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]

[It's a good thing that he doesn't tell her, because Lup isn't ready for more emotional shit for a while. Talking with her brother had warranted one third of a vodka bottle and ridiculous amounts of partying to deal with, so who knows what she would have to do to compartmentalize more feels.

Instead she's more than happy to entertain the idea of a random sightseeing adventure with some dude she just met.]

Fuck, I wanna see it all. Lead on, Cisco, and start with a liquor store so I can pick up some more booze for this trip.

[franciscoramon]

Damn, Lup, go ahead! [ He'd been half-joking about seeing it all today, but the amusement and admiration are clear in his voice. Certainly worth a try, anyway. Cisco beams at Lup, throwing out one arm and pointing in the direction of the nearest liquor store he knows. ] To the boozatorium!

[ Which is not the real name of the place at all (no one is very creative in naming things, here, which is a bit of a shame). He takes the opportunity as they walk to eat what Lup left him of the food he'd bought, trying to plot in his head what would be the best route to hit up everything before closing time. The mall is likely to stay open the longest, and that's right near to the gardens. Cisco decides they'll swing by the zoo first, after...

He opens the door to the liquor store, letting her go in first. ]

So Taako told you that everybody here's from different worlds, right?

[umbrastaff]

[She doesn't really care if they go see everything or not, she just wants to get out of the crowd for a while - and what better way to do that than sightseeing?

'Boozatorium' has her laughing and man it was a shame that it wasn't what the place was called. People needed some more fun shit.

She heads in, finds some shitty wine (this was not cooking or chilling wine, it was get fucked wine) and returns triumphantly to Cisco.]

Sweetie, I've spent the last 82 years visiting different worlds. Pretty sure my own isn't even around any more.

[No, that wasn't true. She did hope.]

This is all old news to me, but Riverview is kind up there with the best ones, so far. Especially this party.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco is already tipsy enough that he doesn't think he'll need anything more, but just while they're here, he picks up a small enough bottle of tequila that he can fit it in his pocket, and goes up to the counter with it. He doesn't say 'yeah I know' to Lup about visiting all those planets, even though he does. He also knows that most of them didn't meet a very good end, but he's definitely not bringing that up, either. ]

Yeah, but on those planets, everybody was from there, right? Except your squad? Here, it's like... there aren't any natives, y'know? Everybody's from somewhere else.

[ Once they've payed and dipped, Cisco says: ] The place I'm from is called Earth, and we didn't have magic, or elves, or any of that, so I'm just saying, if I say anything that sounds completely stupid from your perspective, that's why.

[ Taako had cleared up a lot of misconceptions and told Cisco a fair amount about how things were in his universe, but Cisco doesn't doubt that there are huge gaps in his knowledge, and he just wants Lup to know in advance that if he accidentally says something offensive, it isn't out of malice. ]

There are parties like this all the time. Well, not exactly like this. This one's definitely the most fun so far.

[umbrastaff]

[She opens the wine with a grin, happy to see the magic of shitty wine that came with screw-on caps. Tipping some back, Lup listens to Cisco. She's paying more attention than she really shows, putting a few things together as they head down the street.]

What horrible world, to not have magic!

[She winks at him, not really serious. All these new shit was quite interesting - she was already hooked on her phone and taking not-so-classy selfies and had mastered the thumb-typing in just a day or so.]

I'll keep it in mind, though. I'm pretty good at putting two and two together, but who the fuck knows.

[She's probably been accidentally insulting people already.]

So it's really party central? What about these walls? Is there ever trouble?

[franciscoramon]

[ Personally, based on some of the shit Taako's told him (particularly about the Hunger), her universe sounds way, way, way, way worse, but he still laughs. ]

Hey, c'mon now, just 'cause it's different doesn't mean it's bad! We don't have magic, but we've got metahumans and superheroes and movies and the internet, so, y'know, it's a trade-off is what I'm saying.

[ It would be honestly difficult for Cisco to decide which is better: a place that can product Taako, with his talking unicorn and his prestidigitation and all the rest of it, or a place that can produce Barry, who can run on water and travel in time and save the entire world with nothing but his wits and his speed. Both are wonderful in their own way. ]

Well, a couple of the festivals were kind of downers, but there's usually something going on at least. The walls are pretty sturdy, but that doesn't mean there's never trouble. Had a bit of a problem recently with these carnivorous plants that were coming into the city, that was a bit of a mess, but the Perimeter Guard fought 'em off. And obviously, you know. I mean, this place is actually way safer than Central City - where I lived before - but there's still bad people. There're always gonna be a few bad people.

