her_imperial_radiance: (staring)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Here is Aurum. Harley is home again.

"I minted you," Elspeth murmurs to him, sending a notice to the Joker that he's got a new alt he could choose to entertain because she's busy and teleporting herself and her ward to their living room in Québec. "And stuck it on."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley emits an untintelligible mumble and hugs her.
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Hugs.

She will sit holding him as long as he needs.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
He needs to be held for a while.



Eventually, he says haltingly, "Love you, Elsie."
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"I love you too, Harley."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Snuggly hug. Where is his poof? His poof is cuddling him. He cuddles it back.
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
And Elsie is holding him and everything else can wait.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Everything else waits for... a while.

But not forever. Nothing lasts forever.

Harley sits up, still hugging her but now more uprightly.

"I've... kind of - forgotten - words," he says. "How long...?"
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"You were in the sun for five years in Gift. Here it's been only a few more months since you dreamed here," says Elspeth, petting his hair.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Five. Years," he echoes, leaning his head into her hand. "Long time."
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Yes." Pet. Hug.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"—Zeus okay?"
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Asleep in your bed until you're ready to wake him."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I - not," says Harley. "Until. Until I can come back."
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"What do you mean?" asks Elspeth gently.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I went," he says. "I couldn't come back. I won't - wake him up - until I can."
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"You can have a Janegem. She's working again now."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
He shakes his head.

"Not. Good enough."
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance


"Zeus will wait as long as you need him to."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I know," he says. "Love him."

He hugs her some more.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Hugs.

"You can talk to Sue, when you're ready. He knows how to move like that controllably and it's possible he could teach you."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Okay," Harley murmurs. "Later."
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Yes."

She conjures up a little two-sided fountain for the poof. She doesn't know when it last drank or how often it needs to. She sets it aside. She hugs Harley.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley snuggles back into her lap.





His tummy rumbles.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Do you want something to eat?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
He thinks about it. For a few seconds.

"...Yeah?" he says hesitantly.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
She doesn't burden him with the effort of deciding what. She produces a sandwich with approximately everything on it, the kind of messy thing he'd make on lazy afternoons when sandwiches were called for, and holds it out for him.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley looks at the sandwich.

He reaches for it clumsily.

Nothing about his body is actually broken, but he is unaccustomed to using it to do things; this sandwich is probably going to be more spilled out of than eaten. (His poof wisely rolls out of the way, into the fountain.)
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth patiently deploys triangles where triangles will be useful. When the sandwich has been used as thoroughly as possible she chooses something neater to follow it up with. (Apple slices, devoid of complications such as apple core.)
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley munches contentedly on the apple slices.
her_imperial_radiance: (staring)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
And Elsie holds him, and when they are gone, she supplies cookies. (Soft cookies that won't get crumbs everywhere if they are clumsily handled.)
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley noms up some cookies and then curls up in her lap again.

"Love you, Elsie."
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"I love you too." Hugs.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Snuggles.

Harley goes through another period of not doing very much.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth waits. After a while, she conjures up some bubbly for herself.
mind_game: (map)
Author: mind_game
[Sue's free to attempt porting lessons,] Jane tells them both, after considerable time has gone by.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
[okay,] says Harley. [Elsie, come with?]
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
[Sure.]
mind_game: (web)
Author: mind_game
Yoink. Here is the room with Celo in.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
It's a room with Sue in, too.

"Hi," says Sue.

Harley doesn't say anything.

Sue links him.

Harley snuggles Elsie, and sends—the sun.

"...Whoa, okay," says Sue, blinking rapidly. "Wow."

"Huh?" says Celo, and Sue links him too.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"...Should I know what's going on or am I just here to be a lap?" asks Elsie softly. (She is fine with being a lap. She signed up to be a lap sometimes.)
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"...You can if you want," says Sue. "I don't know if you want what he's sending me, though, it kind of hurts."

"Kind of a lot," says Celo. "I mean it's not hurting right now, but - he was in the sun for five years."

