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

[mysophobic]

[ Ah, well, that get shim to hunch his shoulders a bit and look down at this gloved hands, which are now nestled against his sides. He made things awkward again didn't he?! He might fiddle with his shirt for a moment before he types something on his phone. ]

It's nothing really! [ Shigeru please?! ]

I'm just not really comfortable with these sorts of things. Eating food I haven't prepared myself is...a bit hard for me to do. But I want to try and get better at doing so! So I can...overcome my phobia. ]

[ He looks slightly ashamed because he never really liked talking about his phobia in general. ]

[spellslots]

[That's so many words his life is very hard.

But he reads them without showing any judgement, because it's just like - a thing? It's not really a big deal. It's like... the opposite of a problem Taako had for a while, so he's not about the throw stones.]

Well like, don't hurt yourself. Who gives a shit if you don't wanna eat other people's food?

[Not Taako, that's who!

But he does give a shit about how awkward reading the phone is, so:]

Also dude, if you can't like, talk or whatever, I've got a thing that can let us do that.

[He makes a gesture, pointing between their heads, because he's talking about telepathy.]

[mysophobic]

People...think it's weird back home. I just thought...others here might think so too.

[ So he's trying to not be as awkward as usual but it's rough. His life is very hard, because he would love to talk and it would make things easier if he could but that too is something he struggles with! He does look genuinely grateful that Taako doesn't care about his strange aversion and he smiles and nods a little at that.

His attention is peaked at the whole not typing to talk business though. Telepathy isn't a thing in his world but something of stories and fairytales really. ]

What do you mean by that?

[spellslots]

Uh, it's- hang on.

[He goes digging through the bag slung over his shoulder, finally taking out a simple bracelet, though he doesn't put it on just yet. It's kind of rude to just dive straight into telepathy.]

It's called a band of projected thought. We can like, hear each other talking in our heads, you know?

[It's not traditional telepathy, in a "hear every single thought" way, it just allows communication.]

[mysophobic]

[ Shigeru will tilt his head curiously at that, looking back at Taako with an understanding nod. ]

That's really amazing! Telepathy isn't common or even around in my world. At least most people don't think it is. Are you sure it's okay for me to use it?

[ Well at least if it broke Shigeru could just fix it real easily with his powers. But still it seemed so special and precious an item. He doesn't know why Taako is giving it to him to use, especially since they just met. ]

[spellslots]

[That gets a little laugh.]

Oh, no, pumpkin, I'll be wearing it, not you.

[But since this guy is apparently okay with it, Taako slips the band on his own wrist (the one not taken up by a silver bracer). And then after a second of focusing, Shigeru will "hear":]

You just gotta think about what you wanna say, it's pretty easy!

[mysophobic]

[ Oh! The sudden voice in his head makes him startle slightly but he stops when he goes to type something up again on his phone. ]

Think about what I want to say. Got it. Oh! Am I speaking right now? I'm sorry it's a bit...strange I guess. But this is pretty amazing.

[ He smiles sheepishly back at the other. This wasn't a normal conversational method he was used to. Sign language or writing were the only two he had. But this seems so much easier. ]

I never gave my name, but I'm Shigeru! It's very nice to meet you.

[ He at least sounds happy when he replies. ]

[spellslots]

[Taako gives a thumbs up, to let Shigeru know that it's all good, and then promptly realizes that this little solution means he can eat while chatting, so he takes a bite out of his half of the pastry.

This is great, why doesn't he use this thing constantly?]

Name's Taako, hey. [He's very good at introductions.] What's the deal with not talking? Gerblins cut out your tongue?

[That would make sense to him.]

[mysophobic]

[ Ah, well it's all a bit complicated and Shigeru's expression falters as he looks away. He kinda feels...awkward talking about it. ]

Something bad happened to me when I was little and I lost my voice.

[ He gives a small sheepish smile as he shrugs slightly. ]

It's not so bad though. I've gotten used to it for the most part.

[spellslots]

Did a witch kiss you and curse you?

[There's humor in the way he projects his thoughts, and along with his grin, it's clear that's just a joke. He doesn't think that's actually the case, but he's also not going to pry in what the real answer is.]