riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: DRAGOSTA

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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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[Ah.

He can feel his ears turning slightly red when the other asks him if he's feeling okay--a colour that only spreads to the front of his face when the other asks him something as simple as 'You've been swimming before, right?'

You'd wanted to get an embarrassed response out of Noiz before, right, Aoba? Well, here it is in full form as his eyes dart away from the other, fingers curling a little against the others' as he clings a little tighter to Aoba's as their arms swing.]

...I've gone to public bathouses and onsen before.

[Another long pause, and he's raising his head to (try) to look at Aoba properly.]

...I've never gone swimming before.

[ Aoba listens intently as he maintains that one-handed grip on the other. He bobs his head slightly and offers abbreviated sounds of affirmation as he talks about public bathhouses and onsen and...

Wait. ]

[ Aoba stops swinging his arm and leans forward towards him, disbelieving. ]

Heeeh?! You've never gone swimming before?!

[ That explains the rare blush flooding Noiz' usually even complexion and the sudden aversion to meeting his eyes. Noiz is flustered, that cool and distant demeanor cracking under the strain of his own embarrassment because -- ]

Who even swims in an onsen, are you a kid?

[He nearly flinches backwards when the other leans in, almost yelling at him for his confession. Augh! It was uncomfortable, the sudden dizzy feeling between his ears--he can't quite pinpoint the feeling but this is most certainly embarrassment.]

I swam in one when I was a kid, it was a long time ago...

[He grew up in a box, remember? He really loathed the idea of saying that outloud, however, so he just shakes his head at the other. A hand moving up to try to rub the reddened feeling off his cheeks. It's not working.]

It doesn't matter, I'll just float, right.

If you don't know how to swim, you'll probably sink!

[ He ignores that nearly full-bodied flinch, too consumed in his own shock to think that any reaction from Noiz is anything but a slight on him and his illogical responses towards everything normal or... well, in all honesty, he's too distracted in general to notice. Everything else would likely prove to be a convenient (and flimsy) scapegoat.

Meanwhile, Aoba takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly - a long-suffering sigh he has no right to give, given his own shortcomings. ]

We'll have to take this slow, then.

Right, to the shallow end! [ His hands clasp his one hand and pull him along as he walks backwards. ]

[Sink...

Yeah, probably. Then again, Noiz is still so wiry that he might just float on the surface too. Like a pond reed. Either way, he's not taking the risk of almost drowning and being able to feel what THAT'S like, so when the other sighs and resigns them to the shallow end--(where there's a few kids splashing about, tossing a beach ball back and forth...)--he merely nods once and grips the others' hand as it drags him along.

He'll give the other a very pointed--almost cheeky little smile--as they walk along the cool, wet floor of the pool along their way. His head tilting a little to the side as he watches the other.]

You could always teach me how to swim, you know.

That's the plan, dummy. [ Aoba looks at him over his shoulder and tries to look annoyed, but the wink that flickers back at him ruins the image he's going for. ]

Okay, this should be good. I'm going in.

[ Releasing Noiz' hand, he kneels down and sits on the edge of the pool, dipping his legs into the water and then pushing off to let the water swallow him up to the shoulders. His feet find the bottom of the pool and he stands, the water reaching only as far up as mid-torso. ]

Uwah~ that feels refreshing! [ Meaning it's chilly, but not so cold as to be entirely unpleasant once one gets the initial plunge over with. He turns and lifts his arms out of the water, dripping. ]

Come on.

[Noiz takes a few extra moments to get over the initial uncertainty of getting in. Being up to your neck in water seems pretty uncomfortable, but when the water doesn't come up over Aoba's shoulders, it doesn't seem half as bad.

Just another moment of hesitation before he lowers his first leg down, and the strangely enveloping sensation of cold water aound his leg is startling. Enough to make Noiz' eyes widen and his teeth click, but... he holds in any weird noises until he's down and completely in the water.

Meaning, when he slides off the edge and into the pool, he definitely gives a little shout of surprise. It IS chilly, and having your entire body suddenly dunked into it...

He's grabbing ahold of the others' arm as he tries (keyword, tries) not to slip and fall in entirely.

Here's hoping he just doesn't end up dragging Aoba in.]

W-wait! Not so fast--

[ Obviously, this works about as well as one might expect. In other words, it is a spectacular failure and the pair both get swallowed up by the water. But thankfully not for long. ]

Phwah!

[ Aoba exhales, sending a mist of water from his lips as he breaks the surface again, hauling Noiz up with him. He's wet from head to toe now, his hair sticking flat and slick against his skin. He kind of feels like a drowned rat, and the chilly water on his hair feels really weird. But then he realizes that tumble might have caused Noiz to stub something or move the wrong way, so he's quick to check on him. ]

Noiz, you okay?