Harley nods slowly.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"I'm pretty resilient. If it would be good for me to have it I'll take it, that way or judgesight-wise, whatever."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I think I can kind of... interpret," says Sue, and he sends her:

Contrast. Absence. This (an impression of pain-everywhere without as much visceral reality as even a straight memory would offer) is what's missing from Harley now, like a sucking void in his sensory perception, like he's been throwing himself against a wall for five years and the wall is gone and he's hurtling dizzily through the open air.
her_imperial_radiance: (memories)
Author: her_imperial_radiance


Elspeth was already hugging him.

She continues in that vein.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley snuggles her.

Sue relays his love. There is a lot of it. It's - out of focus, right now, because all his thoughts are out of focus, but it is very loving. Love is a thing Jokers are good at.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth does not have to go through Sue to return the favor in high-fidelity, gently enough for a human brain but only just.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley smiles, and snuggles her.

"That's good," Sue murmurs. "Aww, you guys are sweet."

Celo finds himself somewhere to sit, and Sue finds himself Celo's lap to sit in. Snuggling!

"So - " says Sue, and Celo pushes him a haphazardly constructed but basically sound summary of The Problem With Fields, and Sue pushes back what-it-feels-like-to-teleport. All of this gets summarily bounced to Harley and Elspeth.

Harley tentatively pushes back what-it-feels-like-to-freecast.

It's not quite the same, but there are similarities, and the Jokers recognize them immediately.

"You know," says Sue, "this is actually a really good time to experiment, because if I'm linking you you're never gonna be out of reach or out of sync..."

Harley thinks this over, and snuggles Elspeth. Celo thinks it over and snuggles Sue.
her_imperial_radiance: (uhh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth conjures up two ansibles, twists them apart, gestures with them in Jane's direction; Jane swipes half of each. She puts one of the remaining pieces on Harley's finger as a ring and offers the other to Celo. "Backup," she murmurs. "Extra layer of redundancy."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Awesome," says Sue, "good thinking. And - "

if you try it, just push me (sense-of-place), he sends to the two Jokers, echoing Elsie out of courtesy.

Harley latches onto that and turns it over in his mind. He pushes Sue a blurred impression of the Gentle Cave.

Almost, says Sue. Kind of? I don't know if it's a style thing - you could try it.

Harley nods. He snuggles Elsie. With a running commentary to Sue, he lets his mind drift a little, and



(sense-of-place)

Sue smiles. Okay, good, he says. Can you come back?

This (Harley sends) was always the hard part.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth waits, hands clasped in her lap.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
With some coaxing and locational data from Sue, Harley appears.

He hugs Sue immediately.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Hugs hugs hugs.

"Hey, good for you," Sue murmurs, kissing Harley's forehead. "—How old even are you? Am I the youngest Joker again?"
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"It's hard to judge how to count the sun time. Harley's still younger than you if you don't," Elspeth says quietly.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah. I took a four-year hit, I'm twenty now. Harley looks about my age, but it's kind of hard to tell."

"Also, I look about that age too and I'm actually closer to a hundred," says Celo. "I wonder if I can move just this part of me around... Harley, hit us with the fuzzy cave again? It looked cute."

Harley displays sense-of-place for the fuzzy cave.

"I'll go first," says Sue, "see if it's enough for me," and he flickers out and back. "Yep."

Celo thinks it over.
her_imperial_radiance: (uhh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
What Celo tries is something closer to Harley than Sue, and not quite the same as either.

He spends a while not quite getting it - about a minute - but he's patient, and doesn't let himself get discouraged, and then there it is and he's broadcasting sense-of-place from a cave full of round fluffy creatures.

They're so soft! he says. Awwwwwwwww. I wonder if I can ask Queen Whatserface to put my field near here. I'll bring it up later.

He pets a poof and sends back the sound it makes. Harley giggles softly.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Poofs are nice.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Poofs are nice.

Celo gets his bearings from Sue and comes back.

"So, that's a start," he says.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth nods.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley sends a jumble of thoughts to Sue. He takes a moment to disentangle it, and then nods. "Yeah. Now we know you can go places if you're getting place-data in real time. The weird thing is, I could never do what you did the first time - jump when I didn't have a clue where I was going. I tried once and I ended up floating in some kind of mysterious void outside Milliways."

Harley mumbles a questioning sort of mumble.

"Good question," says Sue. "Why not." He conjures himself an ansible pair, twists it apart, taps Jane to request that she whisk away a half.
mind_game: (web)
Author: mind_game
Whisk.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
And Sue... freecasts.

