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

omg I love All Might - iii

[hevenly]

[ Angela hears him before she sees him, and has to pull harder on the leashes of the three large dogs she is wrangling as they begin to bark and howl in response to his call. She scowls, straining to keep them in line. ]

Must you below for the whole moon to hear? I only just got them to calm down, now they're all worked up again.

bless ye

[almightiness]

[Lucky for All Might, he's used to that sort of talk from fellow heroes like Eraserhead -- after all, not all of them were as loud and rowdy as the likes of him or Present Mic. As it is, her scowling and sharp response slides off his back like water off a duck. He steps forward with his hands full of those small pups, looking quite energetic and content to meet with someone else.]

You seem like you've been busy! I must admit, it feels nice to help someone else again, with so little violence or corruption to account for here. I don't mind being a hero to some of these young lads here, though.

[He motions his arms, and the puppies perk and look out at Angela and her wrangled dogs.]

[hevenly]

[ At that, one of the dogs in Angela's grip pulls at its leash fervently, tugging Angela and the rest over to All Might to sniff at the puppies in his arms. ]

Hm. Perhaps she is mother to these pups after all.

[almightiness]

Aaaahhh, wonderful! What a relief!

[He crouches super low to make up for all that height -- low enough for the pups to visit their alleged mother; she's super determined to lick at them and whine needily. All Might grins persistently.]

There's no need to worry...! You've done a great job, my friend.

I'm glad I've ran into you and your rescued furry citizens!

[hevenly]

[ Angela is not much of a pet person-- she has seven years worth of memories of dog ownership over the most spirited hel hound, and that is enough-- but even she is moved by the touching reunion. ]

Yes, it has turned into quite a fortunate meeting.

[ Giving the mother and her pups an appropriate amount of reuniting, Angela then looks off to the street. ] Where shall we bring them, then, that might be better suited to care for them?

[almightiness]

I know just the place!! Just follow me to the shelter -- we'll make sure they're all together and well taken care of! [He gives a bit thumbs up, effortlessly juggling, like, six puppies on his bulging forceps. It takes practice to juggle puppers, you know.] By the way -- your aura and costume is very striking!! Might you be a pro hero of sorts, my fellow canine protector?

[hevenly]

[ Angela is very striking, at 6'2" with flaming red hair, gleaming silver armor, and magical ribbons floating around her neck. It's not often that she has to look up at someone to address them, so she is unused to craning her neck up when she speaks to the seven foot tall All Might. ]

"Pro hero?" I'm afraid I don't know what you mean.

[almightiness]

[Oh, magical ribbons! Kind of like Eraserhead. Nice, nice.]

Oh, you're not familiar? They're licensed heroes who work for the people -- defending those who can't from villains, or people seeking to commit crime and hurt others.

[hevenly]

Ah. I know of the kind you mean. [ She's lived in New York. She's seen tales of the Avengers. Even her friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy, would fit the bill-- though no one pays them for their work. ]

I do not have a license, though I have defended the weak when the price was right.

[almightiness]

[That's good, then! He's more than happy to hear of people defending the weak.

... Sure, prices are... something. But it's not like there aren't heroes in his world who work for a price. After all, it's a career that pays.]

That's correct! Much like that.

I have less work to do here -- but I'm more than happy to aid however I can.