riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

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introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Sampremi Celebration
when: March 8th - March 15th
where: In several different locations in the downtown area of the Inhabited City.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

sampremi celebration

In the days leading up to March 8th, new residents may notice advertising around the city, everywhere from digital screens to paper flyers pasted on blank walls, featuring the name of the spring holiday in celebration of new beginnings, new love, and lust: Sampremi. The advertising mentions that there will be street festivals set up at various locations throughout the week and lists where the market will be set up on each day.

street market

The main draw of the holiday is a roaming street market that features special treats and street food that can only be found during Sampremi, a bustling bargain market with any kind of goods you can think of, and fair games that allow a person to win a prize for that special someone.

i. street food

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 sticks or desserts baked with a narrow part in the middle for convenient tearing, everything is built in twos. 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.

ii. fair games

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, and due to the nature of the Quarantine, a lot of them involve aiming or other aspects of pretending to fight.

iii. shopping

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.

iv. adult

In a side alley of the Sampremi Market on any day, one can find an area roped off with a red silken cord, attended by members of the Perimeter Guard in casual dress who will ID anyone entering to make sure they are 18+. Once characters are permitted entry, they will find all of the adult offerings that the market has to offer.

Since Sampremi is, historically, a celebration of lust and physical love, the adult offerings are all set up to cater to two or more people of any sex or gender configuration. One can find an adult or sexualized version of almost anything that's featured in the main market, from fair games to adult goods to street food laced with actual aphrodisiacs (there are always warnings for food spiked in this way to avoid accidental consumption).

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 at the Sampremi Festival, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit (left to right): Theo Prins, andreasrocha @ tumblr, hrormir @ deviantart, nkabuto @ deviantart

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Lola is only ever polite, having her show respect and grace usually involves her at work, or at school. And even then she's told teachers (and customers) to go to hell before. Casual is just so much more comfortable than putting on airs. Or getting scandalized over the idea of sex.

And yes, Lola knows her way around kitchens, it is about the one serviceable skill she has. Well, that and she is quietly making a list of suggestions Cecelia could take up to look a little less tired and a little more rejuvenated. Maybe help make that crease less noticeable.

"No, sorry, just... with the fair and everything being about romance-" Lola paused, mid-thought. She was definitely sure she made a huge mistake, but in the middle of her apology a new thought made itself known, and that thought was annoyingly important. It was a question, a question that Lola had assumed an answer for, but without that answer the question suddenly mattered, "...if you weren't with anyone, where were you?"

Lola's list of reasons to stay out all night started and ended with 'romance and sex.' Hence why Lola found an answer so easily, but now she needed a new answer.

Oh, dear. This is what Cecelia had been dreading. She had held a sort of naive hope that she would go unnoticed for just one night, but it seems it was not meant to be. Can she keep this secret any longer, especially when asked about it in such a frank manner?

"I had matters that had to be attended to," she begins, hoping that will work. "And now I am ready for breakfast. Do you know how to use that machine?" She nods towards the microwave in an effort to distract Lola from her curiosity. "A microwave, is it?" Only Cecelia puts the emphasis on the wrong syllable, calling it a "my-CRO-wave" instead of a "MY-cro-wave." Look, she's only heard it said once before.

Probably should have let Lola think it was a one night stand.

"Oh, okay." Lola seemed to accept that as an answer. It really wasn't her concern after all. "Sure, I can walk you through it. It isn't that difficult, the big rule is don't put any metal in there. And you'll want to use the regular oven if you're worried about texture. Even if it takes longer." Lola started walking Cecelia through the basics of a microwave and what times and prep were needed for oatmeal, and then...

"What sort of matters? I mean, that aren't a guy and had to be done in the middle of the night?" Look, Lola's a ditz, but her brain keeps wheeling back to questions she hasn't gotten answer to.

The oven is something else she'll have to learn, but the microwave is a good first step. She listens intently, committing as much to memory as she can. Poking the numbers to make a time come up is a little strange, but if she can use a tablet to talk to people not right in front of her, she can do this.

And back to the questions! She's close to telling Lola she's being impertinent, but manners stop her from doing so, even if Lola is showing a woeful lack of them right now. Suppressing a sigh, she answers, "Matters that require solitude, I am afraid. As I live here, that makes it impossible and I had to go out."

Lola is so used to all these tools she has a little trouble wrapping her head around not using them. She gets not being able to use an oven, those can burn the house down. But a microwave is just... so easy. How do you reheat pizza without a microwave?

Lola considers the options for someone who seems really uptight. She dismisses a few ideas off hand, while possible they aren't 'out all night' things. A few of them don't make you more tired. So... she still has nothing. She can tell she might be toeing the line on what is appropriate questions, "Maybe you should see if you can get a private room? Or at least ask for a space here that can be just yours. I know having to share a room with so many people is weird..."

