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

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Can't? [ He can't help but repeat it, quietly astonished, before he battens that reaction down. And don't ask him about it... he can just imagine. Jean-Claude contains mocking laughter before it can be let loose, although it is sorely tempting.

But no. He sees the game here. A vampire made very weak, and volatile in it, defending his territory from a newcomer who could steal it all, and make life very, very difficult. Jean-Claude has no interest in making enemies, however, not when he has no one and no powerbase to back it up. He is conscientious of how alone he is, and it would be unwise to needlessly garner enemies. As insulting as this Englishman is.

For a moment he considers and discards a possible role to be played, of the kindly, generous tutor willing to lure in prey. He decides he would rather not tie himself to this man in any way, subject himself to that pretend farce, detestable as it is, even if it were the smarter choice. It is certainly the more duplicitous one.

But somewhere over the past decade, Jean-Claude has acquired standards, and self-respect. He is sure Asher would laugh himself sick to hear it. ]

You are merely in the wrong room, [ he says instead, diplomatically. Jean-Claude is difficult to read at the best of times, but he's a consummate politician now, benignly offering a suggestion. ] There are those who would be quite pleased to shed blood at such a party. And would not mind one consuming it.

I can smell it.

[And he could. The whispering promise of blood wafted through the crowd, both from the bodies of the humans around them, all wrapped up in skin and just begging to be pierced and bled for him to feast on, and in the further areas where the sharper coppery smell hit the air, ruby red something he could almost taste on his tongue.]

Rather not get carried away.

[Because unlike Jean-Claude, Spike was used to feeding until he dropped a corpse. Sometimes he'd bring that corpse back to life and have himself a little lackey, sometimes not. He wasn't really of a mind to have a city full of vampires that could feed like he couldn't -- not when he was being forced to play nice. Besides, with Buffy in the city and John keeping an odd eye on him, he felt like he needed to stay within a few guidelines until he could figure out a proper game plan. Something where he came out on top, of course.]

[ His eyebrows go up, an action Jean-Claude somehow makes artful and understated. ]

Is there much danger of that? Does your... kind often become overwhelmed by baser instincts?

[ It is a very young vampire indeed that could not stop themselves when they wished to, in Jean-Claude's view. ]

We're demons, mate. Blood, pain, death... that's our bread and butter. I'm evil. I'm not supposed to care about if I hurt someone's feelings or break a few necks.

[He shrugged. He was what he was, after all. And he knew he wasn't the cream of any crop that wasn't curdled and rotted a little around the edges. So he owned it. Made that defect his.]

Demons-- Mon Dieu, is that what you are? The Church may say what it likes, but we, I, am nothing of the sort.

I am an animated corpse, yes, but there is no demon within me. Evil is a matter of debate, of culture. [ One Jean-Claude has no trouble conceding to. ] Monster, certainly, capable of profane acts. Pain and death, as you say.

But I kill no one I do not mean to. [ That much he can say with complete certainty and truthfulness. ]

Well, I am. Or, our kind are. You take one human, bleed 'em dry, give 'em a little bit of blood, then bury them. Demon from... you know, I'm not really sure what dimension they're from. Never really looked into it.

[A shrug, but he goes on with his explanation.]

Anyway, demon slips into the corpse and there you are. One vampire. We're soulless. Well, 'cept for that wanky bastard of a grandsire of mine, but that's because of a gypsy curse. Serves him right.

I kill because I want to. I like being evil. It's liberating. 'Specially after being such a repressed git when I was alive.

[ He wrinkles his nose delicately. ]

That mentality is not unknown to us, but it is a human affliction carried over past the grave, enabled by our strength. [ Dimension, though? Demon from a dimension? It is an odd relief to learn it is no religious demon after all, of the sort Anita has faced and spoken of. It would be hard to believe someone so... small in mind and presence... could be a real demon. ]

I cannot bleed someone out through one bite, one feeding alone. I must tear the wound open and ensure the blood continues to flow to do that, and here, I will not. [ That is the simplest way to put that. ]

If we are endangered to police attention, it will be you who commits that particular sin, rest assured.

Pity. Nothing quite like sucking someone dry. Fills all those predatory needs in one go. And less of a waste, really.

[Don't try to figure out the logistics of it, Jean-Claude. The human stomach could only hold so much and the body usually had more than one could manage, but Spike's breed of vampires were an anomaly in a variety of ways. Consider this another.]

Already done that. Though, wasn't really me doing the killing so much as a mate of mine. But I did get the leftovers, and that was a right riot. Still, he 'wasn't himself' -- [Air quotes as Spike rolled his eyes.] -- so he's not in too much of a mess over it. As for me bringing attention? Not likely, Froggy.

[ It is factually more of a waste, because you cannot feed from them again, not to mention being horrible for no reason. But Jean-Claude knows this sort and does not waste his words. His protestations will gain him no respect; that is not the avenue he should take. ]

Froggy, ah, the most inventive of insults, [ he muses. ] I will not be having... leftovers.

