The Longest Thread (Misadventures)

[xinoehp512 he/him]

4 minutes ago, SpiritOfWrath said:

… how fast can the ennuller react, exactly?

No reason why.

Tenth looked around.  What is happening?

The Strands erupted from Tenth, a few reaching for the doctor… faster than seemed possible for anything to move. The most, however, went backwards, attempting to break the globe of protection and the chains keeping the mental Strands in.

Fast enough. Don't forget that the Silent Halls naturally resist extreme acceleration.

The Strands found it impossible to break through the power of ordered darkness in their current state. "In their current state."

Inside the mindscape, the doctor relaxed. Found it, she said. She vanished.

Out in the real world, she opened her eyes, noting the strands struggling against the barrier keeping them in.

The chains began to contract, squeezing the power down into a point. 

[Through the Living Shadow he/him]

1 minute ago, xinoehp512 said:

Fast enough. Don't forget that the Silent Halls naturally resist extreme acceleration.

The Strands found it impossible to break through the power of ordered darkness in their current state. "In their current state."

Inside the mindscape, the doctor relaxed. Found it, she said. She vanished.

Out in the real world, she opened her eyes, noting the strands struggling against the barrier keeping them in.

The chains began to contract, squeezing the power down into a point. 

the Casts (the opposite of the Strands)  are used to speed up time.

The Strands resisted this. They were incompressible, and did not give ground.

In the meanwhile, Strands dug under the floor, turning fully black as they dug into the crystal. They attempted to go under the barrier.

In their current state? Hhhhmmmm

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

3 hours ago, The Halcyon Girl said:

HES SO SCUDDING CUTE 

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

RIIIIIGHT I LOVE MY CHARACTER

 

3 hours ago, TwinStorm said:

Cricket ran over to Shoe and Beosta. "We did it, right? No deaths? Nobody was hurt? And Shoe, you're back! Did you rescue him?" he asked Beosta. "Alright, listen. I know we won and that's great! And... Beosta, you did it! But we need to leave soon. We can catch up, but by tomorrow we need to be gone. I promised some Enullers that I'd come with them in twenty-four hours and I don't want to ever see them again."

@Through The Living Glass @The Halcyon Girl @anyoneIforgotsorry

Wait, why? Shoe wrote to Cricket.

[TwinStorm He/Him]

4 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

RIIIIIGHT I LOVE MY CHARACTER

 

Wait, why? Shoe wrote to Cricket.

Cricket looked down. "It's... complicated. During the fight, when the withergeists tried to bond us, I discovered something. My soul was merged with that of an Enuller, and always has been, since the beginning. He's scared and terrified and I want to help him. When I spoke to the Enuller who came for me, he gave me two options: Unmerge our souls, which could kill both of us, or go train with them. I asked for twenty-four hours before they returned. Hopefully  we manage to be so far they lose my scent by then."

[NameIess]

Context for this post (from page 2659 if you're curious)

Spoiler

Moni tumbled through a doorway and fell flat onto her face, breathing  heavily and resisting the urge to claw her eyeballs from their sockets.

She stood warily, shaking sand from her cloak as she examined her new surroundings. She appeared to be in a room of a style that was vaguely recognizable, but there was a certain dreamlike, uncertain quality to everything that she'd grown quite familiar with during her recent travels.

There were two shapes in the room. One could only be described as darkness, a shadow of purest evil. The darkness dominated the room and threatened to destroy the other shape, a swirling mass of chaos wielding a blade made of hatred. Moni got the feeling that the battle here was important, and that the second shape didn't have much of a chance on its own. As she watched, a door that hadn't been there a moment ago slammed open, and something entered with dramatic flair.

Well, "something" was perhaps an improper descriptor. It appeared that multiple somethings came through the door, each layered on top of one another, none completely real. As Moni squinted, vague impressions entered her mind from some of the more distinct shadows. Out of them all, two shapes stood out: The shape that seemed most solid was that of a reluctant heroine, and the least solid but for some reason most distinct to Moni's eyes implied a triumphant return transformed to horror.

Moni smiled in satisfaction as the second shape faded entirely. Glad to see I've done some good at least. She started walking to the door that the shapes had entered through, renewed purpose coursing through her veins.

Moni, you're not going to get anywhere like this. 

Moni froze momentarily, hand going to the sword that hung sheathed at her side. Then she forced herself to relax and kept walking. "You think I don't know that? I've been wandering around in here for... weeks? Months? And I still can't find where I'm going."

Time matters even less here than it does in TLT proper. You know that. You could wander around here for centuries and not find the place you seek.

Moni snorted. "You're bluffing. You'll want me to do something sooner or later, and if I refuse to do anything else until you give me what I want, you'll eventually have no choice but to just that."

I could force you to give up this quest

"Really? You would do that?" Moni reached the doorway she'd been walking towards, only for it to slam shut in her face. "I guess you could, but if you where going to do that, you wouldn't bother talking to me. You'd just have made me give up quietly."

I suppose you're right. So what do you want exactly?

"I want you to get rid of that monster you created." Moni tried the doorknob, only for it to fall off in her hands. "How could you make something so outwardly similar to Nameless, and yet so utterly wrong?"

For the good of the story.

"It will ruin his legacy! What he didn't manage to ruin himself, anyways." Moni shoved fruitlessly at the now-doorknobless door, trying to force it open. "I saw the worst of Nameless. But other people saw a better side of him. And at the end... after he gave up his powers... well, I guess I realize now that what you did to him was about as bad as what he did to me. He was more of a hero than he'd ever been, at the end."

Yes, I quite liked his development at the end.

