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

Temporary job suspension, a fine, and one hundred hours of community service. Nothing permanent on my record. All in all, not a bad rap. Considering the circumstances.

[John was permanently banned from The Regent, but he hadn't planned on going back there anyway. That wasn't his world anymore. The suit was back where it belonged, in the back of his closet. Along with the substantial amount of cash he'd earned as a high-shooter in Riverview's criminal underground. For a rainy day.

John may be a better man, but he'll never be a good one.

He sips his whiskey, looking everywhere but at Spike. He's having his own reaction. A complicated one. Guilt. Lust. Shame. Regret.]

I wouldn't have let anyone take you out on my account. Figured you needed some space, is all.

Space...

[A sharp, bitter laugh, something that ended too quickly, too brokenly to be a good sign.]

I needed a lot of things. Still do, to be honest. Not sure what happened, but there was... there was something. And then I seemed to have my own little mishap with-- I don't know. I don't know if it was time or some lie, but--

[But his meetup earlier was telling him otherwise, and he lifted his bottle to drink from, tipping it back and swallowing, swallowing, swallowing until it was all gone. He slapped it on the table, raising his hand for another.]

Figure the only reason I got off so light was because I couldn't do any of what I wanted. I was just there for a very fun ride. Which, going by your lack of pretty suit, means it's over.

There was something in the water. People weren't themselves.

[A pause, because that wasn't quite truthful. John Wick doesn't lie to his friends. After everything he'd dragged Spike through, he owes him his honesty.]

Or they were themselves, but different. From before. Or after.

[John finally looks at Spike. The brown leather jacket, navy sweater, and jeans say it all. He's not here on business.]

It was me. All of it. I'm not going to deny that.

I should bloody well hope it was you. Otherwise I was shagging a bloody impeccable twin.

[Yes, John, he was going to bring up the sex. Because it happened. It happened, and he could remember the feel of that mouth on him, those hands pinning him down, the words being growled against his ear--

A sigh, his hand squeezing his own thigh as he let his chair tip forward, setting it on all four legs to reach for his newly brought drink.]

My little... issue wasn't nearly so fun. Color me envious that you got to be a better version of you.

About that-

[Sex had happened. Lots of it. All over. John couldn't put a number to how many times they'd done it, but if someone took a black light to that motel room? They'd be hard-pressed to find a surface the two of them hadn't fucked on.]

Better?

Comparatively. Don't get your knickers in a knot. You're still... yeah. Tasty. But I wasn't so fortunate as to slip into an unchipped, happy-go-lucky Spike.

[Which really, was probably for the best as someone might have actually staked him.]

It sucked. And--

[He waved off the rest of it, taking a deeper drink, then reaching over for something that was rolled up in a tight black cigarello type joint, flicking his lighter to spark the end.]

Doesn't matter. Look, just... here. I just wanted some company so I'm not in my head so much.

Sorry I wasn't there. I'm here now.

[John means it. While Spike had been struggling with another side of himself, John had been doing what John does best. Killing. For money, and for the sake of it. Because in a world where so many things were strange, and difficult, death was both easy, and familiar.

He raises a brow at the joint.]

What's that?

No you're not. You shouldn't be. I wish I hadn't been...

[The idea of him with a soul still hurt, still burned some part of his mind that thought of it as an anathema, an inherent wrongness. At the question, he took a long, slow drag, the end flaring and starting to curl the paper into red, then white ash.]

Mm, don't know. But it feels good. Warm. Tingly. Little bit horny.

[He blew the white plume upward, handing the joint over towards John, feeling that heat bloom inside him.]

Alright, a lot horny.

I can't.

[The smoke alone is enough to make John's belly twist. It's hard to see the flush of colour beneath his beard, but it's there. John rubs his hand over his mouth, shaking his head in some attempt to clear it. Keep himself together.]

We need to talk.

Edited 2017-07-03 07:57 (UTC)

Thought that's what we were doing. I've still got my pants on, anyway. Or were you thinking more along the lines of 'it's not you, it's me'. You can save that, thank you. Not in the mood.

[Another pull, another spark of red. There was a laugh off in the dark somewhere, followed by a drawn out moan and the sound of flesh slapping flesh. Spike's nostrils flared and he smiled.]

