The Longest Thread (Misadventures)

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

Just now, Through The Living Glass said:

"I guess . . . but I offered to make him some . . ."

"To be quite blunt," Rose said, "He needed some time to process that he doesn't know you anymore." 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Halcyon The Only said:

"To be quite blunt," Rose said, "He needed some time to process that he doesn't know you anymore." 

"But I'm still the same person . . . still me. What are you talking about?"

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

Just now, Through The Living Glass said:

"But I'm still the same person . . . still me. What are you talking about?"

"Nah. You're you from ten years ago. Not the you Bat knows. You don't even hate me anymore. Not that I'm complaining." She ate another bite of beef. "Don't worry. I'm sure this was the absolute best option to deal with your trauma, and that you considered every effect this might have on your psyche and abilities and over all you-ness. I'm positive of that. After all, it's not like power can be abused or misused or anything. That would be absolutely ridiculous." 

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

20 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

"Nah. You're you from ten years ago. Not the you Bat knows. You don't even hate me anymore. Not that I'm complaining." She ate another bite of beef. "Don't worry. I'm sure this was the absolute best option to deal with your trauma, and that you considered every effect this might have on your psyche and abilities and over all you-ness. I'm positive of that. After all, it's not like power can be abused or misused or anything. That would be absolutely ridiculous." 

Tam sighed. "Look, I hear what you're saying, and outwardly it might seem that simple, but . . . have you considered my side of all this?"

"Imagine . . . you were trapped for ten years, like I was. Imagine your life was threatened every other hour and you didn't know how long you were going to live, and you didn't know what had happened to your brother -the only person you cared about- and your captor never offered details or and information about why you were even there. Imagine . . . imagine you never thought you would get free again, or be able to go home- to be happy . . .

"And then, one day, he shows up with a whole bunch of people gathered to rescue you, and you find out he spent those ten years trying to figure out how to get you back . . . and then you get to be free, and you feel like the future is bright, and for a while you get to go on all sorts of fun adventures, and you meet new people and find new friends and get to learn and grow and after all that time you finally get to be happy-" her voice broke.

"And then . . . someone more powerful shows up. They threaten everyone you care about and they try to kill them and they make you powerless to do anything, because anytime you're reminded of your captivity you just-" tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, "-your head stops working right and before you know it people have gotten hurt . . ."

She went silent for a moment and picked at her salad.

"If you . . . could protect them, wouldn't you? If it meant sacrificing your sense of self to preserve the people you care about . . . could you really blame me?"

Edited January 18, 2025 by Through The Living Glass

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

4 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

Tam sighed. "Look, I hear what you're saying, and outwardly it might seem that simple, but . . . have you considered my side of all this?"

"Imagine . . . you were trapped for ten years, like I was. Imagine your life was threatened every other hour and you didn't know how long you were going to live, and you didn't know what had happened to your brother -the only person you cared about- and your captor never offered details or and information about why you were even there. Imagine . . . imagine you never thought you would get free again, or be able to go home- to be happy . . .

"And then, one day, he shows up with a whole bunch of people gathered to rescue you, and you find out he spent those ten years trying to figure out how to get you back . . . and then you get to be free, and you feel like the future is bright, and for a while you get to go on all sorts of fun adventures, and you meet new people and find new friends and get to learn and grow and after all that time you finally get to be happy-" her voice broke.

"And then . . . someone more powerful shows up. They threaten everyone you care about and they try to kill them and they make you powerless to do anything, because anytime you're reminded of your captivity you just-" tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, "-your head stops working right and before you know it people have gotten hurt . . ."

She went silent for a moment and picked at her salad.

"If you . . . could protect them, wouldn't you? If it meant sacrificing your sense of self to preserve the people you care about . . . could you really blame me?"

“I’m not saying I blame you.” She shrugged. “Liked said, I’m sure you’ve thought this through and considered all the trade- offs. I just think it’s kinda sad that you’ll never reach your potential.”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“I’m not saying I blame you.” She shrugged. “Liked said, I’m sure you’ve thought this through and considered all the trade- offs. I just think it’s kinda sad that you’ll never reach your potential.”

Tam glared at her. "What do you mean?"

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

Just now, Through The Living Glass said:

Tam glared at her. "What do you mean?"

“In all the books, the characters are never their strongest until they move past everything that hurts them. Not by turning back the clock.” She shrugged. “But maybe it’s different for Narrators.”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“In all the books, the characters are never their strongest until they move past everything that hurts them. Not by turning back the clock.” She shrugged. “But maybe it’s different for Narrators.”

