monthly mingle: THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

[riverviewmod]

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

navigation

Comments

[bythehand]

[ When you're so not used to this that three seconds of staring becomes three seconds of terror. The real hard life tbh.

Rey is definitely not comfortable. Not in the same way as he is, he thinks, wordlessly reaching over to offer his hand if she wants or needs to take it.

For all that he's not used to it, for all that he's never experienced something like this before, he's still finding it easier to navigate than that first dinner party with Cisco. In part because one nicely-dressed person in this crowd is all but anonymous-- not cycling around five or six other people that they're meant to get to know. No self-imposed sense of obligation. In part because of how easy it is to just stand back and watch everything happen.

Rey found beauty and awe in the life on Takodana, in the water and the lush green forests. Finn appreciates what nature brings, but he ran simulations for almost every type of terrain out there. He knows how to run through a humid jungle same as he can run through a debris-littered war zone.

But this-- all of it weird and colorful and completely unnecessary and extravagant, countless people milling around smiling and laughing and all looking different, all having so much-- he can't help but find beauty and awe in this. In this ballroom, in these people. Through a life with the First Order's colorless efficiency, he never once imagined this. ]

I know he's here. Sort of lost track of him. There are a lot of rooms. And he knows a lot of people.

[ Finn doesn't want to be some kind of... tagalong while Poe makes the rounds to his other friends. They've got their phones. They've got their emergency signal. It makes it a little easier to have had Rey and Poe both out of sight here. ]

[talentedscavenger]

[The real hard life, and wondering if there was something wrong with her before that makes Finn give her that sort of reaction. Along with the fact that he didn't recognize her immediately. Which made her wonder if she ever wanted to 'hide in plain sight' from everyone, maybe she should just dress up in a gown, heels and make-up.. No one would ever recognize her.

So not only is she uncomfortable, now she's starting to second guess herself. It was a feeling she wasn't liking at all. Her eyes glance down to see his hand reaching out to her and slowly takes his hand to hold for comfort and support.]

Yes, he does--I didn't think there would be more than one room.

[Wow, this place really does go all out, doesn't it?

At least here, she could hide away in the back of the room if she wanted to, or find a way to sneak outside when the fireworks were done...or had lessened. It felt like those were going on every few minutes or so. The sound wasn't pleasant, but at least inside the noise was drowned out with people talking and loud music.

And really, Poe is the more sociable one out of the three of them. He had the most social skills, having an actual life before joining the Resistance.]

Did you want something to eat or drink? Those...golems? Yes, there are light golems that are passing out both. Some of the food is pretty good.

[Maybe if she just stuck to something they're both familiar with rather than her change in appearance then she could have a little bit more fun...Or she could go to the back of the room and go back to people watching.]

[bythehand]

[ It goes absolutely overboard.

For the record, Finn will personally fistfight anyone who implies there's something wrong with the standard model casual Rey. ]

Is that what they're called?

[ Welcome to the Quarantine, something always has a weird nonsense name. Finn squints at the nearest one a little, because he's maybe been wondering exactly what they are. Nothing familiar. Follow-up: ]

Sounds like a safe bet that some of the food is weird, too.

[talentedscavenger]

Yes, I believe so.

[Golems...they were interesting creatures, but they were hard to talk to? Or communicate with? Either way, Rey's attention was more on Finn. There was a nod of her head.]

I wouldn't say weird, but some of it is good. I mean, they have a salad with different greens in them, but it was fine.

[A shrug of her shoulders, beggars couldn't be picky about their food. Besides, who would turn down free food that wasn't in portion format?]

Did you want to sit down or...? [Did he want to wander around? She could maybe wander a bit, it wouldn't be too bad if they were together.

Though, if he wanted to be more social, she could simply go back to her hiding spot and stay there.]

[bythehand]

[ He'll eat food even if he doesn't like it. Generally if he doesn't care for something, he'd rather give it to Rey, who seems to have a broader interest in trying things off the beaten path.

Also, given the choice to talk to anybody on this moon or to sit down with Rey, Rey will always win. ]

Yeah, sure. Of course. [ OFF THEY GO. Probably still holding hands. Finn, surprising no one, is always down to hold hands. ] You been in here long? I was trying to keep an eye out, but--

[ well. ]

There are a lot of people.

[talentedscavenger]

[Food was food. No one knew if it was going to be there later. Besides, it shouldn't go to waste. And if Finn was nervous about it, Rey could eat it and give her blunt opinion on it. As long as nothing was poisoned (she highly doubted it, considering how many people were here) then everything was fine.

If Finn wanted to talk to anyone else, Rey would've been fine with it. She knows she isn't his only friend, and it would do him well to get to know more people. There's plenty of people here that she has come to care for a lot. But, if there was anyone she loved talking to no matter what, it was Finn. ]

I have, yes. [He probably didn't notice her because...well, a lot of people were around, and she did look different.

They're still holding hands and there are golems with different serving trays and the like. Different foods and drinks.]

I've spotted a few people, talked to them, but I've been basically... [Staying close to the walls, staying in the shadows.] Keeping to myself.

[bythehand]

[ He would absolutely ask Rey to be a food guinea pig for him. They don't always have the same taste in these things, sure, but sometimes it's just nice to hear her give a 100% blunt opinion on a sandwich or a cookie or something. Even if she thinks it's gross.

It's kinda fun. ]

Yeah? [ Finn grabs what he defines as the least unfamiliar-looking and closest finger food. Whatever it is they have at fancy parties. I guess it probably wouldn't actually be sandwiches. He errs on the side of honesty. ]

I think I like watching more than being out there in it. I mean, it's nice. I know a few people. Just.

[ It's a big ballroom full of people-people. Or maybe just really, really worth watching from the sidelines, trying to commit to memory. He hasn't bothered trying to pin down his reasons in their entirety. It's been sort of an experiment in having a good time without overthinking it too much, if he can help it. Success levels have varied. ]