riverviewlogs | introductory mingle: MEMORIA

Entry tags:

introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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!

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Doesn't seem like they're lacking in people to mourn. [ Complaint notwithstanding, his estimation of the guy has actually risen by a few notches. He'd come of his own accord, agreed to help of his own accord, whatever he might say about the obligation. ]

I'm sure it means a lot. Even if they don't come out and say it.

[Illya pauses. He’s been trying to make it seem as if this is no big deal, as if it’s honestly just him not knowing how to say no when people ask nicely. But let’s be real, it’s very hard to force Illya to do anything he doesn’t want to.]

That’s…. Why I do it. [He admits, looking to the side because he doesn’t feel like making eye contact.] I know what it is to mourn. I will always respect traditions like these.

...Yeah. Same here. [ He respects that need for privacy and averts his eyes, landing on a conspicuously small family hanging a beautifully painted lantern a short distance away. With a sudden, strange pang of homesickness, he wishes Bruce could see it too. ]

Whoever you lost is gone, but that doesn't mean the good part of who they are has to stay that way.

[He nods, reaching to glance at the watch. People who don't know him may mistake that as him checking the time, but he's simply looking at his father's watch and touching it gently. He would say something like also making their best to make up for any bad parts, but if he's aware that if he says that he will have to explain himself.

And he doesn't want to talk about his father and the gulag.]

One is only truly gone when there is no one left to remember them. It is a good ceremony.

It is, yeah. [ He doesn't get the significance of the gesture, but he could probably draw a few guesses. But if Alexei isn't volunteering it isn't on him to push.

He shakes the feeling off, dropping his gaze from the family. ]

But I could stand for a change in ambiance. Can I grab you a coffee?

[ There's a stand nearby he was eying a few minutes ago. ]

[Illya hesitates for a second. He doesn’t know Dick all that well… but he’s just offering to pay for some coffee. And he’s been pleasant to talk to when they have interacted with, so Illya really can’t think of a reason to say no.]

We can get some coffee, sure. Any particular place in mind?

The one with respect to the true needs of a city in mourning.

[ It's a temporary stand, clearly put up in a hurry by an ingenious opportunist close to the entrance of the festival. Dick jerks a thumb back in that direction, flashing him a crooked grin.

And he'll start leading the way over there, letting the silence sit for a moment before he drops: ]

Been keeping an eye on the comms?

[It seems safe enough, and he will be able to keep a direct eye on them as they make his coffee. He can and will eat food that hasn’t been prepared in front of him, but the paranoid in him appreciates keeping an eye on things. The question takes him a bit by surprise, but he sees no reason to lie about it.]

...Yes. Not using them much myself, but it’s a good tool. Why?

Noticed a few more disappearances. [ And his brow furrows, though his gaze is still scanning the street. ]

No one I knew well. [ But still. ]

[Illya hums, considering how much he should share. Not because he doesn’t trust Dick. The opposite, really: Dick is smart, intuitive. Illya may not know exactly how much, and he obviously doesn't know the extent of the training he went through but he can already tell the man will follow the clues if he allows him to. But he figures anyone can… pay attention, and notice certain things.]

I have been thinking maybe we should keep track of disappearances and arrivals. See if there’s a correlation. [He tilts his head.] Have you noticed anything like that?

Not yet. [ Which kind of bothers him. But then there's a reason why he'd wanted to talk to someone who'd seemed concerned for the same (or similar) reasons. Someone who, at least a few weeks ago, hadn't been ready to accept the terms given at face value.

He sighs. ]

But I figure two months of data doesn't leave a lot of room for variables. Not sure it means much either way.

[Illya nods, agreeing wholeheartedly and mentally noting that Dick seems to have done this kind of thing before. Keeping an eye out, looking for clues, putting things together like they are puzzle pieces.]

We should probably keep an eye out, make some kind of list. Study as many variables as we are able to. Maybe something will stand out, eventually.

What was your job back home?

Yeah. I figured it can't hurt.

[ The more sets of eyes the better. The chess game left an impression, and smart allies are worth their weight in gold.

A smirk tugs at the side of his mouth at the question, and he ducks his head, a little embarrassed. ]

...I was almost a cop. They managed to pull me out a little shy of graduation.

Impressive timing, all around.

[ It's also a great cover for what amounts to poking his nose in where it doesn't belong. ]

[Almost a cop.

Illya wonders if that’s enough to explain the way Dick’s mind work, how he seems be instinctively looking for clues in a case all the time. But that’s the information Dick is providing, and someone who lied about his name since day one isn’t going to judge others for withholding some things.]

I was wondering. You don’t really sound like a civilian. Why were you pulled out, if I may ask?

[ His brow furrows for a moment, turning the question over before it registers abruptly where the disconnect is. ]

...Oh, I meant- that's where the portal pulled me out. It's one of the last things I remember. [ Minus a couple of days fighting and nearly dying in Blackgate. ]

I passed the exams but I didn't have my badge yet.

[A nod, because that makes sense.] Then you were- and are- a cop for all intents and purposes, yes?

Can I ask what your job in this place is?

They, uh- gave me the badge. [ His grin is almost apologetic. That Alexei is asking means he'd probably overplayed this hand. ]

I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask questions. [ He's trying to play it off a little now. ]

[Illya doesn’t seem to mind. He’s used to being under scrutiny, he knows how to answer with evasives or just… straight out lie. And he’s very aware that back home, Dick would definitely have been the enemy and he would have had to protect himself, his cover and his background. But the situation is… definitely different in this place. Not enough to come clean, at least not yet, but he figures he can offer a small amount of trust to Dick.]

That is fine. You can ask questions. [A gentle nod, as if to confirm.] But when it comes to me, I reserve the right to keep some things private.

That said I will do my best to help you investigate. It is difficult situation for us, we need to be together.

[ It's actually pretty bad news if this guy already has him pegged as someone who likes to pry in a sense broader than inter-dimensional portals. Dick takes that cue to flash him a broad grin, all open-faced innocence. News at eleven; he'd make an awful spy. ]

Well, as long as you're not the kidnapping hundreds of strangers across the multiverse type, your secrets are probably safe from me.

[ lol ]

[Sorry, Dick, but this one was already on edge even before you even said hi. Illya would suspect literally everyone, he just happened to be right on suspecting Dick was more than he let on. But the little joke does make the corners of Illya’s lips twitch up in amusement.]

I promise, no kidnapping. Not my style.

So where do we start, officer?

I think we should keep tracking the comings and goings. Watch the numbers as best we can. See if there's any kind of pattern emerging. [ He doesn't really want to think about the actual timeframe of what he's talking about. He rubs a hand across his forehead. ]

I mean, that's kind of what I've been doing, but I'm still only one set of eyes.

[Illya nods. He’s good at making connections and now he has Dick by his side, so he figures he will also be helpful in noticing things Illya wouldn’t as well. Like Dick said, two sets of eyes are definitely better.]

I can do that. We could meet at regular intervals to see the results we’ve seen, then call each other if we notice something weird. [He isn’t sure if he should hope that nothing that could be seen as weird happens or the opposite. It would probably help them, but at the same time he doesn’t want to put anyone in danger.]

Anything specific we look for?

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introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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