saltburnmods: (Default)
π–˜π–†π–‘π–™π–‡π–šπ–—π–“π–™ π–’π–”π–‰π–˜. ([personal profile] saltburnmods) wrote in [community profile] draino2024-09-07 10:00 am
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𝐈 πƒπŽπ'𝐓 ππŽπ‘πŒπ€π‹π‹π˜ π‹πˆπŠπ„ π‚π‡πŽπ‚πŽπ‹π€π“π„ π‚π€πŠπ„ β–£ SEPT TDM





SEPTEMBER 2024 TDM: LUGHNASADH


Welcome to SALTBURNT, a panfandom smut/thriller game based off the film Saltburn, where characters are encouraged to indulge their deepest desires. The money never runs out and the liquor never stops pouring, so you may as well indulge from the bounty. Of course, things are rarely what they seem, and the manor itself seems to have a consciousness of its own. Throw parties, trash the house, engage in youthful merriment, but remember β€” dangers come out at night, and no one, no matter how rich you are, is safe from demons lurking in the shadows.

Threads can be considered game canon, provided the players agree. Players can also start fresh upon acceptance into the game. In game characters can post to the TDM directly, using Β« NEW CHARACTER/IN GAMEΒ» in the header. There will be a spot below for new characters to link their toplevels for easy access. Alternatively, prompts on the Test Drive can be used for in game logs.







WELCOME TO SALTBURNT


It's the hangover more than the light streaming in through half drawn curtains that wakes you up, your brain rattling in your skull, your mouth dry and cottony, your stomach churning with whatever it is you drank last night. If self preservation is your strong suit, you might turn over in bed and see a few painkillers laid out for you on a silver dish, accompanied by a glass of water. If it isn’t, stay in bed and wallow β€” eventually a maid will be in to tear your curtains open, saying, "Breakfast is served," and scurrying out quietly, invisibly. Breakfast? Maybe it’s normal for you. Maybe it isn’t.

You're drawn from the room, either by the mystery, or an undefinable urge that could be supernatural in origin, or could be your hunger catching up to you. It's almost nostalgic, the walk to the dining room β€” have you been here before? Were you drawn up to this estate in a car? Haven’t you done all this already? Maybe you mosey around a library, maybe you run into your suite mate in your adjoining bathroom. Regardless, seemingly all hallways, covered in priceless artworks and ancient relics from times long past, lead to the dining room, where a comically long table houses the Balfours and their many guests, some who seem just as disgruntled and confused as you. No matter. "Breakfast will be out in a minute," they say. What's that?

EDIT SEPTEMBER 2024: For those who have attended breakfast with the Balfours before, a change in routine might come as a shock, given how rarely they stray from form. However, as of September, CARMY BERZATTO has taken over Head Chef position, alongside his cousin RICHIE JERIMOVICH and always the bridesmaid never the bride, SANJI. In place of the self-serve style breakfast, there is an elevated menu, including: a self-serve juice bar, with pitchers of various juiced fruit and vegetables, shaved ice, coconut water, green and black tea syrups, potted microherbs, sliced whole berries, and finger limes. There is also, naturally, liquor and champagne available. Guests can make their own drinks, or ask the allocated staff member to serve them one of the "specials" if they're feeling adventurous.

That said, these are world class chefs, so the gold is really in the menu:
THE EGGS

𝐓𝐇𝐄 π‰πŽππ“π˜: one runny boiled egg shelled and recoated in edible gold leaf, seated on a throne of fried bread soldiers, plated with whipped butter and italian parsley.
𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐒 ππ„ππ„πƒπˆπ‚π“: vinegar poached eggs with hollandaise foam on a bed of toasted freekah and baby spinach.
𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐒 π’π‡π€πŠπ€π’π‡πŽπ”πŠπ€: two eggs poached in a ramekin of pureed tomato, served with a crispy grilled cheese cut to dip.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 π’π˜πƒππ„π˜: french omelette with a light cheese filling, topped with crushed potato chips and chives.
πŽπ„π”π…π’ ππ‘πŽπ”πˆπ‹π‹π„π’: fluffy scrambled eggs in brown butter, served on sourdough.
π’ππ€ππˆπ’π‡ 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓: mini-quiche made with caramelized red onions and jamon pata negra ham.
𝐄𝐆𝐆 πŒπ‚π’π€ππƒπ–πˆπ‚π‡: bacon, egg, cheese and sausage breakfast muffin that tastes weirdly like it was made at a popular chain with golden arches.

THE SWEETS

❖ momofuku's "cereal milk" ❖
❖ fette biscottate with a sour cherry jam and peanut floss ❖
❖ a warm cinnamon bun served with a shot of espresso coffee for dipping ❖
❖ a macadamia-marzipan croissant with a wattleseed and burnt-honey filling ❖
❖ poffertjes with a liquid nutella injection ❖


If you want to leave, you’ll have to tell Giles, the housekeeper, who will arrange a car for you that mysteriously, or perhaps suspiciously, never arrives. Unfortunately, confronting Giles about it is near impossible, as he’s as good at being invisible as the rest of the house staff. Of course, there’s no reason why you can’t just walk out. The front gates are easy enough to jump over, even if the walk towards them gives you a strange sense of foreboding, or just outright discomfort, as if the ground itself doesn’t want you to leave. Those more sensitive or fragile might find they can’t make the jump, no matter how physically able, or desperately wanting. Still, a strong person could continue on, over the fence and into the lush English countryside. The feeling doesn’t dissipate, though β€” this sense of wrongness, almost sickness, like a weight on your back. Walk into the evergreen, carry on, but the strongest will make it perhaps a mile or so before the weight of dread and paranoia brings you to your knees, and then to your face, flat in the middle of a dirt road. What were you thinking? Is this really better?

Wake up with a hangover, in a bed, the curtains drawn, the maid saying, "Breakfast is served," before scurrying out. The painkillers are there, just like you remember. In fact, it’s all exactly how you remember, as if you never left an imprint the first time, or any mess you made was cleared away while your back was turned. Walk to the dining room, find everyone there eating away at their breakfast.

"We dress for dinner," says Portia, with a kind, if discerning smile. "Black tie."




ITSY BITSY TEENIE WEENIE

CONTENT WARNINGS: drugs, alcohol, nudity, potential for nsfw.
POOLSIDE PLAYLIST courtesy of Robin

It's an innocent enough, offhand suggestion from the mouth of one (1) DIARMUID about wanting to learn how to paint, and honestly, the house couldn't agree more: a party is necessary. As August winds down, it's important to go out with a bang, and what better way than through an explosive end of summer pool party? To say goodbye to the waning summer nights, the manor is throwing a pool party with an artistic neon twist. Per the growing complications of everyone's relationship status in this new age of bisexuality, polygamy, and pegging, glow-in-the-dark bracelets with matching solo cups have been set out with the appropriate labels β€”Β TAKEN, SINGLE, OPEN, and IT'S COMPLICATED, depending on your interest. Lounge by the water in your cutest bikini or trunks or nothing at all and engage in some very relaxing full-body painting using the supplies provided β€” that is, the paint is supplied, though brushes and sponges are few and far between. Better just to use your own body to paint your masterpiece. Put yourself on display as a model by the pool, or engage in a brutally competitive game of chicken fights, wherein the loser loses their clothes and the winner gets to keep them.

