introductory mingle: PRIJATA

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Prijata Celebration
when: June 1st - June 8th
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 week. 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 week, 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 week.

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. ETA: 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 posts on the OOC community and the TDM.

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 week-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. unveiling the new friendr

Prijata this year is marked by something special - the unveiling of a code rebuild of the ubiquitous Friendr app! Anyone with the app installed already will receive a prompt to update the app, and if anyone hasn't yet downloaded it, they'll receive a quick, easily-dismissed pop-up ad on their device when they next access the network, asking if they want to. No one is obligated, and the ad is a one-time instance, intended to make sure any character who hasn't heard of the app gets a chance.

The Friendr app is a swipe-left-or-right style friend matching and/or dating app that is very common in Riverview, both for PCs and NPCs, and it has received an upgrade with a new appearance, a new interests line for more accurate matching, and a wide variety of themes so that the colors can be customized!

Please see the updated appearance below, with the 'default' color scheme. Players are free to change the colors or appearance of the code but please do not remove the credit line showing where the base code came from, out of respect for the code creator.

	Friendr
«		»
	» Age: your character's age » Seeking: friendship/romantic/anything » Preferences: sexual preference or n/a » Interests: three interests » Bio: 30 words or less
	base code by photosynthesis
	Character Name
	« ✘ ✔ »

<br><center><table style="width:300px;"><tr style="border-bottom:1px dashed #528887;"><td></td> <td style="padding:20px; padding-bottom:0; width:300px; font:38px Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; text-transform:uppercase; color:#c4c4c4; text-align:center; letter-spacing:2px; background-color:#2a2a2a; border-top-right-radius:50px; border-top-left-radius:50px;"><b>Friendr</b></td> <td></td></tr> <tr><td style="font-size:70px; vertical-align:middle; text-align:right; padding:0; color:#528887;">«</td> <td style="background-color:#2a2a2a; padding:20px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:0; width:308px;"><img src="IMAGE URL - 300px WIDE OR LESS" style="border-radius:20px;"><br> </td> <td style="font-size:70px; vertical-align:middle; padding:0; color:#528887;">»</td></tr> <tr><td></td> <td style="background-color:#2a2a2a; font:12px arial; text-align:left; padding:10px;"><span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Age:</b> your character's age</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Seeking:</b> friendship/romantic/anything</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Preferences:</b> sexual preference or n/a</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Interests:</b> three interests</span> <span style="color:#c4c4c4;"><b>» Bio:</b> 30 words or less</span> </td></tr> <tr><td></td> <td style="text-align:right; font-size:10px; background-color:#2a2a2a;"><font color="#528887">base code by</font> <a href="http://photosynthesis.dreamwidth.org/" style="color:#528887;">photosynthesis</td></tr> <raw-code><tr style="border-bottom:1px dashed #528887;"><td></td> <td style="background-color:#2a2a2a;font:20px Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; color:#c4c4c4; text-align:center;">Character Name</td> <td><td></tr><tr><td></td> <td style="border-bottom-right-radius:50px; border-bottom-left-radius:50px; background-color:#2a2a2a; text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%; font:30px Verdana;"><tr><td style="text-align:left;"> <span style="text-decoration:none; color:#528887;">« ✘</span></td> <td style="text-align:right;"><span style="text-decoration:none; color:#528887;">✔ »</span></td></tr> </table></td> <td></td></table></raw-code></center>
base code found here.

For this prompt, you can either post your character's new, fancy Friendr app profile in the comments, or provide a link to their updated code in an entry on their journal. Whatever floats your boat!

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: 5ofnovember; image iii: Sina Pakzad Kasra; image iv: mit19237

navigation

Comments

[burntbridges]

[She notices the odd look he gives her skeleton, but it's forgivable - she knows full well that her powers are off-putting to most people.]

What better way to advertise a club for the paranormal arts? [She pulls a tarot deck from her bag, and begins shuffling it.] It may not always be accurate, but the magical forms of divination tend to be messy. These make for better parlor tricks, I think.

[aeturnus]

[ Cain sidles up closer at the sight of the deck, his amusement plain. Not that he's one to dabble in these things but he knows a fair amount more than the layman. Part of him wishes she'd be up for doing the more magical types just to see what magic thinks of an immortal's future. ]

This is where I ask the deck a question and you'll interpret the answer, right?

[burntbridges]

That depends - I can answer a question, I can solve a problem or I can see a simple overview of what fate has in store for you. It's all up to you.

[With a practiced motion, she spreads the deck so that every card can be accessed.]

Pick what you'd like the cards to tell you, choose three of them and place them face-down for me.

[aeturnus]

Let's go with the simple overview.

[ That in mind, Cain reaches for three cards and takes all of them before setting them down one by one on the table between them. He's watching her more than the cards, out of interest for the craft. He's playing with fire and he knows it, now where these tricks have more substance than he's ever known them to before, but what's life without spice? ]

That good?

[burntbridges]

[She places the deck beside her, moving the three cards he's chosen into a line - health, fortune, love.]

This will work fine. Let's see what we've got, shall we?

[She turns the first card over - five of wands. Calamity.]

Oh... well, we can hope this one is inaccurate. Otherwise you'll come down with a terrible illness - a simple cold, perhaps, that you'll ignore until it is too late. If you survive, you'll be stronger for it, but you'll lose valuable time on recovery.

[The second card is a seven of coins. Contemplation.]

If you've been considering some new line of business, this might be the time to try it. It will take time to iron out the details, but once you have a plan in mind it will be sure to succeed. [She lets out a small laugh.] I'm sorry, that's rather vague... but it's all I have in that regard.

[And the last card - the page of wands. A helpful friend.]

