Event Log: A Hope for the Future

[hadrielmods]

Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the A Hope for the Future event
Where: All over the city!
When: April 15th-April 19th
Warnings: Stealth Rock

It's finally time to reap the rewards you've earned from all that hard work collecting and returning the Hope orbs! Be careful walking the streets during the small earthquakes, but feel free to admire the scenery as your beautiful city reassembles its way back into its former glory.

There are new houses where the destroyed buildings once were, and they're perfect for a single person or pair of lovebirds. In addition, you'll find that the electricity to these new houses, and all other homes and shops in the city is restored. The food is better, the monsters are gone- hey, this city might be livable again!

To cap it all off, we've got a feast waiting for you on the 19th! Come one, come all, and enjoy all of your favorite foods, drinks, and party games. It's been awhile since we've all gotten together to celebrate something good, so get your party on and toss all your troubles away!

► This log covers April 14th-April 19th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you get hit by levitating rubble or eat a food that wasn't meant for you, please let us know here.

Comments

[kingforboth]

Kelson positively twitched when Curufin started saying 'gods'. He suspected that what Curufin said was true, or at least Curufin believed it to be true, but that didn't mean Kelson wanted to encourage the idea.

"You don't think by indulging in their fantasy, even if you use the term in a rather derogatory manner, you're helping them?" There were games Kelson would play. This was not one of them. Not yet at least. Also concerning, was the fact that Curufin must have been here long enough to call himself a 'Hadrielite'. Or did he not have a place he longed to return home too?

"These wards cubes I'm hoping to ....." Kelson paused, searching for the right word, for a vocabulary he didn't have, trying to construct something by feel alone. "...bring to fruition I guess can be used to contact something, or keep it out, depending on how the shield is created, the various nuances. If I can use it to keep dangerous energies in, why can the same not be for keeping dangerous energies out?"

That was if Curufin was right about how these energy beings gathered their energy and food from them. If there was some sort of link, that would have to be dealt with differently. He couldn't just ward against that.

<3!

[sciencelizard]

[She looks like she's trying not to jump up and down.]

The city's n-never looked this good, I don't think! Not since the last time Hope cleaned up... but it's been more than a year.

[Haha, also, she's been here this long. Jeez. Different topic!]

But it all looks so nice! Like it's new.

[odinbolt]

( The aftermath was all Serah experienced, and after moving to Pulse, that was all familiar territory. Less food, worse temperatures and no military to help them build the city anew, but it wasn't really all that different. )

Well, maybe you will be. Luck changes.

( She was lucky to come here in the aftermath, but that's a small stroke of luck compared to everything back home. A rare thing indeed. )

[odinbolt]

( Nope. She's okay living without cannibalism. She really, really is. )

We could make our own.

( It might be a little quaint for Rita's tastes, but it would also be doable. Things from the shops. Talk to the Speakeasy owner about providing drinks. She knows a few people who can cook food and isn't there a bakery? )

[abbatis]

You have no idea. [He continues to grin, the corners of his lips reaching for his eyes.] All men are pigs regardless the age, right? I'm so lucky that the lock haven't been changed yet.

[abyssalarcana]

Aha.

[How flattering, that she hasn't been lumped in with the monsters. Special recognition is always welcome. And the usual message - I know what you are - is at least of some value, if what this woman says is true. Most creatures from material worlds, she has found, know the word 'demon' and fear it, but associate it with all sorts of superstitions rather than truths. This one might actually know what she's talking about.]

Saving your little world, one step at a time. That's cute. I'm sure quasits everywhere tremble at the sound of your name.

[odinbolt]

( That's interesting. Serah knows little about the actual process of making wine, due to... well, not drinking it often. )

This is a once in a lifetime chance, you know? Getting to know all these people from different worlds. ( And all their food and drink. )

[odinbolt]

( She takes a thoughtful pause before nodding. )

Yeah. I've met a lot of people here. They've shown me all sorts of things.

( A lot of kindness, especially. )

[odinbolt]

A friend of yours? ( A sister? She asks this as she plucks out the sweetest thing she has on the plate, made with some soft red berries and a generous chocolate drizzle. ) Ah. Here, I think you'll like it.

[odinbolt]

More than a year? ( Sorry, Alphys, she caught that. ) Has it really been that long for you?

