riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: FLOWER FESTIVAL

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: FLOWER FESTIVAL

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Flower Festival Celebration
when: April 2nd - April 15th
where: In several different locations in the downtown area of the Inhabited City.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

flower festival

In the days leading up to April 2nd, residents new and old may notice advertising around the city, everywhere from digital screens to paper flyers pasted on blank walls, all advertising an upcoming holiday: The Flower Festival. Celebrating springtime, beauty, joy, and togetherness, the festival heavily features floral themes and dancing. The advertising mentions that on April 10th, a paid holiday, there will be a Blossom Picnic, as well as lists of various public dances at clubs or other open venues, and adult raves.

a celebration of spring

The Flower Festival's main event is the Blossom Picnic on April 10th, but it also features traditions of sharing food and drink, and dancing that span over the course of the whole two weeks. There are a large variety of events going on throughout the city, from dancing lessons in any wide variety of traditional dances, to old-fashioned sock hops, to adult raves complete with mild party drugs. Feel free to use the prompts below or create your own event at any point during the festival, and if your character creates an event and hosts it in a top-level, you can submit that thread for extra bonus points.

i. blossom picnic

The main event that kicks off the second week of the Flower Festival is the Blossom Picnic on April 10th. A relaxed and low-key event, it draws several thousand people every year to the spacious Riverview Central Park, where there is a generous lawn lined with various blossoming trees, and families, found families, lovers, and groups of friends are encouraged to lay out a picnic blanket and share food. There will be live bands playing (but not loudly enough to distract from conversation and peacefully watching the petals flutter in the wind), a variety of demonstrations of traditional cultural dances from many different realities and planets, and a ton of ice cream vendors. This is an excellent festival not only for celebrating togetherness with the people who are already important, but for mingling and making new friends.

Characters may either pack their own lunches or they can purchase pre-packed Blossom Festival lunches. Stores and street markets are carrying a wide variety of specialty food that is only available at this time of year - predominantly pastries, an assortment of types of candies, and ice cream treats all in various floral flavors, as well as a sort of ambrosia salad based around a sweet rose-flavored cream and a native fruit that is bright green and tastes like a combination of peach and citrus.

ii. dancing lessons

Starting on April 2nd, there will be dancing lessons offered almost everywhere you look! From partner dances to group dances to line dances; sexy and sensual or innocent and childlike - almost any type of dance you can imagine is represented, from any reality or planet that has people in Riverview Quarantine.

Additionally, the Riverview Central Community Center has multiple rooms blocked off so anyone who knows a dance from home can teach it to others in their community - sharing is caring, after all. Characters are welcome to block off one of these rooms and offer lessons in any dance they happen to know from home (and these sorts of thread starters would be eligible for the mingle AC Point bonus)!

iii. flower festival dancing

This is pretty simply what it says on the tin - in almost every club, community center, or other public space, there will be dancing at almost all hours of the day or night, formal and informal. Musicians bring out their instruments and play in the street for demonstrations of cultural dances and music at the same time as clubs are offering VIP cover charges for exclusive dances, and you can find anything in between.

There are also many low-cover-charge raves that allow under-18s so younger characters can stay up all night and dance like crazy. The legal drinking age in Riverview Quarantine is 14, and so anyone over 14 can enter and indulge in a few drinks, dancing, and playing tag with a non-intoxicating version of the colored powder featured at the adult raves. There is copious amounts of security on site to ensure that everyone is safe, as well as nurses and off-duty police officers to offer advice or care for anyone who overindulges out of lack of experience.

Grab a partner, a group of friends, or just cruise and mingle the various dancing events.

Characters may also notice that most of the street markets and clothing shops are offering clothing that features floral patterns, flowers as accessories, and that show a lot of skin - for men, women, and anyone in between!

iv. adult raves

Advertised on flyers and digital screens around the city, made to pop as if they were under blacklight, is a series of adult raves that are happening in various large empty warehouse spaces around the city, including one that is listed as the danger rave and hosted in an abandoned factory outside the inhabited city walls. With bouncers at the door to ensure that anyone entering is 18+, the raves are comfortably adult in nature. Clothing is optional, showing skin is encouraged, and there are a lot of neatly tucked away spaces for attendees to get some time alone with one or more than one person, as well as spaces intended for orgies. The atmosphere is sex-positive and non-judgemental, open to any orientation or preference, with various forms of protection available for free, however, to ensure that everyone plays safe there are sober security teams out en masse at all premises to oversee the events.

