introductory mingle: FLOWER FESTIVAL

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Flower Festival Celebration
when: April 2nd - April 15th
where: In several different locations in the downtown area of the Inhabited City.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

flower festival

In the days leading up to April 2nd, residents new and old may notice advertising around the city, everywhere from digital screens to paper flyers pasted on blank walls, all advertising an upcoming holiday: The Flower Festival. Celebrating springtime, beauty, joy, and togetherness, the festival heavily features floral themes and dancing. The advertising mentions that on April 10th, a paid holiday, there will be a Blossom Picnic, as well as lists of various public dances at clubs or other open venues, and adult raves.

a celebration of spring

The Flower Festival's main event is the Blossom Picnic on April 10th, but it also features traditions of sharing food and drink, and dancing that span over the course of the whole two weeks. There are a large variety of events going on throughout the city, from dancing lessons in any wide variety of traditional dances, to old-fashioned sock hops, to adult raves complete with mild party drugs. Feel free to use the prompts below or create your own event at any point during the festival, and if your character creates an event and hosts it in a top-level, you can submit that thread for extra bonus points.

i. blossom picnic

The main event that kicks off the second week of the Flower Festival is the Blossom Picnic on April 10th. A relaxed and low-key event, it draws several thousand people every year to the spacious Riverview Central Park, where there is a generous lawn lined with various blossoming trees, and families, found families, lovers, and groups of friends are encouraged to lay out a picnic blanket and share food. There will be live bands playing (but not loudly enough to distract from conversation and peacefully watching the petals flutter in the wind), a variety of demonstrations of traditional cultural dances from many different realities and planets, and a ton of ice cream vendors. This is an excellent festival not only for celebrating togetherness with the people who are already important, but for mingling and making new friends.

Characters may either pack their own lunches or they can purchase pre-packed Blossom Festival lunches. Stores and street markets are carrying a wide variety of specialty food that is only available at this time of year - predominantly pastries, an assortment of types of candies, and ice cream treats all in various floral flavors, as well as a sort of ambrosia salad based around a sweet rose-flavored cream and a native fruit that is bright green and tastes like a combination of peach and citrus.

ii. dancing lessons

Starting on April 2nd, there will be dancing lessons offered almost everywhere you look! From partner dances to group dances to line dances; sexy and sensual or innocent and childlike - almost any type of dance you can imagine is represented, from any reality or planet that has people in Riverview Quarantine.

Additionally, the Riverview Central Community Center has multiple rooms blocked off so anyone who knows a dance from home can teach it to others in their community - sharing is caring, after all. Characters are welcome to block off one of these rooms and offer lessons in any dance they happen to know from home (and these sorts of thread starters would be eligible for the mingle AC Point bonus)!

iii. flower festival dancing

This is pretty simply what it says on the tin - in almost every club, community center, or other public space, there will be dancing at almost all hours of the day or night, formal and informal. Musicians bring out their instruments and play in the street for demonstrations of cultural dances and music at the same time as clubs are offering VIP cover charges for exclusive dances, and you can find anything in between.

There are also many low-cover-charge raves that allow under-18s so younger characters can stay up all night and dance like crazy. The legal drinking age in Riverview Quarantine is 14, and so anyone over 14 can enter and indulge in a few drinks, dancing, and playing tag with a non-intoxicating version of the colored powder featured at the adult raves. There is copious amounts of security on site to ensure that everyone is safe, as well as nurses and off-duty police officers to offer advice or care for anyone who overindulges out of lack of experience.

Grab a partner, a group of friends, or just cruise and mingle the various dancing events.

