why is there a word for that

[alicornucopia]

Finnah's just arrived at work to open the store for the morning shift; she has her apron on but hasn't put her hair up yet. She lets in the customer who always takes half an angle to determine that he wants four buttercreams, again, and then nips into the back to tend to her hair and check the overnight progress of the rock candy.

This isn't the back.

But that -

No, he's too tall to be Mial, if this is a Mial prank it's a stupidly elaborate one.

"Okay, I give up," she says, "what the hell?"

Comments

[middlingalong]

Of Ivans, Ivan and Aurin are best positioned to high-five, so they do.

[thisbrokenworld]

Giggle.

"But, in all seriousness: how do we assassinate a gem."

[abeance]

"Hit it with a rock?"

[thisbrokenworld]

"Hard to get close enough without her noticing and killing you. Not sure how big a rock it would take to actually damage the thing."

[onceandforall]

"If any of your portable magic can just casually remove the gem from her person that's most of the job done already. She has a range limit on how close she has to be to control her body with it."

[thisvorlunatic]

"...And I'll bet this range limit does not extend between worlds," says Mial. "I could summon it to Elcenia. Might be a little tricky to set up, though, and I wouldn't have much of an idea what to do with it afterward."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Still, that's pretty fucking promising," says not-Solvei.

[abeance]

"Afterwards, you smash it with a rock," says Jann.

"And if that doesn't work," says Aurin, "you put it on the moon."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Or have one of you red-groups throw it in the sun, maybe," says Mial. "There are options. I just want to be sure of the plan before I try it, for once in my life."

[unmarred]

"...It's also possible that you could leave your universe," says Mark. "If you liked. Stalas is leaving his."

[thisbrokenworld]

"There isn't a whole lot in my universe I'm fond of, but I do like Bella. If the gem assassination works..."

[unmarred]

"Which you might not be able to conclusively verify without leaving the vicinity of the door."

[onceandforall]

"The universe has a furball who wants to give me a different set of magic powers than you lot have on offer so I can use them to routinely save people from monsters. You'd have a kinda hard time selling me on skipping out."

[thisbrokenworld]

"I'm all in favour of saving people from monsters, I'm just a lot more in favour of conclusively getting the fuck away from Ghys."

[onceandforall]

"I wouldn't blame you. If the universe holds no appeal and they can't assassinate her soul gem for you don't let me stop you."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Saving people from monsters is well and good, but it helps if the first person you save is yourself," says Stalas. "And sometimes that means leaving."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Where to?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Me personally? Nexus," says Stalas. "I'm sure you could come too if you liked."

"This is turning into a farcical parade," says Miles.

"That's not a no," says Stalas.

"It isn't," sighs Miles.

[middlingalong]

"It's really going to be a trick parading all these people out of Vivienne's parents' house without getting attention for it."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yeah," says Miles.

"Alternately, you could come to Elcenia," says Mial. "I'm sure Mother would take you in. She does that."

[thisbrokenworld]

"So I have options," she says. "Good to know. What about the gem assassination? Between hitting it with a rock and throwing it into the sun, what other destructive options are available?"

[isthisart]

"Disintegrator. I can see if there's anything appropriate in the runecasting books."

[thisbrokenworld]

"Disintegrator sounds very promising."

[isthisart]

"There might even be a chute convenient to one or the other of the door options in Nexus."

[onceandforall]

"I think I'd want to at least ask furball before vouching for the harmlessness of interactions between a soul gem and a household disintegrator or a sun that's in use qua sun."