{se} time-lapse photography

The image before Cameron was striking enough that they reached for their camera to capture it before remembering, for what must have been the thirtieth gut-wrenching time, that their camera and laptop were both bricked. Cam could only assume that their modern tech was not compatible with this magic world, no matter how charged the batteries were.

So they'd just have to look with their eyes to capture the scene before them: a green sapling in the snowy shadows of the ruins, so vibrant and alive that it almost appeared to be moving, coursing with life ...

Wait, no, it was definitely moving. Distracted from the aesthetics of the scene by its strangeness, Cam approached the tree more closely, watching it grow in real time. A living time-lapse.

"Wow," they said, more to themself than anyone else. They found themself grinning. Not the most exciting magic, maybe, but there was something deeply delightful about walking out their door and running into just a little reminder that they weren't in figurative Kansas anymore.

They reached out and gently touched the needles.

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

While there’s the very real threat of LongNight looming in the back of her mind, there are times - like this - and when she’s with the Ascended - that Wessex isn’t trying to think of every possible thing that could go wrong. She does it now with far less anxiety than she did pre-rest, but the habit hasn’t disappeared.

The little tree is a goddamn delight, able to put a smile even on the Wraith’s face with its endless giggles. Every now and then she comes to make sure it’s all right, feeling rather protective just because it happens to be a nice thing in a more or less not-so-nice area.

There’s someone else there, this time. Someone new - Wessex thinks she’d probably remember hair like that if she’d seen it before - his quiet wow bringing a small smile to her face. The tall blonde woman ambles in on their left side, also sticking out a finger to tickle the needles. The tree giggles and the Queen chuckles. “Gods, if I could just bottle that up and carry it in my pocket…”

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone

Cameron barely noticed the woman approaching, too busy laughing back at the tree's giggles and stroking its needles to see if it liked a particular approach better than others. Like a cat ... how cute! They looked up when Wessex came closer, shooting her a smile -- normally they'd be more self-conscious about meeting a stranger, especially in a new world, but the tree had put them in a somewhat elated mood.

"Can you?" they asked when Wessex spoke, half-joking -- but only half. Cam didn't know what might be possible here in Caido, after all. Maybe you really could bottle a laugh, pocket a smile, pack up euphoria -- who knew? Well, someone probably did, but not Cam.

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

It’s a good question. Wessex pulls back a bit and makes a face whilst considering the possibility, and it only takes thirty seconds or so before her head tilts side to side. “Sure, I bet Frey could, easily, sine it’s from a tree.The Voice, maybe, depending on what exactly you’re looking for. I’m not sure of any tech that can cause joy, but I’m sure it could be made.”

Her eyes dart to the black, unfamiliar thing (what does she know of cameras?) in his possession and her openness closes a bit. “Haven’t seen you around the Grounds before,” the Wraith mentions, trying to make it seem like an offhanded comment even though her spidey-senses are on high alert. He isn’t Ascended. That much she knows. And non-Ascended carrying strange-objects are… well, something to be investigated right now.

For everyone's safety.

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone

Cam frowned, trying to place the names; they had only heard a little of the gods of this world so far. "Frey is the god of nature, right? And the Voice must be technology, then -- she's the one in the Spire?"

The change in Wessex's attitude went completely over Cameron's head, so they took the statement as a casual observation -- but it still prompted the answer Wessex wanted: "I'm new here. Just got zapped in a few days ago. My name is Cameron -- uh, I use they/them pronouns."

Cam still had no idea whether that was a good way to introduce themself in this world. It seemed to work with Neos, though, so they might as well try.

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

As soon as they open their mouth and ask about Frey, Wessex knows they’re an Outlander. She relaxes, though perhaps not visibly, but if there was an edge to her tone it’s certainly gone. “Right. Frey has two parts - sex and nature. While the Voice is… well, not quite the Goddess of anything in particular. We have tech but She’s more than that.” It was a good not-question, something that Wessex would hopefully think about later - after everything, when she has time to think about such things again.

“I can tell,” she says with a wry half-grin. “I’m Wessex. Queen of the Grounds. What does using pronouns mean? Do you mean you are a they?” Tilting her head at the curious phrase, she knows of several who are neither he nor she, but they’ve never said it like this before.

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone

"More than that?" Cam said, their interest piqued. They understood gods who represented aspects of the world; they were a staple of the fantasy settings that Cam had spent so much time imagining. But they weren't sure what Wessex meant by "more."

Cam gave Wessex a slightly nervous, somewhat self-deprecating smile as she mentioned how obviously Outlander they were. Hey, that wasn't a bad thing, was it? Oh, wait, Queen? "Wow, you're ... royalty? Should I, uh, bow or something?"