Moni punched the door with enough force to send cracks through the sturdy wood. "And how did you repay that positive character growth? you killed Nameless, left him helpless against an enemy far more powerful than he is. And after he's dead, you made a face that looked like him, only you took every ounce of goodness out of it, removed every trace of heroism, wiped away every redeeming factor that he had, and you replaced it with nothing but pure arrogance, insecurity, hatred, and evil." She punched the door again, then again, ignoring the blood dripping from her knuckles. "You killed him, then spat on his legacy. No one else seems to care, or maybe they just haven't noticed yet, but either way I'm not going to just sit still and watch you destroy what little good name Nameless has left."

So you break into my mind to "kill" the memory? Remove the idea for that sphere in your pocket? You know that's impossible.

Moni glared at the door. "I don't care what's possible, I care what's right. You're the one who wanted me to care about stuff like this. So either tell me how to get into your memories or open this door and leave me in peace."

I'm impressed that you manage to enter so deeply into my imagination, but leaving it to enter my memories is simply not possible. You are stuck in my imagination, as you always have been. I'll leave you to your wandering now. Goodbye.

"I..." Moni cocked her head. "I've always been in your imagination?"

True to her Author's word, no voice answered.

Moni considered. "But that doesn't help. My past self is in your memory, but my past self can't do anything about that fact, because I wasn't in your memory when I decided what I'd do." Moni's thoughts were interrupted as an indistinct something passed through her on its way to slam into the door it had entered through. Moni blinked, realizing that the room she hadn't yet left was filled with a hundred theoretical battles, barely cognizant ideas of which only the themes were even slightly comprehensible.

"This... hasn't happened yet, has it? You imagine things that are in the future? So in the past you imagined me, wandering your imagination just like I am, meaning that I am in your imagination and in yo-"

There was a sound like a ripping cloth, and the room around Moni shattered. She was now standing in a hallway lined with doorways. Some doors were open, other closed, some covered in dust from disuse, while others were chained shut yet still straining to force themselves open.

Hesitantly, Moni began walking down the hallway. As she did, flickers of memory burst out from some of the doors, painting a picture of a life she'd never thought she'd know. A mostly uneventful life with a loving family. not an exciting life perhaps, but not a bad one either. Moni would have preferred her own life to be similarly boring, but she doubted her Author would ever allow it.

She kept going, drawn by a sense of Plot and a faint desire to avoid making her Author share too much personal information on the internet. Eventually, she reached what she felt she'd been looking for. A door that glowed with the light of imagination, a door that Moni knew on sight.

Moni opened the door and revealed the truth.

The post that needed context (spoiled for length)

Spoiler

Moni stepped through the doorway and into the memory of Nameless.

The room glowed with the light of thousands of posts, each a part of the constellation of memory that made up Nameless’ existence, connected by lines made of an Author’s imagination. The whole of it made up a confusing web that narrowed to tiny strands impossible to comprehend. But, when looked at as a whole, an impression emerged.

In that moment, Moni understood.

Comfort. That was what Nameless represented to her Author. He was a character that could always be relied upon, one whose reactions were easy to gauge, and perhaps most importantly, one who was familiar. He’d existed in TLT almost as long as her Author had, for thousands upon thousands of posts.

Is this why he made that monster? Because he couldn’t bear to give up Nameless completely?

Moni overcame her initial shock and walked further into the room.

Can’t become distracted. He’ll take any opportunity to stop me.

Moni scanned the room quickly, searching through the endless sea of lights for her goal.

There. One group of lights was sectioned off from the others, a small, twisted clump that glowed a sinister shade, like a cancerous tumor that  Moni strode up to it, took a deep breath, and drew her sword.

Then, hands trembling, Moni slashed the Blade of Endings through the warped cluster of memory. A wall of light slammed into her, throwing her back against the wall of the room and knocking the breath from her lungs.

Even as that happened, the memories she’d disconnected began tearing themselves apart with a terrible, indescribable noise. The sound of an idea being ripped from the mind that birthed it. The loose threads spun and waved, spilling drops of light like blood onto the floor.

Moni shielded her eyes against the light, wincing as the noise grew louder and louder, forcing her left hand to move into her pocket and take out the sphere there. That sphere was fading, not tearing apart like its memory, but slowly disappearing.

The terrible sound reached a crescendo, the light grew so bright that Moni could see nothing at all, the weight in her hand vanished, and then all was still.

Moni opened her eyes, blinking as her vision slowly returned. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and her legs were too weak to hold her. Breathing rapidly, she looked up to see the results of her attack.

The twisted clump of memory floated where it had before, the same as it had been when she’d walked into the room.

Moni’s eyes widened, but before she could further react, a calm voice spoke from a one side of the room.

“I’m sorry, Moni, but that won’t work.”

Moni turned her head and saw her Author, Nameless standing with his arms folded.

“How?” Moni looked from the undamaged memory to her Author. “I cut it with Endings for Ado’s sake! A Plotblade! How can you stop that?”

Nameless shrugged. “I’m an Author. I made Endings and helped to formalize the process for making Plotblades in the first place. They’re nothing to me and can do nothing to me unless I allow it.”

Moni forced herself to her feet, picking Endings up off the ground where she’d fallen. “So that’s it? I have no choice other than to let that monster roam free?”

“I… wouldn’t say that.” Nameless walked over to the twisted section of memory made from the reborn Nameless. “You wondered if I made this Nameless because I was unable to let Nameless go? That’s part of it. But a part is not the whole.”

Nameless reached out a grabbed a memory, the root of the twisted clump. “I made this because I need someone like Nameless, who will intervene when needed. None of my current characters have the right combination of traits to fill the role that is needed. Subversion has power, but she’s not heroic enough to step up at the moment. Unintelligible is more than heroic enough, but he doesn’t have the power to replace Nameless. You have the power, with Endings, and the skill, but not the will to act. Since my hands were tied, I made that sphere as a last resort. If I had another option…”

Moni narrowed her eyes. “What are you implying?”

