hadriel | Video 3

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Video 3

[the video opens on Laura sitting on the edge of her bed, legs crossed at the knee. she's dressed and madeup in full eighties regalia, but her expression is more on the serious side than playful.

she's seen multiple posts about Caedra and has learned from their mistakes. so she's playing as nicely as she can]

Look, I get why people are so worried about Caedra going on a rampage and trying to kill a lot of people. It makes sense to be scared about that. But what if I had a way to keep her from being able to kill people in the first place?

[she holds up her right hand, a ring on her ring finger]

This ring keeps Caedra from being able to kill me. So I'm willing to let someone who knows about magic to study it and try to duplicate its magic so that other jewelry and trinkets can be enchanted with the same magic and passed out to everyone. That way, she wouldn't be able to kill anyone, even if she does decide to play nicely this time and not attack everyone.

I'm willing to turn the ring over to anyone who thinks they can figure out a way to use it to keep others safe. All I ask is that I get the ring back before she defrosts.

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I hope so, too. But we must be prepared in case she doesn't.

I wish you could have heard what the one-armed man was saying. Then you'd know who cared enough to have given you the ring, and why.

Did you just say that it was a good thing your father killed you?

Any kind of preparation is better than nothing.

So do I. A lot probably would've made a lot more sense a lot sooner.

Yeah, I did. [she sighs and looks away from the camera for a moment] I was headed down a real dark road, you know? And I would've kept on going if my father hadn't killed me and sent me here instead.

I completely agree with that!

Do you think the one-armed man could have been a supernatural being of some kind? Or could he simply have been a craftsman or a magician with knowledge of demon-protection technologies?

I don't know as your father exactly deserves gratitude for that! But of course he had no way of knowing you'd be coming here. But for you, Hadriel is better than your former life? [ Jeez, her life must have sucked. ]

[ OOC: Have you heard this song by Bastille? I've always loved it. ]

It's possible. I know there are angels. One of them rescued Ronnette from the box car so she didn't die, too. I saw it happen.

It is. I was. . . kind of mixed up in some bad stuff back home. Taking me away from that gave me a chance to start from scratch.

So there were other people trapped in that boxcar with you and BOB? And an angel came? What did it look like?

I guess maybe if I hadn't been dead in my world already, I might have been grateful to be spirited away to another one for a fresh start. Actually, I was happy to be pulled to the world I lived in before Hadriel. It was a new beginning. And I've continued here in this world.

I. . . well, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I was just wondering. How bad was it? [ Because she's a kind and thoughtful person, and it's obvious she was victimized. Even if she has Abigail's problems, that is, she was tricked into becoming a participant, he won't think less of her, just as he doesn't think less of Abigail.]

It was just me, Ronnette, and my father who was possessed by BOB. I could tell when BOB was in control 'cause I could see him as him, not my father. And she looked kinda like you'd figure an angel would. White robe, white feathered wings, and a halo. Her hands were held together like she was praying. When she left, the ropes holding Ronnette were cut.

You were in another world before you came here? What was that one like?

[she looks visibly uncomfortable] I don't . . . really wanna get into it. It's over, it's done.

You could see BOB directly, then? What did he look like? Interesting, that angel. She sounds like one of the Maiar, the powerful spirits who are the helpers of the Valar, our gods. I'm glad that such a being was there for you, or tried to be there for you.

The world I was in before Hadriel was called Arda Marred. It's taken from a phrase our sages used when they spoke poetically of our world, which was called Arda. They meant the state our world was left in after the renegade god, Melkor, began to rampage about the universe trying to wreck what his brother and sister gods were supposed to protect. He didn't completely ruin it, but he did leave it in a state of partial disrepair. I don't know who first thought of calling that little limited world Arda Marred, but it was an echo of the greater Arda, the one I lived and died in. It consisted of a slice of the geography I remember. Like an image of the original, but not the original. And it looked as though some further disaster had happened to it, because there were no people except for those of us who were pulled there from other places. Some of us were originally from Arda and some were from other universes. There was a Maglor there, the same one as you might have met here, but he doesn't remember being in Arda Marred with me.

[ He doesn't wish to make her uncomfortable, so he smiles. ] Don't worry, I won't judge. But of course, you don't have to tell me anything you'd rather forget.

[she's obviously struggling with the description] He looked--like a man. Stringy greying hair, a red plaid shirt, a jean jacket and matching blue jeans.

That's weird. So this is like the second place you've been to away from home? [she whistles] Some people have all the luck. But you said you died? So that place could bring people back from the dead, too?

[she tries for a smile back] I'd like to forget it, but I can't. So I live with it. And I try to keep it from fucking with the life I built here.

