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#26 Old 13th Oct 2009 at 7:50 PM Last edited by GeneralOperationsDirector : 13th Oct 2009 at 9:16 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by Furrypanda
((OOC: Was a character approachable in your last post? It seemed like the only one who could have been was naked-except-for-shoes-and-hat girl, and presumably she would have been long gone by the time the party started, the evening of the day after your post? Unless I'm missing something here?))
((Sorry; she isn`t *immediately* approachable, but she could turn up later; I don`t know, yet. My comment was mostly for any future characters I might post. However, I deliberately allowed for the jam session itself to admit ANY musician to ex-post-facto have appeared on the stage. Feel free to "approach" any of those characters that way. Likewise for those in the audience. The Shoes&Hat Girl is certainly open for discussion by those who saw her. I`m sure a hot naked singer of such talent would be the talk of the show for a while. As for timing, my post stated that this occured late on the last night before the official opening. It`s my understanding that this is more-or-less during the events described by the other posters.)))

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#27 Old 13th Oct 2009 at 8:03 PM
((I saw AtropaMandragora`s post before she deleted it, but I missed FurryPanda`s reply.))

((Edit: Ok. I`ll delete this message after you delete yours, so we know we saw each other`s ooc comments. `K?)

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Top Secret Researcher
#28 Old 13th Oct 2009 at 8:06 PM
((OOC: In short, I said something to the effect of "okay".
I'll have Julia approach at some point in the next real time week))

The humor of a story on the internet is in direct inverse proportion to how accurate the reporting is.
Alchemist
#29 Old 16th Oct 2009 at 6:06 PM Last edited by Ghanima Atreides : 17th Oct 2009 at 10:15 PM.
Lavinia and Dominic - Returning to the party


As the only female member of Deus Ex Machina, Lavinia has had to adapt in many ways to living and working in closed quarters with four young men who naturally banded together in the ever-so-typical, male way. They were often loud, rowdy, loved making off-colour jokes and were more than lax on privacy, which was okay...because so was Lavinia. For as long as she could remember, she'd gotten along better with guys than fellow women, and the fact that she enjoyed a chilled beer and a rousing tacky story as much as the next guy certainly helped; as for privacy, Lavinia wasn't particularly fussy. Confident and easygoing, the limited privacy of a tourbus didn't bother her, and she would even slip into a different top or pair of pants in front of the guys; after all what was the difference between them seeing her bra and panties and being in a bikini, on the beach? The comfortable sense of familiarity that existed among the bandmates was bracing, something safe to fall back upon when they moved from one place to another, surrounded by strangers that all desired their attention. Not that they'd have it any other way, it came with the territory.

Of course, another consequence of being cooped up with four other people for extended periods of time was that eventually nerves would be stretched to their limit and everyone would begin wishing for a change of scenery, hence Shane's reluctant agreement to join Lavinia as she waited for Dominic to get to Syrinx and his eagerness to return to the party, where the fun was at. Lavinia knew very well that despite his chilly greeting, it was nothing personal to Dominic, the three of them sharing a slightly tighter bond than the rest of the guys, obligatory quips and friendly jabs included.

Alone with Dominic, Lavinia wasted no time in approaching him with a slightly teasing inquiry (knowing full well that his trip had not been enjoyable) but also with an opportunity for him to vent out his frustration and perhaps present her with some interesting snippet of information – such as, the reason for this whole delay, which still held her curiosity. Sure enough, Dominic reiterated the same general idea she'd gotten from his texts all day: that the journey had been a long and tedious one, now with the added benefit of a dramatic sigh and an indicative straightening of his back; Lavinia had to admit, he did look rather...dusty, so, one hand on her hip, she gave him a playfully dubious look: he still managed to retain his allure, in a dishevelled sort of way. Not that she'd tell him that. She waited to see whether he'd go and shower but Dominic had his eyes set on a different sort of pick-me-up, mainly the beer bottle hanging from her hand. With an indulgent smile, Lavinia passed it to him.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have found a place to eat, would you?" he went on to ask as he emptied his pockets of various junk he'd collected. "I'm starving."

Not a bad idea, actually, Lavinia thought. She could do with something to eat herself, and mentally thanked mother nature for granting her a lightning-fast metabolism that enabled her less than healthy eating habits.

"I passed by a couple of food stands on the way here," she told him as they climbed out of the bus; the air was warm and heavy with the smell of gasoline, dust and the distant spattering of music. "There's a queue, but I'm guessing you've done enough sitting down today?"

With the bottle to her lips to stifle a smirk, Lavinia glanced ahead, beyond the parking lot. There was also the restaurant in the VIP lounge, but as far as she was concerned she'd rather be there tapping into the pulse of the starting festival rather than sit around a mostly deserted lounge.

"So, are you ready to tell me what the big mystery is?"

She was referring to Dominic's reason for missing his flight, made even more suspicious by his reluctance to tell what it was.

((ooc: Not my best, but I've had some trouble finding the flow these past few days. Hope it works though.))

If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets
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#30 Old 19th Oct 2009 at 7:41 PM
Default Dominic and Lavinia - en route to party area
Dominic wasn't much for keeping secrets. At least not secrets of his own. Things told to him in confidence by others, as well as secrets shared with others, those he would take with him to the grave (well, he'd try anyway), but when it came to himself and himself alone, there wasn't all that much that he would make a concious effort to keep in the dark. Especially not to his friends and band mates. When living so close to four other people, in such small quarters, for months on end - not just when touring, but when recording the albums, promoting them and shooting the videos as well - privacy eventually turned into little more than an illusion. Granted, when he wasn’t on the road, he was still living in a fairly small apartment with his girlfriend Lara, but that arrangement was very, very different from the five people cooped up in a tourbus, or, if they were lucky, in a hotel, where they still had to share rooms. Thus, the way way Dominic saw it, hiding things and being secretive towards his bandmates usully only lead to unnecessary tension. Besides, he didn't mind people knowing what to others might be very private matters. He didn't mind people knowing what kind of underwear he wore, that things between him and his parents were still somewhat strained but slowly improving, that he was rather particular and vain about his hair, or that one of his favorite past times - when not partying or hanging out with other people, for a change - was something as "nerdy" as sudoku. Heck, he was even fairly open about his drug use to those who knew him, and he often didn't do a very good job of hiding his occasional infidelity; more than once he'd gotten into an inofficial "top this!" contest with the other guys in the band, mainly Asher, when it came to sex and groupies, and there had been a picture or two printed in magazines, where it would seem he might have been getting just a little bit too cozy with some random girl at the after party.

So, for Lavinia to be suspicious of Dominic's lack of an explanation for the missed flight from Los Angeles, was more than understandable. As was her curiousity. Dominic had known the subject was bound to come up sooner rather than later upon his reuinion with the band, and also expected that simply failing to give an explanation when Lavinia eased her way into questioning him about it - when asking how the trip had been, despite having had him already whine to her about it through text messages for most of the day - would do him little good. Not that he was truly trying to steer her away from it, but as he himself was far more willing to talk about the umbrage he'd been made to endure, rather than the reason behind it all, that was what he ended up focusing on.
Until Lavinia called him out.

"I passed by a couple of food stands on the way here", she first informed him however, and as they exited the bus apparently couldn't help herself from teasing him just a little bit more; "There's a queue, but I'm guessing you've done enough sitting down today?"

Dominic's only comment to that was a faint groan, as though the thought alone of how much time he'd spent sitting still with nothing to do pained him, and he shot her a look to match, before grabbing both handles of the big, heavy army bag still sitting on the ground outside the bus, and partly lifting, partly shoving it up the few steps into the vehicle. Though bother to move it out of aisle, so that the next person to climb onto the bus wouldn't risk tripping over it, he did not. Instead, he merely straightened up again, after the minor struggle, and turned around to face Lavinia, just in time for part two of her interrogation.

"So, are you ready to tell me what the big mystery is?", she asked as the two of them started towards the public area, Dominic sharing her preference of party scene over the less populated VIP lounge.

However, at this point, the young man was still preoccupied with thoughts of food and of shaking off the whole travelling ordeal with a couple of beers and some good company, and so at first glanced at her with slight confusion in his eyes, before it dawned on him what she was referring to.

