introductory mingle: FLOWER FESTIVAL

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Flower Festival Celebration
when: April 2nd - April 15th
where: In several different locations in the downtown area of the Inhabited City.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

flower festival

In the days leading up to April 2nd, residents new and old may notice advertising around the city, everywhere from digital screens to paper flyers pasted on blank walls, all advertising an upcoming holiday: The Flower Festival. Celebrating springtime, beauty, joy, and togetherness, the festival heavily features floral themes and dancing. The advertising mentions that on April 10th, a paid holiday, there will be a Blossom Picnic, as well as lists of various public dances at clubs or other open venues, and adult raves.

a celebration of spring

The Flower Festival's main event is the Blossom Picnic on April 10th, but it also features traditions of sharing food and drink, and dancing that span over the course of the whole two weeks. There are a large variety of events going on throughout the city, from dancing lessons in any wide variety of traditional dances, to old-fashioned sock hops, to adult raves complete with mild party drugs. Feel free to use the prompts below or create your own event at any point during the festival, and if your character creates an event and hosts it in a top-level, you can submit that thread for extra bonus points.

i. blossom picnic

The main event that kicks off the second week of the Flower Festival is the Blossom Picnic on April 10th. A relaxed and low-key event, it draws several thousand people every year to the spacious Riverview Central Park, where there is a generous lawn lined with various blossoming trees, and families, found families, lovers, and groups of friends are encouraged to lay out a picnic blanket and share food. There will be live bands playing (but not loudly enough to distract from conversation and peacefully watching the petals flutter in the wind), a variety of demonstrations of traditional cultural dances from many different realities and planets, and a ton of ice cream vendors. This is an excellent festival not only for celebrating togetherness with the people who are already important, but for mingling and making new friends.

Characters may either pack their own lunches or they can purchase pre-packed Blossom Festival lunches. Stores and street markets are carrying a wide variety of specialty food that is only available at this time of year - predominantly pastries, an assortment of types of candies, and ice cream treats all in various floral flavors, as well as a sort of ambrosia salad based around a sweet rose-flavored cream and a native fruit that is bright green and tastes like a combination of peach and citrus.

ii. dancing lessons

Starting on April 2nd, there will be dancing lessons offered almost everywhere you look! From partner dances to group dances to line dances; sexy and sensual or innocent and childlike - almost any type of dance you can imagine is represented, from any reality or planet that has people in Riverview Quarantine.

Additionally, the Riverview Central Community Center has multiple rooms blocked off so anyone who knows a dance from home can teach it to others in their community - sharing is caring, after all. Characters are welcome to block off one of these rooms and offer lessons in any dance they happen to know from home (and these sorts of thread starters would be eligible for the mingle AC Point bonus)!

iii. flower festival dancing

This is pretty simply what it says on the tin - in almost every club, community center, or other public space, there will be dancing at almost all hours of the day or night, formal and informal. Musicians bring out their instruments and play in the street for demonstrations of cultural dances and music at the same time as clubs are offering VIP cover charges for exclusive dances, and you can find anything in between.

There are also many low-cover-charge raves that allow under-18s so younger characters can stay up all night and dance like crazy. The legal drinking age in Riverview Quarantine is 14, and so anyone over 14 can enter and indulge in a few drinks, dancing, and playing tag with a non-intoxicating version of the colored powder featured at the adult raves. There is copious amounts of security on site to ensure that everyone is safe, as well as nurses and off-duty police officers to offer advice or care for anyone who overindulges out of lack of experience.

Grab a partner, a group of friends, or just cruise and mingle the various dancing events.

Characters may also notice that most of the street markets and clothing shops are offering clothing that features floral patterns, flowers as accessories, and that show a lot of skin - for men, women, and anyone in between!

iv. adult raves

Advertised on flyers and digital screens around the city, made to pop as if they were under blacklight, is a series of adult raves that are happening in various large empty warehouse spaces around the city, including one that is listed as the danger rave and hosted in an abandoned factory outside the inhabited city walls. With bouncers at the door to ensure that anyone entering is 18+, the raves are comfortably adult in nature. Clothing is optional, showing skin is encouraged, and there are a lot of neatly tucked away spaces for attendees to get some time alone with one or more than one person, as well as spaces intended for orgies. The atmosphere is sex-positive and non-judgemental, open to any orientation or preference, with various forms of protection available for free, however, to ensure that everyone plays safe there are sober security teams out en masse at all premises to oversee the events.

