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

Clementine | The Walking Dead (Telltale)

[staystrong]

i.

[While Clementine has already been enjoying the easy access to food this new world provides (she has so much stored away now it's ridiculous), this festival is something else completely. She hovers over stalls wide-eyed, wanting to sample it all but also not wanting to empty her pocketbook or make herself sick.

She ends up with a sandwich in one hand and two meat skewers in the other, wandering around looking for a place to sit. Only once she's found one does she recognize her biggest mistake.]

Ugh... I need a third hand.

[She really should have gotten something to drink.]

ii.

[She mine not have a partner, but you know what? She wants one of those ridiculously big plush animals for herself. She hasn't been able to hold onto frivolous things for a long time and even though she always believes this situation might not be permanent it would be a shame to miss out on fun opportunities like this while she can. Her new house could use a couple cute things in it anyway, no matter how useless they are.

(And who says she can't hide tools or other goods in the middle of all that stuffing?)

She considers her aim to be pretty good, but she's more used to guns than baseballs. She stands in front of a stall now with several pins lined up in the back, expression thoughtful. If you think you can do better than this girl feel free to step up and show your skill.]

ii

[duelo]

[ After filling his stomach a second time, Derek makes his way back to the games again. Maybe he shouldn't be surprised to see a child at this thing, but because he's mostly seen other adults so far, it takes him a little off guard anyway. He mostly notices her because she's at the stall beside the one he's walked up to, deciding to give it a go of his own, just for old time's sake.

Beyond the fact that he knows the trick behind the game and he can throw a ball an awful lot harder than most humans, he always intentionally wastes the first throw to make sure that it doesn't look like he's cheating. And so he does just that. He can't help noticing as he rolls the second ball around in his hand that the young girl hasn't gone yet. ]

Trying to figure out the best place to aim?

[staystrong]

Something like that.

[She'd glanced over as he'd thrown, taking in his skills out of habit. It might be a while, if ever, before she stops being naturally wary of any new faces.]

I've heard games like this are usually rigged. I don't want to waste my money.

[Unfortunately she's never had the chance to play one herself. The couple times she went with her parents to fairs it was her dad who'd played the games, trying to win stuff for his ladies. At least she thinks that's how it went. Sometimes now she thinks she might confuse old memories with fantasies she made up later to try and make herself feel better. She doesn't want to think about that now.]

[duelo]

[ Derek looks equal parts amused and impressed. In his experience, knowing that they're a waste of money doesn't seem to hinder people from doing just that, but she's smart, this girl. ]

Oh, for sure they are, they'd run out of prizes every day if they weren't. You just gotta figure out how to beat the system.

[ With that, he gives a little shrug. ]

Might as well give it a shot. Worse case scenario, you don't win but you gave it a try. You're only wasting money if you keep trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. One try won't be so bad, right?

[staystrong]

It should be about skill. But people have to make a living, I guess.

[And if everyone knows these things aren't fair and still pay up then the ones doing the scamming can just keep on doing what they're doing. Enough players have to win for others to keep coming back.

She had already paid, so she reaches for a ball and squints ahead at the pins. Does she get that many chances?]

How many times do I have to knock pins down to get the big purple bear?

[duelo]

Ahh, it is about skill, though. It's just a little trickier than it initially looks.

[ His eyebrows lift and he holds up his second ball as if to tell her to watch to see what he means. She probably saw him throw the first and he'd thrown it off aim intentionally. This time, he's actually going to try, and sure enough, avoiding the bottle that's sticking out just so, he thrusts the ball so that it lands at the base of another bottle, toppling it and sending the rest of the bottles down with it. ]

The big one? I don't know, probably at least twice. But if you can do it even once, you can get the smaller bear. Sometimes, if the vendor is especially nice...

[ He looks back at the man standing still in front of Derek himself and lets his eyes flash a quick, icy blue before they're back to their normal green and he looks back at the girl again. ]

They'll let you trade it in if you play a second time and win again. At least, that's how it worked in the county fair back home. That was a long time ago, but it's possibly the same.

[staystrong]

Are you after any prizes?

[He had just knocked down a good many pins, after all, a feat she'd watched with a raised brow. If he's done this before he might be nice enough to save her some time. Though there is the matter of wanting to have won the prize herself. She doesn't know this man, so right now a gift from him would have little meaning.]

Or is this just something you do for fun?

[The memory is foggy now, but there had been a woman at the local shopping mart back in her hometown who'd been obsessed with the claw machine they had up inside the main entrance. She didn't even always want the prizes she won all the time, and would often hand one out to the closest kid that might be passing by. She just liked to prove that it could be done.

Clementine can't help but wonder if those skills had done her any good when the apocalypse happened. Probably not.]

