video; un: quibbler | forward-dated to 13/02

[creidim]

cw: minor mentions of war, discussions of possible character death

So, it seems that my Blessed Day is in fact the same day as my birthday.

[ Luna speaks off camera, busy trying to put her Omni in the right place. It takes a couple of moments, but the initial view of Luna's room: all soft lighting, bright but peaceful tones across the space, is finally obscured as Luna steps into the frame to sit at her desk, something in her hand. She waves to the camera with a cheerful smile in greeting before she continues with what she's addressing. With a soft sound, she lugs the item in her hand onto her desk and then carefully holds it up to the camera of her Omni to show it.

It's a sword: the Blade of Agency, to be precise. Luna gazes down at it with faint bemusement; of course Doorway would gift a sword, considering they appear with one at all times. But Luna's... not quite sure what to do with it. She's a Witch, not a sword-swinger. Not that she's ungrateful, and she certainly doesn't mean to come across as that as she stares at the sword. ]

I found this propped up against the wall of my room this morning. A gift from Doorway, my Patron. [ Her head twists one way in thought, brow pinching. It's a fine looking blade, she thinks. Although she's not very knowledgeable in that department. ] It... feels special. I don't think it's just a regular sword.

[ She can't really tell how, though. She should really find some way to find that out before she goes about using it. Ravenclaws err on the side of caution in the face of magic swords. ]

... Although if I'm meant to use it, I've never actually swung a sword before. [ ... ] I believe I shall need some help with that.

[ Should anyone be interested in that. There's a long pause; Luna smiles faintly. She would turn the feed off at that but something else is on her mind. She's quiet for a little while, putting the sword down carefully down on her desk once more. It's... something difficult, the way her expression shifts. Not something necessarily bad, but— ]

... I turned twenty today. [ She lets that settle for a moment before she continues. Her voice is hushed, a little sombre in some way. She fiddles with her hands as she goes on: ] It's quite funny, you know. Not being a teenager anymore. Well, not just that part, really.

I suppose— I guess I never expected to live past seventeen. [ A short pause, there's a sudden realisation. She smiles weakly. ] Although I realise that doesn't quite funny at all when you say it out loud, does it?

[ More like horrifying, than anything else. Sometimes Luna has that uncanny knack for making people uncomfortable with the things she says; but it's a truth of her home. She was headed to battle before Trench, before Deerington. It was quite possible she'd never make out to the other side of that battle. Even people as young as she was die in war, she understands that. But now, here, she's made it out of her teens and into the first steps of adulthood. It's given her a great deal of cause for ruminating. ]

I've learned a lot about different things; different magic, and ways people live. Especially Muggles. ... I've met a lot of people, made friends. I've gotten to experience a lot of new things in those friendships I didn't have the chance to get to at home. I even met someone who I love very much. [ Her weak smile turns to something fonder, there's warmth there. Perhaps it's quite fitting that Doorway is her Patron, after all. Her relationships are important to her. But don't worry, she's not going to get too mushy over her boyfriend over the network. ]

I know for as difficult life here can be, for as hard Deerington was... this place is a kind of opportunity. It's let me have a great deal of things I didn't think I could have. Things I would have likely never had the chance to experience if I had never come here and stayed in my own world. It's a chance at living. One I didn't think I would get.

[ ... ]

I think that's quite important to remember. When things are difficult. Or when I do miss home sometimes. [ She goes quiet again, lost in her thoughts for a little bit. Even now, trying to pull the positives here in a world that has much stacked against them. Her expression turning to a serene dreaminess as she props her elbows on her desk, chin in her hands. So: ] ... What are you glad for the opportunity for, Sleepers?

Comments

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah! Yeah. I don't have a problem with being in charge - someone's gotta be. But it's a lot easier to make friends with people when you aren't dumping all this "you're dead, I'm the guy who runs your entire world now, and no I'm not technically the devil" stuff on them. I'm sort of just another guy here.

[and you know what we really can't get away without asking]

What's Quidditch, that a sport?

[creidim]

I can imagine that does make friendships quite difficult when you put it like that. [ Because honestly, that's... quite a lot. ] It reminds me of my friend Harry in a way? But with him, everyone's always a bit weird with him since they think he's the chosen one.