I see someone in your life who's quite close to you... someone you consider a confidante, or even simply a soothing presence. There are some unspoken feelings between the two of you - one of you may not have noticed, or perhaps you simply think the other hasn't. If you hesitate, you may lose the chance, but if you take your chance you may well be rewarded.

[aeturnus]

[ Cain laughs at the first card, rude as it might be to do so, then ducks his head to show that he's being a good boy, promise. That laugh totally didn't come out right. ]

Sorry. I appreciate the read, but it's... not very accurate. Not for me. I don't get sick.

[burntbridges]

[She doesn't mind the laugh, since he doesn't seem to be making fun of her. She simply gives him an amused smile as she shuffles her deck again.]

I can't get them all right. Are you magical in some form, or simply very lucky?

[aeturnus]

Just a special circumstance.

[ Definitely not magic, and his luck is atrocious. No, his life is generally undefinable. ]

What about you?

[burntbridges]

I'm a magician - a necromancer, specifically.

[As she says this, her skeleton makes a hat-tipping gesture. He's been animated all day, looking for other people to flag down for her club.]

I've been trained to speak with the dead, and walk among them - I can even contact other necromancers in their dreams, if need be. This is Walter, he's one of the old Perimeter Guard who lost his life beyond the wall. I was able to find him and clean his body up, and now he's a general companion for when my friends are busy.

[aeturnus]

You say that, but he's not actually Walter anymore, is he?

[ Just a puppetted pile of bones. It's obvious Cain isn't a fan but he's incredibly civil about it, asking questions and learning instead of getting angry or in a huff. ]

[burntbridges]

[It's a common enough question, and she appreciates him not taking an accusing tone right off the bat.]

He can't speak while I'm moving his body, but he still has his soul. If I disanimate him, he can come right back to talk to me - or anyone else who knows how to listen. You can ask him a question, if you'd like.

[aeturnus]

[ Something in his gaze changes and he turns to look right toward Walter when she says that. He doesn't approve of necromantic arts, but talking to the souls of the dead? He can do that, has done it all his life. ]

Yes, please. Let me talk to him.

[burntbridges]

[She nods easily, and makes a small and vague motion as she cuts her influence on the skeleton. He slowly slumps back into a pile of bones held together with string (just to keep them in the right shape), and a moment later Walter is present in his body once more.]

I can relay what he says, unless you have any talent with speaking to the dead yourself.

[aeturnus]

[ The way his eyes track, it's pretty obvious he sees Walter there. Deathsight. Always useful for those awkward conversations with the dead. ]

I can talk to him. Hi, Walter.

[burntbridges]

Hey there.

[The skeleton has the voice of a young man, one who died in his early thirties. There's something a little hesitant in his tone; likely because he hasn't had the chance to speak to anyone but Letha in years.]

Can you... really hear me? Are you some kind of death wizard too?

[aeturnus]

[ He smiles sadly. ]

Not a death wizard. We call it Deathsight where I'm from. See ghosts and other things. How are you holding up? Metaphorically speaking.

[burntbridges]

[Letha wrinkles her nose slightly, wondering silently what sort of world he comes from where he doesn't consider 'Deathsight' to be magic. But for now, she's letting him and Walter talk.

And boy, does Walter sound excited.]

I'm... good. Wow, you really can hear me. I mean- no one talks to me on the living end except Ms. Regis, but I can hear people talking ABOUT me. I uh... hear my body was pretty mangled up for a while, I hope I'm not grossing you out.

[aeturnus]

I've seen worse, trust me.

[ He's been worse. Clean bones are incredibly tame. ]

So when you're moving around, you can't exert any control yourself? You can either communicate or be mobile.[ He glances to her, quirks a quick smile for the look. ] Or let her be mobile for you, I mean.

[burntbridges]

I guess so. I don't know the rules very well, but I can't feel my body when she's using it. It's just... blocked, and I get stuck in the afterlife for a while. Not that I mind! I don't have much use for it, anyway..

[Letha pipes up then to fill in the gaps:]

When I'm moving him, I'm filling his body with a bit of my own soul - so there's no room for his to inhabit it. If that makes sense.

[aeturnus]

[ He looks between the two of them, takes a breath. ]

So he's being pulled out of and pushed into the afterlife constantly?

[burntbridges]

He can leave the afterlife when he wants to, I simply cut off his access to his body from time to time.

If we're being honest... it's better in the afterlife anyway. She leaves my body under her bed when her boyfriend comes over. If I stay out of my body I can't hear them.

[Letha clears her throat awkwardly at that, her face turning pink.]

[aeturnus]

[ Yeah, Cain can't say he's surprised. Exasperated, maybe? But surprised just isn't the word. He shifts so he's standing more comfortably, leaning against their table without adding too much weight. ]

If it's better, why do you keep something back? Where I'm from, there's no crossing back. Not without some gigantic backlash.

[burntbridges]

I dunno... it's kind of nice? Get to hear about what the living world's up to, the latest trends...

[He lets out a huff.]

Who am I kidding, she just gets really sad whenever I leave her alone too long. All my friends came from the portal and then died and went back through the portal, I've got no one to talk to on one plane or the other. I just come back to see if I can hear anyone's voice except hers.

[Letha is now crossing her arms and refusing to look at Walter. Wow, Walter. She thought you were her friend.]

[aeturnus]

[ Yeah, he has to take another breath. Measured. Okay. Okay. }

In that case, I'll be your friend. Call me Cain.

[burntbridges]

Heh... that's quite a name. Yeah, sure. My name's Walter Pembroke. Nice to meet you.

[Letha is very heavily considering just forcing Walter out of his body and animating him again, but that would be petty. She instead just sits there, grumbly and upset, planning to save an argument with him until they're not around someone who can hear Walter's (very valid) half.]