InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "ok tian"

Arcturus Black (arcturusfirst) wrote in compass_network,
@ 2022-01-03 20:46:00

Entry tags:

aphrodite, miguel o'hara, ~arcturus black

[NB: due to the backdating of his last post, this one is over 2 weeks since he went through the portal]

Good evening,

I have a tale to tell you. I failed in my attempt to reach England, and my parents, but I believe that I am blameless in that failure. Instead, it is as if the very world consipired against me, that my success might have meant some catastrophic alteration to the timeline, or some other consequence unforeseen by me. Perhaps some magical protection lay over France. I do not know.

Some thieving ~~brat~~ member of the Parisian residuum tried to relieve me of my gold. I expected that, and saw him off with a few curses, but my broomstick was damaged, and I had to spend time repairing it. Then, as I flew, the Braking Charm failed altogether, which meant ~~I flew straight into a~~ an unexpected collision with a tree. I continued at a much slower pace, but then the steering calibration seemed to deteriorate before my eyes - and I assure you, I had proper care and maintenance drilled into me at school and there was no neglect on my part.

Time was of the essence, so I sought to take a carriage - a cart - any way to speed my journey. The coin made up for my lack of French, I believe, although I did have one fascinating conversation with a muggle in Latin. What became of me then? A broken wheel, a lame horse, an impassably flooded road...a gentleman here, to whom I regret I did not properly introduce myself, told me that without magical transportation the journey might take a month. This would surely have taken longer.

Why did I not persevere? It was not because my desire to see my family lessened. Rather it was the realisation that ~~drowning would be a horrid way to~~ should I make it to port, some disaster would almost certainly befall whatever unlucky ship I boarded.

The journey back to Paris was entirely reasonable and uneventful.

I do not regret what I did. It was an adventure, if nothing else. I am glad that I tried to reach home. But now I am perhaps more glad of a warm bath by the fire, a pot of tea, and my broomstick maintenance kit. I share this with you in case anyone ~~cared whether I~~ had an interest in what became of me, or if anyone in future should experience similar troubles.

- A.C. Black

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	aphrodiseum 2022-01-03 09:27 pm UTC (link)
	Huh. Not exactly what I was expecting. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-03 09:31 pm UTC (link)
	I presume that isn't because you expected me to suceed, Miss Aphrodite? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

aphrodiseum
2022-01-03 09:47 pm UTC (link)

Easy with that 'miss' talk, hun. Not only have I been married quite a lot, but your England would not be as you know it without me, my children and my children's children. Eternally youthful or not, I think I'm past 'miss'.

Not succeed in the sense you mean, but I didn't expect you to have so much trouble getting there. Maybe the magic didn't want you getting too far from Paris.

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arcturusfirst
2022-01-03 09:57 pm UTC (link)

I suppose I probably deserved to be called a Hun, but I wasn't trying to be deliberately disrespectful. Maybe I'm more tired than I thought ~~and you don't have a surname, Mrs Aphrodite sounds even more odd, and people here don't address me as they ought to and it's all rather~~ I apologise.

Perhaps it was that, yes. It was all very peculiar. At first it seemed like plain bad luck, but so many things went wrong that it couldn't be just that.

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	aphrodiseum 2022-01-03 10:04 pm UTC (link)
	Hun as in honey, dear. I wouldn't call you German and you're certainly not some kind of hooligan. No harm done. Yes, there's bad luck and there is bad luck. I'm not entirely certain how stuff beyond the door works but I assume that there are limits. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-03 10:21 pm UTC (link)
	I was thinking of that fellow Attila, because I don't suppose he was very polite. Honey? Nobody ever called me honey before. Yes. I wasn't sure if whatever it was would actually drown me to prevent me from reaching England, but that wasn't something I was about to test. Never mind. At least I can say now that I have been to France. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	aphrodiseum 2022-01-05 05:23 am UTC (link)
	Odd. You're mostly sweet to me. Not exactly the nicest parts of France either, perhaps you'll have a better visit in future. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-05 02:22 pm UTC (link)
	That's kind of you to say. Perhaps! Or at least the chance to prepare by learning a little of the language. Did anything unusual happen here while I was gone? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	aphrodiseum 2022-01-05 02:32 pm UTC (link)
	I'll admit I wasn't paying a lot of attention. I have a toddler, she needs a lot of supervision, you know how it is. But you have to understand how 'unusual' is a meaningless word here. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-05 02:46 pm UTC (link)
	Do you not have the help of a nursemaid? I expect being around a small child all day must be wearying. If there was nothing unusual enough to draw your attention, there's nothing I need to worry about, at least. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	aphrodiseum 2022-01-05 03:10 pm UTC (link)
	We're doing it the 'modern' way, so just John and I looking after the baby girl. It is nice but very distracting, especially now that she's trying to communicate more and can get frustrated when she can't fully express herself. But no, nothing to worry about. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-05 03:28 pm UTC (link)
	I am hardly qualified to give opinions on raising infants or other women's matters, of course ~~even if your way sounds needlessly difficult~~ but I think my young nephew had that same trouble when I last saw him. Has your daughter's magic come in yet? I don't know if that happens for your children like it does for ours. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

aphrodiseum
2022-01-05 03:45 pm UTC (link)

