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

[keepitup]

At that reaction, Ray's grin couldn't be any wider. "Well now you just have to eat one of these. They're practically the same thing as oreos." He gestures towards them, and holds the container even lower so it'll be easy for her to reach. "Just be careful. They actually get super soft, so don't hold on too tight — and please, stop me from eating all of them by myself."

He's 35, not 20, and yeah, Ray's is really great shape, but it's because he take the time to eat right (and all non-festival days of course) and work out. But this ... yeah he really does have a problem when it comes to cookies and cupcakes and ... most non-candy sweet things.

There's still four left, and instead of taking any more for himself, it's clear that Ray's waiting in anticipation to watch the expression on Caitlin's face when she eats her first one.

[naz]

Grinning widely, when Ray lowers the container, Caitlin reaches in for one. Most people have a bucket list for things they want to do before they die. Caitlin has one of those, sure, but she also has a food bucket list. Most of the things on it are pretty exotic, and then there are random things like fried Oreos and Dippin' Dots. Things she's heard of and seen in passing, but never actually had a chance to try. So whether he realizes it or not, Ray is crossing something off her list right now and she's grateful for it.

"I'm going to be so disappointed if these aren't amazing after the build up, I hope you know that, Dr. Palmer," she says playfully before finally bringing the cookie to her lips and taking a bite.

...okay. Whoever invented deep-friend cookies? Genius. Absolute genius. A groan of appreciative approval escapes her and she gives Ray a look that says he is her new favorite person for sharing these things with her. When she's finished with the bite, Caitlin laughs a little. "Okay, I'm keeping you," she tells Ray matter-of-factly, before taking another bite. "These are delicious," she adds, muffled by the food in her mouth and the hand covering it to spare Ray the sight of half-eaten food.

[keepitup]

One day, when Caitlin tells Ray about the Dippin' Dots, he'll have plans. Ice cream is what chemistry majors all make in freshman year, after all. No matter how many tricks different countries and cultures play, he's confident he can recreate little dots of ice cream in a cup. Heck, maybe he could go into business here selling in. Give ice cream a try instead of tech.

His smile consistently widens as she warns him about overhyping, but Ray's confidence doesn't shake. Instead, he just waits, eyes wide with anticipation until yes, there it is. He laughs and nods. See? He knew she'd like it.

"Is that your official opinion, Dr. Snow?" he teases. If they're bringing out the doctors, he has to have his turn. "I don't know, maybe you need to have a second one. To collect more data."

[naz]

After chewing and swallowing her mouthful, Caitlin nods solemnly even if the amusement pulling up the corners of her mouth in a grin she's trying to hide absolutely gives her away. "That's a brilliant idea," she agrees. "Collecting more data is always better."

Ray is so easy to be around. Caitlin hasn't even known Ray for a month's worth of time, all together, and already she knows that it's practically impossible to be anything other than happy in Ray's presence. He's like a perpetual ray of sunshine or something and his smile is contagious. Clearly, she's better off having him in her life and she's glad she's got a friend like Ray in a new place like Riverview.

"Okay, no, but really...I shouldn't. I've probably eaten my weight in food today just to be able to try everything. I'm going to blow up like a blimp if I keep it up," she counters, shaking her head. She really, really shouldn't indulge in more cookies. ...even if they're kind of incredible. Actually, especially because they're kind of incredible, because she has a feeling they could be addictive if she isn't careful.

[keepitup]

"What if-" he asks, putting up a finger before he gingerly picks up one of the three remaining cookies in between his fingers. "-we split it? I've already had two, but you have to have more than just one."

He tilts his head just slightly, a little nonverbal hm? as he looks at her.

"If you just break that side off..." And if Caitlin does reach for it, the cookie breaks apart much more easier than normal — because somehow deep-frying cookies makes them even softer — and it might get a little messy on their fingers, but the result won't be any more less delicious.

