wilderlogs | THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

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THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE
OOC POST
The group is told to take a week of rest in the Last Homely House as the injured and sick among them heal. The Elves promise them that at the end of that week, there will be a great Council, with representatives of several peoples in attendance.

Until then, they can wander the peaceful halls of Rivendell, which are filled with travelers from all over the Wilderlands who are making a rest stop while they travel through the lands of Middle-Earth.

The most notable part of Rivendell is the Hall of Fire, a great feast hall where people can eat, drink, and be merry. This is the great social hall of Rivendell, where the Elves and their visitors share news of lands far beyond, tell stories, or perform music. The music here almost sounds divine, especially when the Elves sing and play, but they're just as eager to hear songs from other lands, so if any of the squad decide to share, they'll be glad to listen.

Some of the hall's guests are a touch more lively than the others, like a party of dwarves staying at Rivendell. Their stories are a mite more adventurous and if you get in their good graces, they might be willing to share some of the beer they brought with them. Listening to their stories or their talk about their craftmanship is a way to get into their good graces.

The Elves love learning, so there are libraries the group is allowed to browse, though they mostly only contain tales of Middle-Earth (for now), though the Elves seem to be collecting what books about other lands they can. These libraries often have viewing stations with telescopes pointing at the sky. The Elves have been almost delighted by the changing skies, enjoying the challenge of trying to understand how the sky has been knitting itself together with the addition of new worlds.

There are also beautiful balconies here, overlooking the gorge and the waters below, and terraced gardens filled with flowers, bushes, and flowering trees. Their rooms are open to the outdoors and have beds that seem grown into the shape of bed-frames instead of carved. The bathrooms actually have running water. The Elves have figured out how to direct the clean running waters of the gorge in primitive indoor plumbing. Water for hot baths has to be heated first in brass cauldrons over coal braziers before getting dumped into the bath.

It's time for the squad to rest, eat, and regroup. If a great Council is going to be called involving them, it might be a good idea to make sure they go into it as a united front, lest decisions about their fate be made for them.

NOTES
✦ Joint log: Since this camp period won't be particularly long, everything will take place in a joint log. Players can post starters with prompts for others and tag into other players' prompts.

✦ Post in actionspam format. Plots and mod-run events in the game are meant to be in actionspam format to keep a brisk pace.

✦ Cursed Weapons/Powers: So they know about how they'll be treated: those with cursed weapons and dark powers will be tolerated by the Elves after entry. While they'll get the same general treatment, the Elves around them may at times seem uncomfortable. Those with cursed weapons will only be distrusted a little, as the weapons themselves will seem more suspicious than their bearers. Those with dark powers or some kind of dark nature (such as being a vampire, Necromancer mage, werewolf, etc.) will be treated with the greatest distrust.

✦ Fairy Swaps: The Elves may be slightly alarmed by the Brugh fairy swaps but get over it easily. However, if the character swapped in is one of the "dark" characters, the swap might be extra cause for alarm. (A potential prompt idea).

✦ Npcing: There will be two npc threads. The "Random Encounters" thread is for characters to have a totally random encounter with an npc. These npcs will be fellow travelers from lands beyond. While they can't give much information about the group's status as Chosen Ones (that will happen during the Council) they can provide info about events in the Wilderlands beyond that may come to affect the squad in their travels. The "Specific Requests" thread will be for more specific issues your character might want to discuss with the Elves. While they'll push any Chosen Ones discussion off to the Council, they're willing to discuss issues with the characters, like if they have questions about having received magic, about being bound to their weapons, etc. The Rivendell Elves have heard a lot of gossip from all over and can potentially provide info based on things they've heard.

✦ Clothes: The group will not yet be fully equipped for their travels (that will happen upon leaving) but everyone will at least be given new clothes since theirs are dirty and sometimes torn. Characters without appropriate travel footwear will also be given light and sturdy boots that will somehow be in their size without their size being asked. They'll also be given basic toiletries like scissors that can be used to cut hair and beards. There are no razors, however, because the Elves don't need to shave so they don't keep them on hand.

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[Kal doesn’t say anything to that statement, but he does hum in agreement. Whoever is bringing them here, as non-specific as their reasons for it may be to them yet, has to have a pattern for it. And so far it seems to be focusing on younger people. Kal doesn’t know why, and for all he knows it could be a coincidence, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be happy about it.

And if it helps ]

I’m sorry. But I’m glad we got here in time for you to get heal, from what I heard being hurt with those blades… [He grimaces.] It could be pretty nasty.

But of course, what do you want to know?

[It takes Dixon a bit to tease out exactly what words he wants to use. He figures he's probably in deep enough that "asking for a friend" will ring as false as it actually is; more importantly, he's already predicting a rebuff of some sort, so he has to choose what he wants to say enough that if it's shot down it won't hurt too badly. It's a delicate science.

In the meanwhile he doodles on the paper absently enough that the tip of his pen drifts off the edge and he scratches ink into the stone beside it.]