Not your style? Sneak off somewhere more private like the twinkling gardens illuminated with multicolored tiki lamps, lakeside decorated with bio-luminescent rocks, or the (perfectly safe, wolfless, we promise) maze to indulge in your inner desires. You might find that certain colors glow beneath the moonlight and unlock desires you’ve kept tightly under lock and key. It's hard not to feel impulsive or unrestrained under the full moon's light, with your body paint as armor. People might appear more attractive to you under this witching light like a magic spell cast β€” but really, you haven’t had any trouble with that, here. Have you?

If you’re thirsty, the house has tasked RICHIE, CARMY, and SANJI (dressed as cabana boys) with an extensive poolside drinks menu, since they’ve been so helpful with breakfast. Thanks, boys. Ask them for anything. In fact, ask them for everything. They're here to serve.

As the night closes out, turn your eyes heavenward for a spectacular fireworks show. Many apologies to those of you who suffer from PTSD; you can head inside for an early night and cover your ears with a pillow, but do be careful not to suffocate yourself, unless you're into that. The fireworks shimmer and shatter, and those watching closely might start to see hidden messages written in the stars for you, though is that your eyes playing tricks? Better ask that friend you’re snuggled up with. As anxiety weighs a little heavier on your heart, you might feel compelled to confess a few secrets on this last night of summer, big or small, something loving or not. Seek out that destructive habit, or take some steps toward healing. Let the fireworks drown out the noise.






FRUITS OF LABOUR


CONTENT WARNINGS: body horror, gore, cannibalism.

Saying goodbye to summer means welcoming in the new season, and as August nights turn into September mornings, the landscape of the grounds changes from verdant greens to egg yolk yellow and sunburnt orange, a gradient of autumnal colors. To that end, a week long festival erects outside to enjoy the last of the year's good weather β€” a generous harvest bounty fills up tables and tables of ample displays, full of ripened fruits and fresh baked breads, baked potatoes roasted in the coals of a bonfire, sausages, wheels of cheese, marshmallows, cider and apple juice, tomato soup, apple and blackberry compote, rhubarb crumble, all richly decorated in sunset hues. Among the servings, anyone with a birthday in August or September will find themselves a individualized cake, perhaps with some motif to define them, otherwise just with the harvest decorations of gourds, leaves, wheat, and fruit. Alongside that, a new smaller maze has been made from hay bales on the lawn. During the day it's just a silly and fun maze, but at night it takes on a new form and characters can easily become lost and find themselves in a maze that seems to go on forever, with the ominous lowing of a bull somewhere in the distance. Luckily, everyone is released at daybreak, maybe a little traumatized, but all in one piece.

What would a festival be, without some games to indulge in? Around the celebratory grounds, there are four pumpkins painted gold, hidden around the festival. Anyone who finds one is entitled to a boon from your very generous hosts (join the race HERE). Hunting not to your tastes after the last few goose chases? No worries, there's plenty still to do β€” from apple bobbing, jumping over bonfires, throwing discus/shotput, horseshoes, and more, it's a festival jam packed with games and prizes to be won, from little jars of handmade jam from France, to stuffed chicken plushies, to tin cans with the labels ripped off, full of ... well, it's anyone's guess, really. Crack it open and find out!

In honor of the handfasting ceremony, characters are selected at random and tied together at the wrist, much to everyone's amusement. Once knotted, the ribbon will not give way under any physical or magical duress, meaning you'll be stuck together until the tie undoes on its own. It could be day, a night, two nights, or more, but it seems like the ribbon is waiting for something in particular β€”Β a genuine heart to heart, maybe? Consummating the marriage? Hopefully you like the person you're tied to, because you're going to be spending a lot of time with your temporary spouse, in immediately close quarters.

At the end of the week, there's a final end of summer ceremony, wherein the vampire ARMAND is given special homage for being an especially adored guest, donned in floral regalia and ordained with crowns of flowers, much to his growing malcontent. In fact, he and all the vampires present in house seem to be given the regal treatment from the staff with less grand flower crowns of their own, honored at the head of the festival's final gluttonous table, lined with naked, giggling bodies covered in autumnal produce, sprouting mushrooms, blooming flowers, and distinctly meaty dishes β€” steak and kidney pie, blood sausage, pumpkins stuffed with zebra meat. It's only after you drink the wildflower tea and locally (Very, Locally) crafted beer that things start to feel a little off. The happy bodies used as serving platters look sometimes, between one blink and the next, like masticated corpses, the gourds and fruits set more deeply in the cornucopia their opened chest cavities make. Despite that, there's no real sense of death in the air β€” get a better look, and you might find the veins of the dead work more like the vines for the plants, giving them life.

The question becomes: which is the hallucination? The smiling faces or the blooming corpses?

Though hysteria rankles through the crowd the more people come to terms with the visions they're seeing, given the population at the head of the table, it's a fairly easy riddle to crack. Can vampires eat the cursed food? In short: yes, they can. Sorry we made you eat people again.



DIRECTORY


metalkinetic: (pic#17308941)

closed for charles.

[personal profile] metalkinetic 2024-09-07 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ The pool party isn't necessarily overwhelming for Erik, but he can't deny that there's something about it that itches him the wrong way; perhaps the way the people lounging look a little like Emma Frost when she had tried to kill him, or perhaps because he is simply tired, feeling the urge to find some place to relax and let go of some of the tension that's been building in his shoulders.

Finding his way to the hot tub is easy, and the aura he gives off that reeks of 'don't bother me' seems to be enough to divert the most interested of people, so he can enjoy a few brief moments of relaxation and contentment before he has to drag himself back to the public. It's, again, not the worst place to be, not compared to his experiences of the past, but there's a discomfort all the same, one that he doesn't want to spend too long on.

A familiar pulse of metal and his own senses going into overdrive is enough to let Erik know who is coming close when they do, and his eyes open to drag over Charles Xavier, half devouring him with his gaze and half assessing that he is alone. It doesn't seem as if they're going to be interrupted any time soon, so Erik can let a little bit of his guard down and relax. Just a little.

If there's anyone he's going to trust with it...

