introductory mingle: carnivale

[riverviewmod]

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

Comments

[alchemyfreak]

With that kind of mission in mind, she might wind up with a life long goal of trying to get something cheerful out of Edward.

His eyes widened as she grabbed his arm again, glitter forgotten about as his brain chose to instead panic at how much touching she was doing. She was on the fast track to doing something that might reveal his automail, and he wasn't too keen on that - but he figured if he didn't shake her off the left arm, maybe she'd just stay there and not risk grabbing the other, instead. "Sure..." Honestly, she was so excited about it, he didn't really care either way if it did lead them wrong. Ed was happy to eat whatever they came across, she was the one looking for something specific. "There are plenty of vendors and... food trucks here, can't go wrong just looking around."

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie was surprisingly comfortable with life long goals. She had one called The Happy Vincent Project and one called Chase away a Cloud-y Day, though she'd begun to think that Cloud should be left to Tifa who was far more skilled at getting him to stay in contact with the group.

She didn't think touching was a problem and if she knew that he had a mechanical arm she'd think it was the coolest thing ever. Then again, Yuffie's standards for what was normal and what wasn't didn't make sense.

"Good. Let's go... that way!" She pointed and then pulled him in the direction of the nearest line of food trucks. "Hot dogs, corn dogs, chili dogs... so many dogs." She commented as they passed a hot dog truck. "Do you think it's made out of dog?"

[alchemyfreak]

None of that would even surprise him if he knew about it, but alas. He's going to be stubborn, and super suspicious of her weaseling her way into Al's life once he figures out that's also happening. Good luck with this one, Yuffie.

She'll figure out both of those things one day, mostly the second one - because it's not going to last as a secret in this place, and he knows that even if he is trying to put off the inevitable.

Ed's not entirely unused to being tugged around, but it had been awhile so there is some surprise as he tried to maintain his footing in the direction she was pulling him. "I don't think so...." Honestly, he was about to tell her how absolutely ridiculous that question sounded, don'they have hot dogs where you're from? Until he remembered where they were, and maybe on some world dog was a casual food and those were made from canine. He didn't want to think about that, but at least they tasted better than monster crabs, whatever they were made out of.

More importantly, "Do you have any idea where you're going?" He wouldn't care about a wild goose chase if it included stopping along the way, but if they're just going to run around looking for one item - a definite needle in a haystack situation - he might be more inclined to complain they should stop at least once. She did eat his food from earlier, after all.

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie usually had good intentions, even if she went about things in an odd or unorthodox way. She would never give up when it came to something that she really cared about.

"Good." Was her only reply on the hot dog comment. She had met a lot of dogs in her life time and she liked most of them. She didn't want to knowingly eat them. Unless she had no other choice in the matter. Given the state of the city and it's food supplies she had a choice.

Her gaze turned towards Ed, dark purple eyes shining with a stubborn uncertainty. "No idea." At least she was honest about it.

"You can lead if you have a better idea of where to go." She released his arm and the proceeded to make a grand gesture with her arm. She wasn't that picky and she was used to following Cloud and them around. It was always interesting to see what they got up too.

[alchemyfreak]

Ed was, of course, now dwelling on the hot dog thing - because he really wasn't putting too much thought into the food here, and maybe he should have been. It was hard to worry with all the options available, though, he'd just have to be more careful about what he picked in the future.

His head tilted some at that, watching her arm as she made the gesture. "Okay... Well, first of all- what are steamed buns in your world?" Sure, he had an idea of what steamed buns were, but the whole dog conversation reminded him that different things had different names in this place, because everyone was from so many different unique cultures.

"There's fried food, meats, sweets and desserts... We should probably start by focusing on the vendors with the type of food you're looking for." There were so many options.... Too many options, they were going to be here all day.

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie turned towards him and made a small circle like shape with her palms that roughly showed the size she was used too. "They're white fluffy buns with pork inside." Usually, sometimes they could have other things but it was traditionally bbq'ed pork.

