smk_network | 1st roll, 2nd exposure

[the feed shows a sunny spot in an alley, just outside the Gibson Girl. Lydia has borrowed one of their tables and set it with an assortment of snacks, fruit, a pile of napkins, a stack of glasses, and a pitcher of their amazing lemonade... but the clear focus of the shot is propped against the alley wall: a giant book that anyone from the Temple party of the Jungle mission will recognize as a retired but unusual tent. She's wearing black jeans with splatters of maroon spray paint, courtesy of her roommate's creativity, and a matching brocade top, with a large, full envelope in her hands. The envelope is 8x10, yellow slashed with red diagonal lines.]

Hi, everybody. I've met most of you, I think, but my name is Lydia Deetz, and I work at the camera shop when I'm not training. I take pictures when I'm out exploring, and when we have parties, and meetings ... pretty much all the time. My friend Fenton made this giant book with his magic as a mistake, but... I want to turn it into a big photo album for all of us, as a record of everything that happens. I have a lot of pictures already, from the first two months I've been here... And some of them are from the other night, so you're all here.

[she pats the envelope]

One of my favorite myths about photography is some people think it steals your soul. Not really, but... It helps keep a memory. And memories are part of our soul, so ... Maybe what it really does is make our souls stronger. If we're going to be doing a lot of fighting and exploring and repairing... We're going to need to be strong. So. Maybe this will help. I'm in the alley by the Gibson Girl, if you want to come and help... Or even if you want to just look at the pictures. Once all the pictures are in, I'll keep it in the lobby of the apartments until I get more.

[an awkward pause as she realizes she has no clue how to end this]

Um. Hope to see some of you?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, if you're a Princess, that's when you just insist on having a royal translator once you're old enough. Then you can have someone around who knows all those verbs, in case you forget. Where I'm from, even some of the ambassadors have translators who travel with them,
there's nothing wrong with it."

"Oh yeah, we have those too," Leia said. "Protocol droids. Most of them know thousands and thousands of languages, so they're really good at translating. But my mommy and daddy and my tutors say that it's important for me to learn anyway, because being able to do it yourself shows that you cared enough to learn." Which is nice, but doesn't make it any more fun.

"I guess I never thought about it that way," Lydia remarked. "Your parents both sound really smart, and really nice. ... You must miss them a lot."

"Yeah, they are," Leia said, her pride in her family obvious. Though her expression became more somber as she continued. "And yeah, I do. Not all the time, but sometimes when I sop and think about it more. Or at night when there's not much else to think about."

"Don't tell Mr. Jose, though, OK?", she said. "He's really nice, and I don't want him to feel bad. It's just not the same having him taking care of me as it is having my mommy or daddy around."

"I won't tell," she promised. "I miss my dad, too. And my mom, sometimes, but ... I've been away from her longer, so ... as awful as it sounds, I got used to missing her. My parents haven't lived together for a while."

"Really?", Leia asked. "Why not? Does one of them have a really important job that keeps them off world a lot, like my daddy does?"

The question was asked with all the innocence of a young child who knows nothing of how messy adult relationships can get. And that not all married couples share the kind of deep bond her parents do.

Lydia's heart sank a little as she realized she was probably about to tarnish that innocence a little. "No ... they just ... don't love each other anymore. My dad met someone else that he liked more."

Leia seemed both genuinely surprised and genuinely sad about that. "Oh...", she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that could happen." She supposed it made sense when she thought about it, but still...

"My mommy and daddy really, really love each other though." One day she would compare the kind of love they had to sharing souls. It had just never occurred to her how rare love like that could be. "I just... didn't realize that wasn't true for everybody."

"It should be," Lydia said quietly. "You don't have to apologize, it's okay. I'm pretty much okay with it now. ... I'm glad your parents are so happy together, though. That's good."

1st roll, 2nd exposure | Video

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