ARRIVAL LOG 010

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Evening of October 21 and 22
WHAT: The tenth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion, loss of autonomy, sexual themes and alcohol usage. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #010

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs.

You realize there are others next to you. All of you in white scrubs, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth, restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, the movement of streets passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

The vehicle stops. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle, and false, colored light, illuminating the streets in the distance will first alert your senses of being somewhere else, combined with air that's only cooled with the setting of the sun. The nurse moves to stand at the back, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. He doesn't climb out after you, moving to sit as the last passenger is unloaded.

The guards keep their heads down. Their actions are quick, firm, but not entirely unkind. Once all the passengers are out, they drop some masks on the ground in a tan-colored tote bag. "Pick a mask," they bark, and then turn to climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. The engine powers up again, and then the bus is gone.

You're left alone in an alley, with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here.

Around the corner of the alley, there is the sound of various different carnival rides and men yelling for someone to step right up and try their luck on the various assortment of games that are available. Off in the distance, there's a large, hulking structure – perfectly vertical in nature, and people on it twist upward and then come slamming down mere moments later. It seems that you've just arrived as a part of some festivity, though it's probably hard to tell if you're an attraction or a coincidence of this all.

Either way – time to pick a mask. They're nothing special: they go over the head, but no one was ordered to put one on. They show various monsters – generic and otherwise – and it looks like they were purchased in bulk.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request.

> 10 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: OPENING CEREMONY

The message from El comes the same as usual: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

Here we go again. You know the drill by now. Our new batch has been thrown into the middle of a Halloween party. They should have masks on which doesn't make them much easier to find, but I trust you guys can figure this out. You know the signs to look for by now. So… Happy Halloween. 🎃

Having ten actual days dedicated to Halloween may seem like a bit much, but New Amsterdam takes the festivities seriously. Thanks to being a melting pot of two millenia's worth of cultures, they try to touch on every aspect of it. The launch party is a two-day event set in the cultural district. Thanks to the lack of ground traffic, the city easily rolls in what acts as a mini-carnival. The ground throughout the carnival is lit with candle-filled pumpkins, providing a warmth of inviting light as the nights grow cooler. While the carnival shuts down during the working day, it opens again in the evening, allowing working parents to bring their children before the hours come to a close. During this time, children run around with their friends in costumes to ask for candy or food from nearby businesses or carnival booths. Sometimes these children have to perform a task before they get what they've asked for – either through playing a game or answering a trivia question – but they're never turned away empty handed.

The first two days are largely billed as a time for people to come together and have a good time, but Halloween is also known for offering opportunities to local artists to get their work recognized. Whether digital or otherwise, artists are asked to commit to a theme and produce art on the first day of the event that's viewed throughout the next nine days. Part of the tradition is the crunch of trying to produce a work of art with limited notice and time. If they aren't done before the first two days are over, they won't be able to get free advertisement for their work. When the event is over, all of the art will go up for auction, and the artists will receive 75% of whatever is offered for their work. This year's theme is "Remembrance and Renewal" – and most themes from past years are just as open for interpretation.

As it gets deeper into the evening and children have returned home, the festivities turn toward being more adult. While barred from selling alcohol until 9 PM, the various carnival booths change their tune after that point, offering a wide array of alcohol – including their own takes on moonshine. The first night even features a competition over who's brought the best, and everyone's invited to try a sample and put in a vote – for free. A rather savvy individual would likely be able to find themselves well in their cups just off of these samples, as the moonshine contest is the way for the adults to get a treat of their own. For these evening festivities, everyone is allowed to wear a more risque costume, and sex workers come over from the neighboring Red Light District in order to advertise some of their more unique services for the evenings ahead. Every brothel will have a unique theme of its own to mark how special the event is, and their services will match.

Otherwise, the first two days of Halloween are known for allowing kids to have fun and for adults to be anonymous for a little while. Anyone who holds down a day job will still be expected to turn into work, but there's a tacit understanding that most people will be under the weather during this time.

