Temba Beach Party!

[beholding_archivist]

WHO: EVERYONE!!
WHERE: Temba Beach
WHAT: BEACH PARTY TIME!!
WHEN: noooooooow
Notes: Mix & Match the prompts as desired. Any format goes!
WARNINGS: Pride Birbs. It's Pride month. So. PRIDE BIRBS! Oh. And you may add your own warning labels to the respective threads, I suppose.



Isn't it amazing what people can achieve when several come together and pool their ideas and resources for a shared goal?

It certainly is in Jon's eyes, whose innate lack of creativity originally has gone as far as bringing some blankets to the beach and hoping for a good mood. What has ended up being set up on the bluish, almost purple sand of the beach is far beyond anything he would have imagined and he won't deny being glad he has reached out over the network with his little suggestion.

Of Barbecues, Grills and other Beverages

Do you remember Cobb asking for a grill to be made for him? Right. That grill can be found at the party. Kyle has offered to prepare burgers to be grilled along with whatever meat selection the diner has to offer and Clarice is the person to thank for the home made ice pops, created from native fruits such as glueberries and mangourd. Of course these are kept fresh under a parasol and in an insulated box mostly buried into the sun. That's how the majority of the drinks offered at this party are being kept cool as well.

If you want to catch one of those fat green lobsters roaming the beach as well and toss it onto the grill, you sure can try.

INTO THE OCEAN!!

You better bring your swimwear, because jumping into the water is an option. No actually dangerous creatures are this close to the shore, making swimming or potential swimming lessons very much possible.

Tony also ensured there is a little kiddie pool for the babies. And Cobb.

Someone brought an inflatable Eyeball?

Before anyone asks, it wasn't Jon. But it's there. An inflatable eye beach ball.

Any questions? Yes? Good.

Lounging in the Shade & Music

Parasols, blankets and a guitar borrowed from Cayde's bar. Sit down, relax, chat. And if you know how to play this instrument, you're very welcome to do so.

Let there be BIRBS

Have you wondered yet why those birds are in the banner for this party? It's because they are here.

At first they linger in the trees near the beach, watching and squawking and being colorful parrots. As a little time passes, they leave the safety of their trees and start coming over, sitting on parasols, hopping curiously between this oddly large amount of people gathering at their beach and in all likelihood attempting to steal a snack or two.

But if you pay close attention, you can also observe them swooping down at the nearby lobsters, easily picking them up and carry them back into the nearby forest. Apparently these birds aren't just colorful and curious they also hunt lobsters. Who could have known...

Don't forget the Caves

Actually not far from our little party waits the entrance to the caves. Take a wrong turn in them and you will find yourself in a large chamber filled with those energy crystals that make all your technology glow and go insane or result in your powers to fluctuate greatly. Take the right turn, and you find yourself at those mysterious hot springs only few know about.

To be fair, the actual party is at the beach, but who knows when the need for some privacy arises.

When it gets Dark we gather around the Rainbow Colored Fire Pit

While set up at the edge of the gathering, the fire pit Tony and Cayde have set up to have a bonfire in easily is one of the center pieces of the party. Benches and seats either brought over from Temba or crafted from different material are set up around it and once the sun begins to set and the bonfire gets lit along with the many torches set up around the party, the invitation to remain a little longer couldn't be clearer.

There's more to it than just a cozy fire, a pleasant atmosphere and the company of friends. Next to the fire pit sits a small box. In that box, wrapped in plain tissue paper, are what at first glance are little more than lumps of wax. But mixed into this wax are different chemicals and tossing these into the pit will result in the fire burning with different colors or even sparkle. Way to set the mood and linger as the party winds down.

Due to health concerns Jon does not recommend cooking any food over the chemically altered flames, thank you.

Comments

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I don't mind at all," he confirms, without hesitation.

He does hesitate before he asks his next question, "You said you have a baby brother, right?"

[kyley_b]

"Sweet. Dude, this is gonna be awesome if it works."

He smiles gently. "Yeah. I mean, he's not a baby anymore, he's a teenager now. Ike. He's adopted, but I love him more than anything."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Oh," Ezra says, thoughtfully. "So adopted family isn't weird to you at all. And isn't for me, because I already had more than one family. Obi-wan's sort of having the...reverse problem? Inverse?"

He's not sure which the better word. "Growing up in the Jedi Temple versus the life he remembers from Billy's world, memories of entire nuclear family included."

[kyley_b]

"Nope, not at all."

Kyle frowns. "Oh, jeez, so it's like... 'this is what a normal human life would have been' sort of thing for him? And it's fucking him up?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Sort of. Normal's...not a great word for any of this, I don't think." He frowns a little at Kyle. "Or maybe it is. I don't know."

"'Cause yeah, his not having Force sensitivity or any of the super powers people had in Billy's world, either, is part of it. And I can't really help him there, because my connection to the Force was turned way down, but not entirely gone, and besides, I remembered this life, too. And then, yeah, there's him having this entire life of being raised by parents who never had any reason to think he'd be anything special, and loved him just as he was."

After a beat he adds, "I mean, I love my mom and dad, but looking back they could be, uh. Intense? And I think...I think they always knew I wasn't ordinary. Maybe Jedi never crossed their mind. But I figured out, pretty early, I had some weird quirks. Hunches, knowing things I shouldn't. And other kids my age could tell too."

