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

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The Doctor.

[ that, apparently, is the name he's giving, as he briefly shakes cisco's hand.

then pats his guitar. ]

I think I might do - never know when one might come in handy.

[ hard to tell if he's joking or not. ]

The Doctor? That, like, a stage name or something?

[ The fact that he may be joking about a guitar being useful makes Cisco think he really hasn't internalized the whole "we might see an actual giant snake" thing. That, or he really means it, in which case senility is a definite option. Either way... doesn't exactly bode well. He's starting to regret agreeing to this, a little bit.

He looks down at his phone to check the time, proposing: ]

How 'bout we meet at the gate to the abandoned section of the city - the east side, the one that's right near the river - in an hour? That'll give me time to gear up and change clothes and you to, uh. Tune? Might wanna grab a bag, too, if you're planning on scavenging.

[ Cisco's also going to make sure he tells a few people where he's going, too. Even if they manage to make it there and back without running into anything nasty, there's always the fun possibility that this dude is some kind of ax murderer. Why had he agreed to this, again? ]

It's my name-name.

[ oh, boy, you ain't seen nothing yet. sorry about your questionable life decisions.

he slips on a pair of sunglasses (which... buzz a little?) and nods at cisco. guitar still casually hanging off his shoulder. he seems not the least bit concerned about any of this, like he wanders out into the abandoned section of the city on a whim regularly.

which he does. ]

Suppose I'll get kitted up, myself, in that case. Or possibly tune up. And see you [ points at him ] in one hour.

[ Well, it's a weird name, but Cisco's pretty used to weird.

It only takes him around forty minutes, to make the preparations that he needs. Cisco is somewhat inclined to overprepare, but he at least does so quickly. When he shows up to the gate he's wearing some very sensible hiking gear and has a bag with water, food bars, some medical supplies, a rope, a souped-up taser, and a handful of tranq gas grenades that hopefully they won't end up needing.

He finds a nice tree stump to perch on while he waits for the Doctor, scrolling through the network and trying not to feel apprehensive about the various ways this plan could go wrong. When the Doctor shows up he hops to his feet, stashing his phone and asking with a little grin: ]

Ready?

[ the doctor arrives exactly at the hour mark, looking... exactly as he did before, only sans guitar, a smallish bag slung over his shoulder instead. not exactly the most appropriate hiking ensemble, but that's literally never stopped him before.

he waves as he approaches. ]

Always. [ and gestures ahead of them. ] Lead the way, boss.

[ Lucky for the Doctor, Cisco has long since given up trying to convince other people to wear appropriate attire. At a certain point, you just have to wash your hands of it. If Barry wanted to go wandering through the woods in some converse, that was his business. If the Doctor feels like he's good in that outfit, Cisco's not about to argue. ]

Boss?

[ Of all the many things Cisco has been called in his life, that's not one of them. He chuckles, then shrugs, accepting it. He leads them out past the wall and into the abandoned part of the city. Cisco keeps his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble, but this walk is going to seem about ten times as long if they try to do the whole thing in stony silence. So as they walk, he asks: ]

So, you from Earth?

[ It's become his standard question, when he's getting to know someone new in this place. Statistically, he's found that the majority of people are, but it's by no means unusual to meet someone who is not. ]

[ the doctor follows alongside him, hands in his pockets. watching their surroundings, curious rather than wary. committing the path to memory.

he glances at cisco sidelong, taking a moment to answer. ]

No... but I've spent a considerable amount of time there.

[ big fan of the place. ]

Are you?

[ he's certainly getting an earth vibe from the kid, but suppose you can never be completely sure, here. ]

[ The Doctor is lucky, honestly; the first dozen or so aliens Cisco had met in this place, he had completely lost his dignity. He'd gone full-on fanboy, to the amusement and occasionally consternation of the aliens in question. By now, he's able to play it a little cooler than that, though he does still grin from ear to ear and there's no mistaking the increase of bright interest in his voice when he speaks next: ]

Awesome! So you'd been to more than one planet even before you got here?

[ ~~Understatement...~~ ]

Yep, that's me. Earthling. No interplanetary travel yet in my version of reality, unfortunately. Or at least, none that involves us. Could be there's a great big block party going on out in space and we just aren't invited.

[ Considering that long pause before he'd answered, Cisco isn't entirely sure the Doctor wants to be grilled on his history. He thinks about changing the subject, chatting about weather or the quarantine or something boring like that. But in the end, curiosity wins out over tact. It does that a lot for Cisco. ]

So are you human? 'Cause I've definitely met people here who are humans that come from different planets but I've also met people who aren't human but you can't tell the difference just looking.

