introductory mingle: HARVEST FESTIVAL

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Harvest Festival celebration
when: The month of November.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

harvest festival

In the days leading up to November 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The Harvest Festival. This holiday is in celebration of the harvest season and autumn, as the moon transitions into its winter period, and is characterized by indulging in the plenty that comes with the harvest season with loved ones, cleaning house figuratively and literally, and making sure that those in need don't suffer during the winter. Celebrations tend to focus around food and charity, with citizens enjoying and sharing cultural meals and sharing stories, or participating in any of the wide range of charity projects and events going on during this season.

a celebration of sharing

The biggest traditions of the Harvest Festival are centered around giving and sharing. Charity is central, and the each year the city sets up a large open tent with warm places to rest for anyone who might be homeless and a table capable of sitting over 50 people at any given time, with a round-the-clock catered feast for anyone who wants to sit and have a meal with anyone else who's dropped by. Besides this, there are a wide variety of events benefiting charities in the city, including a karaoke concert, stray animal round up, and the annual "stuff swap" where residents clean their homes and donate anything they don't need to those who might be lacking. There is also a tradition of writing down repressed or bottled up thoughts, feelings, regrets, sins, and other troubles and tossing them into a bonfire to go into winter with a clean soul.

i. harvest feast & stuff swap

For the first few days of November, anyone dropping by the city center will notice a large tent structure being put into place - by November 3rd, as the last of October's ghosts fade into nonexistence, a veritable banquet hall will have been sent up. For a week following the setup, anyone who drops by the hall and steps inside will see a large table laden with food. Bread, stew, fruits and vegetables, soups, roasted meat, and almost anything else one can think of will be on the table, along with plates, silverware, and cups. Anyone is free to take a plate, settle down at the table, and help themselves to a meal.

The Feast is staffed entirely by volunteers, who do the cooking, cleaning, and tidy up the dishes and area afterwards, keeping the constant stream of food coming. Whether your character is heading in to sit beside a stranger and strike up a conversation, or volunteering their time, energy, or cooking skills to the hall, they're more than welcome.

One corner of the hall is entirely dedicated to the yearly "stuff swap." There's a long-standing tradition of fall cleaning in Riverview Quarantine, where residents will thoroughly clean their homes and rid themselves of excess in preparation for the winter. The extra things that aren't needed can be dropped off at the city center where the Feast is set up, and anyone who is in need of a particular item that has been donated can take it free of charge. This is an honor system, so please be kind to others! (Or don't.)

ii. charity karaoke

On the weekend of November 10th and 11th, while the Feast will be cleared away, the tent is being repurposed for a new event - a Karaoke Concert for the needy! Set up as a makeshift bar and lounge area, the space will be fronted by a large stage where singles or groups of people can choose a song and karaoke their hearts out to a crowd of spectators. There's a by-donation cover fee, and guests are encouraged to reward the best (or most hilariously bad) renditions of beloved songs from across the multiverse with digital "tips" that are transferred to the karaoke performer's charity of choice.

Whether you're a spectator tipping a performer, or a performer who's singing their heart out on the stage to benefit a variety of charities from the homeless to the animal shelter to children in need (and almost anything else you can think of), the Karaoke Concert is both hilarious and heartwarming.

iii. stray animal roundup

One of the main charity events that seems to happen every year is the stray roundup. As the seasons turn and it gets colder and colder at night, many residents who have a soft spot for animals band together to round up as many stray animals as possible and take them to shelters where they can be rehabilitated, given a warm bath, fed, and have a safe place to sleep. Volunteers take to the streets with crates and nets or restraining poles as well as generous bags of treats of food to entice the strays with, and capture them safely to be brought back to the various animal shelters around the Quarantine. Any animal who's caught is put up for adoption, and volunteers are encouraged to take home any strays that they bond particularly well with, or are invited to foster animals in their homes.

