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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Cisco hadn't been expecting Taako to laugh, or to give an answer which implies that that ass-kicking was merely one amongst many. It's true, Cisco hasn't met a whole lot of wizards to compare Taako to. And the magic he had seen - Garyl, that awesome room Taako conjured, seeing him turn water into rosé - isn't exactly combat-centric. But he'd somehow just imagined, since everything Taako said about his life just sounded so damn epic (maybe not really the plant thing just now), that he was some overpowered hero who never even got his hair mussed battling off armies of the undead or whatever.

But then... Taako also mentioned that he's died several times, so maybe Cisco should've realized that is several steps past an ass-kicking and put the rest together. ]

Really? Damn.

[ Strangely, that doesn't make Cisco think less of Taako - in fact, quite the opposite. If him and his two buddies get hurt that regularly, the fact that they just stock up on more healing potions and keep going is pretty damn admirable. ]

One time I got fucking suplexed by a bugbear and straight up nearly died then and there.

[To be fair, he deserved it for telling Klarg to jump in front of a laser to save their own asses, but still.]

We're a bunch of idiots and I run around without armor, it's a miracle I'm not dead.

That is... awful. Man, please tell me that a bugbear is not some kind of horrible mix of a cockroach and a grizzly because if it is, I'm definitely having nightmares, and I ain't even seen one.

[ He jokes, in part, because the thought of Taako getting tossed around like that and hurt really badly is actually kind of awful, and Cisco doesn't really want to linger on that too long if he can help it. It was bad enough hearing when Barry got hurt, and he has freaky super healing that can mend a broken bone in an hour or two. ]

Is there a reason you don't wear armor?

[ Maybe it blocks his magic, or something? But he ought to have armor. Armor is important. Cisco knows that; Taako might think superhero gear is mostly for the aesthetics, but in the case of Barry's suit, Cisco had poured hours and hours into finding ways to make it bullet-proof, into threading tiny heat-ribbons through the whole thing so that the next time Captain Cold tried some shit, Cisco could save Barry even from miles away. Taako might not need to be walking around with a built-in defibrillator, but he ought to have something! ]

They're kinda like a bear cross a goblin, real big, super hairy, usually nasty as shit but we've met some nice ones.

[Because Lucas has absolutely zero ethics when it comes to experimenting on creatures, but Taako isn't going to go into that, mostly because he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the "Hugbear" situation, not when Merle was getting his arm chopped off and they were being chased by a singing crystal golem.]

And yeah, uh, look at me? [He gestures at himself.] That shit is heavy, and I need to be able to move to cast spells.

[Apparently.]

[ Cisco... doesn't actually know what a goblin looks like. Or, rather, he has too many ideas about what goblins might look like, from too many different comics and movies. But he'd never caught a glimpse of one in a vibe, so he's just going to have to imagine. ]

Right, putting bugbears near the top of the 'do not want to fuck with' list.

[ Even though the imperative was rhetorical, Cisco does look at Taako. He looks him up and down, eyes narrowing with thought. He shakes his head a little from side to side and then declares, decisively: ]

Yeah, okay, that does it, I'm definitely making you a suit. Just 'cause you're too much of a twig for heavy duty plate mail or whatever doesn't mean you should be out there fighting monsters in nothing but a blouse and a skirt, no matter how cute they are. There's a middle ground here, Goldilocks.

Edited 2017-07-12 23:06 (UTC)

[Wait, what?

He kind of wants to focus on the part where Cisco said he looks cute, if only to tease him for it, but I'm making you a suit is way more important.]

Sometimes I wear a robe...

[That's not the point, obviously, but he kind of says it because he needs a second to process that and make sure he's thinking what he thinks he's thinking.]

Are you for real? Like, a superhero suit?

[There it is.

!!!!]

[ Cisco grins and shakes his head in amused exasperation when Taako says sometimes he wears a robe, as if that is somehow any better. Unless he's talking about some kind of magic robe that protects him from all harm (and it certainly doesn't sound like he is), it's just as bad.