[duelo]

[ Derek shrugs a little bit. What's he going to do with a giant stuffed bear? He recognizes her from the communal floor they share and he supposes he would've just brought it back and left it vaguely in the vicinity of her bed or offered it to someone else on the way back if he were to win. He hadn't really thought of it. ]

My sisters and I used to do stuff like this when I was a kid. It's been a long time, but it reminded me of them. They're gone now.

[ Cora, voluntarily; Laura was murdered. ]

I guess I'm just kind of playing for old time's sake.

[ He nods to the ball in her hand. ]

Give it a go. Aim low.

[staystrong]

[She visits that floor less and less as the days go on, given that she's working on fixing up her own place elsewhere in the city. (Literally fixing up, as it's a wreck of a home.) But it's still a decent place to crash if there's a mess of supplies taking up space in her foyer.]

I didn't really get to do stuff like this, but I remember it.

[She says this as if she isn't all of thirteen. The time before the apocalypse seems like it was eons ago.

Looking at the ball in her hand again for a moment, Clementine finally gives it a toss toward the pins. She aims low, and her aim isn't bad, but she only knocks one back a little. She hadn't hit the pin dead on, and only one pin on the edge takes a tumble.]

i.

[usandthedead]

[ Rick has mostly kept to the periphery of the events, watching people, assessing, learning. He's pretty pleased with the general aesthetic of this place so far. Now he just needs to get the rest of his people here. But at the same time, in spite of all the pros of this place, Rick is skeptical. He's survived this long by being skeptical. This is no different. Hence, his standing back and watching, learning, waiting... for what, he isn't sure.

When he sees the girl with too much food in her hands stopping by a bench to sit, Rick can't help but smirk. He can imagine Carl doing the same thing. And truth be told, he's wanted to gorge himself too. The only thing that's stopped him is knowing that too much of the rich sugary food might make him sick. He's going to have to ease into it. ]

Need help? [ He's standing just behind the bench to the left, leaning against a pole with a light atop it. Rick is in his usual boots and jeans, a western shirt, his lined coat. A belted holster sits on his hips with a colt on one hip and a hatchet on the other. ]

[staystrong]

[Clementine's head jerks in his direction when she's addressed, and her eyes narrow automatically. No one here has been a threat so far, but she still can't help but be wary of strange men that address her out of nowhere. Especially strange men that are armed.

She takes particular notice of the hatchet. It's a useful tool, and she can imagine that someone on the perimeter guard might want one to help fight off monsters at close range, but she hasn't seen anyone else with them. It could be that she's just biased toward her own world's perspective, but that's the sort of weapon she associates with fighting walkers even though any hunter could find a use for it.]

...I was just thinking out loud, but I'm good.

[Asking a stranger to get her a drink, even in this pleasant environment, just doesn't sit right with her.]

[usandthedead]

[ Everyone's armed in some fashion in Rick's neck of the woods. Sometimes it's the ones who aren't armed who turn out to be the bigger threat or have more of a question mark hovering around them as far as Rick is concerned. This place is full of question marks and unknown threats.

He can't really blame the girl for declining his offer. He wouldn't want Carl talking to strangers either. So he nods and stays where he is, leaning against the pole several feet away and makes no move to join or help her.

Instead, he looks out over the crowds of people and is quiet for a long moment before he looks at her food again. He can smell it and it smells delicious. Eventually he'll work his stomach up to having some if it's still available later. But the sight of all that food for one person makes him think of Carl. ]

My son's probably doin' the same thing. Eatin' one of everything. [ It's said with amusement mostly and only a hint of underlying concern. ]

[staystrong]

[If he's a teenager, Clementine figures that's pretty normal no matter what world they're from. She doesn't think to ask about that, though. It isn't important. She couldn't blame him no matter what his age, really. Not when the food is so plentiful and smells so delicious.

Still, her brows furrow. Somewhat indignant.]

I don't have one of everything. [Yet.] I don't want to make myself sick. [Doesn't want to, but probably will.]

You have family here?

[It would have been nice if her own friends and family could have come along with her, but the people she cared for the most were long gone. It's hard to kidnap someone when they're dead. She hasn't been here long enough to learn otherwise.]

[usandthedead]

[ He's a dad, he can't help worrying about things where younger people are concerned. The fact that she mentions that she doesn't want to make herself sick makes him let up on the amount of food she's ingesting though. Maybe she'll know when to stop before that happens. However, he also hears that implied 'yet'. ]

Yeah, a son. Gonna try and see what can be done about gettin' more here. [ Having Carl here is everything. He wants it all though, Judith, Daryl, Michonne, Maggie, and so many more. Rick has never been a man not to go after what he wants, even when the odds are slim to none that he'll get it. On that note, he's quick to add: ] Made family rather than blood.

[ He tilts his head, eyeing her curiously. ] You got people here?

[staystrong]

No. Must be nice.

