lucetilogs | and the bass keeps runnin runnin

Entry tags:

and the bass keeps runnin runnin

Who: Anyone who heard the announcement, caught a flier in the plaza, of heard by word of mouth. Everyone's welcome!
What: A rave! Well, "rave." Luceti makes everything a little different.
When: June 21st, nightfall to early morning
Where: the beach near Adele's house
Summary: It's the first day of summer! This calls for bonfires, naturally, but why not spice it up with loud music, flashing lights, drinks, dancing, and a conspicuous lack of curfew?
Rating: PG to PG-13, please move anything steamier to appointments ~~or Adele will take the hose to you~~

Getting all the firewood, food, and drink out to the beach had been, honestly, the hardest part of preparation. Whatever else one might say about running things on magic, it certainly did cut down on the trouble of constructing edifices and machines to run the entertainment side of a party. As it stands, the setup is labour-intensive but otherwise minimal, and there's not much to do by sunset. Escape the house before Max and Zevran, the culture-displaced madmen, can put any more eyeliner on him. Arrive at the beach. Light the bonfires. Make sure the bonfire-cooking-compliant food is set out. Put up a table loaded with bottles, cups, ice, and permanent markers. Thank the resident doctor and quartermaster once more. Plug in the stereo system.

The speakers and light show have been with him since he left his house, in the form of the resident god of mischief, and they confer over sheets of paper with track names and times written on them for a little while just before the start. That's the last of it, and by the time the sky above the mountains is beginning to darken into twilight, the first thumping, trilling strains of dance music begin to echo out across the sand.

It's the shortest night of the year. Best make every second last.

[OOC: Feel free to post your character for mingling, since this entire event is very free-form anyway. For everyone's enjoyment there is a drinks table, food, several bonfires, the ocean (lifeguards not on duty, splash drunkenly at your own risk), and of course a dancing area with lights and music. Music will probably be primarily EDM with a heavy bass line, but occasionally wander into the territories of electro-swing and the like to give even less modern partygoers a chance to show off. The light show as well will stray out of the typical at times, with the expected abstract wheeling and flashing lights giving way to more complicated illusions. Don't be surprised to find yourself and your fellows occasionally dancing in a forest glen or a Rivendell look-alike for a few minutes at a time. Loki is working the tech booth, after all.

The party will go as long as people stay and are enjoying themselves, so have fun and tag around!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well... okay, if Gai already has a doctor, Elizabeth won't offer. But she's a damn good doctor--she's kept Booker from dying of some of the worst gunshot wounds.]

And my own abilities are unreliable here. [She folds her arms and looks back towards the bonfire. How had this evening become so serious? The same way all of her conversations turned so serious, of course--she talked about herself.]

Sometimes I'm glad to be away from where I started. Other times I remember that people were actually afraid of me there, and for a good reason. I could do something to change my life's direction.

[Alas, the sort of doctoring Gai needs would be far out of Elizabeth's range of skills. Transfusions and antivirals and whatnot are complicated enough for Law, and he's a surgeon. Not that Gai blames him, really; the Apocalypse Virus is sort of in a class of its own.]

There's nothing stopping you from doing that here either. You have the ability to make your life here whatever you want it to be-- don't let yourself be bound by "mights" or "should haves." The only one holding you back from changing your life's direction here is yourself.

Gai, I'm not sure you've noticed, but we're in a gigantic bubble. [Elizabeth raises an eyebrow.]

I don't want to be here anymore, I want to see what's outside my tower. This may be outside of it, but I wanted to travel, I wanted to see Paris. No amount of changing myself is going to get me that.

I've spent years reading books, painting, singing to myself--in the same six rooms for almost as long as I can remember. The fact that this place is bigger and has more scenery doesn't change everything.

[Oh Elizabeth, now he just likes you even more. That speech would've worked on most girls he's met, which was why he used it in the first place; the fact that it didn't makes her that much more interesting to him.

And he's pretty sure he likes it.]

You really are an unusual girl.

[Well, that's a little off-topic but...]

...Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[Frankly, she thinks it's an obvious thing. She just materialized a wrench, for God's sake.]

I think the answer to that should be obvious.

[And, although he knows he's most likely pushing his luck here, he lifts one hand just enough to cup her cheek gently with fingers calloused from years of wielding firearms.]

[Oh.]

[Oh...]

