riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: HARVEST FESTIVAL

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: HARVEST FESTIVAL

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)

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[ Rope leash and net, successfully added to his inventory. Though he's keeping his eyes pretty firmly on the... thing that definitely needs an official name, Finn nods as Ivar outlines his plan, just to make it clear he's listening.

Teamwork's been turning out to be very make-or-break in this effort-- in general, not just this lone incident. Finn considers his options. The rope leash is more contained, easier to handle, but the net would be a good bet against its wingspan. And almost anything has to be easier than trying to bandage a Wookie.

All about timing. He used to get pretty good marks on his timing. ]

If you can get her here, I can pull her in.

Good. Let's do this.

[He patiently keeps tossing treats to the hybrid one at a time, each one a little closer than the one before. The beast snaps up each of them with a tearing, possessive motion more indicative of her hawk nature than the bunny half.

She flutters off the mailbox and onto the ground, still following the treats. Closer... Closer...]

Try it now.

[He says as she pounces on another treat.]

[ Good things: this is much easier than bandaging a Wookie. And Finn is long experienced in standing still until an order rolls in. He doesn't find himself with hangups about waiting for and following this one, since he volunteered to help.

The more animals everyone can get into a safe shelter, even by the single digits, the better.

Finn lunges forward with the net, not so much trying to scoop the animal into it as he is trying to focus on making sure it doesn't have the space to take off flying right away. As long as they can pin it down here, getting it more conveniently restrained can come next in the lineup. One step at a time. ]

[The little habbit gives a shrill shriek that's not at all like one would expect a rabbit to make, but it does rather sound like a hunting hawk taking off, as Finn tries to capture it in the net.

She turns to the right to try and fly off that way, but Ivar is blocking the way. Fluttering her wings, she attempts to take off anyway, but her claws are entangled in the folds of the net. With a frustrated cry, the little hybrid creature hops this way and that, trying to free herself.]

Quick now! Bundle her up before she gets loose.

On it.

[ Finn is now especially glad that he chose the net. Extra ground coverage goes a long way from trying to do something more precise, and it helps that he can use it to bundle this thing up properly. A couple of incidental scratches are better than having to chase her down across this city.

After a few seconds of painfully careful wrangling, he gets her about as bundled up as she's going to get, as far as he can figure. Finn shakes his head. ]

Every time I think one of these animals takes the award for being least cooperative...

[ He encounters something like this, which is to say about five times worse than the last one. ]

Well, I wouldn't like being put in a net either.

[He attempts to pet the creature through the net. She growls at him and makes a swipe with her clawed front paw. Fortunately, Ivar is wearing a pair of leather vambraces, so all it does is create a small gouge along the side.]

Feisty little thing, isn't she?

[Ivar can't help being fond of animals. He finds they tend to be a lot nicer than people most of the time. Plus, they don't judge him for what he lacks.]

[ It's a fair point he raises. He's going and getting all enamored, too, and Finn just doesn't see much of the appeal in this particular animal, personally. With time, maybe. Or on a better day in general.

But hey, not like this guy is out looking for a pet wampa. And it's a nice thing to... try to do. Pet it. He guesses. Enough animals like that, even if this one seems to be in another camp on the matter. ]

That's one word for her.

[ He maybe sounds a little baffled by Ivar's fondness regardless. ]

Not necessarily a bad one. Either someone else will like it about her or she'll break herself out and manage just fine.

[Ivar bundles the net up and sets it on his lap so that he can easily transport her back to the shelter. She shrieks and growls in protest, but when it's clear she's not escaping anytime soon, the habbit calms down, tucking her wings in close against her side.]

She just needs a firm hand to rein her in. I'm just glad we could get her off the streets. Can you imagine leaving her out here with how cold it's going to get? That'd be cruel.

[There was an irony, a teenager who'd one day be known as one of the cruelest Vikings of all, worrying over a little animal.]

[ To... to each their own, apparently. Taste in animals-wise. Maybe this guy just has an affinity for whatever this thing is. Some people have that kind of nature. ]

That's what the whole roundup is about, right? Keeping them out of the weather.

[ It's why he volunteered, anyway. Something to do that was useful. ]

I'm Finn. Nice to meet you.

Exactly. People can take care of themselves. Animals need a little bit of help.

[Ivar holds out a scarred and callused hand for Finn to shake.]

Ivar Ragnarsson. My friends call me Ivar The Boneless.

... yeah. You're right about that.

[ Finn reaches out to give Ivar's hand a firm shake. ]

Aren't nicknames usually supposed to be shorter than your actual name?

[There was a soft snort of what was easy to mistake for annoyance, but was actually amusement.]

Not for Vikings. My brothers' nicknames are Bjorn Ironside and Sigurd Snake-In-The-Eye.

[ What's a Viking, is what he almost asks, but a more important question immediately comes to mind. ]

Snake-In-The-Eye?

[Yes, Viking nicknames are weird. Still, no need to look like it's the oddest thing Finn's ever heard.]

My mother prophesied he would be born with a snake in his eye. Sure enough, his right pupil sometimes isn't the round shape everyone else's is. It looks like a serpent instead.

[ It kind of is the oddest thing he's ever heard. Name-wise. ]

Oh.

[ Look. For a second, he was almost positive it would turn out to mean that Ivar's brother just like. Lost an eye to a snake or something? It's probably good that that's not the case, even if the real answer is still on the strange side. ]

Right. I guess it makes more sense when you put it like that.

[Vikings are a strange bunch. Stick around Ivar and he'll have a whole other culture explained to him, one full of warriors where dying in battle was the greatest thing that could happen to a person.]

See, it's not so odd. Now, Bjorn's nickname comes from being near untouchable in battle. No weapons ever seem to injure him.

[ Never heard that one before. Definitely didn't get raised on that hype. ]

I know a few people who'd have loved to earn that one. [ Even if it would have made the unspoken "one-syllable preferred" stipulation completely moot. Nines would have killed for it. Quite literally, with his temper. ] So Snake-In-The-Eye, Ironside, and-- Boneless.

[ It comes out half-statement, half-question. He's pretty sure that was the one Ivar used. ]

He definitely earned it. Out of all my brothers, he's the only one I think I couldn't beat in combat. He once killed a bear with nothing but a single knife and his hands.

[Even Ivar would admit his big brother was a total badass. That's why he'd been able to stop Ivar from killing Lagertha, Bjorn's mother, with just a few words.]

Yes. You have it down.

[ Do people from Star Wars know what bears are. I have no idea. But it sounds like something very big and very dangerous at the least, or it wouldn't be such a point of pride. And Finn can buy that. ]

Good to know I do.

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introductory mingle: HARVEST FESTIVAL

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That is the best icon expression I'm dying

finn always has icons well-equipped for Confusion

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