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

street food!

[burntbridges]

[Despite herself, she ends up giggling at the display as she watches Ivar chugging his drink. She's seen a few people fall victim to the spicy bird meat already, and had been trying to decide if it was worth trying just to see if she could handle it. But well, Ivar is the closest she's met to one of her town's warriors, so if he can't handle it that might be a sign.

A sign she'll probably ignore, like all other signs.]

All good things are poisonous in large measure. Was the taste worth it?

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar wipes away the tears from his eyes as he finishes downing his drink. He's going to be stubborn and refuse to look weak in front of Letha.]

Completely.

[Lies. Filthy lies. He is filled with so much regret right now. Oh well. Maybe if he's brave enough, he'll go in for round two.]

[burntbridges]

I might have to try it myself, then. Unless you have any objection.

[She's teasing him, just a bit.]

[ragnarsson]

None whatsoever. In fact, I encourage it.

[Misery loves company. If he's going to have a mouth on fire, she's going to be joining him.]

[burntbridges]

That sounds like a challenge.

[She moves to one of the stalls that's selling that meat, and buys the smallest portion she can get. She knows she won't be able to handle much, but she has the sense Ivar will help her finish it. Walking back to him, she gives him a defiant little smirk before taking a bite.

And she can feel tears springing to her eyes the second it touches her tongue, but she struggles to chew and swallow it while letting out a shrill little noise of distress.]

[ragnarsson]

[Letha's reaction gets a genuine laugh out of Ivar, something that occurs usually only when he feels comfortable around someone. But he's found enough similarities with Letha to be close to it.]

Enjoying yourself, my lady? Better get something to drink quick.

[He nudges her towards the drink stand he just got something from.]

[burntbridges]

[She all but tosses her money in the vendor's face, grabbing a drink and downing it without tasting a drop. There's still tears in her eyes as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, and then belatedly pulls a handkerchief from some hidden pocket in her dress to dry her eyes.]

Goodness, what the hell was in that... [She's squeaking more than speaking, holding what's left of her purchase at arm's length as if it's going to hurt her.]

[ragnarsson]

I think hell is exactly where it came from. [He says dryly.] I'll take that. [He takes the stick of meat from her. Yep, he's ready for round two after that amusing display. He's not going to let the meat get the better of him a second time. Now he's prepared.]

[burntbridges]

[She clears her throat painfully as he takes it, looking a bit amazed.]

You're still going to eat it? I thought you were waiting for a battlefield to get yourself killed.

[ragnarsson]

In this battle, I'm coming out on top. Count on it. [He starts eating the meat stick again. This time, he's got a drink already prepared in between bites. He'll live. Barely.]

[burntbridges]

Do all men in your world have a death wish?

[She's pulled a fan from her pocket to fan herself. And honestly, she's silently hoping she didn't poison her baby with all that spice.]

[ragnarsson]

Of course. How else would we-- [Pause for another gulp of drink.] --get to Valhalla?

[burntbridges]

By staying alive long enough to see combat, perhaps. [She lets out a little giggle.] You would have loved to meet my brother, he was just as reckless.

[ragnarsson]

You don't have to worry on that end. Battle is the only way I plan to go out. [He was going to be very disappointed if he lived to an old age.] The one you told me was in the afterlife. How'd he die?

[burntbridges]

[She hesitates, a little bit of frustration bubbling up. She'd been so angry when Nathaniel died, she can't help feeling it a bit now.]

He was killed in the barracks. Someone raised the dead out of combat and lost control... and one of them ripped him apart. [She purses her lips.] But there are no rules for how one gets to the Netherworld, at least none that I know. He ended up there just like everyone else.

[ragnarsson]

[Something flickers in the depths of Ivar's eyes. While usually they're kept guarded, the fires of anger inside them, occasionally, something softer rises to the surface.]

At least you were able to see him again. It's going to be a very long time before I can see my mother or father.

[The thing that burnt him up was that his mother Aslaug likely hadn't ended up in Valhalla. She wasn't a warrior and had died from being shot in the back. It was likely she was in Hel.]

[burntbridges]

Yes... if I had access to Valhalla I might be able to help you meet them, but... I don't know if it would be possible to teach necromancy here. I haven't tried to contact the afterlife here, much less considered bringing an amateur.

[She hesitates.]

That is... I wouldn't want to force that on you, if you wouldn't want that.

[ragnarsson]

[Knowledge is power. That's what Ivar knows. And the power to contact the dead is unique enough to warrant interest. Plus, the childish part of himself thinks maybe...maybe he can see his father and mother again, instead of having to live with the fact he's lost them both forever.]

If it's something you can teach, I'm willing to listen.

[burntbridges]

[She hesitates to suggest what she says next, but.. she finds it easy to trust Ivar, so the idea comes to her surprisingly easily.]

If you'd be willing to stand guard for me some time in the future, I could try and contact the Netherworld. But you should be aware that while I'm doing so I'll be completely defenseless... I died before from leaving a candle lit while I was visiting.

[ragnarsson]

That was a stupid way to die.

[Sorry, Letha. Ivar can be blunt and lack any form of tact sometimes.]

If you need me, I'll protect you. [There's an unspoken guarantee she'll come to no harm. Ivar wouldn't be worth his salt if he couldn't defend her.]

[burntbridges]

I can't disagree.

[It was a stupid mistake that led to months of agony and no small amount of mental trauma... and she does not plan to repeat it by visiting the afterlife unattended.]

[ragnarsson]

Hope you've learned from your mistakes since then. I can't protect you from your stupidity.

[Everything else though was a pretty safe bet. He's not a warrior for nothing.]

[burntbridges]

[She nods slowly, ducking her head meekly. He sounds like her husband, and she can't help feeling stupid all over again for the circumstances of her death.]

I think I have.