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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[Continued from here!]

[Leia Organa has practically raised a generation of Resistance fighters at this point. They seemed to be younger and younger and Leia herself seemed older and older, but at least they received the benefit of Leia's mistakes with Ben having been etched into her heart. She was a better mother now than she had ever been before, and there is no small piece of her that hates herself for it.

But for now, she just catches Rey's chin, holding it and forcing the girl to meet her eyes as Leia gives her a small smile. It's small, but from Leia it's a lot. Her voice is calm but firm.]

The Resistance needs all of us. We're all going to get out of here, and you're going to drag his behind back home. I faith in you, Rey.

[Rey looks into Leia's eyes and see the fire, the confidence there. The smile adds to it, making her smile a little in return. For a moment, she thinks Leia meant Ben. That Rey would bring him home, but really, it was Luke.

The same promise she made with Finn and Poe, she's making with Leia. There's a slow nod of her head. Having so much faith in her...it means a lot coming from Leia.]

Thank you.

[They would see to it that all of them would find a way back. But in the mean time...there were other matters to discuss, like Kylo Ren being here...]

Here...sit by the fire, it's very cold outside.

[Leia didn't put that level of confidence in everyone in the Resistance. She couldn't. There had been too many people who had betrayed them for too many reasons, including people whom she had loved and cared for very much. It was the Force that told her to trust Rey, and the times when Leia didn't listen to the Force were when she happened to get into trouble. So, she trusted Rey and she believed that she would bring Luke back to the Resistance.

And they would find a way to save her son.

But she took a seat by the fire with a smile of thanks, and extended her hands towards it.]

Have you been here long?

[They would find a way to bring Kylo Ren back to the Light. Rey can sense the conflict in him...and they had been making progress. More so than him and Poe, but that wasn't her story to tell.

With Leia at the fire, Rey was already gathering up a blanket to offer to the General.]

A few months..I've been trying to figure out a way back, but there aren't too many options.

[For that, she feels guilty. She should've been working harder on building a ship and heading back to the Resistance...but then Poe and Finn showed up and they were trying to figure out different things. Really, things kept changing on them for them to figure out an actual plan aside from waiting it out.]

Have you seen Poe yet? He's here and I know he would be happy to see you. Finn's here too.

So I've heard when I asked. They just kept saying that they'd work on it.

[Leia had attempted to put some fear into them, but it hadn't worked. She imagined they didn't know her reputation, and people who were far more scary than she was had made that effort already. So for now all she could do was to catch the girl's wrist to pull her down to sit next to her. Really, she didn't need anyone waiting on her despite what people seemed to think.

When Rey was sitting next to her, she just shook her head.]

I haven't seen anyone here yet. I've felt people, but just assumed it was my overactive imagination.

[And there's Leia admitting she's a force user to Rey, if she already hadn't.]

I don't fully trust them. Whatever it is they saying they're "working on" to fit the situation doesn't sound right.

[Because...really, how hard could it be to fix a portal? Not to mention the fact Rey had appeared twice on this blasted Moon. So they were able to send her back once, why couldn't they figure out to do it again? That was something she'd have to eventually share with Leia...along with the other people who were on this Moon.

Like Jyn and Cassian....unless...she should let them know first and give them the chance to talk to Leia. Maybe...that would work out better.

Her thoughts were swept aside as she sat down next to Leia instead of getting her a blanket.]

Felt? [Dark eyes widen slightly. So Leia was sensitive to the Force too? Or maybe a Force user? It was silly not to think that Leia wasn't, considering Luke was a Jedi. If one twin had it, then the other had to have it too, right? Ignore the smile on her face, because she never knew that was pretty astounding!]

Well...Poe is here, same with Finn. They arrived not too long after I. Maybe a month later. But, they're here and the four of us can figure a way out.

[...And then there's Kyle. Oy, how was she going to bring that up?]

[Leia nodded, because she didn't trust anyone who said they could control half of a version of technology but not the other half of it. She knew that she had never wanted to leave her universe, and she didn't think that the people that she cared for did as well. No, they were kidnapped, and Leia wasn't going to accept that people would ever remove others from their worlds with benevolent purpose.

But Leia caught Rey's eyes and she shrugged for a moment, not shrinking away from the question in them.