[Oh God.]

Wait-- [Elizabeth grabs Gai's hand and holds in there. She doesn't want to push it away, but this is unknown territory for her. She's only read about moments like this and has no idea what to do or if it's even safe.] --I might open up another tear, I've never... [She smiles wryly.] Well I guess that's obvious.

[Gai can't help but smile at her reaction. It's better than he was expecting, at least, considering he'd been half-expecting her to jerk away or yell at him or even worse. He can roll with this.]

I'm willing to take my chances with that if you are.

[It's all up to her. The last thing he wants is to push her into something she doesn't really want to do. This is her choice, and he'll go with whatever she decides.]

[Perhaps if Elizabeth had felt like Gai was playing with her, she would have told him to go take a walk off the edge of Luceti. If she'd felt like he was trying to take advantage of her, there would have been more than just words.]

[Booker would have said this man had a death-wish. Tears were nasty things that more or less always spelled trouble. They were unpredictable and sometimes hesitant to close even at Elizabeth's say-so. Elizabeth... she can't say she thinks Gai's choice is smart, but she thinks it's daring. And different.]

You really aren't afraid of me, are you? [She lets go of Gai's hand, mentally bracing herself. She read about this, even dreamed about it sometimes. She isn't afraid, but she is nervous. And excited. Every part of her feels awake and tuned to the moment. She wants to remember every part of this.]

[Indeed, that's what makes this entire situation so odd: normally Gai WOULD just be playing with her, the same way he does with every other woman he's ever been in this position with. In his eyes, sex is something you either do for fun or as a means of obtaining something you want. That's all it's ever been for him. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Emotions have never factored into it for him before.

It's strange, and confusing, and he's not quite sure what to make of it all. What he is sure of is that thinking too much about it will ruin the moment... so he won't. Elizabeth is unlike any other girl he's ever met before; he finds her fascinating for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the fact that she understands things that no one else has been able to, not even Law.

All he knows is that he doesn't want to let that get away.]

I've never been the sort of person to scare easily.

You don't seem to be. But I've scared a lot of people over the years. You never know. [She smiles softly, her face turning slightly pink as she stands there with Gai's hand on her cheek.]

Alright-- just one, and we'll both see what happens, I guess.

And if something does happen, just blame it all on me. No one is going to question that explanation.

[He's well aware of his own reputation around these parts.]

Just one it is.

[And he leans in to close the distance between them until his lips brush against hers. It's a gentle, chaste kiss, because he knows it's her first (and he can't deny that he feels somewhat pleased with himself for that fact; he is an 18-year-old young man and he does have a bit of an ego as far as things like that are concerned) and he knows that trying to push things any further than this WOULD result in upset on one or both sides and possibly a knee to certain delicate areas or worse. But he's not one to do things by halves, either, so this is no shy, virginal peck. It's a firm kiss from someone who knows what they're doing in this department, though how long it lasts is again up to her to decide.]

Well that's comforting. [Elizabeth laughs, rolling her eyes slightly. Apparently she's somehow fallen in with a man with a reputation.]

[As Gai leans in, Elizabeth at least knows enough to close her eyes and just let him figure out where to land. Though when he does, Elizabeth is seized by a wave that runs from her shoulders and up her neck, and she grabs Gai's shoulder and pushes into his lips. She likes it, she loves it. It's almost like being hugged, but it feels like she's entrusting him with more than just a friendly squeeze. This is warm and passionate and so close. Closer than anyone has been to her. It crosses her mind that she probably hadn't shown someone this much trust since she put Booker's hand around her own neck.]

[Eventually she realizes that Gai isn't going to pull away, that he's letting her decide when that should be. It ends up being when Elizabeth has to breathe through her mouth, and she pulls back a good six or eight inches. Her eyes are wide and she's breathing deeply.]

That... was nothing like what I read about.

[She looks over her shoulder and smiles apologetically. There's a flickering, grainy blue image that's surrounding them, placing them squarely on a balcony overlooking what appears to be dusk. It could have been a poorly created illusion, like the sort that are appearing on the dance floor, but it's color and style is somewhat indicative of its origin.]

[... oh. Hello there. Elizabeth manages to surprise him yet again by pulling him closer when he'd been expecting her to do the opposite and pull away... although by this point he's starting to realize that she's rather predictable in the sense that she has a tendency to do the exact opposite of what he's expecting from her.

