introductory mingle: carnivale

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Carnivale Celebration
when: July 1st - July 9th
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

carnivale

In the days leading up to July 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Carnivale. This holiday is in celebration of music, and the onset of summer and warmer weather. The celebrations are marked by street parties, an extensive program of live musical performances, with a large parade (and paid holiday!) capping it off on July 8th.

celebrating music, and summer

After a couple of months of low-key or even solemn celebrations, it's time for Riverview Quarantine to throw a good, old-fashioned party. Carnivale is a city-wide festival that pretty much everyone gets into, and many residents take the entire week off so they can enjoy all the festivities. With events ranging from impromptu street parties, free live musical performances, food stands, themed club nights, adult lounges with kink shows, and topped off with a massive party parade, the holiday has a lot to offer for anyone who likes to sing, dance, and show some skin!

i. street parties and food

One of the staples of the Carnivale festival is the spontaneous street parties and food trucks and carts. It's not unusual during the holiday to turn a corner and run into a group of people dressed in bright colors and sequins having an impromptu party with a few drinks, and then be invited to join right in! Carnivale is a celebration of music as well as summer, so most shops and stalls will be blasting danceable music into the streets to facilitate these little street parties - it's considered a sign of good luck for the owner of a business if an impromptu Carnivale celebration starts up in front of their door.

Considering the proliferation of street parties and people out and about to celebrate the warmer weather, local business owners also take to the streets. Food carts, stands, and trucks pop up on almost every street corner offering a wide variety of food from savory treats to sweet desserts. Many of the carts are offering one free item to anyone dressed up for Carnivale - anything shimmery, shiny, or brightly colored will do!

ii. live musical performances

One of the major roads in the city center has been completely roped off for the entire week, and all along this street, various temporary stages have been set up, each with a nice hefty sound system. Volunteers hand out printed flyers, and digital boards are set up here and there with schedules of various performances that are all free to attend, ranging from well-known popular music artists to new up-and-comers or independent artists who are looking to make a name for themselves. This event is very widely advertised around the city, and is accepting entries until the very last minute.

At couple of the acts might be familiar faces to some of the residents.

Eichi Tenshouin has signed up himself and his friend Tsumugi Aoba into the music festival as a first-time appearing idol unit called "Higanbana." Dressed in all white with splashes of color (blue, largely, with only their headsets being a red spider lily), they carry a very commanding and angelic image together. They'll have a routine that emphasizes their great harmony with each other, taking turns doing solo lines and joining together to show off each of their talents. Singing and dancing, they interact heavily with the audience and will encourage a lot of involvement with speaking between songs and gestures, winks, and so on. Basically, they intend to make this Riverview's very first prominent "idol performance".

For his performance, Otabek Altin will start with rock remixes of a few popular pop songs. He wants to make sure that it starts off with recognizable pieces for some people, and he certainly thinks it is something that could get people excited even if they don't know it. Then, it shifts into a few original songs. They are upbeat, rock songs that he put together with the intention to make people dance and move, since he is a DJ. He'll end his set with a slower piece he put together that is also an original. Through the entire performance, he's focused and quiet, though he may occasionally try and excite the crowd with a few words.

Any other player-characters who are musically inclined are more than welcome to assume their character was fit in for a performance, and can post up a top-level with a rundown of their performance to get bonus Activity Points for posting a mingle!

iii. carnivale parade

The other main attraction of Carnivale week comes on July 8th, which is a paid holiday for everyone in the city. The Carnivale Parade will be starting out by City Hall and winding through downtown in a lazy pattern so everyone in the city has a chance to see it. There will be all sorts of floats, dancers, marching bands, with all sorts of clubs, businesses, and other organizations represented. The theme is theatrical, big and showy, bright and colorful, sparkly and shiny, with loud music and lots of glitz and glamour. Observers can expect great music, excellent dancing and marching shows, neat vehicles provided by classic car clubs, the fire, police, and Perimeter Guard. They can also expect a lot of party favors, whether it's a sparkly plastic beaded necklace, a fan to take the edge off the heat, candy, popsicles, a temporary tattoo, or any number of other little treats or toys to be tossed into the crowd - some of them fit for kids and teens, others of a more 'adult' nature handed out a bit more discreetly to anyone who looks the part.

