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wildestlogs2022-03-19 10:03 pm
wildestmods) wrote in wildestlogs2022-03-19 10:03 pm
THE PARLIAMENT OF TREES
THE PARLIAMENT OF TREES
[]It happens after most things have been discussed at Elrond's Council, but before anyone has left.]
[It is unreal. Reality warps and trees shoot up from the ground around the meeting area of the council. They don't destroy Rivendell but it's as if Rivendell is suddenly shoved away and off in the distance. Civilization retreats at disorienting speeds and suddenly the squad, Elrond, and his guests, in the middle of the woods, under massive trees that stretch up into the sky. The trees are taller than skyscrapers and thicker than the average lighthouse. Their branches intertwine as they reach up to the sky in a way where the branches seem to form almost a natural cathedral.]
[The ones immediately circling them also have gnarled faces. They chant in an unknown language, in deep musical tones with voices nearly indistinguishable from the creaking of branches, then speak to them in weathered voices.]
You have been summoned by the Parliament of Trees.
[Elrond stands, almost imperious in his expression. Though his voice is calm, he clearly has taken issue with the sudden abduction.]
A summoning we would have answered readily, if asked. It is considered courteous among our peoples, if messengers have been sent, for one to send word of agreement to a meeting first. [A tilt of his head and a slight narrowing of his eyes] But the Green truly does prefer to offer little forewarning when drawing others away from their homes, it seems.
❧ Free-for-all Post: This event will be in "free-for-all" format, meaning that threadhopping is encouraged and that threading should be treated in the same conversational way as network posts with branching threads. This post will only contain the part with Elrond and others. The agents of the Green will be set up with their own Q&A post after they've had time to talk to Elrond and co.
❧ Joint network Post. Due to the magic mirrors having the ability to be widened and set to float, any characters that don't (or can't) attend the meeting will be able to still participate. The mirrors will have been transported too and still broadcasting.
❧ Post in bracketspam format. We're trying to keep a brisk pace and allow a network vibe where speech matters more than action, for some talking heads rp.
❧ NPCing. The mods will handle all the fantasy npcs and some may show up that aren't specifically listed in this post. There are many people at the Council.
❧ It's okay if the conversation gets messy. It's a giant group that's going to be talking here. That means it's natural if side conversations happen, interruptions happen, or things get missed because people are talking over each other and switching conversational partners.
❧ A private discussion will happen later. A crossroads post and private conversation among the squad will happen after the Council, and after the meeting with the Green, so they can decide for themselves what to do next and how to handle what they've learned.
❧ Please only post to the sub-threads below and not to the main post. This allows the mods to add some if we need to.
❧ Please treat each appearance in chronological order. It may be good to spend some time talking to Gaia first or reading her answers before moving on.
Re: GAIA
[Tim is being a slippery little eel and it'll be an uphill fight to rewind the conversation, and it'll work better if he zings back to it anyway, so he temporarily focuses on her. She deserves someone checking in and doesn't have as much of a support structure.]
You okay?
It sounded like you knew each other personally.
Well, like you knew at least one of the Mothers Nature anyway.
Re: GAIA
That’s couple jewelry, and they might as well both be wearing “I’m with stupid” t-shirts with arrows pointing at Tim.
And, unrelated…
No one could know that Gaia creature personally. Not in the human parlance.
And…
The only people who would be naive enough to think they had a relationship with Gaia are her avatars…
Leading to…
Elle’s an avatar of Gaia who’s finally realizing what a shitty deal she’s gotten.
(Yikes. But it explains why Elle tried to defend Kon. She thought she was working from a better position.)
Tim has other things to interject before Elle can answer Kon’s question. ]
Don’t do that to her. Don’t set her up so that telling you that if she’s okay has to be about if she knows Gaia.
[ (Why should Caesar just get to stomp around like a giant while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? What’s so great about Caesar, hmph?)
Tim turns to Elle. ]
You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. I won’t let Kon hit anymore sore spots. I promise.
[ The look he shoots Kon after that is just a silent triple dog dare. Just try to tell Tim that he can’t make that promise either, Kon. See if that doesn’t end in fisticuffs. ]
Re: GAIA
[She's not sure what leaps of logic Tim's making in his head, or even what conclusion he's come to, but Elle is so confused.]
[Kon checking in is... really nice of him. She wasn't expecting that, especially considering he has his own shit he's dealing with (including Tim himself). But now Tim's taking it and making it about whatever else they were talking about before she got here.]
[And Elle's definitely not here to be put in the middle of whatever bullshit drama they have right now.]
Um. Thanks? [What is happening.] It's not a secret or anything. Gaia's a pretty big deal in my world. And I do know her, well. An aspect of her. Multiple, really, but mostly the one.
[Elle's doing what she does best: rambling to avoid talking about her emotions.]
And she hit the sore spots, not Kon. [Elle decides that it'll be better if she actually sits down instead of hovering over the two of them awkwardly.]
Fate and I don't get along. [She shrugs. That's putting it mildly.] And calling you an aberration was out of line. No matter how powerful she is, or is supposed to be, she doesn't always know best. [She says firmly.]
Re: GAIA
[He is trying here. He knows Gaia stomped all over some trauma points for Tim, knows it's really, really bad if he'd been pushed to tears, knows that he can reach hitherto unforeseen lows that he didn't used to before so many people died on him.]
