001 ♦ video (joint post with alilyinthemoonslight)

[peacefulwinter]

[More than almost anything else, what finally makes Winter realize she's in another place is that, when she fires up the camera on her phone to make a post to the network, nothing's behind her. No group shot of her team. No couch, slightly scorched from something burning that came in through the window during the invasion. Still, the most important things are here. That's really just Raquel and Lily at this point, but it's a hell of a lot better than being stuck here alone.

She starts to reach for computer equipment that isn't there, before she catches herself, letting out a soft chuckle and reaching for her phone instead to tap the record button. The backdrop is bland, a more or less undecorated bedroom as the setting, Winter sitting on her bed. The reason for that is probably the second person in frame; the women make for an interesting pair, but there's a certain air to Winter that says she's perfectly happy where she is and will need to be pried away with a crowbar if someone thinks otherwise. In deference to the sudden chill in the castle, she's wearing a mid-weight jacket and a scarf, discovered in the nearby clothing room.]

People of- no, that's not right, um- Fellow... whatever we are to each other, I suppose; I didn't exactly rehearse ahead of time, sorry.

My name is Winter Tsukuyomi; this is my partner, Lily.

[There's an amused smile from the taller young woman, side eyeing Winter's attempts to get started. Though, really, she has to be honest...] I probably couldn't have started any better. [She means it with love. Really.

Winter sounds theatrically and shakes her head, before continuing.] We've been here a few weeks now, but for one reason or another, we haven't really introduced ourselves beyond a few people when we first arrived, so- [She shrugs; it clearly doesn't seem that important.] -we figured now is probably a good time. We're not strangers to working with others to accomplish goals, however unusual, so! Pleased to meet you all.

I should mention a little bit about the place we came from. We, plus my sister-in-law - Lily's sister - Jasmine and her partner Marina - come from a fairly ordinary world. Moderately advanced technology, with cars and nuclear power and flight but nothing into space beyond a few moon missions; no magic or anything like that. No crises. A normal place... until we, and maybe another one to two hundred of us over a few years, happened. I'm here, and I'm my own person, but I'm reincarnated from another person. A girl from a time and place - from a world - far removed from my own, but all the same, I hold some of her memories and her powers inside myself. Lily's the same, as are the rest of us. Incidentally, the four of us are magical girls - we transform and fight things. Personally, I've about had enough of fighting for a while, but if that's what it takes, so be it. Cure Diamond has plenty left in her to take care of business.

I mention the whole reincarnation thing because I know about things that don't mesh with the girl Rikka was. She shouldn't know anything about mecha, or demons, or quite a few of the other things I've encountered in the place I came from. But all of us pulsed back things from those past selves, and over time we amassed quite a fighting force. [The look in her eyes is hard to read; there's a glimmer of cheer that's probably related to the friends she's made, but at the same time, there's a certain hardness that's likely related.] So if I suddenly start talking about robots or spellcraft or statues that walk, that's why. Life has been kind of weird for us, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't know that any of us would.

Am I forgetting anything, love? [She looks sideways to Lily; this isn't a recording of a speech on a fixed topic like usual, so she can be forgiven wanting to check.

Lily meanwhile is still smiling, the look in her eyes lacking any of that hardness Winter might be showing. If only because she's so used to hiding it.] I think that covers the basics, but... hm. [She straightens her glasses - a nervous habit - and tilts her head back and forth a moment.] There's probably a few things...

I can definitely echo everything Winter says - but with the thought that we want to help, we also need to know HOW. Helping's... kind of what we do? As far as my transformation goes, Cure Moonlight was- is, I guess... fairly exceptionally strong even for other Precures like her. Which isn't my own boasting - this is just what I was given. I may not exactly look it, but if you need any heavy lifting in whatever capacity, I can help there. Beyond fighting though, we're pretty used to working on investigating matters - although admittedly that's sometimes worked out better than others.

I guess I've kept to myself a lot so far because I'm not sure what to do with myself. For anything we've dealt with this is ... a little bit outside my wheelhouse so far, but we're not going to get anywhere without putting a foot forward, so... We want to help, and we want to get to know people.