Leaning back, he stretches his arms out along the sides of the hot tub. ]


Planning to join me, my friend?
longitudinal: (Default)

[personal profile] longitudinal 2024-09-07 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
meeee~
lessnosey: (pic#17380040)

Usopp | One Piece | new character, current player

[personal profile] lessnosey 2024-09-07 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
WELCOME TO SALTBURNT

[When Usopp awoke, he thought he was dreaming still. Or rather, that maybe his life had recently been one big dream; he can barely wipe the sleep from his eyes, heavy as it was, when he stumbled out of the extravagant room and into the hallways. He's not quite awake. Not quite lucid. He's always been a sloppy, heavy sleeper, especially on the days he cleaned and tended to the ships in the harbor. Hard work for enough pay to keep some food in his home at Syrup village...

Huh. He blinks blearily. The manor is familiar, and yet very unfamiliar.]


Uh... Kaya...?

[Give him a moment.]

BREAKFAST WITH THE BALFOURS

... and there I was! Right in the middle of the biggest battle ever known on the Grand Line.

[Oh, dear.

Somehow, some way, despite his anxiety over his new circumstances, Usopp has managed to fall into his usual pitfall: telling his usual tales. When he gets worked up, his mind just can't help itself; it goes and goes, like a wind-up Pinocchio, and after a moment he's full animated as he tells the others around him his 'totally true backstory':]


The Great Captain Usopp and his fearless crew, facing off against a perilous foe, after enduring crushing storms, vicious sea monsters, and the most devilish of pirate crews... We were closing in on it β€” the fabled One Piece, treasures of all treasures, sought after by crew after crew who perished trying...! And that's when they attacked. [He stands up on his chair, ramping up his gestures.] The nastiest of the nasty, with bounties on their heads higher than anyone here can count in their lifetimes. The cruel fishman Arlong... The ruthless, hideous, absolutely rank Kuro and his little cat minions... A swordsman named Mihawk, who can cleave sea serpents into oversized sashimi... They all stood up to us and fell! One by one, to my impossibly strong pirate crew.

[A pause, as he wiggles his fingers, sweeping them outward, then puffs up his chest, dressed in his usual work overalls.]

And when the smoke cleared, and their ship sank to the bottom of the sea... we stood together in victory. See, I can't take all the credit. My friends are some of the greatest warriors you'll ever find in the East Blue; even if I had to jump in and save their asses when things got dicey, they're still the best you'll find. And we were there at the end. We could practically taste the mysterious treasures that awaited us. [A gasp! He picks up a candlestick, charading it as a pirate's telescope.] But... wait... What is that?! On the skyline...!

Hundreds of marine ships, closing in on us! They had trailed us all the way from Syrup village.

"Man the canons!" I yelled...! We were bloody and tired, and yet we picked ourselves up...!

[Someone please stop him. Crew? Anyone? He's interrupting mealtime.]

ITSY BITSY TEENIE WEENIE

CANONBALL!

[The last word you hear before you die...

... as the Great Captain Usopp lands beside you in the pool! Hah! Bet you weren't prepared to have completely wet hair! He leans on the side of the pool, wearing sunglasses (at night), looking entirely pleased with the fact that he broke a huge rule and ran earlier today. Fake it until you make it is one of Usopp's tried and true methods of existence, and so he attempts to look super suave where he floats.]


Hey! Cabana boys! You call this strong? I can barely taste the alcohol in this!

[He's gonna be throwing up in a toilet in exactly 8 hours.

By the time the fireworks start up, he's entirely mesmerized by those instead. Almost too distracted to finish painting the person he's offered to paint in bright colors. See, that's one thing Usopp's pretty good at! Before he's gone and drank too much, you can catch him carting around some of the paints and paintbrushes, a towel tied around his neck like some kind of goofy kid pretending to be a superhero.]


Are you kidding? I'm one of the best artists in Syrup village, hands down.

In fact, I'm widely sought after for my jolly rogers. Anyone who needs one, I got 'em covered.

[Go ahead, take him up on the offer. He'll whip up a pirate's flag, just for you.]
Edited 2024-09-07 21:55 (UTC)
kobes: ([:|] compelling argument)

koby | opla | current character

[personal profile] kobes 2024-09-07 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
i. itsy bitsy teenie weenie
[It's still very strange to swim inside, in Koby's opinion, but when the party ramps up (right on schedule, he notes, jotting it down into the ongoing calendar he's keeping before heading downstairs), he's there, of course. The cycles of Saltburnt mean that there'll likely be new, confused, fearful arrivals, and Koby can't resist the urge to help out. If you're one of those, he'll be there, smiling and gently earnest as he guides you away from the crowd and squeezes your shoulder, reassuring:] It's all right, I know. It's a lot. It's a lot, isn't it? Just focus on breathing, you'll be okay. It'll be all right.

[Despite it being a pool party, and Koby being an adept swimmer (unlike some people; looking at you, Luffy, if you get too close to the water be prepared to be dragged back to a safe voyeur-chair), he's wearing cut-offs and a loose button-down, rather than any appropriate swim attire. He's used to swimming in the godawful-early parts of the morning, without an audience, so he'll stay put in his lounge chair, reading placidly (some biography of Abraham Lincoln he's definitely read twice before) and periodically glancing up over his glasses at any shirtless guy who walks by. Feel free to catch him thirsting, he's not subtle. Bracelet-wise, he'd agonized for a while over which color was appropriate, hovering his hand over green and purple for a while before just snatching a pink one and retreating to his chair. Everything here is complicated, right? Don't ask him about it, though, he'll die and/or unconvincingly lie about it matching his hair.

Eventually, though, Koby stands up -- to refill a drink, to go say hi to someone, something, and something happens. Maybe he swerves to avoid one of Portia's oblivious, spraytanned friends, maybe he slips in a puddle of pool water, maybe one of the aforementioned friends decides to hipcheck him, who knows. However it happens, he loses his footing and topples, fully clothed, into the pool with a terrific splash.

Bursting out of the water, gasping, Koby glares (squints, his glasses are at the bottom of the pool now) up at the women, treading water for a moment before swimming over to the shallow end. His shirt is sodden, clinging, white fabric made translucent, and as soon as his feet touch the smooth tile, Koby is standing upright and peeling it off. And -- yes, he tends towards baggier clothes, and gives the impression of being very small and breakable, but he works out every damn morning and it's started to show. If you aren't one of the people who regularly sees him shirtless, it may come as somewhat of a shock that doe-eyed, crybaby, library-nerd Koby has abs.

Heedless of his own swole era hard-launch, Koby sloshes to the side of the pool, dumping his shirt there and looking up at the nearest person with a put-upon, grim smile.
] Hi. Can you see my glasses from up there? Just point me in the right direction and it'll get them. They're purple, they should be easy to see.


ii. fruits of labour | cw: mention of past blood drinking/cannibalism, panic attacks
[Festivals should be joyous affairs, should be carefree and celebratory and a chance to relax after a long, hot summer. But the change in leaves, in scenery sends sparks of panic down Koby's spine, remembering not the market days in the village of his childhood, nor the festivals in the many ports Alvida's ship had passed through (viewed through a porthole, round and barred, from the dank, chilly, loneliness of the hold).

