It's safe to reach out now... [Video]

[worldtamer]

[When the broadcast starts, the phone is completely covered in darkness, yet a child's voice can be heard.]

Um... hello? Can anyone hear me?

... Wait, hang on.

[They adjust their hold on the phone so that their long sleeves are not covering the screen or muffling their voice, and suddenly the child comes into view, bright yellow eyes blinking curiously at the screen.]

Is that better? I don't really know if I'm using this phone correctly or not. I tried to call my Mama at home, but it doesn't seem to be working. I know it's the right number too, 'cause Mama made sure I had it memorized before I started going out to help in the fields or play farther away from the house.

But I guess maybe it doesn't work because this is still a different world than home...

[There's a pause as the child frowns for a moment, before they speak again.]

Oh, right: I'm Niko! I should have asked before coming into the house or using this phone I found, but I hope it's okay for me to be here, because I'm not sure where else I should go right now. Also, you can see the sun here! It's really pretty...

[Niko smiles at this before they suddenly seem concerned again.]

Am I talking too much? Sorry, I'll stop now if I'm bothering you. I just wanted to let someone know we were here... and um, whether or not it would be okay to get some food from the kitchen? I'm kind of hungry and some snacks I found in a closet are starting to go stale.

Comments

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[eatsyourscience]

It's okay to eat the food in the kitchen. It's okay to be here, too.

[That's not the most interesting thing Niko said, though.]

You can't see the sun where you're from?

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[worldtamer]

Oh, good! I wanted to ask first so that I didn't take something that belonged to someone else.

[... Granted, those snacks in the closet technically didn't belong to them either? Did they? Oh well.]

My home with Mama has one, but the place I was just in before didn't when I first got there. That's why I was sent to go deliver a new sun to replace the old one that had burned out and died.

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[eatsyourscience]

So you've been to other worlds before coming here?

[That must make showing up here suddenly a little less confusing.]

[worldtamer]

Yeah! ... Or well, I guess only one... or two now other than mine? I thought at first this was part of the other world but it sounds like you guys weren't having problems with your sun.

[video]

[deadshapes]

[!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[Oh my God is this someone from her world? Finally?]

Hey, Niko! Hi!

[She tries to tone it down, because she's an adult dammit, and she doesn't want to seem too excitable.]

You're totes okay with using that phone, yeah. If you found it, then it belongs to you--we kind of all get one when we show up here. And you can have all the food you want, too. The kitchen's basically communal. Anyway, welcome to Wonderland.

[worldtamer]

[Oh my god is this someone from our world?? They totally seem like they could come from there.]

So I can keep this? ... I don't think I've ever had my own phone before, it's kind of exciting!

[It's a shame we can't show everyone back home, we would be the coolest kid on the block with our own cellphone.]

So this is Wonderland? Like... that one story about a girl falling down a rabbit hole?

[deadshapes]

Yeah, dude, it's totally yours. It's cool, right? It can make regular calls and it can also do this like...Facetime thing it's doing.

[Holy shit this is great maybe they really are from back home!]

And yeah! She's even around here somewhere. But mostly everyone here sorta falls down the rabbit hole and ends up here, in a completely different world. There's people from all different worlds here.

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[bibliocorn]

[Oh hey, another cat-creature. Maybe she's from Mae's world. She's clearly a youngster, and as such Sunburst gentles his tone to speak to her.]

Hello there. Don't worry about bothering anyone, no one is bothered, I promise. And if you want food, you can help yourself. The kitchen will see to all your needs.

[worldtamer]

Really?

... Does the kitchen here have pancakes?

[bibliocorn]

[He chuckles. ]

Absolutely! The kitchen can give you just about any food you'd like. You just ask it, and it appears there. It's magic.

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[scoutsniper]

How the fuck old even are you?

[Pppprobably young enough that someone ought to yell at Frank for his language. ]

[worldtamer]

[gasp]

You shouldn't say that Mister, Mama says that's a very bad word!

[scoutsniper]

[Don't tempt him. He can say way worse. ]

Jesus Christ. Another kid. [He needs a goddam table to flip, that's what he needs.]

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[nomorules]

_{[Newbie alert. Daaaaamn, cat people sure are popular here.]}

Yo, shortstack!

_{[As if afraid Niko may have missed this bombastic greeting from a phantom thief used to conversing with a cat-shaped entity even smaller than the one currently on his screen, he pairs it with a wave. Niko's not Morgana, but they're a newcomer, and that's enough to warrant a warm welcome.]}

Why wouldn't you be able to see the sun? It's daytime! _{[He has the feeling there's a #backstory behind that...]} Anyways, you ain't gotta ask permission. It's more like a hotel than a house.

[worldtamer]

Oh, but... don't you need money when staying at a hotel? 'Cause I don't have any...

[But if we don't need permission for getting food and stuff, then maybe it's okay...?]

[nomorules]

_{[That deserves a laugh. Lol @ the idea of Ryuji making enough money at a job to afford a hotel, even a cheap, flea-bitten one... Yeah, nope.]}

Nah, dude, it ain't that kinda hotel. There ain't nobody around to take your money--you can do whatever the hell you want, no one's gonna stop ya.

_{[There's no need for currency in this world just as there's no easy way out of this world in general... If Ryuji were American and knew the reference, now would be a good time for a Hotel California one. But, y'know, that's a depressing bomb to drop on someone right off the bat.]}

If it makes you feel better, you got my permission to come in and chill! Did you just get here?

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[townwithoutme]

[Kayo almost doesn't reply. Talk of mothers bristles her skin, but...they seem so worried at the end that she can't help chiming in.]

...You're not bothering anyone. Most people who show up don't even think to ask first.

[worldtamer]

[Oh, it's another kid! Hi there!!]

Really? ... Does this happen a lot? People suddenly arriving here, I mean.

[townwithoutme]

Yeah. It's happened to everyone here at some point. Everyone just...shows up one day.

[She shrugs, like it's no big deal. It's starting to feel ordinary to her at this point.]

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[entreats]

[ Oh no, Ange can be kind of weak for kids. Even if Niko's eyes might be kind of weird, they still seem like they're acting like a pretty normal kid otherwise - that talk of "mama" makes her think of Maria a little.. ]

Honestly, I didn't think the sun was all that special. [ She doesn't sound snarky for once because of it - there's something slightly lighter in her voice. ] You can pretty much see it anywhere though, yeah. As long as you're outside.

[worldtamer]

I used to not think much of it either... But then, I woke up in a strange place where they didn't have one. It was really dark there, and they said it was because the sun had died.

[entreats]

The sun.. died?

[ Even Ange sounds a little surprised at the thought of that. ]

That shouldn't be possible though. Don't they say life on Earth wouldn't be possible without the sun?

slides in here late, video!

[sciencelizard]

[They look like they could be a monster- there aren't a ton of nonhumans that come in through here, so it's hard to say. But for once, she can offer a friendly face, provided they might be nervous around humanity, too. She arrives to the call with a little wave.]

You're, uh, n-not bothering anyone! And you can take whatever you want, uhm, it's all free for the people here.

[worldtamer]

[Niko has not seen someone like Alphys before, but given the world we were in before, where there were people with objects for heads, Alphys is pretty normal by comparison.]

Oh, good! I'm really glad, I was a little worried that someone might think I was stealing or something if they saw me taking stuff like that.

[sciencelizard]

Oh yeah-- n-no, it's really okay. The phone is yours too! You can use, uhm, anything from the communal spaces while you're here. There's good food, and the Mansion will give you anything you want from the closets!

[They look like they could be... young. She better tread lightly in talking about the bad parts of this place. Good stuff first!]