Event | Summer Jubilee | June 22nd-28th

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL! With special guest appearance by Asti
Date: June 22nd-28th, 2014
Location: Keeliai, all sectors
Situation: To celebrate the six month hatching days of the baby turtles that coincides with the arrival of summer, the kedan are throwing a city wide party! And Asti gifts everyone with a happy dream to make up for the badness plaguing Keeliai lately.
Warnings/Rating: TBA

While the kedan have a complicated and extensive system of writing, a good portion of their folklore is oral tradition and there's one prominent tale that's being told over and over this week. Small variances in the tale do occur from telling to telling but the core of the story goes like this:

Long ago before there were any people in the world, the First Family was made in the sky. Sun, the Mother and Moon, the Father were happy but desired children of their own. They watched all the creatures in the oceans, on the land and in the air and wished they could also have a family but they could not, for they didn't know how and so they were sad. They drifted apart, with Mother the Sun only coming out for part of the time and Father the Moon sometimes disappearing from the sky. Not wanting to see them so saddened, the creatures in all the lands and seas and air gathered together and searched their respective domains for children to give into the sky. From the four corners of the world they came with four children: one for the Dawn, one for the Midday, one for the Dusk and one for the Night. Mother the Sun and Father the Moon were overjoyed! They thanked the creatures of the world and promised they would never again abandon their places in the sky and became the First Family. And for a time, all was well. But Dawn and Midday and Dusk and Night grew older and, as children are wont to do, started asking when they could leave their home in the sky to begin their own families. Their parents were afraid of feeling so alone again if that happened so each year they said, "next year, next year". Eventually the children grew tired of this answer and so, sneaking into the place of the Stars where everything that was known was kept and they cut the end off of Time. The next time that their mother and father went to deny then, the children cried "You cannot say next year, for next year does not exist anymore!" And the Sun and Moon were afraid that if the children went away, then Time would indeed run out and so they agreed that their children could have families of their own, if they stayed and became the Second Family. The children agreed and even today, it is said that they are still waiting for the end of Time to grow back so they can visit other places without everything ending.

OOC INFO & LINKS
Subheaders are for various parts of the event and the rest of the post (not in sub headers) is for general mingling and tagging! Questions relating to the event go HERE.

Adopt-A-Foreigner | The Ritual | Dream A Little Dream | Asti's Blessings | Barbecue | OOC Post

Comments

hal jordan | open

[animosus]

Wherever you find him this week, Hal is grinning. Despite Kyle's and his doppelganger's disappearance leaving him with one rookie Green Lantern who should never have gotten the ring in the first place, Hal is feeling great. He's knows what his father's last moments were like. It had been a cause of great doubt in him and to know, to finally be vindicated was like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

He's dressed like a Green Lantern once more having finally reached a point that it wasn't out of necessity that he picked up his ring again, but because it was his duty and he was going to rise up to the challenge rather than believe himself unworthy of it.

"Guess who's back in action?"

[looksfine]

"Am I correct in assuming your current choice of uniform would be a clue?"

Hi, not!Papa. Long time, no see.

[animosus]

He tries to dial down his enthusiasm slightly, but it's still clearly visible even as he sheepishly runs a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I know I've been not here lately, but I got some really good news and figured it was time to get over myself."

[looksfine]

She would forgive him just about any and ever bout of overly-emotional expressiveness; it was wonderful to see Hal Jordan looking so cheerful again.

"You are here now."

It was more than just her usual habit of stating the obvious.

[animosus]

It was a little late for Kyle and his counterpart who could no longer be found on the turtle, but better late than never.

"Just in time, right? I couldn't let you handle all the gl work by yourself."

Korra most emphatically did not count as a Green Lantern. He would refuse to listen to anyone saying otherwise. She had yet to prove herself worthy of it in his eyes.

[looksfine]

"I was not by myself."

Aya's lack of telepathy could not have been more apparent in that one, single moment; whatever Hal Jordan's opinions of the newest Green Lantern might have been, they were far from mirroring her own. She had a tendency to judge people based not on level of experience or knowledge, but on personal interaction. And exchanges between herself and Korra--minor discrepancies in speech patterns aside--had never been anything but positive.

"Green Lantern Korra has been a most helpful presence since acquiring her ring."

[animosus]

Hal looks like he's swallowed a lemon whole and that he just heard that Batman was back and wanted to give him another lecture on responsibilities. Basically his previous good humour has just been destroyed.

"You mean the same Korra who picked it off the ground?"

[looksfine]

Uh-oh.

Aya knew that face. Different Hal, but same exact expression. And she had become well versed enough over time in contextual clues to--combined with his question--deduce what this could potentially be about.

"She did not just pick it off the ground, Hal Jordan. There was no act of deception in her acquisition of it. I checked. If there had been, the ring would not have responded to her."

Lantern Rings 101.

[animosus]

"The rings don't lock when anyone other than the Lantern assigned to it tries to use it." Hal would know, he's had his rings taken off him a few times to learn that the hard way. Even Ollie managed a tiny construct once.

"And last I checked, Mogo wasn't here to pick new recruits so she did pick it off the ground."

This is where willpower doesn't come in handy because it means he isn't going to budge.

[looksfine]

And this is where it would equally not come in handy that Aya was...quite literally made of the stuff. Willpower, that was. But also pure stubbornness.

Two guesses where she got her latter habit from?

"The rings I am familiar with do lock. And Mogo does not select new recruits. He is a new recruit. As was I, less than two of your Earth years prior." She didn't even wield a ring, which was why the small oan creation was hardly the definitive symbol of a genuine Lantern for her, either. "I also do not judge her for the ring alone. Tell me, Hal Jordan--what is it about her presence you object to so strongly?"