◉ The carnival will have a wide array of rides that are set up rather quickly. There's a ferris wheel with seats that will rotate around a large machine like an atom, but with many different "branches" to allow a great deal of people to go on at once. Everyone gets on at the same time, and the seats "float." Each person can pay for how long their ride is in increments, and extend that time if they so choose. For the after dark people, there is a definite badge of honor in having a good time in a ferris wheel without getting caught with your pants down. Other rides include the Wicked Force – which rapidly takes people up 500 ft into the air and then drops them – as well as carousels that allow someone to customize their mount for an additional amount of money. Want a lewd mount? That's fine … after the kids have gone home to play, and some people like to show off whatever they thought up on Cooltalk.

◉ As always, there are a large number of food options available thanks to the local food trucks coming out to sell their food. Taco trucks are the most popular around this time, and that's most of what will be offered. Many trucks will have some homemade candy that they offer for free with each meal – with the option to get more.

◉ Throughout the city, there will be controlled bonfire pits that are lit every night at 8 PM, though they won't be present in the less cared for parts of New Amsterdam. Ahead of the event starting, there will be a website to let people know where these pits are going up so they can set up meeting places with their friends – or even reserve a pit for a private group. Reservations around the more popular areas cost more than ones that are nearing the "disreputable" sections – though "disreputable" is shorthand for rundown buildings in need of repair more than any crime.

◉ There are, of course, costume contests! While many local bars – dive and otherwise – will have smaller affairs, there is a large contest held on these first two nights. Because of the wide array of people and costumes available, someone has to enter their costume according to a certain theme. Some of the themes are: vampires, ghosts, zombies, pop culture (animation), pop culture (action movies), pop culture (celebrities), political figures, historical figures – and more! In the five days that follow, people will be able to go online and vote for their favorite costume. Whoever accumulates the most votes gets a meal of their choice at a number of participating restaurants – HAPPYHAPPYJOYJOY, SOL, Monde Pizza, Sweetwaffel and more – as well as 200 credits added to their funds.

◉ There will be dealers around the carnival trying to get someone to buy something to "heighten" their experience. While the "monster drug" is out in the city, it won't be available here. Halloween is thought of as a neutral ground for the city, and even the gangs recognize that. Most drugs will be hallucinatory in nature, providing effects similar to shrooms. Of course, any drugs are still illegal, and people will want to be careful not to get caught – or buy from the wrong person.

◉ Anyone who chooses to take part in the more illicit and sexual activities will be advised to go home to finish out their nights. Being handsy is fine, but getting caught on the ferris wheel? Well, the goal is to not get caught. Public acts are still illegal, though most people just spend a night in jail thinking about what they did. It's treated as more embarrassing than anything, but sometimes people let things get away from them. Many of the brothels will offer rooms to couples for the evening, complete with toys and supplies to practice safe sex. Even if they aren't spending their night with a sex worker, the themed goods are still there to enjoy.

> 10 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: THE NEXT EIGHT DAYS

After the rowdier events pass, Halloween splits into two main categories: corporate popups and remembrance. Halloween parties continue to be thrown at restaurants and bars, allowing people to enjoy a more low key version of what was previously available. Many of the bars have karaoke contests and themed parties, and many retail stores maintain a Halloween section until November first. If anyone's been invited to a party last minute – or they need a series of costumes to be extra about the whole occasion – they can hit these stores when needed.

◉ Pulsar's hover car-focused subsidiary, Bakker, advertises their 2512 line of cars by having hover hay rides around the city. Their trucks can hold up to six. Anyone hoping to go on a hover truck hay ride around the city to take in the sights and bonfires in the evening can call one on New Amsterdam's special Halloween app! These rides don't only show the city: they give a glimpse at the large amount of forestation just over the wall, allowing people to see that the Earth is gradually improving.

◉ There are, of course, haunted houses set up around the city! Haunted houses come in two varieties: virtual reality and 4D. Vyonation's gaming subsidiary, Vizija, sets up the virtual reality popups around the city. Due to the high tech nature of these setups, people do have to be on site to enjoy them. They interface with someone's neural implant, and depending on the experience, they can involve puzzles, escape rooms, murder mysteries, or even dissection tables. The 4D houses are the result of a joint partnership between Poe and Polarized – which are subsidiaries of Giles Bell and Pulsar, respectively.

