Like Taffy

Renovated and named in memoriam of Alysande Stuart. Houses a modest swimming pool suitable for laps and diving, numerous exercise equipment, an indoor basketball court as well as a nearby soccer field.

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 4:10 am

"I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Sammy thought she was very clever, carving up poor little Will's head into three. Rebuilding him into her own image, as it were. But that leaves cracks, and crevaces, no matter how carefully you paste things back together again.

When you've run your hands through a mind like I have, when you've held, weighed and measured every tiny aspect, when you've re-arranged the furniture and taken your shoes off and enjoyed the efforts of a hard day's work, you shouldn't be surprised if you leave a little behind."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 4:30 am

"Bullshit! He's... just so scared of you, he built this up in his head. Like Sam and her Freudian headmates." she tries to convince herself, desperately trying to ignore the little voice in the back of her head that has different ideas. Will's impressionable. Who is to say a skilled enough telepath couldn't leave an imprint like this? One much too close to her for comfort. One that Will is at least somewhat projecting on to her. Her avatar hesitates, her attempts to scramble the memory frozen as she suddenly realizes how sloppy her own mental barriers are. Dealing with Will she'd never really needed them, but...
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 4:34 am

"Such language. And here we were hoping you would be more refined."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 5:18 am

"Well sorry to disappoint!" she says as she thrusts her will against the memory again with renewed effort, trying to alter or even just distort it momentarily.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 5:22 am

The walls of the car shook and shaked, twisting in an on itself and reforming...

...into a posh apartment, with a wonderful view overlooking London. Melpomene stood watching, amused, as a tiny version of Will danced for her on a coffee table.

The first thing she had done, of course, was to take it's name. It knew that whatever Mel was calling it--'precious', 'fido', 'sparky'--wasn't it's real name, but Mel had taken the knowledge of what it should be called away first.

The second thing she had done was remove it's concept of a door or a window. It could see Mel and her friends enter and leave the apartment, and it knew that these apartments had entrances and exits, but it couldn't piece together the steps it took to actually leave one. A cage without locks or bars is still a cage if you don't understand how to leave.

The third thing she had done was to take away it's shifting--a mental block between it and control over it's own body. It's shape and content was Mel's to shape, a master craftswoman at work.
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 5:28 am

Miriam reels from the sudden change of scenery, blinking at all the impressions and feelings filling the room beyond the obvious.

"You can't shake me that easily." she snarls, trying once more to dislodge the other woman from Will's memory. "You're just a bad dream with delusions of grandeur!"
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 6:36 am

"Who's trying to shake whom? You came in here looking for me, remember?

And my grandeur is no delusion, darling."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 2:29 pm

"I came here to get rid of you." she says, a frown settling on her face in the real world. "You're nothing but trouble."

With the memory refusing to budge Miriam looks around to actually acknowledge the situation around her, grim as it may be. But like a photograph or a painting of a great tragedy, she's forced to admit that the way Will's mind has been worked over is incredible in it's execution. And for how old of a memory it supposedly is it's almost disturbingly pristine. Almost a work of art, even if the subject matter is rather questionable...
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 4:47 pm

"You're a bit late for that. Sammy made sure she got her precious toy back after less than a year.

Of course, I had to let her know I
had it, first, but who's counting?"

She walked around the table and put a hand on Miriam's shoulders. "What do you think?
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 5:21 pm

"Of what? This? It's terrible, why would you do that to him?" she says. It's not like she could admit to being impressed by it on some level, even though it would solve so many thing, if wielded responsibly...
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 5:34 pm

"Terrible? I suppose it is, in a way.

I enjoy terror. It's one of the strongest and boldest colors in the palette. No one can lie under fear, no one can hide under fear. It brings out the true nature of things.


With a glance back over at the Tiny Dancer, Will's fear level shot through the proverbial roof--just for a moment, enough for Miriam to catch the eyes widening and beads of sweat forming on it's brow, before it returned to its previous disgruntled and embarrassed state.

"Helps keep the riff-raff in line, too. Best when used sparingly, but there's nothing else quite like it.

As to why it in particular, it's just a tool. Sammy, of course, is my Everest. My ultimate work of art. She's mucked about with this one so much, it makes the perfect stepping stone to get to her."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 5:41 pm

"You're nuts, lady. The true nature of things is awful. If you're gonna change things you should be painting over it instead of... putting it on display like this!"
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 5:47 pm

"Am I nuts, Miriam?" she said, using Miriam's name for the first time.

"Maybe I am. But who else knows what it's been like for you? Who knows better what it's like to be shunned and mocked and pitied because of your gifts?

And who knows better how to turn that around, to reclaim the power of your birthright?"
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 5:52 pm

"You don't know me..." she says, although it's obvious she's not really convinced of that herself. The woman's words sound a little bit too familiar even without the added sting of knowing her name. She's supposed to be the one in control here, the one reading people, not the other way around. And not from the echo of a memory...
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Fri May 06, 2016 8:37 pm

"Who knows you BETTER?" she smiled, moving around and putting both her hands on Miriam's shoulders. "Maybe I'm not what you want to be, but we come from the same stock, you and I.

