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

(ii)

[signifies]

[ Clark rests his hand on Jon's shoulder and sits down next to his son. ]

Let's hear it.

[ Clark has been keeping to the background of these sharings. He doesn't have much to contribute but it looks like Jon does. ]

[supersweet]

[ His shoulders slump. ]

I — I dunno what to say.

[ What could he say? To Goldie, whom Jon accidentally killed. To poor Captain Storm who stayed behind to make sure Jon and his father escaped?

To the alternate versions of his parents who sacrificed themselves so that Jon could have his parents again?

He's intrinsically connected, even if he wasn't responsible. ]

[signifies]

[ Clark gently encourages him. ]

Start from the beginning?

[supersweet]

[ He swallows tightly. ]

Uhmmm. Goldie was a good cat. She didn't deserve what happened to her. And . . . Captain Storm. Thanks for staying behind to make sure my dad and I could escape.

And . . . [ Jon trails off. He couldn't. He couldn't talk about the other Clark and Lois. ]

[signifies]

You don't have to say more.

[supersweet]

[ Jon wipes his face and nods as he straightens himself. ]

Do you think it's enough?

[signifies]

Yes. I think this is a good way to remember them.

[ They'd be proud that Jon did. ]

Do you want a story of mine?

[supersweet]

Yes, sir.

[ Jon moves closer so he could clasp his father's hand. The lanterns slowly drift into the sky. ]

[signifies]

Come with me, up on the roof.

[ He takes Jon's hand to lead him away from the groups. Clark wouldn't mind giving that story to others but this is for his son. It's a family matter. ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon watches quietly. His eye-sight lets him see the sky full of lanterns, even beyond the horizon, watching families light their lanterns. It was nice, seeing a bigger picture. ]

[signifies]

[ Clark watches the lanterns with Jon.

He's not the storyteller Lois is so he starts from the beginning, like he told Jon to. ]

When I was a little older than you, my parents told me the truth about who I was and where I'd come from. I had a lot of trouble hiding my powers with other kids and well, when our bus fell into the river, I couldn't sit by and let my classmates drown. I pulled it out. [ He swallows quietly. ] I thought my father was angry with me for refusing to hide. He was worried. No one could explain what I'd done or how I'd done it.

I thought he'd be upset for a while. He ended up buying me a telescope after a few months. We put it outside, and every weekend he'd point at the sky and tell me to pick a star. We'd guess if that was where I'd come from and imagine what it was like there.

[supersweet]

I was angry too.

[ His voice is soft. ]

I didn't know. And then things got bad — really bad. Mom and I, we got caught by some really bad people. Everything burned and the truth was right on me. But I knew that you were all trying to keep me safe. And you all gave up so much to do it.

I kind of . . . flew a little that day. A few inches off the ground. Mom called me her Superboy.

[signifies]

[ Clark smiles down warmly at him. Jon will fly one day. He's sure of it.

It's who he was born to be. ]

My dad didn't stop wanting me to hide. He never lived to see the day the world started calling me Superman.

[ Clark feels in his heart his father might not have wanted that. It was like the school bus. There wasn't another way. ]

I'm glad for the people in your life who've let you be who you are, Jon. You're my Superboy too.

[supersweet]

[ Jon squeezes his father's hand. ]

I know you miss your dad. He didn't want anyone to take you away.

[ It's the same fear his own parents have. It's a fear Jon has. And unfortunately, it's a fear that they all have to live with. But that doesn't mean they don't live proudly or fiercely when they can. ]

Thanks dad. You're one of those people.

[signifies]

I'm glad to hear it. [ He squeezes Jon's hand too. ] I see you helped put up a lot of these lanterns.

[supersweet]

Yeah. I thought . . . I should help out if I can.

[ It wasn't a conscious decision either. ]

[signifies]

[ That's his boy. ]

I'll let you get back to it. I'd like to stay here and look over the city for a while.

[supersweet]

Sure thing, dad! I'll see you later.

[ He moves to hop down the roof . . . Though he pauses to see if anyone's there first. ]