riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and River Festival
when: The month of August; the bulk of celebration will be in week 1, but there is a party and fireworks display on August 14th.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

river festival

In the days leading up to August 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The River Festival. This holiday is in celebration of the river and the life that it gives to the city, as well as the heat of summer and forming bonds with friends, family, and romantic partners. The celebrations are marked by a community-wide cleanup of the docks and beaches along the river - particularly important considering the recent acid rain - as well as beachfront cookouts and parties (both private and city sponsored) and beach sports tournaments happening on either open stretches of beach or in special clothing-optional beaches, all capped off with fireworks displays on the evenings of August 7th and 14th.

a celebration of the river and togetherness

Following the hedonism of Carnivale, it's time for something a little more low-key and relaxing. The River Festival happens every year in August, and is geared toward community building through cleaning up the beaches and docks along the river and then using all that freshly cleaned beach to gather on. During the first week of August, there are various lightly-themed government-sponsored beach cookouts and parties geared toward family, romantic dates, or casual all-ages get-togethers for meeting new friends; there are also a few more racy parties at clothing-optional beaches around the city. Many private residents also take this time to gather together friends and family, and have cookouts on the beach with all the typical trappings of the beach barbecue. There are also various casual sports tournaments sponsored by community centers, gyms, and sports teams in the city, featuring prizes ranging from notoriety to sports equipment to big bucks. Finally, there are two fireworks displays, one on August 7th and one on August 14th, with free food, and various live performers beforehand.

i. cleaning up

The holiday starts off on a note that is just a bit more sombre than the rest of the season, with the cleanup efforts following late July's strange fog and acid rain blending into the usual tradition of cleaning up beaches and docks along the river. The cleanup is a group effort, with every citizen who is physically able pitching in to comb the beaches, where they pick up fallen tree limbs, garbage, and anything else that's accumulated during the winter and spring, and then raking the beaches to make them clean and ready to use. The cleanup of the docks is similar, with residents sweeping and hosing them down where necessary. This year, there are a lot of repairs to be made to beachfront structures that might've been damaged by the acid rain, so if anyone has some carpentry or building skills, those would definitely come in handy.

This is meant to be a community building effort, so many businesses in the area, more well-to-do private citizens, and the government have pitched in funding to provide lunches, cold drinks, coffee or tea, and snacks to anyone who's helping out with the cleanup efforts. All in all, the cleanup has a very friendly, welcoming vibe.

ii. cookouts and parties

The main traditions of the River Festival involve cookouts and beach parties. On August 7th and August 14th, the government as well as various corporations and businesses in the city, will be providing funds for large beach gatherings. On these days, there will be booths set up offering wares and freebies from various businesses around the city that have helped fund the party, large swaths of cleared beach where residents can don a swimsuit and catch some rays or swim in the river, massive barbecue setups to provide partygoers with all the standard barbecue fare, beach sports tournaments, dancing and musical performances, and fireworks displays (see prompts below).

The holiday isn't just about these big parties, though - many residents arrange their own barbecues, cookouts, beach camping trips, beach bonfires, and other riverside gatherings and outings. Many riverfront businesses offer discounts on services such as canoe or kayak rentals to go out paddling on the river, jetski or motorboat rentals for tubing, wakeboarding, or waterskiing, or mounts to take romantic rides in the surf. Additionally, there is an adults-only section of the beach where any of these activities can be done in the nude in a clothing-optional setting, including the big city-sponsored parties.

iii. sportsball tournaments

Is your character good at playing a particular sport that could, conceivably, be played on a beach? Chances are that during the month of August, a tournament will be set up for them to participate in. The tournaments are pretty standard, generally sponsored by community centers, sports clubs and teams, gyms, and other organizations and businesses in the city, with various levels of specialization, and levels of skill or competitiveness. The prizes also vary, with everything from plain old bragging rights to sports equipment or passes to gyms and community centers, to large lump sums of cash money. Definitely worth it, for characters with a love for sport.

Oh, and a lot of these tournaments are happening on the adults-only clothing-optional beaches, for those grown-up sports fans who like a bit of an extra challenge.

iv. performances and fireworks

On August 7th and August 14th at the end of the large city-sponsored beach parties, there will be evening performances all along the beach. Not as extensive as the musical performances during Carnivale, there are two large-name performers per night, with various lesser-known groups performing at random off and on throughout the day and night. Areas of the beach are cleared for residents to watch and dance to the music, both on the regular and adults-only clothing-optional beaches (acts will switch off between the two areas so both areas get both performances).

Player-characters who are musical artists, DJs, or otherwise perform are free to set up shop around this party and panhandle or put on free performances for publicity.

After the sun goes down, boats will head out into the water carrying a variety of fireworks, and there will be a beautiful display of exploding color in the sky for residents to watch and enjoy. The fireworks are highly advanced, incorporating old-fashioned gunpowder as well as modern technology that result in really beautiful displays that can take the breath away!

