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

[volitaunt]

[ Poe is laughing wildly, delighted both by the speed and the fact that Finn is so delighted. They've had so much happen that's so serious, just racing down a hillside with nothing at stake but possibly wiping out via tree or hidden rock is like the sun after days of bad weather.

Giddy with celebration, it's easier to think about how much he wants to show Finn of the galaxy. Rey too. The Prisma Festival, the solar sailing races on Huron, the Five Sabers, so much of Hosnian Prime. That last thought passes so fleetingly, during a sharp turn and a slap of wind, that it doesn't occur to him to second-guess it. To even be sad. (The guilt of forgetting will come later.)

The bottom of the hill comes crashing up toward them, and then they're there, spinning to a halt, or more accurately spinning into a snowbank. Poe goes flying into the powder, still laughing. ]

[bythehand]

[ It doesn't matter how old you are or what your career path is. There's fun to be found in a high-speed toboggan course. And Finn knows that now, so basically character development over for the foreseeable future, Finn's done here. Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts in Star Wars anymore.

Finn executes more of a sideways flop off of the sled, breathless and beaming. He's quick to sit back up, but relaxed enough to let any clinging snow melt off as it may.

He has to get Rey to try this with him later. Assuming she hasn't found her way here already. ]

Alright. They get a pass for already having another holiday lined up this time.

[ BUT ONLY ONE. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe dusts snow out of his hair, making it stick up and yet somehow still look good because fucking of course it does.

BB-8 rolls over from where the droid was waiting at the bottom of the hill. As amusing as it would be to see the droid turn into one of those cartoons of a small snowball rolling its way into a giant snowball, Bee has more conservative views of what makes a good time. ]

What if the next one is as fun as this one?

[bythehand]

[ How does his hair always do that, and is he even aware of the fact that it does? It's witchcraft.

Finn snorts. ]

And what if it's not? Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[volitaunt]

[ He isn't. He didn't even think about his hair at all until Karen called it "stupidly perfect". And now he's not thinking about why he thinks about her saying it.

Poe hauls himself up and claps a hand on Finn's shoulder. ] Optimism. That's your assignment. Pick one thing and assume the best.

[bythehand]

[ Finn snorts as if snorting is his job. But he doesn't stop smiling. ]

If I knew I'd be getting an assignment from you, I would've picked another sled. Does it count as assuming the best if I think about that?

[volitaunt]

[ Poe's answer is to scoop up a wad of snow super casual-like

and then dump it down the back of Finn's neck. ]

[bythehand]

[ This week on "loud streams of curses that sort of all bleed into each other to form the Ultra Swear," it's our guest expert, Finn.

He was only ever taught one language but he knows how to use it.

His back maybe disagrees slightly with the sharp reflexive twist that he does, but PAL... he's agreeing to disagree. Finn doesn't start wars but he'll finish one???? ]

Oh, you asked for it!

[ HOLD STILL SO HE CAN HEADLOCK YOU AND RETALIATE, COWARD ]

[volitaunt]

[ HE IS NOT AS BIG AS YOU FINN BUT HE IS QUICK and by god he's gonna do his best to duck that headlock while scooping up two more handfuls of snow and hurling them in Finn's direction. They are not packed, they are not prepped, they are just explosions of powder.

At least that can offer him some cover?? ]

[bythehand]

[ Impairing visibility is a classic move. Finn already knew Poe's a smart man. Let him have his cover that Finn literally can't keep him from actually having, but it sounds cool to think stuff like that.

Finn may or may not have a competitive streak. He likes challenges. This is good.

It's simple terrain and slippery footing, not a lot to do with it. More about smart than taking advantage of his surroundings. While he's spitting out a little bit of snow, Finn opts to go low and start putting together a little ammunition instead of immediately pursuing his dark vengeance. If it's a snow fight Poe wants, it's a snow fight he's gonna get.

He lobs one in Poe's general direction as a warning shot. Real Murder is not in his eyes, just Snow Murder.

Snow Murder is a new emotion for Finn. Still not sure if he realizes he's having fun with it yet but he will definitely get there. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe is not a smart man when it comes to snow fights okay. His strategy is mostly volume, volume, volume.

Which means he hurls an armful of snow at Finn and gets hit directly in the face by that first snowball, laughing like a madman. At least that direct hit gets him to scoop up a proper snowball of his own, which he flings with perhaps more enthusiasm than accuracy. There's another two half-formed lumps of snow whipped off in its wake, one from each hand. ]

[bythehand]

[ Finn's more in line with precision than volume. His real-time strategy will undoubtedly eventually evolve into "directly run towards the enemy" but for now it's nice to try for accuracy.