4D haunted houses involve a great deal of props, realistic sights and smells, as well as the potential for certain drugs that can help provide a certain physical or emotional response. Whereas Vizija's simulation comes with the reassurance that nothing is real, Poe and Polarized team up to scare someone – and try to ensure it's as real as possible. Nothing offered at either is illegal, including the drug – though people with a history of heart issues won't be allowed to use the drug at all.

These experiences are made unique for everyone going in: people are allowed to opt out of anything that might make them uncomfortable, or even add in something along the way. If someone is feeling too much anxiety thanks to the drugs, they'll find a counter-drug added to their system to negate the artificial effects rather quickly.

◉ Remember that art contest? Anyone who finished a work will find their art somewhere in the city – and that includes anyone among the Displaced. If anyone is looking for artwork that's similar to what's been featured on the shrines, there will be a few, only they will seem more inviting. Whereas they celebrated people before, they now involve hands outstretched, welcoming someone down a blue-lit path. The same imagery – triangles and overlapping circles – will still be present, especially on the hands as tattoos.

◉ Five days before the 31st, there is a tradition of everyone donating a knife from their house to make it so that "spirits" can return safely. While no one in New Amsterdam genuinely believes that they might be visited by a spirit, the odd occasions around the city recently have lent some credence to this superstition. There will be knife disposal boxes all around the city – and anyone who doesn't give up a knife, butter or otherwise, will be seen as a bit of a spoilsport.

◉ On October 29th, there will be a procession from one end of the city to the other that starts just as the sun goes down and finishes when everyone has reached the other side. As you might imagine, this is a very, very long walk, and many people slip in and out according to what they can individually manage. People walk with candles along the way, and there will be booths selling new or replacement candles for a low price. Since the procession goes along the path of a lot of bonfires, it won't ever be difficult to get them lit. The purpose of this? Everyone uniting in remembrance: of a world that's healing, to celebrate the lives lost to usher in a peaceful era, to thank everyone on the colonies for offering a humanity a new home, and any personal losses that people might have faced. Even though there are still billions of people alive, there is the sense that everyone knows that they remain on Earth on borrowed time.

◉ For the last two days, people light candles and put them in their windows, and they also leave food outside of their windows and in the front of their apartments so that "spirits" can return safely. There's an implicit understanding that most of this food will be taken by people who aren't doing as well, and much of it is nonperishable. Anyone who's down on their luck will see candles in the window and will know that they will likely find food there. Many people stock up for this occasion so that they can replace any food. Unsurprisingly, most high-end apartments with well-off people don't honor this tradition, but people in mid-to-low end apartments will almost always have something to spare in the spirit of charity.

> SAFEHOUSE

Access to the safehouse is a hatch hidden behind stacks of empty storage shelves in the back of an abandoned supermarket in an outer district of the city. The immediate area is similarly abandoned, empty stores, flanked by several blocks of dive bars and clubs which cater to more niche tastes. A place where people can come and go unseen, or, if seen, not spoken of. A dark haired woman called Gaby is ready to greet the new arrivals and get them settled in, brusque and no-nonsense – she'll be open for in depth questions later, but will advise everyone to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information.

◉ The safe house is a large open space, filled with rows of basic cots set up to sleep a large amount of people. Basic, but outfitted with everything necessary for daily life. A few doors lead to back rooms for storage, medical care and a large communal bathroom, and past the long rows of cots there is a communal kitchen, fully stocked, and an eating area. Privacy is at a minimum.

◉ New characters will be asked to pick their beds, and provided with a change of (second-hand, mismatched and somewhat threadbare) clothes and basic toiletries.

◉ Any belongings from previous safehouse occupants have been packed up – and that includes any current Displaced who just got back from a trip. If someone left something out while they were in New Tokyo, Gaby will tell them where these objects can be found. For her part, she's just trying to get everything set up for the upcoming move.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El.

◉ Once everyone that El spotted has arrived back, they'll be informed that the safehouse will be a temporary location. By the end of the month, everyone will be moving to a new location about fifteen blocks away.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the safehouse before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival in the safehouse, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until OCTOBER 25 (MAY 19). These 4 days are for them to adjust, learn about the world they've arrived in from their fellows, and for El to speak with them and work on setting up their IDs.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until OCTOBER 25 (MAY 19). At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

If you have an artist character, please feel free to comment below under our QUESTIONS header to submit a description for a work of art! As long as they submitted something, you can feel free to assume they made some credits off of the whole experience!

