The Longest Thread (Misadventures)

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

3 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

“It might help,” he replied, fidgeting with the stopper. 

She shook her head.

"No. No, we'll find something else. Not this."

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

9 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

She shook her head.

"No. No, we'll find something else. Not this."

“Look around! There IS nothing else!”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Bird Furious said:

“Look around! There IS nothing else!”

"There has to be something else!" she argued.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

10 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

"There has to be something else!" she argued.

"Like what??"

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

2 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

"Like what??"

She threw her hands up in the air.

"I don't know- something!"

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 hour ago, Immortal Platypus said:

goodness I'm blind.  

yep. if it's to the core, it'll probably kill before it could be healed, but plenty of characters have been nicked and survived. I think Unintelligible is the most recent one.

alright then. Around the back of Eof's house was a Dark area. It exuded the same feeling of profound wrongness that the Darkalloy had. In the center was a slip of paper, pinned under a chunk of Nullite.

It think Sequence survived one at the last party, which may be more recent. And of course prosthetics are unaffected, so that’s Rebus’s plan. (I assume taking too many nicks will still kill you, no matter how unimportant the places they strike. In fact, at least with Rebus I will make this the case, or else killing him will be very frustrating indeed) 

Rebus sent the utility fog in and picked up the paper, scanning the message. (He also took the Nullite, for study, and left a nanotech ansible and a replicator in case he needed to come back) He’d practically forgotten about that last paper… 

1 hour ago, TwinStorm said:

Cricket glared at Rebus. "Come back later." he sighed. "I'm busy right now."

“I shall come back later, though it seems Rose wishes to speak with me. If you wish, I can facilitate parallel conversations so you two can continue.” 

1 hour ago, Bird Furious said:

“You’re not understanding me,” he sighed. “If nobody believes you’re a threat, you won’t claim Antagonist! Unless you do something instant and devastating. But it would have to be done perfectly, lest you be shouted down. I would encourage you to seek out Gail.”

She nudged a rock with her toe. “I’m thinking of removing my Thread awareness. Not permamently. Probably. But… for a while.”

“No, wait,” Rose said. “Rebus, can you give me— hypothetically— weird tattoos? That would do stuff?”

“I had thought you were watching Bat… Regardless, I am going do to two things you would likely approve of. That being said, I will not contact Gail at this time. If I do everything you say I’m not an Antagonist anymore, simply the Dragon.” 
The doorbell to the cabin rang, though anything that might allow Tam to notice was suppressed. 
“I have felt the urge to do that in the past. Even now, though I suspect I will lose sight of both my goal and my message.” Rebus looked pained. “You may have good reasons. You may not. I need to know them if I am to convince you, or be convinced myself. And if you do decide to, I can safeguard that piece of your mind for when you need it.” 
Rebus grinned. “That was, in fact, one of the things I wanted to speak to you two about. Was it part of your trial for some reason?” 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

7 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

The doorbell to the cabin rang, though anything that might allow Tam to notice was suppressed. 

hmmmmmmmmmm . . .

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

4 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

She threw her hands up in the air.

"I don't know- something!"

Bat kind of agreed with her. The memory of how it had felt made his stomach twist uncomfortably. But... but there wasn't another choice. 

He popped the cork and downed the contents, feeling the fire spread through his veins. He Shoved again, and the wall crumpled and fell into the hidden tunnel with a resounding BANG. 

Wow. He hadn't expected it to work that quickly. 

2 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

“I had thought you were watching Bat… Regardless, I am going do to two things you would likely approve of. That being said, I will not contact Gail at this time. If I do everything you say I’m not an Antagonist anymore, simply the Dragon.” 
The doorbell to the cabin rang, though anything that might allow Tam to notice was suppressed. 
“I have felt the urge to do that in the past. Even now, though I suspect I will lose sight of both my goal and my message.” Rebus looked pained. “You may have good reasons. You may not. I need to know them if I am to convince you, or be convinced myself. And if you do decide to, I can safeguard that piece of your mind for when you need it.” 
Rebus grinned. “That was, in fact, one of the things I wanted to speak to you two about. Was it part of your trial for some reason?” 

