riverviewlogs | monthly mingle: CARNIVALE

Entry tags:

monthly mingle: CARNIVALE

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: carnivale
when: the month of july
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 two large parades on July 8th and July 9th.

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 two massive party parades, 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.

So jump in and stomp around in a mosh pit or just dance around in the streets, let yourself get lost in the music and the summer heat!

Any 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 and children's parade

The other main attraction of Carnivale week comes on the weekend of July 8th and 9th, which are paid holiday days for everyone in the city. There are two parades, the Carnivale Parade on July 8th, and the Children's Parade on July 9th.

Both parades will start out by City Hall and wind through downtown in a lazy pattern so everyone in the city has a chance to see them. There will be all sorts of floats, dancers, marching bands, with all sorts of clubs, businesses, and other organizations represented. 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.

The Carnivale Parade on Saturday has a more adult tone to it, and party favors thrown may be toys or gag gifts of a more adult nature suitable for older teens and grown-ups. The floats are more risqué and the people in the parade show more skin, dance more provocatively, and there are wet T-shirts, occasional flashing, and other things that might not be suitable for children. The theme is theatrical, big and showy, bright and colorful, sparkly and shiny, with loud music and lots of glitz and glamour.

Geared toward children and younger teens, the Children's Parade is on Sunday and generally more low-key, with more of a cartoony than glitzy theme. The Children's Parade will have more conservative floats, with bright colors, juggling and dancing, and mascot costumes. Party favors will lean more toward candy and temporary tattoos, rainbow pinwheels, and small toys. Keep an eye out for floats with pop performers and for popular cartoons in the city!

And make sure you wear your waterproof mascara - Carnivale and Children's Parade 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

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).

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 during Carnivale, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Roger Patterson Jr.; image ii: Jie He; image iii: Aaron Walker; image iv: Lewis Monson

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Relm's a big sister. And given the age disparity between her and her younger siblings, it comes with a certain element of caretaking instincts. Or at least the uncanny ability to know when a young one's in trouble.

Okay, that might be stretching it, but Hawke does have a soft spot for kids. Which is why, as she looks around (not entirely impressed by the concert, she finds the whole thing rather loud and a bit much) and spots Peter with his shoulders hunched and very clearly crying, she immediately begins to move towards him. It takes a hard shove or two to get people out of her way, but when she reaches him, it's a gentle hand on his shoulder.]

Looks like you're enjoying this as much as I am. [She's well aware that that's probably not the reason for the tears, but it's an attempt to lighten the mood.] Let's get out of here.

[He looks miserably at Relm, feeling all but seven years old again. He usually doesn't feel like a kid anymore, recently — with Uncle Ben and Germany and the Vulture, he feels more and more like he's required to have some sort of adult mentality here. And yet all he can think is how badly he wants his uncle in front of him right now, just so he can apologize and hold him. Just for a minute, just one minute, and that'd be enough (until the moment it wasn't).

She's looking at him so worriedly, he can't bring himself to shrug off her hand and run off like a coward. He just nods, his breath shaking and his eyes filled to the brim. He's been, for better or worse, defeated by a motherly, sisterly figure. Aunt May is really good at doing it, too, when he tries to play tough.]

O-okay.

[At least he's not putting up a fight or a tough front about it. Not that it wouldn't surprise her, or be any different from what she's used to, but Maker it makes this a lot easier. She nods and guides him away from the crowd. There's so many people and it takes a fair bit of elbowing. Hawke even had to quietly zap someone to get them to move (it wasn't a hard zap, mind, just a slight jolt. mostly). Once they're free and able to get outside, Relm breathes out a sigh of relief.]

I think my ears are going to be ringing the rest of the night. [She glances at Peter.] So. Where to? Any place you like to go, or just walk around?

[Once they're out, he sniffs almost painfully, reaching to peel some earplugs out of his ears.

His voice is small and uncertain, unusual to his goofy and often animated way of blabbering.]

I, um. I don't... know?

Walking seems nice. I think.

[He's embarrassed, it's clear. He can't really look her in the eye.]

[Poor kid. She gets it, she really does. The last thing she ever wants is for anyone to see her crying. It's so much worse when you're an adolescent and so keen on showing you're grown and not wanting to seem like a child.]

Then we walk. Someplace a little quieter, hm?

[Mainly away from the venue and away from where most of the street celebrations and the like are taking place. Relm leads them down the street, glad to leave the noise and ruckus behind.

Of course she's curious about what made him so upset, but she's not one to push such issues, not unless it was dire. Even with her own friends she rarely asks, let alone with a kid who barely knew her. Instead, she focuses on something else.]

Those things were in your ears? Why block out sound if you went to a place to listen to something?

... Yeah...

[Somewhere quieter. He sounds absolutely defeated when he mumbles it, but he does start moving in tandem with her, wanting to distance himself from anyone who might've seen him crying there, too. He fidgets with the earplugs and considers how to explain it.]

Oh, um. I just get... overstimulated... sometimes? Sounds and sights, things like that.

This — this just helps me focus, so I can enjoy whatever's going on.

[Poor kid. She's not sure what it means to be overstimulated like that, but she can at least sort of hazard a guess. Something about the sights - maybe the lights? - and loud, blaring noise of that concert felt too overwhelming, so he tried to drown it out a bit. But what got him so upset? Curiosity abounds, but she refuses to ask still.]

Sounds a bit troublesome. Has it always been like that for you? Being... overstimulated?

[He huffs a laugh, though it's not very humored.]

Just in the last year, mostly. It's a real pain in the butt, sometimes.

