"Thanks. I think it's pretty too," says Pattern.

"You mean, of ones who come from the same world, so not counting Queenie and Ghosty? I guess," says Pattern. "But I didn't have a future sister-in-law to steer me away from the van or a mint friend to fix me up in the hospital. Or conveniently live in a different and van-free town like Juliet or year like half the rest or world like the remainder. So it got me."

"It's a pity," he muses. "We-ell, I can't complain about how it all turned out. But I gotta wonder if we woulda met some other way. If you hadn't got squished, and I hadn't got asteroided."

"I don't think, without magic coming into it somehow, I'd have ever done anything that would have attracted your attention," Pattern says.

"What makes you say that?"

"We don't do much that's unusual at all till magic happens, and we have strong senses of self-preservation. I would've done something relatively unremarkable - would have been a doctor, maybe, or done something for some nonprofit - and I wouldn't have gone anywhere near Gotham or anywhere you were rumored to be."

"Heh," says the Joker. "That's a shame. I would've loved you."

"I'm not sure I would've liked you to love me," Pattern points out.

He laughs. "Got me there. I wouldn't blow up hospitals for you, though. I'd... hmm, what would I do?"

"Don't ask me, I haven't the foggiest."

"Depends how we met, I think. Stop me if I'm bugging you," he adds.

"I'm fine," shrugs Pattern. "I don't know how I'd have met you, though."

"All kindsa things can happen. Maybe you would've been in Gotham when I really got going. Or were you gonna avoid it anyway? It is kind of a hellhole even without me around to spice things up."

"Exactly. Not a prime vacation destination."

He giggles. "And I guess I wasn't too likely to go anywhere. I loved the place too much."

"There you go, then."

"Mm," he says agreeably. "Guess so."

Eights is actually the first channel to take a break, after Golden's very first major spell; she holds up a hand and says, "Okay, gimme a minute," and takes about thirty seconds to steady her breath, and then indicates that Golden can continue.

Her breaks are much shorter, yes, probably because she doesn't spend them in the orgy chambers. All she needs is a few minutes here and there to catch her breath or torch.

And this adds up, because everyone else is spending their breaks in the orgy chambers. With increasing frequency, as the lingering effects of channel-pain build up and up and up.

Queenie is the major exception among the Jokers, because like Eights, she torches every so often. Which doesn't mean she never decides to take a Joker-style break, but does mean she only does it about half as much.

Pattern's perfectly willing to accommodate her mint's schedule. She and other Bells whose channels are in the orgy at any given time (especially when Beast is too, or when someone has already borrowed him) hang out in Tethys, chatting about this and that. There is speculation about whether Angela's upcoming daughter will wind up as an alt of a daughter Rose could eventually have, and Aegis tells everyone about bringing back to "life" all the soldiers she and Sue lost in battle and putting them on the colony worlds they were originally destined for. Stella relates the story of her meeting with the Eosian President of the United States on the subject of resurrecting the dead. Everyone sympathizes with Amariah, who doesn't have such an option.

Angela is perfectly willing to oblige. "Maybe we shouldn't try to do everything in a day," she says. "Maybe we should come back in a week? A few installments."

"Yeah, even if they can go on being channels for us until we're all auraed up, I'm not sure they're going to be left able to do any of their own casting," Juliet says. "You might have to host again, Pattern."

Micaiah snuggles his angel and doesn't otherwise contribute.

"I suppose they'll be able to decide," Angela says, running her hand gently down Micaiah's arm. She turns her read on so she'll know if he wants to go home outright.

"I don't mind doing something like this again. I don't exactly have anything underway on Earth that would give me a scheduling problem," Pattern says.

Nope, he just wants to cuddle her while the pain settles. It's still nice.

"Hey, Angela," says Juliet, squinting. "I think you might have some aura. I didn't notice right away because you sort of always look like that, but - I dunno, can you flare and withdraw for contrast?"

Angela tilts her head and does so. There is a very, very faint difference, but with it pointed out it's still distinctly noticeable. One moment she's an angel, divine essence of sweetness, and the next moment she's an angel, a person with wings.

"What, what is it?" Angela asks, hugging Micaiah.

"You're all - angely," says Juliet. "I think you got an aura of benevolence or something."

"My angel," declares Micaiah, cuddling her some more.

"Yes, your angel," murmurs Angela, smiling and pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.

Cuddly angel.

"I'm not getting anything much off you, Juliet. What about me? I think I've gotten more casting in so far than Angela has."

"I'm not getting anything off you either," says Juliet, shaking her head. "Maybe they don't all develop at the same rate."

