monthly mingle: CARNIVALE

[riverviewmod]

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

navigation

Comments

iv

[nomadeupname]

[It's amazing how a sentient piece of clothing can pick up on things better than a middle-aged man. Stephen is just about to turn down Wanda's offer, not really interested in a spin of the dance floor, even though she looks amazing in that red lingerie set, when he feels the the Cloak unclipping itself from his shoulders. The transmuting spell on it breaks, and what was a black jacket with a red lining moments before turns into the Cloak of Levitation. It's only when he watches the Cloak make a rather large swipe, a corner of it slapping off the smug smile of a drunk man nearby before it rolls itself around Wanda that he realizes her request might have meant more than a simple distraction. He gives the drunk creep a hard stare, before moving closer to Wanda, as the Cloak rearranges itself around her body to create what looks like a red toga. While less revealing than the lingerie set that it is now hiding, the toga still hangs snugly at her hips, low on her back to reveal skin and a high slit to show off her left leg.

From Stephen's mildly surprised yet impressed expression, it's clear that the look fits Wanda, before he offers her a small smile:]

You know I don't dance, love.

[He hopes he's read her expression correctly, for he might pay dearly what comes next. He moves one hand to splay on the small of her back, just above the curve of her ass, a gesture that could clearly be read as intimate, before he leans closer to her, shifting his head so it looks from the creep's point of view as if he's kissing her temple, when in reality, he simply whispers:]

Do you need help getting rid of unwanted attention?

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda's seen some strange things in her time. Infinity Stones, gods, armies of robots, a city falling from the sky, and to say nothing of her own powers. She was hoping that a familiar face might be at least a little sympathetic to her plight.

...she was not prepared to watch a jacket turn into an apparently sentient Cloak and come to her rescue. This isn't his magic, she realizes as it settles against her skin. That odd aura she'd felt at dinner is coming from within the Cloak, not some kind of power surrounding it.

She's not sure what passes as thank you in Outerwearese, so Wanda smooths her hands over the fabric on her hips like she's petting it. Close enough?]

Anyone can dance.

[Wanda's quick on the uptake and she'll do more than allow Stephen to touch her. She gets a good feeling from him anyway, so it doesn't feel so weird to loosely wind her arms around his waist.]

Please?

[nomadeupname]

[Her gesture is understood enough by the Cloak, who seems to wrap around her slightly tighter for a moment before slacking again, some sort of a hug from how it's positioned. Stephen's smile falters slightly at her comment: it's not really that he can't dance, but he's never really enjoyed it, and with his damaged hands, it's hard to say if it'll be pleasant or not. And Trixie's club is probably not the best place to start and explain to Wanda the scars and tremors of his hands. He pauses, before the curl on his lips widens:]

I know, but remember what happened last time I did? I'm not sure you want another sprained ankle, hm?

[He's clearly looking for a way out of getting on the dance floor, but then Wanda wraps her arms around his waist and Stephen is not so sure he'll be able to say no again. But from his position, he can see the drunk creep watching them intently still, clearly waiting to see how this is going to unfold. Strange presses his lips together, his gaze sweeping the room for an idea on how to get them away from the man without him having to use magic. He'd rather not cause a scene.

He catches in his peripheral view a couple coming down the stairs, both disheveled and wearing that goofy, lazy after-sex smile. Stephen smirks, having found his escape:]

I have a better idea, love. [he says as he pulls back to look down at Wanda, eyes shining with faked amusement. It's a good thing the music is loud in the club, because it makes it natural for him to raise his voice so she can hear him over the frantic beats, loud enough that his words can easily be caught by the creep that is trying to not so subtly get closer to them:]

Why don't we go upstairs and then you can dance just for me?

[He arches an eyebrow suggestively just for show, hoping Wanda would catch on his idea of pulling her out of the man's view for the time being.]