Instead, he thinks of the village, of the stop in-between then and now, and how when they'd arrived, it had also been harvest time. And then the weather had turned, colder and colder and colder, and everything had been ice and snow and desperate, mindless, all-consuming hunger. For a boy used to mild, tropical climates, the endless devastation of a snowy winter remains alien, strange. What will Saltburnt bring when it's too cold to go outside? What if the bone-deep hunger for (meat, flesh, blood) returns?

It's that thought in the back of Koby's mind when he attends the various festival events -- the scavenger hunt especially takes his attention, the need to be good at everything rearing it's head once more. He takes it intensely seriously, of course, and if distracted will be visibly impatient for whoever he's talking to just get on with it.

The maze, too, is approached and challenged, Koby certain that his newfound ability to sense people will help -- he'll just fixate on someone's presence outside the maze and follow that to the end. Except once he's in, too close to nightfall, having been distracted by some dumb festival game, it's like that carefully-honed sense, practiced daily, flexed again and again like a newfound muscle is just: gone. Completely gone. Like it was never there.

Having relied too heavily on this solution, Koby hadn't fully scoped out the maze externally like he should've, hadn't made careful notes or kept an eye on who (if anyone) had made it out successfully, so he could grill them for tips. Instead he's stuck making educated guesses as night falls, gnawing his lower lip bloody, fidgeting and picking at his nails the way he hasn't done in a long, long time. If he stumbles into anyone, he offers a pained, glassy-eyed, near-panicked look, jerking his chin up towards the sky.
] The sky is all -- off. I've been trying to orient myself with the stars, but they're wrong. [A laugh, high, shaky, a little unhinged.] I didn't know they could do that. I didn't know they could change the stars.


iii. wildcard
[feel free to wildcard anything with koby -- also definitely open to confessing secrets, handfasting, the festival at the end of the week, etc. permissions, ping me at [plurk.com profile] ceedawkes for any other ideas!
Edited 2024-09-07 22:08 (UTC)
peasant: (alina-ep2-11)

alina starkov ( grishaverse ) / ota, current player

[personal profile] peasant 2024-09-07 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
itsy bitsy teenie weenie.
( alina flocks, naturally, to the bright pots of paint — one of each color spread out in a rainbow arch around her. whatever limited supplies there are, they become less and less throughout the night each time alina returns to the painting stations, carting off more and more to her growing stockpile, no concern for rationing them out. it isn't long before her plans become obvious; find her hunched over corded muscle and bikini-clad bodies with her tongue poking between her teeth, singularly focused on the intricate canvases she's made of tanned skin. guests leave her corner covered in neon murals, a gallery of alina starkov's designs — an explosion of butterflies across a woman's stomach, a sunrise cresting over the sharp peak of a man's hipbones. imperfect, maybe, but — she beams happily after each one, relaxed by a hobby that's purely enjoyment, rather than born from necessity.

alina, for her part, is a splatter of careless mess, light-brite pinks and purple swiped across her knuckles and chin. if footsteps approach, she turns the flash of a smile on her new companion, eyes glowy and bright as any other party decoration tonight. her toes dangle in the water, kicking up bumpy waves, as she plucks the thin handle of a paintbrush from between her teeth. around her wrist, a pink bracelet bobs, the big neon warning sign for it's complicated.
)

Are you my next victim?

( warm, her eyes crinkle, as if the fading summer heat has melted her self-consciousness with it. )


fruits of labor (maze.)

( no part of her is in the mood for celebration. each reminder of closed chapters and new beginnings makes her stomach cramp unpleasantly, a permanent bow-tied knot in her intestines that only tightens with homesick nostalgia as she drags her feet past stacked haybales and smoky bonfires. still, there's something to be said for the maze that alina wanders into, under the impression that — maybe, miraculously, the twists and turns of a labyrinth can pull her from the tangled mess of her mind. no such luck, as it turns out; the only benefit is moping in peace, curtained by the tall hedges as she mindlessly moves from one green corridor to the next.

not the best idea, much as alina had convinced herself, in a fit of dramatics, that it would be lucky to be lost in its bowels — eaten and never spat out, if nature was ever going to have mercy on her. by the time she rounds a corner for the third time, sure that she's seen that one gourd before, she huffs a breath up toward the dusky sky, knowing that no amount of north stars will guide her back out. not as mal could have done, following them like a map out of the darkness.

perhaps you'll spy her through the foliage as an inexplicable beacon of light, her fingertips bright as she shoves her hands into the shrubbery, trying to find a crawlspace to shove through the maze's hedges and carve her own way out. )


fruits of labor (handfasting.)
( it happens too quickly for her to protest it. one moment she's observing each giggling wedding procession as if witnessing ravkan children play-pretend, replicating old grisha traditions, and the next — she's pushed past the shores of the crowd, the soft ribbon looped around her wrist. a silken kiss of a chain, but a chain all the same, once she moves to yank her wrist back, only to find it snaps taut — alina's unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. )

This isn't funny.

( snappish, as she tugs again, mounting anxiety scribbled into the dark lines of her expression — two considering heartbeats away from latching her teeth into it, a feral animal gauging the merits of chewing off a limb to escape a trap, now that it's predicament has started to dawn. this time, the only object she moves is her new spouse's body, digging her elbow into their sternum to prevent the crash-collision of their bodies.

eyes narrowed to accusatory knife-points at her companion, alina shimmies her wrist pointedly, an exhale seething between her teeth.
)

Get it off.


wildcard.
open to any of the above prompts! alina can also be found:
  • engaging in poolside games, will likely splash any debbie downers
  • bobbing for apples in an attempt to win prizes, for either herself or a friendly face
  • getting embarrassingly sloppy drunk after the fireworks at the pool party, disaster hours

    hmu for plotting at [plurk.com profile] nereids! also open to writing custom starters for people.
  • Edited 2024-09-07 22:10 (UTC)
    bloodstone: (pic#17392527)

    daemon targaryen πŸ‰ house of the dragon

    [personal profile] bloodstone 2024-09-07 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    WELCOME TO SALTBURNT.
    [ Daemon is particularly unimpressed at waking up in a new place, especially with his experiences in his most recent choice to sleep away from his marital bed. He's doubly unimpressed at the fact that his sword appears to be missing, and he's on edge as he makes his way out of the bed and begins to venture out into the mansion itself, creeping down the corridors in case a stranger leaps out of nowhere.