[animosus]

Hal's never really examined why he couldn't accept Korra as a new recruit. It takes him several tries before he starts getting somewhere.

"Being a Green Lantern is an honour. We're singled out because someone sees something in us and even then some of the new recruits wash out during training, but at the end of it you know that every single one of the rookies who gets through is someone you know will have your back. I don't know about her character, no one picked her, she's a civilian that found a gun and wants to play at a cop."

He'd been struggling with his place in the Corps ever since the incident in the bottle and to see someone just waltz in and claim membership was the greatest insult.

[looksfine]

It would have been a fair assessment, were it not for one very important detail:

"No one picked me up either, Hal Jordan. I chose to become a Green Lantern. In fact, there were a number of Guardians who continue to object to my very existence. Including my own creator."

[animosus]

That does put him into a bit of an awkward position. He can't exactly stick to his argument without saying that she wasn't a real Green Lantern.

"Uhh, well you've got the same energy in the rings powering you so it's like you were made for it."

But it's a-okay to find exceptions.

[looksfine]

It was a surprisingly logical argument. Aya was both taken aback and impressed. But also too determined to give him the credit just yet.

"You are able to make that claim now, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, because you have seen me in action. Just as I have seen Green Lantern Korra in action." Oh yes, she was still going with that Title. "Perhaps if you were to see how she has accepted both the ring and responsibilities that come with it, you might be more inclined to realize that I am right."

[animosus]

"I've seen her in action and it left much to be desired."

Or he let his prejudices influence his view, but semantics. He doesn't see why it's so important that he accept this interloper into their Corps. They were almost like a religion to him and it was why he was taking it so personally that anyone could just join.

[looksfine]

"Then you need to see more. Perhaps a group training exercise?"

And perhaps why Aya was taking it so personally that Hal Jordan, of all people, was refusing to accept somebody who chose to become a Green Lantern.

[andaway]

And guess who meets him in the air, hovering with a grin on his face as the cape flutters.

"Someone's had their morning coffee."

Clark is not a turtle parent so he isn't aware of the turtle paying people a visit to reward them yet, but it's obvious something has changed in Hal's demeanor since they last talked. "Did something good happen?"

[animosus]

Good was an understatement. He could almost reach out and kiss him right now. But that would be bad because it was bad enough people got the wrong idea about him and Barry, no need to add another person to that fake scandal. He's pretty sure Lois would be okay with it, it'd just be other people.

"I was right!" He wasn't the type to bounce around excitedly, but he's almost vibrating with repressed happiness. "I asked... the big turtle guy about my dad, about the crash."

Asti, please don't be offended that Hal forgot his name. He's just hasn't had a reason to learn it.

[andaway]

"Big turl-" His eyebrows raise up.

"Asti? You talked to Asti?" Which isn't all that surprising, since they have shared dreams in the past with him. Clark personally adores the turtles- Asti and the kids. He just didn't know he'd been paying visits that night.

But as someone who'd finally gotten to meet his father in the turtle, he knows how much closure something like that can bring. Ha'ls good mood is suddenly understandable. "And how did that exactly go?"

[animosus]

Hal talks quickly, eager to get to the important part. "He showed up in my dreams, said thanks for looking after Em and he'd grant me whatever I wanted. There was only ever going to be one thing I wanted. And before you say anything there was no way that was just a dream."

The determined expression on his face almost dares him to ask if it might be. It was far too good to be a dream for one thing, but Hal can't explain the gut feeling even though he knows 'just because' isn't really an answer.

[andaway]

"I wasn't going to." That's the truth. The S stands for Hope in Kriptonian., not Crushed Dreams. Even if he thought it had been a dream he wouldn't have said so- and considering the amount of power Asti has he doubts he'd have gone out of his way to trick Hal when actually giving him the memories was probably even easier.

"You saw him before the crash?"

[animosus]

"I was there that day, but it was more like I was him."

Hal remembered confusion turning into dread and fear when he realised what was happening and now he also knew what it was like to know your plane was going to crash and you couldn't eject because your son and your boss was down there in the way.

"I spent so many years hating Carol's father and he didn't blame him at all." It might have been because there hadn't been time, but Hal's having a moment here.

[andaway]

He actually reached to grab Hal's shoulder, squeezing it gently as he gave the man a smile.

"Your father must have been a good man if he had you, Hal. Of course he wouldn't have spent his last moments blaming someone for his death. But it's normal to blame someone when a loved one dies..."

Like Martha. His mother had never said it, never would dream of saying it, but Kal suspected he blamed him for not being there when his father had had a heart attack.

"I'm really glad for you."

[animosus]

Hal had felt so sure it was Carl Ferris' fault. He'd heard his father over the radio telling them that something was wrong and the man had just brushed off his concerns and told them to fly the damn thing because they had important people watching. It was moments later he'd watched the plane crash. Hal had finally managed to let it go when he saw what his father's death had done to the man, but that was years he spent resenting him he couldn't take back and knowing what he did now, the guilt was doubled.

It was a weight lifted off his shoulders, but he realises it was a bittersweet victory as the initial euphoria fades.

"I'm being sappy and emotional. You shouldn't humour me." A little late, but he's going to try and keep his 'manliness'. An initial outburst was understandable, but to continue on was completely unacceptable regardless of how Clark might respond.

[andaway]

He laughed, tapping at the S on his chest.

"You know me, this might as well stand for 'Sappy'. But it's fine if you don't want to talk about it, I'm just..." A pause, as he wondered how to put it in a way that wasn't 'sappy and emotional'.

"I'm glad you got to live those moments, Hal. You deserved them." He tried, he really did.