(CW: DRUG USE) In each location, there is one specific room where attendees can enter, and dance or play tag with brightly colored powder that contains small amounts of a legal party drug commonly available in Riverview, which is absorbed through the skin. Not much more intoxicating than having a few beers, the effects of the drug are a pleasant low-key buzzing euphoria, positive sensitivity to touch, a heightening of desires for intimacy, and a mild lowering of inhibitions. Once a character has been hit with the powder, the color lingers on the skin so other attendees can know who has partaken, but once the powder makes contact with a surface it deactivates, meaning that partakers can safely dance with non-partakers without sharing the intoxicating effects.

Please be sure to warn in subject lines for any threads involving drug use. And remember, there is always security to intervene and make sure everyone is safe.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to set up headers for a communal floor, or threads open to roommates for the purpose of getting to know each other. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set at the Flower Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: third image by Steve Goad; other images found on uncredited on Pinterest or Google images - please let the mod know if you find credit!

navigation

Comments

Damen | OTA

[goldcuffed]

I. Blossom Picnic
[Despite the dark thoughts that threaten to overwhelm him at the worst times, despite the fact that he still has not mourned for his dead brother, Damen is trying to enjoy himself. Trying to settle, a bit. They'll be here for the foreseeable future, after all, and acting like a miserable lion in a cage will not serve either him or Laurent. The festival is nice, at least. It's pretty, all the flowers.

A picnic sounds like a nice idea. There are prepacked lunches, of course, but Damen is browsing the food stalls anyway, looking for bits and pieces to make it more enjoyable. He stops at a small pastry stand, eyeing a tray of tartlets made with some sort of candied green fruit for a moment, before his gaze eventually settles on a cooler full of ice cream treats.

He's never had ice cream before.] Have you tried one of these? Are they any good?

II. Flower Festival
[Damen isn't much of a dancer. He's too big, and a bit clumsy when he's not on the battlefield. He likes to watch dancers though, he likes it plenty - while he's trying to focus on shopping, occasionally he'll stop to watch a group in the street, admiring the way they move like silk through their routines. Maybe he's watching you.

Or maybe he stops at a clothing stall to look over the wares, eventually selecting a floral shirt in vivid forget-me-not blue. He holds it up to his chest, and it is way too small for a man who stands at about 6'6" and is built like a brick wall of muscle. When he notices someone at the stall next to him, he turns a megawatt smile on them, motioning to the shirt.] What do you think? Is it my color? [It does pop, with his dark olive skin and black curls, but it isn't for him, actually.]

III. Adult Rave, CW: mild party-drug use
[Damen and Laurent have partaken of the powder, curious to see what it's like. None of the dancers had seemed too inebriated, too out of sorts. They seem coherent enough to say no, if something they don't like happens. That had been a reassurance, with his experience with aphrodisiacs in Vere, and his brief dabbling in them in Akielos.

He feels looser, as if his worries and his bloodier thoughts have just drifted away on champagne bubbles. Dancing seems like a fun activity now, not a daunting one. Metallic gold speckles his olive skin, and he's taken up local fashion for the party, wearing a rich red tank top with a glow in the dark lion's head on the front, and slightly too small gold shorts. It makes for a pretty picture, and he moves languidly with the dancers, eyes closed. Care to join him?]

CLOSED to Laurent
[Laurent had wanted to come to this 'rave' in an old warehouse, saying it could be fun. Damen hasn't had much fun lately. Anyway, it's hard to say no to Laurent as it is, so they had gotten dressed and come out together. Shopping for something to wear had been... interesting. Damen had wanted to wear his comfy sweatpants and t-shirt (he's been getting plenty of airy cotton 'athletic' clothing from his new job, if he has to wear pants he's honestly okay with these kinds of pants), but that hadn't been good enough. Laurent never did anything half-assed.

Damen walks through the door with his fiance on his arm, wearing a loose tank top, in a rich red, that shows off his arms and the gold cuff on his wrist. The golden lion's head on the front, he's told, glows in the dark, as do the scrolling designs worked into his slightly too small gold shorts. The moment his eyes adjust to the lighting, he flushes, taking in the sights of dancing and lovemaking, people splattered in colored powder.]

It almost reminds me of Vere, except... everyone actually seems happy.

[redoublement]

[ Laurent may not have been a supermodel yet, but he was sure dressed like one. If his job was going to be to look good for these devices called 'cameras', then he was going to make sure he looked damn good.

