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

iii

[yokunaru]

[Noctis' pen goes flying right into Yuuri's path, dropping into the shallow water with a plop, and sending some droplets flying onto the lantern that Yuuri was about to send out. Thanks, bro.

Thoroughly bemused, Yuuri looks over at him with a frown.]

Was that yours?

[heavyhead]

[Aha, oops, he should just go home and pretend he didn't even come out here today. Or rather, he tries giving this guy an apologetic look, eyes darting down to the lantern to see how much damage he did. Aaa...]

That depends on how mad you'll get. [ha ha.... no, okay] I mean—yeah.

[yokunaru]

[Lucky for him, the ink's slightly blurred in some places, but overall it doesn't look like the water did that much damage. Yuuri nibbles at his bottom lip, thinking, before giving a little shrug.]

It's not too bad. The lantern can still float. [Which is what matters in the end.] What were you doing anyway?

[heavyhead]

[Crisis averted... For the most part. He still doesn't have a pen now.]

Brainstorming. [.....] Trying to. Sorry about that.

[yokunaru]

[Yuuri's eyes study Noctis intently, before finally he offers a small smile.]

Don't worry about it. You didn't do it on purpose. [It's what he's guessing, at least. Yuuri leans down, poking around in the water until he finally comes up with the wayward pen.]

I think this is yours. [Once he's closer, Yuuri offers it to him.] Not sure if it works anymore after being in the water, though.

[heavyhead]

Uh- [He doesn't have to fish around in the water for it?? Noctis watches this in mild wonder, then looks between Yuuri and the pen a few times before gingerly accepting it back.

Yep, it's dripping...] You really shouldn't have.

[yokunaru]

[Leave the fishing for actual fish, Noctis!!]

Well... [Yuuri smiles at him tentatively.] You've been brainstorming what to write. It would be a shame if you weren't able to put it all down on the lantern because you lost your pen.

[heavyhead]

[No!!!!]

Yeah... I mean, it's still a pen, just full of water now. [Yuuri, he fucked this up, help.]

[yokunaru]

[Yuuri pauses, and then lets a tiny snort of a laugh escape at the way he said it.]

I guess you have a point. [Get it....no? Never mind, then.] Um, I have a couple pens on hand, if yours isn't working anymore. I promise they're not full of water.

[Help is here!! Maybe.]