    His anger is obvious if he runs into anyone, his expression tight and his hands shifting to grab at a weapon that isn't there. Daemon is still good with his fists, however, so those lift, on the defensive as he glares, eyes narrowing. ]


    What is this place?

    [ Said in a tone that is very, very accustomed to being obeyed. ]
    ITSY BITSY TEENIE WEENIE.
    [ The pool party doesn't interest Daemon all that much, though there is something about the lack of clothing and the general whoring that does capture his attention. While he might have been less than faithful in his previous marriages, there is a little sense of duty when it comes to his wifing of Rhaenyra, so he is quick to make his way through, though his wandering eye can't be ignored. He is, after all, still only a man, and a man accustomed to walking through whore houses and taking what he wishes.

    It's the gardens that capture his attention, one of the staff foisting a purple wristband on him as he settles in the quiet of the evening light. It's pleasant enough, to be able to linger here without the threat of whispers and nightmares to haunt his step, and thus Daemon lets himself settle in a place that might grant him some measure of peace, despite the urge to storm through the mansion and cut his way out. He has yet to see anyone he recognises here, and that grates on him just as much.

    Later, drink in hand, wine colouring his lips, he watches the fireworks with raised brows and something like amusement, turning to the person beside him with a low voice. ]


    A little much for an event of no purpose.

    [ Not that Daemon ususally needs an excuse, but he's been trying to win a war of late, so... ]
    FRUITS OF LABOUR.
    [ The harvest is more Daemon's fare, letting himself fill his plate as he settles at a table, lifting his legs up to cross his feet over it, a glass of wine in his hand despite the early nature of the hour. He seems lax, at peace, completely comfortable with his own lack of manners and the way his eyes gaze around the room, as if memorising all the people he sees.

    He does not venture into the maze. He's content to drink, and watch, and gaze at people over the rim of his glass, as if it's all beneath him - and, truthfully, he would rather be elsewhere, doing something else, but it seems as if choice is lacking in this place. ]
    WILDCARD.
    ( Feel free to find Daemon elsewhere or hit me up for something and we can make it work! )
    multiverse: (pic#16999368)

    pool party 2

    [personal profile] multiverse 2024-09-07 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
    ( carmy is always a happy surprise β€” of course, surprise is a little bit of a stretch, because his mind is louder than most of anyone else, but she still offers him a pleasantly excited smile, brows lifting to take his drink. )

    Hey. Sure.

    ( she doesn't taste it.Β she tosses it back, the whole thing in one martini shaped shot, swallowed to spilling down the corners of her mouth. she's more of a red wine girl herself, so as far as she's concerned it is pretty bad. however, alcoholic beggars cannot be alcoholic choosers, and she offers him a smile, before bending it to wipe her mouth on the lapel of his open shirt. )

    Yeah. Pretty bad. Want a lesson?

    ( is parisa exceptionally good at shaking martinis? no. but she is pretty, which is usually enough to convince whoever she's serving that it's good. the one thing most drink recipes don't add into the ingredient list: sex factor. )
    cicatricem: (pic#15317499)

    fruits of labor

    [personal profile] cicatricem 2024-09-07 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Sang-Wook looks at Alina like she's got three heads, when the ribbon ends up around their wrist. He didn't ask for this either, and in fact, he's kind of confused at how they were able to get the jump on him so effortlessly in the middle of his smoking break. Looking Alina up and down, the 6'1" man scowls and takes a drag off of his cigarette, trying not to look as mortified as he secretly feels.

    Taking the cigarette from his mouth, he presses the burning end to the ribbon on his own wrist, not too concerned with burning himself.

    ... Any second now.

    ... Any second now.

    ........... The cigarette has only just burned him a little in the process.

    Eying the undamaged tie that binds them skeptically, he looks at Alina.]


    ... Why don't you get it off.
    perfectionner: (pic#16618426)

    maze;

    [personal profile] perfectionner 2024-09-07 10:33 pm (UTC)(link)
    It has been some time since Lestat indulged in a labyrinth like this, his previous experiences reserved for mazes designed more from hedges than this brown, prickly hay that offers no semblance of lushness. That isn't to say that he could become lost β€” far from it, as most of the bales that have been stacked on top of each other aren't quite tall enough to block his view of the other paths, especially if he cranes his neck at the right angle.

    The setting sun earns his notice as closely as anything else does these days β€” he's in the middle of penning a few songs for a potential album, distracted by the bridge he can't quite make up his mind about, and mostly humming to himself until he observes a presence of likeness nearby. Armand, he would know anywhere, looking ahead to where the path forks into two separate directions and the other vampire stands.

    As the sky pinkens above them, Lestat strides closer, likely looking a bit more hale than the last time their paths had crossed, lifting his chin in quiet acknowledgment, as his eyes meet Armand's through the tinted lenses.

    "Are you also here in quiet contemplation?"
    unapparent: (034)

    [personal profile] unapparent 2024-09-07 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
    meeeeee
    sonatinas: (Default)

    [personal profile] sonatinas 2024-09-07 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
    franny pls!
    perfectionner: (pic#16618462)

    festival;

    [personal profile] perfectionner 2024-09-07 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Of course Lestat recognizes Daniel Molloy β€” he'd looked into the man as much as he was able while keeping his presence as unobtrusive as possible. If Louis is as protective as he suspects, then he may very well be warned off in short order, similarly to how Armand had attempted to nudge him away from Louis in the beginning. Whatever detente they've reached now is still tentative, but yet holds β€” for Louis's sake as much as it is for anyone else who happens to be a guest of the Balfours.

    Lestat had been given a flower crown of his own, initially perched atop his head, although he'd lost it somewhere, a single blossom tucked into the front pocket of his shirt. Even without seeing what's interwoven through those silver curls, he would have noticed a difference β€” the same traits that differentiate Armand, and Louis, and Lestat, from the rest of them, even those who claim to be vampires themselves.

    Naturally, his first instinct is to follow Daniel, to see how long it takes for the newly-made vampire to notice. Call it a playful effort to test his senses, rather than a cruel attempt at toying with him. Either way, Lestat will wait until Daniel is alone, and retreated to the shadows, before he makes his presence known. ]


    Congratulations. [ A deep, curious purr β€” Lestat's mostly fascinated by the sight before him, and dying (forgive the pun) to know who had extended the dark gift, but doesn't demand answers yet. Instead, he lets his gaze sweep appraisingly over leather-clad shoulders, sunglasses perched on the bridge of a nose. ]

    Is it everything you hoped it would be?
    missed: (119)

    louis de pointe du lac | interview with the vampire | existing character

    [personal profile] missed 2024-09-07 11:02 pm (UTC)(link)
    itsy bitsy teenie weenie β€” pool
    [ usually louis swims in the lake but today, with all the excitement around the manor, he’s enjoying an afternoon by the pool. it's a welcome change to a party with silly costumes or in the darkness of the club. dressed in short, low rising yellow swim shorts, he turns with one of the tubs of body paint to the person nearest, offering a charming smile. ]

    Can help get your back done up if you need it.

