introductory mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and River Festival
when: The month of August; the bulk of celebration will be in week 1, but there is a party and fireworks display on August 14th.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

river festival

In the days leading up to August 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The River Festival. This holiday is in celebration of the river and the life that it gives to the city, as well as the heat of summer and forming bonds with friends, family, and romantic partners. The celebrations are marked by a community-wide cleanup of the docks and beaches along the river - particularly important considering the recent acid rain - as well as beachfront cookouts and parties (both private and city sponsored) and beach sports tournaments happening on either open stretches of beach or in special clothing-optional beaches, all capped off with fireworks displays on the evenings of August 7th and 14th.

a celebration of the river and togetherness

Following the hedonism of Carnivale, it's time for something a little more low-key and relaxing. The River Festival happens every year in August, and is geared toward community building through cleaning up the beaches and docks along the river and then using all that freshly cleaned beach to gather on. During the first week of August, there are various lightly-themed government-sponsored beach cookouts and parties geared toward family, romantic dates, or casual all-ages get-togethers for meeting new friends; there are also a few more racy parties at clothing-optional beaches around the city. Many private residents also take this time to gather together friends and family, and have cookouts on the beach with all the typical trappings of the beach barbecue. There are also various casual sports tournaments sponsored by community centers, gyms, and sports teams in the city, featuring prizes ranging from notoriety to sports equipment to big bucks. Finally, there are two fireworks displays, one on August 7th and one on August 14th, with free food, and various live performers beforehand.

i. cleaning up

The holiday starts off on a note that is just a bit more sombre than the rest of the season, with the cleanup efforts following late July's strange fog and acid rain blending into the usual tradition of cleaning up beaches and docks along the river. The cleanup is a group effort, with every citizen who is physically able pitching in to comb the beaches, where they pick up fallen tree limbs, garbage, and anything else that's accumulated during the winter and spring, and then raking the beaches to make them clean and ready to use. The cleanup of the docks is similar, with residents sweeping and hosing them down where necessary. This year, there are a lot of repairs to be made to beachfront structures that might've been damaged by the acid rain, so if anyone has some carpentry or building skills, those would definitely come in handy.

This is meant to be a community building effort, so many businesses in the area, more well-to-do private citizens, and the government have pitched in funding to provide lunches, cold drinks, coffee or tea, and snacks to anyone who's helping out with the cleanup efforts. All in all, the cleanup has a very friendly, welcoming vibe.

ii. cookouts and parties

The main traditions of the River Festival involve cookouts and beach parties. On August 7th and August 14th, the government as well as various corporations and businesses in the city, will be providing funds for large beach gatherings. On these days, there will be booths set up offering wares and freebies from various businesses around the city that have helped fund the party, large swaths of cleared beach where residents can don a swimsuit and catch some rays or swim in the river, massive barbecue setups to provide partygoers with all the standard barbecue fare, beach sports tournaments, dancing and musical performances, and fireworks displays (see prompts below).

The holiday isn't just about these big parties, though - many residents arrange their own barbecues, cookouts, beach camping trips, beach bonfires, and other riverside gatherings and outings. Many riverfront businesses offer discounts on services such as canoe or kayak rentals to go out paddling on the river, jetski or motorboat rentals for tubing, wakeboarding, or waterskiing, or mounts to take romantic rides in the surf. Additionally, there is an adults-only section of the beach where any of these activities can be done in the nude in a clothing-optional setting, including the big city-sponsored parties.

iii. sportsball tournaments

Is your character good at playing a particular sport that could, conceivably, be played on a beach? Chances are that during the month of August, a tournament will be set up for them to participate in. The tournaments are pretty standard, generally sponsored by community centers, sports clubs and teams, gyms, and other organizations and businesses in the city, with various levels of specialization, and levels of skill or competitiveness. The prizes also vary, with everything from plain old bragging rights to sports equipment or passes to gyms and community centers, to large lump sums of cash money. Definitely worth it, for characters with a love for sport.

Oh, and a lot of these tournaments are happening on the adults-only clothing-optional beaches, for those grown-up sports fans who like a bit of an extra challenge.

iv. performances and fireworks

On August 7th and August 14th at the end of the large city-sponsored beach parties, there will be evening performances all along the beach. Not as extensive as the musical performances during Carnivale, there are two large-name performers per night, with various lesser-known groups performing at random off and on throughout the day and night. Areas of the beach are cleared for residents to watch and dance to the music, both on the regular and adults-only clothing-optional beaches (acts will switch off between the two areas so both areas get both performances).

Player-characters who are musical artists, DJs, or otherwise perform are free to set up shop around this party and panhandle or put on free performances for publicity.

After the sun goes down, boats will head out into the water carrying a variety of fireworks, and there will be a beautiful display of exploding color in the sky for residents to watch and enjoy. The fireworks are highly advanced, incorporating old-fashioned gunpowder as well as modern technology that result in really beautiful displays that can take the breath away!

