the fellowship of the thing The Fellowship of the Thing - I'm bored. Let's mess around! (Retired)

[Nathrangking he/him]

On 4/21/2021 at 0:09 AM, Nathrangking said:

Amusement creeps into the voices that fill the air. "You are most observant prince without a kingdom. However, you are also foolish if you think that Nathrangking was here on a mission of peace. Did you think that the abomination that we erased from existence was an accident? Admit the truth and then leave this place."

I allow a slight look of indignation to appear on my face. However, my voice remains steady. I rise and turn my backs on the voices. "The truth is this. She has crossed many lines that I would see her answer for. Conflict with her is almost inevitable if destroying her was what needed to be done then I would what I had to in order to see it done. I curse your silence. What I must do is on your heads."

"Come now Doctor. What we must do next to rescue Vapor cannot be done here."  I walk over to Jefferey and place my hand on his shoulder the dimension begins to twist and warp. In an instant I am gone from this place. A tear slides down my cheek.

I am thrown from one plane of existence to another in a flash. The frustration and anger that propel me build to a crescendo only to shatter into jagged fragments moments later. That single tear trickles down my face and I cannot banish it. Focusing on the connection that I have with Fadran. A roar rips from my throat as I fly along the mental link. Silence envelopes me as I appear before Fadran. There is something wrong to the air. Slight fatigue sets in though I fight back against it. 

[Random Bystander she/her]

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Hey @EchoOfThePlanes! 

My character would look strange from the cognitive realm (being a savant does that to a person). She's currently sleeping in a tree, so she's out of the picture for now, but I thought that might be important for you to know in the future.

 

[Quivil]

18 hours ago, Random Bystander said:

 

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Yay! She got to sleep!

 

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

21 hours ago, Random Bystander said:

Hey @EchoOfThePlanes! 

My character would look strange from the cognitive realm (being a savant does that to a person). She's currently sleeping in a tree, so she's out of the picture for now, but I thought that might be important for you to know in the future.

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Thanks! That will indeed be useful to know. Which Investing Art is your character a savant of?

 

[Random Bystander she/her]

Just now, EchoOfThePlanes said:

 

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Soulcasting. She has patches of aluminum on her skin.

 

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

Just now, Random Bystander said:

Soulcasting. She has patches of aluminum on her skin.

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Oh! That's very interesting! She uses a fabrial, correct?

 

[Random Bystander she/her]

Just now, EchoOfThePlanes said:

 

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Yeah. It's just barely starting, and the patches can only be found on her left hand at the moment.

 

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

On 5/3/2021 at 7:58 AM, Random Bystander said:

Yeah. It's just barely starting, and the patches can only be found on her left hand at the moment.

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Gotcha, that makes sense. An aluminum savant will be very interesting to see in roleplay... Wait! I actually have some information about aluminum savantism!

On 5/1/2021 at 11:08 PM, Nathrangking said:

I am thrown from one plane of existence to another in a flash. The frustration and anger that propel me build to a crescendo only to shatter into jagged fragments moments later. That single tear trickles down my face and I cannot banish it. Focusing on the connection that I have with Fadran. A roar rips from my throat as I fly along the mental link. Silence envelopes me as I appear before Fadran. There is something wrong to the air. Slight fatigue sets in though I fight back against it.

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One, I love that description! It reminds me of a lot of classic psionics. Two, that travel was facilitated by an active mental link, correct? That's how I understood it, at least.

 

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@xinoehp512

So, I should probably explain that Remembrance is aware of all three planes in the Cosmere. Its senses actually extend onto the Spiritual Plane, as well as whichever other plane it is focused on. At first, it was trapped on the Cognitive Plane (there is actually is a reason for that, so if anyone wants to know just ask ), and even though it was aware of the Physical Plane, it could not be aware of what was occuring on said plane, nor could it exist on said plane. Up until Fadran Bonded it to the Physical Plane, of course! Remembrance's senses are more mental and spiritual, to be completely honest, and it replicates physical senses using its own powers. Though... it's not a perfect replication. The Connections it has been making to the other characters allow it to communicate and understand a lot more efficiently.

 

Edited May 4, 2021 by EchoOfThePlanes

[Nathrangking he/him]

9 hours ago, EchoOfThePlanes said:

One, I love that description! It reminds me of a lot of classic psionics. Two, that travel was facilitated by an active mental link, correct? That's how I understood it, at least.

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In part. The link allowed Nath to travel to his precise location. Dimesional travel from a Mindscape to the material world is something that he can do without the assistance of a mental link.

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Nathrangking

[xinoehp512 he/him]

You begin to see something in the growing space of white, increasing in size as if moving towards you.

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

14 hours ago, Nathrangking said:

In part. The link allowed Nath to travel to his precise location. Dimesional travel from a Mindscape to the material world is something that he can do without the assistance of a mental link.

