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

Curufin | OTA

[so_dark_a_road]

the 14th -- Earthquake

[ Curufin has sneaked out of the Elfhouse while his kin are elsewhere, leaving a note for them so that they at least will know where he's going. They won't like it that he's wandering around the city before he's completely healed from the injuries he got while fighting Caedra's Vrocks, but he can't stand the inactivity. It's driving him crazy. He's tried working on small projects at home, but he misses the heat and the racket and the physical exertion of the forge. Naturally, he could use the small facility they've built near the house, but that's too close. Somebody would be bound to hear the hammering and come out and scold him back in. So he starts south across the city to the other forge, the one that he and Celebrimbor maintain under the eaves of the woods near the river.

But long before he gets there, the ground suddenly trembles. He stops, feeling the energy coming up through the earth into his feet, and it is exhilarating! Then earth heaves violently, and all the buildings ruined by the Null suddenly explode. The debris seems to float in the air, descending far too slowly for the size and weight of some of the pieces. When it reaches the ground, it reassembles itself into. . . . new buildings??? Curufin is left standing in the street gazing in astonishment. ]

Now, there's a construction method I've never tried. [ Bright, mischievous smile. ]


the 19th -- Feast or famine? Hmm, I think I'll take the first

[ Curufin wanders around the tables, wondering at the sheer profusion of dishes. They seem to come from every century of every world. He's a little bit suspicious. What if this is a way of getting the Hadrielites to consume some sort of poisonous essence that will give them nightmares, visions, unknown illnesses? But Fear has been fed recently, and so most likely that's not it. Maybe this is more sustenance for Hope.

He tries a little of this and a little of that. None of it seems to make him sick, and it all tastes good. Inevitably, he finds a decanter of whisky whose color, scent, and taste are strangely familiar. No wonder! It's his own East Beleriand hooch! And right beside it are a couple of bottles of that fine wine from the southern part of Ossiriand, where the Wood-elven inhabitants grew the most delicious grapes and distilled an incomparable beverage. He tastes both, the fiery liquor of the north and the gentle, sweet wine of the south. ]

This is making me positively nostalgic. [ For what? Blood and destruction? For those brief happy times when no battles were raging and he and his family had time to build, to create, to celebrate? Maybe. . . both. ] Try some? [ Offering a glass to you. ]

the 19th

[toiletseat_girl]

[George has thoroughly enjoyed herself on her waffles with butter and blueberry syrup, scrambled eggs, and perfectly cooked bacon. she also has a jug which used to be full of mimosas although it's mostly empty now.

she's branched out into trying the foods and drinks of other people. so she's wandering the tables, nibbling and sipping at whatever looks good.

she sees a friendly face from her most recent network post and goes over to say hi]

Nostalgic? For home? [always asking the personal questions] And, sure. Why not?

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin is mostly drinking, though he, too, is nibbling intermittently on whatever looks good. He'd certainly enjoy the waffles, that being the closest thing to the kind of grain product breakfast concoction that the Elves of his time would have eaten. I don't think they'd have invented the waffle iron, though. XD ]

[ He doesn't mind the personal questions. ] Yes, for home. The whiskey reminds me of those cold winer nights in my drafty castle, sharing a firelit dinner with my brother Celegorm and that huge intelligent genial wolfhound of his. Or else riding the vast windy plain we guarded to keep the enemy from intruding on our lands, stopping to camp and share a flask and a joke, to sleep rolled up in cloaks and blankets, hearing the howling of wolves in the distance, always on the alert even in our sleep. And the wine makes me think of those rare celebrations when all seven of us brothers were together, sipping the lovely sweet beverage of river-laced, green Ossiriand. We couldn't grow grapes in our territory, it was far too cold. So we had to import the wine up from the south.

[ He hands her a glass of whichever she prefers, the wine or the whiskey. ] And yourself, George? Does the food and drink make you nostalgic for your home?

[toiletseat_girl]

[but the little indents in the waffles are the best part! that's where the butter and syrup pool together for little bursts of awesome. <3

okay, good. she's still new at this whole peopleing thing and doesn't always know what is and isn't appropriate to ask] ...that sounds nice. Even though, y'know, wolves. The whole companionship and a common goal thing. [for a moment, she misses the other Reapers. even though they were all pains in her ass] And seven brothers? Wow. That's a lot. I take it you guys all got along?

