monthly mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: the river festival
when: the month of august
where: anywhere around the city
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

river festival

In the days leading up to August 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The River Festival. This holiday is in celebration of the river and the life that it gives to the city, as well as the heat of summer and forming bonds with friends, family, and romantic partners. The celebrations are marked by a community-wide cleanup of the docks and beaches along the river - particularly important considering the recent flooding that's left the banks of the river littered with debris - as well as beachfront cookouts and parties (both private and city sponsored) and beach sports tournaments happening on either open stretches of beach or in special clothing-optional beaches, all capped off with fireworks displays each weekend in August.

a celebration of the river and togetherness

Following the hedonism of Carnivale, it's time for something a little more low-key and relaxing. The River Festival happens every year in August, and is geared toward community building through cleaning up the beaches and docks along the river and then using all that freshly cleaned beach to gather on. During the month of August, there are various lightly-themed government-sponsored beach cookouts and parties geared toward family, romantic dates, or casual all-ages get-togethers for meeting new friends; there are also a few more racy parties at clothing-optional beaches around the city. Many private residents also take this time to gather together friends and family, and have cookouts on the beach with all the typical trappings of the beach barbecue. There are also various casual sports tournaments sponsored by community centers, gyms, and sports teams in the city, featuring prizes ranging from notoriety to sports equipment to big bucks. Every weekend, there are beautiful fireworks displays and free concerts. This year, the River Festival has been chosen for the unveiling of a new water park in the City, with free or heavily discounted tickets during August!

i. cleaning up

The holiday starts off on a note that is just a bit more sombre than the rest of the season, with the cleanup efforts following the recent flooding blending into the usual tradition of cleaning up beaches and docks along the river. The cleanup is a group effort, with every citizen who is physically able pitching in to comb the beaches, where they pick up fallen tree limbs, garbage, and anything else that's accumulated during the winter and spring, and then raking the beaches to make them clean and ready to use. The cleanup of the docks is similar, with residents sweeping and hosing them down where necessary. This year, there are a lot of repairs to be made to beachfront structures that might've been damaged by flooding and the traffic along the riverbanks from the heroes that participated in the rescue of cult hostages, so if anyone has some carpentry or building skills, those would definitely come in handy.

This is meant to be a community building effort, so many businesses in the area, more well-to-do private citizens, and the government have pitched in funding to provide lunches, cold drinks, coffee or tea, and snacks to anyone who's helping out with the cleanup efforts. All in all, the cleanup has a very friendly, welcoming vibe.

ii. beach activities

The main traditions of the River Festival involve cookouts and beach parties. Each weekend in August, the government as well as various corporations and businesses in the city, will be providing funds for large beach gatherings. On these days, there will be booths set up offering wares and freebies from various businesses around the city that have helped fund the party, large swaths of cleared beach where residents can don a swimsuit and catch some rays or swim in the river, massive barbecue setups to provide partygoers with all the standard barbecue fare, beach sports tournaments, dancing and musical performances, and fireworks displays (see prompts below).

The holiday isn't just about these big parties, though - many residents arrange their own barbecues, cookouts, beach camping trips, beach bonfires, and other riverside gatherings and outings. Many riverfront businesses offer discounts on services such as canoe or kayak rentals to go out paddling on the river, jetski or motorboat rentals for tubing, wakeboarding, or waterskiing, or mounts to take romantic rides in the surf. Additionally, there is an adults-only section of the beach where any of these activities can be done in the nude in a clothing-optional setting, including the big city-sponsored parties.

If your character is good at playing a particular sport that could, conceivably, be played on a beach, chances are that during the month of August, a tournament will be set up for them to participate in. The tournaments are pretty standard, generally sponsored by community centers, sports clubs and teams, gyms, and other organizations and businesses in the city, with various levels of specialization, and levels of skill or competitiveness. The prizes also vary, with everything from plain old bragging rights to sports equipment or passes to gyms and community centers, to large lump sums of cash money. Definitely worth it, for characters with a love for sport. Oh, and a lot of these tournaments are happening on the adults-only clothing-optional beaches, for those grown-up sports fans who like a bit of an extra challenge.

iii. fireworks and music

Each weekend throughout the month of August, there will be evening performances all along the beach. Not as extensive as the musical performances during Carnivale, the performances are geared more toward dancing than true concerts, with areas roped off on both on the regular and adults-only clothing-optional beaches for dancing and mingling (acts will switch off between the two areas so both areas get both performances).

