Damien really hadn’t meant to be late to the whole thing. He actually had every intention of being early but his cat had other plans. He ended up being a little later than he had meant to due to Terror deciding that she had wanted to go with him even though it was definitely not part of the plan. Any plans he had to stop and get something on his way were in the trash now especially since he had to park almost 2 blocks away and walk. He didn’t even think to send a text that he was on his way in his hurry either. If Phineas could see him being late for a set up date, he would probably never let him hear the end of it.
The building was easy enough to find, though. Damien didn’t exactly expect to slip in without an issue but he didn’t exactly expect to see the woman running the small cooking class turn and shoot him a somewhat annoyed look as he slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. “Um...hello,” he flashed her a charming smile before he turned his attention back to the room and quickly made his way over towards his date. “Shit I’m sorry I’m late. I ran into some chaos. Were you waiting long?”
the exact origins of this pagan festival are uncertain, but it was thought that in ancient times LUPERCALIA took place to honor the she-wolf who raised romulus and remus, the founder of rome, and please the roman fertility god LUPERCUS
while traditionally held from february 13th to 15th, it is not to be confused with the later christian tradition celebrating saint valentine — it was not a celebration of pure and courtly love, but instead an intense, sexually-charged, and even perhaps bloody one filled with animal sacrifice and naked ritual
most notable to the festival was the random matchmaking ; during lupercalia, it is said that the men randomly chose a woman’s name from a jar to be coupled with them for the duration of the festival in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 2021.
this would, in all likelihood, not be something in your mind in the modern day. a celebration that died out ages ago, lupercalia hardly finds a place in the memory of any contemporary new yorker.
however — that doesn’t stop a beautifully sealed red envelope from showing up on your doorstep, delicate filigree addressed to you specifically and bearing a striking resemblance to an invite long since pushed into the back of your mind
and you think back to the gala, that hedonistic mischief filled night, and the mysterious benefactors behind it. it was well done, lavish and over the top, and idly you recall being asked if you’d be interested in any future events. it hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time, because it was an exciting evening and what's the harm, who wouldn’t want another night of magic, it wasn’t like you had to foot any bill — so you’d agreed, put down your name without much thought, and moved on with your life. it wasn’t until now, months later, you feel a spark of recognition
the origins of the sender are not any more clear than they were the first time around ; the invite claims you’re paired to go on some sort of quasi-date with another member, claims it’s so everyone who said they were interested in more events can get to know each other in a more intimate setting than the gala, but otherwise is void of much more explanation. a little off-putting maybe, but the reality of it stares up at you from a perfumed piece of parchment — you’ve already been matched. what are you supposed to do now, be the asshole that stands them up ?
OOC.
the event will take place IC at any time between FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH, and SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH — though, your muses will have received the notice in the mail sometime before this, as well as the contact information for their partners
OOC, the event will start on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH. we’ll give you until the following TUESDAY to plot, plan, and start threads with your writing partners, but we’d like for your starters to be posted by then ! feel free to take as long as you need with the actual completion of the threads, though !
we’ve chosen an event of this kind to promote our anti-bubble rping stance. we want to create and uphold an environment where everyone plots with as many people as possible, that’s why we think randomly paired events like this could have a positive influence on the climate we have here
on another note, especially if your character is in a relationship or aromantic / asexual, there is absolutely no obligation to make the thread romantic in nature. although valentine’s day and lupercalia definitely were, we’re not forcing you to have threads that are similar in nature when you’re not comfortable with such things for whatever reason. the pairings and locations are meant to work more as a framework or jumping point — feel free to make it as platonic, or even antagonistic, as you want, have your pair ditch the location they’re at completely midway through, etc. make the thread your own !
finally, please post any event content under #theikosevent002, including showing off any outfits if you so wish, and any event starters under #theikoseventstarter !