[Winter nods as Lily finishes, smiling softly as she turns her gaze back to the camera.] That's about the long and the short of it. I'd like to meet a lot of new people, and figure out ways to help get things done. This isn't my world, but I still want to protect this place. It's home for now, and that's enough. If you need help with something, or you just want to talk, give us a call.

[Winter waves at the camera, before reaching out to turn it off.]

Comments

Video

[dragon_blossom]

Well said.

[ Although you're allowed to just say 'wife' right? ]

See, I would've found a way to make it sound a lot dumber.

video;

[peacefulwinter]

Thanks, Marina. [Of course she could. She just has kind of weird habits.]

No, I think you'd have been more to the point. No matter where I am, I can't be concise. Ever.

video;

[dragon_blossom]

You know I'm not even gonna argue that. Do you think anyone here needs a speechwriter though? Wordy is good when you need to get up in front of people for an hour.

Video

[alilyinthemoonslight]

I'm not sure there's any way to really describe "I turn into a magical girl with a sparkling frilly dress to fight monsters" in a way that doesn't sound dumb to start with. One just has to manage.

[dragon_blossom]

Mine isn't sparkly or frilly. Ha.

[ Not the point Marina. ]

...that said you all still actually look kinda cool. Anyone who thinks it's dumb is dumb.

[ voice ]

[generalflirt]

[ . . . Wow ]

That's a very formal introduction for something which isn't a matter of showing off, Winter-san, Lily-san.

video;

[peacefulwinter]

[She blinks in surprise for a moment, before she nods, letting her features relax back into a calm smile.]

A little, maybe. It's habit as much as anything else. I've gotten used to speaking where many, many people can hear me, so I just kind of... talk, and expand. My intent isn't to show off, I just wanted to make sure I was clear about the things I wanted to say.

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[generalflirt]

[ Wanted to make sure she was clear about what she wanted to say... huh? He hums a little, and fine, if she's still doing a video, he'll turn his on too, showing his bright face, looking a little curious at it and... sweating? Where was he that he was sweat-covered and a bit flush? Oh well, ]

Well forgive this man, Masaomi Kida, for asking, Winter-san, but why did you feel the need to go into the long introduction about your circumstances?

[ In this case, he's actually genuinely curious. Her answer was far more tactful than Hero-kun the other day, so he's inclined to give her some benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he got too cagey over time ]

[ voice ]

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Eh.. heh. Sorry. We might be just the slightest bit long winded, sometimes.

[Sometimes. Sure.]

[ voice ]

[generalflirt]

Hey, hey, hey, I'm not sure that any gorgeous woman needs to knock something that's working for them. Weeeell, if it's working, anyway. Still, I'm here, so something caught the people's attention!

[Text]

[freedom_engineer]

Colin here.

Did I tell you about our efforts to reclaim the castle from her royal pain in the ass?

Nice to meet you, Lily, by the way. Sorry for the lack of video, I'm dictating this in my arm while I try to get some heating set up for the sleeping areas. I should have asked for better parts for this last time I made a supply order...

[Text]

[alilyinthemoonslight]

I'm certainly not going to complain about heat. But, nice to meet you as well. [Such as it is.]

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to that if it's something we can help with, though. Exactly how are you going about reclaiming it, if you don't mind my asking?

[freedom_engineer]

Basically, we're doing it the old fashioned way.

We send in a team to kick the shit out of the shadows, bring in some light, and keep the shadows out until Ozuma can do his thing to claim the area. Stronger shadows tend to lurk in the queen's areas, so it's not an easy task, but the more we take back from her, the stronger Ozuma gets.

'Course, it also makes her angrier, but she's been making us angry for a year now. So it's a fair trade.

[video]

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Heh, nice to see you guys put yourselves out there. I'll probably introduce myself to the castle soon too.

You know, in addition to finding stuff out, it'd probably be a good idea to keep ourselves sharp. I mean we're all pretty clear this'll involve fighting, right? Right.

[...There's a pause before Jasmine clears her throat and continued.]

You need anything for your room, by the way? Something to liven things up? I'm going a bit crazy without something to work on. Lily, maybe I could do a picture of mom and dad...? If I find what I need, that is.

