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

finn | ota

[bythehand]

[ iii. floating of the lanterns.

Finn is reminded, strangely, of the way he'd felt in those first few days he spent in the city-- of standing by a bonfire with a blank piece of paper in his hand, something he was meant to write out losses on, things he wanted to let go. He never could think of the words. Just folded it up and let it burn the way it was. Pushed off thinking. Set his eyes forward.

The longer he's here, the harder it gets to keep resetting that way.

He's starting to realize he doesn't know how to do this, once he's observed the bulk of the festivities. How it's supposed to work. Mourning. It's easy to think about obvious things first, from where he's standing, to think about certain people-- about whole planets blown out of the sky, or Han Solo, or Resistance shuttles getting picked off with good people inside of them.

Then he thinks about Slip. He always does, when it comes to things like this.

Stormtroopers don't get funerals. He's killed more than a few since he defected. He'll kill more before the war is close to over. They'll get left where they fall. If things hadn't changed, if he hadn't changed, he wouldn't even question why it mattered.

Anyone in their galaxy, he would understand them not mourning the loss of a soldier who was trying to shoot them on command. He can't hold that against them.

But the army that raises those soldiers. No names, no families, no choice, at least give them something in the end.

It doesn't seem fair.

The lantern Finn picks is simple, not particularly big. All straight edges and stark white paper. It stays blank for a long time. He really isn't sure how to do this. It doesn't feel right to leave it empty. After a while, he steels himself to do what he normally does when he's out of his depth and not sure he can do something on his own.

He starts asking for help.

Finn is gonna be on the prowl with his (hopefully increasingly cluttered-looking) lantern and a handful of different colored pens. He'll approach anyone who doesn't seem to be preoccupied or unwilling to brook company. The mood of the day is: intense, yet sincere. ]

Can I ask you a favor?


[ v. wildcard.

For other miscellaneous options. Finn will technically be around some of the story-sharing parties, but he wouldn't be in any kind of a telling mood, so it seemed moot to make an opener for that. I'm up for planning out whatever and willing to write closed starters! hmu at comatoseroses or by PM! ]

sticks m legy out

[spellslots]

[It's been a long time since he's word a red robe, enough that he's still in the habit of calling it that, rather than thinking of it as the IPRE uniform. Technically, it's not even his, because god knows where his own robe is, but Lup had arrived in hers and Taako has stolen it for this, not particularly wanting to be recognizable. It's why the hood is up as he sits on the shore, a black, unadorned lantern in front of him, though he's looking out at the water rather than at the lantern for now.

He hears someone approaching but doesn't think much of it, until he hears a familiar voice addressing a stranger nearby; they (gently) brush Finn off, obviously a little wrapped up in their own grief, so with a sigh Taako straightens up a little and calls out:]

We gotta stop meeting like this, bubbale.

the Content

[bythehand]

[ Getting people to give him a moment has been a toss-up. He kind of figured it would be, all things considered. Finn's long-term plan is to get better at gauging who's more preoccupied than they initially seem. He'll have to see where that puts him. So far, he's gotten a few takers. A couple of nice words scribbled onto the sides of his own lantern, one or two small drawings or names.

The names, he thinks, are less for him and more for the people who wrote them. But he doesn't mind sharing the space. It's a lantern for people. And for the people some of them might have been.

He wasn't expecting to see Taako, though. That's a credit to the effectiveness of the robe, at least. Finn hesitates a little, not sure if he might be intruding on another in a line of private moments he's accidentally trodden on today. But he figures if Taako was willing to call out, he probably isn't completely set against the company. And that's enough to draw him over. ]

Not sure we'd ever actually meet if we did that.

[ It's safe to say that comes out more gently than his usual fare. ]

You doing okay?

[spellslots]

[It's true and he should say it; Taako huffs out a laugh, shrugging in amused agreement at that assessment, since it really does seem that most of the time they run into each other, some kind of nonsense is going down. Maybe one day they'll go to the movies or something like normal people.]

I'm good, just uh, deciding how dramatic I wanna get with this, you know?

[Sort of making it into a joke instead of acknowledging feelings, which is the Taako way.]

You a little lost with the whole process or just making friends?

i

[breqintopieces]

Hm?

[Looking up from the package she's balancing, including the lantern still flat and tucked neatly under one of her arms, Breq is expressionless, mouth already opening to decline with polite distance whatever solicitation is coming, when something stops her. Maybe it's the handful of pens, or maybe it's Finn's aura of determination. Whatever the case, what comes out of her mouth is instead,]

What sort?

[bythehand]

[ Verdict two seconds in: could be worse. ]

The fast sort? [ He sure hopes so??? He raises his own lantern a little bit for illustration purposes. Offers a jerky half-shrug. Now that he's trying to consider his pitch in real-time, he's realizing it's maybe not the kind of thing anyone could be smooth or casual about. Kind of makes him feel better about not knowing what he's doing tbh. ] I'm not good with decorating yet. Or the memorial thing. So I wanted to ask if you could-- I don't know. Put a word or... a nice name or something on here. I'd appreciate it.

