Love Springs Eternal (??)

[bright_and_blue]

Who: ERRYBODY
What: It's Valentine's Day, and there are matchmaking notices everywhere. Here's an open log for one and all to post their shenanigans, meet ups, freak outs, and whatever else they're going to do about this.
When: forward dated to Feb. 14
Where: All over Aqures Ixen
Warnings: Ridiculousness.

[Plastering the city are notices matching up all of the Heroes of Light with one another, both the best and the worst. Moogles are having a grand old time handing them out and hanging them up, and are encouraging Heroes to speak with their top matches.

Naturally, reactions to this are mixed. Some Heroes are intrigued, some annoyed, some offended. Despite their feelings or misgivings, the rest of the city is still celebrating Valentine's Day as well, and now the thoughts of love are everywhere.

OOC: This is an open log for everyone to use for Valentine's Day stuff! Feel free to make your own prompts.]

Comments

[charming_jerk]

[Results for Johnny D'Amico:
Jack Harkness - 99%
Reno - 94%
Yuna - 88%

Minato Arisato- 5%
Saori Nakagawa- 4%
Duster - 1%

Johnny's results were pasted to a wall near one of his favorite pubs. Sure, his moogle could have just mailed it to him, but he was sure Johnny would actually see it here first before checking his mail at home. Also his moogle was so on board for embarrassing him. Of course, this isn't the only place they were pasted, either. Got to make sure his matches see this too!

Johnny stood in front of the results, not sure if he was angry or just annoyed. He was definitely embarrassed; his face was turning red looking at those three names. Those very specific three names.]

What... what the hell's this?

[mindofathief]

[Duster looks over his own results with more confusion than horror. Who are all these people? He recognized Rialynn, who was in the bottom tier of his list, but everyone else is a mystery. He pulls his flyer off the wall and reads through the names.]

Ellie? Johnny D'Amico? I don't get it. [His best and worst match, according to what's printed.] They had to have pulled these names out of a bag.

[He folds his flyer and tucks it into a pocket before addressing Johnny.] If it's supposed to tell us who we should get with, it's doing a bad job explaining why.

[bloodynine]

You got me, friend.

[ Logen swills some beer and smiles blearily at his favorite drinking buddy. ]

[unyieldingspirit]

[giving this the most considering look she can from under a hat]

I… believe it is measuring people's compatibility with each other. But- with only one number, I'm not quite sure… [she turns to Johnny, spreading out a hand.] You've not seen anything of the sort before?

[shinra_dog]

[Reno was still flabbergasted with his own flyer. Which was here as well. Gods, was it everywhere? He tore it down -- again -- as he distantly registered Johnny's voice.]

I don't fuckin' know, man...

[Distantly, the voice registered as Johnny's, specifically, making its way through the backed-up brain traffic of flyers and hearts in Reno's mind. Johnny, who was on his list. On the high end. Reno's flyer was suddenly jerked down out of sight as he felt a bit of a flush come on. His eyes darted to Johnny, then to try to get a glance at the other man's list.]

Open

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza studied the flier with his name on it, the frown on his face deepening.

Was he incapable of love? Did the moogles not think him fit to court someone, start a family?

He tore down the paper, let it crumple with his fist before it floated to the ground. "Is it like this for everyone?" he asked aloud.

Ramza turned to look at another one of the matchmaker fliers, to see how the next Hero ranked.

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie had been trying to hide her results by tearing down every single piece of paper with her name on it.

Sadly, she couldn't stop Ramza from looking at her flier before she was able to tear it from his gaze. Her cheeks flushed a bright crimson red and the princess looked very frantic as she looked up at the other hero.

"Ignore that."

poor Ramza...

[forcegalactic]

A heavy hand patted Ramza's shoulder and rested there. The Barkeep stood beside the young man, investigating his results. Honestly, they were the worst out of everyone's he had already seen. He shook his head in disapproval.

"Darn Moogles...Obviously biased, that's what I say!"

He wouldn't tell Ramza that those low scores accurately reflected his poor romancing skills, but couldn't these have been more encouraging? His housemate was doing his best to learn!

[confidentia]

Ace didn't even bother to look at Ramza's flier, immediately assuming that the fellow Hero's results were just as nonsensical as his were. Sure enough, his numbers were more on a regular side of things, but what did it change in a long run?

"Don't pay it any mind, I don't think that anyone could take these things seriously. I mean, what's the point? This isn't something that could be measured via any means."

His own overreaction would be obviously left unspoken as he proceeded to tear down the posters before stepping back to take a better look at the situation, sighing.

"There are too many of them."

[unyieldingspirit]

Those numbers are… certainly something.