[ cisco is, likewise, somewhat lucky - he's not caught the doctor at his most tight-lipped on the subject. just relatively tight-lipped; he's always cagey. but, y'know, no longer suffering from crushing survivor's guilt at the fate of his home planet, nor operating incognito as a bristol university lecturer. no reason to hide it here.

curiosity's good. so long as it doesn't get too personal.

he lets cisco ramble for a bit before responding - lightly, but with some of that customary time lord arrogance, ]

No, not human at all - my species predates yours by several billion years. I've been to so many planets, I've lost count... and several other realities, as well.

And yes, they're definitely having intergalactic street parties without you. Sorry.

Try developing decent space transport first. You can't expect them to haul out to your little backwater planet every time.

Edited 2017-07-13 01:09 (UTC)

[ If the Doctor had tried to tell him all that after they randomly met at Jitters, or some other place in Central City, there is no way Cisco would have believed him without some proof. But here the both of them are, on a moon in another version of reality, hiking through an abandoned city together. Cisco's met space marines and wizards and if the Doctor says he's been to so many planets he's lost count, Cisco's got no reason to disbelieve it. ]

Getting stuck here must kinda suck, then, huh?

[ Sounds like this guy kind of prefers life on the road. Or whatever the space equivalent of that is. And if he really has been so many places, that perhaps explains a little of the eccentricity. How he'd been willing to drop everything and go to see the warehouse right away. ]

Solid advice, my dude. And if you ever have any tips you wanna give me on warp drives or whatever, if I ever do go back I can get right on that. Or is that cheating? Probably doesn't matter, anyway. Kinda think I'm here for good.

[ But that's... a whole other thing, really, and not something Cisco particularly wants to talk about, so he shifts the conversation back to more comfortable territory: ]

So you're into machines? You said you wanna scrounge for parts, you looking for anything in particular?

[ a sigh, bit of a shrug with a furrowed brow. not pleased about this general situation, sure, but: ]

It could certainly be worse.

It's a fine dimension - I'd have probably liked to visit at some point, another time. With my ship.

[ at least this one's is full of fascinating flotsam from numerous dimensions. and not under perpetual siege. bonus.

he raises an eyebrow when cisco says he believes he'll be here for good - but lets it pass, for now, since he quickly moves onto another topic. files it away for later. ]

[ and then, more brightly, ]

Oh, I try to never look for anything in particular anywhere, expectations are so stifling. I'll know what I need when I find it.

But what sort of machines do you build?

[ "It could be worse" is some pretty damning faint praise. It sounds to Cisco like the Doctor is making the best of the situation, but definitely is not loving the confinement. Probably a place like this is less interesting to someone who has been to so many planets. ]

So are you, like, a captain or whatever?

[ It wouldn't occur to Cisco that he might have a space ship that he pilots alone, or practically alone. If he's calling it HIS ship, Cisco just assumes this is some kind of USS Enterprise type situation.

Then again, the attitude is a bit more space hippy than starfleet, but Cisco can roll with that. He smiles, shrugs, and says: ]

Fair enough.

[ The question of what kind of machines he builds isn't really an uncommon one, but he never knows quite how to answer it. ]

All kinds. Technically, my job here is doing R&D for the emergency services. So, you know, designing stuff to help deal with fires, or disasters, or monsters coming over the wall. But I also make a whole lot of other stuff just for fun. Like, right now I'm trying to recreate these goggles I had back home, that make it so you can have lucid dreams. And also some earbuds that'll block out telepathy and mind control. The trick is trying to get them to work against magic. Not used to needing to plan for that.

[ "are you a captain" - he almost looks like he could laugh. not that the question was actually unreasonable, in any way. the reality is what's genuinely ridiculous here. ]

Oh yeah, captain of a crew of one. I... bring friends along - have you met Bill Potts?

[ he's sure she's been meeting people here her own age. he hopes she's been meeting people here. it's not a great emotional strain on him, to be displaced like this (he's convinced), but humans generally need some form of stable social circle. and this kid seems sharp, like her.

and then whistles. ]

That's quite a CV, for someone your age. Whatever age you are. [ young, he assumes. to be fair, basically everyone is, to him. ] I'd quite like to see those, when you're done - the earbuds.

[ waggles his fingers near his ear. honestly, he's impressed. he's quite curious to find out whether he can really build something like that. ]

Edited 2017-07-16 05:04 (UTC)

[ In other words, not a captain, not affiliated with any kind of organization, just basically a guy with a spaceship. Cisco reassesses - it must be tiny, if the Doctor can operate it on his own. More like the time ship Cisco had helped to build for Eobard than like anything from Star Trek. At the mention of Bill, Cisco smiles: ]

Uh, not really. Talked to her on the network, though, she's cool.

