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]

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.

[ikols]

... Of course not. They're adults, they know when it's important to tell the truth.

[ Giving him a pat on the head. ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon barely registers it as he looks blankly at the white counter, ice-cream all but forgotten. He knew that it wasn't his parents. He's seen enough alternate versions to know. But the fear of being alone, being forgotten rises up in him like a tidal wave. ]

[ikols]

[ He's no good at comforting, never was. So, Loki steps in front of Jon and bends on one knee, holding him at the shoulder as he seeks out eye-contact. ]

Why are you sad?

[supersweet]

Maybe I'm forcing them to be nice to me. I'm not their kid. What if they don't really want me around?

[ikols]

Maybe they're using you because they're too afraid or unable to have you in their world. Maybe they're jerks. Maybe they're lovely and you're worrying over nothing, Jon, but none of that is your fault.

[supersweet]

[ Intellectually, he knows that but Jon is ten and it's hard to entangle his own feelings. ]

They're not jerks. I've met alternate versions of my parents before. They've always helped me out. But I can't help feeling like . . . I'm taking advantage.

[ikols]

Because you miss yours and don't want to be alone, and you have no idea whether your actual parents will ever see you again?

[ A wild guess, only that. Nothing else. ]

[supersweet]

[ He bites on his lip, trying not to cry. ]

T-They'll come! It's just taking a while, that's all. They promised.

[ikols]

... I don't know your parents, Jon, but I do know we're very far away and it's terribly difficult to get here. Promises are hard to keep even when things are easy so if they don't come, don't be upset with them. Okay?

[ Loki pats him on the shoulder, keeping his voice warm and patient in a way he wouldn't with an adult. ]

[supersweet]

[ Desperately, he wipes his face on his sleeve, drawing in a sharp breath. ]

Yeah, I know. It's not easy. Alternate realities are weird and it's hard to figure out where to go. I know all that.

[ikols]

It's okay to cry for the sake of it, you don't need a reason other than your feelings.

[ From somewhere in his coat Loki produces a tissue, offering it to Jon. ]

[supersweet]

But I don't wanna cry.

[ Says the child who cries constantly. He takes the tissue politely, but Jon is still reigning himself in. ]

[ikols]

Nobody says 'Wow, I can't wait to blubber my heart out!' They don't look forward to crying, Jon, but sometimes it's better to get it over with than hold it in. [ Pausing, Loki nudges the tissue in Jon's hand. ] Even I cry, sometimes.

[supersweet]

[ Jon nods, dabbing his eyes messily. ]

I know. I've seen my dad cry. It was the worst.

[ikols]

I bet he knew it was okay to do it, though. Yeah? Hey, I'm terrible at making people feel better. You want something to eat? A milkshake? I love milkshakes.

[ Help. Unqualified. ]

[supersweet]

[ Jon gives him a flat, yet vaguely amused look despite being teary five seconds ago. ]

You can't just keep giving me sweet food because you don't know what to do.

[ikols]

I totally can, this is how adults deal with awkward situations. We eat junk food. [ He cocks his head. ] Unless a piggy-back ride would be a better payoff?

[ The Boy used to love those from Thor. ]

[supersweet]

Can you even carry me?

[ Do you even have muscles? Jon pokes Loki's side. ]