"I'm not . . . turning back the clock like you say- I just can't help them while all that is still a part of me."

Edited January 18, 2025 by Through The Living Glass

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

3 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

"I'm not . . . turning back the clock like you say- I just can't help them while all that is still a part of me."

“What is it then? You’re suppressing a big part of yourself.”

[NameIess]

12 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

"I'm not . . . turning back the clock like you say- I just can't help them while all that is still a part of me."

 

8 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“What is it then? You’re suppressing a big part of yourself.”

“For the record,” Malevolence chimed in. “I think suppressing your bad memories was a great idea.”

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

5 minutes ago, NameIess said:

 

“For the record,” Malevolence chimed in. “I think suppressing your bad memories was a great idea.”

“For yhe record, nobody trusts you. Except maybe Bat, but he’s kind of thick in the head.”

[NameIess]

48 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“For yhe record, nobody trusts you. Except maybe Bat, but he’s kind of thick in the head.”

“Just saying. It’s a wonderful plan.”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 hour ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“What is it then? You’re suppressing a big part of yourself.”

She shrugged. "I just . . . I'm not sure what else to do," she said quietly. "This seemed like the best option. The things I'm worried about won't go away . . ."

1 hour ago, NameIess said:

 

“For the record,” Malevolence chimed in. “I think suppressing your bad memories was a great idea.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

59 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“For yhe record, nobody trusts you. Except maybe Bat, but he’s kind of thick in the head.”

"No, he's not."

[Aeoryi she/her]

4 hours ago, Dragonheir said:

“I thank you for leading me here, as well. We truly are quite similar. It’s a pain we’re on opposite sides.” Rebus blows apart into a cloud of nanomachines, passing through the walls as well. Evidently, Desolation was unaware of some recent developments. Most relevantly the fact that Onyx had changed Plotblade bonding; only characters already attuned to a concept could bond its Plotblade. But of course, both he and Desolation likely could still bond several of the blades that might be in a mysterious vault. 

Desolation noted his presence. "So many Plotblades, hidden away in this place. Why?"

[NameIess]

42 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Can't I express my approval of your plan? Obviously it would be better for your long-term efficiency to be able to function with those experiences, but in this moment of crisis, you need to function. I've got a similar protocol for situations in which I become mentally compromised."

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

1 hour ago, NameIess said:

“Just saying. It’s a wonderful plan.”

“Mmhmm.”

1 hour ago, Through The Living Glass said:

She shrugged. "I just . . . I'm not sure what else to do," she said quietly. "This seemed like the best option. The things I'm worried about won't go away . . ."

"No, he's not."

“They’ll come back up eventually. What happens when you fight an Ennuller and it goes away?”

She folded her arms. “Is too.”

19 minutes ago, NameIess said:

"Can't I express my approval of your plan? Obviously it would be better for your long-term efficiency to be able to function with those experiences, but in this moment of crisis, you need to function. I've got a similar protocol for situations in which I become mentally compromised."

“I mean, if you wanna mess with yourself…”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 hour ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“They’ll come back up eventually. What happens when you fight an Ennuller and it goes away?”

She folded her arms. “Is too.”

"It won't, actually. This is more . . . permanent."

"Bat's not stupid, he's just more sensitive. There's nothing wrong with that . . ." She paused.

"I hope he's okay."

1 hour ago, NameIess said:

"Can't I express my approval of your plan? Obviously it would be better for your long-term efficiency to be able to function with those experiences, but in this moment of crisis, you need to function. I've got a similar protocol for situations in which I become mentally compromised."

She sighed. "Alright, fine. Thank you."

Edited January 19, 2025 by Through The Living Glass

[Through the Living Heir he/him]

1 hour ago, Aeoryi said:

Desolation noted his presence. "So many Plotblades, hidden away in this place. Why?"

"Plenty of reasons. They could be here to protect them, or here to protect others from them. They could be considered useless or unable to be used at the time, or stored here and forgotten about. They could be placed here as a test, or to be used in desperate times. The Lost Treasure Plotblade could have made some of them over time." While Rebus explains his hypotheses, he has clouds of nanomachines search the area and teleport Plotblades to his moon for safekeeping. He fully expects Desolation to be doing the same - it was only a matter of time before the cavern collapsed in a dramatic fashion or something. There were likely traps, but neither of them would be harmed much by destruction, so Rebus puts only minimal effort into disarming them. 