Taako's incredulity is unexpected, and a little cute, but then Cisco realizes he doesn't know to what extent he's actually talked about this before. He'd told Taako about redesigning Oliver's suit, but only in passing, and that had hardly been the most memorable part of that conversation. ]

Yeah, like a superhero suit. That's what I do. That's my thing.

[ His contributions aren't limited to designing and creating suits, but it is something he enjoys, something he's good at, and one of the few things that he is proud of without reservations. He isn't above a little bit of boasting. ]

Pretty much all the heroes in my world have got suits I made, at this point. I can design 'em however and equip 'em with all sorts of stuff that'll help keep you safe so you don't have to rely on miracles. Nothing's foolproof, obviously, but generally they get the job done, and I can always add improvements later on.

[He kind of put two and two together, based on what he knows so far, but he didn't realize the extent of Cisco's contribution, or the fact that he's apparently responsible for the suit that every superhero in his universe wears.

It's actually pretty impressive.]

Holy shit. [He's so excited by this idea he genuinely doesn't know where to start. Cool outfits. Not dying. Being able to tease Clark. All very important things.] I should show you my cloak, I wear it if I'm expecting trouble cause it gives me a little bit of coverage. Plus the whole breathing underwater thing.

[If only they'd had an excuse to use it, literally ever.]

[ Cisco beams; he doesn't know why, but he had expected a bit of resistance from Taako on this. He'd been so convinced of the impossibility of him wearing armor, and he's obviously very particular with how he dresses, plus there's the fact that he's been pretty dismissive of science in general when it's come up. But Taako looks not only willing, but excited, and that emotion is highly contagious. If there are two things in the world that Cisco absolutely loves, it's helping out his friends, and designing superhero costumes. This is a perfect combination of the two. Plus, being appreciated never hurts, either. ]

I can make it light enough moving won't be a problem, trust me. Speed is Barry's whole thing, so obviously I couldn't make him something heavy or bulky that was gonna slow him down even a little. And there's a bunch of stuff I can put in that'll help with safety, make it fire-resistant or frost resistant or both, bulletproof, that kind of thing. Wouldn't help all that much against getting suplexed by a giant monster, but against arrows or whatever, sure.

[ That's only the tip of the iceberg, and Cisco's got a dozen more ideas popping into his head already - what sort of protection would be most important for a wizard, what other features he could add in to make it better offensively, and that wasn't even starting in on the actual design...

But he gets promptly distracted from those thoughts. ]

You have a cloak that lets you breathe underwater?!

[ Magic is just... so, so, so cool. ]

[He definitely perks up at bulletproof, because that's a major concern now that he lives in a place where a whole bunch of idiots carry guns around. Not that anyone has shot at him, yet, but it's hard not to be paranoid. Arrows would be useful, too, especially if he can take this thing home with him, once it's time.]

Shit, yeah, it's a pretty cool cloak, except for the fact I haven't had a chance to use it. [They keep going non-watery places.] I've got the frost resistance covered too, FYI. But, fuck, this will help out a lot after Wonderland.

[Wizards in general are easily breakable, but trading away some of his life force did not help.]

Yeah, you definitely gotta show that thing off, it sounds awesome.

[ Sure, there is technology that accomplishes the same thing - scuba gear and the like - but he is curious to see how a magical cloak could allow someone to breathe underwater. With magic, Cisco's not entirely given up on figuring out how it works from a more scientific angle. But even if that sort of pursuit is hopeless, he still likes seeing magic in all its glory. ]

Cool, so no need for heat threads, got it, that'll save me loads of time 'cause they can be really fiddly.

[ A necessity, in the Flash suit, considering that speed and cold are opposites, and it's one of Barry's major weaknesses. But if that's not true for Taako, Cisco can focus on other things.

Cisco had been looking vaguely off into the distance, thinking about the possibilities for the suit, but when Taako mentions Wonderland, Cisco's attention snaps back to the present. It takes him just a second to remember the context; Taako had mentioned Wonderland before, when he was talking about his appearance being changed. He hadn't said much, but the very fact that he had refused to talk about it because it was too messed up, that suggests volumes. ]

You gonna tell me what was the deal with Wonderland, now, or are we still keeping that one on hold?