But having to keep a secret like this just feels like a lot more work than it really needs.

Cecelia would simply wonder what pizza is, and would probably pronounce it wrong too.

"I have considered such a thing," she says quietly. Though honestly, it doesn't solve her problem. Without iron bars to hold her back, she would destroy any room she's put in. "I believe the beds are assigned at random, and if I wish to move, I must first raise the funds to do so. In time, I will probably move elsewhere. For the solitude."

"Then I suppose you need to find a job here."

Lola didn't understand, still, that for some of the people here that would be more work than she thought. She might not have a lot of skills, but her experience was on point to finding work. Still, it was a hurdle that could not be avoided. "Although that sounds lonely, letting one thing keep you away from people. But maybe if I had a boyfriend right now I'd think differently about sharing a room."

"Oh, they helped me find employment when I arrived. I play the harp at different eating establishments around the city." The concept of a restaurant is so strange to her. Taverns exist back home, as do inns, but restaurants are much larger and with such a large menu!

Lola speaking so casually about a boyfriend has Cecelia feeling a bit out of sorts. She can guess that the words boy and friend used that way refers to a beau, and that implies some sort of understanding, doesn't it? Such as an assumption of engagement, because it is most improper to share space alone with a man without a chaperone!

But then again, what if it's different in Lola's world?

"Might I ask about courtship in your world? Are there certain rules that govern how you go about it?"

"Neat. Does that come with tips or just being paid by the owners?"

Lola's dad never tried to bring in live music for the cantina, so Lola's never had to work with a live musician. She figures it's tipped based unless the place is really high priced. Not Lola's usual scene.

Lola tilted her head, she got the gist of the question even if the words felt weird. Like really old and not quite on point for what Lola's life was. "Not really, you meet a guy or girl you like, spend time with them. Figure out if they are the sort of person you want in your life, that you trust, and love. And... well, you know. Sex."

Lola whispered the last word, like that would make the word less awkward. This did not have any such effect on the word. But that's hardly a surprise.

"People do tip, yes. It surprised me at first. But it is in addition to my salary." It seemed so low class to be handed money by strangers, but she's come to understand it's part of the job. It would be seen as scandalous back home. People would think her a woman of ill-repute for being handed money by men. But it's just one more thing to add to the list of differences between there and here.

"In truth, it is not so different at home. But young people are chaperoned during such a time, so a young lady's virtue does not come into question." It seems so natural a thing, and not at all an example of a patriarchal society quick to point the finger of blame at a woman for her indiscretions and not a man. "But once there is an understanding, there is a proposal, then marriage."

Lola was perpetually confused when people didn't understand tipping. But she was cute and worked hard, so she always got nicer tips than most did. Plus she was paid better at home, what with it being her dad's place and her name was above the door.

Lola worried her lip, she was pretty sure explaining any bit of her life recently to Cecelia would not go over well. What with the not having a virtue anymore and telling the entire world about her abortion bit. She decided to focus on the part of the statement she could react to. "But... people who are chaperoned act very differently than they would if they're alone. How do you really get to know a man if you can't get to know him?"

Boys always acted differently if her father was around. Even boys that had no interest in her romantically or sexually.

"Do they?" she asks, a slight arch of her eyebrow showing that this is a surprise to her. Siblings may act differently around one another than in public, but rarely is it so for those who marry. Some even spend their entire married lives referring to the other as Mr So-and-So and Mrs So-and-So.

"In any case, that is the way we do things, and most people end up married."

Lola wasn't quite sure how to explain what she knew. She knew it, she's seen it, but trying to find the right way to say why people did it was different, "Most people act differently when they're around other people. I know when boys are around my dad they get a lot more polite."

Lola frowned, she was really glad that wasn't her world. But a bitter part of her wondered if, well, she'd still have her mom if that were the case. She didn't think so, even if mom had stayed, she wasn't happy. Dad wasn't happy either. As if to get her mind away from that topic, Lola's brain suddenly started putting bits of what Cecelia said together, and came up with a new assumption, "So... that means you've never, with a guy? Not ever?"

Lola had done a lot of research on statistical ages about sex and masturbation, and even more research once she got pregnant. So while she was confident that what she had done wasn't weird. The idea that anyone that much older than her had never done it just was such a bizarre thought. And Lola's complete lack of filter meant she asked the moment she thought of it.

Goodness, this young woman is forward! It's slightly offputting if only because Cecelia isn't used to it. It also may be that she's a bit more irritable since it's the morning after her werewolf shift and she's sore and tired.

