monthly mingle: FAJRO & LUNAR NEW YEAR

[riverviewmod]

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

navigation

Comments

[deploy]

That is a lot.

[There's not much else he can say. John hasn't experienced the canisters for himself, but he can imagine. The memories of days, months, even years, of the life you've been living in your own absence, all downloaded directly into your brain. It sounds like something the Ancients would come up with.

He's felt the overload of incoming information before, while sitting in the control-chair and piloting Atlantis, with every facet of the city-ship's specs running in real-time in his head. Overclocked. He always walks away feeling his hardware needs upgrading to fully meet the requirements of the system. There's never enough RAM.

John squeezes Poe's shoulder. He's better at communicating with actions than words. The fact he's here, with Poe, means he's ready and willing to support him however he can.]

What do you wanna do, have a drink and go back to my place? It sounds like you need to decompress.

We can order delivery, watch a movie- whatever you want. Anything.

[volitaunt]

I want to walk.

[ He says it quickly enough that he knows it's true. He doesn't want to hold still. He doesn't want to slow down. He wouldn't be able to focus on a movie, he wouldn't have the patience to wait for delivery, he would be crawling up the walls by the time it arrived.

There's no coming down from this, no shaking this feeling. He's been here already, cut off from his people, only this time it's both better and worse. This time, he knows how many of his people are dead and that there's someone here responsible for it. This time, he has his people here, he can plan, he can do something.

This time, he knows that no matter what plans they make, it may just be a case of not remembering what already happened. No matter what plans they make, it might not matter. Paige is dead. Holdo is dead. Cassian and Jyn are dead. If he's dead and doesn't recall it, at least that might mean Kylo Ren is dead, too. Poe can learn to live with that.

It's the learning part that's going to take time. ] I want to go somewhere.

[ He wants to fight something. He wants, more than anything, to fly. But they can't just walk into the PG and take the shuttle out for a joy ride. That isn't how it works here.

He's going crazy if he can't get in the air regularly, Poe thinks. He'll be dead and crazy.

(You're not dead, a part of him says, a defiant and fearful part of him. You're not dead and the fight isn't over. That last part is far easier to believe.)

He pulls free from John's hand and turns away, walking a few steps and digging his hands into his curls, eyes on the air above the city. ] I don't know what I want to do.

[deploy]

So let's walk. You don't have to know now. We can figure it out later.

[John almost reaches for Poe again, but holds himself back. He wants to support him, not smother him. Poe is a man who needs his freedom. He's an even wilder child than John is.

He's been careful not to demand too much from him. Three days of silence felt like a long time, but John knows better than to push too hard when he doesn't know the boundaries of their relationship.

Poe isn't one of his team, and he isn't under John's command. They're not an item. He doesn't owe John anything. He can only help Poe as much as he's willing to be helped.

John starts to walk. That much he can do.]

C'mon. You can tell me about it, if that helps. I'm all ears.

[volitaunt]

[ Poe talks. He tells John about the evacuation, about the arrival of the dreadnought, about his solo mission to serve as a distraction and prep for the bombing run. The loss of their squadron, the destruction of the enemy's ship.

He's working himself up to telling John about his demotion when they round the corner that would have brought them to the bar. ]

[killthepast]

[ The last time he'd had too much to drink, it was during the ball. With Rey, in fact. One rare night of peace, where the two were content to just laugh and enjoy each other's company. It hadn't been all that long ago, and yet, now, it feels like a lifetime away. A spark of happiness, a possible beginning to something... new and exciting, now snuffed out. All thanks to the blasted canister.

Now, here he is: the Supreme Leader of nothing, alone and miserable despite having had all the power in the galaxy in his grasp. Drunk, just for the sake of being drunk, because he can, because there's nobody holding his leash anymore. Which is pathetic; he knows it is. But maybe he just wants one night to be pathetic.

With as much as he's consumed already, Ren's connection with the Force is somewhat off kilter. Oh, if he tries, he can reach out and bend it to his will, same as ever. But, as he stumbles out of the bar (which was too loud, too crowded, too irritating), there's this sense that everything's... muted. Just a bit. Perhaps that's why he can actually round a corner and bump right into an enemy, where normally he'd sense at least enough to sidestep. ]

[volitaunt]

[ The time it takes for Kylo to register Poe's face, for his irritation to turn to murderous intent, Poe has his gun out. He still doesn't like them. He doesn't like the severe limitation in ammunition, doesn't like the noise, doesn't like learning a whole new weapons system, as it were.

But at this close range, he can hardly miss.

He shifts back just enough to raise the gun between them and unloads the entire clip point blank at Kylo Ren's chest. ]

[killthepast]

[ He may be drunk. He may not be as attuned to the Force as usual. But thankfully (for Ren and his continued existence), he's still present enough to raise his guard the moment he realizes who he's just walked right into. In an instant, he zeroes in on Dameron, all of his rage blazing right to the surface. The bullets may not strike their target-- Ren's hand is up to stop them before the trigger's even pulled-- but they're a lifesaver nonetheless. If Poe hadn't shot first, Ren absolutely would have struck without hesitation.

