10/12 - forward-dated

[strangeandunusual]

[Lydia turns on the video feed while she's sitting in the middle of the garden outside the Graven Image Gallery. She's wearing a black and red dress that looks like Dracula turned a medieval court lady, and holding a notebook shaped like a coffin, her pen topped with a big fuzzy spider with google eyes.]

Hey, everyone! There might be a couple of you I haven't talked to a lot yet, but I'm Lydia Deetz ... one of me, anyway, the one who's been here the longest. There's another version of me, but her hair's shorter and she wears a lot more safety pins on her clothes.

Anyway. I was one of the first Apprentices through the mirror, and I've noticed that trainings have had fewer and fewer people show up. This isn't good, you guys. If the Corroded come by again, or if something else happens? We might not be prepared.

I'm not trying to take charge, and I don't want to. But I was hoping I could at least get people thinking about their powers, and the skills you have that aren't tied to magic. If we put it all here on the network, that way, if anyone does need help for any reason, they know who to ask. And how to find them.

I'll get it started: I'm a Princess, which means I can heal if anyone gets hurt. I can also purify Corroded things, and if anyone's magic needs a boost, I've recently learned how to do that, too. My problem is that if I keep it up for too long, I get dizzy, and if I really push it, I faint ... so I like to have someone around who can help me with that just in case. I can also sew, and bake, and I've been told I give a really good pep talk. So if you're feeling down, don't hesitate to give me a call!

I don't want any of you to think you don't have anything to contribute. Just because you think someone might not find your love of, I don't know, building models? useful, doesn't mean we can't use that for something else. You could help rebuild broken things. Bigger scale, but still applicable, right? I feel like some of us have been living in our boxes for a while, since the last time we had to bring Dreamfinder back. We had a lot of people come and go, and it's ... it's been hard, I know. But we're still here. And I know each and every one of you is here for a reason, and that you can do great things.

So if we can do all those great things separately ... think about what we can do together.. I know we only had one new person show up a few days ago, so training might not officially get set up. If it doesn't? Please consider finding some way to train anyway. The Blue Bayou missions are all done, which means we've got some heavy lifting coming to purify something, the same way it happened at the temple. We need to be ready. And we will. I believe in all of you.

Also: this is less important, but I still wanted to tell you ... the Graven Image is having an anniversary party on Halloween Day! I scheduled it so it wouldn't cut into any parties that might happen at night, but costumes are welcome! I'm remodeling the Gallery to add a new wing, and I think you're all gonna be really excited when you see the surprise. No meeting, no bringing presents necessary, none of that. Just come by and get some cider or cocoa and have fun!

((OOC: She has a top-level in her log post for anyone who wants to meet in person after this, too.))

Comments

[connie_maheswaran]

[Connie was curious about what she was going to say but let that go].

I mean, I've had to be, I've been a little out of practice! I didn't know this was going to happen, and I spent so much time on college I didn't get to keep up with my skills. But I do hope we get to training with warriors again. I'm very good but I know there are others here who probably have trained longer, and I'd love to benefit from their instruction.

I agree, actually. I know you don't WANT to be the leader and rallying person for this, but in a way, you kind of are already? I mean, I think most apprentices think of you in that way. Still, if it's a little overwhelming to have that title, I'm sure there are some here willing to lend a hand too.

[Hint hint].

It sounds like I'm missing something important then? Is it some new event that happens here I don't know about?

[strangeandunusual]

They ... you really think I am?

[that takes her by surprise, and yet it doesn't. Connie isn't the first one to say something like that. Lydia just doesn't want people to think she's got some kind of ego about it, because she absolutely doesn't ... it's simply a case of No One Else Doing It versus how much she cares]

Halloween isn't new where I'm from, it goes back centuries. Every October 31st, the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead gets a little thinner and lifts just enough for all sorts of mysterious and spooky things to happen. It's a time of superstitions and disguises ... at first people used to use them to hide from their fears, and then to mock them ... and now it's all just for fun. Because really, being scared can be a lot of fun in the right environment. It's my absolute favorite time of year!

[connie_maheswaran]

Yeah. You've been able to rally up people here to try and help one another, and it doesn't sound like propaganda by Merlin or Hades because you've shown you care about the other apprentices. That counts for a lot. I can't really speak for anyone else here, but if you ask me to go and fight with you, no matter what it is, I'm there.

