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

[ Simon being Simon is keeping an eye on Alex, the way he always does. He doesn't think he's being particularly creepy and there's a huge crowd. And what else is he supposed to do? He ignores the vendors for the most part and no one really tries to talk to him (he sticks out like a sore thumb with his clothing choices).

But, he's not trying that hard to remain unnoticed by Alex -- another reason he's not being creepy! But her sudden insistence on him trying some... ]

What is that?

[ Anyway, her sudden excitably caught him off guard when it was directed at him and not elsewhere. ]

[Okay, Alex didn't expect the familiar presence near her to be Simon. She still hasn't quite adjusted to the idea of him being here yet, and you know, close by. So, her eyes go wide for a minute, but then because she's Alex, she decides to just roll with it. After all, he's staying with them, so it's not like they're going to be avoiding one another or something like that.

So, Alex just gives him a quick smile before she explained what it was.]

Fried oreos.

[They're something she liked enough to pay for, Simon. So try them.]

[ Simon makes a slightly less than impressed face -- verging on disgusted. ]

That sounds terrible, Alex.

[ Simon's not going to make it that easy on her. ]

Okay, but how do you know what you like unless you give it a try?

[Alex just eyes him over the container, and she spears one of the cookies with her plastic before before lifting it and taking a bite of it with obvious relish.]

Logic would dictate...

[ He's not at all swayed, despite some curiousity. ]

[Alex is just going to look rather amused at that:]

Don't tell me you've been picking up pointers from Richard, Simon.

[The amusement is in her tone, and she just watches him before she takes another bite of the fried oreo.]

But you're the one who's missing out. It's like a combination of an oreo and the best fried dough you've ever had.

Of course not, Alex.

[ Simon looks mildly offended for a second, but only a second. ]

That doesn't make it sound more appealing, you know.

[Alex is just going to look exceptionally amused by his offense for a minute before she takes another bite and asks:]

Really? Does that mean I should go find you some fried dough and oreos to try separately? Because I definitely can do that. We can always work up to the amazingness that is this delicaciousy!

[ Alex is so dogged with everything. It's one of those things he likes about her, how ridiculous she could get over something like some heart attack inducing food item at a silly festival.

What was this even for?

He honestly hadn't paid much attention. He hadn't really thought about participating until coming out on a whim and he's partially regretting it feeling out of place out in the sun among normal people doing normal things. ]

I'm not all that hungry, really. [ It's not exactly a lie and it's not exactly the truth either. ]

Okay. But. You'll need to forgive me if I don't believe you with it. I mean I know this stuff is so weird in comparison to stuff back home but new experiences are good ones. If you don't wanna try the fried Oreos then we can try something else. There's loads of other things you can try both from here and home and everywhere else. Do you normally like sweets?

Edited 2018-07-15 19:35 (UTC)

[ God, she is so persistent. Then again, that's one of the things that Simon typically likes about her but it's not usually aimed at him in this way and he doesn't know how to redirect her attention. ]

Not really...[ A pause. ]

I guess I don't really know.

Hmm...

[Alex just studied him for a moment, considering before she closed up the case that contained the oreos. Clearly, a decision had been reached.]

Let's start easier then. Cheese pizza. Everyone loves cheese pizza, and I know the shop is still open so it'll be less crowded in there if you want.

[She knows things like this aren't really Simon's thing, and she's trying to be aware of that.]

[ Less of a crowd is really what sells the idea even if he hadn't really been lying about not being hungry -- okay more it's that he didn't feel like eating but that's basically the same thing. ]

Alright, that's fine, Alex.

Okay cool. Pizza is definitely an everyone thing. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like pizza.

[Alex nods firmly, and then she leads him through the crowd confidently, knowing that he's with her. If nothing else, maybe she's getting better at knowing that Simon is around. Thankfully when they find the pizza place, it's mostly empty with everyone out for the festivities.]

Okay, so just plain cheese? Or do you wanna try half with something else on it.

[ Simon doesn't say much as they make their way to wherever the pizza place is. he's not really paid attention to things like that. Food isn't exactly one of the things that he prioritizes -- he never has had to before even if it's such a basic human necessity. ]

What's your favorite?

[For a minute, Alex considers, before she just grins at him in that way she has sometimes, coupled with a bit of a shrug. It's the sort of thing that comes before she's being honest about something that's going to get her sighed at.]

Depends on the day and if I'm being an adult and remember that I actually should eat my vegetables.

[ Well, her answer is not altogether the most helpful one that he could have imagined but he doesn't say as much to her. Still, there was, of course a sigh but mostly at himself for not knowing what to choose. ]

Get half what your favorite would be today then, Alex.

[For a moment, Alex just studies him, and then she makes a relatively easy decision for her.]

We'll do pepperoni then. It's a pretty standard topping.

[Hey, at least it isn't broccoli, right?]

ALright.

[ It's definitely better than broccoli for sure. ]

Take a seat. I'll go order and be right back with drinks okay?

[Alex doesn't ask him what he wants to drink. Instead she comes back with two waters and two chocolate shakes, holding them like a waitress would.]

[ Simon nods ever so slightly and takes a seat. His fingers tap on the underside of the table between drawing idle patterns (haha) with his fingertips while he waits on her return. ]

Hope you like chocolate shakes. Chocolate literally makes everything better.

[Sometimes Alex could be a cliche, and she didn't mind it that much. At least she wasn't feeding him coffee. The idea of Simon on coffee is a scary thing.]

I think that might be an exaggeration.

[ He can name a lot of things that it wouldn’t make better food and otherwise. He is still idly fidgeting his hands under the table. ]

Still. It helps.

[Alex just raises a brow at him, and she drops her chin into her hand and is studying him intently.]

You're not planning on summoning anything here, right? Because I really do like the pizza here and would prefer not to be banned from it, okay? Richard would try and pick up the pizza and we both know what he's like.

Helps?

[ Simon raises a brow. ] Helps what exactly?

[ His hands still beneath the table, frowning slightly. ]

I'm not the one that went around summoning things, Alex.

monthly mingle: CARNIVALE

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