[network] Event: Long & Lost [NIGHT 217]

[snowblindmods]

it's been so long between the words we spoke
will you be there up on the shore, I hope

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Comments

[mrcreamsicles]

Yeah, well.

[He shrugs audibly.]

At least there's that. Here's hoping it takes longer for death number 5 to get me.

How've you been since we last talked, existential dread aside? Seems like you got your recognition back.

[thewarningafter]

Days ago, yeah. You know that Chas Newby played bass for the Beatles for one month in 1960?

[Recognition and the esoteric trivia he couldn't recall when all the names in the world were gone from his head.]

I'm going east now and it's dark as hell in these tunnels. I'm good, though.

[mrcreamsicles]

Never heard of him.

[Really, Strange, his thing is rap. Obscure trivia about the Beatles is not in his wheelhouse.]

The tunnels suck. Just be careful and watch your step. Though the legs have gotta make climbing easier. Do you know what a pain it is trying to wriggle around with a giant tail when you can't just fly on up anymore?

[thewarningafter]

Yeah, the legs make it easier.

[And that's as close as he'll get to explicitly reminding Davesprite that his hands are useless. He's been making good time, but it's painful holding the tablet up for light all day and the periods of actual climbing are a nightmare.]

I thought you levitated.

[mrcreamsicles]

I remember the hands, Strange. I'm trying to focus on the positive.

[Or was, rather.]

All I can do here is float a couple inches off the ground. I can go up and down stairs just fine, but you ask me to do some real climbing and it's worthless.

[thewarningafter]

You know what I miss? Dimensional gateways. I've been to the top of Everest, but I sure as hell didn't climb there.

[mrcreamsicles]

What are dimensional gateways?

[The sound of Davesprite's wings comes through as they stretch, lazily half-flap, and fold again. Between the prior topic and now Strange's talk of missing things, he's reminded of how much he really does miss flight. Most birds weren't meant to be stuck on the ground, and they're too far north for him to be a penguin.]

[thewarningafter]

Portals. Open one and you can step through it like a door, anywhere you can visualize.

[mrcreamsicles]

Nice. Reminds me of Jade; she could teleport people. Except, like, with space powers instead of your kind of magic. What other stuff could you do?

[It makes a lot better subject than other stuff right now.]

[thewarningafter]

This and that. Make shields and weapons out of energy, visit other dimensions. Astral projection, that kind of thing.

[And time travel, but they've sort of covered that.]

[mrcreamsicles]

I always thought astral projection was some kind of new age hippie crap. What does it actually do?

[thewarningafter]

I mean....

[Describe any of the things he does in the right way and it sounds like new age hippie crap.]

Your astral body leaves your material body and traverses the astral dimension. It's kind of what it sounds like.

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite snorts.]

And how much granola do you have to choke down before your chakras are blitzed enough to make it work?

[thewarningafter]

Two and a half pounds.

[If Davesprite isn't going to take this seriously, he's not going to explain how chakras actually relate to one's ability to perform magic.]

[mrcreamsicles]

And here I thought that much fiber was for constipated grandpas.

[Casual, deadpan.]

But seriously, what's the astral dimension?

[thewarningafter]

[Please don't ever sit down and eat two and a half pounds of granola, Davesprite.]

It's one of the planes that exists parallel to the material dimension. It's where your soul always resides; you just can't usually see it because your astral body's connection to your material body dictates your perceptions.

[mrcreamsicles]

[He doesn't like granola that much, don't worry.]

So what's the benefit of visiting it? And what happens to your body if your soul just fucks off for a magic vacation?

[thewarningafter]

Lots of things. Surveillance, being able to act when you're asleep or...incapacitated. As for the body...ever seen a puppet with its strings cut?

[mrcreamsicles]

Strange, I have seen more puppets than you know the names for. Puppets with strings, puppets without strings—finger puppets, hand puppets, sock puppets, shadow puppets—every kind of messed up, fake, little asshole somebody got the bright idea to conduct manually into creeping out kids and filling shitty horror movies. You name a kids' movie or TV show with those suckers and it probably got shoved onto me at some point, to say nothing of the literal kind stocked around the apartment or the floating, cackling asshole I had to deal with for the whole of my timeline's Sburb session. Puppets have haunted my nightmares for years, Strange, and I hate them.

[It all tumbles out in a shaken rush, followed by a short moment of self-conscious silence.]

Ignore that. I get your meaning. Sounds like a hefty tradeoff for ghost spying.

[thewarningafter]

...Oh-kay. Noted.

[He wasn't looking for a confession of Davesprite's deepest darkest fears, but maybe it's not so surprising that it's coming out tonight, of all nights. Stephen himself has already said too much elsewhere.]

Only if you leave it somewhere stupid.

[mrcreamsicles]

[Thank god for moving on smoothly. Davesprite breathes the lightest sigh of relief, then takes the answer and rolls with it.]

Tell me, Strange, have you left it somewhere stupid?

[thewarningafter]

No? I like my body.

[Said a little too quickly. They've just gotten off painful topics; he doesn't need to bring another one up now.]

[mrcreamsicles]

Mhmm. Sounds defensive.

[He's not expecting anything painful. For all he knows, Strange just messed up and left it somewhere dumb by accident once.]

[thewarningafter]

[He's just not going to talk about it. They can talk about the other time he left his body in an operating room.]

Look, you haven't lived until you've assisted with your own surgery.

[mrcreamsicles]

[Davesprite shudders audibly.]

Oh hell no. Hell fucking no. I don't like seeing blood even regularly, let alone for that kind of thing.