The company had provided the designer clothes he was wearing; form fitting white jeans so tight they looked almost painted on, and a matching, sleeveless jacket. Underneath was a thin, almost sheer dark blue shirt. Flowing and soft like water, peeking out from underneath the white light fabric of the jacket. His hair was artfully tousled already, a far cry from his usual carefully crafted and contained appearance. His own cuffed wrist was slid through the loop of Damen's arm, and sharp blue eyes took in the press of bodies around them, the pounding of the base, the colours blending on people's skin. ]

Dance with me. [ He asked of Damen immediately, mischief in his gaze as he drew the other along towards the dance floor, his lips curved and his hips already slowly beginning to sway to the beat.

No one knew them here; there was no one to question Laurent's leadership capabilities, no one to posture for, or to defend against. The Reagent and Kastor were dead, and his fiance was here. Laurent wanted to enjoy this, just as much as he was able to. ]

[goldcuffed]

[It's exotic and unusual, to see Laurent without his usual tightly-laced clothing. He looks amazing even in these strange outfits; every time Damen looks down, he's reminded all over again that 'jeans' are probably the best invention this place has offered so far. He feels like a king, walking in with this beautiful man on his arm.

It's almost enough to take his mind off everything.

He laughs softly as Laurent pulls him toward the dance floor, the sound lost to the thumping music and noisy crowd, but it shows in the warm sparkle in his eyes, the curve of his mouth.] If you can call this dancing. It's very lewd, isn't it? [But he lets himself be drawn out, and moves his hips in time with Laurent's.]

You're in a good mood.

[redoublement]

Is that a complaint? [ Laurent purred, smiling as he drew Damen to the floor, pressed close- swaying his body against Damen's. This was indeed, most assuredly lewd. The way his hips rolled in time with the music was similar to how he had rolled them in their bed. Laurent smirked, gazing at the other from beneath long, soft lashes, settling his hands upon the other's shoulders and leaning forward, humming in amusement against the other's ear. ]

Is there any reason that I shouldn't be? You are here, with me. We are not princes, nor kings. The weight of responsibility upon our shoulders is not that of two kingdoms, and our homes are safe. Will not even realise our absence. Is that not cause for celebration? For a lighter mood, at least.

[goldcuffed]

Merely an observation. [It's hard to complain, when he looks so tempting, when he pulls Damen out onto the dance floor and presses close. Damen isn't much of a dancer, not really, but he tries to move against him to the beat of the music. It's a little clumsy and stiff, a little shy. This is very lewd for a public dance, even though no one around them is paying attention to them.]

When you put it that way, it does seem we have much cause for celebration. [He settles his hands on Laurent's hips, feeling the way he rolls his body sinuous and beautiful.] We can just be ourselves here. Laurent and Damen. It still doesn't feel quite real.

[redoublement]

[ Laurent moves in a way that is less shy, though he was no more experienced at this sort of dance than Damen. After so long falsifying confidence and bravado, he certainly knew how to fake it now.

His fingers laced behind Damen's neck, trailing through the baby fine hairs there as they became damp from the humidity of the club. ]

It doesn't. [ He agreed, his eyes closing as he leaned in, brushing his lips along the shell of Damen's ear, to whisper there. ] Laurent and Damen. Lovers. Husbands to be. If this is a dream, I am not sure that I wish to wake. Not for awhile, at least. Let me dream a little longer.

Perhaps I will even allow you to court me, as you said you wished. [ Damen felt, more than saw the curve of Laurent's lips, his long lashes fluttering shut for a moment, his hips rocking softly, purposefully against Damen's in a way that had nothing to do with the music.

And then he gave them distance, moving away, a finger curling, enticing the other after him. Wanting to have a look around, having noticed other rooms and their comings and goings. Curious.]

[goldcuffed]

[Laurent's grace is unparalleled, he isn't surprised that his lover is much better at the lewd grinding and sinuous hip-rolling this dance seems to consist of. He tries his best to keep up, but he's mostly content with letting Laurent grind up against him, thumbing over the jut of his hipbones beneath his sinfully tight pants, making a slow slide toward his ass.] It will be some time before we have to face reality again. [He murmurs, and he can't be upset by that fact. At least not right now. If given the choice to go home, at this instant, or stay... he can't say he wouldn't stay.]

I hope you will let me court you properly. When will I ever have a better chance to do so? [He stifles a soft groan against the side of his head, which turns from pleasure to disappointment when he pulls away to go explore. Damen follows, he doesn't even need to be beckoned.

On the other side of the room, a door bearing a sign and a bouncer. Another couple exits from here, laughing together, splattered in colored powder.]