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Ahhh, I see. So it is more like a telepathically anchored psychoportation. Cool!

 

42 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

You begin to see something in the growing space of white, increasing in size as if moving towards you.

Remembrance, now coexisting between the Cognitive and Physical Planes, swivels around, gazing at the approaching entity.

There is... something in the light. Within the bubble.

Remembrance slides closer to the bubble, hesitantly coming to rest next to the "surface" of the bubble. As the bubble increases, Remembrance slithers back, keeping pace with its enlargement.

Edited May 4, 2021 by EchoOfThePlanes

[Channelknight Fadran]

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btw, Queen and I are working on a post via google docs because she can't be on the Shard super often. Just letting y'all know.

 

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

2 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

btw, Queen and I are working on a post via google docs because she can't be on the Shard super often. Just letting y'all know.

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Thanks for telling us. I'm excited to see the post! 

 

[Channelknight Fadran]

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Here it is! I'm putting it in a spoiler because it is LONG. Also SAP WARNING: the name of the doc for this is literally "Birthdate." It's Fadran and Queen having a little mini birthday party for him (yes, this was supposed to be posted almost a week ago. No, I don't care). If you don't like super sappy love scenes, then feel free to not read this!

Also one more warning: this was written in a post-by-post format but will take place as one post, so if you're ever confused by the third-person-omniscient... then that's why.

 

Spoiler

Fadran concluded his business in the tent, arranging the table and lighting the candles with his fire Arcana. After checking to make sure that everything looked nice, he stepped out of the tent, careful to close the flap behind him.
From there, he went to find Queen.

It was Fadran’s birthday and Queen didn’t have anything to give him. This was an issue. To be fair, he probably didn’t even know that she knew his birthday, she’d just remembered it from when she had gotten a glance of his mind. But she still wanted to give him something.

“Hey! Queen!” Fadran waved over to her. “Do you have a minute?”

Queen looked up. “I always have time for you!”

He might’ve blushed a little bit. “Mind, uhh…” He gestured awkwardly at the tent.

“Of course!” Queen linked her arm with his. “Lead the way.”

He led her into the tent, gesturing (once again awkwardly) at the two small cupcakes he’d set out. “Tada.”

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Queen:

Cupcakes?? That’s adorable.

Queen didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. “What’s this for?”

“I… well…” Fadran pulled out a chair for her and sat down at the other end of the table; if you could call it that. It looked more like a stool flipped upside-down. “Today’s my birthday.”

Queen sat down. “Believe it or not, I know.”

“I thought you might.” He passed her a steaming cup of hot cocoa. “With everything going on right now, I didn’t want to tell anybody else. But I figured that I should do something.”

“If you hadn’t done something, I would have. There’s no way in this world--or, well, any world--that I would let you spend your birthday without doing something special.”

“Well… I mean, I made these,” Fadran gestured at the cupcakes. “I didn’t know what flavor to do, so I went with chocolate. Does that work for you?”

“Chocolate always works.”

Fadran smiled. “Well, I didn’t exactly have a plan. So…” He raised his cup of cocoa over the table. “To me, I guess? Are you allowed to toast yourself?”

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Me (Fadran):

Also, Fadran-made hot cocoa is, like, god-tier

“You, being you, can obviously toast yourself.” Queen lifted her cocoa and clinked her mug against his. “To you!”

Fadran chuckled and took a sip of his cocoa. His eyes were on the table; comprehending and uneasy.

Queen followed suit. As soon as she tasted the cocoa, her eyes widened. “This is…otherworldly. Wait. No. We switch worlds all the time. Otherworldly is no longer a big deal. Otherdimensionly? Nope, that’s still not a big deal.” Queen couldn’t think of a word strong enough to describe it. “It’s really, really good.” She finished lamely.

He laughed again. “It’s an art I’ve chosen to perfect. If there was an Ero of hot cocoa to Bond in the Iconar Collective, I would’ve found him. But nope; Icona decided to make me a Channelknight instead.” He sipped his cup again. “On the bright side, that meant that I got to learn the lore of the universe and get multiverse-hopping, which in turn led me to running into the Fellowship. All that lead up to this moment right now where,” he tapped his mug, “I can reminisce about how much cooler it would’ve been to be a Channelknight for the god of hot cocoa. With you.”

“Would being a Channelknight of hot cocoa make you even better at making hot cocoa? I feel like that would be impossible.”

“In theory, yeah.” Fadran set his mug down. “But… who really knows?” He began tapping the table like he always did when he got nervous.

Fadran’s tapping didn’t escape Queen’s notice, but she decided not to comment on it. “Are we allowed to eat the cupcakes now? They look really good.”

“Absolutely.” Fadran relit one of the candles that had gone out. “Do you want to make a wish with me?”

“But it’s your birthday. I shouldn’t help you make your wish. It’s yours.”

