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

[kyley_b]

Kyle looks up, not quite relieved. "...me too. And I thought I was helping people. I wasn't, not really, I was being a little bitch. And... and people died. So.

"I didn't murder anybody, I don't think I could. But that sort of proves otherwise, doesn't it? Sort of?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra tilts his head one way, then the other, thinking before he replies.

"What you meant to do doesn't make the results...better," he says slowly. "I'll agree with that much. But intent and what you're feeling and thinking when you make a choice shapes you and that matters, too. So, no choosing to kill is different, because one you've crossing that sort of line, you're aware in whole new ways that's that...an option."

[kyley_b]

"Not better at all." He clearly still feels terrible about what happened.

He listens carefully to Ezra before he nods slowly. "So. I mean. How do YOU feel? This is clearly bothering you."

[ezra_of_lothal]

He takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"I guess it just hit me all over again how, uh, lacking in a lot of kinds of security, and straight up violent my real life has been compared to Billy's world? Just hanging out here and Temba - even while continuing my training and trying to do my part in making sure everyone has necessities, has kinda been a vacation for me, comparatively."

[kyley_b]

"It sounds like you might be being a little hard on yourself, dude. I mean... okay, comparatively maybe you've had a less violent life than some, but this place isn't exactly easy either. Just maybe in a bit of a different way. Okay, so you never had to fight a bunch of aliens or whatever the hell Tommy and Billy do in their realities. But you've had your own hardships, here and back home."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Yeah, I can't really help that I was born in a galaxy under a fascist regime headed by an asshole whose religion is basically 'anger and hate make you strong and winning is everything'. But, hey-"

He snaps his fingers and points at Kyle, with a smirk. "Fascist is a word I know now."

[kyley_b]

Kyle laughs. "Good, 'cause it's one I'm familiar with, unfortunately. And no, it's not your fault. It's shitty that that's how it all turned out for you, considering it seems like at one time there were differences between you guys and the other dudes that werne't quite so dire."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"That's right; you're Jewish," Ezra remembers. And now he has a little more of a clue of what that means, too.

"Yeah, I struggle with the idea of...good Sith. I mean, I'm not gonna attack anyone on sight, no matter who or what I think they are. That doesn't make any sense here. I gotta keep plowing through the history texts we brought back from the Temple Archives, even if I know they're not exactly unbiased."

[kyley_b]

"Yup."

Kyle shrugs. "I mean, I don't have any personal experience, obviously, just what people have said and what we saw in that abandoned museum. But I think you're right not to dismiss anyone immediately, even if they belong to a group that's hurt you. Religion especially leads people to do really weird, horrible shit."

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra draws his knees up to his chest, crosses his arms over his knees and rest his chin on top.

"The thing is, just saying oh, the Sith and Jedi are just different religions doesn't...quite work. Our abilities are real. How each person experiences them is subjective, sure. But certain techniques and results are pretty consistent and verifiable - across species, even. Both the Jedi and Sith aren't wrong about the basics of how our connections to the energy all around works."

[kyley_b]

"Okay, the techniques, yes, but it's the ideology that's different, right? That's the religious part, not the techniques. I mean, okay. My best friend is Catholic, like pretty much everybody where I grew up. I've been to Catholic Mass, and it's not that different from what I'm used to. You go, you sit, a guy tells you about stuff, you stand, you sit, you pray, a guy reads stuff... you get the idea. But the ideology is waaaaaay different. Like 'we think the other group is dead wrong' different. 'Gets people killed sometimes' different.

"So that's what I mean when I compare the two. It's the best way I can understand it."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I get what you're saying. But to a certain extent, techniques and ideology go hand and hand for Force use. I mean, I've studied both, the Sith stuff directly from a Sith holocron. I'm trying to figure out to boil it down to the bare essentials."