[Not so fast? Not fast enough, apparently, as they both take a plunge down in the shallow water.

Which is apparently fine, as after a moment they resurface. The full-bodied sensation of being drenched was shocking enough, but--at least Noiz didn't do something stupid like trying to breathe in while underwater.

When he comes up, he does so with a harsh shake of his hair because of all things--

The feeling of his hair sticking to his scalp now is the weirdest thing he's ever felt.]

--It's cold. [He says, breathlessly, instead of affirming that he's fine. It's followed by a breathless laugh.]

I didn't--think it'd be cold...

[ Aoba finds the sensation oddly refreshing, but he's also accustomed to it. He knows just what to expect, and if he continues to shiver after some time, he knows it's officially too cold for him and he would just know to wrap himself up in a dry towel in the sun or take a warming shower instead. Noiz? He has never experienced this in his life.

Today will be a day of firsts, the first of many. Aoba reaches out and slips his fingers through Noiz' hair, spiking it up by rubbing it. Like scrubbing one's hair with a towel, only without one. And... honestly, he'd never do this to his own hair, that would hurt. Noiz' laugh tells him everything he needs to know - and the tension immediately drops away from him. He smiles. ]

It's shocking at first, but you'll find it refreshing soon.

[ Aoba drops his hands to Noiz' and pulls him closer to him, winding his arms around his shoulders and hugging his body close to his. He says he's cold, but is it the temporary shock of that water or is it honestly too cold? Aoba's interested in finding out, and apparently has forgotten he's in a very public space. This kind of public display of affection is a little rare. ]

Is it too cold? Or can you endure it long enough for me to teach you to swim?

It's not too cold.

[There's an almost prideful tone to his voice, as he's actually able to state this firmly, this time. Usually it's something different, like I can't feel it, or I didn't notice. This time? He could actually tell the difference in temperature.

And it wasn't anything awful. It was refreshing, despite the shock that had made him slip and pull the other in not a few moments before.]

I can endure it for as long as it takes.

['So teach me', basically. He's looking at the other, now--concentrated and determined.]

[ Aoba takes Noiz by the hands, holding the left one mindfully for the crooked fingers that never healed properly. He leads him a little further away from the rest of the swimmers, at a more secluded section. Noiz probably won't have to 'endure' long, as the lessons are likely to heat his body up. ]

Lets start you off with something easy.

[ Releasing his hands, he takes him by the shoulders and turns him sideways. ]

I think it's safe to have you float on your back. If you bend your knees and lay back, you shouldn't submerge much. And I'm here to help keep you afloat anyway.

[ Aoba smiles at him. His hands warm on his skin and prompting him gently. He looks like he's thoroughly enjoying the prospect of teaching Noiz this very basic skill. It's like having a child, except without all the fuss. ]

...Float?

[Alright, prepare yourself for one hell of a confused look from Noiz, because... Floating isn't swimming at all, Aoba. He blinks a little owlishly as the other continues on with his description. It... sounded easy enough, but...]

...If I sink, I'm pulling you down with me.

[A cheeky look. If you're just fooling around, you'll pay for it.]

[ Floating is the first step, next is kicking and using one's hands to direct his body. Baby steps. ]

Heeeh? You sound cocky for someone who is about to be powerless to my whims~~

[ Aoba says in a teasing, sing-song voice. He doesn't put it past Noiz to be mischievous. ]

Besides, if you sink or swallow too much water... I might have to resuscitate you. [ Aoba leans in, smiling. He's purposefully trying to fluster Noiz, except this is really the only thing that would fluster him. ] You know. Mouth to mouth.

...Hoh.

[He sliiiides his eyes away from him, before considering the next actions he'd have to take. Lying backwards in the water seemed... not the right way to go, but if the other said so...]

Maybe I should pretend to drown.

[A smirk.]

Just so you'll have to do it anyway.

[Flustering was countered.]

[ ... ]

Why pretend?

[ Aoba's expression and voice are tense, too-serene. There's a strain lurking in the background, one that suggests he's probably popping a vein somewhere under those heavy bangs. ]

I'll hold you down myself ♥ Noiz-kun

[His counter was countered. He wasn't prepared for that, and it shows how he stares at the other for a moment, quietly startled.

Then he looks away. Clearly, not flustered at all.

~~FUCKING DO IT, YOU COWARD.~~]

What a dangerous thing to suggest.