Then she said something familiar, though it felt much more painful than it had felt when Luke first said it to her.]

The Force is strong in my family. My brother has it, my Father had it, my son has it, and I have it, but I never had the time to train as a Jedi. Someone needed to put the universe back together after the Rebellion, and one of those people was me.

[Finally someone who shares the same vision as Rey and the rest of them. The people in charge couldn't be fully trusted, not with them suddenly taking people WHO WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A DAMN WAR out of their universe and come here to help 'rebuild.' Especially when they brought back at least two of those same people!

Commonality aside, Rey listens carefully to Leia. It feels like it's something she shouldn't be hearing, something too private for someone outside the Skywalker family to know. She can't imagine the pain behind the words. My Father had it, my son has it. Two men who were lost to Darkness, but Vadar went back to the light.

Kylo Ren...Ben Solo...it was hard to tell if he would ever come back, but Rey would try.]

Well, you were the most qualified for it... [To put the universe back together because...she was Leia takes-no-shit-from-anyone Organa.] Do you...regret it though? [Becoming a Senator and not a Jedi?]

[Leia Organa didn't trust easy, she couldn't not in her position and she had never been able to, not since she was a teenager and had learned the first hard lesson about how loving someone didn't mean that they would do the proper thing that you thought. So, she had shielded her love and her trust as much as she could. These people who kidnapped her with no way of returning her home? They were probably never going to get it.

Especially when Leia learned that they had returned people to their universe, and had returned them here anyway.

But at being the most qualified, Leia just let out a little smile, one that crinkled up at the corner of her eyes.]

Thank you. My father, my true father [Vader was not and would never be the person who Leia actually considered a real father.] he was a Senator, and he and my mother instilled the need in me to do what was right. [A beat and a little smile.] Sometimes I regret it [Mostly because Ben might have listened to her better than her brother if she had been a jedi herself.] But I loved too fiercely for it, and my anger can be a terrible thing. I'd make a very bad jedi.

[The same thing Leia had been telling herself for years.]

[Maybe it was too bold of Rey to ask if Leia was happy with her choice. But...she would've been a great Jedi, at least in Rey's eyes. She only knew of one Jedi, Luke. Leia was a fierce woman and she would've made a great warrior...but she was needed for the galaxy. She was meant to help bring it together and help create the new Republic.]

Your mind would've been focused on other things...and better you take over as a Senator than another.

[Like...Stars, could she have pictured Han as a Senator? Trying to be diplomatic? That wouldn't have helped the galaxy..and she doubts it would've made Ben's life any easier...]

You said you sensed the others here...did you sense someone else?

[Better to tell her now rather than finding out the hard way.]

[Leia would have laughed herself silly at the idea of Han being a Senator. She loved her husband fiercely, but being diplomatic wasn't something that was in his wheelhouse. No, the new Republic would have fallen apart far sooner than it did, and Leia would have abandoned her jedi training eventually anyway to try and put it back together.

And despite everything, she wouldn't give up Ben. Just like she wouldn't give up on him.

So, Leia guess that that was the place where Rey's mind was going to, and Leia let out a little sigh. She knew that Rey had known that Kylo Ren was Ben, because he'd been there when he'd killed Han, but at the time they had avoided questions like this. But now that they were locked in here, there was no where to run from them.]

Yes. I am aware that Ben's here. And I've no doubt he is aware that I am too.

[Rey doesn't want to tell Leia about the mess Ren--Ben has caused with Poe. How the dark haired young man managed to put the best pilot in the Resistance in the hospital, and how pissed off Rey had been at it. No, that wasn't her story to tell. But there is some relief in knowing that Leia knows Ben's here...

But there was also some worry. Would...he try to kill his mother next? He seemed bent on cutting all possible ties with his family. He wanted to crush the Resistance, and his mother was part of that. She wanted to believe he wouldn't, that he would honor the truce they had...but it was hard to determine what was going on in his head.]

I would want someone to be around you...just in case. [And it hurts to say that,to give a voice to the possibility that he could harm Leia...but he's done it to Han. It wasn't out of his wheelhouse to do something like that.]