Since there is a part of this log that involves explicit sexual activity, please remember content warnings. If your character engages in a sexual act, slap a warning on that! None of the drugs available at the event will involve aphrodisiacs or anything that will remove consent. Some of the brothels may involve play with that, but everyone entering those arrangements would need to consent from the start. We're well aware of the sensitive nature of having a Red Light District-adjacent event while characters are under the influence of compulsory drugs, so no characters will be forced or asked into any acts against their will. There will be no exceptions to this. In addition, any newcomers won't be able to skip off into a brothel because they're new, won't be able to confirm their ages, and they won't have any other identifying information. Otherwise, please be respectful and check everyone's permissions.

As a blanket reminder, all arrival logs are designed as mingle logs for the entire game.

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our May calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

As a reminder, AC for new characters accepted in May will be 10 comments across 2-4 threads, while current characters will need to provide the full AC of 20 comments across 2-4 threads. AC will be posted on June 1 at 12 AM UTC and close on June 8 at 12 AM UTC. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list.

> NAVIGATION

Comments

[gasping]

No, [ gasped out almost immediately, breathless and eager, ] Don't be.

[ there's only the slightest of pauses as her gaze steadies more clearly on his own, as her mouth curves up into a smile that's practically decadent and giddy all at once. ]

I liked it.

[ and that's all she says before she dives back in, tongue dragging clean over his bottom lip as if mopping up the mirror image of his bite. her own blood mingles between them, and caroline groans into the kiss; behind closed eyes, darkness seeps into her sclera, and hunger begins to bleed into the bond.

she wants to bite him, but she wants to kiss him more. she has to focus, which in turn means she has to kiss him harder, clutch that much more greedily, tug him in until there's no air left between them. ]

[heliophilous]

[ the heat between them had already been intense but it seems to rocket up after that bite in ways he hadn't expected. her blood speckles and smears against his lips and he tastes sweetness and cooper commingling with her own unique tastes.

she moans and he swallows it, feeling the lines of her body plaster against his own. he just wishes there were more space in this stupid cart. he wishes that the ferris wheel would keep still for a little longer.

he wishes for a lot right now.

his hands clutch tightly at her back, fingers digging into the fabric and the skin underneath it, a firm, rough touch since he recalls how she'd reacted to her wrists getting squeezed a bit earlier. he thinks about biting again but doesn't want to overuse that and doesn't want to make her lip sore either since he's bitten her once already

maybe somewhere else. maybe in a moment. if he doesn't lose his mind before he can pull his lips away from hers and figure out where he could put his mouth to get the best reaction from her. ]

v belated cw for sexual content my apologies

[gasping]

[ she wants — she wants so much, a frenzy of imagery in her head as her body twists, the fabric of her dress rucking up in the friction; the bar of the ferris wheel holds her back, and caroline wriggles against it, first softly and then a sharper shove with her knee. hard enough that the bar creaks from the impact and then shoves backwards — the ferris wheel doesn't jerk to a stop, but the movement of the metal does give her a little more freedom to press forward, to pull herself over that much closer.

the temptation is there, suddenly, to climb into his lap, but she doesn't. not yet. maybe if he pulls her in, she will. for now, she's all too happy to focus her attentions on encouraging sounds, on taking in the scent of him, the way he tastes in contrasts to her own blood in her mouth.

she wants to know what his tastes like. needs to know. it only gets harder to resist. ]

[heliophilous]

[ dimly, he can hear the crunch and bend of metal but when the cart doesn't plummet to the earth and he doesn't hear anyone shouting about needing to get off, he decides that it's not important. he doesn't have to look.

and he doesn't want to look when she's suddenly even closer to him. the hands he has splayed on her back try and pull her even closer because he won't be able to forgive himself if he didn't take this one time chance.

because it won't happen again. he's convinced of that.

he tugs her closer and he licks at her lips, playing like he might bite her again but he doesn't. not this time. he dives back in for yet another kiss, lips kiss swollen and fast on their way to being bruised if they kept this way.

he doesn't care. nothing matter right now except this (and maybe the ferris wheel catching on fire but this is still better).

