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

Wildcard! Communal housing

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid has been exploring his new, barracks-looking home. It's bigger and has nicer toilets than his old caravan, Sid'll say that for it. Unfortunately, it seems any past occupants of the other beds have neglected to leave behind any interesting trinkets. Oh well.

Sid then turns his attention to the shared kitchen/dining/longue area in the middle of the floor. His first stop is the kitchen, annoyingly empty of anything to eat (he'll probably have to do shopping). Fortunately, he seems to know the function of most of the devices in the kitchen (the dishwasher and microwave elude him) and hey! Free dishes. (I'm assuming, since that's how long-stay motels operate).

Moving on to the entertainment area, he throws himself noisily onto the nearest couch to contemplate his situation. Then he spots the remote. He frowns at it in concentration. It's got lots of buttons, but it's shaped like a brick, so what could it do? Then again, that phone they gave him was shaped like a brick. He leans over and picks it up, deciding to start with the large red button at the top.

The TV blares to life and it is loud. And very large. And in color.

If you asked him, Sid would vehemently deny saying "cor". But he is definitely impressed. And doesn't make any move to turn down the volume.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ What was that infernal racket? Loki snarls, tossing his book aside as he follows the noise. He doesn't look pleased and he certainly looks intimidating, drawing himself to his full height. ]

Must you?

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid cranes his neck to look up at co-resident whose name he never really bothered to get. Posh-sounding bastard. Sid does not appear in the least intimidated, and is even a bit cocky -- his usual behavior with anyone he suspects thinks they're better than him.

Besides, it wasn't his fault the machine's so loud.]

Must I what?

[dothelokimotion]

[ His fingers twitch. Those who dared speak to him such never lived long and Loki can already feel the tell-tale fraying of his anger. Still, it would do him no good to call attention to himself. Perhaps that vampire he spoke to can deal with this issue for the future. ]

Lower the volume before I relocate the device. Permanently.

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid clicks his tongue in annoyance. Still, the bastard's right about the noise, and he's apparently going to have to live with the guy. So he glares down at the remote, looking for the volume knob. There being no knob, he presses a few buttons, which only succeeds in changing the channel.

Finally, Sid scoffs and chucks the remote in the direction of Loki's chest.]

Here, you figure it out, then.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki catches it with a graceful moment, giving Sid a skeptical eyebrow. Not knowing how to operate a . . . television set is odd, even for a mortal. He clicks his tongue as he lowers the volume. ]

Have you never seen one of these before?

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid snorts, and puts his feet on the coffee table.]

I've seen movies, sure.

[And a few pictures of televisions, but certainly nothing like this, so he doesn't really make the connection.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Ugh. Neanderthal. ]

Not those. The, ah, television as you call it.

[whatsapineapple]

A television?

[Sid is completely incredulous.]

Mate, I don't even have a phone. Where would I see a television?

[Then he frowns a bit in thought.]

I mean, maybe Lady F's got one, but I ain't never seen it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Ah. Now this is beginning to make sense. ]

What year do you hail from?

OH MAN the show is kind of vague about specifics

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid glares.]

What the Hell kind of question is that, then?

[(a) rude, (b) given what the fellows at the portal said there's no guarantee they even run on the same timeline, and (c) screw him.]

oh no that's the worst

[dothelokimotion]

[ Dryly. ]

A basic one. After all, most people know how to work a remote.

it's somewhere between 1950 and the end of rationing

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid looks him up and down.]

Reckon I'm more "most people" than you, mate.

[dothelokimotion]

And yet, I'm the one who lowered the volume. I worry for the kitchen now. I'm not fixing anything you break.

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath.]

Probably do a better job, anyhow.

[dothelokimotion]

[ He chuckles. Mortal egos. They subside on nothing but their own pride. ]

I am sure you believe that.

[whatsapineapple]

[As if Loki's any different. Sid sits forward, angrily.]

Listen, I had a nice thriving handyman business going, back home!

[...He is exaggerating slightly.]

And I'll bet even money you've never worked a day in your life! So yeah, I probably can!

[dothelokimotion]

"Probably" speaks volumes of your confidence.

[ As for the working thing . . . he lets it go. Mortals have a different senses of jobs than Asgardians do after all. ]

But my point stands. If you break it, that is on you.

[whatsapineapple]

Never said it wasn't.

[Sid crosses his arms and glares at the television in what is definitely not a pout. He is definitely not admitting to not knowing what the microwave is. And he may or may not be mentally placing Loki in the "in an emergency, steal his stuff and pawn it" category of humanity.

The television is currently showing some inane kid's show in the vein of Caillou. Sid glares at it anyway.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ That's a dangerous category to put Loki in. Thankfully, Loki doesn't keep many personal items and a good deal are magically hidden. He's hardly going to leave anything out by accident. He's far too paranoid for that. ]

I should hope not.

[whatsapineapple]

[Pff, who said anything about "personal" items? He's going to nick his sheets.]

And if you break anything, I'm not fixing it.

[He slouches down a bit.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki rolls his eyes. ]

I'd hardly ask a passable handyman to do that.

[whatsapineapple]

[Sid snorts at that, slouches further and continues to glare at the television. The high-pitched voices and pastel colors are starting to grate a little.]

Wonder if you can get the horses on this.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki weighs his options before coming to a decision. ]

Switch the channel.

[whatsapineapple]

You've got the buttons, you switch the channel!

[Sid's not his employee, damn it.]