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

taako "doesn't understand the concept of pants" taaco ☂ ota

[spellslots]

i ☂ street parties and food

[This is, in Taako's opinion, a pretty fucking cool festival. It's way better than Memoria, and there's no major gift-giving involved, which is a lot less stressful. This whole thing is about having fun and that is something he can do, easily and happily and without worrying too much about anything at all.

During the day, he gets into the spirit of things whenever an impromptu street party pops up, going in with the dancing and more than willing to drag someone along with him. His outfits throughout the week fit the theme of the festival pretty well, since he'll never turn down an opportunity to dress up in sparkly, sequined shit.

On one of the days, he sets up a stall with a group of other folks to sell some brightly coloured desserts, figuring he should take advantage of the chance to advertise his business a little. He doesn't take it as seriously as he did at the flower festival, getting pretty lax with the 'free food for any in sequins' rule, but he's having fun and everyone else is having fun, so who really cares?

Free cookie, anyone?]

iii ☂ parade

[On the night of carnivale, Taako goes all out, including his makeup (in a wild twist, he's even left the umbra staff at home); Eddie's up on one of the floats, which is... amazing and a little hilarious, but it leaves Taako drifting between people without any specific need to stick by someone. He's chatty and eager to dance and seems to have made a personal goal to collect as many party favours as he can, so long as they're wearing, because he's sadly lacking in pockets. Anyone who he knows will be greeted enthusiastically, possibly with a smooch on the cheek, because why not. You only live once. (He's still not a hugger, though).

At some point, he "accidentally" finds his way actually into the parade, dragged along by a group of dancers that he does his best to match, although he's a little too tipsy to manage it as successfully as he'd like.

By the time he makes it back into the crowd, he's soaked to the bone, covered in glitter and laughing, even as he bumps into someone beside him.]

Sorry, bubbale, got a little carried away. [He takes off one of the beaded necklaces he acquired, and pops it over his new friend's head as an apology.] There, all good!

iv ☂ adult
iv/a ☂ lounges
[This is at least 75% Bryn's fault, not that Taako minds coming along, it's just that there's not a whole lot he can personally get out of it aside from some amusement. And attention, actually, so maybe it's more like 50/50 on who's to blame, although he lets Bryn choose their locations for the nights.

Still, they're hardly attached at the hip, and that means he can be found doing shots off naked strangers, watching the dancing, and joining in on the less professional dancing that happens on the dance floor. He keeps his hands to himself, since he's kind of got that whole boyfriend thing going on and isn't interested in fucking around behind Eddie's back.

He has the most fun at the bodypaint (kinda NSFW) night, because he gets to cover himself in an unconscionable amount of glitter, and also because someone gave him a brush and some paint and set him loose on the crowd. A dangerous mistake, really; there's a 50/50 chance of someone getting a cool intricate design, or a dick drawn on them. He's all class.]

iv/b ☂ convention
[He goes to the convention because he's curious. There'd been a conversation with Cisco about weird kinks Taako found on the internet, and while he's sure all that stuff theoretically exists back home, without an easy way to disseminate information, most of it probably keeps to small circles.

So, he's just having a look.

Some of the information on display is pretty fucking wild, even for someone who's seen as much shit as Taako has, and occasionally he ends up staring at a brochure for a minute or so just trying to work out the appeal to... whatever the heck is happening. But some of it makes him laugh, not cruelly, but just well:]

I do not get how that's gonna be fun for anyone involved.

[This is the obligatory vore joke.]

v ☂ wildcard

[fuck dude idk, hit me up if you got something]

iii parade

[somnioergosum]

[Curisoity drives Ronan here, the crowd and some version of trainwreck syndrome keeps him. Ronan's clothes are the same, black muscle t-shirt, ripped blue jeans, and leather wist bands, but someone's taken the opportunity to spray him with glitter (or so he'll claim), and throw things at him. He has no idea what to do with the more adult objects thrust into his hands other than hide them. And now, he has no idea what to do with a beaded necklace around his neck.

