our interactions with mortals are often limited

[dark_light]

Isabella is interviewing shades. It's easier to control PR from here - if she doesn't want to send one back to the living, she doesn't have to, and anything they tell their dreaming friends is hearsay twice over with no chance for soundbites or recordkeeping - and they have nearly as much up-to-date information about their worlds, if she picks the right ones. Simultaneously, Jane is feeding her books and news articles and her personal impressions of the things that have gone on recently. (Isabella already planted ansibles in all the other subworlds with Internets for her.)

Comments

[tearingup]

It has been about a day since Amariah witnessed the introduction of the local and nonlocal Rippers.

Now, the nonlocal brainphones her. [Hey, we're done getting to know each other for now,] he says.

[dark_light]

[And I'm sure you now know each other very well. Has he been disclosed of things?]

[tearingup]

[Some of 'em. And Rayne picked him a nickname - you can call him Keth if having two Rippers around is too much for you.]

[dark_light]

[Sure. Where'd that come from?]

[tearingup]

[They didn't say. So I'm betting it has something to do with Hecate.]

[dark_light]

[That's his daemon?]

[tearingup]

[Yeah. Keth's. Rayne's won't admit to a name.]

[dark_light]

[Huh. Do you want me to help disclosing any things?]

[tearingup]

[None that I can think of. Do you want to have sex with me and Keth?]

[dark_light]

[Sounds like a good time. Rayne out of the picture, yeah? Pat told me to avoid being in any situation where it mattered to me what he did.]

[tearingup]

[Pat's smart. Yeah, Rayne fucked off a while ago, it's just us now. Oh, I minted Keth and gave him some goodies, by the way.]

[dark_light]

[Fine by me but I wish you'd asked. Gimme a minute to wrap up this other conversation and I will appear.]

[tearingup]

[Sure.]

[dark_light]

Isabella wraps up her conversation.

She appears.

[tearingup]

The Rippers are in Keth's living room, neither wearing much more than underwear, having a cup of tea and a chat.

When Isabella appears, Keth swears and drops his tea. And then swears some more.

[dark_light]

"Sorry about that," says Isabella, fixing the cup of tea for him with a triangle, "thought he would have warned you I said I was going to appear."

[tearingup]

"He said you were going to show up," says Keth, "he didn't mention the part where you appear without warning in the middle of my living room."

"Shit, I didn't even think," says Ripper, "it's been years since Pat did that - when you're visiting a Ripper, come in through the door."

[dark_light]

"Oh. Okay, noted," laughs Amariah. "Well, hi. I'm Isabella, apparently at this point you're more likely to have heard of me under the title 'Shade-Dreamer', and every single one of the movies is drastically wrong."

[tearingup]

"Yeah," says Keth, "so I've heard. So what is the story?"

[dark_light]

"You know those little magic coins you can make now? They come in many sizes. I used some really really pointy ones. After conquering some angels, making sure God wasn't going to be a problem, and getting the harpies to cooperate."

[tearingup]

"Right," says Keth. "Conquering angels. All in a day's work."

[dark_light]

"I had help."

[tearingup]

"Aianon was there," says Ripper.

"I'm still not sure I believe you about him," says Keth.

"He's pretty unbelievable," says Ripper. "You'll meet him at the party."

[dark_light]

"Aianon is totally real," agrees Amariah. "And my boyfriend, and one of my alts - there was another one along but she went home early - and a few other people who weren't with me through the whole business."

[tearingup]

"Your boyfriend's another Joker, right?" says Keth.