    [ he's wearing a green bracelet given to him when he plucked up a drink to pretend to sip at, long abandoned by one of the lounge chairs. he's feeling energized, optimistic, daniel's successful turning fueling his mood. ]

    Someone said it might glow in the dark later. Wanna test that theory?

    [ if not at the pool, he'll be out in twinkling gardens, enjoying the cool summer air. he's plucked one of the glowing flowers, turning it in his hand and he might offer it to a passerby. ]
    fruits of labour β€” handfasting
    [ funny, how roaming a table and picking at food that tastes like it did when he was a mortal can be distracting enough that he's selected for whatever party trick the balfours have come up with now. he's licking sticky cheese and honey from a finger when he's ushered up, tied off to someone, and left with them. he makes a sound of protest, but the partygoer is long gone and he looks up dumbly at the poor soul tied off to him.

    he gives the knot a tug, but it doesn't budge.

    his belly full of food and wine, he tilts his head. ]


    This place is always up to something - I don't like it. Guess we gotta get creative. Any ideas?
    fruits of labour β€” feast
    cw: blood, blood drinking, vampirism, cannibalism, others noted in subject lines

    [ everything about the dining area smells like blood, like decay, and even as the house staff twist flowers into the natural kink and curl of his hair, teasing it out and wild, he feels on edge. he notes that other attendees aren't crowned or adorned, but thinks nothing of it until he feels the shift on the air. he takes the seat he's guided to, just off to one side of armand who is adorned even more elegantly than anyone else, and only then he realizes.

    the vampires on one side, drowned in flowers. mortals and others opposite. he'd been a fool to miss breakfast, and only with armand's cool resolve bolstering him does he manage to keep a straight, serious face. ]


    a - the dinner | open to vampires
    [ as the offered mortals climb up onto the banquet table and sprawl out across the ornately decorated surfaces, louis squirms in his seat. their hearts pump loudly in his ears, the fruits and foods they offer sumptuous the moment one touches his lips - a honey soaked piece of melon that tastes sharp and rich and sweet. it makes the green of his eyes blow out, makes his own heart beat ratchet high in his chest.

    he turns to someone sitting beside him, leaning into their space and stopping one of the mortal hands, brow creased. the woman pouts, turns prettily on her side so that the fruit perched between the vee of her legs and on her stomach rolls off and she purposefully pricks her finger on one of louis' nails, sprouting blood to pour down her wrist and she shoves it at him. out of habit, he turns his face away. ]


    You can have it. Something's not right here. [ never mind he licks his fingers clean of her blood when he pulls his hand away. ]

    b - the hallucinations | open to all
    [ maybe it's the iron-rich fruit, maybe it's the calm he's lulled into by the presence of other vampires (and his companions' seeming acceptance of the state they're in), but louis finds himself unperturbed by the way the bodies seem to flicker and change for those around them.

    it's easy to dip into the minds of those around them, easy to hear their panic and fears and wants. feel the eyes on them as they revel in the decadence of bodies and food and liquor. but it's the eyes on him in particular that he feels like an itch you can't reach, and whoever it is - stranger or not - they'll hear a hungry, deep voice in their mind: ]


    You gonna stare all night or come say hello?

    [ southern, voice rich of louisiana drawl, louis almost wholly unmasked by the sick freedom of it all. the fear will set in later, but there's safety in numbers, and the flower-crowned circle around him gives him a little more courage than he would normally have. ]

    I ain't gonna bite. Unless you ask.
    wildcard
    open to prose or brackets and happy to match!

    if you're in game and would like a personalized starter, please let me know or feel free to drop a starter in my catch-all. you can find me at [plurk.com profile] cyclical or dm me if you wanna plot something!

    i'm fine with all nsfw content and you can find louis' opt-in and kink list on his journal.

    you might find louis around the manor in other places:

    - the maze! but keep in mind being stuck in there long term might mean he's hungry! if you're interested in some bitey stuff, let me know!
    - scavenger hunt: he'll help you find all the things!
    - the fireworks could inspire some vampire feelings! sit with him under the stars etc.
    - the library, maybe after the party has wound down
    Edited 2024-09-07 23:20 (UTC)
    rationalism: (20)

    handfasting

    [personal profile] rationalism 2024-09-07 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ grace had been leaving. she can deal with most of this insane stuff by passing it off as rich people shit, but the "weddings" were simply too much for her, too close to rich people hunting newlyweds because of a deal with the devil for her to stomach. weirdly enough!

    she was trying to skirt around the edges of the crowd when she felt something loop around her wrist and a yank, and a tug, and a bony elbow right to the chest. she exhales with an oof, yanking her own wrist back. ]


    Oh, real nice, blame the victim.

    [ ignoring the brunette woman, she pries at the ribbon, nails catching at the fabric but not finding purchase. she can't twist her wrist out of it either and so grabs at the first of the servants she can reach: ] If you don't get this off me, I'm going to tell Giles you fuck the statues at night.

    [ they simply laugh gaily at her, chirping some bullshit about how the ribbon will come off when the ribbon comes off. ]

    What the fuck does that mean!
    perfectionner: (pic#16618491)

    pool party;

    [personal profile] perfectionner 2024-09-07 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Lestat typically prefers to inhabit the pool when it's mostly empty β€” or alongside another for intimate company β€” so he's not swimming, at least next to some of the other guests who might be taking advantage of the refreshing, cool water.

    Instead, he lingers around the edge of the pool, wearing a light linen shirt and a matching pair of trousers, his blonde hair air-dried into waves and cropped short and one of the green bracelets around his wrist. To those who have glimpsed him in person, he seems much heartier than his last notable appearance, but for the ones he has only spoken with over their phones, they won't know the difference.

    After spotting one young man reading in a lounge chair, Lestat proceeds to approach, fingers lightly clutching a glass of something secured from one of the designated cabana boys earlier, and then drops into the open chair beside the reader, extending his legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankle. ]


    It must be a good book, if it's holding your interest that strongly.
    Edited 2024-09-07 23:23 (UTC)
    peasant: (alina46146)

    β˜€οΈ CLOSED TO PAUL, cw: references to incest in this thread.