K'pandolu tapped her fingers against her chin lightly, mindful of the makeup concealing her markings, and tilted her head to the side. "I've not seen another so… unfortunate," she remarked, and frowned. "It seems more likely to be some sort of mistake. To tell the truth, the whole manner of how they've determined this seems strange. How can a machine know any of our hearts?"

[red_planet_blues]

[Results for Sparks Nevada:
Aya Brea - 96%
Yuffie Kisaragi - 92%
Rukia Kuchiki- 88%

Terra Branford - 5%
Ellie von Spielburg - 3%
Ramza Beouvle- 1%

Let's face it: Sparks Nevada has been a bit on the lonely side lately. Not that he lets on too much, of course. So seeing something like this was like a sucker punch to the stomach. He wasn't expecting it, and he has no idea what to make of this. His moogle, Red, is helpfully displaying it on a sign board so that hopefully he and his lovely top choices would take notice. Sparks looks unamused.]

Reckon one of those is a subordinate, one of those doesn't understand human dating stuff, and one is Yuffie. What kinda weird joke is this.

So what if she's a coworker, kupo! A 96% match is really good! And there's got to be something between you and Yuffie, right?

[Sparks looks like he's got a headache that's now growing.] If'n that something is a lotta mutual animosity, sure. We got that in spades. Besides, she's like... 16 or something. Gross. You moogles need new hobbies, y'hear me?

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza generally does not try to eavesdrop on conversations, but he tends to home in on mentions of Yuffie, especially in romantic contexts. Someone has to protect her from getting her heart broken.]

Indeed. These results are ridiculous. I dearly hope the moogles did not spend much coin or time on this...this claptrap.

[He came closer to examine Sparks' flier. His eyes went wide in surprise.]

80s and 90s? And your worst matches are higher than my best? [He eyes Sparks suspiciously.] It seems the moogles think very highly of you...

[damn_juicebox]

[She's not sure if she should be angry at that or not. Well, whatever. She's not placing much stock in those results, or in the ones that she got.]

If you changed your mind about the chocolate, you should have let me know sooner. Here.

[Rukia steps up and pushes a small cardboard box into his hands. Inside is a trio of chocolate bunnies, all sporting hand-decorated neckties made of white chocolate. It might be cute, but considering Rukia is the artist, well... They're unique in any case.]

Happy Valentine's Day.

Open!

[chondriosome]

This was crap.

"No." There was some firm finality to Aya's no, too.

"You can't be serious, kupo!" Iva exclaimed. "Everyone is going to be finding love, and you're working?!"

"That's right, I'm going to work." And that was that. She was already on her way, moving at a brisk pace before anyone could take notice of her. Iva was floating, trying to keep up alongside her. Aya sighed and threw a hand out in front of her. "I don't care what day it is. To me, it's no different than any other day. This is ridiculous."

Clearly, Aya was not a fan of the holidays.

Iva just frowned, looking rather disappointed for some reason.

Honestly, don't these creatures have anything better to do? Like going on strike for the umpteenth time or something?

Re: Open!

[bloodynine]

"Another dumb holiday?"

Logen grizzles, having been headed somewhere on some errand or another, keeping his hands in his battered old coat as he looks at Aya, maybe squinting a little bit.

"There isn't any feasting for this one, is there?"

He sounds almost disappointed.

OPEN

[goddessofthesky]

[Zelda reads her results again and again as if trying to make some sense of them. She can't and somehow the list only serves to depress her further. She doesn't want to think of love or the legend of the goddess that surrounds this holiday. What once gave her hope has now taken that away.

Can a lost goddess really find love?

She doesn't even know if it's okay to think that.

Thin fingers pluck one of the flyers from the wall and stare at the results posted. She doesn't even know if she should worry about this considering everything that's happened lately.

Zelda finally steps out of the observatory and she instantly regrets it, having forgotten what day it is. She crumbles up the paper knowing that there are probably more out there. If anyone happens on her she will most likely not notice their approach.]

[just_want_normal_knees]

[And there's Ruby, munching on a cookie as she looks at various fliers. She spots one that has her name, but sees that it's just that she's considered the worst person to be with one 'Zelda'.

And honestly, she just blinks in confusion before turning to see Zelda and getting her attention.]

Hey, what's this about?

OPEN!

[thegreatninja]

[Yuffie rips her results down and then goes running through the city to find every other piece of paper with her name on it.]

This is crazy! Mooshoo can you get the other districts?

[The moogle nods watching as Yuffie's cheeks flush a bright scarlet red. She tries to keep the fliers in her arms but a few slip away as she frantically tries to pull them now.

