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

[generalginger]

[It seems like they are in agreement in this regard, and it's refreshing.]

All of this time and energy is better spent focused on something that actually matters.

If someone is going to fixate on anything, it should be the future rather than the past. The dead can only contribute their past accomplishments and mistakes.

[hellshot]

[Thank god. A conversation with someone who gets it and isn't a complete sap for things like this. It's a rare feeling, actually being comfortable with small talk with a stranger, for once.]

You'd think with all the time they spend on parties and festivities in this place, they'd have time to fix the state of it. The walls are pathetic in terms of defense, and yet it seems there's more time spent here partying or celebrating than actually doing anything useful.

I'd almost prefer to be back out in space, then watching everyone celebrate people who are dead.

[Says the man who is dead.]

[generalginger]

It's foolish and naive, and seems to go hand-in-hand under administrations which are too weak to lead. This is the sort of thing which lulls the oblivious into a false sense of security, and being so unaware of potential dangers can lead to a disaster.

[He has a lot of opinions, but he at least has plans to fix what he can in the time that he's here.]

Space? [He nods, after a moment. Hux is mostly surprised at the mention, but he can relate.] I've always preferred being among the stars.

[hellshot]

Seems apt for a place like this. Have you been outside the walls? It's amazing that they'll even pull people to a place this dangerous without any sort of attention to what kind of people are showing up. A lot of civilians and non-combatants.

[And while there are definitely people who CAN defend themselves... Why should he be forced to fight to protect people he had absolutely no affiliation with? He really wasn't interested in this sort of life.

He waves a hand at Hux, lifting his shoulders up a bit.]

Can't say I'm too familiar with it. But it's where I was, four months prior to arriving here. At least up there, I had some sense of purpose instead of idling around while people have parties and settle into a 'new life' far from home.

[generalginger]

I must confess I haven't extensively explored much of the area yet-- [Such was the case for many of the newer arrivals, he assumed.] --but I already questions their methods.

There are many pros and cons in regard to frequent space travel. [He pauses, just for a moment.] At least up there, there is no room for waste. Be it opulence or those who are unable to contribute efficiently.

[hellshot]

I've gone outside the walls a bit. And I've searched a bit inside, as well, given my living situation isn't one I'm keen on. I don't need sleep as much as normal people do, so it's better to go out and see what we're dealing with on this rock.

[Because while it's not Earth, which is admittedly more of a mess right now than this place is--it's still not home.]

...Haa. 'Waste'.

Something else we agree on.
At least on that damn ship I had a job and a focus. Down here it's all fucking 'get along with the residents and try not to die of boredom'.

[He's not bitter at all.]

[generalginger]

I've always found sleep to be something that gets in the way of productivity.

[If he looks like he's not stepped outside in his entire life and only slept a very limited amount... well, this is part of the reason.]

Surely there is a way to change your housing circumstances?

[He's glad that he has own private housing. He doubts his ability to cope with obnoxious roommates.]

It's convenient, being here. There was a strict schedule for everyone to adhere to on my ship, and there was none of this idleness. It helps that we are in the middle of a war there, but still.

[hellshot]

I'm looking into a change of surroundings. Trust me.

[He's been cross about his arrangements ever since he's arrived, after all.]

Due to the fact that I don't sleep much, I hate being in an empty space. [He looks at the other, his head tipping back. The mention of war makes the next part of his explanation easy.]

Empty spaces lead to silence which leads your mind drifting off to shit you've experienced in war. Which leads to itchy fingers which leads to no-where good for anyone.

[He waves a hand.]

[generalginger]

[He can understand this, he thinks.]

This is why I dislike idleness. The mind doesn't wander if I'm too busy to allow it. [The downside to this periodically falling asleep at his desk in the late hours of the cycle--or early, depending upon how you want to look at it.]