The Longest Thread (Misadventures)

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

16 minutes ago, NameIess said:

“Of course I want this!” The convenient person laughed. “If you give me those tattoos, I’ll be able to take revenge on that horrible monster of a Narrator that doomed my entire family to eternal torment!”

Bat stared. 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

58 minutes ago, NameIess said:

“Of course I want this!” The convenient person laughed. “If you give me those tattoos, I’ll be able to take revenge on that horrible monster of a Narrator that doomed my entire family to eternal torment!”

Tam was extremely concerned by this.

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 hour ago, Halcyon The Only said:

Bat fidgeted. “It still feels wrong.”

“It does. But there aren’t other options; benefiting from someone else’s quasi-mind control and/or blackmail is the best we can do.” He destroys the paper, splitting the molecules up so he can Narratively screen out the Nullite. “Shall we begin?” 

1 hour ago, NameIess said:

“Of course I want this!” The convenient person laughed. “If you give me those tattoos, I’ll be able to take revenge on that horrible monster of a Narrator that doomed my entire family to eternal torment!”

Rebus furrows his brow. “I’ll assist you. It’s been forever since a true Narrator duel, and this one seems bad, in several respects.” 

[NameIess]

9 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus furrows his brow. “I’ll assist you. It’s been forever since a true Narrator duel, and this one seems bad, in several respects.” 

“Excellent! So you’ll give me the tattoos?”

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

20 minutes ago, NameIess said:

“Excellent! So you’ll give me the tattoos?”

Rebus nods curtly, a bit distracted. "I will, though Bat needs to give me the ink first. Actually, I'll go along with it, and if Bat refuses to give me the ink, none of this will have happened." Rebus's utility fog sweeps towards and permeates the convenient person. It brings the ink with it, and bonds it to the convenient person's cells on a molecular level, lacing cell membranes and proteins with the Nullite. The skin-level protections would fade from exfoliation, but the process was incredibly thorough. 

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

31 minutes ago, NameIess said:

“Excellent! So you’ll give me the tattoos?”

 

4 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus nods curtly, a bit distracted. "I will, though Bat needs to give me the ink first. Actually, I'll go along with it, and if Bat refuses to give me the ink, none of this will have happened." Rebus's utility fog sweeps towards and permeates the convenient person. It brings the ink with it, and bonds it to the convenient person's cells on a molecular level, lacing cell membranes and proteins with the Nullite. The skin-level protections would fade from exfoliation, but the process was incredibly thorough. 

Bat didn’t like this. It disturbed him. 

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 minute ago, Halcyon The Only said:

 

Bat didn’t like this. It disturbed him. 

All that's visible is Nullite ink being lifted out of the bottle and dispersing into the air, eventually only visible as a slight darkness. The fog itself is also barely visible, catching beams of light like dust. The Convenient Person's skin looks a bit darker, but nowhere near the level of the tattoos. Using the edges of the paper experiment, Rebus has figured out the most diffuse distribution that still blocks Narration. 

 @NameIess

[NameIess]

40 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

All that's visible is Nullite ink being lifted out of the bottle and dispersing into the air, eventually only visible as a slight darkness. The fog itself is also barely visible, catching beams of light like dust. The Convenient Person's skin looks a bit darker, but nowhere near the level of the tattoos. Using the edges of the paper experiment, Rebus has figured out the most diffuse distribution that still blocks Narration. 

 @NameIess

The convenient person opens his mouth and screams without sound.

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 minute ago, NameIess said:

The convenient person opens his mouth and screams without sound.

Rebus looks alarmed. "That shouldn't hurt - what did I do wrong?" A ring of screens appears around him, and he troubleshoots, stopping the utility fog but leaving it where it was. He mutters to himself, wondering. "The Nullite? Maybe... The fog? It shouldn't do anything - just move through pores. Of course! The Author doesn't know that." Shutting down all but one screen, he leaves the Nullite in place, but prepares nanomachines to remove it. "Let's give it a second; it'll retcon, probably. We'll likely want a new control, if this one happens to be a disguised Narrator or mostly a Narrative construct. I don't want Bat in pain, but if my Author retcons, this could be useful." 

[NameIess]

1 hour ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus looks alarmed. "That shouldn't hurt - what did I do wrong?" A ring of screens appears around him, and he troubleshoots, stopping the utility fog but leaving it where it was. He mutters to himself, wondering. "The Nullite? Maybe... The fog? It shouldn't do anything - just move through pores. Of course! The Author doesn't know that." Shutting down all but one screen, he leaves the Nullite in place, but prepares nanomachines to remove it. "Let's give it a second; it'll retcon, probably. We'll likely want a new control, if this one happens to be a disguised Narrator or mostly a Narrative construct. I don't want Bat in pain, but if my Author retcons, this could be useful." 

The convenient person screamed Silently until his lungs gave out, then slumped to the ground.

Edited January 1, 2025 by NameIess

[TwinStorm He/Him]

6 hours ago, Through The Living Glass said:

But you don't know that you're the hero . . . she said softly.

