video; un: quibbler | broadcast around 2am 2/11

[creidim]

[ It's in the early hours of the morning of the second that Luna opens the feed. At first nothing looks awry, there's simply the cosy low-light of her bedroom and from what can be seen around Luna's shoulders everything seems calm. Well, slightly eerie, considering the soft glow that comes from under her skin, even slightly visible through her pyjamas. That's a new thing for this month, as if she (and everyone else for that matter) might see the very pulse of her blood within her veins. It's like she's turned into a literal nightlight.

And then Luna's face comes into view as she brings the camera up: bedraggled and wide-eyed and expression strained. There's panic in her eyes, worry. Her breathing's shaky as she stares at the camera for a moment, not sure how to start. Something is clearly wrong. ]

I need— answers. [ Her gaze shifts off-camera, then back. She swallows thickly, relenting. ] We were fine, we went to bed. We had a nice day, and we were fine— he was fine, and now— now he's— I'll just— let me show—

[ With much fumbling, she shifts the camera round. It turns to her bed, where a strange, human-shaped mass of grey lies upon it. She moves closer, and it slowly becomes clearer that the mass is in fact Peter Graham — concealed in the grey mucus, covered in tiny eyes that all stare up at her. The young man doesn't seem to be in any obvious distress: he simply sleeps inside the gross-looking slime that covers him. Luna keeps the camera on him for a long moment before she turns it back to her. ]

What is this—? What does it mean—? [ The questions come quickly. It is rare for Luna Lovegood to get herself all in a fluster, but this is Peter she's talking about. She's worried, and the fact that even she's openly worried and scared for him speaks volumes. ]

I've heard about... something like this. It happens to Sleepers sometimes, but I've never seen it. Is this when they go home—? Is that what it means—? Where do they go? Where did he go? I need answers, someone must be awake—

[ It might be obscenely late, but surely someone will be up to provide her with information. Does it mean going home? Luna's... frightened of that. She doesn't know everything about how things were in Peter's world, but she knows more than most. And she knows that there's nothing good for Peter back home. ]

How long will he be like this? How long does it last? He'll come back, yes? He has to. [ She flops down to sit on the edge of her bed, Peter just behind her in the camera's view. She's fretful, bewildered. Silence falls for a long moment, Luna looks utterly exhausted. But then again, this is hardly the most pleasant way to wake up in the middle of the night. And she's woken up plenty times in the middle of the night due to horrible, terrible and sometimes disgusting things.

Her voice grows very small, barely a whisper. How did this happen? ]

... I don't understand, he just— it was his birthday—

Comments

Video | 1stStrike

[strikefirster]

[Probably not the person Luna was hoping to hear from. But this guy tended to keep late nights to drink himself into a stupor. Maybe next time Ruby Rose will be awake to take on the call to action.

But Johnny despite his history with Luna actually looks a little sympathetic. He's seen someone close to him spend a month like this so he does actually know what's going on for once.]

Relax, kid. He's going to be fine.

He's gone back to wherever he came from for now. You might want to be careful when he comes back though.

Despite all the shit that happens here who knows what's happening to him back there.

video;

[creidim]

[ Curse you Ruby and your sound night's sleep. This is not the person she hopes to hear from now the person she was expecting to hear from, not for something like this. Luna wouldn't have thought he would have cared all that much, given everything.

But the assurances of Peter 'going to be fine' is something Luna knows for a fact isn't true. She knows it's not. Peter will be the opposite of fine. ]

He won't be fine. [ It's more horror than denial of any assurance. ] He won't. Peter... he can't go home, he just can't.

When he comes back, if he comes back—?

[ That's what she's afraid of. ]

video; un: lady; private; the next morning around 7 AM

[dohaeris]

[sansa is freshly scrubbed and dressed for the day in a thickly embroidered grey woolen dress. she definitely looks troubled, and has a mug of tea with her. she is faintly glowing, it's fine.]

