monthly mingle: SAMPREMI

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: sampremi
when: The month of March.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: there will likely be nsfw content; please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

sampremi

In the days leading up to March 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Sampremi. This is one of Riverview's four yearly celebrations of love, this one focused on sexual love and lust, and sexual relationships that might bloom into more (or not). Traditions associated with Sampremi are a roving street market, raves where residents can seek out some free love and get a little crazy, a massive week-long kink convention, and a tech expo with all-ages and adult options.

a celebration of sexual love and lust

Riverview has always been a place focused on love and building connections in order to foster community, and for a lot of people, sex is part of that, which makes it something worth celebrating! For people who use sex as a way to connect with others, even if only for a short time, or those who use it as a way to connect on a deeper level with the ones they already love, Sampremi is the perfect holiday to get their freak on in a host of new and exciting or comfortable and familiar ways. The holiday features a large kink convention, where various entities in the city can show off their toys, explain their niche kinks, and share their insights with anyone who might be interested, a series of raves that are both all-ages and adult where residents can find someone(s) to share a night (or a week, a few months, or even a life) with. This year, there is a large tech expo where cutting edge tech companies in the city are sharing their newest toys, like improved virtual reality, robotics advances, and many other types of toys - all for work, play, or, in the spirit of the holiday, pleasure. And for those who don't want to connect through sex or who aren't old enough to, there are dances, games, and an entire market full of street food that's meant for sharing, so they can connect in other ways.

● OOC NOTE: Please be sure to warn in subject lines for any threads involving sexual content, drug use or other content that fellow players may wish to avoid, and do not use the prompt mechanics to circumvent consent in your threads, as non-consensual sex is not permitted on the game communities. Items such as aphrodisiacs, VR, or party drugs mentioned in the prompts are intended to facilitate consensual sex, not to encourage sexual assault, or to 'trick' characters into having sex that they would not normally have. ICly, please remember that there is always security to intervene and make sure everyone is safe.

i. color raves

Advertised on flyers and digital screens around the city, made to pop as if they were under blacklight, is a series of what's called "color raves" that are happening in various large empty warehouse spaces around the city. They are called color raves for the bright colorful lights, the preponderance of glowsticks that attendees wave around, and for the brightly colored powder for attendees to play with, some of which is spiked with a mild party drug and some of which is just for fun (with the difference clearly marked, of course). There are three types of color rave - adult, all-ages, and youth raves.

(CW: DRUG USE) At each adult rave and all-ages rave there is one specific room where attendees can enter (after proving themselves 18+), 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 (whether it is skin, clothing, or structural) it deactivates, meaning that partakers can safely dance with non-partakers without sharing the intoxicating effects.

Adult raves will have bouncers at the door to ensure that anyone entering is 18+, and there is no limit to when and where the debauchery happens. 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.

All-ages raves are open to anyone who wishes to attend, regardless of age. There are bouncers at the door who will check ID and stamp the hand of anyone who is 18+ with a special ink that shows up under blacklight for easy identification. At all-ages raves, 18+ and underage characters can mingle, but there are specific areas set aside for only 18+ characters where they can get down and dirty either in private or the open.

Adult and all-ages raves will have only spiked powder to avoid confusion.

Youth raves are intended only for younger characters under 18, so they can stay up all night and dance like crazy, and meet other young people in the city. 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 version of the colored powder featured at the adult raves that won't give you anything but a sugar high. 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. Youth raves will have only sugar powder, brightly colored and sweet to the taste, meant for fun and to play tag with rather than to cause intoxication.

ii. kink convention

For the week of March 4-10 there will be a massive kink convention on the top floor of one of the large exhibition centers downtown, limited to characters 18+. The exhibition is a sexy adult informational convention featuring various kinks and fetishes. Whether you're into leather, latex, lace, or anything else, you'll be able to find the clothes, toys, guides, books, erotica, fiction, and a wide variety of other interesting stuff to explore. While the atmosphere is sex-positive and there are private and public (for the voyeurs and exhibitionists in the room) venues for having sex, it's definitely focused on exploration and information about different stuff to try.

