help that nearly everyone within the clan thus far has been charmed by her, and even when higher ranking officers peek over to see someone who absolutely didn’t get their contract signed by Tenkohome among them, all it takes is reaching out and holding Tifa’s hand to send the message.

From there, they get sorted, and Aerith doesn’t care much between blue or purple so it’s Tifa’s choice if she has a preference. It’s a strange sort of setting, getting into a robe just to lay down in your futon and sleep in a gymnasium. It’s a restless thought, in truth, and takes her back to the nights spent taking care of people in shelters during the storm… but before long, the game’s on.

As the rules are explained, Aerith looks over at Tifa, tilting her head and puckering her lips this way and that way before the whistle’s blown. She’s been listening, sure, but she’s thinking about how strange it is to be doing this with Tifa, for once. She’s almost always sitting there thinking about her in these moments, and now, she’s really here. ]

Did you hear all that? So, who is acting as King? This guy—

[ She never finishes her sentence. A pillow lands square on her face, knocking her onto her side, and Aerith is down for the count. Sitting ducks are always done away with first, it seems. It’s definitely a strategy. ]

[starshower]

[Tifa was hesitant at first (and that's putting it lightly) to join in on the Tamamo "festivities"—or whatever they wanted to call it—namely because Sutoku's weren't welcome, but after what she can hardly call an argument, Aerith's insistence that everything would be perfectly fine and she had nothing to worry about won out. As it tends to do. She was hard-pressed to find any other case besides "I'm not a Tamamo" anyway, and that got shot down right from the beginning.

So here she is, choosing blue, and preparing to climb into her futon for a very strange night of sleep in the gymnasium. When she imagined going to a sleepover, this isn't quite what she had in mind, but having Aerith here with her helps to ease some of that awkward tension that's found its way into her shoulders.

But all of that is gone when the game begins, and Tifa is a confused, tired mess at first. What game? She thought this was just a sleepover!? Except she has no choice but to participate, and it's at Aerith's side that she pays close attention to the rules, though the doubt is written clearly across her face. ... Someone's going to get really hurt in this, aren't they? So, all they have to do is find the king, just as Aerith says and—

One second Aerith is there and the next... she's gone.

???

And when Tifa looks around, she discovers her in a crumpled mess on the floor. Her eyes dart up to the source, and she spots a man on the other side of the line without a pillow, laughing and pointing at her friend on the floor, but he sputters and stops when he catches the look Tifa gives him...]

She wasn't ready.

[And then there's a scream as Tifa charges forward with her own pillow and swings it all the way around, using the momentum of the spin to slap him right in the gut with it. And out.

No sooner than he skulks away does Tifa rush back to Aerith to help her up.]

Are you okay? Did he hit you hard?

[everblooms]

[ Really and honestly, it’s not that bad. The guy has fun with it, but it’s more so the thrill of challenging someone so high up on the rung above him. Aerith swears she’s seen him before, just as she’s beginning to close her eyes. There’s a swirling feeling in her head, one that makes her feel a little woozy for a moment, or maybe weightless is the word she’s looking for… Slowly, the world starts to make sense again, and she’s on the mat, looking up to the gymnasium’s tall, tall ceiling. Tifa’s face peeks over, and Aerith wonders if this is what Cloud saw back in Corneo’s mansion. ]

Heya… Tifa…

[ She takes any help offered to her. No need to try and look tough after getting her ass knocked down to the ground. Back on her feet, she looks around to see that the whole match has been put on hold, and the guy who knocked her down is getting scolded. He doesn’t look, she notes, very sorry. He tosses a glance back to the two of them as he’s scolded, winks, and turns back to the ref, who is gesturing toward Aerith and Tifa’s team with vigorous motions. The match will resume shortly, but it’s a good chance to work on a strat, she thinks. Nodding, she turns back to Tifa ].

I’m alright! But, Tifa… I think you should be our king.

[ Their two teammates, both fox youkai, look between themselves for a moment before shrugging. It’s not nearly as important to them as it appears to be to the others. After a moment of deliberation, one of them explains that she’ll probably be targeted anyway because she’s shown how strong she is. The other mumbles something about Shuten missing out on contracting Tifa, but judging by the way she stares at one of Sutoku’s newest, brightest faces, she thinks it was a loss for Tamamo, too. ]

We’ll protect you, but they won’t be any match for you anyway, I bet! Even if they knock us out, they’ll never catch you, Tifa.

[starshower]

... Me!?

[It takes her a moment to register what Aerith says, funnily enough given that she says exactly what she means, but Tifa was prepared to take the frontline. It's just what she does—it's where she belongs in battle, and while this is no Shinra mech or goon, she still refuses to take this lying down. What she expected was a nice sleepover in a gymnasium (??) with her friend and that's turned into a full-on pillow fight dodgeball match. She'd just like to get back to the sleepover part, please and thanks, so the faster this is over, the better.

Which is why she hardly protests besides the unsure notes in her voice.]

I mean, I guess... if you think that would get us the win. [Which she is very impartial to...... She looks to their other teammates, both of whom nod in agreement with Aerith.] Should I stay back then? I could probably still throw...!

ZACK ⚔ more time

[everblooms]

JON 👁‍🗨 sweating & talking it out

[everblooms]

SHIN 🎸 sleep over

[everblooms]

[ There’s a sort of ritual to nights spent in, she thinks. A number of things have been pre-planned to make it just right, and she doesn’t really have that time before deciding to invite Shin over for a movie. Kamui’s got her onto VHS tapes now, so a number of movies are possible, and she even lets him pick what he wants at the rental shop down the corner from her dinky apartment complex that’s become overrun with plants. Still, when she locks the shop up tight, she’s glad for the company. It’s been a while since someone has come to spend time with her just for the sake of it.

It’s not so bad. She makes popcorn, orders fried foods for delivery, lets him pick out the self-care routine and the movie, and settles in. It’s when they’re part way through a meal of kushiage and tea (to avoid chopsticks, of course) that Aerith plops down her third finished stick of deep fried vegetables and poses her question. ]

Is Kate going to miss you tonight?

[mindthebass]

(she has no idea how good it makes him feel to see VHS tapes - almost like he's home! there's just too much technology, and while he isn't alone in his confusion and much more privileged than many, he struggles. it's nice to go back to where he had left off for a second.

this is perfect, actually. there's even a little cheer motion as he takes his second stick, most likely what will hold him for the night, before he rests a bit more on the couch.)

Not really. Kate and I have different biological clocks! She's a morning person, and I go to bed when she wakes up. We work around that, so she won't really miss me at all like that. What about you? Am I stealing you from the rich hero boy?

[everblooms]

[ “Rich hero boy”... Aerith mouths it back to herself, and laughs a little. Well, if that’s his impression of Cloud, it certainly fits. All of the kids back in the slums were afraid of him until they weren’t. ]

He’s probably got his hands full with a mutual friend of our’s.

[ After tapping their sticks of fried food together, Aerith takes one big bite and hurriedly tries to chew and swallow it before speaking. It’s a difficult task, but she half-way manages it, gaze drifting back to the screen. ]

You can call him by his name, you know. Cloud. I’ll know better which rich hero boy you’re talking about that way.

[mindthebass]

... You have more than one?! Aerith, wow!

(he even has to clap, awkwardly and clumsily with the stick in between his fingers, surprise and well, not so much so coloring his expression. it's aerith, she's magnetic and wonderful in her own right - he supposes it takes such a short period of time to feel attracted.

not him, though, because she got the mom vibes with him first.)

... Are any of mine rich...

(and that came out by thinking out loud.)