I'm very sorry to hear this. Peter and I had discussed some similarities between our worlds, and I know it's very difficult for him there. When I discovered some things about my home that made me feel very upset and hopeless, a friend of mine helped me to realize that I had survived everything terrible that had happened so far and I was capable of surviving anything else in much the same way. He said there were other things I hadn't known about that might help me, if I had to go back.

[she sighs, glances away briefly, and clutches the needle end of her necklace.]

I should say that even if somebody has died in their own world, it doesn't mean that they will be dead here. He won't be gone from this place forever––the cocoon is proof enough of that. If he has gone back to his world, and something has happened, he will need your help. Of course I will do what I can, and so will Sharon and all of his friends. Neither of you are alone in this.

video; private from here on out

[creidim]

[ Meanwhile, Luna is still very much a dishevelled mess. She hasn't slept since she woke in the early hours of the morning, deep shadows now bloom under her watery eyes. She is still in her room, sat upon her bed. She's not left Peter, keeping watch over him — nothing has changed as of yet. ]

It's... it's not him dying that I'm worried about. If you die, you can come back in some way. If he's dead, he can still come back here, maybe. He'll wake up.

[ What frightens her most is... complicated. ]

How do you come back if you're gone? If you don't exist any more?

video | un: sds

[fogsong]

Hey, Luna. [ Sharon's voice is gentle and quiet. She manages to keep the worry from leaking into her tone but it's written on her face. ]

Shit, I... I wish I had the answers you need but... He's there. You can see him. That means he hasn't gone to the ocean. That means he's still here.

video;

[creidim]

He's here. [ It is honestly a mercy that he hadn't gone to the ocean, that she'd woken up to this rather than an empty bed. And she knows he'd wanted to go. He'd told her sometimes he wish the ocean would call him back. She... tries not too hard not to think on it. ]

But I'm worried about where he's gone instead. [ She swallows thickly. ] Maybe the ocean might have been kinder.

video | un: K

[obeir]

[ Oh. Oh no. The bizarre cocooning has preceded the permanent disappearances of several people K's known, and while he's also heard evidence of others enduring it and not vanishing afterward, he can't help but worry Peter might not be so lucky. Peter is almost never lucky. ]

Yes, this happens to Sleepers sometimes. From what I understand, it's as "normal" as anything else in this place. He'll be back. It just might... take a while. But he'll wake up. [ Emphasising that point. ]

In my experience, the process can last upwards of a month or more. Dirk's did. [ He knows Luna had known Dirk, and well, if she's ever wondered what ultimately happened to him: ] I don't believe he went home. He eventually woke from it, but... vanished not long after. Without word or warning.

[ As close as K had been with him, the loss was hard. And Dirk wasn't the first person he's lost in such an abrupt and permanent way — it's to the point where he wonders if he's the common denominator and getting close to him dooms people to such a fate. He doesn't want to needlessly panic Luna with this information, but rather help her be prepared for what could very well happen, though he dearly hopes it won't. And to that end, he also offers some hopeful comfort. ]

I've heard others come back from it and continue on like usual, sometimes with new memories of their home universe. I don't know why some seem to be sent home, while for others it's merely a temporary coma. It may be down to the whims of the Pthumerians.

Do you need help with— [ He falters, his own uncertain worry becoming more apparent. ] Can I do anything to help?

[ Damn. Happy birthday to poor Peter Graham. ]

video; public at first, then private

[creidim]

... A month? [ It feels like an age, a month. It's crushing. Peter could be stuck like this in this strange grey cocoon for a month, maybe more? But what'll happen to him in the meantime?

