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

[bechdelpls]

[ A pause, one that's longer than she wants it to be. She hates how bad she can be at verbal fisticuffs sometimes.

And then there's the times her mouth gets ahead of her brain, like the rest of this whole stupid conversation. ]

I wish they'd meant something to you.

[bastardofipswich]

[ That... kind of stings, even though it's about the least insulting thing she's even said to him since they got here. Maybe it's because he gets it. In another world, he could've been friends-- real friends-- with Kate and Sarah. He sure as hell found their company more enjoyable than the guys' (Caleb aside. Another thing he's reluctant to admit: actually enjoying Caleb's company). They were bright, clever, funny, and if they had Power of their own, they'd probably use it for better things than, say, blowing up girls' skirts.

(What, like he wouldn't have noticed that? Come on.)

Chase sets his jaw, all of the smirking malice giving way to a colder sort of anger, because shutting down and going into denial is safer and easier than allowing himself to give a damn. ]

Yeah. Well. I had other things on my mind. [ LIKE NOT DYING. ]

[bechdelpls]

[ She made him angry. She made him angry at her. It's probably the most genuine emotion he's ever aimed in her direction, and somehow it soothes a part of her to know that she can provoke a reaction that isn't laughter.

Sarah reaches for her bag, dragging it onto the bed and rooting through it to pull out the course offerings syllabus she was sent home with. ]

Right, like putting Kate in the hospital and treating me like a swimming trophy. You know, before I met you, I never knew anyone who just didn't think about other people. I never knew anyone who could look at someone else's life and say 'who cares'.

[bastardofipswich]

[ The corner of his mouth twitches up in some ugly, spiteful version of a smile. ]

Being a monster just runs in my family, I guess.

[ His tone's indifferent, almost flippant. No, he doesn't really believe himself to be a monster, but he figures she does. So why not lean into it? It's what he's good at. And it beats the truth, that addiction and isolation is what makes him so monstrously selfish, rather than being some natural born predator. ]

[bechdelpls]

[ She arranges herself on her bed, opening the syllabus to a bookmarked page. ]

Bullshit. [ Seems like she can't keep herself from talking like this around him. That's all she says, though, electing to page through the art classes instead.

That lasts for about three seconds. She lets the syllabus drop onto her lap. ] I keep thinking Caleb is crazy, wanting to be around you. I don't know, maybe he is. But like.

[ Sarah looks over and him and bites her lip, trying to figure out how to say what's been circling in her mind since that conversation with Caleb. She doesn't hate Chase any less. She's not any less furious at her boyfriend. ] Then I keep thinking what if he's right, and you're not just a liar, and that maybe some of who you were with me and Kate was real.

[ She folds one corner of a page, unfolds it, refolds it. ] Except if it was real, what you did to us is even worse.

[ Sarah rolls her eyes, impatient with herself and determined not to let the choked feeling in her throat turn into tears. ] Whatever, it's not like it matters.

[bastardofipswich]

[ Chase rolls his eyes, looking down at Cujo and scratching his ears. The dog seems to like that enough that he starts clumsily headbutting Chase anywhere he can.

He pauses, only briefly, when Sarah brings up the possibility-- raised by Caleb, apparently-- that he hadn't been faking every aspect of his brief friendship with Kate and her. It's true, sure, but he hadn't expected anyone to cotton on.

Shrugging it aside, he resumes petting the dog. ]

Then stop thinking about it. Does it make a difference?

[bechdelpls]

Like I know. I'm sharing a room with the guy who almost killed me, the guy my almost-murdered boyfriend apparently thinks is cute, on a moon in another universe. I hardly even know what's real any more.

[ She hugs the syllabus against her chest and flops backwards onto her bed. ] You could have been our friend, Chase. It makes me sad that you aren't, and I can't for the love of God figure out why.

[bastardofipswich]

[ ??????????????????

?

Chase sure as hell didn't rub Caleb finding him cute in her face, so where did Sarah get--

ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT HOW CUTE HE IS WHEN HE'S NOT AROUND? WHAT'S GOING ON?????

--all of these questions are apparent in Chase's face for a moment, then he pushes it back, as best he can. ]

I can't figure it out, either. [ He spits that out before taking a moment to... take a mental step back and say something sincere for a change. ] You wouldn't have wanted to be my friend if you really knew me.

[ He says it like it's a fact, a total given. There's no self pity in his voice; he doesn't hate himself for who he is. But the fact is: he arrived in Ipswich a murderer and an addict. What he chose to show them in that week where he was playing nice was just an act. ]

Why do you keep bringing up some sexual tension between me and your boyfriend?

[bechdelpls]

[ It's lucky for Chase that she's got her eyes on the ceiling. ]

You never gave me the chance. Now I just hate you and I can't even do that without feeling bad. [ She rolls onto her side, facing away from him. ] Because it's screwed up, okay? How can he like the guy who tried to kill him?

[bastardofipswich]

[ He hesitates before shooting back with: ] That's not my problem.

[ It doesn't feel satisfying, saying it to Sarah's back. ]

I don't know. [ He snorts. ] Because I'm that good looking. [ Ugh, he can't even manage as much venom as usual. Chase clicks his tongue in annoyance and looks away. ] I guess he really is a masochist.

[bechdelpls]

No, it's not. But I want you to know that I hate you anyway. Even if you don't care, I want you to know.

[ It's petty, but she doesn't care. Even if she can't hurt him in any way that matters, even if she's just a bug to him, it gives her something for him to know that she hates him. ]

He's lonely. I don't think the other Sons of Ipswich really saw it. He's lonely, and you're lonely, and maybe that's enough to mean something to him.

[bastardofipswich]

[ He lets out a sharp, put-upon sigh, picking up his book again. Between Caleb and Sarah and their CONSTANT INSISTENCE ON PROJECTING AND UNLOADING THEIR CRAP ON HIM, Chase is seriously thinking about investing in some noise-cancelling headphones.

Or some kind of magical mute button. Note to self: start working on that spell. ] You're right: I don't care.

[ He glares ahead at the pages, staring at the words but not reading any of them. ]

Aren't you lonely, too? You guys are perfect for each other. [ Shockingly, he doesn't sound sincere OR supportive! ]

[bechdelpls]

I'm not--

[ Then she stops. Is she? Did Chase Collins just call her out?

No, she can't deal with this. Sarah pulls one of her pillows over the top of her head. ]

[bastardofipswich]

Yeah. Sure you aren't!

[ VICTORY?

Chase laughs to himself and, finally, starts reading his book again. ACTUALLY READING THE WORDS INSTEAD OF STARING AT THEM. ]

[bechdelpls]

[ Quietly, still underneath the pillow, Sarah says: ] I guess that makes three of us.