[video]

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Mm! You're not wrong, there - we should probably all look at trying to keep a consistent training regimen here. At the very least, we kind of have more solid information on what we're dealing with... which is a change from the norm.

[She smiles a bit, and it's an attempt to look comforting.]

That would be very nice though, Jasmine. I certainly wouldn't say no.

[video]

[jasminebloominginshadow]

Heh, good. Heh, you know, there was a time when I wasn't even the type to exercise. The more hings change, heh?

[Jasmine smiles back.]

Okay then. I'll see what I can throw together.

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[peacefulwinter]

You'll forgive me for not really wanting to work on Diamond Shower just now... it's cold enough without me helping. But yeah, training is good. A hundred laps around the castle, does that sound good? [The stupid grin on her face says she doesn't mean it... probably.]

That's probably a good plan! We can hunt for supplies in a little bit - in a place this big, someone has to have stuff, right? Just have to find it.

[video]

[the_tailor]

Magical girls. Oh maaaaan, that's awesome! I'm so jealous! I mean, I have a transforming robot, but I can't transform. I wish I could and have cool powers and a spiffy outfit.

[Lance looks a little lost in thought as he imagines how sweet it would be. But he finally coughs and comes back down to Earth, so to speak.]

Anyway, uh, hi girls! The name's Lance.

video;

[peacefulwinter]

Hey, the robot's cool too. Are we talking the lasers-and-beam-swords kind of robot? Or the more bulky kind that's built like a tank?

[There's a certain distance in Winter's eyes for a moment; a couple particular robots of that first kind come to mind, and one particular pilot. There's a bittersweet twinge to her smile for a tiny moment before it passes, and she's back to being cheery again.]

I can't speak for the outfit, though. I'm not sure what looked good on me when I was fourteen looks good now, even if it is magically tailored to still fit. But anyway! Pleased to meet you, Lance.

[the_tailor]

Well, they're basically robot lions. Big robot lions. But there's five of us, and our lions combine into one giant lasers-and-beam-swords robot that's basically like the defender of the universe. Now that's something to put on a resume.

[He smiles right back, his usual charming one.]

But it's really neat to be able to do stuff on your own.

[binauralbees]

TA: wa2 that 2omethiing we had two do
TA: an iintroductiion ii mean
TA: 2hiit diid ii mii22 the memo 2omewhere
TA: oh well
TA: don't worry two much about the whole knowiing people who miight not remember everythiing you do
TA: fuck ii met 2omeone who knew me but they weren't even from my world

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[peacefulwinter]

I'd assume not? But I figure having people know who I am when I'm running around the castle means I won't get mistaken for the enemy.

That's... almost the opposite of my usual problem, though, given the whole reincarnation thing. For me it's usually that someone thinks I'm a person from their own home world, but instead the multiverse proves to be even more vast than we'd expected and we never knew each other to start with. I can imagine your problem being kind of stressful, though.

text

[binauralbees]

TA: uh
TA: ii thiink iit'2 pretty ea2y two tell the diifference
TA: ii mean
TA: unle22 you are really 2ome weird 2hadow figure thing everything should be fine

[Audio]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

I guess I can add "reincarnation" to the list of things I never expected to be real, eh?

[Rob wonders how he can still be surprised by things like this after everything he's seen since he left Earth. He feels like he should have become more jaded than this by now.]

What do you mean when you say that you "transform and fight things"? What do you turn into?

voice;

[peacefulwinter]

I'm still a little unsure on it myself, sometimes? Sure, I'm connected to this girl across space and time, and I have her powers and some of her memories and mannerisms. But... is that all reincarnation is? I'm still not her - I have my own life, and my own friends, and my own personality. It's an easy way to explain it, but I don't know. Sometimes I think it's too easy... ah, that's me getting into theories that'll likely be boring, sorry. Short version, sure, we'll call it that. But I'm still not convinced.

When I transform, I get stronger, faster, and more durable, and I have access to ice magic. I look a little different, too - ice-blue hair and a fairly unique costume. I'm called Cure Diamond like that. Oh, but if something hits me too hard or I collapse or whatever, I turn back into myself.