riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: HARVEST FESTIVAL

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: HARVEST FESTIVAL

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Harvest Festival celebration
when: The month of November.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

harvest festival

In the days leading up to November 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The Harvest Festival. This holiday is in celebration of the harvest season and autumn, as the moon transitions into its winter period, and is characterized by indulging in the plenty that comes with the harvest season with loved ones, cleaning house figuratively and literally, and making sure that those in need don't suffer during the winter. Celebrations tend to focus around food and charity, with citizens enjoying and sharing cultural meals and sharing stories, or participating in any of the wide range of charity projects and events going on during this season.

a celebration of sharing

The biggest traditions of the Harvest Festival are centered around giving and sharing. Charity is central, and the each year the city sets up a large open tent with warm places to rest for anyone who might be homeless and a table capable of sitting over 50 people at any given time, with a round-the-clock catered feast for anyone who wants to sit and have a meal with anyone else who's dropped by. Besides this, there are a wide variety of events benefiting charities in the city, including a karaoke concert, stray animal round up, and the annual "stuff swap" where residents clean their homes and donate anything they don't need to those who might be lacking. There is also a tradition of writing down repressed or bottled up thoughts, feelings, regrets, sins, and other troubles and tossing them into a bonfire to go into winter with a clean soul.

i. harvest feast & stuff swap

For the first few days of November, anyone dropping by the city center will notice a large tent structure being put into place - by November 3rd, as the last of October's ghosts fade into nonexistence, a veritable banquet hall will have been sent up. For a week following the setup, anyone who drops by the hall and steps inside will see a large table laden with food. Bread, stew, fruits and vegetables, soups, roasted meat, and almost anything else one can think of will be on the table, along with plates, silverware, and cups. Anyone is free to take a plate, settle down at the table, and help themselves to a meal.

The Feast is staffed entirely by volunteers, who do the cooking, cleaning, and tidy up the dishes and area afterwards, keeping the constant stream of food coming. Whether your character is heading in to sit beside a stranger and strike up a conversation, or volunteering their time, energy, or cooking skills to the hall, they're more than welcome.

One corner of the hall is entirely dedicated to the yearly "stuff swap." There's a long-standing tradition of fall cleaning in Riverview Quarantine, where residents will thoroughly clean their homes and rid themselves of excess in preparation for the winter. The extra things that aren't needed can be dropped off at the city center where the Feast is set up, and anyone who is in need of a particular item that has been donated can take it free of charge. This is an honor system, so please be kind to others! (Or don't.)

ii. charity karaoke

On the weekend of November 10th and 11th, while the Feast will be cleared away, the tent is being repurposed for a new event - a Karaoke Concert for the needy! Set up as a makeshift bar and lounge area, the space will be fronted by a large stage where singles or groups of people can choose a song and karaoke their hearts out to a crowd of spectators. There's a by-donation cover fee, and guests are encouraged to reward the best (or most hilariously bad) renditions of beloved songs from across the multiverse with digital "tips" that are transferred to the karaoke performer's charity of choice.

Whether you're a spectator tipping a performer, or a performer who's singing their heart out on the stage to benefit a variety of charities from the homeless to the animal shelter to children in need (and almost anything else you can think of), the Karaoke Concert is both hilarious and heartwarming.

iii. stray animal roundup

One of the main charity events that seems to happen every year is the stray roundup. As the seasons turn and it gets colder and colder at night, many residents who have a soft spot for animals band together to round up as many stray animals as possible and take them to shelters where they can be rehabilitated, given a warm bath, fed, and have a safe place to sleep. Volunteers take to the streets with crates and nets or restraining poles as well as generous bags of treats of food to entice the strays with, and capture them safely to be brought back to the various animal shelters around the Quarantine. Any animal who's caught is put up for adoption, and volunteers are encouraged to take home any strays that they bond particularly well with, or are invited to foster animals in their homes.

Whether your character is a die-hard animal lover, looking for a new pet, or just wants some wacky hijinks trying to chase a wily critter around the streets, they'll be suited up with supplies by other volunteers and released into the fray. The most common animals to be found are cats, dogs, and small domesticated foxes, but feel free to assume that your character is rounding up a reptile, rodent, bird, or a domesticated alien critter. Playing a thread with this prompt is a great opportunity to get a cute alien pet for your character without spending AP.

iv. letting go

On the evening of November 15th, a series of large bonfires will be set up all along the beaches of the river, and as the night falls, people begin migrating to the beaches from all over the city carrying slips of paper in a wide variety of colors with words written on them in a wide variety of languages, and throwing them into the fires. This is a way of psychologically and emotionally cleaning house for the residents of the Quarantine, because the papers they bring contain the stories of their pain, poems written about the feelings they bottle up, a venting of their anger and fear and resentment, all to be eaten up by the flames and washed away by the river with the next rain.