Characters may also notice that most of the street markets and clothing shops are offering clothing that features floral patterns, flowers as accessories, and that show a lot of skin - for men, women, and anyone in between!

iv. adult raves

Advertised on flyers and digital screens around the city, made to pop as if they were under blacklight, is a series of adult raves that are happening in various large empty warehouse spaces around the city, including one that is listed as the danger rave and hosted in an abandoned factory outside the inhabited city walls. With bouncers at the door to ensure that anyone entering is 18+, the raves are comfortably adult in nature. Clothing is optional, showing skin is encouraged, and there are a lot of neatly tucked away spaces for attendees to get some time alone with one or more than one person, as well as spaces intended for orgies. The atmosphere is sex-positive and non-judgemental, open to any orientation or preference, with various forms of protection available for free, however, to ensure that everyone plays safe there are sober security teams out en masse at all premises to oversee the events.

(CW: DRUG USE) In each location, there is one specific room where attendees can enter, and dance or play tag with brightly colored powder that contains small amounts of a legal party drug commonly available in Riverview, which is absorbed through the skin. Not much more intoxicating than having a few beers, the effects of the drug are a pleasant low-key buzzing euphoria, positive sensitivity to touch, a heightening of desires for intimacy, and a mild lowering of inhibitions. Once a character has been hit with the powder, the color lingers on the skin so other attendees can know who has partaken, but once the powder makes contact with a surface it deactivates, meaning that partakers can safely dance with non-partakers without sharing the intoxicating effects.

Please be sure to warn in subject lines for any threads involving drug use. And remember, there is always security to intervene and make sure everyone is safe.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to set up headers for a communal floor, or threads open to roommates for the purpose of getting to know each other. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set at the Flower Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: third image by Steve Goad; other images found on uncredited on Pinterest or Google images - please let the mod know if you find credit!

navigation

Comments

Marcel Gerard | OTA

[bloodycrown]

ii. dancing lessons

[ Marcel's known the importance of networking since long before it became a buzzword. Marcel also knows knows a ton of ballroom dances, so he's taken over a room for it and is cheerfully inviting over anyone who approaches. ]

Hey, wanna learn how to dance?

iv. adult raves

[ Unfamiliar drugs in unfamiliar places are always a bad idea, so Marcel is steering clear from those. He's getting drinks instead and keeping an eye on everything, ready to step in if there's any trouble. ]

v. wildcard

[ Friends from Communal Housing; Floor 5 Meet your new roomie. (Also friends from other floors.) ]

iv.

[dust_of_life]

[This so isn't Fatima's scene. She loves dancing, it's true. Especially with wild and complete abandon. Enough to lose herself and forget, for a moment or two, that she was born into a world of darkness, which will probably claim her before she ever reaches the age of forty. But when it comes to sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll, she's pretty much partial to only the rock-and-roll part.

Still. There's alcohol. And she's been killing her liver pretty much since she turned sixteen. So she's got a glass of rum in one hand, as she swishes her hips near the side of the dance floor and tries very, very hard to ignore the moans and groans coming from some of the darker places she doesn't want to know about.

That is until she feels it. It's like a pulse of coldness. A shiver down the back of her spine and deep into the pit of her stomach. There's a Cainite close by. The first she's felt since arriving. And it takes the fun out of the dance, takes away the recklessness. Now she's casing the room, trying to find it, trying to identify the monster.

It's the beautiful man with the devil in his eyes that catches her attention first. Why is it vampires are always devastatingly gorgeous?]

Re: iv.

[bloodycrown]

[ Marcel feels the eyes on him before he sees her and when he turns he very deliberately meets her eyes. The girl doesn't smell human nor vampire, he's not sure of what to make of it. He's intrigued.

He crosses the room, there's nothing predatory about it, just friendly. ]

Hey there.

[dust_of_life]

[Of course, she has that coming. You can't just stare at the hot guy in a place like this and not expect the attention.

Well. Auntie Diana couldn't. Fatima doesn't consider herself nearly as beautiful. But that's apparently not the point right now.

She tries her best to swallow every single ping of her Cainite radar. It's like cold droplets of water being shoved down her throat. It's ice in her stomach. She takes a pull of her drink, before responding. There's no trace of hesitation of uncertainty in her tone. Vampires may inspire a lot of mixed emotions in Fatima, but she's good at schooling herself and her features.]