This is a nightmare.]

[blackmoonreaper]

[Ichigo stares a little bit at Yuffie's frantic battle with ... pieces of paper. He hasn't checked his mail for the day yet, more focused on getting his errands done so he can get back before Rukia goes absolutely crazy with whatever holiday thing she's obsessing about. And has he noticed that there not only everyone's results but his own posted absolutely everywhere? Absolutely not. They just look like normal flyers from afar.]

...What the hell are you doing?

Levy and Tsubomi's Belated Valentine's Date - Feb 17th

[scriptrix]

[Levy's back from her trip to Mysidia, and she's come bearing gifts for a certain special little lady. After sending a letter ahead, she'd arranged to meet with Tsubomi in the same cafe where they had a hundred or so time-looped dates a few months ago. It seems only appropriate to choose that as the venue for their first actual date.

She's wearing a short pink dress with black leggings, wearing flower-shaped clips in her hair for the occasion. It's always good to dress up a bit. There's also a small bag sitting on the floor next to her chair as she waits, idly looking over the menu and humming to herself before her date arrives.]

Re: Levy and Tsubomi's Belated Valentine's Date - Feb 17th

[bag_has_snapped]

Tsubomi couldn't help but be excited to know that Levy had returned from her trip, even more so with the desire to get together for an actual date. Of course, there was also a bit of nervousness in it all - what if something went wrong? What if everything went wrong? She swallowed her fears and decided to head on.

It took her no time at all for Tsubomi to reach the meeting spot She cheated with her Custom Job, greeting her girlfriend with a cheerful wave, the simple pink shirt and pants contrasting Levy's more dressed up look.

"Levy! Welcome back!"

[Closed - Terra] [1/2]

[shinrasfinest]

[13th February]
[There is a card, folded over and standing upright on Terra's nightstand when she comes in from the -undoubtedly busy- day at the Flower Shop; another day where -yet again- Sephiroth hasn't come to visit her even for just half an hour. He's probably just busy, as always. It's a simple card, with only a red twist of pretty calligraphy in one corner to decorate it.]

Terra,

I don't know what you'd expect at this time of year, given the shadow that seems to have passed over that brightness that I've grown to treasure in silence for a long time. I'm hardly a poet, but here goes.

I know that your nightmares still haven't gone away, I'd protect you from them as well if I had the means. I've heard you toss and turn in your sleep a thousand times, yet not ever so much as the result of what is plaguing you right now.

It cuts me deeply to see you hurt, and I can't do anything to stop it.

I can't promise it will be much of a date, but I'd like to meet with you tomorrow.
Where we first met, after the shop is closed for the day.

If you can't make it, I'd understand.

~Sephiroth

[Closed - Terra] [2/2]

[shinrasfinest]

[14th February]
[He didn't come home that night. It was probably for the best as Sephiroth wasn't sure whether he could spend another night in the same room as her with all of this cold tension sitting unresolved. Plus the fact he didn't want to feel pressured -even by his own conscience- into trying to pry where he still wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about it.

He wouldn't have wanted someone else to pry, if the roles had been reversed which makes Sephiroth often second-think what his intentions were going to be.

Still, walking through the 13th District at all is not an endeavor he takes lightly. Passing through the graves of all the dead that he had been at least partially responsible for never fails to raise a chill right up into the back of his head. He's over that guilt already, but it's still unnerving and is a lot of the reason why he rarely comes to this side of Aqures.

The church, where this time last year he and Terra had been set up to meet for the first time, was half given-over to ruin. A good portion of one side wall and most of the roof of that side was no more, scarred with the remains of charred bricks from when it had been blasted open. The wind often made howling noises as it caught within the hollows of a building which had used to be peaceful in it's holy silence indoors.

Sephiroth stops a few paces from the doorway and pulls his coat straight, tucking his face into the high collar a little as if it might help to keep out the cold. It's not really windy, but with his long silver hair cascading down his back even the slightest breeze shifts and lifts a few strands. Almost as if the ghosts of the graveyard might seek to disturb him.

Of course, he didn't even know if the person he'd asked to meet here would even want to show up.]

[damn_juicebox]

[Rukia might be somewhat of a dunce when it comes to romance and human courtship, but she likes holidays, and seems to approach all of them with gusto once she has a good grasp of what it's all about.]

[Today is no different. She made heart-shaped pancakes for her new housemates as a surprise breakfast, and worked all last night on crafting chocolate bunnies by pouring them into a mold and then hand-decorating them with colored white chocolate to either resemble the recipient, or bear something that the recipient favors.]