Nameless smiled. “I think you know. I need someone who can fight when necessary, intervene to keep the Thread on the right track. If I had such a person, there would be no need for that ‘monster’ to exist.”

Moni glared. “You want me to be your personal assassin? You know I won’t do that.”

Nameless shook his head. “Death is merely one kind of ending. When you understand that, you’ll be ready for what is to come. Farewell, Moni. For your sake, don’t try this again.”

He snapped his fingers, and Moni’s vision went black.

 

3 hours ago, xinoehp512 said:

Nogard seemed to be more or less fine, just shaken from having been carried by Plot-Beast claw for a considerable distance.

The brave adventurers helped him to his feet.

3 hours ago, xinoehp512 said:

"Of course," Onyx replied.

The Dreamsmith nodded "The identity of the two Plotblades will be revealed very soon, and they must be protected. My request is this: Use the power of Lore to ensure that the Blades cannot be gained in any way except by aligning with their intent."

1 hour ago, Immortal Platypus said:

"Uh huh. The Narrator that can manipulate time didn't have time to react? Pardon if I'm skeptical. Anyway, are you headed to be with Nogard, or do you want to go on a quest? I figure having a Narrator wouldn't hurt, and Hacob is busy with the Brave Adventurers and his volcano."

Subversion shrugged. "Does it have to do with those Plotblades?"

1 hour ago, Immortal Platypus said:

Uh huh. A computer glitch. Would a computer glitch be able to do this? The keyboard picked itself up and moved out of the adventurer's hands.

The adventurer pulled out a hammer and smashed the keyboard, then smashed the computer as well. He quickly walked over to the intercom (installed post-Nowhere) and made a base-wide announcement. "All right everyone, I'm announcing a base-wide activation of the terminator policy. There is no need for alarm, please follow protocol in an orderly fashion."

2 hours ago, Immortal Platypus said:

Hacob walked up. "Sorry, that's my bad. Stupid rabbits wanted to eat me and I figured if the Brave Adventurers had taken over one of my bases, I would still be allowed to use the defense system." He snapped, and the lava stopped flowing and the ground stopped shaking. Blood dripped out of a Narrationblade-shaped hole in his back, but he didn't seem to notice.

The Brave Adventurer frowned at him. "Are you certain you're quite alright?"

[xinoehp512 he/him]

17 minutes ago, SpiritOfWrath said:

the Casts (the opposite of the Strands)  are used to speed up time.

The Strands resisted this. They were incompressible, and did not give ground.

In the meanwhile, Strands dug under the floor, turning fully black as they dug into the crystal. They attempted to go under the barrier.

In their current state? Hhhhmmmm

The chains conformed to the shape of the power, locking it in place.

In the real world, the power to the tendrils was abruptly cut off.

There, said the doctor. It has been contained. For now.

[Immortal Platypus]

8 minutes ago, NameIess said:

Context for this post (from page 2659 if you're curious)

  Hide contents

Moni tumbled through a doorway and fell flat onto her face, breathing  heavily and resisting the urge to claw her eyeballs from their sockets.

She stood warily, shaking sand from her cloak as she examined her new surroundings. She appeared to be in a room of a style that was vaguely recognizable, but there was a certain dreamlike, uncertain quality to everything that she'd grown quite familiar with during her recent travels.

There were two shapes in the room. One could only be described as darkness, a shadow of purest evil. The darkness dominated the room and threatened to destroy the other shape, a swirling mass of chaos wielding a blade made of hatred. Moni got the feeling that the battle here was important, and that the second shape didn't have much of a chance on its own. As she watched, a door that hadn't been there a moment ago slammed open, and something entered with dramatic flair.

Well, "something" was perhaps an improper descriptor. It appeared that multiple somethings came through the door, each layered on top of one another, none completely real. As Moni squinted, vague impressions entered her mind from some of the more distinct shadows. Out of them all, two shapes stood out: The shape that seemed most solid was that of a reluctant heroine, and the least solid but for some reason most distinct to Moni's eyes implied a triumphant return transformed to horror.

Moni smiled in satisfaction as the second shape faded entirely. Glad to see I've done some good at least. She started walking to the door that the shapes had entered through, renewed purpose coursing through her veins.

Moni, you're not going to get anywhere like this. 

Moni froze momentarily, hand going to the sword that hung sheathed at her side. Then she forced herself to relax and kept walking. "You think I don't know that? I've been wandering around in here for... weeks? Months? And I still can't find where I'm going."

Time matters even less here than it does in TLT proper. You know that. You could wander around here for centuries and not find the place you seek.

Moni snorted. "You're bluffing. You'll want me to do something sooner or later, and if I refuse to do anything else until you give me what I want, you'll eventually have no choice but to just that."

I could force you to give up this quest

"Really? You would do that?" Moni reached the doorway she'd been walking towards, only for it to slam shut in her face. "I guess you could, but if you where going to do that, you wouldn't bother talking to me. You'd just have made me give up quietly."

I suppose you're right. So what do you want exactly?

"I want you to get rid of that monster you created." Moni tried the doorknob, only for it to fall off in her hands. "How could you make something so outwardly similar to Nameless, and yet so utterly wrong?"

For the good of the story.

"It will ruin his legacy! What he didn't manage to ruin himself, anyways." Moni shoved fruitlessly at the now-doorknobless door, trying to force it open. "I saw the worst of Nameless. But other people saw a better side of him. And at the end... after he gave up his powers... well, I guess I realize now that what you did to him was about as bad as what he did to me. He was more of a hero than he'd ever been, at the end."

Yes, I quite liked his development at the end.

