riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: carnivale

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: carnivale

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fufu, I was recognized... ♪ It's the first time that's happened in a long while, so I'm a little excited hearing my full name out of nowhere like that.

[He's a strange one, that's for sure, speaking like that and openly admitting what he does. He drops his hand from his face and glances down at his drink with a curious blink.]

Oh, but do I look that bad already? I thought I was going rather easy. Besides, it's not often that I'm able to get out and enjoy things like this, so I wanted to see what it was like. [He lifts his chin again with a simple little smile. It's the same polite smile he gives everywhere, but his eyes always say a little bit more. They're sparkling like he's intrigued by every little thing right now.] "You only live once," after all, right?

[Alright, after some observation Dodger has decided Eichi is just naive. Which is almost cute, but... not his type of person at all.]

Don't celebrities usually have PR people ushering them away when they're getting drunk?

[Does Eichi even count as a celebrity? Probably not, but he's got enough media attention that Dodger seems to be bitter toward him. He's never really understood why artists and musicians get recognition for their work instead of being commodities like every other type of worker.]

[Well, Dodger isn't completely wrong. He is naive in a lot of ways, thanks to his spoiled and rich upbringing, but he didn't approach this man out of naivete. He plays it up well, though, and he just keeps talking, even if it's clear to him that Dodger probably wasn't staring out of any nice interest.]

Do I seem drunk? [He's flushed, so probably at least tipsy, but he'll deny that, too.] I don't have a habit of doing anything extreme that would ruin my image. I'm Yumenosaki's top idol, you know? Or I was. I suppose I've graduated now, and I'm stuck here, anyway.

You've spoken my name and you haven't introduced yourself at all. You don't have the appearance of a fan of mine, but was I wrong? I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, after all.

You're right, I didn't introduce myself.

["And I don't plan to", his tone says.]

Knowing others is something of a hobby of mine. So, I'm interested to know about you. What interests you, what makes you tick, that sort of thing. [He shrugs.] And maybe I can sell you something in return, if boasting doesn't catch your interest.

[No introduction even still? Ah, so he's that type of sketchy person. Eichi still moves over to lean against one of these crates here, taking a slow sip from his drink.]

So you're refusing? If you keep up like that, I might come up with a strange nickname for you, you know?

[But that's fine.] Just what sort of things are you trying to sell? That's a strange way to start an interview, but I won't ignore it and willingly give up information if there's something more interesting for me involved.

[His eyes narrow, but honestly he's curious what sort of nickname he'll end up with. He doubts whatever it is will be of consequence to him in the long run.

With a pause for effect (and to finish eating his taco), he pulls a small vial of glowing,
orange liquid from his pocket. Which Eichi may recognize as very suspiciously similar to the color and glow of certain fireflies from a few months back...]

It's called Lampyr. I'll give you a free sample if I learn anything interesting from talking to you.

Lampyr? [It doesn't ring a bell at all, but that color does look a little familiar, somehow. He remembers those fireflies, but he'd avoided going outside much thanks to them. It has him leaning in to peer at it closer, both hands holding his cup now.]

That's glowing so much that it looks terribly suspicious. What does something like that do, anyway? A bribe won't work if I have no use for it.

[But honestly, he's talkative anyway... So it's a wonder why he's playing like this.] On top of that, I don't even know what it is that you're the most curious about.

Not one for reckless thrill-seeking, huh?

[Eichi's won his favor in that regard, at least.]

It's liquid courage - specifically, the courage to say what you want, consequences be damned. [So, a truth serum, but this seems like a pitch more up the alley of someone like him.] And I don't like to think of these as bribes. I look for useful information, it's only fair I give others something useful in return.

[As for what he's after:] You seem like someone who knows a lot of people. Wonder if you know someone named Shigeru Miyata.

Courage, is it? Not bottled foolishness, I hope.

[Interestingly enough, pitching it as a "truth serum" might have hooked him more immediately, even if he's grown a lot since his old ways. It still sounds like something useful. This makes it sound a lot more innocent, though, and he's curiously wondering if it might help someone else. If he can even trust that that's what it really is.

Well, he is curious, and even if he tries not to be reckless, he does seek thrills in some way.]

You're right. ♪ You're one of the few faces that I don't recognize here, you know? It must be because you're always standing in shady areas like this. [haha] I know of him, though we haven't spoken too much. He's the one who shared that he has the same ability that I do. Are you curious about him?

No point in selling liquid foolishness - we already got that, it's called whiskey.

[Which he smells pretty heavily of, but that's just sort of his natural odor at this point.]

I wouldn't ask if I wasn't curious. [He raises a brow.] You've got powers like Miyata's?