"Mystery?", he said. "What myst-... Oh, you mean that."

Having realized what she was asking about, he gave a simple, innocent shrug.

"No mystery", he claimed. "I just missed the flight."

Though after another glance at Lavinia, and the far from impressed and far from convinced look on her face, he finally caved in, with a slightly embarrassed grin forming on his lips, which on it's own was more than enough to let Lavinia know that whatever it was that had happened, Dominic didn't consider it to be one of his proudest moments.

"Alright, alright", he said, even though she hadn't really done or said anything to push him further, and from there went on to start telling her the whole story; "So after the meeting a couple of us decided to go out, right."

Following that opening was then given a rather vivid and colorful description, in true Dominic style, of how he and some of the people from the sponsorship meeting, along with one or two of Dominic's L.A. based friends, had gone out for dinner and drinks at a popular restaurant, followed by even more drinks at an equally popular night club. There, Dominic and what he claimed to be one "insanely hot" cage dancer by the name/alias of Roxy had apparently caught eachother's eye during her routine, and once it ended, had spent the next hour or so getting "friendly" at the bar, as the drinks had kept on coming. As seems to be the case with all good things, however, this too had to come to an end, when at 2 a.m. the club closed and Dominic was supposed to head back to his hotel for a good night's rest before his flight to Albuquerque the next day. But considering how "friendly" he and Roxy had been getting, and how in the mood Dominic had been to get even more friendly, he hadn't been at all tempted to call it a night, despite being well aware of that early flight the next morning, and of how likely he was to oversleep once he went to bed after a night of such partying. Of course, at that point, his plan hadn't been to go to bed at all, but to simply treat himself to some much needed female company throughout the night, and then sleep on the plane and on the tourbus later on. When in such dire need of physical relief as he had been right then, lack of sleep had been a small price to pay, especially considering that Deus Ex Machina's next gig was a couple of days away, and so there was no actual need for him to be in shape for anything important the following day.

The problem was... both he and Roxy had gotten just a little too much to drink, and so the only friendly activity seen between the two of them in the bed in her apartment, was the two of them passing out on it within minutes of eachother. Him still wearing everything but his shirt, and her still wearing everything but her six inch heels. Consequently, after a night of hard partying and no alarm clock to even try to wake him, Dominic hadn't woken up until long after his flight had taken off. When he'd texted Lavinia to let her and the others know he'd missed it, he had just barely managed to crawl out of bed, and had since tried to forget the embarrassing fact that the hours he'd now had to suffer on the train and the busses, had ended up being all for nothing.

"... and if you tell any of the other guys about this", he eventually finished his story with conviction, "I swear I'll... I'll disown you or something. Seriously."

~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
Alchemist
#31 Old 28th Oct 2009 at 2:56 PM Last edited by Ghanima Atreides : 28th Oct 2009 at 4:21 PM.
Dominic and Lavinia - At the Party


Lavinia loved a good story, especially if it contained a nice helping of spicy gossip. True, it wasn't one of her virtues, but everyone had their vices, correct? In the entertainment industry, rumours circulated rampantly, and the public practically ate it up, but while some celebrities took offense at the various, more or less outrageous claims spawning around them, Lavinia found them hilarious. One example was her supposed involvement with Dominic, religiously documented within the pages of a popular tabloid; another was a popular rumour started on an Internet forum that she'd once starred in porn movies – someone had even uploaded photoshopped pictures of her head on a pornstar's body, despite the fact that anyone who'd seen Lavinia's true, artistically nude pictures would have known her boobs were several sizes smaller, not to mention silicone-free. Still, she was thoroughly amused by the whole thing, and besides, free advertising never hurt. The key of surviving in this line of work, she always said, was to not take yourself too seriously.

Lavinia also enjoyed keeping up to date with the various amusing tidbits surrounding the lives of her bandmates, such as who'd hooked up with who at so and so party, drunken shenanigans or funny holiday stories – the sort of stuff circulated among friends. She didn't actually pry into anyone's life, and their secrets were theirs to keep, but that didn't mean she wouldn't prod just a little bit, and Dominic's conspicuous avoidance of a certain topic that day had roused her curiosity. Especially since Dominic was a guy who usually liked to share, so she decided to just go ahead and ask.

When Dominic made his unconvincing attempt at appearing oblivious, the look on Lavinia's face changed from curious to unconvinced, one eyebrow pushing towards her short cropped bangs in a thoroughly unimpressed way. "I'm waiting", her expression said, and Dominic seemed to realize it because the false innocence dropped from his face and a slightly embarrassed smile emerged in its place.

"Alright, alright" he conceded, "So after the meeting a couple of us decided to go out, right." , then proceeded to give her a colourful account of his past two nights. It proved to be a classical Dominic scenario: going out, partying, drinking and cosying up to an attractive girl he ended up taking back to his hotel room. When he got to the part where he admitted being too drunk to actually do anything with Roxy other than pass out next to her, Lavinia aimed a covert smirk at the ground: so, the reason for all this avoidance was nothing more than male pride. Typical. In all honesty, Lavinia had included a hookup among her guesses, either that or something involving the drugs Dominic indulged in (neither being things she personally approved of, but hey, it was his life), though she'd more or less assumed it had to be something else. Usually, Dominic wasn't exactly modest about his conquests.

"... and if you tell any of the other guys about this", Dominic ended in defense of his reputation, "I swear I'll... I'll disown you or something. Seriously."

Lavinia couldn't help it; she swung her head back in a short burst of laughter and coiled an arm around his neck, squeezing him a little closer. It wasn't mocking or malicious, just amused and even playfully sympathetic, not only at such a display of classical guy angst but Dominic's choice of words in warning her about sharing the story with the other band members. Which she had no intention to (knowing how to keep a secret was the cardinal rule of friendship, after all), they were going to ask him about it anyway and she was mildly curious how much the story will have changed by the time everyone was brought up to date with the events.

"Don't worry, your little secret's safe with me, " she grinned. He was actually sort of lucky he'd passed out before taking things further, with that much alcohol involved the outcome could have been much more embarrassing. She didn't tell him that though.

"I'm sure you'll rectify the situation in the near future", she said instead, eyes narrowing meaningfully.

They were nearing the actual party area, noise and light increasing in intensity with each step until they were practically engulfed by the riotous throngs of party goers. Lavinia discarded her now empty beer bottle and grabbed a replacement, scanning ahead for any familiar faces. She didn't see any, but the band currently on the stage was playing a cover to one of her favourite songs, so she threw her arms in the air with an eager "Woo!", motioning Dominic closer so that they could dance.



((ooc: I'm not sure if this gives you enough to work with, I didn't know what else to say, and figured to add in a bit of dancing to their interaction...if you need more added though, please do let me know.))

If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets
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#32 Old 4th Nov 2009 at 9:48 PM Last edited by AtropaMandragora : 9th Nov 2009 at 9:17 PM. Reason: Added to the post
Default Dominic and Lavinia - public party area
Different friendships contain elements of different things. There are friends with whom you'll party and have a good time, but never really have heart-to-heart talks to, and there are friends in whom you'll confide your innermost secrets, but in whose company you'll tend to not really cut loose and go wild. Dominic knew this as well as the next person. He also knew that there were of course exceptions, people with whom you could do both, and while heart-to-heart talks weren't an all too common occurrence between himself and Lavinia, she was still the one person in the band that he would describe as one such exception. She was easy to get along with, terrific party company, and the member of the band that he trusted the most, when it came to not breaking a confidence. Not that the whole failure with Roxy and the flights and everything was in any way something that would ever define a true confidence - let's face it, it would be embarrassing if the truth got out, but it would hardly hurt him, nor his feelings - but nevertheless, Dominic figured that if he was to tell any band mate the whole unaltered truth, it would be her, because he knew it wouldn't go any further, unless he himself decided to tell the other guys about it, in which case he'd probably never hear the end of it. Oh yes, Lavinia was sure to tease him about it too, but never in the form of using it as a low blow, like some of the guys were inclined to do it provoked. And Dominic was so very good at provoking at least a couple of them, when he wanted to, and so figured... why give them something to use against him when he did? Only a fool would voluntarily arm his occasional opponents with more than they needed.

