riverviewlogs | monthly mingle: FAJRO & LUNAR NEW YEAR

monthly mingle: FAJRO & LUNAR NEW YEAR

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: fajro & lunar new year
when: The month of February.
where: Anywhere around the city.
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

fajro & lunar new year

In the days leading up to February 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Fajro and the Lunar New Year. This is a combination of various traditions from several different universes, all of which involve cleaning house, physically and metaphorically, in preparation for the upcoming spring and summer months. The traditions associated with these celebrations involve getting rid of clutter and unnecessary junk that is then burned in large bonfires along the beaches, clearing the air of lingering resentments and old wounds with magical penalties for those who choose not to share, and a broad sampling of Lunar New Year traditions from a variety of cultures.

an opportunity to shed negative energy

There's nothing that's more detrimental to the forming of a good, solid community than lingering resentment and anger - this is something that most residents of the Quarantine tend to agree on. In recognition of that fact, Fajro is geared toward cleaning out the negativity, getting rid of clutter and trash in the home, body, and mind. Residents do spring cleaning in their homes and businesses and either give away or burn the things that they don't need and that are only serving to add an extra burden. Likewise, residents are encouraged to clear the air with friends, family, coworkers, and anyone else interacted with on a frequent basis. The second half of the month is taken up with the Lunar New Year, which is an almost universal tradition in this reality, and focuses on letting go of negative energy and welcoming positive energy into life going into the new year.

i.cleaning house

The first thing that most residents do during the month of Fajro is cleaning house. This means going through all the junk in the house, all the little things that clutter up a place, and clearing them out. A commonly-heard saying in the Quarantine during Fajro cleanup is "does this bring me joy?", a proverb that encapsulates the meaning of the tradition - to shed the parts of the past that bring pain or add to a person's burden, and keep only what brings joy into each person's life. The rest is either thrown away and burned, or donated to bring joy to someone else's life.

After the cleaning is complete, residents carry what they no longer want or need to the beaches of the river, where bonfires are set up each night for two weeks, in order to burn the excess and let the ash float down the river, a symbolic city-wide purging of bad memories, pain, and burdens.

ii. clearing the air

Another tradition in the Quarantine during Fajro is to clear the air with friends, family, acquaintances, coworkers, teammates, or anyone else that takes up space in a person's life. Every relationship comes with some amount of resentment, and the residents of the Quarantine take pride in being able to shed that resentment every year, to start fresh on relationships, building them into something newer and healthier. However, with every wave of new people that arrive during a year, there's a common pattern - those who haven't yet fully come to accept this particular tradition may avoid airing their grievances. Whether it's because they don't care to understand what they're feeling, don't acknowledge the resentment, want to appear strong and unaffected, or just because they don't like confrontation, there are any number of reasons people might choose to keep their hurts and resentments to themselves.

Of course, that doesn't really lend itself to clearing the air, so several of the higher-ups at Gramarye Magic Research came to a quick and easy solution in the form of a magically-infused mist that falls over the city on the morning of February 1st, which will burn off by the evening of February 3rd. Anyone who inhales the mist or absorbs it through their skin by going outdoors or being close to doors, windows, or air vents, during the first few days of February will find themselves thinking more often of the things that have hurt them, the resentments they've built up, and the desire to talk about them, to excise them. Starting on February 15th, any character who has been exposed to the mist and who has still kept their grievances bottled up will find themselves...afflicted with something very uncomfortable to remind them of how unhealthy it is to keep things to oneself and let them fester.

Afflictions can vary in scope depending on how thoroughly the character was exposed to the mist, how intense their feelings of resentment lie, and most of all, player preference. They are primarily physical effects that can range from mildly embarrassing to extremely uncomfortable. Whether it's the addition of a tail or horns, skin that changes color depending on the character's mood, loss of a sense, or any other physical effect, the sky's the limit. Afflictions should be something the character finds uncomfortable, and will last until February 28th or until the character clears the air, whichever comes first. Talking to a third party about their feelings of resentment will provide a temporary relief from the symptoms of the affliction, but the only way to permanently remove it is to talk directly to the source of the problems. If a character carries feelings of resentment toward someone who is not in the game, having a deep conversation with someone in the Quarantine will permanently clear or preempt the affliction.

iii. lunar new year

Originally, Fajro was celebrated all on its own in the Quarantine, but over the years, the traditions have evolved - the major change that's happened in the past decade or so is the addition of an entire other set of traditions surrounding the Lunar New Year, the celebration of which has proved to be a pretty universal constant across many different planets and in many different universes. Lunar New Year is celebrated with special food, activities, and street markets that pop up across the Quarantine throughout the month of February.