He lifts his head and spots a piece of driftwood. "Ok. The part that both Jedi and Sith aren't wrong about is - our connection to the Force is like...an emotional echo chamber. So the Jedi say 'then we have to be careful how we act on emotion when we use the Force, or our emotions might get out of control. We should strive to be calm when we touch the Force, and remembering our emotions are transitory states helps us reach that place of calm'."


He breathes out, reaching for that inner calm, and lifts a hand, and wood drifts in the air as well.

"The Sith say, 'no, our emotions give us power. Dig into them. Hold onto them.' Again, they're right. But anger and hate are such easy emotions."

[kyley_b]

Kyle leans forward a little; when he listens, it's with his whole body. While there's aspects to the Jedi he finds a little disturbing - he's just never going to be okay with taking kids from their parents, no matter how much sense it makes to do so - it's still fascinating to hear about them.

"They are," he agrees. He thinks for a moment and sighs. "I would know, I guess. For what it's worth, I think your way is probably the better long term."

[ezra_of_lothal]

He lets the wood drift down, and shoots Kyle a slightly worried look.

"What do you mean, you would know? Your own feelings, or how people have treated you, ok?"

[kyley_b]

Kyle smiles wryly. "I have a bad temper," he admits. "It's not the worst ever, but... Okay. Growing up, I had this friend...ish. And I think it was his personal mission in life to drive me crazy. I can't even begin to explain how furious he could make me, and it would only take a few minutes. He didn't even have to SAY anything, sometimes.

"So I know that if I had cosmic powers or whatever, the temptation to tap into that intensity would be difficult to ignore."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"You haven't seen me with Chopper when he's determined to get under my skin," Ezra shoots back, with a quick grin. "That droid gets away with so much shit my foster mom would not put up with from anyone else."

Then he gets serious. "So is your temper something you don't like about yourself?"

[kyley_b]

"I bet you never beat your droid unconscious," Kyle mutters.

"I guess? I don't know, I can't actually remember a time in my life when I wasn't angry."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Uh, the first couple of times Chopper and I got into it, I can only say I didn't break him because he's sturdy and doesn't have pain receptors," Ezra admits.

"I was kinda...feral, you know? I could handle my emotions ok when I was alone and only looking out for myself. Then suddenly I was part of a group of six being on a ship about the size of our ships here. It was a big change for me."

[kyley_b]

Weirdly, that admission puts Kyle at ease. "Lucky for him."

Kyle listens, eyebrows raising. "Feral," he repeats. "Damn, dude. You'd never know, you're super friendly."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Maybe a stray that needed to relearn socialization is more accurate? I dunno what to tell you, man. I got lucky with Kanan and Hera taking me in. Being an empath probably helped. Just...they were so good, and what I could feel from them reinforced that it wasn't bullshit."

[kyley_b]

The idea of a kid absorbing kindness and decency from his adopted family makes perfect sense - even regular children are little sponges.

"You did get lucky," Kyle agrees. "And I'm glad. Hey, your empathy thing... does it mean you can tell if people are lying?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

He waggles a hand.

"Sometimes. There's lots of factors. I don't pick up what people are feeling all the time, especially if I'm just minding my own business. Really strong feelings, or a very general mood, from most people. Or if I'm around someone a while, I'm...more in tune? I could pick up more, if I were willing to reach out and make an effort, but I'm not gonna do that without a good reason."

[kyley_b]

"Yeah, you don't want to like, breach their privacy." He hums, then adds, "Unless it was really necessary. Like, you know. If we found one of the Atroma or someone who knows more about them."

It's a bit of a mercenary thought, and as usual when such thoughts occur he feels an uncomfortable sense of familiarity.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"That's a circumstance I might consider breaching privacy for, yeah," Ezra admits. "Although, species is another one of those factors. Some have natural psychic defenses, or their minds works really differently."

[kyley_b]

"Yeah, might not recognise anything they feel as feelings." He shakes his head. "Well. Hopefully that sort of thing will never come up."