monthly mingle: PRIJATA

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: prijata
when: the month of june
where: anywhere around the city
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

prijata

In the days leading up to June 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Prijata. Riverview Quarantine has a strong culture of love, and they celebrate all types - Prijata is a special celebration of platonic love and building community through friendship. Prijata traditions include gift exchanges between friends, sharing meals cooked together by friend groups, and a variety of events and services aimed at making friends.

a celebration of platonic love

Prijata is a relatively relaxed holiday, focused mainly on friendship and platonic love - dedicated to appreciating the friends already in one's life, and opening oneself up to making new friends. Besides the private giving of gifts between friends, there is also a city-wide government-sponsored gift fountain that is open throughout the entire month. Included in the wide variety of events catered to finding new friends, are 'speed friending' and a large open exhibition where all the specialized clubs in Riverview can recruit for new members - and residents new or old can create a club and recruit.

i. gift fountain

While Prijata gift exchanges between friends are generally a quiet affair, done at friend-group dinners or parties, the element of gift giving does extend outward - community-wide, in fact. Throughout the course of the month, anyone living in Riverview Quarantine can drop by the huge fountain in the City Center, in front of the City Hall. They will find that the fountain is chock full of floating gift boxes in a wide variety of colors, patterns, and different shapes - though none larger than a shoe box. There are signs put up around the fountain stating that the boxes are magic and will only seek and open for their rightful owners. Characters will find that, upon touching the water, a box will float over to them, and when they pick it up, the top will unfurl like flower petals, displaying the gift inside. Sometimes, the box won't appear on the first try, since there's only so much space in the fountain at any given time, but if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Every person in the city (including new arrivals) will receive one gift by the end of the month.

Gift fountain boxes will contain one small item from each character's home dimension (or, for CRAUs, from their previous game), similar to the "items from home" bonus reward, but without needing to spend points. The item should be small enough to fit in a shoebox, sentimental, and cannot be something intended for another person's character. If you can't think of an item like this that would work for your character, something of similar size and quality to what's described above that would make the character very happy can be substituted.

This prompt can also be used for gift exchanges and for characters to receive the Government-given gifts that were suggested in the Prijata Pregaming post on the meme community. Any newly apped character is welcome to post on the meme entry as soon as they're accepted, and will be linked to it in this month's acceptance notification, so to all you pre-existing players please keep looking at the Prijata Pregame meme throughout app week and afterward to help give new arrivals a warm friendly welcome!

ii. speed-friending

This is pretty much what it says on the tin! Much like speed-dating setups, many bars, coffee shops, and other places that people might gather are holding speed-friending! It's your standard setup - characters enter and fill out a quick questionnaire about themselves, and flit from table to table looking for someone with great friend chemistry. Not all of them are general and open to anyone who walks in, though, with many being specialized to people who are invested in certain hobbies, occupations, or with specific sets of interests. With specialized speed-friending setups ranging from horror movie buffs to members of the Perimeter Guard to fashionistas to sports or martial arts to video games, no matter what your character is into, they're likely to be able to sign up for a special event where they can go looking for a friend who's into the same things they are!

For this prompt, you can put up a list of hobbies or interests your character has, and compatible characters can hit them up for a speed-friending thread, like the IC equivalent of the CR meme!

iii. club exhibition

Speed-friending is all well and good, but not everyone is outgoing or open enough to know if they have friend chemistry in only a few minutes. For anyone looking to find groups of like-minded individuals they can spend more than a few minutes with before committing to something as daunting as a friendship, there is a month-long club exhibition happening in the Town Square in the City Center. Table after table and booth after booth are occupied by existing clubs in the city, with an incredibly broad scope of focus interests and hobbies - enough that any character should be able to find a club with their niche interest represented.

And if it isn't? Characters are welcome to start their own clubs - much like a business, a character-run club can have space set aside in the city for meetings and event mingles that are eligible for Activity Point Bonuses for the organizer.

iv. amusement park & waterfight

Remember the Amusement Park that citizens of the city were working together to clean up and power up a couple of months ago? Well, the endeavor has proven to be a success, and after a lot of hard work and technical expertise, the amusement park is up and running! For the first two weeks of June, admission will be free to honor those who helped make the park usable.