Hey.

(ii)

[signifies]

[ Clark has a few of the flyers advertising lessons haphazardly stuffed into his bag. He's stopped at every room in this building to observe at length, and take photos if the instructor and students permit. It's still early in the afternoon, so he's thinking of coming back later when he runs into Marcel.

He smiles warmly at seeing him again. This is as good a time as any to get to know him. ]

I'd love to. What are you teaching?

[bloodycrown]

[ Of course Clark would be the first potential taker. ]

Hey Clark. [ he holds out a hand because he's a polite, friendly person and that's what polite, friendly people do. ] What do you want to learn?

[signifies]

[ They're both polite, friendly people. Clark takes his hand. ]

What're you teaching?

V

[ragnarsson]

[So, they had a new person on their floor. Ivar caught sight of him when as he came into the room. He was busy tossing a knife at a wooden target he'd set up on the opposite wall. He'd been using the wall itself until someone pointed out the holes that would leave for the others. So, trying to be considerate, he'd taken one of the targets from the training center and brought it home.

He flicks the knife with an easy motion, sending it spinning through air, and embedding itself neatly into the center of the target. Then he gets off the bed, crawling over to it, and yanking it back out. Then back to his bed he went. He nodded to Marcel, setting the knife down on his bedside table, and offering one of several beers he had there. He'd meant to drink them both himself, but he'd sacrifice one as a friendly gesture.]

Skoal! Have a drink?

[bloodycrown]

[ The kid had already caught his attention, what with the scary good aim and the crawling around, but the expression tells him more than anything else. It takes him a moment to place it, but he gets it. Scandinavian or Norwegian, he's not sure of how old but considering the boy's age, the knife, and the drinking, his best guess is viking. ]

Sure, thank you.

[ He smiles before walking over, careful not to get in front of the knife's potential trajectory. He takes the beer before holding out a hand, getting close enough so Ivar doesn't have to move. ]

I'm Marcel.

[ragnarsson]

Ivar Ragnarsson. Some call me Ivar The Boneless.

[Indeed, he's not just a Viking, but a famous one at that, or so he's gathered from those farther along in time than himself. He shakes Marcel's hand, his own rough and callused from a lifetime of crawling around on the ground. He clinks his beer against Marcel's before drinking. His eyes keep roving over the other man's skin color. There's only curiosity in his gaze. He'd never even seen anyone with such dark skin before coming here and he's yet to see anyone this up close.]

So, they stuck you in here. I'll tell you this much, you're on an interesting floor.

[diagenesis]

[The shock and scandal of men posing such questions is something he has well learned to leave on Nassau's shipwreck shores. It is not a matter of shifting perceptions, but the modern age is-- kinder to certain proclivities than he is accustomed. No one's yet been hung in the square.

Dancing with other men is yet beyond him, but there is neither tension nor hostility in the set of his shoulders at the question, as when Michael tried it. He simply shakes his head.]

Believe it or not, I'm well-versed.

[He's merely here to watch. It is, after all, the best way to gauge someone's measure without strictly needing to speak with them.]

[bloodycrown]

Are you? You look more like the sparring type.

[ Which Marcel is also open to doing, he just needs to get a better idea of who this guy is first. ]

Marcel Gerard.

[ He holds out a hand. ]

[diagenesis]

[In a rather amused tone,]

A man can't be both?

[He always appreciates an observant mind. What scars he has he wears well, but there is something unmistakable about the way a man holds himself when he knows he can win a fight. Flint is not an egotist, he is merely supremely, calmly confident.]

James McGraw.

[There is a pause so slight as to be all but imperceptible between his first and last names. McGraw is a dead thing, a corpse whose name he wears and he finds that it does not suit him the way Flint came to.