[NameIess]

6 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

"Plenty of reasons. They could be here to protect them, or here to protect others from them. They could be considered useless or unable to be used at the time, or stored here and forgotten about. They could be placed here as a test, or to be used in desperate times. The Lost Treasure Plotblade could have made some of them over time." While Rebus explains his hypotheses, he has clouds of nanomachines search the area and teleport Plotblades to his moon for safekeeping. He fully expects Desolation to be doing the same - it was only a matter of time before the cavern collapsed in a dramatic fashion or something. There were likely traps, but neither of them would be harmed much by destruction, so Rebus puts only minimal effort into disarming them. 

Little did Rebus know, a Treasure Plotblade had indeed made most of these Plotblades. Just not the Lost Treasure Plotblade.

59 minutes ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“Mmhmm.”

“They’ll come back up eventually. What happens when you fight an Ennuller and it goes away?”

She folded her arms. “Is too.”

“I mean, if you wanna mess with yourself…”

Malevolence's rabbit hopped over to Rose.

[Aeoryi she/her]

30 minutes ago, Dragonheir said:

"Plenty of reasons. They could be here to protect them, or here to protect others from them. They could be considered useless or unable to be used at the time, or stored here and forgotten about. They could be placed here as a test, or to be used in desperate times. The Lost Treasure Plotblade could have made some of them over time." While Rebus explains his hypotheses, he has clouds of nanomachines search the area and teleport Plotblades to his moon for safekeeping. He fully expects Desolation to be doing the same - it was only a matter of time before the cavern collapsed in a dramatic fashion or something. There were likely traps, but neither of them would be harmed much by destruction, so Rebus puts only minimal effort into disarming them. 

Desolation walked around in the room. It was perfectly cubical, and there were shelves like a library- but only for Plotblades. Most had a description, but many were missing. Included amongst these were Side Quest, Hero Journey, Fables. But Desolation found one Plotblade that caught his interest. One that caught the idea of TLT as a whole

He quietly picked up the blade and dissolved it into his essence, and then rejoined Rebus.

The Plotblade he took is called "Nonsense". I think it fits in fairly well.

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

3 hours ago, Through The Living Glass said:

"It won't, actually. This is more . . . permanent."

"Bat's not stupid, he's just more sensitive. There's nothing wrong with that . . ." She paused.

"I hope he's okay."

She sighed. "Alright, fine. Thank you."

“More permanent?”

”He’s prolly fine. He’s weirdly immune to the universe or something.”

2 hours ago, NameIess said:

Little did Rebus know, a Treasure Plotblade had indeed made most of these Plotblades. Just not the Lost Treasure Plotblade.

Malevolence's rabbit hopped over to Rose.

Rose sighed. “Are we really doing this again?” She asked nobody in particular. “Hello, rabbit.”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Halcyon The Only said:

“More permanent?”

”He’s prolly fine. He’s weirdly immune to the universe or something.”

"Huh. Okay. I hope he's fine . . . anyway, yeah. More permanent. There's a distinction you make when you Narrate something- whether you change it temporarily or permanently."

Yay you're here! Going to bed at 11 tho

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

8 minutes ago, Through The Living Glass said:

"Huh. Okay. I hope he's fine . . . anyway, yeah. More permanent. There's a distinction you make when you Narrate something- whether you change it temporarily or permanently."

Yay you're here! Going to bed at 11 tho

Rose scowled. “Wow. That’s really creepy.”

[Through The Living Glass She/They]

1 minute ago, Halcyon The Only said:

Rose scowled. “Wow. That’s really creepy.”

"Why? It's just how you intend it to be. If I summoned an apple-" she did so, and it landed in her hand, "-then it's permanent unless I decide to make it vanish. You couldn't Nullify this apple and make it disappear.

"If I changed it into, say, a rock-" the apple turned into a pebble, "-but with the intention of making it temporary, then it could be Nullified." She turned it back into an apple and took a bite.

"I think it's pretty cool."

[Bird Furious she/her/un/important]

Just now, Through The Living Glass said:

"Why? It's just how you intend it to be. If I summoned an apple-" she did so, and it landed in her hand, "-then it's permanent unless I decide to make it vanish. You couldn't Nullify this apple and make it disappear.

"If I changed it into, say, a rock-" the apple turned into a pebble, "-but with the intention of making it temporary, then it could be Nullified." She turned it back into an apple and took a bite.

"I think it's pretty cool."

“No, it’s creepy that you can just… change yourself like that. If you don’t have your own mind, and your own body, you don’t have anything.” She ran her hands down her bare arms and tattoos.