"I am an Author. I watch everyone. And I still think you should do something menacing." Xanther folded his arms and regarded Rebus with a look of disapproving superiority. 

Snow, a little boy around five or so, answered the door.

She looked down at her hands, letting the silence stretch for several moments. "I don't know who I am," she said softly. "I worry I'm nothing but a shadow of you. Maybe if I were a character, and if I knew pain, I could be... something else, at least." 

Rose nodded. "Yeah."

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

3 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

Bat kind of agreed with her. The memory of how it had felt made his stomach twist uncomfortably. But... but there wasn't another choice. 

He popped the cork and downed the contents, feeling the fire spread through his veins. He Shoved again, and the wall crumpled and fell into the hidden tunnel with a resounding BANG. 

Wow. He hadn't expected it to work that quickly. 

"NO!"

She tried to grab it from him, but it was too late by that point.

She jumped when the door fell.

"DANGIT, BAT!"

She grabbed the antidote out of his bag and shoved it into his hands.

"DRINK IT. NOW."

4 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

She looked down at her hands, letting the silence stretch for several moments. "I don't know who I am," she said softly. "I worry I'm nothing but a shadow of you. Maybe if I were a character, and if I knew pain, I could be... something else, at least." 

aw . . .

Edited May 1, 2025 by Through The Living Glass

[TwinStorm He/Him]

1 hour ago, Bird Furious said:

It was, in fact, the same drug thingie that he’d used to get away from the thing they’d run into that time he dropped his compass. I don’t reme OH GUYS OH CHAT I FINALLY REMEMBERED WHATIT EAS CALLED OH BEAUTIFUL GLORIOIS DAY it was called Adenol. 

“You’re not understanding me,” he sighed. “If nobody believes you’re a threat, you won’t claim Antagonist! Unless you do something instant and devastating. But it would have to be done perfectly, lest you be shouted down. I would encourage you to seek out Gail.”

She nudged a rock with her toe. “I’m thinking of removing my Thread awareness. Not permamently. Probably. But… for a while.”

“No, wait,” Rose said. “Rebus, can you give me— hypothetically— weird tattoos? That would do stuff?”

"You want your tattoos back? Why?"

13 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

It think Sequence survived one at the last party, which may be more recent. And of course prosthetics are unaffected, so that’s Rebus’s plan. (I assume taking too many nicks will still kill you, no matter how unimportant the places they strike. In fact, at least with Rebus I will make this the case, or else killing him will be very frustrating indeed) 

Rebus sent the utility fog in and picked up the paper, scanning the message. (He also took the Nullite, for study, and left a nanotech ansible and a replicator in case he needed to come back) He’d practically forgotten about that last paper… 

“I shall come back later, though it seems Rose wishes to speak with me. If you wish, I can facilitate parallel conversations so you two can continue.” 

“I had thought you were watching Bat… Regardless, I am going do to two things you would likely approve of. That being said, I will not contact Gail at this time. If I do everything you say I’m not an Antagonist anymore, simply the Dragon.” 
The doorbell to the cabin rang, though anything that might allow Tam to notice was suppressed. 
“I have felt the urge to do that in the past. Even now, though I suspect I will lose sight of both my goal and my message.” Rebus looked pained. “You may have good reasons. You may not. I need to know them if I am to convince you, or be convinced myself. And if you do decide to, I can safeguard that piece of your mind for when you need it.” 
Rebus grinned. “That was, in fact, one of the things I wanted to speak to you two about. Was it part of your trial for some reason?” 

He shrugged. "Alright."

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

10 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

"NO!"

She tried to grab it from him, but it was too late by that point.

She jumped when the door fell.

"DANGIT, BAT!"

She grabbed the antidote out of his bag and shoved it into his hands.

"DRINK IT. NOW."

aw . . .

He clutched the antidote. "Not yet. I might need it. I have eight minutes; come on!" He ran for the tunnel. 