“It’s my birthday and I’d like to share it with you.”

Queen smiled. “Alright.”

Fadran reached his hand across the table, lightly cupping hers. He quietly begun to hum the traditional Ivinan birthday song.

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Me:

I can’t decide if Ivinan’s birthday song is a million times better than ours or somehow a million times worse

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Not me (Queen):

Have you written it?

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Fadran:

Heck no

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Queen:

*Literally a trillion years later*:

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Fadran:

Kay I’ve decided that it’s exactly the same as Earth’s. My reasoning for this is that the birthday song is an inevitable point of evolution for any intelligent species. The same reasoning applies for why cats are in the Iconar Collective

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Queen:

So...it’s not a million times better or a million times worse?

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Fadran:

Nope

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Queen:

Queen began singing along, taking hold of his hand.

Finishing the song, he closed his eyes and thought to himself; thinking of a wish to make with Queen.

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Queen:

Why am I picturing this as a seance?

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Fadran:

Because that’s totally what it looks like

He opened his eyes. “Okay. Blow it out on three?”

“One.”

He leaned forwards, “two.”

Queen smiled, taking in the moment. “Three.”

Fadran blew out a puff of air, flickering the flame before putting it out entirely. A wisp of smoke curled up into the air.

“Happy birthday, Fadran.”Fadran leaned farther and placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth; a little spot that dimpled whenever she smiled. He’d been a little infatuated with it recently for some reason.
After that, he leaned back and took a big bite out of the tiny cupcake.

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Queen:

Congrats, you have succeeded in killing me with adorableness. I have been rendered incapable of responding.

*Literally two trillion years later:*

Queen blushed, then, laughing, reached over and booped Fadran’s nose.

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Queen:

There. I responded.

Fadran smiled half sadly and began tapping the table again. He was playing piano without the keys again: this time Astral Observatory from Majora’s Mask.

Queen took notice of the sadness, somewhat confused. Had she done something wrong? For some reason, she had a hard time being bold with Fadran, so she tended to take the easy way out. The seriousness of the situation made her worry about seriously messing it up, so she always tried to turn it into a joke. She needed to stop that. If she couldn’t be serious with Fadran, who could she be serious with? 
She reached across the table, taking hold of Fadran’s hands, stopping the silent piano playing. “You mean the world to me. You are the world to me. Most people just need food, water, and air to survive. I absolutely need you, too. Life is really hard, for both of us, and I don’t think I could deal with it if I didn’t have you right by my side, helping me along. I love you infinitely.”
With that, Queen took her chance to return the kiss, holding it for longer than he had, trying to show him how much she loved being around him, no matter what the circumstances.

Fadran wondered if Queen could feel his hands shaking beneath hers. He closed his eyes, though no tears leaked out.
He wished they had.

Queen tightened her grip on Fadran’s hands. “What’s wrong?”

Fadran took a couple breaths. "I'm... scared. I don't know why all this is happening--here, of all places. The Fallen King and the Fenon Clan, both in once place. I make a possibility, run a simulation... each one's worse than the last."

Oh. That. “I want to say something like ‘we’re a team, we’ll figure it out as a group, we‘ve been through worse,’ but…honestly, I don’t think we have. I don’t know if we’ll be able to figure it out. But I also don’t know who could possibly deal with this sort of situation better than us.” Queen couldn’t come up with strategies, but she could give pep talks. If she had ever been involved in sports, she’d be the team mascot. Not really there for anything other than moral support.

“It’s the team thing that’s the problem,” Fadran replied. “It’s us that’s the problem. Not you and me; the whole Fellowship. That’s why they’re here, Queen. They’re here for us. I mean… look at it! Where the heck did we even come from? Some sort of macrocosmic property that randomly teleported people from all over the multiverse into this group? Nothing like this has ever happened before… right?” He buried his face in his hands, smudging a bit of frosting over his eyebrow. “This isn’t good. The only reason I can think of why Fenon and the Fallen King would team up here of all places is because that’s where we are.”

“If having such a large group of various entities from various worlds is the problem, do you think… are you saying we might need to split the group up?” 

“I don’t know. What if these guys think we’re a threat? If that’s the case, then splitting up would be exactly what they want. But if they’re trying to exploit the group as a whole, then sticking together would make it easier for them.” Fadran shook his head. “For now, I say we stick together and keep our guard up. Once we get a bearing for the situation, we can come up with a more permanent plan.”
He almost fell out of his seat after leaning backwards on the bench. “I just wish I had some idea of what to do here!”

"I'm not the strategic one here. I can't come up with the plans; I just help carry them out." Queen began to feel semi-frustrated. It was his birthday! Why couldn't they set the group issues aside for a little bit and just spend time together? It had lasted for a little while, and she supposed she couldn't blame Fadran for his concerns, but…they never had time alone. Now that they did, she…mostly just wanted to enjoy that.