Not that he minds. Oh no, he doesn't mind this one bit. Kissing a dead fish is no fun, and while it might not be a kiss-kiss, it's more than good enough for him. Even more so because he feels something strange from it, a sort of warmth he's never felt before even from his most passionate kisses.

That part... well, he's not quite sure how to feel about that just yet.

When she pulls away, he opens his own eyes to look at her, just observing quietly. That is definitely not a look of disappointment on her face, he's sure of that much.]

I'd be worried if it had been. Romance novels are terrible examples for just about anything, kissing included.

[And then he spots the tear around them and just... smiles. Bring it on, weird reality-altering power. Gai isn't scared of you.]

[Elizabeth hides the tear again, quickly, hoping no one else caught on to the fact that it wasn't part of the 'decor' so to speak. But it could have been worse, it could have been a turret. Though perhaps, because she'd always dreamed of meeting someone in Paris, something was responding to her wish instead of trying to work against it.]

Romance novels? There are entire novels about romance and nothing else? [Something she'll have to check out, perhaps...] I'm talking about Romeo and Juliet, Idylls of the King, the poetry of Elizabeth and Robert Browning. 'Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine; In one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine?'

Things where the physical side of a relationship is sometimes only implied... I would read, but I could only imagine.

[And suddenly, Gai realizes what a horrible thing he's just done. He'd assumed she'd been referring to romance novels because (to his knowledge) most teenage girls read those awful things, or if not romance novels then they watched romantic dramas or movies or... oh god what has he done.

He also knows that most romance novels are full of sex. Very explicit, if purple prose-y, sex. He's not sure he wants to be responsible for introducing her to that; one bit of corruption is enough for the day.]

Yeah; the library should have a decent selection of them from various worlds. As far as I know, they're popular just about everywhere. But they tend to do a lot more than just imply the physical side of things.

[What has he done indeed.]

Ohh, I see. [Elizabeth grins up at Gai--she doesn't see what he's getting at at all.]

I don't know, I may be becoming wilder than I usually am. I kissed a man I only just met. I think I can handle a few passages about kissing. Who knows, I could improve after I've read up on it.

[Hint hint, Gai.]

[Gai can't deny that he would like that. He would like that a great deal, in fact. There's just one little problem, and that is that the books detail a lot more than just kissing, and he's not sure he wants her coming to him asking to practice THAT. It would still feel like taking advantage of her.

But he's also getting the sense that he isn't going to be able to stop her, either.]

In that case, don't say I didn't warn you. I think you'll find they're very different from what you're used to reading-- they aren't known for their literary value.

[Nope. Nothing stops Elizabeth once she has an idea in her head. Even if Gai's warning her against it.]

Come on, Gai. Do I really look so boring? You think I'd never read anything just for fun?

[... Elizabeth do you even know how sex works or is this going to be a horrible crash course in the birds and the bees? Because he does not want to be responsible for that, thank you very much.]

No, I think you read a lot of things just for fun if you can quote poetry and plays at me. Romance novels, on the other hand... I wouldn't go around quoting those to people. At least not outside of the bedroom.

[~~SHE DOES, SHE'S READ A BOOK BEFORE.~~]

[Elizabeth blushes and looks a little affronted. ...but intrigued.]

I don't intend to quote anything to anyone inside of my bedroom. No one goes inside of my bedroom but me.

[And for the moment, she's fine with that.]

Good. Don't be in any hurry to change that.

[Sure, sex is fun, but it also makes things more complicated unless you're just in it for one-night-stands, and sometimes even then too.]

I'm not exactly on a track to change that. [She smiles ruefully, then looks awkwardly off to the side.] I couldn't do... that, I wouldn't know what I was doing.

And I'd probably make a terrible mother. [Given the role-models she's seen? Awful.]

[There's a part of Gai that wants to remark on how he could certainly teach her about THAT. Yet he also knows that doing so would no doubt ruin all of this, so he wisely chooses to silence that part for the time being.]

One step at a time. Enjoy your own life before you even think about creating a new one. You'll have plenty of time for that in the future if that's what you want.

I don't know what I want. [Elizabeth gives Gai a sort of helpless, funny smile.]

[Then she gets an idea.] I want you to walk home with me, though. If you wanted to. [Walking by herself sounded lonely now, and it wouldn't be walking with Gai.]

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