8 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

"You want your tattoos back? Why?"

He shrugged. "Alright."

"Not my old ones, exactly." 

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

4 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

hmmmmmmmmmm . . .

 Tam briefly got goosebumps, just because. 

4 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

"I am an Author. I watch everyone. And I still think you should do something menacing." Xanther folded his arms and regarded Rebus with a look of disapproving superiority. 

Snow, a little boy around five or so, answered the door.

She looked down at her hands, letting the silence stretch for several moments. "I don't know who I am," she said softly. "I worry I'm nothing but a shadow of you. Maybe if I were a character, and if I knew pain, I could be... something else, at least." 

Rose nodded. "Yeah."

Rebus grinned viciously. “Ominous is so much better than menacing…” 

On the doorstep was a little grey cylinder, with small ridges in patterns. It looked like the ones his dad had be making… 

“I know who you are. You’re Symbol. You may be a reflection, but you are not a shadow. You’re like me, but you’re also different - and that’s what I like about you. You’re gaining quirks and behaviors, even history, without any need for taking away your knowledge. You’re already feeling pain - pain that is my fault, in a way - and you’re removing it because it hurts. I don’t want you to be someone else, I want you to be you! But if you want to change, I’ll let you. I’ll help you, and I may even come with you.” Rebus gave a sad smile. 
See below for Rose. 

7 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

"You want your tattoos back? Why?"

He shrugged. "Alright."

Rebus separated time so they could have several parallel conversations. “Well, my idea I wanted to talk about is a special ops team dedicated to saving the Thread from any threat to it as a whole. I have a lot of technology, and I can give it out and provide training, both with my technology and any power members already have. After that, the members would be able to do with their new equipment and skills as the see fit - even fight against me if they wanted to - but in the case of a true threat, they’d be obligated to assist. I’ve already corresponded with the Ennullers as a freelance group, and I thought that you two would be excellent for a test group - perhaps five in all.” 

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

2 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

 Tam briefly got goosebumps, just because. 

Rebus grinned viciously. “Ominous is so much better than menacing…” 

On the doorstep was a little grey cylinder, with small ridges in patterns. It looked like the ones his dad had be making… 

“I know who you are. You’re Symbol. You may be a reflection, but you are not a shadow. You’re like me, but you’re also different - and that’s what I like about you. You’re gaining quirks and behaviors, even history, without any need for taking away your knowledge. You’re already feeling pain - pain that is my fault, in a way - and you’re removing it because it hurts. I don’t want you to be someone else, I want you to be you! But if you want to change, I’ll let you. I’ll help you, and I may even come with you.” Rebus gave a sad smile. 
See below for Rose. 

Rebus separated time so they could have several parallel conversations. “Well, my idea I wanted to talk about is a special ops team dedicated to saving the Thread from any threat to it as a whole. I have a lot of technology, and I can give it out and provide training, both with my technology and any power members already have. After that, the members would be able to do with their new equipment and skills as the see fit - even fight against me if they wanted to - but in the case of a true threat, they’d be obligated to assist. I’ve already corresponded with the Ennullers as a freelance group, and I thought that you two would be excellent for a test group - perhaps five in all.” 

"But you can't even manage that," Xander yawned. 

Snow tilted his head, then sat on the step and picked it up. 

For clarification, did Rebus imitate the voice box his dad was trying to make? 

She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Stupid tears. Stupid emotions. Stupid everything. "No you wouldn't." 

Rose brightened. "That'd be cool! If a little science-fiction-y."

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

14 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

He clutched the antidote. "Not yet. I might need it. I have eight minutes; come on!" He ran for the tunnel. 

She growled.

A large slab of stone filled the entirety of the hallway ahead of him, blocking the entrance.

"No. Bat, we are not doing this again."

10 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

 Tam briefly got goosebumps, just because. 

She shivered.

Weird.

Edited May 1, 2025 by Through The Living Glass

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 minute ago, Bird Furious said:

"But you can't even manage that," Xander yawned. 