And then K hits with the possibility that Peter might end up waking only to go back to the ocean. That with however long like this, he'll come back to her only to leave again. Like Dirk had. Or that they might simply awaken with new memories. ]

So he might just be... mentally going home right now? [ And that might be it? Maybe? It doesn't fill her with much hope, though. And she quickly shuts the feed down to private. K understands the situation, and she doesn't want it all over the network. ]

private

... He can't go home. If he goes home, there's no more Peter. [ And that's what she's terrified of. Luna was the one who bonded with Paimon to spare Peter's soul. She made her deal so Paimon would stop forcing Peter out, in exchange for being his witch, his summoner. But if she's not there, then—? ] Maybe even if it's just mentally. If he goes home, he goes back to Paimon trying to get rid of him, to those horrible people who're manipulating Paimon.

What if he wakes up and... Peter's not there any more?

[ As for the offer of help: ]

Maybe if... maybe if you come over in the morning, is that alright?

voice: un: vi

[faceblocks]

[this is distressing. vi knows very little about the cocoon, but she's heard it's a thing. and it's probably better than just returning to the ocean, right? she knows very little about luna, too, other than what peter had told her - which was fond and cute and so genuine it hurts a little to think about.

she doesn't know how long it lasts, or who might have the answers and she'd be pleased to see sansa offer comfort and a voice of reason and insight, but that's private and she has no idea.]

I'm sorry, Luna. I only know Peter a little, but he's cool.

And when we first met he told me you were his favorite person in all of Trench. [and that you had big ole blue eyes. it's true.] Maybe that's why he's sticking it out like that, so he can get back to having a nice day with his best girl. A whole bunch of nice days, even.

voice;

[creidim]

[ Luna doesn't recognise the voice, but the voice certainly knows her. It comes as no surprise in a way, plenty of people know about her through Peter. And he does have the tendency to gush about her on occasion. ]

I know this is better than him disappearing into the ocean, at least. He'll come back. [ There's a pause. ] I'm... I'm worried about what it'll mean when he does come back, if he does. Things in Peter's world aren't... good.

... He's my favourite person, too.

[ It comes out hushed, but there's a quiet devastation in her voice. He's her favourite person, and what if he doesn't come back to her? She doesn't know what'll happen, but she's scared of what might. ]

voice | un: duty | private

[martyrofduty]

We cannot know until he returns. You can only be here for him.

I am sorry for your anguish and the uncertainty.

voice; private

[creidim]

I'm worried that he won't. It's possible he won't.

[ She's... sorry it's so vague. ]

Thank you, though.

voice, private; un: kickflips

[strongroots]

[ Robby isn't awake to find the plea when it's put up, and it's not until after noon that he bothers to check the network.

And oh, shit.

He wouldn't have been useful anyway, checking the posts himself to read what the fuck is even going on and barely understanding anything at that (he went back, dad? What the hell does that mean?), still reeling from the video, the shot of Peter like--that.

Robby knows to take a minute before sending any messages, but he has to; and that minute doesn't lessen the concern in his voice, but nothing is going to kill that from him. ]

Hey, Luna? It's Robby. Are you-- are you and Peter doing okay? Has there been any change.

[ Because of course Peter isn't okay (neither of them can be), but there's a difference: how is one doing emotionally, mentally, how is the other doing....in their state. ]

[creidim]

Hello, Robby. [ It's a despondent greeting. He might not be able to see her, but she sounds exhausted, a little congested from crying. She certainly hasn't slept since she first awoke to this in the middle of the night. There's not much that'll get Luna sounding like this, but something happening to Peter is certainly one of those things. Answering if she's okay is... not something she's able to answer. ]

No, there's no change. [ There's a pause before she adds. ] Some people have said it's quite possible he'll be like this for a week.

[ Just a... cocooned boyfriend stuck in her bed. ]

voice, un: GoldenFlowers, private

[the_obedient_servant]

[The interest that Chara has in Paimon's human host is relatively low. Not out of any malice but just because he hasn't really done anything that they've seen that impressed them. They're aware of the beating he received courtesy of Paul Atreides and his idiot of a sensei, and they're aware that the relationship between the host and the demon is complicated rather than exclusively negative.

