riverviewlogs | monthly mingle: MEMORIA

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monthly mingle: MEMORIA

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: monthly mingle: memoria
when: the month of may
where: anywhere around the city
warnings: please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

memoria

In the days leading up to May 1st, residents new and old will notice preparations beginning, a flurry of activity getting the city ready for the upcoming celebration: Memoria. A more solemn celebration than Sampremi or the Flower Festival, Memoria is a week-long time of remembrance for those lost in the Great War and the epidemic that decimated Riverview Quarantine's population 10 years ago. Memoria traditions include lighting lanterns for the dead, telling stories about lost loved ones or lost homes, eating meals with loved ones, and a special gathering to send floating lanterns down the river in honor of those lost.

a solemn commemoration of those lost

While the main city-wide event associated with Memoria is the floating of lanterns down the river on each Sunday evening of the month, the holiday is generally seen as a time of reflection on and appreciation of things that have been lost - people, homes, cultures, and planets. It is also a celebration of the things that remain. Many locally-owned shops will host displays of culturally-significant food, and will hand out informational flyers sharing the unique customs of their own homeworlds and inviting others to share those customs. There is a heavy emphasis on sharing time with family, friends, and lovers, and anyone who is able to will cook meals or treats for loved ones, or at least purchase them something good to eat.

i. hanging lanterns

Throughout the entire week of Memoria, residents will be hanging lanterns around the city. Lanterns are generally placed in greater number in places of passage - streets, bridges, and all alongside the train lines are particularly well-decorated, as are any trees alongside paths, and most homes and businesses have a profusion of lanterns around their doors and windows. This tradition is twofold; some people believe that the lanterns are hung in these places in order to guide the spirits of the dead back to those who still love them, other people believe that the lanterns are to give light for living loved ones to find their doors in times of darkness...many people believe both.

No matter what your character might believe, you can be sure they will find themselves offered a lantern for free from various businesses or friendly citizens passing by, and invited to hang it before the sun sets, or they may be handed a bundle of lanterns and asked to help share them with others.

ii. sharing life

Throughout the city, characters will find groups of people gathering to share hot drinks and talk about their loved ones lost, their homes and planets, or their experiences during the Great War and the epidemic. Anyone who has lost someone, who has fought to survive, who is feeling cut off and homesick, is welcome to sit and share their story. If your character chooses to sit and to share their story, they will find that people will gather to listen, will generally be respectful of the telling, and may share their own similar experiences in return. This is an excellent time to air grief in an environment where most people understand and respect grief, and a good time to deepen the connections to others around you, to understand them better.

There is also a very large focus on cooking or purchasing meals or treats for loved ones during Memoria, with many people taking meals with everyone they care about during the week of the holiday. Some go the extra mile and will hand out baked goods (usually chocolate or cinnamon), packets of candy, or other little treats to acquaintances, especially if they would like to form a closer bond with them. This is a great time for characters to reach out to someone they would like to get to know better with a surprise treat!

iii. floating of the lanterns

On the evening of May 8th, just before sundown, many of the city's residents will head toward the banks of the river, where they will light lanterns in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, in honor of their dead loved ones. The types of lanterns vary wildly, based on personality (either of the person floating it or the person they are honoring), culture, and many other factors. Some lanterns are very simple, others are incredibly complex, but the one common feature they all have is that people write on the shades of them - they write about their feelings for their loved ones, their wishes for their relationships and friendships, a memory from childhood or home, or even just lines of poetry or lyrics from songs that express something they miss, or something that hurts them.

Once those emotions are written on the lanterns, the lanterns are set free, floating down the river in the darkening evening, in a cathartic gesture shared by most residents of the city. Waves of lantern floating will start around 7 pm and continue until the sun rises on each Sunday evening of May.

iv. down with the sickness

The epidemic that happened 10 years ago was an incredibly traumatic experience for the people living in the Quarantine, on a cultural scale as well as a personal one. While most people who live in the Quarantine are able to leave after 5 years, the trauma lingers in any number of invisible ways in the city. Besides that, there is a small population of people who have chosen to live permanently in the Quarantine, who have made it their home and embraced its melting pot of cultural diversity as their own. Many of these people are survivors of the epidemic, and have a particularly poignant connection to the Memoria celebration.

