![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
riverviewmod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
riverviewlogs2018-02-01 10:29 pm
- !mod post: holiday,
- !mod post: monthly mingle,
- legend of zelda (botw): zelda,
- logan: laura,
- magnificent seven: billy rocks,
- once upon a time: victor frankenstein,
- original: shigeru miyata,
- ppz: elizabeth bennet,
- star trek (aos): james kirk,
- star wars: poe dameron,
- vikings: gyda ragnarsdottir,
- ✖ animorphs: marco,
- ✖ dctv (flash): cisco ramon,
- ✖ legend of zelda (botw): link,
- ✖ miraculous ladybug: marinette (ladybug,
- ✖ mutant x: brennan mulwray,
- ✖ my hero academia: toshinori yagi,
- ✖ original: freya vaughn,
- ✖ original: minsu oh,
- ✖ original: rosalina nurumi,
- ✖ osomatsu-san: osomatsu matsuno,
- ✖ persona 3: makoto yuuki,
- ✖ the finder: willa monday,
- ✖ the raven cycle: blue sargent,
- ✖ the raven cycle: ronan lynch
monthly mingle: FAJRO & LUNAR NEW YEAR
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
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.
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.
Credit: image i: Roman Ignatowski; image ii: Jan Vavrusa; image iii: Federico Belingheri; image iv: Yuechi Lee
no subject
I've been well, just a bit nervous for Seollal. It's been ages since I've actually been to a celebration.
[He feels a small, painful twinge in his chest, right over his heart, but manages to prevent himself from wincing. He's not entirely sure when it started, but he wonders if the mist had something to do with it. It always seemed to happen whenever he so much as thought that there was nothing hovering around in his mind like a dark grey cloud. Part of it was his death, but with the Lunar New Year approaching, it had more to do with missing the other six men and the brave lady he'd fought alongside with. Recently, he found himself worrying over who made it out of Rose Creek alive more often. The memory he'd accidentally shared with Rey was also coming back to mind since it'd been about his own parents.]
What about you? Been doing all right?
no subject
To firstly answer his question, though... well, the latest point of internal conflict for Hana as of late is the fact that an incredible guy confessed to having feelings for her, and she doesn't know what to really do about it given her own hangups with relationships... ]
I'm okay. Just taking things day by day, yeah?
You know... I can't promise that I can make any of the foods as well as my dad can, but do you want to come over one night and we can celebrate Seollal? We both don't have our families here, but my roommate has been the closest I have to one here, and you're the only other person I know here that would celebrate it!
no subject
If it's really all right, I'll gladly come over. Thank you very much, Hana.
[This definitely deserves another bow, so he does. While this isn't Billy's first time receiving such acts of kindness from strangers (or in this case, an acquaintance), it's the first one he's experienced in a while.
Then he chuckles.]
In the long run, though, I think you'd still be better at the cooking than me. I can only remember a few of the recipes my parents used to make.
[Along with a few other Korean dishes, but the ingredients for them had not been readily available in America unless one stopped by the Asian communities. Billy had become more accustomed to making easy things like eggs, coffee, beans, bacon, along with a few Cajun dishes he'd picked up from Goody.]
no subject
No way! I'm probably going to end up asking my roommate's boyfriend to help me figure out how to cook this stuff. I wish I had copies of my family's recipes.
[ Admittedly, she was always busy with playing games during Seollal, especially once she got into her teens. What she does remember of the recipes, she only remembers minimally from being made to help when she was smaller. ]
no subject
[Because no one in his immediate family knew how to write (or read), being peasants. Billy himself only recently learned when the people here recommended he take lessons at the university to make life in the Quarantine easier.]
You know, I don't think I've ever asked about your roommate before. She really won't mind if I come over?
[He assumes that Hana's roommate is another woman since she mentioned a boyfriend. He has yet to really find out that it's okay to be in a same-sex relationship openly in the Quarantine, unlike in his current time period.]
no subject
Oh! My roommate is a guy. His name is Genji. We came from the same world, so we thought we should stick together.
no subject
O-Oh, my mistake then. Sorry about that.
[He rubs the back of his neck, debating whether or not he should ask his next question. It seems so personal. And what if someone heard and reported Genji and his lover to the authorities? Then again, they were speaking in Korean, so it was highly unlikely that someone nearby understood what they were talking about.]
They've been doing okay here? Your roommate and his "friend," I mean. No trouble with anyone ratting them out, or getting suspicious?
[Billy makes it sound like a casual question in case someone is listening and can understand them, though he puts slight emphasis into the word "friend." His over-cautious way of asking may seem silly, but to Billy this is the safety of keeping someone's cover. In the West, you could get jailed, run out of town, or even shot dead if the wrong people found out.]
no subject
Uh... No, no trouble like that. Why would they get in trouble?
[ Then Hana remembers— right, Billy had come from like one million years in the past. Maybe it wasn't okay back then? ]
You're not in ancient history anymore, Billy!
no subject
It's... It's really okay here then? They are not in danger?
[It's not like he'd stop and stare at whoever happened to be making out in the corner, or even on the streets. The polite thing to do was look away and give them privacy. So Billy had never truly noticed, and if he did, he would quickly divert his gaze so as not to direct unwanted attention to the couple. As Hana's words sink in, though, his body seems to relax a little and he cracks a smile.]
That's good to hear. Good for them.
[Then he chuckles sheepishly.]
I really killed the happy mood there. Sorry...