( She doesn't mind Hadriel, not at all, but she can't stay here for over a year, not when the timeline is falling to pieces back home and Lightning is still trapped in Valhalla. )

[odinbolt]

( Because you deserve friends, Komaeda. While a vague change in expression flickers over Serah's face at the half-finished pastry, she doesn't push for him to finish it. It's fine. People get hungry at different rates. She's left pastries plenty a time. )

So, what've you been up to?

( Since their last encounter. )

[odinbolt]

( That's a lot of feelings about meat, Tucker. Serah picks out the thing which looks like Lighting's behemoth steak and places it on her plate carefully. Her hair settles over her shoulder as she turns her head and smiles at Tucker for the kindness of letting her sit down. )

I guess I should have got here faster, huh?

( It's said with a laugh and a smile. It's nice to hear things that almost remind her of home and her friends back in New Bodhum. )

[abbatis]

Tsk, tsk. [Edgar clicks his tongue while shaking his head.] Sounds like you need to get back to your school, wizard. [He teases and turns his head away to sniff the rose bush on his arms again.]

There are plenty of old traditional recipes that don't require much, you know? From these you can make excellent rose soup. Or jam if you're that into the sugar.

[abbatis]

Could be. Although while the soup is traditional to my family it's not exactly something I'd call a culinary experience. [It's a half lie. The soup itself didn't taste all that special unlike the strong, lively fresh roses like the ones on his arms. But it did good job keeping him alive.]

Did you find something good from the tables yourself?

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Indulge while you can! XD ]

Indeed it is. There are many downsides to living in Hadriel, but we don't often talk of the upsides: getting to know people of many worlds; making friends we would never have had in our own; and acquiring knowledge of the sheer size of the universe, or should I say mulitverse? (And oh yes, the food and drink! ) I'd never have had this perspective if I had stayed in my own world. I'm not sorry I'm here.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Yes, they're both incapable of reserving their energies. Once they have their eye on a purpose, they go all out. And they don't count the cost to themselves. . . EYEROLL.

That is so. The odds are against the occurrence of non-troublesome events. They'll just have to put up with the stress and the gray hairs! ]

Do you have any ideas as to what the fixed buildings could be used for? [ Anybody up for a roller derby? XD ]

[knifecollecting]

[Jo doesn't hold any illusions. Anyone who does know her name probably only knows it in relation to the Winchesters. She and her mother worked small jobs. They didn't get the attention Dean and Sam did.]

I did my best.

[so_dark_a_road]

"My world had real gods. We didn't call them that, we called them the Valar, which just means powers of the world. They weren't gods in the sense of being omnipotent or all-knowing, though. Only in the sense of being charged with the care of our universe and of the beings in it. It was too big a job for them, and they made many mistakes, and they were often baffled. But at least they took their responsibilities seriously and did the best they could."

"Except for their brother Melkor, that is. He became disaffected early in the game and went about destroying things and corrupting people. Come to think of it, I believe he was feeding off the substance of the world, and off the misery of the people and creatures he afflicted. Maybe he had something in common with the gods of Hadriel! They certainly act like him at times." He chuckled, though it was a laugh that was mostly without humor. "The Hadriel gods are basically parasites. They don't do anything positive for us except in the expectation of being fed, though they seem to want credit for their 'generosity.' Some of the Hadrielites refer to them only as parasites, and will object when they hear the word god. I can hardly blame them. And the gods themselves refer to us as their hosts -- so they clearly think along the lines of a parasite/host relationship."

Of course Curufin did want to return home, but neither he nor any of his family could do that except by returning to a different point in time than the ones they had been pulled from. This is because they were all either dead or dying at the time. He did think of himself as a Hadrielite, but he suspected it was temporary. This was a situation that could not last. Either they were all going to die here, or they would prevail over the Null and gain access to the Door -- in which case, other worlds were a possibility. Or, given enough technical expertise to modify the time-properties of the Door, perhaps they might return to their own.

He listened to what Kelson had to say about the cubes and what he hoped could be created. "That sounds familiar. My father was famous for creating the palantiri, the seeing stones. They could be used to perceive events at a distance, or to contact other palantir-users at a distance. Battles of the will could be fought between two users, through a pair of these stones -- so that implies that one user could fend off the energies of another. It required a strong mind to control the stones, but that mind did not have to be versed in the magical arts."

