[So. Ford has never actually had to have this conversation before. He's smart enough to know it's something that should be done tactfully and not skilled enough to know what that might look like, though at least he's avoided doing it on a public post like some people. Surely private is better?]
Greetings. [People definitely say 'greetings'. That's a thing they say.] My name is Dr. Stanford Pines, and I knew an iteration of you that was traveling here previously. I realize that may be a lot to wrap your head around but I can assure you it's less unusual than you might think.
[Fantastic Mr. Fox, who is curled up next to him and taking up most of the Pokecenter couch now that he's a fully-evolved Ninetails, pokes his snout into frame and whuffs in what might be construed as a friendly sort of way.]
It can take time to adjust to a new universe even without such unique circumstances. Have you been settling in? Do you have questions?
[Elsa is a tad bit startled at receiving his message. It's a really weird thing to just get contacted randomly by someone and a whole weirder thing for them to know you- a you, since it's the version of her from before. He's right, that is a lot to deal with and Elsa is still struggling with it.
But he's talking about it in such a frank way that's more refreshing than the usual vague response of "it's just a thing that happens". It oddly enough sets her more at ease. He isn't making her feel like he knows something she doesn't.]
Oh- hello! I'm- er, you know who I am. [It's still awkward to be introducing yourself to someone who already knows you.] You seem really knowledgeable about this kind of thing, is this... normal for you?
Very much so, though that doesn't seem to be the case for most of the visitors to this world. I personally have been traveling between dimensions for around thirty years now.
[He had kind of hoped he was done with it, at least for a little while, but at least he wound up in a universe as nice as this one if he had to find himself traveling again. No one's tried to arrest him once! Time moves in the same direction all the time, usually! It's luxurious.]
If it makes you feel any better, you could not have fallen into a better universe than this one.
Elsa can't even begin to imagine being in one universe (aside from her own, obviously) for thirty years, let alone going through multiple ones. It would be so exhausting.]
On purpose, or...?
And are they not all as nice as this one?
[You just keep giving her so many new questions, Ford.]
[Elaborate? Why would he do that? It's fine. It's also less likely to bring up his tragic backstory and force him to have emotions if he doesn't, which is a plus.]
Let me put it this way: this universe is tailor-made to be hospitable to visitors. Everyone who arrives is given a map, guidebooks on the local fauna and basic survival supples, to say nothing of being considered worthy to keep one of the creatures around which this world's entire culture and economy is built. We have access to money, free healthcare, and are allowed to go just about anywhere we please. We are integrated into the system from day one with no legal hurdles or extra sanctions.
Most, if not the majority, of the infinite universes out there are not nearly so friendly toward outsiders.
[Oddly enough, when it's all laid out in front of her like that, it's... way easier to feel better about being here. There are many perks about being here- she'd never admit it outright but some of them are even better than living in Arendelle.
Don't tell anyone she considered that in introspection.]
I guess we are lucky, then. [Thank you for that weirdly comforting spiel, Ford.] So how do you deal with... you know, the other versions of yourself? Isn't that a little weird, even for you?
[Someone is still having a time coping with the idea that another version of herself had been here. It's weird and makes her feel guilty.]
This isn't a dream that Ford has much anymore. Time and distance have buried this anxiety under newer, fresher ones, but it's still there at the root of a lot of things.
The Pines family pawnshop was always cramped, but in his mind it stretches and stretches into a labyrinth of junk. His father sits behind the counter reading a newspaper. Elsa probably doesn't recognize the locale as she walks through this dream but she'll almost certainly recognize the distinctive Pines jawline that Filbrick passed to both of his sons.
"You're late," he says. Elsa will find her feet carrying her forward, will find her mouth opening of its own accord to say:
"I'm sorry. I had other things--"
"Look at this!" Filbrick lifts what looks like a report card, though Elsa may not recognize what one of those looks like in the first place. It's hazy and difficult to read the way many written things are in dreams, but there's an awful lot of red markings on it. "What were you doing, ya knucklehead? I taught you to work harder than this."