[ He doesn't hide the curiosity in the question, but there's not any urgency behind it, either. If Taako doesn't want to get into it, Cisco's not going to pitch a fit or try to pressure him into it. Whatever went down there had been bad, and Taako might not want to ruin a good day with unpleasant memories. ]

Edited 2017-07-14 15:41 (UTC)

Oh, dunk, I said I'd explain that one, huh?

[It's not... the worst thing to explain, and really, Cisco has already seen the worst that Taako's shitty backstory has to offer, so talking about Wonderland isn't that big of a deal. He still takes a long sip of his drink before diving into it, though.]

I explained liches, right? Magic energy combined with someone's life force? They keep their shit together by feeding off emotions; someone like Barry, he used his love for us to strengthen him. [It's maybe the first time Taako has ever talked about love in direct relation to himself, but he says it easily. Barry became family, throughout the years.] The liches in Wonderland fed on suffering, specifically, you know, other people's suffering.

[That probably says everything, really, and Taako takes another drink before continuing.]

We went in there to get a relic, but to progress we had to... give things up. They asked for part of my life force, and my dashing good looks. And some of my like, agility? So if I ever fucking faceplant trying to dodge something, we can blame those assholes. Oh, there was the bad luck they gave me too, dropped a fucking chunk of metal the size of a dishwasher on me.

[He nearly died, it was not fun.]

[ Cisco smiles a little, when he's talking about how his own Barry used his love for Taako and Lup and the rest of his friends to strengthen him. Sure, there's a whole lot of ways they are dissimilar, from the sound of it, but that right there? That's some Barry Allen shit if Cisco has ever heard any. How many times had Barry found the strength to run just a little bit faster, fight just a little bit longer, because his friends were cheering him on, telling him they believed in him, reminding him of their love.

That smile is quick to vanish, however, as soon as Taako mentions some liches that fed off other people's suffering. It's not hard to draw quick conclusions. They sustained themselves with suffering, so they had made Taako suffer. Even if he talks about whatever happened with disregard, if the whole point had been to make him suffer... it must have been bad. ]

Holy shit. Your life force?

[ Cisco might not know shit about magic but that sounds, like, bad. Really bad. So is bad luck, and losing his agility, and they'd changed how he looks, permanently. Even if Taako can change things back with a spell, he's got to recast that spell from time to time, right? And every time he does, it's probably a reminder of what happened. ]

That is so fucked.

[ It seems worse somehow than if they had just gotten their suffering by hurting Taako and his friends. At least, in a way, that would have been simple, and temporary. ]

Did you beat 'em?

[It sucked, a lot, but he doesn't really want any sympathy for it, because nothing can undo it, he's not even sure if resetting with the Starblaster would fix it all. His body would go back to normal, he'd get his looks back, but if what they took of his life force was from his soul, that doesn't reset.

And at the end of the day, he knows that what he got was so much less than what Merle and Magnus gave up; Taako doesn't think he could've surrendered an eye, the way Merle did. Or lost the memories that Magnus lost.]

They're super fucking dead, yeah. That's... uh, you saw the mannequin, didn't you? They did that to Magnus.

[Which is an unfortunate fucking pickle, although he thinks Barry may have a solution, since he can regrow his own damn body, apparently.]

Good.

[ Maybe that's not the kind of thing Cisco ought to be glad for, but, well, he is. Evil magic ghosts that feed on suffering really don't deserve a second chance, do they? And it sounds like Taako and Magnus and Merle were definitely not their first victims, so, fuck them anyway.

It takes a moment to understand what Taako means. He'd seen a wooden mannequin in that vision he got from Taako's future, but... that had been Magnus? Taako's friend? They'd changed him into a giant wooden doll, like some kind of reverse Pinnochio horrorshow? ]

Jesus.

