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

[idolpire]

[The voice piped up behind him, female, perky, and far too helpful. But Spike was trying not to piss people off at the moment -- mostly, and he turned to see a young lady with dark hair and a helpful smile on her face offering him just what he wanted.

This was either too easy or a trick. He hadn't made up his mind.]

Yeah...

[Hesitant and waiting for the punchline, he pointed at the shop he'd been whining in front of. The one with ale that reminded him of ye olden days back before everything had been made by machines.]

One of those, if you can.

[de_evilise]

[ Hmmm. Were there laws here about giving ale to minors? Aaah it'd be fiiiiiiiiiiine. Probably. In any case, Marinette glanced over towards to said shop, thoughtfully, and then turned back to Spike. ]

Okay, I'll go ask. Would you mind holding this?

[ She holds up the small bag of snacks she had acquired. It'd be easier to squeeze through the crowd without it in her arms. ]

[idolpire]

[Look, he wasn't that great at ages, alright? She was young, but she didn't look that young... did she? Bloody hell. Either way, she handed him her bag and moved to squeeze off and he waited and watched. Well, watched long enough to see the shopkeep shake his head at her. Then he looked down at her little bag of goodies and turned to walk off with them. If he couldn't have one, he might as well have the other, right?]

[de_evilise]

[ It's okay, he's an old immortal vampire type person, ages were probably like mousie sneezes to him. Y'just don't notice these things. Marinette let out a quick sigh in defeat, and nodded to the shopkeep. Maybe there was a substitute - she turned about to signal to Spike when ... uh... Spike you're kinda walking in the wrong direction to meet her and give her her stuff back! Gosh, robbing from kids, what won't you do? Tsk tsk tisky tisk.

... okay in all fairness Marinette would have been perfectly fine with him taking the snacks if he had asked. So she quickly started off after him. ]

Hey! Excuse me, you still have my bag..!

[idolpire]

[What's that? So he did. And he was going to keep walking as if he couldn't hear her. In fact, he was going to look down to see if there was anything good to nibble on.]

[de_evilise]

[ GOSH. Fortunately he's walking, so she can catch up with him pretty easily, crowd or no crowd, unless he pulled off some weird sneaky chicanery. In any case once she caught up with him, she moved to block him. ]

Hey, my bag?

[ Kinda rude to keep talking - but she DID have all sorts ot neat snacks! There were some brownies and cookies, mostly, but there were also some snacks that looked carmelized, a few hard candies that Marinette ran afoul of for being waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hot earlier last month. ]

[idolpire]

What about it?

[Asked around a mouthful of brownie, crumbs flecking his lips as he took another giant bite. Well, he'd give this place a star for good treats. Not that he could live off them, but he couldn't find any of the same herbs he liked to put in his blood to spice it up. So food had to do.]

... that icon is amazing lol

[de_evilise]

[ .... not only does he just wander off with her bag but he's eating her -- well okay that kind of helps her out, but STILL, it's the principle of the matter. She reached out to swipe her bag back. ]

You still have it. I kind of need it. Also, you're eating the stuff I was going to give to my roommates. [ A slight pause. ]

I'll split it if you're that hungry though. I don't mind. But I do need my bag back.

Haha. Spike's a loser

[idolpire]

[He lets go of the bag, but there was an initial tug back before he let her reclaim it. Just to see how badly she wanted it. Pity. He finishes munching on the brownie, licking at his fingers as he watched her.]

Take your bloody bag. I don't want it anyway.

[Liar. He'd seen all the goodies and he'd been planning to go off and nibble it all.]

XD

[de_evilise]

[ Well that's an obvious fib. He sounded like a petulant kid, goodness. ]

It's fine if you don't want the bag, but what about some of the snacks? You seemed pretty hungry. [ Hungry enough to start nomming her nabbed treats at least. ]

Why don't I get another bag and split this for you?

[idolpire]

[Congratulations, girlie. You figured Spike out. Gold star for you. Petulant whiny little kid was about his speed.]

... Why? Has it gone off?

[Because that was the only reason why someone whose bag he'd tried to steal would continue to be nice to him and give him things, right?]

[de_evilise]

[ YAY gold star! She will wear it with pride~. ]

What? No, nothing like that, but as you can see, I kind of took went a little overeager when I was accepting samples. This is WAAAAAAAAY too much for me. I was going to give some of it to my roommates, but there's a chance they may have had a lot on their own and won't want any. So you'd actually be doing me a favor. Besides, I feel bad they wouldn't let you have your drink.

[idolpire]

...

[The look he gave her was pure suspicion, but then again, she did seem young. Young like the Slayer's little sister, and that bulb hadn't been bright enough not to keep coming around him for whatever reason.]

