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

It's what it is. Would you like my life story, lamb? Want to hear about all the nasty things I've done? Bet you'd like that. Give you some kind of fuel for that rage-fire you're stoking. You like to pick at me, pet, but you're the one running around like a bloody powder keg just begging for a match to be thrown at them. You look for monsters. That's why you find them.

[Spike, at times, could be annoyingly perceptive.]

[ unfortunately, so can jess. ]

Save it, Billy Idol. I don't give a crap about your sob story. Just pointing out the facts.

So what is it — mommy issues? Or maybe your girlfriend dumped you. Is that the reason for the stick up your ass?

He stole my look-- never mind.

[He reached into his pocket, still watching her in case she opted to leap at him.]

Both, actually. That make you feel better? Knowing I had issues with mummy and I lost my bird?

[ she squints in contemplation, making no move to strike. not yet. ]

And now you shop at Hot Topic and try to screw the pain away. Big surprise.

Excuse you. This is vintage 70's, bitch.

[He smoothed down the leather trenchcoat stolen from the still-warm body of the second slayer he'd killed.]

Please. I smell alcohol on you every time I see you. You're just as fucked as I am, precious.

I don't go around sucking blood and hitting on everything that moves. I'm fucked up, but at least I deal with my shit.

[ with alcohol and isolation. whatever, it's better than his plan. ]

Right. How's cirrhosis treating you? Because that's where you're heading, snowflake. Benefit of being undead. You can drink and smoke and fuck whatever you want. You, on the other hand, still have a beating heart and all the icky complications that come with it. You drink your pain away instead of dealing with it and your liver's going to revolt.

I'll live.

[ thanks to enhanced metabolism. while she's not undead, she rarely gets intoxicated. jessica jones wishes she could simply drink the pain away; it's why she consumes so much. ]

You wanna act all big and bad? Go ahead, sparkles. I know the truth.

What. That I'm just a snuggly puppy who wants a little love and affection? Come on then, lamb. Give the puppy a pet.

[He drew the smoke out of his mouth, standing there with arms wide spread, waiting for that pet. Or a punch.]

[ another dry scoff. as if. ]

No. You're a sad bastard with nothing to live for. You hate everyone, but you hate yourself most of all.

[ jess used to catch glimpses of kilgrave in her head when she spoke to him. it's a faulty comparison, she realizes. the arrogance is there, though spike uses it more as a tool. as a defense mechanism. this encounter established that much. he may be a monster, but he possesses a level of self-awareness that kilgrave lacked. ]

Oh, go find someone else who wants to be analyzed. I don't hate myself, you bloody bint. I'm quite happy to do as I please and be as I am. You, on the other hand... well. That's why souls are so pesky.

[ his insult rolls off her shoulders with a simple shrug. ]

Yeah. So happy that you mope around here. Take a potion to fill the void. Whatever.

Oh, I'm sorry. Is partaking of a holiday in a city I've been sucked up into suddenly moping? Having a cigarette outside at night is moping? Love, I don't know what crawled up your gash and died, but you might want to dig it out because it's festering and leaking into you. You could have remarked and run off. You could have kept your bloody mouth shut. No. You opted to be violent and physical. Why? Because that's your natural state. You're as much a monster as I am in your own way. At least I have a bloody good excuse.

[ they're running around in circles again, and she's growing bored. well, perhaps exhausted is the better word. ]

Right.

[ and that's all she wrote. jess leans back against the barrier, sinking down to sit on the floor as she pulls out a small bottle of bourbon from her jacket. might as well get comfortable, if she's trapped here for the rest of the hour. ]

Figures you'd pussy out just before it got fun.

[He took a drag off his cigarette, then looked over at her bottle.]

Oi. Can I have some?

[ jess rolls her eyes, treating spike as nothing more than a pest. twisting off the top, she brings the bottle to her lips and takes a swig. so that's a no, buddy. ]

Oh, come on. We're both stuck here for an hour anyway -- unless you decide you can sully those filthy lips with a kiss. I'm game if you are. So if we have to suffer, do we have to do it sober?

[He even conceded to melting his face back to human, trying to appear as harmless as possible.]

[ her brow furrows, uncertain if she should feel insulted or incredulous. ]

Not gonna happen.

[ neither the kissing nor the booze sharing. this dude's mood swings are so weird. one minute, he's calling her a bitch, and the next, he wants to get on her good side again. ]

[He wanted alcohol, and she had it. She slid down his own side of the bubble, pouting as he looked at her.]

I'll pay you back.

[ her mistake for supposing spike had an ounce of dignity in his bones. clearly, that was an absurd assumption. without a word, she drinks from her bottle again in a pointed effort to ignore him. ]

[He watched her drink, smelling the waft of alcohol where he sat and feeling the small buzz he'd gotten earlier starting to fade.]

Oh, come on. It's your fault I can't go in the bar and have a drink of my own.

[ nope, she's going to continue to disregard him. he doesn't deserve her attention or, more importantly, her alcohol. ]

[He licks his lips, getting the last residue of her blood off them, rubbing it along the roof of his mouth as he breathes in his nose.]

You taste different. Is that some witchy woo thing?

[ god, he's going to kill her with his incessant talking. jess releases a deep sigh. ]

What?

You. Your blood. Almost reminds me of Slayer blood, but not quite. There's a... zing there.

[He smacked his lips, rubbing his fingers together as if trying to find the right word.]

That why you're so strong?

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