This year, the patron animal of the Lunar New Year is the dog, so residents are encouraged to bring their canines out with them to be spoiled, dressed up, and primped.

Thank you to Mari and Anna for suggesting the celebration and submitting the activities and images for this prompt!

hound town

Anyone wandering the city will find it beautifully decorated with beautiful red lanterns, and paper or cloth dog effigies. There are lots of stalls selling adorable themed dog clothing. At night, the red lanterns light up the streets, bathing them in a warm orange-red glow each night.

The entire city looks festive, and residents can be seen wearing red and gold or dog-themed clothing, strolling through the night markets with their pet dogs, sharing drinks of warm alcohol or other warm beverages. Booths selling a small toy called a jegi can be found very commonly, along with instructions on how to play the traditional Lunar New Year game, jegichagi (video), which involves kicking the jegi to keep it from falling to the ground, with the winner being the one to keep it up for the longest number of kicks.

Other booths are selling a wide variety of dog-themed items, red lanterns for residents to carry around on sticks, and giving away some very special red lanterns that the sellers will advise residents to hang onto for later in the season...

wish lanterns

Toward the end of the festival, the special red lanterns that residents received will start to glow, displaying a set of instructions outlined in magical light on the shade - residents are encouraged to take the lanterns down to the beaches by the Fajro bonfires on the last night of the celebration, and whisper to them a wish. Once the wish has been whispered to the lantern, it will lift into the air, hanging there for a few moments with all the other lanterns. For a few moments, the night sky will be alight with bobbing lanterns.

And then they will all pop into an explosion of colorful confetti, showering the crowd below. Anyone standing in the crowd who gets showered with confetti will feel a glowing wave of positive energy sweep through them.

street food and games

Street food is very popular in Riverview, and special food for the Lunar New Year is no exception, and considering how many different cultures and alternate realities have some version of a celebration for the Lunar New Year, there are a ton of seasonal snacks that are being sold from carts and featured in restaurants throughout the city. While you can find just about anything that's ever been associated with the Lunar New Year, some of the most popular dishes are sliced rice cake soup, savory pancakes, a cooked vegetarian salad, stuffed sticky rice cakes, and beautiful candy boxes that are usually given as gifts or brought to Lunar New Year parties. Besides these treats, tiny citrus fruits ranging from mandarin oranges to tangerines to any alien variety of small citrus.

And for people who bring their dogs along, many stalls are giving away complimentary biscuits for them, with the option to buy boxes or gift packs of the biscuits to take home.

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: Roman Ignatowski; image ii: Jan Vavrusa; image iii: Federico Belingheri; image iv: Yuechi Lee

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"I was instructed to continue my errand protocols normally, and not look for him."

Despite still sounding about as calm and focused as always, Brink's body language is defeated, with his head in the grass and his ears flopping to the sides rather than even properly pinning back.

"His apartment is very clean now. He won't respond to my messages."

Shigeru figured that much and with a soft sigh he'll just...lightly pet Brink on the head. Soft, gentle scritches as he frowns in thought. The pets don't stop as he speaks though.

"Well giving him some space is probably...for the best. I know when I went through something very...traumatic I locked myself away in my room for a good few days." Alex practically had to break down the door to get him out.

"We'll just have to be here for him when he decides he wants to talk or show up!" Shigeru gives Brink a smile at that. With him now being able to talk it's...so much easier to really say what he's feeling and it's very liberating.

"Leaving Dodger alone for extended periods of time is not wise." He mutters, but that doesn't change the fact that his instructions are not to do anything about it.