As for Lavinia; yes, Dominic was indeed likely to be teased about it by her, but in her case, it would be teasing in good humour, between friends. Unless, of course, he managed to really piss her off, in which case it didn't really matter what she knew about him, she'd probably manage to still cut him down to size with a lash of her razor sharp tongue anyway. Feisty she was, that one. Though right now, she merely laughed at his story, not the least bit concerned by his, admittedly, less than alarming threat, and even pulled him a little closer momentarily, in friendly affection.

"Don't worry, your little secret's safe with me", she promised him with a smile easing it's way across her painted lips. "I'm sure you'll rectify the situation in the near future."

Those were words that spread a grin across Dominic's face as well, though he chose not to comment. He couldn't, and wouldn't, deny that she had a point, and that this had hardly been the first time he'd found someone other than his girlfriend Lara to get intimate with. But while he had cheated before (and, unlike this time, actually done it "successfully"), and did have a tendency to get into boasting matches with the other guys about such experiences, he usually didn't actively seek out girls and groupies himself. He never did go on the prowl, unlike some, with the intention of getting laid. It was just that... with his good looks and his charisma drawing the girls to him, it was difficult for a young man with a growing ego, not to mention a growing sexual frustration, not to sometimes just... indulge, and enjoy it. And it really wasn't as though he nailed all of them, right? There were other ways. Ways that left him equally freed of frustration, and the girl with something to still brag about to her friends, or whoever she was planning on telling about her "close encounter".

Well, anyway, though he did have plenty of sexual frustration to work off this evening, especially since the other night had proven to be most unhelpful in that regard, he currently had a couple of other priorities to tend to first. He wanted to party and hang out with Lavinia for a bit, as well as whatever other interesting people he might encounter. But, right now, and most all, he wanted to eat.

As a result, when Lavinia finally stopped after leading the way into the gathering of people around the demo stage, expressing her unmistakable appreciation of the band's current song of choice with an enthusiastic "Woo", and then went on to try and coax Dominic into dancing, his lips cracked into another grin.

"Ooooh no", he said, shaking his head, as though she was trying to trick him and he'd seen right through it, and then indicated the beer bottle he'd picked up along the way. "I haven't had nearly enough of these yet, to do that."

Not that he ever really needed alcohol to do anything, except perhaps talk more than usual, but any excuse to drink was a good one. Even if it was made up. And besides, he really was starving, and so instead of joining Lavinia in moving to the music, he raised his hand and curled his index finger at her, to motion her closer, as if about to share a secret with her. Once she was close enough, he leaned in face to face, to make sure not a single letter went unheard.

"Food", he enunciated clearly, and even took to making small weird signals with his hand, actually spelling the word in made up sign language. "I mean it. If we don't get me something to eat soon, I'll starve to death, and it'll be all your fault."

For the last couple of words, an almost childlike, accusing tone seeped into his voice, and was momentarily matched by the look in his eyes (what little one could see of them behind the curtain of raven hair), before a roguish grin shattered the image.

"Or, I just might start gnawing on your bony *ss", he added, and as a way of further illustrating his point, saw fit to bestow a playful slap upon the aforementioned body part.

~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
#33 Old 5th Nov 2009 at 8:55 PM
(((Is the stage where the Shoes & Hat Girl sings anywhere near the route from the "demo stage" where Dominic and Lavinia are to the food they`re heading for? Should they be encountering S&H G`s performance en route?)))

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Alchemist
#34 Old 5th Nov 2009 at 9:00 PM
((ooc: Well, as far as I know the demo stage is the only stage currently open, so Shoes and Hat Girl would've been on it.))

If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets
#35 Old 5th Nov 2009 at 9:14 PM
(((Before, after, or during Dominic and Lavinia`s visit to the area? I want SOMEone to have been either on-stage or in the audience during her performance. )))

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Alchemist
#36 Old 5th Nov 2009 at 9:22 PM
((ooc: I kind of assume that before they were there, since you've written about it long before they arrived and with no idea of your plans for her, neither Atropa nor I mentioned it, and it's not something that would've gone unnoticed. Lavinia was around earlier and even though I haven't said anything about it then I could refer back to her having caught a glimpse of your girl, then say something to Dominic? She could also still be around. ))

If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets
#37 Old 5th Nov 2009 at 9:34 PM
(((Possible. Perhaps she`s just getting on-stage as they`re preparing to seek food? I tried to leave things as open and flexable as possible, so people could work her performance into their own stories however they liked: Their characters could, ex-post-facto, have been either on-stage [as a performer] or in the audience [as ANYone], or even the sigular guard. As I recall, I specified the time-of-day rather loosely, as well. [Bleep], she could even turn out to be Lavinia, for all I know right now, even though Lavinia didn`t even exist, as far as I know, when I invented S&H Girl, and those two being one-and-the-same clashes with some of the ideas I had when I sent the PM detailing my idea. Still, it`s possible, but if so, would have to have happened after the more recient posts, after Lavinia had more to drink. Whatever y`all do, I`m anxious to see SOME reaction to her performance. Surprise me! )))

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Retired Moderator
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#38 Old 5th Nov 2009 at 9:47 PM
(((ooc: Okay guys, I realize you're discussing the RP, but the number of ooc's is getting a bit out of hand here...

GeneralOperationsDirector - The girl couldn't have been Lavinia, because Lavinia is Ghani's character, whom she and she alone controls. No one else. That's kind of how these RPs generally work; everyone creates a character, and then only the creator RPs them. If it's a character left for all to use, they're called an NPC; Non-Playable Character. Which might sound like a contradiction, I realize, but what it means is that no player truly controls them, and they can be used by anyone to help their characters' stories along. (As long as they're not being used simultaneously by two players, at different locations, doing different things.)

As for the current situation; I kind of agree with Ghani. I think it would be best if Lavinia had witnessed the performance earlier, and told Dominic about it. That would still give you a reaction, and from two characters too.)))

~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
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#39 Old 6th Nov 2009 at 12:34 PM Last edited by AtropaMandragora : 7th Nov 2009 at 12:27 AM.


(((ooc: In an attempt to liven things up a little, and offer more characters for people to interact with, I'm adding one of my own. )))


Name: Daniel de Vere
Age: 17
Type of visitor: Visitor/other
Occupation: Student
Bio:
The younger brother of Dominic de Vere, Daniel was born and raised under much the same troublesome circumstances, although often found himself shielded and protected from the angry outbursts during his parents' many and loud "disagreements", by his older brother. Whenever arguments would erupt in the de Vere household, Dominic would take Daniel to the room that the two boys shared, and busy him with toys, TV and video games, so that he wouldn't pay attention to what was going on in other parts of the house. However, despite his brother's best efforts, Daniel did still notice the anxiety present in Dominic's eyes at those times, and the way that he would glance nervously at the door, or sometimes just stop mid motion or mid sentence, to listen. Even to a small boy who might not understand what it was all about, such anxiety would rub off, and leave him most aware that something wasn't right, regardless of knowing what that something was. And as he grew older, he did of course eventually realize what was going on at those times, though due to his brother was rarely made to actually witness any of it with his own two eyes. Not even after Dominic went away to college, because although that wasn't an event that turned their mother and father into the perfect couple, it did still see a change in their behaviour. It was as though with Dominic no longer there to act the part of diplomat and mediator, and with Daniel having learned only to distance himself and back away from those situations instead of stepping into Dominic's old shoes, their parents finally realized that it was up to them to solve their problems, not their children. Over the past couple of years, things between them have been somewhat calmer.

As for Daniel, he's grown into what most would probably consider a rather normal young man, with normal teen joys and sorrows. He's a sweet and down-to-earth guy, does fairly well in school, and loves to play basketball on the school team, but doesn't really tend to bring attention to himself, neither through excellent grades, nor by hanging with the in-crowd. Or even with the "freaks", although he did go through a goth phase during his freshman and sophomore years, mostly inspired by the brother he so looked up to, and still does. These days, however, he dresses like most everyone else, surrounds himself with a small group of close friends, and is quite content that way. And while he himself does idolize his older brother - AS his older brother, rather than the guitarist in a known band - it bothers him to know that there are some people who try to befriend him just so that they'll maybe get a chance to meet Dominic, or any of the other members of Deus Ex Machina, or at the very least be able to brag about being buddies with the brother or someone (fairly) famous.