his hands wander a bit, unable to stay still. he scrapes his fingernails against the bare edges of her thighs and drags them up one of her arms before curving against the edge of her neck lightly and ending up cradling her face like he'd done when he'd started kissing her. ]

[gasping]

[ he pulls her in, and caroline's gone; she climbs into his lap without missing a beat, knees bracketing either side of his thighs, the fabric of her dress shifting up to her hips by the movement alone.

somewhere, in the back of her mind, she's aware of the strap of her dress falling over one shoulder, the cool air against her upper thighs a contrast to the searing heat of his skin underneath her; some part of her can feel the rush of blood to her head, the low roar of hunger that twists and pulls at her. it's all drowned out, though, by the desire that spills through the bond, the reckless abandon of one time chances and seized opportunity.

it's hard to focus on anything when his hands are cupping her face and his mouth is hard against her own. so she stops trying to focus, and just gives in completely, her hands fisting into the fabric of his shirt for a moment before finding purchase around the back of his neck, fingertips threading into the short crop there, clinging to him as he touches her. ]

[heliophilous]

[ this is a really, really bad place to be doing this. it's a thought that pings around his head for a few brief seconds, trying to get him to do something like stop her or stop himself or suggest going elsewhere.

marcos doesn't do any of that, though. she settles on his lap (oh god) and he reaches down to curve his hands around her hips, tugging her closer, tighter against him, tight enough to feel just about anything that's going on because they've already set fire to any boundaries, might as well salt them while at it.

his lungs scream for a breath so he pulls away from her mouth, gasps sharply and then drags his mouth down the front of her throat and to her shoulder where that strap's fallen down and given him such nice access to the skin there. ]

[gasping]

[ she hasn't thought this through. she hasn't done much thinking at all, really, beyond fractured snippets of desire and wanting and giddy, reckless enthusiasm. if she had, she might have considered that ferris wheels do more than just bring riders up into the air.

they also bring them down.

if she was thinking clearly, she might realize that the gradual warmth in the night air was a signal to their slow descent. she might consider that the pushed-back lap bar and her position could be witnessed by the general public. but caroline barely thinks about anything at all beyond the greedy, desperate desire to feel more of what he's offering.

his mouth drags across the pulse point of her neck, where she can feel her heartbeat thumping, and down to the bare skin of her shoulder; as he moves, her head rolls back, a low groan of appreciation spilling out into the space between them. ]

God, that feels good.

[ or maybe she's just easy to please. could be a little of both. ]

[heliophilous]

[ they're moving. it's a sensation that registers at the very edge of his mind, almost blocked out by the weight of her body on his lap and the feel of her skin underneath his mouth. they're moving and they're not going up which means — ]

We're going down.

[ he mumbles the words automatically, pressing each letter against her shoulder because he doesn't want to move away even if he knows he should. they're going to be in full view of everyone soon and the positioning leaves nothing to the imagination. ]

We need to —

[ stop. situate themselves a little better. straighten clothes. look like they hadn't been all over each other. ]

We have to stop. [ not the words he wants to say but necessary right now. ] We're going to be on the ground in a second.

[gasping]

[ stop is a four letter word she doesn't like, a dash of ice cold reality on what was a perfectly pleasant bout of escapism; he says we have to stop, but he doesn't pull away. his mouth still trails warmth against her skin, the vibrations of his voice spilling out over her. he certainly doesn't push her off.

but he's right, at least. she might enjoy the low thrill of being outdoors, but she's not intentionally signing up to be the general public's new amateur sex tape tonight — so, fine. she'll extricate herself, albeit a little disappointedly, and climb off his lap in order to drop back into the seat beside him.

settled, one hand reaches out to yank back the bar. it creaks, a loud complaint, but eventually it obliges her. ]

Better?

[ her dress is still hiked up, her hair is still mussed, but. she's not literally on top of him anymore, so there's that. ]

[heliophilous]

[ when she slides off him, he can't stop the shiver that works its way through his body at the sudden chill where all of that warmth had just been. he tries to sit and look presentable but that might be asking a lot after what they'd just been doing.

but yeah, at least she wasn't in his lap so they could try and fake it till they made it. he's straightening his shirt a bit when she yanks the bar back like it's a piece of plastic and he has to eye her curiously for that one. doesn't say anything but huh. ]

Yeah.

