introductory mingle: carnivale

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Carnivale Celebration
when: July 1st - July 9th
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 a large parade (and paid holiday!) capping it off on July 8th.

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 a massive party parade, 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.

At couple of the acts might be familiar faces to some of the residents.

Eichi Tenshouin has signed up himself and his friend Tsumugi Aoba into the music festival as a first-time appearing idol unit called "Higanbana." Dressed in all white with splashes of color (blue, largely, with only their headsets being a red spider lily), they carry a very commanding and angelic image together. They'll have a routine that emphasizes their great harmony with each other, taking turns doing solo lines and joining together to show off each of their talents. Singing and dancing, they interact heavily with the audience and will encourage a lot of involvement with speaking between songs and gestures, winks, and so on. Basically, they intend to make this Riverview's very first prominent "idol performance".

For his performance, Otabek Altin will start with rock remixes of a few popular pop songs. He wants to make sure that it starts off with recognizable pieces for some people, and he certainly thinks it is something that could get people excited even if they don't know it. Then, it shifts into a few original songs. They are upbeat, rock songs that he put together with the intention to make people dance and move, since he is a DJ. He'll end his set with a slower piece he put together that is also an original. Through the entire performance, he's focused and quiet, though he may occasionally try and excite the crowd with a few words.

Any other 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

The other main attraction of Carnivale week comes on July 8th, which is a paid holiday for everyone in the city. The Carnivale Parade will be starting out by City Hall and winding through downtown in a lazy pattern so everyone in the city has a chance to see it. There will be all sorts of floats, dancers, marching bands, with all sorts of clubs, businesses, and other organizations represented. The theme is theatrical, big and showy, bright and colorful, sparkly and shiny, with loud music and lots of glitz and glamour. 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 - some of them fit for kids and teens, others of a more 'adult' nature handed out a bit more discreetly to anyone who looks the part.

And make sure you wear your waterproof mascara - Carnivale 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 and kink exhibition

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).

For the weekend from July 7th-9th, there will be a kink exhibition in one of the large exhibition centers downtown, limited to characters 18+. The exhibition is a sexy adult informational convention featuring various kinks and fetishes. Whether you're into leather, latex, lace, or anything else, you'll be able to find the clothes, toys, guides, books, erotica, fiction, and a wide variety of other interesting stuff to explore. While the atmosphere is sex-positive and there are private and public (for the voyeurs and exhibitionists in the room) venues for having sex, it's definitely focused on exploration and information about different stuff to try.

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 Carnivale, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Roger Patterson Jr.; image ii: Syd Mead; image iii: screencap from the movie Paprika; image iv: siamon89

navigation

Comments

[feelybug]

[In all fairness, Mantis is not likely to fully understand what normal is even if it catches fire and comes flying at her face.

She is only just beginning to understand how different everyone here is, and how different the places they come from really are. She is drawn in. Frankenstein's question has her holding up both hands, and wiggling the fingers poking out from her gloves in his general direction]

I only feel the emotions of others when I touch them. [She frowns a moment, recalling what it feels like to her and how to even begin explaining it.] Then they are all that I feel...

Unless I am forcing them to feel something else.

[Surely not a disturbing concept at all.]

[realimperfect]

Honestly.. it's appealing. [ She's never thought about monsters being appealing before, but yet here she is, debating a camping trip just so that she won't have to deal with all of this mess. There's something wrong with her in this moment, absolutely, but there's no way she's ever going to admit that to him either.

She's slightly sarcastic, but... well it does seem better, to a point. ]

But after spending a couple weeks out there, maybe I ought to just buy a couple of those.. disgusting frozen meals...

[idolpire]

As long as you're not pulling my leg. Don't want to agree to a little rough and tumble and wind up getting a headache when I get a hit in.

[That'd be the ultimate in rudeness, Buffy. Especially when he was playing along so nicely. And she's not hitting him yet, which he took as a good sign.

But still, he was suspicious. This was all too neat. Too tied up. Too shiny with a bow that was dropping fortune in his lap. He wasn't used to that.]

If you're not having one off on me, why not? I could use the exercise.

[idolpire]

I'll bite hers if you find me a lovely bird. Evil's the only good reason to have powers, Jake. Try having a little fun with it.

[500gallontank]

[Frankenstein only knows his world's normal which he knows is just basically screwed up. ]

So you can't tell what I'm feeling right now.

[Should he be weirded out by that last bit? Eh, not like he's morally pure himself.]

Worse ways of doing that. [Mood Whiz, VR, all the ways the UCA manipulates people's emotions. Fuck. Even the Death Race. ]

[worldsaway]

[Thor can't help but roll his eyes at that.]

The sweetest you've ever known. [He says, then he tries to peer at what else is in Loki's hands.]

Are you enjoying yourself, then?

[aeturnus]

Fun and evil are not synonymous, although I'll allow they can often coincide. Maybe I'll see what I can do, though. Who knows?

[idolpire]

The bloody hell they aren't.

