but the party don't stop no [open]

[arsarcanum]

characters: Sora, Link, Naminé (ft. Daylight), Misty, Rosinante, Midge, and you!
location: Just (waves hand at all of Beacon) THere
date/time: Roughly from the 1st up until the 20th of February
content: This is the official Sora Gives Your Character a Valentine In Person post. Please note that if your character doesn't tag in on D or E but you just want to assume that your character got some chocolate cheerfully shoved into their hands without participating in this post, handwave away!
warnings: Again, low self-esteem, but HIGH joie de vivre! Will match tag format!

[ A: Gymnasium; Closed to Link ]

[ Sora would be spending the equivalent of a full afternoon, evening, and night in Beacon's gym what with training with Javert, then more training with the soldier (who is now Soldat but sometimes habits are hard to break, okay), then waiting around outside in the snow because he's so excited to see if Link shows up or not for more fencing practice! It's not a hassle to Sora, though; he really does do much better in life when he has people to meet. Like Link! He comes around enough to make Sora feel good about seeing him regularly. He's gotten so used to watching his lantern appear from the night that even a hint of light in the dark at this time of day is pretty Pavlovian at this point. Light is knowing when you'll see your friends again, he's pretty sure.

Anyway, he's just swinging his legs on this conveniently located seating area near the gymnasium's entrance, waiting for Link to show up. He'll be messing with something on his tablet, focused intently, but he'll pop his head up every so often to make sure he doesn't miss his pal coming. You there, Link? It's him, Sora! ]


[ B: Village; Closed to Naminé and Daylight ]

Okay, so we're looking for a really tall guy - REAAAAALLY tall - and he's got shiny metal armor on, and it's all yellow!

[ Today is a Thursday - some Thursday - and Sora's very excitedly chatting away while he walks Naminé to Day's to begin Spirit Day. If Naminé wants to make new friends, this seems like a good place to do it! ]

Wait, have you met Daylight yet, Naminé? Is this gonna be like the soldier in the church again? [ He's not exactly displeased with the idea! He just likes being able to surprise people, okay? ]


[ C: Bonfire Cabin; Closed to Misty ]

I still say we should do an icebreaker.

[ Now that Sora's wrangled Misty in on his awesome idea to make a B&B for people who are way too confused by literally dying not an hour ago to even think about housing, he's decided to start by taking all of the stale sheets and linens in this cabin next to the bonfire and stacking them all up before giving the place a good top to bottom cleanse. They'll probably add some beds and even some bunk bed style housing later on and yes, they'll HGTV style add a WHOLE! NEW! WING, but his main goal until March is to make sure they're ready for lost newcomers on the next ferry and any medical emergencies they might have. (There might be welcome snacks in the works. You never know.) ]

Pick your group meeting poison. Do you like... word association? 20 questions? One of those getting to know you scavenger hunts? [ He frowns while stripping this pillow. ] I guess that'd be pretty hard with just two people. We got the magic thing in common, though! That's a start.


[ D: All over on Valentine's Day; Open ]

[ Nope, you don't get a warning besides perhaps the sound of crunch crunch crunching footsteps in the snow and maybe the light of his star shaped lantern in the distance. He's there. He's been there all along. Or he's trotting up to catch up to you no matter where you're headed on this fine Valentine's Day. And he has a packet of two or three heart-shaped chocolates that he will shove right into your hands. (Or at least he'll try! If his recipient is a little less willing, he is 100% down for just chatting their wall down. Or just chatting. Sora really likes them already.) ]

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you're having a good one! [ Explanations? None. Context? Don't need it. Friendliness? Maximum. ]


[ E: Landmark; Open to Landmark Residents ]

[ Second verse, same as the first! Although these will be a little less intrusive. They're just a packet of chocolates hanging on every doorknob of the Landmark, tied with some festive pink and red ribbon, the ends curled with a pair of scissors. (The Concierge is excellent at their job and would not tell Sora which rooms are occupied, so he cut the knot and made enough chocolate for everyone in the building to have a bit.)

