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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Laura stands and watches the lanterns nearby as well — really, she hadn't planned on coming to write her own lantern up, but her social worker had coaxed her into it, especially with the promise that the sight would be lovely. Admittedly, she was right; it is really pretty. Her lantern lifts off and is gone, and when the man near her speaks, she looks at him with some hesitation and caution (as she usually does when new faces appear).

He asked a question. She finds it in herself to be social and polite, in her own way.]

... I do not know.

[She admits, with some disappointment:]

I don't think a lantern will really make things better.

... But it is pretty.

[ If John is startled by the girl next to him responding, he doesn't show it. He looks down at her, the lights from the lanterns reflecting in her brown eyes, her untamed hair and slightly wild look - feeling a pang in his chest. She looks like so many of the kids that have gone through the Underground through the years, and it immediately makes him want to protect her.

He shakes it off; she might not want it, or need it. She might be well-cared for here, and in no need of more adult supervision. It was easy to forget, when looking at a child, just how much they might have gone through, but John tried not to. ]

It is, isn't it? I don't think it'll change anything, either, but it's a nice tradition. And I think it's better if we don't say what we wished for. Gives it more power if it's a secret, right?

[ He looks down again, offering her a hand. ]

I'm John.

[John, I'm going to be upfront with you — you're, like, the fifth person who has tried a handshake, and of the four or so before you, not a single person has corrected her on how to actually do this. So she looks at the hand, reaches out after a moment of thought, and grabs his hand from the top. And then just holds it like this is entirely what he was going for.]

Me llamo Laura.

... Like how birthday candle wishes work, sí?

[ He can help his grin, as he crouches, perfectly fine with being the shorter one of the two of them. ]

Like this, [ he says, before changing the position of their hands until his engulfs her, gently shaking up and down, and then letting go. ] It's a way to say hello, where I'm from.

[ He keeps his voice at standard pitch, not wanting to sound condescending. She responds in Spanish, which is only mildly surprising. John could scrounge up the few sentences he can string together, but he advises himself against it. He shouldn't have been relying on Marcos for languages so heavily. ]

Yeah, exactly like birthday candle wishes. I don't think they should be any different, do you?

[........................ Is that what the hand thing is all about?

Oh my fucking god, why did nobody tell her.

She firmly grips his hand and follows suit, looking a little surprised.]

I guess that is true. [She's a bit awkward, a bit blunt and withdrawn, but she seems to not mind his company. Part of her used to think they'd never be able to leave Transigen, because she had never had a chance to make that wish over candles. Funny, now, she thinks. Maybe she should have found a cake and blew out some candles after the fact, wishing for those around her to be safe. She doubts it would have protected her father or Charles or Gabriela, but...]

Have your birthday wishes all come true?

[ He stays crouched close, resting an elbow on a knee as he looks at Laura, shaking his head gently when she asks about his birthday wishes. No amount of wishes could have saved Pulse, or Sonia, or Lorna. When he was a kid, he might have believed in them, but nowadays, he was much too practical and realistic to hang much on wishes. ]

Some of them did, but not all. [ A bike for his 8th birthday, for his brother to stay safe. ]

But I'll tell you a secret - I haven't made a birthday wish in a long time. I don't think I've even eaten cake in two years.

[ A travesty if there ever was one. ]

[Oh, secrets. She's always endeared to people who give secrets, though admittedly 'endearment' for her just means not looking at them like they're going to eat her like a snake or something. She looks back to her lantern, contemplative.]

... I have never made one. I did have cake before, though.

They gave my friend Delilah a birthday. The nurses.

[ Something complicated and painful settles in his stomach when Laura mentions nurses, instead of parents. It's not really his place to pry, but he can guess where this particular story is going, at least in part. He wishes Clarice was here, in a fierce, all-consuming way. ]

Do you know when your own birthday is?

[She shakes her head.]

I'm 138 months old... I was born in 2018. I do not know the month or day, though.

[ Mathematically, that makes no sense. Or... she's from the future?

Okay, how many years is 138 months. Slightly over 10 years old. He'll work it out more precisely later. ]

Well, in that case, I feel like you could just pick a date. One that you like because it means something to you, or just because you think it sounds nice. But we've gotta know when we get you cake.

That's what the others told me.

[She nods, though, seemingly content with the answer. And as she does, she sniffs softly at the lanterns — to seemingly breathe in the nice air, but also to see if she can gather any new information about the man next to her; she's found that sometimes it's easier to just sniff out new things she should be aware of. Like gunpowder. Like booze.]

I still need to figure one out, but I will... think about a good date.

[ No gunpowder, and Laura most definitely won't smell booze on him - alcohol, drugs, or any altering chemicals have no effect on him, his metabolism burning through them too fast for them to take effect.

He is a deceptively normal smelling guy, for what he can do. ]

You do that, and I'll make sure you get an amazing cake for it. What's your favorite flavor? If you don't have one, we might have to look into that, too.

[ He smiles, his eyes taking her in, the dim lights of the lanterns making her eyes glow a little. There's something about her, but he can't quite pin it down. ]

You got somewhere to sleep at, Laura?

[Oh, yes, she's familiar with questions like these. She's hardly bothered telling an adult where she lives, either, because — well, not only do a lot of adults live around her, but she'll... like. Stab him if he does anything fishy.]