[she takes the whiskey] ...I guess so. Me and the other Reapers, we used to meet up at this diner called Der Waffle Haus and get out assignments.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Spoken like a true crafter, although of course that is not George's profession. Well, maybe if Curufin ever returns to his world, he'll introduce waffles to Middle-earth! ]

It was. . . nice. It was the best time of my life. I had a son, too, whom I was raising after his mother left me. He grew up in that country, and I and his uncles all adored him and raised him. Yes, the companionship was good, the best, in fact. And it was good to have a common goal. But it's true that seven children is a lot for an Elvish family. We bickered and quarreled and helped each other and took care of one another -- in short, we loved each other dearly.

[ He lifts his glass in a toasting gesture and then sips. ] Ah, that explains the importance of the waffles! What were the other Reapers like? Did you get along with all of them? [ She mentioned her boss in their network conversation, but not the others. ]

(cw: drug mention, suicide)

[toiletseat_girl]

[no, she doesn't know the first thing about making stuff. she tried scrapbooking once and that was a miserable failure]

That all sounds. . . really nice. Other than the mom leaving part, that would suck. But it sounds like your son must've gotten a lot of love, anyway. Which is important, y'know? [in George's household, love was not often said and even more rarely felt] I can't imagine having that many brothers. I barely got by with one sister.

[she does the same] They were. Well. The one I liked the best is gone now. Hitched a ride on someone else's afterlife. Rube was my boss and he was a hardass. So was Roxy, though she could be nice. Sometimes. But Daisy got on my nerves. She was my roommate and she was an actress. And never got tired of telling us all about the famous men she'd slept with. And Mason. Just. . . Mason. Killed himself accidentally while chasing the ultimate high and he's been chasing it ever since.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Alas, she'll have to stick to the fine arts of waffle-making and waffle-appreciation, then. XD (But everybody fails at scrapbooking!!!! ) ]

It was nice, and yes, Celebrimbor received a lot of love. [ Right up until they parted ways over Curufin's attempt to usurp his cousin Finrod's kingdom. But Cel and Curufin reconciled here at Hadriel, so all is well. Or as well as it can be. ] His mother loved him too, but he was more tightly bonded to me, so she gave him to me when she left. It was not an act of abandonment, but an act of love. Sad all the same, though.

Having many siblings does make for a crowded, noisy house! But you had a sister? Did you get along well? [ If love was rarely said or felt, that is sad. But sometimes even from such a household, some good can come. Curufin would hope so for George's sake. ]

[ He drinks his toast and considers a Reaper's afterlife. ] So, one you liked and esteemed is gone, and there are two hardasses left, and you were stuck with an actress for a roommate. And this Mason person is chasing the ultimate high? [ He's have something in common with the Elvish artists. ] Did the group of you ever have moments of coherence, of feeling that you were doing something necessary and worthwhile?

[toiletseat_girl]

[waffles she can do. anything involving arts and crafts is a hard no.

that's a thing this place can be supposedly good for. finding people from your world and reconciling with them] Then, that's better, I guess. Most people I knew who only had one parent, the other wasn't really a prize, you know?

[Reggie brings up all kinds of conflicting emotions] ...not really. I mean, she would do stuff like camp out in my closet and follow me around but back then, I wasn't--wasn't exactly good at the whole emotions thing. [unfortunately, the Lass household often felt like four strangers living in the same house.

she considers a moment] No. Not really. I mean, I felt it with Betty--the one who's gone--but with the others, it was more like a job with lousy hours and no pay.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Waffles it is!

And Curufin would say that if this place has a purpose at all, that must be it. Finding those you love and reconciling. ] I'm afraid that was true in our case. It was me who wasn't the prize. But is it common, in your world, for couples to split up? It sounds as though it is.

[ He smiles. ] She'd camp out in your closet? That sounds very sisterly. I never had a sister, but I loved my cousin Aredhel dearly, and she used to do the closet-campout thing. It is too bad about the emotions. But perhaps someday you'll meet your sister again, and have a second chance.

And it's too bad about the Reapers. How did Betty hitch a ride on someone else's afterlife? But maybe you will meet her again someday, too. And as for the job? -- [ He makes a face. ] You certainly deserve better!

[toiletseat_girl]

I dunno, you seem cool enough to me. [and she nods] Very common. Most of my classmates had parents who were divorced.

Yeah, I--I didn't get it at the time. And, maybe. I hope it's not here, though, she's only ten years old. This is no place for a kid that age.

Betty jumped into it while it was still open. I know something went wrong, though, because usually when an afterlife goes away, it's just gone. This time, there was something like an explosion. And, I would like to think so.

[so_dark_a_road]

You might not have said that if you'd known me in those days. I've improved myself since then. [ A little bit rueful, a little bit humorous. ] But thanks for the compliment. And it seems a little sad that so many in your world were divorced. But maybe that's better than couples staying together who no longer belong together?