(CW: DRUG USE) In each location, there is one specific room where attendees can enter, and dance or play tag with brightly colored powder that contains small amounts of a legal party drug commonly available in Riverview, which is absorbed through the skin. Not much more intoxicating than having a few beers, the effects of the drug are a pleasant low-key buzzing euphoria, positive sensitivity to touch, a heightening of desires for intimacy, and a mild lowering of inhibitions. Once a character has been hit with the powder, the color lingers on the skin so other attendees can know who has partaken, but once the powder makes contact with a surface it deactivates, meaning that partakers can safely dance with non-partakers without sharing the intoxicating effects.

Please be sure to warn in subject lines for any threads involving drug use. And remember, there is always security to intervene and make sure everyone is safe.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to set up headers for a communal floor, or threads open to roommates for the purpose of getting to know each other. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set at the Flower Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: third image by Steve Goad; other images found on uncredited on Pinterest or Google images - please let the mod know if you find credit!

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Aye, Mister Wiccan.

[ He drapes his arms over Billy's shoulders so he can nuzzle in with a laugh, seeking out the beat of the music to carry it between their hips. Loki's green eyes are darker than usual, dilated, and he watches Billy like he can't decide whether to eat him or ...

All around, the people happy to bask in Loki's influence start pawing at each other, kissing hard and lazy, but with Billy he behaves and descends into none of that. ]

Most of this festival held little interest for Roy; he had no particular desire to dance, or go to these raves that seemed basically like begging for an alignment shift to Chaotic just for stepping in the door. Not that he was judging, but Roy knew his limits and his nature.

But this whole festival did have one upside: the picnic itself, which was delightful in every way Roy could ask for. The fighter was delighted to stroll about the park, watch the dances, and listen to the music with an unusually cheerful smile on his face.

One might be inclined to noticed that he was still wearing his armor, and still had a massive greatsword strapped to his back, despite all this cheer and general peace.

A little while later Roy wandered about the park with a bag stuffed practically to overflowing with pastries and candy -- which he seemed quite willing to distribute. Catch notice of that bag and he'll offer one of the confections to you with a smile. "Help yourself!"

I guess you've been having fun, huh?

[And-- wow, so's everyone around them when Billy's eyes scan around them. His attention is quick to return to Loki though as he falls into time with him, moving to the beat of the music as his arms slide around his waist, keeping him tugged in a little.]

What's it like? The powder...

Like the first time you get drunk and feel the floor move on its own. Like a noise so loud your skull swims. Like ... kissing until you forget which lips are yours.

[ A hip bucks playfully at Billy's to give Loki the space to slot a thigh between his legs. ]

I know you're at least familiar with the latter.

[Already riding the pleasant buzz of the powder that was being flung freely around the room, the energy all but rolling off of the small crowd was like a magnet to Stephen. It was easy enough to slip into the throng of bodies, following that tug of magic like the pull of tides, ebbing and flowing, but all leading, in the end, to Loki.

Not that he minded this in the least at this point, willingly moving into Loki's space with a lift of brows, an amused smile on his face. Loki would definitely know that this was the most relaxed the sorcerer had looked since he'd shown up.]

Room for one more? [Looks like someone was having fun tonight. He was even dancing, surprising as it might seem.]

[ Spreading his hands in a would-be shrug, a flash of green snaps out to loop around Stephen's waist and reel him in. If he'll obey Loki's magical whip, that is. ]

How much room do you plan on taking up, hm?

Billy's line gets a groan from the Viking. That was terrible, dumb, and yet somehow it still managed to get a smile out of the Viking, purely for just how terrible it was. He clinks his beer against Billy's own before taking a deep drink. It's better to have a friend here with him. It makes him feel less out of place hanging off to the side.

"It reminds me of home. Kattegat can be very dull between raids. We were always looking for ways to liven it up." At least it was for a young Viking prince who was as spoiled as Ivar was growing up. At least he was aware he was privileged and it hadn't done anything to dampen his own badass credit when he started down his own path.. "Of course, our festivals usually end with a blood sacrifice. Doubt they'll be doing that here."

"You're not wrong. And given I can't just hop-skip to other dimensions for supplies either I'll have to get creative here and there." He's spoiled when it comes to reagents and this whole 'starting fresh' thing sucks.

"I wouldn't say no to a second set of eyes in this." He wasn't looking for anything complicated at this point, so he'd probably find at least some of it here. Basics to be sure, but it was a start.

"A love potion? Either some really nasty perfume, or someone's going to have a bad time of things." Wouldn't be the first time he'd seen it happen if they were being honest.

He's well aware of the effect such a gesture might have on Letha and he'd been hoping it might produce the exact reaction it has. He's a cruel man, but like most people, Ivar isn't made up simply of black and white. He likes Letha well enough, even if she does turn his blood to anger more often than he'd wish. So the gesture is heartfelt, if also a little manipulative.

"You said it. I didn't." He grins at her, that infuriating one that says she's been outsmarted once again.

[While Sieglinde holds her ground well enough, she's certainly caught off-guard by how strong the thing she'd bumped into was. It was as if she'd backed into a brick wall, in human shape.

