introductory mingle: MEMORIA

[riverviewmod]

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: Introductory Log and Memoria Commemoration
when: May 1st - May 8th
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 the evening of May 8th, 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. 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 the morning of May 9th.

iv. roommates or wildcard

Feel free to use this prompt to set up headers for a communal floor, or threads open to roommates for the purpose of getting to know each other. 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: glowconcepts, image ii: by trenchmaker, image iv: cherryorange; image iii: found uncredited on Pinterest - please let the mod know if you find credit!

navigation

Comments

[supersweet]

That is pretty cool.

[ Talking to animals. That would be amazing. Jon always liked to talk to animals, but they rarely talk back. ]

Was it any different from like . . . our society?

[ He's using that loosely. ]

[spellslots]

[Thinking about Lup still hurts, thinking about everything they've lost still hurts, but it's nice, to talk the less serious things. They never got to share it much, except amongst themselves.]

They didn't really do the whole tools thing, or clothes, so they still lived in burrows and nests and that sorta thing, but they had these like... royal animals? That were fucking huge, I'm talking a two storey bear and a wolf that could've eaten me in one go. My friend tried to fight the bear.

[Magnus is just. like that.]

[supersweet]

I wonder if Krypto would be like royalty . . .

[ It's hard to picture, but Krypto had an edge over other animals. ]

Why did he try and fight the bear? Was it because he wanted a challenge? Or did he just not like bears?

[spellslots]

Is he giant?

[Taako never got the full story of the animals of power, because he only rolled an 8 on his translation attempts, so he doesn't know if they were royalty because they were big, or they became big because of the royalty.]

Totally the challenge thing, he was pretty cocky when he was younger and he thought he could take on something called a power bear, cause he's an idiot.

[Even Lup "fight me" Taaco was not silly enough to think fighting one of the royal animals would be a good idea.]

[supersweet]

No, but Krypto shoots heat rays from his eyes. He also gets eaten a lot but he usually comes out of it okay.

[ After the second time, Jon is slowly getting numb to the possibility. ]

Yeah, something tells me if you fight someone with the word "power" in there, you're asking for it.

[spellslots]

Usually getting eaten doesn't go great for people, so I guess that'd make him pretty impressive.

[Getting eaten s u c k s

And he wishes he couldn't say that from experience.]

It kinda worked out in the end. Magnus got to train with the bear instead, so he learn some cool shit.

[supersweet]

[ Jon muses out loud. ] Maybe it's different for dogs . . .

[ He won't deny getting eaten sucks though. Come to think of it, his dad also had a habit of getting eaten . . . ]

What did he learn? Was it a new technique? A super power?

[spellslots]

If I ever get back to that plane I'll for sure ask about Krypto.

[He's never getting back to that plane, but that's okay.]

Uh, I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure what he learnt, I didn't know the guy super well back then. If he ever turns up I bet he'd tell you all about it.

[supersweet]

Maybe you could take Krypto!

[ Okay, no. Jon could never part with Krypto. ]

Yeah. I hope some of your friends show up.

[ A lump forms in his throat. He keeps hoping his dad would show up. His real dad. ]

[spellslots]

[The thought stings; he's realized that people can come from different times relative to each other, and the idea that Lup could show up feels like dying all over again.

He swallows it down, and grins.]

And what, let them tell all you guys that I'm not half as cool as I pretend to be? That'd be a tragedy.

[He misses them so much more, now that he remembers. It's not just a year and a bit of friendship, it's a century.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon's smile is wan. ]

It wouldn't be the worst thing.

[spellslots]

[Don't you smile wanly at him, kiddo.]

Magnus would try to fight your dad just to see if he could, we do not want him here.

[supersweet]

He'd lose. Everyone loses to my dad.

[ Jon can't remember a fight that his dad lost. . . . Which is probably for the best. He hasn't forgotten Doomsday. ]

[spellslots]

[Taako makes a bit of an uhhhh sound.]

I mean, yeah, Mags would totally lose. But I could kick his ass.

[#magic.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon's not sure if he buys it. Kryptonite is one thing and magic can hurt but it's never stopped his dad. ]

My dad? No way.

[spellslots]

[It'd depend on their initiative rolls.]

Not like I'd want to fight him, but I'm pretty good wizard.

[And they tested it, to see if Taako's spells worked on Clark.

On the plus side, if any red kryptonite comes through the portal, Taako can handle Clark.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon frowns. Well, this version of his father is still new to a lot of things. He didn't have a Fortress or fought Doomsday or knew Cousin Kara. It makes sense he's not that strong yet. ]

Yeah, I know you are. I guess I just have a hard time picturing my dad . . . y'know.

[spellslots]

[It scared Clark, but that's not something Taako is going to share. Instead, she smiles.]

As a t-rex? Cause that's the one good thing about him not being immune to magic.

[supersweet]

[ He blinks his unease away. ]

Did you turn him into anything?

[spellslots]

[There we go.]

Hell yeah I did, he seemed to have fun stomping around.

[supersweet]

I guess he would have fun. I'll probably pass on it.

[ Jon is less keen on being a dinosaur. He's fought dinosaurs after all. ]

[spellslots]

[That earns an arched brow.]

I would've put money on you being down for that.

[supersweet]

I like 'em but they ate Krypto.

He got better that time too.

[ But he brightens a little. ] I wouldn't mind being a bird. Being able to fly though.

[spellslots]

You know what, I'll pay that, totally acceptable reason.

[He's never had a pet but if something ate his pet he'd be pretty mad about it.]

And I can do birds, for future reference. Giant birds, even.

[supersweet]

[ His eyes go wide. ]

Like dinosaur giant??