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

[unmakeme]

Natasha gives the stall owner a nod, and then leads Clark out into the lane and away from the festival. "I move around a lot, but I'm most recently from New York. It's nice. I like it. Looking forward to getting back. Did you mean to come here, or was it an accident?"

The further they get from the celebration, the quieter the streets become. Which makes sense. She pauses a few times as she wanders South, looking around like she's confused before picking a direction, like it's taking effort to remember exactly where they're going.

[signifies]

[ New York: still the same across the multiverse. ]

It was an accident.

[ He'd been more afraid than anything, thinking it was another trick like Zod getting inside his head and making him see Smallville. ]

I hope this isn't a strange question. What's the year?

[unmakeme]

"It's not a weird question." Though she takes a moment to decide if she wants to answer truthfully, before concluding that there's no issue with it, really. "It's twenty sixteen. You?"

One more down for accidental acquire. How can their system be screwing up so many times? There's got to be something there, right? Something to go looking for. As soon as she figures out where to look.

[signifies]

2013.

[ Most are from around 2015 in this decade. It's not a large gap unless technology is changing as fast as it is in Clark's world. ]

Coming here... it doesn't seem weird to you?

[ It's not weird to him either but Clark can claim having had more time to adjust. ]

[unmakeme]

"Oh, it's absolutely insane. I'm barely holding it together, but I figure if I break down I might just completely dissolve." The brittle smile and slightly pained expression at the corner of her eyes is some of her best work, but there's nothing about her vitals that show the slightest bit of distress. She's fine. Not happy, but absolutely level and steady.

She points to turn him down another street. "Just down here."

[signifies]

[ Her vitals are as steady as they've been since the beginning, but Clark doesn't see what she says as a lie. If she's forcing herself to stay calm and only break it in private, it makes sense. ]

What did you do back home? If I can ask.

[unmakeme]

Lucky for her, he's doing all of her explaining for her. Even if she doesn't know that she has to explain. It's still convenient.

She smiles up at him. "Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I bounce around a lot. I like to travel." It's not strictly a lie. Not that she's overly invested in giving him the truth, but it's an easy enough thing to keep consistent. If a story is easy to remember, she sticks with it. When they're even with the door to the shop, she nods at the view of the goods through the window. "We're here."

[signifies]

[ A little bit of this can explain a lot, if the audience fills in their own ideas. Natasha could be a flight attendant, or an actress, or a model. Most people say that up-front, though. If Clark was a guesser, it'd be the second or the third.

He pushes up his glasses. ]

Thank you.

[ He doesn't want to impose, but he wouldn't say no to her help either. She's been friendly, and Clark doesn't think it's just propriety.

He cuts ahead to get the door for her. ]

[unmakeme]

She smiles when he opens the door for her, exactly as she was expecting. "Thank you," she says as she ducks under his arm and steps into the cool interior of the shop. "Now, let's find you some shoes."

They should be able to find something here. Definitely. The stock is extensive, the frills and such are nowhere to be found, and Natasha recognizes the logo on the business card as one she saw in the market, at a stall offering a generous holiday discount. She'll be able to work with that later.

[signifies]

[ Clark glances behind them, looking for any trouble on the street, before he closes the door and follows Natasha into the shop. He can tell from a glance that this is much more in line what he wants. The discount is encouragement. ]

Are you also looking? They have a special if you buy two pairs.

[unmakeme]

"Always looking for a good pair of shoes." Which she means to come out as a little shop-a-holic sounding. What other reason would she possibly have for noticing this random shoe store so far from the festival after only one day? "Hopefully we'll both find something."

Though she does wave off the help of an approaching sales clerk almost immediately. "We're just going to look around. Thank you."

[signifies]

[ Hopefully. Clark looks down at her feet, taking a guess at her size.

There's no separate sections by gender. The shoes are divided by running shoes, flats, and then heels by high, mid, and low, along with boots. There're no sandals or flip-flops.

Clark finds a pair almost immediately, probably because the laces and sole are bright orange. ]

[unmakeme]

Natasha watches him browse as she picks up pairs of high heels, examining them and putting each one back. She doesn't need or want a pair of high heels right now. They'd serve no purpose. She's glad for the excuse to come over to the section of more practical shoes when Clark finds his. "Do you... like orange?"

[signifies]

[ Clark smiles sheepishly. ]

It's not my colour.

[ They look very comfortable, however. He finds one with bright green laces under it, and then finally one that's plain black. ]

How about you, has anything caught your eye?

[unmakeme]

"Better," Natasha agrees, taking first the orange shoes from him, then the green ones. She puts them both back on the shelves, and her hands run over a pair of sturdy boots with a relatively short stacked heel. Dark brown, black at the toes and heels, just a few shades off. They look comfortable, easy to walk in. They have a nice heft to them, too. Get enough momentum behind it, a kick with these on could break bone. Always a good selling point.

She sits herself down on a padded bench to try the boots on. "Try them on," she urges, patting the other half of the bench.

[signifies]

[ She touches a sturdy pair. Clark nods, though she doesn't need his approval.

He sits down next to her, putting on the shoes. Having a good pair that lasts is important. There's no one left to make a pair of shoes or clothes for a Kryptonian. If he runs or jumps in an emergency, they often fall off. ]

What do you think?

[unmakeme]

"They look good. Black suits everyone, though. Definitely better than the orange. Nice lines." She pokes at the leather upper of the shoe, testing to see how much give it has. "Do you do a lot of running?" She tightens the laces on her second shoe, then stomps it on the ground a few times. Very comfortable. "Or are you more of a hiker?"

[signifies]

I hike. Not much of a runner.

[ Flying is the most efficient way to get around. Clark's still getting the hang of it.

He stands up, walking around in the shoes. ]

There's an abandoned city about a day's walk from here. [ In the forest, past the monsters. ] I've been doing some exploring.

[unmakeme]

Now that is interesting. Very interesting. She doesn't give any outward indication of that interest, btu there's a little blip in her vital signs. It might not be enough to be conclusive, who knows, but there's still a very keen interest at those words that she tries to pretend doesn't exist. "Really? Gosh. So, is it not true what they say about the monsters out there?"

Natasha stands, does a little walk back and forth in the boots, then goes to the shelf and selects a pair that's almost identical to Clark's, but with a sturdier collar that rests considerably higher up on the ankle. "These might be better for hiking," she says, bringing them over and holding them out to him. "More ankle support? Less chance of getting your socks wet in a puddle, at least."

Totally casual conversation, right? Yup. Now about that abandoned city...

[signifies]

[ It's an incongruence. Clark doesn't assume anything, accepting the shoes she gives him. ]

Thank you, these might work.

[ He sits down, taking off the pair he'd chosen. ]

Oh, there are monsters, but there's a path you can use. It's not completely safe [ nowhere is. ] but it's out of their way.

[ It doesn't strike him to warn her off or offer to accompany her (yet). She's handled herself fine thus far. ]

I think you might have to worry more about other people in the forest.

[ Ellie almost shot him. ]

[unmakeme]

"Other people," she repeats. She's got an idea about what he might mean. She's done a fair amount of observing the type of person whoever is in charge here seems to zero in on. Still, there are other options, and probably quite a few that a normal person might go to first. "Do you mean people living beyond the city? Can anyone survive out there? It seems very dangerous."

This second pair of shoes looks better on him. Of course, she's still assuming that he actually walks or runs to get places, that he might put some serious wear on them. The flying thing, that's not even slightly on her radar.

[signifies]

[ Clark nods. ]

Communal housing isn't for everyone.

[ Bucky, Clementine, and Ellie all have places out there in the woods. Clark isn't willing to talk about them for the sake of protecting their privacy. Them and others have a right to be wary. ]

If you like camping and want to spend a night out, I don't mind showing you the way.

[ Then, he realises how that sounds. ]

If you're comfortable, that is.

[unmakeme]

That's very interesting. Clark doesn't quite have the look of a survivalist about him, as far as Natasha can see. Too put together. That doesn't necessarily rule it out, though, and this festival is hardly the best opportunity to size a person up in that regard.

No, beyond the city limits is a better place to judge that skill set. "I'd like that." Not the camping, necessarily. Natasha really doesn't care for it. Just because she can survive exposure in harsh conditions doesn't mean she likes it. He might be asking her out on a date, but something about the way his delivery shifts slightly, that pause and readjustment, suggests he might have spoken before realizing how it would come across.

Which is also a little bit odd. Men who look like him don't usually worry about how their advances are being received.

[signifies]

[ Men who look like him don't usually lift cars and demolish buildings. Clark can't choose to have no powers; he can choose his words.

She doesn't strike him as the camping type either. Clark's self-consciousness vanishes the moment she agrees. He likes the outdoors much better than in here. ]

Do you need a good pair of shoes?

[ It's a good joke. ]

[unmakeme]

It's enough of a joke to make her laugh, and she looks down at the boots already on her feet, twisting one from side to side, hip popped out. "You don't like these?" The heel is at least clunky enough that she wouldn't sink into the ground beyond the walls. Solid, too. Still, he's probably thinking of hiking boots like the ones she picked out for him.

She sits down on the bench again and begins taking them off, not because she doesn't like them, but because she's not planning on wearing them out. For those not possessed with total invulnerability, wearing a new pair of shoes out of the shop is never a good idea.