riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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introductory mingle: MEMORIA

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Memoria Commemoration
when: May 1st - May 8th
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

memoria

In the days leading up to May 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Memoria. A more solemn celebration than Sampremi or the Flower Festival, Memoria is a week-long time of remembrance for those lost in the Great War and the epidemic that decimated Riverview Quarantine's population 10 years ago. Memoria traditions include lighting lanterns for the dead, telling stories about lost loved ones or lost homes, eating meals with loved ones, and a special gathering to send floating lanterns down the river in honor of those lost.

a solemn commemoration of those lost

While the main city-wide event associated with Memoria is the floating of lanterns down the river on the evening of May 8th, the holiday is generally seen as a time of reflection on and appreciation of things that have been lost - people, homes, cultures, and planets. It is also a celebration of the things that remain. Many locally-owned shops will host displays of culturally-significant food, and will hand out informational flyers sharing the unique customs of their own homeworlds. There is a heavy emphasis on sharing time with family, friends, and lovers, and anyone who is able to will cook meals or treats for loved ones, or at least purchase them something good to eat.

i. hanging lanterns

Throughout the entire week of Memoria, residents will be hanging lanterns around the city. Lanterns are generally placed in greater number in places of passage - streets, bridges, and all alongside the train lines are particularly well-decorated, as are any trees alongside paths, and most homes and businesses have a profusion of lanterns around their doors and windows. This tradition is twofold; some people believe that the lanterns are hung in these places in order to guide the spirits of the dead back to those who still love them, other people believe that the lanterns are to give light for living loved ones to find their doors in times of darkness...many people believe both.

No matter what your character might believe, you can be sure they will find themselves offered a lantern for free from various businesses or friendly citizens passing by, and invited to hang it before the sun sets, or they may be handed a bundle of lanterns and asked to help share them with others.

ii. sharing life

Throughout the city, characters will find groups of people gathering to share hot drinks and talk about their loved ones lost, their homes and planets, or their experiences during the Great War and the epidemic. Anyone who has lost someone, who has fought to survive, who is feeling cut off and homesick, is welcome to sit and share their story. If your character chooses to sit and to share their story, they will find that people will gather to listen, will generally be respectful of the telling, and may share their own similar experiences in return. This is an excellent time to air grief in an environment where most people understand and respect grief, and a good time to deepen the connections to others around you, to understand them better.

There is also a very large focus on cooking or purchasing meals or treats for loved ones during Memoria, with many people taking meals with everyone they care about during the week of the holiday. Some go the extra mile and will hand out baked goods (usually chocolate or cinnamon), packets of candy, or other little treats to acquaintances, especially if they would like to form a closer bond with them. This is a great time for characters to reach out to someone they would like to get to know better with a surprise treat!

iii. floating of the lanterns

On the evening of May 8th, just before sundown, many of the city's residents will head toward the banks of the river, where they will light lanterns in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, in honor of their dead loved ones. The types of lanterns vary wildly, based on personality (either of the person floating it or the person they are honoring), culture, and many other factors. Some lanterns are very simple, others are incredibly complex, but the one common feature they all have is that people write on the shades of them - they write about their feelings for their loved ones, their wishes for their relationships and friendships, a memory from childhood or home, or even just lines of poetry or lyrics from songs that express something they miss, or something that hurts them.

Once those emotions are written on the lanterns, the lanterns are set free, floating down the river in the darkening evening, in a cathartic gesture shared by most residents of the city. Waves of lantern floating will start around 7 pm and continue until the sun rises on the morning of May 9th.

iv. 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 during Memoria, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: glowconcepts, image ii: by trenchmaker, image iv: cherryorange; image iii: found uncredited on Pinterest - please let the mod know if you find credit!

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i
[Sam has a bundle of lanterns, and he's bustling around the front of the townhouse he shares with Wanda, hanging them around the doors and windows. Eventually, he figures that he's hung enough - but there are still a few extras leftover. While most of the passersby carry one or more already, he eventually approaches someone without any lanterns.]

Hey, you need any of these?

[Might as well share the wealth, right?]

ii [closed to previous cr]
[If you're one of Sam's friends, expect to receive some baked goods sometime this week - a small packet of brownies or snickerdoodles, pressed into your hand or left somewhere for you to find. While his previous gifts haven't indicated a giver, these include a small note to the effect that the recipient has a standing invitation to dinner all week, should they choose to come. They're going to be making extra food, so there's no need to RSVP - just show up. The invitation includes the address to Sam and Wanda's house.]

iii
[Sam's lantern is simple, without much in the way of decoration, and only a few words written on it. He waits till late in the night to release it, in a place of relative solitude. Though he's smiling as he lets it go, tears shine in his eyes, reflected by the light of the lanterns. He's not one to openly express his grief, but tonight, just this once, he lets himself do it.