"I have been working h--"
"Hard enough to not get into that fancy college? Hard enough to disappear to Oregon chasing pixies when you could be doing something worthwhile with your life?"
The pawn shop begins to shake. Junk piled upon junk wiggles loose, begins to fall. This is a dream Ford is having as an adult, a man who is outside of this point in time even if it's the one his mind has taken him back to. It's producing less a feeling of being cowed and more a feeling of being trapped somewhere you thought you were already free from.
"You're just like your no-good brother. Worthless, the both of you."
"Stanley's a better man than you ever were--"
The shelves fall with an almighty crash, hard enough to jolt Elsa awake.
[Sometime on the fourth, Elsa gets a video message. It slowly pans across a tiny hotel room to the obligatory tiny hotel room reading chair awkwardly placed in the corner. On said chair is a equally tiny white Vulpix with a single very curly tail. She seems to be dozing, and gives a big ol' yawn right at the camera. The shot lingers on her for a few moments more before flipping around to show Ford's grinning face.]
[Elsa waits with bated breath as the camera pans around the kind of hotel room she's oh so familiar with. She's very tired of the wallpaper in these places, she misses her castle walls and beautiful architecture. But alas.
When it settles on the vulpix, Elsa can't help but gasp a little. Oh she's so small and adorable!
And then suddenly there's Ford's face, which isn't small and adorable. It's rugged and handsome.]
She's lovely! Have you picked out a name for her yet?
[His face is large and lightly-singed. Possibly he just shaved.]
I have! Do they have opera in your world?
[He has to imagine that if they do, a queen would be familiar with it. Not that she'd be familiar with this opera specifically when it's almost definitely after her time, but it's a start.]
[Her enthusiasm probably makes it sound like she's familiar with opera, which.. she isn't. But it's nice to hear about something that at least exists in her universe, hence the enthusiasm.]
I mean, not that I've had the pleasure of attending a performance, but... it is something I know exists. Does that count?
The Cunning Little Vixen is a Czech opera about the life of a vixen named Sharp-Ears, so that's what I've decided on. Strange enough there are dozens of male fictional and mythological foxes but very few females.
[Except for like... kitsune, sometimes. And while Stanford Pines has no reason to avoid looking like a weeb, it's also not in his nature. Plus what would he call her? Kit? That's like calling a human child 'Baby'.]
[Elsa nods as if she understands what he's talking about, but when it comes to the Big Reveal of the name, her eyebrows furrow a little. It's not as if it's bad, but she's so used to giving hers proper names that Sharp-Ears is a little...]
That's sort of impersonal, isn't it?
[Oops.
Judgmental queen is judgy. It's only because she's grown close to him that she feels like she can say that. But then she thinks on it a moment and realizes it came off a bit, er, blunt.]
I mean, not that it isn't good! You and I have different taste in names, is all.
[Anna tries her hardest to creep back into her and Elsa's shared room that night, but between the damp hair and the rather loud sweater in her arms, it's pretty easy to see that something's amiss, and of course Elsa is still awake, reading in bed with her children all nestled around her.
Still, she's vibrating with mixed nerves and excitement, and it's better this way anyway; she knows she won't be able to keep this a secret from Elsa for too long.]
Hey. [Casual.] Iiiii've got some great news!
Edited 2018-01-30 21:38 (UTC)
Sometime in the distant past, but not very long ago
[Elsa glances up when Anna enters the room- something does look amiss, but that’s usually just how Anna is so she doesn’t think much of it. What she does pick up on is the energy Anna is radiating and that has her curious.
Elsa is just about to ask when Anna beats her to it.]
Oh?
[Elsa closes her book and sets it aside, removing her reading glasses so that she can look at Anna properly.]
We can decide it’s great news after you’ve told me what it is! [She gives her an almost cheeky smile at that.]