Whether your character is a die-hard animal lover, looking for a new pet, or just wants some wacky hijinks trying to chase a wily critter around the streets, they'll be suited up with supplies by other volunteers and released into the fray. The most common animals to be found are cats, dogs, and small domesticated foxes, but feel free to assume that your character is rounding up a reptile, rodent, bird, or a domesticated alien critter. Playing a thread with this prompt is a great opportunity to get a cute alien pet for your character without spending AP.

iv. letting go

On the evening of November 15th, a series of large bonfires will be set up all along the beaches of the river, and as the night falls, people begin migrating to the beaches from all over the city carrying slips of paper in a wide variety of colors with words written on them in a wide variety of languages, and throwing them into the fires. This is a way of psychologically and emotionally cleaning house for the residents of the Quarantine, because the papers they bring contain the stories of their pain, poems written about the feelings they bottle up, a venting of their anger and fear and resentment, all to be eaten up by the flames and washed away by the river with the next rain.

No matter where a person comes from, they carry pain and suffering and hurts that they must hide. This is a welcome opportunity for characters to write out their thoughts and feelings and release them. And if the symbolism of burning them isn't enough, there are always other people around the fires who are willing to listen, to hear all those things that people keep locked up inside. Share a story willingly, listen to someone's story, or just get caught holding your deepest darkest secrets on a really vulnerable piece of paper...it's up to you.

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 the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the Harvest Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i & iii: Bastien Grivet; image ii & iv: unknown (stock/hobbiton)

navigation

Comments

[scoutsniper]

Frank is a jerk, but he also likes dogs and, despite the news coverage back home, is not a complete asshole. He finishes his coffee, rising to toss his cup in the trash. "Need help? I can at least even up the odds."

[de_evilise]

Marinette likes animals too, though she's never had a pet. As far as we know. And Cat Noir doesn't count.

"I'd love some help, thanks," she grinned, "Careful, the scrappy little guy is quick on his feet." Finished with trying to clean her shirt off, she gets to her feet, glancing over at the dog, who kept glancing between the two of them. "I'm out of puppy treats though." Mari added to Frank, apologetically.

[scoutsniper]

He's not sure a dog he rescued from a dogfighting ring counts as a pet, but goddam, the Irish paid for hurting that dog.

"You don't need treats. Just try to do something interesting looking." Dogs are curious. They'll come and check out what she's doing. And he'll get her back.

[de_evilise]

Well.. it may not count but he at least knows more about puppers than she does? Maybe? Marinette scratched her head, "Uh... interesting looking, huh... okaay... um.." ... ... ... She holds up her hands and wiggles them about. SHADOW PUPPETS.

"Here boy, uh, girl ... uh -- puppy, see my hands? Look how interesting they are..!"

The dog is... certainly interested, but it's also giving her a 'wtf are you doing look'. Have you ever seen a dog judge someone, Frank? Because Mari's getting judged pretty hard by the pup.

[scoutsniper]

"The hell are you doing?" That's just weird, and for a moment, he and the puppy are wearing the same perplexed expression.

But he's got a mission here, so while she continues to do...whatever that is...he slips his belt from around his waist, and eases up behind the puppy, moving in the silent way he'd learned in Force Recon, ready to loop the belt around the puppy's neck.

[de_evilise]

HOW RUDE. "You said do something interesting..!" Shadow puppets absolutely qualified as interesting. At least it was distracting the puppy from what Frank was doing, considering Marinette was making enough of a show of herself that the poor animal had NO Idea what she was doing. But maybe it was some new game! Just as Mari was making the shadow bunny, the pup caught a whiff of Frank sneaking up behind him - turning, possibly too late to evade the belt! But he gives a not-so-fierce puppy bark in defiance~!

[scoutsniper]

"I don't think dogs...yeah, never mind." What the hell did he know what dogs found interesting?

He laughs as the puppy barks at him, dropping down to one knee. "Fierce little guy, are you?"

[de_evilise]

Marinette grinned, "I think he likes you," she laughed, watching as the dog happily wagged his tail - he's probably been attention deprived, the poor thing! Better be careful, Pupper's gonna try and knock Frank over in his enthusiasm.

[scoutsniper]

"No accounting for tastes," he says, petting the pup as it bounced eagerly on its front paws. He looks over at his partner. "You should get one of these." He tries to lure the pup over to her, and the puppy waddles over, hesitating for a moment, tail wagging curiously at her.

[de_evilise]

She giggled, "Don't be so hard on yourself, you seem a nice guy. Besides, animals are a pretty good judge of character." She crouches as the puppy trots over, "Get a dog?" She grinned, "Maybe someday, but my living arrangements aren't really suited for a dog right now." When she gets her own apartment though, maybe. She reached out to let the pup sniff her hand, grinning.