[ Cisco shrugs; he doesn't want to puncture any of Lup's excitement over the quarantine, but he feels like he'd be remiss not to be honest. ]

[umbrastaff]

Metahumans, superheroes... huh. The phone showed me some of this internet thing already, which is fucking a-maaaazing.

[She leans over and shows him her Instagram, filled with pictures of clothes and selfies with Taako. Lup caught on quickly, it seemed, and her twin definitely helped.

Plus she was technically a damn scientist and she had been to a robot world.]

Movies, though? I haven't seen one yet but I think I get the point.

[She takes another swig of wine, enjoying the little stroll to wherever the heck they were going. Lup nods a little bit as Cisco speaks about the plants and the creatures outside, and sighs at the mention of 'bad people'.]

There always will be. It's the level of shittiness you gotta watch out for.

[She's stolen, she's run heists, she's even killed people. That doesn't necessary make her a bad person - it was all a sliding scale of fuckery between an asshole and a psychopath.]

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco appropriately oohs and aahs at Lup's instagram, and it definitely looks like she has grasped both photography and the concept of social media with startling speed. Which is kind of awesome, actually. Not that he would like her any less if it took her a long time to adjust, but some things are just easier with people who are clever and catch on fast. ]

So, metahumans are people with abilities. Kinda like what you think of as magic, except it's much much rarer, and the rules are a bit different. Instead of there being... a teleport spell out there that anybody could learn, there's just like, one metahuman who can teleport herself anywhere she can see, pretty much endlessly. Get it?

[ Since Lup hasn't shut him up yet and they still have a few blocks to go before they hit the zoo, Cisco keeps talking, animated in his explanations. It couldn't be clearer that these are things he cares about, that he's telling Lup about them to convince her that his world is not totally dull just because it lacks magic. ]

And superheroes are kind of like... they're people who make the world a better place. Like, rescuing people from fires, catching murderers, preventing disasters - but they do it a mask and costume and with a nickname so nobody knows who they really are. Lotta superheroes are metas, but not all of 'em.

[ It shouldn't really come as a surprise that she's never seen a movie. It's just that, by the time he met Taako, he'd already gotten a bit of a crash course on pop culture, from Clark and others. Cisco declares: ]

Okay, well, that settles it. We gotta have a movie night. You, me, Taako, and Eddie, how 'bout it?

[umbrastaff]

[To be fair some of the pictures are not the best quality, but it's not like she cares. Plus it was a good thing to have a science nerd boyfriend who had showed her some gadgets back in the Starblaster.]

So they're all bound to one 'spell', even if you don't call it that. They're always human, too?

[He had said they didn't have elves, but there were so many other people in both her world and the world they've visited.

...and it wasn't a dull world, obviously. Heck, even the world they went to that was void of magic wasn't dull. She knew quite well his deal, though - Barry was the same when he talked about things he was passionate about. IT was honestly one of the best thing to see people do.

So Cisco's cute babbling about his world was only met with smiles.]

Masks and costumes? Fuck, Magnus would love that shit. Go out save people, be all macho. [She taps her chin slightly. Lup wasn't sure how much Taako had shared about their ragtag family, after all.] He's the security officer on the ship. Big, sweet lug.

[That aside, movie night sounded like a fun deal - even if Lup had no idea what she was in for.]

...better invite Lucretia too, I don't want to be the only gal in that sausage fest.

[She winks at him.]

[franciscoramon]

Wellllll, more like, maybe a family of spells? So, like, there's a metahuman who can control the weather. We called him Weather Wizard, 'cause, y'know, that's a great name. Way better than Mark. But it's not like Weather Wizard could only make it hail or whatever. He could also do tornados, tsunamis, you know, the whole package.