[Does she expect anything in return? No. Does she have romantic plans? Still nope. But that isn't going to stop her from celebrating in her own way, and she seems to be enjoying herself.]

[As for her own Valentine results?]

Yuri Lowell - 100%
Cid of Roalie - 97%
Sparks Nevada - 88%

Raven - 14%
Duster - 5%
Ramza Beoulve - Hahahaha%

[So yeah, she's not taking that seriously in the slightest.]

[confidentia]

[ ooc: Ace's matchmaker results are here! Also, this response has been largely rewritten due to a change of plans, so sorry for the tl;dr. ]

( OPEN to all! )

[ Another addition to the unimpressed crowd, Ace stares blankly at the rows of flyers before finding his own name plastered over one of them. That the moogles could be dangerous when left to their own devices, he already knew from experience, but he wouldn't have suspected them of being capable of pulling pranks on such scale.

He tears the flyer off the wall (doesn't that technically count as littering in public space—...) and studies the first column with a light frown, completely unaware of his moogle approaching with another copy of the same poster and a thoughtful "kupooo...." ]

Wow, isn't that your boss's name on it, kupo? Wouldn't that be...[ The moogle gasps. ] t-terribly inappropriate?! Besides, kupo, [ and then she squints— ] isn't he like, way too old for you? Eeek!

Hana.... [ Though he almost turns around to silence the fluffball, Ace suddenly freezes in place as his eyes wander over to the second column. Seemingly random at first, there's one name in particular, which in conjunction with the unreasonably low number causes the boy to emit a small sound of surprise.

Hanafuda, on the other hand, is less subtle, as the moogle quickly crumples the piece of paper in a fit of anger. ]

No, no, no, no, kupo! Compatibility of one percent?! B-but you two— [ dramatic flailing ensues as she starts talking even faster. ] you two are meant for each other! A perfect match, kupo! Tear, she... I know for a fact that she really lo— [ UGH, she can't just say that, can she? ] ... I swear I'll show those good-for-nothing kupo-eaters how it's done, kupo...!

Hana—! [ He tries to shout after the moogle, he does, but to no avail as she dramatically storms off and he's left standing to whoever happened to have overheard the exchange. ]

( closed to Mystearica ❀ )

[ Although one could accuse the third district of possibly being the least original meeting spot of them all, on this particular day it also happened to possess a quality that many other zones lacked, and that was silence. Locked away inside of bars and restaurants, the Aquresian crowd kept the historical centre mostly unoccupied save for a few lone souls and Moogles, pacing fervently back and forth in order to deliver heart-patterned envelopes to their recipients.

Having arrived well ahead of time, the cadet sat at the foot of the great Crystal, basking in its warmth as he absentmindedly twirled the feather charm between his fingers. It had always stayed with him since, either hanging from a chain on his neck or cautiously pinned onto his clothes where he could always check for its presence. In a way, it had become something of a habit, to seek its strength whenever he was at the verge of losing to his own apprehension.

Like now. Between the smiles and friendly gestures that he always had in store for Tear, Ace couldn't sometimes stop questioning his actions as he went, hoping that all those outbursts of merry spontaneity he couldn't name hadn't seemed... off-putting. Was it too much? Requesting a date on a day like this, and none other, further proved how hopelessly unsubtle his attempts had become.

It was shameful to think how much the ultimately meaningless results from earlier in the day had him riled up, but the exchanges that had sprung out of it all continued to stubbornly occupy his thoughts. It was partially thanks to that why he wished to avoid any audience this time around, even if it meant going against the widely established traditions and countless encouragements from Hana.

It is important that he does it his own way, so that they can still be themselves, for a while longer. With that in mind, the cadet decides to rest his head on his folded arms, closing his eyes for a brief moment in order to gather his thoughts.... ]

[cantante]

[ When the time came for Tear's arrival, she was a little surprised at the sight of the cadet sitting in the distance—if she was already here early, how long had he been waiting? Thinking about it made her reach up to fidget with the hood of the white cape protecting her from the cold, heartbeat steadily beginning to climb.

And to think she hadn't even spoken to him yet—how shameful.

What she needed were a few deep breaths, and that was exactly what she did, resting her free hand over her heart since the other was busy holding on to a small, ribboned parcel that she was keeping close to herself. It's only when she's sure her blush has subsided enough that she straightens up and presses forward. They had both agreed to this date of their own volition, and by the Crystals she had every intention of fulfilling it!

Luckily she's managed a tiny smile by the time she reaches him, kneeling down to try and get a look at his face through her bangs before stretching out a hand to brush away his own hair. ] Ace...? You didn't fall asleep, did you...?