I live in the community building.

[Ah, her social skills are lacking; she's working on it, and after a moment, figures something to add to the conversation:]

Were you placed there, too?

Edited 2018-03-04 11:55 (UTC)

[ He doesn't even care to know where, exactly; just wants to know she's safe, not sleeping in a ditch or by the side of the river every night. But he also imagines that this place, in general, wouldn't bring kids over, only to leave them to fend for themselves, and it's good to hear that confirmed. ]

Yeah, I have too. But I'll be honest with you, I'm definitely looking to move, soon. I've lived in a community like this before, and I think I could do with trying to live by myself, for a while.

[She considers it, herself. The idea of moving out and into the wild is kind of tempting... but it would be unfair to her case worker. Linda's been good to her so far; she sees no reason why she could torment her... anymore than usual, anyway.]

You are better on your own?

[ He shakes his head. ]

No, that's not it, really. I just haven't been on my own for a very long time, and I'd like to experience it again, at least for a while. Especially here, where I can still be close enough to help if there's an emergency anywhere.

[ It's hard to say 'no, I just want some privacy because I can hear everyone move around all the time and it keeps me from sleeping' to anyone, let alone a kid. It's not that he's better on his own. It's just that he wants it. ]

Before my latest job, back home, I was a soldier, and sleeping in tents with 9 other people. Then I got into the Underground, and I lived in a building not unlike the community buildings, here. I'm just thinking of trying something new.

[She considers him for a long moment, something sharp in her dark stare.]

What kind of soldier are you?

[ There's something terrifying, and terrified, in her gaze. So John holds his hands up, his gaze sympathetic and soft, as is his tone. ]

I'm not one anymore. But I used to fight in Afghanistan. I was a Marine. But then I saw how they were treating me and people like me, and left.

[ Because he realized he was just a meat shield for them, and a potential casualty of war that the government wouldn't be mourning after. Him, and countless others. ]

And instead I went to fight against those who were treating me and mine wrong.

[ He bites the inside of his lip for a second. ]

You've got bad experiences with soldiers?

Afghanistan... I saw videos.

[A lot of videos, not just then, but so many other wars and battles. Empathy erasure. Methods in peeling back a child's built-in recoil of scary images, of things that unsettle them. It is why she doesn't bat an eye, when her claws shear off a man's arm or leg.

She considers his words. How they were treating me and people like me. That much, she can understand. That sort of mutual understanding opens her up a little.]

Soldiers made sure I behaved. They walked me to my cell.

[ The breath he takes, through his nose, is sharp, when she mentions a cell. He gathered that she probably didn't have a typical childhood and that she'd been gone through a lot, but that - that he can't take. A kid shouldn't ever grow up caged. ]

Why - why were you in a cell?

[ She might not want to tell him, but he figures maybe, if he gives her more information about himself, it'll help. ]

Some bad soldiers want to put people like me in cells, too. Because of what we can do.

Yo también fui soldado... [Perhaps talking to herself, in the moment, and then she's left with a thoughtful pause; the lights in the distance are pretty, and she considers them. No, she was not a soldier, she was a weapon. There is a difference, isn't there? Or is there not? Soldiers at least weren't patented. People loved them, surely, and they must have homes. She does not want to think of such terrible people in Transigen having warm homes and soft beds. And families.

Shouldn't she feel something? Shouldn't she feel bad for killing those men? But...

Because of what we can do.

It isn't lost on her; it makes her wary, interested, maybe distantly hopeful.]

... I was made by them, in special labs, with special bottles... Because of what my dad could do.

[She looks at him, expression smoothed of emotion.]

I was made to kill people.

[ John's Spanish is rusty at best, but Marcos has always been a patient, amused teacher. He's not entirely sure what she means, though. At least at first.

But then she switches back to English, and her words feel like a stab to the gut. She was engineered, is what she's saying. She was made. Like the next step in Trask's project as they took Mutants to turn them into weapons, too.

This poor kid. No wonder she looks out of place, like she doesn't know where she belongs. John's instinct is to wrap her up in his arms, shield her from a shitty world that used her, from the moment she was born. But he knows better than to do this. Clarice would be better at this, at talking to a kid that deserves so much better. His heart breaks, as he crouches again. ]

I know we've just met, Laura, but I want you to know that if ever feel unsafe, or like someone is trying to make you do something you don't want to do, or hurt people, you can come to me. I'll protect you.

[ Because no kids deserves a life like this. ]

[She considers his words with a solemn but earnest silence.]

I can protect myself... and I — do not want to get anyone else hurt.

[Or worse, her grim expression says.]

... Why did they try to put you in a cell?

[ His expression switches, from fond, to serious. He nods. ]

That's good, but one thing about me: I'm pretty sturdy. Can't get hurt easy. And I'm pretty strong, too.

[ And isn't that the truth.

He takes a moment before replying. ]

Because I'm a Mutant. Because I have powers normal Humans don't have, and they're scared of it. And they want to study what I can do, and maybe use me as a weapon. Kinda like you.

[Her eyes grow round with interest, surprised. It's not often people actually refer to themselves as mutants, around here... Most of the time, it's just how they are at home, a species that is accepted into life as a natural group. Or they're simply 'super-powered'.]

I am a mutant, too. Like my father.

Los bebés de mutantes.

c. lunar new year

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