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

[antietam]

How? [ That vagueness doesn't deter Adam. Plus his best friend has broken death a couple of times already so it's of interest to him. ]

I don't know. The science here is pretty different than what I'm used to at home. They'll probably think I'm crazy if I come in there with all these ideas about alternate universes.

[aeturnus]

We don't know yet. That's the problem.

[ They kind of know. Again, however, with the kidnapping and it probably being all Cain's fault and why didn't he just say something to Abel sooner? It's not like him to be cagey or outright lie but this is a weird, discomforting blindspot of his. ]

Or maybe you'll know enough to prove it and make real scientific breakthroughs.

[antietam]

Like you did, right? Through sacrifice. [ Because that was how Gansey did it.

Adam's face lightens up at the thought of making breakthroughs, and he even smiles. ]

I hope so. That's why I'm still taking classes here. Just as long as I don't get eaten by a monster first.

[aeturnus]

Don't know. Maybe? [ That's a thought, but somehow it seems counterintuitive to the group's goals. ] It's an idea.

Inside the walls are pretty safe. Nothing's guaranteed, though.

[antietam]

[ It's occurring to him that Cain's evasiveness means he isn't very interested in talking about this for whatever reason, and Adam doesn't know him well enough to push. He lets it go for now, but keeps it in mind. ]

Should always be prepared. Not that you really have to worry, right? [ Immortal privilege. ] Do you think you'll start going on some missions since there's no real threat to you?

[aeturnus]

[ There's... a lot tied up into the issue. Part of him wouldn't mind talking about it at all with Adam, but his inquisitiveness will lead into places he can't talk about and—well, therein lies the problem. He just can't do it. ]

I've been thinking about it, but I feel like there's better things I could be doing than handling isolated incidents every now and then outside the wall.

[ He's got a ton of things all going on here in the city already, and his altruism is never truly altruism. Unless it had some direct benefit for him or one of his people, of which there aren't many here yet, Cain's not sure why he'd bother. ]

[antietam]

Really? Like long-term solutions? [ Well, Cain has directed his interest in another area now. Adam doesn't have anything special about him, so he wants to find other ways he can work on things. ]

I mean, I know you do coding, but... will that stop monsters?

[aeturnus]

There's a lot you can do with coding. Those laser walls and other tech, for instance, mainframes and systems like that could use maintaining. Not sure what I could do that isn't already being done but I might look into it.

[ ... or get dragged into it. Tomorrow, in fact. ]

[antietam]

You can do all that, huh. [ He hums thoughtfully, either considering it out of the need to have something to do, or because he's not sure what he wants to do with himself. ]

How does stuff like that pay? Out of curiosity. I've hardly ever used a computer before.

[aeturnus]

Hm, it's not bad. Definitely livable. [ It's a weird consideration for him, who's been fine on money for the last two thousand years or so and only had to work out of a need for something to do. ] You thinking of getting into the business?

[antietam]

Probably not. Like I said, no experience. And I... want something more than livable. [ Which is why he asked. ]

Thing is, I don't really know what I want to do. My plans only extended as far as college and I should be starting it soon, back home. But I don't know.

[aeturnus]

I mean, if you choose to do something more than design phone apps it's probably more than "livable".

[ Cain just makes funny choices because it's like he doesn't care about money or something. There's plenty to do without having to throw cash everywhere. ]

Don't know... what to do for college, or just what comes after that?

[antietam]

[ He tilts his head at that advice. Why would Cain choose to have a job that's only livable?

Maybe he's like Ronan and doesn't really care about money. ]

Aren't they the same thing? You have to choose what you want to do after college so you know what to study while you're there.

[aeturnus]

[ Oh, he cares. Just... not here? If he's comfortable enough to keep moving forward with his current goals, he can deal with the inconveniences otherwise. ]

Sometimes people just get business degrees or whatever else and figure out where they want to go once they've got the credentials. Or maybe it's just such a specialized field, formal education nowadays wouldn't cover it.