elnysa | video: un: swan

Uh, hi.

[ can she have points for effort? the wave she gives is more uncertain than friendly, like she's not entirely comfortable addressing the entire network (she's not). she figures it'll work for everyone else the same way it does for her. when Emma has something to offer, she answers. when she doesn't, she leaves it to someone else.]

My name's Emma, and as a lot of you have already noticed, I'm new here.

[ she's been called out on it enough to know that it's obvious. some part of her still doubts everything here and it bleeds into conversation too easily. most people have been here long enough to accept this reality, but Emma's still thinking of home.]

I'm not gonna pretend that my first instinct wasn't to wallow in my disappointment until my family wakes up, but I know there's a lot to be done here. I've seen all of you getting things done here, and I just wondered... how have you been able to use the skills you learned in your home world to keep you busy in this one?

[ because it's time for her to think about taking on a job, and making a difference, and she's pretty sure that doesn't mean a sheriff's badge and a cruiser anymore. so far, she's been part of the clean-up effort, but she needs something else to get by on.]

Back home, I was the sheriff in a town called Storybrooke, Maine. Here, I don't know. How did you know where to start?

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For most of my life, I thought it was the kind of thing you only read about in children's stories.

[ so she feels you there, Peggy. she'll even quote you.]

I thought I understood the way the world worked, but then I met someone who challenged me to see things differently.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

[ The circumstances aren't the same, she didn't stumble across magic in the 1940s. But some might view the strange and miraculous advancements of science and technology as a sort of magic. Before 1943, she wouldn't have believed transforming a man like Steve Rogers into a supersoldier like Captain America was at all possible. And before 1947, she wouldn't have believed atomic bombs could rip a hole through time and space. ]

The rules of the world — any world, I should say — are constantly in flux. It would be foolish, if not dangerous, to believe they're anything but. Especially here. I've only been awake for a few months myself and honestly I'm still learning about this whole country.

It's easier to believe that nothing will change when nothing ever has. I've been to other worlds, but if I look back on who I was before all of that, I know I wouldn't have been able to buy into all of this.

[ back when she was a bailbondsperson in Boston, she would have thought all of this was one wild hallucination. now she knows better (and sometimes she wishes she didn't), but that doesn't mean there aren't others here who are sorting out what all of this means for them. getting used to an ever-changing world takes time.]

Now, I guess I'm in a better position than most. And even with those memories, I still think about going home like it still exists, you know? I can accept that I have a lot to learn, its harder to believe that there's no portal, or magic, or secret door back to our old lives - especially when just about anything felt possible back in Storybrooke.

Sorry —

[ Wait. This is all very well and good, she agrees wholeheartedly, but... ]

You've been to other worlds before? [ This isn't the first instance she's heard of it. One of her very first friends here was Edmund Pevensie who stepped into a kingdom through a wardrobe. Travelling between worlds isn't unheard of but it's the plural that catches her attention. ] More than one? Before this one?

[ sorry was that a lot of information in about ten seconds? it would have been for her, too. it's just that traveling through portals and using magic and accepting the possibility of other worlds is a little more common to her now.]

I've been to three. Some of them more than once.

[ because that one trip to the Enchanted Forest had involved, well - ]

And accidentally time-traveled through a portal before.

[ Peggy, if you thought magic was for children's stories, the rest of this conversation might not sit well with you.]

[ There's a long pause, then Peggy starts laughing. It isn't unkind and it's more breath than sound because she's likely got her face in her hand at some point. And then: ]

If you'd told me all this when I first woke up, I wouldn't have believed you. Or, well — I would have, but not nearly as readily. But it's been a few months and I've met enough people to make the case for magic and time travel.

[ Shoutout to one Claire Fraser! ]

Which is a sentence I never thought I'd say without a trace of irony.

[ see, that? Emma was expecting that. she even understands that, as someone who spent the better part of a year being told about all of the things that were right in front of her all along.]

Neither did I. And I didn't believe anyone who told me about it the first time around; I thought my son had a good imagination. Then there were just some strange coincidences. Then it was a stranger who was probably insane, and a friend screaming the truth in my face, and even then...

[ she couldn't see what August needed her to when she wasn't ready to believe. he'd probably get a laugh out of this, suddenly she's the only one awake.]

I didn't believe until my son's life depended on it. But when you stumble through a few portals and get thrown from one world to another, it'd more crazy not to believe, you know?

[ She smiles on her end of the conversation. Too true. ]

Absolutely. It's vanity to think we know everything there is to know, isn't it? At some point, you just can't deny the evidence in front of you, no matter how mad.

[ Then — ]

I'm sorry, I realise I haven't introduced myself. Peggy Carter.

Meanwhile I'm telling you my life story.

[ it's not like her, but at the same time, Emma has already learned that she can't just do what she usually does and get by here. some things demand an explanation, especially if she wants people to understand that she's not crazy.]

It's nice to meet you, Peggy.

If your life story helps you put this place into perspective, then by all means.

[ It must be easier to adjust to the idea of people coming from different worlds and being thrown into a new one when you've done it before. ]

I don't know if anything is enough to put this world into perspective, but I've tried.

[ better to buy into the end of her world than to go back to refusing to believe. if there really is nothing left, she doesn't stand anything to gain by denying it. even if there was, she couldn't go without her family. right now, they're all locked in.]

If not that, then time is all we've got.

[ She huffs a breath; it sounds almost like a laugh through the microphone. That's either optimism or resignation speaking. Possibly both. ]

And I don't mind spending that time with a bit of work.

Gives us a surprisingly level playing field, don't you think?

[ time and nothing else. give her some time and she'll get used to it. for now, all she can do is sigh.]

I don't know about you, but that's my best distraction in any world.

[ if she can't be with her family, there's always work to be done.]

Oh, I understand. Some people like to go to the pictures for the distraction, but I find keeping busy helps much more.

[ She pauses. ]

There's a shooting range, if you're interested.

In my world, it's all sequels and remakes anyway.

[ pictures aren't a great distraction when you already know how it ends.]

I'm interested. Around here, we might need all the practice we can get.

I haven't had much cause to use my firearm, but I heartily concur.

That's good to know, but - yeah. It feels like more conflict is inevitable.

video: un: swan

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