Yep. Mysterious void. He pops back into the tower.

"Guess it varies," he says with a shrug. "Or I just don't have the hang of it yet. Wanna try the mysterious void, Harley?"

Harley nods. He flickers out.

weird, he sends, in a dreamy mumbly sort of thought-voice. don't think I like it here.

And pop - he's back in the room with them.

Sue grins and hugs him.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth smiles.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley flickers over to Elspeth and hugs her, too.
her_imperial_radiance: (princess)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Hugs!
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Hug hug hugs.

"Aww," says Sue, snuggling Celo because he is there and snuggable. "Did I mention you guys are cute? I did. I'm mentioning it again."
her_imperial_radiance: (snerk)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Thank you," says Elspeth.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I guess now you just need - practice," says Sue. "To keep getting it on purpose. I know I've gotten way better at targeting since I started doing it practically all the time."

"And me," says Celo, "I need to see if my field will even - go. But I'm pretty sure it will."

Harley mumbles wordlessly and hugs Elsie some more, nodding.
her_imperial_radiance: (excuse me)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Hugs, hugs. "Let me know when you're comfortable enough with it to wake Zeus."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley says - through Sue, because words are hard - that he will wake Zeus when he can talk and eat and move again, and he can freecast reliably without any safety net at all.

It might be a while.

But that is okay. He has time.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"As long as you need."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Nod. Hug.
subtly_artistic: (missive)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether comes up the stairs to see how Celo's doing.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Hi!" says Celo, waving.

"Hi," says Sue. "I don't think we've met. I'm Sue."
subtly_artistic: (catapsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Aether," says Aether. "I'm sorry my world broke your kid."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Thanks," Sue says wryly. "Yeah, I had to get elected world ruler, it was fun times."
subtly_artistic: (apopsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Your world rulers get elected?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah. Well, technically I don't rule the whole world, but I'm working on that."
subtly_artistic: (metafaculty)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Cool. I was thinking maybe I'd ascend to godhood without pausing at the 'politics' step."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Awesome plan, if you can work it," says Sue. "Would've caused me more problems than it solved, though, and the office of the Hegemon was right there waiting for me."

Celo laughs.
subtly_artistic: (suggestion)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Ascending to godhood is a thing on Materia. Although it's possible my aura will get in the way of it, I don't really know how it works."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I think I ascended to godhood while your aura was sorta around," says Celo. "I guess we'll find out when we go back. ...And we should probably go straight to my field without saying hi to Callahan first, because I'm not totally sure she won't randomly decide to kill me now that I'm a big enough target."

"What," says Sue.
subtly_artistic: (Default)
Author: subtly_artistic
"You could withdraw your aura and hope she doesn't notice. I think the door will take us right back to that part of Emily whatever we do, though we can teleport to your field immediately after going through if you like."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"...Could you go through, and go to my field, and I could Jane there?" he wonders. "Or freecast. I'll freecast there."

"Is that the word for it now?" says Sue.

"I like it," says Celo. "Kinda gets the point across, doesn't it?"
subtly_artistic: (detection)
Author: subtly_artistic
"I guess we can do it that way. At least the epic part of my aura does withdraw. I wouldn't want to be brandishing that around Callahan either."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I know, right?" laughs Celo.
subtly_artistic: (suggestion)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Whatever Glass says about torching having absoluteness that would stand a chance against even the causal irregularity. Yeah."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Seriously," says Celo. "I don't know from this causality shit, but I know from Callahan."

"I'm getting the sense that this Callahan is a fun character," says Sue.

"Sure, if you like getting stabbed in the gut," says Celo.

"Who doesn't?" says Sue.
subtly_artistic: (telekinesis)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether rolls her eyes and raises her hand.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"I haven't tried it personally, but I have many negatively valenced memories of it and very few positive ones," remarks Elspeth.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"And let me guess," says Sue, "most of those are from us?"
her_imperial_radiance: (no comment)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Most of them, yes."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Who are they from that's not us?" wonders Celo. "Should I be meeting any of those people? - Stop me if this isn't a thing you want to talk about."
her_imperial_radiance: (princess)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Not wanting to talk about things is not usually a thing with me. There's a case of triumph from a fellow who managed to commit seppuku before the vampires got him and was only barely alive when Aro reached him, a case of pain asymbolia, and one masochist who might have approached your level."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Just one?" laughs Celo.