[naz]

Her eyebrows arch to prod him to continue when he pauses only for her expression to soften immediately after with her amusement. That suggestion — nor the gesture and following expression — should not surprise her, but it somehow manages to anyway. "You're terrible, you know that? If I get fat on these things because I can't stop eating them, I'm absolutely blaming you and only you for it. You realize that, right?" she asks playfully.

And yes, of course she's going to reach for it, because it was incredible, so how can she not? And of course it breaks easily for them because the center is softer after being fried for having been heated and saturated with the frying oil. And of course it's just as mind-blowingly delicious as the first cookie had been.

"So mad at you right now," she mumbles, once again covering her mouth as she finishes chewing and swallowing the bite. ...and, of course, she isn't mad at him at all because the deep-fried cookies are the best thing that's happened to her in... Okay, well, since they went dancing... It's been a while; she's allowed to secretly savor that whole experience. It doesn't make her a bad friend if Felicity's already broken up with him and Caitlin never, ever, ever tells her, right? ...right. Probably.

[keepitup]

"I have never claimed to be a good influence," he teases in return. "Though, unless you're trying to learn how to start a fire with the proper safety considerations. Then I am always a good influence." Sorry Caitlin, sometimes the Eagle Scout just slips out.

When he's finished with his half of the cookie, Ray licks his fingers, because how can you not when what you've just eaten is so delicious and melted.

But the first chance he gets after that, he gives the last two cookies away — along with the container — to someone who's passing by — and wipes his hands against each other before grabbing them both a packet of moist toilettes from the meat-filled stand nearby.

"How long have you been at the festival today? Mind if I keep you company for awhile longer?"

[naz]

That latter bit surprises a little laugh out of her. "Okay, boy scout..." she jokes, not realizing at all that he actually is a boy scout. ...Eagle Scout. It wouldn't surprise her, really, but it isn't something that Caitlin already knows. It probably hadn't come up in casual conversation and she while they did talk a lot the night that they'd gone out to do all the couples activities together as friends, they really don't know that much about one another, in the end. They're still learning each other that way, for now. That's part of the fun of making a new friend, in Caitlin's opinion.

"Mmm, oh! Thank you," she says, still licking her own fingers when he's reaching for moist towelettes. Gratefully, she takes it from him to wipe her own hands cleaner and then she shrugs a little at his question. She isn't wearing a watch and she's, admittedly, sort of lost track of time.

"Honestly, I...don't know. A couple of hours? But yeah, absolutely. I wasn't planning on heading back just yet, anyway," she says with a smile. "Besides, it'll be more fun with a friend than on my own."

[keepitup]

"Eagle scout," he corrects, with his index finger up for clarification. It's a point of pride really, and it's clear that Ray thinks of it as such too. He's not embarrassed at all. Honestly he wouldn't be surprised if Caitlin had been a girl scout when she was younger. She's responsible, resourceful, smart ... seems the type.

Ray grins though, as she says it'll be more fun together. "I was hoping you'd say that." And then he offers her his arm, with his hands newly wiped and cleaned.

"I'm guessing we should steer clear of the food for awhile. I kinda spent all day in that area and well, I'm not actually sure I'm capable of stopping myself from eating things that look good."

[naz]

"Oh, of course," Caitlin replies quickly, looking appropriately humbled, even if amusement might be slightly tainting that expression on her face. "That's actually kind of cool. I always wanted to be a girl scout when I was a kid," she adds wistfully. She hadn't been given the chance, but she tries not to place blame for missed opportunities if they don't end up dire, so it's something Caitlin seldom thinks about.

She finishes wiping her own hands clean with the offered towelette and smiles when Ray offers his arm. "Such a gentleman," she says playfully, grinning a little as she takes his elbow and begins to walk with him. Ray Palmer is probably one of the last people she expected to meet here in this place — no. Scratch that. Eddie Thawne is the last person, maybe Ray is second to last — but she's so glad he's here. He's making this place feel a little less terrifying just by being present and being his kind-hearted and pleasant self. There's something to be said about that.

"Yeah, definitely need a break from the food. I'm too full to eat anything else, anyway," Caitlin agrees. "So then what should we do? People watch while we walk? Try some of the games?" Her mind flickers back to the adult area and her face turns red even though Ray can't read her thoughts. She pushes it away. That is not a thing she's going to mention aloud. No. Not happening.

[keepitup]

"I bet you would've been fantastic at it. The girl scouts had everything. Cookies. A centralized and organized cookie delivery system." A beat. "Cookies." He huffs a laugh. "I should stop talking about food."

When she brings up games or people watching, his eyes flicker up to the sky, thinking. "Actually, now that you mention it, I walked past a river in the shopping section awhile ago and I saw people getting into the canoes to look at stuff as they float down the river. Gives us the best of both worlds."

And when he glances back at her, to see if she likes his idea, Ray catches that flush in Caitlin's cheeks. Is she...blushing?

[naz]

Caitlin laughs at that; his focus is still on the cookies. Before she can stop herself or think it through, Caitlin's jaw goes slack and she gasps. "Oh my God, Ray, can you imagine fried thin mints with the Oreo center instead of the Oreo cookies?" No. Don't. Do not imagine that, she thinks almost immediately and she shakes her head. "No, never mind, because it's going to make me make poor decisions for my health by going on a search for something that might be similar. ...but if they have Girl Scout cookies here, I am absolutely not above Frankensteining that creation on our own sometime. I'm just saying."

A grin tugs at her expression and slides almost immediately into a more broad version of the smile. First of all, she just used Frankenstein as a verb. Second, the idea of spending more time with Ray for something which is very clearly nothing more than straight up indulgent? It sounds both delicious and fun. What? Don't judge her.

Looking up at him when he mentions the river, Caitlin looks surprised. Somehow, she'd managed to miss that. "Oh wow, really? That sounds fun," she agrees, willing the heat to drain out of her face before he can actually take notice of it. "Which way was that? I totally missed it," she admits.

[keepitup]

That's brilliant. In fact, that's so brilliant Ray just kind of stares at Caitlin for a moment, before: "I think just thinking about that just gave me a heart attack." He laughs. He really does have an obsession with food doesn't he? Or maybe it has something to do with how easy it feels to just talk to Caitlin these days.

It's not that surprising, he supposes, that they never hung out that often when he was in Central City. He and Felicity were together then, and she'd brought him there specifically so he could see Cisco. But still, Ray feels like he and Caitlin should've become friends a long time ago, and he's grateful that it's finally happening now.

"That is genius though, and it needs to happen."

As for the river, he nods in understanding when she says she missed it. "I think I nearly did too. But I've been spending a lot of my time wandering, and I crossed a bridge over it at some point this morning. I think it's ..." He points north. "...that way?"

[naz]

Laughing, Caitlin lifts a hand with one finger extended as if to let him know that she's about to make a very important point. "Okay, but...it would kind of be worth it, though," she says playfully. Probably there isn't a food in existence that would literally be worth a heart attack, but admittedly if there was one? It might very well be the creation she just mentioned.

"First, we're going to have to find the Girl Scout cookies, if they even have them here," she reminds him. Without those, the whole plan is a moot point. But it's kind of funny that he agrees with her. It's kind of funny how much she and Ray seem to keep finding that they have in common. It makes her kind of wish she'd tried to get to know him a little better when he'd been visiting Central City, but it is what it is. At least maybe they're making up for some lost time now. She's glad he's here and she's glad they're getting to know one another.

Caitlin nods. "Yeah, I haven't been doing as much of that as I probably ought to be," she confesses and starts to move in the direction in which Ray's pointed. "But at least one of us noticed it. What kind of other stuff have you found around here, anyway?" she wonders. "Anything especially interesting?"

[keepitup]

He shakes his head as he gives her a small grin. "How hard could they be to make?" If it were anyone else, the question would be said too lightly, without giving Girl Scout cookies the respect they deserve. But Ray asks that question knowing full well who they are. "If we can't pull it off, then there's no hope for thin mints appearing in this place."

The next grin that comes over Ray's face however, is caused by a fleeting daydream. One where they do figure out how to make the popular minty cookie and ... they actually run one of the stands here next year, selling them. That would be some life, wouldn't it? Even if Ray isn't sure it could ever ben his life, it's still nice to think about.

"Have you gone around and played any of the games? Their virtual reality tech here is incredible," he answers as they go searching for the bridge.

In the end, it does take them awhile to find it, even though it shouldn't have. The easy answer would have been to just ask one of the locals, but they're walking and talking and having fun, so there never was much rush.

[naz]

While Caitlin thinks it might be a little more difficult to replicate a recipe without having that thing to taste as one goes in order to try to match it, she doesn't actually have any desire to dash Ray's adorable dreams by saying so aloud. So, instead, she appreciates his statement for what it is and smirks a little before giving a solemn nod and trying to clear away the amusement in favor of feigned seriousness. She doesn't manage to hide the amusement in her eyes. "You're absolutely right."

To his question, as they walk, Caitlin shakes her head. "I've never really been very good at video games," she says honestly. "I tried one of the old fashioned carnival games, but I'm terrible at it, so I gave up and decided to go bracelet shopping instead," she admits, which also explains the lead up to her meeting up with him.

Even if the walk is a little longer than she would've imagined, Caitlin certainly isn't complaining. It's nice to spend the time with Ray just chatting amiably about things that don't actually matter, like Thin Mints and video games. Back home, every conversation seemed to be weighted with the gravity of the reality around them. Someone was always in danger. There was always some sort of threat. As much as she misses the team and feels guilty for not being there to help them, there is admittedly some part of her that secretly prefers the idea of just...staying here and having fun with Ray or getting to know people who don't fight bad guys every day and night. Maybe that makes her feel worse than she should, but there it is.

As they board the little boat with a hand from the person running the attraction, Caitlin looks around and then her eyes settle back on Ray again. Here they are, again, finding themselves in a very sort of couple-y kind of activity. She wonders if that's intentional, at this point or unwitting. Caitlin't not actually sure which she wants to be the right answer, so she doesn't bring it up, just ducks her head a little and tucks her hair behind her ears as she flushes just a bit before it passes once more. "Can I ask you something?" she begins as they float away from the platform. She's wondering if she's the only one who feels a little guilty that she doesn't necessarily feel rushed to return home.

[keepitup]

"Hey there's no shame in that," he says, grinning and turning his head towards her. "But I gotta say, you're missing out. The video games aren't like carnival games. You can actually play co-op — cooperatively, with other people. We could be on a team." He says that last sentence as he raises his eyebrows, almost like he's asking a question. Maybe she'd consider trying it out with him sometime.

"Did you end up getting a bracelet though?" Upon reflection, it's probably what Caitlin was paying for when he first waved her over.

For Ray, the lack of danger feels welcome in a way he couldn't have imagined when he first lost Anna. He went through years feeling like he needed to take action immediately, because he didn't take action when he needed to most. It was only recently that Ray's realized that just maybe, heroics aren't the only way to make a difference.

When they get on that boat though and sit down, just the two of them, Ray notices it too. That it feels like they've just stumbled into a date again, but he just smiles through it as he points to a passing vendor on the river with a boat full of herbs and spices. He's not ready yet to pursue anything real. At least not consciously.

The way she asks that question though, has him a little worried, even if the expression on his face is more curious than anything else. "Yeah, of course. What's on your mind?"

[naz]

There's something about the way that he describes the co-ops that suggests he's inviting rather than explaining and Caitlin smiles a little, wrinkling her nose and ducking her head for a few seconds before looking back up at him. "I mean, if you want to lose," she prefaces, "I could try."

She holds her arm up, wiggling her wrist a little bit to show him the bracelet she'd settled upon. "They had a ton of cute stuff to choose from," she explains. Caitlin is starting to get more comfortable in this place. She never would've been casually shopping if she hadn't. She would probably be more aligned with that boy Carl's feelings about this place than she currently is feeling, which is to say, a lot more relaxed than maybe she ought to be.