[Anna chews her lip, standing there and looking antsy for a second; when she sees that smile on Elsa's face, she huffs out a laugh and sets the sweater aside on her own bed, before coming over to sit on the edge of Elsa's.]
Okay. Okay, so...don't freak out. [She looks Elsa straight in the eye, to show just how serious she is about this.] But I'm sort of...seeing someone.
[Elsa is rather used to Anna bringing home odd things, so that sweater doesn't even really register as another loud piece of clothing for Anna to wear. It's fine.
But she can't help the sharp intake of breath when Anna says that. It's just- last time...]
This is too many things for Anna to try and explain, right now, and the way Elsa sucks in a breath like that is not doing great things for her anxiety surrounding everything about this conversation. Where does she start? By telling her sister that "he" is actually a "she?" Or does she hold off on that for the present moment.
She decides to just take it one step at a time.]
Since, um...Since the day you got your Zephyrbadge, actually! Well, we'd talked before that, but I first met them in person that day.
[It's really good that Anna is taking this a step at a time. Elsa can only process so much of this at one time, and she- listen, she's just protective, okay? And after Hans, she wants to just. Makes sure this is a real, thought out decision.
And don't even get her started on Kristoff.
Lovely man. Really. Truly.
Elsa mentally backtracks to when she got the zephyrbadge and... hm. Okay.]
Alright. Well, that's... a fairly decent amount of time. He hasn't proposed yet, has he? Is he from here or another place like us?
[A pause, yes that's Botan, she sounds very very perky. All right, so this gathering she went to with her friends she decided to try some dark chocolate, it made her feel expressive suddenly.]
Oh, wait, it's afternoon. Gosh, where's my head? Well! I just wanted to say that I miss you a lot, Elsa, I miss the times when we talked and when you lived at the shop with me. It's so silly because nothing's really stopping me acting like your friend still? But I just feel so guilty forcing things! It's not your fault you don't remember! And what am I doing, exactly? Sending you secret gifts and saying they're from "A Friend"? That's right stupid, isn't it?
[A pause. Sounds like there's beeping in the background.] Piffle, the cupcakes are going off. Okay, I suppose I'll talk to you some other time and I'll go back to acting like I don't know you so things aren't weird. Bye!
[At first, Elsa is pleased to see Botan's face popping up on screen. She's about to greet her when Botan continues on and says some things Elsa really isn't expecting her to say.
So- so everything has been an act?
That's a heavy realization to have. Elsa doesn't really know how to react. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she Gets It but on the surface, she's incredibly shocked.]
Botan, I-
[?? What does one say to this
She can't say she blames her, when she thinks about it. This whole thing has been tricky. She'd suffered so long feeling awkward about being a different Elsa. But she came to terms with it, she'd moved past it. But this is an unpleasant reminder of how she felt and dealt with.]
You could have told me! I can't imagine how difficult it must've been to... to keep it to yourself like that. I'm sorry.
[Oddly, even though she's baking it looks like she hasn't changed out of the pink flowery dress she wore to the little party, just put on an apron over it as though that would mitigate the risk of wrecking it. (At least her hair is pinned up in braids even if it's not the usual ponytail.)
Botan leans onto her hands, staring into the screen with a look of contemplation. It's...an odd mix of sad, happy, relieved, afraid...grief.]
I did want to tell you...down the line, when you were less...overwhelmed by everything. But I saw how happy you were then, settling into your life, and I just couldn't do that. You suffered so much growing up because people didn't understand your magic, and I know you, I know you tend to feel guilty and blame yourself for things. You deserve a happy, carefree life. I wanted nothing more than that for you.
["Because I love you."
No. She leans back, pinching the bridge of her nose.]
[Mmm, this is. Seriously so much to take in. Again, she's not. Angry. At Botan for it, but it's also a lot to have thrown at someone all at once- so. Honestly, Botan's pretty spot on as far as not wanting to overwhelm her.
