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

Mm, fine, it's a small little magical mark that will fade in time, if the last vendor that tried to push it on me was telling the truth. But... come now, love. You have to admit it's a little telling. You. Me. A similar mark with spread goo. I can't feel any other urges I don't normally feel whilst naked and wet with you.

[True to Lucifer-form, he was reacting as per usual while naked with her, arm winding around her back to draw her in against him.]

Have I told you today how delicious you look covered in suds?

Yeah, yeah, it's nothing I haven't heard before.

[Blithe but not harsh as she lets him pull her in closer. For all the weird things this place brings with it, even she could admit that most of the time, the city and its inhabitants didn't seem malicious. Even the whole deity fiasco had turned out to me a god of benevolence not knowing its own strength. Even so, Chloe can't help but be concerned at the unknown. She hasn't had millennia to be otherwise.

She presses her chin against his chest as she gazes up at him through a curtain of wet hair.]

And the only thing it 'tells' is that it gives people the same mark as some kind of gimmick. Unless you actually believe in all that soulmate stuff.

Are you saying you'd prefer not to hear it?

[A moment of doubt, even as he kept her pressed close to him, his free hand coming up to push her wet hair out of her face.]

I can't rightly say I know the whys or hows of this place, Chloe. But I do know that so far, it's not done anything untoward in its little machinations with others. Strange affectations, certainly, but nothing harmful. Does the idea of... being with me? Belonging with me sound so tedious to you?

Of course no-- that's not it.

[It's incredible, really, how all of Lucifer's confidence and suave attitudes wavered when unsure of her reactions. How easy it is to shake him when he's usually so unshakeable. It's not her intention to make him doubt or worry, and yet it seems she can't avoid it at times. It has her shaking her head in a firm kind of insistence as she looks up at him.]

Of course I want to be with you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. But the whole thing about "soulmates" and being meant for someone else...? Seems a little too straight from a bad romance novel for my tastes. Besides, last I checked, you were the one who was heavily against the idea of any outside influence with... us.

Love, I'm all about flipping the bird to the universe and fate in general, when I can. Sometimes just for kicks. But this? This is like trying to argue something different. Even if it's just for fun and these little marks mean nothing more than perhaps some magical force can tell we've been more than friendly, that's not an outside source making us do anything.

[He moved his hands to keep brushing her hair back, looking down at those lovely blue eyes.]

Do you feel more inclined to be here? Pushed into doing something you'd rather not?

No.

[Said simply and honestly. He had a point; these marks, whatever they were, did not change how she felt. About him. About them. There wasn't a dawning realization or inexplicable change in thought or feeling -- it was still just them, and the way his fingers felt in her hair.

She reached up to stop his hand, instead opting to gently curl her fingers around his.]

I have free will. I know that. Doesn't matter what some weird little mark shows. But it still comes down to that being all it is; a mark. There's not anything to prove that it's more than that. That's all I'm saying.

Oh, you. Can't you unclench enough from your old person adulting to just enjoy it as a bit of fun?

[He let her draw his hands down, pulling her in to the fronts of their bodies touched. The marks were on opposite sides of their chests, but he enjoyed looking down to see that little musical heart outline.]

I like the notion of being tied to you. Tied up as well, if you liked. But it's a bit of magic fun, love. A little magic trick. Can't we just enjoy it for that?

You seem oddly caught up in the idea of this for it to just be a 'bit of magic fun'.

[Still, she rested against him with a quiet exhalation. She liked these moments. Moments where he looked at her with a softness she couldn't put a name to. It had her reaching up to touch that mark on his chest, drawing her lip between her teeth as she examined him.]

Do feel free to tell me how we have fun with something like this, though. Something like a shared not-tattoo doesn't seem like your usual brand of fun.

Maybe I like the idea of something visible tying us together.

[Like her and Dan and their stupid wedding rings or the spawn that was a blend of them. What did he have with her? What could he show that let everyone know? The tattoo was a good start, but it was making him realize he might want more. Still...]

You really do need to loosen up, love. You make it feel like you have to be forced to have fun.

I do not.

[The insistent edge to her voice is apparent and utterly incriminating, she realizes a bit too late. And yet she stands her ground because she is perfectly capable of having fun, thank you. It's not her fault she isn't sold on this whole 'soulmate' idea.]