[Yep, no snappy comeback. So instead, he's going to shift where he's standing... and opt to try lying down in the water, instead. Be ready to watch him try to master this awkward position, as he's going to sink straight down when he first tries.]

[ It had slipped out like that - a joke hedged with a light, sadistic humor. Aoba was surprised himself except it wasn't the first time it had happened. He has spoken to a few people like this, mostly Karamatsu. For some reason, the exchange makes him feel like he won this round. ]

Heheh~ how unlike you to be so docile all of the sudden.

...It's kind of cute, Noiz-kun~

[ Aoba expects him to sink like a rock, which is why he has his hands at his shoulders. Adults weigh practically nothing in the water, so it's easy to keep Noiz' head above it with his hands under his shoulders. But he's also purposefully taunting him by this childish bullying right now, even with that sweet tone he's using. ]

Once you feel steady enough, try kicking your feet. With my arms here, you won't get past me but it's good for you to practice.

Don't call me cute. [He can't argue with the others' pointed sentence about him going 'docile', but he's a man, damn it. He could lose every once and a while, right? Well.
His irritation doesn't last long as his body starts to sink backwards...]

Ah--

[Thank god Aoba IS there, otherwise he really would have sunk like an absolute rock. But as it is, he's fine--even so far in that it feels... weirdly enjoyable as his legs straighten out as he's balanced in the water. Not sinking, but not quite fully floating on his own yet.]

...Hoh.

It feels strange. [And yet, there's a weird smile on his face as he draws his arms up, along the water--allowing it to ripple outwards. Surely this would look funny to anyone onlooking, but...

Noiz seemed to be having the time of his life, what with how he's almost grinning.]

If I kick my feet now, I'll just knock you over.

[ Aoba absolutely chose to phrase it just that way and he smirks when Noiz curtly denies it. Although... Aoba does think he's cute. Sometimes. In the rare moment when his skin tinges pink high on his cheekbones... and if he looks very, very carefully, he swears he can see it dusting over the tip of his nose and his ears. And if he's looking away while he's blushing? It's such an unmistakably shy expression and so unlike Noiz that it never ceases to amaze Aoba.

And right now, as happy as Noiz looks at this moment... it's almost as if some barrier has been lifted. He's wholly present, living in the moment. He's of this world now because he can feel it, can't he?

Aoba looks at that expression and it makes him feel like his heart might burst from it. This... this is the thing Aoba wanted to experience with Noiz. When he left the hospital and disappeared for three months, the man that came back to him was so changed that he felt like he'd been cheated from seeing him experience the world anew. Now, it's like he was able to turn back the clock and grasp this second chance. So he does, wholeheartedly. He takes him by the shoulders and prepares to hold Noiz in place as he kicks in the water. Looking down at him, with his swimming trunks and hair clinging to him in the water, Aoba feels his face heat up. O-okay. So he's cute and hot. Honestly he's grateful for the refreshing water because suddenly he feels a little overheated, flustered in part to this new activity and setting with Noiz and also due to the fact that he's right here with him to experience something new. ]

You won't knock me over. I'll just counter the power of your kick by pushing on your shoulders here.

[Part of the reason WHY he'd left for three months was likely due to the whole idea of handling the new lease on life he'd been given. Everything had felt so much all at once, he couldn't for a moment think on where to even begin once he left the hospital. His feelings were twisted and his life had been so flipped on it's head, staying in Midorijima just wasn't an option at the time.

He'd fled, learnt how to handle his new senses, got settled with the family he'd run away from... and then came back to the person he'd left behind. Maybe three months had been too much, but...

He had no place to run, here. A new world, a different planet, and nothing familiar...

This time, Aoba was stuck with him. Without anywhere to run and figure out things in quiet, Aoba was getting the brunt of everything, for better or for worse.

A small, crooked smile moves across his face as the other assures him it'll be fine, his eyes hooding with a look that is most certainly affectionate. And without furthur hesitation, he gives his legs a rough kick...

Spraying up far more water with far more force than probably necessary. Sorry, Aoba.]

[ Nothing like a cool splash of water to bring someone around from distraction while ogling their significant other. Noiz kicks violently enough to send water everywhere and Aoba soon has to hitch up his shoulders against the spray, yelping at the sudden watery assault. ]

Uwah!! [ A pause, long enough to identify the fact that it's Noiz who is purposefully inflicting him with this. He throws back an arm along the surface of the water and grins, dripping, down at him. ]

You little... you know what brats get right?

[ Some watery resistance in the form of his arm sluicing through the ripples he's kicked up, sending a cascade of water down onto Noiz' face and body. Two can play at this game! ]

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introductory mingle: DRAGOSTA

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