[It sounded very "knight-ish" she knew, much like how she was with Steven in the beginning, but there would clearly be many plans and agonizing over strategy implied. After all, it helped to have plans even in the thick of the fight].

That honestly sounds pretty amazing and ethereal, and is speaking to one of my specific aesthetics! I can't really indulge in it back home, studies and maintaining a professional outlook and all, but it sounds like a day of fear and jubilation!

What's...the point of the carved pumpkin though?

[strangeandunusual]

That ... that means a lot, Connie. Thank you.

[oh my gosh don't make her cry. Connie isn't the first to say such things - Fenton, MT, Eleanor - so many of her friends have said the same - but it still touches her deeply every time someone does. she was so invisible back home, until the Maitlands came along. so being valued like this was still, in the scheme of things, relatively new to her. she was still learning how to gracefully accept the praise, especially when it came in the form of people basically saying they'd defend her from very real, very dangerous things.

and then Connie proceeded to be just so very ... Connie in her mannerisms and her reaction to Halloween. there was definitely a reason Beetlejuice called her The Nerd, but Lydia found it ridiculously endearing. if she'd had a chance to meet Prudence before she'd arrived, she'd say Connie reminded her of her, but ... ah, canon points.]

They're called jack-o-lanterns ... People carve faces in them and put candles inside. It used to be another superstition to keep away evil or mischievous spirits, but now it's more for fun ... or, if you live in a neighborhood like mine was, to help light up paths and doorways to show kids where they can come trick-or-treating.

Oh - and that's a big tradition! If a house leaves a jack-o-lantern or keeps their porch light on, Halloween night, any kids in costume can come to the door, say "Trick or treat!" and get candy. ... That one started as a prank, too. People would dress up and pretend to be the spirits, and if you didn't 'give them something' to behave, they'd play a prank on you. That's why it's called trick or treat. Most people don't do the trick part anymore, but ... Beetlejuice and Crowley already played a pretty good one on me the other day. No one ever means anything by it, no matter how scary they can get, and it's all just in fun.

[she pauses, remembering how Connie shared stories of the Wendigo with her]

We should see if the Emporium has any scary movies, and have a movie night before Halloween. To get in the mood.

[connie_maheswaran]

You're welcome. Thanks for helping me adjust to this place. It's definitely not easy to take in at first, and I've actually been off planet, so that's saying something!

[At least there weren't any hostile aliens around. That had been decidedly not fun].

Oh, I get it, to ward off spirits, and now they do it in remembrance! That's a really interesting way to honor the old tradition! The trick-or-treating part sounds cool too! I'll admit, Crowley did tell me a little bit about it, and he and BJ teamed up to give me a fright of their own. I think I might have killed their fun a little by treating it as a scary puzzle and really getting into it.

Yeah, definitely! That's actually not something I can even do with my boyfriend: I love them, but he's a bit of a softie there.

[She says this, still with adoration in her eyes].

I love it though!

[strangeandunusual]

They're really good at scary pranks, I gotta admit. They got me really good: they had me convinced I was going to get buried alive by accident. At first I thought it was just Beetlejuice, but they stuck to it and took it a step farther than most people. I was terrified ... but they knew just when to stop before it was too far for me, you know? It was the best. What did they do to you?

[she is loving this, so so much, absolutely living for having SO many friends who enjoy a good scare as much as she does]

[connie_maheswaran]

They're demons, that's what they do! I mean, that's what they say they do, I can't really speak from past experience. That DOES sounds pretty scary though. I can't imagine anyone who's claustrophobic handling that well.

I was stuck in an endless hallway with almost no doors and no windows. It definitely played with my head a bit, but I was also equally excited about getting to the bottom of the mystery. I definitely liked being scared though!

[strangeandunusual]

It's definitely what Beetlejuice does. He turned into a giant snake, once: the first time I met him! At home, I mean. He turned into a snake and replaced our stair banister. It was awful... but then again, that was a different version of him than the one who's here. I ... I like this one a lot better.

An endless hallway? Oh, that's funky, I love it. What could you see through the windows they did give you?

[connie_maheswaran]

No kidding?! Yeah, I think that's freak me out too! I once had to face a gem monster that was, like, several feet bigger and stronger than me, and I just froze. All that training went right out the window! Luckily, I've gotten better at facing impossible situations like that. At least, I've always had help.

[Just like here mostly!]

Oh, there weren't any! I had to find certain things that would help me get out, and it was a lot of trial and error! They definitely played with your head on possibly never getting out, you know?