The dog does raise a brow at Shigeru's attempt to cheer him up, which really just makes him look more upset.

"I wish Dodger would come home." He directs it at the lantern, which stays exactly where it is and does not glow. "...I think you need a soul for these to work."

"I know." His voice is...sad and somber. If anyone knows about that it's Shigeru. He might grip his lantern a little tighter as he thinks on it.

"We could try looking for him, but the city is big and even if I used my powers to track him I don't know if it'll work." Of course tracing was something Shigeru could do. But it...allowed him to see everything. Every germ and every particle invisible to the naked eye. It was a stressful ability for him to use, which is why he never used it much to begin with. But this...was something that he'd use it for.

"I do too, Brink." He'll give the allmate a sad smile as he eyes him. He never knew a creature like this could look so...sad. It really breaks his heart.

"I could help you make your wish then, if you want?" Because as far as he's concerned Brink deserves to have at least one. He's been through...a lot. They all have and Shigeru is trying to help fix things. But it's so very hard to do by yourself.

Brink processes the words for a bit, and there's a faint whirring noise from his head before he leans over and places his head on Shigeru's lap.

"I was instructed to turn off tracking for his phone, but he has it with him. It would be possible to track the signal."

He can't think of any other hints to give. He doesn't know where Dodger goes when he leaves the apartment - the one time he'd been allowed to leave, when Dodger had finally started trusting his safety again, Ivar had sunk an ax into his head. The only reason he's out and about now is because Dodger needs him to make the apartment look like someone's still living there.

"Assistance would be appreciated."

"Track the signal..." Luckily Shigeru knows all about doing things like that. Having been in a special ops type of job where the black market was their specialty. Tracking people was something they did with his powers and the technology at their disposal. He wasn't as good at it as the other's on his team, but he had picked up a good few means and methods that could be used from them. He'll gently pet Brink again as he starts to fiddle with his phone, remaining silent as he works for a good 20 minutes on it. It's only after a pause of silence and stillness that he jostles Brink a bit from his position.

"I. I think I got it! Brink do you know where this is?" He'll show the dog his phone with a little pinpoint flickering at a location somewhere nearby.

"Should we...head over?" He's still not sure if Dodger would want the company but...he's worried and he knows it'll put Brink at ease too.

"Comparing to the local map..." A faint whirring noise comes from Brink's head, before he blinks. "Address belongs to Eichi Tenshouin - it is known locally as Tenshouin Manor. Sending directions to your phone now."

He sits up, and a moment later the address is sent to Shigeru's phone, along with directions from their location, seemingly from Dodger's username.

"I cannot accompany you - I am under instructions not to follow him. Please return him home if you can."

Shigeru will smile and give Brink a few scratches and a soft gentle head pat before he nods and gives him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him home." Hopefully.

And with that Shigeru will head off towards Eichi's mansion. It'll take him around half an hour to find the place, since he's never been, but when he finally does he can't help but stop outside the door and admire it for a moment. It was rather reminiscent of his own home back on Katsuitiga. But he'll swallow thickly before he opens the door.

"Dodger?" His voice will ring out through the large open space. How in the world was he going to find him in this huge house?

The mansion is absolutely splendid, and seemingly still kept in pristine condition - Shigeru might notice someone cleaning when he enters one room or another, but they disappear without speaking to him. Dodger, on the other hand, makes no indication of where he is, so it might take a while to find him.

The door to the basement is in the kitchen, though, and it is the only part of the building that seems to have changed at all since it was transported to Riverview. Rather than opening it properly, the door was kicked in, as evidenced by the broken doorframe near the lock and the scorch mark on the wall nearby. This seems... like an obvious lead.

Shigeru notices and it keeps him a little on guard. Of course he's never been here before, never even knew this place existed until now. But the entire mansion is so well kept that it's strange to see it left so...abandoned and empty. Shigeru eventually finds the kitchen and the door to the basement easily enough.

His eyes ticking towards the scorch marks left on the walls and the obvious damage done to everything in general. He'll ope it with a crack as he descends into the basement his breathing quiet and still as he looks around when he finally reaches the bottom step.

