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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, I know... the best thing about pregnancy thus far has been losing the need for a corset.

[She takes the dresses, gravitating toward the blue one and trying it on before pulling the curtain aside.]

What do you think of this one? It's a bit loose around the belly, but... I may need that later on.

[Oh, she's pregnant. That must suck, to be stuck in some strange world, not knowing if she'll get home before the baby comes. Taako frowns for a moment, but smooths the expression back into a smile before Letha comes back out, not wanting anyone to see him like, expressing sympathy.]

Gotta admit, I've never had to buy a dress while pregnant but I'll go with you on this one, a little growing room can't hurt. Just cinch it in with a belt for now.

[Her brows rise a bit.] Are you able to get pregnant?

[It's not sass, it's genuine curiosity. And as she moves the curtain back to try on a different dress - the maroon one this time - she continues to rattle off questions.]

For that matter, how common are elves in your world? Do they all have skin and hair like yours? Can they all do magic, or are you particularly talented? I don't really mean to pry, but I haven't met many people with a magical background here.

[The caught-off-guard little giggle that Taako gives is probably a good enough answer to that first question, and by the time he's done with that amusement there are even more questions to address. So:]

Don't have the parts for all that, thank god. [No offence, he just doesn't see the appeal in a) the physical act of pregnancy and b) being responsible for the welfare of another creature, that shit is terrifying.] Elves are common enough, and yes we come in all shapes and sizes. I am exceptionally talented, my dear, that goes without saying, but some elves have an easier time with wizardry than other races.

Honestly, I'm just starting to learn how many shapes and sizes and... colors... humans come in.

[The color comment is half about Roy and half about Lola. She's... very sheltered.]

We don't have elves in my world, as far as I know, but I've seen them in stories. We do have wizards, but I've never seen one of those either. The only sorts of magicians I ever meet are necromancers like me.

[She's starting to wonder if she should be less upfront about the necromancer thing but.. everyone seems to have a different opinion, even if most of them are negative. Maybe she should just spread the good word.]

[Technically a lot of the shit that Taako pulls is based in necromancy, and Kravitz is like, super dead and super chill, but the last experience he had with necromancy was a lich, two liches, and and he goes a little still as he thinks about that stupid fucking wheel.]

You're not into that lich bullshit are you, bubbale?

[He keeps the edge out of his voice, trying to sound just as carefree as he did a few seconds ago.]

[Letha's rather sharp, and she picks up on the tone, but she doesn't really know what the words mean.]

What's a lich? [She purses her lips.] Is it something bad? Or dangerous?

[The ignorance of the term is answer enough, and his hackles go back down.]

It's a type of necromancy. Magic users who decide they don't wanna die can do some messed up ritual to turn into a lich, it's dark shit and most of 'em are as evil as evil gets.

[There are rumors about what's required, to take on a lich form, and Taako doesn't know how true any of them are, but he knows it's not sunshine and fucking roses.]

[Hrm. She doesn't like the sound of that at all.]

In my world those aren't called necromancers, they're called healers. And they're an awfully dreadful sort, I'm very happy I've never met one. Any self-respecting necromancer takes their death in stride when it comes, and is grateful to have lived as long as they did.

[Although, on the other hand... being able to speak to the dead takes away a lot of the consequences presented by killing others. Even if it adds a few new ones as well.]

[That's a little odd, but he figures it's kind of swapped around - necromancers are an alright sort and the healers are the shitty ones.]

Good attitude to have, even if dying sucks, holy shit.

[He lost count of how many times he's done it, but that's not the funnest thing to dwell on, so he quickly moves you:]

I am gonna get to see that dress now?

I can agree with that... I've visited the Netherworld countless times, but it's very different to be dead there.

[She moves the curtain aside - this dress has an empire waist, so while it's not particularly flattering to her small frame it is very comfortable for her belly.]

I'm not sure red is my color... [Actually, she's fishing for compliments, and it shows a bit in her tone. Her childhood hero wears red, and while green is her color of choice she likes to think red looks good on her.]