Picture:



Anything else you might want to add:

Turns eighteen years old on day two of the festival (currently the day after tomorrow); the same day that Deus Ex Machina are scheduled to perform. As a birthday present, his parents bought him the ticket and allowed him to go.

Is currently on summer break, after graduating high school. Starting college in the fall.

Regrets to never have had the chance to see Deus Ex Machina perform live before, although has seen them on TV, YouTube, etc. Also has never met Lavinia and Asher, due to various circumstances. Has however met Shane a number of times, and also Leon once or twice.



(((ooc: Open to storylines and plots, etc.)))


~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
#40 Old 6th Nov 2009 at 8:01 PM
(((Ghanima Atreides, if you like the idea of Shoes & Hat Girl turning out to be Lavinia later in the evening, you may have her. If not, that`s OK too. If need be, I can delete and repost at a more appropriate location. )))

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Scholar
Original Poster
#41 Old 7th Nov 2009 at 9:32 AM
(((OOC: GeneralOperationsDirector - I quite like the fact that you're taking initiative and coming up with new ways to make your idea work, but I do have to echo what the others have said and what I and Atropa, as the RP hosts, agreed to when you first pitched us the idea;

1) The characters you play are standalone entities which you create and control and you're free to play them/do with them (and them alone) as you wish for as long as you wish.

2) Others' characters are their own, while there's nothing theoretically forbidding you and Ghanima from agreeing that the Shoes and Hat girl was indeed Lavinia, I'll have to ask you to refrain from creating scenarios that others' characters have acted in and then asking them to carry on from there. If you have an idea for a storyline, pitch it to the player first and work everything out before posting.

I'm sure everyone else has said the same thing, and I'm sure you understand. Thank you )))

"Life is just a chance to grow a soul" - A. Powell Davies
Top Secret Researcher
#42 Old 7th Nov 2009 at 3:54 PM Last edited by FurryPanda : 7th Nov 2009 at 7:52 PM.
Default Julia and Shoes&Hats Girl's Chaos
Julia had danced with the fans of whatever band had been playing for quite a while. She didn't bother to remember their names, even though they were good, they were too gothy to go with Speed's sound very well, or to directly compete with them for fans. She knew that it was terrible practice to only be concerned with her market, but she was on vacation. The detailed perusals of the bands could come afterward.

She ambled away from the crowd, knowing that she should probably get some food, but expecting the usual greasy stand crap that was a staple of festival diet. She hated to admit it, but every time she thought about being as fat as she was when she was younger she could barely eat for days. She wasn't sure if she was able to objectively judge if fat managers were able to get much done, but she didn't want to risk it. Which meant that she did need to find something to eat.

There was a cluster of food stands near one of the stages, and she had to jump around a bit to see over the milling crowd's head what exactly they were selling, but her face lit up with a small grin as she got in line. They had an organic smoothie bar! She tipped the guy more than double what the smoothie was costing, even at inflated festival prices, and was able to talk him out of an apple and strawberries. As she took the neatly napkin wrapped bundle over to a mostly clean picnic table she sat down for a good meal.

She ate the apple first, people watching as she enjoyed the tart, nicely ripe fruit. No one sat next to her, which, a few years ago would have offended her terribly, but now was just an excuse to put her feet up as she alternated between whole strawberries and her smoothie. She was just eavesdropping on conversations, most of them ranging in intelligence from "so-and-so from band X is SO GORGEOUS!" to "Will this band shirt make me look fat?" It always annoyed her how people could be at a music festival and not talk about the music.

Then another little conversational tidbit did catch her attention. "fantastic music for a buck-a** chick". By the time she was able to pick out that it was two guys, they were out of earshot. Which wasn't much of a problem as there were small groups of people coming from one of the stages talking about a naked girl having sang very well during the open stage.

Julia's curiosity was quite awakened* by that, so she finished her strawberries and took her smoothie over to the stage. There was a group playing, sounding kind of flustered, and a huge knot of people talking about "naked girl," "shoes and hat girl" "talented girl," and, in the case of several teenagers still in titshock "Whoaaaaaaaa"

Finally she managed to pick her way to the front, where a security guard stood there. "What happened?" she asked, letting some of her usual imperious tones seep in. The kind that said that she was someone people needed to talk to or risk getting fired. She belatedly remembered that she wasn't in business attire, she was holding a smoothie, and everyone was probably getting up in this guy's face about what had happened.

"I'm the manager for Speed. The boys hate not knowing what's going on," she added as an afterthought.

((OOC: GeneralOperationsDirector, Now that someone (Julia) has approached someone (an NPC) in this case, you post a reply to what she had to say, or if you don't want to use the security guard I made, then you can have someone on stage call to her, or someone in the crowd chime in, or whatever))

((Also, Alissa and Atropa are right. Ghani's character is hers to do with as she wishes. And unless you worked out in PMs in advance that Ghani's character was your character for that space, then it is safe to assume that it is not Ghani's wish to have her character be your character.))

((*took me a minute to come up with a synonym for aroused))

The humor of a story on the internet is in direct inverse proportion to how accurate the reporting is.
#43 Old 9th Nov 2009 at 5:14 PM
((FurryPanda & others: I was just offering, not insisting.))
((FurryPanda: "...or if you don't want to use the security guard I made...": Didn`t *I* place one there? ))

The security guard, still somewhat shell-shocked, hems and haws a bit, stuttering occasionaly, as people sometimes do when overwhelmed, blurting out a few choice words in the process, before pulling himself together and giving a straigtforward and reasonably complete report of the incident, not even bothering to whitewash his own lack of involvement. He then loses it again for a minute or two and babbles on about how her style completely missed the style of the music she was singing to, yet managed to accompany in perfect time, and how could anyone so drunk as that even sing at all, much less that well, and how she was stacked, etc., etc., etc., before announcing that he NEEDS a drink and sitting down on the first available seating. ((What is Julia`s reaction to this? ...and anyone care to specify what he sat on?))

This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Alchemist
#44 Old 9th Nov 2009 at 9:06 PM Last edited by Ghanima Atreides : 10th Nov 2009 at 9:57 AM.
Lavinia and Dominic - getting food


Rhythm. It kept the Earth turning, from the tiniest of throbbing hearts to the clashes of giants, and one of the last untamed forces of nature found in the modern world; a raw and primal beat echoing from the very depths of time....there was a difference between hearing it, and feeling it.

That was about as close as Lavinia had ever come to having a life philosophy, and liked to experience music in stages: the underlying beat was the first thing she noticed about a song, which usually meant either a hit or a miss in her book. She could enjoy different pieces of music in different ways for different reasons, yet it took a unique blend of rhythm, melody and lyrics to result into a song she could listen to in any situation and never get tired of it. Such was "Kiss" by London After Midnight, the familiar accords of which reverberated in the dusty air as Lavinia was preparing herself to join the crowd bursting in cheers all around the stage. Her love of dancing only came second to her love of performing, and she did it well. With a sway of her hips she fell into place within an area large enough to unfold herself, the contours of her body undulating along with the rhythm, hinting aplenty at what lay beneath the flimsy fabric of her clothes. It didn't take long for a few pairs of male eyes to begin following the path of Lavinia's sinuous hips, encased as they were in those stretchy pants that hung low enough to offer a tantalizing glimpse of her taut abdomen. At this stage, she usually began to forget the world beyond the edge of the crowd, and she would have if Dominic hadn't remained standing a few feet away in spite of her invitation, shaking his head rather obviously and pointing at his beer bottle. The ruckus was loud enough to muffle some of his words even over that short distance, though Lavinia caught the gist of it.


"...haven't had nearly enough of these yet, to do that."
was the last thing she heard, prompting her to reluctantly slow down and shoot Dominic a piercing stare: since when did he need alcohol to party? Not that she got the chance to comment on that fact, because next thing she knew, he was motioning her over with the air of someone about to whisper a secret. With a sigh, Lavinia trotted over, tucked the hair away from her ears and, arms crossed, leaned in closer. The word she both heard and saw spelled out in sign language was "Food", followed by a petulant "I mean it. If we don't get me something to eat soon, I'll starve to death, and it'll be all your fault."