A smile crosses her expression as she follows Ray's pointing finger with her eyes. It's almost like there's always something to look at, as long as she's willing to look; any given direction offers something she might've missed. Maybe it's just the nature of being in a place that's still largely unfamiliar and that'll wear off with time.

Taking a deep breath, the smile fades into something pulled with more introspection and Caitlin pauses a moment before she finally speaks. "...do you feel, like...I guess, do you feel an urgency to get back home?" she asks, first. If he does, then there's no point asking her follow up question, which is the one she actually wants the answer to; if he feels an urgency to return home, that's already answering her question: yes. She's the only one feeling guilty about feeling no rush to get back.

[keepitup]

"It'll be fun, I promise. I'm sure they have games here similar to the ones I'm thinking of. And if they don't ... I might be a little interested in building some." Holographic technology is so fascinating, after all, and ever since he saw what they were showing at the festival he hasn't exactly been able to stop thinking about it.

That infinity bracelet though, gets a look of fondness as Ray admires how simple it is. "Elegant, like you."

But with the way that Caitlin is looking more serious now, he reels in his expression too. Whatever it is, it must be bothering her. Do I ... feel an urgency to go back home? Ray doesn't answer right away, not because he's thinking, but because that actually wasn't what he'd expected her to ask. The momentary frozen look on his face though, shakes away as quickly as it came.

"Caitlin ... I ..." He chuckles, a little more anxiously than anything else. "Did you hear about what happened in Star City, back home? Why it had been renamed from Starling?"

[naz]

"Somehow, Ray," she starts with a soft laugh and a fond look on her face, "that doesn't surprise me at all." And it doesn't. Ray just seems the type to take the reins and go if there's a change that could be made and it's obvious to anyone who knows him even marginally that he's got the skill set to match the endeavor.

His compliment takes her a little off guard and it shows in the color creeping into her cheeks, never mind the hushed "thank you," with which she responds. Admittedly, she does feel a little guilty for sucking the levity out of the situation for the moment, but she's really only got Ray and Eddie here and she certainly can't ask the latter if he feels an urgency to go home. Of course he doesn't. She wouldn't either, if the last thing she remembered was literally dying.

But when Ray answers her question with one of his own, for a moment, she looks a little confused. Of course she has and of course the world still thinks Dr. Raymond Palmer is no more, but she's Team Flash. She knows better. So Caitlin stares for a moment and blinks before realizing that maybe he's just not sure she'd heard because she doesn't live in Star City and maybe the specific word hadn't traveled to Central City. "Oh...yeah, I mean, everyone has. Of course. ...but I'm not really sure how that applies...?" she admits in a tone that suggests question more than statement.

[keepitup]

"Right," he says, his hands already starting to punctuate his words as Ray gets ready to explain. "I'm guessing Felicity filled you guys in. I just-" He shakes his head and decides to answer her first question first. "I don't feel an urgency to go back home. There's something about this place that just ... well it just feels right to me. Like I can make a difference here. Back home ... with people like Oliver and Felicity, and Barry and you and Cisco ... I think there are more than enough people who are making sure the world stays a good place."

A beat, as he takes a breath, like he just doesn't know anymore. "Honestly I just don't think home really needs me." Even though that sentence is pretty depressing, Ray doesn't look depressed. In a way, he looks way more at peace with it, than anything else.

[naz]

The more Ray talks, the more confused Caitlin becomes. ...and looks, probably.

Sure, Oliver and Felicity are working with the rest of the team to keep Star City safe and Barry and the rest of the team are keeping Central City safe. Somewhere on another Earth, Supergirl is keeping National City safe, but Ray and the Legends? They're keeping everything safe. Everything and everywhen.

"I...wh—I mean, maybe Star City doesn't, but what about history in general? I...you didn't leave the Legends, did you? Everything's been so crazy with Savitar and...but you—I mean, general you, were just in Central City to help, you didn't leave them... Or did you?"