Feel free to just take the chocolate and run, but there's also a note that says to stop by room 301 if there are any questions (or food allergies - he'll do trades!). One can also catch him in the act of hanging the chocolates at each door, or checking out the bulletin board he's taking care of for Jason, or walking into the night to do his patrols. It's like, whatever. He'll even open with a friendly nod if his eyes happen to catch someone else's. Everyone's a friend he just hasn't talked to yet, after all. ]


[ F: Tavern (Outside); Closed to Rosinante ]

[ This is day five-ish of Sora trying his level best to get into the Invincible to try and fix things! And failing! Sora knows he was technically the instigator of the fight (or he thinks he's much more responsible for the mess, at least), which is why he is still doing the equivalent of standing outside of the establishment and holding up a boombox at 2 am (except with whistling instead of sad 80s rock ballads). He just doesn't want to force his way in if the spirits are not having it. He will keep whistling apologies every so often for like another hour or so, though.

Rosinante, it's been a few days since the lanterns have gone back to normal. Have the repairs gone well? Does he need help? ]


[ G: Invincible (Kitchen); Closed to Midge ]

[ So Midge. Hey! It's been a few weeks. Maybe like two? Three? It's the day after the Night Market sinks back into the lake, anyhow. Sora's been fairly busy for the past few weeks what with moving to the Landmark and the lanterns and everything that happened after the ferry arrived and all, but apologizing to Midge for the lantern stuff has been on his mind the entire time. Among... other things. Phew, have things happened since the last time they met.

Here he is, though. Cautiously opening the door like the first day he was in town, in the same sort of timid voice he had back then. He's not assuming anything! He thinks they might need to start back at square one. ]

Hey. Midge? Are you here?


[ H: Wildcard! ]

[ If we have been planning to have stuff happen OR if you have ideas, please feel free to DM me so I can give you a starter! My plurk is mawiles for any additional planning needed. ]


[[ ooc: chocolate flavor reference for those so inclined! ]]

Comments

[callada]

[The spirits' agitation hasn't gone unnoticed. They don't care much for Rosinante either, though they seem to have given him a little bit more of the benefit of the doubt as he has a longer history of treating them adequately, at least. They let him come and go, and he has to wonder if his association with Mary is also partly slightly why they don't try to chase him off. Are they able to put that much together? Do they care?

Hard to say. But he has indeed been fixing things and is just coming back with a box of nails in his pocket and an armful of lumber when he spots Sora, still outside, still waiting. He sucks at his cigarette, then pushes the door open and holds it like that.]

He's with me.

[He calls to the spirits currently piled up on the top of the bar, stacking glasses and filling them with sticks. Weird little creatures but he's used to it by now. They chitter and growl at Sora, but at least this time they don't come howling at him or throwing anything. Maybe he has a few minutes to appease them.]

Guess you'll have to prove it to them before they throw you out. Still got most of the furniture to fix up. Slow going by myself.

[arsarcanum]

[ Sora's pretty much chalked their behavior up to teens being teens dialed up to 12. Sometimes it's fun to have a justified grudge. He understands that!

He looks up and his eyes go wide at Rosinante. This isn't exactly surprise or fear! It's more like... perhaps a healthy respect and an embarrassment that he hasn't been able to quite woo over the spirits in all this time enough to at least get back inside to help. Man, he's usually pretty good at this type of thing.

He'll hurriedly rush in and step out of the way of the door, bowing nervously at them in the way he remembers he'd do (and in the way his grandpa in another life taught him to, even if he didn't use it much.) ]

Sorry! I'll stick with Rosinante. I'm here to fix things!

[ This seems to go over... not smoothly, they'll keep staring at him like wax statue eyes, suspiciously, but at least they don't start throwing barfood at him right away. Nervewracking, but he'll do his best. ]

Yeah, I'll help. I didn't, um, bring anything though. I didn't think they'd actually let me in. [ ... Well, the first step is to locate a mess, right? He'll wander a little cautiously around the spirits and see what the best plan of attack is. ] Is there anything you need two people for?

[callada]

[To be fair to all parties involved, the spirits are capricious even with those they're on good terms with. He's seen them do completely bizarre, inexplicable things in the name of friendship - not the least of which was that feast that put half of them into comas and then led to the two-week siege against the rest. Humans and nonhumans alike have communication problems but the spirits take the cake.

For now, Rosinante ignores the spirits. He pulls out the box of nails and sets it and the stack of trimmed and sanded wood on one of the still-standing tables, immediately smacks his shin against the edge of said table and lets out a hiss between his teeth as he suffers the consequence, then brushes it off, mentally.]