Anyhow, we live together. Share a space. Most people who frequent or rent here know that. A matching mark doesn't make that any more true or apparent, Lucifer.

Are you so certain?

[He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, fingers of his other hand lifting to draw an outline around it.]

Why wouldn't I be?

[Spoken lowly as she watched him kiss her, her unoccupied hand reaching out to touch his side.]

You seemed to want those things with... others. I suppose I'm wondering if you don't want them with me for any specific reason.

[He kept drawing around that mark, finger spiraling outward as it dragged over the top of the breast closest to it.]

[Chloe was still for a moment as she contemplated that. At what he was implying. Slowly, she reached up to touch his hand again, enough to slow his ministrations.]

By others, you mean Dan. [Because who else could he mean?] And if you're talking about the 'things' I think you're talking about, then it's not about not wanting. That's not what I'm trying to say.

It's a little, silly mark, love. No one else will even see it. So... where's the harm in enjoying the notion for a bit of a laugh?

[He was trying, and failing, to understand why she was both so bothered by it and why he was bothered by her being bothered. It was hardly as if they'd been branded. Nothing physical was tying them together. As she said herself, most people were well aware that the Devil and the Detective were an item. So why was something so banal such a problem for her.

And why was he trying so hard to convince her otherwise.

Jealousy, likely, but he didn't want to admit that.]

[She can see that caginess settling into his body language. It's something she's come to recognize when he's upset or confused about something but doesn't know how to deal with it. There's that part of her that could push him for an answer, considering he hadn't responded to it, but she knows that wouldn't get her anywhere. She doesn't want to upset him.]

There isn't any harm. But I'm getting the sense this isn't really a laughing matter to you. I don't mind the mark, Lucifer. That's not what's happening here.

I don't know what you're talking about.

[True. He knew she was picking up on something, or trying to point something out, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.]

What I'm saying is that for something that's not supposed to be serious, you seem to be taking it pretty seriously.

[Chloe isn't dumb. Silly little mark though it may be, it obviously represents something more to him. Something she suspects he hasn't thought much about himself. At least not too closely.

It's times like these where she misses Linda.]

Usually by now you'd be calling me boring and then just go about whatever you want.

You're naked in a shower with me. That ups your interesting factor by at least five.

[He was smirking, trying to move past whatever weird stumbling block had been set between them.]

It's all for fun, Detective. Maybe I'll get one in the flesh. It's apt enough, don't you think?

[She catches on to that. And while there's a brief pursing of her lips in obvious displeasure at that, she lets it pass quickly enough.]

This place does seem to love its fun. [Too much so, in her opinion.] Apparently that carries over into weird potions and supposed 'soulmate' marks, apt or not.

Would it be so bad, mm? Being soulmates with the Devil when your conception was the literal work of God?

[His hand lifted to let him trace along the outsides of the mark, circling around it on her chest as he waggled both brows at her like the absolute cheeky shit he was.]

It's got nothing to do with being good or bad. I just don't believe in soulmates.

[She can hear him already, scoffing at her perpetual skepticism when faced with the literal Devil. She's no fool; while she may be willing to believe that her and Lucifer were supposed to meet, she didn't like the idea of someone else pulling that particular string.]

Besides, you're the one that got pissed off at the idea of me being manipulated by God in the first place. I would've thought you'd be more upset.

Of course, love. There's a rather large difference between being manipulated or forced into something and possibly not having a choice in the hows and whys of it, and in affirmation that the choice you've made is the right one for you. Not Him. Not the universe. But... us.

That's kind of the point of soulmates, isn't it? Having some predestined partner that you're supposedly meant for? Doesn't seem like there's a lot of choice involved.

That's one way of looking at it. But there's still a choice there. You were with others before me, yes? Nothing stopped you from doing that. Nothing would be stopping you from picking up and leaving right now. Therein lies the difference, Detective. There's a choice. I'm hoping you're opting to choose to be with me.

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[rises from the smoke like mushu] I LIIIIIIIIIIVE

Liar

You're right. I'm a zombie

.... Jeebus?

Nah. I don't care much for feet.

snort