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

[ Three months is quite a while, by her personal calendar... but even she can recognize this is a serious collection in here. Her hoard had barely grown at all in three months, his room is way more cluttered than she'd managed to get her cave. She finally pulls her attention to his bed, regards it for a moment, and decides it will do. And she does care about keeping the dress in one piece, thanks, she's already learned how annoying they are to replace.

Without an ounce of self consciousness she reaches back to undo the latches, slides it down her chest, and wiggles out of the thing entirely. It's not a very sexy move, it looks more like she's undressing for an audience of just herself at the end of the day. She steps out of her shoes with just as much presentation, then takes a seat at the edge of the bed, fully naked.

And because she can't just stop asking questions: ] If you can teleport, why didn't you bring us here directly and save us the walk?

Because I'd be out of energy if I did that.

[Honestly, it's kind of cute how she doesn't stand on ceremony... like she honestly doesn't know what he's telling her to do all this for. In turn, she doesn't get much of a show; instead he simply pulls his clothing off in a similarly unceremonious manner, finally sitting naked beside her and placing a warm hand on her chest to tip her gently onto her back.

There are a few things to note about Dodger when he's undressed.. the most striking being the star of baphomet tattooed on his chest. Despite easily pulling off all other articles of clothing, he's kept on the bandages around his wrists, and has revealed a sun charm necklace kept under his shirt that he doesn't seem to plan on removing either.]

You're a damn nice sight like this. [His grin actually looks affection, not as condescending, as he leans down to kiss her.]

[ For a moment she's busy being not terribly impressed by his energy stores, if such a short distance teleportation of two would deplete them so much. But she's quickly distracted, far more interested in looking over him and that tattoo as his clothing is shed. She has no idea what it means, but it's fascinating to look at. Her own body has no marks of any kind, not even scars; it hadn't occurred to her people could paint on themselves permanently.

She goes back with only slight discomfort, recognizing that an exposed belly being a weak point probably doesn't apply here. Still, she props herself up on an elbow, ready with one more question — stopped only by the kiss. She's startled at first, but she's seen humans at this before. They're at it frequently, in fact. So while she's still and unresponsive at first, in a moment she tentatively parts her lips just slightly and warms up to it, trying to mirror his approach.

And whenever she gets a moment, even if only a brief one: ] You taste like the smoking sticks.

[ You know, just in case he wanted the input. ]

[Well.. if he needed any proof that she has no idea what she's doing, that would be it. He lets out a quiet laugh, kissing her again as his hand explores her chest.]

They're called cigarettes.

[He's starting to get the sense that not only is she a virgin, but she has only a vague sense of what's going on and is just too proud to back out or ask questions. Well, cruel a man as he is, he isn't about to put a naive woman through unnecessary trouble.

His body temperature is a little higher than a normal human's, and despite his rough skin his touch is as gentle as he can manage. It's been quite a while since he's had a woman, so there's something almost curious and novel about the way his hands move over every inch of her from her chest to her thighs. He's watching her carefully for signs of discomfort, pausing briefly if she seems upset, and pressing kisses to her lips, her cheeks and her neck every so often.]

[ Cigarettes, right. She files the word away for later, and it leaves her conscious thoughts in record time anyway. In her memory, she's never been touched this carefully, or for so long. At most her mentors would create and apply healing poultices for her when she'd managed to injure herself, but of course that was nothing like this. It doesn't take her long at all to decide that she likes the contact and the attention both.

She shows no signs of discomfort, no pauses or attempts to pull away from it. If anything she begins to push into it, tilting her head obligingly as he kisses her neck, arching her chest up into a touch. There's an underlying confusion — she knows that getting laid is mating, although usually without the intent to actually reproduce, and of course she's seen how mating goes among animals — but she's certain none of this has ever been involved. For once, though, she's content to be patient. In this case, the learning process is proving very enjoyable.

And soon enough she's not content just to receive; she discovers a growing interest in her in exploring his body in turn. So she lifts a hand to it, drawing a few fingertips along the side of his jaw and neck, down the front of his chest to where she eyes that tattoo curiously. If she has any questions about the design, though, she has the sense to save them for later. ]

[He lets out a little hum as she begins touching him, and the pause alerts him that her eyes are on his tattoo. Honestly, he has to bother with so many questions about it back home that he's been sort of relieved to not be answering questions here... but she's a curious sort, no wonder it would catch her interest.