I'm sure Poe would agree... Or, if you are to meet with him, maybe have someone else around. [And she bites her tongue then, sighing deeply.] I shouldn't have said that. He's...I can sense a conflict in him. I think...even with all he's done, he could possibly come back. There might still be a chance.

[When Leia learned about Poe and Ben's fighting in depth, she was going to have a fit. But for now, she just could imagine how bad it had been for the two of them. She knew that they would never be friends, friendly or forgiven for what had happened, for what Ben had done, but she also wasn't going to let Poe become a murderer for it. And she wasn't going to let Ben hurt anyone else. Not while she was here and could prevent it.

And she wasn't going to give Ben any reason to seek Poe or Rey or Finn or anyone else out because of her. Which was the reason that she shook her head at Rey's suggestion (and would likely be Poe's insistence) about having a bodyguard.]

I'm not going to do that, Rey. If Ben wants to see me, then he will see me. And if he wants to hurt me, he'll try. [Leia was a champion with a blaster after all.]

But I know he's conflicted too. I believe that he can come back. Even with Han, even with everything else I will always believe that there is light in my son. I'm not going to give up on him. I couldn't protect him and help him when he was a child as I should have, but I am going to do everything I can to do it now. And Poe and Finn and Amilyn and everyone else here.

[There is a small hope that they can use this time to bring Ben back, so that when they go home the violence that may happen won't anymore. That her son might come back.]

[Kyloe Ren and Poe were like oil and water. They would never get along, and it was hard to pinpoint who was the one to start a fight. No doubt both of them would taunt the other, push the other's button until their tempers got the best of them and fists went flying--or a body being thrown against a tree.

Rey would join Leia in that mission to keep Ren from hurting others...and maybe bring him back from the dark and into the light.]

Nothing to prevent him from seeing you, or you from seeing him. [Already she could hear Poe's voice saying otherwise.] But someone should still be around--in case anything happens. [In case Ben hurts her, in case something goes sideways on this Moon. One of them should be with the General. The woman, as badass as she was, was the symbol of the Resistance. She was the one who knew the game of war so well, and who would lead the Resistance to victory.]

Amilyn? [That's a name she hasn't heard before, but it's a small distraction. Leia wasn't giving up on Ren. She felt the same conflict that Rey had. Though she thought of the man as a monster...he didn't start out that way. As much as she wanted to hate him, and it would be so much easier to hate him, she couldn't bring herself to do it.]

I have...something of a plan. I don't think Poe and Finn would agree to it, but it could be a way to guide Ren--Ben, back. [It was a plan that she had spent some time on, and it would benefit both of them, at least she thought.] Ben has offered to be my teacher in the Force in the past, and I've refused him several times, but I think being here and away from the First Order...there's nothing to influence him. If he's still willing--he could still teach me, and maybe I could help sort out what issues he has, and maybe bring him back to the Light.

[It was risky, considering whatever he taught her could lead her to the dark side. However, she needed a teacher. She needed guidance because she hasn't been able to do anything except make things move here and there.]

Vice Admiral Holdo. I don't believe you've met her yet, but she's one of my oldest friends.

[No, the oldest friend who was still alive now. The person who had known her the longest in her life and the person who she felt most ashamed of keeping secrets from. Poe finding out had been bad enough, but Amilyn finding out at been worse. But for right now she focused on the girl in front of her.

Her eyes widened when Rey said that Ben was going to teach her, because she didn't know if it was a good idea or not. But she also knew that Rey needed a teacher, and though Leia had down some of the basics, she wasn't and she never would be a jedi. She knew that there were lessons that Ben needed as well, lessons that Luke and herself hadn't been able to teach him, but that Rey might be able to.

Taking a deep breath, Leia considered.]

Have you told Poe and Finn you're considering doing this? And have you considered that Ben might be using this to pull you to the dark side.

[She had once thought that Ben would never go dark, despite there being darkness inside of him. Now, she knew that anyone could do it.]

No, I don't think I have.

[Rey would remember a name like that, especially someone as important to the Resistance. If Leia can call Holdo a friend, then Rey knew there wouldn't be anything to hide from the other woman. If she had the honor of being called a friend by Leia, that was a great seal of approval and one Rey wouldn't question.]

I haven't yet...but I need to. I'm not going to hide this from them.

