monthly mingle: MEMORIA

[riverviewmod]

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!

navigation

Comments

Dorian Pavus | Dragon Age

[tevinteraltus]

→ i. hanging lanterns ←

[Dorian isn't actually certain why one of the locals has decided he needed a bundle of lanterns to hand out to the wandering masses. He was only walking down to the market for grapes, wine, and cheese. Perhaps he was looking a little melancholy after Magnus' departure or...looked like someone who'd have a happy face, or a warm smile for someone to take a lantern from. As it stands, he frowns down at the bundle of unlit lanterns he's carrying rather than his targeted groceries, and he's not above stopping anyone who passes by to offer them one. The sooner he rids himself of them, the sooner he can have his wine at home. In peace. And think about all the people he's lost. Alone.

That wasn't the point of this holiday, was it?]

Pardon. [Ugh.] In light of the holiday, though it hardly feels it deserves the name. Holiday suggests something jolly doesn't it? [He shakes his head.] Take a lantern, would you?

[Please?]

→ ii. sharing life | Closed to Cullen ←

[Among the chatter regarding how this particular holiday was traditionally celebrated was treating friends to dinner, something Dorian could, most certainly, do. Especially when one such friend made it a point to simply...persist in that damned Barracks of his. The communal nature of the place was such that Dorian was able to stride right in, and he did so Thursday evening, dressed casually (for Dorian), after the scheduled end of Cullen's patrol.]

Commander, would you care to join me for dinner?

→ iii. floating of the lanterns ←

a. for a friend he should have seen off | ota

[For all his desire to avoid all the memorial this holiday was seemingly trying to force on everyone, and for all he wanted nothing but to ignore it, after being handed lanterns earlier in the week, he'd kept two, because there was a man who'd been a stalwart companion and ally wars and averting apocalypse had never allowed him to properly send off. He joined the other residents at the riverside, where he didn't anticipate privacy, but there was at least the minor chance his remembrance would be lost in the sea of others being sent off down the river to floating into the sky.

The mage wasn't an artist, and had never been gifted with words keen for the expressing of emotion, but, in his neat script, using a charcoal pencil with a thick tip, he wrote neatly across the side of the lantern the simple sentiment, "You always were the best of us. Vitae benefaria." His smile is slightly sad as he expands the lantern, but hesitates when it comes to actually heading toward the river. Why did this feel so much like letting go?]

b. and for a father he never forgave | closed to Iona

[Letting go of Felix's lantern was even worse than he'd anticipated, but the second lantern he'd brought, devoid of inscription for several moments after staring at its side panel, was meant for someone else. There were so many things roiling in his head, in his chest, so many arguments, so many days spent wondering if today would be the day he would tell Dorian he was proud, the day Dorian would hear that his choices didn't matter, that he was his son, that he loved him-

-but that day had never came. Instead, a token appointment and a brief meeting had sent him back to the South, to his friends to be sure, but also, apparently to safety. Then a letter, a congratulatory letter at that, regretting a death and welcoming him to the seat that death had vacated.]

Why didn't you tell me?

[And it was asked of a lantern. How foolish was this evening? So wrapped up in his own mind was he that he didn't notice the whisper quiet elven maiden approach...]

→ v. Wildcard ←

[Have something you want to thread out? Hit me up on plurk @ vikael or drop me a PM on Dorian's journal.]

i

[breqintopieces]

[Just out of the hospital, with a basic stipend and a place to stay with not much in it, Breq has taken the chance of one of her first real days of strength to go hunt down Riverview's markets.

She's just found one when Dorian corners her just as he was cornered in return, and stops abruptly short when he approaches. Despite his plea, she doesn't immediately reach out to take one of the lanterns. Instead she looks him and his armful over, then tilts her head.]

I'm not familiar with the occasion.

[tevinteraltus]

[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.

[breqintopieces]

Hm. Most remembrances for the dead are, I've found. And equally religious.

[She's eying the lanterns, now, more thoughtfully, but she still hesitates rather than reaching out to take one. Instead she brings her attention up, giving Dorian another look over to take him in, lanterns and all.]

If you haven't heard of it, you're either not poetic, religious, or new to the Quarantine. [A question, phrased like a statement, as she evaluates. She still hasn't had a chance to get used to the style of the Quarantine, and this place is a hodge-podge of refugees from so many places-- her chances of reading much from Dorian's manner and dress are slim to none.]

[stantheman]

[ Stan takes the lantern without much of a second thought but he smiles slightly at Dorian's comment about holidays being jolly. There's plenty of holidays that he can think of that may not be sad but have a more sober and reflective tone in the way that this sort of does. ]

The word isn't the most accurate with how people perceive it but is there another word to denote a day that is special? There were some that weren't jolly where I'm from.

[tevinteraltus]

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?

[stantheman]

Annums.

[ Stan repeats the word after the other had given the explanation and then nods. It seems like a good word and perhaps a better way to describe important dates regardless of what the mood of such a day would be. ]

There's all sorts of holidays and different people have different ones sometimes. Like, in my country we celebrate the 4th of July which is the Independence day of our country... with religions it's even more different, I think.

I'm Jewish and our most solemn holiday is Yom Kippur... it's about atonement and repentance and a lot of people fast for a long time and pray a lot on the day. Different people observe it differently, though but it's a day for making things right. It's not really sad but it's not really jolly either.

i

[tetherer]

[The Tetherer gives the man a sympathetic smile and takes his offered lantern, lightening his load at least a little.]

Many holidays aren't jolly. Days of remembrance come in many flavors. There is a different holiday on the Nexus for each of the Destroyed worlds' passing, for example.

[Though the general feelings associated with said holidays are a mixture of positive and negative, considering which worlds are generally slated for Destruction. It's complicated.]

