[ OPEN/MINGLE ] BRRR IT'S COLD IN HERE

[crudest]

WHO: Baren Kaiyou & you! or you and whoever!! it's Mingle Time
WHERE: Rando Ice Cream Shop & Magatus!
WHEN: throughout march! time is a mystery.
WHAT: ICE CREAM PARTY - but also please meet the world's most beautiful moose, Boose. everyone's welcome to the ice cream party in Part A and specifically anyone on the group 1-4 mission list would've gotten an invite to free ice cream if your chara needs more incentive to come!
WARNINGS: SHOULD BE NONE??

A : I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM

[ We all scream for ice cream! It's one of those neatly aesthetic ice cream parlors that normally has a line out the door in the middle of the shopping district. yet depending on the time of day, the chalk-sign might say in a neatly curling cursive: free ice cream on Zee Carlisle!

... that second part's not true, of course. But who ever said that Baren's honest?

Additionally if anyone had gone on a mission over the month to one of the four regions - they'll get a special text invite to free ice cream. :') good job, y'all.

i ) That said, the first part is! There is definitely free ice cream being offered out to anyone on the Retrospec app. What flavor's caught your eye? Pecan Cherry Pie? Wildberry Mango Chocolate Delight? ... there's normal flavors too, but you really should adventure out a little bit, don't you think? At least don't freak out if you find a surprise gummy worm inside.

... or do. Baren miiiight be recording it.

ii ) The owners are feeling generous - or at least Baren is. Enjoy an extra scoop or - five? Did you get more ice cream that you asked for? Tanuki-san is sitting around, eyeing your mountain there. Wanna share? Careful and don't let it fall or else we're looking at a food fight situation on our hands...!

iii + chuuya ) Now if anyone's looking for Baren himself when he's not sticking gummy worms into the ice cream trays or otherwise fucking around, he's probably more toward the back of the shop. He's not alone. ]

If you try to feed me, I'm going to lock you in the freezer.

[ - is a wonderful thing to say to his boyfriend (doublesmall) who's sitting on his lap because what's a PDA? A topping? This is fine.

(ooc: tagging order for this prompt if you want to suffer through that would be you -> Chuuya -> Baren!) ]

B : STANDS FOR BOOOOOOOOOOOSE

[ The bus ride to Magatus is 7 hours long. Rather than using the usual bus - there might be dried blood on those seats? - Baren has booked a party bus. Yeah, there's probably a disco ball and a stripper pole. He doesn't intend on using it, he just thought it was funny to have.

i ) Did you even know what you were signing up for when you climbed on? Baren has picked one of the seats in the back - yawning as he looks almost ready to set in for a nap. Yet when he makes eye contact with you, there's a raise of a brow and - ]

Can I help you?

[ ii ) Welcome to Baren's Winter Wonderland Tour! If you've chosen to follow him on this journey for... some reason - this is where he's led you. If you didn't bring enough jackets for warmth, don't worry about it - he's tossing a designer coat to you without even hesitating. ]

Don't think you get to keep that, okay?

[ The price tag is probably more than some people make in a year.

Regardless this is when they'll be joined by a lumbering presence - a big, giant, beautiful moose. Charging through the snow.

It's worth noting that this moose has beautiful, colorful flowers woven into his antlers. They don't look like they're about to wilt any time soon.

... don't question it?

He probably won't run into you. He'll probably stop.

Otherwise Magatus is free to explore! ]

[ ooc: a catch-all throughout the month! feel free to create your own top-levels if you want for the ice cream party/magatus exploration though! i'm running this as free as i can. ]

Comments

[glaciers]

A

[Listen, Shouto has one favorite ice-cream flavor and it's green tea. So while he looks at all the other flavors he knows very well which one he's going to get.

For right now, he has one scoop in a cone and peers over at somebody else's ice-cream.]

What did you get?

Aii

[Yeah, his second helping got him way more than he bargained for. Four scoops is too many and his poor cone isn't steady enough or big enough to hold it all.]

Do you have a cup or an extra cone? I think this is going to fall.

A

[crudest]

Oh, matching!! [ - sorta. Green tea is Baren's first scoop, it looks like some Marble Chocolate Swirl on top.

He's immediately gonna bring their cones closer together like a cheers???]

To good taste!

a-ii

[doublesmall]

[chuuya's probably up fetching some more ice cream or something-- but ah, alright, he can't totally ignore a request for help. you can't just go wasting perfectly good ice cream.

so he reaches out and pokes the cone with the tip of his finger, focusing for a moment. it'll be more stable, now.

it's also all got a faint red glow around it but this is fine.]

