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

[500gallontank]

I don't know what to think of this place.

Other than I didn't ask to be brought here. Or for [A hand wave at the carnival in general.] Any of this stuff.

They have this where you're from? [Because he's beginning to think that he might be the one clueless person here.]

[toopolite]

Hn. Makes me wonder if anyone truly did request to come. Or if they merely claim it to be.

[A question she might explore now, given this place.

A soft contemplative hum, focus shifting back to him.]

We have feasts and celebrations, especially after victories in war, although not quite... so sparkly.

[500gallontank]

Lady, never trust anyone in authority. They always lie. Always.

[That tone of voice is 'learned this the hard fucking way'.]

Good point. What the hell are we 'celebrating' here?

[toopolite]

[There is a lingered pause, thinking of her own King. Sif has no desire to rule, and never has. In fact, she is quite content remaining a warrior, fighting for Asgard and the other realms, as need dictates.]

My trust is not easily earned, but once given, I am true.

[Even if she has gone against the word of Odin in the past.]

Of that I have not a clue. Perhaps it is a native holiday to this realm. Ours are more ale, and far less glitter.

[500gallontank]

You can be as true as you want. Won't stop someone from betraying you.

[He could write a book on that. A book of very short sentences. And lots of profanity.]

I think I'd like your holidays better.

[Because this glitter shit? Gets *everywhere*. He dreads having to take off his clothes later.]

[toopolite]

Perhaps, but I have not chosen wrongly.

[Thor and the Warriors Three have never betrayed her trust.

But that earns a bark of a laugh from her, smiling.]

They are indeed celebrations worthy of being celebrated.

[500gallontank]

Then you got lucky.

[He...did not.]

Yeah? What's something worth celebrating?

[toopolite]

That is one way to regard it.

[Although Sif has not tended to rely on luck.

She thinks a moment, although much is the same. Either some Asgardian celebration or birthday, or-] Typically victory in battle.

[500gallontank]

What's another way?

[Because, seriously, in the UCA, he hadn't had much experience, you know, with anything other than approved thoughts.]

So you haven't outlawed war yet.

[toopolite]

I know them, and they know me. I would trust my life in their hands.

[Skill, perhaps, although Sif does not easily give her trust out. She might aid others, and respect people, but her complete trust? Few truly hold that, and only those worthy do.

But that earns a puzzled look.]

Outlawed war... across the universe?

[500gallontank]

Must be nice.

[There's real envy in his voice that he doesn't manage to quash fast enough. You don't trust anyone in the UCA. Sometimes, not even yourself. ]

Across the UCA, at least. That covers most of the globe. It's why we have the Death Race.

One reason, anyway.

[toopolite]

[UCA? It is not a term that Sif is familiar with, and her head cocks slightly to the side. A death race- well, she can imagine what that is, although she still questions.]

... being a race wherein the winner is the sole survivor?

[500gallontank]

Not always. {Tammy had survived three. He'd finished all four so far.]

You win on time and points. [He shrugs. It's just how things are.] They change the rules to get better ratings. [The Chairman is all about the ratings. ]

[toopolite]

Ah, so the name does not quite reflect it completely.

[In that there could be deaths, but there might not be.]

[500gallontank]

Marketing came up with the name, probably. Sounds....'catchy'. Better than Transcontinental Road Race.

[toopolite]

[There is a slight cock to her head as Sif contemplates that. Yet she does give a small laugh.]

Aye. The latter is a bit lacking in luster.

[500gallontank]

Lacking in honesty, too, for that matter. Makes it sound almost innocent.

[toopolite]

That to, although are there any who know not the manner of the race before entering it?

[500gallontank]

[Snort.]

Everyone knows about the Death Race. Schools and hospitals take advantage of it.

Sometimes 'fans', too. [He's become increasingly disgusted with those easy 'points'.]

[toopolite]

[A pause there, trying to fathom, before she does find herself echoing-]

Schools?

[As... a learning experience, or a school that teaches people how to survive in this race of death.]

[500gallontank]

[ Not...quite. ]

They put out their lower-scoring students. Raise the class average.

[toopolite]

[... what?]

So with hospitals, those who are ill or dying? They are put out?

[500gallontank]

[ Got it in one, lady. Frankenstein's mouth twitches in a disgusted scowl. ]

Yeah. Easy points. If you take them.

[He doesn't. But he's won the race enough times to know how they work.]

Prisons, too.

[toopolite]

[She mulls that over for several long minutes, eyes gazing out and off in to the distance, although not focusing on anything in particular.]

Your realm does not sound the most hospitable place.

[500gallontank]

Nothing about it is hospitable. The people. The environment. The food.

[Which might explain Frankenstein. At least a little bit. ]

Worst problem is, nobody even tries to do anything to change it.