[seeingscarlet]

[It's nice here, with her head half-buried in his chest and the mysterious sentient cloak wrapped around her. She can almost hide from the needle-thoughts the creep is sending her direction, even if she doesn't know Stephen well enough to psychically ground in him.

On one hand, it's almost ridiculous that she even needs an excuse to get away from this man. On the other, any way she could stop him has varying degrees of causing a scene and a high possibility of scaring innocent bystanders. It's just better to take a mundane route of escape.

She doesn't even mind the faked endearment.]

Mm, you're right, that's much better.

[Gracefully, Wanda untangles herself from his waist and takes his arm, conveniently choosing the side away from Creepy Dude. Loki had told her not to go upstairs, but she doubts he's going to stop her...

Look, if she can act well enough to trick Strucker, she can fool one drunk guy who can't take no for an answer.]

[nomadeupname]

[It's a strategic choice to bring Wanda upstairs: he's pulling her away from unwanted attention discreetly (though, maybe once Wanda is safe, Stephen might open a portal from underneath the drunk man to over a nearby garbage container, where the man clearly belongs), and once out of sight, he'll be able to offer to bring her back home. It's almost a shame to end her night so early, especially while wearing that rather enticing red babydoll.

It doesn't go unnoticed that she takes his arm away from the creep, and Stephen offers her what easily passes as his warmest, brightest smile when she acquiesces to his suggestion: acting is not something he's done often in his life, but he can make it work well enough.

He pulls his arm closer so Wanda can lean against him as he weaves their body through the crowd, feeling the angry stare of the drunk man on his back. Acting like nothing's wrong, he grabs a tray with a bottle of champagne and two flutes from a server, ignoring the yelp of indignation from the club's employee, before he leads Wanda up the stairs and into the first empty, clean room he can find on the second level.

The music can be heard from downstairs, though often not loud enough to muffle the hushed laughter and moans coming from the other rooms. Letting go of Wanda, Stephen locks the door behind them, in case the creep chose to follow them, before sliding the tray on the table beside the bed.]

Are you all right? [He asks, an eyebrow arched slightly, though the concern in his tone is genuine.]

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda stays close to Stephen while they press through the crowd, grateful for both him and the Cloak. She can viscerally feel the angry man's glare like needles at her back, and it keeps her close and tense until they reach the second floor. She exhales deeply once the door closes - finally safe.

She was never in any real danger, just a very awkward position of not being able to do anything about it.]

I'm fine, just... [She shivers, either from cold or disgust, and crosses her arms.] I could have made him stop but it would have been more trouble.

[She goes to sit on the edge of bed, feet dangling over the side. How over the top...but given the club's proprietor, maybe she shouldn't be surprised.]

Thank you for getting me out of that.

[nomadeupname]

You don't think the owner of the club would have appreciated a good old bar fight?

[He teases lightly, trying to lighten her mood, if possible. He's never been in a situation like she just was, but Stephen figures that bit of a smile might help Wanda relax, somehow.

He notices the shiver, and moves to the side of the bed as she sits on its edge, reaching for the bottle of champagne. He opens it with a muffled pop sound, pouring half a glass before offering it to Wanda:]

Drink. It help with the edge. [Alcohol is a depressant, and the closest thing he has to calm her down.

Pouring himself a glass as well, Stephen comes and sits beside her; there's no where else for him to do so in the room. Clearly the second floor isn't meant for light conversation.]

You're welcome. I should have noticed him sooner. [And that is as close as an apology he's making for almost turning her down early, wouldn't have been for the Cloak noticing something had been wrong with her.]

[seeingscarlet]

Not if it ended up damaging the club or scaring people away.

[Okay, of all the places she could be, this is probably the most magic-friendly but still.

Wanda takes the glass but only takes a small sip, opting to watch the bubbles instead. Emotionally, she's all right, but while the Cloak is helping, it's a little cold to be barely wearing anything. Maybe that's the point - Loki did warn her not to let anyone take her up here (as if she's so innocent she wouldn't be able to figure that out on her own).]

It's all right. Your friend noticed.