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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[ Of all the things she expects the teen to say, asking about her celebrating the Fourth of July is not one of them, so she blinks a few times as she appears taken slightly aback, but she clears her throat, her brow creased in the center with both confusion and sympathy. His question implies that he does not, obviously, but the tone of the question almost suggests that no one does, where he comes from. Caitlin can't help wondering why, in spite of her knowing better than to actually come out and ask. ]

Yeah, we still have Fourth of July. And every other US holiday... And don't worry. Literally anyone can make me start thinking and talking too much. It doesn't take a lot of effort, Carl. It's nice to meet you. Sorry to have talked your ear off.

[ Curiosity itches at her, but Caitlin makes it a point not to press. If he wants to talk about it, he will, but if he doesn't, then it's none of her business anyway why he's so surprised about her still celebrating Independence Day. If her suspicion is right in connecting his tone and surprise to the idea that no one does where he comes from, it makes her wonder why not? Have they been at war; lost the nation to another country, therefore rendering Independence Day obsolete and depressing? ]

Seriously? Other US holidays too? [He sees the sympathetic look she gives him and can't say he enjoys having it on him, but he cares more about how she still has holidays where she is from than to tell her she shouldn't feel sorry for him. It's just a fact of life he accepted a long time ago.]

What year are you from? [Seems the logical thing to ask. Because he's read comics that have time jumped around before and feels that must have something to do with this... and because no one after the year 2010 should have it so normal... right?]

[ He still seems genuinely surprised and when he asks what year she's from, Caitlin wonders all over again what happened when or where he came from that he doesn't have holidays. ]

Yeah...all of them, even the stupid ones no one cares about, like National Secretary's Day or something. It's 2017. What year are you from?

[ He's got to be from some future dystopia (terrifying idea that she wishes hadn't popped into her head, thank you very much) or maybe another Earth. That's the only thing she can come up with. ]

[Her assumption is correct. And he can't help but glance at her with his eye narrowing a little more with disbelief.]

That can't be right. It is... 2012 for me, maybe. [He ain't sure anymore but sure enough it's not 2017. This definitely feels like something out of the comics he's read.]

It is, though. It was February of 2017 back home for me.

[ Her brow creases in spite of the smallest tugs of an apologetic smile. ]

We've learned, though, that there are parallel Earths. Things aren't the same on every Earth. We call ours Earth 1, but that's just because it's our Earth. You could be from another one where things are different...

[If they weren't where they were, he'd know she was talking crazy. But this isn't like home. The hardest thing to explain isn't walkers and diseases, it's the possibility of this place here and other worlds. He takes a second to sort it out in his brain and come to believe her.]

That's-- So, what you're saying is this place is like one of those parallel Earths you know of? [Except for the fact he isn't sure this world is called Earth.] Mine too? We call ours Earth, too.

Oh, no...no, this place feels a little different. My friends were on Earth 2 and they said it's pretty much the same except that the people are different, but this doesn't look like my Earth, really, at all. At least not like Central City or anything, where I'm from. I haven't traveled much to know whether it's just like a different area.

[ Really, really not the point, Caitlin. Not what he's essentially asking. Get back on track. ]

But I mean, yours, yeah. If you call it Earth and something went on there that made national holidays not a thing anymore...then yeah, you're from a parallel Earth because we, for sure, still have them on mine.

What do you mean by different? Different how? [It's one of the first questions that pops to mind. Because he felt it too. This place didn't feel the same to what he could recall the world was like before. And it wasn't just the awe inspiring buildings that defied gravity and rose up almost as if to touch the skies. It was something more than what he could put his finger on right now.

And no, please, stay off track, since now he's there with her wondering about it all.]

Yeah, I don't know about other places where I'm from, but I'm pretty sure we don't have time to do stuff like this anymore. This is not what I ever expected to see again either.

Uh...I don't know, I wasn't there, so I only have other people's accounts of what happened while they were, but uh...like my okay, H.R. I'll use H.R. for example. He's a writer from Earth 19 and he came through to work with us on Earth 1 at the lab. He's a little silly and he's full of big ideas and lots of energy and enthusiasm. He's not the brightest bulb, but he makes up for it with heart. He's always trying to make sure everyone is as happy as they can be and he cares a lot about people. He's kind of a hipster and he's single and childless.

Now, on Earth 2, there's a man we call Harry. It's the same man as H.R., but his life is very different. Harry has a daughter named Jesse. He's a genius and a scientist; very professional and clinical. He's closed off and sometimes he comes off as pretty cold, but he'll always have your back when you really need it, once he lets you into his life and decides that he cares.

Same face, both variations of a person named Harrison Wells — we give them nicknames to differentiate — completely different people, because Earth 2 Harry had his life unfold differently than Earth 19 H.R. did.