When he turns away from the water, he reaches up to wipe the tears away from his eyes. Eventually, he finds a vendor selling some kind of fruit juice and buys a cup, sitting down on a bench to sort through his emotions. He doesn't want to go home just yet, and he's not opposed to sitting and people-watching for a little bit, despite the late hour. There are still plenty of people out, carrying lanterns to the river, or returning with empty hands.]

iv
[Wildcard! Feel free to PM me or drop me a line on plurk if you want something not listed here.]

Edited 2017-05-02 04:00 (UTC)

Nah - I got no one to grieve, so. Don't need one.

[He's lying through his teeth, and.. let's face it, no one who looks like Dodger gets there without grief. But he's not about to admit it outright.]

How'd you end with so many, though - you just that bad at saying no to people?

Didn't know how many to hang around the house, and I had extras. Thought I'd see if people needed 'em.

[Hey, if he doesn't want to admit to it, Sam's not going to press him. Grief is a private thing, and not everyone's willing to share it with complete strangers.]

[He raises a brow at that.]

You got a house out here? How long have you been in the quarantine?

[The bench Same finds purchase on is already half-occupied. Daryl had picked it because it was far enough back from the general traffic that most people didn't seek it out when they needed a short rest. But people who intended to sit for a spell? Well, he couldn't do much about that.

He was just finishing lighting up a smoke when the guy sat down and after a moment, held it out to him in quiet offering. In case he wanted to light up, too.]

[Sam waves the offer of a smoke away with a shake of his head.]

Sorry, I didn't realize there was someone else here already. If you wanna be alone, I can sit somewhere else.

[It's not unlikely, with an atmosphere like this - one different from the previous two festivals. It's for people to come together in their grief, but that doesn't mean that they don't need alone time, too.]

[Daryl shrugged and put the pack away.]

Woulda told ya ta get lost if I cared about it.

[He wasn't exactly the friendliest person when it came to meeting people and it was entirely on purpose. But he was still honest.]

'Sides, I don't own it.

[ Cisco is one of those people who passes by Sam on the bench, heading toward the river with a lantern. Only, unlike the others, when he comes back in the opposite direction, he is still holding it. Something about the way he walks suggests indecision. A suggestion that's only strengthened when he pauses a few feet away from the bench. He looks over his shoulder, turns around and stares in the direction of the river. Cisco simply stands there a few moments, some kind of internal debate going on, before he take a few quick strides and sits on the opposite end of the bench, sets the lantern down on the ground in front of him and just stares at it, head in his hands.

He is wrapped up enough in his own thoughts that it takes a moment or two before he thinks to ask, belatedly: ]

Oh, uh... you don't mind if I sit here a minute, do you? 'Cause I can go...

Go ahead. [Sam gestures at the empty side of the bench with a welcoming smile. If he needs somewhere to sit and make a decision, then Sam isn't going to scare him off.

Except, after a moment, he goes ahead and speaks:]

You should do it. It's good to let things go.

[ Cisco had anticipated a nod, or at most a grudging 'sure'. The smile is unexpected, and the advice afterwards even moreso. A part of Cisco tells him that he should just give the blandest reply he can muster. Another part of him says that it would be best to avoid the conversation altogether - pretend to have changed his mind and go find somewhere entirely private to sit and stew over this.

But maybe this festival is getting to him. Because he doesn't give Sam the brush off. Instead, he looks down at the lantern thoughtfully. ]

Yeah, that's what I thought, that's why I bought this and wrote all the-

[ He gestures to the writing on the lantern and there are, indeed, words covering every available space that was not covered by the original pattern. The words are packed densely but not neatly - it looks haphazard, like he's meant just to write one or two things here and there but ended up adding more and more until he ran out of room. ]

I'm... my problem is... [ Cisco sighs; it's hard, finding the words. But he has to finish what he started, so he continues softly: ] This event. Getting a fancy lantern and floating it down the river. It's supposed to be about honoring the dead, right? Well, they oughta have a separate party for when it's not just goodbye, but also... good riddance.

[ And, well, that sure was a lot of vague but deeply personal information to divulge, wasn't it? He really should have just kept his mouth shut... ]

Mm. [Sam hums lightly, taking a moment to mull over the words.] In the end, it's all about letting go - whether you honor someone's memory, or whether you just want them to get the hell out of your life. The lanterns aren't just a way of keeping their memory alive or sending them off to the afterlife, but a way to release your baggage, too.

And in the end, they're all just people, you know? [He shrugs eloquently.] This whole thing isn't about deifying them - you gotta accept the good and the bad, even while they're alive. People have flaws, or dark sides, even the ones we like. And that's part of letting go, too - forgiving them, or just telling them that they aren't gonna have a hold on your emotions anymore because they're gone. Whatever it is, sometimes it's best to just get it out.