Sporting just about any amusement park ride you can think of, from kiddie rides, merry-go-rounds, and ferris wheels to high-speed roller coasters and more extreme rides for the thrill-seekers, the park takes it a step further by adding in a lot of different high-tech attractions not available at conventional amusement parks. It has banks and banks of VR simulators that allow park-goers to enjoy a variety of adventures and scenarios, or join shared mutual worlds with other users to explore or take out their aggression with a VR first-person shooter. There are also rows and rows of typical carnival games, some heavily rigged and some not, with prizes ranging from dollar store trinkets to stuffed animals to bits of advanced tech.

For the month of grand opening, though, the amusement park is offering a couple interesting events - a naming contest for the park, and a park-wide water fight.

The water fight is opt-in, with participants signing up and being given a purple or orange flag, tank top, or cap to wear marking them as to which team they're part of. There are buckets of water balloons around the park that are constantly being refilled by staff, and water fighters can participate in special target practice games to win the use of a watergun for the duration of the day - how big your watergun is depends on how well you do in the game! Ultimately, there aren't any real winners or losers, because the point is to get wet in the brand new summer heat, but it's always more fun to cool off with a bit of competition involved, right?

The naming contest is another story. Anyone who visits the park is welcome to think up a name for the park, and all entries will be listed on a large LED board. Every customer who enters the park is invited to vote for their favorite name, and the name with the most votes wins! To submit either an in-character suggestion or a suggestion from yourself as a player, hit up the thread below with a new top-level; whether or not you have a neat idea, place a vote for your favorite! Votes are one per player; suggestions are one per character.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to set up headers for a communal floor, or threads open to roommates for the purpose of getting to know each other. Or if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during Prijata, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Odysseas Stamoglou; image ii: Dave Arredondo; image iii: spainforpleasure.com; image iv: mit19237

navigation

Comments

[democratically]

[There is at least one bed that is open, which would be her own, and perhaps a few others seemed not to be in use. Then again, the people residing in them could just leave the area neat and tidy. Depending on where one starts, Padmé could guess where ten is, but there is no harm in asking. The worst that could happen would be someone telling her to get lost.

As it is, it seems that she has found a friendly individual, who happens to be sleeping in the bed next to her own. There is a smile and a soft laugh.]

I can hopefully promise the same.

[Not that she has ever had anyone saying anything to her before. Long hours at work tend to have her conk out when and if she does finally settle down for the night, as it isn't uncommon for her to fall asleep in her office.]

Padmé. Under the circumstances, it's nice to meet you, Minsu. Have you just arrived as well, or have you been here longer?

[foxtrots]

I've been here for a few months. The food is good.

[which was minsu's number one concern, so he's always quick to reassure on that front. the truth is that minsu's approval doesn't mean a whole lot to someone with a normal appetite and normal taste buds - he's eaten the blue ham jello here and loved it.]

Most of the people here are nice too. And there's plenty to do, so you won't be bored or lonely.

[he's really talking the place up, but minsu's smart enough to know that homesickness creeps up on everyone from time to time.]

Have you found any of your friends here? I mean, from your own world.

[democratically]

[The little piece of information might drawn a momentary halt from Padmé. It wasn't something that she had thought about before. Traveling had given her access to a variety of different cuisines. Some she could say that she would eat again, and others she would very politely decline.]

Have you been able to find foods from your own world?

[Or just the food available here is to his liking. Either way, she doesn't doubt that there will be something for her here. She's not a particularly picky eater.

Padmé does wonder after what there is to do. Free time typically isn't something that she's had a lot of. It hasn't bothered her as she likes to be busy and her duties have always come first.]

That is good to hear. This entire city is a bit strange. An accidental kidnapping but plenty to keep you occupied.

[Not that she's just going to accept everything at face value. Just because something glitters doesn't mean it is gold, and Padmé isn't one to be appeased with such things. The shake of her head answers his next question. It seems like she would have no choice anyway in the matter, but her answer remains the same.]

No, but that's fine. I can't say I would want them to be planet bound here with me.