BOB was a human, then? Or a supernatural being who liked to look like a somewhat tattered old human? Strange, either way!

This is the second place I've lived in since my own world. Yes, I died in my world, and I was drifting around as a ghost, because I refused the summons of Mandos, who is our death god. I was supposed to go to his dark halls, but I damn if I was going to be trapped there forever, so I stayed in Middle-earth as a disembodied spirit. I was trying to figure out how to re-embody myself, because dead Elves can sometimes do that. I was having mixed results. And then the God of Arda Marred grabbed me and pulled me into his world. [ He chuckles a little. ] Yes, he could bring people back from the dead. But in my case, I think he got confused as to whether I was a live person or a dead one, because once I got there, I seemed to have features of both states. Normally I was alive, but when I stood on the battlements of Himring Castle, which was the scene of some of the Fëanorions' best victories and worst defeats, and looked down the valley to a far worse place -- Nargothrond, the place where I died -- I became very emotional, and suddenly I reverted to the ghost state. Whew! That was a surprise.

[ He looks very kindly upon the face of this young woman whose courage and determination he respects greatly. ] You have built a life here, haven't you? The Bakery, the Speakeasy, your friends. I'm glad for you that that has worked out. And that you continue to resist your past messing with your present.

Edited 2018-11-23 09:23 (UTC)

He was a demon. He--he'd possessed my father. Most of the time, my dad looked like my dad, but sometimes he looked like BOB.

That had to have been weird. Being both alive and dead at the same time. I'm glad that here, we're completely alive. I wouldn't wanna be halfway alive and half dead.

[she wouldn't call herself courageous or determined, given that she's been running from her past ever since she got here] It's worked out pretty well, I guess? I'm not gonna let my past get in my way here.

I can't even imagine what that must have been like. My father was possessed by the Oath he swore when our great enemy Melkor stole the holy Silmarils that my father had crafted out of the original light of the universe. It was an oath of eternal pursuit and eternal vengeance, and it became a curse on our lives. However, even then, my father was still himself, even if a trifle mad! But your father had a real demon. How did it come to possess him, do you know?

You're right, it was weird, being both alive and dead. I guess I'm lucky that when the Hadriel Door grabbed me, it translated my being into a living one only. And I'm certainly glad that that is true for all the people, you included, who were dead before they came here!

[ Çuriously ] What do you like best about your life here?

I have no idea how it happened. I just know that he's been possessed by BOB ever since I was a little kid. As long as I can remember, BOB has been there.

I'm glad, too. It's a second chance. I'm trying to make it a good one.

[she thinks for a moment] The people. Back home, I only had one real friend. Here, I have a bunch.

How strange and terrible that must have been for you! -- to have no memory of your father without his demon. [ And what a thing to have to survive! It's amazing that she has held onto her sanity. ]

Hurrah for second chances! That's the upside of being snatched into an unknown world by an unknown entity such as the Door. And it sounds as though you have seized this opportunity with both hands. Good for you, Laura!

I'm glad for you, that you have friends here. You are a kindly and engaging person, and you deserve them.

...actually, I didn't know my father was possessed until recently. I always saw my father and BOB as separate people.

[she sounds a little proud] Yeah, I guess I have. It hasn't been easy, but I have.

[that's because she's mostly been Daytime Laura here, friendly and helpful. the few times she's tries to be Nighttime Laura, it didn't go over well] Thanks. I try to deserve 'em. I'm not used to having more than one friend.

Very strange, to have grown up with that terrible duality.

[ She should be proud! ]

[ Heh, maybe that's one of the reasons Curufin finds himself drawn to her? She's Daytime Laura and Nighttime Laura, and he's got a similar dichotomy of personality. He keeps his Nighttime Curufn under wraps, too. ] Your friends are lucky to have you.

Say, Laura, do you have any feeling about the nature of your Ring's magic? Does it give you a sense of light or darkness?

I guess so. Until just before I died, I didn't even know it existed.

[she wouldn't go that far.

it helps that she's far from the influences that made Nighttime Laura so powerful]

Honestly, I don't know. It just--is. I wouldn't know how to even try to find out about its nature.

Can I meet you somewhere and take a look at your ring? I'm not sure I'd be able to determine what kind of magic it is imbued with, since, as I've said, it's from a different world than mine. But I could try.

Yeah, sure. That's fine. Where d'you wanna meet?

Wherever you like. I'm on East Island at the moment, working on the replanting of the Orchard. But everybody's stopping for lunch. I can take the boat and come to you, if you're on another island.

Yeah, I'm over on the West Island. Second set of houses, 1502. I'm home alone so we should be good.

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Video 3

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