[ He contemplates for a moment telling her about the range of things he can do; he could always pretend it was some other meta who had visions but could shoot weird blasts from his hands and maybe open interdimensional portals. But in the end he opts against it. He doesn't know what Taako might have told her, and also, well. He knows what a bad liar he is. And he's really bad. Best to just avoid going there. ]

Yeah, humans are all we got. I mean there's cats and dogs and fish and birds and everything, but if we're talking people, just humans. Races on Earth are just different flavors of human. But we've got, like, stories about elves, and dwarves, and halflings, and magic, too. So you better believe it was awesome showing up somewhere where they're real.

[ When Lup mentions Magnus, Cisco smiles, and there's recognition in it. Before he stops to think about it he acknowledges: ]

Yeah, yeah, the big beefy one with the cool facial hair! I bet he would.

[ Let's just pretend that he knows about Magnus' facial hair because Taako mentioned it, and definitely not because he'd seen him in a vision or anything. ]

She's the one who works at the magic institute, right? Totally! I mean, bring all the gals you want, the more the merrier. [ After a second of thought, Cisco adds: ] Actually I'm pretty sure we've only got enough chairs and couchspace for about ten people. But we could always improvise.

[ They round a corner and there it is: the Riverview Zoo. Cisco makes a flapping gesture with his hand at Lup which she will hopefully interpret as a plea to at least try to hide the open wine bottle. Then he goes forward to buy their tickets from the kiosk. ]

[umbrastaff]

Huh. That's pretty cool. [Really, it was - but 'Weather Man' is kind of fucking hilarious (especially when this tipsy), so she's giggling a little bit.]

So like, if I would be a meta human and not an elf wizard... I'm an evocation expert, so I'd be Fire Woman!

[That sounds worse, and Lup breaks out into a soft and slightly tipsy laughter.

She doesn't question how Cisco knows Magnus - he was Taako's friend after all. Still, it was pretty cool that he knew about the Burnsides sideburns. It made the distance of their worlds not feel as vast, somehow.

Lup also doesn't comment on the story thing with elves and dwarves, because it feels... weird. Stories of people that didn't exist kind of reminded her of the worlds they had went to that had their population wiped out.

All that was left were stories.

Shaking her head, Lup grabs on to that Lucretia part instead.]

Don't worry, she's about the only gal here I know, but the both of us easily weigh up the difference. Otherwise I call dibs on someone's shoulders.

[How do you movie?

Anyway, when they get to the Zoo and Cisco makes a gesture to her, Lup casts Minor Illusion to hide their booze before sticking a bunch of singles in Cisco's hand. Who knows where she got that money from, but at least she can pay for herself.]

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco laughs, glad that Lup is catching on so fast, both to the kinds of nicknames he's talking about and the concept of metahumans in general. Good to know he can get this kind of stuff across, even while tipsy, to someone else, who is also rapidly approaching tipsy. ]

Yeah! Or Flame Girl or The Blaze, y'know? Like, my friend Ronnie, his powers let him fly by shooting fire outta his hands and stuff like that, so he was Firestorm. I'm pretty much the guy who gives out the names for the metas, 'cause everyone else is really bad at it.

[ There was a hell of a lot more than that, that Ronnie had been able to do, but Cisco's going to keep it simple for now. Explaining the situation with him merging with Stein and controlling nuclear fission and fusion would probably be pushing it, and he wants Lup to get the big picture, rather than every single one of the small details. ]

So what's evocation? I mean besides setting stuff on fire by the sound of it?

[ Cisco doesn't doubt that someone like Lup will probably make more gal friends soon enough, but before he gets a chance to say that, she sideswipes him with that totally random comment. ]

Hold up - shoulders? Girl, what do you think movies are?!

[ He takes the singles from Lup without asking (though he does raise a brow) and starts walking with her through the zoo, which is small but very well maintained. It's emptier than Cisco has ever seen it; evidently most people are out at the street parties and less interested at looking at the array of animals that this moon has to offer. ]

[umbrastaff]

Flame Girl sounds so... sweet and boring. I'm going with Fire Woman. Firestorm is pretty badass, too. I guess these metahumans don't share names, though?

[She shrugs a bit, pleased to kind of getting the hang of what Cisco was talking about. It all sounded pretty damn awesome, if she was honest. Still, the idea of no magic was weird, and considering that these 'powers' could pretty easily slide into magic schools, it was curious, really. Maybe they used the same arcane energy, but instead of -

- she's interrupted from her thoughts when Cisco mentions the evocation, and there's that wide grin again.]

