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

[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?

[roseofthetyrells]

As do I. And, I think it is better to live this way, making one's own way in the world. Besides, the Septons and Septas preached about Seven Heavens for the good and Seven Hells for the wicked. After I died, I saw no such thing.

Then your people are far more advanced--and more understanding--than we were in Westeros.

I've seen him a time or two, but we've not really talked. I'd like to change that, though.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Smile. ] Funny how that happens. . . we are told certain things about the Afterlife, and it turns out not to be true. Or else it turns out that there are major exceptions to the rules, as in my case. But you came to Hadriel! If this were an afterlife at all, it certainly wouldn't conform to those Seven Heavens and Seven Hells for the good and the wicked. We all experience the same.

Maybe Westeros will become more understanding in time. I hope so. But as for my world, there are customs, but people look the other way when the customs are not followed. Our people really prefer that young men and women wait until marriage to experience all that love has to offer, and some are quite vocal in their disapproval of any other option. But I did not wait. I was a lover of both men and women, and I did not care who disapproved. When I married, it was largely because we were living so dangerously in Middle-earth that I feared our line might come to an end if somebody didn't have offspring -- and it didn't look like any of my brothers was going to see to it. Thank goodness I did. Cel is a son to be proud of.

He's friendly, kind and empathetic. If you seek out his friendship, I think it would benefit you both.

[roseofthetyrells]

What exceptions did you have? And I was aware of a time between being killed and coming here. All there was was a vast. . . nothingness. I thought that perhaps I was too wicked to earn the Seven Heavens, but not terrible enough for the Seven Hells.

Somehow, I doubt it. We're terribly set in our ways and no one wants to deal with the potential loss of a Great House because its heir doesn't want to sleep with whomever their parents arrange for them to marry. [she summons her courage] I, too, am attracted to both men and women. [this is the first time she's admitted it aloud] Although, I've never. . . been with a woman. It's good that you have a son, though, so your line can continue and so you have someone to care for.

I will try. He lives with the rest of you, does he not?

[so_dark_a_road]

We Elves are given to understand that when we die, our unhoused spirits must answer the call of Mandos, our death deity, and go to the Halls of Mandos, where we await either re-embodiment or the end of the world. But I was a reader, and I knew that some of our most knowledgeable sages had discussed the idea of an Elvish spirit remembering the body and re-manifesting it without the intervention of Mandos or any of the other Powers of the World. So, after I died, I refused the call of Mandos. I remained in the world as a spirt, and I began to experiment with recalling the body and trying to return to the living state. I had partial success. But then I was snatched by a world called Arda Marred, the one I lived in before I came to Hadriel. That was the end of my experiments, but I got just far enough to realize that for an Elf, life and death are not so cut-and-dried as we are told.

You remember an interval of nothingness between your death and Hadriel? Hmm. That might have been natural. It didn't have to be something caused by the Hadriel gods, though of course, I don't know for sure. But I experienced something like that, too, for a time after my death. I came out of it abruptly, only to find myself still dead and drifting in the ghostly state, and still in my original world.

[ Curufin is rather honored by Margaery's confidence. ] I think it is probably common to feel this way. Men and women are beautiful and worthy of love. Why should we confine our love to only one gender? That has never made sense to me. And perhaps you will find a woman who is worthy of you, some day.

Strictly speaking, our line didn't continue, since the only one who survived was my brother Maglor, and he adopted some children but never had any of his own. Celebrimbor married and had a daughter, but he and she both died before the Second Age was over.

Yes, he lives with Maedhros, Maglor, Fingon, and me. You might not have seen him at the house, since he's in the Guard, like me, and he has many metalsmithing projects, like me, so he's often on patrol in the city or working at the forge. But he's friendly and empathetic, very approachable.

[roseofthetyrells]

That is fortunate. I've grown to care for all of you very much and I hate the thought of harm ever coming to you. Much less death. But, what was Arda Marred like?

I do. I assumed that because I'd been so--ambitious in life, that was my reward. Endless, eternal nothingness. I'm sorry that you had to experience something like what I did. It was terrible and terrifying. As much as I dislike the so-called gods, I suppose I must be grateful to them for rescuing me from such a state.

Possibly? I think that if more people were honest with themselves, they'd have such feelings. And right now, my . . . feelings are for a man.

Oh, my. I'm so sorry to hear that. My condolences.

Yes, that's likely it. Do you think he'd be in need of new clothing?

[so_dark_a_road]

Ah! We have survived much harm. Or rather, not survived it, but in the end, we have weathered it. But your kind sympathy and friendship are much welcomed, Margaery! Arda Marred was what we called that world, because is was a later version of Arda, the one we had known. It was as though many thousands of years had passed, and some new disaster had emptied that world of human beings. We never found out what had happened. But new people came, including me and some of my family. There were villages and towns with their buildings still intact, if a little dilapidated. We made ourselves at home, and tried to make lives there, and did what we could to help regenerate the world.

I am really glad you were rescued from that state of nothingness! Even if it was the Hadriel gods who were responsible. We Elves call it the Void.

I'm of your opinion. I believe that such feelings are vey common, only some people acknowledge them and others don't. The man you love right now, is he one you loved in Westeros? Or has someone in Hadriel caught your eye and your heart?

[ He acknowledges those condolences with a nod of thanks. ]

[ Smile. ] We don't let Cel go around in rags, but I'm afraid he's rather like me, only worse. He doesn't often think of his attire, except in terms of whether it is warm enough or fulfills some other practical function. He doesn't worry much about how he looks. But if you are at all inclined to use your skills to make a gift for him, I'm sure he'd accept it with gratitude. You'd have my gratitude, too.

[roseofthetyrells]

I'm glad to help in any at I can. I've found it's far better to have friends rather than just allies. And it must have been so strange to see your world in that state and it must have been rewarding to bring life back into it. Do you miss it or are you content here?

It's harder to acknowledge such feelings in worlds like mine. I'm glad it's easier in other worlds. And the man I love was here in Hadriel, but the gods took him from me. He asked me to go to his world when I leave this place and I accepted.

[but lately, she's found herself caring for another man. she won't say anything about it, though, assuming that her affections would be unwelcome]

What sort of thing would he find most useful, do you think?

[so_dark_a_road]

I agree. Allies may come and go, but good friends are best. But as for the state of Arda Marred, yes, it was strange. And it was rewarding to bring some life back to it. I don't miss it so much now that my brother Maglor is here. We knew we were leaving. It's hard to explain now -- it's just that people began disappearing, until finally there were only five of us left. We made solemn promises to one another that if ever we met again, we would rejoice. Of that group, only my brother is here with me now. He doesn't remember being there, but I do.

That is too bad, that the man you love is now departed from Hadriel. But perhaps you will meet again in that other world.

[ But if the man she has come to care for lately is worthy of Margaery's affections, he will have respect for her feelings, whether or not he feels the same way. ]

I'm not sure. Perhaps a coat or a jacket?