[ or no. not really. he clears his throat and licks his lips before saying: ] Stopping wouldn't have been my first choice. Just...so you know.

[ he doesn't want it to be seen as a rejection because it's not. he just didn't want any trouble for the either of them especially since the car settles back on the ground and the attendant yanks the metal bar out.

marcos looks over at her before he steps out first, landing on the ground and ignoring the looks of the operator. he turns and holds out a hand for her to help her out even if she doesn't really need it. ]

[gasping]

[ she takes his hand. she doesn't need to, but she wants to — wants to hold it, wants to know if the shivering want that's still leaving her jittery and on edge is with her alone. she wants to do a lot more than just thread her fingers between his own and squeeze, but that's what she goes with. for now, anyway.

the white of her dress illuminates in the dark, the lightweight fabric barely muddling the blue beneath; through their hands, all those suddenly stopped feelings begin to flare up, warm and urgent and full of life. stopping wasn't his first choice, and it sure as hell wasn't hers. ]

Do you wanna get out of here?

[ and go where, she doesn't know. doesn't much care, either. ]

[heliophilous]

[ that feeling is not just with her. it's gotten underneath his skin to the point that mere separation can't shake it. he'd need distance and probably a very cold shower but that's not going to happen when he's offering her a hand and she's taking it. they'd been so careful about that empathy bond a little while ago and now look what was happening.

but those feelings of loss he remembers feeling (his and hers) seem to be quiet and all that's there is want, desire, urgency, and denied pleasure. ]

Yeah.

[ he has no idea where they'll go but he tugs her away from the thick of the crowd near the ferris wheel. maybe there's...god, he doesn't even know this place that well to know what might be around here. he just need some privacy, some darkness, something that wasn't an amusement park ride. ]

You know this city better than me. Where am I going?

[ help him out here because geography is not his focus right now. ]

[gasping]

[ with a sudden, obnoxiously disappointing clarity, caroline realizes there's very little in terms of actual privacy waiting for them just about anywhere. they're both still in the safehouse, and while there are doors and small rooms and closets, it's not exactly subtle. there are too many people coming and going at any time of day to really expect anything remotely private.

here in the halloween carnival, there was really nothing more private than the ferris wheel itself, and they already knew how that story ended. so that left... the entire rest of the city, most of which caroline hadn't explored yet. but there was always somewhere. people always found a way. ]

I don't know.

[ which just meant she'd have to take a walk out of the fairground area... straight onto a neighboring side street of a particularly colorful district. ]

Oh.

[ right. the halloween festivities were right next door to the red light district. the place with all the brothels. well. that was an option. ]

Pick one.

[ they could rent a room, right? they didn't have to rent a person. ]

[heliophilous]

[ okay wow. marcos had been in some pretty terrible parts of various cities but he doesn't think he's ever seen this many brothels in one space. there's just...so many of them, brightly lit up and advertising their services for one and all.

his eyes skitter around the area, trying to find one that doesn't look too sketchy because while maybe this isn't as good as a place of his own to take her, it's better than unrealistic and unsafe stuff on a ferris wheel or some dirty alleyway. there'll be a door and some privacy.

eventually, his eyes land on what looks to be a brothel themed up in what looked to be devil and hell related demons. not...very romantic but it would work. it seemed the brightest and there was no one seedy hanging around the front entrance so he nods and then tugs her towards the door. ]

That one'll work.

[ they just needed the room, right? just needed some privacy. and while he doesn't have much money, he's earned some after a few days of work so he tosses it at the man behind the desk, grabs a key and gets out of there as quickly as possible.

the room, thankfully, is clean. it's quiet. there's a window and a bed and...toys which, okay, they don't need to use those. not right now. he closes the door and locks it behind her. ]

Yeah?

[ please approve of the room, caroline. ]

[gasping]

[ as long as it's not a literal horror show, caroline does not care. she doesn't have enough patience to care. and this room, while the brothel's primary theme is a bit much, really isn't that bad.

it's black, which is a little weird, but black can be romantic. dark, mysterious, dangerous in a way. sure, there are red shelves on the walls filled floor to ceiling with things that put heat in caroline's cheeks to even think about, but she doesn't have to touch them. she doesn't even have to look at them. it's much easier, in fact, to look directly at marcos, to nod her head, to reply. ]

Yes.

