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

They should give me a fucking award.

[Do not give him an award.

It doesn't take him long to get to the site, since he figured out this whole technology thing relatively easily, and even though Kirk is looking over his shoulder, Taako still offers the phone back so he can scroll at his own pace.]

[ It would be a very dubious award.

Jim does look more impressed with the website, though. And he can't help but let out a quiet little hum like he's about to eat all those things on the pictures. ] Wow, these look really good. And colorful— they're all so cute.

Well, duh, I'm a fucking great chef. [Despite the words, his smile is more genuine, as if he's pleased by the compliment and is just too full of shit to properly accept it.] You're playing the right cards if you're angling for a discount.

[If Taako could subsist on praise and attention he probably would.]

A discount? [ Glancing at Taako, ] Right. Reduced price. Well, actually I'm not too set on that kinda stuff. And you should ask the fair price for the things you make. I can tell you put a lot of work into them.

[ Putting the phone away, he opens the wrap and grabs a cookie, taking a bite. ] Mm. You know, if you'd mentioned this when we first met I'd have definitely been quicker to call you my new best friend.

[ He's kidding. Probably. ]

[That just earns a little laugh and a wave of his hand, kind of dismissive but in good nature; considering the amount of food he gives away for free just because he likes cooking and has finally gotten to a place where he doesn't get scared about poisoning someone (long story), giving the occasional discount to a friend isn't really going to hurt business.]

That one's on me, I should remember to always lead with the professional chef part. The cool magic shit just doesn't cut it these days.

Yeah, I mean... plenty f people can do cool magic shit. You gotta have a way to stand out even more, in my opinion. Besides, where I come from we say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so.

[ Well, it may as well be the way to Jim's heart, at least. He does enjoy his food a lot. The sweeter and/or greasier the better. ]

I can't cook worth shit, though, so now I know where to go when I need something sweet.

[There's a snap of his fingers, like damn.] Shit, I knew I must've been doing something wrong, I keep going for the dick, that's why I'm not drowning in dudes, huh?

[Is there ever an inappropriate time for dick and/or sex jokes? No.]

And I also do savory food, if you're ever worried about starving to death.

[ Jim grins and chuckles a little at that. ]

Well, now you know. First step towards fixing it, provided you want to.

[ No judgment here, really. Not like Jim could, even if he were the type to. He pretty much slept through half the Academy (if not more than half), so. ]

I dunno, I mean... [He holds up his hands like he's weighing the two options.] There's a lotta upsides to my method, you know?

You would know. And hey, if it's working for you, no reason to change it.

[ But also, you know. He appreciates the free cookies. ]

[As usual, he's like 90% talk. Interacting with other people is difficult, even when dick's are involved.]

Oh, for sure, I'm living the high life. [wait god he actually has a moment of feeling shitty about the faux-sarcasm, what is this. what is this character growth bullshit, why does he feel like he needs to amend that statement with:] That was shitty, my dude's pretty great actually.

[u g h]

[ Jim picks up on that slight shift of his expression, and he can't help but smile a little at the next words. ]

That's nice. That you've got someone special like that. [ Also, you know, it's not some sort of disease. You'll live, buddy. ]

introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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