[ Cisco finds himself surprised yet again - here he'd been sure that was an overshare, and this guy would say something bland and polite that really translated to 'didn't ask for your life story, thanks'. But instead Sam listens, and thinks, and gives advice. Really really good advice. Cisco gnaws at a cuticle while he listens, looking at Sam until he says forgiving them, at which point his gaze drops.

He can tell that Sam knows what he's talking about. It's the sort of advice Cisco would expect to read in all those self-help type books that he'd never quite made himself pick up and actually look at. But that kind of proportion - thinking of Dr. Wells as just a man - and acceptance, and closure, are all beyond him. And forgiveness, or even understanding? Well, the moment he even considers that he remembers Dr. Wells saying he thought at least Cisco, out of the group, would understand his motives. The way he'd said it had made Cisco feel slimy, disgusted, complicit. It had made him want to drink ten showers and flash himself in the face with that thin from Men In Black to erase the memory permanently. Barring that, he doesn't want to give the satisfaction of any sort of understanding or acceptance. ]

Thing is, I don't know if I'm really ready to check my baggage yet. I mean- you're right. Like, I know you're totally right about all of it. I just... I keep feeling like carry-on's a better option for me right now.

[ Maybe it's cowardly, or misguided, or petty; Cisco knows that it might be. But looking at that lantern, thinking about sending it off on the water next to lanterns for people sweet old grandmothers, for their friends and girlfriends and mentors and siblings, for good people who deserved to be mourned... he shakes his head.]

I'm Cisco, by the way. You're a really wise dude, you know that? Sorry to just kind of... unload on you.

Hey, man, I understand. It takes time to come to grips with it all. But you gotta know when to let go, too. Otherwise you'll end up like Kate Winslet in Titanic, floating on a door and clinging to Leo's frozen body. Although even she let go in the end, so maybe that's a bad metaphor - and, let's be real, she could've fit him on the door, too.

Anyway, point is, hang onto that lantern if you feel like you need to. You'll be able to make like Elsa and let it go eventually.

[There's a wry grin when Cisco tells him how wise he is, and Sam shakes his head a little.] Nah, I've just got experience. I worked with war vets back home, so this kinda thing is pretty close to what I'm used to.

[Not to mention his own personal experience.]

I'm Sam. [He leans over, offers Cisco a hand to shake.]

[ The reference to Titanic is so out of left field that it startles a shaky little laugh from Cisco; one that gives away how tightly he is holding back tears at the moment. ]

Kind of a bad metaphor, yeah. [ But Cisco is smiling just a little, and he sits up a bit straighter, pushes his hair back behind his ears. There's a touch more strength in his voice when he adds: ] I always said... even if the door were smaller, they could take turns.

[ Cisco's eyes drop from Sam's face back to the lantern, and he swallows. Maybe Sam is right. He doesn't have to be ready to float that lantern right away. He'd written on it, some things he'd never said out loud before, and maybe that was enough, as a first step. ]

You did? That's really cool, man. Bet you're really good at your job.

[ He takes Sam's hand and shakes it, and in the moment of silence that follows Cisco realizes that he feels, not good, but better than before. Noticeably better. He twists a little on the bench, turning away from the lantern sitting on the ground, and asks: ]

I don't mean to pry or whatever, but, did you do one?

Someone must think so, 'cause I'm doing the same thing for the perimeter guard here.

[There's not as much work to do - honestly, people here tend to think that they don't need his help, more often than not - but Sam likes what he does, has no intention of changing careers. This world doesn't need full-time Avengers, especially not considering how many of them it has.]

I did a few of 'em, yeah. Buddies I lost overseas, some of the people I worked with, some family.

[And one for Riley.]

That's good. I mean, a place like this needs... therapists or um whatever the word for it is, just as much as anywhere else.

[ The people who show up here all have pasts, after all. They're not blank slates. And certainly, even if they showed up un-traumatized, the perimeter guard deals with all kind of things. There's bound to be stress, to be shit that needs talked through. It's reassuring, even though he's not one of those guys on the front line, to know they've got someone to talk to like this guy.

He nods slowly when Sam talks about the lanterns he had floated already. Cisco fidgets with the cuffs of his sleeves and asks: ]

Have you got someone to talk to? I mean, if you need it? I'm not trying to pry or whatever, I only meant, you know you read these articles about how lots of comedians are actually super depressed in their own lives, or how chefs never cook food for themselves. I just was thinking, if your job is to listen to people all the time, I hope you have someone who listens to you.

Edited 2017-05-26 02:57 (UTC)

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introductory mingle: MEMORIA

sam wilson | mcu | ota

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