Player-characters who are musical artists, DJs, or otherwise perform are free to set up shop around this party and panhandle or put on free performances for publicity.

After the sun goes down, boats will head out into the water carrying a variety of fireworks, and there will be a beautiful display of exploding color in the sky for residents to watch and enjoy. The fireworks are highly advanced, incorporating old-fashioned gunpowder as well as modern technology that result in really beautiful displays that can take the breath away!

iv. waterpark

This year, there's an extra little bit of fun being thrown into the River Festival - the grand opening of a new waterpark! It's quite the park, set near the river with a scenic view, and featuring all sorts of amazing rides, from waterslides that are catered to all ages and levels of thrill seeking, tube rides that are almost like a rollercoaster on water, a pool where customers can faux-surf, funnel rides, side-by-side racing slides, a lazy river, and almost anything else you can imagine. Besides the rides, there are also a wide variety of swimming pools for kids and adults - wave pools, lap pools, splash pools - and an equally wide variety of hot tubs featuring various minerals (and some aromatherapy) for relaxing, invigoration, and other effects.

Some of the hot tubs are in a clothing-optional adult area, where there are some normal pools and some clearly-labelled pools contain elements that increase arousal or desire, or simply affection to encourage some closer bonding!

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 one of the mod-posted prompts for each Communal Floor. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the River Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: credit unknown; image ii: Albert Ramon Puig; image iii: Claudio Pilia; image iv: Alan Philips

navigation

Comments

[somnioergosum]

Quite a lot for Ronan Lynch and he was just as aware that others had their secrets too. Just from their brief conversation, he knew Heahmund was not an easy man to get along with, which was fine with him. But in person he looked much more intense. It wasn't intimidating, just the opposite.

He stopped at a comfortable distance. Comfortable for Ronan, anyway, which was a bit farther than normal.

"Been a while," he said though not long enough for his voice to have faded from memory. Ronan caught the look of recognition. "How're you liking the heathens?"

[heahmund]

Their sense of personal bubbles is a similarity they can share. Heahmund more often than not is having an annoying Viking invading his personal space and is frequently tempted to stab the Viking with the sword that is sheathed across his back even though there is not particularly a need for such a weapon in city.

"It has not been long at all," Heahmund says, after all, communication is very different in the 8th century so sometimes months and years would not even be considered a great deal of time. "I had expected you to be a bit more prompt."

But that's all he says on that particular matter and he makes a derisive sound at the mention of the heathens. "Unpalatable."

[somnioergosum]

"Had to get a few more sins out of the way," he said dryly, but he quickly switched subjects as well. "You'll get used to them. Either that or they'll drive you crazy and you'll go on a murder spree. That'll end well."

He looked at Heahmund more closely. "What year are you from?"

He probably should have asked this sooner. For all he knows, after this confession he'll be first on the list when it comes to that hypothetical murder spree.

[heahmund]

Heahmund's brow raised. To be honest, a murder spree is not so far from normal for him. "Killing heathens is hardly murder," oh Ronan, you really don't know what kind of Bishop you're dealing with most likely. He's certainly the prerequisite of the Knight's Templar.

"The 8th century," Heahmund answers but probably contrary to what Ronan might be thinking they were much less homophobic before King James. Heahmund especially does not see anything wrong with various sexuality and sex is one of his own sins that he struggles with -- given he has a habit of having sex with widows that he'd just performed the last rites on their husbands and all. And then there's his unspoken attraction to Ivar that he's certainly not acknowledging.

All in all, homosexuality is going to be the least of what gets Ronan on the shit list.

[somnioergosum]

The 8th century. That did explain a lot.

"The last Christian I met from your time thought you should all be friends." Ronan had thought him an anomaly. Good to know he wasn't wrong about everything. "He put his money where his mouth was too, chilling with pagans and all. And now you're surrounded by them. Can't kill 'em or you'll be locked up. What'd you make of that?"

He didn't know how much of this was baiting him-- not much, really. If so, it was one of his worse attempts. But it was a curious feeling to be meeting some guy who'd probably consider hunting witches a nice hobby. He wanted to get a better sense of him. You know, to make sure he wouldn't be killed if Heahmund did consider him a witch.