Cocking her head to one side, Lavinia beheld him with a stern look about as sincere as Dominic's childlike whining, and was unable to suppress a giggle-snort when his expression suddenly changed to mischief. Men and their stomachs...only second to their dicks. Then again, she had promised to get some food together...and she was rather hungry too, Lavinia reminded herself, though afterwards she was going to party, with or without Dominic. The imp in him wasn't done, however.

"Or, I just might start gnawing on your bony *ss" the young man remarked and aimed a hand at her behind, where it fell with a loud smack. For a moment Lavinia appeared frozen in mock shock, not as much at the gesture but at what he'd said. The words "My bony ass?!" had already crossed her lips as if preparing a retort along the lines of "pot calling kettle black" when she threw her head back in enthusiastic laughter.

"You know you love it!" she told him instead with a saucy grin and wriggled in closer, bumping hips together. It wasn't unusual for Dominic and Lavinia to engage in this sort of playful "borderline flirting", though never taking it further. Privately, she'd considered the possibility, and she believed the interest wasn't one sided, but hooking up with Dominic, even as a one-time thing, would be a baaaad idea. First, he had a girlfriend and Lavinia didn't do attached dudes but even if she were to bend her principles for that there was the fact that she valued their friendship more. Sex would ruin it. Still, she'd been single for nearly four months and her body disagreed.

About twenty minutes later, laden with two hefty portions of wholly unhealthy food, Dominic and Lavinia sought a quiet(er) place to sit down and eat. Sniffing the hot food had stirred her appetite so she began wolfing her burger down almost as quickly as he did, forgetting even to talk much; it took a couple of minutes before conversation could take root properly once more.

"So," Lavinia began as she licked some ketchup off her thumb, "Who else still needs to get here? Lara, Debbie, ooooh your brother too, right? Can't wait to meet little Danny!" she ended with a grin worthy of a Cheshire Cat. She was going to test just how much of an overprotective big brother Dominic was.


((Atropa: I hope this works.

GeneralOperationsDirector: Thanks for the offer, though in addition to what the others have said, it's not the sort of stunt I can picture Lavinia pulling right now, even if she did manage to get a hat and stilettos from somewhere.






If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets
Retired Moderator
retired moderator
#45 Old 14th Nov 2009 at 6:38 PM
Default Dominic and Lavinia - near food stand
When at the tender age of thirteen, Dominic had started playing in his first band, Unused And Abused, he and his band mates had agreed on one cardinal rule pertaining to the band: No girls in the band. Ever. To the pubertal trio, girls were far too soft for their oh-so-hardcore rock band, and would absolutely, definitely rob them completely of their coolness factor, not to mention cry about every little shit detail when they didn't get their way, and throw hissy fits whenever the guys' sense of humour moved to areas below the belt. All girls did. Yeah, sure, chicks were cool for dating and shagging and all - which frankly was something neither of the boys had gotten around to at the time, but which didn't stop them from talking about it like they had - but as band members, they would be an utter catastrophe. They would totally ruin the band, and besides, everyone knew girls couldn't play worth shit anyway, right?

That had been the mentality of Dominic de Vere, thirteen year old singer/songwriter/guitarist and rock star in the making, and while over the years, he had grown to actually appreciate several female musicians, as well as openly acknowledge their talent, it was a mentality that had kind of stuck with him through all the bands that had followed Unused and Abused's rather swift demise. However, unlike before, it hadn't been on a really conscious level, in the way of making it a rule or even discussing it, but rather in the way of not discussing it; it wasn't made a regulation, but it just never surfaced as an option either. In a way, it always seemed unconsciously implied between him and the guys he played with, and if he would have ever been asked about the idea of playing with a girl, he would have been likely to respond with something along the lines of "Hmm, I've never really thought about it". And it would have been God's honest truth. The post-first band era had just never seen the question raised. Which was all probably why in college the subject hadn't come up between himself and Lavinia, until the very evening when she had sat down to join him and Shane, in one of their spur-of-the-moment jamming sessions.

The funny thing was, that by that time, it had felt completely natural to all three of them, to the once anti-girl musicians Dominic as well. Lavinia had had much to offer, as an entirely new element of skill, ideas and insight, and while Dominic would sometimes question them, it was never because she was of the opposite gender. He would question Shane as well, just as Shane and Lavinia would question him, and each other. Sometimes opinions just differed, it was as simple as that.

As it would turn out, however, Dominic hadn't been completely off the mark as a thirteen year old chauvinist. Playing with a female wasn't one hundred percent uncomplicated, although none of the issues that arose had a whole lot in common with the ones he had once expected. There was no crying, no throwing of hissy fits, and there was definitely no bad craftsmanship. What was there, was a certain kind of tension. With a beautiful and sensual young woman around, with whom you were working rather closely at times, there were bound to be times when the guys around her thought of her not in terms of "just" a band mate, but as exactly that beautiful, sensual young woman. Especially while on tour, when they spent more time together than most married couples did, and in spaces far more cramped than a house or an apartment too. Add to that the natural chemistry that existed between Dominic and Lavinia, along with the absence of his girlfriend Lara, and it was no wonder that more than once Dominic had found himself watching Lavinia while all kinds of naughty thoughts and scenarios had been racing through his mind.

To have temptation so close, yet still so very far out of reach, was a source of building frustration if ever there was one, because it kept drawing out Dominic's appreciation for female company, yet at the same time didn't allow him to truly bask in it. Much like Lavinia, he was aware of how things between them might change if they ever decided to further explore their chemistry. Though admittedly, that wasn't usually what held him back on those occasions when he was feeling... inspired, so to speak, because on those occasions, reason and common sense were abstract concepts at best. Instead, what it came down to at those times, was something more akin to intuition, like there was some unseen border that the two of them just shied away from crossing. And whenever that happened, Dominic had four different ways of dealing with it:
1. Calling up Lara, for some "intimate" conversation.
2. Subjecting himself and giving in to the advances made by some fan or groupie.
3. Taking care of business himself.
4. Cold shower, cold shower, cold shower.

This evening, all four options were already on the table, due to the events of the previous evening, which had significantly added to his building frustration but ended up denying him the release he had been, and still was, in need of. And Lavinia slipping closer, after first indicating - and quite fairly too - that he was hardly one to talk when it came to being thin, really didn't help matters much. Even if it was only in their usually friendly flirting manner. Alluring and seductive as ever, if maybe in a currently somewhat unaware way, and with those swaying hips while she had been moving to the music... Nope, it was safe to say that after that tantalizing display, and then finding her body slipping close to his, Dominic was not one inch closer to feeling the urge loosen it's grip of him.

"You know you love it!", she claimed with a grin, while playfully bumping her hip against his.

Though what exactly "it" entailed, she didn't elaborate on; her *ss, or being made to starve. Because in all fairness, while her shapely behind was indeed worthy of loving, Dominic was also known to appreciate the concept of slight masochism... But since the odds were that she was referring to the former, that was the scenario he decided to address, with a simple but expressive;

"Hell yeah."

With his arm then gently around her waist, as to not lose her in the crowd, the two of them started making their somewhat crooked way towards the back of the gathering, since ploughing through it towards the side would probably take them a lot longer than it would take them to go around it. Once emerged, they took a few seconds to locate the nearest gathering of food stands, and then set off to find something to eat that suited both of their tastes. With neither of them being particularly fussy these days - when on the road with a band that had not reached super stardom (yet), you learned to gobble down most anything - especially Dominic who at this point just wanted something, anything, to silence his rumbling stomach, it didn't take them long to find a burger stand. After fifteen minutes, and quite a bit of cussing from Dominic, whose condition didn't exactly improve by standing in line while the mouth-watering aroma of cooked food assaulted his nostrils, they finally got to sit down, and dig in. By then, Dominic was so starved that the first of the two burgers he had ordered vanished in less than two minutes. Only once it was gone, and the rumbling from below subsided, did he take a moment to pause, before starting on his second burger, far more slowly this time. This one, he was set on actually enjoying.

"So," Lavinia said at length, from where she sat across the picnic table from him, "Who else still needs to get here? Lara, Debbie, ooooh your brother too, right? Can't wait to meet little Danny!"