Fadran took in a breath. He closed the fingers on his hands, tapping one of them against the table once.
“Sorry,” he said finally. “Sorry, I… shouldn’t be making this hard on you too.”

Queen gave him a reassuring smile. “If something’s hard for you, I want you to tell me about it. Things are easier to figure out when you’re not alone. I can’t do the strategizing, but you can bounce ideas off of me and even just talk to me about it. Don’t not tell me about things because you’re afraid of making things hard on me.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know what to do here. By your logic, if I don’t know what to do, then who will?” He shook his head. “That sounded more narcissistic than I intended.”

Queen shrugged. “I don’t think it sounded narcissistic, you were just repeating what I said. And, yeah. That does put us in a bit of a bind.”

“So… what. Don’t worry about it right now?”

“That’d be nice, but I doubt you’d actually stop worrying about it, you’d just stop talking to me about it and, like I said, I don’t want that to happen.”

Fadran smiled. “You’re a wonderful person, you know.”

“I try.”

“Thanks for being here for me today.”

“I’ll be here for you every day.” Queen grinned. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“So… how long were you trying to find a present for me?” Fadran asked, a mischievous grin finding purchase on his face.

“All week…but how did you know?” Queen’s face was a mixture of infuriated, confused, and happy.

“Because you seem really ticked off right now.” Fadran squeezed one of her hands. “You know that I really don’t care if you get me anything. Just being here with you is good enough. Presence, not presents.”

Queen rolled her eyes. “I knew you’d say that. But there might be times when I can’t give you my presence. There might be times that we’ll have to split up. I want you to have more than just memories if that has to happen.” A scowl crept over her face. “But I can’t find anything meaningful enough to fulfill that purpose.”

“Hey.” Fadran looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry about that. We’re on a foreign scrapping planet after all; it’s not like we know the local product like the back of our hands.”

“Well, the local product probably doesn’t fit the criteria either. It has to last. It has to be small enough that you could easily keep it with you at all times. It has to mean something.” Queen groaned and put her head down on the table. “I’m probably overthinking this, huh?”

Fadran nodded out the tent. “Well there’s a village nearby; probably has plenty of shops. Want to go take a walk?”

“Sure.” Queen smiled. “I’m all out of other ideas.”

He stood and held out his arm for Queen.

She slipped her arm through Fadran’s and stepped out of the tent.

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*Timeskips to town*

Window shopping was always one of Fadran’s favorite pastimes. There was nothing quite like walking down a cobbled street in a quaint village with the giggles of children running around and the telltale smell of a nearby bakery wafting through the air.
Granted, he’d never done it with a beautiful lady at his arm. He smiled and gave Queen a playful tug.

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Queen:

Well that sounds like a fairy tale or a disney movie. Cobbled street? Quaint village? Smells wafting? Much happy.

She laughed, happy to be doing something normal for once. “So, where should we go first?”

“Well you said you wanted to get me something for my birthday, right?” Fadran gestured at a small trinket shop. “Might as well get that out of the way… though I don't’ think we have any Selish coin.”

“Sounds good to me.” Queen stepped into the shop, immediately falling in love with it. It wasn’t very extravagant, especially from the outside. If Fadran hadn’t pointed it out to her, she might’ve walked right past it. But now that she was through the door, she felt like she could stay there forever and still not have seen everything.

Fadran looked around. “This is quite the place. Lots of… stuff.” He was grinning.

“It’s my new favorite place I’ve ever visited in my entire life.” That wasn’t hyperbole. Queen would gladly spend the rest of her life in that shop if there weren’t other responsibilities that she needed to deal with.

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Queen:

Okay but antique stores are literally the best places on the planet.

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Fadran:

Agreed

Note to self, Fadran thought, add one of these to my new project. He started browsing a shelf of little soulstone figurines: animals, buildings, and other cute trinkets.

Queen couldn’t settle on one place. She’d flit to one corner, maybe pick up an item for a second, then rush over to the next thing that caught her eye. She was practically giddy with excitement, awe, and wonder. The quiet but comforting atmosphere was similar to that of a library, and there were just as many stories. Not told with words, but with items. Not told directly, but you could tell that the ceramic rabbit with a missing ear had a backstory, that the glass snowglobe knew something that nothing else did, that the wooden music box that played a haunting melody had a tale to tell, not just a song to play. Queen saw all of this, and wanted to know.

Fadran followed her around with a big smile on his face. Could I just buy this entire shop for her? Would that work? Would she even let me? Probably not. In secret, then.

Queen forced herself to snap out of the childish excitement. I’m finding something for Fadran, not me. Her searching became much more mature, focusing on one area at a time rather than zigzagging through the shop. There were a lot of interesting trinkets that she thought Fadran would appreciate, and his reactions at her side tended to confirm her guesses, but she really wanted something meaningful to them, and there wasn’t much that fit that criteria.