"Dodger?" His voice is...tentative, almost scared really, because he doesn't know what he'll find. But it's also...firm and there's clearly worry tinged throughout it as he walks further into the room.

"Are you down here?"

Well... really, there was no way to see this coming. Not with how little Dodger shares with anyone.

The basement of the mansion is incredibly barren - anything sentimental was left in the attic, and there was really never a good reason to keep anything down here. The first thing that greets Shigeru is a broken plate with spoiled food, left at the bottom of the stairs. It has to be a week or two old, by now. A candle had burned out next to it, and the wax dripped into the food and solidified in it, making it even more of a disgusting mess.

Past that the basement is lit by more candles, all in various stages of melting and burning out. One single bare lightbulb casts a spotlight in one of the rooms, but it's an eerie glow that flickers every so often and casts dark shadows. One of the hallways leading to the room has several fist-sized holes in the wall, a few scorch marks and a long trail of blood that starts with a handprint and then just... lazily winds along the wall. Almost as if it was done absentmindedly.

Upon coming to the illuminated room, the first thing Shigeru will see will be a symbol crudely drawn in blood across the back wall, almost big enough to fill the wall. The same symbol that's attached to Brink's collar. Another fist-sized hole goes through the flame, and in what looks like black paint the words "WHERE ARE YOU" are written over and over again, at random places across the entire wall.

The rest of the room has musical instruments, some of which look pretty badly abused, and others of which are entirely broken. Two cracked electric guitars, a badly smashed bass guitar, a drum set with dented cymbals and a wobbly leg, and a keyboard that has two keys permanently pressed in. In the center of the room is a laptop computer on the floor, and Dodger in a chair, facing away from the wall and toward the symbol. Is he dead? Who knows, but there is a fair amount of blood around his chair and stuck in his hair, and he doesn't seem to be moving.

Edited 2018-02-11 17:56 (UTC)

Of course it's always hard to know or what to expect from Dodger. It's...for that reason that Shigeru has such a hard time with things like this. When his life was nothing but regimented and on a schedule due to his own OCD things like this always made it hard. But with that hardship came strength and he knew that Dodger needed some of that right now so he steels himself as he wanders through the basement. A hand covering his face as he passes by the rotting food and the candles lying everywhere.

His worry evident as he looks at the wall and those words and that symbol scrawled across it in blood. He'll grip his hands into fists as he swallows thickly. If he knows anything this is like...some things he's seen back home. People, radicals, who still worshiped and prayed to Malneminous.

His attention finally focuses on Dodger's form and Shigeru lets out a scared little gasp as he rushes over. A hand reaches out to grip Dodger's shoulder. His own grip is shaky as he moves in to get a closer look at the man. His first instincts is to check his wrists so he'll just grab one without even thinking to make sure...he doesn't want to...go through that again.

"Dodger!"

The blood didn't originate from Dodger's wrist - but it clearly came from his palm, as a deep cut is hidden under a torn-off piece of fabric that's tied haphazardly around his hand. From the looks of it, Dodger has drained a lot of blood from himself, but he did make an effort to staunch it. He's fast asleep, rather than unconscious, and actually looks rather peaceful - the same sort of expression he tends to have in the afterglow of an orgasm. Though... it would be less creepy if his eyes weren't half-open, with very large pupils.

Yet another guitar is propped in his hands - this one a little battered, but recognizable as the one he'd been playing on his birthday, with its Eichi stickers and rustic vibe - and a cup of what looks and smells like Dodger's own blood has spilled over beside his leg. He was drinking out of that, apparently.

He doesn't respond to his name being called... another drug purge might be necessary.

It is very distressing, seeing him like this. Shigeru's face is rather pale as he takes a shaky breath to compose himself. He'll look away for a few moments, hands wringing slightly, in his own stressed way. Right. He has to help Dodger right now.

Shigeru will take up his hand in his again, activating his powers to heal the wound on his palm and he does sense the presence of some kind of...drug in his system. He'll swallow again before he works on cleaning out those drugs from his system and also replenishing his blood.

