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

[ Steve takes that in with an expression that seems to weigh Loki's words a little less than before. It sounds honest, seems forthright, and even if there is more to the story, even if Thor brought Loki along with conditions or Loki helped in the battle because of his own personal goals... Steve recognizes there's something sincere in the story as well. Whatever reasons led to it, he believes the ending was what Loki claims. ]

And Thor? You said he was there. Do you know if he survived?

He should have. If Thor met an untimely end, he would have spoken to me of it here. He would not have kept that from me.

[ And Loki already knows Thor is fine. That he beat Malekith. Loki didn't care about Malekith, though he enjoyed the news of his demise. No, it was Kurse he wanted and Kurse's end he acted for. It didn't soothe the ache (and the blame) that still rests within him. ]

[ There's something almost sincere in this Loki. Younger, Steve thinks, even though their own Loki at the moment is the youngest he's seen him. It's in the simple way he says Thor wouldn't keep his death from him. The belief he would know, by whatever means he managed to get information in his world, and for a moment Steve doesn't know what to think of him. ]

Does he remember what happened? He remembers being there?

[ His brow knits together. He understands where the questions are coming from, but he's . . . not sure what to make of them. Surely, if Steve wanted to know (or wanted the truth), he would simply find Thor himself? Why ask Loki when Loki can never be trusted?

Still. It does not hurt to speak. ]

I believe so, though we did not discuss it in lurid detail.

[ They only talked about Frigga and even that was too much for Loki to bear. ]

[ Loki gives Steve a funny look, and Steve recognizes the doubt in the god's eyes, but he keeps calm, expecting Loki to answer his question. While he may not be able to fully trust him, he knows that the only way to get closer to that is by interacting with Loki directly. They can keep dancing around each other or they can take the step to try to reach some sort of understanding. For once, Steve is more inclined to do the latter.

It might be partial pride, but it's also a real effort to show some respect. ]

So you know that it really is him. Thor from your world.

[ It's a conversation he would have with any of them. ]

What will you do now?

[ Loki gives a careless shrug. People are on him like glue when it comes to this particular topic. He's tempted to feed back the line about diabolical plans but it's an old joke and one he's used. Loki doesn't like repeating himself. His smile, however, is still slick and salacious. ]

Perhaps I will do nothing and watch the world mire itself in deciphering my intentions.

That isn't what I asked.

[ Steve's answer is blunt and in some ways harsh, but with the very serious atmosphere provided by their exchange over the lanterns and whether or not they were worth investing time in, getting a sour retort from Captain America shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Everyone in his world more or less expects this tone at a certain point. Brave and noble might be words often used to describe the hero, but just as often mulish and hard-headed get tossed around as well. No one will be shocked to hear that Steve Rogers was too serious about something. ]

We're cut off here, and there's no clear way to get back yet. Are you going to try to get home or just wait it out? I can't really see you getting a job like they've encouraged most of us to do.

[ It's almost the same lecturing tone he uses for other heroes. Maybe not quite as reasonable, but the words are deliberate. He's going to play civil during this festival if only to prove Loki wrong about him. ]

[ Loki lets Steve's words sink in with relish. People don't change, the whisper tells him, they never do. After all, Loki certainly can't rise above his circumstances, can he? He is a villain, born to play the role. A chess piece gone awry, but no doubt many in Asgard still nod their nods and mutter about the strange Asgardian son who sought only power. Tired of living in shadows.

But never doubt that I love you.

He simply clicks his tongue. If the words burn, he lets it burn. The fire rages on. ]

If you cannot see it, Captain, then what is the point of answering anything? What can you even see with those clouded eyes? Lost as you are.

introductory mingle: MEMORIA

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