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

[eyeforaneye]

I see.

So what you mean to say is... I'm giving you too much credit.

[heavyhead]

[bruh]

Yeah, sure, I'm the worst. Next I'll start littering.

[eyeforaneye]

... you took that a little too personally. All I mean is that I'm trying to figure out what sort of person you are, and the assumption that you'd come here willingly was incorrect.

[heavyhead]

Most people would just ask. Tip for next time.

[eyeforaneye]

I'll bear it in mind. [ It's impossible to tell if he's serious, which usually means he is. ]

... most everyone else here has spoken. It might be wise to leave.

[heavyhead]

[Either way, that is definitely his cue to leave. Listening is simple, sharing is not.

But,] Last chance. Not even one? [The cookies. Or he'll just peace out.]

[eyeforaneye]

You're still offering them to me in spite of the fact that it won't net you any real benefit?

[heavyhead]

Looks like it. Put that in your notes.

[He even wiggles the package. Yes/no????]

[eyeforaneye]

I intend to. Though it also makes you come across as a picky-- [ Ah. Wait. A picky eater? Why does that suddenly remind him of something?

He stops mid-sentence as he really looks at Noctis, noticing the few surface-level similarities between the two of them in terms of appearance. Ah. ]

You know Gladiolus. [ It isn't a question. ]

[heavyhead]

[Uh- okay. Is that really his reputation? Thanks Gladio, you're a terrible friend.]

Gladio? Since we were kids. Why?

[eyeforaneye]

Exactly as I suspected. [ But now the group is huddling in closer again, a sight that gives him pause. ]

... we can continue to talk about it elsewhere if you're interested. [ With an abrupt step back, dislodging himself from the tight-knit circle. ]

[heavyhead]

[If he's interested... That's one hell of an assumption, but he's definitely not interested in being still in this group, so he'll step back as well.]

Fine, lead the way.

[eyeforaneye]

[ That much he can do, turning his back on the group that indeed looks to the both of them as they make their escape. Not today. He slows his pace in order to accommodate Noctis and allow him to fall in line next to him before he speaks up again. ]

I assume then that you know he's here and has been for a while.

[heavyhead]

[A daring escape indeed. Noctis avoids making too much eye contact with anyone as they leave, since he will definitely not be able to say no to so many people, shuffling after Sasuke before he remembers the other unfortunate truth:

he doesn't even like this dude? Now they're walking together? What the heck.]

I guess. [fucking incredible]

[eyeforaneye]

[ Eat something sweet to get through these trying times. ]

... you do or you don't. "I guess" isn't a definitive response.

[heavyhead]

[But he doesn't waaaant these particular cookies.]

I do want you to get to the point. Do I look surprised to hear about him to you?

[eyeforaneye]

[ Buy some new cookies from the coffee shop. ]

No, but I'm trying to flesh out your connection. He's your protector?

[heavyhead]

[He's not allowed in there, impossible.]

Sort of? [Don't make him talk about being Literal Royalty, that's unnecessary.] I guess so, yeah. We're friends, it's not like I boss him around.