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

[smokedout]

[He shakes his head in response.]

Everyone's different. There's not even types... we just all sort of do shit. [As an example he holds his hand with the palm up, and shows off a fist-sized fire that forms spontaneously in it.] Know a guy back in the city who could control 50 people's minds at once. And a few others who just turn slimey when they're upset, but that's enough to get called a mutant.

[aeturnus]

So, the sparks earlier...

[ Just a Dodger thing. Got it. ]

Not bad. Fire's pretty multiuse, but I doubt you haven't figured that out by now.

[smokedout]

Had it for 25 years so yeah, I've figured it out pretty well.

[And all of his other expansive list of powers, but the fight with Taako cemented his knowledge that keeping those powers secretive until they're relevant is in his best interest.]

What about your world, you just got humans that turn magic when they die?

[aeturnus]

Guess you'd have to.

[ He shrugs. ]

If they stick around at all after death. Most of them pass on pretty quick... Suffice to say, my world seems more death-oriented than most, so it's normal to me but a little weird to have to explain it.

[smokedout]

[He makes a small grunt of acknowledgement, finishing his beer off and going to get another one.]

So what sort of magic do they get, anyway? They just turn into ghosts?

[aeturnus]

Death magic. Pretty destructive stuff, although I'm not really the one to ask about that. It's mostly just used by the Enforcers to stop people who are messing the balance up.

[smokedout]

You're bringing up more questions than answers.

[Dodger's head tips to the side as he watches him. Their worlds definitely have no common ground... he's starting to wonder if it's worth pursuing this line of questioning.]

What exactly are 'Enforcers?' Like, the grim reaper?

[aeturnus]

No, but they work for the Reapers.

[ Cain certainly doesn't mind answering the questions where he actually can. Unfortunately, the nature of death magic is forever beyond him so it's the one thing he can't talk about with much certainty. ]

They're ghosts hired on after they pass to help the Reapers who escort people to the afterlife, because Reapers can't kill humans. They just have to wait until they're dead. If you could see ghosts when you were alive, then you're gonna be offered the job when you're dead.

[smokedout]

[This sounds over Dodger's head, and kind of irrelevant to his interests, but he raises a brow at that last part.]

Can you see ghosts?

[He assumes this ties back to Cain somehow... or else why would he know so much?]

[aeturnus]

Yup.

[ Huh. Pretty simple answer for a question like that... but it's just how it's always been for Cain. Food is still getting prepped during the whole conversation and even before anything's being cooked, the fragrances are noticeable. ]

[smokedout]

[Dodger's about done with that train of thought, so he's easily distracted by the smells. He's not even totally sure what Cain is doing, since any meal he's gotten has either come out of a restaurant, a trash can or a microwave.]

What's that smell?

[Fresh pasta and handmade sauce are both things he's never even really considered the concept of before. He knows they exist, sure, but they've never been part of his life.]

[aeturnus]

Sauce and spices mostly. Smells good, right?

[ There's no accounting for taste but hopefully Dodger's from a similar-enough world that this isn't something he didn't realize he hated until now. ]

[smokedout]

It... smells really good, actually.

[Some people would have had at least a few meals cooked by their mother or grandmother, some comfort food to go back to when they're feeling down. He imagines this is what that sort of thing would smell like. But meals with his mom were always things like stale bread and scraped-off remains from restaurant meals. This is so far beyond that he can't even compare that to his childhood.]

Jesus, how long is this gonna take?

[aeturnus]

It'll take some time, but that's everything worth doing. Trust me, if you like how it smells now, you'll love this.

[ Cain is... well, he never had anything like this growing up because his childhood was shit that was only ever mitigated by his brother's presence. On the flip side, he's always made sure his kids had memories like this and as much stability as he possibly could. It's practically his first instinct now to make it happen, part of his routine. Stopping to think about it doesn't really occur. ]

Part of why I suggested you could come back later instead.

[smokedout]

[He could be annoyed at it taking so long, but... almost like a little kid, he quickly shakes his head at the notion.]

I think I made the right choice sticking around. [He shrugs.] I'm learning a lot. Knowledge is power.

[He didn't learn anywhere near as much about Cain as he meant to... but he's still learning things in general, that's important.]

[aeturnus]

Hm. You want to learn what I'm doing? Or just what it's going to be?

[ He doesn't mind either way, but teaching Dodger what he's doing means it will take even longer. That's more Dodger's problem than Cain's, though. ]

[smokedout]

[He shakes his head.]

I wanna know what it's supposed to taste like before I start fucking with it.

[He just doesn't want to mess it up. This is a holy ceremony, he has no place here. Of course, he's trying his best to play it off despite the fact that his shallow facade has been quickly fading the more that he smells that sauce.]

What is it gonna be, anyway.

[aeturnus]

You'd learn along the way.

[ But he doesn't push, just keeps working. Content and in his own groove. ]

Ever heard of lasagna where you're from?

[smokedout]

[He raises a brow, and gains a sarcastic tone.]

Yeah, I've heard of it. They got it in the frozen section at grocery stores, it cooks in 6 minutes.

[Has he had it before? Nope. Not even in frozen form. It never looked appealing, since it's just a rectangular block of food.]

[aeturnus]

Nope. Nope, we're not doing pre-prepared frozen food. Doing it right takes longer.

[ Cain glances over at Dodger and quirks a brow. ]

Now you've made this a matter of national pride.

[smokedout]

National pride?

[That gets a laugh out of him; just a chuckle, but there's a genuinely friendly tone in there.]

What, do the Nazis win if I never try lasagna?

[aeturnus]

[ Yeah, he laughs back. ]

No, but Rome might finally fall. That'd be a shame.

[smokedout]

How fucking old are you?

[Look at that. He is grinning like a little kid, and laughing pretty loudly to boot. Cain has officially made a very loyal friend.]

[aeturnus]

Young enough to joke, old enough to not answer that.

[ Oh yeah, Cain's having fun, too. Even if his books are still being held hostage, this whole thing has been weirdly amicable and he can't really find himself to be mad about it. ]

[smokedout]

Fair...

[He can't argue, age is a weird thing. Especially when the general damage to his face has made him end up looking about ten years older than he is.]

You're a pain in the ass to play, you know that?