Looking up as she had started speaking, Dominic soon caught the wide and oddly content grin on her lips, and his eyes narrowed briefly in suspicion. What was she up to?
Although... he supposed it could be just plain excitement. Lavinia and Daniel had never had a chance to meet, after all, despite her and Dominic having played together for a couple of years now, and Dominic had talked about his brother quite a bit from time to time. And to be honest, Dominic was quite excited himself, because he hadn't gotten to see neither Daniel nor Lara in weeks, and so was really looking forward to having them show up the day after tomorrow. And on Daniel's eighteenth birthday, no less. Dominic had regretted not being able to make it home for that event, and so had been happily surprised when Danny had told him that he, and Lara, would be coming to the Syrinx Festival for Deus Ex Machina's gig. It was going to be great.

But, back to Lavinia.

"I have a suspicion that feeling might be mutual", Dominic said with a smirk, recalling his little brother's reaction when Dominic had shown him a few of Lavinia's "artistic" pictures; the two brothers differed from one another on many things, but had seemed to be in total agreement regarding Lavinia's... uhhh... assets. "Just go easy on him, okay? Don't give the little shit a heart attack or anything."

~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
Alchemist
#46 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 12:39 PM
Despite being quick to disagree most of the times, Lavinia had to admit that it wasn't always easy being the only female member of Deus Ex Machina, or the long days and nights spent living and working in close quarters with the guys were without certain...incidents. Not when it came to music, no – whenever the group gathered for work, gender lines were blurred and it ceased to matter whether the person next to you was male or female; all that matter was giving it 100 percent and making sure the end result was the best it could be. The issue made itself known at different times, like those long, drawn-out hours spent in the tourbus as it transported them from one location to another, away from friends and loved ones and having only one another as distractions. Sometimes, people ended up getting on eachothers' nerves but other times eyes would wander with a whole different intent, not just on the part of the guys but Lavinia's as well. Just like they aimed furtive glances at her legs and behind whenever she happened to switch to a different pair of pants without retreating to the privacy of the backroom, or glanced appreciatively at her feminine shapes as she lay in her bunk reading a book in nothing but a pair of shorts and a tight-fitting top, she found herself observing them more closely when they happened to be shirtless or wearing clothes that left little to the imagination. The fact that they all managed to overcome this and remain fairly relaxed around one another was just one of the ingredients that made DEM a winning recipe, but it also meant there would always be a certain distinction between Lavinia and the rest of the band. It didn't help that the one guy she felt closest to also happened to be the prime source of temptation, and when their friendly banter took on more flirtatious tones, it was usually a sign that something was fanning those forbidden embers.

Like then. When Lavinia went in party mode, she also tended to become friskier and even less subdued than usual; it was just the way her blood pumped hotly in her veins, mixing with alcohol that suddenly unlocked certain gates that normally kept some of her impulses in check. Secondly, she'd been single for several months, and was really starting to feel the lack of male company in her life, in more ways than one; for someone who made better friends with guys than with other women, Lavinia was notoriously unsuccessful in her romantic relationships. In that, she and Dominic were very different: he was still dating his highschool sweetheart, while Lavinia had acquired an entire collection of failed romances, the latest having ended just before they'd begun promoting DEM's newest album four months ago. It had been an insanely busy time for the band, but a good distraction from the breakup in Lavinia's case, until more recently.

As they ate their burgers and fries and chatted, Lavinia's initial burst of exuberance mellowed down, diverting her thoughts along different paths: she was thinking about those who had yet to get to Syrinx, such as her friend Debbie and Dominic's girlfriend and brother. None of Lavinia's relatives, save for a cousin once, had ever attended her shows (her mother was in her late sixties and her only aunt lived in Canada), so she was looking forward to meeting young Daniel de Vere, whom she knew only from his brother's stories. She was curious whether they were anything alike, and of course the whole thing was a fun opportunity to see just how sensitive Nicky was where his sibling was concerned, if he was a classical older brother or not. After all, it was a side of him Lavinia had yet to experience.

"I have a suspicion that feeling might be mutual" Dominic replied with a smirk right back on his lips, though she hadn't missed the way his eyes had narrowed suspiciously for a few moments. Aw, Danny was a fan? How sweet!

"Just go easy on him, okay? Don't give the little shit a heart attack or anything."

Lavinia (rather unsuccessfully) stifled a laugh behind the rim of her glass; now, what could possibly give him such an idea?

"Why Dominic, you might be overestimating my abilities", she said with false modesty and a devilish glint in her eyes; let him think about that one and wonder whether she was referring to her exuberant personality in general or a far more specific, hands on approach. Retorts that were open for interpretation was one of the games the two of them loved to play...not that she had any plans to actually seduce Dominic's barely 18 year old brother. She was just teasing.

"I'll behave", she added more honestly, though not exactly entirely so; in all truthfulness she planned on showing Danny around and generally get him to enjoy himself, let the kid have a beer or two as long as she kept him from getting wasted.

"Besides, I'm hardly the worst thing that could happen to him; just before you got here, some chick in a pair of stripper heels and a plumed hat -and by that I mean she wore nothing else- hijacked the demo stage, then vanished right under the security guard's nose. Fun times!"




If wishes were fishes we'd all cast nets
Scholar
Original Poster
#47 Old 25th Nov 2009 at 12:03 AM
Default Lara and Danny - Gas Station
A tepid gust of wind and dust blew in through the door as another passer-by made his lethargic exit from the pale blue skies and its specks of white and the golden carpet of the desert, blowing loose strands of baby-fine scarlet hair off the milky skin of her shoulders as her chartreuse eyes brightly drank in the colour contrasts and compliments of the items placed orderly on the shelf behind the counter, her mind taking out the individual things and putting them into where and how she’d put them.

Lara Abbott was not so much of a morning person, quite liking those days she could sleep in to her heart’s content, and being an arts student, thankfully, was no impediment to this glorious practice. These few days, however, with having to finish college work early so that she didn’t have to rush back to school anytime soon after the end of Dominic’s tour, had seen more early mornings – also known as getting out on bed before 8 AM – than she’d have liked to have had. But it was okay, it’d be worth it because for one, she didn’t have to rush to get her work done – well… actually, she had rushed… just a head of schedule – and she could enjoy being at the festival, being with Nicky, without any pressing need to run off and get back to work.
Small sacrifices for big rewards made early mornings easier. Driving around the desert, however, would have probably not been fantastic, because Lara got bored and lethargic, but she’d had Danny around and thought he was pretty much as quiet as her with general people, they’d had a good time so far.
She liked to think so, anyway.
It rolled around to a mid-afternoon pit stop at a gas station to refuel both the car and the human beings in it and while Danny had stayed somewhere within the store, she’d stocked up; drinks, gum, sweets, chips, chocolate… anything.

“That’s $34.45,” the man behind the till announced after pushing a few buttons, craning his neck as Lara heard the small click he’d been looking for, and she’d noticed the way his shoulders sagged soon after, and the small inklings of red in his sclera. Night shift.
She could sympathise; driving to the festival was taking it’s toll, and she couldn’t wait to get there, be in Nicky’s arms again, and eventually not be crammed into a small space for hours at a time. Okay, the last one wasn’t going to happen at a music festival, was it?
A small smile of amusement graced her soft red lips as she slid $40 to him.

“Never seen someone happy to part with money,” he remarked dryly and Lara let out a small laugh in reply. He remained… dry.

“I’m just distracting you while my little brother robs the store,” she jested lightly, and his brown eyes went wide. Okay, he’d been on the nightshift for quite a few hours then. She quickly followed up with an abrupt; “He’s not.”

“Ha!” it clicked and he laughed it off once the haze lifted and she felt daring enough to go for a little more.

“No, I meant he’s not my little brother,” she clarified with a deadpan face and he looked blank again, but this time he caught on sooner, and the thick quietness in the store lifted with the laughter and he packed the items neatly into a bag and handed it over to her and polite byes said, she was ready to go.
Danny.

Danny was… Lara didn’t officially have a little brother, but if anyone came close, it was Danny. In fact, she pretty much saw him in the same stance as Louisa, except Danny probably wouldn’t borrow her make-up and clothes… on a regular basis anyway. His brother, on the other hand…
Nevertheless, Lara, who had a kind heart and soft words for everyone, was even more so with Danny, because in a way, she really could relate to him; looking up to an older brother who seems so cool and just not being of the same temperament yourself. And even if it wasn’t for that, growing up with him as the brother her long-term boyfriend – that seemed something of a kiddish word for the only man she’d loved and was hoping to spend the rest of her life with – had really created some pseudo-familial bond between them, she’d like to think. Either way, she thought of him as her little brother.