[ He'd probably just prefer to be 'just another guy', really. ]

Yes! So you play it all on a huge field, and everyone's on broomsticks. [ Not a huge fan, but it's nice to watch sometimes. ] So... Chasers go after the Quaffle to score points through hoops guarded by the Keeper. Beaters hit Bludgers away from their team-mates and towards the other team and the Seeker goes to find the Snitch, which ends the game. It's very fun.

[eudaimonikos]

Chosen One? Like in Lord of the Rings or something?

[That's not the greatest comparison but I can't think of a reference he'd know that wouldn't fourth-wall someone in this game lol

Anyway! He's never been a huge sports guy, so Quidditch makes roughly the same amount of sense to him as anything else.]

Doesn't it hurt sitting on brooms that long? Or do you have special ones?

[creidim]

Oh, I'm afraid I don't know that one. Is it a kind of movie? [ Who is this Lord of the Rings? Why do they have so many? Is that why they're the Lord? She's... still not watched all that many movies. ]

It can a bit, on some of the very old models. But there's Cushioning Charms placed on the newer ones. So it's not actually uncomfortable to ride them at all.

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, there's like three of them.

[He can't go into a ton of detail; he probably hasn't really seen them.]

Well, that's interesting. I've actually never flown on a broom before! Flown a lot of other ways, but not like that.

[creidim]

Oh! That sounds quite good, you could watch all of them in one night! I'll have to ask Peter if he wants to watch them. We're both kind of on lockdown right now.

[ Thanks, Maul. ]

It's not so bad. I much prefer to fly by Thestral instead. [ More fun, really. ] You mean like airy-planes? Or are there other ways for demons?

[eudaimonikos]

Nah, just take a form with wings. Or go without. When we first came into being, there weren't really any large space rocks or whatever with a big gravitational pull, so our natural forms are more suited for just...floating.

[He gestures vaguely.]

What's a Thestral?

[creidim]

Oh, that sounds so wonderful, though! Floating's always fun! [ Although, wow. You really are exceedingly old, Michael. ]

It's a magical creature that looks like a skeletal horse with wings. They're very gentle creatures, but people think they're bad or evil because of their reputation. They can only be seen by people who've seen death.

My school had its own herd of them, and I spent a lot of time with them over the years.

[eudaimonikos]

[Yeah, he's pretty forking old.]

Oh, demon horse! That's fun! I've always found flying with bat wings to be a little bouncy, but there's definitely worse ways.

[creidim]

Not actually demons. [ But yes, she suppose they might look like that. ] They're not too terrible, they're very good at gliding which is quite fun. I once flew one almost the entire length of the country and I think it was far better than a broom.

[eudaimonikos]

What's that, England...? That's one of the smaller ones, I think, how long'd that take?

[creidim]

Scotland and then England. My school's in the Scottish Highlands. [ There's a pause as she considers for a moment. Despite it being so late, it was still light when they left; technically summer, after all. ]

No more than a couple of hours, if I remember correctly.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, that sounds nice.

[Obviously he has zero context for this! Sounds like a fun flying-horse ride!]

Much nicer than a plane. Those things are miserable to be on.

[creidim]

[ It was quite nice! Just not... everything that came after. ]

... I've never been on one of those, why are they so terrible—?

[eudaimonikos]

You're just stuck in this tiny little seat with no leg room for like fourteen hours. I mean, it's my fault for taking so many international flights, but honestly. I hear it's pretty bad for people with blood.

[creidim]

That does sound very uncomfortable. [ She can absolutely see why that might be quite a miserable experience. Although: ]

But doesn't everyone who uses an air-plane usually have blood—? Why would they do that if it's bad for them?

[eudaimonikos]

It's the sitting, more than the flying - I think if you sit without moving for too long, it goes bad? They say sitting is the new smoking.

[He doesn't know how that works, but he knows it's a thing! Really, Michael is the worst person to ask about it.]

[creidim]

I suppose that's true, actually. I know I get a bit sore after I'm sat for too long in the Archaic Archives, or if I'm at my desk studying. [ She frowns a bit. ]

But then why don't they give people more space, then? So they can move about?

[eudaimonikos]

I don't know, money? The more people you cram in a plane, the more money you get out of it.

[creidim]

Just for money? Well that sounds frankly awful.

[ Luna Lovegood: down with capitalism! ]

[eudaimonikos]

[He shrugs.]

That's what most of the shitty things humans do are about. I mean, I get it - there's a lot of crappy systems set up down there. We've never had a currency system, so I guess I don't really get it.