[ She pauses and chews her bottom lip. H.R. and Harry are a safer discussion to have than "On Earth 2, I was evil and worked for the bad guy and now I'm dead, but on Earth 1, I'm pretty nice?" ]

I don't know if that even makes sense, or if I just sound like a crazy person right now... [ Her tone softens a little. ] ...do you mind me asking...what is it like where you come from? It's okay if you'd rather not talk about it, but...I have to ask.

People can really be that different? [Which is basically what he got from all that. As well as the picture of somewhere out there there is a version of him living life normal as before and then worse than he is now. Both ideas cause the corner of lips to tug downward in a slight frown.]

It does sound crazy. [His look eventually switches one that is caught a little off guard by her curiosity to his world. He's never had to tell anyone what it was like before since everyone knew in their own way.] My world, um, it's not that I can't talk about it. I just don't know what to say about it. It, uh, changed when people turned into walkers... the dead.

[ To his question, Caitlin nods and her eyebrows lift a little as she smiles weakly. ]

They sure can. My friend said that he met a version of me who was a pediatric optometrist. Me right now? I'm a neurosurgeon and a biomedical engineer. I don't know a whole lot about children. I guess that's not super different, but it's a little different.

[ Killer Frost would be super different, but she's still not going to say anything about that.

Her breath catches a little bit at his description. ]

Oh, no wonder you don't— [ Have holidays, but she'd rather not bring it back up again and rub salt in the wound more than she already unwittingly has. ] ...that's awful, I'm so sorry...

[Thanks to the way she explains it to him, he gets the general idea of what an paediatric optometrist and neurosurgeon are... Just not entirely. He doesn't ask into what they are though because it's not important to him anyway.

He told her why they don't have holidays anymore and seeing her react as she does, he knows he probably doesn't need to say anything else about what he doesn't know anyway.

Instead Carl shakes his head the first second he hears her apology.] It's fine. [Though it's not.] You don't have anything to apologize for. It's just the way it is where I'm from. And I'm here right now. [Yes. That is supposed to be reassuring.]

[ In spite of his brush off of her apology and his willingness to drop blame away from her, Caitlin still feels bad for asking and making him talk about it. A world like that can't be an easy thing to talk about, even after escaping it. ]

I hope that you get to stay here, then.

[ She says that with sincerity, because if he'd rather be here — and who wouldn't, when they're from a world like that? — then she hopes he gets to. He's still young, maybe not a child, but young enough. He should get to enjoy frivolity and life instead of being surrounded by death. ]

Anyway, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt what was probably you thinking aloud, but... I do hope you'll try to have some fun? Even if fun is just eating your weight in fried cookies. If you haven't tried the fried Oreos, by the way, you really need to. They're kind of incredible.

[ And maybe she's just trying to insert a little bit of levity because it sounds like Carl could use a little. Maybe she's not very good at it, but she's trying, anyway. ]

[She's right. It's not easy to talk about and he's never really talked about it to anyone, not even his dad or his makeshift group of friends or even the girl he sort of has a thing for. Sure, he's opened about about other things. But not talking about it is generally the norm. And that's why it felt weird to have to explain it and it's why he's glad to drop now.

He almost smiles at her hoping he gets to stay but it vanishes as quickly as it threatens to appear since shakes his head at her claiming she was interrupting.] It's fine. It's what I should expect for talking to myself out loud. [Not that he means it as a bad thing. He's just stating a fact.

Anyway, when she brings oreos to his attention he can't help but turn to look around them to see if he can spy the mystical cookie near by. He definitely remembers a little about them and his memory holds it in nothing but a favorable light.] Seriously? Fried Oreos? I haven't had a normal Oreo in ages.

[He can't also help but think if Michonne was here she would enjoy this too.]

Edited 2017-03-24 21:09 (UTC)

[ Caitlin shakes her head a little at that comment. ]

Well not everyone is as nosy as I am, for the record. I'm pretty sure this one is on me.

[ But she smiles a little as he looks around before asking about the Oreos. There we go, there's something he can be happy about, even if he doesn't like the festival in and of itself. ]

Yeah, absolutely. I'd always wanted to try one but I'd never gotten the chance. A friend of mine found them at one of the food stands a little further inside. They're amazing. I bet if you really wanted and you asked, you could get a few of the Oreos before they fry them...

Okay. It's on both of us. [He says, just being honest.

Her idea isn't a bad one actually. Fried Oreos sounded good and all but he could go for trying it as it was supposed to be first and getting used to it like that.]

And you wouldn't mind showing me? Or pointing the way? [He shoots a curious look at her. She seems to be giving him enough friendly and "safe to be around" vibes that he figures there's no harm asking.]

[ Nodding, Caitlin smiles softly back at him, conceding. ]

That's fair enough.