I'm not saying you're a bad person- you're not, but you can't just assume that, Cricket.

. . . Hopefully that's nothing.

But even if I’m not the hero, am I the monster…. or, something else? he said softly.

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

19 minutes ago, Ookla the Irreplaceable said:

But even if I’m not the hero, am I the monster…. or, something else? he said softly.

. . . I don't know, Cricket. I honestly don't know.

[TwinStorm He/Him]

2 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

. . . I don't know, Cricket. I honestly don't know.

No. he said quietly, suddenly. Whatever I am, I won’t be the monster. I’ll be the hero, or as close to it as I can get.

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Ookla the Irreplaceable said:

No. he said quietly, suddenly. Whatever I am, I won’t be the monster. I’ll be the hero, or as close to it as I can get.

That's . . . comforting, actually. Thank you, Cricket.

She really hoped he would stick by that.

[NameIess]

11 minutes ago, Ookla the Irreplaceable said:

No. he said quietly, suddenly. Whatever I am, I won’t be the monster. I’ll be the hero, or as close to it as I can get.

Again Cricket felt as if someone was watching him, stronger than before.

[TwinStorm He/Him]

1 hour ago, Through The Living Glass said:

That's . . . comforting, actually. Thank you, Cricket.

She really hoped he would stick by that.

He nodded. Alright, I… I need some time to think about all of this mess… process it… you know, it’s just so much.

He swore he would try his hardest to keep his promise. 

1 hour ago, NameIess said:

Again Cricket felt as if someone was watching him, stronger than before.

“Storm off.” he muttered.

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

8 hours ago, NameIess said:

The convenient person screamed Silently until his lungs gave out, then slumped to the ground.

Rebus grits his teeth. “Capital letters. It is the Nullite after all - he’s a broken Ennuller now.” The screens pop up again, and the nanomachines tear the Nullite back out, then put the convenient person’s body back the way it had been. 

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

23 hours ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus nods. “Was it more vibrant, then? Was there more Authors, more characters, plots and activity that didn’t stall?” 

Ryss nods. “You could barely keep track of it all.”

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 minute ago, Ancient Elantrian said:

Ryss nods. “You could barely keep track of it all.”

Rebus smiles. “That sounds perfect.”

[NameIess]

2 hours ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus grits his teeth. “Capital letters. It is the Nullite after all - he’s a broken Ennuller now.” The screens pop up again, and the nanomachines tear the Nullite back out, then put the convenient person’s body back the way it had been. 

Unfortunately, Rebus’s screens lose contact with the nanomachines before they can remove the Nullite. The convenient person stands up slowly, wavering on his feet. He looks down at his hands in shock, then looks at Rebus. His mouth moves as if he is speaking, but still no sound comes out.

Edited January 1, 2025 by NameIess

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

6 minutes ago, NameIess said:

Unfortunately, Rebus’s screens lose contact with the nanomachines before they can remove the Nullite. The convenient person stands up slowly, wavering on his feet. He looks down at his hands in shock, then looks at Rebus. His mouth moves as if he is speaking, but still no sound comes out.

Rebus blinks. “You’re an Ennuller now, I think. You just cut off my ansible connection, which is impossible. Congratulations!” Just in case, he sets up several precautions if the man Ennulled something important. “You’re supposed to speak in reverse. Remove sound at different rates, so what’s left over is your voice.” 

[NameIess]

5 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus blinks. “You’re an Ennuller now, I think. You just cut off my ansible connection, which is impossible. Congratulations!” Just in case, he sets up several precautions if the man Ennulled something important. “You’re supposed to speak in reverse. Remove sound at different rates, so what’s left over is your voice.” 

The man gives up his attempt to speak with no voice. He mimes writing something.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

17 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus blinks. “You’re an Ennuller now, I think. You just cut off my ansible connection, which is impossible. Congratulations!” Just in case, he sets up several precautions if the man Ennulled something important. “You’re supposed to speak in reverse. Remove sound at different rates, so what’s left over is your voice.” 

I thought it would just make him immune to narration or smth 

Bat was now extremely disturbed. Was he an Ennuller of some kind?

For some reason, that felt like one of the worst things he could possibly be. 

Edited January 1, 2025 by Halcyon The Only

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

36 minutes ago, NameIess said:

The man gives up his attempt to speak with no voice. He mimes writing something.

Rebus constructs another piece of paper, and a pencil. He hands them to the man. 

25 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

I thought it would just make him immune to narration or smth 

Bat was now extremely disturbed. Was he an Ennuller of some kind?

For some reason, that felt like one of the worst things he could possibly be. 

Well, Rebus did molecularly bond it to his cells, which was perhaps not the best decision. 

"I believe he did become an Ennuller. But it isn't all bad. He should have the power to save his family, and I didn't give you Ennuller powers, which I imagine you would not want." 

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

2 hours ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus smiles. “That sounds perfect.”

“How will you… well… bring it back?”