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

[antietam]

[ His shoulders hunch a bit defensively, mostly just because he was the one doing the chaining before he arrived. ]

He is here, actually. Been here for two months. Ronan Lynch, always has a raven on his shoulder. [ He realizes the two of them probably wouldn't mix well, so he shakes his head. ]

Does that mean you're not interested in any sort of relationship here? Since people leave, eventually.

[ikols]

Odin Junior? I'll keep an eye out for him. [ BA DUM PSHHH. ] That's not what I said, but no. I wouldn't be interested in dating someone outside the same dimension as me. Imagine the cost of connect-calls! As for what I am interested in, your boyfriend automatically disqualifies you from finding out.

[ With a consoling wink. ]

[antietam]

[ He raises an eyebrow at the reference that goes completely over his head. ]

I'll live. [ But he smiles and gets back to work on his pizza since Loki appears to be in a fine mood. ] Are there any people here from your dimension? Other gods?

[ikols]

Not so many gods, but loads of supers.

[ Deflecting attention from his family to the Avengers. ]

Scream 'Avengers Assemble' on the network sometime, see what happens.

[antietam]

Avengers? Really? [ He looks unimpressed by the naming choice. ]

So you're from a place with superheroes... Do you help them out? Or ignore them like gods typically do?

[ikols]

I help out anyone who asks nicely.

[ They just happen not to ask at all and for good reasons, even if those reasons are ancient and buried in the historical acts of the First Loki. He can't blame them for any reticence. ]

[antietam]

[ He looks interested in that. ] Yeah? Do you expect prayers or offerings? The occasional human sacrifice?

[ikols]

[ He spreads his hands. ]

I mean, you're gonna get a sweeter response if you sacrifice a StarkPhone or a coffee than a goat or a person, yeah?

[ Swerving around the prayers topic; ain't nobody got time for being prayed to and distracted at random moments in the day and night. ]

[antietam]

I'll keep that in mind. Never know when I might need divine intervention. [ He likes the idea of Loki better than the idea of a superhero, that is. ]

You know, you seem really―young, for a god.

[ikols]

... Yeah. [ There's a story about his age he doesn't delve into, a lingering look lifting from Adam to return to the pizza a moment too long in the making. He neither agrees or disagrees either way about what he seems, not strongly. ]

You come off as an old soul, Adam.

[antietam]

I hope that doesn't mean you think I'm boring and crotchety. [ But he seems somewhat pleased by that. ]

You don't like to talk about yourself, do you?

[ It's combined with a look of understanding, because obviously Adam is the same way. ]

[ikols]

If you were a god, you'd get tired of answering questions about yourself. And I don't think you're boring, more ... salty.

[ Not a bad thing however, since it makes him laugh to say it. ]

[antietam]

I― [ huffs ] I think you contribute to at least part of it. [ His saltiness. ]

You seemed to enjoy talking about the other gods, though.

[ikols]

I'd rather hear about you, Adam.

[ When all is said and done, Loki isn't an over-sharer during first meetings. ]

Like, how and where did you and your boyfriend meet? Fill me in.

[antietam]

[ He looks unsure, both from being a private person and also having never really talked about Ronan like this before. ]

Through Gansey, I guess. We went to the same high school and Gansey introduced us. He was the only reason we bothered with each other. [ He makes a face and decides he should change the subject. ]

You don't have to talk about yourself, but you could... show me. What you can do, beyond endless pizza.

[ikols]

Ah, I suppose I could. Should I? Two different things ... [ With a shrug between one blink and the next, Loki shapeshifts into a man-sized fox under his clothing. He continues to pick at his pizza. ] Whatever, sure.

[antietam]

[ He's not really expecting much, but one moment he's picking at his pizza and the next Loki is a lot furrier. He gasps and almost falls off his seat in shock and a little bit of fear because what the fuck?

He's never seen anything like it, but he did ask for it. His wide-eyed stare eventually turns into loose grin, and he laughs for a moment. ]

Holy crap. That's so... [ He wishes he could find some explanation for it, how someone's biology could shift like that, but he knows the answer is just magic. ] cool. So you can basically do whatever you want. Be whoever.

[ikols]

Basically.

[ Not getting into the fact he can only change into representations of himself, it's more fun to keep the options open from Adam's POV. He'll keep his celebrity impressions to himself too, for now. ]

So glad you approve, my harshest critic.

[antietam]

I can't be your harshest critic. [ He is definitely staring and he doesn't seem to care much about his almost-finished pizza anymore.

He'd like to find the smoke and mirrors behind this, but it's far too realistic. And sort of creepy? ]

You can, uh, change back now. I appreciate the indulgence.