riverviewlogs | monthly mingle: THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

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monthly mingle: THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: the festival of light
when: The month of January.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

festival of light

In the days leading up to January 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: The Festival of Light. This holiday is in celebration of the end of the Quarantine's short-lived winter and serves to welcome the new year. The traditions associated with The Festival of Light involve fireworks every weekend of the month, a days-long formal ball that with an open invitation to everyone in the city, and lighting magical candles and incense with loved ones and new friends alike.

a celebration of the end of winter and the new year

As the Capitol World stops blocking the path between the sun and its moon, the snow melts and the rains of early spring begin to fall and the residents of the Quarantine gather together to celebrate the new year. New beginnings are honored as the sky is lit with fireworks to banish the cold and dark of winter, and residents share the light and warmth of the new year with each other by sharing candles and incense with fellow residents. These traditions are steeped in magic, like many other things in Riverview, and have certain magical emotional effects on participants. Additionally, over the weekend of January 5th - 8th, the Government will be hosting a formal ball to welcome the New Year, which is open to all residents and offers food, drink, dancing, and other activities, as well as places to stay the night and relax or 'relax' with friends.

i. fireworks

One of the main traditions of the Festival of Light is to brighten the sky to welcome the new year, and as always, the Government of Riverview and various other city entities including businesses and various organizations and clubs, have gone all out to light up the sky. Each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the month of January, residents can gather outside on the beaches or park, or indoors at various observation lounges set up on city rooftops for the occasion, to watch elaborate, beautiful fireworks displays.

Outdoor observation is facilitated by use of rented forced-air umbrellas that make viewing the fireworks without having to squint into the rain or peer out from under a traditional umbrellas easy. Curl up with a friend or lover under an umbrella to watch the fireworks displays. Temporary indoor observation lounges have also been set up on most of the rooftops of buildings in the city, if the outdoors isn't your thing. The lounges can range from simple transparent-roofed spaces with rustic benches and hot cocoa to elaborate, fancy bars or restaurants with food service, music, and dancing. Some of the lounges may even have themes, whether they're 18+ adult or just quirky. Let your imagination run wild - if you can think of it, someone in the city's probably set one up.

ii. lighting up

Throughout the city, residents will find booths and special sections in their favorite stores set up with stands displaying magical incense and candles in a wide variety of colors. These are traditional trappings of the Festival of Light, the original and ancient tradition that's built up into the modern celebration as residents know it. Most prolific are the candles - ranging from tiny tea lights to large pillar candles, they are inscribed with the word 'glow' in a variety of different alien languages, including some that residents might recognize. The incense comes in small variety of dusky, earthen colors, each with a different scent and effect, all clearly labeled.

Candles are meant to be lit with one or more other people, and when this tradition is observed properly with a candle inscribed 'glow' - the wick lit by two or more people at the same time, and held together between them for a minimum of 30 seconds - every participant will feel and see certain magical effects. As the candle is held between the participants, they will start to see each other's skin glow, seemingly lit from inside, and as the glow increases, all participants will start to feel an emotional lightness. Stress and despair will slowly dissipate, giving the participants a temporary feeling of absolute contentment, warm and happy. The effects last from 5 minutes to a full 24 hours, depending on the number of people who participate and the length of time the candle is held between participants (more participants or longer timespans will increase the length of the effect), and effects are cumulative - lighting a large number of candles with different people will cause the effect to draw out for longer.

Incense is something usually lit in private, at home or a small gathering at a friend's house, and in recent years as the celebration has become a bit more modernized and commercialized, at the Glow Ball. There are a few varieties of incense with different psychological effects, all of which are pleasant and take strongest effect when the incense is lit with one or more other people, and enjoyed long enough for the whole stick to burn down. Orange and yellow incense will increase feelings of affection and openness, sienna red incense will do the same but also induce arousal; blue-grey incense will make it easier to share and ease grief and sadness, while grey-purple will lull participants into an easy sleep with pleasant dreams.

iii. glow ball

Every year during the Festival of Light, the Government of Riverview hosts a formal ball called the Glow Ball on the first weekend of the month - this year, it spans from nightfall on Friday January 5th until dawn on Monday January 8th. The ball is a relatively new custom, but has quickly skyrocketed to one of the most anticipated events of many residents' year. Similar to the castle-themed maze during Hygge, the Glow Ball is hosted inside a beautiful golden palace erected in the City Center that is much larger on the inside than it appears to be on the outside. While there is no specific theme to the ball, many residents take it as an opportunity to really glow in a wide variety of ways, all up to each person's imagination.