"There's no hurry, love," says Angela.

Queenie and the Joker teleport into the break room. They are both fully clothed, but the Joker is mostly not wearing his makeup anymore, and some of it seems to have made its way to Queenie's face instead.

"All set?" Pattern asks Queenie.

"Ready to go?" Juliet asks the Joker.

"Yep!"

"Mmmhmmm."

And off they go.

Angela pets her husband. She is tempted to sing, but does not think that would help right now.

He snuggles into her lap, and loves her, and hurts.

Amariah appears next, her sweeties in tow, for a cuddle break.

Angela has an idea of what to look for now. "You seem - witchier," she says, and this is true: the subtle quality that makes it possible to tell that Amariah doesn't share a species with her alts is less subtle.

"You seem angelier," says Amariah, laughing. "What about the others?"

"Pattern and Juliet were in here, but I didn't get a sense of anything off either. I don't think Golden's bothered to make the trip at all. Eights has only been taking short breaks. But maybe she's going to be vampire-ier."

Petaal occupies Amariah's lap as a viscacha, and after a moment Kas decides this is an awesome idea and shapeshifts. Amariah's is now the fluffiest lap.

Fluffiest lap is best lap. Both of her sweeties get petted.

"I love you," says Kas, cuddling up and leaning his fluffy head on her stomach.

"I love you too," Amariah says.

"We've been talking about finishing in installments instead of one long burst," Angela says. "Coming back in a week when they've had time to settle down. Except the ones who've been torching."

"Yeah, I mean, in theory they all could, but - I don't trust torching, yet, isn't that why Shell Bell was the one who checked to make sure Saturn was habitable-enough," sighs Amariah. "Because she does trust it."

"What's not to trust?" says Petaal.

"It's just that Shell Bell's the only one of us who's already done it," Angela says. "And no one who just had torching installed, instead of actually dying to Downside, has tried it."

"And we've seen plenty of people die and then show up just about good as new Downside, but Alethians aren't hooked up," says Amariah. "If something went wrong, if the admin was wrong or there are cases where it doesn't come through somehow, then we have no idea what happens, we can't just fetch ourselves out of the catacombs."

"Mm," says Micaiah from Angela's lap. "Should someone try it?"

"It'd be better not to need the information."

"And someone will probably manage to provide it eventually anyway. I haven't installed it on you yet, love, I should probably do that, is that all right?"

"Sure," he says comfortably.

There. Now he can torch. She only hopes he never has to.

"I love you," he murmurs, snuggling into her lap again.

"I love you too."

Mmm. Cuddly.

Shell Bell appears, unaccompanied. "Hi, everybody."

"You've got some aura," Angela says. "Nothing specific, just the signal that you're an enchantress."

Micaiah nods.

"Specific? Like - ooh." She peers at Angela and Amariah. "Like that. Well, you wouldn't notice anything specific about Rose if you put her in a vacuum with no plants, either, maybe I just work with something that isn't in the room." She shrugs, unperturbed.

"I think we could go do some more now if you want," says Micaiah, hugging his angel.

"You're sure?" Angela asks. "I'm not sure how cumulative this is, will you only want to stop again in a few minutes, would it be better to wait?"

"It'll be fine," he says, cuddling her, "I might take the other kind of break in a little while, but I wanna do some now."

"Okay then. Here goes!" And she scoops him up and teleports them back down to the portion of the planet they've been working on.

"Okay, sweeties, you have fun," says Amariah.

Petaal gives Amariah one last tummy-nuzzle, and then they both teleport away.

Stella appears

"If that's what we're calling it now. I'm going to see if Beast's free." [Hey Beast! Want to get some enchanting on? My sweetie's occupied.]

[It would be my pleasure,] he says cheerfully.

[I just bet.] Port port enchantment!

"Menacing," says Stella. "You got an aura of menace."

"Great."

"It's cute," the Joker says lazily.

"Might come in useful dealing with some of the demons, I guess," says Juliet, and she withdraws her aura altogether and is just herself.

"You guys can all come back in a week or whenever," Pattern says. "Just let me know. I don't think I want any of you trying to do magic on my Saturn the state you're in except Queenie, maybe Beast."

"Pff," says the Joker. "Bet you I could pull it off." He snuggles his nearest alt, who happens to be Queenie. "But maybe I'd rather go hang out on the old asteroid. Who's with me?"

"Me!" says Micaiah.

"Me too," says Queenie, who also contains Ghosty at the moment.

"Me, me," says Kas.

"Me five," snorts Alice.

"I'll come too," says the Beast.

"Count me in," says Sue.

"Is it interesting particularly?"

