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

[ 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?

[ Jon is immediately contrite, ducking his head. ]

Sorry! Sorry ma'am.

[ But he blinks before brightening. ]

Is that your dog?

[ 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! ]

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

Thanks! I love animals.

[ She shoots Jon an appreciative glance for being careful with the snow bunnies. She also holds onto Pacchan's collar when the dog approaches Jon, just to make sure she doesn't try and jump at him or anything before they've been properly introduced. And to that end— ]

Well, good, because she loves humans!

[ The shiba sits obediently at Hana's side, wagging tail sweeping snow back and forth, too, and she leans forward to sniff Jon's hand before nuzzling it with her cold, wet nose - asking for pets! ]

This is Pacchan. What's your name?

[ Thankfully, he avoids a nervous chuckle. He's not really human. Jon scratches behind the ears. It's clear that he's familiar with dogs, having them around him his whole life. ]

Oh, I'm Jon. I have a bunch of dogs on the farm, so I like 'em a lot! Is he yours from home?

[ It wouldn't surprise Hana too much, at least, if she ever learned that hasn't really human. She's met a few non-humans around here by now. Pacchan closes her eyes in bliss at the ear-scratches and if she could speak, she would definitely agree that this human knows how to pet a dog.

Hana, meanwhile, smiles at the both of them, though she shakes her head in response to his question. ]

I got Pacchan here. I adopted her at last month's harvest festival!

And I'm Hana, b-t-dubs. [ yep, she went 'btw' i-r-l. ] Nice to meet you, Jon!

[ That's neat. Jon beams. ]

Yeah, I helped out a little with collecting the dogs.

[ As Superboy, but that fact can be left out. ]

What's with the bunnies?

[ Aww, what a cute smile! ]

Oh, did you? That's awesome. I don't know who found Pacchan, but I fell in love with her right away when I went and came across her at the festival.

[ And as if on cue, the dog starts licking Jon's hand. ]

Hm? Oh. Well, bunnies are some of my favorite animals too!

We don't have bunnies on the farm. They get to the crops.

[ So Superman occasionally navigates the bunnies away with some well-placed sonic claps. ]

I kinda miss having one.

[ Hana nods along with a thoughtful look on her face. That... makes sense, although honestly she doesn't know a single thing about... farm things. Agriculture. She's a city gal through and through. ]

Miss having a dog? You can pet Pacchan as much as you like right now, at least. And I take her out a lot, so you could totally come with us on a walk in the park sometime?

[ He blinks. ]

Really? Just like that?

[ She tilts her head in turn. ]

Yeah? Why not?

[ Apprently, she's pretty friendly, just like her dog! ]

Beeeecause we're kinda sorta strangers?

[ Okay that makes sense but like - ]

Sure, but I'm just a pretty girl with a cute dog, that shouldn't be a problem should it? Is someone looking after you like a guardian here? 'Cause they can come along too, if that makes you feel better.

[ Jon nods. It's not that he's that worried. While there are plenty of heroes (and possible villains??) around, Jon has a good grasp on his powers. That still makes him one of the strongest people here. ]

Well, dogs would know if you're not cool. So it should be fine.

[ Honestly, Hana doesn't know it, but Jon could probably lift her big ol' mech over his head no problem. But she doesn't know that, so right now he's just a sweet-looking boy who likes dogs and if he misses having one, she's more than happy to let Pacchan help fill that void.

She laughs at his response, nodding in agreement. ]

Yeah, exactly! You can trust Pacchan, she's a good girl. Aren't you?

[ The dog gives Jon's hand a lick and her tail just keeps on wagging. ]

[ Jon nods, scratching the back of Pacchan's ears. When he was younger, he used to pretend he could talk to animals. ]

Definitely. She's a smart girl.

Thanks Miss Hana.

[ Shucks, what a cute kid. ]

Awww. You're welcome!

Did you just arrive here?

No, I've been here since March. So, like, a super long time now.

[ Longer than he's been in most places. ]

[ Oh. ]

Oh.

[ The surprise on her face is brief, because it soon gives way to a laugh. Because Jon's actually been here longer and here Hana was, thinking the other way around. ]

Nevermind then, actually I should be asking you for tips. I've only been here since August. God, that really is a super long time, though.

It's gotten a lot bigger now. Even if there are less people coming in.

[ He remembers when they came in droves. It was pretty exciting. ]

I guess since it'll be a year.

[ Hana looks thoughtful for a moment as she considers what it might be like to have been here a year... that would mean... ]

Does that mean you've had a birthday while you were here? Did you celebrate it?

I did a small thing with my dad in July. I didn't know that many people then and my birthdays were always kind of tiny.

[ By tiny, it was always the neighbours and his parents. The neighbours kept changing because they kept moving. He barely remembers having a big party and Jon never had enough friends to invite anyway. ]

[ Oh, he got to celebrate with his dad, that's good. Hana is a bit of a daddy's girl, herself, so hearing that makes her smile.

Although... she hopes his dad is still around... ]

Well, as long as you like your birthdays that way, then there's no problem right? Maybe you can get a dog for your next birthday!

introductory mingle: HYGGE

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