I think it's easy to miss things when we are young -- to not understand what we need to understand. Our comprehension isn't perfect, and there is no way it can be, especially when we are children. All we can do is try to make up for that later in life. And I agree, Hadriel is no place for a ten-year-old. If you ever meet your sister again, I hope it is somewhere else.

It sounds as though this afterlife phenomenon is more complicated in your world than it is in mine! How does an afterlife either disappear or explode? And I wonder, can a Reaper put together a resume and apply for a different job?

[toiletseat_girl]

Who hasn't improved a little from their younger days? [her tone matches his. she knows something about improving with age. or, in her case? death] Probably better. That way, the kids don't have to see their folks fighting all the time.

You're way more generous with younger me than I usually am. And I probably would've tried making things up to Reggie, if I'd had more time. I just [she shrugs] died and kind of got screwed over where my sister comes in. Other than following her from afar, which I did. A lot. I hope it's somewhere else and I hope I'm not a Reaper at the time.

It disappears and takes the soul up with it. It looks like little glowy lights. But when Betty jumped in, it didn't go up with the glowy lights, it went out with a flash of light. And we're given different identities to use. Mine was Mildred Hagen, twenty-two years old. That's how we get by in the "real world."

[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?

the 19th

[roseofthetyrells]

[Margaery has already taken advantage of the feast, having her fill of venison, herbed roasted potatoes, and carrots with small, fruit filled pastries for dessert. she's now wandering the tables, seeing what the so-called gods brought for other people.

she's deeply glad to see Curufin up and around and at the party, so of course she goes to join him]

I know the feeling. [she takes a glass of the wine from him] I would love to.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin decided not to expend the energy on donning finery for the feast, so instead he's neatly dressed in a pair of pressed jeans, polished boots, and a crisp light blue button-down shirt. But he's got his long black hair done Elvish-style, braided attractively though without ribbons or jewels. He has only one sapphire ring on his left ring-finger. He still looks Elvish, just. . . a very contemporary Elf.

He'd cheerfully share his share of the feast with her, but it's not much different than the meal she just ate. Their worlds and eras are both rather Medieval. But he does have a couple of glasses of alcohol to offer -- one is his own East Beleriand moonshine whiskey, and the other is a fine wine from Ossiriand. Both are high quality. She takes the wine (good choice!), and he toasts her with his glass. ]

Are you thinking of your own world, too?

[roseofthetyrells]

[Margaery always expends the energy to wear finery. she's too conscious of her role as a former queen not to. even though she knows that the rightful heir to the Iron Throne is here and is in fact her roommate. she cannot deny that Curufin looks handsome in his more modern garb, though.

that's a large part of why she feels so comfortable in their presence. the knowledge that the understand certain things that people in Hadriel from more modern eras might not understand. she toasts him in response and takes a sip]

...not as much as I expected to. I had only two things of value left in my world: my brother and my grandmother. I would bring Loras and my grandmother here, for here they'd be free.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ And he thinks she looks beautiful and queenly in her finery! Even if she is not currently a queen.

Probably it's a mutual feeling. Most of the other Hadrielites are from modern worlds. An exception is Curufin's boss, the Guard leader, Henry Percy, from fourteenth century Britain. Except when he's speaking with Henry, Curufin often feels impossibly outdated, though he never tells anyone this. It's a pleasure to feel the opposite when he's with Margaery. ]

Than I hope that you may be reunited with your kin someday. With luck, here in Hadriel.

[roseofthetyrells]

[and never will be again, but she's largely made her peace with that.

Margaery constantly feels one step behind the more modern Hadrielites. the fact that her world has been mocked to her face on more than one occasion doesn't help. she can't help that things like electricity and running water and modern technology are unheard of in Westeros]

Thank you. That is my hope as well. For Loras, it would be a second chance at life as well as a world where he could be with another man openly, without fear. For Grandmother. . . what is left for her in the world but revenge with me, my brother, and my father all dead?

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin could identify with that. Although he is of the elder line in his family, he will never be a king. But as a fifth son, he wasn't ever really a candidate. And his eldest brother Maedhros gave up the kingship to the young line, and now their cousin Fingon is King of the Noldor. There was a time when this angered Curufin so much that he tried to take another cousin's kingdom away from him, in order to become the most powerful of the Elven lords. But now, many years and two worlds later, he is reconciled to not being a ruler. If Margaery has been able to make different choices than he did in the past, then he admires her all the more for that.