I get it. You weren't yourself. Go on, then. We'll pretend it never happened.

I'm not going to pretend it didn't happen.

[John furrows his brow, irritated at the turn of conversation, as well as Spike's flippancy, and distraction.]

I was myself. I didn't come here to play coy- can you put that thing out? I'm speaking to you.

[Spike had wanted a distraction. From himself. From the memories. From... everything. John was seriously ruining that light buzz. Exhaling out his nose, looking like a steaming dragon, he took the end between his fingers and pinched it, setting the rest of the joint in the little ashtray provided before looking over at John, a mix of irritation and hurt all mixed up on his face.]

Then what do you want, mate? You're off the hook. I wasn't planning on any wedding bells. It was a good shag. A good, long, long shag. Fine.

[John feels a surge of frustration. At Spike. At himself. John doesn't know what he wants. That's half the problem.

He picks up the joint and takes a long, heavy drag. If Spike doesn't have to be sober for this, why should he? The effect of the drug is immediate. The music and lights soften, the people, of which there were far too many for John's comfort, slowly fade away.

The joint is gently replaced in the ashtray, and John sits back with his arms folded across his chest, both defensive and protective. His conflicting emotions finally playing out through his body, and over his face.

John's angry, tired, and just about at the end of his rope. He's been cleaning up after himself for days, with no end in sight. Some of what's been broken John's not sure he can fix. He's burnt so many bridges, both in New York, and in Riverview, that he's got nowhere to go, and no-one left to turn to.

The high doesn't kill the despair.]

I don't know.

Ah. Right.

[He knew that look. Knew the frustration behind it. And he assumed it was going to be taken out on him. Easier to hurt the vampire, after all. Vamps were just undead demons. They didn't feel.

Lies.]

So what, you want to land a few blows to get it out of your system? Come on, then. I can take it. Might even like it more with this stuff.

No.

[John's eyes slide shut. He's had enough violence. Blood, too.

He rubs his arms through the leather of his coat. Touch feels good. Like something approaching comfort. He could use more of that. More feeling at home in his own skin, and less alone in the world.

His thoughts turn back to Spike. The warmth of his mouth, and hands. Those long nights spent in bed, eating cheap room service, and washing it down with cheaper whiskey, in those lazy, easy moments sandwiched between the hours they spent having sex.

He hadn't been wearing his ring, then. Wouldn't have known his wife's face if he'd seen it her the street, or in his dreams. That John could have forgotten the love of his life is enough to make his heart hurt.

As if to remind him, as if it was possible for him to forget, that without her, it's broken.]

I don't know what I want to do, but it's not that. I think I just needed to talk to you, explain some things-

[John brings a hand to his face, and tries his damnedest not to cry. This isn't the time, or the place, but everything in him wants to explode, and for once, he doesn't have a target.]

You some kind of bipolar?

[Because at this point, Spike was just confused. The John he'd met first had been confident. Strong. Sure of himself. And maybe a little flirty in a way that he'd been trying not to pick up on. The next John had been dark and dangerous, steeped in blood in violence in a way that had made a vampire swoon. And now? The man beside him looked ready to burst into tears and Spike had no idea why.]

Look, don't... do that. Just... have a drink. On me this time. There's enough--

[He remembered his meeting with Buffy. The 'l' word shoved into his face. The fact that he vaguely remembered that from his fugue.]

It's been an off time.

Could be.

[That gets a chuckle out of him, somehow. For all John knows, it's true. His emotions have always been unpredictable. Overpowering. There was a reason he'd locked them up, and thrown away the key.

But Helen had found it. Picked it up out of the dirt, and dusted it off. Held it out for him to take, in his own time. Like no one ever had.

He picks up Spike's drink and throws it back, too quickly, probably, but something's better than nothing. John's eyes are still burning, but at least now his gut is burning too.]

I have my regrets. Things I did. The man I could be, when I was at my worst. Way back when, and now. I've been with people I should be ashamed of, if shame is something a man like me knows, and you're not one of them. I want you to know that.