They might not let you stay long. We'll see how this goes. I don't see all of them here right now. But, yeah, if you could help by holding some of these in place while I hammer, we can splint some of the table legs back together. Replace some of the backs of the chairs. Lotta things an extra set of hands is good for.

[arsarcanum]

[ ... Three times means it's not a coincidence. Sora wonders if Rosinante is just like that? It's endearing, but Sora is pretty sure that wouldn't be fun to deal with from day to day.

Sora nods in response to Rosinante's caution, then moves to the closest injured table with splintable legs, seeing if he can prop it up on its side in a more accessible position. He's just grateful to be inside at all. Sure, he has a chair Gregor took for him to apologize on his own right, but he's not sure where to even start on that one. He's never had to be really handy like this before. (Also, would they be mad at him for basically stealing it? Even if he's going to put it back? He... wouldn't put it past them, but he also wants to try and hope for the best here.) ]

Thanks. For vouching for me. I... kinda think I wanted to get in by myself, but I don't think I could have waited them out if they were that determined to be mad at me. [ Some people could be mad for a real long time. ]

Also. Uh. Sorry. Again. [ He shifts from foot to foot, nervous, but is also determined to do this in person. ] I mean, I know, the letter and stuff, but it doesn't feel right if I don't do things face to face. I know exactly what I did, and... like I said, as long as the lanterns don't change again, I won't be that way again. Ever. [ There's some finality to that, even if he does seem a little unsure of himself. ]

[callada]

I did my share of stupid shit too.

[Which, yeah, the letter. He would have been content to leave it at that but he understands the preference many have of apologizing in person. More important is that they've both agreed to fix the problem in the most tangible sense. And physical labor isn't a bad way to get to know someone, in his experience.

He retrieves his hammer from where he'd been working before, then selects some wood and nails to work on the splint.]

What gets me is nobody seems all that concerned. None of the people who were here before the last reset have seen something like this. Not even Robin. But nobody seems like they're even trying to figure it out.

[Not publicly anyway. Maybe that's it. He and Will have discussed it but not in a way that really involved anyone else.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLuzMDkhYek

[nekrosmanteia]

[Gregor is headed toward the Invincible, smoke trailing behind him as usual. He finally (and very suddenly) realized he hasn't eaten in a while, and he should probably do that. Unfortunately, unless he wants to join the Librarian in eating books, there's no food where he sleeps, so it's time to venture out.

He hears the crunching and is prepared to ignore it, except everyone keeps saying that monster attacks are a big problem around here (a problem he has yet to see evidence of), so he stops and turns just in time to have something shoved into his hands. Hm. He isn't sure what to do for a second.]

Good timing, I guess. Is it really Valentine's Day?

[Who keeps track of a thing like days?]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9JzbG7FfkM

[arsarcanum]

[ Sora is the spiritual equivalent of the word "BORK" in this moment - as soon as he sees that his latest recipient (not victim, recipient) is a face he recognizes, he'll light up! ]

Yep, that's today! Good seeing you again! How's the library treating ya?

[ And as long as Gregor does, in fact, keep hold of his new chocolates, Sora will start readjusting the bag on his back, twisting around to snag another packet of chocolates from inside. There... doesn't seem to be much else in there! This is a man on a mission. ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIKqgE4BwAY

[nekrosmanteia]

[How is this kid so chipper?

Well he's certainly not going to refuse free chocolates. Or free food of any sort, given it's not, like, gross. He has standards. Honest.]

It's quiet, and the Librarian doesn't bother me much.

[So, as good as possible, really. Gregor can't help but notice just how many little gifts are in that bag.]

You seem to have a busy day lined up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WTy2yqKI4w

[arsarcanum]

[ He's running as fast as he can from his sad feelings! Cooking and doing nice things for other people is his nitrous button and he needs to pound that button with all he's got. ]

That's the nice thing about it, yeah. Good for getting some sleep. [ Sora shakes his head. ] Probably would've drove me crazy if I'd stayed longer, though. Not really a library kinda person.