The palace is magically-augmented to be lavish, comfortable, and fully-stocked at all times, and features a banquet hall with ample and frequently-replenished food, a bar and lounge area for attendees to get a drink and sit for a while, a beautiful grand ballroom as well as several smaller ballrooms with different styles of music, a swimming pool with hot tubs, a garden, and smaller private vestibules that feature a pillow lounge, incense selection, and a small bedroom where residents can rest or enjoy each others' company in private.

NOTE: New characters are welcome to join in with the party, even if they haven't had time to prepare. Any new arrivals who come to the party in the clothing they arrived in will be whisked up by a fussy light golem or attendant who will fit them with a nice set of clothing for the evening so they can enjoy the festivities.

dinner and dancing

The banquet hall is ringed with tables that offer a buffet food catered to the time of day - breakfast in the morning, light food in the afternoon, lavish dinners in the evening, and desserts, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and snacks available all night. With ample seating at group tables, residents can share a meal with friends new and old. The bar and lounge has several large free bars staffed by glowing, ethereal light golems that never tire and never get an order wrong, and offers seating at tables and in cozy dimly-lit booths. Riverview's drinking age is 14 years old.

The grand ballroom is themed golden this year, with the walls tiled in gold and featuring a dance floor of white marble veined with gold. The grand ballroom has classical, traditional dance music playing for those who want a classy formal dance. There are four wing ballrooms that feature different genres of music for residents who enjoy alternate types of dancing, with the genres consistently rotating - whether you like punk, country, rock, pop, or any other type of music from any planet or country, it's likely to be playing in a wing ballroom at some point. Schedules are posted outside of each door and there are four genres per wing ballroom per day.

swimming and gardens

Another feature of the Glow Ball is the beautiful swimming pool - warm enough to be comfortable but cool enough to be refreshing, the outdoor pool has both flower petals and the season's glow candles floating on it, a champagne service offered by light golems, and tables to sit and enjoy a drink and conversation while drying off. There are also small hot tubs ringing the swimming pool where residents can soak away the aches and pains of the day. The pool offers change rooms where speaking a magical incantation (helpfully posted on the door) will change the occupant's formal clothing into an equivalent swimsuit, and will change it back (and dry the occupant) after the dip has been taken.

The gardens are also available for any attendees who want to get a bit of fresh air. With beautiful flower-lined winding paths under a perpetually starry sky and ample candles hanging from the trees and edging the paths for visibility, the gardens are a scenic and relaxing place to take some time away from the light and get some air.

privacy

For residents who want a little private time or want to spend more than just an evening at the ball, there are small private vestibules scattered throughout the palace. Featuring a lounge area with pillows and lap tables for eating, and a comfortable queen-size bed, each room also has a vanity whose drawers hold both suitable pajamas for sleeping in and (in 18+ rooms only) supplies for intimacy ranging from massage oils to packaged toys. And most importantly, each room is fully stocked with a selection of the season's incenses for use in private.

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 Festival of Light, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Jakub Grygier; image ii: Shutterstock; image iii & iv: credit unknown

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ she's feeling social again. certainly, peggy is here because she's playing security but security doesn't require her victory curls nor her gown. steve's leaving and returning with no memories again have been a burden but it's one that she wears well tonight. she was never one to sink into her misery or her missed chances. they're always their in the background.

but there is also life. ]

quite a feat isn't he?

[ the golem, that is. she's holding a glass of whiskey and heaven help her, she's smiling. ]

It's something, not the kinda elemental I'm used to.

[He wonders if he could control it, but he learned his lesson on that particular trick after things went so badly with Roswell.

So he contents himself with a bright smile for Peggy and leaning in to plant a kiss on her cheek.]

Look at you, though, that's a hell of a dress.

One has to fit the setting even when one is on duty. I'm working tonight, if you can believe it.

[ but of course he can. here is one individual who knows peggy well enough to understand she'll always choose work over leisure, not to mention socializing. heaven forbid.

but she accepts the kiss with a brighter smile. ]

They said, 'make sure no one is up to any mischief', so here I am with the main suspect.

[ she's kidding. she does that every now and again. ]

[The look he gives her at that first statement very clearly suggests that not only can he believe it, he's also judging her slightly for it, because she needs to learn to chill. But that's a discussion for another time, maybe, and her teasing gets a smirk.]

So here you are. To help out, right? I've got some great stuff planned.

[He does not, he's too lazy right now for real mischief.]

Edited ( dont do me like that autocorrect) 2018-01-05 14:34 (UTC)

Oh, certainly. It's all a bit dull, is it not?

[ she does enjoy these sort of celebrations. she would have enjoyed it more if the music made more sense and if she wasn't busy avoiding a specific emotional tangle once more. steve is back, that made her be a bit unpleasant, a whole lot more distant.

but taako is different. fancy that. ]

I'm tempted to say I'd be entirely without work tonight.