Not anymore.

[cheating with gravity, ice cream edition.]

A

[promisedyou]

Me?

[ She points at herself innocently, almost as if she'd done something horribly wrong by having her three scoop ice cream with a bunch of stuff on top.

She's in ice cream heaven, if she doesn't say so herself. ]

I got blueberry and strawberry aaaand... I think this one is curry and mint?

[ Yeah, that apparently is a real ice cream flavor. ]

A!

[pronounces]

Mmm... it's called "cake batter up"? [ nazuna looks down at his ice cream, examining the yellow scoop covered in sprinkles for a moment. ] It was the most normal sounding thing on the menu.

[ with a laugh, he scoops up a spoonful and offers it to him. ] Do you wanna try ~?

[falsepretentious]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Byakuya is Here for the ice cream. With a napkin neatly placed at his lap, he takes a massive concoction that probably has as many scoops as are allowed. Before he starts, he smirks proudly.]

It was all worth it for this. Now... now, we feast.

[Time to dig in!]

[crudest]

[holy mother of god - ]

You're gonna break m— Carly's wallet!

[NOT HIS

CARLY'S]

A i

[beneathmoonlight]

[Did someone say free food? Here’s Atsushi, here to stuff his face full of ice cream! He actually does brave one of the more unusual flavors (one scoop of cherry pecan pie and one chili mocha), and is actually delighted to see a gummy worm inside.]

This is so good! Thanks for inviting me here, Baren-san!

[crudest]

Baren-sama.

[don't listen to him, please.]

But you know, just pushing along an invite from Carly. He's a surprisingly shy guy, you know?

[that's wrong... please god no......]

[alitaba]

A
[ Futaba’s got an unholy combination of multiple flavors that include thai milk tea, pretzel, dulce de leche and fruit sorbet. It’s covered in enough sweets to give the entire gathering a cavity or five and- you know what. Just don’t think about it too hard. It’s the kitchen sink in a cone. ]

-Oooh, gummy worms.

A-2
[ Does anyone really want to try her godless melty combination of flavors? No. Does Tanuki-san want to try a bite? …..PROBABLY NOT TBH. Is she going to see if he wants some anyways? You’re damn sure she’s about to find out. ]

Are you even allowed to eat this? Or are just you like your cousins and don’t care?

[ Someone should probably come rescue Tanuki before he gets a stomachache……… ]

A-3
[ Just. Unimpressed stares the both of them behind her cone. She came to attach herself to Baren for a bit and this is what she gets??? A free show with her meal????

Though honestly, it’s amazing she’s ever questioned it at all, now seeing them together. Baren was right, he truly did find someone to be (adorably) gross with. ]

You're gonna get doki's all over the ice cream.

teej is asleep so a3 is later but here, a2....

[crudest]

[Tanuki sure doesn't care.

Tanuki is instead going to patter over to her and try to get in her lap so that he can eat some of that delicious ice cream, thank you!!

Baren's not looking....]

a3

[doublesmall]

Yeah, hello to you too.

[chuuya's grinning, though, definitely amused-- she's here just in time, he was busy waving a spoon mock-threateningly at baren. don't tell him what not to do.

but he takes a bite and sets the spoon back down.]

How's it going, huh?

A

[glaciers]

[Shouto's own cone only has one flavor, but he prefers it that way.]

How's it taste?

[cardcaptured]

a-i

[You would think a kid stuck a month in Actual Hell would probably be more enthusiastic about the prospect of free ice cream, especially from a popular establishment such as this, but all Xiaolang can do is heave out a small sigh at the sight of the sign outside.]

What's with this man and free ice cream, anyway?

[Because, really. Last thing anyone in Group 2 wants right now is more of the stuff. They could probably host a party of their own with how much they were sent back with, no doubt. Xiaolang probably would have ignored the invite altogether, if it wasn't obvious that other people from other groups would be here, too. And he did want to find out more about their missions...

Initially, he opts to keep to the side, alternating between watching the others for a familiar face, and looking at the ice cream in mild disdain. After about ten or so minutes of this, though, the distaste begins to slowly crack, the variety of flavors floating around snagging his interest (they were a lot more creative than the ones in the pints Zee has sent, that's for sure). He wanders over to the display, carefully scanning the selection, debating a little what to get. Just a kid's scoop wouldn't be so bad, and the chocolate milk with cookies flavor looked good--

His eyes flick to whoever might be nearby with their own ice cream, and after a moment's hesitation:]

Which one's that?

a-ii

[Buuuut of course, being one of the youngest people in the room, the owners feel extra inclined to stagger on the scoops (because he's a growing boy!! he needs to eat!!), and what was supposed to be a modest kid's sized portion winds up being something akin to a monstrous sundae instead, much to his stammering and protests. Numbly, he takes it back over to wherever he was camping out before, although anyone who catches his eye (or his ice cream mountain) is going to get a exasperated:]

Do you want any of this? Because I definitely don't.

