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

navigation

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He hums quietly at that, trying to imagine a young Gamora with flower crowns in her hair.

(It makes him smile a little.) ]

Do you remember how to do it still?

[ That clearly isn't something she expected him to ask, and she looks thoughtful, considering. ]

Perhaps if I tried. I haven't for years.

[ Obviously, flower crowns were not encouraged by Thanos in her training. ]

We oughta give it a try, one of these days.

[ A soft sort of suggestion. ]

I wouldn't mind learning.

[ Gamora tilts her chin to look at him, her brows lifting. ]

You want me to teach you to braid flowers?

[ That seems so... out of place, and yet—

She likes the idea of doing it with Peter. ]

[ He pauses, considering, then, ]

Well, I kind of know how to braid already.

[ “Kind of,” as in, he definitely knows, but he’d rather be a little coy about it. (Like, it’s a weird thing to admit knowing how to do, right? She’d probably tease him for it, and he’d rather avoid that.) ]

Never done it with flowers before, though.

[ ... This is a more pressing piece of information. ]

You know how to braid hair?

[ But there's nothing condemning or mocking in her voice, mostly curiosity. ]

[ He fidgets a little, made all the more obvious by the lack of space between them, gaze fixed on the night sky. ]

I said I kind of knew how to braid.

Doesn’t mean it was hair.

[ ... what the hell else would it be, then, quill. ]

... Then what do you know how to braid?

[ That's way more confusing than just saying he can braid hair. ]

Oh, you know. String. Rope. Strands of things.

[ like, you know, hair.

He shrugs a shoulder. ]

I just kinda picked it up, is all.

[ There's a time to pry and a time to indulge the way Peter dodges her questions.

Now, she thinks, is the latter. ]

Fine. Then if I can remember, I'll teach you to braid flowers.

[ So he can add it to his odd little list of things he can braid. ]

[ He brightens, equal parts relief and encouragement. ]

Maybe they have those kinds of flowers in the garden? Or something like them.

We can look for them.

[ The softest of smiles teases at her lips, and she goes back to resting her head on Peter's shoulder. ]

We can go when you're less likely to lose your fingers to the cold.

[ Peter opens his mouth to respond, but then he casts her an unimpressed look – though considering their positioning, it goes lost on her. His voice, at least, conveys the mood for him. ]

That was not two minutes.

[ ... it was probably longer than two minutes, in fact, but still. ]

[ She gives a short hum. ]

You're right.

[ And she tilts her chin up to look at him, smug as can be. ]

It was at least four.

[ His nose wrinkles with distaste, mouth twisting to one side. ]

Where'd you learn to be so annoying?

[ Although he has a pretty good idea on the answer to that, already.

(Peter, of course. If it had to be from anywhere, it was definitely Peter.

He's taught her too well.) ]

[ Gamora sits up properly this time, pulling back – though not terribly far – enough to give him a flat, pointed look. ]

I wonder.

[ His own eyes narrow, as if he were affronted by the implication of her words.

Then, he aims a sharp sigh up at the night sky, his breath puffing out in a white cloud. ]

How many times do I have to say it's fine before you believe me?

I will believe you when it looks less like your nose is going to freeze off.

[ And now she's just messing with him.

But, despite her apparent worry over Peter in the cold, she resettles against his shoulder, tucking herself close again. ]

When should we look for the flowers?

[ Another unimpressed look, cast in her direction, but it’s wasted, considering she’s no longer looking up at him.

He does, however, wrinkle his nose a little, reaching up with a gloved hand to rub at the bridge. ]

Whenever you’re free. I’m easy like Sunday morning.

Maybe whenever the festival winds down?

[ A quiet hum of agreement as she looks back towards the sky. ]

That works for me.

[ She pauses, a little quieter when she adds, ]

... This has been nice.

[ The little comment catches him by surprise, and he blinks, turning slightly to look at her.

Like, okay, she’s not wrong,and in spite of all the teasing about his inability to handle the cold, he was thinking the same thing, too. It sucks that they’re stuck here, sure, and it sucks that they don’t have the rest of the team here, that they have no idea of when they’ll be able to go home (if they can go home), but—

It’s been nice. In general. Not just now, though that’s definitely true, but all the months they’ve spent here. Part of him doubts he’ll be able to handle all this peace and quiet for much longer, that if something exciting doesn’t happen soon he might go stir-crazy, but for now? God, did they need this break. Saving the galaxy twice in as many months definitely warrants at least a year’s worth of vacationing, right?

