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

[winscenario]

Got it. One sex, multiple genders.

[ Every species works in different ways, after all, and Jim happens to come from one with a lot of variations, so he doesn't really tend to get stumped on concepts like that. He accepts the explanation easily, and not just that, it makes sense to him, too.

The name doesn't ring any bells, predictably. ] And is your species part of that Alliance too, or is it an exclusively human organization?

[dispenserofjustice]

Purely a human one. Our galactic body of government is called the Citadel Council.

[Which works for most of the Milky Way. Unfortunately it's difficult to enforce in areas like the Terminus Systems and Attican Traverse. It's also pretty unfortunate that there is still a lot of racial tensions. But nothing's perfect.]

[winscenario]

[ Racial tensions are a given just about anywhere, even in a generally peaceful and cohesive system. The Federation itself still has its flaws in that aspect, no matter how most member worlds are tolerant and welcoming of other species and cultures. ]

Sounds impressive. And intriguing. [ Jim would admittedly be curious to get a closer look, alas that's not really possible for him. Still interesting to hear about it, though. ]

And what species are you?

[dispenserofjustice]

Is your Federation all-inclusive?

[Seems like it might be. Makes Garrus wonder what sorts of races this guy has come across. Also, why does it seem like humans, above all things, seem like some kind of universal constant? Interesting thing to ponder over, that.]

As for me, we call ourselves Turians. Our home system is Trebia. Palaven, to be precise.

[winscenario]

Yes, provided they want to be a part of it. Federation stands for United Federation of Planets, and it comprises over a hundred and fifty official member worlds.

[ So yes, it is pretty broad and all-inclusive. Also a little all over the place, and present in a significant portion of the galaxy. And, well, at least they're both from some version of the Milky Way, which explains humans a lot more easily than someone from a whole other galaxy entirely. A lot more curious, Jim thinks . ]

I don't know of it, I'm afraid. Suppose we should call this a... first contact? [ On a kink expo. Just his kind of thing, really. He does stand a little more upright, though, stretching a hand out of habit. ] Captain James T. Kirk. Do you shake hands, or... another preferred manner of greeting?

[dispenserofjustice]

[A hundred and fifty worlds. Garrus has to wonder... He's curious so he's about to get oddly specific.]

Races? Planets? Colonies? Sorry... It's just there are only a handful of races in my own version, but plenty of planets have been colonized and there are a few stations here and there.

[So he doesn't mean to sound rude or blow it off. One fifty is still a pretty impressive number, especially given what the populations must be like!

Regardless, Garrus has a good chuckle.]

What a place to have it, too. [He gives a vague wave at the expo around them, having similar thoughts to Kirk. Then he offers his hand with what passes for a grin.] Shaking hands is just fine, Captain.

[Ranks are also important.]

Garrus Vakarian.

[winscenario]

[ Jim just laughs at that, shaking his head a little. ]

That's alright, it's a fair question. And you're not wrong, either. Planets, yes, though some of those planets are colonies, both human and otherwise, or with more than one species inhabiting the same world. We don't count stations or starbases as member worlds, as they're generally run and maintained by a specific government, more often than not Starfleet itself.

[ It still makes for a rather large number of people, and Jim's well aware of that. He also takes pride in being part of it, and in representing the very principles and purposes that make Starfleet what it is, no matter where he is. Even here. ]

Well, it's certainly unique, I'll give you that. [ He grins and nods, taking Garrus's hand in a firm shake. ] Jim will do just fine, too.

[dispenserofjustice]

[At least it's not thought of poorly that he has to ask.]

Makes sense. For us it's a bit of both. It just sort of depends on the area of space you're in, I suppose. Though there aren't too many mixed places outside of the Citadel.

[Omega definitely, but in general? Seems like people tend to keep to their own, primarily. Maybe something else to change in Andromeda, if those people ever make it.

However, colonies in the Terminus Systems, for example, aren't really given much thought by the Council. Technically still protected, but in the end they are left to their own devices. Batarians and Vorcha aren't even really considered Citadel "races" though they live in the Milky Way too.]

Given the short amount of time I've been here? This already isn't so surprising. [And he'll be taking his hand back after Kirk releases it.] At least there are no magic boxes giving out presents this time. It could end awkwardly.

[But also hilariously.]

[winscenario]

[ Different worlds, yadda yadda yadda. Even in his galaxy, not everyone knows about the Federation, so Jim's used to and comfortable with getting questions. ]

We do. Some planets are still generally pretty exclusive to certain races, particularly when atmospheric conditions make it difficult for other species to live there on a permanent basis. Andoria is too cold, Vulcan is— uh, was too hot. Cultural differences can be hard to overcome at times too, and admittedly, not all species are welcoming of strangers. Earth is... well, we've gotten used to different people and cultures mixing over the ages. The introduction of alien species was fairly easy to adapt to overall, I think. In starbases and Federation colonies is where we get the most varied mix of races and cultures, even more so than Earth.

[ The mention of magic gift boxes has Jim letting out a laugh, and he arches his eyebrows and shrugs a little. ] Well, I don't know. Sounds like the kind of gift I might've enjoyed. And I do love surprises.

[dispenserofjustice]

[It's all pretty interesting, actually. Most of the Milky Way races in Garrus' version actually live and thrive together very well. There are exceptions, of course. Turians, Quarians, and the Volus, specifically.]

A more peaceful introduction, sounds like. I can't say that ours was. Many are still healing from the scars of the Relay 314 Incident. Of course all of it could have been avoided if someone had said "hey, these aliens don't know anything we should probably try to reach out instead of headbutting a wall."

[His opinion, really. Like the humans were to know that Relay 314 wasn't supposed to be activated?

Moving onto a lighter topic...]

Depends on how many drinks you have first, in my opinion. Some "surprises" you might not want to remember in the morning.

[winscenario]

It helped that our First Contact was with a highly logical and overall peaceful species. Helps when it comes to first impressions and all.

[ And just about any human would be able to recognize and admit that they had learned a lot from Vulcans ever since, grown thanks to them— and along with them, Jim likes to think. Though Vulcans are a little more difficult to change in many aspects, particularly emotional ones, it's not unheard of either. ]

Not all species are the friendly and peaceful sort, though. And misunderstandings can happen, like it seems to be the case with you. [ From what little Garrus tells him, anyway. ] Mind me asking what's the Relay 314?

[ Curiosity more than anything, though Jim doesn't mind the lighter edge to his last remark. Chuckling again, he shakes his head a little. ] Well, I don't know. Maybe for some, but I'm not so easily embarrassed.

[dispenserofjustice]

[Overflow with a bunch of history Kirk probably doesn't want to know.]