One of these long-term residents is an engineer specializing in magically-enhanced robotics who lost most of her family in the epidemic, and as each year passes she becomes more and more distraught by how the population turns over and slowly loses track of the importance of Memoria. In her eyes, it's become symbolic, commercialized, a celebration of general grief and not the very specific grief the Quarantine experienced 10 years ago. And she has decided to do something about it, something to make the specific trauma of the epidemic very real and very current to everyone in the city.

On May 1st, she will be releasing a small cloud of self-replicating magically-enhanced nanites near City Hall. The nanites are drawn to warm, living bodies, and once they enter, they find their way to the brain and central nervous system (or equivalent, depending on physiology) and start to take effect on the parts of the brain (or equivalent) that control a person's sensory experiences and psychosomatic responses. In effect, the nanites work as an artificial virus that makes residents horribly ill, and which can be passed from person to person like a contagion.

Throughout the month, reports of this mysterious illness will sweep through the Quarantine, with residents uncertain of how to cure it. Symptoms vary widely depending on the person, with each affected person facing a uniquely personal set of symptoms - but each case has the same thing in common: it ends with the victim losing consciousness and lapsing into a coma.

How It Works

● Participation is opt-in, and while the "epidemic" can't be ignored in the city, characters are not required to get ill even if they are exposed.
● The "disease" can be spread from person to person by skin-to-skin contact or exchange of fluids (kissing, coughing, spitting, etc.) There is no set symptoms for the "disease," and how much or little a character is affected or in what ways is up to player discretion. Incubation period (time between exposure and first symptoms appearing) is also up to player discretion.
● Since the nanites are based in both tech and mgaic, they are much harder to defeat than they would be otherwise. However, they can be deactivated and destroyed through a combination of electromagnetic pulses and magical nullification or spell-dispersing abilities. Players are also welcome to come up with other ways to deactivate the nanites, keeping in mind that it should not be too easy.
● Affected characters can be sick for as long or short a time as the player decides, and once they lapse into a coma it can last as long as the player decides. Once the character wakes from the coma, they will no longer be sick and the nanites will no longer be present in their system.
● Once a character has been infected, they will be immune and cannot be reinfected.
● All sick characters will be well again by May 31st and there will be no long-term effects.

● If any players wish to pursue or bring to justice the perpetrator, please send the mod a PM and we can discuss your ideas!

v. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to meet new roommates, for the purpose of getting to know each other, or hit up the mod-posted prompt to create a Communal Housing floor mingle. Or, if you have an idea for a prompt that isn't in this list, set during Memoria, feel free to write it up!

visual inspiration

click on thumbnails for larger view

Credit: image i: RAW Visual, image ii: by trenchmaker, image iv: Bianca Draghici; image iii: found uncredited on Pinterest - please let the mod know if you find credit!

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[ Such a familiar smell in an alien world is more than enough to get Steve curious. That and most of housing has been quiet from festival tonight, leaving him pretty much alone to recuperate on the sixth floor since his, uh, impromptu arrival. ]

Long as you don't mind? [ He leans against the entrance to the kitchen for more than ostentation. ] It's hard to say no to good baking.

[ Loki looks away briefly. ]

He seemed competent enough, from what I remember. Not prone to making reckless mistakes and that is an edge that keeps one alive.

Terrible liar though.

The way I've been looking at it is like worlds within worlds. Your whole thing is a bunch of worlds in one reality, but when you come through that portal it turns out there's actually a shitload of other realities that you never could've got to before.

[He's not exactly a scientist and he's certainly no wordsmith when it comes to explanations, but there are reasons he was picked for the IPRE mission.]

I've been to a hundred worlds that all worked pretty much the same, and then I showed up here and all of it's different. They're just new realities with their own weird rules. Your reality probably doesn't even touch mine, in like - a metaphysical sense.

You rattled him, that's why he was shit at lying to you.

[Taako wouldn't have talked quite so openly about this if Rin was still here, but he's gone now. And Taako doesn't think he'll come back.]

And there's always shit that makes people stupid.

[As if to expand on that point, he holds up a hand to let flame curl around his fingers. Taako would do stupid, reckless things for Lup. Rin would do the same for his sister.]

i. hanging lanterns.

[people keep... giving him lanterns. he manages to refuse some of them - politely - but when the whole festival first starts happening, it leaves cassian feeling very uncomfortable. they are lanterns for the dead; he is the dead. does that mean someone should be making one for him? memoria. like the way rogue one is memorialized in their deaths.]

