riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: MEMORIA

Entry tags:

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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Adam has become used to taking care of a reckless child, so he knows telling this kid to be careful on that balcony would probably only encourage something worse. It's not like some strange boy is really his problem, but he's curious.

So when Jon gets down from hanging up the lanterns, Adam is still standing there. ] That was, uh, really impressive. You're a superhero?

[ Jon freezes, looking uncomfortable and trying to pass it off with a laugh. ]

Haha, that's crazy. I'm just . . . pretty athletic!

Oh, I wasn't really— [ asking. It just seems like the kid wants to be, what with the costume and jumping around. ]

Never mind. You sure are. Where'd you learn how to climb like that?

[ Oh. Jon had actually forgot about the costume. He was so unused to wearing it and having attention being called to it. Maybe Damian was right. He needed to remember who he was trying to be. ]

No one. We had some trees back home. I used to practice on them a lot.

Seriously? [ It seems strange, but for all he knows, this kid just really likes climbing. ]

That's—really impressive. But if you do it that much back home, you must have someone to spot you there, right? To make sure you don't get stuck or anything.

Nope!

[ He seems pretty proud of that. ]

But my parents are never far away. Also I never get stuck.

Even more impressive. [ Maybe he won't fall and crack his skull like Adam is envisioning. ]

So are your parents here, too?

Yeah . . .

[ He trails off, wondering if he's going to get told to find his parents or shuttled off to a responsible adult. ]

They're participating. I'm just helping out where I can.

[ He does seem to relax. He'd been worried that Jon had been brought alone. ]

Not a lot of kids want to spend their time helping out. How long have you been here? Oh, I'm Adam, by the way.

[ He brightens, holding his hand out. ]

I'm Jon. Jonathan Kent.

[ Oh, he's polite. Adam is immediately endeared. He shakes his hand firmly. ]

Pleased to meet you. I don't want to interrupt your work, but maybe I could tag along? Tell you if the lanterns are crooked or something.

That'd be great, actually. I'm hoping to get these all done for the festival.

[ Jon just . . . likes to help out. He's the odd conscientious kid who picks up trash and puts it away. ]

Gotcha. I can handle the lower places, you can do the high. [ He needs something to do, anyway. He keeps getting people trying to shove lanterns off on him, so maybe this will stop it for a while. ]

I'm actually pretty new here. Are all the festivals this... depressing?

No, the last one was a lot of fun. Lots of cherry blossoms and food. And I think all the adults were drinking, but I didn't pay attention to that.

[ Because it's lame. ]

Yeah, that part sounds boring. [ Because he doesn't drink. Maybe he's better off hanging with kids at the festivals. ]

So what else do you do besides going to festivals, then? I'm from a small town, not really sure how to keep myself busy besides working.

[ Jon visibly brightens. Finally

Me too! Hamilton county is super tiny. I don't do much here, though. It's not like I can get a job 'n stuff. But if you have powers, you can try the missions!

Yeah? Where's Hamilton county at? [ Sounds like the States at least. His smile falters a little at the mention of powers, but he shrugs. ]

Oh, well, if only I had powers. It'd be cool, right? Sounds like there are people here more suited for that than me.

Yeah, but every little bit helps. There are all kinds of missions and not all of them have to do with fighting.

[ Now Jon is totally going to talk to Adam forever. ]

Hamilton County is near Metropolis! It mostly has farms. And cows. Lots of cows.

Well, I guess if one of them ever needs a car fixed, I'll help out. [ If Jon is so into helping, Adam sort of feels the need to be useful too. ]

Can't say I've heard of Metropolis either, but I've only ever been out of Virginia once. Sounds like Henrietta, though. Do you miss it or were you sick of smelling cows all the time?

I kind of miss it.

[ Mostly he misses the familiarity. And his parents. ]

But everyone here is really nice and helpful. They're all trying to make it easier for me.

[ He hums in thought. He can't really relate to missing home. ]

Oh, that's good to hear. I was told there were superheroes and vikings running around and sort of thought it'd be a mess. Kind of hard to trust people like that.

Why?

[ Jon has his reasons for not trusting anyone. His whole life is governed by it. But why would anyone else have those problems? ]

[ It's an easy answer for him: ] Because people don't always use their power in the right way. In fact, most of the time they don't.

[ ... He glances over at Jon nervously. Should he be spreading his pessimism to a kid? ] Well, that's just my experience. It'd be nice if this community was full of the good ones.

[ Jon frowns lightly before smiling ]

Maybe you haven't met the right superheroes. Like Wonder Woman! No one can say Wonder Woman doesn't use her powers for good.

[ Wonder Woman is perfect, yo. ]

You have a point. [ Lighten up, kids. ] Have you ever heard of the The Greywaren? He's sort of like a superhero.

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