The arrangement is different for those of my kind. [ Sometimes. In Jean-Claude's case, anyway. ] If you bring harm, or tacitly allow harm, to any I have marked, I will not be pleased. Count this as your warning. [ It is odd to have to explain the rules of vampire society to someone who is not that young, but he will brook no misunderstandings. ]

Would you prefer Kermit?

[Yes. That was it. Jean-Claude's new nickname was Kermit. You're welcome, Jean-Claude.

But that threat, because that's the only way to take that, had Spike's brows lifting.]

Someone you've marked? What, you run around tattooing all your snacks? Or do you just put a collar on them and get them to sit up and beg for Master? Don't tell me you do the whole Dracula-Renfield nonsense. Makes you more of a poncy git to copy that wanker.

I do not imagine my preferences will figure into your choice of epithet.

[ He's not falling into that trap.

Fortunately, Jean-Claude has an incredible abundance of patience, because he needs it for this conversation. ] Your habit of killing those you feed from is a practice only performed by the sadistic or the weak, in my line. We prefer to cultivate regular relationships, so we have secured food, and in return we offer our protection and patronage.

The novel based Renfield off of our slaves, not the other way around, although I do not tend to take any. [ Not lately, that is. He's gotten a little more moralistic. Thanks, Anita. ]

You're right. It won't.

[Too late.

He crooked a brow at the fancy pants vampire, deciding to give a little tit for tat in the whole 'this is my vampire lineage' nonsense they were having.]

We have something like that, only not. Addicts come to get a bit of a bite from us. They pay, we feed, they leave all happy with their brush with death and mortality. The only protection they have is safe passage under that roof and to and from it. After that transaction, they're anyone's nibbles.

[The fact that it seemed they had the same literature, despite their differences, had Spike laughing.]

Another difference, then. Only one I knew to have slaves like that was Drac himself. The whole gypsy vampire thing. Not like we haven't had human groupies over the years, but they're all stupid teenagers who romanticize 'the pale undead' and think it's all fluffy shirts and red wine.

[He gave a pointed look to Jean-Claude's shirt, smirking.]

They'd love you.

[ He laughs, a chilling, sharper sound to display how unaffected he is by the posturing. ]

Yes, of course, we have those as well. The junkies, those who chase immortality, they are food for the undiscriminating. I am... more selective. To your earlier question: the mark is literal, a bite mark. Since you have said you will not be biting anyone, it should be clear enough to you.

Consider them mine, and do not interfere with them. [ The humor has wiped away, language dumbed down to make sure he understands. ] And I will count passively standing by while they are hurt as interference. Is that clear? [ He wants the expectations set out, so that Spike understands if he does something, there is retaliation coming. Jean-Claude will not make that first step, but he also won't tolerate disrespect of that sort either, and he is used to these exploits of standing nearby while those that are his are tortured. It is quite a demand to make, but he makes it without hesitation. ]

See, now that's where we're going to have a problem. I might agree not to get all touchy with another vamp's meal, but like bloody hell am I going to jump in and save some idiot from their own bad life choices. I wouldn't do it back home and there are very few, if any, that I'd lift a finger to help here. If you're 'marking' [Yes, more finger quotes] people too stupid to take care of themselves, don't expect me to keep their hearts beating just because you've sunk a fang in. Or something else. Not my business, mate.

[He'd be upfront about that, if nothing else. Spike was not an altruist. He didn't kow tow to anyone for anything short of his own desire for something. If he helped someone, it was because he got something out of it. If Jean-Claude wanted him to actively intervene, then he'd have to do more than threaten and bluster.]

[ Hmmm, things really are different if he responds this way. This is sensible, someone used to being on their own, not part of a power structure.

In the interests of getting what he wants, he deigns to be clear. ] I see. If that is your approach, I will accept it. [ It feels a bit like explaining the color of the sky to a grown man, but he goes on, ] It is very political, vampire society where I am from. It would not be unusual to ride the edge of an agreement, and exploit it. If you say, of course, I will not harm them, I would expect to find you orchestrating their torture through a proxy.

I am used to being careful with my words. But if we may have this agreement, bon, I will accept. [ Unless he has reason to revise it later. Jean-Claude doesn't trust him at all. ]

If I'm going to torture someone, I'd rather do it myself. There's few of us enough here that as long as you don't go marking the whole bloody city, you can live in your corner and I in mine.

[A thought crossed his mind, something that had him frowning as he figured out the best way to bring it up. Well, when in Rome.]

Right, well, same goes to you, mate. Don't be pinching off my plate. I've got few enough people willing to cut a vein for me at the moment, so just... you keep to yours and I won't have to come knocking at your door, yeah?

[Because he was the big bad, after all. Fear him, Jean-Claude. Grr. Argh.]

[ Ah, a hands on person. Jean-Claude can respect that, actually. Just a little. ]

It is unlikely to be more than a handful, so that will not be an issue. I will stay to my 'corner', as you put it. [ At least until he decides he doesn't want to, but it is for the best to give the impression now that he is biddable that way. ]

Fine then.

[But it wasn't fine, because now there were people he didn't want Jean-Claude to decide were his.]

So... what if I... mentioned a few folks I don't want you sinking teeth into? That how this works? You keep your hands off them and I don't drop a piano on yours?

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introductory mingle: carnivale

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