[Cool cool cool cool cool, the pregnant lady has been dead and he's not touching that with a ten foot pole, because that sounds like the kind of thing that involves emotions and he's not doing that.

He will give in to that fishing, knowing exactly what she's doing (he patented that shit) but sometimes people need compliments, who is he to deny them?]

You're kidding, right? Red looks great on you, match that up with a lipstick in the same shade and you'll have all the dudes falling over themselves. You're already making me jealous.

[He gets a bright smile out of her, even a bit of blush as she smooths down the fabric.]

Well I hope the... the dudes [that means men right??? she thinks????] aren't too disappointed, then. I couldn't imagine being with anyone but my husband.

[But she also couldn't have imagined enjoying her husband's company a year ago. She's still young and naiive.]

[Oof, marriage.]

I bet they'll spend the rest of their lives pining for you.

[That's a joke, he's sure they'll be fine, but if he's doing the whole compliment thing he's going to dial it up to eleven.]

Is that husband of yours here?

[She giggles again, but it trails off on the subject of her husband, and she clears her throat as she closes the curtain again to try on the purple dress.]

He isn't here... and I suppose he's not my husband anymore, seeing as I was dead back home. My grandmother was already pushing for him to marry a new woman when I came here.

[She instantly regrets putting that out there, but... it's out now.]

[The immediate instinct is to make a joke in response, to brush off anything resembling actual feelings, but he's--

Well, maybe Magnus has had a little bit of a positive influence.]

Hey, that doesn't need to be a deal breaker, pumpkin. My last date was with a dead guy!

[It's still said lightly, but the intent is there, to at least be a tiny bit reassuring.]

[That gets a gentle noise out of her, not a laugh but something close.]

I'm sure he still loves me, even if I'm dead... he came to visit me every day after I died. But that just makes me miss him.

[He knows that Kravitz is an exception, able to visit the material plane relatively easily because of his work as a reaper, but still, it sounds like there are work-arounds wherever she comes from, too.]

Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll show up here. Seems like the rules of this place are fucking weird.

[Bless his lil heart he's trying so hard.]

Maybe... I have trouble being so hopeful. If I could be alive here, have dresses as nice as these and have my husband to show him, I might burst.

[She hesitates, before redressing in her own dress and moving the curtain aside.] The purple one didn't fit right... but I think I'll keep the other two. Perhaps we can find a few more things that match them.

[He doesn't think about what it means that the dead can show up here, there's no one he wants to see.]

Hell yeah, let's get you accessorized. Can't have you wandering around in just pretty dresses.

Do you think we can find anything with bones in it?

[She indicates the pin which is holding up her hair - it's adorned with the feathers and skull of a crow, with emeralds in the eye sockets.]

Back in my world, I could hear it when my crow crew. But I can't contact the Netherworld here, so I can't hear it anymore. I thought... maybe if I can find something that died here, I'll be able to hear it.

[That is a nice pin, he's impressed.]

There has to be someone here that makes shit outta bones. And hell, if not, I know someone who could probably hook you up.

[Ellie had been hunting, after all, and Taako doubts she needs to keep the bones.]

I've seen all sorts of extraordinary things here, so it stands to reason something as simple as a skull would be available.

[Although, she hasn't run across any corpses yet... which is vaguely disappointing

She moves to buy the dresses she'd selected, and folds them neatly over her arm before turning to him.]

Where shall we go next, then? If you don't mind continuing to accompany me.

[Taako would think things like "healing potions" are simple and he sadly hasn't seen any yet, so he's not holding his breath on the skull thing, but it can't hurt to look.]

I don't mind at all, if you promise we can swing by one of those stalls selling coffee.

[That's not much of a requirement, but he's just discovered coffee and is pretty into it.]

[She brightens at that, and slips her arm around his.] I'm more partial to tea, but I can't say no to hot coffee. I'd love to see how it's different from my world.

[Little does Taako know how ill-advised it is to let Letha near caffeine.]

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