[ Her smile brightens a little more, if only for a second before her expression slips into a feigned sort of wariness which the amusement in her eyes easily betrays, when he asks her to show him which way. ]

Oh! Yeah, absolutely, it's this way. I'm going to be as big as a house sooner than later if I keep going in this direction, but I can't tell you about it and then just not show you hot to get over there.

[ Caitlin starts to walk further into the carnival, keeping an eye out for the little shop that had sold her the bracelet she'd ultimately end up buying later; across the way had been where she'd met up with Ray and from there, it had only been a couple of food stands away.

She looks over at Carl as they walk. ]

So how old are you, anyway? Not that it matters, but I'm the curious kind.

Edited (lost my train of thought mid-tag, tagged anyway, it came back...so I fixed. lol sorry) 2017-03-27 01:10 (UTC)

[For the smallest of seconds her feigned expression confuses him and brings his head to tilt a little to the side. A look like that suggests that he said something, but he can't figure out what. All she had to do was say no or whatever if she was comfortable or something. Though a split second later he sees in her eyes she's just kidding around. And he'd be amused too if he knew her better, but he doesn't and he feels hesitant about putting it on her now.]

You sure? You can just point the way if you don't wanna. I wouldn't blame you.

[She starts to lead the way and Carl hesitates in following her for a moment but quickly chooses to follow her anyway before she gets too far ahead of him. He wasn't going to miss out on Oreos.

His eye glances back at her when she shoots the question at him. By the uncertain expression that grows on his face, the answer was clear.] I- I don't know exactly. Lost track of it a while ago.

[ Caitlin's expressions borders for a moment on apologetic before she speaks again. She's joking, but on the other hand, she still also doesn't entirely trust her own willpower. ]

Tell you what, I'll show you where to find them if you promise not to let me have any, deal? I've had too many today as it is.

[ She's admittedly a little bit surprised that he doesn't know how old he is, but she supposes if the world really went to hell like he says, it makes sense that keeping track of that sort of thing wouldn't matter much anymore. So she shrugs like that's no big deal. ]

Well...how old do you think you are, then? If you had to guess?

[Carl lets it slide anyway since they're walking.]

Is that all you want? [He asks, giving her a strange look verging on amused, because not everyone eats to point of making themselves feel sick. Though not like he can judge. He once ate 112 oz of pudding.] If that's it. It's a deal. I won't let you eat any, if you show me where to find it.

[He has to think more on his age to come up with what to say. Now that he thinks about it, he can actually remember someone in Alexandria said a little more than two years have passed but he never paid more attention than that. Back home they were somewhere between spring and summer which meant his birthday wasn't far away. So if he were to guess...]

I dunno. If I had to guess- fourteen, fifteen, probably. [He shrugs, trying to make it seem less of a big deal than it strangely feels.]

[ Nodding with a solemness lost with the hint of a grin tugging upward at the corners of her mouth, Caitlin points because they're not far; she can see the stand from here. ]

That's all I want. I've had enough for today. You see that stand up there where they're selling the turkey legs? Right next to it.

[ She keeps walking with him, though. Probably once he gets to the front of the line, she'll wander off and leave the kid to his own devices, since she's interrupted him enough as it is, but for now, she stays with him. ]

Mmm, that's around where I would've guessed; I would've guessed fifteen or sixteen just looking at you. I was just curious, I don't know.

[The minute she points to something his attention turns off her and to the turkey leg booth and the Oreo booth next to it.]

Yeah. I see it. Wasn't expecting to see that though. [Does he even need to gesture to what he is referring to? There was only just a person in an Oreo costume dancing close by and drawing attention to the booth. It's not the first strange thing he's seen today so he keeps walking though.

He considers what she says about before able to tell before they reach the line.]

I guess it's good that it's easy to still tell. Maybe now I can keep track if I want to. [What he's not saying is that he does. Birthdays may be a little silly now, but he can't shake how much it used to and still means to him.]

[ Caitlin laughs a little and gives a playful roll of her eyes. ]

I never know whether to be amused by or feel sorry for the people in those costumes...

[ As they near the line, Caitlin moves slightly away from him, closer to the turkey leg booth, to grab a few moist towelettes, because she and Ray, at least, made a bit of a mess of their hands with the fried Oreos and maybe Carl would prefer to avoid that fate entirely, if possible. Just because his world fell apart doesn't discount him automatically from having those sorts of compulsions, after all, and Caitlin doesn't know him well enough. Might as well offer them proactively since she happens to know they're there. ]

You could, yeah. [ She pauses for a moment before adding thoughtfully, ] You know, I bet I could run some tests and tell you how old you are. There are ways to tell based on your biology. There's biomarkers in your DNA and some of them can pinpoint how old your body is biologically... It's... [ Caitlin waves a dismissive hand and holds out the moist towelettes with her other for him to take. ] I'm a science nerd. It's just the kind of stuff I used to study in the lab. There I go talking too much again.

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introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

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