riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: HYGGE

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: HYGGE

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

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Pleased and momentarily silenced by hearing that from Billy, he sips his own mug and soaks up the calm, friendly atmosphere. ]

I didn't get Stephen a birthday present when the date passed. Do you want to go halves on something? Since you're basically our official squatter.

I should probably get a job soon. . ( and not be a squatter.

but-- )

When was his birthday? ( was he just sitting around and didn't celebrate it? what a rude squatter. )

Uh, a week ... couple of weeks ago?

[ He still has no idea what to get the sorcerer who has previously owned everything of interesting magical value. Maybe a sweater. ]

You could go back into education.

( he totally sat here blissfully unaware it was his birthday. wow. now he feels bad. )

I don't think a school in another dimension is going to count towards anything later though. ( and who wants to go to school just for fun, loki? no one. ) He has. . everything I could think of to get him. Maybe a scarf? Sweater?

You could learn something interesting. [ And then, ] Honestly, I was thinking of a sweater too.

Are you staying at the Sanctum? Er, do you even have a room with us? I just assumed you did.

I picked out a room and put some stuff in it. Mostly books I started reading but haven't finished. . ( there's a small grin growing at the corners of his lips as he pauses to take a drink out of the cocoa. ) But I'm not telling you where.

As far as learning goes, I'm more interested in spellwork than classwork. Which I can get from you, so.

[ Basically permission to hunt a wild Kaplan down in the house later, thanks Billy. He's going to throw a net and everything. ]

I haven't taught you much of anything, aside from the junk in my collection. Next time sorcerers are needed on a mission, we'll both volunteer and I'll oversee your work. How about that?

( 7/10 residents vote not hunting down billy with a net, but to each their own. it's fine, it'll keep them both busy. life here isn't dull, but it lacks the same adrenaline fueled excitement living on a ship and running around avoiding dimensional parasites while getting harassed by aliens has. )

I'll get you to teach me something. Once I figure out something I want to learn and can't do yet. ( it's more control than anything else, isn't it. billy has the power, can mostly use it, but. ) But that works too.

( cup emptied, he's putting it aside to wrap fingers around loki's collar instead. thank you, warm fluff, for being there for him. )

[ Freyja sticks her head out from under the collar, hissing to see who it is stuffing their cold digits in her tent. Loki laughs. ]

I think a spell to conjure those elusive mittens would be a good place to start.

( ah, oops. he'll take a moment to coo at freyja, leaning in to press a kiss to her head if she'll let him. sorry snakefriend. )

Summoning clothes feels a little like cheating. . but I guess mittens aren't a big deal. ( which. is why with a spark of blue some nice, soft mittens encase his hands where they're still gripping onto loki's nice fur collar. )

[ Billy is lucky that he's Freyja's favourite. Gosh! She retreats, placated, and leaves them alone. ]

I'd blow on your hands to warm those fuzzy paws of yours but I think I'd have the opposite effect. [ Although he does cover those mittens in his hands, holding on with thumbs running over wool. ] Ready to head home? We could walk it, it's snowing.

That's unfortunate. I won't be warming my cold feet against you any time soon, either.

( he's. satisfied loki's back to what counts as normal for him here. glad he didn't mess up too much. although billy will have to make sure to keep caleb's mouth shut about that whole other thing. which is fine. he's fine. this is fine, and he's nodding his head in response. )

Let's walk. Teleporting all the time is definitely cheating.

[ He offers an arm. ]

What else should we chew over?

( an offer which billy takes, arm wrapping around loki's own. )

I'm not sure. We do have a lot of time to chew over things. ( he's not leaving any time soon. )

Best coffee brand? Meaning of life? Which unmarked door in the Sanctum we should open next? Or have you gone through all of them already?

There are always new doors popping up in the Sanctum. I dread that we'll walk in on something we shouldn't see, I know Stephen casts silencing charms.