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 the River Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: credit unknown; image ii: Albert Ramon Puig; image iii: Claudio Pilia; image iv: Alan Philips

navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I. Cleaning Up

The acid rain had been more than a slight inconvenience to Link. As he spent more and more time outside and less time in communal housing, he found it aggravating to be stuck inside until the rain had passed. When he did go out, it was with a shield over his head, and he had helped those stuck out there the best he could. The least he could do was provide cover for people until they made it safely to shelter.

As much as Link wanted to get back out and explore afterwards, he decided it would be best if he devoted his energies to helping clean up. He can be found moving fallen branches and other debris from the roads. He doesn't have any carpentry skills, but he offers a hand to carry equipment and supplies and to do some unskilled labor to help out.

II. Cookout/Parties

Link had noticed the large gatherings of people at the beach and had decided to come check it out. There was definitely some cooking going on, and the smells of grilled meat was very tempting. In this particular instance, he wasn't too keen on finding himself lost in a group of people like he had during the carnivale last month, so Link found a spot well away from the party and made himself a campfire. You could run into him looking for fish in the ocean wearing his Zora armor, or sitting next to the fire he lit roasting some bass he had caught. He was a bit uncomfortable with it at first, but everyone else seemed to be ditching clothes for their skivvies, so Link thought it appropriate to do the same. His armor and weapons sat on the beach next to him as Link stooped next to his fire and grabbed a fish to eat. Since he wasn't weing his normal clothes, it was easy to see all the scars that covered his body.

III. Sports

Link had a nice time mostly to himself, and while he had eaten his freshly caught and roasted fish, he had watched some people put up a net and start playing some kind of game where they hit a ball back and forth. He approached and watched as a crowd gathered to do the same. At one point, someone asked him if he wanted to play, and Link obliged. He had some kind of idea about the rules by watching, and even though he had never played this before, he was pretty good. Link might look on and invite someone else in the crowd to join. Whether it was on his team or not, he didn't care. He was having a blast!

IV. Performances and Fireworks

The musical performances seemed to be immensely popular and large throngs of people crowded around the stage as the musicians played. Link hung back. The music was quite loud, so it was easy to hear it from a distance and Link wasn't one to be squashed against strangers that were screaming in his ears.

Link found the fireworks to be amazing. The closest thing he had seen to something like that was the explosions the Guardians made when he defeated them. These were far more entertaining and Link found the various colors and shapes to be awe-inspiring. He sat on a hill overlooking the beach, watching the colors explode and fade in the sky and letting his mind wander, at least, until someone addressed him.

V. Wildcard
Have another idea for what you wanna do with Link? Feel free to write it up!

So naturally someone, at the beach, wandering out of the river fully dressed was... well, eye catching. That fully dressed being armor was just a new level of weird that Lola wasn't quite ready for. So she stared, openly. But someone caught her attention and she put that weirdness out of her mind.

It was only the second time she stopped and saw him, down to a pair of shorts with all his... stuff, next to him. He went into the water dressed but spends his time on the beach in trunks? Or... underwear. Lola can't see a real distinction on this. But this time her eyes caught on his scars, marks of a life that was a lot less leisurely than her own. That kinda got her attention and brought her over. In her flashy bikini and bubblegum pink hair. "So... why go into the water fully dressed, just to take it all off after?"

...And ask a direct no nonsense question on her mind.

Link hadn't noticed anyone staring at him while he was fishing. Since he didn't have a fishing pole or a line, it took all his concentration to catch them.

He gave the brightly colored girl a puzzled look. "It's just easier to catch fish with something that helps me swim faster." He gazed at her outfit. "Isn't that why you're wearing that?"

Link gestured towards all the fish he had caught and was currently roasting on skewers next to his fire. "Do you want one?"

"So... wearing more makes you swim faster..?" That's not how water works? Right. She was pretty sure you wore less that absorbed less so you could be faster. It's pretty sure that she doesn't really believe that could be right. "I guess, it feels uncomfortable being all waterlogged. And I'm cute in a bikini."

She glances at the fish, "Um, sure, if you're okay with it." He did go to the trouble of catching them in armor, which was still weird, just taking one felt a bit off.

"Well, if it was any other clothing it wouldn't help so much. This was made by Zora's though. I don't know if there's any magic in it or what but it works." He shrugs. "I do know that webbed boots are better for swimming than just going barefoot." He takes another look at her outfit. "It is cute." He's not trying to flirt or anything. He just thinks she really does look kinda cute.

Link just gives her a smile. "I wouldn't offer if I wasn't. I've got plenty here."

So Lola just... ignores the food for the moment because clearly she has to investigate clothes that make swimming easier. The science or magic or whatever won't make sense to her. But they clothes, she's good at that! She'll spend a few moments just looking over the Zora tunic trying to figure out what it's made of and the stitching.

"I've never seen a fabric like this before..." She'll remember the fish and her manners in a moment. Maybe. Or not.