[Because, seriously, is that chocolate covered bacon in his ice cream? Who puts that stuff in there?? People with excellent tastes, obviously]

ai

[crudest]

Sriracha.

[ . . . . . . . . . . his ice cream is bright red.

It could be cherry or apple and he's just full of shit. Still though, he says it with such confidence.

Regardless Baren raises a brow - ]

You got sent out on the missions too?

a-ii

[falsepretentious]

[Byakuya shakes his head, disappointed at the boy's exasperation.]

Is that your limit? Don't say that when you haven't even tried. That is your ice cream now... It is your path to travel. [It's an admirable-looking sundae! But it just wouldn't be honorable for him to claim it.]

a-i

[promisedyou]

Maybe he's actually secretly addicted to ice cream! ☆

[ And surprise, here's a bundle of joy that pops out of what seems to be scenic nowhere, saying that in the cheeriest of tones as she's licking her own ice cream. Just because they've had ice cream back there doesn't mean that she's sick of it yet - besides, she got a different flavor (or should we say flavors, she's got so many scoops, send help) than the ones she had in hell, not to mention that she's got it decorated with a bunch of crap how does she even manage.

Yikes. ]

Oooor maybe he's just being generous. It's at least a lot better than what any of those other guys at Retrospec have been doing.

ai

[glaciers]

Did you get free ice-cream? We just got free ice.

[He remembers this kid from talking with him over the app a few times. What's his name? Lee? Xiaolang? Best not to try saying it if he can't remember.]

It's green tea. It's pretty mellow.

[matchbreaker]

[ A ]

So I want to try some bold flavors... what do you think would be best here?

[ Is this during the day? Elda's... uh. Well, she's got her sunglasses on, but she's also got on a blouse with long sleeves and she's got on a wide brim hat. Like she has some sort of skin condition or something. She also walked in with a parasol? But she's here and smiling, a bit eager to try the ice cream and to associate with her teammates? She did get invited, after all.

Her nails are painted red? Also she's a good 20 lbs lighter than she was out in Magatus oops. But once she gets some opinions, she'll be sort of sampling some of the flavors, sighing as she tries more and more of them. Her taste... ]

[crudest]

[Baren raises a brow at the sighing - how can anyone have such a benign reaction to sour cream raspberry? He tilts his head and helps himself to the seat next to her.]

What's up, Miss El?

[this is up there with his more polite nicknames at least]

Didn't get a good batch?

A

[frostythehitman]

[ James shows up to the ice cream party with his little sister Becca in tow. He gets his ice cream first while Becca decides on hers--he steps away from the counter with a cone that's got two scoops--one rocky road, and one with an experimental flavor: white chocolate cinnamon jalapeno.

While he's waiting for her, though, his ice cream begins dripping right onto his hand. He stares at it bitterly before resorting to licking it off his hand, but it's tricky to keep his hand level enough to keep his ice cream from falling off the cone altogether.

Catch Becca laughing at her brother, who's making the slowest movements ever in the most high stakes ice cream consumption. ]

[crudest]

[James is trying so hard. Baren thinks this is great - and he'll even take a picture of it from his vantage point, then waving hello to the girl who's accompanied him.

Then he'll turn his phone screen around to show Becca this amazing moment captured on his phone.]

Looks good, right? I'll send your brother the photo so that you two can share it forever. ♥

b-i

[servileness]

[ Sometimes, you will suffer through a 7 hour ride on a party bus with Baren just to get away from your problems facing you back home. Sometimes, you just want to travel. Sometime, you just want to get out. Sometimes, you need a whole lot of cold fresh air to feel maybe human again.

(Un)Fortunately, it's not quite time for that burst of cold air, but... what else is she going to do on this hours long journey? (Study, read, something along those lines.) She settles down in a seat a few spaces away from Baren and mirrors his expression (but more judgmental). ]

Did it have to be one with a stripper pole?

[crudest]

Yeah.

[No hesitation. None. Baren laughs, apparently completely content with his choice.]

Gotta admit it's funny. It'd be even funnier if anyone actually tried to use it.