She turns around quickly, surprised at the sight of the man she[d bumped into.]

Oh, don't worry about me. All this armor has its uses, after all.

[It's then that she takes a moment to eye up the man before her. The armor and the sword don't escape her notice.]

It looks as though that's a sturdy set you're wearing as well. Tell me, are you one of this land's warriors?

It's more like a wagon than anything else. They call it a wheelchair here.

[While he may have never seen someone wearing such curious armor, he knows a knight when he sees one. He's fought against more than his fair share of them in England. She seems friendly enough, but inside, he's a little wary. Still, it's a bit gratifying to not be the only one out of place. Having been here a month, he can feel that he can pass on some knowledge without feeling like a fool.]

Have you recently arrived?

As much as I can get away with. I can be pretty greedy when I set my mind to it.

[For the moment? Stephen had no problem whatsoever in letting himself be drawn in closer to the god, smile slipping to something more amused as he did.]

v. Roommates - Floor 8

Wikus sits on the foot of the bed that's been assigned to him, staring blankly at whatever's in front of him, face slack and expressionless. He's certainly a sight to behold: hair patchy, bandages all over, absorbent pads at his temples. His left shoulder and arm have been almost entirely wrapped in sterile dressings, but there's nothing to cover the two remaining and very alien fingers on that hand. His mismatched yellow eye is equally on display.

At least the filthy rags he'd arrived in were replaced by a plain white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, though there are already several red specks on his chest and back where fresh blood is soaking through.

Definitely a healthy man here.

He should probably do something, maybe look around or lie down and sleep, but he can't gather together enough sense or willpower to do even the simplest of tasks.

He's had a rough couple of days. Really rough. And now he's just… exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally, he's got nothing left at the moment. He feels empty.

It's actually kind of peaceful, in a hollow sort of way. This room is peaceful. Quiet. The bed is soft. He’s actually clean. It's all seems very, very strange, like it's been years since he last slept in a nice safe bed and not less than a week.

Chances are he's actually lying in a gutter in the grip of transformation-induced fever dreams, but the peace is nice while it lasts.

v. Roommates/Wildcard
Wikus is going to be spending the majority of the festival moping at 'home’. If you'd like a less specific prompt than above, floormates are likely to find him: staring miserably at food and refusing to eat when others are around; huddled in bed even in the afternoon; irritably treating blood stains on his clothes and sheets in the bathroom sink; taking showers when he expects everyone to be asleep…

If you have another idea, feel free to hit me up, roomie or otherwise!

i. Blossom Picnic

It's the day of the Blossom Picnic and Wikus is actually out and about, and greatly regretting his decision.

He lurks at the edges of crowds, like a little dark storm cloud in a sea of rainbows. Looking across the park at all the happy couples and parents and children, he can't help feeling bitter. That was his dream there. Happy picnics with his wonderful wife, adorable little mini-Tanias and Wikuses in their future.

But he doesn't have any of that now, and he's not sure he ever will. So he sinks deeper into his oversized hoodie (he's not a small man, but picking several sizes too large made it easier to fit his mutated arm), hood up, shoulders hunched, hands stuffed in the belly pocket, refusing to make eye contact, and tries to leave the area without attracting attention.

And outsmarted she has been. Her face turns scarlet, and with a practiced motion she pulls her fan from her bag to cool herself down.

She's not looking at him anymore, but... she'll truck along with what she'd meant to tell him the next time they met. "I meant to- contact you earlier, but I didn't deem it appropriate given the... well. I wanted to know if... if you're still interested in finding a way to contact Valhalla."

She's going somewhere with this, she swears. In fact, she's been planning this conversation in her head since Sampremi, but her nerves are getting in the way and making her stutter.

I'm pretty familiar with all of that, I think. I mean-- I know that wasn't just punch at the New Years party.

[And it hadn't stopped him from overindulging, underage or not. It was a celebration after all, a new start.

Boy, did he get a new start...

They all kind of did, he supposes.

The buck does its intended effect, making Billy part his legs so they're pressed even nearer, fitting against each other easily.]

But if it's like that, it sounds like it's worth a little dusting.

Mission accomplished then. He gives a smile in return. These things are always easier when you've got somebody you know with you-- at least in Billy's case.

"Yeah, I mean... blood sacrifices probably would liven up the place." Wow, Vikings...

"But I think they're way too focused on flowers for that. I'm not sure if flowers and sacrifices go together usually." Hopefully, he means...

He gives a curious look though. "Do you miss the celebrations you used to have back home?"

"Is it weird to be grounded for you?" He makes a face. "I just got through traveling the multiverse before I ended up here and it just... feels weird that I can't get my magic to get me back home."