Shigeru will wait for Dodger to come to once he's done with his ministrations. He never really knows what to expect but for some reason this...has shaken him more than usual.

He blinks blearily a few times, his eyes refocusing slowly as Shigeru heals him. It takes a minute or so before his body is functional again, but at least he isn't fully sober this time. Or at least, he isn't panicking the way he does when he's off his drugs.

"Fuck..." He mumbles under his breath, his voice rusty and cracked from lack of use. "...Got any water?"

He doesn't even register the look on Shigeru's face, too busy examining his own body and seeming surprised by it, as if he'd forgotten what he looked like. In truth, he's just admiring how everything keeps fading in and out of focus from his hungover dizziness.

The worry and scared look is rather evident but he'll just shake his head silently. Oh, right, he can speak. He almost forgot that he could for a second there.

"N-No. I...I can get you some though if-if you want?" He's not used to stammering but his words get caught in his throat as he still tries to comeback from seeing this. His eyes look away and down at the floor, his head turning slightly towards the basement's entrance.

"What...what were you doing?" His voice is low as he finally looks back at Dodger his hand is still holding Dodger's and Shigeru's is shaking a little as he give Dodger this very worried look.

"I-I've been worried..." and it seems like his worries were not unfounded.

"-Hold that thought."

He cuts Shigeru off while he's still speaking, and leans down to set his guitar aside and pull his computer up onto his lap. With some stumbling taps he logs back into it, and clicks around a bit before putting it back down. He stumbles to his feet, staggering over to the wall and grabbing onto the less battered of his electric guitars and kicks one of his amps so that it crackles to life. Now that he's moving, it's clear he's significantly thinner than he was the last time Shigeru saw him. He probably hasn't eaten since then. There's a manic sort of energy as he forces himself about, searching along the floor for a pick before leaning against the wall to play out a harsh, loud riff. Despite his shaky and erratic movements, all his concentration goes into keeping his fingers steady to get the sound he wants. He doesn't speak, doesn't sing, doesn't make a noise until he's played for a good minute or two.

And then he drops the guitar unceremoniously, making the amp let out a screeching noise, before he dips down to stop his computer's recording and proceeds to stumble onto the floor and belatedly roll onto his back with a groan.

"....Been connecting with my muse, what's it look like?" He groans, "Fuck... Water. Now. I might pass out."

Shigeru watches Dodger noting the manic frenzied way he moves and the thiness of him too. It just makes him worry even more when he picks up one of those guitars and strums it. The loud, harsh, riff makes Shigeru jump a little, wincing when Dodger just drops the guitar on the floor again and proceeds to follow in suit.

"It. It looks like you haven't eaten in days and you're down here with all this blood. Why would I think you're making music?" Shigeru's voice is shaky and slightly annoyed, but mostly he just sounds so worried.

"I thought you might've tried to kill yourself again, you idiot!" He's upset as he just looks down at him. Ugh he really hates how his voice cracks a little when he says that. Why does Dodger always do this to him. He might turn away and proceed to head up back up the stairs to the kitchen.

It's almost with an air of him leaving, for good this time, and Shigeru has half a mind to do so as he stands in the kitchen for a few minutes to collect himself. But, ugh, he can't just leave Dodger after everything that's happened. He sometimes cares too much and he can't bring himself to leave with that voice telling him that Dodger is in no condition to look after himself either.

So after a few minutes Shigeru will reappear with a glass of water and some food for Dodger to eat.

Dodger looks like he's going to argue, but then Shigeru leaves and he doesn't call after him. Just sits there, and stews. And misses that high that he was pulled out of.

By the time Shigeru gets back, Dodger has dragged his computer over to him and laid it on its side so that he doesn't have to get off of the floor. He's laying on top of a dried bloodstain, tapping through a library of harp sounds while he tries to fit it to the vision he had for the song. It takes a few moments for him to even register that Shigeru is there, and when he does he just sits up properly and keeps fiddling with the computer.

"I needed to get my head clear. Get rid of all the distractions. Ivar, and you, and... my head. All of it. Needed it to shut up." He mutters, as if that explains everything. "Took a while to get there. But I'm feeling pretty zen."