Ronan stares at the offender. A bump he could forgive. The necklace is too much.]

What the fu--

[He drops the flat tone when he realizes who has accosted him. The one he adopts isn't aggressive, just somewhat amused. Admittedly, with Ronan it's sometimes hard to tell the difference.]

Taako? Why am I not surpised you're a queen.

[spellslots]

Ronan!

[Someone he knows is the best kind of someone, because as much as Taako is down to make new friends, it's always cool to be able to skip the whole small talk thing. Also it's good because he would like to not get punched just for giving someone a necklace.

When he catches up with the rest of what Ronan said, he laughs, waving a hand.]

Nah, this is just how I do. Not my fault I look fucking great in a dress.

[Pants are for nerds.]

[somnioergosum]

[Ronan looks Taako up and down, face impassive. He is, if possible, ever more firm in his knowledge that he may be gay, but he's definitely not that type of gay.

Ronan instinctively reaches up to take the necklace off but there are too many things in his hands. He shoves yet more candy and cheap jewelry into his pockets.]

If you say so.

[Any further jokes aren't coming to mind. He's gone on trips to New York but they were a family affair and he's avoided the adult areas of this city. The only man in a dress he's seen has been on television. Now he's up close but not personal with one.

Aha, he knows what to do. Ronan takes his fan and slips it in Taako's waistband. Now they're even.]

Is this your noncombat wardrobe?

[spellslots]

There's no accounting for taste.

[Whatever, man, he knows he looks great, and it's not like he's after Ronan's specific approval, so he'll just leave it at that.

Though he does quirk an eyebrow in amusement as Ronan seems to struggle with what to do next, and then laughs at his acquisition of the fan. That's cool, he can roll with that.]

This is my party wardrobe, fucking around with this much material is a nightmare most of the time.

[He needs to prefer skirts that edge more towards knee length or higher, but he's making an exception for the sake of looking rad as hell at this party.]

iv/b I'm sorry for this

[finethanks]

[Speaking of obligatory vore jokes, Eichi is here now, peering from around Taako's arm at the brochure he's holding.]

I suppose it depends on the person, doesn't it? Everyone has a variety of interests and appetites, so this would be no different. And pain is a form of pleasure, after all...

[Why is Eichi here, anyway?? Just casually giving commentary... Well, his face is a little flushed, so he must have had a little to drink earlier, but he's not holding any strange toys or objects or dressed scandalously at all. He's just here.]

[spellslots]

[Taako startles a little, first at a sudden person and then at the fact it's Eichi.]

Aren't you like, twelve? Should you-- are you allowed in here?

[Human ages are very hard and he's pretty sure this place is supposed to be 18+ even if he honestly thinks 18 year olds are still babies.]

[finethanks]

You're so mean, Taako-kun. ♪ I'm 19, you know? I have the face of an adult, you know?

[He's just a little offended at being called twelve, but he's tipsy enough that him being insistent is just like this. He's still smiling, anyway, stepping back from Taako's shoulder and in front of him instead.]

Even someone like me has interests like this.

[spellslots]

[Well, okay, he technically can't protest since nineteen is above the legal age for this shit here.]

Not saying you can't be interested, I mean, you do you. It's just like, hard to pick human ages sometimes.

[And he'd rather underestimate than overestimate, especially in situations like this.]

wildcarding your ass this time

[umbrastaff]

[It's a nice place, despite the fact that she had no idea why she was here and what this was all about. The people at the portal had explained some of it, but shit. It pretty much just felt like another cycle.

(Barry must worry, she thinks deep inside. That little hidden part of her that compresses her emotions into bearable pieces if junk.)

...but fuck, this place sure knew how to party!