Moni punched the door with enough force to send cracks through the sturdy wood. "And how did you repay that positive character growth? you killed Nameless, left him helpless against an enemy far more powerful than he is. And after he's dead, you made a face that looked like him, only you took every ounce of goodness out of it, removed every trace of heroism, wiped away every redeeming factor that he had, and you replaced it with nothing but pure arrogance, insecurity, hatred, and evil." She punched the door again, then again, ignoring the blood dripping from her knuckles. "You killed him, then spat on his legacy. No one else seems to care, or maybe they just haven't noticed yet, but either way I'm not going to just sit still and watch you destroy what little good name Nameless has left."

So you break into my mind to "kill" the memory? Remove the idea for that sphere in your pocket? You know that's impossible.

Moni glared at the door. "I don't care what's possible, I care what's right. You're the one who wanted me to care about stuff like this. So either tell me how to get into your memories or open this door and leave me in peace."

I'm impressed that you manage to enter so deeply into my imagination, but leaving it to enter my memories is simply not possible. You are stuck in my imagination, as you always have been. I'll leave you to your wandering now. Goodbye.

"I..." Moni cocked her head. "I've always been in your imagination?"

True to her Author's word, no voice answered.

Moni considered. "But that doesn't help. My past self is in your memory, but my past self can't do anything about that fact, because I wasn't in your memory when I decided what I'd do." Moni's thoughts were interrupted as an indistinct something passed through her on its way to slam into the door it had entered through. Moni blinked, realizing that the room she hadn't yet left was filled with a hundred theoretical battles, barely cognizant ideas of which only the themes were even slightly comprehensible.

"This... hasn't happened yet, has it? You imagine things that are in the future? So in the past you imagined me, wandering your imagination just like I am, meaning that I am in your imagination and in yo-"

There was a sound like a ripping cloth, and the room around Moni shattered. She was now standing in a hallway lined with doorways. Some doors were open, other closed, some covered in dust from disuse, while others were chained shut yet still straining to force themselves open.

Hesitantly, Moni began walking down the hallway. As she did, flickers of memory burst out from some of the doors, painting a picture of a life she'd never thought she'd know. A mostly uneventful life with a loving family. not an exciting life perhaps, but not a bad one either. Moni would have preferred her own life to be similarly boring, but she doubted her Author would ever allow it.

She kept going, drawn by a sense of Plot and a faint desire to avoid making her Author share too much personal information on the internet. Eventually, she reached what she felt she'd been looking for. A door that glowed with the light of imagination, a door that Moni knew on sight.

Moni opened the door and revealed the truth.

The post that needed context (spoiled for length)

  Hide contents

Moni stepped through the doorway and into the memory of Nameless.

The room glowed with the light of thousands of posts, each a part of the constellation of memory that made up Nameless’ existence, connected by lines made of an Author’s imagination. The whole of it made up a confusing web that narrowed to tiny strands impossible to comprehend. But, when looked at as a whole, an impression emerged.

In that moment, Moni understood.

Comfort. That was what Nameless represented to her Author. He was a character that could always be relied upon, one whose reactions were easy to gauge, and perhaps most importantly, one who was familiar. He’d existed in TLT almost as long as her Author had, for thousands upon thousands of posts.

Is this why he made that monster? Because he couldn’t bear to give up Nameless completely?

Moni overcame her initial shock and walked further into the room.

Can’t become distracted. He’ll take any opportunity to stop me.

Moni scanned the room quickly, searching through the endless sea of lights for her goal.

There. One group of lights was sectioned off from the others, a small, twisted clump that glowed a sinister shade, like a cancerous tumor that  Moni strode up to it, took a deep breath, and drew her sword.

Then, hands trembling, Moni slashed the Blade of Endings through the warped cluster of memory. A wall of light slammed into her, throwing her back against the wall of the room and knocking the breath from her lungs.

Even as that happened, the memories she’d disconnected began tearing themselves apart with a terrible, indescribable noise. The sound of an idea being ripped from the mind that birthed it. The loose threads spun and waved, spilling drops of light like blood onto the floor.

Moni shielded her eyes against the light, wincing as the noise grew louder and louder, forcing her left hand to move into her pocket and take out the sphere there. That sphere was fading, not tearing apart like its memory, but slowly disappearing.

The terrible sound reached a crescendo, the light grew so bright that Moni could see nothing at all, the weight in her hand vanished, and then all was still.

Moni opened her eyes, blinking as her vision slowly returned. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and her legs were too weak to hold her. Breathing rapidly, she looked up to see the results of her attack.

The twisted clump of memory floated where it had before, the same as it had been when she’d walked into the room.

Moni’s eyes widened, but before she could further react, a calm voice spoke from a one side of the room.

“I’m sorry, Moni, but that won’t work.”

Moni turned her head and saw her Author, Nameless standing with his arms folded.

“How?” Moni looked from the undamaged memory to her Author. “I cut it with Endings for Ado’s sake! A Plotblade! How can you stop that?”

Nameless shrugged. “I’m an Author. I made Endings and helped to formalize the process for making Plotblades in the first place. They’re nothing to me and can do nothing to me unless I allow it.”

Moni forced herself to her feet, picking Endings up off the ground where she’d fallen. “So that’s it? I have no choice other than to let that monster roam free?”

“I… wouldn’t say that.” Nameless walked over to the twisted section of memory made from the reborn Nameless. “You wondered if I made this Nameless because I was unable to let Nameless go? That’s part of it. But a part is not the whole.”

Nameless reached out a grabbed a memory, the root of the twisted clump. “I made this because I need someone like Nameless, who will intervene when needed. None of my current characters have the right combination of traits to fill the role that is needed. Subversion has power, but she’s not heroic enough to step up at the moment. Unintelligible is more than heroic enough, but he doesn’t have the power to replace Nameless. You have the power, with Endings, and the skill, but not the will to act. Since my hands were tied, I made that sphere as a last resort. If I had another option…”

Moni narrowed her eyes. “What are you implying?”