B2

[thesettingsun]

[Don't worry, Shuji owns his own very nice designer winter coat, he's good.

That moose is so big. That moose is the biggest normal(?) animal Shuji's seen.

This absolutely makes the bus trip worth it.]

He's so beautiful.

[Shuji stares in awe. He may be cutting it close with the 'not being in the path of the charging moose' thing, but in his defense: boose.]

[crudest]

[Boose.

Boose is a good boy who does stop - with a small wave of snow in his wake - and his first order of business is to greet Baren, unfortunately. He nudges against the other man's face with his nose and Baren just laughs before gently shoving the animal away.]

Back off, big guy.

It hasn't been that long.

[But then Boose's attention switches to the other person present. He snorts. And stares.

Sup Shuji.]

A

[invocate]

[Li-Na gives the Zee sign a dubious look. While she does not doubt the new Retrospec liaison would give people ice cream, as she knew he had given some to Leon and Xiaolang's group the previous month, she rather doubted he would do that for everyone.

That, and Baren had sent an invite about this.

Still. She is not about to pass up free ice cream.

When her turn finally comes at the counter, she scans the contents of the freezer case and her eyes light up.]

Double scoop, please. S'mores and chocolate espresso!

[Three things she loves. S'mores, chocolate, and coffee.]

[cardcaptured]

[Meanwhile, if Li-Na looks to her left, or is heading towards the toppings bar herself, she's probably going to spot one (1) familiar cousin, looking increasingly distressed, as the worker behind the counter piles more and more treats onto his ice cream bowl (which looks alarming packed with scoops??)]

--and how about mochi? Do you like mochi?

M... Mochi is fine, but there's really a lot on there already, so I--!

Nonsense! You're a growing boy, you need the food! Now, some maple syrup would do nicely...

[Please send help]

[pronounces]

1A.

[ it's not like nazuna can say no to ice cream, especially free ice cream. after a very busy time in pesgare, the invitation was a welcome one, and the moment he gets some free time, he makes it to the parlor. in nazuna's opinion, there's no such thing as a bad ice cream flavor, but...

he's staring at his free (and gigantic) ice cream cone. it's almost as tall as he is from the chest, and on the top is a big huge scoop of ghost pepper ice cream. he looks sort of despairing. ] Who would even make ice cream like this?

[ first mistake: telling them "surprise him". the rest of the flavors are even worse. maybe someone will want to share... ]

1B.

[ well. after probably making a spectacle over the spicy ghost pepper ice cream, the owners were kind enough to give (lets be honest) one of their regulars a different scoop. this time he's got a nice, safe strawberry cheesecake swirl, with a cute little rabbit decoration near the top, and there can clearly be nothing wrong with it!! nothing!!

which is why he takes a bite without any worry, eyes shutting and looking pleased. however, when nazuna opens his eyes to examine his delicious ice cream, there's.

a worm in it. ] UNYA!!

[ who let baren have realistic gummy worms?? ]

B.

[ please just let him eat his mountain of ice cream in peace. third time's the charm, and now that nazuna's ice cream is free of pranks and weird flavors, he seems to be in a delighted mood, sitting at the counter and swinging his feet where they don't even come remotely close to the floor.

he looks over at the person next to him, friendly and smiling. ] Have you tried the lemon cream raspberry yet~? It's so~o good ♪

[ and nazuna will be happy to share! ]

WILDCARD

[ i really wanted to write a prompt with him having a brain freeze but i decided i was mean enough so come to me with whatever you want! ]

b

[twostringsonebow]

[Ah, Niichan..!! Ice cream sounds nice, but Goro's relegated himself to just having frozen yogurt. Healthy. Different.]

It sounds good... but I really shouldn't. I really had nothing but ice cream while in Respartum; there was plenty else to eat, of course, but ice cream kept us cool...

[But he wants to try it. That'd be nice.]

A-ii

[livingdeadgirl]

[FREE ICE CREAM! And so many artisanal flavors! So many. Too many.

Ami is looking a bit Concerned at the mountain of multicolored ice cream towering over her waffle cone. It feels like it's actively trying to take a dive.]

Uh, for the record, I did not actually want every flavor! That remark was clearly meant as a joke and should not have been acted upon.

[Uh oh, it's toppling! She makes a little yelp, but manages to catch it with her TK, although this still leaves it tilted awkwardly at a 45-degree angle. It's like the Leaning Tower of Pistachio, except that pistachio is one of the few flavors that's not in it.]

Aw, geez... Uh, help? Somebody help.