[nomorecowbell]

A. Nanami didn't have a special someone for Valentine's Day, but she could at least give her friends chocolate, in case they didn't have anyone to buy them something. So, if you've interacted with Nanami at all, expect to see her running away from your mailbox, with a (small) package of (kind of cheap) chocolate inside.

It's not that hard to catch her, even if she did switch to Ninja for today.

B. Of course, eventually she would have to find the fliers. Nanami was studying one of hers. She didn't recognize any of them names... and wasn't Levy a girl? What did that mean?

Someone was going to take this seriously, and apparently it was Nanami Kiryuu.

[unalive_them]

"Hey-hey-hey-hey, what'cha lookin' at?"

And, right behind Nanami is Deadpool, curiosity piquing as he looked at the fliers... and noticed that, oh, hey, he's number one on someone's list!

"NUMBER ONE, BABY! Yeah! Soooo... who's the lucky person, hm? 'Na-na-me Ky-rye-you'" Yes, he did say it phonetically (just to be his own special brand of jerk). "Well, whoever it is, they're certainly going to get good tastes out of this!"

Vincent Valentine--OTA

[bloodypast]

[Vincent's already torn down his flyer and interacted with the Barkeep, while doing so. Doesn't mean that others likely haven't been plastered about. Besides which, he's been getting annoyed at people in town occasionally remarking about their being a "Valentine" Hero of Light.

It's not exactly a common-last name, and Vincent is simply not fond of this day. Feel free to catch him either on the way to his shift at the Library, at work, or on the way home. Just be prepared for potential grumpiness. ^^]

[somewhere in town]

[unyieldingspirit]

[…well. That's very unfortunate. Guess who is not going to help, for- due to events, K'pandolu ended up a retainer of House Valentione, dedicated to helping out lovers across Eorzea, and she means to take that just as seriously here as she does in Eorzea. Knowing that there's someone with such a close name around- well, she's got to at least make the attempt. For her own part, though, she's wearing a cap that conceals her ears, and has concealed her facial markings with makeup as best she can.]

Ser Valentine! Just the man I was hoping to see! I've a booth for today, you see, and I wondered if you might not stand with me for a time.

[…sorry about your life, Vincent.]

[fearlessherosheart]

[Tazendra immediately discarded everyone on her list as 'not the same species as her', and not even close enough to be attractive. It then occurred to her that, by the laws of her homeland, suggesting that she was even interested in pursuing an intimate relationship outside of her species was an insult to her honor, and could be answered by a duel.]

[That was fortunate. Of course, less so was the fact that she liked many of her fellow Heroes and she couldn't go around challenging the citizens to duels. That was far from interesting, given that at best they had a single job. So see Tazendra considering those studying her fliers, sizing them up to see if they were both strangers and were paying more attention than appropriate.]

Ah, excuse me!

[wickedone]

Albel stared at the paper in his hand. He wasn't even sure what he was looking at, the words in front of him made no sense. His brain couldn't even begin to decipher their meaning, because their supposed meaning was so so far beyond what Albel could accept.

With little hearts and percentages, this... thing... was apparently some sort of compatibility rating. Of supposed romance. Or something.

What?

[bloodynine]

[ Logen, already incredibly drunk after talking to Johnny, will stumble towards Albel, eyes bleary. He looks at him, then at the paper. ]

This shit again?

Jade and Anise [Closed]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Other than teasing his friends and coworkers, Jade didn't have much interest in the holiday. It didn't hold much relevance for him, after all, and so he paid it little mind as he set out to work at the lab as usual.

Until he found the box of homemade chocolates, that is.

There was no mistaking Anise's handiwork. Jade picked up the present from his desk, staring at it in silence for a while. He had been avoiding her, too, since the vision of the future, only addressing her briefly whenever he absolutely had to. There had been plenty of reasons going through his head at the time -- surely she was better off spending some time away from him after what he'd done, and in any case he'd had the expedition to think about -- but in truth, those amounted to little more than excuses.

The fact of the matter was that by neglecting Anise, Jade was sparing his own feelings rather than hers.

...Work could wait.

It wasn't long after that Jade returned home earlier than usual and peeked in their shared kitchen. That was usually the first place to check when looking for Anise.]

[lastfonmasterguardian]

[And indeed, Anise is in the kitchen. She's hunched over a pot of baking chocolate rather intently, while Tokunaga seems to be clamoring back and forth to grab her different ingredients and utensils.]

[Once he notices someone else in the room, however, the quiet moogle tugs at her elbow, until she turns around.]

[Maybe it's just telling of how focused she was on the cooking, but she's caught completely by surprise. So by surprise that she accidentally drops the spoon into the pot.]

Whoa!