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

[aeturnus]

Wish I didn't.

[ Ha. Not because of his encounter with Spike, but he's free to interpret it as he pleases, of course. ]

If you don't think there's plenty of drinks with kick during a party like this... [ He shakes his head, giving Spike a look. Motions for him to pick which stall has the vibe he's looking for. ]

[idolpire]

[Letting the earlier topic drop, Spike gave Cain a sideways smirk, turning to see what kiosk or stall might have something more up his alley. He pointed to one a little ways up.]

There's smoke coming off those drinks. Has to be more than just for show, yeah?

[aeturnus]

Drinks possibly dangerous for human consumption. Of course.

[ It goes without saying that yes, Spike isn't human anymore, but Cain still kind of counts... He just laughs and shrugs. ]

Sure, why not.

[idolpire]

Good. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll feel something like what I did.

[That perked him right up, and he started to head over to the stall with a spring in his step.]

[aeturnus]

Right, never give an immortal a reason to hold a grudge.

[ Despite that, he's entertained. Why not? It won't hurt him in the long run. ]

[idolpire]

Nah, I wouldn't call a vampire immortal. We die. I've killed a fair few myself. In fact, when you look at it, we die pretty bloody easily. We just can live longer. No expiration date, so to speak.

[aeturnus]

Yeah, well, a lot of people seem pretty insistent that potentially living forever could be a type of immortality. [ Cain gives a wide shrug. ] True immortality's apparently harder to come across than you'd think.

[idolpire]

I still don't think I believe in it. Even you can die, you strange weird wanky git. Just because you haven't found a way doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There's always a way if someone looks hard enough. Part of the balance, and all that.

[aeturnus]

Part of the balance says I've apparently got... a depressing amount of time left, so maybe it just doesn't exist yet.

[ Cain's not going to disagree. Philosophically, it'll happen eventually but for now? He's untouchable as far as he can test it. ]

[idolpire]

Ever wonder if whatever world you're from isn't snuffing out life before it's even born to keep you in all your immortal glory?

[Because if there was one thing Spike was good at doing, it was making people question themselves.]

[aeturnus]

[ There's a thought, and he considers it but not really for very long. ]

The Reapers would probably be the opposite of avoiding me if that were the case.

[idolpire]

Yeah, that would make sense to me if I had any idea what the hell Reapers really did in your world.

[aeturnus]

They oversee the balance of life and death. Send their Enforcers in if something goes poorly. It's their purpose for being.

[idolpire]

Uh huh. And maybe you're their ace in the hole, eh? In case all of the world gets wiped out, there's still one lingering life form. Or if there's too many lives in the world, there will always be you, so they can snuff out however many they need.

[aeturnus]

Much as I love paranoia and always being prepared for the worst— [ he's gotten over that, in reality, since it's way too tiring and a good way to go insane; kept his mind toward more pressing matters or judging people based on the individual rather than automatically assuming terrible things ] —I'm pretty sure they either hate me or they're terrified of me.

[ Or... of him reuniting with Abel, at least. ]

Besides, in a case like that there would have to be an immortal woman too, right? If we're going doomsday repopulation efforts. No such luck.

[idolpire]

Not hardly. Makes more sense to have a few mortal women around and one immortal male. After all, a man can spread his seed further than a woman can bear children, right? Just keep a few lasses tucked away for you near the end and there you have it. Re-population ahoy.

[aeturnus]

Ha. I'm monogamous anyway, so the joke would be on them. [ He shrugs widely. ] Guess I can't say for certain you're wrong, but functionally it's all the same right now.

[idolpire]

Well that is just your loss, mate. Nothing like a fresh pair of pillows to bury your face in...

[Yes, Cain, he was talking about breasts.]

[aeturnus]

"Fresh" just makes it sound like you don't intend for them to be attached.

[idolpire]

The only dead things I'm into are the undead. I meant fresh as in new. Keep up, mate.

[aeturnus]

You are just lining them up for me today, Spike. What am I supposed to do here?

[idolpire]

Find me a nice vampire girl with lovely bosom.

[aeturnus]

And use my powers for evil? Bite your tongue.

[idolpire]

I'll bite hers if you find me a lovely bird. Evil's the only good reason to have powers, Jake. Try having a little fun with it.

[aeturnus]

Fun and evil are not synonymous, although I'll allow they can often coincide. Maybe I'll see what I can do, though. Who knows?