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

[dothelokimotion]

How does it work?

[ Do you prick your finger and draw circles?? ]

[dust_of_life]

Hard to explain. It's more of a "show, don't tell" kind of thing.

[She shrugs.]

I'll demonstrate, if you promise not to try to shoot me like the hobo.

[dothelokimotion]

I can assure you there will be not shooting involved.

[dust_of_life]

I'll take that.

[Because, of course, Fatima can't resist the chance to show off. No matter how bad her track record with showing off has been today.

It's just written into her blood.

And speaking of blood, she bites down on the inside of her cheek, hard enough to draw blood. It's not hard. She's been doing a lot of spells lately. It's just opening old wounds. The blood pools on her tongue as she considers what she wants to demonstrate. Her abilities are varied, but there's always one guaranteed showstopper in the mix.

She rolls her wrist. And then her hand bursts into flame.]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Fascinating. Perhaps blood magic has its uses, though Loki isn't quite keen on pursuing that branch of magic. He circles the flame appreciatively though. ]

[dust_of_life]

It won't burn me. But if I were to light a house on fire, the fire would eventually kill me.

So, you know. It's not something I'm planning on doing.

Like. Ever.

[dothelokimotion]

Of course. That's precisely why it came to mind.

[ Fire, though. Loki had spells for fire, but he does not use them often. A natural disinclination for flames brought upon his unfavourable heritage. ]

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima appreciates a good snark. She gives him a smile and rolls her wrist again, putting out the flame.]

It's not my main area of study. That's more with plants. Obviously. And glyphs.

[dothelokimotion]

Are your glyphs based on any language?

[ One Loki can use, preferably. He has his runes at least. ]

[dust_of_life]

Aramaic.

[Fatima smiles slightly. It's archaic, to say the least. But it's not like she made the rules.

Although...]

I've never tested it out in any others. Pretty sure it wouldn't work for any Germanic languages.

[dothelokimotion]

No. Not with their use of runes and writing.

[dust_of_life]

Not to mention they make very little sense from any logical point of view.

[dothelokimotion]

They are oddly structured.

[dust_of_life]

[She offers him a slight smile.]

What do you speak?

[dothelokimotion]

[ He shrugs ]

I have no common tongue. My parents instructed me in all languages.

[dust_of_life]

'All' meaning...?

[He could give the hobo a run for his money in cryptic.]

[dothelokimotion]

All. My family had a lot of time on their hands.

[dust_of_life]

All.

[Forgive her incredulity, but that's a lot to take in.]

Hindi?

[dothelokimotion]

Rusty, but passable.

[ just like the mun. He clicks his tongue. ]

Obviously, some are easier than most.

[dust_of_life]

[She's having a hard time with it.]

Cherokee?

[dothelokimotion]

Book-learned. My accent is most likely atrocious.

[dust_of_life]

Bullshit.

[Okay, that was an inside thought, Fatima. She shakes her head a little bit.]

There's no way you know every language.

[dothelokimotion]

You work blood magic but the ability to retain languages is impossible?

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima opens her mouth.

Then closes it.

Okay, he has a point there.]

So...it's a spell?

[dothelokimotion]

It is an innate magic I can work.

[ His gift as a hybrid, perhaps. Loki had never examined it closely. He had simply enjoyed the privileges it granted him. ]