No matter where a person comes from, they carry pain and suffering and hurts that they must hide. This is a welcome opportunity for characters to write out their thoughts and feelings and release them. And if the symbolism of burning them isn't enough, there are always other people around the fires who are willing to listen, to hear all those things that people keep locked up inside. Share a story willingly, listen to someone's story, or just get caught holding your deepest darkest secrets on a really vulnerable piece of paper...it's up to you.

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 the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the Harvest Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i & iii: Bastien Grivet; image ii & iv: unknown (stock/hobbiton)

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( he should probably say something like he totally anticipated that and the sudden teleporting was not surprising at all, but that would be a lie. billy's a bit more off to chase's left, raises his hands up in a defensive manner when chase disappears and reappears right next to him, but at the very least--

--he's surprised, not shocked. )

I noticed there were a lot of strays running around, but I didn't realize it was raining cats.

[ Caleb's shocked. Caleb is shocked that this guy isn't shocked; it's more or less written all over his face. ]...Apparently.

[ Said cat flexes her claws into Caleb's shoulder the moment he tries to reach to coax her off him, so you know what? The cat stays. The cat managed to be teleported, after all. ]

Sorry if I startled you.

No--you're fine. Really, no big deal. ( on the lengthly list of things billy has done accidentally and will never forget, teleporting his way into the wrong spot's definitely somewhere on that list. and it's not even very high up there. billy extends a hand out to the cat, moves a little closer to offer her a different perch to see if that'll work to get her off. )

Teleporter, or? ( he can feel magic, but it seems a little rude to just come out and say it. )

[ Said cat sniffs Billy's hand with interest, and licks his fingertips, but doesn't move otherwise. Her perch is her perch, and Caleb Danvers is it. ]

Or, I guess. [ Caleb winces a little at how that sounds. Like he doesn't trust this guy, which isn't true, he's just been...burned, recently, in the trust department. ] Sorry, it's not...back home it isn't something I talk about?

But I'm a witch.

Edited 2017-11-15 16:40 (UTC)

( it's fine, billy understands. being different is. . complicated. being superhuman is even more complicated than that, and generally, it's not something you share. he gently scratches behind the cat's ear for a moment, before pulling his hand away and taking a step back. )

I get it. ( he raises his own hand, a circle of light blue magic flickering around his fingertips. ) Me too.

[ The black fluffy cat begins purring once Billy scratches behind her ears, turning her head and licking at his wrist before he completely pulls away. ]

Holy shit. [ Caleb smiles, a little sigh escaping him. Meeting another witch who isn't Chase? Kind of a comfort, considering the other boy tried to kill him just weeks ago. ] Does your magic come with terrifying drawbacks or did I win the lottery with that one?

Edited 2017-11-15 17:00 (UTC)

( caleb's smile is met with one in return, the corners of billy's lips turning up. his day's already been overly complicated, with--well. everything, but it's always pretty exciting to meet a fellow witch. )

Depends on what you mean by terrifying drawbacks, I guess? I mean, I'm a reality warper, so. It can cause some uh. . pretty terrifying occurrences if I'm not careful.

Wow, really? That's pretty intense. [ But Caleb is nothing if not impressed. A reality warper.

Probably means he's stronger than himself or Chase, which. Is definitely a good thing. ]

Using my Power too much or too often for too big things means addiction and rapid aging over time. It's all bad, really, so I try not to Use too much.

( he's nothing if not powerful. when one's words and thoughts can alter the space around him to suit his wants, it's--hard. but he doesn't have any of the negative side effects caleb is listing. the smile twists down, concern knitting his brows. )

No, no I don't. . have any negative side effects like that. I mean I get sick if I use too much power and my body can't take it, but I don't age rapidly or get addicted. ( which is good. getting addicted to his power would be more than dangerous. ) I'm sorry, that sounds awful.