    [personal profile] peasant 2024-09-07 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
    ( it should be easy to lose paul in the neon panoramas of half-naked bodies, each more blinding than the last, if not for one simple fact: she's never needed more than the compass in her gut to find him. her awareness of him is almost as sharp as a trained tracker's, watching him mingle in her periphery like a north star, some functional, trusty waypoint to return to when she finally, inevitably, gets overwhelmed by the constant stimulation of noise and skin contact.

    the party has only gotten louder by the time she trails him out to the gardens, chirping crickets and croaking frogs frightened off by the gunshot of fireworks overhead. she's never seen anything like the fizzling starbursts of color in the sky, raining down in sparks, but it feels equally inevitable that her eyes find him — drinking in the light show through his eyes, pops of sparkling pink and purple glimmers. a prettier sight, somehow, in the blue skies of his eyes.

    shyly, her foot nudges the corner of the bench he's seated on, on childish impulse — a stupid pang of jealousy over competing for his attention with something as petty as pretty colors, now that she has him alone.
    )

    Hi. ( the rocketing sound overhead drowns out most of that breathless greeting. still, alina smiles awkwardly once she has his attention, clutching the spiked can of sugary soda in her hand. the thing they don't tell you about the myth of liquid courage, apparently, is that — well, it just makes your stomach turn bubbly and nauseous, torn between spewing out a confession or the contents of her stomach. she takes another long sip, nudges in beside him on the bench. ) I thought we could talk. About ...

    ( it should be obvious, shouldn't it? faltering, she trails off, licking rum and coke from her lips, cowardly hoping he'll pick up that breadcrumb trail on his own — look at the pink, glowy bracelet around her wrist and know, intuitively. overhead, another firework soars into the sky, as if to helpfully cover up alina's uneasy, struggling pauses. )
    Edited 2024-09-07 23:45 (UTC)
    missed: (257)

    fruits of labor.

    [personal profile] missed 2024-09-07 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ although the night has taken an unexpected turn, here's no denying what he is now to anyone that knows him, and though he knows the dangers, something about it is wildly freeing. between the fruit and foods swollen with what he's sure is blood and a few very willing and kind donations, louis is a little buzzed on blood. unusual for him, but between party wine and the sensation of being dizzyingly overfed, he's loose and relaxed and wholly predatory in a different way than usual. he's everything the wild-eyed, ignorant bigots feared on those new orleans streets.

    he's not sure how he stumbles on daniel, he's tried to give him a little breathing room since hovering at the early hours of his turning, but it's impossible to ignore him and the way he moves and exists in the world now. louis is quiet as he approaches, different from when daniel was mortal and he'd make sound on purpose so as not to startle. this time, he falls right into step, offering out his glass of thick, rich red for a drink. ]


    Find any of those pumpkins yet?
    money: (pic#17338811)

    itsy bitsy teenie weenie

    [personal profile] money 2024-09-07 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
    ( you know β€”

    you know! if nami could muster up the irritation with him, she'd punch him in the arm for getting her hair wet. fortunately for him, he's here as in β€”Β here, after several months of not seeing him here, and very little can irritate nami beyond the frozen shock of water splashed on her face. once he resurfaces, she eyes him, a grinning smile turned to the sly look of a criminal on the loose. reaching, she snags him by the wrist, pulling him upright and into a hug.
    )

    Usopp!

    ( weird, because nami doesn't really hug anyone ever. that's because this is a trap. soon as he relaxes into the hug, nami tightens her hands on his shoulders and forcibly dunks him down into the water, shoving him down and away as she paddles back. )

    You are so annoying.
    theminotaur: (πŸ”ͺ 118)

    maze

    [personal profile] theminotaur 2024-09-07 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ abigail has been trying to get into this maze since day one. she is a midwestern girl, corn mazes are her bread and butter. tim talked her out of it the first time, but the wolfman has been taken care of so there is nothing to stop her now. plus, she knows there is a gold pumpkin in here.

    there has to be.

    instead of finding a pumpkin she narrowly avoids walking directly into koby, jumping out of the way so she doesn't collide with him. ]


    You're supposed to stay to the left in mazes and that doesn't work either.

    [ abigail is not panicking yet. mostly because she is fairly certain that if she screams, louis will find her. and, you know, midwestern girl. you can't panic in a corn maze. ]
    preborns: ([up] because i'm pretty)

    alia atreides | dune | current character

    [personal profile] preborns 2024-09-07 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
    i. itsy bitsy teenie weenie | cw: eye trauma
    [Though Alia definitely prefers her swims in the lake outside, with nothing on at all, all water is sacred and to be cherished, and she can't pass up the opportunity for a cute outfits. Plus she enjoys being waited on, peeking over the tops of her sunglasses to smile sweetly at all the cabana boys, nudging out one pink-painted foot to nudge at their thighs. In fact, she isn't that picky -- if you pass by her, she'll reach out one small hand and catch your arm, tugging gently and smiling with all her teeth.] Bring me another drink. [It's not a request, but there's no lilt of the Voice in her words either -- she's just tipsy enough to assume everyone will obey her just because.

    But then, grinning even wider, impossibly, uncannily:
    ] Bring me another drink and I'll tell you about my rites and visions. [There's an offer nobody can refuse, right?

    Later, when the sky darkens, the fireworks start, and something in Alia goes tense, tight, remembers -- the stone burner, the sky bright with blood, Paul's solemn, serious, loving blue-in-blue eyes seared away, seared blind, the beginning of the end, the first step down a sheer cliff, the descent deadly and unstoppable -- and she backs away, shoulders tense, body rigid, head shaking hard, thinking: blood on the sand, a man staggering away, the tether that held her solid stretching, stretching, snapping.

    Turning, Alia grabs for whoever's closest, uncharacteristically vulnerable, hiding her face against their chest, whole body trembling as the confession spills out:
    ] I failed him, I failed, he loved and loved and the universe punished him for it and I couldn't stop it...


    ii. fruits of labour
    [The pool party truly seems to be the last hurrah of summer, and there's a chill note in the air for the festival, so Alia pulls on something a bit less revealing and sets off to see what trouble she can get into. Games tend not to amuse her -- she prefers more physical matches of strength, rather than chance -- but once it's pointed out that she can win stuffed animal prizes...

    Well, Alia ends up standing, hands on her hips, at the dart-throwing booth, arguing with the vendor, likely due to the fact that the small, plastic bullseye has a very large crysknife sticking out of it's shattered center. Alia scowls, waving a hand towards the knife.
    ] I hit the mark. Isn't that the point of the game? You hit the mark, you win. I win. Give me the plush chicken or I'll stab you. You think that was my only knife?

    [Later, Alia will be distracted enough by the strangely addictive taste of the lush fruits spread along the banquet table that she won't notice that she's been tied to another person. It isn't until she reaches for a handful of deep purple plums and finds someone else being dragged along that she pauses, frowning over at her newly-fastened partner.]