PAIRINGS + LOCATIONS.
minni / helena + new york science centre
parker / shepherd + tour at the museum of modern art
miranda / lucie + area 53 laser tag
percy / yujin + chambers pottery
alex / prim + 5 bar karaoke lounge
rosalie / omar + salsa classes at baila society
harley / devon + tour at the red hook winery
henry / amelie + indoor picnic at the botanical gardens
taeil / kenji + central park zoo
ash / jane + fine dining at coeurs affamés
cass / damien + cozymeal cooking classes
phineas / levi + frames bowling lounge
poppy / chris + hayden planetarium
zelda / stella + go karting at naskart
alice / mackenzie + new york aquarium
mingyu / zak + ice skating at rockefeller centre
willow / forest + pier 25 mini golf
hadrian / hana + board games night at winners corner
katherine / hajun + escape the room nyc
hunter / felipe + two-bit’s retro arcade
astar / azim + murder mystery at the metropolitan museum of art
𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏: valentine’s day.
𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆: naskart kart racing.
there were some things stella galatas didn’t do. kiss and tell or blind dates. she wasn’t a fan of not knowing who she was being set up with but her assistant convinced her it would be a great idea for good press. go on a little valentine’s date with a random event goer, post a couple pictures on social media, and the people would eat it up. truthfully stella needed good press lately. her attitude had been sour and people were posting all about it.. especially after the fiasco of her staying the night with a past contestant of the bachelor.. yikes. so standing up her blind date would just make that worse.
she sighed, getting out the car only to be greeted by the entrance to naskart. looking back at her driver she knew she was in for it only to be waved at as if to say ‘thats what you get’. she hadn’t even seen who she was looking for. hoping they were at least cute. she entered and made her way to the front desk, cutting the line because why the hell not. “uh, hi i’m just looking for someone named zelda. i’ll get in line but i just wanted to make sure she hadn’t already checked in.”
Levi was almost going to be that asshole who stood up his “date”. Almost. When the strange letter arrived at his apartment, he was going to pretend he never opened it. Until he brought up it up at his last therapy session. His therapist told him it was a good idea for him to get out. Meet people outside of work. Broaden the horizon of his usual company at the bar. It took a good half a day for Levi to agree to go. But he wasn’t going to be thrilled out it. Or be sober.
Levi arrived at the popular bowling alley, and he was already dreading this. Bowling wasn’t much of his thing. He had done it as a child once or twice but it was never something he deemed fun. He went up to the front desk, giving them his name. He was the first of the two to arrive, and they led Levi back to the VIP Lanes that were set up for them. Levi made himself comfortable on the sofas in the room. He was given instructions on how to use the projectors and operate the sound system. He didn’t give much attention knowing he was going to use them tonight. The only thing he cared to know was how to order drinks. While he waited, Levi ordered some drinks. He knew nothing of this Phineas that was supposed to meet him but he hoped he at least like to drink.
Levi slouched back into the sofa, listening to the other people just outside the room when he turned his head at the sound of the door opening. He thought it might be the employee back with his drinks at first. “That was faster than I thought-” Levi straightened up in his seat, cutting himself off. He paused when he saw the older man instead of the young employee. “Are you Phineas? Because otherwise you have the wrong room.”
Chris had never really been big on Valentines Day. Sure, he’d handed out cards and little candies when he was a kid, and he’d totally given a rose to a girl in junior year but mostly he just–– didn’t care about it. But when a mysterious little invite shows up at your door setting you up with someone, it would be pretty rude to ignore it. He was just glad this time it wasn’t some fancy black tie event, he had no idea where he’d chucked his tie after the last event and at least at the planetarium he could wear jeans. Absentmindedly tapping his foot on the pavement Chris gazes up a the building and the giant ball he can see through all the windows. Is it meant to be the moon? He tilts his head a little to the side, the stolen bunch of flowers in his hand crinkling in their paper wrapping as he tries to bring his hand up to rest under his chin in thought. Frowning a little at the flowers, having forgotten he was holding them, Chris is halfway to lowering his arm when someone says his name and he turns around too quickly, a few petals fluttering to the ground. “Fuck,” he mutters, glancing up sheepishly at the blonde.