"Anybody we know?" wonders Sue.
her_imperial_radiance: (snerk)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"No, I don't think she was a template."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"What was she doing getting stabbed in the gut?" says Celo.
her_imperial_radiance: (no comment)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Fighting off Mongols. She even succeeded, survived the stabbing, and lived another three years before being eaten by vampires."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I think I like this lady," says Celo.

"I think I do too!" says Sue.

Harley giggles.
her_imperial_radiance: (whee!)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"She was cool. I hadn't had cause to think about her specifically until I checked for happy stabbings."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Glad I asked, then!" says Celo.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"D'you want me to inform you once resurrection on Aurum gets that far back?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah!" says Celo, and Sue nods.
her_imperial_radiance: (happy)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"Noted," chuckles Elspeth.
subtly_artistic: (catapsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"I have fallen into a social circle that has really peculiar conversations," remarks Aether.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Celo giggles, and freecasts across the room to hug her.
subtly_artistic: (suggestion)
Author: subtly_artistic
Huggles.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Huggles and snuggles!

"Awww," says Sue. "Can I hug you too?"
subtly_artistic: (metafaculty)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Sure, why not."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Sue also freecasts directly to hug.
subtly_artistic: (detection)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether giggles and hugs him too.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley thinks Sue a question.

"Oh hey," says Sue, "what's your opacity situation? Also, Harley wants to hug you."
subtly_artistic: (apopsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"I'm a subtle artist - psion - I can defend really effectively against other subtle artistry but it doesn't work on arcane or divine mind-affecting magic from home so I really doubt it works on much outside Materia unless it's very similar to what I do. And Harley may also hug me."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I ask 'cause I've got this mutant power, I can link minds, and it doesn't work on some of you but the ones it does work on are okay with it," he says. "And Harley's having serious word trouble right now, so he's talking by link."

Harley looks at Aether and her huggy jokers, and then he also freecasts there and also hugs her.
subtly_artistic: (missive)
Author: subtly_artistic
Hugs. "Can do that, or I could shallow-read him directly."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Linking also comes with some boosts," Sue adds, and demonstrates by adding her to the link. With him, Celo, Harley, and Elspeth already there, the cognitive speedup and expansion is very noticeable.
subtly_artistic: (egotism)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Oh, that's nice."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Ain't it just?" laughs Sue.
subtly_artistic: (apopsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"As long as we're all extra brainful - right now my best idea for having a Janepoint in Materia that I can ever leave is 'acquire daemon, separate to split aura, leave him home' - I don't even know yet what I'd get. I might wind up having to skip a lot of parties and stuff if I don't want the place desynced. Which is not the worst thing that could have happened, but isn't tremendous fun."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I'm pretty sure it'd work if you did," says Sue. "I leave Ivy home when I freecast anywhere."

"Isn't separating, like, nasty, though?" says Celo.