[ Pulling a face, blergh! ]

Adding that to the "no" pile then.

( there are some things he doesn't need to know about people. things like that. )

What place to check out next?

[ He pauses mid-step, eyes widening. ]

... I know a place. It's a lake out in the jungle, if you're alright with a quick trip to see it.

I don't mind as long as Freyja doesn't.

( since it's cold and loki is also mildly not. . warm. probably best not to let a snake freeze. )

Mm, good thinking. Freyja, it's home-time now, get ready.

[ She hisses to show she is, then a green glow briefly flares under Loki's collar as he sends her back to her toasty tank in his bedroom. Snake taken care of, he turns to Billy. ]

We won't be out there long, I only want to show you what I did.

[ And the place Loki teleports them to is the middle of an iced-over lake that stretches for a mile or two in each direction, the jungle a snowy tree-line in the distance across the flat water. If Billy reaches out with his magic he may sense Loki's threaded through the lake underfoot. ]

( the middle of an ice covered lake, after his already horrendous display on top of one. luckily, his feet don't slip when transported, and shoes are easier to balance on than blades. his grip on loki tightens regardless for a moment, before he is reaching out with his own magic.

what loki had done made it clear enough he had some part in this. )

Your own private skating rink? ( he's already been sitting in snow for quite some time, so billy has no quarrels lowering himself down onto the ice (grip tight on loki's hand in case he still manages to slip on his ass, he's taking loki with him) and sitting on the surface, blue wisps of magic trailing through the ice's surface. )

[ He sinks down with him, green swirls of magic chasing the blue. It's colder out here, Billy's breath is clearly seen in clouds, and the stillness is a balm on any lingering nerves. ]

This used to be forest. I didn't take it so well when Anthony and ... you left, so I came out here and, well. I turned everything to ice during an impressive tantrum. The trees and hills melted, and now we have a secret lake.

The water stays cool in summer, so that's neat.

( at least loki managed to throw his tantrum where there weren't people around. see--he's making progress. he takes a moment to look around the lake, takes note of just how big the hole of ice is. where hills and trees used to be present. he extends his own reach out a little further, feels just how deep loki's magic goes.

still a better coping method than taking it out on people. )

How long ago was that?

[ Does it count if Earth-199999's Loki saw him do it? ]

A few months. I've adjusted brilliantly, as you know.

[ The ice is deep, a quarter-mile beneath ground-level, and the water freezes easily in the cold. Thick and strong. ]

I knew I had something rotten building up inside so I came out here, it felt right. [ His smile is crooked, wryly amused. ] The animals and birds were startled as Hel.

[ Their lives he spared, because who goes around murdering badgers and sparrows, wow. ]

( nah, he's fine. clearly loki didn't hurt him--or at least hurt him awfully, so.

it is really cold; luckily, billy's used to cold weathers, and the temperature doesn't get to him too much even if he's just barely refound his nose. billy moves a hand up to his mouth, uses teeth to pull off one of the conjured mittens to run the tips of his fingers against the ice. it's deep, frozen solid for--a while. which is great, because loki's heavy, and while a trip through freezing cold water wouldn't bother the godling too much, it'd definitely bother billy.

adjusted well is putting it strongly.

how is he supposed to even respond to loki's giant massive hole he left on the moon? ) That something rotten made something impressive. ( a moment's pause, before he's shifting around and. moving an arm to wrap it around loki under his jacket in a half-hug. an attempt to comfort him and keep that arm warm at the same time. )

If something--comes up again, you'll talk to me. Right?

[ Loki isn't much good for bodyheat although he steals it well enough and warms up in the right circumstances; out here on the lake, his crater, he remains cool to the touch. He takes off his coat and drapes it over Billy's shoulders, letting the shadowthread actually insulate someone properly for once.

With an arm drawing him in, he nods and noses at Billy's chestnut bangs. ]

I'll be sure to. [ After a moment, he adds, ] Tell me, too, if you need help.

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