That's so cool though, I mean what you can do. Man, I wish...there were all these books, right? From the forefathers we'd inherited the Power from - there's five of us, total, but it's just me and Chase, here - and I wish they'd come with me. It'd be good to compare notes.

[ The cat yawns in Caleb's ear and settles for stretching across his shoulders. They're quite broad so she's got lots of room for it. ]

Has it been all your life? My magic didn't show up until 13.

( this guy's story sounds a lot. . different from his, from what he's gleaming off of it. inherited power is nothing new--billy got his own from his kind-of mother. ) Mine manifested when I was sixteen, but it took a while for me to figure out just what it was, exactly.

There weren't. . books given to me specifically for learning how to use magic though. I mostly worked off of self-help books back then. ( and then spent several months learning from the god of mischief, but that's a whole other story. )

Mine's a little different. ( is there really a normal for magic users though. )

[ Caleb nods in understanding. ] I kind of doubted that anyone else's magic would be the same, you know? It's too...weirdly niche. Ours is inherited from father to firstborn son, apparently, and my father Used so much that he looked like he was ninety when he was only forty-four.

[ Ours because he's still used to thinking of himself as one of several, ours because this all applies to Chase as well. The cat closes her eyes and started contentedly purring, which leads Caleb to give her a hesitant pet. ]

I guess I've been adopted.

I uh. ( how does one truly explain technically being the reincarnated son of the scarlet witch who made kids out of pieces of mephisto's soul, but born and raised in a nice, jewish family, having a brother he found in a juvenile hall somewhere who isn't biologically related to him but identical aside from hair/eye color with the same power as said witch's brother, and all of that. ) Mine's from chaos magic? There isn't really an inheritance rule, and the aging thing definitely doesn't apply. I use mine a lot and I haven't aged rapidly or anything.

( he demonstrates by raising a hand, even. blue flickers around his fingers before enclosing his clothes. they shimmer for a moment, before shifting into. well his superhero costume. the galaxy print isn't quite fabric, but moves independently of billy. when he shifts, so do they, like they're connected to some area of space. )

Congrats on the new pet.

I think we're elemental witches? I'm not sure though. It's like...they never bothered to learn, because they were all too busy being addicted to Using or trying not to become that.

[ Which applies to him, too. Part of Caleb didn't want to learn about his own history because it pretty much boiled down to Using over time = bad news.

Then Billy essentially changes his entire outfit in front of Caleb and Caleb in turn is super impressed. ]

Holy shit that's so cool.

[ He blinks, realizing that they've done all this chatting about things he's usually unable to talk to anyone about, all without introductions - so he puts his hand out for Billy to shake. ] Caleb Danvers.

( oh, right. introductions are something. billy extends a gloved hand out, shakes caleb's hand with a firm grip before letting his own drop back down to his side. his clothes shimmer back to a more casual outfit; jeans and a t-shirt, something you'd expect to see on someone wandering around outside. )

Billy Kaplan. ( he. can't even imagine what it's like to get addicted to something like that, considering how used to using his own magic he's gotten, how often he uses it for simple things like uniform changing. aging rapidly really would suck. ) I know a shifty god who might be able to help figure that out--what it is I mean, if you really want to know. I could try, but. . considering what you've said, it might also just not be a good idea to mess with it at all. Up to you.

[ All of that? Super impressive. Caleb knows (via Chase doing the thing) that he could make himself an approximation of someone else, but star-stuff clothing? Totally out of his range.

Caleb's own handshake is on the firm side, and his hand goes back up to pet the black cat who has decided his shoulders are the perfect snoozing perch. He kind of loves the small fuzzy creature already. ]

I...hm. [ A shifty god sound dangerous but also probably equipped to handle the hot mess that is the history between Chase and Caleb. ] It's not as much for me as it is for someone else, but...I'm going to say a tentative yes? I'd like to meet them, at least.

I'm hoping the research center will be helpful too.

( loki is a hot mess and really isn't equipped to handle anything, let alone himself. he is, however, very knowledgeable in most things magic, and while stephen strange may be a better man to go to, billy--hasn't run into him yet, and he's also not the kind of person billy can just offer up without consulting first.

but on the other hand, loki owes him a great deal and has been willing to go along with him this long. therefore. ) Yeah, I can introduce you later.

( shifty's a bit of a strong word, anyway; loki. . seems like he's trying to do better, and billy is holding him to that. and if things do go awry, billy is enough of a power house on his own. )

I've heard some good things about it. Maybe they can help with the aging thing.