Snow tilted his head, then sat on the step and picked it up. 

For clarification, did Rebus imitate the voice box his dad was trying to make? 

She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Stupid tears. Stupid emotions. Stupid everything. "No you wouldn't." 

Rose brightened. "That'd be cool! If a little science-fiction-y."

Rebus raised an eyebrow. 
Not quite - this is one of the roller things that goes in it. 
“I would. Part of me would need to stay behind and protect us, but I would take away my Thread Awareness and come with you.” Rebus didn’t know what portion of his speech she was talking about, but it was all true. 
“Science-fiction-y would be my middle name, if it wasn’t already Honesty.” Rebus grinned. 

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

7 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

She growled.

A large slab of stone filled the entirety of the hallway ahead of him, blocking the entrance.

"No. Bat, we are not doing this again."

She shivered.

Weird.

Except... no slab appeared. Weird. 

So Bat kept running. 

4 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

Rebus raised an eyebrow. 
Not quite - this is one of the roller things that goes in it. 
“I would. Part of me would need to stay behind and protect us, but I would take away my Thread Awareness and come with you.” Rebus didn’t know what portion of his speech she was talking about, but it was all true. 
“Science-fiction-y would be my middle name, if it wasn’t already Honesty.” Rebus grinned. 

"You look like a pretender, my dear boy. I've noticed. Even if others haven't noticed, you're not on their minds in an ominous way. Hah! Face it. You've failed."

Ah, okay. Perfect. And very clever

Snow ran his fingers over the little grooves for a minute, then went back into the cabin. His father was away with his mother in a nearby village, so he looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention, then put the little cylinder in the machine and slowly wound it. 

Symbol wasn't certain what to think of that. "Why?" She asked softly. 

Rose rolled her eyes. 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

Just now, Bird Furious said:

Except... no slab appeared. Weird. 

So Bat kept running. 

What?

"BAT! NO, WAIT! PLEASE!"

She chased after him.

"WAIT!"

[Immortal Platypus]

2 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

Well, Shapers are like just... super powerful hyper shapeshifters that can extend to other things, not just themselves. Smokite is the Shaper's fundamental substance. And, yeah, Ive done a LOT of retcons. Like, A LOT. Also, shapers can create smokite at will. So it isn't as much of a matter of getting the luxite and mordite as figuring how they would combine. And the only way to create or use smokite is through shaping.

where does it come from? Even in TLT, conservation of matter still mostly exists. so they would still have to somehow alloy whatever the alloy ends up being. In addition, if it's a fundamental substance (or even an alloy of them), it will be possible to use without Shaping. It's kind of a part of the fundamental substances that they can be used.

51 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

It think Sequence survived one at the last party, which may be more recent. And of course prosthetics are unaffected, so that’s Rebus’s plan. (I assume taking too many nicks will still kill you, no matter how unimportant the places they strike. In fact, at least with Rebus I will make this the case, or else killing him will be very frustrating indeed) 

Rebus sent the utility fog in and picked up the paper, scanning the message. (He also took the Nullite, for study, and left a nanotech ansible and a replicator in case he needed to come back) He’d practically forgotten about that last paper… 

I don't remember if that was Mordite. I don't think it was. It had a lot of similar qualities and symptoms, but I got the impression it was different. Also, in theory, you should be able to survive the same number of nicks from Mordite as something else, they just won't heal, making you more likely to succumb to blood loss. It could, however, corrupt you and make you more like a Withergeist.

The note was a short read. It simply said "In the event that this goes wrong, talk to Hacob."

Edited May 1, 2025 by Immortal Platypus

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

Just now, Immortal Platypus said:

where does it come from? Even in TLT, conservation of matter still mostly exists. so they would still have to somehow alloy whatever the alloy ends up being. 

I don't remember if that was Mordite. I don't think it was. It had a lot of similar qualities and symptoms, but I got the impression it was different. Also, in theory, you should be able to survive the same number of nicks from Mordite as something else, they just won't heal, making you more likely to succumb to blood loss. It could, however, corrupt you and make you more like a Withergeist.