[She's trying not to sound bitter but she isn't succeeding. It's not this man's fault she's in the situation she is, and she shouldn't hold it against him that he was lucky enough to have family along. He probably isn't the only one, seeing as there are plenty of people here that aren't from some walker infested hellhole.]

There wouldn't be anyone to bring along anyway.

[Regret follows that statement, as his pity is the last thing she wants. She was just stating facts.

That Javier guy had been okay. He'd still had family too. He was hardly family to her, though. There's no one like that anymore.]

[usandthedead]

[ Her statements are a little bitter and pitying. And most people might respond to them that way. That isn't how Rick responds though. There are plenty (more than is right and fair) who have no one left where he's from. That's how life is. Rick has lost plenty too, but he also knows he's lucky to have who and what he has.

There's nothing pitying about it. It's just how it is, plain and not so simple. Even without knowing that they're from similar circumstances, that's how he responds.

She does make him think of Enid, a girl Carl's age who had no one left and who Rick had taken under his wing and eventually made family. ]

So you make a life here. Find people that'll be yours. [ He looks around the immediate area. ] Seem to be plenty, although I'd still be careful about who to trust and who not. You never know...

[ He looks back to the girl. ] I'm Rick. Rick Grimes. My son's name is Carl. Maybe the two of you should meet.

[staystrong]

[Find people, huh? Give her some time. She's found several groups of people and lost them all in the end. Somehow she isn't able to avoid hanging around others even when she tries, but she doesn't plan on looking for friends here.

If she ends up with them anyway, well. So be it.]

I'm Clementine.

[At the mention of meeting his son, she shrugs.] Maybe we'll run into each other. [Just don't try to hook them up, okay? Just because there aren't many kids her age doesn't mean she's gonna want to date the first boy she sees.

She's thinking about you, Javier.]

ii

[fingerstripes]

[ There's a big part of him that really wants to see her take the shot. See for herself how the game fits together like every kid dropping in on the circus had, all those years ago.

But the circus is lifetime away. Who knows how much cash she has on her, if she's new to this place, if she has anyone to spot her for a mistake. He gives her a minute, then he points, as soon as the stall minder's back is turned. ]

Watch the center. Easier to spot a trick prop there.

[ In case, you know, that's what she's waiting on. ]

[staystrong]

A trick prop?

[Clementine narrows her eyes at the newcomer. She's always cautious around strange men. A girl her age has to be, though this world feels far less threatening than the one she came from. That doesn't mean she should let her guard down.]

I figured these things were rigged, but I didn't know how. Thanks for the heads up.

[Maybe she'll aim for the bottom instead.]

...Were you wanting to go?

[fingerstripes]

Nah. Shot's all yours. [ If he catches anything in her expression it doesn't show in his face. Caution is a great survival strategy. ]

Long as you know what you're throwing at, you're golden.

[staystrong]

[She's a little uncomfortable having an audience for this, especially since she doesn't know what she's doing and he clearly does. It feels like she's being judged. He could just be waiting for his turn, letting her go without interruption, but she'd still prefer not to have a witness in case she screws up particularly badly.

If he laughs at her, the next ball will be aimed at his face.]

Guess I better figure that out, then...

[Should she aim low? Or would it be better to aim higher? If any of the pins are weighted down, the ones on the outside might be a better shot since they aren't supporting much and should topple more easily. That'll make it harder to get a large prize, but it's better than hitting no pins at all.

She aims right and hits a single pin, but it's a good shot so that one pin falls.]

[fingerstripes]

[ When you're a kid at a party there's not a whole lot that's worse than being crowded by watchful adults. He's here to watch the market, so watch the market he does for the next few minutes, melting off a little ways into the crowd with the kind of aimlessness that's probably only conspicuous if you know to look for it. It's the sound of the single pin falling that grabs his attention again. ]

Hey, good going. [ He gives her a thumbs up from a little ways off. ]

[staystrong]

[From her perspective, Dick's compliment seems insincere. Even if the game is rigged, she'd still only knocked down one pin. That isn't exactly worthy of praise, if you ask her. So in response to his thumbs up she gives him a finger of her own, sticking the middle one on her right hand skyward with a grimace. She isn't appreciative.]

Sure.

[She picks up the second ball, glaring at the still remaining pins. That bear isn't going to be hers any time soon.]

[fingerstripes]

[ Kids, man.

But it is kind of on him for interfering, which makes it tough to blame her for taking the game a little personally. ]

What? you know hardly anyone hits all the pins on the first try, right?

[staystrong]

Yeah, but you don't have to mock me.

[She can only assume that's what she was doing. Even with the game being rigged, a single pin isn't worth a thumbs up. It didn't feel genuine to her.

She picks up the second ball, glaring back at the pins.]

I don't even know why I bothered with this.