video.

[inthemoon]

[ the face in the feed looks like it's had all the colour washed out of it. white skin, white hair, silvery-gray eyes-- all shades of pale gray and white. even the inside of his mouth, when he parts his lips to speak, is gray.

he pauses like that, poised to say something, but then his mouth shuts with a click of teeth together. the frame begins to tremble faintly-- his hands are shaking. he's shaking. he's never left the surface of the moon before. he's somewhere else. somewhere like earth, but not. the moon still tugs at him, drags at him, like the tide. but he's away. he's seeing things and touching things and smelling and tasting and--

(it's all more than just a little overwhelming. the man in the moon has never not been alone.)

he takes a breath in through his nose, eyes sliding shut for a moment as he finds calm somewhere. they open again a moment later and he offers a slightly unfocused smile. ]

This is impossible, I think. I never sleep-- or I didn't before, at least. But I must be. Sleeping, I mean. Dreaming. Because, you see, I'm the Man in the Moon. The Man in the Moon cannot simply leave.

[ he twitches back a little, propping the little board up and leaning back, pulling his clothing more tightly around himself as if cold. ]

.. This is a dream.

Comments

[on_thin_ice]

[The Man in the Moon? That man couldn't be... he just couldn't be. And he talks. The Man in the Moon doesn't talk, doesn't... ]

You're lying. You're not him.

[inthemoon]

[ a startled blink. ] Oh! Jack! [ jack's here. and he can-- talk to him. like this. practically face-to-face. ] --Who else would I be?

[on_thin_ice]

You... know my name?

[Maybe it isn't a tricky...]

[inthemoon]

Of course I do. I'm the one who gave it to you, aren't I? [ a pause, fidgeting with his sleeve. ] Well. The 'Frost' part, anyway.

[on_thin_ice]

[his grip on his staff tightens, making him more white than usual]

It's really you...

[inthemoon]

[ he smiles brightly, a little breathless. ]

I'm not on the moon anymore. I've never been away.

[on_thin_ice]

That's, uh, rough. I guess.

[inthemoon]

No! [ he clutches his clothing, eyes wide and startled. ] This is amazing. Jack, I can talk to you. Are the others here?

[on_thin_ice]

No, it's just me--Wait, what do you mean by that? You talked to North! And the other Guardians! Why... Why didn't you talk to me?

[inthemoon]

I can't talk to anyone very often when I'm that far away. This is the most.. the most I've said to anyone in a long time.

[on_thin_ice]

You spoke to me when I woke up. You told North about me being a Guardian, three hundred years later, I might add. It wasn't a problem then.

[inthemoon]

I didn't really tell North anything. [ he tugs at a few strands of his hair, tucking it behind an ear. ] .. I'm just not that strong, Jack. It takes a lot to communicate with any of you.

[on_thin_ice]

... You were strong enough to bring me... to...

[inthemoon]

It's different. Making someone a spirit. .. I don't know why. [ his fingers tighten, teeth digging into his lower lip. ] .. And there were the Guardians. Other spirits. I'd hoped-- You didn't have to be alone, Jack. I didn't want that for you.

[on_thin_ice]

I was alone anyway.

But who cares, right?

[it's a tired bitterness now]

[inthemoon]

[ his expression softens sadly. ] Of course I care. I know how awful it is to be alone.

[on_thin_ice]

I wasn't just alone! Everyone thought I was some kind of menace! That all I could ever do, all I amounted to was making a mess!

And the truth was ... the truth was I didn't know whether it was true or not. I had nothing to believe in!

[inthemoon]

But you've found your place, haven't you?

[on_thin_ice]

Yeah. It just... took so long. Even now, it seems like a dream.

[inthemoon]

It isn't, though. I mean, unless this is a dream. But as I don't dream, I don't think so.

[on_thin_ice]

I guess Sandy can't reach you from all the way up ... there.

[inthemoon]

I've never slept. I suppose there's no need for the moon to do so.

[on_thin_ice]

Well... we don't really need to.

[inthemoon]

It makes for a very boring existence. It does mean that I can keep a better eye on Earth, though.

[on_thin_ice]

Is sleeping really that important?

[inthemoon]

Not for spirits like us, I suppose. It would break up the monotony a bit, though, I think. The moon isn't like earth, after all.

[on_thin_ice]

... Is that all you do?

[inthemoon]

Is what all I do?

[on_thin_ice]

Just... watch.

[inthemoon]

Oh! .. Yes. Basically.

[on_thin_ice]

It sounds really lonely.

[And he would know. Watching all those families, while never knowing he had one...]

[inthemoon]

.. It was. It is. But it's all I've ever known, so.

[ a startled little noise. ]

Except now, I suppose!

[on_thin_ice]

... That's, uh, good.

[He might not be the champion of good decisions but the Man in the Moon with normal people sounds like a disaster of some kind of proportion]

[inthemoon]

[ it probably will be. he has no concept of how to interact with people. literally everything is new to him. ]

Will you tell me more about this place?

[on_thin_ice]

[He shifts on his feet, awkwardly. He doesn't know what to do and what's the right thing to do. Jack's still new to the whole "people" thing. But he couldn't simply leave him there either]

Sure.

[Video]

[ducentia]

You're...

[She's leaning close into her own camera, staring intensely at the man, overcome with a wave of conflicting emotions between both extreme uncertainty and an unquenchable curiosity. As someone with a penchant for folklore, she's quite familiar with the various traditional tales of the Man in the Moon, and while she had never fully believed in the reality of those stories.. well..

She has been proven wrong about the existence of things that shouldn't otherwise exist before. She's inclined to believe anything at this point.]

No way.. Are you.. really the Man in the Moon?

[Video]

[inthemoon]

[ he blinks at the question, then smiles warmly, dipping his head in a nod. ]

I am, yes. Hello. My Guardians call me Manny.

[Video]

[ducentia]

Manny? [She breaks into a small smile. That's an oddly cute name!]

Ah- I mean- hello! [She's still a little in awe. Letting this all sink in. She was aware of the validity of horror stories, but- to think that folktale legends could also be real!]

How.. did you get here? On Earth, I mean. [Wait, is this even Earth anymore?]

[Video]

[promotedpawn]

[He knows those feelings, but experience has taught him to not underestimate whatever powers they are that drag people to those places. People that shouldn't be alive, that shouldn't exist, that shouldn't leave their place. He thought he was over it when he abandoned his humanity and began an eternal existence outside worlds and time, he was wrong. To see the Man inf the Moon here is hardly a surprise.]

It may very well be a dream indeed. One you will forget once you wake up and find yourself back where you should be doing what you're supposed to do.

Now, then, what do you want to do in your little surprising dream?

[Video]

[inthemoon]

[ he considers the question seriously for several long moments, sitting back and toying with a few strands of hair. ]

I'm not sure. A lot of things, I suppose.

[Video]

[promotedpawn]

It's not easy to figure out what to do when given this kind of chance, is it? Though depending on your luck you may have enough time to figure it out and do those things.