And now, with the clip emptied, all it takes is one squeeze of his fist to yank the gun from the pilot's hand and send it flying well out of reach.

Normally, this would be the point at which Ren would use the Force again, to choke his enemy, or toss him around like a doll. Or he'd pull out his lightsaber and just be done with the nuisance.

Of course, normally, Ren would be completely sober.

He's not sober now. And that's why he lets out a bloodthirsty snarl and tackles Poe to the ground. NO FORCE CHOKE FOR YOU, POE. HE'S GOING TO STRANGLE THE LIFE OUT OF YOU WITH HIS BARE HANDS.

...

Needless to say, he's so single-minded in his wrath that the pilot's companion isn't even a blip on his radar. ]

[deploy]

What the-

[It all happens fast.

They turn a corner, Poe bumps into someone, some tall kid in all black John doesn't know from Adam, and all hell breaks loose. Poe pulls his gun and empties an entire magazine into the kid at point-blank range. If John didn't already have tinnitus, he sure as hell would now. The ringing in his ears is only adding to the chaos of what feels like an already impossible situation.

All those bullets falling uselessly to the ground, as if they hit a wall in mid-air. Poe's gun flying out of his hand, landing somewhere out of sight. The kid in black tackling Poe like he's a quarterback and this is the Super Bowl for their lives.

John's Colt is already in his hand, trained on the kid, not that he does him the courtesy of staying in one place. This close, he could blow a hole right through the kid's back and into Poe. They're too close-quarters for a gunfight, but John knows there's no getting between a snake and a mongoose.

The best he can do is grab for the back of Poe's jacket, to try and yank him out from under the other guy, and give him some leverage, while keeping the target in his sights.]

You, off! Break it up! Don't make me shoot your ass!

[volitaunt]

[ That did not go entirely as expected.

Kylo stopping the bullets, okay, not a surprise. Taking his gun, not-a-surprise number two. Tackling him, though, instead of throwing him into a wall or into the street or into literally anything?

Definitely not expected. There are actual hands around his throat this time, squeezing the air out of him, making the world go bright at the edges. Poe latches on to Ren's wrists and digs in his nails, struggling, before bends his knee and slams it upward somewhere between Ren's stomach and his crotch.

That's about when John grabs his jacket and yanks. ]

[killthepast]

[ Does it ever go entirely as expected when you're dealing with Kylo Ren, Poe?

The knee to his gut causes his grip to slacken, just long enough for Poe's companion to yank him back by his jacket, though Kylo's not ready to stop just yet, so he's going to just. Try to swing his fist into Poe's face before it's out of punching range.

And then, then, he fixes his attention on the other man, holding out his hand as he growls out a command, heavy with the ol' Jedi mind tricks: ] You will drop your gun and leave.

[deploy]

[Poe's nose explodes upon impact with the sloppiest hay-maker John's ever seen, and suddenly he's back at college in the worst way. While he's been known to bet on a few rounds of good ol' fashioned blood-sport between skilled and consenting adults, this is too much like a fraternity brawl to be anything but equal parts dangerous and embarrassing.

He drops Poe behind himself, standing in front of him with his gun held tight in the weaver stance. The only real way to shoot with any accuracy at extremely close proximity when your target's reach is an issue, which upon John's first solid look at the kid in black, who isn't so much a kid as a giant, it definitely is.

The command falls over him like heavy, wet blanket. For a moment John feels its weight, dragging him down, as if there are anchors attached to his arms and feet. Then he shakes it off, physically and mentally, with a sharp jerk of his head.

Not this time, and never again.]

Last chance-

[John doesn't make promises he can't keep. The second the kid moves, towards him, or Poe, he fires. Aiming at the center of his chest, for full-stopping power, with enough shoulder real estate in either direction to hit disable one arm or the other.

He has confidence in his aim. In his arm. In his gun. In his bullet. In his ability to pull the trigger without hesitation to protect someone he would gladly give his life for. There's no force in the world powerful enough to stop him. Not without killing him first.]

[killthepast]

[ He actually has a moment where he just stops and stares at the man in disbelief. It should have worked. It always works, except with those strong in the Force, which this man certainly isn't. For the briefest moment, Poe's forgotten about as Ren starts to stand to his full height.

He has more weapons at his disposal than a simple Jedi mind trick. He--

Ren's shoulder jerks back, pain blossoming where a primitive bullet actually makes impact. Because he was too slow and distracted and THIS KRIFFING NERF HERDING SON OF A BANTHA INSERT OTHER WEIRD STAR WARS INSULT HERE JUST SHOT HIM.