What a conundrum, modernity! Curufin is dealing with it by learning the technologies, but it is sometimes difficult, because there are people who don't believe an Elf could master them. And certainly, no one should mock another's world, simply because it does not have water faucets and cell phones. And especially, they should not mock Margaery! ]

In Westeros, it was not possible for Loras to love another man openly? That is sad. The Elves of my era were ambivalent about that. And yet there was no danger or censure if one made that choice, and the great male friendships of history were celebrated in song and story. If Loras were here, we would certainly greet him as a brother. Would your grandmother have supported him in his love for men, or for a specific man, if he were still alive?

[roseofthetyrells]

[Margaery was wed thrice to gain the crown that was ultimately her undoing. first to Renly Baratheon, a contender for the throne, but Renly loved her brother more. then to Joffrey Baratheon, a thoroughly reprehensible young man who abused Sansa and surely would have abused Margaery when he'd grown tired of her. her grandmother saw to it that that marriage didn't last, thanks to poison. then to Tommen Baratheon, a genuinely good and kind young man. . . who hadn't the spine of a jellyfish.

Curufin's opinion that one shouldn't mock another's world is apparently a rarity as Margaery has been made to feel embarrassed at her world's customs, social norms, and technology level on more than one occasion by more than one person]

No, it wasn't. At least, not where the Faith of the Seven Held sway. As two of the Seven are the Father and the Mother, the Faith holds marriage between men and women sacred. All. . . deviations from that path are condemned. Especially love between men or between women. My brother lived a year in one of the Faith's cells before he was even tried. And when he was, he was forced to renounce his true feelings and his family name.

My grandmother was well aware of Loras' feelings for men, especially Renly Baratheon, my first husband. Her only. . . conditions were that Loras would still have to take a wife and father an heir. One way or another.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ It sounds like hard work, being married off for political reasons to men who are reprehensible or lacking in the qualities of a good husband. Sansa has spoken a little on this topic, and Curufin feels for both women.

This mockery of Margaery's world is barbaric, in Curufin's opinion. And it's not like anybody's world is perfect. Actually, most of them have some seamy aspect or a set of appalling customs, when you get right down to it. ]

[ He listens to Margaery's recitation of Loras's trials in a very un-accepting world, and he is appalled. ] This Faith of the Seven sounds a bit oppressive! I hold it to be arrogance for one part of a population to condemn the way another part chooses to love. To me, love is sacred. And not only that love which results in children, but all love. Poor Loras, to have to renounce his love and his family in order to save his life!

Your grandmother at least was willing to consider him part of the family, and not a traitor to it. She would have been concerned about continuing the family line, which is not a trivial concern, though it is a problem for men who love men or women who love women. There should be an amnesty for those who are in that situation, but regrettably, in your world, your grandmother's amnesty seems to have been the only one available.

[roseofthetyrells]

[it was hard work, made even harder by Cersei Lannister jealously guarding her sons, determined to prevent others from taking her place as first in her sons' affections.

she'd be lying if she said that the mockery didn't hurt. she knows that Westeros has problems, but she'd never dream of mocking another's world just because it doesn't come up to certain standards.

he should be. the entire thing was appalling] It didn't used to be so bad, but Cersei appointed a fanatic, the High Sparrow, in the role of the High Septon. His men would go about town, looking for that which they perceived as sin and they'd often viciously beat the "sinners." And in the end, renouncing his love and his family didn't save Loras at all as he was in the Sept when it exploded.

No, she'd never consider such a thing. In the Reach, we tend to look more kindly upon men who love men and women who love women. [her voice turns wry] Of course, they're still expected to do their duty towards their families and their Houses, but no one bats an eyelash when a person has a spouse and a lover.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ It's people like Cersei Lannister who give mothers-in-law a bad name!

And neither would Curufin subject another to that kind of hurt, attacking their world for not being his world. It does not make sense. ]

I am sorry you lost your brother. What a pity, that a religious institution that stands for cruelty and ignorance should gain control and be allowed to enforce their idiotic beliefs on the population.

The ethics of your Reach seem to be similar to those of my world. Except that in Elvish families, there is an expectation that one does not have a spouse and a lover at the same time. One has to choose.

[roseofthetyrells]

[they mocked its lack of technology and Margaery herself for not understanding technology]

So am I. I miss him every day and every month, I go to the arena, hoping he's among the newcomers. He hasn't been yet, but I refuse to give up hope. And it robbed me of my faith in the Seven entirely. Never again could I see the Faith as anything other than a cudgel used upon the populace.

What happens when someone chooses and a family line is lost because of it?

[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?