[ Hot messes who are unequipped to handle anything including themselves? Sounds like Chase Collins, actually, who is ²/₃ of the entire reason Caleb is asking about this in the first place. ]

Thanks, man. I appreciate it.

[ He does, really! If his smile is anything to go by. ]

I'll have to introduce you to Chase and Sarah, by the way. The latter is my girlfriend. [ Cue goofy grin. ] The former is...well, we were enemies but there's a truce in place. He's a witch like me.

( what a nice boy with a nice, cute smile. it gets returned ten-fold, billy's own smile widening. and it's not over the excitement of introducing loki to new witch friends, no. but having new witch friends is pretty exciting. )

I've met Chase. ( inside the communal housing area; the names match up too well to be a coincidence. ) He spoke of a Caleb, too--which I guess makes us floormates? I'm also on floor 2.

I hope he wasn't an asshole out the door. [ In some deep part of his mind, he is toying with the idea of making a network post - if Chase Collins is arrested for being a goddamned idiot in any capacity, please contact Caleb Danvers, etcetera. It might make things easier. ]

But yeah, that makes us floormates. That's pretty cool. Chase and I and my girlfriend are all in one room; it's a little strained, considering.

[ Considering he tried to kill the both of them, and Sarah is a lot angrier about it than Caleb is. ]

No. ( although his first impression of chase reminded him a bit of his first impressions of loki. the uncanny, almost fake way he’d responded. though once he’d gotten into magic his responses had become much more genuine. real. ) He was fine, but. .

Enemies in what sense? In the “supervillain trying to take over the world” way or the “rivals for house cup” way? ( if they’ve got a witch fighting for the wrong side here, it’d be nice to know who that witch is, their power levels, and all that. the avengers are here, so he’s sure they can probably handle whatever this place throws at them. )

He tried to kill us. Mostly, he tried to kill Sarah to convince me to grant him my Power, which would've resulted in my dying anyway.

[ Caleb makes a bit of a face. He doesn't like telling anyone this part because he knows how it sounds. Like Chase is beyond rehabilitation, beyond improvement - Caleb doesn't believe that, so he feels bad. ]

It's because he's already addicted. He can't really see past getting more Power to try and stave off the inevitable.

( right. so probably not a great idea to mention the whole destined to be a magical messiah thing ever. not that it comes up in casual conversation, or that it’s—something billy is well-versed in. he makes a face in return, nose scrunched up and brows furrowed. once you try for murder, there really isn’t any going back, is there? he’s definitely figuring out why he had seen similarities between loki and chase. )

There are spells to block off abilities, but if it’d do anything to help depends on whether or not that’d really do anything for him, or if it’d only push it further.

( if they can get addicted, can they go through magic-withdrawal? is it possible to starve off an addition to that kind of power? this just sounds more and more complicated by the minute. but if someone’s willing to go that far to get someone else’s power, they probably shouldn’t be left on their own. )

I don't think he'd go for it, and anything that forces him to give up Power isn't going to work in the long run.

Sorry, I've just...had a lot of experience with addicts.

Don't get me wrong, Chase can be a dick when he wants something and thinks someone else is in his way. But we've all had Power since we were thirteen, and back home there were books and history and someone to tell the rest of us what was happening to us.

There was no one for Chase, and by the time he found out he was pretty far gone, I'm guessing. [ Considering his father gave him his Power; Caleb doesn't know if he was coerced into dying for Chase or did it gladly, and he's not sure he wants to know. ]

I don't think he's an inherently bad person, you know? Just...really goddamned selfish.

No, don't apologize. Seriously. ( it's not any of billy's business, he realizes. but if he's living on the same floor as another witch, and a power hungry one at that, there's. man he probably shouldn't have mentioned he was a witch at all. selfish he also understands.

billy's made plenty of mistakes on the power front, too. the deeper they get into this conversation the more chase does remind him of loki. power hungry, a bit of a dick, maybe not a bad person under it all. loki's--better, now? and billy honestly had no idea about him until loki spilled his own guts out about the whole ordeal. )

If you need help, let me know? I don't know what I could do exactly, but. . my magic's pretty broad. I know some people here who can probably help too, even outside the shifty god.

(no subject)

wiccecraft - 2017-11-17 17:34 (UTC) - Expand

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