[ maybe she doesn't mind it all that much at the moment. it's easier with a friend. ]

Gods, we can't have that, it'd be a tragedy.

[Peggy? Without work to do? It's definitely a sign of the apocalypse.]

Lucky for you, Taako's here to liven things up. What do you wanna do? We could dance, go for a swim, grab a bite to eat, get drunk and fool around?

[Things that'll never happen for 500, Alex.]

[ she elbows him, lightly but very much in the ribs, still. ]

very tempting.

[ oh so dry. ]

I'd take a whiskey and a dance if you can manage both.

[ is that a challenge? it must be a challenge. ]

[He lets out a little oof just to make her feel good about herself.]

You think I can't? I might not have 1999 party points but I still know how to have a good time.

[Which is why he gestures to the bartender golem for two whiskeys.]

Do I want to ask what the bloody hell is a party points system and how on earth did you achieve 1999 but not 2000?

[ apparently she does, she does want to ask. she takes the glass with a bit of a relieved smile. ]

you went for that, of all things.

[ most would get a lady wine or worse, something bubbly. she's rather glad he remembered. ]

The party point system is a very complicated and important part of my culture, far too difficult to explain to outsiders.

[He's so obviously full of shit, between his too-serious tone and stifled grin.]

I knew you weren't gonna have an appletini with me.

[She seems to prefer stronger drinks.]

In one word, bollocks.

[ the party point system, really now. some poor sod might still believe him one day but not peggy carter. ]

I don't even want to know what an appletini is.

[ it sounds sweet, it sounds timid. none of them can describe the current mood she's sporting. ]

[He just winks, neither confirming nor denying exactly how bollocks party points may be (they're kind of legit, but that's no fun).]

You know, you really shouldn't turn your nose up at cocktails, they'll get a motherfucker drunk a lot quicker than a glass of whiskey.

[Since most cocktails have at least three or four shots in them and are verrrrry easy to drink quickly.]

I'm not looking to get drunk, it's a work night.

[ she scrunches her nose and takes a sip of whiskey. ]

they're too sweet. it's like drinking liquefied candy. horrible, the lot of them.

Now you've just admitted you've never had like, a real good espresso martini.

[They're bitter as hell and he loves them.]

Irish coffee.

[ what? they sound like they're one and the same. ]

I'm not entirely a stranger to the concept.

Nah nah nah, that's totally different.

[Taako leans forward on his seat a little, so he can gesture at the bartender again to order an espresso martini this time.]

Just you wait, we'll get you hooked on fancy cocktails yet.

Truly a noble mission.

[ dry, dry but not without an accompanied smile. she's learned how to come to terms with the fact that this friendship brings unexpected things to her life. questions about fashion, glitter, fancy cocktails. ]

Is there a recipe book for those things?

Yeah, I mean it's like anything.

[That isn't an answer at all, let him keep trying.]

There's usually some kinda standard, you know? Like how bouillabaisse should always have a tomato base and seafood, most cocktails have a couple basic ingredients but you can always put your own spin on it.

I admit, I know little of it.

[ she used to know these sorts of foods. she grew up well, after all. but she grew up to forget childish dreams of adventures and making a difference. until the war, that is. the peggy carter that emerged at those time was a changed woman. ]

It's harder to shake off rationing than one would think.

Kinda funny how people go one way or the other, huh?

[Taako and Lup, who didn't grow up during any kind of rationing but did grow up fighting for every scrap of food, who struggled to make sure there was enough, get lost pretty easily in excess these days. Rather than keep to the careful mindset they go all out, because they want to enjoy every single second of it.]

Perhaps that's the beauty of it.

[ it's honest and soft and unlike her, maybe. every now and then, she lets something like this shine through her many armors. she takes the glass the bartender offers her and puts aside her whiskey. ]

to you, then.

[Taako's answering smile is warm, but he knows better than to bring attention to someone having a genuine emotion when they don't normally do that sort of thing, so he just makes a sweeping sort of gesture at her, an unspoken do your thing while he awaits her verdict on the drink.]

[ she learned a lot about modern food and drink in the city. she knows what a california roll is and she's rather in love with chinese food but an espresso based cocktail is rather new. peggy takes a sip, tilts her head and hums. ]

I admit that while I will always prefer strong tea to coffee, this stuff is not at all bad.

[Now he just looks very pleased with himself.]

Really, bubbale, you should start trusting the chef on whether or not shit is gonna taste good. I know how to like, cater to other people.

[He knows that what he likes isn't necessarily universal, of course, and he's good at working around that. Rin doesn't like sweets, so Taako's had to admit, but they're fun challenges.]

You forced pink meringue down my throat once. you've lost all rights to scold me that day, darling.

[ she says just above her glass, touching the edge of her lips with a thumb to chase away smudged of red lipstick. ]

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