Introducing Ectoplasmic Embodiment

[thornsofmalkav]

Wait. Shit. No. This isn't how my vision went. I'm not supposed to be Charoite again!

[That little speech comes almost immediately upon arriving in Questing Country. After that, Thorne is almost completely silent for the next couple hours. When she finally contacts the network again, she sounds much less upset. Tired and a little giddy, but not upset.]

Okay. So. I think I might have figured out how Empress managed to pull the Skittles out of people two years ago.

Comments

[fruitknife]

What's candy have to do with anything?

[comebewe]

Wait. You mean you've pulled someone out of their overlay?

[thornsofmalkav]

Me.

I pulled me out of Charoite. But I don't think I'll be able to do it again anytime soon. It's got a hell of a cooldown.

[comebewe]

You know you don't have to talk about these things like they're video game mechanics.

[[Honestly. Cooldowns. Who talks about magic like that?]]

What happened to your overlay?

[thornsofmalkav]

Oh right, they were before your time. Um, so, there were these rainbow-themed asshole mages in the world of Dolorosa and Misericordia that managed through sheer cussedness to break into Liminal and pick a fight with the Empress? But they lost because a couple other Arcana jumped in to help her and then she went and pulled the Travelers who had been Infiltrating as them physically out of their bodies, instead of just putting them in the driver's seat like de-infiltration usually works.

The 'Skittles' thing is because they're color coded. [And Magician had called them that.]

[fruitknife]

Oh.

So you completely de-infiltrated yourself? [By that point she's confirmed the 'somebody' to Matthew.]

[thornsofmalkav]

Sometimes it helps to conceptualize it. What I mean is that it took a fuck-lot out of me and I don't know if I'll have it in me to do it to anybody else before the Jaunt is over. Maybe once more if I dig deep into my reserves.

Charoite's fine. She's in her own body without me, we had a nice talk, and we're both relieved that I won't be driving while she's holding hands with her rock husband.

[comebewe]

They already know who we are. Are you really sure that it's a good idea to also let them know that some of us are them?

[thornsofmalkav]

Yep. But like I just said to Matthew, it took a lot out of me. I doubt I could do this more than once a Jaunt--but I could probably teach other people.

[thornsofmalkav]

Well, I wasn't going to stay as Charoite this entire time. Not when her husband is here and this is the only time she gets to see him. And she figured out something was weird as soon as I was out, anyway.

[comebewe]

Yes, but what happens when Charoite starts telling other people about this weird woman that was her? Maybe she's okay with it now, but you're gone. She don't have to worry about you anymore.

Just how do you think other people, people who are still overlays, are going to react?

[thornsofmalkav]

... fuck.

[fruitknife]

Useful if somebody doesn't wanna be their overlay while they're themselves.

[comebewe]

There's a few more words I'd like to add there, but 'fuck' is about right, yes.

Public -> Private (x2 protected)

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah.

[Okay, going to private now.]

Shit. I just didn't want... she's married to the guy that Kanji was during Questing Country before. And when I ran off I wasn't sure that he wasn't going to be Kei again. And if he was... I mean, they're married. And Kanji's my friend and I guess he's an adult now, but he wasn't when I first met him?

Ugh. I probably should have thought more about this.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah.

Private protected x2 forever

[comebewe]

Yes. You should have. Bloody hell Thorne. You couldn't, like, maybe wait and pick a moment where she won't see you on the way out and go, 'hey, I wonder what's with that woman who was possessing me?'

[fruitknife]

Somethin' on the goo tree, or is it more complicated than that?

Re: Private protected x2 forever

[thornsofmalkav]

I know, I know. I panicked, okay? I pretty much fucking panicked and gave everything away like that.

I'm sorry. I just. Ugh.

[thornsofmalkav]

Uh. I'm pretty sure this is a hybrid skill, but it definitely needs goo.

[comebewe]

You know - I'm not sure you panicked.

Well. You're panicking now, yeah, but I'm not sure you panicked then. Because you were completely, totally excited about this, right up until the point when I pointed out something you hadn't thought about. And this isn't exactly the first time.

[he doesn't mention her experiments. but they hang in the air, unspoken, all the same. And then he sighs, and relents a little]

Nothing we can do about now. Not sure if it's better or worse that this is a jaunt where they already know about it. But, you know, next time maybe don't be so quick to pull someone out of an overlay?

Even if they are married to Kanji.

[fruitknife]

Makes sense.

[So, nothing he's getting to any time soon, in that case.]

[thornsofmalkav]

I did fucking panic. Jesus Christ, Matthew, I don't need you to cast doubt on my own experiences of my own emotions, okay? That's like the last thing I need. I panicked like fuck when I first realized I was in Charoite's body and we ran the fuck away from everyone. I'm sure people saw. It was pretty obvious. You can ask around.

[Yeah. People would definitely be able to verify that.]

... I mean. I wasn't panicking anymore when I did the thing. I'd calmed down enough to, like, be all 'No, I'm going to fucking pull myself out of this body. If Empress can do it, so can I.' But I did freak out at first and that probably did not help with the not thinking things through thing that came after. Which, okay, is a bad pattern for me anyway. You're right. I can totally admit that.

[She sighs too.]

I'm not sure if we'd have been able to keep Infiltration a secret the entire Jaunt... but we probably could have kept it secret longer if I hadn't been so focused on doing the thing right away.

[thornsofmalkav]

I think maybe it needs de-infiltration--Memory Restoration is what I think the official name is?--and the higher stage of Liminal Healing. Liminal Regeneration I was thinking of calling it. Mostly to make the Jaunt body.

[Yes, she built herself a Jaunt body. There's a reason it took so much out of her.]

[comebewe]

Alright, alright.

[there's awkward moment of pause]

Sorry.