It'll get better the more her vocabulary grows, she's just at that age. She's picking up English quickly since she has parents that have a very difficult time shutting up. Demigods are a little different, she might not have magic naturally, I didn't tamper with her genes when I was carrying her so I can't be certain what she'll be blessed with beyond beauty. That said, given how involved Johnny will be, she'll have some form of magic at some point.

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arcturusfirst
2022-01-05 04:05 pm UTC (link)

Ah. She'll learn quickly. I suppose it is a little strange at home that children have so much encouragement to learn to speak, and then once they can, they are forever being told to be quiet! It doesn't sound as if she will have the accidental magic that we do. My other nephew, Sirius, will be four or five now, I think, but his magic came early, just turned three, and there were an awful lot of breakages. When I was last home, he had moved on to vanishing his plate if he didn't like the food, which I had to try very hard not to laugh at.

That is to say, if your little girl ever does have magical troubles, I may have a few helpful suggestions. ~~I hope she does have magic of some sort, it seems cruel otherwise, if you could have prevented~~

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	miguel_ohara 2022-01-04 09:25 pm UTC (link)
	did you hurt yourself? is a broomstick like a sky bike? why does france have magic? does everywhere have magic? (Reply to this) (Thread)

arcturusfirst
2022-01-04 10:57 pm UTC (link)

In the collision? Cuts and bruises, and the arm that took the impact when I hit the ground was awfully sore for a while, but I shall be fine. I've had worse playing Quidditch. Haven't you ever seen a broomstick before? Ours do fly. Every country has magic, yes, although there are different magical traditions in different parts of the world. If you haven't heard that before, it's because on Earth there are secrecy laws. Muggles do things like calling us evil and trying to burn us or steal our blood when they know about it. It's safer if they don't know.

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miguel_ohara
2022-01-04 11:03 pm UTC (link)

are you still sore? doctor cuddy is nice if you want her to look at your arm and she won't ask questions. whats quidditch? my abuela has a broom but she's really old and i don't know if anyone else has brooms. what's in your blood that makes people want to steal it? there's iron in blood and a grown man has enough to make a nail in him but i don't think it's what people would want to steal. what's muggles?

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arcturusfirst
2022-01-04 11:15 pm UTC (link)

I'll be fine. Doctors are likely to make matters worse and I don't want to lose my arm. My father said they're doing their best but they're dangerous. Quidditch is a sport you play while flying on a broom. I was on my house team at school. It's good fun. What's an abuela? Old people can have brooms but I've never met one who liked flying fast. There's magic in my blood. That's how it works - if your mother and father are magical then they pass it on to you, in your blood, and you have magic too. Muggles are people who are born without magic. I know that not all of them are bad but there are some who would try to drain out all my blood and put it in themselves to see if they got my magic. It wouldn't work, naturally, but they don't know that. How old are you? I haven't met many fellows here around my age.

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	miguel_ohara 2022-01-04 11:27 pm UTC (link)
	why would you lose an arm? abuela is spanish for grandma! my ma is mexican so everyone in her family speaks spanish. thats genetics! you're talking about genetics! it's not just blood it's all cells like hair and skin and bones and insides. is there a gene for magic? i'm ~~almost~~ seven. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

arcturusfirst
2022-01-04 11:41 pm UTC (link)

Muggle doctors cut people's arms off sometimes. My brother told me about this fellow who wasn't even very ill, but after a muggle doctor poked at him with dirty knives, he took a fever, and he'd have died if his leg wasn't cut off. It isn't their fault that they aren't any better at healing, but there's no excuse for not being clean.

Are you Mexican too? I'm afraid I don't know terribly much about Mexico, except that I read in the newspaper about that war over Texas, and I think that witches are called brujas there. I don't know what genetics is but I am talking about bloodlines and family and legacy.

You write rather well for your age! I'm fourteen. Are you here all by yourself, or is your abuela here too?