As of only a few days ago, it seems that I can heal wounds. It's a shame that it only helps with physical things like that, so I can't even help myself when this weak body of mine grows exhausted.

[He's just a little bitter about that irony. He has another drink, which finishes it up, and he sets it aside on the crate he's leaning against.]

Exhaustion's a normal part of having powers.

[But he does notice that Eichi seems to be particularly fragile. It's not something he feels the need to take advantage of just this second, but something to file away in case he ever needs to use the kid for something.]

You're not from a world with mutants and powers, huh.

Maybe so.

[He won't add that simply walking can make him pass out sometimes, but it is pretty clear just from looking at him. He looks close to it now— but he's not, not this second, anyway.]

I'm not. Magic is only science or works of the imagination, illusions and the like. Though I did learn to accept things beyond my own reality back on the Eluvio, so a place like this isn't really all that shocking.

Wouldn't call it magic, where I come from.

[As he speaks, he casually pulls out a cigarette and lights it with a snap of his fingers. His fingers just light up like a candle, and then he waves the flame away as he takes a breath of smoke. But more importantly... that last part has definitely caught his interest.]

You were on the Eluvio?

[WHOA, hold up, how is he doing that with his fingers? Eichi is immediately distracted, leaning a little closer as he lights it like that will help him understand. It doesn't.]

Do you call it something else, then? [Oh, but a question. He straightens a little more.] I was, yes. Have you heard a bit about it, then? I was one of the liaisons for an alien race called the fek. Everything was turning quite messy.

[He notices the interest, but doesn't offer any explanation. He just shrugs as he pointedly keeps the topic on the Eluvio.]

I've taken some interest in it. You know someone named Karamatsu Matsuno?

[This kid doesn't look like someone who would know much about Reaper... so Karamatsu seems like a smarter option.]

[ He has had tea with Reaper, Dodger!! They are besties; this is what he gets for judging a book by its cover. ]

I do, in fact. He's a fan of mine. Fufu, if someone was from the Eluvio, then I've met them here~. His brother, as well, you know?

[Leave him alone, he's working on an idealized version of Reaper that sits around drinking blood out of a skull and polishing guns when Dodger's not bothering him.]

I've spoken to his brother a bit... seems like they've been through a lot. [He nods quietly.] How much do you know about what happened to them there?

I assume you mean the body parts?

[ He folds his arms. ] I know that the aliens were being blamed for them despite there being more of a lead for the captain. I was feeling a little surrounded just before I was whisked away to this place.

...Body parts?

[His guess was actually entirely based on the way they argue. He has no idea what Eichi's on about.]

Oh, so you didn't?

[He says it so calmly, like he didn't just assume too much.] I wonder what you did mean, then? You have to tell me these things directly, you know, or I'll get confused. ♪ I'm not used to drinking like this, so my thoughts are feeling lighter than I'm used to. It's a little like Alice in Wonderland~...

[What is he going on about...]

[What indeed. Dodger raises a brow, and he sort of lets him ramble for a moment to see if it's going anywhere before finally speaking.]

I know Karamatsu, Ichimatsu and Reaper were on the Eluvio, along with you and someone named Sombra. Since I don't know any of them well, I'm curious to see what you've got to tell me about them. [His eyes narrow, in a barely visible gesture. It's doubtful Eichi would even want to look him in the eye, since one of them is an empty hole where an eye used to be.] Purely in the interest of learning what happened on that ship.

Those were some of them, and I happen to know all of them.

[He winks like this is some show he's just won, making a peace sign.] Ah, but you know, I wonder how much I have to say before I can get that strange thing there? It's not fair if I just ramble off everything, you know? Especially since I was on that ship from the start. That's a lot of information~.

You know Reaper.

[His eyes sharpen at that. He'd expected to just learn a little about the ship, maybe poke at information he could use... but the opportunity to learn a bit about one of his obsessions never passes his interest.]

Tell me everything you know about him. And I'll give you the Lampyr.

[Even if it's something he already knows, the small details can be different from person to person... everyone notices different things. And every single detail is important in his mind.]

[kill bill sirens]

Wow~. You zoomed in much like a camera just now, didn't you? [What does that mean, he's had too much to drink— but at the same time, he's not too far gone enough to just blab everything freely on this topic.]

Reaper-san is my closest friend from the Eluvio, so telling you so much would be a little unfair. Besides, he's the type of person who would definitely get angry if I shared everything we speak about. I've already been scolded countless times for saying things that were true in front of others, so I don't really want to deal with him staring at me with that mask of his as if I'm supposed to imagine his bothered expression myself.

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