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

[livingsymbol]

[ Steve gives Cain an amused sidelong look, tilting his head in question. ]

You sound like you have experience with that. Do you do this a lot?

[aeturnus]

What, this whole reality-bending out-of-world-experience? No, but I just... move a lot. See a lot of different things.

[ He meets the amused look with a bit of a smile. What else can he say to explain it? Aside from the truth. That usually doesn't go so well for a first in-person meeting out of nowhere. ]

[livingsymbol]

Yeah?

[ There's definitely more amusement in Steve's smile as he cocks his eyebrow. That explanation sounds a little too close to home to be just a coincidence. ]

I used to move around too. My partner and I spent time in Western Europe deployed on missions with different companies. We were rarely in the same place for more than a week.

[aeturnus]

Quick missions?

[ He does wonder at what kinds of things someone might be hired to do that goes by so fast. ]

And, yeah. I'm usually in a place for longer than a week at a time, though.

[livingsymbol]

Yeah. We were asked to support troops that were already in the area, but our main objectives were more specific. Extraction or investigating reports of experimental weapons. They weren't missions that could spare the time.

[Then again, when they weren't sent for specific missions, they did have down time in different towns. Those Steve remembers more fondly.]

I hope so. Things are more stable now. Anywhere you particularly miss?

[aeturnus]

Italy's the first that comes to mind.

[ Well, that's where the place he misses most is now located. It's a cliche answer but... it's probably the only place where he was truly safe and strong even if his time there was brief. Fond memories tinted sepia and faded with time. ]

What's your favorite place?

[livingsymbol]

Italy is a good choice. I liked going to Paris. That was exciting. The city was beautiful and new to me when I went. Somewhere I only saw in pictures before.

But I think now New York is probably the place I like most. It's home.

[aeturnus]

It's definitely a gorgeous place. Certainly speaks of its peoples' priorities.

[ He smiles at that, nods. ] Home's always where the heart is, and New York is a good place to call home. Cliche as all that might sound.

[livingsymbol]

It's the place I've been the longest. I used to take it for granted, but it doesn't have to be Paris to feel right.

[ He chuckles softly. ]

Although sometimes it does feel like stepping into a new place all over again. People keep changing things.

[aeturnus]

Yeah, funny how time works, huh?

[ His tone says he really understands that. ]

Everywhere I go, it's always different by the time I go back.

[livingsymbol]

It always seems to get ahead.

[ No matter how hard he runs, he always seems to fall short when it comes to catching up with progress. But he smiles anyway, because it's nice to get words from someone who seems to understand. ]

But I still go back. Sometimes I can't help it.

[aeturnus]

Keeping up is exhausting, yeah, but sometimes it's worth it.

[ Sometimes it's your survival on the line. Maintaining your own lifestyle and anonymity. ]

There's nothing wrong with that. Better than falling even further behind.