She can’t hear my thoughts can she? Fadran frowned. Nah, she probably just reigned herself in. Oh well… it was cute while it lasted.

There had been a few items that had really caught her attention, but she didn’t think any of it was quite good enough. The ladle-shaped knick knack hanging from a chain made her think of their food fight and Zuppa Toscana. Queen held back a laugh as she saw two necklaces with miniature hot chocolate mugs, one saying “BEST” and the other “FRIENDS.” They were just dumb enough that Queen was tempted to buy them. However, the small hand-carved tree, a potential nod to their first kiss, called to her the most. Making a decision, Queen took it carefully from its spot on a shelf, then went up to the front desk. “How much is this?”

“That’d be three silvers,” the person at the desk replied. “Sorry, it’s a bit pricey.”

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Fadran:

As far as I can tell there isn’t any official Selish money so I went with good ‘ol fashioned copper, silver, and gold

Queen dug through her pockets, searching for some kind of currency. She couldn’t remember where any of the coins she found were from, but she placed them on the desk nonetheless. “Do you accept… any of these?”

“I’ll accept it if it’s money and it ain’t fake.” The person snagged the coins. “Thanks an’ good evenin’ to ya two!”

Queen grabbed Fadran’s arm and somewhat reluctantly led him to the door, handing him the small tree. “Happy birthday… again. You’re wonderful.”

Fadran took it gingerly, then grinned and kissed her on the cheek again. “Thanks for everything.”

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Channelknight Fadran
Huh. Weird formatting.

[Quivil]

The feeling of weakness coming through her anchor intensifies as the bubble grows. Tvora runs over to the bubble, examining it closely. There's something... off... about that bubble.

Tvora steps into it.

@xinoehp512

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again, highlight to see

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

13 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

  Reveal hidden contents

Fadran concluded his business in the tent, arranging the table and lighting the candles with his fire Arcana. After checking to make sure that everything looked nice, he stepped out of the tent, careful to close the flap behind him.
From there, he went to find Queen.

It was Fadran’s birthday and Queen didn’t have anything to give him. This was an issue. To be fair, he probably didn’t even know that she knew his birthday, she’d just remembered it from when she had gotten a glance of his mind. But she still wanted to give him something.

“Hey! Queen!” Fadran waved over to her. “Do you have a minute?”

Queen looked up. “I always have time for you!”

He might’ve blushed a little bit. “Mind, uhh…” He gestured awkwardly at the tent.

“Of course!” Queen linked her arm with his. “Lead the way.”

He led her into the tent, gesturing (once again awkwardly) at the two small cupcakes he’d set out. “Tada.”

Queen didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. “What’s this for?”

“I… well…” Fadran pulled out a chair for her and sat down at the other end of the table; if you could call it that. It looked more like a stool flipped upside-down. “Today’s my birthday.”

Queen sat down. “Believe it or not, I know.”

“I thought you might.” He passed her a steaming cup of hot cocoa. “With everything going on right now, I didn’t want to tell anybody else. But I figured that I should do something.”

“If you hadn’t done something, I would have. There’s no way in this world--or, well, any world--that I would let you spend your birthday without doing something special.”

“Well… I mean, I made these,” Fadran gestured at the cupcakes. “I didn’t know what flavor to do, so I went with chocolate. Does that work for you?”

“Chocolate always works.”

Fadran smiled. “Well, I didn’t exactly have a plan. So…” He raised his cup of cocoa over the table. “To me, I guess? Are you allowed to toast yourself?”

“You, being you, can obviously toast yourself.” Queen lifted her cocoa and clinked her mug against his. “To you!”

Fadran chuckled and took a sip of his cocoa. His eyes were on the table; comprehending and uneasy.

Queen followed suit. As soon as she tasted the cocoa, her eyes widened. “This is…otherworldly. Wait. No. We switch worlds all the time. Otherworldly is no longer a big deal. Otherdimensionly? Nope, that’s still not a big deal.” Queen couldn’t think of a word strong enough to describe it. “It’s really, really good.” She finished lamely.

He laughed again. “It’s an art I’ve chosen to perfect. If there was an Ero of hot cocoa to Bond in the Iconar Collective, I would’ve found him. But nope; Icona decided to make me a Channelknight instead.” He sipped his cup again. “On the bright side, that meant that I got to learn the lore of the universe and get multiverse-hopping, which in turn led me to running into the Fellowship. All that lead up to this moment right now where,” he tapped his mug, “I can reminisce about how much cooler it would’ve been to be a Channelknight for the god of hot cocoa. With you.”

“Would being a Channelknight of hot cocoa make you even better at making hot cocoa? I feel like that would be impossible.”

“In theory, yeah.” Fadran set his mug down. “But… who really knows?” He began tapping the table like he always did when he got nervous.

