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

[hevenly]

[ Given her height, Angela is in a unique position to gaze over the heads of the crowd. She does so now, looking out for anyone else of her height. ]

Your friend. What does she look like?

[pacte]

[ Tom recognizes the help offered here and eagerly takes it. If anyone has a good vantage point, it would certainly be this lady so why not? ]

She's a tiefling, so she kinda has demonic features? She has horns and a tail, anyway. She usually carries a staff with her and wears rags.

[ Basically Troth would really stand out in this crowd and be easily spotted. ]

[hevenly]

[ Angela doesn't know what a tiefling is by name, but she can certainly look for demonic features. ]

I see none matching that description here.

[ Could be his friend is just not in this immediate area, or it could be she is not in the quarantine at all. ]

[pacte]

[ It's really not surprising news at all, but he can't help but be a little disappointed. ]

Ah, that's- that's too bad.

[ A beat before he offers a shaky smile. ]

But thank you for looking, that's kind of you.

[hevenly]

[ It was kind. Perhaps too kind. ]

What will you do for me in return?

[pacte]

[ Well, that's ... unexpected. Tom looks quizzical for a second until he decides it's better to just roll with it. ]

Um, is there anything you need help with?

[hevenly]

[ Angela produces the communication device she was given on arrival. ]

Do you know how to use one of these?

[pacte]

[ Tom watches her curiously as she produces the device, blinking in startled realization once he gets what she's getting at. ]

Yes! I do. I mean, I'm not very handy with it yet myself, but I think I get the basics of it. Do you ... need me to show you?

[hevenly]

[ Angela nods. This sort of technology, while not completely unfamiliar to her, is not something she's ever owned herself. ]

They entered my name, but they put in the wrong name. I wish to change it.

[ She does not wish to address others as a.odinsdottir ]

[pacte]

[ The technology is very new to Tom, but he paid close attention when it was explained to him because it sure seemed important. Even so ... ]

O-oh, I'm not sure if you can do that? But I think I remember how they put names in so I can try.

[ Just let him feed his bat a banana slice first (even though Chaser did not do a good job just now, he did his best and that's what counts) and relocate him to his shoulder to free up his hands before he holds one out to take the device. ]

[hevenly]

[ She will wait patiently until his beast is fed, then hand him her device, moving to watch over his shoulder (she's very tall so it works out) to see what he does. ]

[pacte]

[ He takes the device into his hands and starts nervously fiddling with it, tapping the little pictures that seem like they could take him to the right place, all the while muttering: ]

I think it's— no, no, this isn't it ...

[ Please give him a moment to navigate around before he finally reaches a familiar screen that adjusts settings. ]

Got it! [ A small moment of triumph before he goes back to being uncertain. ] This is where they put the names in, I think. So maybe if you touch your name, you can change it?

[ He'll hold the device back out to her so she can try it herself because he sure as hell doesn't want to mess up and accidentally make matters worse for her. ]

[hevenly]

[ She accepts the device back, doing as he says to enter a name more suited to her. Satisfied, she returns the device to-- well, she doesn't have pockets, so she'll just tuck it inside her armor for now. ]

You have my thanks.

[pacte]

[ He watches anxiously as she follows his instructions, relieved when it apparently works as she seems satisfied enough. ]

N-no problem, I'm glad I could help.

[hevenly]

[ Satisfied that they are now even, Angela nods her thanks and turns to leave. ]