Author: temporal_affairs	Here they are, having a cute post-death reunion!
Author: manofmyword	Eventually, the Joker quits hugging Nathan long enough to teleport back to Shell's place. He flickers back into Eights' bedroom almost immediately. "Looks like my doorstop fell asleep on the job," he laughs. "So I'll be sticking around for a while."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Ah, that's the thing with doorstops that get up and walk around," says Timer. "Mmm, not time to leave just yet - even now you're here. Five minutes. Time to get dressed, though. You can't wish up a door?"
Author: manofmyword	"It's probably above my pay grade," he says. "But I guess I could try it, if we run out of other options."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"Getting dressed is boring," announces Eights. "Hey you, Joker, got a spare hug for me?"
Author: manofmyword	"Sure." Hug!
Author: temporal_affairs	"Aww," says Nathan. "Hey, babe, I've wondered - how did I die? Kind of hard to sneak up on a vampire with, you know, death, they can burn or starve if I remember right and neither thing's instant."
Author: manofmyword	"Batsy got her hands on some hexes," he says. "Thought you were gonna eat her, so she wished you to death."
Author: temporal_affairs	"I wasn't gonna eat her," says Timer scornfully. "...I was gonna yell at her, though, I hated her guts. All a bit far away now."
Author: manofmyword	"I know you weren't, sweetie."
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer finishes buttoning up his shirt. It is not time to leave yet, so he sits down on Eights's bed. "If I come back to Aurum or Sixty or whatever with you I do not imagine Vampire Nathan is going to like me much," he points out. "Similar reason."
Author: manofmyword	The Joker hugs him. "Even though you're both you?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"Babe," says Timer, "does anything about how mate bonds work make sense? As far as Nathan's concerned - you can call me Timer, your sort of name is pretty popular around here - I'm not just competition, I'm competition who 'cheated on you'." He makes air quotes, he gestures at Eights.
Author: manofmyword	He laughs. "Funny, it doesn't work that way for Alice."
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer's memories of being alive are not perfect, especially with name collisions. "Alice - are we thinking of the same Alice?"
Author: manofmyword	"Mm, no, the other one. One of me," he explains. "He's a vampire and he's with Goldie's alt Stella but they are nnnot monogamous. Ringing any bells?"
Author: lookingforwardtoit	These people's social life is fascinating. Eights could listen to it all day.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Oh, one of you. Why would one of you follow any of the rules?" snorts Timer. "Stella hasn't turned, has she? Because that'd start screwing with them. Aurum's Bella and monogamy are like this." He twists his first two fingers together.
Author: manofmyword	"Nah, don't think she's planning to." He grins. "It's a one-vampire relationship."
Author: temporal_affairs	"There you go, then, Nathan probably wouldn't like it if you fucked around - though come to think of it if you did it during the parts of the relationship I remember, it has slipped my mind - but Stella's got no reason to care if Alice does, whether that makes sense for his species or not."
Author: manofmyword	"Haven't done it yet," he shrugs. "But Alice doesn't mind if Stella fucks around, either. Not that she has."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Mmm, he might think that but I'd take even odds on him getting a surprise if she ever goes for it," shrugs Timer. "I could be wrong, though, maybe you lot are just that - that."
Author: manofmyword	"We really, really are."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Good for you. My timer throws me in a pretty girl's path now and again, here, and I'm no monk, but I'm not far out enough for my vampire self to be comfy with such things."
Author: manofmyword	"So much for me and my dreams," the Joker says playfully.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Hm?"
Author: manofmyword	"Sweetie, there's two of you."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	(Eights laughs.)
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer snorts. "Unless there is a sense in which the mate bond is amenable to magic, nothing doing," he says. "I'd play - although I do think the bond was patching something in the sexual orientation department, so I'd rather you presto-changeo first - but Nathan would sooner tear me apart, I'm betting."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"And you, as I recall, are not into that."
Author: manofmyword	He laughs.
Author: temporal_affairs	"If, unbeknownst to me, I were into that, I think my timer would've had me sticking around at your place long enough to run into Chainsaw or somebody by now," remarks Timer.
Author: manofmyword	"Ooh, who's that?"
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"Chainsaw is a torturer," says Eights. "He's very friendly. I'm getting the sense you guys would get along."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Torturers are exactly what they sound like," adds Timer helpfully.