Also calling Lola cute isn't flirting, it's called having taste.

Link munched on his own fish while he watched the girl look at his armor. "It's really different from clothes you or I would normally wear. I don't have a clue what the fabric itself is made from."

He'd offer to let her try it, but there was a lot of sentimental value to it. At least, to the part of the armor for the torso. It had been made specially for him, by a friend who he had failed to protect.

"You seem to have a lot of interest in clothes."

"It's... hmm." She's completely at a lost, she can tell a level of quality to it just by touching it. But it doesn't feel like anything she's ever run across. Even in the bazaars and portaltraders here. "Maybe if I had a few more fashion classes I'd have some idea."

Lola is tiny, nothing in Link's arsenal of outfits would ever fit her. ~~Except maybe that one thing the Gerudo Valley folk wear.~~ So the idea of wearing any of this is not on the table to her.

"Of course, clothes are part of how you make yourself known. They present a part of who you are. Something you choose, that makes you feel... complete." Lola has a lot of feelings about clothes. She's finally remembered fish and grabs one to start nibbling on. "And apparently can do impossible swimmy things."

Link couldn't help but smile at the explanation he was given. "I never thought about it, but I guess you're right." He wore whatever armor suited the situation, though now that she had mentioned it, he did have preferences among them.

"You remind me of a friend I met here. Do you know Marinette? She said she designs clothes."

"Most people don't think like I do. It makes me special." Lola's always careful of how she presents, details matter, it changes how things play. Who warms up, who turns you away. Most people don't think about it but they do it all the time anyway.

"Oh, yeah, we're friends but not like talk every day friends. Just say hi when we see each other and say when the other is wearing amazing shoes friends." Lola that's a terrible description of acquaintance.

Link could appreciate someone who thought differently from others. "What do you think of this place then?" Perhaps this young woman could give him more insight into Riverview. He was still undecided about it, but it was such a big place and there seemed to be a lot of little secrets tucked away here and there.

Lola paused to try and figure out the best way to say it. It was a big question, how she viewed this place. This moon. This city. It was well outside of what she was, what she was used to. It had all manner of interesting things, none of them should be possible.

"It's impossible and doesn't make any sense. But that also means you can be the impossible, and find something nonsensical to do with yourself and it's okay. It's a way to find out about yourself because it all is so different, and that different will make you someone new."

Link cocked his head in thought, all the while still munching on the fish. IT was certainly a different way of looking at this place. For Link, he couldn't help but think of it as a prison. Sure, it was big, interesting, full of new things, but since he had no way out, it was still a prison.

She wasn't wrong though. Link hadn't been here too long, but he had already met many different people and experienced a lot of different things that he would have never even imagined in Hyrule. Despite the nagging in the back of his mind about finding a way out, he had to admit that being stuck here wasn't for nothing. "I think that's a good way to look at it." He extended his hand. "I don't think we ever introduced ourselves. I'm Link."

"I like to think so, if it wasn't I'd try to look at it another way." She could get all dour and sad about what she can't fix. All the things that weren't quite right, the stuff she didn't want this place to be. But she couldn't fix any of it. She couldn't bring her friends here or make sure the portal didn't turn her evil and skanky. So there wasn't a lot of point to that.

"Oh, Lola." She's munching on her fish now, "I got distracted by your weird clothes you took off. That happens. So much of this place just doesn't work like I would think it should." Hence impossible and doesn't make sense.

Marinette didn't mind getting mixed up in crowds sometimes, but she definitely wasn't in the mood to get herself lost in the mass this time. She'd gone around looking for familiar faces, so spying Link, she quickly scampered up the hill, "Link, hey!"

Link was startled out of his thoughts and smiled when he saw Marinette running up the hill. He gave her a wave as he stood up. "Hi! I guess you're checking out the festival too?"

Aw, he didn't have to get up on her account! She smiled in any case, nodding, "Yeah, I just wanted to get a quieter spot to watch them. You had the same idea, huh? Mind if I sit with you?"

"Yeah. I'm not a fan of getting caught in big crowds." He motions next to him and plops back down where he was sitting. "I don't mind."

Now that the sun was setting, Link could see barges floating out to the middle of the river. Link had heard about some kind of 'fireworks' show, whatever that meant. "It looks they're getting ready for something down there." He pointed over to the spectacle unfolding, both the boats on the river and the slow trickle of people flocking to the beach to wait for the show to start.

"I don't blame you. It kind of takes away from events like this." She sat down next to him, grinning with a bit of excitement in her eyes as she watched the boats move into position. Glancing back at Link again, curiously, "Do you have fireworks back where you're from?" Oh he was in for a TREAT.

Link shook his head. "I don't even know what they really are. What about you?" He kept his gaze on the scene unfolding down closer to the river. Most people were taking their seats right at the edge of the river, though there were a small handful staying back up on the hill. "It must be pretty exciting if all of these people are coming to see it."

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introductory mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

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