riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: DRAGOSTA

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: DRAGOSTA

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Dragosta celebration
when: The month of September.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

dragosta

In the days leading up to September 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Dragosta. This holiday is in celebration of romantic love, and seen as a time of the year for Quarantine residents to try to find someone special to cuddle up with in preparation for the cold winter months. Romantic love is highly valued in Riverview Quarantine, as it can foster an incredible sense of wellness and belonging, and is often the cornerstone of found families as well as biological ones. While there are no official city-sponsored parties, there are various holiday traditions and a paid day off on September 8th so anyone who wants to indulge in them with their loved one can do so.

a celebration of romantic love

Rather than anything structured and organized by the city, Dragosta is a celebration usually left up to the citizens of the city to organize for themselves - there are a few traditions that many businesses (obviously) capitalize on, mainly the tradition of special date nights with small gifts exchanged for people who've already matched up or want to. There are also various singles dances intended to help people without partners find someone to share the special holiday with, and a tradition among the various magic users in the city of preparing soul mate potions and spells intended to help people find the person they're meant to be with.

i. soulmates

Almost as soon as it hits midnight on August 31st, booths and street corner vendors are popping up all around the city offering various magical potions and spells in little rows of bottles. The number of types are overwhelming, with a different concoction available for every type of magic that exists across thousands of different worlds. But the purpose of every single bottle and its contents is exactly the same: to help you find love. Specifically, these are the traditional magics that promise to give anyone who uses them the ability to find or identify their soulmate.

These little bits of magic can have various effects on the person using them (reminiscent of the soulmate trope in fiction), depending on the type of magic and the person who prepared them, and the options are almost endless. There are a few comfortable standbys, though, that pop up pretty much every year:

● Rainbow Potion: Tiny bottles of a soft rainbow-colored potion that affects the vision. Once drunk, the potion will remove the partaker's ability to see in color until the first time they meet their soulmate after ingestion, then all the colors will come flooding back.
● Time Spell: Purchasing a time spell will get you a little vial of liquid with a tiny hourglass inside. Pouring out the liquid and turning the tiny hourglass will result in the appearance of a timer counting down on the partaker's skin somewhere - like a moving tattoo, it will count down the days, hours, minutes, and even seconds until the person will meet their soulmate for the first time after the spell is initiated.
● Red Thread: Some residents might've heard of the legend of the red thread of fate, a red thread that is tied between the ankles or little fingers of two people destined to fall in love. Tiny jars with a delicate red thread attached to a note (the contents of which are unreadable) are sold to invoke this legend. Once opened, the user should tie the red thread around their smallest finger on the left side and a red thread only that person and their soulmate can see will appear, tying them together. It may stretch or tangle, but will never break.
● Ink Potion: Small vials of a mysterious black liquid are one of the more common offerings - this liquid, once carefully spread on a portion of the partaker's skin, will result in a tattoo-like marking in a particular shape, that matches the marking that magically appeared on their soulmate!

While these are the most common types, there are almost infinite numbers of other types of potions, spells, and magics intended to help people find their soulmates, of varying type and quality.

A Few OOC Guidelines:
● Soulmate potions/spells can be used multiple times with different partners, and the effect can last as long (or as briefly) as you want it to.
● Since there is a wide variation of different types of potions/spells, they can vary in effectiveness. Feel free to use this prompt for either serious shipping or silly pairings for comedic effect.
● There is no compulsion involved in this prompt. The potions/spells will only show the character who their supposed soulmate is, not compel them to fall in love with the other character.
● Because there is no compulsion or alteration of behavior involved, and all effects are temporary and mildly annoying at most, characters ARE allowed to use them on other characters without asking. If your character wouldn't take one of the potions/spells, one of their friends can definitely spike their drink with a potion or use a spell on their behalf. Also, only one party has to use the potion/spell in order for it to work, both parties do not have to partake, though it is up to player discretion how heavily affected the person who did not partake is.
● A long list of trope ideas and variations can be found here. I've only included specific potions/spells for the most common ones I've seen, but please go as wild as you'd like with the types of potions and effects they have, so long as everyone involved is on the same page.
● Mod questions and plotting regarding this prompt can be found here.

ii. singles dances

All around the city, various businesses are hosting and sponsoring singles dances. These dances are an ancient tradition of Dragosta, originating from the reality of a very early group of displaced arrivals. Observed since the founding of Riverview Quarantine, the events have grown and changed with the times, still serving the interests of the modern citizen. The dances will be advertised throughout the city and range in quality, size, and tone, but they will always have the same objective and methodology: to match people up based on chemistry on the dance floor.