[When Kon had even dropped in on him again in Paris, his quest to find Bruce had been...obsessive. It wasn't that he was wrong, that he hadn't caught a detail others had missed. He totally had noticed something, and even if no one else believed him, Kon'd had faith in that.]
[It was how he'd gone about it that had worried Kon. Sure, nobody had believed him, but wanting to go it alone, even when Kon himself was back and willing to help, even when he believed him. The sense that he was tangling with forces that were...dangerous - reinforced later when Ra's Al Ghul launched his attack on Gotham.]
[He knows this is that, he knows that Tim's been completely tripped off because Kon is vulnerable and someone is hurting him, someone's using him, someone's treating him as expendable - a terrible combination of what Lex and Superboy Prime had done.]
[He knows all the reasons he's acting like this and can't hate him for it, but there's only so much he can take. He's reached the point of wanting to lash out himself, and he doesn't want to say something mean that actually hurts him. He doesn't want to say something he can't take back.]
[Instead his jaw is set in an expression of annoyance but also hurt - and concern.]
I get why you got tripped off [Triggered, more like, but Kon doesn't have the vocab for that] but this passive aggressive thing? Not cool.
I'm walking away before I say anything I regret.
[He stands up.]
Elle, I'm sorry you dealt with that, Gaia's being a jerk. Thank you for sticking up for me. It was nice of you and Tim and Dick to do that for me, even if you all needed to stop.
[He turns back to Tim.]
I'm going back with the others. Talk to me again when you cool your head.
[He's sending Dick over after this, someone not the core focus of Tim's worry needs to be the one supporting him.]
Re: GAIA
(If he calms down. It’s humiliating to be caught with your ass showing, emotionally, and Kon’s going to go mull on this. Even thinking about it makes Tim grit his teeth.) ]
Hnh.
[ But that’s all he’ll say, until Kon leaves to go get an earful of Gaia’s poisoned tongue or to tell Dick that Tim’s still a disaster.
He looks at Elle with tired eyes. Tim’s not even mad about the idea of the bracelets; he doesn’t get jealous of the girls Kon likes.
He’s not sure if he should try to befriend her or not, now. It’s a good plan if he and Kon manage to stay friends, but since cooking his head involves stifling his emotions (which he’s apparently also not supposed to do), who knows when that talk is going to happen.
(Never. He can wait it out until Kon forgets about it.) ]
I should warn you I’m not great company. I understand if you need to exit the conversation too.
[ She came over to talk to Kon, anyway. She’ll go after him. ]
Re: GAIA
[Looks like Kon beat her to leaving because she was about to remove herself from the middle of whatever the fuck was happening there. So she watches Kon go and makes a mental note to check in on him later when she's capable of emotional labor again.]
Listen. I'm told repressing my emotions until I have a panic attack and Frenzy is a bad idea, so I'm going to sit here and cry until I can hear someone talk about destiny without screaming.
[At this point she's too exhausted to bother getting up finding another place to sulk.]
So if you wanna let out some emotions go ahead. I'm not going to be capable of looking anyone in the eye for at least another hour, so I honestly won't notice if you got something in your eye, or whatever.
[She's so fucking tired. And mortified, honestly, but her dignity is already in fucking shreds so why not break down in front of the one person who's already decided that she's not worth his time?]
[True to her words, she brings up her knees, wraps her arms around them, lowers her head and lets out the sobs she had been pushing back while she was talking to Gaia. She doesn't really let go, not fully, but there are some definite audible hitches of breath.]
Re: GAIA
[Any half joke he might have had about...anything dies as he gets closer and sees Tim's face. Elle is crying nearby and he's pretty sure that, given what he'd overheard, the two don't have anything to do with each other. He still places an elven handkerchief in her hand as he passes.]
[When he reaches Tim, he sits down but doesn't say anything more. Simply places his hand on his little brother's shoulder as an offer to come closer if he wants to. He almost definitely needs a hug, but Dick knows better than to try to force it on Tim, too.]
Re: GAIA
Thanks, Elle. I won’t tell anyone.
[ It’s quiet and kind - he doesn’t even add “if you don’t”, and he doesn’t take her up on the offer to immediately start crying. Tim doesn’t care if she sees, but he’s still telling himself that he can’t afford to lose it. He’ll never recover from that.
This would be a good time to meditate. Clear his head. But then he’d look like he was screwing his head back on. Who takes a meeting in the lotus position?
The fear is backed up when Dick appears and all Tim is doing is leaning his head back. He’s not even crying or hugging a knee. He’s just trying to exist in this space. He leans away from the hand. ]
I’m fine. I’m handling things my way from now on. And I don’t think Elle wants a hug either.
Re: GAIA
[She takes the handkerchief with a muffled] Thanks. [She would laugh at Tim's "I'm fine" and "handling things my way" if she wasn't busy crying.]
[Elle would actually love a hug, thankyouverymuch Tim, but considering her one interaction with Dick so far was when she brought him his dying little brother, she doubts that they're on that level.]
We're both fine. [She says. Is she actually going to convince anyone she's okay? No. It's more of "Tim's about as fine as I am, so either we're both great or we're both terrible" type of comment.]
Re: GAIA
[Well, Tim can read him as well as he can read Tim. Too many years working together.]
All right. We can talk later, if you want. You know where to find me. [A glance to Elle before he extends the offer.] Either of you.
[He's been the responsible one for the family for a while now. Bruce has always been the core, but Dick's the heart. And he's extended that to so many. It can't be a surprise to Tim that he'd open that up to more.]