Do you think there's anything so evil someone can do that'd mean they might as well not even try to be an upright person anymore? I mean, since I figure you've seen a lot of sh- stuff. [Probably shouldn't be cursing in front of the person you're asking for moral direction.]

[That’s… not exactly what he had been expecting. When he said ‘personal’, and knowing he’d heard of him before Kal had assumed he’d talk to him about his background, or ask him about being an alien, or about the suit or a hundred other questions that fans usually ask him. He doesn't mind- he’s grateful when people are curious instead of skeptical or aggressive towards him, he knows what it feels like to be on the other side.

So he raises both eyebrows at Dixon’s questions, and tilts his head- but he takes the question seriously anyway, since it seems to be important to him. And at least it has an easy answer.]

No.

[He says quickly as he shrugs one shoulder.]

I mean, never say never obviously. But I truly believe that once a man wants wants to change for the better, really wants to and not just talks about it to get people on his side [Looking at you Luthor], then he deserves as many chances as he needs.

But it has to come from the heart.

[Dixon looks a little bit surprised to hear that answer. He figures he shouldn't have been, and he nods along, listening intently as Kal elaborates.]

So would you say there ain't nothing someone can do that they'd deserve to die over? [He sets his pen down, giving Kal his full attention. At some point someone's probably going to ask Dixon what his deal is, and then he'll probably have to scramble to gather up all the loose ends and try to make something presentable out of them, but two of the threads running through it all are the fact that before coming here he was on his way to kill a stranger, a stranger who did worse than Dixon ever did. And that Dixon's done some pretty despicable things that might be worth death in some state laws too.

There's a place for ambiguity and for forgiveness, but Dixon's not built for it. His native blueprint is for clear delineations, direct structures, and merciless, uncaring vengeance draped in the garbs of justice. Everything's in flux for him right now, and on some level he feels like a body rejecting a kidney transplant, something that's supposed to help but throws the systemic protections into riot.]

[Kal sighs, reaching to rub the back of his neck.]

Personally? Yes, I would say that. And I’m not- I know it sounds naive, and like I said never say never. I have had to make… tough decisions, in my life.

[He had to kill, before. Kill Zod, once he had killed an entire world back home and was ready to kill Kal’s. Once he had destroyed an entire universe. There was… really no other option for him, at the moment, and yet it still haunts him. It’s not a decision he’s going to take lightly.]

And I am of course going to let justice run its course. I’m not a fan of the death penalty but if that’s what the jury decides there isn’t much I can do about it. [There is actually a lot he could do, considering his powers and his reputation back home. But that’s a line he isn’t going to cross.]

Why are you asking?

[He nods along, brow crinkled, trying to scrape through his comics knowledge to give hints at what Kal's talking about and coming up surprisingly blank. So after a moment he gives up on it and just absorbs the words.

Truthfully, Dixon hasn't had to make hard choices either. He could have just kept going on with his life, but he has made several active, highly-unnecessary decisions to completely trainwreck it. All scenarios self-created, all self-imposed, and, naturally, self-destructive.]

No reason. [It's a completely hopeless lie, and he knows it. He sighs.] I was making some decisions on that question earlier, is all. Before I got here. And since then it's like I don't know which way is up anymore, or maybe I didn't to start with.

[Kal can easily tell it’s a lie, but he gets the feeling Dixon knows he wasn’t all that convincing and he decides not to push it or pressure him. These are not easy topics to talk about, and if Dixon came to Kal about it then he’s going to take it seriously and give the best advice he can. He gives him a little smile as he goes on, and kind of has the urge to squeeze his shoulder as reassurance but he isn’t sure if that would be welcome.]

I think we’re all going through that, in this place, more so if you were having to make that kind of decisions back home.

I haven’t known you for that long, but if you ask me… if you’re wondering what the right decision is you’re already in the right path.

Point. It gets hard to keep everything straight with all...this. [He waves a hand at Rivendell, but he means all of it. Life-or-death battles, fighting side-by-side with teenagers, coasting on the kindness of strange cultures, the responsibility of having actual stakes to your success.

He smiles back, but it's a bit wan. He would have appreciated the squeeze, if he'd known the thought crossed Kal's mind. There's only a thin veneer of self-control between how he's presenting himself now and the abject neediness underneath, the desperate desire for approval from someone like Kal, someone he's cast as a higher arbiter.]

You're saying it's probably not a great idea to just do stuff without thinking it through, huh? [Dixon laughs - it's a joke, kind of, not really - but it sounds a lot easier than it is. His impulsivity has been his worst enemy. Revan had him pegged right: any time he runs into a difficult emotion he darts towards the nearest way to anesthetize it, either through explosive anger or alcohol.]

[Kal returns Dixon’s laugh with a chuckle of his own.] Indeed.

But I’m also saying follow your heart, really. I believe people are good at the core, I believe… that if you listen, really listen to what your heart is telling you instead of trying to rationalize it and let hatred suck your soul bit by bit your moral compass will eventually find north.

[A tad naive, maybe, and Kal’s aware of it. But he’s never let things like that influence him. That’s what he believes him, and so if it makes him stupid or naive then so be it. He can handle it.]

