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

[11calls]

[When Alex heard her name called, she was almost impressed that someone knew who she was in this get up. Honestly, it didn't feel like anyone would. Hell, she didn't even feel like herself in this outfit, which was part of the point of dressing up so elaborately, Alex had decided. So, she turned towards the sound of the familiar voice with a quick grin, and she let out a little whistle. It was entirely in good fun, from the expression on her face.

Her voice was warm when she shook her head.]

Wow, you look great! But no, I haven't. I've seen other people do it but I didn't want to intrude on them.

[Because it seemed like something that was personal to people and Alex was still in the awkward getting to know people phase. She really needed to step it up and get out more, that was what her New Year's resolution was going to be. You know, if it was actually New Years.]

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco can feel his face heating with embarrassment, even though whistling like that is exactly the kind of thing he would do, upon seeing a friend in a particularly fancy get-up. In fact, he has done it to a few people at this very party. But that doesn't stop him from being a little flustered when Alex does it and says he looks great. He pushes past it, though, with a brief but obviously delighted: ]

Thanks. You're not lookin' too bad yourself.

[ His grin widens when she says she's not tried the candle yet - not because she's afraid of it or not into messing with magic, but just because of the potential social awkwardness involved. He can understand that. He'd taken a while himself, to find a niche, and people he could feel comfortable around. Might as well make the process a bit easier for her, if he can. He gestures with the candle in his hand. ]

Wanna try it with me? Some real bonafide Quarantine magic?

[ If she'd seen other people doing it, she at least knows what's going to happen - the glowing, the giddiness, etc. Cisco can't imagine not wanting to try it, but it's her decision. ]

[11calls]

[The embarrassment in his faces makes Alex jostle him lightly with her elbow, trying to say that it was definitely not something to worry about. She doesn't mean anything by it, and she's fairly certain that Cisco is involved with someone else. Alex doesn't get involved with people who are involved with someone else unless that person has faked their death and disappeared for well over a decade and who were actually an agent for a shadowy organization. Even then her love life was still in the realm of 'complicated.' So, he was safe from her and she accepted the compliment as nothing more than simply just that.

The idea of trying magic was one that Alex probably should know better than doing, but she had seen how happy that the people who had done this had been, and she knew (or at least thought, sometimes Alex could be too trusting and she knew it but) that Cisco wouldn't steer her wrong. Besides, this world was in part magic in and of itself, and being as she was going to be here for the foreseeable future, she needed to accept that.

So, Alex just nodded eagerly.]

Sure! It seems like it's fun. Or at the very least happy-making and we can all use some of that!

[franciscoramon]

Yes, we all can.

[ Cisco has come prepared, tonight; he pulls a little book of matches from the pocket of his suit, striking one up and then, careful to make sure they're both holding the candle securely at the same time, he lights the wick. Nothing changes, right away. It takes a few moments, for the feeling of lightness, and giddiness, and ease to become discernible. As they're waiting, Cisco says: ]

Pretty sure the effects last longer, the longer you hold onto it, so we're kinda stuck holding it like this for a little bit.

[ If Alex looks closely, she might notice that Cisco's skin has started to give off a very faint glow. At first it might seem like a reflection of the candle's flickering light, but then it increases, bit by bit. Her own hand and arm and body should be starting to glow, as well. Just one of the other lovely side effects of the spell. ]

But I guess that gives us some time to catch up. How you been? Settling in okay? I know the first couple months can be sort of weird, slash super weird.

[11calls]

[Alex carefully wraps her hand around the candle, and she watches it intensely. Later, she'd write it down in her observations about being here (because you can take the reporter out of her story, but you can't take the reporter out of being herself) so she doesn't want to miss anything. But she follows the flicker of the candle up to his hand, and she smiles in something that's more than a little like amazement.

Despite what Strand may want her to be, Alex is a believer and this is something that's easy to believe in. Even if this is just some sort of placebo effect, it does help remove some of the weight that Alex wasn't even aware that she was carrying, because it had been a part of her for so long. Feeling more than a little bit loose with that, she just shifts her grin to him and nods.]

Super weird still. I mean, it's getting better, but it's still super weird. I suppose that's good, because it means that I'm not getting totally complacent or whatever, but I'd like it if it was a little easier. I'm slowly making friends, though.

[That may be a little bit of color in her cheeks there, that's not exactly from the candle, so she adds:] But I'm using some of the weirdness to make connections which us good!

[franciscoramon]

[ Though he does notice Alex's face getting a little flushed, Cisco doesn't think much of it. It could be the impact of the candle, after all. She has also started to glow, ever so faintly, which is kind of wonderful to watch, no matter how many people he's seen it happen to. ]

That's great, I'm really glad to hear that. Anybody in particular? Might be people I know - between my job and the fact that I've kinda got a rep as the IT help guy, you'd be surprised how many folks I run into.

