open » i've got an atlas in my hands

[mucked]

Who: Peggy Carter + YOU
Where: Library, Rabbit Hole Diner, and other locations.
When: Early Feb
Rating: PG-13; will warn for changes in individual threads.
Summary: A catch-all for the first half of the month. There are some open prompts under the cut, but I'm also posting some closed starters in the comments. Hit me up if you'd like something other than the options below.
The Story:
[ DURING february's first few days, peggy pays a few productive visits to the »LIBRARY. she arrives armed with a scrap pressed into her palm. the paper is thin and torn, jagged, from a puzzle book -- folded in threes with precision and hard corners forced onto its asymmetrical shape. while she walks from stack to stack she traces the list's edge with the pad of her thumb. in reality, she doesn't need it. she'd long-since memorizes the book titles recommended to her in order to bring her loosely up to speed with popular science. so the list is a flimsy talisman, maybe, but during these visits it represents purpose. forward momentum.

her reading list is accumulated over multiple days, as though some reflexive defense mechanism convinces peggy to take her time. patience is rarely her strongest suit but she nevertheless makes an effort, knowing that a rush will only leave her rudderless and once again without distraction. to that end, she allows herself to wander off-path. maybe she's come for non-fiction, but she detours through a shelf of thrillers and mysteries and adventure stories.

she touches the spines as she passes them by -- her little list peeking between her knuckles like an ace at the ready. peggy never intends to appear lost but catch her at an odd moment and she might want some help. after all, stark never gave her author names to go with the titles.

LATER, with her coursework assembled, she goes elsewhere to conduct her reading. a great deal of it happens behind her bedroom door as she readjusts to a solitary life now that jane has returned to her husband. but some of it happens at the »DINER. with a whole booth claimed for herself, she sits with the dust jacket removed so bystanders can't easily discern what she's reading stephen hawking's a brief history of time, incidentally. it takes some two or three chapters to really dig into work she couldn't already recognize in passing -- and, on occasion, she offers up an audible scoff when she finds herself confronted with a colourful explanation of scientific discovery which nevertheless somehow manages to neglect howard stark's contribution.

she orders a plate of chips (hot; crispy; salted) and implores the wait-staff to keep them coming. instead of tea, she asks for a milkshake. not a quarter of an hour passes before she's cracked open a journal and uncapped a pen. her annotations are, for the time being, made in pitman shorthand -- and so appear as a series of near shapeless scribbles to those who aren't fluent. even so, there's no secrecy behind that choice. merely a swell of impatience after she'd worked so hard to contain it earlier.

and yet peggy's not averse to interruptions. not exactly. she may not be the most welcoming conversation partner, nor is she particularly fond of idle chatter, but she doesn't chase off interruptions or inquiries.

OTHERWISE, known associates and strangers alike are free to run into her »OUT & ABOUT. whether she's 'commuting' from quarters to library or grabbing a quick breakfast in the dining room early in the morning. she doesn't have a precise schedule (on most days) but she's not impossible to chance upon. she's nearly always immaculate -- from heel to hair-pins. having a project in hand puts her in a better mood. ]

Comments

[mucked]

[ there's one natural question that follows on from the mention of a mirror dimension: ]

But are they of an evil persuasion? The ones on the other side. Like ours, here, are meant to be.

[bibliocorn]

Not that I know of? I suppose some are capable of evil, but then, so are beings in my own dimension. They weren't designed like the Mirrors we have here. It's just an alternate dimension. A big, existing what-if, I guess.

[mucked]

...Have you been there?

[ what? it's worth asking. dimension-hopping might be a desirable skill, here. ]

[bibliocorn]

No, only a very small number of ponies have crossed over. Perhaps one day. Of course, the trick is to avoid going across and running into the other you. That would likely be problematic.

[Sorry, Peggy, he couldn't dimension hop out of a bag. ]

[mucked]

-- Would that be so terrible?

[ it's a naive question, albeit purposefully so. she doesn't want to stand there guessing or grasping. a bit of pretend ignorance usually nets her better and faster answers, she's found. ]

[bibliocorn]

I don't know, as far as I know it's not really happened. But if it follows the same rules as say time travel then it suggests that doing such a thing could disrupt the world as a whole.

[He frowns softly. ]

Pony meddling in that world has already made Equestrian magic leak into it, causing them ever increasing problems. Magic shouldn't invade a world not designed to sustain and survive it. I feel we've given them enough problems as it is, without potentially adding anything else into the mix.