Rather than breaking the action for a Satanism Kidz Korner, he wraps his arms around her, rolling onto his back and pulling her on top to straddle his lap. His fingertips run between her shoulderblades, running mild burns along her skin to follow his touch. Not enough to even blister, but enough for her to feel the cold air on them.]

Enjoying yourself, aren't you... [His voice has turned breathless, as he leans up to kiss her again, and his arousal is showing as much in his body as in his expression.] Go ahead, touch anywhere you like.

[ She pauses when he rolls them, but immediately she decides she likes this new position. With both hands on his chest, fingers curled like a sad approximation of her own real claws, and looking down at him — that feels right. She smiles, shifting to make herself a little more comfortable.

His invitation is still a strange one to her, she's never just... reached out to touch someone for the sake of it. Contact is always in the form of an attack, a meal, to be otherwise brief and tolerated. Today, though, she's happy to buck the natural inclinations. She draws her hands up his chest, playing briefly along his shoulders and upper arms. He's so warm, like a sunny rock she could fall asleep on. Not that she's interested in sleeping right now. She shivers under those hot fingers along her back, then on a whim ducks down to instigate a kiss of her own. Both her hands frame his face as her hair spills down in a wave, and though it starts gentle, that's only because she hasn't yet realized there's another way to approach it.

When it occurs to her to add a sharp, experimental little bite to his bottom lip, she gauges the resulting rush of thrill and decides he's right; she is enjoying herself. A lot. ]

Edited 2017-07-09 18:41 (UTC)

[The position's mutual beneficial; he can tell she likes it for her own reasons, but in his case it just lets him be lazy and get a perfect view of her. And the curtain of hair around their faces is almost nostalgic, bringing him back to sober mornings with a certain girl back home... a thought which immediately gets shoved to the side with a forceful decision that screwing around with Onyx is a thousand times better than getting caught up in old memories.

When she bites his lip, it pulls him fully back into the moment, and he answers by digging his nails into her hips with a huff of laughter. Good, she isn't as fragile as he'd been willing to deal with... he reaches a hand up to sweep her hair to the side, nipping the skin of her neck as his other hand slips down to feel between her legs. If he's giving himself enough time to worry about his past, it's about time he started cutting the foreplay short.]

[ The nails at her hips are good — laughably blunt nails they may be, but they strike a good balance of touching and something a little rougher. She shifts her hips against him, pleasantly surprised by the pleasure just in that, and is just beginning to move her attention to the underside of his jaw when his hand makes it between her legs. She's startled for a moment, pausing — it's like the shift against him, but even better still.

She pulls back a little to look down at him, the surprise clear on her face — and the pleasure too, if an unconsciously bitten lip is any indication. She pauses to see just what becomes of that, unsure of how to react to it. ]

[God, he could really watch that face of hers for hours. He'd forgotten how absolutely beautiful it is to watch someone figure this shit out for the first time. And he does pause for a moment, running his fingers in and out of her and watching her adjust to the feeling.]

You are fuckin' beautiful.

[And that's the warning she gets before he presses into her and gives her a pause to adjust to his shaft instead, his nails digging into her hip to hold her down onto it.]

[ She likes the compliment, but she's a little short on the time and presence of mind to savor it. His fingers are too distracting — a foreign and alien feeling, but not one that she wants to stop. She'd just begun moving with his fingers when he replaces them with his cock, which is a whole new startling thing to react to. She takes it with a sharp almost-gasp of a breath in. Then she pauses again, eyes half closed, just a few seconds short of bucking against that tight hold on her hips... but ultimately decides she doesn't want to fight it. No, this is good.

She finally refocuses on Dodger below her, fingers curling their blunt little claws into the skin of his chest, as she shifts in tiny, greedy little ways on top of him. The questioning look is clear even through the high and rising arousal on her face, though: now what? ]

[Somehow he'd still expected her to complain at the roughness of his approach, but he's pleasantly surprised at her being impatient to continue. And oh, each of those twitches of her hips makes him want to just buck into her... And yes, he could just move her. It would be no tax at all on his strength to lift her up each time, but she's an eager pupil and he's ready to take advantage of that.