All singles or polyamorous pairings/groups looking to add additional members will sign in at the dance of their choice, and attach nametags or stickers to their clothing - pink, blue, or purple to indicate their preferences in partner (female, male, or any), and a "P" or "D" for "poly" or "duo" to indicate their preference for a polyamorous match-up or only one partner. Once they've indicated these preferences, they head out onto the dance floor, where they can either seek out someone they're interested in or wait for someone to come to them. As the dance goes on, and one person approaches another (or a group or pair), the person (or people) approached can either accept or reject the advances, and after finding someone with chemistry, the happy couple (or triad, etc.) can leave the floor together.

Every person who attends and participates will receive vouchers for free dinners and discounts or gift cards for various places in the city to have a nice dinner and get a present for a new paramour, or two or three...!

iii. date nights

This one is pretty simple: restaurants, clubs, hotels, movie theatres, and anything else in the city that might even vaguely be construed as a date location will be offering romantic date night packages, discounts, and other promotions to the lovebirds of the city. There are a few highly-anticipated special events that crop up every year, though.

One of the most popular are the movies in the park, hosted on almost every night of the month, these are romantic comedies and other good date movies from dozens of realities featuring romantic stories in a multitude of different configurations. Lovers are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket and settle on the grass for a nice relaxed show, or tickets can be bought for special experiences such as the mini-deck, with romantic table settings, wine, and catering with a waiter, or the cuddlebug, where a comfortable couch is set up with popcorn and blankets for the lucky lovebirds to curl up on together. The variations are endless!

Another popular option is a retro-futuristic drive-in experience, where any type of vehicle can be driven up to a temporary drive-in diner for a meal, and then pull up to a temporary outdoor theatre. Once parked, the lovebirds can "park" - that is, cuddle and neck in the car to their hearts' content, probably instead of actually watching the movie.

For this prompt, any type of date night discount is cool to assume, or make a mingle top-level with a special event of your own imagining and earn bonus activity points!

iv. kiss and tell

Something a little different is happening during Dragosta this year - one of the magic researchers at Gramarye, who was recently married and only just returned from her honeymoon, got hit with a confusion spell by accident. A little muddled and love-drunk, she acted on her intense desire to make everyone in the city feel just as happy as her, and shared the love by whipping up a potent spell to do so. As a result, residents will see bright little glowing 'fairy lights' floating around the city throughout the entire month of September. What do the fairy lights do, though?

Two or more characters walking under one of these glowing, floating lights will get stuck for one hour, trapped inside an invisible enclosure with an approximate three foot radius. The only options are to either wait out the hour, or to kiss! Characters will know they're meant to kiss, because part of the magic spell is the sudden and intense knowledge that they should kiss in order to break free. There is no compulsion to kiss, just the knowledge that that's how to get free. What the characters won't immediately know is that any kind of kiss will work - a hand, forehead, cheek, or butterfly kiss will work just as well as a kiss on the mouth, but that will require some experimentation to find out.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during Dragosta, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Anya Goo; image ii & iv: unknown; image iii: Raphael Grimm

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hm?

[Tony might be a little distracted by Sam's tongue in his mouth. When he does finally pull away, it's to blink once at Sam's hand passing through where those stupid walls should have been.]

...huh. Well. That was easy.

[He is very much not complaining.]

[Sam looks a little smug - and maybe a little distracted, too.]

Easier than everything else around here.

[He pauses before adding,]

You oughta come over for dinner sometime.

[And judging by the look in his eyes, he doesn't just mean dinner.]

[Sam's obvious smugness gets a dry look in return, though it fades a little at the suggestion. It's not that he doesn't appreciate it, he does. But everything with Sam has been...spontaneous. He doesn't think either of them have thought too hard about any of it.

This, though. This is planning. And it makes Tony give him a slightly unreadable look.]