That probably wasn't the appropriate way to speak to a Queen -- and neither, Cam imagined, was a deep dive into gender and pronouns. They tensed up at Wessex's initial inquiry, too ready for their literal queerness to be met with hostility -- then relaxed when it became clear that Wessex did have some context for the idea, even if that wasn't how Cam would have phrased it. "Yes. I'm not a man or a woman, so I use 'they' instead of 'he' or 'she' as a pronoun. Uh, pronouns are the words we use to refer to someone when not using their name, right?"

They weren't sure if explaining grammar to Wessex would make them sound condescending, especially if she was a Queen.

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

“Oh, no,” Wessex emphasizes, rejecting their idea of royalty - which is still a bit of a foreign concept, even though various Outlanders have more or less thought the same thing. “I’m the current leader. We don’t have royalty the way I think you think of it. No bowing, no - courts?” Trying to recall some of the things she’s heard over the years, her face scrunches up a bit as the details evade her. Abasi, Amun, the people from wherever Ronin and Remi and Loren came from. She quickly shrugs. “Spent most of my life without a title, seems silly.” And if they make it through this war, she’ll gladly hand the title over to someone else.

Again, the Wraith shrugs. “I don’t know. But Osozo and Azrael are neither he nor she, they weren’t made to care about gender. We understand. It’s just a phrase I’d never heard before.” Nodding to herself as if to confirm that that is a perfectly good explanation, she points to the black box they have.

“What’s that?” Her tone changes again, a little less matter-of-fact and a little more concerned. Wary? Suspicious? All of those and none of those. Whatever it is, it looks dangerous, even if they, themselves, are not.

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone

"Oh, OK. I'm glad to hear that -- I wouldn't know what to do, anyway." The idea of having to navigate some kind of courtly etiquette had been nerve-wracking in the brief moment that Cameron had considered it. They smiled. "Yeah, we don't really do much with titles at home. I mean, some places do, but not where I'm from."

Cam nodded, rather comforted to hear that they weren't the only nonbinary person around -- though it sounded like Osozo and Azrael were a little different, if they were "made" that way. "It's how we express that idea at home, but a lot of people there aren't familiar with the concept either. But some people just don't fit into the categories of 'man' or 'woman.'"

They lifted their camera, tilting it a little. "Oh, it's a camera. It takes pictures -- produces, uh, perfect images of whatever it looks at. But it's broken. All my tech died when I came through the portal, I think."

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

Nodding slightly, Wessex takes the information about their home world in, and then surprises herself with a wry (but almost? maybe?) serious question. “Where would a non-mortal who doesn’t need to eat or breathe fit into that kind of classification? Are they still a man or a woman? A person? Out of curiosity.” She isn’t trying to trick them, isn’t trying to be mean or challenge anything they’ve said to her about nonbinary-ness, and it’s all said with a kind of teenage-like curiosity. She’s actually quite interested (and partially relieved) to not have all the questions laid on her for the moment.

“Camera. Cameron? Were you named after it?” Or was it named after him? “Where does the picture come out?”

Perhaps this is one Outlander she can immediately warm to - if only because they’re unique and fascinating. Kind of like Chulane, but more so.

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone

"Um, well ... That's always been a hypothetical for me until now, kind of just a fantasy thing." Cam let out a little laugh at the strangeness of the place they'd found themself in. Wessex seemed genuinely curious -- trying to learn more instead of trying to trip Cam up or debate them -- which made them feel more comfortable explaining and exploring the idea of nonbinary genders. "But the thing about gender, at least the way I and most people like me see it, is that it's kind of up to each person to decide their own relationship to their gender -- to decide what gender they are and what that looks like. So even a creature that doesn't need to eat or breathe, like a robot or a spirit or -- even a god or something -- they can tell you where they fall on that spectrum, whether they're a man or a woman or if they define themselves differently. It's not a, uh, hard list of categories where you're either in the box 'man' or 'woman' or 'other' -- I understand gender as a spectrum, where you can have someone who considers themself both a man and a woman, or neither, like me, or maybe it changes from day to day. Or maybe you're like, 'OK, I identify more with womanhood than with masculinity, but I feel kind of estranged from either.'"

Cam might have been nearing their own experience with that last bit -- they had always leaned a little more towards femininity than masculinity, though they definitely didn't consider themself a woman.