Fadran’s tapping didn’t escape Queen’s notice, but she decided not to comment on it. “Are we allowed to eat the cupcakes now? They look really good.”

“Absolutely.” Fadran relit one of the candles that had gone out. “Do you want to make a wish with me?”

“But it’s your birthday. I shouldn’t help you make your wish. It’s yours.”

“It’s my birthday and I’d like to share it with you.”

Queen smiled. “Alright.”

Fadran reached his hand across the table, lightly cupping hers. He quietly begun to hum the traditional Ivinan birthday song.

*Literally a trillion years later*:

Queen began singing along, taking hold of his hand.

Finishing the song, he closed his eyes and thought to himself; thinking of a wish to make with Queen.

He opened his eyes. “Okay. Blow it out on three?”

“One.”

He leaned forwards, “two.”

Queen smiled, taking in the moment. “Three.”

Fadran blew out a puff of air, flickering the flame before putting it out entirely. A wisp of smoke curled up into the air.

“Happy birthday, Fadran.”Fadran leaned farther and placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth; a little spot that dimpled whenever she smiled. He’d been a little infatuated with it recently for some reason.
After that, he leaned back and took a big bite out of the tiny cupcake.

*Literally two trillion years later:*

Queen blushed, then, laughing, reached over and booped Fadran’s nose.

Fadran smiled half sadly and began tapping the table again. He was playing piano without the keys again: this time Astral Observatory from Majora’s Mask.

Queen took notice of the sadness, somewhat confused. Had she done something wrong? For some reason, she had a hard time being bold with Fadran, so she tended to take the easy way out. The seriousness of the situation made her worry about seriously messing it up, so she always tried to turn it into a joke. She needed to stop that. If she couldn’t be serious with Fadran, who could she be serious with? 
She reached across the table, taking hold of Fadran’s hands, stopping the silent piano playing. “You mean the world to me. You are the world to me. Most people just need food, water, and air to survive. I absolutely need you, too. Life is really hard, for both of us, and I don’t think I could deal with it if I didn’t have you right by my side, helping me along. I love you infinitely.”
With that, Queen took her chance to return the kiss, holding it for longer than he had, trying to show him how much she loved being around him, no matter what the circumstances.

Fadran wondered if Queen could feel his hands shaking beneath hers. He closed his eyes, though no tears leaked out.
He wished they had.

Queen tightened her grip on Fadran’s hands. “What’s wrong?”

Fadran took a couple breaths. "I'm... scared. I don't know why all this is happening--here, of all places. The Fallen King and the Fenon Clan, both in once place. I make a possibility, run a simulation... each one's worse than the last."

Oh. That. “I want to say something like ‘we’re a team, we’ll figure it out as a group, we‘ve been through worse,’ but…honestly, I don’t think we have. I don’t know if we’ll be able to figure it out. But I also don’t know who could possibly deal with this sort of situation better than us.” Queen couldn’t come up with strategies, but she could give pep talks. If she had ever been involved in sports, she’d be the team mascot. Not really there for anything other than moral support.

“It’s the team thing that’s the problem,” Fadran replied. “It’s us that’s the problem. Not you and me; the whole Fellowship. That’s why they’re here, Queen. They’re here for us. I mean… look at it! Where the heck did we even come from? Some sort of macrocosmic property that randomly teleported people from all over the multiverse into this group? Nothing like this has ever happened before… right?” He buried his face in his hands, smudging a bit of frosting over his eyebrow. “This isn’t good. The only reason I can think of why Fenon and the Fallen King would team up here of all places is because that’s where we are.”

“If having such a large group of various entities from various worlds is the problem, do you think… are you saying we might need to split the group up?” 

“I don’t know. What if these guys think we’re a threat? If that’s the case, then splitting up would be exactly what they want. But if they’re trying to exploit the group as a whole, then sticking together would make it easier for them.” Fadran shook his head. “For now, I say we stick together and keep our guard up. Once we get a bearing for the situation, we can come up with a more permanent plan.”
He almost fell out of his seat after leaning backwards on the bench. “I just wish I had some idea of what to do here!”

"I'm not the strategic one here. I can't come up with the plans; I just help carry them out." Queen began to feel semi-frustrated. It was his birthday! Why couldn't they set the group issues aside for a little bit and just spend time together? It had lasted for a little while, and she supposed she couldn't blame Fadran for his concerns, but…they never had time alone. Now that they did, she…mostly just wanted to enjoy that.

Fadran took in a breath. He closed the fingers on his hands, tapping one of them against the table once.
“Sorry,” he said finally. “Sorry, I… shouldn’t be making this hard on you too.”

Queen gave him a reassuring smile. “If something’s hard for you, I want you to tell me about it. Things are easier to figure out when you’re not alone. I can’t do the strategizing, but you can bounce ideas off of me and even just talk to me about it. Don’t not tell me about things because you’re afraid of making things hard on me.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know what to do here. By your logic, if I don’t know what to do, then who will?” He shook his head. “That sounded more narcissistic than I intended.”