Think that's a good idea?

[Sam tilts his head a little as he studies Tony. He feels like moving to something slightly less spontaneous, but he could understand where Tony might not.]

We can just do drinks first, if you're more comfortable with that. Or- whatever. Could just watch a movie after dinner.

[Wait, no, that sounds even more like a date than dinner and sex.]

Um. [Sam scratches the back of his neck.] Maybe not. It was just an idea.

I'm not...saying no.

[It's cautious and slow, but the last thing he wants is to make Sam think he's being rejected. He likes the guy, genuinely, but there's a lot of baggage they've sort of just glossed over. Tony's taken the time to at least try to hammer things out with Steve, but he's a lot more unsure on where Sam stands on things.

Maybe Sam is just willing to forget it all in this weird new place. But if they're going to be planning things, then it's not something Tony wants hanging over his head. Waiting for the other show to drop.]

Just. We should talk.

Look, I'm only forgoing the spontaneity because, you know, Wanda likes it when I coordinate shit with her, and you live in a godddamn dorm. You didn't even live in a normal dorm at MIT, I bet.

[Tony isn't wrong, though, and Sam knows that. They should actually talk this out like reasonable adults instead of just continuing to listen to their dicks, and it's a little shameful that Tony's the one calling him out for it.]

Coffee, then? Somewhere quiet. No lattes involved. [He's certainly not going to repeat the error that got him into Tony's bed earlier in the week.]

You do know the way to a man's heart.

[Tony gives a flash of a grin, but there's genuine gratitude under it. Mostly at the fact that Sam's didn't suggest a bar. Tony probably would have agreed, and it's likely that wouldn't go anywhere good. Especially considering the last conversation they'd ended up having over drinks.]

Coffee it is. And I admit nothing about my college days except to point out that I was a minor the entire time.

[Ordinarily, he might have - but that conversation still weighs heavily on his mind, too. And drinks, well, there's always room for mistakes with drink. Nobody ever ends up in bed with someone after coffee.

...okay, that's a lie.

Normally, they don't.]

Saturday sound good?

[Nobody wants to talk about their college days. And that includes Sam.]

Edited 2017-09-09 01:52 (UTC)

[Part of Tony wants to just suggest they do it now. Get it over with. But there's something to be said for giving them both time to get their thoughts together.

Considering he's still kind of staring at Sam's mouth and he can't even blame weird magic this time.]

Sounds good. I'll buy.

[Tony isn't the only one with an oral fixation. Sam leans in and brushes a kiss against one corner of his lips. A more tender gesture, maybe, than one to do with just physical attraction.]

See you Saturday, then.

[Except, as it turns out, fate has other ideas. On a whim, Sam buys a tiny red thread from a guy in the market, ties it around his finger. Now that the tattoo on his hip has faded, he half expects it to lead back to the Sanctum, for the spell to troll him like Stephen's had.

Instead, it leads him to a workshop that's in the process of being put together, one with odds and ends of scrap metal and who knows what else sitting around. And Sam just rolls his eyes again and leans against a counter till Tony notices him, the stupid red thread still tied around his pinky, leading right to Tony Stark.]

[It takes a while for Tony to notice that someone's there. He's half-buried in one of the walls with a soldering iron clenched between his teeth, doing something arcane with the wiring. It takes a sound almost like a digital throat clearing to even get him to pull his head back and garble something questioning.

It's probably a good thing JARVIS has known him so long.]

You have a guest, sir.

[At that, Tony finally turns around to give Sam a slightly owlish blink, and remembers to pull the iron out of his mouth this time.]

Sam?

[Sam smiles a little at the familiar voice coming from nowhere. He hadn't exactly met JARVIS before the whole mess with Ultron, but he knows about Vision's origin, what he used to be before he became...whatever he is now. He imagines Tony must like having him back in this form.

When Tony surfaces from the wall, Sam just holds up the hand with the red string tied around the pinky as explanation, wiggling it so the connection between them does the same. He's pretty sure Tony should be able to see it, too.]

I think this place really does have it out for us.

[Tony stares at him quizzically before his attention is pulled to Sam's waving hand. And the...thread? looped around his finger. Instinctively, his eyes follow that bright red line until he realizes it's coming towards him. He raises his hand and is still somehow surprised to see the entire line of thread move with it.]