[heahmund]

Heahmund looked a bit disgusted by the idea. "That would certainly not be God's will," he states more than confidently. Heathens are not something he is open-minded about in the least, clearly. He would not really understand the modern way that Christians and Heathens seem to cohabitate peacefully. Then again, he is not generally peaceful in nature. There's a violence that boils under the surface a God fueled rage that isn't really suited to peace.

"There are those that have tried to confine me before," Heahmund says simply. "God will have his way."

[somnioergosum]

That was so not comforting. At this point, Ronan began to have a feeling that maybe he was about to make another very questionable friendship or at least association. Didn't stop him, of course, not yet.

"Sure, when you get your trip back home. You're not confined it just takes them a wh-- you know, forget it. I'm not a spokesperson for their crazy quarantine." Though it could be a fun job, he'd be fired the second he tried to give a speech. "So you just hate all heathens?"

Still trying to figure out if he was going to be murdered. This would be a lot easier if he hadn't started caring about that.

[heahmund]

Heahmund is certainly a questionable person to deal with — especially by any remotely modern standard. But if anyone could deal with that it is probably someone like Ronan.

Whatever Ronan starts to go on about Heahmund doesn’t particularly understand (and neither does he actually care at all to understand it). What mattered is the question that Ronan ends up on.

“Only the ones who do not care to turn from the ways of the wicked. They are not innocent.”

[somnioergosum]

Ronan was tired of dancing in circles around this, not to mention he doubted Heahmund would welcome a theological debate.

"Right so, bottom line. If I confess all my sins to you, is there anything you'd kill me for? I'm no pagan."

That said, he made a mental note to keep Adam away from this guy. He'd warn Ivar, too but... well, they weren't exactly on speaking terms. Or rather, Ronan wasn't.

[heahmund]

"I do not kill Christians," Heahmund says simply. Well, if there had been a war that the Pope was directing he might have but as of yet his violence is always aimed toward pagans, heathens and there might have been some travelling to Arab lands at some point.

[somnioergosum]

"Praise Jesus," Ronan said dryly.

Definitely keeping Adam away from this guy.

He snapped one of the bands around his wrist. "You know, none of the priests I've met have killed anyone." That he knew of. He knew it didn't cancel out confession, but this still felt strange. He was asking forgiveness from a murderer?

Sometimes Ronan wondered why he bothered with faith. And still, he just couldn't stop himself.

[heahmund]

"Have you not met any of the Pope's army then?" Heahmund questions, as in his time, the pope has plenty of priests that fight just as much as they hold services if not more. "Did David not fight?"

And well, that is only one example but war had often been sanctioned by God and that is how Heahmund views it, war not murder.

[somnioergosum]

"Yeah, I've heard of them. I can read. I meant personally. Unless the priest back home had some literal skeletons in his closet." He stared at Heahmund, quiet for a while as he tried to size him up. Did he really think of these people as subhuman?

"You don't regret it at all." It wasn't a question. Heahmund could deny it if he felt the need, but Ronan... he didn't that statement was a lie, not when he looked into his eyes. They were just this side of crazy. It almost reminded him of Ivar.

[heahmund]

"Anything is possible," Heahmund says a bit carelessly though he doesn't know what anyone would have need for skeletons in a closet for.

"Why should I? I do the Lord's work."

[somnioergosum]

Ronan was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure what he felt more: envy that Heahmund was so certain in his faith or horror that he used it to justify killing innocent people. But as a man responsible for killing his dream self, he had little room to judge people.

"Sure. Speaking of-- um." He gave his wristband one last snap. No turning back now, Ronan. "You wanna do this?"

[heahmund]

"Are you done stalling then?" Heahmund asks, raising a brow. It had been clear that Ronan had been beating around the bush for one reason or another.

[somnioergosum]

"Yeah, you're either gonna kill me or you won't. Might as well get it over with." And yet he paused. It was just weird. He was used to doing this in a church. No, not just that but actually in a confessional.

"I can bring things back from my dreams." He'd never allow himself to say that to anyone back home, but here in Riverview all sorts of things happened. Besides, he was mostly past caring if the final verdict from a priest was he was going to hell. At least he'd have company there.