[ Cisco pauses a moment to take a long drink from his beer; conversations about Taako's world always seem to go like this. Cisco spends about half the time marveling about how awesome it is (cloaks that let you breathe underwater!) and about half the time thinking it sounds like the last place in the multiverse he would ever want to be. Sure didn't do things by halves, there.

He is tempted to ask if there's magic that could restore his life force, his looks, the things he'd lost, but he stops himself before he does. As if Taako wouldn't have thought of that, himself. If he hasn't found a way to do it, there probably isn't one, and asking would just be insulting. Cisco nods, hating that something so messed up had happened to his friend, but accepting it. After all, there is something he can do to help. ]

Well... well if you've got a little less life force than before, pretty damn important to get you a suit. How 'bout you come by my workshop sometime next week and I can take your measurements and we can talk design and what kinda safety stuff is gonna be most important.

[There's a long explanation behind the mannequin thing, but it's a lot to tell and not exactly the most fun story to dive into, so when Cisco just veers back to the topic of suits, Taako is more than happy to lay the whole discussion of Wonderland to bed. It was important that they went, to retrieve the bell, to finally realize Barry's on their side, but it isn't something he particularly wants to dwell on.]

Real talk, how do you feel about sequins?

[He looks absolutely serious, but that could just mean he's trying Extra Hard in order to mess with Cisco.]

[ Cisco lays a hand against his chest, mouth dropping open in overblown mock surprise. Both of them share this instinct - to recover from talking about something very serious and messed up by injecting some humor into the conversation. Cisco knows that that is exactly what Taako is doing, and he's game to play along. ]

Whaaat? You're saying you, Taako, don't want to go for a maximum camouflage, blend in the shadows type look?!

[ The sarcasm in those words is heavy but it is also, unmistakably, fond. The truth is, Cisco likes Taako's flashiness and flamboyance. He would never want to suppress any of that, even when designing a suit whose main purpose is to help keep him alive. He is not opposed to some gaudiness ]

Sequins aren't the priority, but I think I could be persuaded to work a modest amount of them in, as accents.

[ There's something to be said, too, for the effect that a very vibrant suit has on an enemy. If it's the right type of person, they get distracted, start underestimating the person underneath. Which can make all the difference. ]

[Taako tosses a handful of harmless sparks at Cisco, in lieu of having anything physical to throw at him.]

I'll camouflage myself when I'm dead.

[Even that probably isn't true, he probably has some arrangements in place with Lup about how Extra his funeral better be if he dies for real.]

I mean, let's be honest with ourselves, I can always just put 'em on later.

[ :D ]

Edited 2017-07-16 05:22 (UTC)

[ Cisco laughs loudly at the gesture, ducking back to get out of the way of the sparks, wrinkling his nose rather cutely in irritation. ]

Alright, alright. Up to half of it can be sequins, the first time through, but listen. I'm not gonna be sewing them back on every time you knock any of them off. That's gonna be on you.

[ He doesn't actually know how much action Taako will see in his suit, but Cisco has just learned to anticipate constant and tricky repairs, thanks to Barry's way of treating his super suits. He takes up his beer again and says: ]

I'm assuming anonymity isn't a concern, either? I mean, if you super needed to be incognito you could just do a spell to change how you look.

I'm magic, pumpkin, I can totally handle some sequin repairs.

[Taako doesn't even know the mending cantrip, but that doesn't mean he can't find creative solutions to problems like losing sequins. Or he'll just sew them back on by hand like some kind of animal.]

And hell no, why would I ever consider covering up all this? That's gotta be some kinda crime.

[With a gesture at his face, assuming by anonymity, Cisco means mask.]

Perfect. I leave it in your capable hands.

[ Cisco just smiles and shakes his head fondly at Taako's very particular brand of boastful vanity. That was what he had figured on, and it actually makes his life somewhat easier. He'll still want to include some kind of protection for Taako's neck, but not needing a cowl or a mask is nice for a change. ]

The timing's good, too, I bet there's a booth somewhere around here that's got leather for cheaper than the usual price. I'll stock up.

[ With that, and a tiny little wag of his eyebrows, Cisco finishes the rest of his beer. ]

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