[redoublement]

[ Laurent smiled, and laughed softly to see the put out expression upon the other's features, a soft shake of his head as he allowed the other to catch up to him, grasping one of Damen's hands and gently guiding it into the back pocket of his jeans. Surely this would soothe the other, at least a little. Make up in some small part for how he had drawn away from the other after such an enticing and provocative dance. ]

What do you think it is? [ Laurent asked his counterpart, intrigued by the way the couple moved, how they laughed. Laurent glanced to his love, and wondered how Damen would look decorated in flashes of magenta and cyan, his lip curving slightly. ]

Shall we? [ Not waiting for an answer, Laurent moved forward. Curious, and wishing to inspect. ]

[goldcuffed]

[Well, this is alright, as a consolation prize. He slips his hand (his fingers, really) into the back pocket of Laurent's jeans readily, cupping his ass with a gentle squeeze.

His attention is taken by the couple exiting the other room, looking at them curiously. They seem light somehow, free with touch and affection and laughter, free and happy with their hands all over each other. He looks from them to the sign on the door that explains the powder, warning anyone who might choose to enter and partake.]

The sign says it's a mild legal drug, absorbed through the skin. [He has reservations, remembering chalis, remembering the pleasure drug that had spiked Laurent's drink one night, but... the couple that just left don't seem like they are suffering under the effects.] Do you want to try it?

ii;

[pundemic]

[She's rifling through the racks, sort of disregarding colour or pattern in favour of things that look sturdy and roughly her size, but she does glance up when the dude speaks.

First thing that registers: holy Christ is he ginormous. Ellie comes dangerously close to taking a reflexive step back, the instinct is curbed only by the good graces of her better sense. She does, however, shift her position until her right hand and the knife that's all but jumped into it is hidden by the rack of gaudy shirts. It's not that she instantly distrusts him, or has a reason to, it's more that she's just a wary, scrappy little honey badger of a soul who's always ready for a fight.

The smile is mollifying. Slightly. At least, it doesn't raise any of her hackles, and the question isn't really all that creepy or anything. She shifts her jaw to one side and then gestures at the shirt he'd picked up with her chin.]

What's it matter? Would it even fit you?

[Her tone is chock-full of teenage skepticism, and she raises an eyebrow to boot.]

[goldcuffed]

[If he notices that slight defensive move, he's not letting on. Or maybe he doesn't, it's difficult to tell, because he seems to be in a pleasant mood. His smile is wide and honest, his body language relaxed. He's neither expecting nor looking for a fight.

He only laughs, setting down the shirt again.] It was a joke. No, it's- not for me.

[pundemic]

[She rearranges her balance from foot to foot. Puts her hands on her hips.]

So... worst enemy?

[Why would anyone wish that pattern on a friend. It's so gaudy. And she doesn't even care about fashion in the least.]

[goldcuffed]

Is it that bad? [Both brows go up at that, but he smiles, motioning toward the rest of the wares piled upon the table in messy folded stacks.] What sort of design would you suggest, then? Preferably in blue, although gold and white suit my fiance just as nicely.

[pundemic]

[It's just disarming enough to make her laugh.]

Like fuck if I know, pal, I'm not the person you should be asking about anything fashion.

[Also, the shirt was definitely too small for him, but it was also a man's cut and design, so... she can put two and two together on her own, thanks. Weirdly, that more than the man's easy charm is enough to put her enough at ease to actually engage in conversation instead of just awkwardly extricating herself.

She chews on her lip, looking intently at the racks. Mostly she's just looking for the colours themselves, because she wasn't kidding about her complete and utter lack of taste, at least when it comes to style.

Finally she points out something a little like this. To her, it's sturdy-looking, long-sleeved but lightweight enough to account for a bunch of weather fluctuations. Plus, she likes the pattern in blue.]

I'd say something like that.

[goldcuffed]

[His grin turns a little teasing as he quirks his brow toward his own first pick, which she had naysayed.] I think we've established that my taste is apparently worse.

[Damen is mostly trying to engage, to be nice, but he is also trying to find a gift for Laurent. He had said, once, that he wished he could court the man as he deserved, graciously and with gifts and tokens of his affection. He has every intention to do so, while they don't have two kingdoms to unify.

She points out a shirt, though, white and long-sleeved, clean lines and sharp tailoring, delicately and not overly adorned, and he lights up a little as he picks it up off the rack.]

This is actually- I thought you said you knew nothing about fashion, but I think he'd love this.

[pundemic]

[She laughs.]

I dunno, dude, I just looked for something in the right colours that looks like it could survive some shit.