[ and then, honestly, she doesn't need to say much else, because she's too busy reaching forward to fist her hands back into the collar of his shirt, dragging him firmly back to her, her own back settling against the sturdy surface of the door.

guess it was good for something. ]

Please.

[heliophilous]

Yeah. [ he manages to breathe that against her mouth just before their lips slot against each other and they fall right back into what they were doing on the ferris wheel. all those feeling from before bubble right back to the surface and he's wasting no time in pressing in, pressing close and pressing the length of his body against hers.

but, in this position, he can feel a little more than he'd been able to previously. he can drag his nails along her thighs, rucking the costume up a bit as he does and shivering at how smooth and warm she feels.

god, it feels good. it feels really good and it's been awhile for him so that just makes it feel even more intense. he licks at her lips and then dives right back in for a longer, deeper kiss. ]

[gasping]

[ caroline's been called many things in her life. slutty, easy, shallow — and, honestly, people haven't been wrong. she likes to feel wanted and needed, and when the latter's not on the table, she doesn't mind settling for the former. it fills a void.

and it isn't as if they haven't been dancing around this for a little while now. she didn't just meet him; it's not like this was some college party she's snuck into and she doesn't know his name. no, she knows marcos pretty well by now, and she likes him, and he obviously likes her — which makes the greedy drag of his nails along her bare legs just that much more enjoyable, a groan falling from her mouth.

if elena was here, maybe caroline would admit that it's a little slutty to wind up renting a room by the hour just to hook up with a guy. but elena's not here, and caroline doesn't care, so this is what she's doing.

more specifically, he's what she's doing, hands and mouths and the not-so-gentle press of her body into his, nudging him backwards step by step towards the main attraction in the middle of the room, saying in everything but the words let's get this show on the road. ]

[heliophilous]

[ it's a little reckless. it's a little risky but they've blown past any boundaries that had been set and just tumbled right into not caring. that's what tonight's kind of about, isn't it? the booze, the drugs, the rides, the debauchery was all setting the scene for something like this to happen.

and he's not going to lie, he's thought about it. he's thought about her but he'd never really expected reciprocation from her in this way. she'd been kind to him, helpful, there when no one else was but he still had a hard time seeing it as anything but obligatory.

he'd been wrong, he knows now. and he's not going to tell her what he'd thought either because, well. she doesn't need to know. he'd been wrong.

he can feel her moving away from the door, pressing into him and he steps backwards carefully, definitely not wanting to trip over his own feet and end up in his ass. no, he walks slowly but doesn't stop kissing her or touching her.

he only stops when his legs hit the edge of the bed. now, he pulls away from her, taking a moment to just look before finding the hem of her costume with his fingers and giving it a tug upwards. he has no idea if that's how you take it off but it needs to come off. he wants more. he wants to touch her with his hands, his mouth, his lips, his tongue. ]

Okay?

[ half tipsy or not, he's still going to check on this. he doesn't want to rush her or do something she wasn't wanting to even if all signs pointed to her wanting exactly what he did. ]

[gasping]

[ his hands at the bottom of her dress are a good reminder. a wake up call, really — not to stop, but to pull her hands back long enough to shrug off the straps of her wings, letting them fall behind her on the ground where they (hopefully) won't get trampled.

and if they do? well, she'll live. they're just costume wings. ]

Uh huh.

[ the sound comes out not so much irritated as breathless, arms lifting above her head to help him in the process. if he'll hurry it up, she'll return the favor; she's not opposed to being undressed, but she doesn't think it's very fair for her to be the only one. ]

[heliophilous]

[ he's hurrying, he's hurrying. when her wings are safely on the ground, he pulls the costume up and off of her, tossing it aside so that it's out of the way as well.

not a lot of time has passed since she first sat down next to him on the ferris wheel but marcos can't help but slow down right now to blow out a breath and stare a bit. that costume had been barely there but now that he knows what it had been covering, he thinks he prefers this look.

not that he gets a choice beyond tonight. but it'll definitely be something he remembers. he licks and the bites his bottom lip before his gaze settles back on her. ]

Told you it was a good look on you.