But still. It's sad that Botan's had to deal with all of this with no outlet. And even worse- she'd kept in contact with Elsa and kept up the charade, which had to have made it even more painful.]
Forgive me, I- I'm not entirely sure what to say right now. [Which sucks, because she feels like she ought to have the right words to say. But she's not the Elsa for that.] But it... it sounds like you cared for me a great deal, and- and that means a lot.
[It's...wearing down, the high of Cupid's Attract spell, Botan's eyes shift to the side guiltily.]
That's all right, Elsa, you don't have to say anything, let alone something to comfort me [Trying to push the narrative "no this is actually fully my fault" won't help anyone, however, as tempting as it is to add that].
...I care about you very much. Whether or not you remember it, you're one of my closest friends and I care about you being happy. I'll do whatever it takes for that conclusion, some sudden bizarre inspiration to overshare and ruin that aside.
[Guess who fucked off to Cianwood a while ago to get his last badge? This guy! After the blow of losing both Mabel and Fiddleford the time out on the ocean during the journey over did him good. That's where he is now, actually, several feet out on the water on Falkor's back enjoying the gentle rocking motion of the waves and the sunset over the water.
Elsa's probably off work by now. He would have called her the moment he got the badge, but by now he knows that if he were to do that he'd get a stern Ford I am trying to do the pull, I'll talk to you later for his trouble. He knows how that is. Lance himself could call Ford while he was in the middle of working on one of his papers and he'd probably hang up.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[Video]
Greetings. [People definitely say 'greetings'. That's a thing they say.] My name is Dr. Stanford Pines, and I knew an iteration of you that was traveling here previously. I realize that may be a lot to wrap your head around but I can assure you it's less unusual than you might think.
[Fantastic Mr. Fox, who is curled up next to him and taking up most of the Pokecenter couch now that he's a fully-evolved Ninetails, pokes his snout into frame and whuffs in what might be construed as a friendly sort of way.]
It can take time to adjust to a new universe even without such unique circumstances. Have you been settling in? Do you have questions?
[Let Him Help]
[Video]
But he's talking about it in such a frank way that's more refreshing than the usual vague response of "it's just a thing that happens". It oddly enough sets her more at ease. He isn't making her feel like he knows something she doesn't.]
Oh- hello! I'm- er, you know who I am. [It's still awkward to be introducing yourself to someone who already knows you.] You seem really knowledgeable about this kind of thing, is this... normal for you?
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[He had kind of hoped he was done with it, at least for a little while, but at least he wound up in a universe as nice as this one if he had to find himself traveling again. No one's tried to arrest him once! Time moves in the same direction all the time, usually! It's luxurious.]
If it makes you feel any better, you could not have fallen into a better universe than this one.
i wrote thirsty years by accident
Elsa can't even begin to imagine being in one universe (aside from her own, obviously) for thirty years, let alone going through multiple ones. It would be so exhausting.]
On purpose, or...?
And are they not all as nice as this one?
[You just keep giving her so many new questions, Ford.]
Well that's not wrong
[Elaborate? Why would he do that? It's fine. It's also less likely to bring up his tragic backstory and force him to have emotions if he doesn't, which is a plus.]
Let me put it this way: this universe is tailor-made to be hospitable to visitors. Everyone who arrives is given a map, guidebooks on the local fauna and basic survival supples, to say nothing of being considered worthy to keep one of the creatures around which this world's entire culture and economy is built. We have access to money, free healthcare, and are allowed to go just about anywhere we please. We are integrated into the system from day one with no legal hurdles or extra sanctions.
Most, if not the majority, of the infinite universes out there are not nearly so friendly toward outsiders.
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Don't tell anyone she considered that in introspection.]
I guess we are lucky, then. [Thank you for that weirdly comforting spiel, Ford.] So how do you deal with... you know, the other versions of yourself? Isn't that a little weird, even for you?