"It's a terraformed asteroid," Stella shrugs. "House, plants, replicator."

"It's a cute little place," he says, "but not really that interesting, nah. Which reminds me, I wanted to bring Nate."

"Jane can fetch him, assuming Pattern doesn't mind."

Pattern shrugs. "I don't see why not."

After a moment, Jane reports, [He's arranging babysitting but he'll be along after.]

[Don't call me that.]

[Okay,] he says agreeably. [Sorry.]

[Or anything else that isn't Jane. I'm Jane. I named myself,] Jane says. [Nathan's incoming.]

Nathan does prove to be incoming!

Meanwhile, Pattern sends her various counterparts goodbye; they thank each other for, respectively, enchantments done and enchanting to do, and the Bells all go home, and presumably Eights does too unless she wants to nap in a Tethys spare bedroom first.

Eights does in fact go straight home.

His sweetie happily snuggles him. "Hey you. How was remodeling Saturn?"

"Mmm, it was fun," he says. "We haven't done our half yet, everybody's too wrecked from all that channeling."

Nathan surveys the pile. "I see."

He giggles. "Yep. Except Q, she's doing just fine."

"I torch," Queenie says loftily.

"You could torch too, babe," Nathan points out to his mate.

"Up to you." Snuggle, snuggle. "So this is the place, huh?"

"This is the place," he agrees, dropping his head onto Nathan's shoulder.

"Cozy," Nathan pronounces after a silence.

Squeeze.

Squishing-squeeze. And a kiss on the forehead.

"Love you too, babe."

Nathan cannot nap. But he can hold his mate and close his eyes.

[Don't see why not,] says Pattern. [The plans are still up on the whiteboard.]

"Does this involve a lot of waiting around in whatever Pattern's got for a palace and serving as a breakroom feature?" Nathan inquires.

"Yep!"

"I'll do it till Kerron's been and gone from sleeping and then I think I'd best get home."

"Okay," he says agreeably, and kisses Nathan's nose.

Nathan grins, and accompanies the Jokers to Tethys, and he serves as a breakroom feature.

The Joker splits his time about half and half between enchanting and cuddling Nathan. This means the enchanting part is slow, but it also means lots of cuddles, and that's the important part.

[Do you want me to notify Amariah for you?]

[What happens exactly apart from torching?]

[Yeah, thanks,] he says to Jane, and to Pattern, [It hurts a lot and it kills you, what kind of detail are you looking for here?]

[Mechanism, collateral damage?]

Apparently nothing will do for this news but for Amariah to return to Origin and teleport to her sweeties and hug them.

Hugs anyway! Hugs regardless of fine-ness! Hugs.

[That's certainly. A vivid description.] Pattern passes this information to Jane for general propagation to the peal.

[Have you all got torching installed? I can just do that right now in case someone else slips up,] Amariah offers.

[I don't,] says Alice.

[Me either,] says Ghosty.

[Nor do I,] says Beast.

Port torch port torch port torch. [There. That'll save Jane some trouble.]

[Thanks!] says Ghosty, as spokesjoker. She flickers over to Beast and occupies him comfortably.

Amariah returns to her sweeties and kisses them both and says, "I'm going back home. I'll see you when you're auraed up to your satisfaction."

"Love you," she replies, and cues Jane and disappears.

Stella comes by to visit her Alice once it's clear that this is going to take a while.

"I love you too. How's it going?"

"Fun! Fun is how," he asserts. "Queenie's got a little bit of a something, but nobody else has got shit yet, last I checked."

"You might have a little bit," Stella says. "I'm not quite sure. What do you think you'll get for your specialty stuff? I still don't know what mine does."

"I bet yours does magic," he says whimsically. "No idea about mine."

"You think my magic enchantress's aura does magic, huh?"

"Yep!" he says brightly. "So, I'm about up for a break, you wanna go fuck somewhere?"

"Yeah, sure, just not in a pile of yous, I'm not Amariah."

"What, seriously? I don't think Pattern would begrudge us a guestroom in her palace."

"First place I thought of," he shrugs. "Do you wanna go back to the palace instead?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Sure, okay." Port! "Why?"

"Not exactly what I designed the asteroid for," she shrugs.

"No-o," he agrees. "But it's going spare now, and it's the Joker's and he wouldn't mind."

"I didn't think he'd mind. I don't have the happiest associations with his asteroid, spare or not."

"Huh," he says. "I guess."

Snuggles. Chaste snuggles for now. That wasn't exactly a mood-enhancing bit of conversation. Oh well, moods can be rekindled.

Snuggles! Cuddly lovey snuggles.

Yay!