[Like, okay, she'd never pick anything white for herself with the expectation of it staying white, but it's not like anyone here is rolling around in the mud, and there's enough variety as far as clothing goes that no one has to wear just one thing all the time. You can have something nice for-- hell, parties or something, and something completely different if you want to traipse around in the bush. Guy wants to get something pretty for his fiance, no harm in that.]

You think that'll fit him? They probably have other sizes...

[She starts to rummage around in search of these mystical 'other sizes' just in case.]

[goldcuffed]

You think more about function than appearance, then? [Honestly it seems practical, Damen can get behind practical - usually. But this is a gift, and Laurent carefully crafts his image with clothing and accessory, whereas Damen can walk out of the house in a bed-sheet and still expect to be obeyed by his men. Besides, courting gifts should be pretty.

Damen hums briefly and holds the top up, as if he's picturing it on said fiance, before he sets it down - and manages to find another just a bit bigger.] This one will fit, I think. If not, he can have it tailored.

[A pause.] He will probably have it tailored anyway.

blossoms

[livingsymbol]

I think you'll like them.

[Steve isn't entirely sure the man was asking him specifically about the ice cream. He might have been talking out loud, but the way he seems interested in the cooler is charming. He's got that bright wonder in his eyes, curious and happy to try something new, the way Steve felt when he first tried ice cream as a kid. It's a nostalgic feeling that catches his attention even if Damen didn't mean to convey it.]

Nice treat for a hot day. I'd recommend the mint.

[goldcuffed]

[It doesn't matter who he was asking. He's just trying to make conversation, to take his mind off things. He's always been a social creature, surrounded by friends and soldiers and courtiers. And he doesn't know anyone here. That needs to be changed, he needs to have, at least, allies.]

Mint, you said? [He turns back to the vendor and orders two of the mint ice-cream bars, dipped in chocolate with small edible flowers pressed into the coating. They're almost too charmingly pretty to eat, but Damen is used to the magnificent things that came out of a royal kitchen. He offers one of the bars to Steve with a pleasant smile and - honestly, a bit of an appraising look.]

We don't have things like this where I come from. The climate is too warm, even in the winter.

[livingsymbol]

[Steve is ready to pay for the ice cream as soon as Damen orders from the vendor. He think it only makes sense to treat someone on their first meeting, and maybe he's just looking for something nice to do. It seems like he can't manage that lately. If it's regret or guilt, Steve doesn't let himself think of it that way.

He accepts the offered ice cream bar with a murmur of thanks, tilting his head as he meets that appraising look without shame. Does he measure up?]

Then you should enjoy this. It's refreshing. I was surprised at first by how many flavors there were, but they do a good job. I'm glad someone thought of it.

[goldcuffed]

[Maybe Damen thinks of it the same way, that it's nice to treat someone on their first meeting. As for the look... Well. He does like what he sees, but he doesn't comment, or let his glance linger overlong. He's going to be a married man, after all, and he wouldn't trade Laurent for anything.]

That is a lot of flavors. [He agrees, looking down at his ice cream bar, and taking a bite. He seems a bit startled by it, and lifts fingers to his mouth.] Oh that's- very cold. [An embarrassed pause.] That seems like a silly thing to say, I guess.

[livingsymbol]

[The judgment is thankfully not harsh or menacing. Steve finds he must have passed the test, because it comes and goes and Damen smiles. Steve doesn't even consider what implications might or might not be present in his gaze beyond the obvious judgment of a man that looks like a fighter.]

Not really. I was surprised the first time, too. Things like this, first time experiences, can't be compared to anything else.

[goldcuffed]

[Wrong kind of judgement there, Steve, except he does think he would make a decent wrestling opponent, with a build like that.]

They certainly can't be. There are so many things here that are new to me, so much technology and industry, not to mention the food and... well, there is very little that is familiar.

[livingsymbol]

[He assumes Damen, who looks like a fighting sort, would be judging his character. But then, he assumes that of almost all men that first approach him. There's always a moment of judgment.]

I know what you mean.

[He can relate to that feeling.]

Brand new world. It takes some getting used to, but it's worth it. The new memories are the kind you can't replace.

[goldcuffed]

For sure. If I'm going to be here for a while, like it or not, I'm at least going to enjoy the vacation from the duties of a crown. I want to experience everything. [He takes another bite of his ice cream, crunching the chocolate shell and enjoying the sweet-cold taste and creamy texture.]

You speak as if you've done this before. Show up somewhere entirely new. Have you?