[he listens on the outside sometimes of some of the locals telling their stories, mostly to tell himself it's to get a better sense of these people and this place. the reality is maybe he just... wonders how people deal with their grief and death. it's not something he's tackled head on much. he doesn't really know how to mourn properly, on account he's never really gotten the chance. he never wanted to try.]

[there's a lot about this that's making him very emotionally uncomfortable. not only does he think about the people he misses, but he thinks about the people he's killed. he didn't even always know their names. their failies probably mourned them. catch him sulking and brooding off on the sidelines, very stiff and still.]

[sometimes he just doesn't want any of this lantern business, so he holds them out towards the nearest person. if you don't take them, they're gonna fall! what a tragedy pls stop it!] Here. All yours.

ii. floating lanterns.

[he doesn't want to write any of his feelings on the lantern. cassian has a hard enough time dealing with them internally and too much experience tucking them away to feel safe baring his soul, so to speak, on a lantern that's going to float away who knows where.]

[he does write names though. on a grayish lantern, he draws the symbol of the rebellion and writes K-2SO. on a blue one, he draws little stars in red and yellow, this time with the names Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus. a red one, Bodhi Rook, with the bravest pilot scrawled hastily underneath.]

[on two white lanterns, he writes his parents' names. he wonders again if he should write his own name, but what would he even want to tell himself? that's a little too much self reflection. part of him feels silly sitting here quietly under a tree near the river with so many lanterns, but he's been so unhappy about mortality thanks to this stupid holiday that anything feels worth a try. maybe it'll be as cathartic as everyone says.]

iii. down with the sickness.

[jyn gets sick first. it's a strange position to be in, that of a caregiver. he knows how to keep himself alive in battle, undercover, but illness is another area entirely. he feels a little out of his element.]

[a few days into it, he's perusing a grocery store and stockpiling ingredients in his basket for what's clearly soup. or several kinds of soup. that's what's on the menu, for jyn and maybe if any other of his friends are falling ill too. only when he finds himself prodding at some of the spices, cassian is suddenly hit with a heavy wave of dizziness.]

[it startles him and he grabs the shelf to keep his balance. after a few moments he presses his fingers to his forehead and finds his skin has gotten very warm. his throat has been a little scratchy all day, but he's been ignoring it like he's always done when it comes to vaguely sick symptoms. but he's finding that quite suddenly he's having a hard time keeping upright. this is definitely jyn's fault.]

iv. wildcard.

[ hit me up ! come visit him being a sick grumpy lump. ]

Edited 2018-05-08 02:13 (UTC)

True.

But I would think he learned the measure of himself while he was here. Those who are lost do not go back. Those who know what they need to do return.

That's real poetic and shit, bubbale, but I saw his memories. I still have fucking nightmares about it.

[He won't go into detail, but there are reasons Taako worries beyond just his general lack of optimism.]

I'm never gonna know, that's what fucking sucks.

[ Ah. That's true enough. ]

No. But is that better than knowing the worst?

[The former Commander is proudly wearing his Perimeter Guard uniform as he walks the streets he's learned quickly, but he stops short at the sight greeting him. To say that he is surprised to see Dorian waiting for him is a bit of an understatement. Not that isn't happy to see the other man, but Dorian's made his disdain for the barracks well-known.

Not that has stopped him from coming to play occasional games of chess with Cullen when both are free.

However, there's usually some warning.]

Of course, but to what do I owe this occasion of seeing you?

Nah, I think I'd rather have the truth, whatever it is.

[At least for something like this. The lack of certainty is worse, leads to far too many worried thoughts. If he knew, one way or another, he could let it go.]

[ Loki nods. ]

That's fair.

Well, he'll have to come in for work anyway.

[Yes, the cranky wizard is also a cranky doctor.

Who can teleport and won't stay anywhere he doesn't want to be, but he's just. Not going to mention that to Victor.]

Loki said that awhile back. Mentioned that you and Wanda are both reality warpers in your universe.

[He's still not sure how to classify the Wanda from his own universe; Wanda does whatever it is she does, and nobody really knows how.]

Uh-huh. What's the last actual meal you ate? One with multiple food groups.

[Yeah, he's calling you out.]