And he wanted a fresh start, a second chance at being a superhero and whatever a demiurge means, but he didn't realize he'd wind up stuck in an entirely new place.

Still-- he can be of use and that gets a quick nod out of him. "Sure, I'll keep an eye out for anything magical and useful then. I mean, I'd rather you have it anyway..."

Who better to trust than the Sorcerer Supreme, right?

"I think mostly nasty perfume. But you sound like someone who might be speaking from experience..."

Oh, really?

[ The whip fades as Loki holds his hands behind his back, chin jutting out in a challenge. ]

Why am I being sought out, over and over, only to be expected to lead each dance? You can go where others can't, Stephen. I expect more from you.

Edited 2017-04-04 17:30 (UTC)

Ivar Ragnarsson. Some call me Ivar The Boneless.

[Indeed, he's not just a Viking, but a famous one at that, or so he's gathered from those farther along in time than himself. He shakes Marcel's hand, his own rough and callused from a lifetime of crawling around on the ground. He clinks his beer against Marcel's before drinking. His eyes keep roving over the other man's skin color. There's only curiosity in his gaze. He'd never even seen anyone with such dark skin before coming here and he's yet to see anyone this up close.]

So, they stuck you in here. I'll tell you this much, you're on an interesting floor.

[It's a fairly quaint phrase from Sieglinde's perspective, but she understands the gist of what it means. Without any objections, she begins the involved process of undoing straps and removing plates until she eventually gets to her aketon - the thick padded jacket that gets worn under her platemail.

It's a very warm set up.

She removes that too, until she's standing before the other girl in a sweat-stained cotton shirt and wool leggings. Despite the impressive size of her armor, Sieglinde isn't the most imposing figure on her own. While she clearly has a fair bit of muscle if you know where to look, it's covered pretty well by a layer of fat. Which is to say that she's a bit pudgy.]

...I must say, it's a bit of a relief to get myself some air after all this time. It gets a tad stuffy in all that armor, after some time.

[That's definitely an understatement.]

Edited 2017-04-04 17:40 (UTC)

"It's really weird. I've gotten used to being able to just open a door back home and there's one useful dimension or another."

And then things went to hell and that went right out the window. But now wasn't the time for that kind of depressing conversation, and really he didn't want to worry Billy about that when there wasn't anything to be done about it here.

"I've had to clean up more than one weekend wizard's love potion disaster. Bonus points for additional mess when the person they dose is a mystic too, then it gets all manner of interesting."

"And probably just having something like the Sanctum Sanctorum in general... Don't you have almost every book on magic in there?" Billy is a little envious, honestly. What he could learn with all of that...

Though he's sure he'd never even be half as knowledgeable as Strange seems to be...

"Ew. That sounds... like so many levels of bad and awkward. At least you've never been hit with one?" He doesn't think he has anyway...

Ah. An apt name, I suppose.

[Maybe a bit uninspired, but... it's descriptive enough. She wants to ask what its purpose is, and why he's using it, but she also doesn't want to seem rude and invasive. Instead, she just subtly glances down at his legs through the slot in her helmet, before his question draws her eyes back up to his face.]

Oh, yes I have! Forgive me, I haven't even introduced myself! I am called Sieglinde of Catarina.

[She gestures at the ax on his back.]

There aren't many who carry weapons with them in this place. Am I right to assume that you are one of this realm's warriors?

[Letha, on the other hand, is both short and skinny as a willow branch, so between the two of them she's pretty sure she'd lose in a fight. Which is why she's happy to have so much skill in gaining powerful allies.]

I can't imagine what sort of beasts you must need all that to protect yourself from... [Hell, the worst thing she's ever heard of were giant foxes, and the Thornwell soldiers could handle those just fine in light armor.] Alright, wait right here. I have a few ideas.

[She slips out of the room, and comes back a minute later with some of the less revealing dresses she could find, plus some nice-looking blouses to put under them and cover even more.] I can leave the room while you're dressing, unless you need any help with these. They're much easier to put on than the sort I had back in my world.

She's a pretty woman and prettier even still when she blushes. If he were more sure of himself, he might be able to flirt, but... He's not. Ivar has never had much luck with women. They look at him as someone to feel sorry for, not a romantic interest.

Ivar's eyes soften up at the mention of Valhalla. To get the chance to contact the dead, see his father one more time, it was more then he could have hoped to ask for. Here she was trying to be nice and he'd spent days being mad at her instead.

"I'd like that very much. If you're still willing." She didn't seem like she was holding a grudge, but maybe she'd dangle such a prospect in front of his face only to snatch it away again.

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introductory mingle: FLOWER FESTIVAL

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Roy Greenhilt | OTA

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Re: III

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Wikus van der Merwe | OTA (though most of the prompts are for floor mates. He'll get out more soon!)

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