[As for Ben trying to pull her to the dark side, Rey found herself biting her lower lip for a moment.]

I have considered it, and honestly, he's had every opportunity to persuade me or tempt me...and he hasn't. He.. [How can she say this without sounding a bit happy or embarrassed?] gave me something. Notes on the Force, and there isn't anything...dark about it. It's helped to ground me. If he wanted to lure me to the dark side, he would've done it by now. He could've...[Kidnapped her, tortured her, use the Force to persuade her.] He could've done a lot of things, Leia, and he hasn't.

I think it's worth it to try.

[Leia would introduce her later, because they all should know one another. The most important thing that they all had here was that they were together. They could count on one another, and Leia counted on Rey and Finn just as much as she counted on Amilyn and Poe. They could save Ben, she was sure of it. This time, they wouldn't fail.

They couldn't.

But she studied this woman before her, and she thought about Ben. She thought about the things that she had learned about Anakin Skywalker before he had fallen. There hadn't been much, with everything gone, but Luke had believed in the good in him. So maybe there was that.

And Rey was standing here in front of her, whole and safe. She didn't sense that Ben was doing anything to the girl against her will, and while she had known what he had done to Poe (and probably to thousands of others, Leia wasn't naive as to what the First Order was) she was hoping that there was something about this girl that would stop him from doing it. Maybe it would. It seemed to have.]

What kind of notes on the Force?

Just basic things. What the Force is, meditation techniques, breathing exercises.

[Rey paused as she looked down for a moment. The hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.]

Did you know he has really great writing? He wrote all these notes down and it looks so professional.

[Which is why she handles those notes with the utmost care. It's been more help to her than she would've otherwise made on her own. Yes, she could ask Leia, but there would still be other pieces missing to the puzzle. She needed to learn more. She needed to know more than simple mind tricks, or move objects.]

Everything from what I've read doesn't mention the dark side, or anything to it. Just...basic principles on the Force. More than I would've thought or guessed...[And she debating about telling Finn and Poe that, if they would demand to see those notes and treat her like...like a child. No, she had to have faith that they would listen to reason and try to see things from her point of view.]

What do you think? It is a foolish plan or...?

Edited 2018-01-19 05:14 (UTC)

[For a moment Leia is just lost in memory of tiny Ben wanting to learn how to actually write. It was something that she had taught him back when things were less crazy and the universe was less complicated.

It made her glad to know that he still did it even now. For a second the sad smile lingers, and then she nods her head.]

I think it's a good plan as long as you take some precautions with it, Rey. You can run things by me if they feel questionable. I wasn't a Jedi, but I have had some training in the force. I'll know if he's leading you down the wrong path as long as you're honest with me.

[Rey can tell Leia's lost in a memory judging by the sad smile on her face. She was recalling something about the son she used to know. The son who went to ~~Jedi camp~~ Luke and was meant to do good in the universe. Instead, his future took a darker path and now...it was hard to ever imagine him being something other than Kylo Ren.

But Rey has seen it, those brief moments where he wasn't a monster. He was so fixated on becoming great and powerful like Vadar, maybe he never had the chance to realize what sort of person he could become. Someone who could stand on his own power and not cling to a ghost. Leia's question makes Rey pause and knit her eyebrows together.]

Why wouldn't I be honest with you?

[She does trust Leia, and she wouldn't hide anything from her, especially pertaining to Ren.]

I can show the notes he made, but I will be taking precautions. I want to tell Poe and Finn, that way if I start to act differently, they could pull me out. but...I have to have faith it won't come to that. [Rey pauses then, sorting her feelings out and picturing how the conversation would go...]

Could you be there when I tell them? Not to defend me, but maybe to keep the three of us calm?

[Leia put a hand on Rey's arm to show her that she doesn't mean any harm with the trust comment. She just knows and has seen first hand how the dark side can make a person secretive and the like. It's not something she wants to revisit.

But she does not at the mention of being there.]

I'll be there. And I'll help pull you out of his influence if you start changing. I promise. But somehow I don't think they are going to take this well.

[Leia Organa the master of the understatement.]

But I do think it's the right choice, even if they disagree. Sometimes the right choice isn't always the most popular one. Or popular at all.

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monthly mingle: THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

For Rey

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