[ He hefts that bag on his back and... this might be a cheesy pose. maybe a dab i'm so sorry ] Trust me, I straight up need to get rid of a lot of these. I had to make enough for everybody at the Landmark, and I... kinda overdid it! So everyone gets a Valentine now. Just like elementary school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXMskKTw3Bc

[nekrosmanteia]

[He could have guessed that you were not a library kind of person, Sora, but it would've been mean.]

Just like elementary school? I'll have to take your word for it.

[They sure didn't do that back when he was a kid, but uhhhh that was probably way too long ago to count.]

Did you have to make a bulk order of baking chocolate?

D

[sweetwater]

[ Cheryl loves Valentine's Day, and not only because the traditional colors and flavors are essentially her full aesthetic.. but it helps. here in Beacon it seems to be a cheery way to recover from the tragic mess of the previous weeks.

she's not expecting sweets from someone she doesn't know, but her face does light up as he thrusts the packet at her. ]

Merci! Happy Valentine's Day! [ she looks at the chocolates carefully. ] Did you make these?

[arsarcanum]

[ A smile! Good, that's what he was going for. He'll grin and swing his backpack around to his front, snagging another valentine from its depths. He... certainly has quite a few in there! ]

Oh! Uh, you're welcome! [ Sora knows a handful of languages, but French is not one of them. There may be a verbal stumble as he physically prevents himself from saying some random French thing back. ] Yeah, I did. Took forever, but I wanted to do something special. There are different flavors for each message. Do you have, uh, food allergies? I can tell you which ones have peanuts in them.

[sweetwater]

[ it's okay. Cheryl's French is mostly used for showing off.

she shakes her head at his question. ]

No allergies. I'm sure they're all delectable. Which flavor is your favorite?

[arsarcanum]

[ Consider Sora impressed! Not that that's terribly hard to do. ]

You know, I kinda like all of them? I dunno if that means anything, though. I'll eat anything. [ He opens the one he has in his hand and peeks inside. ] My friend like the ones with peanut butter best! The PBJ ones are kind of overstuffed, but the regular peanut butter tastes like a Reeses. [ He pulls a chocolate out and examines it. Caramel, and the other two inside seem to be orange and Nutella. ] Man, I'd let you try one, but I just started grouping these randomly after a while. What did you get?

[sweetwater]

[ she inspects her chocolates. ] Strawberry? [ that's lucky. a favorite of hers. ] Mint. A classic.

[ and as luck would have it, the third one: ] Peanut butter. [ that one she tries right away, popping half into her mouth and nodding her approval. ] It does taste like a Reeses! You could start a business. If you can recreate stuff from home... people would be clamoring for that.

B: Village; Closed to Sora, Naminé and Daylight

[really_sketchy]

[Naminés lips press together in a tight line as she quickly shakes her head from side to side.] No. I don't think I've met anyone in shiny yellow armor who's very tall. [She pauses and then tries to imagine what Sora's idea of very tall is.]

Is he as tall as you? Or taller?

[Sora is nearly a foot taller than her and Naminé is fairly sure she's never going to grow.

There is another short pause before she follows up with another question.]

Is Daylight his name or nickname?

[arsarcanum]

[ Veeery tall. She'll know! Daylight will probably be the biggest people she's ever even imagined. ]

Way taller. I think he might almost be taller than two of me? He's definitely taller than two of you. [ Which is a ridiculous level of tallness, but it's definitely still the truth! ]

It's his name name! The real name. He's from Earth, like, um, me, I guess? [ He's still not sure if he knows how he's going to describe where he's from to the people he considers home, but he's going to try. ] He has family members from the same places that I'm from. Earth is a really big world, so that was really surprising! He's really nice, I think you'll like him a lot.

[really_sketchy]

[Naminé gasps in surprise.]

Two of you!

[That is very hard for her to imagine but she tries and occasionally ends up looking up, above her head, to try and gauge the height. It doesn't work and it makes her stumble a little as they continue walking forward.]

I haven't meet anyone with that name. [At least no one has introduced themselves in that way and she's sure that she would have recognized someone so tall.] Is it? I'm not sure where I'm from.

I have heard a little about Earth. Maybe... maybe you can tell me more about it sometime?

[arsarcanum]

[ Sora reaches out to make sure she doesn't fall over from that imagine spot, but he's going to let her have that experience all the way. Yep, imagine someone that tall. ]

You're... from us, I guess. Right? Which means that I think you're from the Islands. [ Even if she's never been there, she has memories of it all the same. That's good enough for Sora. ] Does that feel right?