[ It is, perhaps, a slightly intrusive question, but he also knows that there are a few people here who he might want to steer Alex clear of. Not too many, but a few. She seems plenty capable of taking care of herself, of course, but that doesn't mean she should have to, if a couple of quick words or warning would be helpful, about people like Ivar or others. ]

What do you mean, using weirdness to make connections?

[ He likes the sound of it on general principle, but she seems to be referring to something specific. ]

[11calls]

Not really, just a couple of people. One of them I met through the whole weird mistletoe thing. Let me tell you, I know magic is really prevalent here, but that was one of the odder things that happened to me in a while. Which is saying a lot.

[Alex just laughed at that, more of a real laugh than just a little chuckle, and she watched his glowing skin for a moment before she looked down at her own. Now, in college, Alex's best friend had been Nic-I'll-try-any-drug-once Silver, so she'd done some off them, but this was better than anything else. It made her feel lighter, so much lighter she wondered if she might just hover off the floor.

Her grin grew at that, and she studied him for a minute, as if deciding if he would judge her for it, but then said what the hell.]

Do you know John Sheppard?

[franciscoramon]

Dude, do not even get me started on that mistletoe. I got stuck under that shit eight times. My work schedule was in shambles. I swear, if those things ever pop up again, I'ma learn magic just so I can blast them out of the air.

[ Realistic? No. If Taako, with all his hundreds of years of experience being a wizard, hadn't been able to do anything to tamper with the mistletoe, Cisco is definitely not going to be able to learn to do so. But it's still fun to pretend. ]

I guess there are worse ways to meet people though. I made a couple friends, chatting with folks.

[ Cisco is beaming, too. He is usually a light and cheerful guy, always trying to make the people around him smile and laugh. But that's been a little harder to maintain, this last year. Using these candles... it makes him feel more like he used to, when Team Flash was new and the whole world seemed full of possibilities and fun. ]

Nope, can't say I do. At least not by name. Might be one of those if I saw his face I'd be like "oh yeah that guy" kinda deals. How come?

[11calls]

Eight times? Jesus, sounds like the mistletoe had a bit of a crush on you!

[There's humor in Alex's voice at that, because there couldn't not be, and she just watched him with sparkling eyes. Honestly, this is the best that she's felt in a long time. Longer than she wants to think about, really. So, she's just going to engage in some gentle teasing like she would with Nic or one of the interns.

Honestly, Alex just wishes that they could bottle this feeling up so she could take a sip whenever she needed it. Of course, it might be a bit addictive, but Alex thought that there might be way worse things to be addicted to considering everything.

So, she just grinned for a moment.]

He's just one of the folks I connected with.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco rolls his eyes, but he's smiling at the same time, which rather ruins the intended effect. Besides it's good hearing Alex joke. He is feeling light, and happy, and carefree, and it's nice to see that she evidently is as well. He's glad then that he'd suggested they light the candle. It's so easy not to worry about all the bad and complicated stuff, when his head is filled with this magic. ]

Whoever's putting that stuff up should add on to the spell so it lets you go automatically if you've got a boyfriend or girlfriend already. Just common sense.

[ When she talks more about John, Cisco can't help leaning in and asking: ]

So when you say you two connected, do you mean connected, or, like... connected?

[ Cisco wags his eyebrows as he repeats the word, laden the final time with vague innuendo. He doesn't mean to be nosy, really. It's just, well, she said she'd met him via the mistletoe that made people kiss, and CIsco's heard stories. For him it had been an embarrassment and an inconvenience - had caused Eddie to feel hurt and jealous even though there was no real call for it. But for Alex, and this John guy if he were single, things might not be so complicated. Maybe the damn things had been of some use, after all, to some people at least. ]

[11calls]

Seriously, it would be so obnoxious if I had a partner here.

[Because Alex definitely has had boyfriends and girlfriends in the past. So she chooses the middle ground to split the difference.]

It sucks that you needed to deal with that! Seriously, and it would be hellish for people who are asexual or who have intimacy issues. It's really not cool.

[But she's not going to complain too much about it, not really because she ended up with a pretty good result from them. Obviously, from her comments before, John isn't her boyfriend, and she doesn't mind. She's emotionally compromised to know that her relationship status is complicated, so she doesn't want to jump into that. However, there's definitely a middle ground with that.]

Connected. It's nothing serious though. Just a friends with benefits thing. A good way to work off stress and stuff like that.

[franciscoramon]

[ Cisco merely widens his eyes and nods. He knows that, on the scale of things, the amount that he is jumpy around strangers isn't all that much. Still, he'd had some rather uncomfortable encounters. Hell, that had been how he first met Ronan, who was a pretty scary-seeming dude, until you got to know him. He'd only half thought he might end up in a bubble with someone who would try to stab him, but the possibility hadn't never occurred to him.

He nods in understanding when she explains that, yes, she had hooked up with this John guy, but that it was just a casual thing. And Cisco can appreciate that. He's really the last one to judge. He'd had more than his fair share of casual things over the years. More of them stable relationships like the one he and Eddie has, by far. ]

Alright, go Alex. Good to know some benefits came out of it, for some people!