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

i

[livingsymbol]

[Steve is helping his neighbors with the lanterns, passing them out to those that are interested and putting them up for people who need the extra hand. He's tying off one of the lanterns when he notices a familiar face. Of course Steve would be out during this festival. He finishes tying off the lantern and heads in the other blond's direction, smirking as he comes up to him.]

Have you handed out a lot of those? I like your technique.

[starspangled]

Believe it or not, I have. New ones just keep taking up the empty spaces.

[steve smiles back at him. that probably surprises the other man about as much as it surprises steve to find him hanging them up. it seems about right.]

I don't suppose I could interest you in a few more. I think I see a spot on that roof over there that doesn't have one.

[livingsymbol]

[The joke gets a warm chuckle out of Steve. Despite the discomfort of sharing a name (it always reminds him of the number of attempts made to make more of him), he likes the other man.]

I think between the two of us we could light up the whole town. I just hope that it makes them happy. It gives me something to do.

[starspangled]

The way this place loves its festivals, I'm sure there'll always be something to do.

[steve's not really complaining about that, even if he's not always big on celebrations himself. and this one...well, it hits home a little. he glances down at the lanterns thoughtfully.]

I think I'll keep one of these for myself. You know, for the whole being able to find my door in the darkness thing.

[livingsymbol]

I guess you're right. But I have never really been much of a party guy myself.

[Even though he says that, Steve does sound gently encouraged. This is a celebration of people, passing or not. It's respect and remembrance, and he can hold onto that.]

That sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should give them to some of our floor.

[He doubts a lot of them would really want that, but the thought at least makes him feel more connected to them.]

Maybe I'll keep one in case of emergencies. So I don't get lost in the dark.

[starspangled]

Hey, someone's gotta hold the walls up.

[that's where steve normally finds himself too, content to watch until someone approaches. this one feels like something that steve could actually take part in, and maybe should, he's just not sure that he will]

I'd find you, if Bucky didn't beat me to it.

[it's so genuine, it might be considered sweet if it wasn't so damn cheesy.]

Are your arms tired yet? We could always take a break.

[those words, on the other hand, are quite possibly fighting words.]

[livingsymbol]

[Steve grins slightly. Both because of the comment about being a wall flower--and, yes, he just isn't a social butterfly like some of his friends--and because of the offer to take a break. That tone is familiar. A teasing challenge that Steve appreciates almost as much as the assertion that his double would be there to help if he ever got lost.]

Is that your polite way of saying you need to sit down? I don't mind if you need to rest.

[Despite the fact he's teasing, there's a warmth in Steve's voice.]

Or were we planning on lighting up the whole town? It wouldn't look too bad. We could do it.

[starspangled]

[this is why steve likes him, one of the reasons, anyway. there's a give and take that feels familiar, equal. it's like joking with sam or bucky.]

We sure could, but then people might have a little trouble sleeping at night. [especially if they had enough lanterns hanging around to make it seem more like broad daylight.] Maybe we should slow down and chat for a bit, just to be on the safe side.

[livingsymbol]

[The teasing banter is a lot like home. He misses that comfortable relationship he used to have. Being in Riverview has reminded Steve that he can have conversations like that again. And hanging the lanterns with someone is a lot better than doing it alone.]

That's generous of you. Worried about someone pulling a muscle?

[He smiles, and the teasing settles into something gentler.]

How are things going with Bucky?

[starspangled]

They're going okay.

[it doesn't come out as reassuring as steve wanted it to. he's not discouraged himself, but he does still worry.]

He's taken all sorts of precautions, some of 'em a little extreme if you ask me. But if it keeps him from running away every time he sees me, I guess I can work around them. What else can I do?

[steve shrugs, the look in his eyes as they meet his saying it all: it's bucky. steve can't give it anything less than everything.]

I'm hoping more of his memories come back with a little time. And even if they don't, maybe he'll warm up to me.

[livingsymbol]

[He nods, because he can't figure Bucky out himself, but if Steve says it's okay, who is he to argue? And, according to the scruffy man, he isn't even the right Steve.]

Nothing. I would do the same thing.

[Or worse things. He's always tried to keep Bucky alive and give him that second chance at life that he deserved in his world. Even though he doesn't know their history in detail, Steve can relate to that look. Bucky is always first.]

He'll come back. There might be a way to restore his memories here.