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

[supersweet]

He seemed okay. He got me ice-cream first.

[ He takes another lick. ]

How come you're so annoyed with him?

[ikols]

'Cause he's a self-righteous bully, even if he is a hero. That doesn't mean anything.

[ More of an honest answer than he'd give an adult. ]

[supersweet]

[ Hm. Still. Jon knows Batman. ]

Aren't there two of them though? Are they both bad?

[ikols]

The one from my world, the eldest, he's the worst. I guess the younger guy is a little better.

[ Just to seem like he's seriously debating it. ]

[supersweet]

Well. . . . Unless my dad says something, I'm — [ Jon fumbles, not knowing the word before he catches hold of it. ] — obligated to give him a chance.

[ikols]

That's okay. Obligations aren't like promises, you can let an obligation go if it's not there anymore.

This is getting heavy, huh?

[supersweet]

You made ice-cream serious business.

[ He licks his scoop in protest. ]

[ikols]

That's how you know I was once a supervillain.

[supersweet]

[ A long pause. ]

You were a supervillain?

[ikols]

One of the worst, Jon, yes. But as you can see, I'm much better now.

[ Slurping his ice cream, he catches some of it on a finger and sucks a knuckle clean. ]

Everyone else knows. I feel like you should too, if we're going to talk more in the future.

[supersweet]

[ Jon surveys him quietly. He hasn't actually met any supervillains. At least not up close like this. Doomsday had been a far off memory and even that memory chilled him to the bone, watching his father slowly dying in front of him. His father had hated Lex Luthor but had never explained why and left the man to his own devices.

And there's one name Jon won't speak of, but he hadn't been a villain. Until recently.

His ice-cream was melting, but Jon had stopped paying attention to it. What would his dad do? . . . What should Jon do? ]

Thanks for telling me, but it's no fun talking about things that make you hurt. You don't have to tell me everything. We can still be friends.

[ikols]

[ What a kind soul. Jon's answer is what triggers a wave of nostalgia about another clever child, one Loki had known much better, and a soft smile to go with it. ]

Thanks. It doesn't hurt much, [ bit of a lie, the guilt remains although it's more frustration with his former incarnation, ] I'm not the man I used to be. Failing to mention something big is a lie of omission, and I don't want anyone able to accuse me of doing that around you.

I once knew a little boy who would be very angry with me if I did.

[supersweet]

[ Jon mouths the word omission to himself as he commits it to memory, though he doesn't get the meaning. Jon is failing to mention something big so this topic of lies makes him uncomfortable. There's nothing quite as frustrating as an honest child having to lie for his own safety.

It's pretty clear though, that the lies still hurt. Jon wonders if they ever stop hurting. ]

Well, I won't get angry. Everyone deserves a chance.

[ikols]

[ Honesty used to manipulate Jon by Loki proves just as fruitful as he hoped. It pads a barrier between what others might tell him and takes away the power o any element of surprise they might try to throw in the kid's face, while letting Loki be a better person admitting his faults ahead of time.

He can't help seeing it that way, as tricks and games albeit for their mutual advantage. ]

You're a good kid.

[supersweet]

[ Jon shrugs nonchalantly, turning his attention back to his ice-cream with renewed interest. In his mind, he hasn't done anything special and the matter was settled. Which works out for him because he didn't want to feel bad about keeping his secrets. ]

No, it just makes sense, that's all.

[ikols]

That's what a good kid would say.

[ Pushing Jon sideways with a gentle shove to his head. ]

[supersweet]

Hey!

[ He doesn't budge much. ]

Maybe you just don't know many kids.

[ikols]

[ Curious. He'd rather not exert his actual strength but that resilience in remaining upright doesn't go unnoticed when Loki has easily shoved over Billy and Tony before. Hmm. ]

Yeah, so? Be a bit weird if I knew loads.

[supersweet]

Guess so. Adults don't really know what to do with kids.

[ Bucky is a prime example of that. ]

[ikols]

What do they usually do with you, Jon?

[supersweet]

Make sure my parents are nearby.

[ Which gets old real fast ]

[ikols]

Guess you won't have that problem here. Freedom, Braveheart style!

[supersweet]

What are you talking about? My parents are here. At least, a version of them.

[ikols]

They're not your parents if they're different versions, Jon. It's unfair to think of them as the same person.

[supersweet]

[ Jon flinches, suddenly wanting to leave this conversation. ]

It's not — I'm not doing anything they don't want.