Instead he lifts her up a few inches, until he's just barely inside of her, and dropping her down to be filled again. He does this once, to let her experience the concept, before letting go of her entirely and letting her reason it out for herself. She's a smart woman, she can find the best angle for herself and leave him to watch the display.]

[ This time she does gasp, albeit quietly, as he drops her back down again — and with just that, she's got a grasp on the mechanics of it. And she's more than willing to put in the work to keep up the sensation of it, too. With her lip bitten again she leans into it, body curling over his as she braces herself with hands against his chest and, moving carefully, finds a rhythm. With just a little experimenting she's satisfied with the angle, quickening her pace.

Her breath comes in quick pants as she goes, and her eyes slit open to watch Dodger beneath her. It's a good angle for him, really. She might even find his human face attractive, she thinks. But more pressing is the heat that's rising up in her as she moves, each little adjustment she makes in a greedy search for a slightly better angle — she's not sure what it is she's working towards here, but she's pretty sure she's close. ]

[She really takes to it like a fish to water, and he's left panting and noticeably hot to the touch as she goes to work on him. His nails scratch more burns into her back, and once or twice he pulls her down to bite her lip and press his tongue into her mouth.

Finally, he can't stand it any more and grips her to keep her in place with one hand around her thigh and the other tangled in her hair. He's learned by now the angle she's going for and keeps it as well as he can, bucking up into her with quick and harsh movements of his hips. Right before he climaxes his skin is nearly burning hot, for only a second, before that heat seems to transfer inside of her. Not wholely uncomfortable, but.. well, if she ever sleeps with a pure human she might notice the difference.]

[ Whatever it is she's looking for to get out of this, she thinks she's found about when he holds tight and begins thrusting. There's some sort of gasping pleasure that runs up through her starting at the base of her stomach, like a wave of heat completely separate from the sort that radiates from his warm body. It has her fighting his grip to meet his thrusts on her own terms, to ride the rush of it and then catch the last few waves as it begins to fade out again.

It leaves her satisfied before he's completely done, and her body relaxes again under his hands, contented, while he finishes. Once he's settled down as well, and she assumes that means he'd also satisfied himself, she settles herself lazily down on top of him. Her hands are flat on his chest now, check pressed to his skin, with all of her energy of a moment ago spent and sapped out of her. Gods but he's warm. That sunny rock analogy comes back to her again, and this time it doesn't seem so bad to take her time enjoying it.

In a lazy murmur: ] That was thoughtful of you, wasn't it? To suggest a mutually enjoyable payment. [ Honestly, she can see now why everyone around here does this. ]

[Under most circumstances, he'd be happy to remind her of the truth; he'd gone into it without a single damn about whether it benefited her. But as it turns out, he definitely likes his new lay - enough to make sure she sticks around. So instead he offers a noncommittal little grunt, and busies his fingers with running through her hair.]

Glad you enjoyed yourself.

[He tips her head up to kiss her again, before sinking into his mattress with a contented sigh. Despite himself, he even finds himself hesitating on kicking her out... his head is still hazy, and her body fits very nicely against his. It would be a shame to ruin the moment of mutual bliss.]

[ That the little touches — and even a quick kiss — continue even after they're clearly done is unexpected, but nice. She thinks she could probably get used to that kind of contact.

But she doesn't stay still forever. In time she stretches lazily, then shifts, rolling off of him. She feels like she could sleep for a day, but... maybe not here. She's only just met him, and not even the pleasant contentedness still swimming through her head is enough to have her forgetting that she barely knows anything about him.

Instead of the lazy nap she'd prefer, she instead sits up next to him, half turns to trail a slow finger down the curve of the tattoo at his chest, and nudges her mind back toward business. ] I did enjoy myself. But don't think that means I'm surrendering my half of the deal, about your powers.

[Right. He had made a few promises in that regard, hadn't he. He guesses he'll have to go through with it.]

Teleportation, fire, invisibility, strength. Pick one, I'll tell you how it works. [His eyes train onto her face, as he reaches to lazily run his fingers over her lower back.] You can ask about the tattoo, if you want. Figure you earned it.

[He's decided she's too smart and curious to bother hiding things from her... he'll just have to keep her interest on things he's more willing for her to know. As long as the silent understanding remains that he'll have to kill her if she proves to be a danger to him.]