The note was a short read. It simply said "In the event that this goes wrong, talk to Hacob."

Well, shapers can kinda just manipulate the atoms of substances to make them other substances.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

7 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

What?

"BAT! NO, WAIT! PLEASE!"

She chased after him.

"WAIT!"

He slowed to let her catch up, but kept his bag away from her. 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

2 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

He slowed to let her catch up, but kept his bag away from her. 

wait are there Nullifying fields here

Like would she have run into one

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

2 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

wait are there Nullifying fields here

Like would she have run into one

she wouldn't have physically run into one but yes, there is a nullifying field so she would lose her disguise and such 

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

17 minutes ago, Bird Furious said:

"You look like a pretender, my dear boy. I've noticed. Even if others haven't noticed, you're not on their minds in an ominous way. Hah! Face it. You've failed."

Ah, okay. Perfect. And very clever

Snow ran his fingers over the little grooves for a minute, then went back into the cabin. His father was away with his mother in a nearby village, so he looked around to make sure nobody was paying attention, then put the little cylinder in the machine and slowly wound it. 

Symbol wasn't certain what to think of that. "Why?" She asked softly. 

Rose rolled her eyes. 

“I do pretend. Even I barely know whether I’m a good person or a bad person underneath. And the only way for me to truly fail is to die.” 

The grooves had more give than the ones his father made, almost as though they might move around. When he let the cylinder run, in a mostly comprehensible chord it said “Mr. Whitlock?”, then seized up. 
“Because you’re the only person who understands me and hasn’t tried to betray me. That count for so much.” 
“It’s true. Narrators usually get to pick their names, so I decided to make a joke about Abstract’s effects on me.” 

13 minutes ago, Immortal Platypus said:

I don't remember if that was Mordite. I don't think it was. It had a lot of similar qualities and symptoms, but I got the impression it was different. Also, in theory, you should be able to survive the same number of nicks from Mordite as something else, they just won't heal, making you more likely to succumb to blood loss. It could, however, corrupt you and make you more like a Withergeist.

The note was a short read. It simply said "In the event that this goes wrong, talk to Hacob."

Yeah, it was Inversion, but a witch doctor (if I recall) said it had the same effects as Mordite. 
Yup, except Rebus doesn’t bleed. Him ending up as a Fallen, though, is quite honestly an alarming prospect, given the fact that he can unleash grey goo (or worse, controlled self-replicating nanomachines that also build weapons). 
That was useful, though it would be much more so if Hacob wasn’t missing. 

Edited May 1, 2025 by Dragonheir
Not comprehensive, comprehensible

[Immortal Platypus]

15 minutes ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

Well, shapers can kinda just manipulate the atoms of substances to make them other substances.

for some things, sure. I don't they could do that for any of the Essences.

2 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

“I do pretend. Even I barely know whether I’m a good person or a bad person underneath. And the only way for me to truly fail is to die.” 

The grooves had more give than the ones his father made, almost as though they might move around. When he let the cylinder run, in a mostly comprehensible chord it said “Mr. Whitlock?”, then seized up. 
“Because you’re the only person who understands me and hasn’t tried to betray me. That count for so much.” 
“It’s true. Narrators usually get to pick their names, so I decided to make a joke about Abstract’s effects on me.” 

Yeah, it was Inversion, but a witch doctor (if I recall) said it had the same effects as Mordite. 
Yup, except Rebus doesn’t bleed. Him ending up as a Fallen, though, is quite honestly an alarming prospect, given the fact that he can unleash grey goo (or worse, controlled self-replicating nanomachines that also build weapons). 
That was useful, though it would be much more so if Hacob wasn’t missing. 

Well, as long as the right people work together, I'm confident he could be contained.

It was probably a coincidence. wink wink  

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

Just now, Immortal Platypus said:

for some things, sure. I don't they could do that for any of the Essences.

Well, as long as the right people work together, I'm confident he could be contained.

It was probably a coincidence. wink wink  

They can with their own.