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

Marinette relaxed again in that case, smiling again, "Oh, good. I was worried I -- well yeah, anyway." She chuckled, and as he shifted to introduce himself, she did the same, offering a hand to shake, "My name is Marinette. Nice to meet you." There's a beat, and she inwardly cringes a little, "And.. it's not named for the puppets." he might not have even thought that but she's nipping that one in the bud early just in case.

He took the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, too." Her comment about the puppet made him think for a second. "Oh. Well, I mean, it only sounds similar. It's not the same. Have some people made comments like that to you?"

She laughs a little, "Not a lot, but, yes, it was literally the first thing they said when they heard my name. I thought I'd get ahead of the game - figures you actually wouldn't say it." she grins. "I feel a little silly for even bringing it up now."

Keith just shrugged a little.

"It's not a big deal, really. Don't feel silly."

He could understand why she'd jump the gun like that, especially if it was something that bothered her from the initial comment. He leaned back a little so he was resting on his hands and could better see the fireworks.

"I haven't seen fireworks in a while."

They didn't exactly work in space.

She grinned again, turning her gaze to the sky with a nostalgic smile. "I used to watch them with my parents, times like these." She glanced over at Keith again, "A long time, huh... Do these hold up to how you remember them?"

Maybe they were prettier, or maybe he wasn't as impressed by it. But her, she loved the sight - there was something inspiration about the firework against the starry sky. She kept finding herself trying to track where the next one would pop into a shower of color.

Keith lowered his gaze slightly at her mentioning parents, and then shrugged a bit.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, they do."

It was easier to look up at those than think about anything to do with family right now. The noise, the color, the light, it was a nice distraction. He noticed then how intently she was looking. He watched for a moment, and then leaned in closer.

"Watch... If you look down near where they're launching from, you'll see a tiny faint streak of light going up really fast." He pointed as one appeared. It was slightly golden in color, very faint. It was almost a dot, but there was a thin and even fainter trail of sparkle behind it. "That's the rocket, and then it explodes when it reaches the right height and the fuse burns down to the explosive powder." Boom! A huge ball of red dots and silver trails of sparkles appeared right where Keith's hand stopped moving up.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye briefly, then away again, only returning her attention to him when he leaned closer to point out the flicker of light in the sky. Curious, she leaned forward a bit, tracking that faint light as best she could and once that firework went off, her face lit up with a grin, and she laughed, "Whoah - you really know your stuff about er... uh.." Wasn't there some kind of science for that kind of thing? "....rocket science?" she ventured hesitantly, FAIRLY sure that was NOT the correct term, but hey, it was a rocket, it was a science or math or -something-...!

That got a small chuckle, and Keith shrugged.

"It's just something I've noticed," he said. "I'm not a scientist or anything like that." He settled back into his spot again. "I'm actually a pilot. I'm better at that." A lot better, but he didn't usually brag openly until someone put him up to it.

Well she got him to laugh, so she'll chalk that bad pun up to a win. She grins, settling back to watch the fireworks and chat with Keith at the same time. "A pilot? No wonder you were able to track it so easily." Pilots have to have keen eyesight, right? If Chat were here, he probably would be able to too.

She shook her head a little - glancing at Keith curiously, "That's pretty amazing!" He didn't look that much older than her, and he was a pilot already? "Don't they normally take years and years of flight school before letting you fly a plane?" He must be a prodigy.

Getting Keith to laugh, even just a tiny chuckle or huff, was a pretty big deal. He didn't do it often.

"Yeah, but you can start early," he said. "Plus, I advanced quickly up the ranks. I liked it a lot, and I was pretty good, so it kind of just came naturally." Though, he hadn't actually graduated...

There were a few other things that came naturally to him, too, and he was beginning to wonder just how much of it had to do with a few things he'd found out recently, but his pushed his mind away from that trail of thought. He decided to leave out the part about being top of his class, too. It wasn't something he brought up on his own.

Awww. If she knew that she'd try to make him laugh or smile more. "That's awesome," she grinned. Maybe it was easy to impress her, but her compliment was genuine. Even if she didn't know he didn't graduate.

"I can only be so lucky when I get into the school of my choice." She paused to watch a chain of fireworks pop and burst across the sky before elaborating. "... not a flight school though. I want to be a designer."

Keith nodded a little.

"Yeah... there's really nothing quite like it." He missed doing it for fun, though. And, well, after piloting one of the lions, he was pretty sure nothing would feel the same. The lions really were unique, and there was this connection that a pilot just couldn't get with a normal vessel. He really wanted to take Red out for a run sometime, just on her own, with nothing to worry about. He imagined that would be even more awesome.

