aome @ August 20 2004, 16:52:29 UTC

I'm assuming credit for this goes to #1, but I loved her username. Took me a bit to figure out it was based on her name *is dense* but there was something so fabulous about the way it rolled off your tongue. Perfect for her.

You both did a very nice job with her - she was fun, charming, and positive. I liked whatever it was that went on with Ginny, too.

My only real question is: Why did she like to type in italics?

a_player @ August 20 2004, 16:58:54 UTC

I am assumed #1 made the username, and obviously started the commenting-in-italics, too.

I don't know the reason for the italics, but I was all too happy to keep it up, as it somehow seemed very fitting for Luna's particular voice.

It was a pain, though, to comment in a thread, realise I had not remembered to use italics, and go back and fix it. :D

#2

elyciel @ August 20 2004, 17:58:02 UTC

I keep jostling my way into threads! Forgive me - I have to comment on the italics. They were indeed very fitting for Luna's voice, and after growing accustomed to your Luna for a long time, it felt weird reading and writing Luna in normal non-italicised speech. Thought you might like to know that. :)

a_player @ August 20 2004, 18:30:39 UTC

Aww, thanks! It took us awhile to come up with name too.

I dunno, really, when everyone broke into Ernie's LJ I was Luna then and I just started typing in italics, cos it seemed sort of secretive.

a_player @ August 21 2004, 05:26:55 UTC

Thanks!

The username is an anagram of her name, I love how it sounds too.

Ginny and her are precious. Luna is a bit awkward at forming connections with people, but it worked so naturally with Ginny.

As for the italics, I used it during that time when Ernie left himself logged in at the party because it just seemed like a Luna thing to do and it got stuck.

:D

kittikattie @ August 20 2004, 17:02:30 UTC

This is best for #1, I guess. How hard was it to go back and line everything up to the beginning once Luna was known? It must have been a task.

a_player @ August 21 2004, 05:30:39 UTC

It wasn't hard really, in fact I had huge fun doing that. The Luna role wasn't approved at that time because the mods were rather hesitant to add new characters. But I really wanted to play her after reading OoTP, and told the mods that I'll write backentries for her so she can be inserted in the timeline seamlessly. So I did it all in one night and showed the mods and Luna got approved! It was very exciting.

#1

kittikattie @ August 24 2004, 21:22:41 UTC

Now that's what I call dedication. I love Luna, she's one of my favorite characters here and in the books.

sistermagpie @ August 20 2004, 17:10:09 UTC

Ooh! Double Lunas!

I tend to get very obnoxious about "new" characters (not that I'd say it, but in my head) and Luna won me over instantly. It was like she'd been there all along, and her voice was just as instantly strong as everyone else's. You were both wonderful!

My questions would be first, how did you decide what comments to go back and post? Did you just read along thinking of what Luna was doing then, or did you have a story worked out?

Could you give me an idea of how Luna felt about the people she interacted with? I loved her with the Weasleys, but she seemed to give ps a run for his money too. I'd especially love to hear her thoughts on Colin. Did they stay friends?

What did she learn from LYNW in general? I loved her posts after she lost her glasses. Did she go back to wearing them all the time or not?

And of course, could you tell us about her meeting with her mother while she was unconscious?

a_player @ August 20 2004, 17:44:58 UTC

I will answer the questions that apply to me. :D

Luna adored the Weasleys, thus her declaring at one point that she was in love with all of them. I think by that she loved them not only as friends, but also as a perfect, loving family. She was closest to Ginny, but had no shortage of adoration for Ronald as well. As for PS, I think he amused Luna. His general sour nature intrigued her to no end, particularly after she lost her rose-colored glasses and experienced some sour thoughts of her own.

Colin is a different story; Luna recognised him as someone who was sort of lost and grieving, and I think it was through that painful matter that they became friends of a sort. So my sense is that they aren't traditional friends, but came to a mutual understanding of one another via the sharing of the rose-colored glasses during LYNW. I think they kept up that understanding after LYNW. Also, I loved that portrait he did of her!

Since the glasses were Luna's mother's, having them taken from her was very bound up in her own memories of her mother, and her own fear of losing those memories somehow. Thus her concern that someone would 'break' the glasses. The glasses did become this sort of grandious metaphor, didn't they? :)) They were also heavily symbolic of a type of innocence that Luna values--an innocence in how the world is viewed (thus her gloomy demeanour after losing the glasses). What Luna discovered is that there is much to be learned in looking around without the glasses, and that much is lost if you look with those glasses on at all times. After what happened to George and Charlie, Luna sent the glasses back to her Father for safekeeping. For her, it just meant that she was growing up.