[ One thing he seems to be finding out on this trek is that the Doctor's reactions are unpredictable; that whistle and the praise that follow it catch Cisco off-guard, and he can feel his face heating him, a flutter of bashful happiness in his chest. Compared to Central City, people are so quick to compliment him, here, and take him seriously. He's still not gotten used to it. After so many years of being doubted, and underestimated, it's hard to just do a 180. ]

26. Just... for the record. [ He's about to say something about how it's not really all that impressive, and he doesn't know why they'd put him in charge of something so important when he's nothing special... but he bites it back. Maybe some of those many lectures from Taako and Eddie about projecting confidence are starting to finally sink in. ] And are you kidding? Of course, man! I love showing off tech, you better be careful or I'll talk your ear off about this stuff the whole way there.

[ Even though it's phrased as a warning, Cisco clearly would like nothing more than to talk about the earbuds, to explain how they work, and other projects of his, too. ]

[ a genuine smile, warm and fond: ]

Yes, very.

[ cool, that is. he doesn't travel with uncool people.

he watches cisco, nodding. and he's really, one hundred percent earnest when he says: ]

Go on, then.

[ of course he wants to hear about tech, are you kidding? not that he necessarily thinks cisco's stumbled upon a method of blocking telepathy that the doctor hasn't heard of (can't shake that sense of superiority, of being accustom to knowing - or at least being able to figure out very quickly - how most shit in the universe works.) but this is a new dimension, and he's curious. certainly, as something of a telepath himself. what's he got? ]

[ Cisco does a tiny double take; it's clear he's waiting a few seconds for the "as if" or "just kidding that sounds horrible," but they never come. His grin goes a bit lopsided, uncertain but happy, as he launches into his explanation: ]

Well, see, back home there's this gorilla. [ Which is a pretty ominous way to start an explanation, but when the Doctor doesn't interrupt, he keeps talking, words coming faster and more confidently as he goes. ] It's kind of a long story, but he got superpowers when the particle accelerator exploded, and it made him hyper-intelligent, and gave him mind powers, which basically means he could project images into people's heads and sync up his brain waves with theirs so he could control them like puppets. Which wouldn't be a huge problem, except... he was using his abilities to make innocent people steal stuff and like, kill each other.

[ Cisco still feels guilt, when he thinks about Grodd. He hadn't known about Eiling's experiments, but ignorance is no excuse. And when he factors in Dr. Wells, and his awful influence... Grodd had never had a chance. Not when Dr. Wells could manipulate almost anyone into almost anything. But he shakes away that thought, keeps on with the story: ]

So, obviously, we couldn't let him keep doing that, but anyone who got near him was in danger, so we had to come up with something that would block him out. Basically what I'm doing now is recreating that, and adapting it so it blocks out a broader range of signals. And changing it into earbuds 'cause last time I went with something that was more of a headband but it kept getting knocked off which was a real big problem.

[ happy enough to let cisco keep going, he certainly appreciates his passion. and a super powerful, hyper-intelligent gorilla with telepathy just sounds like a tuesday, honestly. doesn't get an odd look from the doctor at all. ]

That's clever - I like that. As long as you can keep the earbuds in.

Has anything of the sort happened here as well, or are you simply taking precautionary measures?

[ Kind of nice, really, to talk to someone who has a complete non-reaction to things and creatures like Gorilla Grodd. Makes things quicker, for sure, and Cisco doesn't feel like he needs to provide evidence, to fight the uphill battle of proving that he's not some fanboy who went delusional or a pathological liar.]

True.

[ He's got some plans for that, too, to make them hard to dislodge, but he takes the Doctor's point. No piece of tech is going to be entirely foolproof, particularly if it has to stay perfectly in place to function. ]

The lucid dream goggles aren't really a new idea, either. Made a pair back home, didn't bring them with me, so I'm making 'em again, here.

[ Though these goggles are going to do a lot more than the last pair, but that is an exception to Cisco's "happy to talk about tech" rule. Since he's going to be using them to access his powers - powers which he has no intention of telling the Doctor or anyone else about - he might as well just pretend they are simpler than they are. ]

Precautionary. Far as I know, there aren't any telepaths here. Or, well, if there are, they're not going around making people kill. So it's really more of a "just in case" kind of project.

Edited 2017-07-20 02:55 (UTC)

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introductory mingle: carnivale

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