[mucked]

I'm terribly sorry [ except she really isn't ] but that all sounds like madness. Most of it.

[bibliocorn]

[He lets out a soft, tired chuckle.]

'Sounds like madness' could probably describe the last seven years or so, back home. Ever since they freed Princess Luna from the moon, things have been a little on the chaotic side.

[Literally on the chaotic side when Discord was involved.]

[mucked]

[ somehow, his further explanation hardly helps. ]

How, exactly, does one end up trapped on the moon?

[bibliocorn]

[WELL PEGGY, YOU ASKED. Sit yourself down, it's storytime.]

It's quite the thrilling tale!

[He clears his throat. ]

A thousand years ago, Equestria was ruled by two sisters. Princess Celestia controlled the sun, and watched over the day. Princess Luna controlled the moon, and watched over the night. For a long time, they ruled in harmony and balance. Unfortunately, Princess Luna began to feel unwanted and unloved. Ponies worked and played during the day, but slept through her beautiful night and she felt...unappreciated. This unease grew, until dark magic took a hold of her, and she turned into a dark shadow of herself, Nightmare Moon. She refused to lower the moon- cloaking Equestria in eternal darkness. Celestia begged her sister to see sense, but it was too late.

[Is this making any sense, Peggy? He's continuing on regardless! ]

Celestia, knowing she had to protect the ponies who relied on her, ended up having to use the Elements of Harmony...those are magical artefacts of my world, very powerful, used to protect the world. [Because THAT'S the part he felt needed explanation. ] She defeated her sister, and imprisoned her and the evil force within her on the moon for a thousand years.

[He sits back. ]

Of course, after that Nightmare Moon was freed, and defeated- and Luna was restored. She and Celestia have been ruling over Equestria in unity since then.

[mucked]

[ ...it sounds like a mish-mash of fairy tales. and ordinarily that might be a difficult thing to wallow, but look where she is! look what she's endured. alice's adventures gone askew with a dash of neverland thrown in. her lips purse. she listens, although she doesn't bother hiding some beats of her incredulity.

like how her brows knit and her nose crinkles. ]

A thousand years is a remarkable lifespan for any creature.

[ YES, that's what she's deciding to take from this. ahem. ]

[bibliocorn]

[GoOD thing to focus on there, Peggy.]

Most ponies don't live that long. The two sisters are alicorns, they're effectively immortal. Though...I'm not sure if that's true for all alicorns. We've had three other princesses since then, and I don't think any of them are immortal. We know so little about their kind, even they don't know all that much. Aside from one, they all gained their alicorn-hood by earning it, rather than being born into it.

[mucked]

[ you'd think she'd know better than to ask by now, and yet: ]

What the devil is an alicorn?

[bibliocorn]

[One day, she will learn this lesson. Today is not that day. ]

An alicorn is a special kind of pony. They are the ponies who rule our land- and are all three main pony races combined- they have unicorn horns, pegasus wings and earth pony strength. To become an alicorn, you need to preform a princess-worthy deed- they're very rare. Though the most recent was born an alicorn- we're still trying to understand what that's about.

[mucked]

[ what the hell is an earth pony! is that just a normal pony? and what's this nonsense about wings and... ]

I didn't realize deeds could be classed by one's royal rank.

[ well now she's just being difficult. ]

[bibliocorn]

[Peggy you're just doing this to yourself at this point. ]

Oh yes! To rule our kingdom one must prove their worth beforehoof. Except for Flurry Heart, of course. He mother, Princess Cadence is an alicorn, though if that was a factor in her birthing one is still left to be determined. I've been researching it, trying to understand her a little better.

[mucked]

[ beforehoof. good god. ]

Researching it, hm? By hobby or occupation?

[bibliocorn]

Occupation! I'm Flurry Heart's Crystaller. [He pauses, he knows that word will mean nothing to her. ] Um. I'm not quite sure what the human equivalent is. It's my duty to mentor her, especially in magic and becoming a member of the Crystal Empire. I help raise her with her parents.

Given her...unique nature, I'm trying to figure out as much as I can before she gets older and her magical abilities become even greater than they already are.

[He kind of wants to avoid her nearly killing them all again. That'd be super.]

[mucked]

-- Sounds like the work of someone not unlike a tutor.

[ or a governess, but she keeps that to herself. ]

And for a royal family, no less.

[bibliocorn]

Yes, something like that. A little more involved, but still.

[That would probably be the most applicable term, too. ]

Hmm. It's a real honour.