Nameless smiled. “I think you know. I need someone who can fight when necessary, intervene to keep the Thread on the right track. If I had such a person, there would be no need for that ‘monster’ to exist.”

Moni glared. “You want me to be your personal assassin? You know I won’t do that.”

Nameless shook his head. “Death is merely one kind of ending. When you understand that, you’ll be ready for what is to come. Farewell, Moni. For your sake, don’t try this again.”

He snapped his fingers, and Moni’s vision went black.

Subversion shrugged. "Does it have to do with those Plotblades?"

what were those posts context for? For me or Xino?

8 minutes ago, NameIess said:

Subversion shrugged. "Does it have to do with those Plotblades?"

"Yes. I don't trust the search parties of brave adventurers not to get swayed by their incredible power. I don't trust either of us either, but I have some plans in my back pocket."

Quote

The adventurer pulled out a hammer and smashed the keyboard, then smashed the computer as well. He quickly walked over to the intercom (installed post-Nowhere) and made a base-wide announcement. "All right everyone, I'm announcing a base-wide activation of the terminator policy. There is no need for alarm, please follow protocol in an orderly fashion."

The Brave Adventurer frowned at him. "Are you certain you're quite alright?"

Hacob made the first part cut out. Just for funsies. All that was audible was "please follow protocol in an orderly fashion."

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

Edited November 13, 2024 by Immortal Platypus

[xinoehp512 he/him]

7 minutes ago, NameIess said:

Context for this post (from page 2659 if you're curious)

  Reveal hidden contents

Moni tumbled through a doorway and fell flat onto her face, breathing  heavily and resisting the urge to claw her eyeballs from their sockets.

She stood warily, shaking sand from her cloak as she examined her new surroundings. She appeared to be in a room of a style that was vaguely recognizable, but there was a certain dreamlike, uncertain quality to everything that she'd grown quite familiar with during her recent travels.

There were two shapes in the room. One could only be described as darkness, a shadow of purest evil. The darkness dominated the room and threatened to destroy the other shape, a swirling mass of chaos wielding a blade made of hatred. Moni got the feeling that the battle here was important, and that the second shape didn't have much of a chance on its own. As she watched, a door that hadn't been there a moment ago slammed open, and something entered with dramatic flair.

Well, "something" was perhaps an improper descriptor. It appeared that multiple somethings came through the door, each layered on top of one another, none completely real. As Moni squinted, vague impressions entered her mind from some of the more distinct shadows. Out of them all, two shapes stood out: The shape that seemed most solid was that of a reluctant heroine, and the least solid but for some reason most distinct to Moni's eyes implied a triumphant return transformed to horror.

Moni smiled in satisfaction as the second shape faded entirely. Glad to see I've done some good at least. She started walking to the door that the shapes had entered through, renewed purpose coursing through her veins.

Moni, you're not going to get anywhere like this. 

Moni froze momentarily, hand going to the sword that hung sheathed at her side. Then she forced herself to relax and kept walking. "You think I don't know that? I've been wandering around in here for... weeks? Months? And I still can't find where I'm going."

Time matters even less here than it does in TLT proper. You know that. You could wander around here for centuries and not find the place you seek.

Moni snorted. "You're bluffing. You'll want me to do something sooner or later, and if I refuse to do anything else until you give me what I want, you'll eventually have no choice but to just that."

I could force you to give up this quest

"Really? You would do that?" Moni reached the doorway she'd been walking towards, only for it to slam shut in her face. "I guess you could, but if you where going to do that, you wouldn't bother talking to me. You'd just have made me give up quietly."

I suppose you're right. So what do you want exactly?

"I want you to get rid of that monster you created." Moni tried the doorknob, only for it to fall off in her hands. "How could you make something so outwardly similar to Nameless, and yet so utterly wrong?"

For the good of the story.

"It will ruin his legacy! What he didn't manage to ruin himself, anyways." Moni shoved fruitlessly at the now-doorknobless door, trying to force it open. "I saw the worst of Nameless. But other people saw a better side of him. And at the end... after he gave up his powers... well, I guess I realize now that what you did to him was about as bad as what he did to me. He was more of a hero than he'd ever been, at the end."

Yes, I quite liked his development at the end.

Moni punched the door with enough force to send cracks through the sturdy wood. "And how did you repay that positive character growth? you killed Nameless, left him helpless against an enemy far more powerful than he is. And after he's dead, you made a face that looked like him, only you took every ounce of goodness out of it, removed every trace of heroism, wiped away every redeeming factor that he had, and you replaced it with nothing but pure arrogance, insecurity, hatred, and evil." She punched the door again, then again, ignoring the blood dripping from her knuckles. "You killed him, then spat on his legacy. No one else seems to care, or maybe they just haven't noticed yet, but either way I'm not going to just sit still and watch you destroy what little good name Nameless has left."

So you break into my mind to "kill" the memory? Remove the idea for that sphere in your pocket? You know that's impossible.

Moni glared at the door. "I don't care what's possible, I care what's right. You're the one who wanted me to care about stuff like this. So either tell me how to get into your memories or open this door and leave me in peace."

I'm impressed that you manage to enter so deeply into my imagination, but leaving it to enter my memories is simply not possible. You are stuck in my imagination, as you always have been. I'll leave you to your wandering now. Goodbye.

"I..." Moni cocked her head. "I've always been in your imagination?"

True to her Author's word, no voice answered.

Moni considered. "But that doesn't help. My past self is in your memory, but my past self can't do anything about that fact, because I wasn't in your memory when I decided what I'd do." Moni's thoughts were interrupted as an indistinct something passed through her on its way to slam into the door it had entered through. Moni blinked, realizing that the room she hadn't yet left was filled with a hundred theoretical battles, barely cognizant ideas of which only the themes were even slightly comprehensible.