But Flint does not belong in this place, and so James leaves him quiescent. James shakes the man's hand, his grip is firm but rough enough to speak to hard labour.]

ii

[barksnark]

-- excuse me?

[ The offense on his face and tone is completely feigned, fact confirmed by how he presses his hand against his chest dramatically, looking Marcel up and down. Furrowed brows and parted lips follow the brief glance around the both of them, like he's making sure it's really him this dude is talking to. ]

Do I look like I don't know how to dance?

[bloodycrown]

[ Marcel laughs. It's the first time he's done it since his arrival to Riverview. ]

Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to offend.

[ he holds up his hands apologetically, playing along. ]

Shouldn't have assumed.

[barksnark]

Yeah, you're damn right. Dancing is a family tradition that was passed down through generations, man, it's some serious business to us.

[ As totally evidenced by the fact that he calls it 'serious business'. ]

So what are we talking about? Disco? Headbanging? Ballet-samba fusion? Give me some pointers here.

V

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Floor 5 has an almost homeyness to it these days. Most of the residents knew each other or have gotten to know each other, though it seems that they've had a couple of people leave recently. Bucky barely knew either of the original roommates they lost, so it's not that strange when they have new people in the beds.

Bucky brushes past one of the new guys on his way in one afternoon, carrying a couple of brown paper bags of groceries, which he starts to put up in the cabinets and fridge. All but the coffee, which he keeps out on the counter until he can hide it with his own stuff. After a moment, he realizes it'd probably be polite to say something.]

Hey, how's it going?

[bloodycrown]

[ Marcel keeps very weird hours, if he sleeps at all it's a couple of hours right after dawn and he spends most of his time outside, finding work to busy himself with.

He's seen most of his floormates by now, coming in and out, he just hasn't been formally introduced. ]

Hey. Pretty well— Are those shared resources?

[ He gestures at the fridge. It's been a couple of days and he hasn't touched anything— that's another notably weird thing too, Marcel doesn't seem to eat. ]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky's not around enough to take notice of anyone else's schedules, unless they line up with his, really. He's up before the sun and out for his run and to the gym, then work with the Perimeter Guard for most of the day. He turns in about as early as his schedule allows, to do it all over again the next day.]

Yeah, for the most part. Trying to label food with your name is just an invitation for the godling to screw with it, so I don't recommend it. And don't touch the chained-up mini-fridge, unless you like eldritch horrors. [Stephen Strange has... well, strange dietary restrictions.]

If you drink coffee, I suggest you hide your personal stash, though.

V.

[prisonking]

[ Michael wakes up late. He hasn't been feeling too hot for the past few days. After weeks of burning the candle at both ends, he's finally paying the price.

He crawls out of bed, still in his pajamas, and trudges into the kitchen. Or attempts to. There's something in his way. Warm, and solid, with a heartbeat.

Michael looks up, blinking the blurriness out of his vision, into a face he doesn't recognize. There's a moment of panic, where his own heart feels like it's going to beat out of his chest.

His eyes widen with alarm. ]

[bloodycrown]

Hey, hey easy.

[ Marcel's hand comes up to grasp at Michael's arm, grounding but not restraining. His tone is deliberately soothing; he has practice talking down panicked people. ]

I'm the new guy, Marcel.

[prisonking]

[ Michael's immediate reaction to the grip on his arm is to yank his arm away, stumbling backwards. He trips over something and goes down hard. He moves back on his hands until his back hits the side of the closest bed.

He sits, looking up at the man, chest heaving.

Then his brain starts to work. All the pieces falling into place. He even remembers a pair of boots at the bottom of one of the previously unoccupied beds.

Probably not his greatest first impression. ]

Oh. Hi. I'm Michael.

[ ii ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon scrunches up his face. ]

No. Dancing's for girls.

[bloodycrown]

Wow, is it? And girls got cooties, right?

[supersweet]

[ His looks is very disbelieving. ]

Cooties aren't real.