Time has passed.
Inconsistently.
Jane's network has kept all the Bells' worlds - and every other world with a Janepoint stuck in due to its being attached to Downside - in temporal sync, but when Jane spluttered for just a moment, that was shot to hell.
Peace lost three seconds, because it was where Aegis torched; after that process was complete, Jane was there again. And as soon as a door between Peace and Milliways appeared, she could sync to her ansible hub in the Belltower and, from there, to everywhere else.
Atlantis and Sunshine each stand at about a minute apiece: Shell Bell's aura and Juliet's local copy of Jarvis both enabled them to get to Milliways immediately, pausing their homeworlds as standard for occasions when someone walks into the bar. Shell Bell's the one who connected Peace.
Everyone else was running on luck.
Luckiest is Rainbow, which lost only five hours.
Next is Alethia; in spite of Sherlock's mishap, it's fared reasonably well, spending only six weeks isolated.
Syntropy's just a little worse - seven weeks.
Origin waited two months.
Eos waited three.
Thilanushinyel, ten.
Everyone else is out a decade at least. Samaria's ten years, almost ten and a half.
Aurum is out eleven.
Rêverie has been separated for sixteen years.
All the Bells - and Elspeth, who was stuck in Downside for a day and a half on her end and whose mother was very upset - are collected in the Belltower, as are two Bell-attached Sherlocks who happened to be along for the ride. They all memorize this list of numbers. Aegis replaces her earpiece. And then they all go home to notify their loved ones and staff that there's a party cooking in the Belltower.
(Shell Bell, who has no particular cause on her own account to be distressed, sends her Sherlock to invite Tony in while she refits the Belltower to suit a party of a peal of Bells and their larger-than-last-encountered families and circles of friends.)
Generated:
Post last updated:
meet my daughter
Jane
mind_game
Jokes
manofmyword
Upstairs, in the biggest available room, the deck of Jokers has been having fun for a while. But now they seem to have encountered a lull.
"Hey," says the Joker, lifting his head from where it's pillowed on Queenie's shoulder, "anybody wanna meet my daughter?"
"Hey," says the Joker, lifting his head from where it's pillowed on Queenie's shoulder, "anybody wanna meet my daughter?"
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"Ooh, you have another kid now?" asks Amariah from her heap of bedaemoned Jokers who are serving as a four-body pillow.
Jokes
manofmyword
"Yep!" he says, beaming. "And she's cute as a button. I meant to introduce her earlier, but I, uh... got distracted."
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
Queenie cackles.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"I'd like to meet her, sure," says Amariah.
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
"Me too!" says Queenie. The rest of the deck echoes this sentiment.
Jokes
manofmyword
"Mmkay, everybody get decent," he says, giving Queenie a kiss and wishing himself some clothes as he gets to his feet.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
Amariah wishes herself into silks.
Jokes
manofmyword
The Joker teleports daughterward.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
Amariah joins the mob following after him.
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
"Hi, mum," says Aedyt, amused.
Jokes
manofmyword
"Hiya, pumpkin," he says, giving her a hug and a kiss. "Everybody, this is my little pumpkin pie, calls herself Aedyt. Pumpkin, this iiiis—"
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
"Alice," she says, pointing, "Kas, Micaiah, Sue, Beast, Queenie, Ghosty, Brilliance, Jellybean, and the demon." She pauses, lowering her hand. "And you must be Amariah," she adds.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"That's me," says Amariah. Path is out again, sitting on her shoulder, warning everyone but Kas and Petaal and Ivy to back off.
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
"Complete with Don't Touch Me Shoulder Owl."
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"Pathalan," says Pathalan.
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
"I stand by my descriptive phrase," says Aedyt. "It's nice to meet you all, anyway. Mum, are you going to - yes, obviously you are," she says as her mother hugs her again.
Jokes
manofmyword
"What, get all sappy and emotional? How could I resist? Look at you. I made a person, everybody!"
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
"Awww," says Queenie. She decides she would be a positive addition to this hug.
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
She is so very right about that!
Alice
edgeofyourseat
Joker hugpile?
Aianon
endragoned
Joker hugpile.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
Amariah giggles, standing at the periphery.
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
Aedyt also giggles.
"Well, this is exactly like I expected meeting ten more of my mother to go," she says.
"Well, this is exactly like I expected meeting ten more of my mother to go," she says.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"Is it really?" laughs Amariah.
Aedyt Corlett
pumpkin-pie
"Mum getting all teary-eyed and everyone trying to hug me at once? Yeah, pretty much," she says. "Mum getting all teary-eyed and everyone hugging me one at a time was also a top contender."
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"Have the 'cherubs and rosebuds' gotten this treatment?" Amariah wonders.