"This... hasn't happened yet, has it? You imagine things that are in the future? So in the past you imagined me, wandering your imagination just like I am, meaning that I am in your imagination and in yo-"

There was a sound like a ripping cloth, and the room around Moni shattered. She was now standing in a hallway lined with doorways. Some doors were open, other closed, some covered in dust from disuse, while others were chained shut yet still straining to force themselves open.

Hesitantly, Moni began walking down the hallway. As she did, flickers of memory burst out from some of the doors, painting a picture of a life she'd never thought she'd know. A mostly uneventful life with a loving family. not an exciting life perhaps, but not a bad one either. Moni would have preferred her own life to be similarly boring, but she doubted her Author would ever allow it.

She kept going, drawn by a sense of Plot and a faint desire to avoid making her Author share too much personal information on the internet. Eventually, she reached what she felt she'd been looking for. A door that glowed with the light of imagination, a door that Moni knew on sight.

Moni opened the door and revealed the truth.

The post that needed context (spoiled for length)

  Reveal hidden contents

Moni stepped through the doorway and into the memory of Nameless.

The room glowed with the light of thousands of posts, each a part of the constellation of memory that made up Nameless’ existence, connected by lines made of an Author’s imagination. The whole of it made up a confusing web that narrowed to tiny strands impossible to comprehend. But, when looked at as a whole, an impression emerged.

In that moment, Moni understood.

Comfort. That was what Nameless represented to her Author. He was a character that could always be relied upon, one whose reactions were easy to gauge, and perhaps most importantly, one who was familiar. He’d existed in TLT almost as long as her Author had, for thousands upon thousands of posts.

Is this why he made that monster? Because he couldn’t bear to give up Nameless completely?

Moni overcame her initial shock and walked further into the room.

Can’t become distracted. He’ll take any opportunity to stop me.

Moni scanned the room quickly, searching through the endless sea of lights for her goal.

There. One group of lights was sectioned off from the others, a small, twisted clump that glowed a sinister shade, like a cancerous tumor that  Moni strode up to it, took a deep breath, and drew her sword.

Then, hands trembling, Moni slashed the Blade of Endings through the warped cluster of memory. A wall of light slammed into her, throwing her back against the wall of the room and knocking the breath from her lungs.

Even as that happened, the memories she’d disconnected began tearing themselves apart with a terrible, indescribable noise. The sound of an idea being ripped from the mind that birthed it. The loose threads spun and waved, spilling drops of light like blood onto the floor.

Moni shielded her eyes against the light, wincing as the noise grew louder and louder, forcing her left hand to move into her pocket and take out the sphere there. That sphere was fading, not tearing apart like its memory, but slowly disappearing.

The terrible sound reached a crescendo, the light grew so bright that Moni could see nothing at all, the weight in her hand vanished, and then all was still.

Moni opened her eyes, blinking as her vision slowly returned. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and her legs were too weak to hold her. Breathing rapidly, she looked up to see the results of her attack.

The twisted clump of memory floated where it had before, the same as it had been when she’d walked into the room.

Moni’s eyes widened, but before she could further react, a calm voice spoke from a one side of the room.

“I’m sorry, Moni, but that won’t work.”

Moni turned her head and saw her Author, Nameless standing with his arms folded.

“How?” Moni looked from the undamaged memory to her Author. “I cut it with Endings for Ado’s sake! A Plotblade! How can you stop that?”

Nameless shrugged. “I’m an Author. I made Endings and helped to formalize the process for making Plotblades in the first place. They’re nothing to me and can do nothing to me unless I allow it.”

Moni forced herself to her feet, picking Endings up off the ground where she’d fallen. “So that’s it? I have no choice other than to let that monster roam free?”

“I… wouldn’t say that.” Nameless walked over to the twisted section of memory made from the reborn Nameless. “You wondered if I made this Nameless because I was unable to let Nameless go? That’s part of it. But a part is not the whole.”

Nameless reached out a grabbed a memory, the root of the twisted clump. “I made this because I need someone like Nameless, who will intervene when needed. None of my current characters have the right combination of traits to fill the role that is needed. Subversion has power, but she’s not heroic enough to step up at the moment. Unintelligible is more than heroic enough, but he doesn’t have the power to replace Nameless. You have the power, with Endings, and the skill, but not the will to act. Since my hands were tied, I made that sphere as a last resort. If I had another option…”

Moni narrowed her eyes. “What are you implying?”

Nameless smiled. “I think you know. I need someone who can fight when necessary, intervene to keep the Thread on the right track. If I had such a person, there would be no need for that ‘monster’ to exist.”

Moni glared. “You want me to be your personal assassin? You know I won’t do that.”

Nameless shook his head. “Death is merely one kind of ending. When you understand that, you’ll be ready for what is to come. Farewell, Moni. For your sake, don’t try this again.”

He snapped his fingers, and Moni’s vision went black.

 

The brave adventurers helped him to his feet.

 

Nogard winced. "Where are we? What's going on?"

7 minutes ago, NameIess said:

The Dreamsmith nodded "The identity of the two Plotblades will be revealed very soon, and they must be protected. My request is this: Use the power of Lore to ensure that the Blades cannot be gained in any way except by aligning with their intent."

 

"Reasonable enough."

Onyx extended his hand, and Lore coalesced within it.

"So it is," he said. And so it was.

7 minutes ago, NameIess said:

Subversion shrugged. "Does it have to do with those Plotblades?"

The adventurer pulled out a hammer and smashed the keyboard, then smashed the computer as well. He quickly walked over to the intercom (installed post-Nowhere) and made a base-wide announcement. "All right everyone, I'm announcing a base-wide activation of the terminator policy. There is no need for alarm, please follow protocol in an orderly fashion."

