riverviewlogs | 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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He was a great man, a legend in his own time, famous for the deeds he accomplished. [While Ivar liked that side of him, what had caused him to love Ragnar was seeing his humanity, how he could make mistakes, and still pick himself back up after his failures.]

I did become a warrior. Better than most would ever think. [No one expected much from a Viking that couldn't walk, which made it all the better when Ivar slaughtered his enemies.] My brothers and I led an army to England, one bigger than ever before, to take revenge on the kings who had killed him. We just finished blood-eagling one when I was pulled here.

[Thor would probably know better than most here what the gory Viking death punishment of the blood eagle entailed.]

Then I am glad to hear of him. [And he should like to hear more, in time. Thor listens with interest, some admiration coming through in his expression when Ragnar talks of his success.]

That is a term I've not heard in a long time. [But he doesn't say that regrettably.] Then you have honoured his memory and become a proud legacy for him, that's as much as any great man can hope for.

[Ivar's heart doesn't feel nearly as heavy now. Being able to speak of his father both hurt and was cathartic at the same time.]

You seem to know a bit about Vikings. [More so than he'd found from most people here, too far ahead in the future to pay much attention to the distant past.] What is your name?

Not as much as I should like, but we come from a similar culture, you and I. And I am fond of Vikings.

[There's a moment of hesitation, as he wonders whether he should explain that the Thor Ivar knows is likely different to himself, based on hearsay and glimpses of what he'd shown the mortal world years ago.

However, he knows the faith of the Vikings well and he knows what he represents, so he cannot very well take that away from Ivar. So, he opts for honesty, his voice and expression plain.]

My name is Thor.

[A few expressions flit over Ivar's face. Shock, adoration, and surprise. The last one is what remains after he's done processing what he's just heard. Honestly, he should have known. How many tales were there of gods approaching people in disguise with them none the wiser? And with two Lokis here, he should have known another god would soon follow.

When he finally finds his voice, he says the first thing that pops into his head.]

And here all the stories always said you had red hair.

[It's the facial journey Thor expects, so he waits patiently as Ivar finds his bearings. He feels himself walking a thin line between too smug and too humble. He's met many humans, many of which have heard the tales of Thor. He can hardly say he's met someone so devout in his following until now.

It's just as exciting for him, to meet someone who holds the same values and traditions. Someone who knows what it's like to be raised by warriors.]

The tales have been greatly exaggerated, even I will admit. [He cannot help but chuckle heartily at Ivar's response. In turn. he extends a hand to affectionately clap him on the shoulder.] It is good to meet a viking once more. It has been many, many years.

So Loki keeps telling me. [The one he rooms with, that is, not the one that Thor would know as his brother. Really, they needed to come up with better ways to distinguish between the two trickster gods.

He smiles, a little giddy, when Thor claps a hand on his shoulder.]

It is an honor, truly, Thunderer. I believe we may be distantly related through your father. [Ragnar had been the son of Odin, which made Ivar Thor's half-nephew.]

Be careful what he tells you, especially where I am concerned. [He's sure if Ragnar knows the lore, then he knows Loki is a trickster. Still, he feels the need to cover his ass, as such.]

Is that so? [He asks with surprise, but it's not incredulous.] Father has been busy, it would seem. I have also come to know a sister I did not know existed until I met her here. I would not be surprised to learn his.. influence, has stretched further across the realms. [Maybe that's why he was so weird about Jane.]

I take everything he says with a grain of salt. [That's the only real way to deal with the trickster gods.]

The longer I stay here, the more it seems I find people I'm related to. [If he thinks about it too long, that's going to be two distant cousins, two uncles, and an aunt. Of course, this is what happens when gods have a lot of progeny.]

Then you're a wise boy. [Thor can't help chuckling. He's glad even the Vikings know how Loki can be.]

I feel much the same. There are two Lokis here, you know. That makes two brothers, and a sister I never knew I had. [He smiles.] I rather like it. We may never have found each other under different circumstances, and now we are brought together.

I try. [Wise beyond his years was definitely one of the aspects that made Ivar up, at least when it came to everything but dealing with his own emotions.]

It's good to have family around. [It was one of the things that kept Ivar from completely going over the edge no matter whether he was at home or in Riverview. Without them, he'd be little better than a vicious animal. Here in this place, he'd found others even in the most unexpected places.]

introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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