"Yeah," says Sue. "But people do it anyway."
subtly_artistic: (apopsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Amariah did it the long way around, I might be able to get it over with quick by walking through a Milliways door or having Jane put me somewhere, almost like Cam did. It's doable if necessary. I might just not have a Janepoint, only my gem that I'll wear all the time - if it turns out Emily can do doors like Jarvis. And then Materia will be synced when I'm home, and not synced, but paused, when I leave it."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"That also seems like a pretty good workaround," says Celo. "Assuming it doesn't just decide to unpause because fuck you. Can worlds do that? If worlds can do that, I bet ours can."
subtly_artistic: (empath)
Author: subtly_artistic
"I might need to ask Glass to come in well within the protection of my aura and see if she can tell. I don't think I really want a - I don't even know what I'd have -" She spends a square to get an illusion. "...I still don't even know what I'd have, what the hell."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Ooh, pangolin," says Sue. "Those are cool."
subtly_artistic: (astral)
Author: subtly_artistic
"What is it though?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"...Possibly a mammal?" says Sue. "And they look like that. And they're cool. And they're called pangolins. That's pretty much what I know."
her_imperial_radiance: (uhh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"They're a mammal, sort of like armadillos with the armor," says Elspeth, "and that kind is a long-tailed pangolin and it lives in Africa. At least on Earth; I don't know about your world."
subtly_artistic: (catapsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Is getting animals you've never heard of common?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Beats me," shrugs Sue. "Jokers don't settle."
subtly_artistic: (empath)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Fair enough. Well, I don't particularly want a long-tailed pangolin on its own merits, but if Emily can't door, or I can't rely on dooring pausing the world, I might get one just for the aura split, I s'pose."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"How much do we actually care if Materia goes on without you when you're out?" wonders Celo. "Actually, if I'm there and my field's in Chronicle that'll probably keep us pinned down anyway, so the question is how much we care if Materia goes on without both of us."
subtly_artistic: (metafaculty)
Author: subtly_artistic
"My parents probably care if Materia goes on without us while I'm out. See also: 'plan to maybe stay in school' - especially if my alts are going to keep operating under the assumption that I'm a therapist. We'll both be out when it comes time for Bell parties, unless you want to miss all the associated carousing."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I am a pretty big fan of carousing," laughs Celo. "Well, we'll see, I guess."
subtly_artistic: (apopsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Yeah. Best case scenario, I bring Glass home while she clings desperately to my arm, she tells me Milliways logic is not subject to Materia unlogic and the pausing will behave itself, and Emily says she can door whenever she would like to door. Less good case scenario, I bring home a pangolin, find an out-of-the-way extraplanar corner to tuck it in, and build a Janepoint there."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Celo shrugs.

"You know what," he says, "I think I'll see if I can visit the rest of the Jokers. Anybody got a list?"
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth sends him a list.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Cool," says Celo, and disappears.

"He found Beast," Sue reports, grinning.
subtly_artistic: (euphoria)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether sends an approximation of applause through the link. She doesn't push anything automatically - Bells never do - but she's more comfortable with playing with the extended features of the thing than anybell save Aegis.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Celo sends a giggle and some love.

"Awww," says Sue, smiling.
subtly_artistic: (egotism)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether laughs.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"You're cute," says Sue.

"Cute," Harley agrees.
subtly_artistic: (metafaculty)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Why thank you."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley hugs her.
subtly_artistic: (suggestion)
Author: subtly_artistic
Hugs.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Hugs!

Sue giggles. Let us not speculate on why.
subtly_artistic: (metafaculty)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether speculates, but doesn't get anywhere.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"You wanna try going somewhere?" says Sue to Harley.

Harley thinks about it. He nods. He flickers out.

Sue grins. "Aww, he went to the cute cave again," he says, and shares what Harley is sending him - he's snuggling a foxball.
her_imperial_radiance: (snerk)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"It's a very cute cave."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"It is!" says Sue. "I love it."
subtly_artistic: (catapsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"What is this cave exactly?"
her_imperial_radiance: (happy)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"It's a little cavern full of glowy crystals in Chronicle, with assorted friendly harmless animals. Harley took one of them home with him."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Harley seems to like it there," says Sue. "I think it helps with the - sensory depressurization thing."
subtly_artistic: (apopsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"What exactly," says Aether, "happened to him?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"He spent five years in the sun," says Sue. "And felt it. There was some other stuff before that, but that's what's screwing him over so badly right now."
subtly_artistic: (astral)
Author: subtly_artistic


"Yeah, I definitely need to finish school, this entire group of people needs a therapist on call."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Which group?" laughs Sue.
subtly_artistic: (telekinesis)
Author: subtly_artistic
"The peal and all our friends, seems like, given the number of obvious applications for therapizing I've encountered in the last hour."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Sue giggles.

"Yeah, I kinda see your point."
subtly_artistic: (missive)
Author: subtly_artistic
"So between that and the fact that a pentagon for subtle arts only helped a little I think I'll finish my degree, maybe accelerated or something."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
He nods. "Sounds like a plan to me."
subtly_artistic: (egotism)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Yeah. So - Elspeth, I hear you're good at summarizing things? Can you get me up to speed on all the things?"
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth commences getting her up to speed on all the things.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley pops in and out a few times, back and forth from the Gentle Cave. Sue occupies himself encouraging Harley and listening in on Celo's exploits.