Mnemosyne, the world is yours for the shaping. They press down hard on you, but you can press just as hard back. It's really the only way to survive as who you
truly are."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Fri May 06, 2016 9:18 pm

"This isn't what I had in mind for Will..." she protests, though not nearly as vehemently anymore.
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Sat May 07, 2016 2:48 am

"What DID you have in mind, then? Because, believe me, I didn't have it dance here for nine months."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Sat May 07, 2016 4:49 pm

"Get rid of you, for starters, so the first thing he thinks when he sees me isn't this. Fix him, so he can be my friend again."
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Miriam Bell
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Sat May 07, 2016 5:35 pm

"I'm afraid you're not quite strong enough to even think about getting rid of me, so you'll have to put that one on the back burner, darling. But maybe we can help each other..."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Sat May 07, 2016 8:50 pm

"Why should I help you. What do you even want? You're just an uppity piece of trauma..." she says, notably not just telling her no.
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Sat May 07, 2016 10:30 pm

"Oh, don't you worry about what I want. You're right, I don't really exist, right?

What's important is what YOU want, and how you can take it."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Sat May 07, 2016 10:46 pm

"I don't need your help to take what I want..." she says, although she knows that's not really true. If she messes with Will's head too much Sam's almost certain to notice and jump down her throat. But this, this is almost seamless even if it's retrospectively filtered and re-evaluated now. "But... maybe I could use some tips." It doesn't matter what this woman did with it if she can turn it into something good, right? Hell it might even give meaning to something otherwise pointlessly cruel.
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High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Sun May 08, 2016 1:17 am

"I would be honored to be your mentor. And you have the perfect canvas for practicing right here."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Mon May 09, 2016 2:45 am

"Then your first lesson better be a good one, because I don't think he'd appreciate that very much right now."
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Mon May 09, 2016 4:18 am

"Whyever do you say that?"
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Tue May 10, 2016 2:07 pm

"Because all this... is at the core of why he's upset with me in the first place."
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Tue May 10, 2016 7:30 pm

"If you say so, darling. I view it a rather different way."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Wed May 11, 2016 12:40 am

"Then how do you see it, pray tell?"
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Wed May 11, 2016 1:35 am

"Why, he's upset with you because it's been brainwashed. Can't you tell? I just picked up the pieces that were left."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Thu May 12, 2016 2:26 pm

"Brainwashed by... No way!" she realizes where this is going. But who knows. If the place he's from produced this woman, who knows what that world's Sam is like.
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Thu May 12, 2016 6:53 pm

"Oh, don't take my word for it. Think about it. What was Will like...before the box was opened?"
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Sat May 14, 2016 10:48 pm

"Much less angry and bitter for one... He was pretty at peace with himself, as person or object."
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Sun May 15, 2016 1:25 am

"And then, a box with Sam's...imprint on it opens, and you get what you saw before you. That doesn't sound healthy, does it?

Of course, she put a big golden statue in the middle of it's head. Really, egotism at it's finest, wouldn't you say?"
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Sun May 15, 2016 4:05 pm

"None of what you people did to him seems particularly great."
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Sun May 15, 2016 9:59 pm

Mel waved her hand, dismissively at that. "If you say so, darling. I opened it's mind to more useful pursuits. It wouldn't be the thing you knew if it wasn't for me. But you can judge how you would judge--I'm just an echo of a memory. You're the one in position to act."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Mon May 16, 2016 2:12 pm

"Where would I even start? He doesn't... trust me." she trails off, musing. "But he trusts Sam. I just need to find a way to spread that out to encompass me again. The feeling is there, I just need to use it. Use it to cover up this whole mess so he'll actually see I was trying to help. He just had the wrong thing coloring his perception, but that doesn't mean I have to erase that thing. Just paint over it." she goes on, glancing over at Melpomene.
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Mon May 16, 2016 6:58 pm

Mel just chuckled. "You'll find that a bit easier said than done, but I appreciate the effort you're putting into it."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Mon May 16, 2016 8:30 pm

"If I can't cover you up then I need to change how he sees me. You made him miss something as obvious as doors and windows, surely you can show me how to change my appearance in his eyes."
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

Re: Like Taffy

Postby Melpomene » Mon May 16, 2016 8:50 pm

"Of course I can, darling. It's just a matter of poking and prodding in just the right ways.

It's far more difficult to
change things permanently, but it's much easier to put a good mask over everything--or a coat of paint, as you put it. Layer the paint on thick enough, and it becomes reality."
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Re: Like Taffy

Postby Miriam Bell » Tue May 17, 2016 6:29 pm

And with that Miriam reaches out for a different part of Will's mind, trying to find where all the information coming in from his eyes and ears is processed. His mental observation-post so to speak.
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Miriam Bell
Student
 
High Concept: Sorrowful Telepath
Aspect: Powerful Enemies
Aspect: Structural Shadow

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