Then Wessex's next question came and Cam had to sigh a little. At least it was a sincere question, and not a silly joke -- they'd had quite enough of that over the years. But Wessex couldn't have known that, if she'd never heard the word "camera" before, so they tried not to sound too put out by it. "No, the names are just a coincidence. The picture -- well, for some models of camera, it comes out of a slot in the bottom, but for most kinds you have to take out the film or the SD card and go develop it. See, for decades we had film cameras, which had a physical roll of, um, material in them, and the image would appear on that material, and then you'd go and put it in some chemicals and use special paper to make it show up and be big enough to see. And film cameras still exist, but most people these days use digital cameras -- mine is digital. That's ... a little harder to explain, but basically it stores the image in a data card, and you take the data card out and put it in a computer -- uh, a device with a screen -- and the image appears on screen. Then the computer can print it onto paper for you."

Did that make sense? Cam had no idea whether Wessex was following any of what they said, about gender or about cameras. They suspected that terms like "data card" and "computer" would require more explanation.

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

As Cameron launches into their explanation (what will be the first of two, she’ll soon find out) about their theory of gender identity, she sinks down to her heels and then her but, turning it into a cross-legged seated position, except her knees are drawn in, childishly circled by her arms. Her gaze drifts off as she listens to what they say, coming back when they’ve finished. “That’s very interesting. I’ve never given gender much thought,” she concludes, and if we’re being honest, she probably won’t in the future. But it is nice to understand a perspective on it. For future Outlanders. “Thanks.”

As for their camera, well, that is something she doesn’t follow nearly as well. Reaching out, she asks with a glance if she can touch the item, and if given permission, does so. If not, she’ll just peer at it from afar.

“I didn’t understand much of what you said, to be honest, other than it takes an image and puts it on paper. Maybe the Voice can help you fix it. This is your ‘tech,’ right?” An almost immediate catch - not quite a frown, but the word tech and what they are - obviously not Ascended - don’t mesh in her head. “Do you know what you are, yet? Obviously not Ascended.”

She’d know if they were. No - wait, she knows what they are. But no one is supposed to know that she knows. So Wessex keeps quiet.

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone

Cam mirrored Wessex as she sat down, making themself comfortable on the ground, though privately they thought it was a bit cold out to be sitting outside. (That wouldn't bother Wessex, of course, but Cam knew little of the Ascended, even if they'd heard the term a few times.)

"A lot of people don't," Cameron said, to Wessex's comment about gender. They could kind of tell that she wasn't super interested in the discussion -- that she didn't want to go any deeper -- but that was OK. She seemed to have accepted the basic concepts, and Cam was perfectly happy to leave it at that -- discussing the complexities of gender theory with strangers made them a little nervous, since they were never sure how people would respond. "But thanks for listening."

And then Wessex reached out for their camera ... Cam's first instinct was to pull it away, but then they paused and actually handed it to Wessex, pulling the strap over their head. "Here, you can look at it. It doesn't work anymore, so it's not like it's super valuable or anything. Just, uh, don't touch the lens -- that's this part." Before offering the camera to Wessex, Cam removed the lens cap to show her which part not to touch. "Lenses are pretty expensive and delicate."

They brightened up when Wessex mentioned the possibility of fixing their camera. "You think the Voice could help? I mean, the camera alone wouldn't work without a computer and printer to get the images off with, but it would be cool to find some way ... The guy I met on my way in, Neos, called the Voice a 'goddess of technology' ..."

Then they frowned, a little confused by Wessex's wording -- until their thoughts returned to what Neos had told them. "What I am ... ? Oh, like Attuned or Abandoned or ... what's the other one? I think I'm the one that, uh, can't really do anything. I mean, if I have any special powers, I haven't found them yet."

cameron ?

"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WESSEX

Heeding Cameron’s warning to be careful with their (albeit broken) item, Wessex takes the surprisingly heavy piece and looks it over. She turns the dials and peers in where she can (and if there’s a screen, she taps at it curiously). The pictures and numbers and labels don’t mean a damn thing to her and she can’t make much sense of it, but as an artifact from another world, she finds its utterly alien nature fascinating.

“Thank you,” she says as she hands it back, not quite sure what to think. “I can’t promise she'll be able to, but if there’s anyone here that can help, She can. Most people think she just gives us upgrades, but she does so much more - she makes things in ways the other Gods can’t. That might be what he means.” Is Wessex biased? Absolutely. And not even just a little. But Cameron would get the same kind of explanation from the other Gods’ devotees, so really fair is fair.

“Accepted?” is the only other choice, and though there have been Outlanders who haven’t known about their Abandonde status, but she does give it some consideration. “Sometimes things are revealed out of necessity… but if you don’t know, then I would assume Accepted. It means all the Gods like you. And you can channel them if you’re in danger.” It ain’t fancy. But having the good will of all the Gods wasn’t worth a pretty penny these days.

there was a time that we were kind, but now
don't write me, you're not fooling anyone