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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[ It would never be appropriate for Ray to show up to an event like this empty-handed, even if he isn't rich here in the same way he was back home. He does however, lack the ability to cook. Not that he couldn't learn, but given how demanding his job used to be, Ray hadn't picked up a pan in ages. So instead, he opts to bring some homemade drinks. Virgin cocktails made from some of the local fruits that people could add their own alcohol to if they wanted, or enjoy as is.

It's when he swallows his first sopping of roll with beef broth though, that Ray rolls his eyes in pure delight. ]

This is ah-mazing.

[ He knows their host is busy though, so he tries not to bother her too much. If it ever does look like Wanda does have some free time, and is open to talking to yet another person, he'll approach. ]

Wanda, right? I'm Ray. I saw your video on the network earlier and I gotta say. This is amazing. I'd love to hear more about Sokovia and Saint Nikolina, if you haven't told those stories a million times by now.

[Virgin cocktails are more than welcome at this feast. Wanda's seen to it that there is water enough for everyone and wine and beer as well, but there's something festive about cocktails, and not everyone wants to get too inebriated a more family friendly event like the Feast of Saint Nikolina.

Wanda is in the middle of serving more of her mother's stew to another arrival when she hears Ray from not far away respond to his first taste. This is the kind of response that she'd been hoping for, and once she finds herself free of hostess duties for a few moments, she makes her way over to where he's seated.]

Unsurprisingly, most people here have been more focused on the hot food and cold drinks, but thank you. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. You're the first to ask about Nikolina or Sokovia however. [Still standing, she reaches over to pour herself one of those cocktails he brought. She has to stay on her toes a while longer before letting herself indulge in something stronger.] Which would you like to hear about first, Ray?

[ His eyebrows rise up when she says he's been the first to ask. ] Really? Noooo. But I'm sure there's so much rich history here. [ When she goes to pour herself a cocktail though, Ray goes for just a small second helping of the stew. He still has a little bit of bread left and something this delicious cannot go to waste. ]

Tell me about Sokovia first. I'd love to hear. It's in ... eastern Europe, right?

[ It's entirely possible that he's misremembering. Ray might be smart, the geography he knows the best are the countries he used to do business in. Sokovia wasn't one of them. ]

That's right.

[She takes a sip of her drink, to be polite at first, but her eyes open a little wider at the taste. It's quite good, and for that reason she takes another, deeper drink.]

We're tucked into the middle of everything, which means my country has too often been the staging grounds for the wars of other countries. [The smile she gives him is flat, fleeting.] But it is a country with a long, rich history of its own. We used to be known for some of our churches, before the shelling took out some of the best of them during one war or another. And despite everything that's happened, the people have endured. They're the heart of the country.

[Despite everything they've been through, even. Everything that those still living have survived.]

Feasts like these are what contribute to that, of course.

[ The key, is always the balance of sugar versus everything else. Ray's learned that the hard way. He likes sugar way too much.

As Wanda talks though, he listens, intently, like he's really trying to remember everything she says. ] Churches ... that makes sense, actually. Since this is a feast that celebrates a saint. [ And then Wanda mentions the people, and Ray can't help but smile a little. ] I know that you mean. The past few years, the City I've lived in has been ... under attack. And some people have left but, the ones who stay, who refuse to give up their homes and who come out and fight. They're what make the City what it is.

[ It's surprising, what a little bit of resilience can bring to the world. ]

Which brings us to St. Nikolina.

[Surprisingly, Ray seems genuinely interested in what she has to say about Sokovia, even after mentioning the war. Everyone's expression seems to flicker when she mentions that, however fleeting, but Ray's doesn't. She finds it more comfortable to not be faced with that. He accepts what she says, and continues to ask questions.]

Yes, it does. Saint Nikolina, Born one, perhaps two-hundred years ago in Novi Grad, our capital. I'm afraid my knowledge about her isn't entirely complete but from what my father taught me, she performed a miracle one day, during a famine. Despite the fact that food was scarce, she managed to feed all of the orphaned children in the city, those who had lost their parents to the famine, those who had no one left to care for them.

[Wanda doesn't know that she believes it's true. Nikolina could have been some noblewoman who had opened her family's stores of food out to the children, for all she knows. Still, the generosity and the spirit of the feast is something that pleases her, especially when she's in a position to give instead of simply enjoying the offerings of others.]