I can tell you lots about Earth! It's got a lot of places that are just like the places I've been to, but there are a lot of differences too. I don't think I could tell you all about it even if we walked for days and days.

A

[sublimebeast]

[Link knows his way to the gymnasium by heart now, thanks to him training students on Wednesdays, but he is still slower to show up to meet Sora than usual.

Every time he closes his eyes he sees Cao Pi and Will, lying bloodied on the ground. They'd depended on him to protect them and he'd failed. By the time he'd understood what was happening it was already too late.

Why had the Master Sword not warned him about the spirit's approach? It was supposed to detect evil. Maybe the thing had suppressed the blade's power somehow...

Evil cannot touch the Master Sword.

Link's footsteps go still and he slowly lowers his gaze to the lantern hanging at his hip. The fire inside is flickering green.]

Shit.

[The non-voice speaks in the air around him and he knows if he turns around he'll see the red eyed shadow again.

If the Spirit had influenced the Sword then the Sword would be a fake. It didn't do anything so... What wrong there?

The Hero must be the fake!]

Shut up! I am the Hero! I'll be ready next time, I'll...

[The green light fades back into a warm gold and he continues his hike.

When he sees Sora's lantern in the distance he quickens his pace and walks slowly into view, smiling a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.]

[arsarcanum]

[ That'll be a few seconds before Sora looks up again, and he'll jump a little! Cheerfully, happily; it's a surprise, but a pleasant one as always. ]

Link! Hey, glad you made it. [ He starts folding up his tablet and putting it away again in his bag ] Do you wanna be inside or outside for this? [ Sora will catch a little of the somber look on Link's face, despite the smile, but won't point it out for now. He doesn't want to assume anything. He'll keep getting ready to go, slipping onto his feet and adjusting the straps of his bag over his shoulders. ]

[sublimebeast]

[Link reaches out to gently clap Sora on the shoulder.]

Well, that kinda depends.

How much gliding around are you planning to do?

[arsarcanum]

[ Sora jumps a little at the contact, but grins back! (It's not like him to be that jumpy, though. Maybe his bag was distracting him? ]

Not that much, I still feel like it's unfair to you. Still... I think I could use the practice. [ Link can always knock him out of the air anyhow. Sora's very intrigued by how he easy he makes it look! ] Outside good? [ And he'll start moving along the path, sidling along to make sure Link's coming with. ]

g;

[maisel]

[ It's not that Midge has been ignoring Sora or anyone else--that would imply that she isn't as fierce and strong as she can truly be, and Midge, she's always lived up to that potential in herself, right?

Nope, she's absolutely taken the cowards way out. It's even worse than when she said goodbye to Benjamin back home--she didn't even right a letter, it's just awkward shufflings and 'I'm too busy's for the most part.

But the past has a habit of catching up to people, and Midge reminds herself that apologizing is the hardest part of being human sometimes, and she's currently mulling it over when Sora pops his head in, all meek and mild, and despite herself, Midge's stomach starts tying itself in knots. She closes the door to the oven--she's just took out one hell of a delicious smelling brisket, and from the way she puts it on top of the oven and hasn't turned it off means she's not even finished with it. ]

Sora, hey--do me a favour and grab a cup and fill it with water?

[arsarcanum]

[ And that'll be a surprised jump, following by a small package of pink paper scattering to the ground. ] AH! I - Uh, Midge, I - water?

[ A beat. He'll. Just. He'll just walk in very quickly and scoop that little package up, sticking it back into the front pocket of his hoodie. ]

Yeah, uh, water! [ He can do that, he almost says before clapping a hand to his mouth because she knows that, stupid. He'll very quickly hustle over to the cabinet to grab a large glass and fill it with water. Okay. So. She's still okay with telling him things to do. That's good. Definitely not bad. (That brisket? Also definitely not bad. He has to stop himself from leaning to look at it because he'll lean the cup right out of the stream of water.) ]

I was, uh, here to ask you a question. [ Because he's not a total goof and he knows that a standard "So how's it going" is not only overplayed, it's just so... impersonal. Especially when he does have something to ask. ] Is now a good time? Do you need help with anything?