Author: manofmyword	"Fun," says the Joker. "Fun is what they sound like."
Author: temporal_affairs	"You'll have to get Eights to introduce you, 'cause I can't. And you'll have to work around the fact that any torturer here is used to their playthings being able to torch," Timer adds as an afterthought.
Author: manofmyword	"'Torch', meaning...?"
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"I'd demonstrate, but I don't have anything sharp on me," says Eights.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Bet you do, though, babe," says Timer, holding a hand out in the Joker's direction.
Author: manofmyword	Laughing, he produces a knife—whether by sleight of hand or magic is anybody's guess—and hands it over.
Author: temporal_affairs	"You want to do the honors, Eights, or shall I?" Timer inquires.
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"Mmm, gimme," she says, and takes the knife and gets out of bed and cuts her throat. Carpets are easier to clean than mattresses, and blood lingers after a— Very real-looking flames spring up, consuming her body while leaving everything else untouched. The knife drops to the floor. She coaelsces again in exactly the same spot, exactly the same pose, but intact and spotless. "Torch," she says, with a ta-daa sort of gesture.
Author: manofmyword	"Well," says the Joker. "I bounce back pretty fast, too, remember?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"I do remember, babe, but now you know what it should look like if you wanna fool somebody," shrugs Timer.
Author: manofmyword	"Should I wanna fool him?"
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"...How fast do you bounce back, exactly?" inquires Eights. "Because if you're not dead but you're difficult to kill, he is so gonna take that as a challenge."
Author: manofmyword	"Oooooooooh."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Very fast," says Timer, "when he's not deliberately suppressing the regen. Very, very fast. I dunno what would happen if Chainsaw tried to cut his head off or something, though."
Author: manofmyword	"Well, now I wanna find out," he says brightly.
Author: temporal_affairs	"I have no idea what happens if you die in Downside, babe, but there's some chance that you and Nathan and the munchkin don't like the answer," Timer says. "I don't know of anybody else hereabouts with magic. Might be a reason."
Author: manofmyword	He waves a hand. "I unkilled you, remember? Goldie's got the coins. If I don't come back, they can fix it. Bell's girlfriend fixed her, and she was atomized."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Uh, you unkilled one of me. I'm doing okay here, sure, but d'you want to split in two, one of which never gets to see Kerron again?"
Author: manofmyword	"Sweetie," he says, "I love you, but you really don't get it about me and risk, do ya."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"I get it," volunteers Eights.
Author: temporal_affairs	"I never did fully understand that," concedes Timer, shrugging. "Your life, do what you wanna do with it, split in two or julienne yourself like matchstick fries, as you like."
Author: manofmyword	The Joker giggles and hugs him.
Author: temporal_affairs	Mmm, hugs. "Time for me to go," he announces. "Babe, you coming with me or loitering in case the reason it's time involves Eights's next visitor being all over pointy or somesuch?"
Author: manofmyword	"As fun as that sounds, I think I'd rather catch up with you," he says, giving Nathan a quick kiss on the cheek. "Is it a good time to gimme the grand tour?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"Scale of days, yep," says Timer, and he kisses Eights goodbye and meanders out through her preposterously large house.
Author: manofmyword	Off they go! Can they be holding hands? The Joker would like to be holding hands.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer will hold hands. Anything more than that and maybe some kissing is going to require turning him back into a vampire (although, how would that work, now, with another him already mated to this particular individual?) or a presto-changeo. He'll bring that up later on when it comes up. (Of course it's going to come up.)
Author: manofmyword	Damn right it's going to come up. Holding hands is just perfect for now, though. The Joker has feelings about Timer. Big warm cuddly lovey feelings.
Author: temporal_affairs	"It is good to see you again," remarks Timer, as they get to the transit station, and he consults his eponym and then taps in the necessary data to take them to his neighborhood. "My place is kind of a thimble, but a nice thimble. 'S contingent on how much mourning gets done. It's the kind of place you get when exactly one person is so sad they jump off a cliff and only spend about a minute being sad, except in my case I guess you only spent a minute on it 'cause there's the live one."
Author: manofmyword	"Mhm," he says. "I was veeery sad. But Goldie fixed you right up."
Author: temporal_affairs	Here is Timer's place. "Behold," he says, "the result of your brief yet intense sad." He hasn't redecorated much beyond what the place came with - he spends plenty of time outside the home; he doesn't have to huddle scared in his residence like some people, and he doesn't care that much about aesthetics - but he keeps it neat and tidy.
