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

[howlongiwonder]

Not really. I don't mind presence of others.

[She doesn't actively seek it either, though.]

I didn't expect to see you here, that's all.

Maybe you're the one who wanted to be alone?

[mannerism]

There would have been better spots, if I did.

[ perhaps she implies that while she doesn't outright asks for company, she wouldn't really mind hers. ]

Would you like some tea?

[howlongiwonder]

There's no need, I don't really drink. Eat or drink, except water that is.

[She explains rather hastily, then adds just as quickly, one hand resting on the railing while she turns towards Peggy.]

Ah, but don't let me stop you if you want to drink something yourself.

[mannerism]

Why only water?

[ she pours herself some tea, adds no sugar. after a moment, she reaches for the cream. the hell with it, she's going through a Week. It's a good thing she isn't going to search for another scotch. ]

[howlongiwonder]

I derive energy and sustenance from it. But, the more impurities there are in the water, the harder it is for my filter.

[2B explains while observing the unofficial tea ceremony with polite interest.]

Some androids like to eat from time to time, or even drink alcohol. But it's unnecessary, and can even be dangerous...

[mannerism]

And the water in Quarantine, are they clean enough for your needs?

[ and as it turns out, she's a curious creature and she neglects her tea for a moment, apparently as interested in the other woman as she is in her. ]

I've never heard the term. Android. Not-human, I assume? Or are there many such non-human beings?

[howlongiwonder]

Yes. An artificially created being that resembles a human. I heard the term "robot" used too, but "android" is more accurate. There is a lot of us - I didn't meet or see a human being before I arrived here, but I met many other androids.

[2B seems pretty comfortable explaining what she is, probably due to experience. As a matter of fact, she sounds a little satisfied, for some reason.

Then she realizes there's an unanswered question she left behind.]

Ah, and yes. The water here is good enough for me.

[mannerism]

Then I am new to you as you are to me. If it weren't for the city, I am certain I wouldn't have met an android.

[ the future seems so odd to her but no part of her is sure of robots or whether she'd live to see one, even if they do exist. ]

Are there others like you here?

[howlongiwonder]

No. If there were other androids, I would know already.

[A quick answer. 2B doesn't sound happy about it though.]

Most people I could talk with here came from places that do not have anyone like me. Primitive machines may be developed, but no androids.

I don't mind.

[In fact, she almost sounds relieved to say that.]

[mannerism]

Do all of them ask so many questions?

[ she's willing to confess to being curious to the verge of perhaps a bit too inquisitive. Lord knows if this android woman is comfortable with this line of questioning. She leans back in her seat. ]

You've been well, I hope?

[howlongiwonder]

Some of them. When they hear of my nature.

I don't mind.

[She repeats herself, but now sounds much more casual. Her next words carry something unusual for what 2B says - a level of sympathy.]

Androids were made to serve and protect humans, after all. If this is the way I can do it then, yes. I've been well.

[mannerism]

Your non-human one?

[ and yet she doesn't mind. not one depending on others' opinions or their sympathy. in a very human way, peggy can relate to that. ]

Are all the humans in the city worth your protection, do you think?

[ she won't imply they aren't. peggy's own duty is to protect others, if they deserve it and if they don't. ]

[howlongiwonder]

[2B nods in confirmation - to both of Peggy's questions, as it turns out.]

Definitely. There is no doubt about it.

[An idealistic point of view. Perhaps unexpectedly so.]

[mannerism]

[ she smiles, just a bit. she reminds her of someone, a wiry little man turned hero of his time. someone peggy sought to be a little more like in her own line of work. ]

Well, I hope they know they're very fortunate.

[howlongiwonder]

[She tilts her head with a surprised expression. It takes 2B a second to register what did Peggy mean.]

Ah. I... see.

[Unusually for the reserved android, she actually looks abashed right now.]

Thank you, Peggy Carter.