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

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...

[ 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. ]

"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.

[ 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.

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.

[ 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. ]

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.

They suit you.

[ She seems confident and comfortable. That's more of a sign than the colour. ]

They wouldn't be my first choice for a hike.

[ Clark fetches her a pair of proper hiking shoes in what he judges to be her size. ]

"Maybe your legs just aren't up to it." She sets her stockinged foot on the seat of the bench, and points her toes to flex her calf. It's subtle, but the muscle shifts when she does, a solid line down her leg. She holds out her hand when he selects a pair of boots, wiggling her fingers. "Let's see, then."

[ Very toned calves.

He hands her the shoes, moving back so she can use the full-length mirror against the wall. ]

They're the right size. She slips them on her feet, laces them up quickly and walks a few steps back and forth in front of the mirror. "Nice. Were you a shoe salesman back in Metropolis?" They'd gone over her job, sort of - little bit of this, little bit of that. He didn't press the issue, so she figures she's in the clear on that front. They haven't talked about him much, though, and she's trying to steer them back in that direction.

I'm a reporter, actually.

[ It's not really sunk in to him that it's his job, because for so long he was doing everything but. Clark's been feeling that Riverview is practice for everything he needs to do back home. He has time here.

Although it's a polite inquiry, Clark's not used to talking about himself much, which is why he redirects the conversation back to her immediately. ]

Are you happy with the pair?

"I like them." Which is the same as being happy with them, right? They're a good solid pair of boots. If she's going to be going camping, and she's pretty sure she is, hiking boots are going to be more use than the ones she'll be wearing for Search and Rescue. Endurance versus performance.

Doesn't mean she's done talking about him. "You know, I never would have guessed reporter. You look more like a farm hand." A beat. "Which is a compliment."

[ Clark smiles amiably. ]

I grew up on one.

[ Her guess isn't far off. He gestures for her shoes. She's new here so he doesn't mind making an offer. ]

We can get the discount. You don't have to pay me back.

She stares at him as she finishes loosening the laces, a thoughtful look on her face. "You really mean that, don't you?" He's not trying to score points. She knows very well the look of a man who thinks that generosity will get him laid, and Clark doesn't have it. He just wants to be nice. People like that still throw her for a loop.

Still, she hands him the shoes with a smile on her face. "Midwest, right?"

[ He nods.

This would be a very different conversation for him if he'd been deliberately trying to get something from her. ]

Kansas.

[ He breaks away to quickly ring up their purchases (they offer biodegradable ones) and soon after returns holding separate bags. ]

Do you mind if I carry this for you?

Kansas. It fits him so well it's almost ridiculous. In a nice way.

By the time Clark gets back, her own shoes are on, her things gathered up again. He still doesn't look like he's expecting a thing from her.

"Do I mind?" She laughs again, just a little wry chuckle, because it's seriously funny. "Has any woman ever minded you carrying their shopping? Are you going to walk me home now?" She's only half kidding. She doesn't need him to, but she won't be at all surprised if he offers. It just fits.

Er. Not so far.

[ Clark doesn't have a lot of experience talking to girls or carrying their shopping. ]

If you like.

[ He shifts one bag to his other hand to open the door for her again. ]

She tips her head to the side, meant to be a thank you, before slipping around him and out of the shop. "Perfect. On the way, you can tell me all about Metropolis. Reporters always know all the angles, right? So there's no one better to fill me in." This man who knows what's beyond the walls, wants to show her, and touches on none of the things from home that are still raw and painful. Making this connection is something genuinely useful to come out of today.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

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