Author: manofmyword	"It's cute," he declares, and gives Timer a hug. Now would be a good time to clarify about the exact circumstances under which presto-changeo is warranted.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Mm, babe, I remind you about the aforementioned mate bond patching thing."
Author: manofmyword	"Even for snuggles?" he asks, semi-plaintively.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Is it a big deal? I didn't think it mattered to you either way," says Timer quizzically.
Author: manofmyword	"It doesn't matter a lot. But I don't wanna switch right now, and I do wanna snuggle you..." He ponders this dilemma, letting go of Timer in the meantime.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer shrugs. "I can hug you whichever way, but I know where you and me snuggling goes, babe."
Author: manofmyword	He laughs. "I'll switch if we go there," he promises, and resumes hug.
Author: temporal_affairs	Hugs.
Author: manofmyword	Snuggly hugs. Snuggly nuzzly hugs. Snuggly nuzzly ooooh he sees what Timer meant, there.
Author: yourheartstrings	Now he feels like switching.
Author: temporal_affairs	Ah-ha. There we go. Timer is not a vampire anymore and cannot throw the Joker around quite so effectively, but he can still acquit himself tolerably well, he thinks.
Author: yourheartstrings	No complaints. Eventually, they are curled up in Timer's bed, snuggling contentedly. "Mind if I switch back for this part?" she murmurs, pillowing her head on his shoulder.
Author: temporal_affairs	"If you want," Timer yawns.
Author: manofmyword	He switches back. "Love you, sweetie."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Love you too, babe." Mate bond is toast, but it left marks.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker likes marks.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer would find that funny if either of them had spoken instead of narrating, and if he were not falling asleep.
Author: manofmyword	Sleep! Aww, he sleeps now. That is adorable. The Joker is going to sleep with him.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer sleeps for an hourlong nap - he was after all in the middle of having a nap when the Joker interrupted - and then awakens.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker is wrapped around him like a cuddly anaconda, per his usual. He's smiling in his sleep.
Author: temporal_affairs	Aww. Let's see, what was Timer gonna do today? He has a whiteboard he uses as a calendar, because he can't remember all the timings he's checked in his head without vampire mnemonic fidelity. He can see it from his bed. Visiting Fractal, going to the restaurant - he checks them again. They can wait. He stays put with the Joker.
Author: manofmyword	Cuddly cuddly cuddly zzzzzz.
Author: temporal_affairs	Nathan's kinda stuck. Oh well. He goes back to sleep too, for another hour.
Author: manofmyword	This time, it's the Joker who wakes up first. He doesn't see this as a good reason to decuddle.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer follows suit soon enough and yawns. "Oh, you're up. Hullo. Hungry? I am."
Author: manofmyword	"Yep," he says. "...Hey, I can make you dinner! Can I make you dinner?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"Sure." Maybe the reason the best time to go to the restaurant is so much later than usual is because he's only going for drinks or something. "I dunno how good the ingredient selection is, but you can fix that for sure."
Author: manofmyword	"Whatcha feel like?" he asks, kissing Timer's cheek. "Or should I surprise you?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"I'm up for surprises. I'm allergic to gluten, though. Doesn't torch me, just mighty uncomfortable."
Author: manofmyword	"Gotcha," he says, and kisses him again, and hops out of bed to go survey the kitchen situation. The kitchen situation needs improvement. Well, that's what magic is for.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer, meanwhile, checks the other parts of his apartment for debris that's accumulated since the last time he checked. He finds four things, three of which go in the to-trade box by the door and the remaining one of which (a tube of toothpaste) is kept for when he runs out of the current one. Perhaps he doesn't need to bother with any of this with the Joker right there, demonstrably as minty as this toothpaste, but a century's worth of habits and the decent odds that the Joker's going to go home and be with Nathan instead of Timer add up to doing it anyway.
Author: manofmyword	And the Joker makes dinner. It will be impressive, and tasty, and gluten-free.
Author: temporal_affairs	Nathan will gobble it up appreciatively! "You," he pronounces, "are a good cook."
Author: manofmyword	"I know I am!" he beams. "I'm glad I got to cook for ya."
Author: temporal_affairs	"It was definitely a conspicuous omission. Let's see, what else did we never do because I wasn't enough of an organism?" Timer snorts. "Surprising that being dead makes me more of an organism."
