riverviewlogs | 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

( Dorian returns Ragnar's smile, but shakes his head. )

And that, my new friend, is where our religions differ. The Maker and His Bride do not walk among us. The Blight the follies of men have created? Most certainly. The demons that exist beyond the Veil? Yes, and we have our faith and our own capabilities to protect us. That almost sounds noble.

( But he nods. )

And you've met these living gods of yours?

Blight? [He actually gave Dorian a wary look. Even more so than Dorian, he was from a time and a place where sickness regularly devastated entire populations.] Like a... plague?

[He tilted his head though, a little confused.] Demons? What is a demon? [He thought about it a moment longer and started to figure it out. He guessed that 'veil' or beyond the veil must mean like the spirit world, the realm beyond normal, everyday life.] Like a monster?

[He gave Dorian a sly smirk at the question.]

If they are disguised, how would one know? [His expression shifted, making it obvious that he'd been teasing him a little bit.] I have. I have seen Odin, and his Valkyries, after a battle, choosing the fallen warriors who fought bravely to join him in his halls. He has also given me signs. And given me strength in battle. I believe I am his son. And I have had Thor test a boat I was on, he made a great thunderstorm and then celebrated that not even he could sink such a marvelous vessel.

Something like a plague, yes...well, it's difficult to explain. Darkspawn, hideous malformed beings that walk like men, live beneath the surface. The occasionally raid above ground, and their blood is poison. It is a slow, inevitable and painful death. It is also referred to as a Blight when one of the old Dragon Gods becoming Blighted and unifies the Darkspawn in a systematic raid of the surface and scourge the land with their taint, so...a bit more intense than a plague, really.

[Ah, what is a demon. Dorian has heard more than one explanation since arriving in the Quarantine, but he can explain demons as he knows them, at least.] Something very much like one, yes. They're...attracted to negative human emotions: fear, anger, laziness. They feed on them, but they also have a desire to see this sense of the Veil, the...physical. If they cross over without the aid of a mortal host body, like you or I, they are almost always monstrous in nature.

[His eyebrows raise at Ragnar's description.]

You...believe yourself to be the son of a god? Odin? I also have no idea what a Valkyrie may be, though...if they choose the fallen, then...is it not that all are allowed to join him in death? What of the others?

Can... they be killed as regular men are? [They still sounded like a terrifying enemy.] Where I am from, there are stories of creatures like those that you have described, but the gods killed most of them long ago.

[The descriptions of demons seemed much less familiar, a kind of creature he was wholly unfamiliar with.]

I do.

The Valkyries are the choosers of the slain. They are women who deliver those who have died a glorious or honorable death to Odin's halls. Those who impress the gods are taken to Valhalla where they are reunited with the great warriors who have died before them.

[He shook his head.] Only those who have a glorious and meaningful death and those chosen by the gods will join them. The others will go to the realm of the dead, Helheim, where they will be received by the goddess Hel. It is not a bad place, but it is not where any warrior would wish to end up.

Oh, yes, certainly. [He nods to confirm.] Just don't let them bleed on you. Their blood carries a poison, and there is no cure, only a slow, agonizing death.

[Dorian thoroughly believes he will never understand the desires of warrior-types.]

Shouldn't a warrior who's known nothing but war his entire life want, oh, I don't know, a holiday for eternity?

[He frowned at that. By the end of most battles, it looked like he'd swam across a river of blood and gore.] That does present a problem. Even for the most talented archers...

[He tilted his head a little.] Instead of earning a spot in the army of the gods? ... No. [He smirked.] It is said that until the time comes to fight for the gods, that they will feast and drink in a great hall, reunited with old friends, and fight one another every night to die and rise the next day so they may do it all again. [From the glint in his eyes, it was pretty obvious that Ragnar thought this was a very appealing afterlife.]

Darkspawn are certainly not to be taken lightly. If you ever have the misfortune of facing them, do avoid getting their blood in your mouth or eyes. It's a slow death, months or years of suffering. [He smiles, though.] Happily, I've yet to see mention of the like here. Yay, us.

[At Ragnar's proclamation, he chuckles, shaking his head and making a motion with his hand as if to say, "as you wish".]

You see, my idea of a fine afterlife is endless stretches of sun-drenches beaches, wine and cool drinks, and enough interests to pique my curiosity for an eternity. To each his own, though, I suppose.

No enemy should ever be taken lightly. Even the most terrible opponent can get lucky.

[He nodded thoughtfully.] If there were darkspawn here, I would think they would be found only beyond the fences. But I have come across no such creatures. Nothing out there has looked even remotely human so far.

[Ragnar looked thoughtful for a moment, maybe trying to envision Dorian's idea of an amazing afterlife.] What kind of 'interests'? There would need to be a lot to last for eternity.

they can, it's true.

(Dorian nodded to further show his agreement, but chuckled.)

Made all the more likely by the hubris of their fellow combatants.

(Ragnar's comment on the Darkspawn makes his smile wane somewhat, though.)

One would think they would, yes, but they're very apt to just pop out of the ground as well. They burrow, you see, and are damned good at it, seeing as the underground is their native land.

monthly mingle: THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

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