[aeturnus]

Agree to disagree on that. Sometimes there's just nothin' doin' for me.

[angelic_archer]

[Alec made a vague sound that could either be agreement or disbelief depending on how Jace decided to interpret it.]

And what are you an expert on this week? Other than Mundane relationship traditions.

[worldsaway]

[Thor may have missed the lion's share of the bonding process, but he finds himself slipping into it easily enough. Once you fight alongside him, you become a friend on some level.]

And rightly so. Once I have completed the festivities I have a coronation, a meeting and a feast to attend. [He brushes his hair off his shoulders and stands tall.]

Do you think I will fit in?

[idolpire]

Maybe you need to get your hands dirty once in a while. Roll around with the rest of us animals and you might accidentally have a good time.

[toopolite]

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?

[Not that it helps. With Loki, who knows what he is up to, which does have her regarding him, as if trying to fathom if he is up to something.]

[wayfaring_stranger]

[Jace crossed his arms.]

Do you really want a list? Your glitter might start to flake off before you get a chance to see Magnus.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki would point out that Sif barely merits the title of enemy, but that would probably just rile her up. ]

That rarely ever works.

[angelic_archer]

[Alec sidesteps out of someone's way, giving Jace a look that warns that he probably is going to hear more than he really wants to.]

You can try to outlast the glitter, but it's magic. It'll hold up no matter what Magnus and I do together.

[After years of listening to stories about Jace's flings, his parabatai might find out more than he wanted to know about the newlywed life.]

[aeturnus]

You know, that sounds like a phase I had already. [ Beat. ] Possibly more than once.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki waves the book with a grin. ]

It is entertaining. Mortals can be rather creative in their pursuits.

[dothelokimotion]

[ He's trying okay. ]

Are you looking for something in particular?

[idolpire]

Why sully a classic?

[Smirk.]

he probably can; also cw: for this whole thread for pushy sexual grossness

[causational]

[The moment Eddie pushes against Dodger's hand and it doesn't budge, Eddie's heart rate picks up, and his mouth purses a little. The way Dodger moves his hand after the pinch and slides his arm around Eddie's waist, a hot surge of anger replaces the fear, because he can see it, right away, that this is some kind of power play. Power plays have never been a game Eddie enjoyed playing, especially the kind he has pretty much no chance of winning.

Dodger's fingers slide under the waistband of his jeans, and Eddie squirms, trying to twist out of the grip, a flush of anger joining the embarrassed one on his face.]

Dodger, I have less than zero interest in talking to you about my sex life. Leave me alone.

[franciscoramon]

[ "It could be worse" is some pretty damning faint praise. It sounds to Cisco like the Doctor is making the best of the situation, but definitely is not loving the confinement. Probably a place like this is less interesting to someone who has been to so many planets. ]

So are you, like, a captain or whatever?

[ It wouldn't occur to Cisco that he might have a space ship that he pilots alone, or practically alone. If he's calling it HIS ship, Cisco just assumes this is some kind of USS Enterprise type situation.

Then again, the attitude is a bit more space hippy than starfleet, but Cisco can roll with that. He smiles, shrugs, and says: ]

Fair enough.

[ The question of what kind of machines he builds isn't really an uncommon one, but he never knows quite how to answer it. ]

All kinds. Technically, my job here is doing R&D for the emergency services. So, you know, designing stuff to help deal with fires, or disasters, or monsters coming over the wall. But I also make a whole lot of other stuff just for fun. Like, right now I'm trying to recreate these goggles I had back home, that make it so you can have lucid dreams. And also some earbuds that'll block out telepathy and mind control. The trick is trying to get them to work against magic. Not used to needing to plan for that.

[toopolite]

Hn. Makes me wonder if anyone truly did request to come. Or if they merely claim it to be.

[A question she might explore now, given this place.

A soft contemplative hum, focus shifting back to him.]

We have feasts and celebrations, especially after victories in war, although not quite... so sparkly.

[causational]

[Eddie completely fails to notice that anyone is coming up beside him until he actually speaks, and Eddie nearly jumps out of his skin, hand coming up to rest over his chest. Usually, he's not all that unobservant, but he'd been so engrossed in staring at the booth trying to work up the courage to get a bit closer that he wasn't paying attention.

Thankfully, Cisco's voice soothes the startle pretty quickly, especially since he's making a joke and Eddie is laughing as he turns.]

Oh man. I bet he'd get halfway downtown before he did. Unless you included the ball gag. Pretty sure he'd notice that.

[leatherdaddy]

[ Gladio probably shouldn't try to joke about this, but it slips out before he can help it. That implication, unintended of course, that he's bad for him. It's not untrue, not when he can't afford romance of a long term sort in his position, or what he thinks is his position... and also what Eichi can handle given his condition. ]

You saying this is bad for your heart?

[ That's reason for concern, considering their activities last night were of the heart-pounding kind. ]

...Does that mean what we did last night was dangerous?