[Someone is still having a time coping with the idea that another version of herself had been here. It's weird and makes her feel guilty.]
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A Dream; October 19th
The Pines family pawnshop was always cramped, but in his mind it stretches and stretches into a labyrinth of junk. His father sits behind the counter reading a newspaper. Elsa probably doesn't recognize the locale as she walks through this dream but she'll almost certainly recognize the distinctive Pines jawline that Filbrick passed to both of his sons.
"You're late," he says. Elsa will find her feet carrying her forward, will find her mouth opening of its own accord to say:
"I'm sorry. I had other things--"
"Look at this!" Filbrick lifts what looks like a report card, though Elsa may not recognize what one of those looks like in the first place. It's hazy and difficult to read the way many written things are in dreams, but there's an awful lot of red markings on it. "What were you doing, ya knucklehead? I taught you to work harder than this."
"I have been working h--"
"Hard enough to not get into that fancy college? Hard enough to disappear to Oregon chasing pixies when you could be doing something worthwhile with your life?"
The pawn shop begins to shake. Junk piled upon junk wiggles loose, begins to fall. This is a dream Ford is having as an adult, a man who is outside of this point in time even if it's the one his mind has taken him back to. It's producing less a feeling of being cowed and more a feeling of being trapped somewhere you thought you were already free from.
"You're just like your no-good brother. Worthless, the both of you."
"Stanley's a better man than you ever were--"
The shelves fall with an almighty crash, hard enough to jolt Elsa awake.
i can't believe i'm the entirety of your inbox
Look who hatched today!
i can
When it settles on the vulpix, Elsa can't help but gasp a little. Oh she's so small and adorable!
And then suddenly there's Ford's face, which isn't small and adorable.
It's rugged and handsome.]She's lovely! Have you picked out a name for her yet?
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I have! Do they have opera in your world?
[He has to imagine that if they do, a queen would be familiar with it. Not that she'd be familiar with this opera specifically when it's almost definitely after her time, but it's a start.]
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[Her enthusiasm probably makes it sound like she's familiar with opera, which.. she isn't. But it's nice to hear about something that at least exists in her universe, hence the enthusiasm.]
I mean, not that I've had the pleasure of attending a performance, but... it is something I know exists. Does that count?
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[LET THE QUEEN SEE AN OPERA.]
The Cunning Little Vixen is a Czech opera about the life of a vixen named Sharp-Ears, so that's what I've decided on. Strange enough there are dozens of male fictional and mythological foxes but very few females.
[Except for like... kitsune, sometimes. And while Stanford Pines has no reason to avoid looking like a weeb, it's also not in his nature. Plus what would he call her? Kit? That's like calling a human child 'Baby'.]
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That's sort of impersonal, isn't it?
[Oops.
Judgmental queen is judgy. It's only because she's grown close to him that she feels like she can say that. But then she thinks on it a moment and realizes it came off a bit, er, blunt.]
I mean, not that it isn't good! You and I have different taste in names, is all.
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Backdated to...whenever that Chloe thread was???
Still, she's vibrating with mixed nerves and excitement, and it's better this way anyway; she knows she won't be able to keep this a secret from Elsa for too long.]
Hey. [Casual.] Iiiii've got some great news!
Sometime in the distant past, but not very long ago
Elsa is just about to ask when Anna beats her to it.]
Oh?
[Elsa closes her book and sets it aside, removing her reading glasses so that she can look at Anna properly.]
We can decide it’s great news after you’ve told me what it is! [She gives her an almost cheeky smile at that.]
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Okay. Okay, so...don't freak out. [She looks Elsa straight in the eye, to show just how serious she is about this.] But I'm sort of...seeing someone.
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But she can't help the sharp intake of breath when Anna says that. It's just- last time...]
How long have you known him?
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Ha.