Queen shrugged. “I don’t think it sounded narcissistic, you were just repeating what I said. And, yeah. That does put us in a bit of a bind.”

“So… what. Don’t worry about it right now?”

“That’d be nice, but I doubt you’d actually stop worrying about it, you’d just stop talking to me about it and, like I said, I don’t want that to happen.”

Fadran smiled. “You’re a wonderful person, you know.”

“I try.”

“Thanks for being here for me today.”

“I’ll be here for you every day.” Queen grinned. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“So… how long were you trying to find a present for me?” Fadran asked, a mischievous grin finding purchase on his face.

“All week…but how did you know?” Queen’s face was a mixture of infuriated, confused, and happy.

“Because you seem really ticked off right now.” Fadran squeezed one of her hands. “You know that I really don’t care if you get me anything. Just being here with you is good enough. Presence, not presents.”

Queen rolled her eyes. “I knew you’d say that. But there might be times when I can’t give you my presence. There might be times that we’ll have to split up. I want you to have more than just memories if that has to happen.” A scowl crept over her face. “But I can’t find anything meaningful enough to fulfill that purpose.”

“Hey.” Fadran looked into her eyes. “Don’t worry about that. We’re on a foreign scrapping planet after all; it’s not like we know the local product like the back of our hands.”

“Well, the local product probably doesn’t fit the criteria either. It has to last. It has to be small enough that you could easily keep it with you at all times. It has to mean something.” Queen groaned and put her head down on the table. “I’m probably overthinking this, huh?”

Fadran nodded out the tent. “Well there’s a village nearby; probably has plenty of shops. Want to go take a walk?”

“Sure.” Queen smiled. “I’m all out of other ideas.”

He stood and held out his arm for Queen.

She slipped her arm through Fadran’s and stepped out of the tent.

Window shopping was always one of Fadran’s favorite pastimes. There was nothing quite like walking down a cobbled street in a quaint village with the giggles of children running around and the telltale smell of a nearby bakery wafting through the air.
Granted, he’d never done it with a beautiful lady at his arm. He smiled and gave Queen a playful tug.

She laughed, happy to be doing something normal for once. “So, where should we go first?”

“Well you said you wanted to get me something for my birthday, right?” Fadran gestured at a small trinket shop. “Might as well get that out of the way… though I don't’ think we have any Selish coin.”

“Sounds good to me.” Queen stepped into the shop, immediately falling in love with it. It wasn’t very extravagant, especially from the outside. If Fadran hadn’t pointed it out to her, she might’ve walked right past it. But now that she was through the door, she felt like she could stay there forever and still not have seen everything.

Fadran looked around. “This is quite the place. Lots of… stuff.” He was grinning.

“It’s my new favorite place I’ve ever visited in my entire life.” That wasn’t hyperbole. Queen would gladly spend the rest of her life in that shop if there weren’t other responsibilities that she needed to deal with.

Note to self, Fadran thought, add one of these to my new project. He started browsing a shelf of little soulstone figurines: animals, buildings, and other cute trinkets.

Queen couldn’t settle on one place. She’d flit to one corner, maybe pick up an item for a second, then rush over to the next thing that caught her eye. She was practically giddy with excitement, awe, and wonder. The quiet but comforting atmosphere was similar to that of a library, and there were just as many stories. Not told with words, but with items. Not told directly, but you could tell that the ceramic rabbit with a missing ear had a backstory, that the glass snowglobe knew something that nothing else did, that the wooden music box that played a haunting melody had a tale to tell, not just a song to play. Queen saw all of this, and wanted to know.

Fadran followed her around with a big smile on his face. Could I just buy this entire shop for her? Would that work? Would she even let me? Probably not. In secret, then.

Queen forced herself to snap out of the childish excitement. I’m finding something for Fadran, not me. Her searching became much more mature, focusing on one area at a time rather than zigzagging through the shop. There were a lot of interesting trinkets that she thought Fadran would appreciate, and his reactions at her side tended to confirm her guesses, but she really wanted something meaningful to them, and there wasn’t much that fit that criteria.

She can’t hear my thoughts can she? Fadran frowned. Nah, she probably just reigned herself in. Oh well… it was cute while it lasted.

There had been a few items that had really caught her attention, but she didn’t think any of it was quite good enough. The ladle-shaped knick knack hanging from a chain made her think of their food fight and Zuppa Toscana. Queen held back a laugh as she saw two necklaces with miniature hot chocolate mugs, one saying “BEST” and the other “FRIENDS.” They were just dumb enough that Queen was tempted to buy them. However, the small hand-carved tree, a potential nod to their first kiss, called to her the most. Making a decision, Queen took it carefully from its spot on a shelf, then went up to the front desk. “How much is this?”

