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

I don't know. Thinks I'm not over it after three thousand years? Or that I'm lonely...

[ Cain shrugs. Some of it might be true but one person isn't going to change that. ]

I'm working on that. But hey, I can do complicated if you need an ear.

... Are you lonely?

(That's sad to think about. Three thousand years is a very long time.)

I... (Lucretia sighs.) I think that I would? I'm– um, honestly, I'm not used to talking to people about things that are troubling me.

Sort of, but that's not exactly a mortal kind of problem.

[ He misses his brother. Remus. Even if Abel is right there, as things are... it's the same and as different as it could possibly be at once. ]

It takes practice. If you want to practice with me, I'll definitely listen.

Mmm.

(She nods, and manages a tiny smile.)

Thank you. I'll listen to you too, if you ever want to talk Cain.

[ That gets a brief smile and he shrugs. Talking about Abel and his own problems seems dishonest to his brother somehow. Much as he appreciates the offer, it's... personal. ]

Yeah... There's just a lot of complicated there, too, so I'd have to actually put it in order first.

(She backtracks swiftly, holding her hands up, palms out.)

No, of course. Sorry, I wasn't trying to say I require anything in exchange from you.

[ That gets her a sidelong look, no offense in his gaze. More some gentle amusement. ]

Yeah, I know. It just wouldn't be for a while, even if.

That's fine, that's- it's absolutely fine.

(She's a bit embarrassed by herself, and distracts from that by attempting to brush more glitter from her arms.)

Sorry. I know that I'm a very nosy person.

[ That gets a quick laugh from him. ]

Like I'm not? Lucretia, I don't think there's been a day I haven't nosed my way into someone else's business since I got here. Don't worry about it.

Okay. (She visibly relaxes.)

Sorry, I... I've been on edge lately.

Party like this probably isn't helping.

[ Even if they're on their way out now... ]

This to do with the complicated?

You are correct.

(It was nice to see everybody but Lucretia almost wishes she hadn't come at all.)

Yes, it's... (Another big sigh.) It's Taako, we had a fight.

[ They're almost out through the main thrush of the crowd and soon enough, the parade's path will be in the opposite direction. Not exactly quiet but quieter and less alive. Better for a conversation like this. ]

What about?

(It's ideal, actually– if it were too quiet, Lucretia would have to worry more about the tone of her voice. With the various background noise, she doesn't have to hide the slight tremble in her words.)

I've told you about the cycles, correct? Taako came here from a different cycle than I did and... I knew that. But I thought that he may have come from much further ahead than he was letting on, and I was correct.

(She glances at him. With her so far?)

[ Cain nods, because he's got enough of that picture so far. Lucretia and Taako are both older than they should be because of resetting on a magical, reviving spaceship that travels realities looking for a super special magical artifact. Yep, totally makes sense. Here, anyway. ]

So he's got spoilers. Except... [ He pauses, expression twisting just a bit. She was older recently. Physically. Well past the cycles in the way he understands them. ]

He... he had sixty years worth of spoilers, Cain.

(Lucretia pinches the bridge of her nose, shoulders hunching.)

He told me about... uh, about myself, in the future. What I did. What I will do.

A lot happens in sixty years.

[ Which is the problem, as he's understanding it. ]

What will you do, Lucretia?

I betray them.

(She seems very calm, straight backed as she stares at the path ahead of them. The only thing betraying her emotions is the way she's gripping her hands together, squeezing tightly.)

Taako, Lup. All of them.

[ Lup, he's going to assume, is one of the other crew. Right now, however, he isn't talking to Taako or Lup or caring about them. Right now he just reaches out and gently takes her wrist, slides his fingers down to try and put his hand into hers with very little force behind it. ]

Doing what?

(She relents her strangehold on her fingers as his touch her wrist, lets him take her hand without looking down.)

Um, (she says, and swallows. Why is it so hard for her to say this?)

I... I erased their memories. Of the ship, and the mission, and of me.

[ Good. He'll give her a light squeeze, let her grip as much as she needs if she's up for it. His voice is even, nonjudgmental. Gentle. ]

Can you imagine why that would be?

No. (It's clear that this is what's at the crux of her anxiety; she grips his hand tightly.)

Taako said that it was because I 'didn't like the way we were doing things', that our plan to harness the light went wrong and I wanted to fix everything but... it seems so extreme, I– (She shuts her eyes tightly, stopping abruptly in place.)

I don't understand.

Lucretia. I don't think Taako's lying, but try to remember: he doesn't have your side of the story. Even what he thinks has happened might not be right.

[ Which is closer to home than he'd like. There's something niggling in the back of his mind and a different piece much closer to the forefront. Neither of them are very pleasant, but in a way, he's in the spot Lucretia will some day find herself in. Knowing things, unable to say, perhaps not even knowing why. It's maddening.

He walks another step, two, stands in front of her and raises their interwoven hands between them. ]

You know you wouldn't do anything to hurt them. Right? You know that.

I know. (She nods, eyes still closed tight. Unfortunately this doesn't do anything to stop her eyes from prickling with tears; she exhales sharply, and wipes them away with her free hand.)

I know. I– I wouldn't ever, Cain. But Lup, I... I erased her from Taako's memory entirely. His sister. Why did I do that??

[ His hand starts to grip hers, sight unseen, and for a moment thinks about forgetting Abel. Then, instead, he remembers Abel forgot him. It hits unexpectedly hard and part of him is furious, separating siblings like that for any reason. Even death is not a large enough gap for him to forgive the actions of the Reapers. Especially since as far as he knows, there was no point except to taunt him. To wave this failure in front of his face and turn the most important person in the world into nothing but a pawn for... for what?

Cain doesn't know if he'll ever know that, or if he'll meet Remus again, or have his brother back in any form. Truly. Abel is his brother but Abel doesn't know what that means and it isn't the same. His brother's been taken away.

His hand is still gripping tight and from one breath to the next, he forces himself to relax. Take it down a notch. Just let the whirlwind whip up those emotions and toss them aside. This anger and bottomless pit of guilt, despair... that's not going to leave him for a very long time, he's certain. Nothing will be forever, he hopes, and yet right now—right now, Lucretia is here.

The Reapers aim to slice and cut and hurt. They're scared of something. Lucretia is the opposite, loves her friends so much that something drove her to... to the unthinkable. Something beyond his emotional scope.

It's complicated. ]

That's... part of my own complicated too, actually. [ Hopefully that explains the pause, the grip, the tension that's taken over. ] If you wouldn't hurt them, it would have to be something worse.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject