introductory mingle: MEMORIA

[riverviewmod]

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!

navigation

Comments

[advanced]

sharing life;

[Bucky has no desire to tell stories of his own life, but he's there to listen to the tales of others. Maybe it will help, a reminder that he's not the only one drifting through life with a past of grief and pain, or maybe it will just be a distraction for a while.

He's sitting on the fringes of whatever group has gathered, his eyes fixed intently on whoever is doing the storytelling no matter who it is.]

floating lanterns;

[Somehow he's managed to get hold of his own lantern, a little brittle affair with paper sides and a simple aesthetic. His problem is that he doesn't have a pen, his last one ran out a couple of days back and he hasn't replaced it yet. He doesn't want to set it going without any markings, and so he'll look around for anyone nearby.]

Do you have a pen?

[For once, he looks almost relaxed. This festival is sad, but it doesn't feel like a threatening thing to be involved in.]

fireflies/wildcard;

[Bucky can be found in the park most days, either flying his mended kite, jogging, or running through shadow boxing moves a safe distance from everyone else. I am open to all the fireflies, with the exception of lust, so just let me know which one you want him to be bitten by!]

floating lanterns

[livingsymbol]

[Steve is interpreting the lantern decoration in his own way. With not much he feels he can say (at least not much that hasn't already been said), he falls back on what he knows: he draws. His lantern screens are filled with small scenes of figures and locations far out of reach, and it actually feels good to get drawing again, even if it is rough.

He does notice when Bucky walks by, though. There's just something about the man that gets Steve's attention no matter what he's doing, and despite not being close by or really knowing him, he immediately becomes aware of him when he asks someone a few feet off for a pen. Steve, to his credit, does hold back. He tries to tell himself to leave well enough alone, but Steve Rogers is bad at leaving things. He always has been. And that's why he ends up walking toward Bucky, stopping a safe distance away once the man notices him.]

Would charcoal work?

[advanced]

[Of course it's Steve.

At least it's not his Steve, and he's getting used to there being more than one. The conversations he's had with his other self have proven that they're very different men, which puts him a bit more at his ease. Besides, this Steve has his Bucky back, he has no reason to pursue him.]

Yeah, it's gonna be gone soon anyway.

[At least he's not running right away.]

[livingsymbol]

[Steve's first thought is at least the man doesn't immediately bolt. He was wondering if Bucky would run as soon as he saw him, but apparently he's managed to cool down since their last, failed, talk.

By some miracle it seems that Bucky is allowing his presence.]

It doesn't matter if it's gone. The gesture is what is important.

[He holds out the stick of charcoal he was using to draw on his own lanterns. There's still an awkward tension between them, but Steve is trying to help without pushing too hard. At least for the moment. It went so poorly last time he's had the chance to reflect on his mistake, but the urge to worry over the other man is still there. It always will be.]

[advanced]

[He takes the stick of charcoal and bends his head over his lantern. He knows it's a vulnerable position, to take his eyes off Steve, and it makes the back of his neck itch like a sniper scope is pointed right at him. But he keeps at it until he's written the names that he wants to write.

Only then does he look up and hold the charcoal back out, dust from it coating his slightly battered gloves now. The lantern reads: James, Winifred, George, and Rebecca Barnes.]

Thanks.

[Well... this is awkward. He has no idea what to say, but he isn't so skittish as to run again so soon.]

lanterns!

[eyeforaneye]

[ Sasuke's lingered along the banks for several hours now, watching the sinking of this dimension's sun and keeping to peaceable if short interactions with those intent on commiseration. If there's anything this festival has done, it's made people loose-lipped.

The question doesn't surprise him, then, casting a glance over at this stranger. ]

Sure. [ And he does, though it's more of a felt-tipped marker than anything. Nonetheless, he passes it over. ]

[advanced]

[A felt tip marker is good enough for what he wants. He doesn't make it a secret the names he draws on this lantern, though they're more descriptors than names: Barnes family.

He's sure they must all be dead by now, and he doesn't recall their names to write them down individually, so this will have to do.]

Thanks.

[He holds it back out, hand gloved despite the warm evening.]

[eyeforaneye]

[ He watches as Bucky jots down what he has to say, the English words still foreign to his eyes. That writing utensil is taken back and tucked away again with quiet note given to the glove. That stands out. ]

Aa. [ ... ] Who are they?

[advanced]

[He frowns at the question, but he supposes that he sort of invited it by initiating contact.]

