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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[ Steve remains quiet, listening to Jon tells his story just like he'd listened to the stories of many strangers before him. He keeps the same expression through the word dinosaurs as he does through the relation of the old island and the description of Captain Storm, who seems to be the focus of the tale. He's patient, listening with a muted expression that doesn't convey his emotions, but is still respectful in his reserved way.

It's when he gets to the end that Steve reacts. From the point in the story where Captain Storm falls, Steve's face tightens with pain and sadness that he closes behind his eyes, struggling to keep them to himself with little success. As Jon finishes, he nods. ]

That's right. Friends stay together.

[ The quiet reaction becomes more focused again. ]

That was a good story. I think both of them would be happy to know you shared a memory of their friendship. That's something worth saving.

I hope so. I'm not so good with words like my mom.

[ But Jon and his father were the only people now who knew of Captain Storm's true end. And that had niggled at Jon. It was a secret that wasn't fair to the man he knew. And Jon gets tired of all the secrets. ]

But this is like an . . . an ordinance? That's what my dad called it.

I'm sure they would both agree that you honored them. And your mother would be proud to hear your story. I'd be happy to have you tell our stories. If we had to tell them.

[ And just judging by Jon's response, it sounds like the story needed to be told. Memories of sacrifices and old friends are too easily forgotten with time. Steve knows that far too well. ]

What about your friends? Will you tell me about them? It doesn't have to be a story.

[ Jon's expression falls a little. He doesn't have many friends. The ones he does have, well . . . Damian is a no-talking subject, too tangled up with Jon's own secret identity. Kathy is normal and knew his secret, but they hadn't spent that much time together. All his stories were secrets. ]

Uhmm. Sure. I don't have a lot of friends. We move around a lot. Kathy's nice and she plays with me and Krypto.

[ The way Jon's expression droops catches Steve's attention. The awkward reply making it seem like there's a lot more unspoken than spoken, but he can't say. Steve feels the tension that Jon doesn't speak of. he decides it's better to keep his questions easy to answer and work up. ]

Who's Krypto?

[ Immediately, he perks up, earlier melancholy forgotten. Jon doesn't really hold onto his woes for very long. He's well-aware of how lucky he is and at his age, he doesn't dwell. ]

He's my dog! We have two dogs, Ranger and Krypto on the farm.

[ The way Jon perks up is a relief. The boy seemed discouraged by the festival, beyond his years, and Steve was beginning to worry that he might come from a world that was much harsher than any child should have to face. ]

You live on a farm?

[ And have stories like that. It does make him curious. ]

I wanted a dog when I was younger.

Dogs are the best! Waaay better than any of other animals.

[ Like cows. And cats. Though the cat thing was more of a personal preference for Jon (and a side of trauma). ]

Ranger's more my dog. Krypto is my dad's dog so he doesn't listen to me very often.

[ It's hard to control a laser-eye dog. That being said, Krypto always looked out for Jon. ]

[ The way Jon talks about the dogs makes Steve think of how every boy's dream used to be having a dog once upon a time. It's charming and nostalgic in an old fashioned way that Steve tries not to play too much into, because people like to give him a hard time about it. ]

I guess dogs have their favorites too. Are you handling being here all right?

[ He worries that the younger boy probably misses his family. Even though he doesn't really seem alone in Riverview, he might be separated from his family. Steve can't help being concerned by that. ]

[ He blinks before nodding. It's a common question and Jon has gotten used to fielding it. ]

Yeah, it's fine. I have my dad. Well, my alternate dad from another world. Same with my mom. And my alternate cousin. They're not really my family, but they're still kind of mine, y'know?

Yeah, I think I know.

[ Steve smiles a little. Strangely enough, he feels the same way about the current Avengers and familiar faces in Riverview. They are from different worlds and times, familiar but strange, and he still finds himself treating them all like his family, even though many of them aren't the ones he remembers. ]

Are you staying with them?

[ Jon nods, pushing his glasses up. ]

Yeah. Dad got a proper house so we're all staying together.

[ Of course, the real reason, Jon knows, is that it's easier to keep the secret in closed quarters rather than the communal housing. ]

[ And Steve buys the obvious answer, smiling because it reminds him of the mansion. That thought is a little sad, because it's really been a while since he was that close with his friends. He knows he's partially to blame, but it's hard to go back. ]

That sounds nice. Are you getting along with them? Even if they're different?

[ Could he do that too? It seems difficult. ]

[ Jon nods quietly. ]

They're really nice to me. Sometimes, it's hard because it's not the same and nobody knows me but . . . I'm still lucky. I know that.

We're all lucky. This place isn't bad, and we get to meet new people that we can be close to.

[Or old people in a new light.]

If we're called to be here, then I hope at least we can do some good for them. And have some fun.

That's what I'm gonna do! And my dad will come or I'll go home somehow. There's no point getting sad about it.

[ And Jon's generally an optimistic kid, all things considered. He knows how to pick himself up by now, no matter how sheltered his parents keep him. ]

No, I guess there's not. You're a smart kid.

[ He says it sincerely, finding himself thinking about that with surprise. It's the simplicity of acceptance that Steve hasn't really embraced yet. He'd been anxious and biding his time as he waited to go home. ]

Sometimes settling in is how you look at things.

Settling in is something I have to do. I've gotten used to it.

[ His life gets major upheavals regularly. ]

You're better at it than me. I've had to and still feel like this place keeps throwing too much at me.

[ It probably says a lot that this kid is more mature than Steve is. ]

That's probably 'cause you're not used to it, Mr. Rogers. It's gonna take time, y'know?

[ He had to get used to his parents not being his parents. That's a tough learning curve right there. ]

That's true. I guess it does take time.

You sound like you have experience.

[ For someone so young, that does catch Steve's attention. ]

Uh, I do?

Maybe that's because I'm young and stuff? I bounce back easily.

[ Smooth, Jon. ]

[ Steve looks at Jon through lowered eyelashes, giving him a suspicious assessment. ]

Of course. Because you're young and wouldn't actually have experience with anything like this.

[ Even Steve can see through that act. ]

But if you did, I think your advice would be gladly taken. Sometimes people need to hear something positive to keep going.

[ Jon laughs weakly. ]

I guess? Not many people listen to a kid. Mostly they want to call my dad.

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introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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