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miguel_ohara
2022-01-05 12:02 am UTC (link)

doctor cuddy's medlab is super-clean! and i didn't see any dirty knives there, promise. i'm mexican-irish, but i was born in nueva york so i'm american too. genetics is where you learn about how when people have babies, the baby gets traits from both their ma and their dad and which things are ~~donimant~~ dominant. so if your ma and dad both have magic then it's really likely that you would have it but if just your ma or your dad have magic, it's not nearly as likely, and if neither have magic, then you probably won't. and it was in animals too and plants too, and it's really interesting and i'm going to be a geneticist when i'm bigger.

thanks! i'm here by myself, but every time i come here i get to stay with sarah and her family and they're really nice. sarah has so many books about science and i get to read them all! and she has a dog and two cats and i'd never seen dogs or cats before i came here other than in pictures.

you should talk to eddie and his friends they're good

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arcturusfirst
2022-01-05 12:21 am UTC (link)

I think my arm will be alright. Playing Quidditch toughens one up, and it's already getting better. It's very decent of you to be concerned, all the same.

Quite right! If neither of your parents has magic but you do, it is because one of your great-grandparents was a wizard but married someone who wasn't, or something of that sort, and you were lucky enough to have that magic passed down to you. It is why it is very important for those of us from magical families to marry into other magical families, to make sure the bloodlines stay strong and our children are magical too. It is almost the same as encouraging certain traits in animals, yes.

Have you been here more than once, then? I think it's awfully courageous of you. The first time I left home it was to go to boarding school, and I was eleven, and I knew exactly when I'd be back. This place is far more uncertain. I shall have a dog of my own when I am a little older. We can bring cats to school, but not dogs, and I don't care much for cats. Aren't there cats and dogs in America, then?

I will talk to them, if I meet them. What's your name? You can call me Black; all my friends do. I can show you some flying tricks of mine too, if you like - once I've properly repaired the broomstick, naturally.

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miguel_ohara
2022-01-05 11:01 am UTC (link)

are there lots of magical families? i've been here three times now but i don't ever pick to come here, i just show up. but when i go home i don't remember being here which i don't like because here is great.

there's not many animals back home. i think there's rats and things in downtown but ma says we're never to go there because it's dangerous so i've never seen one. and nobody has pets, not like here. i've seen holos and vids of them, though.

i'm miguel but everyone calls me miggy. how do you repair a broomstick?

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arcturusfirst
2022-01-05 02:31 pm UTC (link)

Yes, there are lots of magical families all over the world. We are usually better at keeping it secret, but in this place nobody else seems to, so I decided it didn't matter. It must be horrid to forget things like that. I don't like it here very much, but I wouldn't want to just forget it.

Ah. That's sensible; the rats probably have diseases.

Miggy. Splendid. It depends what is wrong with the broomstick. Mine needs a new Braking Charm, so I have to look up how to perform the spellwork for that. The steering needs recalibration, and I have a kit to help with that. You attach it to the front of the broomstick and there's a dial to help show you whether your tweaks to the enchantment are working. I'm fortunate, really, that there wasn't much physical damage, because that's harder to repair without upsetting all the spellwork that's already there.

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	miguel_ohara 2022-01-06 08:28 pm UTC (link)
	could i see you doing the magic on the broomstick please? i won't get in the way promise (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-06 08:43 pm UTC (link)
	You want to watch the repairs, not the flight? ~~I've never showed a muggle anything of the sort before, but if you won't remember when you go home~~ I suppose it won't do any harm, as long as you don't touch anything without asking first. Why don't you visit me tomorrow afternoon, and you can see it then? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	miguel_ohara 2022-01-06 10:19 pm UTC (link)
	the flight would be good too, like maglev but without the magnets, but i like seeing how things work or how they get done. i won't touch, i know not to do that yes please thank you i have to tell sarah ~~and bring mouse~~ can i bring mouse? he's sarah's big dog. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-07 10:24 am UTC (link)
	That's a fine name for a big dog! Bring Mouse, as long as he's friendly. I'd like to meet him. You have to go to [station apartment location] but once you open the door you'll just see a field inside. It's magic. If you go along the path and up the hill, you'll find my house. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	miguel_ohara 2022-01-08 02:07 pm UTC (link)
	mouse is friendly unless you're a bad guy and then he's not but I don't think you're a bad guy so he'll be friendly. and okay that's cool is it like the big parks here but in your apartment? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	arcturusfirst 2022-01-08 02:42 pm UTC (link)
	I don't think I'm a bad guy either, so that's settled. It's more like a little park, but yes, you are thinking along the right lines. (Reply to this) (Parent)