who will be coming?

[small_magics]

Aianon has made a plant in the open airless space above the surface of Thilanushinyel. It is a very, very large plant - some dragons will be attending the party, after all, even if Ansharil in particular is going to be assorted small things and stay on Sarion's person the bulk of the time.

The locals will be Sarion, her beloveds, their other beloved, the five conjured dragons (and their Bondmates, where applicable: Virgivere and Lissa), and Liselen - Magania has, as usual, declined, and so far no Bell party has featured Bell parents.

Amariah is bringing her boyfriend and spontaneous daughter and two of the spontaneous daughter's friends, as well as an Alethian instance of the Rupert template.

Shell Bell is bringing Pearl and Screwdriver.

Golden is bringing her usual large contingent, as usual not including her husband but including her daughter and daughter's grown fosterling (the other remaining at home) and his wolf, both mothers-in-law and one father-in-law, adopted siblings, staff members including the Joker and Nathan, and the children of the aforementioned.

Glass is bringing both wives, all three daughters, Kanim, and her cat. She invited Icarin and Valeria, but their parents are not willing to let them gallivant into other worlds unsupervised and had a scheduling conflict.

Stella's bringing a smattering of people including Alice, Anna, Sandy, Libby, Bridget, her college roommate Janine, and Lazarus.

Tab is bringing Aelise (but not Kers) and Luhan.

Etty is bringing only Nona.

Aether, likewise, brings no one but Celo.

Pattern comes with Ripper, Slipstick, Queenie, and Ghosty.

Aegis is accompanied by her four-bodied boyfriend, Merryweather, Whitlock, and Howlett.

Aurora comes with Brilliance, Lexi with her Device Persica, Agent Honey with her Device Adularia, and Beth.

Rose brings her husband and three children and her former apprentice, Luc.

Angela brings her husband, her four children, several of her friends, and some of those friends' children and grandchildren with and without wings. Keziah also brings a friend.

Juliet shows up with Soph, Minus, Red, Giles, James, Virginia, Minnie, Ike, and Val.

Cam brings Jellybean and Tilly and stops there.

And from unBelled worlds hail additional Sherlocks and Tonies, Darcy, Matilda, Pepper, and Eights.

Comments

[newtimov]

"...What, um, is the thunderbolt prayer?"

[snowandsparks]

"It's a song. If you sing it - at home, anyway, on the right planet - then you get a thunderbolt, aimed where you called it to. I don't think anyone's called one since the accident at Cedar Hills, and the last time one was called on purpose it was almost two hundred years ago when the Archangel Gabriel destroyed Windy Point."

[newtimov]

"...Someone called one by accident?"

[snowandsparks]

"Yeah, when you're learning the song you're supposed to stop in the middle, sing something else, then pick up with the rest. Somebody forgot."

[newtimov]

"Oh dear," says Ike.

[snowandsparks]

"That was before Isabella inserted herself between the singing and the actual thunderbolts, of course."

[newtimov]

"Do people know she did that? I guess you said they didn't. I wonder what happens when someone tries one and it doesn't work."

[snowandsparks]

"I'm not sure. Nobody knows she did that except people who know the rest of it about Jovah being a spaceship she's the captain of and so on."

[newtimov]

"Sounds very science fictiony," says Ike.

[snowandsparks]

"...Whatever that is, I'm not sure we have it?"

[newtimov]

"You probably don't, and I am really not sure how to explain," he says.

[snowandsparks]

"I have this sense that Samaria is missing out on a lot of stuff."

[newtimov]

"If you want," says Ike, "I could give you some science fiction books, and then you will know what they are."

[snowandsparks]

"...In Samarian? I'm not magicked into the common language here, I think there's some kind of effect on the party itself."

[newtimov]

"I am absolutely sure that is a solvable problem," says Ike. "Someone could put a similar effect on the books, for example."

[snowandsparks]

"I suppose. I don't think I understand to what extent magic is - available. I don't have any, the Archangel-Elect has lots, other people seem almost random in how much of it they have and whether any of it might be used in ways I'd ever notice."

[newtimov]

"Well... I wouldn't just generally expect to be able to get books with translation magic on them, but given that we are at a Bellparty, I am very sure that there is someone here who is both willing and able to do that and the only potentially tricky part is finding them and asking nicely."

[snowandsparks]

"Okay. Even if the language thing is handled, will I be able to make any sense of the stories?"

[newtimov]

"Potentially. Some more than others. But good science fiction explains itself pretty well."

[thaumobabble]

Before Lucas can reply, Glass wanders by, pauses, points at Lucas, says "Green," and moves on.

[snowandsparks]

Lucas blinks.

"Do you know what just happened?"

[newtimov]

"Glass can see things about alts and stuff. She discovered earlier that apparently everybody here is in one of two groups, and the Joker came by and named them 'purple' and 'green'. I'm purple. We don't really know anything about them except for who's in which ones, and that people who are alts of each other are always in the same group."

[snowandsparks]

"...Okay. That's very strange."

[newtimov]

"It is!"

[snowandsparks]

"So she's just going around, pointing at people, naming colors."