"I am a widow," she replies, clasping her hands together. "I am sure that you can assume the rest." Funnily enough, she and her husband never actually had what most consider full sex, because they didn't want to bring another werewolf into the world. They saw it as a curse, so why curse a child to that life? That doesn't mean she and Thomas didn't do other intimate things, however.

"Oh. Okay." And with that Lola was settled. Lola was probably even more forward than normal between the whole roommate thing, the shared shower thing, and the fact that everything she knew in the world wasn't here. There was a lack of usual gossip to follow and social media to stalk, so she had to replace them somehow.

"I wonder how much we're allowed to change the living area to make it less... prisony." And because the gossip had dried up, Lola moved onto something more practical. As her mind moved from one topic to the next without much concern for how they connected. All while flitting about the kitchen gathering the rest of her breakfast designs, "Give us a bit more privacy. If at all possible."

Cecelia looks about as surprised about this as everything else Lola says. "Your prisons look like this?" she asks. Because from what she knows of engravings published in the papers, prisons are no where near as luxurious. They don't have sofas for one thing. There's usually a straw stuffed mattress on the floor, crawling with insects.

"I do agree that it is difficult to not have much privacy. Why, I have to push a chair up against the door to the bathroom to ensure no one comes in!" Fun fact: they don't have bathrooms back home, and she's certainly not letting strangers walk in on her as she tries to figure out the shower.

"I meant the lack of any privacy and locking myself in one of the bathroom stalls to get changed." This was way nicer than prison, she assumed. Even TV prisons weren't this nice. But on the other hand prisons had, like, doors. And you only shared your space with one person? Or that's how it was when the news showed a prison.

"Maybe some privacy screens... I wonder how expensive getting some of those would be!" Lola wasn't modest by any conventional standard, she knew she could wear just about anything and look good. But she also knew that she was sixteen and where she's from most of the people in this place seeing her naked would be criminal so she is keeping that discomfort in mind. "It might make everyone a little more okay with things."

"It would depend on the design, I should think," Cecelia muses as she continues to watch Lola do her thing in the kitchen. She really had no idea where to start helping, so she'll simply stay out of the way and attend to her own breakfast once Lola is finished.

"If the wood is highly detailed, or the fabric is expensive, it would cost more. Something plain could be obtained at very little cost, if the prices here are comparable to home."

Trying to follow Lola's actions in a kitchen was more difficult than it should be. She went out of her way to do as much at once as she could. And without her impossibly packed gossip feeds of school and celebrity she was doing even more than she would at home.

"I've never seen a cheap one at home, the only one I've seen was Frankie's and her parents are super rich. She's 'her dad is the mayor' rich." Until she'd been in Frankie's room she thought those were made up, or only existed in old movies. "Or we could switch the beds around so one half of the floor is boys, and the other half is girls?"

"Hmm," she muses, thinking it over. "Perhaps they are uncommon in your world and therefore more valuable?" They're used in upper class houses in England because modesty is paramount, even in front of different types of maids. Her lady's maid would help her dress, but Cecelia certainly wasn't going to let the young scullery maid who lit her bedroom fireplace see her in her shift!

"I do like the idea of separating the beds that way. Perhaps we can speak to the others about it?"

"I don't even know why Frankie has one other than nobody in her family knows how to knock." It was nice, but hardly really valuable. Frankie didn't even use it to change when Shay or Lola was over unless underwear was coming off. But then again after three different team sports together and a locker room shower set-up that defied modesty there wasn't much they hadn't seen of each other.

"It'd make the rooms feel a bit more... our own. Maybe we can go out and find them when you're less exhausted from whatever weird thing you were up to last night." ...Lola...

If Lola thinks this will entice Cecelia to be forthright about her activities last night, she'll end up disappointed. That's something Cecelia will keep close to the chest until she has a better read on the people here to know how they will react.

"We could do so, yes." Though she hopes the place that sells them delivers. She's not going to carry a load of privacy screens back, even though she could with her enhanced strength. It simply isn't ladylike.

Lola bringing up Cecelia's night again does, however, remind Cecelia of how exhausted she is. Her body may have quickly recovered from transforming back, but the aches remain.

"For now, I think I should retire to bed a bit longer before attempting to eat."

Lola isn't trying to do anything, she's simply commenting on the way of things. It's what she knows, and what else does she have on hand than that. "Maybe we can take one of the guys, they're all really tall and made of muscles."

What. They all are. They'd be good for carrying privacy screens.

"Okay... if I have time I'll leave leftovers here with instructions to reheat them." Lola in a kitchen with people to help? Well, she has to do the thing that gets people to like her. That's how her mind works.

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introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

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