So, teenaged boy, gas station and a magazine rack with all sorts and so Lara didn’t have to guess where he’d have gravitated to. To be fair to Danny, he wasn’t one of the laddish boys, but that said, he probably was with the magazines.
And yes… as her gaze narrowed onto the youthful sinewy figure of the darkhaired young man standing at the end of the hallway, she knew she was right.
She didn’t call out to him, but instead quietly, in those kitten heels she was wearing, snuck up behind him, nonchalantly, unassumingly watching him browse through the collections before clearing her throat.
“I never can reach the top shelf ones,” she admitted with a hint of joking regret and a small shake of her head before looking over at him and gesturing to the ones he’d spent longer looking at. “I’ve always had to stick to these. Any goss?”

(((OOC: Hope that works!
Oh, and outfit )))

"Life is just a chance to grow a soul" - A. Powell Davies
Retired Moderator
retired moderator
#48 Old 2nd Dec 2009 at 9:51 PM
Default Dominic and Lavinia - near food stand


As far as older siblings go, Dominic did suffer a bit from the big brother syndrome; he was rather protective of the four years younger Daniel. He had been protective of him when they were kids, and he was still protective of him to this day, only in a far less obvious manner. And only against other people, not himself. He could personally pound on Daniel and wrestle him whenever they argued, or even just for fun, but God have mercy on whoever else might try it. And despite often referring to Daniel as a "little sh*t", "brat", "pain in the *ss" and sometimes even "Mini-Me" (due to how Daniel looked up to him and would often do things just because Dominic had done them, when they were younger), and also being known to have said things along the lines of "He's sixteen, it's about time he gets plastered" and "One cigarette ain't gonna kill him", when it really came down to it, it had been Dominic himself that had discreetly intervened. It was him that had seen to it that his brother didn't have enough to drink to get intoxicated, and it was him who ended up stealing the cigarette out of Daniel's hand after his first puff, in order to smoke it himself, with the excuse being that he himself was "out of cigarettes".

So naturally, when Lavinia, a young woman practically reeking of raw sensuality, showed an interest in Daniel, in a way totally befitting the minx that she was, of course warning bells went off in Dominic's dyed head. Someone like Lavinia would have someone like Daniel for breakfast.
Although, to be perfectly honest, while there was indeed sincerity behind his suspicion that she might prove too hot to handle for the fairly inexperienced Daniel, that wasn't the whole truth. There was a little more to it than that. Humour, yes, but also the vehement rejection of the idea that Daniel would score where Dominic was unsuccessful. Not that Dominic had ever tried seducing Lavinia, nor did he have any actual plans of doing so (if he could help himself), but if things had been different, he would have tried it in a heartbeat. She was hot as hell, the two of them got along fabulously, and so if she hadn't been off limits...
Therefore, the idea of Daniel of all people hooking up with her, wasn't one that big brother Dominic particularly enjoyed.

However, all this passed through his head so quickly that not even Dominic himself registered it on a conscious level, only on a faintly emotional one, in his gut, before he'd caught the humorous mischief in her tone, and quipped back about not giving Daniel a heart attack.

"Why Dominic", she crooned, trying her best not to chuckle, and failing miserably at it, "you might be overestimating my abilities. I'll behave."

Though that was a statement that only earned her a pair of slightly raised eyebrows, and an utterly disbelieving "uh-huh", which really sounded more like a non-pronounced "yeah right". Lavinia? Behave? On a party night? She really didn't realize how well he knew her, did she? He was quite familiar with her "abilities".
Then again, she did usually get through said party nights with more of her dignity intact than some of the guys tended to, and for Dominic to claim that she was misbehaving would be much like the pot calling the kettle black, again, considering he indulged in some naughty activities that she didn't. But still, she did look like vice on legs, and possessed the mischievous streak to match, and so she didn't really have to try very hard to give guys a heatstroke and revert to the mental capacity of a three year-old. Especially the teenaged ones who had only ever hung out with the "girl next door" type of chicks.

"Besides", Lavinia added before Dominic could put his scepticism into actual words, "I'm hardly the worst thing that could happen to him; just before you got here, some chick in a pair of stripper heels and a plumed hat -and by that I mean she wore nothing else- hijacked the demo stage, then vanished right under the security guard's nose. Fun times!"

And just like that, Dominic had forgotten all about his brother - for the time being - and momentarily froze with the last burger halfway into his mouth, as though he thought he'd heard her wrong and was trying to figure out what she had really said. Then, when it dawned on him that she had said exactly what he thought she had, his eyes grew wide as saucers.

"Whoa, whoa, stop!", he said, as the hand holding the burger sank away from his lips; apparently, naked women was enough to make him forget about more than just his brother. "Are you serious? A naked chick in heels, on the demo stage? And I missed it? Aw, dammit!"

That had to have been one... interesting performance, to say the least. And out of all the hours of this launch party night, she'd had to do it when he wasn't around to see it. Typical!
However, since Dominic never had been one for dwelling on the bad stuff, and the things that he missed out on for one reason or another, that short burst of disappointment was to be only his initial reaction, and was soon replaced by his focusing on the next best thing that he could think of;

"Got pics?", he asked, though with the look he shot Lavinia being more expectant than questioning.

After all, had something similar happened when Dominic was around and Lavinia wasn't, he would have been sure to document the event, like the good comrade that he was, so that he could show it to Lavinia later. (And, like the imp that he was, rub her nose in the fact that she had missed it.)


(((ooc: Ghani - So sorry for the delay. I figured that with this being a fairly slow paced RP, the others would get priority, since I had so many characters that I needed to set into motion. Hopefully won't happen again. )))

~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
Retired Moderator
retired moderator
#49 Old 4th Dec 2009 at 12:44 AM
Default Daniel and Lara - gas station


If one was to try and describe the state of mind in which this sweltering afternoon in a Texas gas station found young Daniel de Vere, no word would be more fitting than 'excited'. On his way to his first music festival, to see his older brother perform at Deus Ex Machina's biggest venue ever, and practically on his own, too! No parents around him to guard him like a hawk, and embarrass him by treating him like a little kid, or sticking out like two sore thumbs in the crowd of people that would be at the Syrinx Festival. Only Lara, who even though she'd gotten her fair share of admonitions from his mother before they set off on this journey, was cool enough to not get all obsessively maternal on him over everything. He really liked her. Always had. She was sweet and caring, lots of fun, and so very easy to get along with. Despite the age difference. She'd never made him feel unwanted, even at those times in the beginning of her and Dominic's relationship, when as a naive eleven year-old, he'd come knocking on Dominic's door, hungry for some company, wanting to see what his brother was up to, and not realizing he'd intruded on some of that private time that Dominic and Lara would sometimes try and spend together. On those occasions, Dominic had sometimes snapped at him, but never Lara. Of course, these days Daniel understood embarrassingly well why Dominic hadn't been keen on having his little brother around at those times, and even if it hadn't, it wasn't as though it would have been a problem anymore anyway, since Dominic had moved out several years ago, and so he and Lara weren't around nearly as often as they once had been, what with them living together going to college far away from home. At least at first. Dominic had since dropped out because his career had started taking off, and now seemed to spend most of his time on the road.

Truth be told, Daniel missed both of them. A lot. They'd talk on the phone every once in a while, but Dominic often tended to be in the middle of something, or between two important things, with little time to really talk. Lara on the other hand always took the time to talk, but... It still wasn't the same as hanging out with them. And really, it wasn't like Daniel himself was always so easy to reach, what with school, basketball and friends keeping him busy. More than once he and Dominic had ended up playing phone tag for days, before finally they both had a bit of time to spare.

Now, however, the school year was finally over and Daniel was on summer break, which meant no school, and somewhat less basketball. It didn't make Dominic any less busy, of course, but at least with one brother having more time to spare, those games of phone tag were not as frequent. Though while that in itself was good news, it hadn't eased the effect of the biggest downer of all; the fact that since on tour, Dominic wouldn't be around to celebrate Daniel's eighteenth birthday. That really had put a damper on the younger brother's summer. So much so, that his parents had felt so bad for him that unbeknownst to him, they had gotten him a ticket to the Syrinx festival, where his brother's band would be playing on his very birthday, and given it to him as an early birthday present, along with a bit of money to sponsor the trip.