[tevinteraltus]

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?

[tetherer]

[Oof. "The wanton destruction of worlds and the countless souls lost." The Tetherer frowns deeply, pondering if they should take more lanterns. That doesn't stop them from keeping up with the jovial tone of the conversation, though it is darkly so.]

I do lead with that one quite often. It gets mixed results, since usually I'm the one asking the other person to do the Destroying.

[They realize what that might sound like, and double back on the wry tone.]

It's... for the greater good, you see.

iii. Fora friend

[luckyescape]

It's hard, isn't it? [Freya steps up next to Dorian, her light stormy gray eyes following the sea of lanterns. She'd come and released a lantern like many of the other people here but she's been trying to keep her loved ones far from her thoughts. Her eyes look sideways at Dorian.] How are you holding up? [She hasn't seen him a lot recently, besides their occasional short conversation about books, and she's curious about him.]

[tevinteraltus]

[He looked to the smaller woman as she took a place beside him, but it was a brief glance, and he turned back to the river, and the orange lights floating down its flow in the twilight. It was beautiful, really, and there was something almost comforting about it. It did, though, have a sense of finality. It really was a lovely little ritual, all things considered.]

I assume by "it" you mean "letting go of those who've already passed on"? No. Not really. You hardly have a choice.

[He frowned and hazarded another glance in her direction before returning to the procession.]

I'm sorry? How am I "holding up"? I have no idea to what you're referring. This isn't a funeral, after all, and even if it were, you're certainly under no obligation to offer your condolences.

[luckyescape]

True but you look like someone stabbed you with a pencil.

[Her head tilts curiously to the side but, after a moment, she goes back to staring at the lanterns. It is pretty though Freya doesn't know if the gesture makes her feel any better about those she's lost.]

I figured something was wrong.

[She keeps her voice soft and her eyes facing forward.]

You can tell me to bugger off if you'd like.

ii

[happiertimes]

[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?

ii

[tevinteraltus]

[Dorian crosses his arms when addressed by the Commander, giving him a glance over and shaking his head. Like clockwork, this one, only without the incessant need for winding.]

When did you last break this routine, Cullen?

[happiertimes]

[Excuse him for finding practicality and utility in a routine. No, wait, don't, because he's not sorry and he doesn't really care that Dorian might find him boring for that. It is who he is.]

Returning to the barracks after a shift? Never. Of course, I prefer to be clean before going to a restaurant to have dinner. I'm sure the other diners appreciate my need to bathe.

i.

[lykou]

Uh... okay. You don't want to hang these up yourself?

[ Ryan takes a lantern and stares at it for a moment, as though he doesn't know what it is. He does, but he's more perplexed by the question. ]

I don't think a holiday has to be jolly, but I think there's still something soothing in coming together to recognize those we've loved and lost. It's not... jolly, but it does feel good. I think.

[tevinteraltus]

All of them? Do I look like the Quarantine's decorator? [He does smirk at that. The Quarantine could use one, after all.]

Yes, I know, that was mostly a joke. [And he's gotten used to needing to point that out at this point.] I suppose if one prefers to bleed their wounds through conversation. I find wine to be a valid substitute.

[That being said, and also at least slightly in jest, Dorian shifts the burden of the lanterns slightly so as to accommodate staying for a moment for conversation.]

I don't believe I've seen you about before. [And at the next he inclines his head in greeting.] Dorian Pavus.

[lykou]

You... might?

[ Honestly, he doesn't know what that would look like to know if this man didn't look like the Quarantine's decorator... that's a bit out of his purview, anyway. Best to just hand the lantern on a nearby tree branch. ]

Oh, uh. Ryan. Fielding. You probably haven't, I'm new here. --hand me another one.

iii b.

[stumbledfromtheashes]

[Iona’s not quite sure how she feels about this particular event. It’s dragging up things she’d prefer went ignored. She’s been doing such a fantastic job before. She’s done her best to avoid having a lantern thrust into her hands. After all, she’s lost nothing. It’s those around her who have. Including their lives. And she’s not quite sure she has any right to release a lantern for Hawke.

But when she catches sight of Dorian she goes. There’s something about his manner, the way he’s holding himself and how he’s regarding the lantern in his hands that... concerns her. So she goes, quickly and quietly.

And when she nears him, hears the question he asks of his lantern... something twists in her stomach.] Dorian?

[tevinteraltus]

[He started at the sound of her voice, lowering the lantern in his hands as though doing so would distract from it in some odd way. He quickly and carefully crafted a pleasant smile for his friend and turned, not quite meeting her eyes. He was a very good liar, but the eyes sometimes had a hard time selling it.]

Iona. Good evening.

[He'd filtered through several responses. "What brings you here?" chief among them. Pointless. Telling.]

[stumbledfromtheashes]

[She doesn’t believe his smile for an instant. She knows him. And while he’s a very good liar, she also saw him before he could start pretending for her. He greets her and she lets it go right by her, focusing on what’s important.

Her friend. Her family. And whatever it is that he’s going through.]

What did you mean, ‘Why didn't you tell me?’ What happened?

[Talk to her, Dorian. Please.]

[mistyday]

[Misty doesn't exactly know what's going on, but far be it from her to ever refuse anything free.]

Sure! But uh... what's it for exactly?

[tevinteraltus]

I've been told it's for remembrance of those who have departed the mortal coil. Something to honor them or...invite them to visit. Whatever it is you may believe, really.

[He rolls his shoulder in a slight shrug.]

I suppose everyone has lost someone haven't they?

[mistyday]

[She nods as she takes the lantern from him.]

My daddy.

[About the only person she wants to remember, anyway.]