The Brave Adventurer frowned at him. "Are you certain you're quite alright?"

 

[Through the Living Shadow he/him]

2 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

The chains conformed to the shape of the power, locking it in place.

In the real world, the power to the tendrils was abruptly cut off.

There, said the doctor. It has been contained. For now.

It shan't like that.

When it gets free, of course...

I like the "for now" there

Tenth looked at the man. Thank you. What is next?

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

12 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

Cricket looked down. "It's... complicated. During the fight, when the withergeists tried to bond us, I discovered something. My soul was merged with that of an Enuller, and always has been, since the beginning. He's scared and terrified and I want to help him. When I spoke to the Enuller who came for me, he gave me two options: Unmerge our souls, which could kill both of us, or go train with them. I asked for twenty-four hours before they returned. Hopefully  we manage to be so far they lose my scent by then."

. . . Huh. Merged? And how do you know? Are you two separate people still, or one person?

[TwinStorm He/Him]

Just now, Through The Living Glass said:

. . . Huh. Merged? And how do you know? Are you two separate people still, or one person?

"One person. He...he told me he was there during the attack and...it all snapped together, fragments of memories, I can't explain it. We are one. That is part of the reason we cannot be separated is because there is not enough left of either of us to survive on our own. He... doesn't speak much, he's terrified. But he's me and I won't let anything happen to him. And I'm not becoming an Enuller."

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

Just now, TwinStorm said:

"One person. He...he told me he was there during the attack and...it all snapped together, fragments of memories, I can't explain it. We are one. That is part of the reason we cannot be separated is because there is not enough left of either of us to survive on our own. He... doesn't speak much, he's terrified. But he's me and I won't let anything happen to him. And I'm not becoming an Enuller."

He told you? So you're two people . . . I don't understand. And how did he talk to you?

[TwinStorm He/Him]

1 minute ago, Through The Living Glass said:

He told you? So you're two people . . . I don't understand. And how did he talk to you?

"He's fused onto my soul. Everything about him was absorbed into me, except a small fraction of his soul, which lets him speak as a voice in my head. It's confusing I know."

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

2 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

"He's fused onto my soul. Everything about him was absorbed into me, except a small fraction of his soul, which lets him speak as a voice in my head. It's confusing I know."

Wild. Why now?

[NameIess]

33 minutes ago, Immortal Platypus said:

what were those posts context for? For me or Xino?

First post was a Moni post that I'd made a long time ago, second post was one that I've been working on since then and only now finished.

34 minutes ago, Immortal Platypus said:

"Yes. I don't trust the search parties of brave adventurers not to get swayed by their incredible power. I don't trust either of us either, but I have some plans in my back pocket."

"Sure. I'll help out." I hope those plans of yours are effective.

38 minutes ago, Immortal Platypus said:

Hacob made the first part cut out. Just for funsies. All that was audible was "please follow protocol in an orderly fashion."

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

Conveniently, this was the important part of the secret protocol code, so brave adventurers immediately began smashing every computer-related thing in sight with wild abandon.

"You have a small hole in your chest." The Brave Adventurer looked mildly queasy. "Does it not... hurt?"

39 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

Nogard winced. "Where are we? What's going on?"

"You are in the care of the Brave Adventurers. Do not worry, we will not harm yo-" A perfectly normal person standing next to Nogard suddenly collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

The General and the Brave Adventurer froze, staring at the now-not very normal person. "Impossible." Breathed the Brave Adventurer. "You?"

43 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

"Reasonable enough."

Onyx extended his hand, and Lore coalesced within it.

"So it is," he said. And so it was.

The Dreamsmith breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, my friend. I owe you a deep debt for this. If there is ever anything I can do for you, simply ask. And if you ever need company, feel free to visit me. I can give you a map that will be mostly accurate.""

[xinoehp512 he/him]

Just now, NameIess said:

First post was a Moni post that I'd made a long time ago, second post was one that I've been working on since then and only now finished.

"Sure. I'll help out." I hope those plans of yours are effective.

Conveniently, this was the important part of the secret protocol code, so brave adventurers immediately began smashing every computer-related thing in sight with wild abandon.

"You have a small hole in your chest." The Brave Adventurer looked mildly queasy. "Does it not... hurt?"

"You are in the care of the Brave Adventurers. Do not worry, we will not harm yo-" A perfectly normal person standing next to Nogard suddenly collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

The General and the Brave Adventurer froze, staring at the now-not very normal person. "Impossible." Breathed the Brave Adventurer. "You?"

 

Nogard also stared at the new person, still not entirely sure what was going on.

Just now, NameIess said:

The Dreamsmith breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, my friend. I owe you a deep debt for this. If there is ever anything I can do for you, simply ask. And if you ever need company, feel free to visit me. I can give you a map that will be mostly accurate.""

"Thank you for the offer... though I fear I dare not leave this castle."

[TwinStorm He/Him]

22 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

Wild. Why now?

“The attack on my soul awoken him from some sort of slumber. He was…triggered by the danger.”

 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

Just now, TwinStorm said:

“The attack on my soul awoken him from some sort of slumber. He was…triggered by the danger.”

 

An attack on your soul? He shuddered. Who did that? Sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions today.

[TwinStorm He/Him]

1 minute ago, Through The Living Glass said:

An attack on your soul? He shuddered. Who did that? Sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions today.

“You’re fine,” sighed Cricket, “I’m still asking questions myself. The withergeists tried to bond me, to take control. My other half awoke and drove them out.

[NameIess]

1 minute ago, xinoehp512 said:

Nogard also stared at the new person, still not entirely sure what was going on.