People who have been dead for a long time.

sharing life;

[starspangled]

[steve's been wandering from group to group in his spare time. he's always a little bit surprised when he hears something that he can relate to, but he probably shouldn't be. it's not like anyone has the market cornered when it comes to hardships. maybe it's like peggy said, maybe he's just the dramatic type.

it's good for people to talk like this. it reminds him of sam's meetings back at the va, the ones that steve also never took part in. but lending an ear's important too, right? just listening is good.

steve slowly circles the outskirts of this gathering, eyes on the speaker so that he doesn't notice bucky at first. his attention falters a little when he does. steve takes a step closer and clears his throat gently, but his eyes are back on the person at the center of the circle. sooner or later, everyone's stories will be told - everyone brave enough to share them, that is. he doesn't mind waiting.]

[advanced]

[He sees Steve almost as soon as he gets there, he always makes sure to position himself so that he can see the entrances and exits of any building, but it feels wrong to run away this time.

These are people talking about their memories, and about the people they've lost, if that doesn't sum up Steve and himself then nothing does. He has a lantern next to him, name written on it in Cyrillic to keep it more private, and he makes sure to pick it up when he moves.

It's during a lull when one person has finished telling and people are deciding who is next, when he shifts to stand next to Steve.]

Are you going to speak?

[starspangled]

I've thought about it.

[he should, right? it's the question that steve asks himself every time someone else finishes. always listening but never sharing himself...it feels a little bit voyeuristic at times. he turns his head and gives bucky a half-smile.]

But then I open my mouth and realize I don't even know where to start.

[advanced]

[He nods, that's something he understands perfectly well. If he got up there, he has no idea what might come out of his mouth.]

If you do, I'll listen.

[It's almost an olive branch. Not a promise for anything more than listening, but it's a start.]

sharing life;

[followhim]

[poe notices bucky in the fringes of his group being quiet, and decides to reach out to him because he's a friendly dude. he holds out a small bag of cookies.]

Do you want these? I've already had a bunch, and I thought someone else might like them.

[advanced]

[He blinks in surprise as a stranger suddenly thrusts cookies under his nose.]

I think you have me confused with someone else.

[Surely he intended to give them to someone he knew?]

[followhim]

Not at all. [he grins.] I don't know anyone, I'm still new. So I thought I'd try to make some friends.

[/collects lost puppies. it's fine.]

[advanced]

[He's trying to be less of a jerk to the people who randomly approach him, but he still gives the cookies a bit of a suspicious look.]

There are better people to be friends with.

[Just a friendly warning.]

floating lanterns

[imprompto]

I do! [ And Prompto is very proud of that fact. He even has a handy dandy notepad that goes along with the lanyard around his neck, making him look all important and authoritative. He's not, just a tech helping the news network with festival coverage. ]

Is it for the lantern? Oh, dude, can I get some shots of you gettin' your doodle on?! That'd be great.

[ Already Prompto's got his lens focused on the lantern in the stranger's hand. ]

[advanced]

[This was absolutely not how he intended for this to go, and he freezes with his gloved fingers curled around the pen. He nearly reaches out to grab the camera, but he manages to restrain himself.]

No photographs.

[It's a harshly given order.]

Put it away.

[imprompto]

What, really? It's just for the news network. I won't show your face! Or your name!

[ C'mooon! Give in to the sad eyes, bro. ]

[advanced]

[Don't say he didn't warn you, man. Bucky's hand reaches out rapidly to try and grab the camera, and literally crush it between gloved fingers. Whether he manages it or not, his voice is deceptively neutral afterwards.]

I said no.

floating lanterns;

[yokunaru]

[At first, Yuuri's busy staring down at his lantern with a slight frown, and doesn't look up before he responds.] Sure, you can use mine.

[As he's handing the blue pen over to him, though, his eyes widen with recognition.]

Oh, it's you!

[advanced]

[He's not expecting to be recognised, he's kept a mostly low profile, so it takes him a moment or two to properly look at Yuuri in return. Oh right, the medic from the tunnels that had gone in woefully under prepared.]

Yeah, me.

[What else does he say to that?]

I see you've kept yourself alive since I saw you.

[yokunaru]

[Ouch, what a reminder of his blunder down in the tunnels. Yuuri winces.]

Um, yeah... I guess I have. [Yuuri drops the pen into his hand, smiling sheepishly.] I didn't get to thank you properly for that, by the way.

[advanced]

[He bends over the lanterns and writes a name in Cyrillic.]

You don't need to thank me, I wasn't just going to leave you to die.