[kyley_b]

"I mean, okay, no, but... Average? Whatever."

Kyle of course had only recently had the reverse happen - he'd been given powers. And now they were gone. So he could at least sort of imagine how much THAT sucked for Obi-Wan.

"I get intense," he says, unconsciously picking at a hangnail. "Yeah. So... Hm. Having just normal loving parents and not getting whisked off to Jedi School... it's very different, yeah. Poor guy."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"The weirdest part of me is - I was the most important thing in Ben's world. He just wanted me to be safe and happy. He didn't want me involved with all the weirdness in the City at all."

That's not how any of his other family, thought, at all.

[kyley_b]

Kyle looks at Ezra thoughtfully.

"Well, yeah. That's what big brothers are supposed to do." He shakes his head. "Jeez. You guys really do have it rough."

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra sighs. "I don't think I'm explaining it right. Safe is kinda relative, anyway."

He looks over at Kyle. "But hey, thanks for playing basketball with me? It seemed like you were a busy guy, in that life, and you didn't have to take the time to do that."

[kyley_b]

"No, I think you are. I think you guys just have kind of a sad metric for families."

He grins. "Dude, I felt SO bad, I had no idea who you were! I was busy, sure, between work and the hero shit and dating, but like whatever, it was super fun."

[ezra_of_lothal]

He wants to argue with that first part, but then he processes the rest of what Kyle.

"Wait, wait, so you were one of the costumed heroes running around?"

[kyley_b]

"Yeah, I was. I could fly, and I had laser eyes! It was so cool, dude."

He shrugs. "All gone now, of course."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I can jump and fall really well - float a little. It's probably a good thing you taught me basketball, when I couldn't do all that. Flying with just powers is a whole other thing, and it seems like it would be pretty cool," he admits.

"So did your family know you were doing the hero thing?"

[kyley_b]

"Hah, yeah, you'd have a natural advantage."

He nods. "Yeah. And they were so proud of me. It was like... yeah. A really, really nice life that Billy gave me. Really nice." He shrugs again, trying to look unbothered. "Oh well."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"So here's a question - and feel free to tell me to back off - did being a hero ever put your family at risk, that you remember?"

[kyley_b]

"Not that I remember, no. Why?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

He'd meant to drive home a point - something about family and duty and safety as he'd experienced it - but something about that 'why' stops him in his mental tracks. Trying to get his point across just feels mean and pointless.

So he shakes his head and give Kyle a sad smile. "Good. That's...good. I'm glad. That does sound like a really nice life."

[kyley_b]

Kyle is a little naïve, and a lot opinionated, but he's not stupid or entirely blind to other people.

"No," he says stubbornly. "What? You were leading to something. You can ask it, dude."

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra rubs the back of his neck and sighs.

"I'm not even sure how to ask it, because it's not even really one question, or one answer to any of the questions I could ask. I was just wondering...what you would have done if your family had been at risk. If there were things you wouldn't do, to protect them. If there were things they wouldn't want you do. And whether having powers or not changes your answers."

[kyley_b]

"Oh! Well, shit. In Billy's city, no, my family was never at risk. Which probably should have been a clue it wasn't real, really. But it felt natural."

He picks at a hangnail as he considers how to explain things. "But, I mean. My actual family has been at risk loads of times. Not from me, specifically, but in general. And I would do pretty much anything to make sure they were safe, yes. I think if I had powers that would be the same."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Right. And I can't ask you, say, would you even kill people for your family. That'd be the line for some people. It's not for me. It's-" He rolls his bottom lip between his teeth, thinking his words through carefully.

"When do you walk away from other people who need help and protection? How much you let fear of losing the people you love affect what you do, when you've already committed to something bigger?"

[kyley_b]

Kyle blinks, shocked in spite of himself. "I... don't know if I could deliberately kill for them," he says, suddenly deeply uncomfortable. "I mean. Unless there was literally no other way.

"What do you mean 'bigger'? How big are we talking, like saving the planet or something?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra nods, without judgement. "See? Different standards." Most people aren't put in the position they have to make that kind of choice. He does know that.

"And yeah, a planet maybe. Or even just everyone here in Temba. Like, Ben got hurt by those shadow things right before Billy's spell broke, because Ben was following me and I was convinced the spell was going bad, that stuff was rapidly coming to a head in a way that could be dangerous to everyone real. There were a few of us, who remembered stuff from this life, trying to convince Billy he'd made the city. Maybe I should have immediately gotten Ben somewhere safer, and tried to get him medical treatment. I'm pretty sure that's what Ben would have done. Help his brother. But I had to make a judgement call, because now I had proof that real people could be hurt by the shadow things that were going nuts."

[kyley_b]

"I mean, it's a morality thing, don't you think?" His heart feels like it's beating too hard.

"In that particular case, I think you did what you had to do. We have a saying where I'm from: 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.'" Although he's not sure if he could turn his back on his own brother.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"It is a morality thing," Ezra agrees, quietly. That makes choosing sound simple, which he doesn't think it necessarily is, under that sort of pressure. But there are lines, and he hadn't thought about them nearly enough when he'd signed onto the whole Jedi/rebel gig, and he's crossed some that he only regretted in retrospect.

"Kyle...you ok?" he asks, even more softly, because Kyle doesn't sound upset, but the feeling wafting off of the red head doesn't feel good either.

He wants to say what he's feeling is fear, but he's not sure why.