riverviewlogs | 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

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not really.

[At least not that he knew of.]

I figured it just expects to have to intervene a lot.

[That's mostly a joke, Ed shrugs.]

Someone that could talk to animals at the time just said it likes me, I'm not really sure what that means. As if it came out of the water to protect me from the guy I was fighting with. Honestly, I don't really get it...

In the world we were in before, I- hurt my brother. Everyone wanted me to just get over it and I couldn't. A friend was trying to reason with me when it showed up, honestly I think we were both so freaked out it didn't even bother to release any energy waves or whatever.

[He waves a hand as if to indicate he probably wouldn't know if it had.]

It doesn't come out much, but has randomly showed up ever since.

[Hearing that story is enough for Sycamore to understand more about Ed's life in his first world is. He's even to the point where he sympathizes at what he has been through despite not hearing full details about his stay.

And upon he learned of his relationship with Milotic, Sycamore decides to try stroking the Pokemon's head while he continues his conversation with the alchemist.]

I see. And did Cyrus gave you a Poke Ball for the Milotic or you decide to forgo its capture?

[The Pokemon leans forward, happy for the human contact even if the creature's attention seems more on Ed than the human in front of it.]

Capture-? He didn't say anything about any of that, just what I told you.

[Which wasn't much.]

I don't know anything about Poke Balls or whatever, and I've never thought about capturing it. It just... does its own thing, really. Is that normal, where you're from, capturing them?

[Makes sense if there are no existing wild Pokemon back in that world.]

Yes. It's usually a way for Pokemon trainers to gain a new Pokemon.

[He then shows the red and white ball from his pocket to show it to Ed.]

As for the Poke Ball, it serves not only as a storage to your Pokemon but a great capturing tool. However, they must be weakened or willing to come with the trainer to work.

But it's up to the trainers if they want to capture it or not.

Most people just kept them as pets... I don't think anyone had those.

[The concept was incredibly foreign to him, and he looks at the ball curiously when it's presented.]

They fit in that thing?

[He doesn't ask how it works, he's not sure he wants to know.]

So, what, it would live in there instead of on the beach? That hardly seems fair.

It might hard to believe, but the Poke Ball can store them by turning them into energy. Although, you have the option of letting them stay out of their Poke Ball for as long as you like.

But like I said, it's up to you whether if you want to capture Milotic or not. You can forgo using the Poke Ball and let it live here as a wild Pokemon. Though there is a risk that it might get captured by someone else.

[That was kind of amazing, but Ed doesn't comment - instead listening carefully and weighing his options. Considering the Milotic hung around because it wanted to, he wouldn't mind if it chose to go with someone else instead, but the idea of someone else catching it that might not want to be caught by was a thought he was now considering.]

Okay, say I decided that I want to capture it... Where would I even get one of those balls around here? I don't think anyone had them where I was before.

Actually, these are mass-produced when I started resuming my Pokemon research in this world. So you could probably find them in any gadget stores or pet stores if you can.

[He then takes out his Poke Ball and offers it to Ed.]

But if you like, I can give you one in case you changed your mind.

[Ed takes the offered Pokeball, looking it over curiously as he spoke again.]

Okay, so how does it work? Just.. In case I do change my mind.

[He'd rather be prepared than dismiss the notion and find he had questions later.]

Usually, you have to weaken the wild Pokemon to capture it with a high chance. But any wild Pokemon who are willing to join you will also have a higher chance to be captured as well.

Just tap the ball's button on the Pokemon and it will do the rest. Although, I'm okay if you try on that Milotic in the near future if you like.

[Okay, that all made sense, he nods.]

Thanks, guess I'll check it out.

[Not right now, obviously.]

[Considering his relunctance to use the Poke Ball, he understands his conflict and he leaves him to decide on using it on Milotic or not. Regardless, it is Ed's choice alone and he can't intervene no matter what.]

Well, I guess I have to continue grilling them right now.

Right.

I tried to get the burnt stuff cleared off of there, good luck with the rest of it.

[Ed offers a wave as he turns to leave, the Milotic immediately shifting to follow.]

Thanks again for the help!

No, thank you for your help.

[It's somehow a big deal since he did help him on the grill.]

Good luck with that Milotic and I hope we can see each other in our future expedition.

introductory mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

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