If someone has thought of it and figured it sounded sexy, it can be found here, and with Riverview's high level of tech advancement and widespread acceptance of magic, things can get pretty kinky. Whatever your kink is, there's probably a VR program, sex toy, potion, or spell that can make it happen, and someone who's got the downlow on how to make it great.

iii. tech expo

Riverview prides itself on its technological advancement, and so, running concurrently with the Kink Convention on March 4-10 and on the bottom floor of the same convention center, various cutting-edge tech companies in the city will be sponsoring a Tech Expo. The expo features demonstrations of all of the most advanced technology that's coming into use in the city, ranging from advancements in VR and holotech to robotics and gadgets, you can find the latest and greatest in almost any area of modern technology. Attendees will be able to come with a friend or a date or anything in between to play VR games, enjoy holoprojected escape rooms and puzzles, meet robot pets, try out the most recent music player or that new cell phone that can bend without breaking, and a wide variety of other gadgets.

While most of the tech expo is all-ages and non-sexual, there is a decently-sized adult area where characters must show ID proving they are 18+ in order to enter, where the technology is mostly related to sexual use. This area features advanced sex toys, VR systems intended to explore sex with other people in a virtual environment with no strings attached, sexy video games and holoprograms, and many other sensual technological.

iv. street market

One of the major draws of the festival is the special street food that can only be obtained this time of year. Almost everything you can buy at the Sampremi Festival is meant to be shared - whether it's one piece of meat on two or more sticks or desserts baked with a narrow part in the middle for convenient tearing, everything is built to be shared. The stalls sell everything from cups of soup, sandwiches, roasted or fried meat, deep-fried vegetables and cakes, dumplings, donuts, bagels, turnovers, and anything else you can think of.

Many of the savory dishes are based on the meat of a particular fowl native to the moon Riverview is situated on that has a taste and texture halfway between chicken and duck, cooked to be spicy (ranging from very mild to throat-burning). Many of the desserts are based around a fruit native to the moon that is spherical, red-orange, and has a light sweet taste that is similar to a combination of mango, pineapple, and strawberry. Both ingredients are considered to be aphrodisiacs. Of course, the foods aren't actually aphrodisiacs and any effect is purely placebo, though there are some booths (clearly marked and with someone to check ID) that sell actual aphrodisiac-laced foods and drinks to people who are 18+.

The festival features an entire row of fair games ranging from very high-tech games featuring virtual reality and neon holograms to extremely old-fashioned games with darts and balloons or balls and glasses. The games all have prizes in various shapes and sizes, with the standard stuffed animals, but also with goods and special items donated by any business in the city; ranging from tiny prizes to huge and expensive ones. Due to the nature of the holiday, many of the stalls are set up to cater to winning a prize for your partner(s), and due to the nature of the Quarantine, a lot of them involve aiming or other aspects of pretending to fight.

Originally, the part of the street festival that involved an actual market, with stalls and booths set up with goods, was aimed primarily at romantic trinkets like flowers or jewelry, gifts intended to be purchased for a loved one. As time has gone by, however, this aspect of the market has increased, with many businesses participating, though the emphasis is still on small businesses and anything relating to local culture rather than booths for any of the larger more corporate businesses. There is still plenty of jewelry to be found, for sure, mostly handmade and artisan, but the scope of the Market has widened immeasurably. The Sampremi Market is an excellent place to find specialty foods, clothing, jewelry, art, or other goods that were originally native to cultures on other planets in this reality, or other realities altogether. Many residents in the city use the market to share their unique cultural goods and traditional dress with others.

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 Sampremi, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: saber XU; image ii: Jose Borges; image iii: Nicolas Sitbon; image iv: Andreas Rocha

navigation

Comments

[felinefox]

Absolutely. Lot of people, lot going on, not everyone can handle it.

[She can't, on a bad day. Luckily those are fewer and far between these days.

She takes the offered hand with a smile, amusement touching the corners as she replies.]

Shalimar. I'm not, but that's not to say I'm not keeping an eye out for trouble anyway.

[Force of habit, really. Possibly not something to admit to security but it's not like she's planning on anything getting out of hand, at least.]

[sentiences]

That's a lovely name.

[ And Dorian says that with complete honesty and no subterfuge. ]

Then are you not here for the rave?

[felinefox]

Thanks. I'm pretty attached to it myself.

[She might have made a slightly different comment except that he's a little too honest for it. Nothing wrong with genuine, after all, even if it can take some getting used to.

But that amusement lingers in her grin at the question.]

Now I never said that. A little multitasking never hurts anyone.

[Though it helps that her senses are sharp enough to compensate for the music and lighting, she will allow that much.]

[sentiences]

[ Dorian nods. ]

I imagine it's quite the experience, with all the . . . [ His nose crinkles slightly. ] Powder? I can't really tell.

[felinefox]

I'm sure it is for the people playing with it.

[She's not quite at ease enough with her new environment to lower her inhibitions that much, though it's not stopping her from drinking. That, at least, she knows her limits for.]