[strangeandunusual]

I think that would freak me out. I'd start feeling like a rat in a maze, you know? Like ... like I was just someone's experiment.

[connie_maheswaran]

I did feel a little like that, but I was also under the impression that they wanted me to find the way out, and that drove me to try and figure things out. I can't help it: I REALLY like puzzles, and scary ones just make me more curious about getting to the end of it!

I mean, I don't think I've ever felt very properly scared since the that gem mutant attacked us in the hospital.

[strangeandunusual]

"I do like puzzles," Lydia admitted. "That's such a great way of thinking of it. You're really good at looking at things in ways that make them easier to deal with."

[connie_maheswaran]

"I just try and take the situation in a little at a time. It helps that I've seen a LOT, and that I've started to become a little more unflappable as things got more extreme. Also, nothing beats a good scare!"

[strangeandunusual]

"Just a thought," Lydia grinned at her. "But yeah, I know what you mean. After helping clear the temple in the jungle, the Corroded aren't scary to me anymore. All you have to do with most things is just face them, right?"

[connie_maheswaran]

"I just want to help the Corroded now even if it's supposedly easier to just kill them. I'd rather face the unknown of the Corroded than this idea that I have the power to decide who gets to live and who doesn't, you know?"

(canon movie spoilers I guess?)

[strangeandunusual]

"Yeah, I do," Lydia nodded. "The thought of actually killing or destroying something or someone is ... awful."

She shook her head and glanced around. Most people would have closed their eyes when trying to avoid thinking about something, but if she did that, she'd just see Adam and Barbara floating above the dining room table during Otho's botched exorcism(canon , decaying in their wedding clothes ... a sight she'd already had her fair share of nightmares about.

I have seen this movie since I was probably 7 and its a favorite so nahhh

[connie_maheswaran]

"People here are from different worlds, so they tend to not see it as so abnormal, but I can't think of it in so casual terms. Back home, it's a pretty heavy thing, and my boyfriend had a meltdown over the possibility he did that to someone on purpose so...I don't think it'll ever be a simple thing for me."

And if there was ever a thing that was in her nightmares, it was Steven during his breakdown.

it is quite the fine movie. and oh gosh how did I miss that awful typo.

[strangeandunusual]

"That's a good thing, though," Lydia reassured her. "The fact that people like you and I are here ... it means we can convince the other Apprentices that there are ways to be merciful and solve the Corruption without killing anything. The Doctor, he believes in that, too, you know. He's really good at figuring out peaceful solutions."

Re: it is quite the fine movie. and oh gosh how did I miss that awful typo.

[connie_maheswaran]

"That does sound exactly like the Doctor, now that you mention it. I can't imagine he would be openly malicious about anything. I think we should at least try to not have to destroy anyone while we're getting rid of the Corroded. If we were only meant to destroy them, I don't think this place would have needed to specifically choose us. They could have just drafted military people or something like that."

[strangeandunusual]

"Exactly! It takes imagination to come up with solutions that benefit everyone." She smiled. "I know that sometimes things have to be destroyed because there's no other option, but ... I really hope that's a rarity here."

[connie_maheswaran]

"There will definitely be times things have to be destroyed. Even I know that: in a perfect world it wouldn't happen, but we're obviously not in a world like that. I guess we'll just have to deal when the time comes, and know when it has to happen."

For Connie it'd have to be when one of the other apprentices lives were at stake.

[strangeandunusual]

Lydia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, only if someone else is in trouble and there's no other way to save them, right?"

Given how well they'd gotten along and seen eye-to-eye thus far, it was probably not surprising to Connie at all that they thought along the same lines.

[connie_maheswaran]

"Exactly! You have to know when that happens, and act accordingly. Otherwise, you'll put that person in danger."

Connie hadn't been in a situation where she had to use deadly force, but she was trained to know what to do when it happened, and was prepared to do it. Connie was, after all, sensible to a fault.

[strangeandunusual]

"See, and that's the sort of thing training should cover, too," Lydia said, bringing it all back around to square one.

"Have you met Harry yet? He's helping me figure out ways to get more people involved in training: we're meeting at the Carnation Cafe tomorrow to do some brainstorming. Want me to keep you in the loop on what we come up with?"

[connie_maheswaran]

Connie nodded. "We've met, and talked a bit. He'd definitely seen some of that fighting in his world, and its involved magic. That would be a good idea! I wouldn't mind being kept in the loop, of course! The more we cooperate, the better!"