Heh, well in my mind Luna's mother is a lot like her (she did own those glasses first, after all), so I imagine she had quite a good catch-up with her. ;) Even though NA doesn't really include OotP canon, I thought this was reflective of OotP Luna and her expressed faith that she would one day see her Mother again.

Thanks for your questions!

#2

sistermagpie @ August 22 2004, 15:03:43 UTC

That's great--I love the idea of Luna having an imaginary family! (And in a way that becomes even more poignant given the posts discussed below, where she's forced to see them as a *real* family.) I really liked the way both of you gave Luna her "looniness" while still making her a real person that way. That is, it seemed like you understood why she said what she said at all times. It wasn't just that she had to be strange.

a_player @ August 21 2004, 05:42:47 UTC

Thank you!

I was really really nervous that Luna was going to be a flop because I'm resistant to new characters too. After I posted all the backentries in one go, I was going to faint from all that stress. So I'm really glad she won you over because I'm terribly fond of her.

As for the back entries, I just randomly clicked on entries each months and have Luna react accordingly. There wasn't really a story except that she didn't join the community or friend anyone because she feels that if they're looking for her, they'll find her. And she could be more free with the things she says when no one is listening. Though that didn't change even when the community found her since she doesn't think people really read her.

Luna LOVES the Weasleys. While others have imaginary friends, Luna has an imaginary family, i.e the Weasleys. She wants to wear tattered robes like Ginny and have her father be friends with Arthur so they can all be one family.

She's mostly bemused with the world and generally doesn't think anyone notices her, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand her anyway. She has a slight obsession with Draco and Millicent's friendship, she is all TRUE LOVE :O about it.

She thinks the professors are all silly and entertaining, but she likes it that way because it makes growing up less boring. And she finds it funny how Draco is always so grumpy.

I think she has a lot of fun with the world because she sees things differently from others, but it also makes life rather lonely at times. But she has a Ginny.

Okay I'm done :D

sistermagpie @ August 22 2004, 15:09:34 UTC

As I said above, I love your Luna! And your comment about wanting to wear tattered robes etc. is just perfect, and I think it's because the game doesn't shy away from the fact that, well, that can be sort of offensive to people! I mean, that Luna doesn't just spend the whole time in her head. Sometimes she bumps into the reality, having to admit that they aren't "her" Weasleys, and then she adjusts.

Now that you two have answered I think someone should buy Luna an enormous dollhouse where she can play with all these characters. There's the Weasley family and then next door she can have her Draco and ps dolls where Draco is always very grumpy.

It seems like Luna gets kind of obsessed with the way very close families interact--I'd say ps and MB in many ways were like family-though maybe Luna didn't catch that at first because they weren't related? MB in particular always talked about Draco as her brother. Was that part of the appeal for Luna, as an only child? Like...having somebody with whom you clicked that way, who protected you and loved you fiercely even when you were fighting with them? (It seems like that would apply to the Weasleys and with ps and MB.) It seems like that's a big contrast to Luna who's always floating around on her own.

I guess I'm just obsessed with the ps/MB relationship too and I'd love to hear Luna's thoughts on it.;-)

a_player @ August 23 2004, 19:05:58 UTC

Thank you! Your questions delight me so. :D!

One thing I really like about Luna is how she reacts to things so oddly and yet feels she is the normal one. Like some of the things she says can be really offensive, but to her, she's being honest, and doesn't understand why she creates so many moments of awkward silences in social situations. It's not that she's detached from reality, it's just that her inner world is a lot bigger than her outer world, and that makes her really special to me.

A PS doll would amuse her for weeks on end.

You're right about Luna's obsession and yearning for close ties, be it family or friends. Like I mentioned earlier, even though Luna is generally happy with her inner world, it does make it hard for her to establish close social connections, so it gets lonely at times.

Haha, you've no idea how much I love the PS/MB relationship, I'm all pleased that you like them as much! As for Luna, she tends to see things that people tend to overlook. Like how the popular opinion is that the Slytherins are awful people with no friends, but she sees the Unholy Trio and it tickles her to see people so mean and grumpy can still have so much love to give under the surface. It makes her rather wistful, too.

That is also why she is so amused by Draco, because she sees that he cares a great deal for his friends, so she feels like she shares a strange sort of inside joke about him being really a teddy bear putting up a mean front, whether it is true or not.

Sorry for rambling! :D

#2

a_player @ August 23 2004, 22:53:38 UTC

Ahhhhhh that should say #1 at the end. I'm bad at numbers :(

devilzzz @ August 20 2004, 17:17:06 UTC

Just wanted to say, I love both of you <3<3. You did a great job, I had no idea Luna was played by two players at separate times, and I love your Luna, both of yours:D.

Question. This is a stupid question, but who's the girl you use as PB? I've always wondered. *hopes it is not someone famous/someone she should know and doesn't*

Also, what was the best part about playing Luna?

What times during Luna's life/events/feelings relate to your own?

That's all for now, and so much love!

elyciel @ August 20 2004, 17:40:55 UTC

Question. This is a stupid question, but who's the girl you use as PB? I've always wondered. *hopes it is not someone famous/someone she should know and doesn't*

I'm not Luna, but I think I can answer that one! It's Scarlett Johansson - some of the icons are, at any rate. :)

devilzzz @ August 20 2004, 17:46:30 UTC

Would you believe that I asked someone else who their PB was (another game)and they replied to me, "Scarlett Johansson"!? I will never be able to recognize that girl, no matter how obvious it is =P

elyciel @ August 20 2004, 17:49:05 UTC

Heh. Maybe Scarlett just has a chameleon face. I must confess that I had my suspicions, but wasn't entirely sure it was her until very recently when I went looking for pictures of Scarlett to make icons of. *sheepish grin*

a_player @ August 20 2004, 17:48:18 UTC

Yes, Scarlett Johansson at age 10 and 14/15. I saw the movie "Manny and Lo" (in which she's about 10), in which she was quite dishevled and pensive, and she just struck me as very Luna-like. Of course, she's a uber-glamourous movie star now, and so has, ah, changed quite a bit. ;)

#2

a_player @ August 20 2004, 17:57:57 UTC

The best part about playing Luna, for me, is her lack of self-censorship. I've always felt like Luna channels her thoughts without a lot of the self-conscious filters most people are bogged down with. In the end, I never really felt that Luna was any more strange or loony than the average person (perhaps a bit more imaginative, yes), but rather that she didn't bother putting on a front for anyone. With Luna, what she was was what you got. And for me that was the best thing about playing her, as there is a certain freedom in being a person who has none or few of those inner filters.

I think I can relate to the above in that I would love to be as unafraid of acceptance as Luna is. I can also relate to Luna's love of the Weasleys as -I- also adore them to bits. :)

Thank you!

#2

a_player @ August 21 2004, 05:50:26 UTC

Thanks :D

I used an annoymous girl for Luna at the beginning. #2 has already answered the question, so mystery solved!

Best part about playing Luna was getting to write all her back entries. It was the most fulfilling I did in NA, being able to experience and grow into Luna through months of events in one night. I also enjoyed her threads with Draco because he gets all worked up.

I do relate to Luna a lot, that's why I really wanted to play her. I share her general confusion at the things people do, and being misunderstood. And her hero worship of her father, plus her tendency to make things in her head real enough that it blurs with reality. So yeah, quite a bit. :))

Much love to you too!

#1

elyciel @ August 20 2004, 17:46:22 UTC

I had absolutely no idea two people played Luna! You two were totally seamless, and I don't really have a question. I just want to fangirl you. *fangirls*

Now that I'm here, I suppose I'd better think of something to ask. This is for #2 - how did you ever come up with the idea of Luna losing the "l"s on her keyboard towards the end? That was just brilliant. <3333 Was there any significance behind it?

Also, why are Luna's memories all of Blaise, and put under a category named "Butterflies"?

a_player @ August 20 2004, 18:03:16 UTC

Thank you for the fangirling. :D

Oh yes, the lost "L"s! Well, Luna lost her L's right after her near-death like experience, in which she was comatose for several days. After waking up she told everyone she had been busy catching up with her Mother. The lost L's were significant in that they (to Luna's mind, anyway) were indicative of everything that the characters had lost in that final attack. Also, I think, suggestive of Luna's slight disappointment at having to leave her Mother behind again (not saying that Luna wanted to die in any way! Just that catching up with her Mother was awfully nice ;)). I can see her thinking that she'd leave her Mother her "L"'s to keep her company for a while.

Hmm..the question about the Blaise memories is likely better left to #1. :D

Thanks so much!

#2

retired_ego @ August 20 2004, 19:39:50 UTC

I thought that it was so cute that Luna said she saved one "L" for Ginny, or Ginny had it already. <3<3<3

a_player @ August 21 2004, 06:48:05 UTC

I loved that moment too. <3!

#2

a_player @ August 21 2004, 05:55:55 UTC

Well, she thinks of Blaise as a butterfly. She's trying to catch him/her the way someone would try to catch a butterfly.

Thanks :D

#1

Anonymous @ August 21 2004, 02:24:06 UTC

So...

Luna/Ginny. Am I right?

a_player @ August 21 2004, 05:53:52 UTC

Haha, well, up till I played her, no. There wasn't Luna/Ginny. They had a very precious friendship going on and it bordered on worship for Luna. She was very hmm about Ginny/Cho. And when they broke up, she'd be Ginny's Cho replacement if Ginny wanted. Just like she wanted to be Soblessa's replacement. It isn't a romantic thing, more of worship, unconditional love and her self-esteem issues. Their friendship got more balanced as it progressed, thank god, but that was how it was at the start.

#1

a_player @ August 21 2004, 06:59:09 UTC

Well, I am not absolutely certain what sort of confirmation you are seeking, and I am hesitant to speak for Ginny's player in any way, so... I think I'll be a little mysterious here.

To mimic #1's words, Luna does adore Ginny with an almost worshipful intensity. There is a quality to their friendship that I can only describe as complete understanding... Ginny is the only person who responds to what Luna says as if it isn't odd or quirky at all. She engages with Luna at an imaginative level that lends their interactions an almost whimsical quality. I don't think it would be remiss to say that their interactions often had a romantic undertone--but they were very innocent, light-hearted undertones.

It should be noted, however, that Ginny and Luna did thread publically about a snog that occurred between them. This happened, though, at Ginny's drunken boyfriend's request. ;) But Luna, for one, would have done it again in a heartbeat. And perhaps she did. *whistles*

#2

luna_lg @ August 21 2004, 16:32:05 UTC

Man, I should've posted here earlier! I love Luna! Of course, that's kinda obvious... *looks at her user name* Anyway!...

I'm just wondering: what kind of feelings did Luna have with Harry? Did she sympathize with him on a lot of things? Did he seem interesting to her? How did she see Harry overall--as a regular guy, or as TBWL?

...and yes, to be honest, I think Harry/Luna would probably be best, if we really wanna get canon. Somehow, I can see Luna being the one who helps Harry the most with his grief during years 6 and 7. Not to mention that Luna has the kind of honesty and forwardness that Harry really wants in a girl/friend. At least, that's my opinion. ^^;

a_player @ August 22 2004, 07:19:19 UTC

In NA Luna didn't have a whole lot of interaction with Harry, primarily because the bonding experience of OotP and the department of mysteries didn't exist in the game canon. However, I see Luna as easily caught up in mythology and legend in general and the legend of TBWL would have definitely intrigued her; Harry's utter normalcy, in spite of being the TBWL, would have intrigued her even further.

As for Luna/Harry, I don't think those undertones were in NA, or if they were I missed them! Without that OotP canon, there isn't much reason for them to cross paths, unless he runs into her while hanging out with Ginny. :D

Thanks! <3
#2

a_player @ August 23 2004, 19:11:44 UTC

Luna love :D

About Harry, Luna sees him mostly as a regular guy, that's why she gets confused when the slightest news about Harry makes the front page news, while others, for example Soblessa's death, doesn't get the same treatment.

If I have to choose a Harry ship, I'd pick Luna/Harry too. I'd have loved for them to interact more in NA but there wasn't really the chance to. :(

#1

susan_voight @ August 21 2004, 17:09:39 UTC

Luna's players! You guys were great. The whimsy you brought to NA was lovely, but she wasn't just whimsy. I really enjoyed reading her.

I don't think my standard set of questions have been asked yet, so here goes:

1) Favorite in-game moment?

2) Hardest in-game moment?

3) Anything you'd do differently? Anything Luna'd do differently?

4) Do either of you write fic, and did it affect the game, did the game affect it?

5) Anything you want us to ask and we haven't yet?

Thanks for doing this.

a_player @ August 22 2004, 07:23:19 UTC

Thank you!

1) Favourite Luna-related moment was probably when Luna made Ginny a ladybug necklack and butterfly earrings, in a thread near the end of the game. I think the vibe of their frienship is just particularly fresh and real in that thread. A more general moment would have to be LYNW... especially since I got to unleash a slightly more cynical, angsty Luna.