Daniel had been absolutely thrilled back then. And he still was. The ticket had been the perfect present, and when only a few hours later Lara had agreed to go with him (since his parents insisted that he couldn't go alone, and didn't put too much trust in any of his high school friends), it had made his whole summer. He'd gone from having to spend his birthday at home, without Dominic and Lara, to spending it with both of them, at his very first Deus Ex Machina show at his very first music festival. They'd get to hang out backstage, since Dominic had gotten them backstage passes for when they'd be showing up what HE thought was the day after tomorrow, and he'd hopefully get to meet Lavinia, and lots of other famous rock stars. How cool was that for celebrating your birthday?

Needless to say, he was quite eager to get there. Eager, but still enjoying the trip there far too much to get impatient. Since starting on their journey, he hadn't complained once about how it was taking long, or that he was bored. Not once. He and Lara got along perfectly, and had had quite a good time so far. Though that didn't necessarily mean that there was never a moment at all when he felt impatient. There were occasions here and there, when the need for something to happen drove him to act, even if in the smallest way.
Like now, at the gas station. He had kept Lara company at first, but soon decided there were more interesting things to look at while she stood in line, and so had started circling the small station before coming to a halt by the magazine racks, featuring everything from women's magazines to magazines about cars and sports, and from tabloids to music magazines. And, of course, a wide range of men's magazines. Daniel, being a normal teenaged boy, couldn't help but to steal a couple of curious glances at the latter, but since he was also rather shy and self-conscious, he really didn't want to be caught by anyone, gawking at the naked ladies, and so instead focused on what had drawn him there in the first place; the music magazines. Deus Ex Machina were still a fairly small band, but there had been articles and pictures here and there, and the music industry did seem to be starting to take notice of them, so you never knew when something related to them might pop up.

And lo and behold, this time something actually did. Although it was on one of those magazines that posed as a music and entertainment magazine, but was really far more like just any other tabloid. And what it suggested wasn't really anything that Daniel gave too much credit.

Standing there, squinting a little bit to try and read the text that accompanied the small picture at the top right corner of the cover, the young man didn't hear Lara approach, and so her soft "hehem" took him by surprise, and even made him flinch from being startled by the sudden and unexpected close proximity.

"I never can reach the top shelf ones", she claimed innocently as his head whipped around to look at her, the young man seeming slightly horrified that she had apparently seen him looking at those magazines.

And it seemed he was almost about to start stuttering some weak attempt at an excuse to why he'd been looking, but much to his gratitude, Lara was sweet enough to save him from it herself, and even spared him most of the embarrassment of having been caught in the first place, by simply continuing;

"I've always had to stick to these", she said, motioning towards the music magazines. "Any goss?"

Trying to ignore the sudden pinkish hue of his cheeks as best he could, Daniel offered a slight smile, and a shrug.

"Just that Nicky and Lavinia are getting it on", he said and pointed at the cover he had been studying, which featured a small picture of the two of them close together on stage, with Lavinia's arm around Dominic's neck, and his tongue outstretched, the tip of it just barely touching her ear, with some text below it all, mentioning something about listing the ten hottest couples in the music industry. "Again."

Dominic and Lavinia being a couple - or something along those lines - was a rumour that tended to surface every now and then. If it even went away in the first place. And considering Daniel had seen Dominic and Lara together for years, and witnessed first hand the rather balanced couple they made, not to mention that he had a kind of subconscious idea of them staying together forever, he took it all with a grain of salt.
But then again, the three of them no longer saw each other as regularly as they used to, so...

"They're not, right?", he asked, and turned his head to look at Lara.

He had asked Dominic about it before, but Dominic had just laughed it off, and then moved on to shooting him a teasing 'Jealous?'. However, be it because he thought the look on Lara's face said it all, or because he didn't want her to give an answer that might not be what he wanted to hear, he continued before she had a chance to comment;

"Yeah, didn't think so", he said and glanced at the magazine one final time, only to then turn abruptly back to Lara with a smile; "Hey, can I drive?"

~ * ~ Volition ~ * ~
Scholar
Original Poster
#50 Old 6th Dec 2009 at 2:46 AM Last edited by Alissa888 : 9th Dec 2009 at 1:18 AM.
Default Lara and Danny - Gas Station

Lara wasn’t possessive. She wasn’t one of those clingy, insecure and needy girlfriends who constantly needed to be reassured and made to feel special. At least, she didn’t think she was, because the only real relationship she’d had was with Dominic, and she really didn’t think she was possessive or clingy, and she didn’t want to be that either.
She didn’t get worked up over not seeing him for a couple of days – she missed him badly, but she didn’t whine about it – she didn’t throw tantrums if he had other female friends and she didn’t expect to know where he was and what he was doing every second of every minute of every day.
She didn’t want to stifle him.

But that all aside, there was the fact that since his career began – and she was so proud of and happy for him – there’d developed this abyss between them of her just not know what was going on in his life at certain times. It initially became more difficult for her to feel truly a part of his life until she’d worked out a way to make it work for her still. She tried to make it to every big gig as moral support, she tried her hardest to keep in touch with him, to support him, and to make sure they had enough “intimate time” together. If she got frustrated over how long they spent apart, she could imagine that – as a robust young man – it was definitely not easy for him, either. And with temptation all around….
She trust him, but she couldn’t help but to worry. What if…? What if he got drunk? What if they’d had a fight and…? What if she lost him?

It wasn’t something she wanted to think of, because she loved him, she always had and she hadn’t really thought about what it’d be like without him because they’d spent so long together, as each other’s that it just felt natural to keep thinking that way. Maybe it was naïve and stupid because most high school romances failed sooner or later. Now more than ever because… well, she didn’t know for sure and she’d bought the test, deciding to take it after talking to him – not that that’d change anything – and it wasn’t planned but it’s difficult to be careful all the time…. She didn’t want it to all fall to pieces, especially not now.
She worried.
But it wasn’t something she discussed often, and certainly not with Danny. She didn’t want to recolour the idolised version he had of his big brother. Lara felt that something was off, but it was just speculation and regardless of what went on between herself and Dominic, it was unfair to drag Danny in the middle.

"Just that Nicky and Lavinia are getting it on,” he said, dragging himself into the middle of it just as she noted her minute amusement at the flush of pink across his cheeks at being caught at looking at the top shelf magazines. Her eyes shot to the picture he referred to, the one of Dominic and the girl from their band, Lavinia, getting somewhat cosy onstage. Lara knew all about the idea of selling an image to the audience, but… it didn’t help, knowing all the other things she’d read and heard about them. Especially Lavinia and her reputation. She was probably a very nice person, but it still didn’t settle easy. "Again."

She could tell Danny saw it as outright ridiculous, but it just drove home a few of the prior insecurities the last year or so had been gathering, the omnipresence “What if…?” that coloured everything that wasn’t certain and plain to see. She wanted to it be just ridiculous speculation.
Well, she’d get to meet Lavinia soon and that’d… sway things one way or another, right?

"They're not, right?" Danny suddenly asked, echoing her own uncertainty and her slightly widened gaze met with his in a moment of insecurity before she let levity at the absurdity sink back in, along with an upturn of her lips.
But he moved on… quickly. Did he have doubts?
"Yeah, didn't think so,” he brushed off before turning back to her with a smile curving his soft lips and a request to go with it; "Hey, can I drive?"

Ah. Boy and cars… naturally, Lara was rather fond and protective of her car; not only did she have to work considerably for it, but also because it was her car… it was her baby. She’d set her heart on it long before she’d gotten it. Added to this, Danny was young, and an inexperienced driver and therefore her reservations doubled. However, though she was also protective of Danny, she was a little bit more fond of him than she was of the car. So…
“Alright,” she conceded with a show of an exasperated sigh, yet the same lightness tinging her lips handing the keys and the shopping over to him. “But shotgun picks the music. It’s a rule.”

"Life is just a chance to grow a soul" - A. Powell Davies
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