Lup is still wearing her red robe, but it's mostly covered in glitter by now - as well as some tacky-ass earrings she got off a float. Some people had waved and said hello to her like they knew her, but it might just been the friendliness of this carnivale stuff.

When she finally sees a familiar face in the crowd, she whistles loudly to her brother before waving.]

HEY SLUT!

rude

[spellslots]

[He knows that voice.

It cuts right through to his heart, because it's been years since he heard her voice and suddenly he's back on the Starblaster, back home, back with Lup calling him out for some bullshit or another.

There's a split second where he's shellshocked, and then Taako's face lights up as he runs, a rare enough feat for him when not being chased by something, but right now he's willing to exert the energy to get to Lup as soon as possible. And he doesn't stop, instead crashing into her with his arms thrown around her shoulders and honestly, he doesn't even care if she keeps her balance or if they go toppling over.

He's laughing and he's crying a little bit and it's Lup, that's all that matters.]

Fuck you.

[umbrastaff]

[She didn't quite expect him to have that reaction, and Lup looks a little shellshocked as well when her twin barrels into her like that. She nearly topples over as he jumps her, but manages to stop them from falling into a big heap just in time. Thankfully they were the same height.

Then Taako's laughing and he's crying and fuck? What did that mean??]

Hi, loser. How are you holding up?

[Because wow that was the lamest comeback ever.]

[spellslots]

Way the fuck better now!

[The thought of acting normal, the way he tried to do with Lucretia, doesn't even occur to him in this moment. Partly because he's so shocked and delighted that rational thought are a long way away, but he also knows that he could never lie to Lup. The only thing he ever kept from her was his fear about her becoming a lich, which was for her own safety.

Taako pulls back, bringing his hands up to cup her face, needing a second to just look at her.]

Hey, you.

i

[scholiast]

(This festival might be Taako's ideal celebration, but Lucretia privately finds the whole thing too loud and overwhelming. She'll probably disappear back home come nighttime, but she's perfectly happy to stroll the streets during the day and check out the various stalls and musical performances. Because she's half-into the spirit of the occasion, she has dressed accordingly.

She recognises Taako's stall from a long while off, and comes up to help herself to the little plate of free cookies in front of his various displays, crunching it happily.)

Mmmm. My compliments to the chef.

[spellslots]

What, you don't get enough free cookies at home?

[This thievery will not stand!!

Except he looks pretty chill about it, and he moves on quickly.]

Someone's looking cute.

[scholiast]

I'm criminally underfed at home, actually.

(She grins, and pops another sample into her mouth, as if daring him to stop her.)

Thanks. I figured I could do at least this much, you know? You look fantastic.

iv/a this canvas is rife for the dick drawings js

[heirlift]

[ Given a couple of days and a couple drinks to get nice and comfortable, and at the very least, someone's managed to convince John to take his shirt off, and not without good reason to try and convince him. A couple other lounge-goers have already gotten to him, it seems, with various works-of-art now plastered across his front side and down his arms. They're mostly tasteful... mostly. He ignores the ones that aren't. It's all in good fun, right? Right, they're having fun, this is fun; at least the brushes feel kind of cool.

So when he's approached by a glittery elf with a brush in hand, he doesn't shy away like he might have earlier in the night, and instead waves and flashes a grin. ]

You want a turn? I don't know why, but I guess I'm pretty popular tonight! I think I have space left on my back, if you really want.

perfect

[spellslots]

It's cause you're cute.

[It's said in the same tone someone might talk about a kitten or something, because John definitely seems on the younger side of his twenties, which is practically a baby.]

Any requests, pumpkin?

[He might not actually take it to heart, but it's polite to ask.]

[heirlift]

I keep hearing that, but...

[ Now's not the time for self doubt. Anyway, he was asked a question, and truthfully, it's the first time anyone's actually asked him what to paint. Everyone else just seemed to have a good idea of their own... ]

Alright, how about something, you know. Manly! Like a dragon?