[Hey... he'd been drinking that. A sigh and he lifted his hand, ordering two whiskeys and two beers. Whatever John didn't drink, he would. He lit a cigarette, pack out on the table for John to take from if he wanted. He stole another drag from the joint that seemed to burn extra slowly while it was set down so as not to waste it, feeling the rush of nicotine, alcohol, and that low aphrodisiac and calmer that he was enjoying so much run through him.

Leaning back, he looked over at John as he spoke, watching the way his lips moved and remembering other things those lips could do...

A moment and he snapped himself out of that, clearing his throat.]

Right, so 'it's not you, it's me'. Thought we covered that. I'm not going to run off into the night or fling myself off a bridge, mate.

[He looked down at his leg, finger teasing over a slight tear in his jeans, worrying at the fray.]

Might have wanted to repeat it, but I'm not a girl at prom.

When you disappeared, I thought, maybe...

[That Spike had seen John, the real John, at his rotten core, and taken off while he still had a chance.

He picks up the joint, knowing full well he shouldn't, and sucks the calm deep into his lungs. Holds it there. Until his chest loosens up, and he can breathe out the pain, like so spiralling smoke, out of his body and into the air.]

It is me. There's nothing wrong with you. You were good. Better than I deserved.

What? You thought what-- that I was good? Oh, mate. Don't fool yourself. I'm a demon. I'm evil. It's just the math of it.

[But talking about him disappearing had him reaching for his drink, gripping it tightly for a moment as he stared at the smoke wisping upward.]

I disappeared because I got a boot of whatever was mucking you up as well. According to the Slayer, it's a little premonition of things to come. Makes me all that more likely to try to fight to stay here.

[The burn was back, the remembrance of that pain, that guilt. He reached for the joint and took a longer, harder pull. Arousal washed over him instead. That was better than ghosts of guilt.]

Apparently I fell in love with the bloody bitch and went and got myself my soul back. That's what I fell into for those days. Torment and regret. You know what it's like to be evil, truly evil, for a hundred years, then feel bad for it because of a stupid soul?

I meant in bed. The rest is up to god, or whoever, to judge.

[John is listening. Everything else is just background noise, made soft by the alcohol, and whatever it is they're smoking. John's eyes, glistening, but no longer threatening to burst, and his full attention, are on Spike. Taking in every word.

Maybe this was what John needed. To get out of his own damned head for a while, and remember he's not the only person who's suffering, or conflicted. That there are people he cares about with their own problems that need solving.

In the scheme of things, John's just one man, with one heart, and there are plenty more out there who are hurting just the same as he is. He's not alone, and neither is Spike.]

I don't, but it doesn't sound fun. Sorry you had to go through that.

So she's here, then. Do I need to suit up?

What? No. She-- I can handle her.

[No he couldn't. Not with his chip like it was. Still, he felt that wasn't entirely true. Something about that time...?]

Look, never you mind about the Slayer. She's my concern. Just...

[His finger tapped on the bottle, Spike taking in a deep breath that let him smell the mingled smoke, sweat, perfume, and sex in the air. He could smell John under all of it, tongue tapping at the point of one of his teeth as he looked over at him.]

So I was 'good' in bed? Just good? Way to hit below the belt, Wicked.

You're my friend, so she's my concern, too. If she comes gunning for you, I'll be minding her.

[That's John's final word on the subject, and he won't be swayed. That must is in his eyes. No one takes, or breaks, what's his without a reckoning. John's lost too much already. He'll protect what little he has left with tooth and nail. Bullets, too.

He raises an eyebrow at Spike, swallows down the last of his whiskey, and sets his glass down politely, onto the coaster. As if they were drinking somewhere it mattered.

You can take the assassin out of The Continental, but you can't take The Continental out of the assassin.]

Better than good, once you knew what you were doing. We all start somewhere.

I can handle one little girl.

Probably.

[If he could blush, he would have. He'dve lit right up like a Christmas tree, all glowing and bright. Thankfully for his pride, he didn't. But there may have been a look to his face, a curve of his smile that showed it otherwise.

But, as if to reaffirm something--]

I'm not a pooft. Whatever... that was, I don't-- I'm not running around doing that with all the little nancy boys now.

So you think I'm a pooft?

[John leans back in his chair to look at him.]

Us being men? That's not an issue. Never was. A lover is a lover. After the week we spent together, you ought to know.

Edited 2017-07-04 18:53 (UTC)

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