There's a lot to say for the Volume Method though, what the hell?? This is a snow bombardment, who signed off on that. ]

And here I was gonna discuss your terms of surrender.

[ He may not be laughing but he is having a really excellent time right now. ]

[volitaunt]

[ And Finn scores hits to Poe's shoulder, stomach, and almost pegs him in the face but Poe bellyflops to avoid that one. ]

Never!

[ Since when does Poe Dameron ever entertain the idea of surrender. (Never, it's never, the narration is being redundant to the dialogue and doesn't care.)

Then he pitches a more carefully-formed snowball at Finn's head. ]

[bythehand]

[ What A Shock, He Said Never.

Finn takes a snowball to the head. Some of it goes up his nose and it's the weirdest thing he's ever experienced. That's the power of the snowball fight, apparently. To make him kind of wish he had Rey on backup, because obviously lack of experience is a drawback but the advantage of numbers is what you wanna go for.

He's starting to think there's just no point in trying to strategize for this, quite frankly. Talk about a wild time.

Whatever Poe take your shots!! He's got to have the time to roll up the snow equivalent of a battle tank or whatever here. ]

[volitaunt]

[ You can try to roll up your battle tank or whatever, Finn, but Poe's just gonna straight up charge and try to tackle you into the snow whoops. ]

[bythehand]

[ POWER MOVE.

Finn takes that hit. As a choice? No. But if it gives him the opportunity to try and get a handful of snow down the back of Poe's neck, he's sure as hell gonna be grateful to take such a chance. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Cue Poe yelping and shoving a handful of snow in Finn's face because escalation is how snow battles work. ]

[bythehand]

[ Stop these children.

THE SYMMETRY OF HIS SNOW REVENGE... RUINED BY RETALIATION. THIS IS THE DARK CYCLE OF WAR, AND ALSO THERE'S MORE SNOW IN HIS FACE AND IT'S DUMB?? But nah Finn literally just tries to mash his palm into Poe's face. Not even with snow, he's just like.

Smushing. ]

Do you know you're a menace? Huh?

[volitaunt]

[ It's kind of hard for Finn to avoid mashing Poe's nose when mashing his face. Which is why Poe's reply is kind of nasally even as he tries to wad snow down the front of Finn's coat. ]

I'm going to be a menace that wins.

[bythehand]

There wasn't something to win until you started it!

[ so hypothermia is how he's gonna go. rip.

QUICKTIME EVENT MASH X TO AVOID A SLOPPY HEADLOCK ATTEMPT ]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe makes a noise that's something like ASSDHFDNAGKLE.

Quicktime event failed he hates these kinds of games gosh!!!

Useless and very adult arm-flailing at Finn's head commence. ]

[bythehand]

[ mature and responsible soldiers. nothin to see here folks.

finn thinks about trying to noogie him but graciously doesn't follow through, because he's finally fucking realized he's having active fun and this is probably not going to turn into a literal nothing-personal fistfight between friends.

he tries to contain this vicious pilot beast for a little bit, and then he kinda just lets go and flops back into the snow, as one does. counterproductive to his motivation of not having more snow on his person but like whatever!!!! TAKE THE BATTLE, POE.... BUT KNOW SOMEDAY FINN WILL WIN THE WAR. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Cue Poe flopping down next to him. ]

You ever make a snowbird?

[ His guess is no. ]

[bythehand]

[ On the one hand, that seems like a question with a really obvious answer, and Finn spends half a second wondering why he bothered asking it.

On the other hand, it's kind of nice that Poe asked instead of just... assuming. No matter how obvious the answer might have already been. It's such a Poe thing to do. ]

Nope.

[ There's an easiness in Finn's tone that he doesn't often find. In fact, stand back. He's gonna do a joke. ]

You know, standard safety practice. Get the armor out in the snow, you might have to go back and admit you can't find your own troops anymore.

[volitaunt]

[ Poe blinks. Then grins. ] See, that's just a logistical oversight, really. Someone should talk to management.

[ FINN MADE A JOKE, WORLD, AND IT WAS A GOOD JOKE FIGHT HIM.

Poe stretches out on his back in the snow and starts doing what appears to be a prone jumping jack. JUST ROLL WITH IT FINN.]