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 the River Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: credit unknown; image ii: Albert Ramon Puig; image iii: Claudio Pilia; image iv: Alan Philips

navigation

Comments

Floor 2 - Kitchen

[threatenwithcuteness]

*Lola was feeling so much better about things now that the whole acid rain mess was over. So she's celebrating and the whole floor can enjoy too. ...Once she's finished baking all the trays of corn chips (which are purple but she's not questioning that), cheese (which is yellow... but sorta glowing) and a chaotic mass of toppings she knows tastes close enough to proper nacho ingredients but none of them look quite right.*

*If it makes anyone feel better, the bowl of guac is, in fact, perfectly normal looking. Lola is taking over the kitchen to make nachos and you will all have to deal*

[brightline]

[It's the smell of baking that gets Marco away from his desk and laptop, heading into the kitchen with his stomach growling. Ever since he's gotten here, it's been recon and trying to figure things out, trying to figure out if he even wants to go back and if he does, how.

But when he smells corn chips in the oven, all of that fades away and he's immediately poking into the kitchen, just in time to see the girl who has the bed next to him pulling a tray of chips out of the oven.]

Whoa. I think you're my new favourite roommate.

[threatenwithcuteness]

*Lola's hair is a soft baby blue as she mills about the kitchen moving the nachos from the baking sheet to some plates. She's more than aware that baking anything that has a scent draws more than a few of her roommates out and into the kitchen.*

I'm glad someone appreciates nachos so much.

I'm Lola.

[brightline]

[Marco notices the blue hair, but that's cool, as far as he's concerned. Especially when the girl in question is sliding nachos onto plates and, weird colours and textures or not, the way she's making them looks about a thousand times better than the crappy ones at the food court.

When she gives her name, Marco grins a bit.]

Beautiful name, for a beautiful girl. I'm Marco.

[He holds his hand out to her, grinning because he thinks, maybe, this time, he's finally pulled that line off.]

I think your bed is right beside mine, isn't it?

[threatenwithcuteness]

*That is not a new line, that line is old, old and tired. Tired, well used, and really any girl should just see right through it. Lola, however, would take any form of praise and appreciation she got so of course she's smiling and batting her eyes a little. She's only human, after all.*

It is nice to meet you, Marco.

*She wipes her hand off with a dishtowel before taking his, she has been working around the kitchen so she's at that perfect stage of 'messy enough to seem human' but still cuter than puppies.*

I think so, my bed has all the pink blankets and comforters. Really hard to miss.

[brightline]

[It is a very old and tired line, but in his 19 years of life Marco has never once successfully pulled it off, so when she smiles at him and flutters her lashes in that irresistible way girls have, he can't help beaming.]

Nice to meet you too.

[Leaning his hip against the counter, he surveys the whole nacho scene for a moment before dark eyes (with fabulous lashes) flick back up to her face. She's cute, and for once she's a few inches shorter than him and, hey, he's gotten used to girls being taller than him, but it's kinda nice to hang around one who isn't. When she mentions the pink blankets and comforters, he laughs easily.]

Yep, I've definitely seen that one. Mine's the one with the lame college dorm generic comforter because I haven't been shopping yet. Is that cheese glowing?

[threatenwithcuteness]

*Confidence is good, it helps sell the line even after Lola has already totally taken it in.*

You should probably work on that, those comforters look bad and aren't super comfortable.

*She slides a plate over to him with a smile.*

Oh, don't worry about that, it isn't Earth cheese and it's suppose to glow a little after being properly melted. I think...

*Lola's a self-described idiot, but she's actually pretty good at learning about food and ingredients to be sure that she uses them right. So she's like 99% sure this stuff won't kill anyone or make them change colors. Still she takes the first bite.*

And it tastes right... but it needs a little more salt, the chip isn't quite right flavor wise. One second.

[brightline]

[When she tells him he should work on that, his brow raises, and he crosses his arms, but he's grinning, a sly, pleased little thing.]

Yeah, I was planning to. You know any good malls around here?

[When she pushes the plate over, Marco waits politely for her to take the first chip, then pops a chip into his mouth, loaded with glowy cheese and weird alien nacho toppings. It's not that he trusts someone he only just met, but honestly, weird alien food isn't so weird when you've been hanging out with aliens and living on an alien ship for the past half-year so he doesn't exactly hesitate.]

You're right. Salt's easy to add though. Man, this is really good.

[threatenwithcuteness]

*This look, this is the look of a well pampered teenage girl who was just asked if she knows where any good malls are. She's not even going to verbally respond to such an impossible question.*

Salt is also one of the handful of things that just... is. I guess because science or something.

*Of course all that side-eyeing vanishes at the compliments to her cooking. And she's back to smiling and enjoying the company.*

I do what I can. And I keep learning more stuff I can cook just to keep it interesting.

[brightline]

[Something about that look just screams Rachel and for a moment, Marco is completely overwhelmed with a feeling somewhere between nostalgia and anxiety about that revelation.

A pause, while she adds the salt and then says that she wants to keep learning stuff to cook to keep things interesting. Nodding, Marco puts another nacho in his mouth and makes a low groaning noise of pleasure at the taste of it.]

Well, you're a good cook, so I bet you can make whatever you want. Anyway, about a mall, you look like you're probably a bit ahead of the game when it comes to fashion. Wanna catch a guy up?

