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[Amanda should be in shock. And she probably is. But she's running on autopilot, so to speak. She has the vague memory of what happened, or was going to happen, and she doesn't want to think on it. What she and Nick had been going to do if--

So, she's not. She's not thinking about feelings. She's going into scientist mode. Which means asking questions about everything except herself.

When she appears on the feed, the fingers of the hand not holding her device are notably curled in slightly and fidgeting a little, like she's not sure what to do with them. Which she's not. She looks a little dazed, but she's smiling nervously]

Ah. Hello...I'm... not really sure who I'm addressing, I'm sorry. [she laughs a little, biting her lip for just a moment before continuing] My name is Dr. Amanda Perry. I'm from Earth, which I'm going to hazard isn't where I am now. If anyone could tell me...[she hesitates; she should ask how she got here, but she's afraid she won't like the answer, given her last memory] where here is, exactly, I would appreciate it.

Also, if there's anyone from Destiny here--[another noticeable pause. Does she ask for Nick specifically? No. Not yet] I'm all right. I'm...me. Which you can see, obviously, but…[she cuts herself off, because this could get depressing fast if she goes into details about that]

Anyway, ah...I'll appreciate any information anyone can give me. Thank you.

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[As much as she can totally handle grumpy people and doom and gloom--the last few years of her life can attest to that--Amanda's really glad there's someone here who seems a bit less interested in telling her how this place could kill her. Again. The fact it's a child is a bit concerning, but Alice was a child, so that really shouldn't be surprising.

She laughs, and it's a lot less nervous than she has with other people] Ah, no, I'm not. I'm the kind who works on machines. Mostly programming and fixing certain parts of spaceships. [that should sound cool, at least. She thought it was cool when she was a child. And still does]

Nice to meet you, Mabel. Have you been here very long?

Over a year, but I'll get back to that in a minute, 'cause what the bananas? You work on spaceships? Have you been to the moon? Have you met aliens???

[because this is really the important thing here. it definitely sounds cool. she's not as super into the nerd stuff as her brother is, but meeting aliens? definitely awesome.]

No, I haven't been to the moon. But I have seen stars, in passing. And I've never met any alien properly, just humans who weren't born on Earth. [she's not going to count the Nakai's attack, since she didn't see them.]> I have friends who have, though. And I've kind of swapped bodies with someone.

[okay, that didn't end well, but it should still compensate for not meeting aliens, right?]

Ohmigosh! I've swapped bodies with my brother before, and it was one of the most horrifying experiences of my life.

[she has a lot of those, but swapping bodies with your different-gender sibling ranks up there with demon possession and almost getting murdered by the guy she friend-zoned multiple times.]

[....okay, that's definitely got her attention. She laughs, a little more awkwardly, shaking her head a bit]

Ah...yeah that definitely doesn't sound fun. Did that happen here? [she'd like to know if non-consensual bodyswaps are among the possible terrors of Wonderland; forewarned is forearmed and all that] I was definitely lucky in that I swapped with another woman, and it was completely voluntary.

I mean it could happen here, but nah. It happened back in Gravity Falls. Something about a weird magic carpet science experiment thingy? Grunkle Ford could probably tell you all about it.

[and hold up. HOLD THE PHONE, NOW GIVE IT TO HER.] ...Wait. Does that mean you like... did it on purpose?

Weird magic carpet... [okay, she's stopping there. For one, this is Wonderland. For another, that fact she's swapped bodies and probably died among other things means she probably has absolutely no room to be questioning the validity of anything without some solid counter evidence] Right, I'll...ah, keep that in mind.

[she bites her lip, nodding slightly] Yes. It was the only way I could go fix my friend's ship. I had to switch places with someone who was already up there.

[her eyes go as wide as saucers]

The future is so cool. I would totally do that again if I could just switch bodies and be somewhere else. Just so long as it was a lady with good taste in sweaters. I gotta keep my aesthetic.

[children with braces should never try to say "aesthetic."]

[she bites back a laugh, smile genuinely warm at the wonder on Mabel's face]

Well, I'm not sure I'm from the future, from when you're from? Ah...it was 2009, when I left. And anyway, we didn't make the device, we were using something made by aliens to do it.

[...and no, it never stops sounding weird to say things like that out loud.]

It was pretty cool, though. Although it's not that fun when the person you've switched places with suddenly decides they want to go back without warning.

Yeah, that's... actually in the past. [she laughs out loud, still pretty thrilled] But that doesn't mean much. Pretty sure there's stuff made by aliens in Gravity Falls if you look hard enough.

[she's not wrong.] ...Did that happen a lot, though? 'Cause that sounds like a bummer. There's gotta be better body share manners than that.

Really? Well, I'd be surprised by given the nature of this place, I suppose needing to ask where and when someone is from shouldn't be too bizarre.

No, just once. And it wasn't her fault, really. She just got a little...scared. I don't really blame her. And she didn't have nearly as good of dress sense as the woman I swapped with the next time. [hey, she's good at deflecting when she has to. Besides, it's true. She's not so sure she could have hit on Nick in James' fatigues]

[Mabel may not be able to fully grasp an adult concept of deflection, but considering how good at she is herself, she unconsciously takes the hint. to anyone else, it might just look like she's easily distracted, as one might expect from a hyperactive preteen girl.]

Well, at least you won't have to worry about that here. I mean there's body swaps and events that mess with what you look like or make you think you're different, but it doesn't usually last long. Also sometimes it's fun!

[Amanda's not sure she's sold on the idea of non-consensual swapping of consciousness or appearance being fun, but she likes to think she has an open mind so she just raises a brow a bit]

Really? Has there been any...event you've particulary enjoyed?

[there sure have been a lot she HASN'T enjoyed, despite appearances, but she doesn't think of those.]

Ummm... There was a event where we all had superpowers and Grunkle Stan smuggled puppies with lasers.

[okay, she's seen a lot--she's worked with wormholes for ten years--but that's a new one. Good job Mabel, you can surprise the lady who's swapped bodies and traveled in space]

Huh. Did you have powers too? And...how, exactly, does someone smuggle puppies with lasers?

Yup! I could do cool tricks with light and stuff, like make illusions and barriers. And my brother had shadow powers!

[she shrugs] It's Stan. One time he carried around a box of laundry soap and wouldn't tell us why, 'cause it was some criminal thing. It's better if you don't ask.

Wow, that all sounds very cool indeed. I'm almost disappointed I missed out on that, but it doesn't seem like this place is short on opportunities for...oddities.

[that...sounds suspiciously like someone else she knows. She'll have to keep an eye on Stan, especially if Nick ever shows up] I'll take that under advisement, thanks.

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