... coughed weakly. "What is... going on? My normalcy... has never been this sporadic before."

The Brave Adventurer backed away, fear covering his face. The General stared at ... with thoughtfulness, and spoke first. "So. You're still alive after all. Are you part of the Great Wizard's conspiracy?"

4 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

"Thank you for the offer... though I fear I dare not leave this castle."

"Well then, I'll visit you!" The Dreamsmith smiled creakily. "Although I'm afraid my visits won't be very long." He held up a hand that had begun to turn into mist. "I'd hoped I'd last longer. Perhaps Omen will be able to stabilize me somewhat. I'll ask him about it."

[xinoehp512 he/him]

1 minute ago, NameIess said:

... coughed weakly. "What is... going on? My normalcy... has never been this sporadic before."

The Brave Adventurer backed away, fear covering his face. The General stared at ... with thoughtfulness, and spoke first. "So. You're still alive after all. Are you part of the Great Wizard's conspiracy?"

 

Nogard's brow creased. "Don't I... know you?"

"Master!" cried Selppaenip. "Are you well?"

1 minute ago, NameIess said:

"Well then, I'll visit you!" The Dreamsmith smiled creakily. "Although I'm afraid my visits won't be very long." He held up a hand that had begun to turn into mist. "I'd hoped I'd last longer. Perhaps Omen will be able to stabilize me somewhat. I'll ask him about it."

"Yes... you are dead, are you not?"

[Immortal Platypus]

12 minutes ago, NameIess said:

First post was a Moni post that I'd made a long time ago, second post was one that I've been working on since then and only now finished.

Ah, that makes sense.

Quote

"Sure. I'll help out." I hope those plans of yours are effective.

"Alright. Do you have any idea where to start? Your Author is the one that is primarily leading this plot."

Quote

Conveniently, this was the important part of the secret protocol code, so brave adventurers immediately began smashing every computer-related thing in sight with wild abandon.

Much to their chagrin, the computer-related things refused to be smashed back, and instead started smashing the brave adventurers.

Quote

"You have a small hole in your chest." The Brave Adventurer looked mildly queasy. "Does it not... hurt?"

Hacob looked down. "So I do. And now that you mention it... nope, still doesn't hurt. I'm quite surprised. Normally after something like that gets pointed out, it starts hurting a lot more."

Quote

"You are in the care of the Brave Adventurers. Do not worry, we will not harm yo-" A perfectly normal person standing next to Nogard suddenly collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

The General and the Brave Adventurer froze, staring at the now-not very normal person. "Impossible." Breathed the Brave Adventurer. "You?"

"I feel like I should know you."

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

7 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

“You’re fine,” sighed Cricket, “I’m still asking questions myself. The withergeists tried to bond me, to take control. My other half awoke and drove them out.

That sounds useful.

He began coughing again.

[TwinStorm He/Him]

Just now, Through The Living Glass said:

That sounds useful.

Cricket shrugged. “I still have practically no control over them. It was pure luck I managed to Enull that man enough to kill him. My old master Reden, he used to say, never use something that you don’t know what it does.”

[xinoehp512 he/him]

36 minutes ago, SpiritOfWrath said:

It shan't like that.

When it gets free, of course...

I like the "for now" there

Tenth looked at the man. Thank you. What is next?

You have a choice, said the man simply. Either you can have your enulling abilities excised, or you can accept our tutelage and be trained in their usage.

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Far away...

---

 

John knelt side by side with his fellow new acolytes. They knelt in a half circle around a raised dais in front of a throne, upon which a figure in dark robes sat impassively. On the dais was a floating black spirit- the withergeist that had recruited them.

"Master Charnyx," it was saying. "If you would just give me one more chance-"

The figure- Charnyx- cut him off with a raised palm.

"You," he said, "are a fool."

The withergeist sputtered. "I... I simply sought the return of our Lord..."

"You think it has not been tried?" Charnyx's face was hidden beneath the darkness of the robe, but his eyes burned black. "You think that we have not exhausted every avenue available to us to call forth the Darkest One? You have failed, Sizix. You were meant to claim new servants in secret, not broadcast your goals to any Ennuller and Narrator who cared to listen." He shook his head, raising his hand and conjuring images of black ink in the air. John recognized them- they were the 'heroes' that had defeated Sizix's host and scattered their forces. One in particular stood out to him- a young woman with a fierce expression. 

I wonder if we will meet again? he thought idly.

"You have failed," repeated Charnyx with a wave of his hand. "Leave. I have no further use for you."

Sizix let out a cry as an invisible force struck him and carried him away. The dark-robed man sighed, gazing over the pictures he had conjured from ink. "Will you be wise," he muttered to himself, "and stay out of matters you have no business in...? Somehow, I doubt it."

John's eyes followed, taking in each portrait. Remarkable. Each person was rendered in fine detail- he must have received their likenesses from the many withergeists that had accompanied Sizix. Those that had survived, at least. They had captured every single one-

All of a sudden, John frowned. "Where is he?" he said to himself. Then he froze. Had he said that out loud?

Charnyx's burning gaze turned to him. John felt a chill in his bones. "Where," said the dark-robed figure, "is who?"

"The last member of the party," John replied. No use being coy now. "Another Narrator. Brown hair, brown eyes, very gaudily dressed. You have everyone else, but not him."

The black eyes stared at John for several long moments, a gaze that felt like it pierced him to his very soul. Who knew? Perhaps it did. He resisted the urge to fidget.

"You speak the truth," murmured Charnyx. He didn't sound angry, which was a relief. No, he sounded... bewildered? "Bacon the Bard. Of all places for you to appear." He leaned back in his chair. "Now this... this is a revelation indeed." A broad smile spread across his face, barely visible in the shadow of his hood. "Perhaps poor Sizix has managed to do something useful after all..."