[ Were dragons manly or just nerdy...? Shoot. Well, he's said it now, he doesn't know if there are any takebacks, or if he'd seem too indecisive. ]

iv/b

[causational]

[Taako had mentioned to Eddie that he'd be going to the lounges and the convention with Bryn a lot during the week, and Eddie hadn't particularly had much interest in going, himself, so he'd been fine with settling in to watch some movies and have a chill few days aside from getting ready for the parade itself.

But after seeing some advertising for the kink expo, Eddie can't help but be a bit curious, in a weird, taboo sort of way that makes him feel a bit flustered and pink. Eventually, he can't resist, so he throws on a tank top and a pair of shorts and flip-flops, and heads over there. After wandering around a bit on his own, he's just pulling out his phone to call Taako to find out where he is when he sees him. Standing in front of some ludicrous stand laughing and staring at a brochure.

Jogging up, Eddie smiles, cheeks a little pink already (it's going to go all the way down his chest, he knows it) as he waves at Taako.]

Hey, babe. Sorry to butt in, but I got curious and thought I'd come check it out. You can tell me to get lost if you want.

[spellslots]

[The stand and brochure are immediately forgotten, the latter haphazardly tossed back on the table as Taako spots Eddie. Judging by his smile, he's not bothered by the intrusion at all.]

Hey yourself, how long did it take you to work up the courage?

[Someone's a lil pink and Taako isn't going to pass up a chance to gently tease him.]

[causational]

[It's a bit of a relief to see he's welcome, at least judging by that big smile on Taako's face and the way the elf abandons the brochure he'd been looking at. And by the way he's immediately teasing him about his blush. If nothing else, he's probably glad to see Eddie just so he can tease him.

Eddie finds he doesn't really mind all that much.]

About two hours after I decided I was really curious. How's it been going? Having fun?

[Eddie slings an arm around Taako's waist to give him a little sideways hug, but then drops the hand to his side, unsure if Taako wants PDA here.]

iv | b [may contain discussion of some wild shit]

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco is a little leery when he first arrives at the convention, less out of any sort of prudishness about any of the displays and more out of wariness about the crowd in general. But after a few moments, he sees that Taako was right and everyone is pretty keen on minding their own business, and with that he relaxes a little and sets about wandering around and just seeing the sights.

He steers pretty clear of the sections that are marked off with a jaunty sign welcoming voyeurs, moving instead to a line of booths that seem to be dedicated to selling leathers goods of all sorts. Maybe it's a little bit pathetic that he gets distracted examining the workmanship, which varies a lot between impeccably made to quite amateur.

Cisco spots Taako before Taako spots him. Not hard to do, considering his outfit. This time, Cisco makes sure to check that it is not Lup before he wanders over. ]

Yeah, never really got that one, myself.

that sounds like a challenge

[spellslots]

[Taako looks up as soon as he hears Cisco's voice, giving him a little wave and a smile.]

I don't get a whole lot of this shit, I'm way more vanilla than I thought.

[That's mostly a joke, he already knew he was pretty vanilla, so long as wanting to fuck death doesn't count.]

[franciscoramon]

I don't get a lot of it either, dude.

[ It's hard to tell sometimes to what degree Taako is teasing or telling the truth, so Cisco doesn't actually know if Taako thinks he is a really freaky dude or not. Cisco doesn't think of himself as a really freaky dude, but then again that might be a matter of perspective. In any case, he's going to try not to embarrass himself or strengthen that impression too much. ]

I mean, sure, there are some things where I'm like, not into it, but I guess I can kinda imagine the appeal.

[ He jerks a thumb over his shoulder, back at the curtained-off areas and the large signs inviting exhibitionists to go and get their exhibition on. ]

Then there's stuff like that- [ He nods his head to a table across the aisle that has, amongst other things, rattles and pacifiers that are clearly made for grown adults ] -and lemme tell ya, I got nothin'. No clue.