riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: carnivale

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: carnivale

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yuffie was dressed in her usual ninja garb though between this morning and now she'd somehow gotten covered with glitter. It subtracted from her stealth and made her trail a thin line of glitter wherever she went.

She wasn't that bothered by the glitter, unless it got in her nose. It made her sneeze.

Yuffie wandered around aimlessly, spotting Ed eating something that looked meaty and delicious. He was also the first person she'd met who was anything near her height. Maybe she was even taller than him! She had to check.

A hoop, jump and step later Yuffie was leaning over Ed's shoulder with large dark eyes directed at his food. "Oh! What's that? It looks good!"

Ed was just about to lift the skewer to his mouth again when Yuffie approached, although he didn't notice her right away she would see as she neared that he wasn't as short as he looked - several inches taller than her with the addition of his red soled boots.

When she leaned on his shoulder, he automatically tilted away - although not abruptly enough to shake her off. He might have sighed in relief that she chose his left shoulder to press against, golden eyes narrowed in irritation. "Skewered steak tips-"

He's just about to tell her to go get her own when he noticed the glitter. The glitter that was now rubbing off from her onto his entirely black attire. "What the hell is all that?!" Ed's not an idiot, he knows what glitter is, he just wants to know why she has to be getting it on him.

Yuffie was trying to focus on Ed's question but her eyes were watching his food. It smelled very good. Her stomach grumbled and a frown pulled at her lips as she looked down at her shirt and then Ed's shoulder.

Oops?

"It's glitter." That was kind of a stupid question. "Where did you get that skewer anyway?" She released his shoulder and peeked around him, her short hair fell briefly into her face before she pushed it back behind her ear.

Food was more important than glitter.

He quirked an eyebrow as she watched the skewer, moving it slightly just to see if she would follow it with her gaze. Already deciding she's weird, and possibly annoying Ed shrugged, motioning - with said skewer - to the vendor selling them.

"That guy has them. Other stuff too, but this looked the best."

Honestly, everyone in this place was so curious about food. Didn't anyone eat on a regular basis before coming to this place? Ed frowned some, tugging his shoulder a safe enough distance away now that he was freed from her leaning to brush at it with his free hand in a vain attempt to get the glitter off.

It had been over a year since he saw the crap and not only was he enjoying the break, but it was usually a bad omen where he was from so he might be scowling as he did it.

Ed would find that Yuffie's large dark purple-ish eyes were watching as he moved the skewer. It was a little bit like being at the zoo while holding food, only that there wasn't any glass between you and the animals.

"I think I'll have to get some." She wanted his but Yuffie sternly reminded herself that she'd promised Reeve to turn over a new leaf when it came to thieving. As in, she only does it sometimes and when she has to and not against innocent people. Her goal was now to help people and stealing wasn't usually helpful.

Her stomach grumbled loudly as she settled on her feet and fully released Ed's shoulder. As energetic as Yuffie was, it made sense that she ate all the time. Even if she was thin and short and it was questionable where the food went after entering her mouth.

"You have something against looking sparkly? It makes you look pretty." She had no idea that he had a bad experiance with glitter in the past. "Brings out your eyes"

Huh. He was on the verge of offering to buy her one she looked so desperate, an eyebrow raising at the growling of her stomach. Completely oblivious to the fact that she's warring with herself over stealing his, not that it matters, he'd only find it sad that she's so hungry half-eaten food sounded like a good option.

He is relieved when she finally moves off of him, although if she came back to try that again he'd have to be careful about avoiding her being on his right side. Naturally, that meant his guard was up.

"I don't need to look pretty." What an odd thing to say to a complete stranger, especially a guy - but he's not about to dwell on that. At least until the last part, which only made him scowl. "And I don't need anything to bring out my eyes." Ed didn't think about his appearance much, but when he did it had a tendency to remind him that he favored his father and the last thing he wanted to think about was taking after that bastard.

Edited 2017-07-09 06:34 (UTC)

Yuffie moved the moment she made up her mind. Her arms were like lighting, reaching out and swiping his half eaten skewer. She didn't wait before popping it into her mouth, chewing on the meat and part of the stick like a puppy might. "You're right. It is good." They could get more but Yuffie really wanted this one.

She snickered softly at his scowl. That was an expression she was used to though that had been in another pointy haired blonde.

"You don't want to look nice? I'm sure there is someone out there waiting to kiss that scowl off your face." She winked at him before quickly finishing his skewer. Yuffie was prepared for him to be pissed at her and even go as far as to lash out.

Just like that the skewer was snatched from his hand, and both eyebrows raised in confusion - but at the same time he had been testing her for a reaction, so reaction he got. "Uh... Yeah." He was having a hard time understanding the concept of being so hungry you'd just take someone else's half eaten food, but he certainly was no stranger to being able to eat a whole horse given the opportunity.

He's about to snap at her again when she continues, golden eyes widening with a blush before glancing away. "Doubt it." Even if there was, it wasn't any of her business. She'd just effectively distracted him from even thinking about replacing that food, though.

