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

[inlaid]

[Tricks, he says, but Bryn looks at the illusion he produces and it's impossible to not be impressed. At once, she begins circling it, not touching at this point but studying carefully. It's not like looking at a painting, and there's no residual glow from his magic or anything. By all accounts it's as if Thor suddenly appeared beside them.

Bryn looks back to Loki, clearly impressed.]

Powerful magic indeed. He looks the same. Sounds like he's really eating...if I tried to poke him would my mind be fooled as well? Would I think I'd touched something or someone solid?

[dothelokimotion]

Touch breaks the spell, I'm afraid. It is an illusion and cannot substitute reality.

[ Cast yourself in illusions for too long and you'll run the risk forgetting what is real, beckons his mother as she coaches him through his magic. The memory slips away, forgotten. He gestures to it as if to say "go ahead". ]

[inlaid]

[Bryn hesitates before grinning and turning back to Thor. She jabs a finger at him as if popping a bubble or a balloon.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ The illusion flickers away, like paper scorched by a close flame. Loki smiles, a little endeared by her fascination. He does like to show off and a captive audience is highly appreciated. ]

[inlaid]

[She's absolutely a captive audience, curious and considering the applications of such illusions.]

Are there any limitations? Like, can you only maintain the illusions within eyesight? Are you capable of having them interact with people even if you can't hear them yourself? Extending your hearing through the illusion, I suppose?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He blinks, a little off guard from the slew of questions before he attempts to address them. ]

I must be within a reasonable distance to control it. My illusions are reliant on my control at all times. That is their only limitation.

[inlaid]

[Sorry, she's totally holding those fruit pastries in one hand grilling you about your magic, and that one blink reminds her that she's basically led him to food and then held him hostage. Sheepishly, she holds the plate out for him to pick one for himself.]

Here, try one of these.

[She pauses a beat, then continues.] If someone were interacting with your illusion, however, they'd have to be within earshot of you for you to be able to respond and not give the game away, right?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He picks one up delicately, turning it over. Loki can multi-task. ]

If that was the objective I was aiming for. Obviously, for sight-based illusions, I can be much farther away.

[inlaid]

What about size? Or sound? Limited only by your imagination?

[Sorry she's fascinated. Illusionists aren't new to her, but they're not exactly commonplace back home and Loki seems particularly adept.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ He shakes his head lightly. ]

None of those factors matter.

[inlaid]

Incredible.

[Bryn shakes her head a little, taking a pastry for herself.]

Do you employ them for personal use most often, or toward some larger purpose?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki bites lightly, testing the ground. His expression is sardonic. ]

What do you think?

[inlaid]

[She lifts a brow, considering him and the smile on his face. She knows nothing about this man but she knows a fair amount about the nature of people in general. She knows how to assess and judge expressions. It doesn't make her an expert, it doesn't mean she can magically come to the answer herself.

So she lifts her chin a little bit, smiling back.]

I think you don't keep track because you use your magic whenever it pleases you to, period.

[dothelokimotion]

[ A good answer. His lips twitch, despite himself. ]

It is a part of me. Why not use it to its fullest potential?

[inlaid]

True enough. The Asarians I know back home have much the same attitude. Asarians and Gifted, in any case.

[She bites into a pastry, pleased at once by the flavor. She's polite enough to finish chewing before asking:]

So, was I right? They're delicious, aren't they?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki blinks before lying. They are nice, but he struggles with enjoyment of food lately. ]

Oh, yes. Quite delectable.

[inlaid]

Mhmm. [She has some doubts, considering she had to prompt for his response, so she shifts over to the next booth. At once she stands in line, intending to pick up a pair of meat skewers and sauce.]

Maybe you'll like these better.

[Bryn taps her fingers on her forearm, considering him curiously.]

Are illusions your only magical skill?

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki glances at the skewers before reaching out for them. ]

No. But illusions is what I am best known for.

[inlaid]

Known for?

[She quirks a brow.]

Well known back home? Or in your social circles or something like that?

[dothelokimotion]

Back home.

[ He keeps his responses simple. ]

It's not an art we regularly use or practice.

[inlaid]

That seems a shame. I can think of a hundred different ways to use powers such as yours, all in ways that could better the world...

[Perhaps more of them military than beautifying the world or somehow other going toward the greater good, but still.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki shrugs. He knows them all, but Asgard has no interest in his methods. ]

It is what it is.