I think that's the opposite of flirting, Stark. [A weak grin. He knows perfectly well how shitty he looks right now.]

"Are you wanting to go there then?" Athelstan questions and at least the fact that they're in conversation and Athelstan already has a lantern seems enough to keep people from bothering them with the lanterns.

Hey, Shuri.

[Sam gives her a weak wave and a smile, about all he can manage by way of greeting.]

About...three days before I came here, another two days in the hospital. Gotta say, I'm about ready to go home now.

[Except he obviously can't, since his illness shows no sign of relenting.]

[tommy doesn’t like to dwell on the past. yeah, losing cassie and jonas sucked a lot, but there was nothing to be done about it. would getting all depressed about their deaths do any of them any good? no. nope. not at all.

especially not billy. billy, who practically went comatose after it happened. billy, who quit the young avengers over it. billy, who blamed himself, and if there’s something neither of them needs, it’s a repeat of billy’s super-sized mope attack.

tommy bets his twin is down here by the river with the others, so he zips through the crowd looking for him, pausing every so often to search the faces for the one that mirrors his own. wanda’s singing catches his attention, though - he stops to listen, curious, quiet until she’s finished.]

What’s that mean?

[guess who’s never heard sokovian before.]

"Yes." If he was heading toward the university then that was clearly where he wanted to go, but it's fine. He's not bothered by that. He's pretending not to be bothered by any of this. It's all a delusion, after all, a fiction of the mind possibly initiated by Thomas Warren.

This man (delusion) wasn't awful though. He was at least helpful.

( except wanda was never a mutant, psych marvel 616!! giving weird as shit plot stuff four hundred years after another thing was said, because #comics. the gross washcloth is discarded with a flick of his wrist, nose wrinkled before billy turns his attention back to sam. )

Yeah, but she uses a lot more spell-based stuff than I do.

[this ... is not fine, this is the opposite of fine!! luckily, being a speedster means tommy’s got super-quick reflexes, so when billy passes out, tommy catches him before he hits the ground.

and promptly begins to panic, because WHAT THE HELL, BILLY. tommy gives him a brisk shake, and when that fails to wake him, he carries billy through the door and starts yelling for whoever might be home:]

Hey!! Need some help in here!!

[He makes a ticking sound with his tongue, shaking his head.]

Neither was I, not some thirty minutes past, and yet here I am, burdened with the task of ensuring all my fellow residents have a lantern within which to light a candle for some lost loved one or another.

[And while his tone suggests he's ultimately annoyed at the concept of such a holiday, he hasn't simply abandoned his clutch of lanterns now has he?]

Ten years ago, there was a sorrowful epidemic in the Quarantine. The irony of that not withstanding, this festival is in honor of their losses. Over time, it's come to mean something of a national time of mourning for all those who have been lost along the way, and the lanterns are a signal for the spirits of the departed, that they may find their way into the next life. Poetic, really.

We refer to the as "Annums" on Thedas. There is typically one per month, some are jolly holidays, others somber remembrances. Your birthday is an Annum, but so is the anniversary of your first hamster's death, should you have had such an attachment. "Annum" simply signifies it is something which occurs annually on a given date.

[He nods at Stan to continue, though.]

What sorts of holidays do you celebrate on Earth, Stan?

Yes, I'm aware. It was sarcasm.

[And yet he's smiling when he says it. He's rather used to people taking him seriously.]

Yes, that does sound rather dour, what with the wanton destruction of worlds and the countless souls lost.

[He shifts the weight of his bundle to stay a bit and chat, because she's already struck him as remarkably interesting.]

Tell me, do you often lead with that? How is anyone supposed to follow?

[ The thing is, in a pinch Tommy's voice sounds an awful lot like Billy's especially when panicky, so when Loki jogs around the top of the main staircase he blinks in surprise for a moment .. then gets over it and promptly rushes down to meet them. ]

He's supposed to be in hospital, what happened?

[ He doesn't wait to be handed Billy's lax body as alarm starts to sink coldly into his bones, reaching to take him. ]

[ Her comment has him laughing, and he nods his head in mock shame. ]

It's been many a century since I was the age of twelve. As for this - [ He strokes his beard and gives his moustache a tweak. ] - That, my maiden fair, is my best kept secret.

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Page 12 of 76

monthly mingle: MEMORIA

floormates!

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cassian andor | ota

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ii

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iii.

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