He smiles a little, warmth curling in his chest at how serene Gamora looks, how all these months have led to them becoming closer and closer. All they need to do is step over that line, and they’re teetering so close. All either of them need is a quick nudge. ]

Yeah. [ Equally quiet and earnest. ] It has been.

[ She likes the way his voice sounds. She likes that softness to it – and isn't that so impossibly strange, too? That they can be soft with each other, that Gamora is even capable of it. Months ago, before the Guardians, before all of this, she never would have thought that a quality of herself, because she'd learned to shut it down. Soft is weakness. Soft is vulnerability. Soft will get her killed.

She doesn't believe that anymore.

Yes, soft is vulnerability. But to be soft with those she cares about? That is not weakness.

She doesn't even seem to realize that a smile has found its way to her lips, and she readjusts against Peter's side, turning her head to press her face against his neck, nosing into his scarf. She can't see the sky anymore, but that doesn't really matter; being close to Peter has become more important in the moment.

It might seem like nuzzling. Maybe. ]

[ He can’t quite feel it, as she cuddles with him (and holy shit, Gamora is cuddling with him, what the fuck this is awesome). All he really gets is the pressure of it, with the scarf acting as a barrier between their bare skin. Then again, it’s probably for the best. Even if Gamora runs a few degrees warmer than him, he’s still not sure he’d appreciate the shocking chill of her skin against his.

As it is now, he grins, feels something warm bloom and burst in his chest, feels something flutter in his stomach, and he wraps his arm around her shoulders, his gloved hand resting against the nape of her neck. Fuck, this is nice, and he’d never expected to have this with Gamora, of all people – even if he hoped. And occasionally dreamed. And occasionally day-dreamed, watching her a little wistfully in their shared apartment – even if she caught him at it, like, a third of the time.

(Of course, she probably noticed every time, but only called him on it as the mood struck. And Peter knows it, deep down in his heart.)

He swallows, licking his lips, and he turns toward her. And slowly, almost timidly, he brushes his lips against her brow.

It might seem like a kiss, barely there as it was. Maybe. ]

[ Where months ago, she would have balked at being so close to someone, now, she melts into him. A hand on her neck should alarm her, should immediately have her on high alert, but it doesn't. She isn't lost in the moment or some music, isn't distracted when she lets him close, and instead, she's allowing herself to enjoy this wholeheartedly.

And then there's that kiss. The thing that might be a kiss. It feels like a kiss, at least, and Gamora smiles with it – really and truly smiles. Because she doesn't doubt Peter's intentions anymore. There's no part of her that thinks Peter is trying to get something out of her or treat her like one of his "waifs" – though she also distantly realizes that she can't think of any such women or men since they've been here. Maybe Peter's been subtle, but... she doesn't believe that.

She believes in this thing. This weird, unspoken-spoken thing between them that makes her heart sing and her stomach dance, and—

And it's good.

She shifts, equally tentative, until her nose brushes against his chin, and then his cheek. Lightly, gently, her lips press to his jaw.

That definitely seems more like a kiss this time. Maybe. ]

[ Oh, shit.

Shit, this is actually happening, isn't it?

Be cool, Quill, he tells himself, trying to calm his hammering heart while it threatens to crack open his ribs. He licks his lips again – a nervous sort of tic – and predictably, a dull sort of chill accompanies the press of her nose against his skin. It's easily ignored, though, considering the soft press of her lips.

When she pulls back, he— sort of just stares at her while the lights above flash green and teal, playing across her face, catching in the silver lines etched into her cheeks and brow, and— man, she's stunning. Drop-dead fucking gorgeous. Hot as hell. For a second, his breath catches in his chest before it drifts out of him in a soft, disbelieving sort of laugh.

Peter leans forward after that, slowly closing the space, giving her time to draw back or put a stop to this.

Hopefully his intentions are clear enough. Because this is 100% going to be a kiss. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject