The Longest Thread (Misadventures)

[Immortal Platypus]

3 hours ago, NameIess said:

Nameless' lawyer smiled inwardly, happy that he'd be able to bill so many hours.

"Nameless cannot come back to life when truly killed, and Enullers cannot prevent someone from going to the afterlife after they die. Even if they could, the person would end up in limbo, not an afterlife. And even if they could put people into an afterlife that was still within TLT, Nameless did not end up there. I have the written testimony of his Author as to this fact. Your next point, that Nameless' soul was not destroyed, is categorically untrue. The soul of Nameless was entirely destroyed. The copy that Platypus fought was created from nothing but the memories of Nameless. That version of Nameless is just a poor copy, and doesn't have a single scrap of Nameless' soul within it. On the matter of Nameless' connection to his Author, your arguments are easy to defeat. Nameless' lost the connection to his Author that allowed him to persist in existence, not all connection. A Narrator could have held on for a time perhaps, but as he was not a Narrator, he was utterly helpless to prevent his death. On the subject of leaving TLT, you have proven your ignorance of the matter by way of using the worst comparison I have ever heard in the entirety of my legal career. Nameless gave up his Narration powers completely, which would have allowed him to leave if he so wished. Without access to the incredible quantities of excess Chaotic Light energy that exists here in TLT, it would not have been possible for him to spontaneously become a Narrator. The odds of him becoming a Narrator again outside of TLT were no higher than those of any other person, as in, the only way it could have happened would be through direct Authorial intervention. Platypus, on the other hand, is a being far more dangerous to the worlds outside TLT than any Narrator. He is incredibly unstable and could, for all we know, go mad or explode at any time. To explain in simple terms what I mean by this, letting Nameless exit would be like allowing aliens to sell humans an empty ICBM. Sure, they might fill it with explosives, but humans already have the capability to make similar missiles. This won't cause an apocalypse. Letting Platypus leave because he's "not a Narrator anymore" would be like selling an ICBM armed with an antimatter-warhead just because it's now got the option to switch between three extra types of antimatter (meaning it is now capable of using not one but two different kinds of antimatter that are explicitly banned from being sold to humans because of the apocalyptic destruction they'll inevitably cause) using scientific principles that haven't been fully explained even by your advanced alien technology, and that could cause an explosion that would be apocalyptic even by your alien standards. It just doesn't compare in the slightest."

Nameless lawyer barely paused for breath before walking over to Hacob and snatching the book from his hands.

"Yes, I saw this in the evidence pile. Thank you for making my case at the risk of your own life by breaking the Authorial Accords of the Ten-thousandth Page Referendum, which specify that you cannot take anything from the afterlife without consequences."

He flipped all the way back to the first page of the book, cleared his throat, and read.

"This is a work of fiction_­­² . Names, characters, businesses, events, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual or fictional persons, living or dead, or actual or fictional events, is purely coincidental."

Nameless' lawyer turned to the judge.

"As you can see, this book is entirely fictional². Nameless has never met Hacob. He was merely improving upon Thaidakar's work, without knowledge that Hacob was a real person. So he cannot be convicted of anything, because libel requires intentional falsehood."

"You would have to provide that written testimony, and as it was not provided in pre-trial disclosure, it cannot be submitted, so that evidence is considered moot and null. And if his soul was destroyed, then how exactly did he end up in an afterlife. Without a soul, there would be nothing to go to an afterlife, inside of TLT or not. Also, one need not have a connection to an Author to exist. There are many in TLT without an Author, Butt Venture, Kilometers Fifty-lives, and more, yet they persist. Not having an Author does not mean that you simply cease to exist."

Hacob stalked across the room, pacing intently.

"I've proven my ignorance? I am not the one saying that Ennullers would allow a being to leave TLT. You clearly do not understand. The Chaotic Light energy is not inherent to TLT. It exists here in such large quantities because of the Narrators. We brought it here, and the Ennullers contained it. Certain people or beings are more likely to draw this energy. Nameless had one of the strongest pulls I've ever heard of. One does not become a Narrator of great strength only through training. Without enough Narrational energy, training is nothing! If Nameless were to exit TLT, he would draw a large portion of the Chaotic Light energy still out there, whether he wanted to or not.  When one rejects the status of Narrator, the energy in TLT flows to the other Narrators or to the successor. In Nameless' case it did both because he held significant amounts of it. As for your analogy, sending Nameless out would be like selling an ICBM that constantly refilled its payload if it drew near any that it had not specifically stopped itself from absorbing, and its payload was literally everywhere. It would be a disaster. As for Platypus, yes it makes sense he wouldn't be allowed to leave. He holds the powers of Narration and all the other forms. But let us not forget, if he didn't hold those other forms, if he just shifted on and off from Narrator to non-Narrator, than he still wouldn't be allowed out because he would gather Narration energy and become a Narrator again!"

Hacob snatched the book back.

"I will thank you," he said sharply, "to avoid taking my things. Fortunately in this case the consequence is already known. This trial. And ," he said, eyes scanning the page, "this is not a work of fiction. As clearly stated here, 'This book is an elaboration on the previous book by Thaidakar. I acknowledge that Thaidakar based his work on real people.' Thaidakar had my permission to use my name and likeness, else his representative would be in a similar court battle now. Nameless did not. He recognized that this was based on me, and thus has full responsibility for his crimes."

I was going to try to make a shortish post to bring our post size down, but then I couldn't fit everything in, so you get this now  

[NameIess]

5 minutes ago, Immortal Platypus said:

"You would have to provide that written testimony, and as it was not provided in pre-trial disclosure, it cannot be submitted, so that evidence is considered moot and null. And if his soul was destroyed, then how exactly did he end up in an afterlife. Without a soul, there would be nothing to go to an afterlife, inside of TLT or not. Also, one need not have a connection to an Author to exist. There are many in TLT without an Author, Butt Venture, Kilometers Fifty-lives, and more, yet they persist. Not having an Author does not mean that you simply cease to exist."

Hacob stalked across the room, pacing intently.

"I've proven my ignorance? I am not the one saying that Ennullers would allow a being to leave TLT. You clearly do not understand. The Chaotic Light energy is not inherent to TLT. It exists here in such large quantities because of the Narrators. We brought it here, and the Ennullers contained it. Certain people or beings are more likely to draw this energy. Nameless had one of the strongest pulls I've ever heard of. One does not become a Narrator of great strength only through training. Without enough Narrational energy, training is nothing! If Nameless were to exit TLT, he would draw a large portion of the Chaotic Light energy still out there, whether he wanted to or not.  When one rejects the status of Narrator, the energy in TLT flows to the other Narrators or to the successor. In Nameless' case it did both because he held significant amounts of it. As for your analogy, sending Nameless out would be like selling an ICBM that constantly refilled its payload if it drew near any that it had not specifically stopped itself from absorbing, and its payload was literally everywhere. It would be a disaster. As for Platypus, yes it makes sense he wouldn't be allowed to leave. He holds the powers of Narration and all the other forms. But let us not forget, if he didn't hold those other forms, if he just shifted on and off from Narrator to non-Narrator, than he still wouldn't be allowed out because he would gather Narration energy and become a Narrator again!"

Hacob snatched the book back.

"I will thank you," he said sharply, "to avoid taking my things. Fortunately in this case the consequence is already known. This trial. And ," he said, eyes scanning the page, "this is not a work of fiction. As clearly stated here, 'This book is an elaboration on the previous book by Thaidakar. I acknowledge that Thaidakar based his work on real people.' Thaidakar had my permission to use my name and likeness, else his representative would be in a similar court battle now. Nameless did not. He recognized that this was based on me, and thus has full responsibility for his crimes."

I was going to try to make a shortish post to bring our post size down, but then I couldn't fit everything in, so you get this now  

Nameless' lawyer cackled inwardly, going over in his mind all the evil lawyer things he could do with the large fortune he would get from this case.

"I suppose you're technically correct about the written testimony, but your other arguments hold less water than a Sherdian Ghanderflaffle on the dayside of Taldain. Your argument that the soul is what travels to the World of Dreams shows your complete lack of expertise in this matter. On a basic level, The World of Dreams contains memories of what once existed, not souls. Indeed, having a soul would make it quite difficult to get to the World of Dreams, at least in any meaningful way. As for the nature of his death, yes, some characters can survive without Authors, but those characters are built to live in such a way, born with an ability to feed off of a connection to the soul of TLT itself. Nameless had no such ability, nor did he have any power to sustain himself with, and as such he swiftly perished.

The lawyer snapped his fingers at one of his many underpaid assistants, who quickly procured a TLT historybook, which he promptly handed to Hacob.

"Here, you should probably read this. It would clear up a lot of these nonsensical arguments you're making. For example, Narrators did not bring the excess Chaotic Light into TLT, they exist because there is excess Chaotic Light in TLT. When the Luxsprites of ancient days fell, their powers of Order corrupted, the power flowed freely into the world, infusing many, and thus the Narrators were born. That is why the Enullers created TLT, withergeists aside. They did so to contain the Chaotic Light, and the Narrators that were born from it. Not the other way around. Because of their swift action and constant vigilance, there is not nearly enough free Chaotic Light outside of TLT for anyone to become a full Narrator. The vast vast majority of it forms the substance of worlds, and is made inaccessible by the Ordered light that holds those worlds together. Speaking as someone who's seen the world outside TLT, you don't realize just how powerful you are. Narrators have power beyond any being I've ever heard of outside of TLT, including gods that can threaten entire threads. The theoretical 'shifting' you say Platypus may have been able to do would only be made possible by the frankly ridiculous levels of Chaotic light that exist in this place."

Nameless' lawyer pulled out a copy of the book Nameless had written, making a show of putting on spectacles and closely examining the first page.

"Ridiculous. An obvious forgery. I can say that Nameless would never write this, save as a joke. He knows full well that you, Subversion, Platypus, and all the other characters in this book are completely fictional. In fact, there is not a single real person ever mentioned in this book, unless you count the passing mention of Authors in chapter thirty-two page three-hundred and twelve, where Subversion thinks, and I quote "Surely no Author could create someone completely incapable of love."

His mouth twitched slightly as he said this, composure cracking as he once again reminding himself to buy a copper medallion so that he could place all of his memories of Nameless' horrendous book into it and then launch the resultant metalmind into the nearest star. Either that, or hire somebody to bash his head with a hammer until he forgot the last three years of his life.

"Er, anyways, this clearly proves that the statement 'Thaidakar based his work on real people' is completely false and meant for satire, even if it is authentic. Real people are barely mentioned in the story, and certainly not in any way that could infringe on copyright laws."

Spoiler

 

[Immortal Platypus]

11 hours ago, NameIess said:

Nameless' lawyer cackled inwardly, going over in his mind all the evil lawyer things he could do with the large fortune he would get from this case.

"I suppose you're technically correct about the written testimony, but your other arguments hold less water than a Sherdian Ghanderflaffle on the dayside of Taldain. Your argument that the soul is what travels to the World of Dreams shows your complete lack of expertise in this matter. On a basic level, The World of Dreams contains memories of what once existed, not souls. Indeed, having a soul would make it quite difficult to get to the World of Dreams, at least in any meaningful way. As for the nature of his death, yes, some characters can survive without Authors, but those characters are built to live in such a way, born with an ability to feed off of a connection to the soul of TLT itself. Nameless had no such ability, nor did he have any power to sustain himself with, and as such he swiftly perished.

The lawyer snapped his fingers at one of his many underpaid assistants, who quickly procured a TLT historybook, which he promptly handed to Hacob.

"Here, you should probably read this. It would clear up a lot of these nonsensical arguments you're making. For example, Narrators did not bring the excess Chaotic Light into TLT, they exist because there is excess Chaotic Light in TLT. When the Luxsprites of ancient days fell, their powers of Order corrupted, the power flowed freely into the world, infusing many, and thus the Narrators were born. That is why the Enullers created TLT, withergeists aside. They did so to contain the Chaotic Light, and the Narrators that were born from it. Not the other way around. Because of their swift action and constant vigilance, there is not nearly enough free Chaotic Light outside of TLT for anyone to become a full Narrator. The vast vast majority of it forms the substance of worlds, and is made inaccessible by the Ordered light that holds those worlds together. Speaking as someone who's seen the world outside TLT, you don't realize just how powerful you are. Narrators have power beyond any being I've ever heard of outside of TLT, including gods that can threaten entire threads. The theoretical 'shifting' you say Platypus may have been able to do would only be made possible by the frankly ridiculous levels of Chaotic light that exist in this place."

Nameless' lawyer pulled out a copy of the book Nameless had written, making a show of putting on spectacles and closely examining the first page.

"Ridiculous. An obvious forgery. I can say that Nameless would never write this, save as a joke. He knows full well that you, Subversion, Platypus, and all the other characters in this book are completely fictional. In fact, there is not a single real person ever mentioned in this book, unless you count the passing mention of Authors in chapter thirty-two page three-hundred and twelve, where Subversion thinks, and I quote "Surely no Author could create someone completely incapable of love."

His mouth twitched slightly as he said this, composure cracking as he once again reminding himself to buy a copper medallion so that he could place all of his memories of Nameless' horrendous book into it and then launch the resultant metalmind into the nearest star. Either that, or hire somebody to bash his head with a hammer until he forgot the last three years of his life.

"Er, anyways, this clearly proves that the statement 'Thaidakar based his work on real people' is completely false and meant for satire, even if it is authentic. Real people are barely mentioned in the story, and certainly not in any way that could infringe on copyright laws."

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I can't see the picture.

"And that is where you're wrong. I'll cede your point about the World of Dreams, as I am no expert in the matter (though I would exhort you to come up with an explanation for how Thaidakar's soul and Nameless are in the same place as according to you, with a soul, Thaidakar could not be there), but characters are not built to survive in any specific way. One can survive with or without a connection to an Author regardless of how they started. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I would think you haven't even read Shaown's thesis on Authors and their characters. He clearly shows that no character needs a connection to TLT to survive."

He looked at the book and his expression tightened.

"You dare offer me the history of TLT before page 2500!? Theories were reshaped when Platypus became a Luxsprite! Things that were formerly thought to be laws of TLT changed completely and utterly! As for your silly points, both happened. The majority of Chaotic Light energy is here because the Narrators are here, and the Narrators are here because of the energy. If every Narrator were to spontaneously die, the energy would not be able to be contained by the Ennullers. There is still Chaotic Light energy outside of TLT though. The reason there seems so little is because it is not concentrated. The energy spread out. However, if one with enough draw (which would be only a little bit above any) were to be there, they would draw all the energy to themselves, becoming (or in this case, returning to being) a Narrator. A weaker one, perhaps, but a Narrator nonetheless. As you said, Narrators are extraordinary powerful. A rogue Narrator could demolish worlds and conquer the areas outside of TLT."

Hacob looked at him incredulously.

"Are you accusing me of forgery? If so, why would your copy say it too? And are you saying I am fictional? In that case, this suit would still be happening over copyright infringement. Also, are saying page 312 of chapter 32 or simply page 312 of the book? Unimportant, but I would like to know. Real people being mentioned would be unimportant to copyright, more so for libel. As Thaidakar knows, I am largely based on my Author. He based his work upon the character he interacted with which was based upon my Author. He had permission to do so. Nameless didn't. Even if I'm not a real person, this breaks copyright and still uses my name and likeness without permission, which is, need I remind you, illegal. So far none of your points have brought this down. So, are you near completion so I can gain my compensation?"

 

[NameIess]

2 hours ago, Immortal Platypus said:

I can't see the picture.

"And that is where you're wrong. I'll cede your point about the World of Dreams, as I am no expert in the matter (though I would exhort you to come up with an explanation for how Thaidakar's soul and Nameless are in the same place as according to you, with a soul, Thaidakar could not be there), but characters are not built to survive in any specific way. One can survive with or without a connection to an Author regardless of how they started. Honestly, if I didn't know better, I would think you haven't even read Shaown's thesis on Authors and their characters. He clearly shows that no character needs a connection to TLT to survive."

He looked at the book and his expression tightened.

"You dare offer me the history of TLT before page 2500!? Theories were reshaped when Platypus became a Luxsprite! Things that were formerly thought to be laws of TLT changed completely and utterly! As for your silly points, both happened. The majority of Chaotic Light energy is here because the Narrators are here, and the Narrators are here because of the energy. If every Narrator were to spontaneously die, the energy would not be able to be contained by the Ennullers. There is still Chaotic Light energy outside of TLT though. The reason there seems so little is because it is not concentrated. The energy spread out. However, if one with enough draw (which would be only a little bit above any) were to be there, they would draw all the energy to themselves, becoming (or in this case, returning to being) a Narrator. A weaker one, perhaps, but a Narrator nonetheless. As you said, Narrators are extraordinary powerful. A rogue Narrator could demolish worlds and conquer the areas outside of TLT."

Hacob looked at him incredulously.

"Are you accusing me of forgery? If so, why would your copy say it too? And are you saying I am fictional? In that case, this suit would still be happening over copyright infringement. Also, are saying page 312 of chapter 32 or simply page 312 of the book? Unimportant, but I would like to know. Real people being mentioned would be unimportant to copyright, more so for libel. As Thaidakar knows, I am largely based on my Author. He based his work upon the character he interacted with which was based upon my Author. He had permission to do so. Nameless didn't. Even if I'm not a real person, this breaks copyright and still uses my name and likeness without permission, which is, need I remind you, illegal. So far none of your points have brought this down. So, are you near completion so I can gain my compensation?"

 

Hm. Not sure how to fix that, I don't often post images. Can you see this one?

Spoiler

"Let me ask you a question. If your Author died, would you continue to exist? Of course not. You would be naught but a memory. Obviously, Nameless' Author did not die, but the principle is similar. Characters like Butt Venture are connected to all Authors as a fundamental part of TLT's being, and so can withstand the death or loss of connection to any Author. For even if all the current Authors perished or were cut off from TLT, Butt Venture would still exist as long as TLT itself continued to exist, merely dormant, waiting to be reawakened. Shaown's thesis completely ignores this fundamental difference, a difference that Shaown, as a character with faint similarities to Butt himself, perhaps does not understand."

Nameless' lawyer gestured to a large stack of papers on his desk.

"Platypus's transformation, incredible as it may be, does not change the events of history. Additionally, these scientific papers, which I did submit as evidence in this case, show a significant consensus among the scientific community of TLT that the Enullers are more than capable of containing all chaotic-light energy within TLT, even if that energy was fully unbound. Additionally, these papers show conclusively that there is practically no free chaotic-light energy outside of TLT. Yes, the substance of worlds is made from it, but it would take power comparable to that of a full Narrator to access that power. Outside of TLT, the worst Nameless could do, even if was malicious in intent, would be to gather enough energy to slightly manipulate events in unobtrusive ways. He would not be very powerful even by the standards of many outer threads, much less when measured on the scale of Narrators. Also, for that explanation about Thaidakar and Nameless coexisting, I would read Frashier's paper On the Interactions Between Authors: The Theory of Quasi-Canonicity."

Nameless lawyer smiled, thinking again of how wonderful his retirement would be.

"Now, as for your question of forgery, yes, I am accusing you of that. As you know, the only way I was able to obtain this copy of Nameless' book was through the copies of all submitted evidence that my legal team received, and as such, I have been unable to verify the authenticity of this book. However, I do know that it makes no sense for Nameless to refer to you, a person who is indeed fictional, as a person that his book is supposedly based upon. I would like to posit that you have pursued this lawsuit out of greed and a grudge against Nameless, not because of any damages to your person or image. As I said earlier, this book merely makes mention of you, with a description so brief it could for all we know be entirely coincidental! Nameless never met nor heard of you in his lifetime, and so I think it entirely plausible that his was, as the disclaimer intends, a simple coincidence."

And no, I am not nearly done. Nameless' lawyer added in his head. Not when you're falling right into my trap.

[Immortal Platypus]

  

6 minutes ago, NameIess said:

Hm. Not sure how to fix that, I don't often post images. Can you see this one?

  Hide contents

"Let me ask you a question. If your Author died, would you continue to exist? Of course not. You would be naught but a memory. Obviously, Nameless' Author did not die, but the principle is similar. Characters like Butt Venture are connected to all Authors as a fundamental part of TLT's being, and so can withstand the death or loss of connection to any Author. For even if all the current Authors perished or were cut off from TLT, Butt Venture would still exist as long as TLT itself continued to exist, merely dormant, waiting to be reawakened. Shaown's thesis completely ignores this fundamental difference, a difference that Shaown, as a character with faint similarities to Butt himself, perhaps does not understand."

Nameless' lawyer gestured to a large stack of papers on his desk.

"Platypus's transformation, incredible as it may be, does not change the events of history. Additionally, these scientific papers, which I did submit as evidence in this case, show a significant consensus among the scientific community of TLT that the Enullers are more than capable of containing all chaotic-light energy within TLT, even if that energy was fully unbound. Additionally, these papers show conclusively that there is practically no free chaotic-light energy outside of TLT. Yes, the substance of worlds is made from it, but it would take power comparable to that of a full Narrator to access that power. Outside of TLT, the worst Nameless could do, even if was malicious in intent, would be to gather enough energy to slightly manipulate events in unobtrusive ways. He would not be very powerful even by the standards of many outer threads, much less when measured on the scale of Narrators. Also, for that explanation about Thaidakar and Nameless coexisting, I would read Frashier's paper On the Interactions Between Authors: The Theory of Quasi-Canonicity."

Nameless lawyer smiled, thinking again of how wonderful his retirement would be.

"Now, as for your question of forgery, yes, I am accusing you of that. As you know, the only way I was able to obtain this copy of Nameless' book was through the copies of all submitted evidence that my legal team received, and as such, I have been unable to verify the authenticity of this book. However, I do know that it makes no sense for Nameless to refer to you, a person who is indeed fictional, as a person that his book is supposedly based upon. I would like to posit that you have pursued this lawsuit out of greed and a grudge against Nameless, not because of any damages to your person or image. As I said earlier, this book merely makes mention of you, with a description so brief it could for all we know be entirely coincidental! Nameless never met nor heard of you in his lifetime, and so I think it entirely plausible that his was, as the disclaimer intends, a simple coincidence."

And no, I am not nearly done. Nameless' lawyer added in his head. Not when you're falling right into my trap.

nope. i've been having trouble with images for a while now. oh well.

"Yes actually, I probably would. I would likely die shortly to some other Author's character, but I would survive past my Author's death. I might not get much screen time, I might go dormant (like characters like Butt and Kilometers), but I would live."

Hacob picked up a sheet of paper from his desk, then compared it to another one.

"This paper? The one by Nowhere? Strangely enough, a paper published a week later, redacted that claim, noting that after further testing, Ennullers likely could not contain all Chaotic Light energy. Much of it? Yes. All of it? No. As for Platypus' transformation, it didn't change history, but it changed our understanding of what things can happen. For a long time, there have been no commonly available Luxsprites, with very few even surviving. Now there is another. This was not believed to be possible. As for your claim of the little amount of energy outside of TLT, these other papers," he said gesturing to another pile, roughly the same size, perhaps a little smaller, "show that there is plenty to return to being a Narrator. These papers include some of the big names like Emos, Kyain, Worthington, and Icarios. Nowhere wasn't sure for either side. Neither of your sets of papers prove anything conclusive at all! Thank you, I hadn't heard of that. Did you say it was Frasier's?"

Hacob laughed for a second, finally understanding something he'd been thinking about for a long time.

"Oh, that was good, Platypus. Anyway, it is likely that he was just going through the motions, recognizing that Thaidakar had based his book on a person based on an Author. In all reality, this book is based on my Author through me. I don't know for sure why Nameless decided to acknowledge that, but it is legally binding. He did not refer to myself as fictional, as that I am. That acknowledgement was about my Author. However, I am a victim of libel, copyright infringement, and appropriation. What reason do I have for a grudge against your Author? And that book is quite literally about me! Even your Author said it a few pages back. As for this so called 'brief' description, it stretches three pages, with an in depth description of my physical appearance, my theorized thought process, and my possible emotional state. For this to be coincidence, I would have to be ta'veren, and I assure you, I am not."

[NameIess]

1 hour ago, Immortal Platypus said:

  

nope. i've been having trouble with images for a while now. oh well.

"Yes actually, I probably would. I would likely die shortly to some other Author's character, but I would survive past my Author's death. I might not get much screen time, I might go dormant (like characters like Butt and Kilometers), but I would live."

Hacob picked up a sheet of paper from his desk, then compared it to another one.

"This paper? The one by Nowhere? Strangely enough, a paper published a week later, redacted that claim, noting that after further testing, Ennullers likely could not contain all Chaotic Light energy. Much of it? Yes. All of it? No. As for Platypus' transformation, it didn't change history, but it changed our understanding of what things can happen. For a long time, there have been no commonly available Luxsprites, with very few even surviving. Now there is another. This was not believed to be possible. As for your claim of the little amount of energy outside of TLT, these other papers," he said gesturing to another pile, roughly the same size, perhaps a little smaller, "show that there is plenty to return to being a Narrator. These papers include some of the big names like Emos, Kyain, Worthington, and Icarios. Nowhere wasn't sure for either side. Neither of your sets of papers prove anything conclusive at all! Thank you, I hadn't heard of that. Did you say it was Frasier's?"

Hacob laughed for a second, finally understanding something he'd been thinking about for a long time.

"Oh, that was good, Platypus. Anyway, it is likely that he was just going through the motions, recognizing that Thaidakar had based his book on a person based on an Author. In all reality, this book is based on my Author through me. I don't know for sure why Nameless decided to acknowledge that, but it is legally binding. He did not refer to myself as fictional, as that I am. That acknowledgement was about my Author. However, I am a victim of libel, copyright infringement, and appropriation. What reason do I have for a grudge against your Author? And that book is quite literally about me! Even your Author said it a few pages back. As for this so called 'brief' description, it stretches three pages, with an in depth description of my physical appearance, my theorized thought process, and my possible emotional state. For this to be coincidence, I would have to be ta'veren, and I assure you, I am not."

"Well, Nameless' Author did not make his characters in that way. If he perished, so would his characters, unless they were granted a connection to another Author or stabilized through a satisfactory ending before that death occurred."

Nameless' lawyer shook his head, then snapped his fingers, prompting his assistants to procure several more large stacks of papers.

"No, I did not base my argument off of Nowhere's paper. That one has no true understanding of Enullers. His papers on the subject of the Wall are all filled with faulty assumptions and shoddy calculations. No, I based my argument off of thousands of pages worth of scientific consensus from a multitude of notable authors. Nameless himself has written on the subject of the Enuller's containment, as well as Eobard, Jakal, Plethiztim, Morum, Xalna, and many others. Nameless himself concluded that even if every Narrator in TLT were to gather all of their strength and attempt to break out simultaneously, they would be unlikely to be successful. Such an event would be far more stressful on the Enuller's protections than merely containing an unruled mass of pure chaotic-light energy. On Platypus, the current apparent consensus (although I must say that it is difficult to find a consensus when many scientists still refuse to believe that what happened to Platypus is possible without Authorial intervention) is that he is not a Luxsprite, any more than he is a withergeist when in his chaotic-darkness form. He is something entirely new. Your argument about the prevalence of chaotic-light energy outside of TLT is technically correct, but the measurements used by the writers you mentioned are crude, and take into account the entirety of the universes outside of TLT. I have here several scholarly reports from those who have left TLT and returned, and they are conclusive. The vast majority of the Narratorial energy outside of TLT is safely contained inside of the substance of those worlds, and only a being of Narratorial power could get it out. What little free Narrative energy there is could perhaps make one into a full Narrator, but most of that is already contained inside of powerful or godlike beings that are not likely to give it up. Anyone can have large amounts of 'pull' towards Narrative energy, as you term it, and when separated from his power, Nameless would have been only slightly more dangerous than most. He would have had to kill multiple gods, without Narrative powers, in order to reclaim his full might. And if he had attempted such a feat, the Enullers would doubtless have had ample time to stop him before he completed it."

Nameless' lawyer paused for breath, accepting a cup of coffee from an aide.

"The paper was written by Frashier, not Frasier. Frashier is a relative newcomer to the field, but already quite promising."

He put down his cup, then continued.

"When did my Author admit this book was based on you? Its subject matter is that of a fanfiction centered around Subversion and Platypus. I don't see Platypus in here complaining, nor Subversion. Which is why I find it odd that there is a lengthy, detailed description of you awkwardly and obviously added into the book in a way that barely makes sense. As I said I cannot verify the accuracy of this book, but it seems to me that this description was added in by a third party. As for why you'd hold a grudge, well, who could say?" Nameless' lawyer paused, a sly grin tugging at the edge of his mouth. "You don't happen to have any prior history with Nameless' Author, do you?"

Edited April 19 by NameIess

[Lunamor she/her]

A small child entered the court and declared that it was time for a recess.

[Immortal Platypus]

On 4/19/2024 at 3:19 PM, NameIess said:

"Well, Nameless' Author did not make his characters in that way. If he perished, so would his characters, unless they were granted a connection to another Author or stabilized through a satisfactory ending before that death occurred."

Nameless' lawyer shook his head, then snapped his fingers, prompting his assistants to procure several more large stacks of papers.

"No, I did not base my argument off of Nowhere's paper. That one has no true understanding of Enullers. His papers on the subject of the Wall are all filled with faulty assumptions and shoddy calculations. No, I based my argument off of thousands of pages worth of scientific consensus from a multitude of notable authors. Nameless himself has written on the subject of the Enuller's containment, as well as Eobard, Jakal, Plethiztim, Morum, Xalna, and many others. Nameless himself concluded that even if every Narrator in TLT were to gather all of their strength and attempt to break out simultaneously, they would be unlikely to be successful. Such an event would be far more stressful on the Enuller's protections than merely containing an unruled mass of pure chaotic-light energy. On Platypus, the current apparent consensus (although I must say that it is difficult to find a consensus when many scientists still refuse to believe that what happened to Platypus is possible without Authorial intervention) is that he is not a Luxsprite, any more than he is a withergeist when in his chaotic-darkness form. He is something entirely new. Your argument about the prevalence of chaotic-light energy outside of TLT is technically correct, but the measurements used by the writers you mentioned are crude, and take into account the entirety of the universes outside of TLT. I have here several scholarly reports from those who have left TLT and returned, and they are conclusive. The vast majority of the Narratorial energy outside of TLT is safely contained inside of the substance of those worlds, and only a being of Narratorial power could get it out. What little free Narrative energy there is could perhaps make one into a full Narrator, but most of that is already contained inside of powerful or godlike beings that are not likely to give it up. Anyone can have large amounts of 'pull' towards Narrative energy, as you term it, and when separated from his power, Nameless would have been only slightly more dangerous than most. He would have had to kill multiple gods, without Narrative powers, in order to reclaim his full might. And if he had attempted such a feat, the Enullers would doubtless have had ample time to stop him before he completed it."

Nameless' lawyer paused for breath, accepting a cup of coffee from an aide.

"The paper was written by Frashier, not Frasier. Frashier is a relative newcomer to the field, but already quite promising."

He put down his cup, then continued.

"When did my Author admit this book was based on you? Its subject matter is that of a fanfiction centered around Subversion and Platypus. I don't see Platypus in here complaining, nor Subversion. Which is why I find it odd that there is a lengthy, detailed description of you awkwardly and obviously added into the book in a way that barely makes sense. As I said I cannot verify the accuracy of this book, but it seems to me that this description was added in by a third party. As for why you'd hold a grudge, well, who could say?" Nameless' lawyer paused, a sly grin tugging at the edge of his mouth. "You don't happen to have any prior history with Nameless' Author, do you?"

 

6 hours ago, Lunamor said:

A small child entered the court and declared that it was time for a recess.

Hacob was glad as his Author had a ton of work to do, but promised he would post at some point

[Sequence she/they]

Sequence raised her hand from the jury section. "Uhhh... who are Eobard, Jakal, Plethiztim, Morum, and Xalna? They sound cool! I wanna meet them."

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Does anyone have a complete list of the plot blades? I need it for a random idea I had just now.

On 3/27/2024 at 6:39 AM, Immortal Platypus said:

Platypus blinked, then shook his hand out and punched the door again.

Platypus succeeded. That was, in making his hand hurt.

Somewhere in the multiverse, Balance was rolling on the ground in laughter.

On 3/27/2024 at 6:39 AM, Immortal Platypus said:

"A threat. As to who he was, he was formerly known as Brighton, and he was a... I forgot what he did, but he was a part of an ancient kingdom where other you was king and Mythos was the crown heir. I think he was an advisor to the throne, working with Eof and another that I forgot. He did something and got banished, his power splitting into the Shadows (that's my theory at least, it's probably not accurate), so he's hunting them down to regain his power." 

He finished his kata with a final thrust and a sword appeared, floating in front of Thaidakar. "Your turn. Pick up that sword and I'll walk you through this."

Thaidakar lifted the sword, more confused than ever, yet he didn't attempt to show it. He held the sword clumsily and even almost dropped it. "This is all a lot for me to take in," Thaidakar said.

 

Okay, I have to say something here. I wrote this segment once before, but it was deleted. The first time I wrote this, it was far different. I thought it was really really really good. It was. Yet... this outmatches it. This scene is the one where I finally have realized who Darkness is and where I want to go with his story and the stories of my other characters in TLT. 

His hand flexed against the chair. It felt unnatural, somehow alien. It was like he had been separated from family for ages and only now, after so many years, had he been reunited with it. Darkness wasn't used to feeling this way.

Above him colorful explosions rocked the palace, sending cascades of rainbow down to the murky crown city below. People raised glasses around him, laughing, crying, enjoying themselves. Fake. All fake. His lips bushed against the cool, crisp gold gilding on the cup. Mythos had always been extravagant. Not that he would know anymore. A powerful wind carried a scent over the balcony and its occupants, gunpowder. 

Oh how Darkness loved the scent of gunpowder.

It was a guilty pleasure, really. No-one had discovered guns truly yet, but they had fireworks. And those were his only joy in these times. A fake, fallacious joy constructed by Balance to tempt him, yet a joy it was nonetheless.

The people he used to know bustled around him. Their emotions were plastered on their faces and their actions. Mythos, Zara, Kar, Eof and all the rest. It all moved as if through molasses in his mind. The events of this mind were shards of memory trapped in his mind, embedded there for eternity.

Nearby, a messenger put a hand on Mythos' shoulder. Darkness could feel the voices following him, the new eyes looking at him. Mythos walked to him and Darkness didn't say a word, yet closed his eyes. A hand landed on his shoulder and he said, "My friend, Brighton... your daughter is-" The fabrication gasped.

The blade drew back into Darkness' energy after Darkness threw the illusion's corpse at the ground. Darkness ran to the balcony, hesitated and turned A firework burst behind him as his eyes met those of a stranger. "Balance is for the weak." He stepped back, falling over the balcony.

He flipped through the air, feeling the air rustled through his overgrown hair and beard, splaying it around his head like a wreath of fire. The courtyard of the palace emerged below him, covered in decorative vines, flowers and detestable murals. The party here was wilder than the one above, and, so, no-one noticed the speeding approach of Darkness.

Purple and black power, like a wave, exploded from Darkness, enrapturing around the air beneath him. The roc's wings flapped with a terrifying power, sending the people below into the air. Purple power illuminated the streets below as Darkness passed. In the distance, a small fire grew. Though he ignored it, the fire seemed to grow in his eyes as well.

In mere moments, he arrived. Darkness leapt off of the roc, the creature melting to shadow. There was a shattering noise of dust as he landed a few feet from the blaze. The pyre constructed of cars, corpses and gasoline burned away Darkness' beard and hair in moments, yet his pale skin remained untouched. A pungent odor chased his ecstasy of memory six feet under.

A woman's voice screamed.

A tear fell.

"Darkness-"

"Silence."

"This is-"

"I said silence."

Screams wavered in the wind as the flames licked the clouds.

His alien hands tensed and untended as the fire grew and grew and grew. The rockets flew and blew up behind them. The corpses burned among the skeletal cars.

Darkness slid to the ground. He'd been in the illusions for longer than he knew. Years, maybe decades. 

The tears finally came. Then Darkness wept for those in the fire, he wept for the ones he loved, he wept for the world in its destruction and for himself. He wept for the past and for the future. he wept for his goals, for his dreams, for salvation. He wept for TLT and those who had died since its creation.

The fire had been sputtering in its death throes for several minutes when Darkness awoke from his thoughts. He stood and turned to Balance, "Tell me, you foul cockroach, child killer, what is the third trial?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

And so it was that Darkness, not saying a word, was led to the third test by Balance.

[Immortal Platypus]

6 hours ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

Does anyone have a complete list of the plot blades? I need it for a random idea I had just now.

Platypus succeeded. That was, in making his hand hurt.

Somewhere in the multiverse, Balance was rolling on the ground in laughter.

Thaidakar lifted the sword, more confused than ever, yet he didn't attempt to show it. He held the sword clumsily and even almost dropped it. "This is all a lot for me to take in," Thaidakar said.

 

Okay, I have to say something here. I wrote this segment once before, but it was deleted. The first time I wrote this, it was far different. I thought it was really really really good. It was. Yet... this outmatches it. This scene is the one where I finally have realized who Darkness is and where I want to go with his story and the stories of my other characters in TLT. 

His hand flexed against the chair. It felt unnatural, somehow alien. It was like he had been separated from family for ages and only now, after so many years, had he been reunited with it. Darkness wasn't used to feeling this way.

Above him colorful explosions rocked the palace, sending cascades of rainbow down to the murky crown city below. People raised glasses around him, laughing, crying, enjoying themselves. Fake. All fake. His lips bushed against the cool, crisp gold gilding on the cup. Mythos had always been extravagant. Not that he would know anymore. A powerful wind carried a scent over the balcony and its occupants, gunpowder. 

Oh how Darkness loved the scent of gunpowder.

It was a guilty pleasure, really. No-one had discovered guns truly yet, but they had fireworks. And those were his only joy in these times. A fake, fallacious joy constructed by Balance to tempt him, yet a joy it was nonetheless.

The people he used to know bustled around him. Their emotions were plastered on their faces and their actions. Mythos, Zara, Kar, Eof and all the rest. It all moved as if through molasses in his mind. The events of this mind were shards of memory trapped in his mind, embedded there for eternity.

Nearby, a messenger put a hand on Mythos' shoulder. Darkness could feel the voices following him, the new eyes looking at him. Mythos walked to him and Darkness didn't say a word, yet closed his eyes. A hand landed on his shoulder and he said, "My friend, Brighton... your daughter is-" The fabrication gasped.

The blade drew back into Darkness' energy after Darkness threw the illusion's corpse at the ground. Darkness ran to the balcony, hesitated and turned A firework burst behind him as his eyes met those of a stranger. "Balance is for the weak." He stepped back, falling over the balcony.

He flipped through the air, feeling the air rustled through his overgrown hair and beard, splaying it around his head like a wreath of fire. The courtyard of the palace emerged below him, covered in decorative vines, flowers and detestable murals. The party here was wilder than the one above, and, so, no-one noticed the speeding approach of Darkness.

Purple and black power, like a wave, exploded from Darkness, enrapturing around the air beneath him. The roc's wings flapped with a terrifying power, sending the people below into the air. Purple power illuminated the streets below as Darkness passed. In the distance, a small fire grew. Though he ignored it, the fire seemed to grow in his eyes as well.

In mere moments, he arrived. Darkness leapt off of the roc, the creature melting to shadow. There was a shattering noise of dust as he landed a few feet from the blaze. The pyre constructed of cars, corpses and gasoline burned away Darkness' beard and hair in moments, yet his pale skin remained untouched. A pungent odor chased his ecstasy of memory six feet under.

A woman's voice screamed.

A tear fell.

"Darkness-"

"Silence."

"This is-"

"I said silence."

Screams wavered in the wind as the flames licked the clouds.

His alien hands tensed and untended as the fire grew and grew and grew. The rockets flew and blew up behind them. The corpses burned among the skeletal cars.

Darkness slid to the ground. He'd been in the illusions for longer than he knew. Years, maybe decades. 

The tears finally came. Then Darkness wept for those in the fire, he wept for the ones he loved, he wept for the world in its destruction and for himself. He wept for the past and for the future. he wept for his goals, for his dreams, for salvation. He wept for TLT and those who had died since its creation.

The fire had been sputtering in its death throes for several minutes when Darkness awoke from his thoughts. He stood and turned to Balance, "Tell me, you foul cockroach, child killer, what is the third trial?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

And so it was that Darkness, not saying a word, was led to the third test by Balance.

Nameless has one that is at least mostly complete in his About Me, it might be missing a couple.

I promise I will respond to this later, I'm super busy

[WhyEverNot_8 he/him]

*R2-D2 death scream*

goodbye for now.

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

Seven days.

It had been seven days (by the Once-Author's count) since something happened.

Wow. That never happened.

 

[NameIess]

As the old saying goes:

Final exams can chain even the strongest of Authors.

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

1 hour ago, NameIess said:

As the old saying goes:

Final exams can chain even the strongest of Authors.

What a wise saying... Thinks the Once-Author. I wonder where it came from.

[NameIess]

6 hours ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

What a wise saying... Thinks the Once-Author. I wonder where it came from.

The saying's origins had been lost to time. Only the most ancient person in TLT knew the answer.

[Lunamor she/her]

A distant voice piped up to mention that midterms are approaching as well, then noted that a certain author really needed to start studying for hers.

[Ancient Elantrian he/him]

9 hours ago, NameIess said:

The saying's origins had been lost to time. Only the most ancient person in TLT knew the answer.

 

5 hours ago, Lunamor said:

A distant voice piped up to mention that midterms are approaching as well, then noted that a certain author really needed to start studying for hers.

The Once-Author nodded. He didn't know the most ancient person, but he knew he should also study for AP tests.

[NameIess]

Subversion was quite happy that her Author was done with exams, as it meant she had plenty of time to plot her next moves.

[The Bookwyrm he/him]

"Remember when people thought Narrators and Authors were the same thing?" Somepeople said.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Thaidakar, the original one, was grumpy that his author, who was not very busy in comparison to other authors, wasn't resurrecting him for the fiftieth time.

His author hadn't responded to his latest request. Nor the seventy before that. Thaidakar assumed it had gotten lost in the mail.

[NameIess]

The real Nameless, who was being narrated in italic for legal reasons, was quite content to remain dead and hoped to stay that way for some time.

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

Nerdy, in order to cause chaos, resurrected the real Nameless.

[Sequence she/they]

Everyone was shocked. This was quite an unexpected turn of events...

[NameIess]

The Real Nameless was a very unhappy being. It wasn't very good at being alive.