Author: manofmyword	"Mmmm, I dunno," he says. "Is there anything you want to do now that you're all blunt and squishy and food-eating? ...Tickle fight?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"...Have you somehow managed to form the impression that vampires cannot be tickled? Because they can. But of course, so can I."
Author: manofmyword	"Wouldn't be much of a tickle fight," he says brightly, "if you were a vampire. Not unless I boosted up some."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Mm, there is that. You can probably give me a run for my money. Even post-presto-changeo."
Author: yourheartstrings	"Even?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"Well, I dunno all the details of how you do it, but naively I'd expect upper body strength to take a hit?" he shrugs. "Make it a little harder to pin me down and inflict wiggly fingers? C'mon. Prove me wrong." And he gets up and saunters to near his bed, arms out, inviting tickle-attack.
Author: yourheartstrings	The Joker pounces. She definitely does not seem impaired in her tickling abilities, not that Timer has a baseline to compare her to.
Author: temporal_affairs	A good time is had by all! (Nathan flails around rather adorably when tickled.)
Author: yourheartstrings	It is the cutest fucking thing and she loves him so much. "That is the cutest damn thing in the world," she informs him, "and I love you so much." Cuddlepounce!
Author: temporal_affairs	"Love you too, babe," laughs Nathan, catching his breath over the course of snuggles.
Author: yourheartstrings	She wraps her arms around him and squeezes enthusiastically, then settles in at his side. Contentedly: "Mmmm."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Ah, I am glad to see you, babe," sighs Timer.
Author: yourheartstrings	"I am glad to see you too," she says, nuzzling his shoulder.
Author: temporal_affairs	It's about time for Timer to visit Fractal. Also about time for him to say: "This'd be the best time for you to head back to Eights's place. Without me. It is not at all a good time for me to go to her place. I'm betting one of her interesting friends is gonna be there."
Author: yourheartstrings	"Ooooooooh," says the Joker. And: "Do me a favour, sweetie? Hang onto these—" and Timer acquires his very own coin bandolier, full of most of what the Joker's got on her. "Just in case," she says, giving him a kiss.
Author: temporal_affairs	"All right, babe," says Timer, and he returns the kiss and loops the bandolier onto his person.
Author: yourheartstrings	Okay, one more kiss. Two more kisses. And thennnnnn she touches one of the pentagons in Timer's new coin stash, and it and she disappear.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer times his visit to Fractal, up the street (and every intervening turn), and he and his friend watch selections of Fractal's video collection and snark at the characters. Timer vaguely wonders what the Joker's up to.
Author: manofmyword	[Ooh,] says a familiar voice in his head. [Chainsaw is fun.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Heh. You wanna tell the class?]
Author: manofmyword	[You would not beliiiieve what this man can do with a pair of pliers. I think I'm in love,] he sighs happily.
Author: temporal_affairs	[What, again? Live'un would nnnnot be pleased,] laughs Timer.
Author: manofmyword	[Live'un is just gonna have to deal. I love him too,] the Joker says fondly, and giggles. [Ooh. I see where Chainsaw got his name.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Well, that sounds just ducky, doesn't it,] says Timer affectionately.
Author: manofmyword	[Mmmmm. You betcha, sweetheart.] He sounds extremely pleased with himself.
Author: temporal_affairs	[I am glad that you are having fun. And that I am not the liveling of me, who would be frothing at the mouth and pacing by now.]
Author: manofmyword	[If you were the liveling of you, I'd still be fucking him but I wouldn't be taunting you about it.] Beat. [Probably.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Eh. He'd be frothing at the mouth and pacing even if you weren't taunting him. If you were taunting him he would be debating the wisdom of showing up at Eights's house and knocking Chainsaw down. Technical term for hurting somebody till they quit challenging you. Can't exactly have fights to the death around here.]
Author: manofmyword	The Joker giggles.
Author: temporal_affairs	[I feel for liveling me, you know, he's not inherently jealous, as I demonstrate, but you make him all kinds of crazy, babe.]
Author: manofmyword	[I know,] he sighs. [I love him, I really really do.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[I know you do. I'd be way sorrier for him if you didn't. I suppose if you wouldn't've, timer would've never put me - us? - Past Nathan in a room with you.]