[ Finn then glances down and seems to finally take stock of the fact that she's a little busy with Holding Things. ]

Sorry, I didn't really-- it's okay. If you're busy. I'd get it.

[breqintopieces]

[Ah, one of the lanterns. One of the things she still has tucked away somewhere among her things, waiting for her to decide what to do with. Right now it's shoved between two packages, to put the problem off a little while longer.

Speaking of those packages, after another moment of inscrutable staring at both Finn and his lantern, the packages get shifted, until they're propped up on one of her hips, leaving one hand free, which she holds out toward him.]

I can spare a word and a moment for that. Is it not for an individual?

[quiddities]

[ There's a lot about this tradition that has appealed to Gansey but mostly he's found himself feeling sad and his heart heavy. There hasn't been a lot of death in his life but when one of your best friends is a ghost who ends up disappearing for good it's hard to look at these lantern traditions without it bringing up a lot of questions about Noah.

Gansey's lost in his thoughts but he smiles at Finn easily, always good at masking his sadness. ]

Of course. How can I help you?

[bythehand]

[ Finn offers a very brief smile of his own in return, reflexively. Masking has never been his strongest suit. Not in situations like these, anyway. Open book is a more accurate term.

Then he hesitates for a moment, trying to think over his wording. He kind of gives up on that part. Almost immediately. When in doubt, be direct. ]

I was hoping I could get you to put something on here. If you don't mind. [ He indicates the lantern he's carrying. It's collected a so-far sparse gathering of little scribbles and drawings, that sort of thing. ] Doesn't really matter what it is. Names are fine. Pictures. Anything. Your choice.

[quiddities]

[ Gansey's head tilts ever so slightly at the request, curious. He's good enough at knowing what to say in most instances and he looks down at what is on the lantern. ]

Alright.

[ And, Gansey being Gansey opts for a poem:

How oft has the Banshee cried,
How oft has death untied
Bright links that Glory wove,
Sweet bonds entwin'd by Love!
Peace to each manly soul that sleepeth;
Rest to each faithful eye that weepeth;
Long may the fair and brave
Sigh o'er the hero's grave.

We're fall'n upon gloomy days!
Star after star decays,
Every bright name, that shed
Light o'er the land is fled.
Dark falls the tear of him who mourneth
Lost joy, or hope that ne'er returneth;
But brightly flows the tear,
Wept o'er a hero's bier. ]

It's by a poet named Thomas Moore. His words are far better than mine.

[ iii ]

[sentiences]

[ Dorian had mostly been helping to hang lanterns when Finn's request catches him off-guard with a faint but curious smile. ]

Of course. How may I help you?

[bythehand]

[ He's starting to get more used to the asking part. People don't always say yes, but they don't always say no, either. That in itself makes it worth trying more than once.

Besides, there are worse potential prospects than someone who was so-- well. Friendly. On friendr.

Finn raises his handful of pens for a moment. ]

I was wondering if I could get you to put something on this lantern. Doesn't really matter what it is. As long as it's-- you know, something good. Not looking for jokes.

[sentiences]

[ Dorian blinks. ]

Maybe flowers? Or do you want something more meaningful?

[tetherer]

[The Tetherer is surprised by the man's sudden approach, but they take one look at his lantern full of words and nod.]

You can ask anything.

[The intense sincerity is contagious, apparently.]

[bythehand]

[ On the sliding scale of reactions, this is much better than "no, I'm sorry." It's the little things sometimes. Finn nods back once, sort of a silent thanks for being willing to hear him out. ]

Would you be up for writing something on this? [ He indicates his lantern with a brief, jerky gesture. ] Or-- drawing something. You could just put a name on if you want, I wouldn't mind.

[tetherer]

Are you crowdfunding remembrance?

[They smile, joking, as they glance over his lantern, being a bit nosy and looking over what's there already.]

I'd be glad to.

Re: finn | ota

[mistyday]

[In truth, though Misty is far too familiar with death and loss, there are few people for her to truly mourn, she's been alone for so long. But she's drawn to the festival nonetheless, by the sense of loss and love that brings so many people to the riverbanks. When the stranger approaches her with his scrawled-over lantern and asking for help, she smiles softly.]

Sure thing - what d'you need?

[bythehand]

[ He's starting to get the hang of asking. There have been a few refusals-- none of them harsh, none of them mean, just a bit wrapped up in their own losses, their own ways of mourning. Finn doesn't hold it against any of them. All there is to do is ask someone else.

Because now and again, someone agrees without a second thought. ]

I'm asking people to add something to this. Whatever you want. And it's- okay if you don't want to. For the record. I'm not gonna get upset about it. I'm, uh. I'm just not good with these things.

