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

iii

[hevenly]

[ Angela is there, with one lantern of her own, decorated with the lyrics to Scarborough Fair. When spoken to, she weighs whether or not to help this man (nothing is for nothing), but ultimately decides what he asks of her is so minimal that it would do no harm to help him.

She sets down her lantern on the edge of the river, not ready to set it floating away just yet, and takes some of the lanterns from his arms.

(For what it's worth, the death counter he may see around her neck shows a date so far in the future as to be unbelievable.) ]

[aeturnus]

[ He sees it. Doesn't let himself slow down as if it bothers him, and hands her some so he can set the others down. He doesn't stare or anything, processing the number while he's taking the rest from her again to set them down with the others.

Once he's done, he tilts his head up and offers a smile. ]

Thanks.

[hevenly]

[ She nods, bending to pick up her own lantern. ]

In return, will you help me think of something appropriate to say? I am no good with words. [ That was always Sera's expertise. ]

[aeturnus]

[ He glances at the lantern, then stands and looks at her. ]

Sure. Who's this for?

[hevenly]

My beloved.

[ It pains Angela too much to say Sera's name aloud, so she will not. ]

She waits for me, on Earth.

[aeturnus]

[ He nods, understands. ]

A remembrance, then. Something to remind yourself that you'll be back, and why she means so much to you.

[hevenly]

Yes. [ That sounds perfect. ] I will find my way back to her. I will not leave her waiting.

[ Again. At least Brooklyn is a better place to wait than Hel. ]

[aeturnus]

[ He gives her another smile. ]

I'm sure you won't. This will just be like... an unwanted vacation.

[hevenly]

[ The look on Angela's face is the look of a woman who has never taken a vacation in her life. And what a long life it is. ]

[aeturnus]

No? It's not like we have a choice right now.

[hevenly]

I refuse to sit idle.

[aeturnus]

Then don't. It's just a suggestion, but learning more about the place doesn't have to be a life-or-death mission even if you're working toward something important.

[hevenly]

[ Angela is less a "learn about her new environment" person, and more a "start killing until someone gives her what she wants" person.

But she's trying. ]

...How would you suggest I start?

[aeturnus]

Taking part in the festival's a good first step. Paying attention to the people around you, maybe making a point of checking out what's to offer. Make it a place you know.

[hevenly]

[ Paying attention to the people around you, eh? She goes quiet for a moment, thinking. (Can you hear the rusty gears struggling to turn?) ]

Your many lanterns. Who were they for?

[aeturnus]

[ He smiles, seeing her turn the words around rather quickly. ]

My family.

[ That's a whole fucking lot of names for family, dude. ]

[hevenly]

[ Exactly. ]

You have a large family.

[aeturnus]

Exceedingly. [ He grins. ] There's a lot to honor in them, too.

[hevenly]

[ You are as puzzling as Loki, stranger. ]

Thus the many lanterns.

[aeturnus]

[ He'll take that as a compliment. ]

Exactly. Not enough to give each of them their own, but... it's what I can do right now.

[hevenly]

[ That many lanterns and they still have to share? His family must truly be enormous. ]

In this way, you honor them. That is... nice.

[aeturnus]

I like to think so.

[ He decides he'll get the few he's still got to bring back later. ]

A lot of it isn't new, but—this world should probably know about them, too.

[hevenly]

[ Yet more! How big is this family, exactly? ]

If I could tell this world Sera's story, I would not cease to speak until every person had heard every last word. [ She smiles fondly. ] But she is the storyteller, not me.

[aeturnus]

[ Like... over a thousand. He doesn't deal well with being lonely... ]

Which is fine. Just telling the world your love is power enough.

[hevenly]

[ As someone who didn't know she had siblings until she was millennia old, Angela would not know how to deal with a family that big. ]

Very well.

[ Finally, Angela sets the lantern she's been holding onto the river, loudly declaring: ] For Sera, whom I love more than all the stars.