She could explain that pork came from pigs. If he wanted her too.

"They're savory and meaty." Yuffie was an enthusiastic carnivore. She liked savory over sweet. Not that she'd ever turn down sweets but after awhile they upset her stomach. You could eat savory things for a lot longer and that lone endeared them to her. "And aren't all desserts sweet?" Unless she missed the memo where that changed.

[alchemyfreak]

"Meats, then." He hummed thoughtfully to himself, gaze scanning the crowd curiously for trucks and vendors selling something that might resemble the right sort of food.

At the question though, he glances back at her - quirking an eyebrow. "Who knows, we're dealing with different worlds here. Besides, not all sweets are dessert." Candy wasn't really a proper dessert so much as a snack, some sweets were a meal in themselves and cotton candy was about the strangest thing he'd ever come across, but it hardly counted as a dessert.

[thegreatninja]

"I didn't realize you were so passionate about food." She watched him as he scanned the streets and then did her own quick sweep of the area. She didn't see anything nearby that peaked her interest.

Except that meat on a stick that she'd stolen from Ed before. That was delicious.

"By that logic then desserts don't have to be sweet, it just has to be eaten at the end of a meal, so it can be anything." Which means it was a vague food descriptor like lunch or dinner.

[alchemyfreak]

This is the face of someone trying to be patient, Yuffie. "You've known me all of five minutes, how much do you think you actually know about me?"

He's already moving when she talks again, because something looks suspiciously like steamed buns might be on the menu on a certain truck a bit down the line. Ed barely excuses himself as he pushes through the crowd, with a sigh. "Look, I don't know how things work in other places... but yeah, it's usually for something sweet after a meal. Not that it stops people from eating them whenever."

Ed actually pauses to turn and look at her, at that point. "So cake after a meal is a dessert, but on its own, a sweet. Not that it really matters, there are plenty of sweets you just wouldn't have for dessert, they don't work like that." He might have learned a few things over the past few years, and one was not to mess with sweets around certain other residents of those previous worlds. They were generally viewed as Serious Business.

[thegreatninja]

"About 5%." She replied with a surprisingly thoughtful expression. "Just because I don't know you doesn't mean I can't be surprised." Her tone had a bit of a bite to it. She didn't like being yelled at for a stupid reason.

"Hey!" Yuffie went running after him. It was easy for her to slip through the crowd and appear at his side. It's one plus to being a ninja though she was now too short to tell where the hell they were headed. This was why Yuffie liked running along rooftops. Everyone in the world was taller than her... "I wasn't usually allowed dessert." She admitted with a noncommittal shrug.

"Oh." She was surprised that he even explained. "Like what?" She needed examples.

At least her curiosity was genuine.

[alchemyfreak]

He quirked a brow at the bite, but didn't comment. If she could annoy him, he was fine dishing out some payback. Although he wasn't expecting her to be left behind, especially with her habit of latching onto him in a crowd.

At the comment about not being allowed dessert he glances at her curiously. "I didn't eat a lot of it as a kid, honestly didn't think about it once I was on my own." The ripe old age of 12. "Can't beat apple pie though, that's a favorite."

Ed paused at the question, head tilting as if unsure how to explain. "What sweets aren't dessert? Things like candy, for one. Some drinks are sweet, but they're not just for dessert... A lot of fair food-" He gestures around, as if this was the best example, "is actually made just for events like this, usually."

[thegreatninja]

When Yuffie ran off on her own, the not so young age of 13, she lived in the forest for a few years. There were times when she'd return home and steal food but most of what she ate was what she found. Sadly, you don't find apple pie in the middle of the woods and if she did... she probably wouldn't have eaten it.

"Is it? Not sure if I've had that." Well now she has to try it. At least then she can compare it to other sweets and argue that it wasn't he best.

Yuffie followed his hand and looked around. "I guess so." She agreed rather lamely. "Where are you headed away?" This time she did latch onto his arm, not wanting to have to catch up with him again. She resisted the urge to say ye-ha.