...the hell?

[Dryly:] The thread's supposed to connect you to your soulmate.

[So, so dry.]

Although you're the second soulmate I've had this week, for the record.

Soulmate?

[If it was anyone else, Tony would just assume he was being fucked with. But Sam's sense of humor doesn't really run that way, and besides, finding a piece of thread that seems to randomly change size is a long way to go for a joke. Tony tugs on it experimentally and somehow can't bring himself to feel surprised as the string goes taught between them.

He clears his throat as he tears his eyes away from it to look at Sam himself.]

Okay, so. What now?

I mean, I'm pretty sure it's a bunch of bull, but-

[He shrugs. There's that conversation they'd been meaning to have, after all. Apparently having emotionally fraught conversations after soulmate mishaps is the theme of the week.]

You got a coffeepot here?

[That's one way to snap Tony out of his startled confusion. Even if it is just to give Sam an unbelievably dry look.]

It's me. You really need to ask that?

[And because JARVIS is still one of the best things Tony has ever managed, the coffee machine tucked into the corner hisses to life without anyone having to go near it.]

Look, everything's still a work in progress, I didn't know if you were just running out to Starbucks every hour. Or sending a robot. You could probably modify a drone to get coffee.

[The hiss of the coffeepot earns an appreciative look, though. Some Tonys don't always offer him coffee when he visits.

...okay, so maybe Sam offered himself coffee. That's a minor detail.]

I could. Or I could just always have it handy here.

[Really the only reason he didn't have a machine in his workshop back home was because Pepper had forbidden it. But Pepper isn't here.

And Tony clears his throat before that thought can get too far.]

So. This happened to you before?

Yeah, one of the potions that gives you a tattoo. I just...had it show up one day. Didn't even notice it for a few days, actually.

[Implying that he's not the one who partook of that particular potion.]

I wanted to see if doing it myself would come up with the same result, maybe lend any sort of credibility to this nonsense.

And?

[He's not sure if being attached to him means it's more credible or less. But rather than focus on it, Tony wanders over to where the coffee machine is almost done. He's reasonably sure he has more than one cup around here somewhere.

The fact that the thread stretches to move with him is still weird, for the record.]

Doesn't having more than one soul mate kind of defeat the purpose anyway?

Well, yeah, that's kinda what this whole experiment proves. Like, how can you even have more than one soulmate? And let's be real, if you got paired up with someone you'd never seen before, then would you really decide to fall madly in love with them? That's way too Romeo & Juliet for me.

[Basically, it had been an idle curiosity to see if the thread would lead him to Stephen or someone completely different. As it turns out, it's the latter.]

What, are you saying you're not madly in love with me? I'm hurt, Wilson.

[Tony flashes him a quick smirk over his shoulders as he pours out two mugs and wanders back in Sam's direction to hold one out to him. It's an easy deflection from the fact that he's honestly feeling kind of weird about the whole thing. But Sam seems to just be his usual unflappable self, so Tony shrugs.]

So it's some kind of joke thing. Like fortune-telling or whatever. Find your soulmate!

[He practically buries himself in his coffee before he can sound too disgruntled.]

If hair be wires, black wires grow on his head, [is Sam's oblique sarcastic response, continuing the Shakespeare theme. God only knows what he means by that, but-]

I'd say more a hoax than a joke. 'Cause if you're in love with someone and you buy one and it leads you to them, then it's only what you expected, right? Although it'd probably make them more money if it led to the wrong person, because then you'd just have to keep buying them till you got the right result.

[Sam sips his coffee thoughtfully.]

You always struck me as too jaded to be the soulmate type.

Edited 2017-09-15 00:59 (UTC)

[One eyebrow lifts over the rim of Tony's cup, both at the quote and the description.]

Who says I'm not? I just think it's a weird thing to try to sell people.

[At least with the whole visual thing added. If it was just a random 'potion' that did jack all, Tony would roll his eyes and ignore it. This is a much more obvious game, and it annoys Tony when he can't see the purpose of that kind of thing.

And maybe he's a little offended that someones making a game of it at all. Not that he's going to admit it.]

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