At least the pain in his shoulder brings him clarity and focus, burning past the haze of intoxication. With a wrathful sweep of his hand, he uses the Force to push the man away, his attention returning to Poe with bloodthirsty single-mindedness. ]

[volitaunt]

[ John resisted. John resisted Kylo Ren like it was nothing, like the order came from an ordinary man. For what feels like an eternity, Poe can't think past that simple fact.

John did what he couldn't, and he did it easily.

Then the other man is sent flying and Ren's focus is back, and Poe can't count on John saving him twice. It's his turn to protect a friend, his turn to try and stop the monster, and he doesn't have the mental defenses or a gun to do it with. He rolls to his feet and launches himself full-force at Ren, waiting for the impact of a defensive wall, the feeling of invisible hands closing around his throat.

But instead he feels the impact of his fist against Ren's stomach, which is enough to give him another violent surge of surprise and victory.

He's yelling, and he doesn't even hear himself doing it. ]

Not one more. Not one more!

[deploy]

[What do they feed people in Poe's universe? The shot to the shoulder doesn't do much more than piss an already angry guy (too big to be a kid) off, though look on the the his face when that little head-game didn't play out the way he wanted is almost worth being thrown into a brick wall a half second later.

John's breath vacates his lungs on impact, and for a moment his vision goes dark at the corners. He slides halfway down the wall, momentarily stunned, until he snaps back to attention at the sound of Poe yelling.

They're still at it. Mongoose and snake. No one's winning this fight. If the two of them don't kill each other outright, they'll die trying.

John doesn't doubt they have their reasons, he's never seen Poe so angry, but there's no grudge that's worth dying for. Not like this.]

Poe, c'mon! We can't do this here-

[John doesn't know how to get through to him, just yanking Poe off and away isn't enough, he'll be right back in there the second John lets go, and he's not strong enough to hold him back for as long as it takes to get out of range.

He feels hot wet sliding down the back of his neck. Blood. It doesn't hurt, but he's aware of it. John fires off three rapid shots at the guy in black, enough for him to divide his attention between choking Poe and blocking the bullets, and holds out his bloody hand in Poe's line of sight.]

Look, I hit my head, I won't be able to pull that trick again- we need to fall back!

[Worth a shot.]

[killthepast]

[ Hatred and rage and pain all fuel Ren's connection to the Dark Side, so congratulations, John: you played yourself. Or however the saying goes.

(Ren still thinks memes are the lowest form of communication.)

Anyway, Poe's fist connects with his gut, and though he doesn't double over fully, it gives him some momentum to lurch his upper body forward, to grab at the pilot with his left hand-- resulting in sharp, stab of pain emanating from his shoulder on down his arm, pushing its way through the adrenaline-fueled FIGHT drive currently clouding all judgment and impulse control. But his training tells him to use that hurt, and the anger it brings, and he swings a more practiced punch at Poe's head this time, forceful and purposeful, where his last one had been an adolescent's flailing.

He doesn't care about the lost comrades haunting Poe Dameron. They were Rebel scum, anyway. Fanatics and would-be revolutionaries who got what they deserved. He'll kill them all one day. None of them are worth mercy.

(His mother was the only one he would stay his hand for. And she's gone. She's gone.) ]

'Not one more'? I will destroy all of them. [ His words are so laced with poison, there's no sign of the Ben Solo that Rey had gotten to know. Just the monster that Poe first saw on Jakku. ] Every last light of the Resistance will be snuffed out. You have so much more to lose, so much more pain waiting for y--

[ His villain monologue is cut short by another hail of bullets, and though he releases Poe to stop the incoming projectiles, one bullet slips through, hitting him just above the hip. With the sharp cry of a rabid animal-- wounded, but still eager to fight-- he staggers back from Poe, looking down at the blood seeping into black material.

This is probably a good moment for you guys to run. ]

[volitaunt]

[ The blood distracts Poe, just for the half-second it takes for Ren's punch to land hard across his jaw.

He staggers, the world filled with starbursts and ringing silence, like he's just been knocked into a lightspeed jump. There are two things that keep him hanging on to consciousness:

Kylo Ren promising death to everyone that's left, everyone Poe has.

John. John is hurt.

The shots don't clear Poe's head. For a delirious moment he wonders how he found his gun, then his vision is clearing and he sees Kylo Ren bleeding and staring at the injury like it's as shocking to him as it is to Poe.

John hit him again.

Somehow, John hit Kylo Ren twice. ]

[deploy]

[John seizes the opportunity to escape as soon as it presents itself. He grabs Poe by the arm while he's too shocked to be anything but compliant, and takes off in the opposite direction of the fight. Half-walking, half-running, he doesn't stop until they're blocks away, far enough they can't be followed by anything bleeding half as badly as the man they left behind them.

He doesn't care if Poe's mad at him. He's alive, they're both alive, and that's what matters.

Maybe it's because John doesn't have a personal stake in this fight, other than Poe's continued survival, but he's seen enough blood for one day. His only concern is getting Poe home and cleaning him up.

He'll make some calls about the guy in black later.]