[ That he'd offer to tell her about the tattoo tells her it must be worth hearing about. She'd assumed it was just some design, like she's seen on other humans, but those don't seem to come with stories. Her finger completes its slow circle around it back at the top again, where her eyes flick back up to his face. ]

Invisibility. [ She offers a smile. ] First. I'll make my way to the rest of it, too.

I expect you to.

[As he finishes the sentence, he suddenly winks out of existence... this time it doesn't happen in a flash of sparks like his teleportation, instead he simply stops being here. She'll still be able to feel his chest, hear his breath, smell that he's there.. but where she's touching him, the air just seems a little distorted as his body does its best to mask his presence. And after a few moments, he's back as if nothing had ever changed.]

Only power I can keep up as long as I want... fuckin' useless as it is.

[Sure, there are uses for invisibility, but if he could make his teleportation silent.. that would be a real blessing. Invisibility only works for so long, in so many situations.]

[ She blinks as he vanishes, looking genuinely startled for an instant or two, as if she'd forgotten she'd just asked him to show off invisibility. She presses down on his chest, fully expecting not to feel any resistance, and it's all the stranger that she does. She spends the full time he's invisible staring as hard as she can at those tiny distortions of where he should be. She thinks maybe she can tell where he is, but that's only because she's got her hand on him and was just staring at him. Caught unawares, this would be a very effective disguise.

Her eyes find his face again when he blips back into sight, a little relieved to have something solid to look at again. ]

As long as you want — that doesn't sound useless at all. [ She pauses to consider it, then adds: ] At least, when dealing with humans. There are some species that wouldn't need sight at all to locate you — like those that sense the heat of other creatures.

[ She'd know, she's been a few of those species. ]

[He gives her a smirk at that, and he props himself up on his elbows to kiss her again.]

That's exactly why it's useless. It's only good against humans - and it does fuck all against something stronger than that.

[Of course, he's gotten lucky with his latest fights... but humans seem to be a lot more common in other worlds than in his own, and even Taako manages to not having any supernatural senses. He's gotten in scrapes before where invisibility did nothing, against mutants who could track him by smell or sound instead.]

You're really not used to shit like this, huh? [He blinks out of existence, just for a moment, to make it clear what he's referring to.] No invisible things where you're from?

[ She's busy contemplating the uses and pitfalls of invisibility, and the the kiss catches her off-guard. Really, she'd been under the impression that kissing was just one of the things leading up to sex... although, now that she thinks about it, she's seen humans kissing who didn't then go and find somewhere private to see it through. It leaves her not quite sure what to make of it ... but she is, if nothing else, growing more sure that she likes it.

There's a curl of an amused smile in place as he blinks back into sight once more. She can always appreciate casual displays of power. ]

I'm sure there's a spell for it, but not one I know yet. The best I could do would probably be...

[ She sits up a little straighter, pulling away from him to sit a few inches off. She studies carefully the bedspread around her, then casts a glance back at the room behind her. After about ten seconds of study she thinks she has it well enough — and blinks out of sight. The area she leaves behind isn't quite as it should be, though. There are a few details off. The sheet looks a little too stiff, the pattern is slightly off, and the details of the mess of the wall behind her were impossible to fully copy. And if he reaches out to feel for her, the illusion that it is will be broken immediately. ]

[Dodger is trained to track down other mutants, and he's not the only one who can turn invisible... it's easy for him to pick out the details she'd gotten wrong. So she's a chameleon, that's interesting in its own right... but not good enough, not yet.]

You should pay attention to your surroundings more. [He easily follows the shape she's left in front of him to poke her lightly in the stomach.] If you'd laid down before pulling that, you'd have less to copy. And you missed the wrinkles near the foot board.

[See, he's holding up his end of the deal.]

Edited 2017-07-10 23:35 (UTC)

[ She's back again immediately, illusion shattered under his disbelief, and huffs a sigh. But she doesn't let the irritation get above mild — she'd asked for exactly this, hadn't she? And he's already helping.

Still, though, she has to be a little bitter: ] That spell is best applied in other ways, anyway. It isn't meant for that.

[ so it's not her fault that she did it shitty!! ]

introductory mingle: carnivale

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