And make sure you wear your waterproof mascara - Carnivale floats have a tendency of spraying or spritzing water, both in an unspoken competition to see who can make the biggest water-refraction rainbow in the air, and to keep observers cool in the new summer heat.

iv. adult: lounges and kink exhibition

Thanks to the Carnivale tradition of showing as much skin as possible, some event organizers' minds have turned to topics of a more adult nature. In the evenings, residents may see clubs doing "lounge nights"; these adults-only events have bouncers IDing everyone at the door to ensure they're 18+. The themes may vary, from very specific niche themes like 'golden age superheroes' to broad themes like 'rainbows,' and each event is clearly marked as what it is - all-nude or clothing-optional, and can host events ranging from amateur to professional exotic dancing, food served off of nude bodies, anonymous masked hookups, or just provide a comfortable space where casual sex is encouraged with whoever happens to be around. Various legal substances can be found at these lounges, but nothing that would cause violation of consent, and every substance would be clearly labeled and have warnings to ensure that no one partakes unless they choose to. Please be sure to warn in the subject line for sexual content or drug use (since some mild party drugs are legal in Riverview).

For the weekend from July 7th-9th, there will be a kink exhibition in one of the large exhibition centers downtown, limited to characters 18+. The exhibition is a sexy adult informational convention featuring various kinks and fetishes. Whether you're into leather, latex, lace, or anything else, you'll be able to find the clothes, toys, guides, books, erotica, fiction, and a wide variety of other interesting stuff to explore. While the atmosphere is sex-positive and there are private and public (for the voyeurs and exhibitionists in the room) venues for having sex, it's definitely focused on exploration and information about different stuff to try.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up one of the mod-posted prompts for each Communal Floor. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during Carnivale, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Roger Patterson Jr.; image ii: Syd Mead; image iii: screencap from the movie Paprika; image iv: siamon89

navigation

Comments

III

[withstyle]

[The colors, general buzz of energy and excitement, and all of the people enjoying the festivities are somewhat new to Izzy. She's lived in New York her entire life, but somehow parades and people were never an everyday way of life. So, she can't help the bright smile on her face, or the wide eyes, as she looks around and takes in everything.

Wandering around has been a tease to her senses, but as Izzy makes her way toward her older brother--managing to find him with relative ease, considering the fact that he towers over a number of the surrounding crowd--only to stop short. The giggle that escapes isn't one that Izzy can hold back. The very sight of the grumpiest Lightwood child--the shadowhunter equivalent of a sparklepyre--is enough to break any ability to school her reaction.]

Days is putting it lightly, I'd give it at least a week! [Iz responds brightly, another bubble of laugh escaping as she closes the distances so she doesn't have to speak quite as loudly. Reaching up, Izzy swipes some of the glitter sludge with playful, almost childlike, amusement.] But you look very pretty and sparkly, big brother. If that helps?

[angelic_archer]

[Izzy isn't as easy to spot. Not because of the difference in height but because he's blinking through a haze of water, Realizing that his sister's close, Alec hunches down as she reaches up.]

Can you get the stuff that's getting close to my eyes? I'd try but the last time I did, I only made things worse.

[He still can't figure out why Magnus likes so much glitter. It's pretty but without magic, it gets into places that Alec prefers not to have scratch, shiny things.]

I'm pretty and sparkly and entertaining my little sister. What else could I want?

[withstyle]

[The sight of her brother bent forward to make up the difference in their heights is amusing. Izzy can't help the peel of laughter that escapes even as she does what her brother has requested, reaching up with both hands to gingerly wipe the glitter away from his eyes to protect his vision. Much as she thinks him with glitter on is amusing and great she doesn't want it to affect his vision.

And she's honestly not sure how glitter in the eyes wouldn't irritate them. Alec's just lucky that she doesn't mind helping take care of her brothers. Getting the glitter collected on her fingers and swiping the sludge away from his eyes, Izzy wipes the result on his arm and then goes back to make sure that there isn't any more impending glitter. And while she's at it she clears the rest of the area around his eyes...just to be sure.

Once she's done she, again, wipes the results on his arm with a grin.] There we go, no danger of glitter blindness now. Better? [Izzy teases with a wink before looking down at her hands and seeing the glitter that is lingering despite wiping her fingers on her brother. Brushing her hands together to try and dislodge some of the flecks, Izzy focuses on her hands even while listening to Alec.]

Hmmm....not much I think. Pretty sure that's the height of everything you could want. [Izzy finally looks up, winking at her brother. She's teasing, obviously.] Though, if you were entertaining Jace and Max too I'm pretty sure your life would be complete. The water did a number on your pretty glitter, though.

[angelic_archer]

[It's different that Izzy's amused by his height instead of annoyed by it. All his childhood memories of them adjusting to the difference had his little sister frustrated that she wasn't as tall as her older siblings instead of thinking his attempts at adapting to everyone else's height were funny. Sometimes he'd thought her obsession with heels were based on that until he realized she liked those kind of shoes.

Keeping still while she finished getting the glitter free of his lashes, he lets out an exaggerated sigh.] Yes, thank you. I don't know how you and Magnus deal with that stuff. It gets everywhere.

[Sometimes that was fun and the effect could be beautiful but the clean up is annoying.]

I'm sure if I want to stay sparkly, Magnus can zap it back. We could find all of them and then everything really would be perfect. [Not just because they'd all be amused by how shiny he is. Alec hadn't thought he'd get to be with all the people who mattered most in one place again until they arrived here.]

[withstyle]

Well, unlike you we're not novices. We're much more educated in the dos and don'ts of glitter. [Izzy grins as she gives her brother a playful wink, pulling her arms back to herself now that she's done clearing the wayward glitter from the oldest Lightwood's eyes. Truthfully, she and Magnus have worn glitter more often than Alec, but probably not at events like this...where they were obviously going to be sprayed with water.

Alec probably didn't realize this was going to happen, to be fair, so he gets a pass for that.] Massive amounts of water and any sort of makeup that isn't waterproof are usually a no-no. Also, you have to think...it's Mangnus and me you're talking about....we like being sparkly and beauty can be painful or annoying on rare occasions and all that.

[She really is mostly teasing about that, though. She's not sure that that's the way Magnus feels, but out it comes anyway. Her curls bounce slightly as she nods in acknowledgement to Alec's point.] For you I think he'd do anything including zapping it all away if you really wanted. [Izzy playfully bumps her brother now, unable to help but smile just a bit wider thinking about how they're all in one place and all, basically, safe.] Someone's happy we're all in one place, huh?

[The petite shadowhunter lifts her chin, looking around in search for Max...or Jace...or even Magnus; she saw the first in the list a bit ago in passing as she explored, but it's much harder for her to keep an eye on him in crowds like this than it is...Jace or Alec or even Magnus--all with a fair bit of height on her.] Where did you last see Max and Jace? I spotted our baby brother a little bit ago, but don't think I've spotted Jace or Magnus yet....guess my heels only helped me out a little in this case.

[angelic_archer]

I'm learning! [The protest was half-hearted. Glitter is not one of his favorite fashion choices unless it's on Magnus.] I prefer eyeliner to the sparkles.

[He's not quite sure how he knows that. Part of the fake memories from Wayward Pines or something else? There'd been a few parties in Europe that are still a bit hazy. He thinks he may have gotten drunk enough to agree to let Magnus try eyeliner on him.]

At least I think I preferred the eyeliner? [It shouldn't be a question but until they know what memories are real, Alec isn't sure which of his 'honeymoon' experiences are true. Smiling when her shoulder bumps against him, he manages not to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind about them all being in one place. At least Izzy doesn't seem to remember the guilt she'd felt months ago.]

Most of us at least. I keep waiting for Clary and Simon to show up.

[Actually he's surprised that they aren't since Clary is rarely separated from Jace and Simon follows her no matter what may happen to them.]

I saw Jace and Max over there. [Gesturing toward the front of the crowd, he stretches so that he catches a glimpse of blond hair, automatically knowing that the being is his parabatai.] He said he'd watch Max for awhile. I'm not sure where Magnus is.