But the fact was that Curufin did not know if there was some kind of link established between the energy beings and the Hadrielites. If there was, that would explain how these beings were able to affect their hosts so strongly and so directly.

[kingforboth]

Kelson's not so inner roman catholic was continuously twitching at the idea of other gods, but he also knew and accepted that others had a different relationship with the divine than he did, and other worlds no doubt followed different examples. Curufin's relationship with his....gods were no doubt different than someone else from their world and so on. There was no point in arguing because people saw the color yellow differently. Still, he wished Duncan was there, having his friend and confessor to talk to about this would have made such a difference. Even if he knew Duncan thought he relied too much on him.

The idea of what Curufin was referring to as divine was interesting, and he wished he knew what his friend would say about it.

"It sounds like it is possible that your Melkor was similar to these ....parasites." Kelson liked that term. It was apt. "They refer to us as hosts? ....Do they refer to themselves as gods then? Or do they call themselves Hosts?" Kelson tried to tease out the relationship and how the parasites viewed themselves. Truly.

"Yes, your....." Kelson paused, realizing he didn't know Maglor's relation to Curufin at all, "Maglor told me your people have some magical abilities, I would be very interested--if you are comfortable with it--to learn more about them. The Deryni, my people in Gwynedd, our knowledge of what we can and can't do is rather limited. "

Kelson paused, musing over another possibility. "There's always the chance that we're not being pulled directly from our world through this Portal, and landing here in Hadriel. There could be time we're missing, where these parasites are able to work to establish a link--if one does in fact exist. Or it happens naturally when we're here, or while we're asleep." Kelson was pulling things together, trying to piece facts.

"I've only been here a short time, but there have always been intervals between when I or someone else arrives through the Portal and something that a parasite feeds off of. Could that time be necessary for them to create a link?"

That was an awfully long time. A Deryni could create such a link in seconds if not minutes with an unwilling subject. But these parasites were not Deryni, and they were doing it without anyone knowing as well, something Kelson had never tried.

[swiftlet]

He couldn't decide whether this was an improvement or not, or whether he was just making it worse letting Seel keep up appearances. On the one hand they were still in public, but on the other he wasn't certain Seel would drop the facade once they were alone again.

"I'll try not to take too long. I wouldn't want to keep you in suspense."

[abyssalarcana]

So how do you think they are faring in your absence?

[It probably makes no difference, no matter what this woman thinks. Arneth has dozens like her, perhaps hundreds, that wander the world, protecting the innocent. Or if not that, then at least fighting back the tides of nature and chaos for pay. Caedra knows a few personally. Nearly killed a few of them - would have, if the angel hadn't stopped her.]

[so_dark_a_road]

Then I wish he may arrive here safely, so that you two can be reunited. But perhaps it's better to live without faith in an institution? I never liked it when our sages began to pontificate about what was acceptable and what was not, and to disapprove of certain kinds of behavior. Luckily, their opinions never became law. Fortunately for me, since I tended to be a rebel.

As for lost family lines, it's happened. My eldest brother never married because of his love for another man. But we don't begrudge him his love nor mourn for his lost children. We wish him the best. We would rather his happiness than that the elder line continue.

But as it turns out, the Fëanorian line is not lost altogether, because I married and had a son, Celebrimbor. He is here in Hadriel. Have you met him?

[dreamsallotted]

Seel took a few more bites to make Swift happy and taking another gulp of sheh before eyeing the exit. Then he gave his chesnari a confident smirk and tilted his head.

"Let's make it not very long at all. What do you say we head back and find out?"

It was a distinct possibility that Seel might not drop the charade. He was slipping back into it and it was so easy. The sad part was he honestly wasn't sure if he'd drop it or not. Self-aware indeed.

[proselytise]

Huh. Eating must be boring for you, in that case.

[ That's pretty weird though. ]

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Laugh ] Right, who hasn't? But yeah, the poor kids. They deserve a new start, if their parents can't keep it cool.

Well, somebody ought to be generous with the younger you! I don't doubt you did the best you could. I'm not surprised you followed Reggie from afar -- could you have protected her, if she had gotten into trouble? And yes, I wish you a future in which you are not a Reaper, and you meet your sister again.

Why did Betty jump in? Was she trying to go with the soul to wherever it was going? Well, Mildred Hagen, pleased to meet you! [ Smile ] Did Mildred have a cover job on earth?