introductory mingle: HYGGE

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Hygge celebration
when: The month of December.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

hygge

In the days leading up to December 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Hygge. This holiday is one of Riverview Quarantine's four yearly celebrations of love, this one focused on familial love and found family. The traditions associated with Hygge involve coziness and warmth with loved ones, as snow begins to blanket the Quarantine. Meals comprised of family favorites are shared together most nights of the month of December, and families both biological and found gather together by outdoor fires to drink hot cocoa and other warm drinks, roast marshmallows, and enjoy the beauty of the short-lived winter season on the moon, especially at night, when both the stars and almost unreal aurora borealis light the night sky.

a celebration of familial love and found family

Winter comes to the moon very quickly every year, as the orbit of the Capitol World crosses between its moon and the sun - the temperature drops to just below freezing in the span of only a couple of days, and the trees often don't even change from green to orange. During this short winter, the celebration of Hygge keeps all the residents warm. The main traditions involve comfort and warmth with those people you think of as family - platonic or romantic, though preferably mixed between the two - groups of people gather together to share meals and exchange gifts. The city sets up a series of cabins, each fronted with a fire pit, along the banks of the river, which has been lined with floating logs to interrupt the rushing water and allow the surface to freeze solid and form a series of skating rinks for the public to enjoy. Throughout the month, anyone can head down to the riverbank to make taffy candy in troughs of cold snow and share the various flavors with other families, or toboggan along winding, circuitous courses that range from easygoing to high-speed for the adrenaline junkies. The Town Square has a large, intricate ice sculpture set up, this year in the theme of a castle, that once entered proves to be a maze with a prize at the center for anyone who happens to make it through.

i. beach treats

The cabins that are set up all along both banks of the river are small and cozy, big enough to provide a comfortable lounging area with piles of pillows in front of a small fireplace where gift exchanges can happen, a kitchen to cook in, and a table for groups of people to share a meal at. Much like hotel rooms but without a fee, they're intended to be claimed at the start of the day and used for a while before being tidied and reset for the next group. Each cabin has a fire pit out front where a fire can be set up so groups of people can cook marshmallows for their hot chocolate and share stories or play music together.

Another major feature on the beach are the candy making areas, each big enough to accommodate a couple groups of people, featuring a bank of burners that keep various flavors of thick sugary syrup hot and ready. Once the syrup is at the right temperature, it can be drizzled into the snow packed in troughs to chill, and then rolled onto popsicle sticks to be eaten as a sweet chewy treat. Many families have their own particular flavor combos that are the go-to every year, and new families gather every year to start their own tradition.

ii. winter activities

After all that sugar, everyone's sure to be pepped up for a little activity! Every year, just before the big freeze, crews set up a grid of floating logs to calm the surface of the river along the banks, and when the temperature drops, those areas freeze into a thick layer of ice. As soon as they're safe to be skated on, booths pop up to fit residents with skates so they can skate around with loved ones, participate in ice dances, and play the ice skating version of almost any sport you can think of.

But skating isn't the only type of activity available! The sloping banks of the river have been set up with a variety of tobogganing courses, where people can share various types of sleds to slide down various set winding paths ranging from slow sloped ones to steeper, higher-speed ones that almost resemble bobsled courses.

Finally, for the more competitive, there is a less-gender-divided variation on a Lumberjack Competition, with various physical events that residents can compete in like sawing massive logs, logrolling, speed climbs, and boom runs.

iii. skygazing

After all that sugar and activity, lots of groups of family will settle down around fires either at the cabin or along the beach to enjoy a cup of spiked hot chocolate, coffee, or tea, and look up at the sky. Throughout the cold snap season in December, the sky is almost unnaturally clear and both the stars and the Capitol World are easy to see. Besides that, large swaths of the sky are bathed in beautiful aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, that paint large swaths of bright, beautiful color across the night sky. Curl up with a lover, a friend, a family member, or all of the above to keep warm and enjoy nature's fireworks show.

iv: ice maze

In the city center, residents can find a large, beautiful, intricately carved castle-themed ice sculpture. From the outside, it looks only about as big as a small house, but once residents enter they will find that the inside doesn't quite match the outside - courtesy of some of Gramarye Magic Research's top magic-users, the inside is massive, at least the size of a stadium. While cheery music plays, residents can traverse the complicated ice maze, each wall intricately carved and decorated with greenery, lights, and translucent watercolor paints. The walls are almost opaque, and the maze generally takes a couple of hours to get through for most residents.

Once they reach the center, they will find wrapped gifts arranged on a series of beautifully decorated tables, along with treats and warm drinks. The gifts are tailored to each individual in the maze, having been magically selected from a stockpile of items that have come through the portal, and consist of one small item from each character's home dimension (or, for CRAUs, from their previous game), similar to the "items from home" bonus reward, but without needing to spend points. The item should be small enough to fit in a shoebox, sentimental, and cannot be something intended for another person's character. Alternately, if there are no special items from home that a particular character would want or be attached to, an item of similar size and value that would make the character happy will be inside the box.

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during the Hygge, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Ryan Woodhouse; image ii: Hjalmar Wåhlin; image iii: David Fortin; image iv: Tzuyu Kao

navigation

Comments

jon kent | ota

[supersweet]

[ i. beach treats ]

[ There's nothing Jon loves more than ice-cream. It's one of his favourite desserts in all kinds of weather. And Hamilton was more hot than cold most days. Jon happily pours copious amounts of syrups over the snow, mixing up all kinds of flavors. And he makes far too many, so he starts handing them out to whoever is close by. ]

Do you want one?