Eventually, Sue sends Aether a quick heads-up and Celo appears, hair slightly mussed but as sparkling clean as usual, with a big grin on his face.

"Yeah, I think I've got the hang of this shit," he says. "Sue, you wanna anchor me in Chronicle just in case? Aether, wanna go grab my field?"
subtly_artistic: (missive)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Can do. Let me get Glass for a second peek at the world without so much vomiting this time. Sue, can you keep me in link just in case?"
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"No problem," Sue says cheerfully.
subtly_artistic: (catapsi)
Author: subtly_artistic
"Thanks. Jane, can you ask Glass -?"
mind_game: (fractal)
Author: mind_game
[Yep!]
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
And here is Glass.

"Here we go again," she says wryly.
subtly_artistic: (detection)
Author: subtly_artistic
"I don't need you to go very far or leave my aura at all," soothes Aether. And out they go to the door, which Aether opens - discernible aura snugly withdrawn.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Callahan is just visible at the end of the hall, walking away. She doesn't seem to have a reaction to Aether's return.
thaumobabble: (jinxes)
Author: thaumobabble
Glass's aura is visibly out. She stares at Callahan.
subtly_artistic: (missive)
Author: subtly_artistic
"What?" murmurs Aether.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Callahan makes a rude gesture in their direction without looking back, and then she turns the corner and she's off.
thaumobabble: (dweomer)
Author: thaumobabble
"...Don't cross her," Glass mutters, and she slips back out the door.
subtly_artistic: (Default)
Author: subtly_artistic
Aether blinks, and teleports to Celo's garden, and informs the link that she has done so.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Celo appears next to her and hugs her. The garden smells like his name, and it's vibrant and healthy and beautiful - apparently celosia comes in colours.

Sue freecasts to Chronicle. [Hey Glass, know where I can find the place Celo's supposed to put his garden?]
thaumobabble: (cantrip)
Author: thaumobabble
[Yes, it's -] and she sends the place Marianne picked out.
subtly_artistic: (egotism)
Author: subtly_artistic
Hugs! "You are a pretty garden."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"I am, I'm gorgeous," says Celo, and Sue freecasts to the future location of the garden and shows it to Celo, who kisses Aether and—

Vanishes, garden and all. About eight feet of dirt is suddenly no longer under Aether.
subtly_artistic: (suggestion)
Author: subtly_artistic
Whoop! Now she's hovering.

She teleports back into Emily, and touches the building's mind.

Emily knows how to do that door thing! She can do it right now if her friend Bella wants her to. She is a smart building.

Aether shares this with everyone - Emily is so cute, Bella really likes her - Glass, will time in fact pause here if I go out again?
thaumobabble: (hexes)
Author: thaumobabble
Yyyyyes. Or at least, if it doesn't, it will be for Milliways reasons and not for Materia reasons. Also THAT WOMAN IS TERRIFYING.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Terrifying how? says Sue.
thaumobabble: (spellbound)
Author: thaumobabble
This is a link; Glass can show them.

Some metacausal thing wants it to be fatal to have Callahan want you dead. This doesn't, in itself, give Callahan particularly exceptional powers - if she's good in a fight, it's in some fairly usual way modulo Materia, she's not a The Slayer or anything like that as far as Glass can see, not that this should make her less intimidating if she is in fact very good. But it would still be a very wise idea not to have her want you dead. Glass is still pretty firm on torching being absolute, which just means that it would be a bad idea to have Callahan want you dead in some completely novel and probably horrifying way. Also, things Glass sees have changed before, and she is not sure which thing would win between the absoluteness of torching and the insistence that it is a metacausally bad idea to have Callahan want you dead. They may both go on being true as long as no one torchable ever instigates a contest.

She's also blaring Extremely Special on another layer which Glass hasn't seen before; she'd need to see more of it to know what it does, but whatever it is is bright and scary and intense and - Materia-flavored, not in a nauseating way, just in a sense of hereness. If Callahan isn't a Materian god, Glass has a (purely academic) curiosity about what the hell does qualify.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
...Wow, okay, I am scared, says Sue.

