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(video) un: laurel

[ The feed clicks on to reveal a blonde woman with green eyes staring into the camera. It takes a few moments before she adjusts the angle to give a better view of her face, one that it isn't so close up. She gives a warm smile. ]

Sorry about that! Still, getting used to this, uh, device.

[ Her accent is unmistakenly American. ]

Anyway. I'm Laurel Lance and I've been here for a little over a week now. Not going to lie, it's been a lot to take in, but I think I'm getting there. I just have a couple of questions for people.

Firstly, where has the best coffee?

Secondly, is there a gym or something like it around?

Last but not least, I'm wondering if there's a need for legal advice in this place. I'm a lawyer back home.

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

[ With that, Laurel ends the feed. ]

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[ There is no end to how cool this person is, wow. Flynn's eyes sort of light up at her description of her job, and he can't help himself leaning in eagerly. ]

It's a nightmare. Well, perhaps that's overstating it—but, no, laws and the process of changing and litigating them is perhaps the part of my job I am most passionate about and yet deeply underqualified to actually perform. They are not written for the layperson, and I congratulate you on your ability to understand them.

[ This made a nice change. Laurel is glad that someone is expressing such an interest in what she did for a living. ]

Good to know that someone is so passionate about the law like me. When I'm in the courtroom, I feel incredible and I guess a rush of adrenaline too? Like I'm in charge. [ She smiles at the compliment. ] Uh, thanks. I don't think anyone has ever congratulated me for that.

If you ever want to talk about the law and what I do in more depth, I'd be happy to.

That seems like a terrible oversight. It's certainly worth congratulating. I've managed to avoid reading some of the kingdom's more dense and archaic legal text, but it is—ah, was, only a matter of time before those things crossed my desk. We had a lot to rebuild. To be on the front lines of changing the laws like that must have been very thrilling.

Not so sure about changing the laws. My job is more about interpreting them and using whatever is in place to prosecute a case. Whatever case the city throws my way, it's up to me to help my boss with it.

[But she did get a thrill sometimes. Not just from being a lawyer. Being a vigilante did that also.]

When you say 'rebuild', did something get destroyed in your world?

That is... one way to put it, yes.

[ How does he even explain this... ]

My best friend—an excellent fighter himself—and his friends discovered that the technology our world relied on to keep everyone safe from monsters and... do just about everything else was actually killing the planet. Just by using it, we were inching closer to our doom. Commandant Alexei hastened this by unlocking an ancient evil, created by similar overuse of blastia [ He has in fact forgotten to inform her that blastia is that technology ] and the only way to defeat that evil and save our world was... to destroy all the functioning blastia in existence in one fell swoop.

It was worth it, but a great deal changed after we destroyed it all. I've spent the last few months just making sure each town has a wall in place to replace the barrier blastia that used to keep them safe.

[ Getting the feeling that she was in for a bit of a story, Laurel settles back to listen to what he had to say. When he's finished, there's a look of surprise of her face which soon turns to one of concern. ]

Damn, that is a lot. I haven't really dealt with end of the world before - well, maybe just the end of my city, but that was about it. I'm really sorry to hear that happened to your home.

What exactly is 'blastia'?

Ah, please, don't worry about us. Before Yuri and I woke up here, we were managing... well, we were managing. We'd gotten walls up around all the major cities, and unexpectedly, the Imperial Knights and the Union were actually working quite well together under so much pressure.

[ Wait, that doesn't answer her question at all. Flynn pauses, and then fiddles with the Omni for a moment. ]

Yuri! Can you—oh, yes, thank you. Come here a moment?

[ A shadow crosses the frame, and then Flynn pulls a much paler hand than his own into view. Around this unknown person's wrist is a gold cuff, chunky and secure, inlaid with a bright red gem. ]

This is a blastia. Well, it was. It doesn't function anymore, of course, but it's technology that, prior to us... destroying everything, helped control and direct the flow of aer to various ends, depending on the formula used with it. The combination of machinery plus core was called a blastia.

[ Flynn turns Yuri's hand over a bit, letting the gem flash, and then releases his wrist with a grateful squeeze, looking up at him as he returns the Omni to its rightful place. ]

Thank you, Yuri. It's too hard to explain otherwise.

[ Belatedly, Laurel realises that she has heard a lot from him about his own world and she hasn’t shared much about her own. But she is interested to learn more which is why she asked about it in the first place.

She watches the feed with interest, taking a close look at the cuff (which Laurel thinks would make a nice statement piece) but she knows that wasn't the purpose of the demonstration. ]

Before you showed me that, I wasn't expecting to see something that looks a lot like a piece of jewelry. Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me. I think having a visual aid also helped.

Almost certainly. Blastia are complex even for people who grew up with them. There is a reason the Imperial blastia research department exists, after all, and why the empire employed so many mages to study them and aer.

[ Flynn shakes his head a moment later at something Yuri says off-screen and smiles quietly. ]

That is, I'm afraid, a great deal of words to throw at you to basically tell you that we nearly destroyed the world, but for the greater good, and that prior to coming here, we were doing alright. I can only hope that the systems we managed to set up will continue to function without us. How are you feeling about being here in this city?

Hey, sometimes you need to explain something in a lot of words. I should know, given what I do back home. I don't mind having that amount of detail.

[ When he asks her that question, Laurel takes some time to consider her reply. ]

Honest answer? I'm a little anxious about it. Sure, I have people I know here and I'm glad for that, but there's responsiblities waiting for me back home. A career. Other friends and family. But I'm not going to let that get the best of me. I know I'll be fine.

To be honest, I feel the same way. I'm trying to focus on making the best of things here, but it's hard not to worry about my home in the wake of everything. Harder still not to feel like I'm shirking my duty somehow, or that I should be trying harder to get home.

There doesn't seem to be a way out of here so I think we're stuck until someone finds the doorway or portal that will get us all back to our homes. It's also normal to worry about home. You and me probably aren't the only ones who feel that way.

[ She gives him an encouraging look. ]

We can talk more about when we're training. I'm looking forward to that.

Of course. It's a heavy topic for a device like this.

I'll see you in a few days?

See you in a few days. Take care.

[With a smile, she ends the feed.]

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(video) un: laurel

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