He looked over when Marinette spoke again, curious. "A designer of what?"

If she knew about it she'd be even more impressed. Flying a plane was cool - flying a space lion? WHOLE other level of cool. "Clothing, mostly," she smiled, "But I've worked on other stuff too." Posters, shop signs, album covers.. "Someone commissioned me to make a doll of someone from his world just recently, actually."

It wasn't as cool as being a pilot of a plane (or space lion) was, in her opinion, but it -was- her dream, being able to design and make clothing and things.

"Well, that kind of explains why you like the fireworks." There were a lot of reason to like fireworks... the sound, the way they worked, the exhilaration, but color and shape were also part of that, and he supposed that went along with being a designer. "It's good you can use that here, too, though. There's really nothing to fly here, so I'm not really sure what I should do."

She actually never thought about it that way - she just loved the fireworks in general. Though she'd be lying if she said seeing some of the designs that pattered across the sky didn't give her ideas. "Yeah well.. it's one of the few ways I can apply myself here. I mean, there's school also but.." She tilted her head at Keith, "It's too bad there aren't any flying animals you could learn to ride." At least not yet. "Is t here any other hobby you have interest in? Or you could probably help out the Perimeter Guard in some fashion?" She wasn't a part of the guard, even as Ladybug, but that didn't stop her from going out there.

Actually, the Perimeter Guard might not be a bad idea.

"What kinds of things does the Guard do?" he asked, genuinely curious. "If it lives up to its name, that's kind of what I do at home, I guess. It might not be a bad idea." After all, he wasn't just a pilot, but a part of a specialized defense force that involved not just being a pilot, but being a fighter, a liberator, and even a bit of a diplomat, among other things.

If she thought about it, it'd make sense for her to help out the Perimeter Guard, at least as Ladybug. It'd definitely give her access to certain things, and it'd give her a solid cover. "Hrm, well they keep the peace outside the wall, fighting off monster attacks and things. There's also the Search and Rescue faction, and I think that group basically helps civilians that are outside the wall. There's also a group that does surveying into the unexplored ruins - I think there may be others, but those are the ones I know of for sure."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Keith said thoughtfully. And it would be a good way to get a better idea of what was around. A good cover, too. "I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the idea." Though, that was the group Ed was with, he was pretty sure. It made even more sense now. He would definitely have to look into it.

They had the same thought in mind, in that regard. "Know what unit you'd be most interested in joining?" no particular reason in asking, beyond genuine curiosity. Though with her attention fully on Keith, she was unprepared for when a firework went SCREECHING overhead, and she actually flinched in surprise, "EEK!" Some warning next time please fireworks guys!

Keith was thinking about her question when the screech startled him slightly, too, and he jumped a bit, looking up quickly. Though, Marinette's startle response was kind of amusing, and the sudden pent up adrenaline he felt as part of his own pushed itself out in a short burst of a laugh over her squeak once he recovered a bit.

"You okay?"

She'd feel better knowing she wasn't the only one caught off guard by that firework screeching by. She blushed sheepishly, glancing over at Keith, breaking into embarrassed giggles, "Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't expect it to be so -loud- though." she admitted with a grin.

"Yeah... that happens sometimes. I don't think there's anyone out there that doesn't get a bit spooked by those at least once."

Though, Keith getting spooked was for some awkward reasons he didn't want to get into, so he'd just leave it at that.

"What were we saying?" The screech had distracted him and caused him to lose his train of thought for a moment.

Marinette smiled, leaning over to give Keith a friendly, teasing nudge, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you got startled too." She leaned back again, idly plucking a few blade of grass from the ground and brushing them between her fingers pensively.

"Uh, I think it was..." What were they talking about..? "OH! Yes, I was wondering what area you would look into - with the Perimeter Guard? You know, full defense, or exploration, or maybe the search and rescue?"

Keith blinked a little, looking slightly embarrassed, but nodded.

"Thanks..."

At her prompting, he nodded.

"Yeah... I uh... I'm not sure, really," he said, looking back up at the fireworks again. "I guess I'd have to see which one I can most easily fit into."

Poor Keith probably had no idea how to deal with the perpetually perky Marinette. She chuckled at the embarrassed reaction, "Hmm. If I wasn't already focused on what I can do," ... by which she means her design and fashion stuff, and not *coughvigilanteismcough* "I'd probably sign up with Search and Rescue. Or maybe the Exploration team. There's so much we don't know about this place..." She fell silent for a moment, watching the fireworks pop across the sky, and then down to the grass in her hands.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject