riverviewlogs | 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

I'm sorry. I guess it must not be easy. [Bucky, at least, has his best friend here - and what kind of goddamn miracle is that? That out of everyone, they would both wind up through a portal to a moon in some unknown part of the galaxy and multiverse?] For what it's worth, you're not the only one here solo. And people seem friendly enough so far.

[It's not easy, but at least it isn't any more difficult than some of her previous assignments. It's not the first time she's been dumped into a strange location with little to no intel and no promise of backup. It's just the first time she's known that she can't get back, and doesn't have any specific purpose other than survival.

And winning street fair games, apparently.]

They do, so far. I mean, here I'm even getting free prizes from complete strangers. [She grins at that, giving her giraffe a small lift in a gesture.] I'm Bryn, by the way.

[Bucky laughs a little at that, still a little embarrassed that he basically shoved a stuffed giraffe at a stranger on the street. He just really did not know what to do with it.]

Free stuffed animals, this place can't be that bad, huh? [Honestly, it could be worse. The people of Riverview are nice enough.] Bucky Barnes. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too, Bucky.

[She hefts the giraffe up against her hip, holding it in place rather than offering her hand to shake as she might normally.]

Sounds like you've got yourself all set up here, minus the girlfriend. Should I leave you to winning more prizes you don't want?

Used to moving around a lot. I've gotten good at temporary settling. [Between being an Army brat, being stationed all over the place during the war, and moving himself around later on in life... Nowhere feels very permanent. This isn't much different.] How have you found it so far?

[He snorts slightly, glances back to the stall.] I think I'd better not. They're gonna think I'm cheating if I keep it up.

Well, in that case why don't I buy a treat to split. Call it thanks for the gift.

[He may not need more friends but it's always good to make contacts and he seems amiable enough.] They've got a breaded meat thing a few stalls over that's pretty good.

Oh, you don't have to thank me. It's a two-dollar stuffed animal. [He rubs the back of his neck, a little awkward, still incredibly rusty at socializing. It's harder here, too, without the circle of a family he had found at home.]

Seeing as I already did and am not about to take it back, and seeing as you didn't actually say no, I'm going to take it as a yes. Come on. They've got dipping sauces too.

[She gives him a little gesture to come follow, heading toward the stall she remembered. Even if he decides not to follow she could use a little something to snack on.]

[Apparently this is happening. It's a little uncomfortable, though it's stupid to feel that way and he knows it. This isn't a date. He definitely wouldn't agree to a date, so he tries to ignore the implications this series of events might otherwise have as he follows after her, hands crammed into the pockets of his jeans.]

You really don't have to buy.

[The way Bryn sees it, she gave him an out earlier in the conversation. She offered to leave him to what he was doing, and he kept talking. If he's not interested in making friends with new people he'll have to be clearer with her.]

The food is cheap and good. I was going to get myself something anyway and they sell this stuff in portions for two. Consider it doing an acquaintance a favor by taking the extra off her hands so she doesn't have to toss it in the trash.

[That would just be a waste.]

introductory mingle: SAMPREMI

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