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

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Comments

[causational]

Funnily, that's a lesson Eddie's learned himself, and in a similar way. When he was younger, before his late growth spurt, overweight, no one had paid attention to him unless they were beating on him. It isn't just his training as a detective that gives him good observational skills.

"The Boneless? That sounds pretty badass."

Just like the calluses on Ivar's hands when he shakes them. It makes sense, considering the wheelchair, the broadness of the boy's shoulders, the muscle in his arms.

[ragnarsson]

Ivar laughs, pleased at the reaction Eddie has. Unlike the way some of the people here have reacted, he seems to get it in a way the others haven't.

"I'm glad someone thinks so. Everyone else has been saying it must have been given to me out of cruelty." Which, in a way, it had. His father had been rather upset that his son was never going to walk and had given him the nickname in a moment of despair. "But you must either own your name or it will own you."

[causational]

The moment Ivar laughs, Eddie's grinning along with him. Shrugging a little, he ducks his head.

"I dunno. I hear 'boneless' and I think of someone who can get places other people can't, you know? Definite advantage. Or I think of a heavy metal band, which is also pretty badass."

The last bit, though, that hits a nerve. Not a bad one, just one that makes the smile fade from his face for a moment, catches him off guard.

"Own your name or it will own you, huh? You know, that's probably a good life lesson for me."

After all, he has a lot of baggage tied up in his own last name.

[ragnarsson]

"Every Viking needs a name the rest of the world will remember him by. They'll all know and fear me eventually." His father's words ring in his ears. He was stronger than any of his brothers. It meant that his deeds would eclipse their own.

"I'm just full of them." For someone so young, he had more than his fair share of life experience under his belt. "If everyone listened to me, they'd all live longer."

[causational]

"Viking?"

That surprises Eddie a little bit, and then he takes another look at the boy and realizes that maybe it shouldn't. There's something about him that seems tougher and more mature than most of the teens Eddie's met.

"So you're definitely badass. And..." Pausing, he shakes his head and laughs softly, "Yeah, you do seem wise beyond your years. That hit home. For me, though, it was my family name and not my nickname that really defined me in a way I didn't want."

[ragnarsson]

He's been noticing a certain reaction out of people when he mentions he's a Viking. It tends to be something between interest and disbelief. He'll take what he can get. Ivar is proud of who he is and where he comes from.

"You learn a lot when you can't get around as fast as other people. It gives me a lot of time to think." Ivar likes working things out in his mind, figuring out what makes people tick. "Well, you're in a new place now. You can start fresh if you want.'

[causational]

It's definitely surprising to hear that he's a Viking, not because Eddie disbelieves it, but because Vikings are, to him, almost mythical. A legend. It's like meeting a superhero in person.

"You're right. I hope it works that way for everyone who needs it."

Smiling, Eddie glances downward, then flicks his eyes back up, "Thanks, it's been good to meet you."