[ ii. winter activities ]

[ Jon never got to partake in skating. Or making snowmen. At least not with other people around. It feels weird, actually, being outside with all the other kids. So he sort of watches awkwardly as everyone is doing stuff and he wonders if he should join in. His secret isn't much of a secret anymore but . . .

He pulls his scarf up to cover his mouth, unsure. ]

[ wildcard ]

[shoplifter]

[Guess who is watching everything awkwardly as well? This girl!

Only, she seems very fixated and interested on the skating part -- namely, the ice skates themselves.

...............

She stares at everyone's feet, occasionally looking at her own.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon tugs his scarf down and smiles at her, warming slightly. ]

Hey, Laura. You're not gonna join in?

[shoplifter]

[She turns, looking at him with owlish but friendly eyes.]

I don't have blades on shoes. Just in my feet.

[Spoken casually, because Jon's a super-powered kid, so he knows how it is.]

[supersweet]

We can get you some skates, no problem. I can show you how!

[ Skating, at least, should be fine. His coordination isn't the best and no one should suspect anything. ]

i.

[eusebeia]

[ diana would certainly agree with him. regardless of the season, ice cream remains the perfect treat. blinking once, she glances down at the small stranger, the edges of her lips lifting into a fond smile. ]

Thank you.

[supersweet]

[ Jon stares. He knows that heartbeat. But she doesn't quite look the same. Hesitantly, as he hands her the snow cone, he asks. ]

Wonder Woman?

[eusebeia]

[ it's not a name she recognizes, yet clearly this child seems to know her. ]

I'm sorry. [ her brow furrows a bit in confusion, even though her smile remains. ] Have we met?

[supersweet]

[ Jon stares at her briefly before his eyes well up because he's been trying so hard to keep his spirits up without his parents. But Damian was gone too and Jon felt so alone and closed off with everyone being older than him or strange amalgamations of his life. ]

I . . . I guess not.

[ And Jon had really liked Wonder Woman too. She was his favourite Justice Leaguer after his dad. ]

II

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ Jason had noticed Jon a little while before, from where he was leaning watching people. He pondered walking away but, something in him just never allowed for it. So, instead he made his way over, ruffling the boy's hair in greeting.]

Why aren't you playing with the other kids, Jon?

[supersweet]

Can't.

[ His response is a little clipped but he softens as Jason is nearby. ]

Gotta keep the secret up n' stuff. Besides, I don't know these kids. I dunno if it's a good idea just to jump in.

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ He lets his hand linger on the top of Jon's head a moment as he looks to the group of kids a moment before back to Jon.]

Point, but your a kid, so you should be having fun. So, what is it your wanting to play most?

[supersweet]

[ Jon considers this. ]

I always wanted to have a snowball fight.

i

[dancingmd]

Thank you!

[Beverly smiles fondly at him as she takes the mystery flavor ice cream cone.]

I haven't seen you in a while!

[supersweet]

[ His smile is a little strained. ]

It was a little rough getting out for a while.

[dancingmd]

[Instantly she frowns with worry.]

Why? What happened?

[supersweet]

[ Jon rubs the back of his neck. ]

Damian's gone. So is my mom and my dad. It just . . . feels harder now.

Bit later.

[sonofab]

[It's cold. Damian really doesn't like the cold. He was raised in deserts and Carribean islands, so while he was trained to withstand frozen mountain tops, he still didn't like cold.

He spots Kent standing in the snow, wearing a coat and scarf. Tt, who are you fooling? You know the cold doesn't bother you, Jon. He looks around, before gathering a snowball and... SPLAT. It's the sound of a snowball hitting your back.]

What are you doing just standing around? Thought you learned not to be Super useless by any more or is this place making you slack?

[supersweet]

[ Don't be a wimp, Damian. Jon jerks before brushing the snow off his neck. ]

I'm not useless! I just wasn't sure if I should or not. Can't blow the secret, remember?

[sonofab]

Nn, debatable. [He grunts at the "Not useless" comment.]

You're still keeping that secret here? It's not like back home.

[You know, where aliens were feared and sometimes hunted. Plus, Damian knows Jon didn’t do well with secrets so...] You've been here since July? Surprised you've kept it secret this long.

[supersweet]

[ He's aware and that has loosened up a bit. Still . . . .]

Yeah, but it's not just a secret. It's a promise. Besides, my dad kept it a secret. I can't just tell anyone I like. It's not only mine.

ii

[bunnyhopped]

[ At some point as Jon is wandering through all of the winter activities, he may happen across a modest army of snow bunnies on the ground, all clustered together, and a bundled-up Hana working on making some more of them. Not too far away from her, attached to the young lady via the leash around her wrist is an equally bundled-up shiba inu trotting and hopping about in the snow as best as she can manage while tethered to her human.

Hana does manage to look up in time to see Jon not too far from her little fluffle of snow bunnies. ]

Hey, watch your step, okay?

[supersweet]

[ Jon is immediately contrite, ducking his head. ]

Sorry! Sorry ma'am.

[ But he blinks before brightening. ]

Is that your dog?

[bunnyhopped]

[ She blinks, too, at the way he ducks his head, but soon enough she's turning her attention to Pacchan. ]

Oh. Yeah, this is my dog! Want to come meet her? She's really friendly.

[ She waves her hand, motioning him over. Hopefully he avoids stepping on the snow bunnies! ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon delicately sidesteps the snow bunnies before reaching out to pet the dog enthusiastically. ]

Thanks! I love animals.