I know, right? laughs Celo.
subtly_artistic: (missive)
Author: subtly_artistic
I wasn't really planning to bother her, and now I really plan not to bother her, says Aether.
thaumobabble: (spellbound)
Author: thaumobabble
I mean, on the other hand, if she's hireable, she could be handy if we run into anything that needs to die that we can't handle? Maybe? I don't really want to go near her and Chronicle doesn't have any of those things but if someone else needs to hire a metacausally potent assassin.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Celo apparently finds this suggestion hilarious.
thaumobabble: (hexes)
Author: thaumobabble
I have no idea if she's remotely hireable and I am not going to test the hypothesis, just throwing it out there. I am snug at home in my cotton candy world with my lovely wives and daughters not antagonizing anything that glows like that.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Good plan, says Celo. I love your world. Your world is my favourite. Hey, Aether, wanna come have sex in my garden?

(Sue notes that he has bounced that last sentence only to Aether.)
subtly_artistic: (metafaculty)
Author: subtly_artistic
How very kind of him.

She doesn't reply through the link, just pats Emily's wall, asks for a door, and from Milliways asks Jane to put her in Chronicle.

And then she pops into the garden's new home.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Sue and Celo are both there! Sue waves cheerfully, kisses Celo, and freecasts back to Harley.
subtly_artistic: (suggestion)
Author: subtly_artistic
Now it is Aether's turn to kiss Celo.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
It is! It really really is.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth is still hanging out in the part of the Belltower they have been using to practice freecasting.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Sue gives Harley a hug and a kiss.

Harley suggests a thing to him.

"...So we're gonna have sex," he says to Elspeth, "see ya," and he and Harley freecast in near-unison to one of the Belltower's party rooms.
her_imperial_radiance: (serious)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth will go home to Aurum and wait for Harley there.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox




Some time later, Harley appears.

He hugs her.

He seems to be doing somewhat better on the motor skills front!
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Hugs.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Hugs!

"Love you, Elsie."

Yes, he's definitely speaking more clearly, too.
her_imperial_radiance: (snerk)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
"I love you too."
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley snuggles her.
her_imperial_radiance: (excuse me)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Snuggles.

She's not going to ask about Zeus again for a while. Probably Harley hasn't forgotten about him and just doesn't feel ready yet.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Snuggles.

That is indeed the case.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Pet pet pet.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Practically speaking, he is much too big to fit in her lap, but he has never been inclined to let that stop him from the moment it started being true.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
She is not concerned with his weight. The length of her arms is more of an issue, but she can still prop him up with one hand.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Anyways, even if all of Harley will not fit in her lap at once, he can sit next to her and flop over into it and curl up. That is a winning strategy.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
That works too. And he is pettable this way. Pet pet pet.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Snuggle snuggle.

Where is his poof? It is in its fountain. He reaches toward it and it rolls into his hand. He hugs it against his chest.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
That is cute. The poof was a good idea.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
The poof was a very good idea. It is soft and fluffy and huggable and he loves it very much.

It glows and whmmmmmms.
her_imperial_radiance: (snerk)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth pets Harley. (She also sneaks a pet of the poof.)
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley giggles.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Harley does not glow when petted, but that is okay.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
He doesn't, it's true! But he does smile and make contented snuggly sounds.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Those are good sounds. With any luck they mean he is feeling better.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
He is definitely improving.

Snuggles and snuggles and snuggles.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Also, snuggles. Must not forget the snuggles.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
The snuggles are extremely important.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Yep.

When it's been a while since the sandwich Elspeth asks him if he's hungry again.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
"Yeah," he says. Look! A word!
her_imperial_radiance: (princess)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
It's a word! It is a meaningful word. She is not sure if he is up to utensils, so it's chicken fingers and fries.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Harley totally succeeds at eating those things.
her_imperial_radiance: (right then)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
And a milkshake. With a straw.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
Milkshake!

He hugs Elsie and drinks the milkshake. Mmm. Mmmmilkshake.
her_imperial_radiance: (sigh)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
And now back to snuggling.

Elspeth decides it probably won't interfere too much if she conjures up a book to read while this continues.
pythbox: A book. (Default)
Author: pythbox
It does not interfere! Harley snuggles her.

Eventually, he falls asleep.
her_imperial_radiance: (Default)
Author: her_imperial_radiance
Elspeth doesn't have to sleep anymore. She stays right where she is, dims the lights, and reads her book.