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

[umbrastaff]

[Shit, she fucked up somehow. She can read that all over his face as clear as day - but she doesn't know and that means it only makes her feel confused and unsure what to do.

She knows what to do when he says that, however.

Lup leans her forehead against his, cupping his face gently and closing her eyes. Connected.]

I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.

[spellslots]

[It's a relief when she closes the distance between them; Taako closes his eyes and just breathes for a moment, listening to Lup breathe and feeling so fucking grateful that she's here, no matter how painful and complicated it is.]

I know, I know. [He doesn't pull away, but it's time for a Joke to lighten the mood.] It's just been kinda shitty, I got all these two person cons and no one to pull 'em with.

[umbrastaff]

[She's quiet, just staying there with him for a moment. It must have been something they did all they way back in the womb, because it felt like she was whole again.

Lup can't help the smile, however, when Taako speaks again.]

Man, that sucks. Good thing I'm here to help you with that.

[She flicks one of his ears affectionately.]

Kinda thought you'd be on the straight and narrow with a cop boyfriend.

[spellslots]

Fuck no, he doesn't need to know all my shit.

[He feels such a disconnect with his memories, because it feels like it's been so long since he saw her, but at the same time it's like no time has passed. The decade without her is hard to conceptualize when he couldn't remember it at the time.]

I did run a pretty good fiddle game with some other dude I know. His illusions are insane.

[umbrastaff]

The old fiddle one? Geez, that one's not bad.

[Oldie but a goodie. It would be extra fun mixing transmutation with illusions, too...]

You've gotten to know a lot of people, haven't you? Anyone giving you problems?

[spellslots]

Ugh, kinda.

[There was his little confrontation with Reaper all those months ago, but that hadn't gone beyond words.

Last week was rougher.]

I mean, I handled that shit, but it wasn't- [If Lup wasn't here, he wouldn't have brought this up with anyone, but it's Lup.] It was gross.

[No one's ever threatened him in that particular way, and it was unnerving.]

[umbrastaff]

What do you mean 'gross'?

[She frowns a little, hoping this was not the kind of gross that came with unwanted touching. Lup knew her brother could take care of himself, but that protective streak she had from their childhood would never really go away.]

It sounds like it was an isolated thing, though.

[spellslots]

You know what I mean.

[He doesn't want to say it, but he's sure the expression on his face gets the message across loud and fucking clear, especially because he's not quite looking at Lup.]

I nearly fucking killed him, so I think we're clear on how shit's gonna be in the future.

[umbrastaff]

I'll fucking disintegrate him.

[Taako tended to get some people that didn't like him, which was just how things were - but Lup drew the line with anyone that dared make her brother look like that.]

What does he look like so I can stay the hell away from the asshole?

[spellslots]

He's not worth it.

[And even if Lup can handle herself, the last thing he wants is Dodger even looking at her, so the further away she is the better.

He focuses on that little spark of anger, rather than how gross he felt after the fight.]

He's hard to miss, looks homeless, shitty stubble, couple big scars across his face and he does not rock it the way Maggie does. He can teleport and use fire, he got the jump on me by getting in real close, you know? It's hard to fuck shit up when someone's in your face.

[There's so many spells that just damage a whole area, which isn't useful when he's in that area.]

[umbrastaff]

[This is why spellshaping is a good thing. Means you can set fire to a guy next to you without singing a hair.

Still, she frowns as he speaks about this guy and makes a mental note how he looks so she was prepared if anything went down.]

What a bastard. I hope you fucked him up good.

[spellslots]

I mean, he went from calling me a slut to calling me sir, so...

[He shrugs, still feeling kind of like he's floundering in this particular topic and wanting to move on.]

This place is chill as hell aside from that. There's some creatures outside the barrier but nothing we can't handle.

[umbrastaff]

[Okay, that was pretty great and satisfying to hear. She could drop the subject now because hell yeah bro.]

What kind of creatures are they? I mean, those are some big ass walls.

[spellslots]

A whole lotta shit I've never seen before. There was a behemoth not that long ago, and carnivorous plants, uh... I ran into this kinda fucked up goat thing and killed that real quick when it came at me.

[Taako did.... did you kill the goatman.........]

[umbrastaff]

[Jeez Taako.]

Well, at least it sounds like there's something to do if you get too bored in this place.

[Lup might have strong ideals of not blowing up planets, but fighting monsters was rad.]

[spellslots]

Ehhhh.

[He makes a little so-so gesture with this hand.]

I gotta used to the apocalypse, ya know? Not having to worry about like, anything is fucking weird.

[Which isn't to say he doesn't worry about his eventual return home, just that there's no immediate threat looming. He figures Lup will understand.]

[umbrastaff]

[She definitely does, glancing out the nearest window she could see from her seat and up to the sky.]

...yeah. I'm not sure I can believe it yet, even if I do at the same time.

[It had been 82 years of running, it was almost enough years for an elf to be born and grown up to be seen as an adult. It felt kind of unnatural to go back to a 'normal' life, no matter how different Riverview really was.]

So what do you do for work, anyway?

[spellslots]

[In answer to that question, Taako grabs his phone and pulls up the instrgram account for his business, offering it to Lup for her to have a look.]

I got my own business, I guess? Beats working on some other dipshit's time, for sure.

[He likes having that control; working for the Bureau was hardly a typical job, neither was the IPRE. He can't imagine doing some nine to five bullshit.]

[umbrastaff]

[She snatches the phone from him and starts looking through the photos with a grin.]

Fuck, Koko. I love these phone things.

[It all looked so colorful and delicious, and it makes her heart all warm to see that he's doing something like this. A little dream they had entertained now and then, before the academy and before the IPRE.]

It looks amazing. Twins get free samples, you say?

[spellslots]

Twins can make their own shit, don't be lazy.

[Which of course means that she has free access to anything that he cooks, the way it's always been. The only time he's kept food from her was when it was for a special occasion and she had to wait, or if it was specifically for someone else.]

[umbrastaff]

Who's lazy? I'm just opportunistic.

[She rolls her eyes at that, amused.]

They offered me a job at the magical research institute thing, but I don't know.

[It would feel like being in the IPRE again, only not really, and that's just weird. It would probably make her miss the rest of them more.]

[spellslots]

That's where Lucretia's at, and uh, Loki works there, he's pretty cool.

[But he gets what she isn't saying, and gently nudges her with his elbow.]

I could always use a sous chef.

[umbrastaff]

Well, it can't be bad it Luce works there.

[Still, it would probably hurt. Barry was her research buddy.

Making pretty cakes and cookies seemed like it would take her mind off that, and she could relive some childhood dreams.]

I'm hired. I'm gonna gain like ten pounds in this place, between the carnivale and baking.

[spellslots]

I'm a good fucking five pounds ahead of you, look at this shit.

[He flops back onto the bed and when his shirt rides up its very clear he's got a bit of a tummy that he did not have before.]

Sex is the only exercise I get and it's not cutting it anymore.

[umbrastaff]

Oh my god that's adorable.

[If you didn't want your sister to pat your tummy your shouldn't have showed her that, Taako.]

It suits you to be a little soft.