Locked to Joscelin, Melissa, and Zed

[thornsofmalkav]

I can't do this Jaunt anymore.

[A few hours after her run-in with Lucifer, Thorne's mental voice sounds completely wrung-out.]

I mean, I really can't. Not with how often everything keeps fucking catching on fire. I nearly lost control of myself twice today. All those explosions... and that stupid fish-bitch lit my dress on fire.

I almost... fuck.

Shit. I'm sorry. But I need to sit the rest of this out. Or-- if not the rest of it, at least the next couple days. I mean, I want to help look for unexploded bombs like the others are doing, that's what I was trying to do today, but fuck. I can't right now.

Can one of you three tell that woman organizing the bomb hunt that I had a freak-out and can't help for a few days at least?

And, um, Melissa or Joscelin? If you see Min, tell him that if he doesn't see me for a while it's not because I don't want to see him. It's because I'm kind of messed up right now.

Comments

[stopinthenameofawe]

She did what.

[jfc she knows the other stuff might be more important (though Melissa's been avoiding the explosions herself for the same reasons), but... yeah holy shit she's surprised you aren't frenzying right now..]

[thornsofmalkav]

A couple hours ago.

I made a portal and flung myself into liminal before I could rip her face off. Thank fuck there wasn't anyone nearby while I freaked out.

... except for Selene, but she flew up so I couldn't reach her.

[stopinthenameofawe]

[Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to figure what 'freak out' is code for.]

At least there's that. The fuck is wrong with her?

[thornsofmalkav]

Besides everything?

... she doesn't think anyone here is real besides the Travelers. So it's fine to refuse to help people or laugh when everything burns because if everything goes to hell then at least the Trumps aren't getting what they want.

I thought that was a shitty way to act and, um, I might have used an Adversary of Chaos power on her, just to freak her out a little. Which is when she set my dress on fire.

[stopinthenameofawe]

That's going to come back to bite her. [possibly literally, depending on how much Thorne wants to fuck with her later.]

You gonna be ok in Liminal?

[thornsofmalkav]

[There's the mental equivalent of a hysterical giggle.]

Yeah. Seriously.

And... I think so? Probably. Unless this Jaunt stretches on a super lot longer and then I might need to go back and get something to eat. But it's not as obnoxious here as it could be. And I've got a book in my, uh, Hammerspace thing. I mean, it's for Leo after the Jaunt is over--I had some time to kill last week when I was waiting for the rain to clear up enough so I could do an aerial search for the Mantis, so I, uh, used some of Chouko's money to get people souvenirs--I mean, I didn't know she'd be back!

Anyway. I can read it. And I can do that thing where you look at old psychic conversations. So I won't be bored.

[stopinthenameofawe]

...What do you mean, she'd be back? [is you infiltrator self undead too now???]

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah. Uh. I was going to announce it after the Jaunt was over, so that everyone could hear, Infiltrators too, but the 'me' at the embassy is actually mostly Chouko for real now. Has been since just after Phoenix did her ultimatum.

Like, after she died, Blitzkopf found her body and used the lightning to Frankenstein her back to life. She's got a clockwork heart now to replace the one the Mantis turned into mincemeat. And, uh, she went back eventually and found me faking her.

So, like, that's why I got super fucking pissed when the fish bitch said people weren't real. Because I know they are.

[stopinthenameofawe]

Holy shit. [Melissa hadn't come up with any real ideas about what happened to their worlds after they were gone, what they were apart from the Travelers themselves, but... that might not be the end all be all, but it's pretty damning.] Hanging out in Liminal might be a good idea for more than one reason, then.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah. I mean, she's got a separate existence from me. That's pretty fucking indicative that these places don't just exist for the Trumps to throw us in there.

[Sigh.]

This fucking Jaunt. Is Investigating always such bullshit?

[stopinthenameofawe]

Fuck if I know, this is my first crack at it too.

[whydoyoushine]

You need me to go make trouble for her?

Because I can do that.

[thornsofmalkav]

... that depends. Do Emperors of Darkness get fucked up by getting set on fire?

[whydoyoushine]

[He just laughs. It's not a nice laugh, more of a "villain about to go start something" laugh.]

With all of the darkness and fear floating around here? Not a chance.

[thornsofmalkav]

Can you make sure no civilians get hurt? Because she sure as fuck isn't going to be.

[whydoyoushine]

Never really worried much over collateral damage before...but I can give it a try.

[He considers it.]

Mr. Sparkles can take care of that while I get down to business.

[thornsofmalkav]

[Thank god for Mr Sparkles.]

Then sure. If you want to.

[whydoyoushine]

Sure, I want to.

Tell me where you last saw her; I'll track her down.

[thornsofmalkav]

She was walking down one of the backstreets. [Thorne gives him the location and the direction she was headed in.]

That was hours ago, though. So I dunno where she is now.

[whydoyoushine]

Gives me a place to start looking...and I can probably sniff out her own personal darkness, too.

[He laughs.]

I'll figure it out.

[thornsofmalkav]

... oh god, do you actually smell darkness? What does it even smell like?

[whydoyoushine]

[There's more laughter.]

It's just a figure of speech. I can sense it.

[He pauses.]

...though I'd imagine it would just smell like home.

[thornsofmalkav]

... oh.

[Don't mind her, she's thinking of home now.]

[protect_and_serve]

Do what you must. I'll carry word to Min.

[thornsofmalkav]

Thank you.

... sorry things have been weird lately.

[protect_and_serve]

I don't think now's the time to dwell on that. I'm still everything I was to you.

[thornsofmalkav]

Yeah. Same. [And with other people able to hear, that's probably all that needs to be said.]