But Paimon is one of theirs. They are bound by contract. So there is a sense of responsibility. And more privately, a sense of anxiety.]

From my understanding there's no guarantee that he will come back changed, the only guarantee is that he'll definitely awaken. But... the timing leads me to believe it's another Pthumerian joke - to yank him away after reaching a certain age only to remind him of his origins.

You have my condolences.

[Not what Luna needs right now but also they don't really care. Nobody comes to The Demon That Comes When It's Name Is Called for their bedside manner, and they don't think empty words from a demon would make the witch feel any better.]

What is it that you're worried will happen to him?

voice; private

[creidim]

... It's possible he might come back and nothing will have happened—? You've seen that happen before—? [ That's a new idea. That maybe this is just... some strange long sleep. That nothing will have happened to him at all. And it's... hopeful, as much as the rest of their words seem to allude to the fact it's likely what she's thinking and Peter has gone home, in some sense.

The question give her pause. The easy answer is that she thinks Peter's spirit will be expelled or burned out by Paimon and the hands of those who manipulate him. But she doesn't know this person... and she's cautious of the information she gives. ]

That the balance I've tried to give him will be broken, undone, by selfish people who want to use him. That if he comes back, he won't be the same. That the person I know will be gone.

un: aquila

[grice]

[ falco only sends a message only in the morning. after a month, he's been sleeping better. ]

I was in one for a week . . . [ and, the result of a return home was not kind; he could understand luna's worry, there. ] I hope he comes back, soon.

[creidim]

[ Oh, Falco.

Meanwhile this begins a month of poor sleep for Luna. She's not slept since the broadcast, and it doesn't look like it'll be happening any time soon. She's just... exhausted. ]

You were? [ It doesn't sound... too positive. ] ... I hope so, too. But I'm worried he won't.

Video; UN: Cuddlebunny

[lightthedarkness]

[Usagi hates seeing her friends so upset and distraught, she has a VAGUE idea what this is about but she also knows she could be dead wrong. Rather than assume, she merely says:]

He will come back, Luna. And whatever you need support for- whatever BOTH of you need support for, I'm here to help.

[Finally, she asks:] What will happen if he goes home?

[creidim]

[ This is... going to be a very long month. ]

Thank you, Usagi. I'm just— I suppose I just have to... wait and see.

[ The longest wait of her life, it feels like. ]

Plenty of things. I believe entire family is dead, for one. [ Peter has never gone into details with her, but he's shared his gut feeling with her that he believes his family to be gone, not just Charlie. But he'll likely be going back to that. ]

... There aren't good people back home, and I'm worried that they might undo everything I've done and put into place for Peter and... his situation, if he's gone back. That they'll continue to manipulate things towards their plan for him.

[Video][UN: A_Wesker013]

[subject_013]

[The feed shows Wesker, hair on end, glasses off revealing his now slightly bleared red-gold eyes, and face slightly stubbled, leaning on one elbow, the corner of a pillow visible. He's clearly just awakened.]

Hm. Rest assured, he's fine. That's what's called a Sleeper Membrane. It's as normal for us as closing ones eyes and settling into a comfortable position for most persons. Give him some time and space and he'll come out when he's ready.

[More awake, he shifts, rising slightly.]

I'm serious about giving him space. There's a tentacle which emerges from the membrane to slap at someone who approaches unannounced. It may not happen since you're close to him, but it's better that you know so it doesn't catch you off guard.

Also, once he emerges, save the membrane in a glass jar: it has some healing properties for small wounds or it can be used as a skin moisturizer.

video;

[creidim]

When you say he'll come out when he's ready... is this something Sleepers choose to do?

[ That doesn't make sense to her. They had such a nice day today, it was his birthday. Why would he chose to do this, to not even tell her. But she nods numbly to his advice, frowning softly. Keeping out of the way might be a good idea, but she also doesn't want to leave him. ]

A tentacle...? ... Like a protection spell?