This is too many things for Anna to try and explain, right now, and the way Elsa sucks in a breath like that is not doing great things for her anxiety surrounding everything about this conversation. Where does she start? By telling her sister that "he" is actually a "she?" Or does she hold off on that for the present moment.
She decides to just take it one step at a time.]
Since, um...Since the day you got your Zephyrbadge, actually! Well, we'd talked before that, but I first met them in person that day.
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And don't even get her started on Kristoff.
Lovely man. Really. Truly.
Elsa mentally backtracks to when she got the zephyrbadge and... hm. Okay.]
Alright. Well, that's... a fairly decent amount of time. He hasn't proposed yet, has he? Is he from here or another place like us?
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2/14 SURPRISE IT'S ME [voice]
[A pause, yes that's Botan, she sounds very very perky. All right, so this gathering she went to with her friends she decided to try some dark chocolate, it made her feel expressive suddenly.]
Oh, wait, it's afternoon. Gosh, where's my head? Well! I just wanted to say that I miss you a lot, Elsa, I miss the times when we talked and when you lived at the shop with me. It's so silly because nothing's really stopping me acting like your friend still? But I just feel so guilty forcing things! It's not your fault you don't remember! And what am I doing, exactly? Sending you secret gifts and saying they're from "A Friend"? That's right stupid, isn't it?
[A pause. Sounds like there's beeping in the background.] Piffle, the cupcakes are going off. Okay, I suppose I'll talk to you some other time and I'll go back to acting like I don't know you so things aren't weird. Bye!
surprise i'm late
So- so everything has been an act?
That's a heavy realization to have. Elsa doesn't really know how to react. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she Gets It but on the surface, she's incredibly shocked.]
Botan, I-
[?? What does one say to this
She can't say she blames her, when she thinks about it. This whole thing has been tricky. She'd suffered so long feeling awkward about being a different Elsa. But she came to terms with it, she'd moved past it. But this is an unpleasant reminder of how she felt and dealt with.]
You could have told me! I can't imagine how difficult it must've been to... to keep it to yourself like that. I'm sorry.
serves up the suffering
[Oddly, even though she's baking it looks like she hasn't changed out of the pink flowery dress she wore to the little party, just put on an apron over it as though that would mitigate the risk of wrecking it. (At least her hair is pinned up in braids even if it's not the usual ponytail.)
Botan leans onto her hands, staring into the screen with a look of contemplation. It's...an odd mix of sad, happy, relieved, afraid...grief.]
I did want to tell you...down the line, when you were less...overwhelmed by everything. But I saw how happy you were then, settling into your life, and I just couldn't do that. You suffered so much growing up because people didn't understand your magic, and I know you, I know you tend to feel guilty and blame yourself for things. You deserve a happy, carefree life. I wanted nothing more than that for you.
["Because I love you."
No. She leans back, pinching the bridge of her nose.]
It's my own doing, Elsa, don't apologize.
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But still. It's sad that Botan's had to deal with all of this with no outlet. And even worse- she'd kept in contact with Elsa and kept up the charade, which had to have made it even more painful.]
Forgive me, I- I'm not entirely sure what to say right now. [Which sucks, because she feels like she ought to have the right words to say. But she's not the Elsa for that.] But it... it sounds like you cared for me a great deal, and- and that means a lot.
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That's all right, Elsa, you don't have to say anything, let alone something to comfort me [Trying to push the narrative "no this is actually fully my fault" won't help anyone, however, as tempting as it is to add that].
...I care about you very much. Whether or not you remember it, you're one of my closest friends and I care about you being happy. I'll do whatever it takes for that conclusion, some sudden bizarre inspiration to overshare and ruin that aside.
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[video]
Elsa's probably off work by now. He would have called her the moment he got the badge, but by now he knows that if he were to do that he'd get a stern Ford I am trying to do the pull, I'll talk to you later for his trouble. He knows how that is. Lance himself could call Ford while he was in the middle of working on one of his papers and he'd probably hang up.]
Elsa! I have good news.