There's a pause, and he adds: "If I wanted to kill myself you'd have found me by now."

"You could've...said something to me or-or Brink though. I wouldn't have bothered you even if I knew where you were. I just didn't know what...had happened to you, I worry you know? I know...what you've been through was hard and taking some time to be alone is needed. But not telling anyone...I hate it when you make me worry like this." And he'll just let out a shaky sigh before his shoulders sag a little.

Still Dodger's explanation doesn't explain a whole lot and Shigeru is still looking at him uncertainly.

"Will you at least...talk to me about it? You know that I...I'm always here to listen." But he frowns as he bends down to give Dodger his food and water. He might reach out to touch his cheek, his expression caring and worried as usual. There's a pause before he speaks again, unsure of how Dodger is going to take his suggestion.

"Have you ever tried meditation? I know it's...not something you'd probably be used to. But that always helps me when I'm in a bad spot with my...phobia." And it wouldn't involve all of...this.

"I'm not doing anything Shimada advocates." He replies sharply, moving Shigeru's hand away from his cheek as if swatting away a fly. It's a distraction, stopping him from getting all this music out before his muse gets away from him. "You spend enough time whoring out to him without getting me involved in his bullshit."

There's a few more harp notes from his computer before he stops suddenly, finally retracing what he just said. He's completely still, and... doesn't apologize, but he sets the computer aside and grabs the water to swallow it almost without a break.

"This is what meditation looks like for me. Blood-letting, music therapy, and uhh...." He pauses, and makes a vague gesture at the symbol on the wall, "Art. Shrine. Thing."

"Sorry. That was stupid of me to-to say." He fiddles with his gloves when Dodger moves his hand away but he doesn't scratch at his hands, fighting the urge as much as possible. He's going to try and not show that sort of thing in front of Dodger anymore. Even if it's...very hard to fight the urge to do so.

Those words...hurt a lot and it's clear in the brief second of Shigeru's expression that it hurts. But he doesn't say anything even if there's a familiar twinge of pain in his chest as he looks around the room again.

"Oh." His voice might be low and there's a small amount of quilt in his features. He still doesn't look at Dodger when he speaks, his eyes focused on his hands more than anything.

"I-I see..." Even if he doesn't really advocate this sort of therapy. It's different for Dodger and everyone else and Shigeru isn't one to really judge. But the way he found him isn't exactly the most ideal of scenarios. What if Shigeru hadn't found him at all?

"It just doesn't seem very..." safe. Is what he wants to whisper but all he'll is that as he finally looks back down at Dodger.

"Are you writing...lyrics for it too?"

"I'll probably trash it. None of this sounds the way I want it to." He mutters, idly running a hand through his hair. At some point he must have been pulling it out with his hands still bloody, because the blood has dried and stuck it up in funny ways.

"I was right on the edge of something amazing.. when you sobered me up."

It's barely an accusation, but it does sound grumpy. It's only now that he seems to notice the food, and tears into it as if he's never eaten before in his life, stuffing it in his mouth with his hands nearly as fast as he can swallow it.

"Just needed to-" burp, "-Needed to get out the... feelings I had. Y'know, rage musically for a while. Figured it was more productive than starting another fucking revenge scheme." He glances at the cup by the chair and picks it up, checking its contents sullenly, "Wonder if I can get anything outta what's left..."

"I-I'm sure you'll be able to make something amazing. When I'm in a bad spot I tend to draw from my feelings and emotions too. My art turns out really well, even if it takes me awhile to draw it and sort it out myself." He'll say with a small, tentative, smile.

"I'm glad that...you're doing something like this instead of-of anything else." Creating a revenge scheme or whatever it is that Dodger wanted to do. It's a small start, Shigeru feels, in a different direction at least.

But he might reach out a hand to stop Dodger from taking that cup, only he stops himself, he looks unsure as he draws his hand away his eyes looking away as well.

"Why...why don't you try without that? It-it might be easier then you think."

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monthly mingle: FAJRO & LUNAR NEW YEAR

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