2) Oh man, probably when both Ginny and Molly snapped at Luna after she made her "in denial" post about what happened to Charlie and George. I literally wanted to cry. *is a sap*

3) Hmm.. not that I can think of.

4) I do write fic sometimes, but it's pretty heavily unrelated to NA in all ways.

5) Oh! Well, if I think of anything, I'll add a comment to this. :) At the moment I think all the questions have been just great.

Thanks to you! <3
#2

a_player @ August 23 2004, 18:53:19 UTC

Thank you!

1) Favorite in-game moment? - Well, getting to write all the back entries for her was my favourite thing about playing Luna, but I also enjoyed her threads with Draco, and of course Ginny.

2) Hardest in-game moment? - End of NA.

3) Anything you'd do differently? Anything Luna'd do differently? - I wish I didn't give up the role. Not that I didn't like what the next player did to Luna because I think she did a great job, but I was really fond of Luna, so it was hard not being her anymore.

4) Do either of you write fic, and did it affect the game, did the game affect it? - I do. Well, I used to. It's kind of hard to write fic while in a RPG, so I pretty much stopped writing after a while. But I've to say a lot of my ships came about because of NA.

5) Anything you want us to ask and we haven't yet? - Not really! You guys have been great. :D

#1

black_dog @ August 21 2004, 23:08:33 UTC

I just have one question about the Luna-Ginny friendship. In one thread, shortly after the murders in Diagon Alley, Ginny sort of snaps at Luna over her "my Weasleys" post. What kind of effect did that have on Luna, and her sort of resolutely whimsical nature? Did it ground her at all, or affect her later decision to do without her rose-tinted glasses?

hachi_08 @ August 22 2004, 05:32:22 UTC

My question is related to black_dog's:

How did Luna feel when Mrs. Weasley made a comment along the lines of "they're not you're Weasleys, they're mine," and Luna replied with a muted response like, "You're right"? How did she feel about this whole general situation?





Luna was an incredibly touching character who penetrated my heart like no other with her sheer earnesty. T,The entry about her mother really did move me to tears. Thank you so much for writing her, both of you, and for getting the NA mods to add another player. It was definitely worth it!

hachi_08 @ August 22 2004, 05:33:33 UTC

Whoops, and I did mean "your Weasleys." Okay, I'll stop spamming here. I swear!

a_player @ August 22 2004, 07:36:29 UTC

"My son was not your Weasley".

Yow. That just broke me. And Luna too. She had no idea how to respond, and could only come up with, "I know that. I'm sorry". As with Ginny's comment, it really projected the Weasley's pain for Luna, and she had to consider it as a real and tangible thing that no amount of whimsy or imagination could change. But... yeah, that was a difficult moment for me as a player. Funny how a single one-line comment can do that!

I'm not sure which post about her Mother you're referring to, but I can recall writing one in particular that referenced her Mother's death... no long after what happened to Charlie and George, actually.

Thank you for your super-kind words. :D

a_player @ August 22 2004, 07:31:47 UTC

I think it -very- much affected her decision to send her father the glasses. In that post she was in shock over what happened to Charlie and George. As #1 explained, Luna really does think of the Weasley's as "her" family in many ways... they always struck her as loving and perfect in every way, and though Luna is keenly aware of death and such, I don't think she ever though anything like that could touch the Weasleys. So her first response to the news was to sort of blindly hope it was a conspiracy.

Ginny's comment (and I'm just speculating, not speaking for Ginny ;)) was, I think, a general frustration with Luna's Luna-ness at that moment... that she would be so off in her own world when others were facing real crises was an affront to Ginny in some ways. It was good, though, because Ginny's pain became very vivid to Luna in that moment, and she realized just how serious and real that crisis was.

digitalmeowmix2 @ September 2 2004, 21:07:43 UTC Infinite Love!!!!

1.do you think Luna's smarter and more powerful then she acts?

2.what was like doing such random nonsensical entries?

3. did both of you collaborate or did #2 ask #1 advice on playing Luna ?

4. #2 was it intimadating taking over for #1?

digitalmeowmix2 @ September 2 2004, 21:17:00 UTC Re: Infinite Love!!!!

Luna is my favorie character by the way and you did a wonderful job!

tabiji @ September 23 2004, 10:51:42 UTC

Hi Luna's players!

For the NA t-shirts, what are (each of) your favorite quotes from your own character, and any other NA characters?

Thankyou! <33

a_player @ September 24 2004, 10:22:04 UTC

Hi! This is #1. I think if it is for the tshirts, Luna's most memorable quote would be LMAO! :D

<333