[ There are a few clubs that are sad to belong to. Including the one where your home has been made some sort of battleground for others. But Ray is ... for the lack of better word, used to that happening now, though it hasn't made him give up. He supposes that's why he'd still be living in Star City, if he hadn't been taken here.

And then he hears her talk about Nikolina, and a soft smile makes its way onto Ray's lips. That's ... that's so nice and inspiring. ]

So now, every year, people get together and celebrate being with family by sharing their food? What a fantastic tradition. Really.

I agree. And it isn't just about being with family so much as remembering that the communities we live in can be family as well. Our friends, our neighbors, those we share circumstances with. It's a celebration of them and of generosity of spirit.

[It's not a correction so much as an expansion on the themes, ones that are close to her heart, even if she and Pietro didn't always benefit from them year round in Novi Grad. It was tough to live there for everyone, each trying to do the best they could.]

So, now that you know about Sokovia and Nikolina, will you tell me about where you're from and perhaps one of your favorite holidays to celebrate?

[ He can tell she really thinks that — all those sappy things that he likes to celebrate as well — and he gives her satisfied smile. ]

Oh! Yeah, of course. Okay. Well, I wasn't born there, but for the past few years, my home has been this place called Star City. We're out on the west coast of the United States, in Washington. It's a little rainy, but we're next to the ocean and you can see mountains in the distance.

[ Ray had hinted at it earlier, but when he talks about Star City now, he doesn't mention any of the terrorist attacks, or plots to kill thousands of people that they can never seem to eradicate. Instead, he chooses to focus on the good things. ]

My favorite holiday though has got to be Christmas. Are you- I'm guessing you're familiar with Christmas ... but I keep meeting people who don't seem to be from the same planet, so I feel like I have to make sure.

[Star City sounds lovely by the name alone, and being close to the ocean and mountains sounds wonderful as well. She'd had mountains in Novi Grad but not the ocean, not any beaches unless she and Pietro went to the nearby rivers or lakes.

As for holidays, his mention of Christmas brings a smile to her face. Wider still when he feels the need to make sure she knows the holiday. His reasons are valid but for someone who does know Christmas it feels a little odd to have someone double check.]

Yes, I know Christmas very well. We would celebrate every year back home.

[Last year was the first year she'd ever spent it without Pietro. Thinking about him now makes her wistful for the past, for those years when they'd both scraped together a little money to buy each other a gift.]

What is your favorite part about Christmas?

[ He laughs, a little embarrassed now that she says she does know, even if he had a good reason for checking. But asking Ray his favorite part of Christmas is like asking a child what's their favorite part of their birthday. The reasons are endless and hard to compare, and Ray looks like ... like he's delighted and overwhelmed at the same time. ]

It's ... [ He struggles a little, to try and express himself. Usually it's not a problem at all. ] ... it's the one time of year, where, people do thoughtful things for each other. And ... [ He lets out a breathy laugh. ] ... it doesn't just have to be for family. For friends. Colleagues. Even people you don't know very well.

And people are always ... just happier around Christmas.

[She understands it, of course. People are more generous around the holidays, more likely to give a pair of orphaned kids some food or a new, warm jacket or two. And yes, it's the one time a year that she and Pietro used to find that warm, fuzzy feeling inside again, the hope that the world wasn't going to hell around them.]

Yes, I agree. It is one of the better times of the year.

[She pauses a beat.]

I doubt that they have it here, so we'll have to share this holiday in this place as well. Think you're up to the task?

[ Maybe it's just because December is so far away, but it never occurred to Ray that they wouldn't have Christmas here or that it's something they'd have to share with the residents. But when Wanda asks him if he's up for the task, Ray let's out chuckle as his eyes light up. ]

Oh my god yes. That's- I'd love that. There's so many things we could do- [ He's already thinking about the caroling and the wreath making and teaching people about the holiday spirit. ] We should get started- [ Wait. It's currently ... March? Right. ] -a few months out, maybe. Like. October.

[The way his face lights up, you'd think that he had just walked down on Christmas morning to a big pile of presents and the most incredible breakfast he's ever seen. His cheer is infectious, and she can't help but smile back. Christmas with the Avengers was lovely. Perhaps here with someone like Ray it could be even better. More...something? If anyone could get the collected residents of this city into the Christmas spirit it seems it would be him.]

Perhaps September even. They've never had one before and there may be a lot of preparations that need to happen sooner rather than later.

[An extra month of planning without judgment would no doubt make him happy, yes?]

Let me know when you begin and I'll help if I'm able.

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introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

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