Video; un: lothrat

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra has a Sword of Agency laid across his lap when he flips on the camera to his Omni. The very observant might note he's in one of the safehouses Ruby clued him into. He looks thoughtful.]

I've had enough time travel and other weirdness going on in my life for the last year that I wasn't sure how far off my count of subjective days might be. But I woke up to this sword, which gives off some pretty interesting vibes. So either my Blessed Day is a really random day, or it's my birthday.

I'm going with it being my birthday. Nineteen.

I've always pretty much hated my birthday, as long as I remember. Some of it's personal, but even the personal stuff is tied to the fact that the day I was born, the galaxy where I'm from changed, and not, in my estimation - and a whole lot of other people's - for the better.

There's no, like, cosmic or destined implications to the fact I was born that day, by the way. Not as far as I know. Just cause and effect, maybe. Stress can lead to early births, right? I'm just a kid from a backwater planet in a big galaxy. My parents weren't anyone important.

But sometimes my birthday felt like a curse.

None of that baggage came from here. I'd like to try to put some of it down, you know? [He peers towards a window.]

It's looking bad out there, but if you want to brave it, I've got a big pot of mushroom stew on, and I think I'm gonna see if I can get this thing to project a movie. Not exactly a dazzling party, but it's more than I usually celebrate. Some company would be great. Or just talk to me on here.

Any suggestions for a must watch?

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[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra closes his eyes and sucks in a breath.]

Sorry. Sorry. I just...assumed you knew.

Senator Padmé Amidala. As I knew her, she didn't - Anakin was hard for her to talk about, I think. So there's a lot I can't tell you, about the two of them.

She was your birth mother. I - I can tell you what happened to her in that younger version of Ben's past. If you want. But only if you want.

[faithfulson]

[ It takes a moment to process all that, a feeling stirring in his chest that he couldn’t put into words. His mouth worked, trying to come up with something to say, but he couldn’t even manage that much. He knew from the conflict surrounding her that Airy looked like his mother, but now… now he had a general face and a name. ]

[ He let out a breath, before shaking his head. ]

No… no, it’s okay. I can… guess.

[ Between what he’d heard of how chaotic those first few days of the Empire were and his own experiences with Darth Vader and the Emperor, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. ]

Thank you, though, for giving me her name.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He slowly lets out a breath and opens his eyes.]

You're welcome. The version of her in Temba - we were neighbors for about 5 months. She was unfailingly kind. I asked her to help shored up gaps in my education. Writing. Negotiation. That sort of thing. She was busy but tried to make time anyway.

[He smiles a bit.] She painted the trellis for the temple garden.

[faithfulson]

[ Luke smiled weakly, struggling against emotion that was threatening to creep up his throat. Part of him had always felt that his mother had to have been a kind and loving person, but to hear it was another thing entirely. ]

That’s… that’s good to hear. Thank you for telling me.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He watches Luke's expression as carefully as he can. He'd reach in the Force even, but he's not sure how well that would work, not face to face.]

You're welcome. And - I've told Anakin and Obi-wan this - I have secrets to keep and things I don't want to just drop on people - [He visibly winces, because good job there, Bridger. Again.]

But you don't have to worry about not asking questions for my sake.

[faithfulson]

[ A smile crept onto Luke’s face. ]

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, but it’s best left for another time.

[ He shrugged sheepishly. ]

I just… wanted to let you know that even though the day itself is terrible, good things come from it.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He grins]

Wait, that's the good thing I'm supposed to be keeping in mind? Is it you, or birthdays, or?

[Ok, he's genuinely not completely sure where Luke was trying to go with that. But mostly he's teasing to lighten the mood.]

[faithfulson]

[ Luke snorted slightly, shaking his head. ]

No matter how terrible a day is made to be, there is always something much happier to celebrate instead. That's what I mean.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[His smirk softens.]

It's a good thing to remember, yes. Thank you.

I'm going to let you go. [Because Luke is clearly rattled, and understandably so.]

But call me if you do want to talk, or just want company. Meditate. Spar. Grab a meal. Whatever.

[It doesn't have to all be heavy stuff, in other words.[

[faithfulson]

[ Luke smiled softly. ]

I... would like that. It's... good to have someone closer to my age that is also a Jedi.

[ You know... his age, and also from roughly around the same time period. ]

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra's gaze brightens. So Luke - this version of him - does consider himself a Jedi. He's glad.]

It really is. I wish we'd met without all the time weirdness making things even more complicated. Maybe somewhere out there, we do.

But we'll make the best of what it is, here. Yeah?

[faithfulson]

Yes, and I hope so.

[ He grinned softly, that bit of youthful hopefulness still clear in the spark in his eyes. ]

I'll see you soon?

[ezra_of_lothal]

Yes.

At Obi-wan and Anakin's place, if nothing else, I'm sure. But call me, anytime.