[mistyday]

[She tilts her head, curious.]

I don't mind at all, but whose it for?

v. | closed | lionunchained

[bythehand]

[ Training has been a part of Finn's everyday life for... well, for his entire life. Things can be more relaxed in the Quarantine than they ever were back home, and in the months he's been here, settling into something of a routine didn't take too long. But it's not in his nature to start taking it easy, and part of him will always be seeking opportunities to learn something new or to improve on what he knows.

He spars with Jyn a lot. Can't get too used to doing things one way. Settling is a quick road to underestimation, and underestimation is a quick road to getting yourself killed. That's been a universal truth no matter where he is. In the end he's glad he went looking through friendr. He's met some interesting people through it, picked up some of the opportunities he's been looking for.

Shiro, as he finds out, is definitely one of them. He's a lot bigger than Jyn, but his speed sure doesn't seem to suffer for it. And it's safe to say he's more on the patient side than she tends to be. Any time he offers suggestions, they're pretty friendly and easy to understand. Finn can already tell he'll be sore later, but it's a well-earned soreness, the satisfying kind that comes from doing something new and challenging. Learning new people can be trickier. Finn is never against trying.

He's also really glad he offered to repay the favor with lunch, because when all's said and done, he's definitely hungry. It's pretty win-win for Finn all around today. Which is nice with the way the past couple of months have been going. ]

You been in the Quarantine long, Shiro?

[lionunchained]

[Shiro was more than happy to help people train. He'd been working with all of the paladins on it as much as possible since day one. He had the most experience with it after all. Of course given what he'd been through, training and being able to fight were important things in his life and he didn't want to slack here because who knew what was going to happen tomorrow.

It was the same for why he offered to train people. No one knew if they were going to need these skills tomorrow.

Finn definitely had some experience, but like he had said, not much experience with hand to hand so Shiro offered advice wherever he could so that Finn could be stronger with hand to hand when he ended than when he started.

Finally they were finished and he was definitely ready to get something to eat]

I've been here almost a year now. It's a couple of months short. What about you?

[childofaxios]

[ Chyler recognizes his voice before she sees him. He's addressing someone nearby, a bemused but receptive-looking woman, and Chyler can't help herself when she sees the paper lantern in his hands. ]

Finn?

[ She's sent hers off already, her little lantern ship with its catalogue of the dead. She'd been thinking about it, more and more, as people around her told their stories and she watched others sail their lanterns off into the night. Who do her friends mourn? Who have they lost, who will they never get back?

Part of her wants to send a lantern out for Orenski, Sully, and Tom, but she doesn't know they're dead. Just lost to her. And it seems too much like asking for bad luck to give them a lantern of their own.

She closes the distance between herself and Finn, smiling at the woman he was speaking to for a second before she focuses on him. ]

What do you need?

[ She'll give it if she can, no questions asked. ]

[bythehand]

[ -- hm. There really are days when he sees the acute truth to Taako's sentiment about running into people here. Not to say that Finn doesn't want to see Chyler, at any given point.

He's just been seeing the point today.

It's not necessarily a bad thing. The people he trusts, he trusts with things this important. And the people from other galaxies that he trusts-- well, it's a little easier to ask them outright than it feels to ask the handful of people from home. Things get complicated. He won't hold complicated against anyone if it comes to it.

He wonders what brings Chyler out. If she's taken care of hers, if there are a lot for her to take care of. If she's alright. ]

I'm just-- [ Words words words. Gotta git gud at words. He looks down at his lantern, up to the woman he'd approached. Back to Chyler. ]

Someone called it crowdsourcing. I'm not really good at this. Haven't done it before. So I've been asking people to add to it. If they want. I know it's kind of personal, so.

[ Shrug. Totally casual, what a casual day, no big deal here. If this weren't something that felt actually important, he'd probably be leaning against a thing and trying to act like he wasn't doing anything at all. ]

iii

[tempredmental]

[Keith had a lantern, and, while he really wasn't up for meeting people, his apparent participation in the ceremony made him an easy target for people asking for help. It wasn't super cluttered as Keith tended not to be a verbose person, and his handwriting was small and neat. The lantern itself was also somewhat simple. Keith didn't really have many attachments to things, so he'd just gotten something easy to put together. There was definitely a red and black color scheme to it, though, which went with his usual outfit choices.

He glanced up when he heard someone ask him for help.]

What's up?

[bythehand]

[ At a certain point, Finn started taking any lack of immediate "no, I'm sorry" as more success than failure. Sometimes a person has to deliberately set the goal low.

He's still kind of waiting for the part where it gets magically easier to ask anyone about this. ]

I'm not very-- good at this. [ He raises his own lantern a little bit, to indicate it. ] So I've been asking people to add to it. Whatever they want. If you want, I mean. It's fine if you don't. For the record. No hard feelings. I'd get it.