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

[Ed turns to the kid offering drinks at the table curiously, he was really intent on getting that water out there so curiosity gets the better of him and he moves closer. He quirks a brow at the grass in Natsume's hair, but doesn't comment on it right away, instead smirking teasingly.]

Trying to win an award for most water handed out or something?

[None of the other people were quite so enthusiastic about it. Ed is clearly far from appropriately dressed for this in his layers and gloves, but he doesn't seem too worn out or uncomfortable despite this. Just like any other day for him.]

[Meanwhile, Natsume has somewhat of a complex relationship with teasing. When his friends began to tease him playfully, he was very suspicious of it, because he was suspicious of them being his friends (because he hadn't had friends up till then). But once he realized they were being genuinely silly, and that they still liked him very much, their teasing made something warm spread through his chest, and he even learned how to do it back. It's fun. Playing with someone is fun.

But he's only used to that from people he knows well. All other teasing has been... very present, throughout all of his childhood, and almost always mean-spirited. Well, Natsume can't blame kids and even adults from doing stuff like that. He was an odd child, and... so it goes... In truth, he probably thinks he deserves that sort of thing.

He doesn't react poorly to Ed's playfulness. He's just straight-faced for a split second, before smiling placidly. It's polite, but mirthless.]

It's the least I can do. Would you like some?

[That's polite, too. Compulsively so.]

[Ed's used to people that are suspicious of honesty or good-natured teasing, sometimes he still had to watch himself with Nico for fear of overstepping a boundary. He notices the expression change, because he always watched for that sort of thing, teasing was a way for Ed to feel people out sometimes. Like the time in the hospital after Lab 5 when he was sure that Alphonse was angry with him, but still prodded for a reaction, testing the limits of that anger.]

Sure. Thanks.

[He offers a genuine smile at that, actually approaching the table outright to grab a bottle.]

This is a life saver, probably should have thought to bring my own...

[Not that he had time to think of much of anything, with how he was dragged out of the house. He offers a shrug at that thought, turning his attention back to Natsume, watching him carefully once more.]

Have you been out here long? Bet there are a lot of stubborn people out here refusing to stay hydrated.

A few hours. Not the entire time. [But most of it. And he'd only been doing physical clean-up efforts for a little while before being re-designated to this table. The staff around here are super kind, but this is still embarrassing, and Natsume worries his fingers together under the table.] I think people can forget how hot it is, and even someone who's really strong is going to get thirsty, so...

[He means to be more mollifying than critical. Besides, he did the same dumb thing, got too hot, and now here he is.]

So here I am. [Lame.]

Honestly I wouldn't have even thought about it without the reminder, myself.

[He looks a little sheepish at that, scratching the back of his head with his free hand]

It's important, and probably pretty thankless... I'm sure people appreciate it more than they seem.

[Ed's sure the kid must be bored out of his mind, hanging around here for a few hours trying to thrust water at the more active types. He doesn't want to say as much though, considering it might come off insulting.]

Have you been here long? The Quarantine, I mean. These things usually happen when we get a bunch of new arrivals.

[That makes Natsume's smile—pleasant but lacking in heart—gain a more genuine curve. He still looks a little off limits, but now more like he's peeking through the gate, rather than locking it hard and running off.]

It's okay.

[He's really gentle when he speaks.]

If they're fine, it's fine, so it's not like I mind or anything. I just want to make sure I'm doing something.

[And he's heartfelt, but there's a shy filter in his throat that keeps him quiet. Best to move on to Ed's actual question:] I've been here about two months, though. [He just tends to be low-key.]

Oh.

[He pauses at that response, looking as if that answer had been entirely unexpected - usually when he asked that question he got "four months" no matter how long he'd been here, or who he asked. Sometimes, they were new arrivals.]

We came in with the same batch then. What do you think of it, so far?

[It sounds like small talk, and might even come off boring, but Ed's inclined to gather information. How long people have been here and whether they find this place to be a blessing to remain in or a curse to escape as soon as possible - those were things he was interested in. For research purposes.]

[Natsume's smile recedes without actually slipping away. He manages that, somehow—there it is, on his face, clear and well-mannered. But his atmosphere is that of one withdrawing. Or at least being enshrouded. Less the burning off of fog, and more the arrival of it...

In other words, he doesn't seem very lively, even if his pleasant expression leaves no room for complaint on his being benign.]

Everyone is really nice.

[That's his big answer.]

introductory mingle: RIVER FESTIVAL

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