So think things through, indeed. But don’t just listen to your mind when making moral decisions because I have seen very, very smart people be able to rationalize and explain just about every evil decision they could come up with.

I think you know, deep down, what’s good and bad. You just need to listen to that little voice in your head when it’s trying to guide you.

[Dixon snorts.] Don't worry about me thinking and rationalizing my way into nothing evil. I guarantee you thinking ain't a problem.

[He wants to agree with Kal. He very dearly, very sincerely wants to think that just listening to your heart will be enough. He wants to think of the human heart as like someone you can call for guidance, like a hotline you could phone to for a straightforward answer. He wants his heart to be a power on high instead of a part of him. He wants clear, incontrovertible rules so that he doesn't have to sort through messy grey areas.

He wants to believe people are good at their core, too, but for a moment he wants to protest, because he knows people do evil things. He doesn't believe there's anything good at the core of whoever burned a teenage girl to death, a teenage girl who became nothing but autopsy photos on his desk for nine months. He doesn't believe there's much good at his core, either.

But he doesn't protest it, because some of the little acts of kindness he's benefited from have lodged themselves in. Back home, people he wronged ran to put him out when he was on fire, stopped him from being beaten to death, gave him something to drink when he was in a hospital bed. Here, on this quest, people have carried his things when he couldn't keep up hiking the mountain, have healed his injuries, have encouraged him to succeed instead of mocking him for ineptitude. And he's gone from kindness to kindness like a stray dog going doorstep to doorstep for offerings of food.

So maybe there is good.]

You aren't the first person telling me not to hate. I think it's kind of a shame that hating is so damn easy.

Edited 2018-06-25 04:42 (UTC)

It is, isn’t it?

[Kal sighs, looking down. He may be stubbornly naive, and he does tend to look at certain things in life with rose-tinted glasses, but even he knows hatred comes way easier than love. It’s easy to hate what you don’t know, what’s different from you… and it’s always easier to assign blame and call yourself executioner when you’re bringing down vengeance.]

But that’s why I think it’s people who still look at the good side of things, people who refuse to let life bring them down after they have been hit over and over, people who still believe there’s good in people when they’ve seen the worst humanity has to offer…

Those are the truly strong people.

[Dixon doesn't even have to mull that over to know what he thinks about that. It's as if Kal's describing someone Dixon's total opposite. He thinks of people refusing to bow to life's circumstances, all these superheroes and knights and spacefarers running around having been tortured or had their worlds destroyed or whatever, and then he thinks about how he crawls into a bottle and hides there over things like mortgage payments.

Just give up. He knows, deep down, that that's nothing like what Kal's saying. But that's what he hears.]

And everyone else?

I don’t think there’s an us vs them, in this case.

[He shrugs one shoulder.] I really don’t think it’s people who are strong versus everyone else. I think… some people have managed to find their strength, and some people still haven’t. Some still haven’t found that one thing that gives them strength, that one thing to fight for.

I… can’t tell you much about it, but I wasn’t always Superman, I didn’t always know what to do. I spent a long time hiding away, in my own particular way, because I felt like I wasn’t strong enough to really fight for what’s right, to really fight for what I believed in.

It’s not something you’re born with, I believe. You just have to take it step by step, and if you need to rest at some point, or if the steps you take are small, but in the right direction, that's alright as well.

[Kal's words are like a sunburn, painful to the touch, but radiating a sort of warmth. Dixon doesn't know what he believes in; he doesn't think he has any sort of core beliefs or knowledge or self, just an outer shell of reactions and impulses, as if he wouldn't exist if he weren't responding to something.

He tilts his head at Kal's confession that he wasn't always Superman. It's not what he expected to hear. Sometimes, when you look to someone for guidance, it's painfully easy to forget their wisdom wasn't something that was born at the same time as them, created in tandem.]

Does that mean you won't judge someone if they fuck it up along the way?

[Kal can’t help it, he actually chuckles a little bit.] Rao, no. That’d be absolutely hypocritical of me, I have made a ton of mistakes along the way.

I don’t think I know anybody who’s never made a mistake, actually. Being a good person- or simply making the right choices- is not about never making mistakes or never doubting yourself. Personally, I think it’s more about recognizing your laps in judgement or miscalculations and owning up to them.

Learning from them, you know? And trying to do best next time.

[Dixon makes a whistling noise. It's not that there are a lot of lapses in judgment - although, the more he thinks about it, the more he adds to the mental tally - it's just that they're pretty large ones.]

It'd be a lot easier for someone to just reinvent themselves when they get here, probably. Except you, you came in with a cape. [He smirks to himself as if that's funny.] But they'd have to start day one. Just leave all the mistakes behind so no one could ever call them on it.

[Except that just because you don't admit to and own up to your mistakes doesn't mean they don't exist. They just sit there in your guts.]

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THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

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whoop copypaste fail up there, sorry

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He gets so preachy oh my God I'm so sorry

never apologize, he's great!

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