[ and he's going to stick with that even as he steps closer to try and mouth at the curve of her shoulder because he doesn't know that she wants to help him out of his clothes just yet. one track mind. soft skin, must touch, that kind of thing. ]

[gasping]

[ the compliment's quietly given, barely audible over a strained exhale of breath, but caroline soaks it in. her mouth stretches into a pleased smile, the split almost completely healed by now — something she hopes he's just ignoring in favor of looking everywhere else.

it'd be so easy to just let him touch her, to slip out of the pale white matched set that had been lingering under her costume, to be selfish and greedy and demand all of his attention before paying any to him. but she's not that shallow — or maybe she's more shallow than that. who knows.

in any case, she wants to see as much of him as he's seeing of her, so while his mouth presses at her shoulder, her hands snake between them, sliding under the hem of his shirt to palm out over his stomach, rucking up the fabric bit by bit until it's trapped under his arms. ]

I'd like this look on the floor, please.

[ okay, maybe it's corny, but she's going with it, affecting a sultry whisper that's absolutely stolen from some late night lifetime movie. ]

[heliophilous]

[ the only bad thing about taking off his shirt is that he has to stop kissing her shoulder to do it. but, he'll survive. in response to her whisper, he nods and reaches down to haul the tee shirt and button up that he'd been wearing off and over his head, letting it flutter harmlessly to the ground beside them.

he's definitely not a muscle bound meathead by any stretch of the imagination. years of being on the run, moving from place to place, sometimes eating little, sometimes eating not at all have left him with more lean muscle than anything. there's a scar on his arm from a grazing bullet and other nicks and scrapes here and there from other altercations.

he's not shy about it, at least. if she doesn't like how he looks, she probably wouldn't be here so he's not worried that taking off his clothes is going to change her mind. ]

The floor's getting crowded.

[ ha ha, he was so funny. or something. he moves back closer to her again, sliding a hand against her face and pulling her closer for another kiss. if he notices her healed lip, he says nothing. if he thinks about biting her again, he doesn't do it just yet.

save that for later when he has more options on where to bite since it had really gotten her going when he'd done it almost accidentally the first time. ]

[gasping]

[ it doesn't. or it wouldn't, if she had more time to look. as it is, his mouth catches hers and promptly cuts off any opportunities for caroline to begin investigating in earnest, so any thorough reviews of his physical form will have to wait until later.

for now, she's all too eager to comply with his unspoken request, fingers skimming over now-bare skin until they find the buckle of his belt keeping up the waistband of his jeans. thankfully, she doesn't need to look to know how to do this. with eyes closed and mouth occupied, caroline can flick open a belt buckle just fine, even if she has to tug just a little harder than usual to make it work.

she's capable, okay. this is a challenge, and she's rising to it. or her thirst is. either way, he should take the hint and take them off. ]

[heliophilous]

[ when she'd been sitting on his lap on the ferris wheel, he hadn't been able to stop himself from getting a little worked up. it hadn't been to the point of embarrassing but with her hands at his waist, his body suddenly remembers that and start and the sudden feelings of pleasure and desire flood through him and probably through her as well.

he reaches down and gently bats her hands away so he can unbuckle his belt and then unzip his jeans. he has to step away from kissing her so he doesn't lose his balance and fall but trade offs and all.

marcos steps out of his pants eventually, kicking them away so he's left in a simple pair of black boxers that he'd bought a few days ago. he'd shown up with one pair. underwear was one of the first things he'd bought.

so, they'd managed to take most of their clothes off. things seemed to be going pretty well. ]

[gasping]

[ it's a good start. more than a start. it's a good milestone to hit, expanses of skin laid bare in the cool air of the room; to celebrate (or maybe just to speed things along), her palms find purchase in the flat of his chest, pushing just enough to topple him backwards onto the mattress.

the high frame means she has to climb up after him, but that's no problem. there's almost a wild abandon to how quickly she does follow, how fast she clambers up onto the mattress to close that gap between them again, sitting up on her knees.

but before she does, just one thing. one reassurance, breathlessly given, before her mouth crashes back into his: ] You don't have to keep asking.

[ you don't have to go slow, you don't have to ask, you don't have to stop. you can bite her and grab her and touch her, as long as you keep doing it. ]