[ It's the only way she can really describe it. ]

I can do that. How.. how long will he be like this, though?

[Video] username: justanadventurer

[aetherweaver]

[He doesn't really know her, but...]

I'm sorry. I know it's scary... I was in one of those recently. He'll wake up safe and sound. You don't have to worry about him while he's in there - he'll be okay.

[Granted, he doesn't know anything about this person, but. He was fine, so it's probably okay.]

Just take some deep breaths.

video;

[creidim]

[ Peter will... like not be alright. But she will at least take a moment to take some breaths. The fact he has some idea about this is a good thing to focus on, she does need answers after all. ]

How long were you in one of these cocoons? [ From what she's heard, it's... conflicting information. ] Do you... remembering anything happening?

private video

[eudaimonikos]

[Unlike most people, Michael has...some sense of what might have been going on with Peter and Paimon back home. No details, really; certainly not as much as Luna probably knows. But he's got a sense that it might be...pretty bad.]

Are they gonna be okay, back there?

[creidim]

I... don't think so, no. [ It is a huge worry for her. There's so many things wrong back home for Peter, and Paimon. ]

Before I bonded with Paimon, he wanted to get rid of Peter. It was a mindset he came to Deerington with, which I believe the people who were trying to put him into Peter manipulated Paimon into thinking.

video; un: ushiromiya

[entreats]

[ It seems like there's been enough people to tell Luna what it means, at least, so Ange won't bother with that. There's only so many times you can hear something before you start to get worried about the actual implications of all of this too, after all.

So Ange does what she can instead do - try to stay calm, for Luna's sake. She can't help Peter right now, all they can do is wait for him to emerge from that, so.. ]

Luna.

[ Ange's voice is soft. Both in the sense that it's quiet, but there's not the edge of a total lack of emotion that Ange often forces upon it. ]

I need you to just breathe for a moment, okay?

[creidim]

[ There's plenty to worry about, and she's not been able to settle herself since she first awoke to find him like this. But when Ange appears, is soft and gentle as possible to tell her to breathe — she does to her credit try. The camera propped up, she wipes at her face with both hands, shoulders sagging with a huge breath. ]

... I'm scared Peter won't come back. [ She knows he will wake up, but she can't be sure if Peter will come back, or if only Paimon will. ] I'm not there, the bond's not there.

[ Bond could be anyone's guess, but Ange will hopefully realise she means the bond she has with Paimon. ]

video; un: taka | private

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke waited a good while to get to this and ... semi-stalked what he could see of her other replies before he did to see just what it is tat's so terrifying about this even after being reassured he wasn't gone for good, that he'd wake up. He also notes how quickly the conversations disappear when someone says specific words, or how there's never any specific mention of Paimon anywhere.

He gets it. He can't imagine any of the jinchuuriki publicly talking about their bijuu, especially not before Gaara and Naruto changed how people thought of their kind. So he's quick to private his own feed. Just in case. ]

I do not have answers that you likely haven't gotten from everyone else. I know we don't really know one another, but Peter is aware that I have... certain abilities from home that have allowed me to control the demon inside of him previously.

Should he cause any problems in all this, I am willing to do what I can to alleviate them.

video;

[creidim]

[ There is caution being used, Luna often locking threads down when needed. She's overly protective of both Peter and Paimon, and she often leaves the whole 'demonically possessed' issue in Peter's hands to tell people when and if he wishes to. But—

... well, he just really came out with it, didn't he? In the future, Luna will highly appreciate the blunt honesty, it's very much part of her own philosophy. But for now she's actually a little stunned. It's been a rather rough time for her, and she's not really slept. ]

In truth, I can handle his demon. He listens to me. [ There's a long pause. ] Although when he wakes up, there's... a possibility there might only be the demon coming back.

[ Which changes a lot of things, it could change her relationship with Paimon. She very much hopes it's not the case. ]

But this is... good to know. Control him in... what way, exactly?