[foxtrots]

I have! Lots of it - ah, fried things must be popular everywhere.

[minsu can only guess at the reasons for that, but it probably has something to do with how delicious it makes everything. that said, he's also tried his fair share of new things, has even made a game of it with a couple of others. who knows, maybe some of those 'new things' will be her home world favorites.]

Did they give you a job?

[at first he'd been thinking mostly of the celebrations that he's experienced in the past few months, each one different from the one before it, but each with its own unique set of experiences. he'd almost forgotten the thing that regularly takes up his time: his job. his first job, given that being a thief isn't exactly a respectable career. he likes pouring coffee much better. it's easier to make friends when you're not stealing from them, who knew.

minsu thinks about her last words for a moment, the smile that returns to his lips softer than before.]

You're very unselfish. I bet a lot of them wouldn't mind so much as long as they were here with you.

[democratically]

Ah. Yes. There are a number of different fried items where I'm from as well.

[Different dough, meats and vegetables. Even some insects, although those certainly aren't the items that Padmé typically eats. To be polite, she might try one, but otherwise, she does prefer not to crunch away on them like other species might. It does make her wonder if she will find something from Naboo here. Five blossom bread had always been something that she liked.]

They did offer, yes. Community Ambassador for the Riverview Government.

[In all honesty, it is something that would interest Padmé, although it is also a bit suspicious. They just happen to have employment that suits her desires? She is trying to approach it with openness though, knowing that building bridges is always better than burning them down. After all, if it is truly an accident, they seem to just be making the best out of a situation (although how they knew about her interests...)

At the end of the day, she does want her friends and family to be happy, and being stuck here because Padmé might miss them wouldn't make her feel good about herself.]

I care about them, and while it will be strange not even being able to contact them whenever I please, I would prefer knowing they are safe where they are.

[foxtrots]

[minsu's eyebrows shoot up at the title. it's a lot, he's not even completely sure what it means, just that government work is often important and secretive, and something where it's better to have good people than bad. she seems like the best choice in that regard.]

I pour coffee. [it doesn't sound...nearly as impressive. and yet minsu announces this with happiness in his voice, even pride. it's honest work, and he gets to talk to a lot of people throughout the day, a thing that she is probably learning that minsu enjoys doing. and he's also good at it, not from enjoying coffee himself, but from making it for someone else.] If you take that job, I'll make some for you too. It'll help you get through the day.

[democratically]

[What exactly it entails, Padmé cannot say. She likely would go and question further, although getting involved has always been something that she has been adamant about. She is literally new to this place, but perhaps understanding more about it will aid in her quest for more information.]

Mm. Caf is very important.

[And she might have drank many cups throughout the day before. She can guess that he does enjoy it though, as he doesn't sound annoyed at it. She chuckles softly.]

I may well become a regular.

[foxtrots]

Oh, I can get one of those little brass plates, one that says 'this seat reserved for the Community Ambassador for the Riverview Government.'

[he's joking. mostly. he likes having good seats for his regular, his friends, but he wouldn't make anyone stand to drink their coffee.

he's quiet for a moment, thoughtful. minsu has the look of someone who wants to ask a question but isn't sure if he should or not.]

What was your world like? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

[it seems a contradiction, why ask and then say that she doesn't have to answer. when he arrived, talking about his home and loved ones brought him comfort, kept him reminded of what he was going back to someday. but he'll understand if it's different for other people, if it's too soon and too painful.]

[democratically]

I suppose I might need to come in several times a day then!

[That giggle in her voice, as really, Padmé wouldn't want anything of the sort. She could stand on ceremony when the situation called for it, but overall, she wasn't someone who lorded her titles. And anyway, if she enjoyed the place, she likely would become a regular patron without any bribes.

She hums a little at his question shaking her head. She has no qualms about speaking of it, whether Naboo or the galaxy that she knows in general. It's not perfect, and she knows that completely, but Padmé does believe in the Republic and thinks that it is better than some other forms of governing.]

By my world, you mean my home planet, or the universe where I come from? The galaxy is a fairly large place, although I can't begin to list all the planets. My home world, of course, I know a lot about, and Coruscant, which is the capital planet.