introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

[riverviewmod]

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

navigation

Comments

[signifies]

He shakes her hand warmly and firmly. Clark withdraws into his personal space immediately after: he knows that look, and it makes him conscious of his size. He chose his usual plaid shirts that do a lot to hide the outline of his body. If only he could physically shrink.

'Clark. No problem.'

[naz]

Having the grace to look apologetic when she realizes that she appears to have made the man uncomfortable, Caitlin offers a sheepish smile. "Nice to meet you, Clark," she replies, dropping her hand back to her side once she's shaken his. In an effort to move past the discomfort she's caused, Caitlin presses on with the subject of the food.

"Have you tried anything else on the menu at this one?" she asks, curious. This thing is going to be here all month, so she might as well get lots of recommendations if she can, so that she can try lots of new things while it's here to try.

[signifies]

'Just what I mentioned to you,' he answers, smiling back at her in turn to show it's no real trouble. Clark can get away with having more food than seems physically possible, but every item, on all the menus? Too much. 'You might want to pair the drinks from the place next to it with them. They go together well.'

[naz]

With a warm smile, Caitlin nods, appreciative of the extra bit of advice. "Thanks for the tip," she says with a grin as she gets to the front of the line and orders as Clark advised. When she receives her order after paying, her eyes widen a little.

"Oh geez, this is too much…" she murmurs. "You think it'll keep well enough if I take it back and put what I can't finish in the fridge?" There's no way she can finish this whole portion by herself. Given the meaning of this whole celebration, she's fairly certain that's intentional, but she's on her own right now. She doesn't want to waste food, especially if it's as good as Clark says. "Or do you want to just take half, maybe?" she offers almost hopefully.

[signifies]

The second counter takes Clark's order at the same time as Caitlin's, so they walk over to the tables at the side, keeping out of the other patrons' way. Clark got a wrap, which he asked for extra napkins for. The sauce is runny.

'Oh, I have microwaveable boxes in my bag. I don't mind sharing. They're giving these out free at the other corner of the food stalls.'

It saves her the trip.

[naz]

As she moves with him, she smiles at his offer. "Oh, yeah that would be great, thank you!" she replies. She hadn't actually thought of asking for that, but it's nice to know for future reference. "What's that one?" she asks, nodding to his order. It isn't what he suggested she try, so she wonders if it's something he hasn't tried yet and is giving a shot right now.

[signifies]

Clark sets his wrap down on the table and pulls out a box for her.

'It smelled good,' he tells her, with a small smile. Clark's senses are acute; he can tell which of the flavours are artificial. There's a lot of different kinds of meat-based foods on the market currently. None of them are likely to harm him. 'Do you want a little bit?'

[naz]

With a grateful smile, Caitlin takes the box and sets it on the table beside her own food, so that it'll be easy to just transfer whatever she can't finish over to it.

"That's fair enough," she replies. It doesn't occur to her that that statement might be weird at all, because he says it so casually and, well, it does smell good. She doesn't have to have any special abilities to notice that on her own. Clark offers her a taste and Caitlin looks a little surprised. "Oh, I couldn't...that's yours, I don't want to pick off your plate...I'd feel bad," she says. Mostly because she's been conditioned that way as a child.

Her bottom lip catches between her teeth thoughtfully, though. "...maybe just a tiny bit...?" She gives him a sheepish smile. She'd offer him the same, but he's already tried hers; hence his recommendation. Plus, she'd offered him some of it already and he hadn't taken her up on it.

[signifies]

( sorry about the delay! I missed this notification in my inbox. )

'It's not a problem.' If he wants more, he can get more. Clark also doesn't really need to eat. Besides, a tiny bit of something she might enjoy? It's no skin off him.

'Really. Please help yourself.'