[Other times, it's great to have in a pinch. Being able to stop cars with your hands or hear danger from twenty stories up effortlessly, that kind of thing. But with great power comes really annoying side-effects. Another stuffy sniff of the nose, but he seems to have calmed down now that he has a means of focus, instead of being wrapped up in his own memories.

Well, until guilt hits him, because he's not sure if she's just being nice and missing out on some fun.]

Sorry I pulled you from that.

You don't have to — you know, if you wanna go enjoy the show, I'll be okay.

[Yeah, no. That sounds like more than just a pain in the ass. Relm frowns a little as she considers it.]

So a recent change. What prompts something like that to happen?

[Even with that she feels like she's prying, but she's genuinely just curious (and maybe a tad concerned) about how someone's senses get to the point where being in just a noisy concert gets overstimulating.]

Honestly, I really wasn't enjoying it. Thedas doesn't... have those, so I thought I'd see what it's about. Interesting concept, and I might have enjoyed it if the music was any good, but... eugh. I'm more sorry you had to leave. You likely were having a better time than I was until you had to go.

... It's kinda always? It's mostly just when there's too much going on at once.

[Like when he's in a loud concert, or on the commuter train back home; listening to music on his phone or shutting the sound out in general helps a lot with that kind of stuff. The parade is also a hot mess for his weird senses... He shrugs, playing it off a little, because as annoying as it can be he's at least gotten used to it now. The human mind and body adapt pretty quickly, even to a weird, inhuman intrusion like spider DNA. That's so weird to think.

He laughs a little, thinking about, like, fantasy-style RPGs and stuff.]

I'll bet your music's a lot more calming.

Edited 2018-07-12 09:25 (UTC)

[That sounds even worse than she originally pictured it. Hawke makes a bit of a face at the thought. But despite the awful idea of that sort of thing always being "on", Hawke pushes past the subject.] I should have worded my question a little better. If you didn't always have this, what changed? [This borders on prying, and she'll back off if he doesn't want to answer, but this just... falls so far outside any of her understanding. She can't even imagine what sort of magic might do that, and given what she's learned in her time here, there could be many other culprits besides magic.]

It is. Music back home exists as background noise half the time, or something to sing along with. Cheer up tavern goers, or inspire soldiers to fight. The whole idea of a concert like that strikes me as bizarre. Not bad, but just strange. Do you have such things in your world?

O-oh, right. It's just... something that started happening... like how sometimes people just get allergies?

[He smiles thinly.]

We do have concerts though, yeah. I've just never really been to them before. It hadn't really been my scene, even before the weird auditory problems.

[Another thing to research: allergies. Like what the fuck are those??

He's clearly not telling the whole story, but she's pried enough, so she lets it go at that. Right.]

Sure, I suppose. [Okay, onto less awkward things.] Gee, I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want to stand in an enormous crowd, being shoved up against, and getting music blasted into your eardrums.

I think... it's just a rush, and everyone feels like they're united in something.

You all know you're there for the music, and you love it. That sort of thing.

A shared passion and camaraderie. Understandable enough, but doesn't exactly encourage conversation or sharing that passion when you can't even hear yourself think, let alone the person next to you. [...oh Maker she sounds like her mother.] Or maybe I'm just old and out-dated. [Oh yes, because 34 is so old.] Can't keep up with the youngins these days.

[He laughs, and then feels guilty that he does, trying to squash down the smile.]

You're not that old, Miss Hawke. I promise.

[Don't worry, Peter, because she's laughing, too. Even if there's a touch of "oh Maker I really am old now aren't I FUCK" to it.]

Said very confidently by someone who doesn't know my age. And it's just Hawke, please. "Miss Hawke" will make me feel older than I already am. I'll cling to what dregs of youth I have left.

Sorry! It's habit. I mean, I was taught it's polite to use miss and mister...

[He clears his throat, arms folded.]

My uncle was always about manners. It was just a basic thing that people you pass by day-to-day deserve. And if they're jerks, then at least you're the bigger man. That kinda' thing.

It is polite. And nice. And not always necessary. I see it for something to use in polite company. I'd hardly call myself polite company.

[She glances over at him.]

Still, it was good of your uncle to teach you that. Sounds like he's a decent person.

[He nods, nose twitching a little.]

He was, yeah. The best person.

[That kind of paints a picture well enough, but he doesn't wanna, like... kill the mood.

Not that he already hasn't, since he was crying like a kid five seconds ago, but...]

Um — I think you're polite company. I mean...

You're good company, at the very least, and that's the important thing.

[Was. The past tense doesn't escape her notice. There's a little nod of acknowledgment, but as he moves on, so does she. As someone all too familiar with the loss of family, she knows sometimes all you want to do is not talk about it.]

Awww. You're going to make me blush. [He's a good kid, she decides. Earnest, maybe a little too much, but he's young. Let him keep it for as long as possible, before the years piled up and pressed down on him to squeeze it out of him.] That flattery gets straight to my head, you know. And I have a big enough ego as is. [She says, teasingly. Mostly.] You're not too bad yourself, Peter Parker of the Robot Builders.

You think you're gonna get a bigger ego?

[He laughs, goodnatured.]

You're making me sound way cooler than I have any right to sound.

Oh, it might be hard to believe but it's entirely possible. I don't think it's reached maximum size just yet.

[Good, she's glad to see him laughing and more cheered up.]

You're rather critical of yourself. I hardly see why you have no right to be as cool as the next person.

[He clears his throat, and though he's distracted from his little sob-show earlier, now he's just blushing and full of self-doubt.]

... I mean, I'm not so bad. That's a good way to be, right? 'Not so bad'?

That's a good standard... for alcohol. [Come on Peter, she's having none of this.] What could possibly so subpar that you'd consider yourself just 'not bad'?

monthly mingle: CARNIVALE

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