Author: manofmyword	[I love both of you,] he says, and then giggles. [Aww, Chainsaw's wondering what I'm daydreaming about. Don't think I'll tell him.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Thank you, babe.]
Author: manofmyword	He laughs unrepentantly.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer's companion is not so curious about where Timer's attention may be; Timer seamlessly goes back to paying attention to the video.
Author: manofmyword	The Joker is quiet for a while. Then he says, a little dreamily: [Whatcha up to, sweetie?]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Watching movies with Fractal. Nothing particularly interesting. How come?]
Author: manofmyword	[No reason,] he says. [I was feeling all cuddly, so I thought of you.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Awww. Love you, babe.]
Author: manofmyword	[Love you too, sweetheart.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Do I wanna know what got you all snuggly-minded, or would it give me nightmares?] asks Timer rhetorically. (He's not particularly subject to nightmares.)
Author: manofmyword	[I dunno, do you get nightmares?]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Nah, and if I did, they'd probably be about something I did, not something that made you snuggly.]
Author: manofmyword	[What would you get nightmares about?] he laughs, distracted from the original question.
Author: temporal_affairs	[Eh, probably eating those kids right after I turned that were probably mine.]
Author: manofmyword	[Awwwwwwww, honey,] he says sympathetically.
Author: temporal_affairs	[But in fact I do not get nightmares, so whatcha up to now?]
Author: manofmyword	[Chainsaw's trying to cut me in half,] he says cheerfully. [He's not getting anywhere. You should see the look on his face, it's hilarious.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[I'll use my imagination. Did you explain to him what's going on?]
Author: manofmyword	[Kinda sorta.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Did you just tell him you were alive and hard to kill, babe?]
Author: manofmyword	[Pretty much.]
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer sighs through the brainphone.
Author: manofmyword	[Whaaaaaaaaat?]
Author: temporal_affairs	[You are very much yourself and you're exasperating and I love you.]
Author: manofmyword	[Love you too, sweetie pie.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[You be as careful as it is in you to be.]
Author: manofmyword	[Deal,] he says affectionately. And then giggles, abruptly, like someone just started tickling him.
Author: temporal_affairs	[Lemme guess, you've been introduced to new friends, possibly serrated?]
Author: manofmyword	[Got it in one!] he whoops.
Author: temporal_affairs	[It is really stunning how well I remember you.]
Author: manofmyword	[I'm stunningly memorable.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[It's true!]
Author: manofmyword	[Mmmm. I love you,] he sighs. [Aww, I'm gettin' all cuddly again.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[I'll keep an eye on my timer and I can be at my place waiting for you when Chainsaw's done with you.]
Author: manofmyword	[Good plan.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[I have those sometimes.]
Author: manofmyword	[You do. And I love you for it,] he says happily.
Author: temporal_affairs	[What don't you love me for?] Timer asks rhetorically. [Is there any such thing?]
Author: manofmyword	He thinks about it. He concludes: [Nah, not really.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Didn't think so. Love-slut. And regular-slut,] he accuses affectionately.
Author: manofmyword	[I am all kindsa slut,] he says happily.
Author: temporal_affairs	[Are there,] Timer asks innocently, [many kinds?]
Author: manofmyword	[Yep!]
Author: temporal_affairs	[I bet you can't list them all while Chainsaw's getting increasingly offended by your "daydreaming",] teases Timer.
Author: manofmyword	[That eager to hear me call myself a slut? 'Cause hey, if that's what you're into...]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Just following the conversational thread, babe.]
Author: manofmyword	He laughs. [Love you, sweetie.]
Author: temporal_affairs	[Love you too.]
Author: manofmyword	[Mmmmm.] And that's it from him, for another little while.
Author: temporal_affairs	Timer goes to the restaurant for drinks with Fractal, gets slightly tipsy, timers his way home, and picks up a book.
Author: manofmyword	No more word from the Joker.
Author: temporal_affairs	That's curious. It's been some time now. [Babe?]
Author: manofmyword	Nothing. In fact, nothing. Like he's not on the network at all.
Author: temporal_affairs	...He would probably have said goodbye. Is this a good time to use one of these coins to go find him?
Author: manofmyword	Not especially. On a scale of minutes, it's in about ten. On a scale of days, it's in about five. On a scale of years, it's next month. On a scale of centuries, it's... still next month.
