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

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

[ 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—

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[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.

[ 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. ]

[It takes Johnny a moment to realize that his foot probably belong in his mouth. Damnit. He was trying to be nice here.

His brain slowly pieces together how erratic Peter could be. Mostly because he still doesn't fully comprehend what Paimon actually is. He just knows it's not normal.]

You're worried he's going to be more the king, guy. Instead of the nerdy kid, right?

[ You tried, Johnny. You really did.

It's a question that stops her right in her tracks, her eyes wide as she stares frozen for a long moment. He doesn't really know what's going on with Peter still, right? But there's enough that he recognises a difference, even if he doesn't understand the details.

What she does know is that Peter wasn't supposed to be in his body any more. Paimon's explained it as Peter being given to him, that his soul should be gone. Luna made her bond with the demon to secure Peter's place, to keep him in his own body — so that Paimon wouldn't continue to try push him out. But if he's gone home? Back to those people? Back to the day Paimon broke his nose? ]

Or maybe never 'nerdy kid' ever again.

[ Her gaze lowers, eyes staring hard. She's trying her utmost best not to cry. ]

[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.

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.

[ 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. ]

[Shit.

Johnny didn't fully get it. There was nothing like that in his own world outside of movies. And he was woefully behind on a lot of movies at the same time.

He had mostly given most of the credit to Peter being unstable and there was still a solid part of him that did. But he had seen someone go home and come back changed. As much as he didn't really like the kid, he didn't want him gone.]

Maybe not, but you don't know that yet.

And maybe you aren't giving the kid enough credit that he will come back in one piece.

[ 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?

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.

[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.

[ It's true. There's plenty of uncertainty of this. She doesn't know what will happen to Peter if he's returned home, not for certain. But she does know none of it will be good for him, and maybe not for Paimon either. ]

I don't, no. But in some ways I do. The ways things are back home for him? I— I was the one keeping him in one piece. [ No Luna? No deal, no bond. ]

If I'm not there, if he's gone back to years ago, then— [ She inhales shakily. ] There are a lot of terrible people who want to make sure Peter isn't in one piece.

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

I am sorry for your anguish and the uncertainty.

[sansa frowns. she doesn't quite understand what luna's trying to say, and it's hard for her to even conceive of paimon pushing peter out of his body, given her powerset and lived experience with it.]

I don't think that's truly possible, here. I think Mariana holds all of us within her, and she sends us in and out like the tides. I don't know how the cocoons work, but I don't think she sends us away, not truly. I think it has the same magic as the ocean––it's connected to other worlds, but it's not apart from this one.

[she laughs nervously.]

I'm not a great scholar. That's just what it seems like, to me.

... 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?

[ 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. ]

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

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

Thank you, though.

Edited 2022-11-03 03:07 (UTC)

There is always that risk, for all of us. For Peter, especially.

You're welcome. What would lessen your pain?

[ Sharon knows only a little about Peter's past but she knows enough to feel a sick, gnawing dread fill her up. ]

Do you really think that, Luna? That the ocean would be kinder?

There's nothing for him back home, if that's where he's gone. He's told me enough himself. [ It's bad, back home. Paimon broke his nose the day he came to Deerington. The demon's still hounding him, hunting him. And they came to Deerington together. Peter's possession must have been that same day. ]

In the ocean it's... simple, peaceful. You're there, you exist.

[ That gives her pause. ]

... You know about Peter?

I don't think there's anything that would lessen it, not until I know he's back.

Edited 2022-11-03 04:17 (UTC)

It's true, and I'm sure Mariana's magic will be part of this. [ The cocoon, the sea. But while there's Mariana's power that connects all the worlds, there's other power that can connect back. ]

But there's magic in Peter's world, magic he didn't even know existed until just before he came to Deerington. It's old magic, and I'm worried that it might also be in play, and what that could mean for him.

[ What put Paimon in Peter is powerful, and if he's gone back to those who wield it...? ]

I know it's hard to explain, I'm sorry.

[it hasn't occurred to sansa that peter might not know what she's said to paimon, since paimon certainly knows what she's said to peter. and of course she assumes peter tells things to luna. she's not used to telling people things, and often loses track of what she's said to who. anyway;]

They've told me a little, and my own power, and Lady's, allow me to know a little more. I can tell that it was ill done. But my magic is old too, and though I haven't wielded it for long, I––

[she pauses; her eyes widen for a moment, and she glances briefly down.]

I can help. I've been learning how to be myself when I'm sharing a skin. I should have told Peter [she never told paimon, either]––I've been so busy trying to hide from my enemies, I never even thought to help my friends.

[there is a bit of a bite to her last words. she's cross with herself, angry with john gaius and his necromancers and everyone that's given her cause to be so mistrustful. but she catches herself, and offers luna a tired, self-deprecating smile.]

I'm the one that's sorry. I'll do everything I can to help them when they get back, I swear it.

[sansa has long felt that paimon's binding was crude and inelegant compared to her own warging. it may prove impossible to untangle them––paimon has nowhere else to go, for one––but she's reasonably confident that she and her teachers can improve upon the situation at least a little.]

Edited 2022-11-03 06:43 (UTC)

[ 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. ]

[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?

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

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