Micaiah sia a Manderra
yovahs-kisses
"Not yet," laughs Micaiah.
Isabella Amariah ⍋ "Amariah"
dark_light
"Is that next?" giggles Amariah.
Micaiah sia a Manderra
yovahs-kisses
"I don't know. Does everyone want to hug my children?"
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
"Yes," says Queenie.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Micaiah's children are over there with their alts and Rose.
Beast
deslandes
"Ma belle," says the Beast, teleporting over, "mes cheries, the Jokers are coming to hug everyone." And he hugs his wife and then both of his children.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"Isn't that a lot of people?" asks Céleste.
"Do they know how to hug angels?" Keziah asks. "I had to teach Gideon how so he'd stop poking me in the wing."
"Do they know how to hug angels?" Keziah asks. "I had to teach Gideon how so he'd stop poking me in the wing."
Beast
deslandes
"How do you hug an angel?" asks the Beast.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"It depends whether you're taller or shorter," says Keziah. "Or the same height."
Beast
deslandes
"Well, I am taller than you," he says.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"You're a lot taller than me. You could pick me up and hug me under the wings or I could just sort of hug your waist and you could hug me around the shoulders above where my wings start," says Keziah.
"One of the Jokers also has wings!" exclaims Céleste.
"Angels can hug each other," says Keziah. "But it makes it harder to do wrapping! Unless one of us is much bigger than the other. I'm still little enough to get wrapped up when Mommy hugs me even though I have my own wings in the way."
"One of the Jokers also has wings!" exclaims Céleste.
"Angels can hug each other," says Keziah. "But it makes it harder to do wrapping! Unless one of us is much bigger than the other. I'm still little enough to get wrapped up when Mommy hugs me even though I have my own wings in the way."
Beast
deslandes
The Beast enfluffs and hugs Keziah around the shoulders.
"Aianon does have wings," he agrees. "And a tail. It's a very huggable tail."
"Aianon does have wings," he agrees. "And a tail. It's a very huggable tail."
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"A huggable tail," giggles Céleste.
Keziah hugs her uncloid happily.
Keziah hugs her uncloid happily.
Aianon
endragoned
Aianon appears.
"Extremely huggable," he says, hugging Céleste and curling his tail around her, "see?"
"Extremely huggable," he says, hugging Céleste and curling his tail around her, "see?"
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Céleste giggles. "Papa has a tail too sometimes! It is fluffy but I don't hug it."
Aianon
endragoned
"Mine is for hugging," Aianon asserts.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Keziah tugs his tail away from her alt and attempts to hug it.
Aianon
endragoned
He squeaks and says reproachfully, "It is not for pulling on!"
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"I never met anybody with a tail before today!" exclaims Keziah.
"Tails aren't for pulling," says Céleste. "My Rainier squawks awful if I pull his tail so I don't."
"Tails aren't for pulling," says Céleste. "My Rainier squawks awful if I pull his tail so I don't."
Aianon
endragoned
"You are exactly right," he says, giving Céleste an extra gentle squish and then letting go.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Céleste spins around, looking for her next hug target, and Keziah tiptoes forward looking innocent.
Aianon
endragoned
Aianon hugs Keziah, tail included.
There's a Joker nearby who smells like candy! Is that a huggable feature?
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Céleste thinks so! "You're a dessert!" she asserts.
"Yep," he says, hugging her. "I'm a Jellybean!"
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"I'm a Céleste! Me and Keziah decided we're griffins."
"That is adorable," says Jellybean. He produces a small paper bag of jellybeans out of thin air and hands it to her.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Céleste takes it and peers into it. "Thanks!"
"Jellybeans," he explains sunnily, and finds another small person to hug.
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
Queenie arrives. She hugs Dominique first (displacing Micaiah), then Damaris (displacing Kas), then holds out her arms to Keziah.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"You are so huggable!" exclaims Keziah. "I think you better just hug me always."
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
"I'm very huggable," she agrees. "But you can't keep me."
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
"Awww."
Queenie
gunpowdergelatine
She ruffles Keziah's hair, lets her go, and then turns to Céleste.
Some Daughters Of Some Bells
campanas
Céleste takes her turn.
Hugs are distributed all around and then Céleste goes to her very own papa and wishes to be picked up. Keziah wants her mommy to lift her.
Hugs are distributed all around and then Céleste goes to her very own papa and wishes to be picked up. Keziah wants her mommy to lift her.
Isabella ♪ "Angela"
jovahs_heiress
Keziah's mommy is happy to pick her up. (She wandered over while the hugs were underway and has been watching in amusement.)
Beast
deslandes
Céleste's papa picks her up very happily!
Aianon
endragoned
Aianon hugs Queenie. The pair of them teleport away. The Jokers begin uncongregating.