    Hm. Do we need to consummate the marriage before we're untied, I wonder? [She says it lightly, grabbing the plums with her free hand and biting into the rich, purplish-red flesh. Juice drips down her chin, vivid as blood, falling to puddle on her chest.] I can't imagine there isn't a catch like that.


    iii. wildcare
    [permissions here, feel free to ping [plurk.com profile] ceedawkes with any other ideas! open to multiple hits on handfasting and firework confessions, too~
    Edited 2024-09-07 23:33 (UTC)
    perfectionner: (pic#17282934)

    dinner;

    [personal profile] perfectionner 2024-09-07 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Lestat is similarly adorned, though he stands off to the side once their number is seemingly honored at the head of the banquet table, mindful of where he sits in the apparent hierarchy of the so-called ceremony. Whatever this is, Armand has clearly thought to embrace it, and there would have been a time when Lestat himself would have opened his own arms to such debauchery and indulgence. Now, he only feels a swell of uncertainty, even as his gaze sweeps out across the tableau being laid out for them as the bodies splay and coil around one another.

    The humans may not realize the death that cloaks the room, the smell that slowly begins to permeate through the space, but Lestat can β€” and judging by what he can bear witness to from the other vampires, they are the only ones who are not immune from what is really transpiring here.

    He's seated himself near to Louis, on the side opposite from Armand, but rather than hungrily feasting, giving in with ravenous abandon, he studies the display. He knows better, now, than to drink from anyone sight unseen now, pays careful attention to anything that might taste different in the blood, but he'd promised not to let himself go hungry, for Louis' sake as well as his own. ]


    Well, we seem to be the guests of honor.

    [ Lestat isn't as visibly affected by the spill of fresh blood β€” not yet, at least β€” but he does clasp hold of the woman's wrist, tugging to draw her closer into his space. ]

    With all the apparent privileges that includes. [ He closes his lips around that slender digit, sucking it clean of blood before letting it slip free. ]
    missed: (inkonic2 (1))

    savage garden;

    [personal profile] missed 2024-09-07 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
    Were it anyone else at the head of the table, adorned in flowers and leaves and husks, Louis might have already made a scene. The flowers in their hair, the way they're all sat at the table like guests of honor - on display. It doesn't feel like a witch hunt, but he foolishly understands Armand's fears of exposure now that so many eyes are turned on them.

    But he can play the part, ignore the stares, focus instead on his husband and the sweet, rich red that drips between his nimble fingers. Armand makes the command and Louis opens his mouth from muscle memory alone, tipping his head and licking at the juice, from one end of his forearm up to the slender wrist. He sucks Armand's thumb into his mouth on the next pass, humming at the flavor. Sweet and succulent fruit, laced with blood.

    "You're very generous, your Majesty," he hums, licking at the base of his palm next. If this is what the Balfours want, then why shy away from the truth now? Though there's a murmur across Armand's mind: Figure we'll play into it until we can get answers?

    Not that he's going to complain - not when he returns to suck an index finger into his mouth next, reverent and hungry.
    dictator: (pic#17216737)

    [personal profile] dictator 2024-09-07 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
    ( there's a selective bit of melancholy to paul β€” perhaps someone might see him as anti-social, which is fair enough. he doesn't really take part in the festivities, there but not really present, no swimsuit to speak of, no body paint beyond what got stained on his shirt through bumping and brushing against people in the compact mass of bodies. it's not really for him, togetherness. too difficult a thing to learn, unlearn, and learn again β€”Β plus he's not exactly wanting for company. when he separates from the group early in the night, there's really only two people he'd prefer to see in the comparative peace of nearby grounds, on the backdrop of verdant greenery and decorative fairy lights. lucky for him, one of the two does eventually find him, while he's hypnotized by the fireworks, imagining β€”

    fire across sand, destructive colors, the harkonenn fuel burns purple, extra hot, but their bodies go crispy like ours, like mine, my hand in the sand, my hand blacked to ash, the skeleton black of burnt bones on my wrist, my hand, that hand that commands the fremen, the guides this holy war, that

    he perks as alina approaches, coming back to terra firma, eyes sweeping her from her ankles up to her face, smiling softly, a shy shake to his head. some people are just born with an excess amount of beauty, and you're not supposed to kiss them every minute of every day? it seems an overlook, a failure of genetics. if paul wasn't supposed to be distracted, why make alina look like that.
    )

    Hi.

    ( he swivels a leg over the bench, seated in a straddle, reaching forward with ease and snagging her by the outside of her thigh, dragging her in closer. there's no real expression beyond fondness on his face as he lifts up his opposite hand, his own purple bracelet glowing. )

    Us? ( he nods. ) Let's talk, then. You first?
    redhourglass: bangparty (pic#7757268)

    [personal profile] redhourglass 2024-09-07 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    pick me pick me πŸŽ†
    sonatinas: (pic#17281354)

    francesca bridgerton | bridgerton | current character

    [personal profile] sonatinas 2024-09-07 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
    ( itsy bitsy teenie weenie )
    [The pool is something she finds herself drawn to first, mostly because she's already been in one, and it's not too much for her to strip her dress off and end up in her stay and petticoat beneath it. The water is cool as the weather is holding out during the last days of summer, and she is happy to just lounge in the pool with her curls pinned up.

    As the sun starts to set, cooling the air down a little, Frannie gets out to watch the fireworks. She'll be just as content to curl in next to someone, not realizing that she may be confessing something soon enough. The first burst lights up the sky, and she's in awe for a moment, happy to watch it before naturally snuggling in against whoever she's with.]


    It is a rather nice night.

    ( itsy bitsy teenie weenie )
    getting lost
    [Francesca doesn't think about the ramifications of what might happen here if she gets lost. It is just a maze, is it not? Perhaps she should start questioning things more given the things she is starting to experience here, the strangeness and horrors. But fresh off the fun festival filled with warm, comforting food, she doesn't think too much about it.

    Until she's in it for about an hour. It feels like she's just walking in circles now, and every now and then, she hears a strange noise behind her. Is it coming closer? Is she being stalked? Frannie doesn't know, but being alone in this maze while there is something out there already has her blood pumping. So when she turns the corner and nearly bangs into someone, she can't help the shout.]


    Oh. [A hand on her heart as she tries to recover.] I thought you were--

    [She looks behind her, sure that by now something must have caught up.]

    handfasting ceremony
    [Marriage is no new concept to her, already coming fresh from the marriage mart when she arrived here. There she had two prospects, though not sure where she should settle. Being here and now with her hand now attached to another person is certainly new. Her brow is raised, but then perhaps it is good that it was not done in a church.]

    I suppose God would not recognize this. [But then does it really matter in this place? In truth the thought of marriage has been far from her mind as she's been able to explore more of herself, more of what pleasure means. Perhaps it should have been saved, but then she also did not expect this little ceremony. And for something so instilled in her, it's a little hard to not take it seriously, as much as she is sure it must just be some trickery, something that hardly matters.

    But it is also hard for her to not feel something strong about it.]