Fuck yeah, it's all about fire and ice and lightning. All those elemental stuff... but Evocation is the manipulation of raw energy. The spells manipulate energy or tap an unseen source of power to produce a desired end. Usually some awesome explosions.

[Lup dispels her cantrip and takes a swig of the now visible wine bottle again, walking towards the first exhibition. Glancing over at Cisco, she shrugs.]

No idea, my man. Moving scrolls or something? There's not at lot of things that doesn't get better with someone sitting on the shoulders of someone else, though.

[franciscoramon]

Fire Woman totally works for you. And no, I mean, the point of the name is to be unique and catchy. Besides, you gotta understand, only about 1% of the population of one city got turned into metas, and it's only a handful of them that ever use their powers enough they'd warrant a name.

[ Her description of evocation makes it sounds pretty damn awesome, and Cisco doesn't hesitate to say so: ]

Okay, so that sounds way badass. I mean, manipulating raw energy?! Hell yeah!

[ Cisco knows, particularly after his talk with Lucretia, that meta powers and magic aren't quite equivalent. Still, he remembers that time with Eddie, in the woods, and how he'd fought that monster off. If that hadn't been manipulating raw energy, he doesn't really know what is. It hadn't been refined, hadn't been elemental; it had just been reaching into an ocean of power he hadn't even realized was there, and sending a little tiny sip of it out through his body. Exhilarating. Terrifying, too.

He gives a quick glance around and pulls the tequila from his pocket, taking a quick sip and pulling a face. It is... not very good. But he doesn't want Lup outpacing him. ]

Well, when you put it like that, sure.

[ Cisco could explain to her how movies work, but he thinks maybe it's best to save that for just before they actually watch a film. So he can make sure Taako and Lucretia know, too.

The habitat closest to the door is actually one of the coolest - it is a large area surrounded by netting that you can actually walk into, full of lush tropical plants and a few dozen species of birds, all flying around, seeming perfectly at their ease. He lets Lup go in first before following her, closing the door behind them and laughing when something that looks like a large purple parrot almost immediately clips him with its wing as it is flying by. ]

Wow, rude!

[umbrastaff]

[She makes fingerguns as emphasis to his 'hell yeah', grinning as they enter the habitat- anf it's fucking gorgeous. For all her trash talking and explosion-based enjoyment, the animal world they had first landed on back with the Starblaster had always been one of her favorites.

Lup cackles as the bird clips Cisco, raising the wine bottle as a salute for that near frontal crash - althrough it's hard to see if she's cheering to the bird or Cisco. Then she just takes a moment to watch the animals.

It's beautiful, really.]

I'm glad you took me here. It's nice.

[She could do nice and quiet for a while. It didn't have to mean she had to be dealing with her emotions, though, so instead she focuses on a little blue downy thing, gently (and a little slurred) talking to it as it hops on a branch.

Smiling, Lup glances over at Cisco again.]

Are these the native animals on this moon? Or are they random ones that came through the portal?

[franciscoramon]

You're just gonna encourage 'em.

[ There aren't many things that make Cisco happier than the knowledge he has made someone else happy, so it's great, watching Lup just take a moment to look around the aviary, absorb some of its chill. A tiny part of him had been worried she'd be bored with it - it's not as flashy as those street parties, as colorful as the birds may be. But she seems content. Cisco takes a deep breath and lets out a very long sigh: ]

Yeah, I love it here. I come sometimes if I'm really stuck on some stupid problem in the lab. Helps untwist my brain a little bit.

[ He walks a little ways further into the exhibit, looking for any birds he's never seen before - they had added a few, recently, and you never know. ]

Pretty sure it's a mix? I know all the people who live here came through the portal from other universes, but I'm pretty sure some of the flora and fauna's native. I know there's a couple of birds that are definitely from Earth in here. Like, that guy up there, with the yellow head?

[ Cisco points to a small parrot that's about 10 feet above them, snoozing on a branch, feathers all puffed up. ]

And a couple more, I don't see any at the moment. There's a peacock, too, but he's too big to live in here. Could be some representing for your world, too. Gotta keep an eye out and lemme know.