Even without that, though, it's nice to be able to just switch off from things for a while.

[sentiences]

[ Dorian smiles faintly. ]

I'll have to take your word for it.

[felinefox]

Ah, so you're an always-on type, huh? Figures that makes sense for why they'd see you as a good fit for security around here.

[Shalimar's known the type before, though she can't say she's ever really lived it. Constant worry and alertness without a little space to blow off steam just didn't suit her.]

[sentiences]

[ He chuckles softly. ]

Well, I have to be. I'm a robot. Turning off is a little . . . different in my case.

[felinefox]

[Her eyes widen ever so slightly at that admission. Robots are a new one on her but she's seen enough both here and at home that she can believe such a thing is possible.

Probable, maybe not. But here they are all the same.]

A robot, huh? That's a new one on me, if you're talking literally.

[Which she's assuming is the case.]

[sentiences]

[ Dorian usually gives this admission easily. Especially in a place where people can't tell the difference. He doesn't feel the need to blend in. ]

It's very literal. I'm a full synthetic. Just with a few added bells and whistles.

[felinefox]

Well, they've done a good job, whoever made you. Can't say I'd have picked up on that if you hadn't told me.

[At least not just from conversation. The rest is an unknown quantity so far but she can comment his honesty, at least.

She prefers blending in a little more, even now she's more comfortable with who and what she is. Which prompts her next question.]

It doesn't bother you, admitting that so soon?

[sentiences]

[ Dorian shrugs loosely. ]

No. It's part of who I am, in a way.

[felinefox]

Must be nice, not having to worry about something like that.

[And since she figures the question's more or less inevitable after a statement like that and since he's been open with her, she decides to elaborate a little.]

I'm not entirely human myself. It took me a long time to accept that it was okay to be okay with that.

[sentiences]

[ Dorian nods. ]

Not everyone is. For me, I suppose it comes easily.

[felinefox]

Because you were made that way?

[Possibly not the most diplomatic way to ask but she's at least partially created herself, given she wasn't born with the abilities she has.]

Or...maybe it's different if you've never known anything else.

[sentiences]

[ Dorian smiles. It's fascinating, having these conversations with people other than John. ]

A bit of both. I've always known what I am. I've also known what I am beyond.

[felinefox]

What you are beyond?

[She's not sure exactly how to take that one, but she's warming to the conversation, posture relaxing a little more even as she's no less aware of who and what's around her.]

Still. Sounds like you had the right guidance at the right time. Though I guess being a robot doesn't come with impulses you don't really understand...does it?

[She's assuming here but she's quite aware that almost anything is possible based on what she's seen around here.]

[sentiences]

Most robots. Not all of them have a certain amount of free will and individuality.

[ Dorian would still like to push the boundaries of what he can do. He still struggles with rule-breaking and stepping outside of the line. The fear of losing whatever freedoms he has is too great. ]

I mean . . . I don't think so? But there haven't been situations like that for me.

[felinefox]

Well. I can't blame people for being cautious about that. But I also can't blame some people for wanting to push those boundaries.

[Humans liked to rest easy at the top of the pecking order but she also knows curiosity can be a heck of a motivator.

But continuing on the easing into sharing more in return...]

Either way, sounds an easier ride than being technically part animal. Now that's a wild one to get your head around.

[sentiences]

How does it feel?

[ He doesn't stop to think about it, curiosity rising. Dorian has always possessed a healthy desire to learn, especially from other people's viewpoints. ]

[felinefox]

Not so bad, now I know what's behind it all. Makes it harder to think straight sometimes but that's where the right support can work wonders.

[Which she'd found with Mutant X, enough that his curiosity doesn't bother her. Hardly the worst thing she's been asked, after all.]

Besides. It means I can take care of myself. That's good enough for me.

[sentiences]

Is that enough?

[ Dorian wouldn't be able to cope just taking care of himself. He wouldn't know what to do with himself. He still doesn't. ]

[felinefox]

I don't know about that. But it definitely helps when you're dragged a whole world away from everyone and everything you know.

[Not that she's entirely alone here and she'd be lying if she said that didn't make things a little easier. But certainly younger her wouldn't have coped with the upheaval nearly as well.]

[sentiences]

I can't say I'm familiar.

[ He doesn't really have a world of his own. Very few things can be said to be "his". ]

[felinefox]

Never been anywhere but here?

[It's the most obvious conclusion to draw, which isn't always the same as the correct conclusion to draw but Shalimar isn't so much the thinker of her group.]