Author: temporal_affairs	Checking multiple scales is good for finding focal points like that. But a good time to call Eights is in about thirty minutes. Timer sits tight. He lets half an hour go by. And he phones her.
Author: lookingforwardtoit	She answers with a cautious, "Hi?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"Hi, Eights, what's up? This was a good time to call you, and, perhaps relatedly, do you know where the Joker went?"
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"...Technically no," she says. "But I do know Chainsaw set him on fire and I haven't seen him since. Uh. Sorry. He seemed really happy about it, if that's any consolation."
Author: temporal_affairs	"I bet he was. He's not telepathy-able right now, though, and I'm confused - he either went home without stopping in to say goodbye, or Chainsaw managed to kill him after all."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"Pretty sure it's the second one."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Well, damn. Now either Bella's going to split him too, or a vampire with a missing mate is going to be looking after my kid."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"Sorry," she repeats.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Eh. He at least thought he knew what he was getting into. Thanks for telling me."
Author: lookingforwardtoit	"Yeah."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Later, Eights." This is a good time to hang up. There's no way to get a look in the queue. Usually. Is this a good time to wish a look in the queue?
Author: pythbox	Yes.
Author: temporal_affairs	Wish. (Timer doesn't have a great sense of which coins are for which things, so he goes from a triangle up. Takes a square.)
Author: pythbox	There is the Joker, without clothing or scars or makeup or hair dye, floating unconscious in the middle of a small featureless white room with a numbered plaque on the outside.
Author: temporal_affairs	Hm. A square won't tell Timer straight up if a judge is coming sooner or later. Who needs coins, though? He can find the best time to teleport to and greet the Joker. Long, long timescale, because it can take forever - It's in half an hour. ...Timer will never understand the scheduling in this place. He waits. He's good at that, when his timer tells him to be.
Author: gunpowdergelatine	A judge wakes him up and hands him his sentence papers and sends him off on his long walk. He goes quite cheerfully.
Author: temporal_affairs	At the requisite moment, Timer ports in. "Hi, babe," he says.
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Sweetie!" The Joker beams and flings his arms around Timer, hugging him tight.
Author: temporal_affairs	Hugs! "That didn't take long. You could've easily been cooling your heels for centuries, but you only died about an hour ago. What kinda sentence did they slap on you?"
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Mm, not one with Chainsaw," he says, "much to my disappointment." He finds a pentagon on Timer's bandolier and teleports them both to Timer's house, because it is more fun to cuddle in.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Who is it, then?"
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Jasmine."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Ah, I got assigned to her in my time, but I fobbed it off on Eights. You'll probably have fun with her, too, she's a big name. Not as affable as Chainsaw's rumored to be. I believe the conventional wisdom is that she'll be meaner if you're male, though."
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Ooh. Fun."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Well, you know, for torturer values of 'meaner'. I have no idea what she'll do if you explain you to her all friendly-like." Pause. "Your guide is going to be confused when you don't show. Oh well."
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Watch me care," he snorts. "Mm, let's go snuggle."
Author: temporal_affairs	"All right. You want some of the coins back? Do you have any left on you?"
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"I do nnnnot have any left on me," he says. "And I bet I'm not a mint anymore. Well, I can fix that." He touches a hex. He blinks at it. "Innnnnnnnteresting," he says, and touches it again. This wish goes through.
Author: temporal_affairs	"What?" Timer asks.
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"I can make myself a mint but I can't make it stick," he says. "Not with a hex, anyway. And everybody keeps tellin' me I shouldn't try a star."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Huh. Not sticking how?"
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Not sticking if I torch."
Author: temporal_affairs	"Ah. So you'll wanna accumulate some hexes between each occasion of same, if you wanna be a mint as a general habit."
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"Orrrrrrr," he says, "I could experiment."
Author: temporal_affairs	"...With a star? Any warning you've paid attention to this long has to be all kinds of dire."
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"What's it gonna do," he asks, "kill me again?"
Author: temporal_affairs	"Wreck my place?" suggests Timer. "Torch me? I haven't tried it yet and I'm in no hurry."
Author: gunpowdergelatine	"I'd go somewhere else, silly," he says, kissing the end of Timer's nose.
Author: temporal_affairs	"Oh, well then. You're probably just fine."
Author: gunpowdergelatine	Beaming, he kisses him again, then puts himself back on the brainphone network just because. —And blinks.