Didn't Ed know that food tasted better when it didn't technically belong to you? Yuffie was trying to curb her desire to take things that didn't belong to her but some habits were harder to kick than others. Since it was a half eaten skewer of meat, Yuffie considered the crime rather innocent.

At least she didn't steal all his stuff and left him in a monster ridden forest.

A knowing grin settled across her features as she eyed the blush creeping across Ed's cheeks. She found a small crack in his grumpiness. "Oh? Why do you doubt it? You're pretty cute and you have good taste in snacks." She spoke as she licked the juice from her fingers.

Yuffie ate quickly and often.

Lying and cheating might have been his thing, but he didn't outright steal food from people - so no, can't say he did. Though if she had tried to pull that crap on him, at least he wouldn't be defenseless and she better believe he would be hunting her down after for payback.

He really didn't want to talk about this, or think about the things it was bringing to mind. Have a scowl Yuffie, "It's none of your business!" That might actually be working towards getting him outright pissed off.

Yuffie's smile didn't falter. She rolled her shoulders in a short shrug before lifting her palms up innocently to the side. "No need to get your panties in a twist. I was giving you a compliment anyway." There were a lot of other things she could have said that were significantly more annoying.

At least she could think of five off the top of her head.

"Thanks for the snack." See, she said thank you. "Are you always this grumpy? Maybe I shoulda let you finish that. I can get one and you can steal it. You know, assuming you're good at stealing things." He'd have to be quick to get it from her...

Or distract her.

He made a face at that first remark, but he's just going to breeze right past that comment about it being a compliment. Nope, nope, nope. Not thinking about any of this.

"I'm not grumpy." Usually, actually he's pretty mellow. She sure did know how to push those buttons though, Ed was starting to feel 15 all over again. He scowled slightly, glancing away as the flash of rage settled a bit.

"I don't want to steal anything from you." What a dumb offer, was that supposed to make them even or something? It's not like that's the thing he's actually mad about. She sure is weird.

Edited 2017-07-13 16:54 (UTC)

Yuffie was about to point out that his declaration sounded very grump when she stopped herself. Her lips curled inward slightly and her head tilted curiously to the side. She was watching Ed, as if she was finally seeing the man that was standing in front of her and not just a stranger at a carnival.

"You don't? I always thought it made food taste better." As lazy as Yuffie could be, she liked working for things. Stealing extra steamed buns from the kitchen was always an adventure. Even if her father found out and she got in trouble for it. It was a part of Yuffie's childhood that she didn't hate.

"Then what can I do to make you smile? Don't say leave." She spoke the last sentence very quickly as if to assume that he's about to dismiss her.

He raised an eyebrow at that comment, wondering how stealing things made them taste any better but - different worlds, different customs so he dismissed that thought with a shrug.

The question caught him off guard, but the rushed addition only made it more peculiar. The question itself was interesting enough, and no answer would have come right away anyway - he didn't think about those things much, either. What did make him smile? Here, not a whole lot, but he wasn't about to explain that to a complete stranger either. Which means that leave might very well have been on the tip of his tongue in a gruff retort had he been a younger version of himself.

Luckily for her, five years without Al around for more than a few months had taught him some patience, so instead he simply sighed. "Nothing... I mean- you don't have to do anything. You want to get some more food, or what?"

Invitation? Truce? Something like that.

Yuffie was a strange person. She was energetic, egotistical and a little spaztic but she wasn’t stupid. She could tell when people were bothered, even when she wasn’t the source of their annoyance. Her world and home was filled with darkness and sadness and the only way to rival all of that was with a smile.

Her views were overly simplified, seeing the world in bright colors instead of faded shades, but Yuffie didn’t care. She thought that people should smile which was one of the many reasons that she did what she did.

Ed, she barely knew. She had first bothered him out of impulse but after their short talk she deiced that he needed something that made him smile. Yuffie didn’t really care what that something was only that it had to exist somewhere.

"Technically," She laced her fingers behind her back as she spoke. "I don’t have to do anything. The fun part is doing it anyway." Her grin widened. "Sure! Do you think they have steamed buns here?" It was her favorite food after all and she’d yet to find a vendor that sold it.

Edited 2017-07-13 18:01 (UTC)

Her "bothered" sensors would probably always go off around Ed, he was generally more quiet but he wasn't usually happy. In a sense he had become a shadow of his former self, not nearly as explosive but also not as quick to grin the face of things as he used to be, and he hadn't even noticed.

At her statement though, he couldn't help but smirk a little. She did have a point there, didn't she? Not that Ed commented, instead letting her change the subject right back to where this all started: food.

"They must somewhere, this place has everything. Let's go take a look."

It was, in a strange backwards way, her self-proclaimed mission to make people smile. Yuffie had even gotten a half grin out of Cloud once, which she took great pride in. Some of her other friends would smile easily, others took more work, but she never stopped trying.

Yuffie’s lips tugging into a grin. "Awesome! Where should we look first?" She grabbed his arm, once again completely forgetting that she was covered in glitter. "Should we just follow our noses? My nose has never steered my stomach wrong." The statement was 100% not true. Yuffie’s nose often tried to convince Yuffie to eat more than her stomach could handle.

