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

[ Okay, look. Finn's got his hangups with this moon and the sheer frequency of the holiday festivities it slants towards. As a whole concept, it's harmless: he doesn't strictly like it anyway. It's a lineup of yet more stuff to learn about and get used to, and it all seems kind of unnecessary.

Seemed would be more accurate a word, maybe.

The thing is, these particular festivities have been a lot easier to settle into than the last ones. He's got his bearings more secure, he's not constantly on edge. And the toboggan runs, when he finally gives in to curiosity and tries it out, are very, very... fun. He has to admit that this festival is nice, and that there's something really rewarding about having a fun moment without worrying about getting blown up or dying.

Between where he grew up and everything that happened once he got out back home, Finn's experience with fun is limited. (He's pretty sure cheering about not dying or getting blown up in a spaceship fight doesn't count.)

The faster, more harrowing courses have more draw to them, but the lines for the less intensive ones are shorter right now. Which is how he winds up at the top of the hill for the umpteenth time, still breathless and ecstatic, hands on his hips as he waits to get paired off. When he sees who he's with, he positively beams. ]

Cisco Ramon.

[ LOOK... SOMETIMES HE JUST LIKES TO USE FULL NAMES. And he likes Cisco, Cisco is already all but in the ride or die squad by sheer kindness and proximity to Rey. Finn doesn't mind sharing with a stranger or anything, but sharing fun things with good people is a luxury he plans to indulge in today. So this tracks perfectly. This is good. ]

Don't worry. I've definitely been getting the hang of this.

[ It's clear Cisco's been out in the cold for some time: the tip of his nose and his cheeks are a little red with the cold, and the rest of him is bundled up tightly. He had been distracted and not paying attention to the attendant who is helping to deal with the high traffic of waiting sledders, so he doesn't notice who he is paired with, until he hears his name. ]

Hey, Finn, my man! What's up?

[ Even if Cisco weren't already in a good mood, Finn has a killer, absolutely contagious smile. It's impossible to see him beaming like that and not want to smile back. ]

You and me? Sweet.

[ He, too, had been willing to sled with whoever, but he's happy to spend more time with Finn, particularly since it seems he is having the time of his life right now. ]

You gone on one of these things with Poe yet? He steers like a complete madman.

[ He huffs out a laugh. ]

Yeah, I think that's his specialty. [ Poe Dameron, the most reckless bastard in the free world? It's more likely than you think. ]

Good to know it's not yours before we get going. This should be good. Might even end without crashing.

[ So essentially: I did go with Poe and it was great, but I'm banking on the adrenaline rush even without the narrowly-avoided death by tree this time. Adrenaline from good and exciting things is the dream. ]

Sounds about right from what I've seen.

[ There's more amusement than judgment in Cisco's voice as he says that. How does he manage to keep befriending such daredevils? ]

He reminds me of Magnus. You know if those two have met, yet? I kinda shudder to think what would happen with their powers combined.

[ Then the attendant is waving to get their attention, points them towards the toboggan that they are meant to use. Cisco steps up to it, asks: ]

Wanna go in front or in back?

Haven't heard anything about a Magnus. But Poe meets a lot of people; I can't make any promises.

[ Force help the moon if he does, apparently. By that implication alone, it seems like they'd all know if Poe met this Magnus.

Finn considers arguably the most important question of this toboggan experience. ]

How's your steering from one to ten, and what's the lowest number you'd put up with if you weren't steering?

[ look..... everyone has their methods. ]

[ Sure, that question isn't worrying or anything. Cisco considers his answers carefully before he replies: he doesn't want to misrepresent himself, after all. ]

Probably a 5 or 6. And... let's say anything more than a 3?

[ That last bit comes out sounding more like a question than he'd meant it to. Cisco sighs, tries to remind himself that they aren't attempting one of the seriously fast and dangerous tracks, and suggests: ]

Look we can always rock paper scissors, and whoever loses has gotta steer?

[ What is rock paper scissors. But that's a question for another time. This is what they call a relatable mood, in terms of general sledding. Finn thinks about it, which he's pretty good at doing in quick time.

This is supposed to be for fun, is the first thought. The second thought is that the sooner he gets that "pick one thing and blindly tell yourself it'll work out fine or whatever assignment" from Poe over with, the less he'll hear about it. Maybe he can just. Pick something small. And not deadly. This toboggan course will work out. It's gonna be fine. ]

It's fine. I'll steer. Saves us the trouble.

[ A smile starts creeping back onto his face in spite of himself. Probably every time he smiles it's in spite of himself, honestly. ]

And I'm a lot better with turns than Poe is. If you stop having fun, you can push me out.

[ Cisco shrugs: ]

Sweet, let's do this.

[ If he has any doubts about Finn's abilities, he doesn't let them show, settling himself onto the back of the toboggan, leaving room for Finn at the front. When Finn suggests he can just push him off the sled if he stops having fun, it startles a laugh out of Cisco. ]

I'm not gonna push you off!

[ Cisco catches a sideways look from the attendant, impatient and trying not to show it, but there is a group of other people milling around waiting for their turn, so Cisco says: ]

Alright, Finn, let's do this! To infinity and beyond!

[ ...he couldn't help it. ]

[ Finn takes his place at the front of the toboggan with no further fuss. In this cold winter weather it's truly faith that warms the heart. So the lack of doubt is appreciated.

Of course, it's also just nice to get Cisco to laugh. He likes when he can manage that with people.

If there's a reference in there, he sure doesn't get it, but the phrase is enough to get him to snort standing on its own. ]

Let's try capping it right before infinity.

[ AND THEY'RE OFF. ]

[ Once the sled is moving, and the wind is blowing through Cisco's hair, he forgets to worry so much, about which way he'll roll of the sled if it starts to crash, about how fast they're going, about how cold the snow would feel if they plowed right into it. He just throws back his head, enjoying the ride, laughing almost the whole way down.

There are one or two spots where he is sure they're going to veer off the track, but Finn rights them in time each time, and by the time they reach the bottom, Cisco is breathless and bright-eyed. He bounces up to his feet, jubilant, reaching a hand down to help Finn to his feet. ]

That was awesome, dude!

[ Like Cisco will ever be one to talk about killer smiles, honestly. Just look at him go.

Finn takes the hand up with a broad grin of his own. Simple things can go a long way, sometimes. Getting someone to laugh like that, smile like that, is always just... good. There's something about seeing he can contribute to that without things being complicated or having to really do anything.

Hygge isn't so bad, at the end of the day. ]

Glad to hear it! It's always better with company.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

introductory mingle: HYGGE

ii. IT'S ALWAYS TIME FOR WINTER FUN.

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