[bookofyonah]

[ The scent of baking draws in another roommate. Yonah announces her arrival into the kitchen with a few raspy coughs, then excitedly scampers over to look over the trays of chips. Forget her dumb cough. ]

Wow!

[ She's never had nachos before, so she won't know what "normal" nacho and cheese would look like. ]

You made these? What is it called?

[threatenwithcuteness]

*Wait they have a kid on this floor now? She hopes that cough isn't contagious, that's the last thing she needs is to get sick after the weather finally stopped melting clothes.*

These are Nachos, never had them before. They're amazing...

But let them cool down a little before you have some. What's your name?

[bookofyonah]

Okay! They look really good... and magical!

[ Referring to that somewhat glowing cheese there, especially. She sits down and places her hands on her lap, obediently waiting for the food to cool.

Fortunately her cough isn't contagious. But whoever she shares the floor with will probably hear the coughs from her every now and then. ]

I'm Yonah. What's yours?

[threatenwithcuteness]

Well, they do taste magical, but this is just cooking. No magic, really.

*She may have a bitter hatred for using magic to cook. Just maybe. What's the point of pouring your skills and talents into something if someone else just snaps their fingers. Rude. Lola's also terrible at hiding her anger about magic in the kitchen.*

Lola. I've been living here the longest so if you need help with anything, just ask.

[bookofyonah]

Think you can show me how to make nachos some day, Lola?

[ She hasn't even tried eating them yet, but she doesn't doubt the fact that they do taste magical. Plus, she likes trying to cook. It makes her Dad happy (as far as she knows.) ]

[threatenwithcuteness]

Umm, I guess. They aren't that hard and as long as you don't set the kitchen on fire we should be fine.

*Lola is fine with the concept of children, she just has no desire to be responsible for one for anything longer than an hour. That seems like work, and an all around terrible idea.*

But you should probably try some before learning to make them. Otherwise you won't know if it tastes off.

[somakemelaugh]

[He hadn't been planning on doing any cooking of his own today, but now that he sees this, he's glad for it. Being stuck with no less than nine roommates, he's been begrudgingly used to having to share the kitchen when one of them wants food and all of the smells that he is or isn't used to that tends to come along with it. But this is the first time that one of them has actually managed to take over the whole room just for one meal.]

[He's keeping his hands to himself, but he has to come investigate. What even is going on here?]

Hungry, are we?

[threatenwithcuteness]

Hmm? I just like to make sure there's extra in case anyone else wants some.

*Lola hasn't looked up from her milling about just yet, this was just how she operated, if anyone else wanted the kitchen she could consolidate well enough. But why would anyone with such a great kitchen limit themselves to just a smaller corner.*

Want some?

*And that's when she looked up and realized it was that creepy looking guy from the other half of the floor. And it showed, cause Lola was making a creeped out face.*

[somakemelaugh]

[He could relate. His own kitchen back home had been but a fraction of the size of this one. It had been intended for one person alone, but he would still cover the entire thing from end to end if business was slow and the notion took him.]

[Even with his poor eyesight, he can see that look she's giving him and it gets a smile. He's used to seeing that on people.] No, thank you. Seems you don't care for it much now yourself. I think I'll pass.

[threatenwithcuteness]

Huh?

*She was trying to track where he thought she wasn't hungry. She mused for a moment eating a nacho.*

No, just because you're really creepy looking doesn't mean I can't eat. If I couldn't eat just because something here was weird I'd have starved months ago.

[somakemelaugh]

[Well, that's rude, but true. Good for her, he really likes it that way.] Good to see you haven't lost your appetite after all. [He moves to a cabinet where he's been keeping his own supplies and pulls out a jar, woefully not the urn he had back home, and removes the lid to pull out a... It's not bone shaped as he would like, but he hasn't been able to find a cookie cutter that makes the shape he likes.]

So what is this you're making?

[threatenwithcuteness]

I went to all this work, shame not to eat.

*She watches him, how does someone make grabbing a cookie creepy? How is that a thing? That's not suppose to be a thing! Cookies are inherently pure and good! Still, she hides it by being excited about her cooking, which is easy for her.*

Nachos. I got a little creative with the toppings. Couldn't find all the same chiles I wanted. But they still work.

[somakemelaugh]

[Easily. Very easily. For him.] Nachos? Never heard of it. Looks like crackers and garnish at a fancy party to me. [He grins, pulling a cookie from his jar, then puts the jar back.] Is that what this is, then? Something for a party?

[threatenwithcuteness]

Corn chips, with peppers and spices, held together with cheese. It's definitely for parties, not sure anyone I'm from would say 'fancy' though.

*She saw where he was going with the description at least, it's close but the refinement on finger foods was a lot more about presentation and single serving bites than... nachos. Which were nachos.*

Usually it's an appetizer for everyone to share before their entrees show up. At least that's how it usually gets ordered.

[somakemelaugh]

Hm. That's interesting, indeed. What would they call it then, if not fancy? Where I'm from, there's either fancy or there's not, depending on your finances. Not much room in the middle.