So because they're not giving me free things for not being sparkly enough, you're going to give me what you took too much of.

[He was walking himself through it, waiting for the punchline.]

I don't get it. You want some sort of favor in return?

[de_evilise]

...?

[ Yeah she totally doesn't understand why he's giving her that look~! So distrustful. ]

Well, you have to admit it does seem to be pretty silly for them to decide who is or isn't ..shiny enough and not give you drinks for it. People don't all have the same opinions of what is and isn't sparkly.

[ And no one wants to see a sparklepire. XD ]

Favor? No, not at all. Really, you'd be helping me out here, so..

[idolpire]

[Welcome to vampires 101. Evil distrusted everyone because they were likely to screw anyone else over, given the opportunity. Everyone was suspect.]

Oh, I know what's sparkly. I just don't do the whole namby pamby dress up bit. That's for girls and ponces.

[How dare you even bring them up. Hiss]

Helping? Eating your food would be helping?

[A pause.]

Don't suppose you've got anything with a buzz in there, do you? 'Special' brownies or cookies? Blood sausage?

[de_evilise]

[ She would flunk out of that class so fast. She's too trusting and naïve! ]

.. Ponce?

[ The heck is that, wonders she. EEK! I'm sorry, I shouldn't even joke about the abominations-who-shan't-be-named XD ]

Well yeah! I've got too much, after all, and I don't want it to go to waste.

[ She is so weirded out by this conversation with someone so distrustful. Her world is rocked onto its head! ]

Er... a... buzz? Um... [ Peeking into her bag, wondering what he means by 'special'. ]

Oh! There's one that they made with lemons, I .. guess that's kind of special? But I didn't get any sausages - I don't remember seeing any at the stalls.

[idolpire]

[He rolled his eyes. Not only did he have to try to steal from a teenager, but he seemed to have stolen from one that wasn't the type to partake of alcohol or drugs. What kind of world was he living in when teenagers didn't do what they weren't supposed to?]

Not the buzz I was talking about. Don't you drink? Do a little something to take the edge off? Don't tell me you're a goody goody. I can't take much more of those.

[de_evilise]

[ Truly Spike's life is suffering. He could always go clean though! Though that must be a nightmarish scenario, being unable to partake of such, HAHA i mean.. ]

Um... no. I'm only fifteen.

[ She's a GOOD girl who listens to her parents! Unless she's out being a superhero. She has to stifle a snicker though, being called a goody goody. Chat called her that once ... aww, she made herself sad now. ]

There's nothing wrong with being good.

[idolpire]

Save me from fifteen year old girls.

[The bane of his existence. Literally. That was generally the age a Slayer got called. And it was emasculating that a world of demons was scared of a bloody fifteen year old girl.]

Sure there is. It's incredibly boring.

[de_evilise]

[ Marinette stifled a laugh. ]

We're not that scary. I find it hard to believe someone older than me can be 'scared' of a fifteen year old. [ He was being sarcastic right? ]

Being a good person is boring? [ IF. ONLY. ]

[idolpire]

Clearly you've never met a Slayer.

[Honestly. And they only got worse as they got older. More lippy, too.]

'Course it is. All pleases and thank yous. Having to follow the rules and be 'helpful'. No eating people. It's just rude.

[de_evilise]

A Slayer? A slayer of what? [ CLearly, she hasn't met one. Though Spike..fft, Marinette can't help herself, and bursts into laughter. Eating people? ]

Oh come on, now you're just being silly. [ He has such a weird sense of humor. ]

Why would anyone want to eat someone else anyway? [ There's so much out there that would taste better she'd bet. Hrrr. Hopefully there aren't any cannibals around here ignoring the bright friggin neon arrow over Spike's head ]

[idolpire]

Vampire.

[Was she laughing at him? She was laughing at him. Of course she was. What fifteen year old girl wouldn't laugh at a hundred and twenty-six year old vampire who didn't look it telling her about eating people. Well... there was always one way to make the laughter stop.

His smile turned more evil as the vampire showed its other face, fangs getting long and sharp and deadly as he grinned at her.]

Well, more drink their blood, but same notion, eh?

[de_evilise]

[ Vampire? Seriously, he believed in vampires? She put her hands on her hips. ]

But vampires don't exi--

[ Uh. Did his face just change? UH. Heeeey Spike, buddy can we talk? She didn't know you were such a sensitive soul ok - she wasn't really laughing AT you she thought you were pulling her leg! ]

...st. [ Staaaaaaare. ]

................i...stand corrected....

[idolpire]

Bloody rights you do.

[Satisfied, he reached into his coat and pulled out a pack of smokes. He'd earned it. A little terror went a long way towards making him feel better, and it was with a smile that he lit it.]