It didn’t always have disastrous results but it did end in a lot of stomach aches.

With that kind of mission in mind, she might wind up with a life long goal of trying to get something cheerful out of Edward.

His eyes widened as she grabbed his arm again, glitter forgotten about as his brain chose to instead panic at how much touching she was doing. She was on the fast track to doing something that might reveal his automail, and he wasn't too keen on that - but he figured if he didn't shake her off the left arm, maybe she'd just stay there and not risk grabbing the other, instead. "Sure..." Honestly, she was so excited about it, he didn't really care either way if it did lead them wrong. Ed was happy to eat whatever they came across, she was the one looking for something specific. "There are plenty of vendors and... food trucks here, can't go wrong just looking around."

Yuffie was surprisingly comfortable with life long goals. She had one called The Happy Vincent Project and one called Chase away a Cloud-y Day, though she'd begun to think that Cloud should be left to Tifa who was far more skilled at getting him to stay in contact with the group.

She didn't think touching was a problem and if she knew that he had a mechanical arm she'd think it was the coolest thing ever. Then again, Yuffie's standards for what was normal and what wasn't didn't make sense.

"Good. Let's go... that way!" She pointed and then pulled him in the direction of the nearest line of food trucks. "Hot dogs, corn dogs, chili dogs... so many dogs." She commented as they passed a hot dog truck. "Do you think it's made out of dog?"

None of that would even surprise him if he knew about it, but alas. He's going to be stubborn, and super suspicious of her weaseling her way into Al's life once he figures out that's also happening. Good luck with this one, Yuffie.

She'll figure out both of those things one day, mostly the second one - because it's not going to last as a secret in this place, and he knows that even if he is trying to put off the inevitable.

Ed's not entirely unused to being tugged around, but it had been awhile so there is some surprise as he tried to maintain his footing in the direction she was pulling him. "I don't think so...." Honestly, he was about to tell her how absolutely ridiculous that question sounded, don'they have hot dogs where you're from? Until he remembered where they were, and maybe on some world dog was a casual food and those were made from canine. He didn't want to think about that, but at least they tasted better than monster crabs, whatever they were made out of.

More importantly, "Do you have any idea where you're going?" He wouldn't care about a wild goose chase if it included stopping along the way, but if they're just going to run around looking for one item - a definite needle in a haystack situation - he might be more inclined to complain they should stop at least once. She did eat his food from earlier, after all.

Yuffie usually had good intentions, even if she went about things in an odd or unorthodox way. She would never give up when it came to something that she really cared about.

"Good." Was her only reply on the hot dog comment. She had met a lot of dogs in her life time and she liked most of them. She didn't want to knowingly eat them. Unless she had no other choice in the matter. Given the state of the city and it's food supplies she had a choice.

Her gaze turned towards Ed, dark purple eyes shining with a stubborn uncertainty. "No idea." At least she was honest about it.

"You can lead if you have a better idea of where to go." She released his arm and the proceeded to make a grand gesture with her arm. She wasn't that picky and she was used to following Cloud and them around. It was always interesting to see what they got up too.

Ed was, of course, now dwelling on the hot dog thing - because he really wasn't putting too much thought into the food here, and maybe he should have been. It was hard to worry with all the options available, though, he'd just have to be more careful about what he picked in the future.

His head tilted some at that, watching her arm as she made the gesture. "Okay... Well, first of all- what are steamed buns in your world?" Sure, he had an idea of what steamed buns were, but the whole dog conversation reminded him that different things had different names in this place, because everyone was from so many different unique cultures.

"There's fried food, meats, sweets and desserts... We should probably start by focusing on the vendors with the type of food you're looking for." There were so many options.... Too many options, they were going to be here all day.

Yuffie turned towards him and made a small circle like shape with her palms that roughly showed the size she was used too. "They're white fluffy buns with pork inside." Usually, sometimes they could have other things but it was traditionally bbq'ed pork.

She could explain that pork came from pigs. If he wanted her too.

"They're savory and meaty." Yuffie was an enthusiastic carnivore. She liked savory over sweet. Not that she'd ever turn down sweets but after awhile they upset her stomach. You could eat savory things for a lot longer and that lone endeared them to her. "And aren't all desserts sweet?" Unless she missed the memo where that changed.

"Meats, then." He hummed thoughtfully to himself, gaze scanning the crowd curiously for trucks and vendors selling something that might resemble the right sort of food.

At the question though, he glances back at her - quirking an eyebrow. "Who knows, we're dealing with different worlds here. Besides, not all sweets are dessert." Candy wasn't really a proper dessert so much as a snack, some sweets were a meal in themselves and cotton candy was about the strangest thing he'd ever come across, but it hardly counted as a dessert.

"I didn't realize you were so passionate about food." She watched him as he scanned the streets and then did her own quick sweep of the area. She didn't see anything nearby that peaked her interest.

Except that meat on a stick that she'd stolen from Ed before. That was delicious.

"By that logic then desserts don't have to be sweet, it just has to be eaten at the end of a meal, so it can be anything." Which means it was a vague food descriptor like lunch or dinner.

introductory mingle: carnivale

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