“That’d be three silvers,” the person at the desk replied. “Sorry, it’s a bit pricey.”

Queen dug through her pockets, searching for some kind of currency. She couldn’t remember where any of the coins she found were from, but she placed them on the desk nonetheless. “Do you accept… any of these?”

“I’ll accept it if it’s money and it ain’t fake.” The person snagged the coins. “Thanks an’ good evenin’ to ya two!”

Queen grabbed Fadran’s arm and somewhat reluctantly led him to the door, handing him the small tree. “Happy birthday… again. You’re wonderful.”

Fadran took it gingerly, then grinned and kissed her on the cheek again. “Thanks for everything.”

 

Quote

I... I think my heart just melted. That was the most adorable, and most wonderfully written thing I've ever read. I have to put on my author hat for a minute, then take it back off for you two because this is honestly some of the best writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

 

11 hours ago, Tani said:

The feeling of weakness coming through her anchor intensifies as the bubble grows. Tvora runs over to the bubble, examining it closely. There's something... off... about that bubble.

Tvora steps into it.

 

Remembrance, existing on both the Cognitive and Physical Plane, witnesses Tvora stepping into the bubble, and slides over to her point of entry. It recognizes her action as intentional, and wonders if Tvora knows more about the strange anomaly. As it gazes at the surface of the strange whiteness, a sudden chord of memory is struck. However, try as it might, it cannot access the memory. It sees it, it is aware of it, but the memory will not yield its knowledge.

Remembrance is filled with confusion. This has never happened before! This is a new thing, one that it does not like!

It can see that Tvora is still Connected to it, but Remembrance can no longer feel Tvora. Unsure of whether she can still sense its thoughts, Remembrance pushes along its Connection to her.

Tvora? What do you see?

[Channelknight Fadran]

Just now, EchoOfThePlanes said:

I... I think my heart just melted. That was the most adorable, and most wonderfully written thing I've ever read. I have to put on my author hat for a minute, then take it back off for you two because this is honestly some of the best writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

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<3 :D. We had a lot of fun writing it

 

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

2 minutes ago, Channelknight Fadran said:

<3 :D. We had a lot of fun writing it

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I can tell, which just speaks more to your abilities as writers. Thank you for sharing this with us. 

 

[Quivil]

Quote

@xinoehp512! Help! I don't know anything about this bubble! What does she see??? Do I just make it up???

Tvora feels Remembrance's prodding and reaches along the thread of Connection. There's a... disturbance... there in the middle of the thread, but Tvora might be able to Chaos it...

It took a while, but she finally managed to Chaos it, seizing the message. T?veoersa ?u oWyh aotd tdaoh Wy o? ua rsoeveT? It appeared that she'd Chaosed the message too, unintentionally. She could make sense of it, but anything she sent back would probably arrive similarly garbled.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Tani

[xinoehp512 he/him]

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Tvora's entering from the cognitive side?

 

[Quivil]

Just now, xinoehp512 said:

Tvora's entering from the cognitive side?

Quote

Yep.

 

[xinoehp512 he/him]

The bubble is foreign. Unnatural. It warps as minds enter newly formed space in the physical.

[Quivil]

Tvora responded to Remembrance. There are things entering the new space in the physical realm. I can see their minds.

 

[EchoOfThePlanes he/him]

15 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

The bubble is foreign. Unnatural. It warps as minds enter newly formed space in the physical.

Quote

So this bubble is dimensional space being appended to our current locale? That would explain why there is a warping on the Cognitive Plane. The addition to space is manifesting on the Cognitive Plane due to our characters' cognitions.

 

12 minutes ago, Tani said:

Tvora responded to Remembrance. There are things entering the new space in the physical realm. I can see their minds.

Remembrance feels Tvora pushing back along their Connection, but the words are distant, and the message is lost. Defiance of this barrier that separates the two beings fills Remembrance's mind, and it pushes, increasing its Connection to Tvora. The words finally come through, and Remembrance understands.

People? This is so? Remembrance slithers right up to the bubble, staring hard and long.

I cannot sense them. This new thing, this anomaly, I cannot feel past the surface.

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Well, I guess since Tvora entered the bubble cognitively, Remembrance will enter physically.

Remembrance begins to withdraw from the Cognitive Plane, manifesting physically as it did before. Its form returns to that of a feathered serpentine, and it immediately turns its head to face the bubble. It directs its thoughts at the group of people.

Tvora says that she feels the minds of entities inside the cognitive warping. This thing is so, and I must join her.

With one last mental transmission of curiosity, Remembrance plunges itself into the bubble.

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@xinoehp512 Uhhh... what does Remembrance see?

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by EchoOfThePlanes

[Channelknight Fadran]

Fadran jogged towards Ayia and Martin. "What the scrap is going on here?"