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[Hello all. Enjoy a dude offering a panorama shot of the city at sunrise from the top of one of the dormitories. As it moves around it becomes clear it has to be the Gray building because the others are all seen in the shot. And then there's the Tell Phone being turned around the rest of the way to catch a perfectly framed shot of a white haired youth grinning wide.

Because hey, if you aren't going to use your baller skills at social media, what the fuck are you doing with your life?]

Yo all. I'm Tommy. How much hell are we in here? Figure you should let the new guy know. I think I met a few people when I first got here, sorry I've been laying low for a bit. Been getting jobs all lined up to keep me and the kid fed. Still, I wanna know what all shit has been going on here. Some of you are experienced, I've heard about these Aspects, but stuff gets fucked up in specific ways, right?

So tell me. Weirdest thing you've ever experienced here. Best story gets some of these coin things? Or you can pet the sloth.

Yeah, I know you guys gotta get this whenever someone new shows up. But the last place was fucked and I need to know what I'm getting into now that I'm in it on my own.

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Because I'm really not that smart, kid. I'm just better at seeing stupid shit for what it is.

[oh, wow, really is the same building.]

Huh. You gonna come on up and talk?

Can I? It’s easier than the tell phone thing. I think I broke mine or something.

[Or something.

But he liked the roof a lot, so he didn’t take long to find his way up there again. Even if he was abnormally quiet with how he walked around (it was a practised skill), but Tommy would at least notice the door to the rooftop open and close.]

[He doesn't even need to confirm it. Just ends the call and settles down for the kid to come. And when he hears the door open he turns around and smiles.]

What's up?

[The kid raised a hand to wave once in greeting, glancing up at the question. At least now there was no creepy static when he finally spoke up, so that was a plus.]

I dunno, clouds are up there, I guess?

[He walked the rest of the way, before sitting himself down so he could look over the edge of the roof curiously to see who was up and around early in the morning.]

See anything neat up here yet?

[Oh that's funny and Tommy finds himself laughing loudly at the kid saying that. Smart. He loves the wit.]

Just the clouds and you, kid.

I dunno if I count as neat, but thanks… [ He kicked his feet a bit from where he sat, tilting his head a moment later as he realized he had been called ‘kid.'] And my name’s Mono.

Edited 2021-08-07 00:51 (UTC)

You're a person. A real person.

[but he has a name now, and Tommy offers his hand over.]

Nice to meet you, Mono. Guess now between you and Speedy, I'm not alone.

Are you used to people not being real?

[The kid couldn't help being curious considering the state of ... everyone in his world. Mono had been trying to get an idea of what things were like in other worlds.]

Nope! Not alone. People don't really leave people alone here much either, I think. And this building was empty when I got here, and now there's suddenly more people.

[Actually, if Tommy noticed anything weird in his apartment, then it might've been one Mono broke into when the building was empty and he'd been exploring. Oops.]

Actually, yeah. Sort of. The Sphere, it told us that most of the people there weren't real, so it was okay when they were gone because they hadn't really been in the first place.

[Still, things have been a thing. A lot.]

I guess I just miss my people back there.

Wow... Still would be weird if you were used to seeing someone and suddenly they were gone because they weren't really real.

[Did the people who weren't real not know they weren't real? Did anyone know? ... Mono already had enough weird stuff to think about, he probably shouldn't keep pursuing that.]

Oh... Yeah, I know what you mean. It's kinda lonely at first when you have people and then you don't. I miss my friend Six a lot, too. But people keep telling me that friends sometimes come here too?

[He hummed a bit, thinking a little more seriously.]

And I'll be your friend too.

I miss my mom.

[And Gar. But he doesn't know how to deal with any of it. But a new friend is worth it. So he offers a wide smile.]

Yeah, okay. I'd like to be friends.

Edited 2021-08-07 02:50 (UTC)

Yeah...? Maybe she'll be one of the people who come here like other people said.

[He hoped so. It sounded kind of nice to have a Mom, based out people talked about them sometimes. Clearly Tommy missed his, and Mono couldn't blame him.

He’d never really met a mother before, though, or at least not that he could remember. Parents were an interesting idea in general.

But he smiled at their agreement.]

Great! Then we're friends, and I'll be Speedy's friend too when they wake up.

I hope she doesn't. I hope she goes home and gets to be with the people she loves.

[Yep, it's all about Speedy. He laughs at the eagerness.]

Yeah, I know you will Mono.

Even though you're one of those people?

[He would though, he tried very hard to be a good friend. And if something happened, he'd try to fix it like he was going to with Six.]

I bet the other people around here would be your friend too. I haven't met anyone really mean yet.

[He's seen a few people who make him a bit wary, though. He was going to test the waters a bit with those people before he made a decision.]

We're from different versions of my world. So while I'm one of the people she loved there, she wont' remember me now.

[And that hurts more than anything.]

Being friends takes time.

Oh... Sorry about that.

[Mono felt a little bad for suggesting it then, but he also kind of wondered about the 'different versions' of a world. He knew there were a bunch of worlds now, but he hadn't thought about that possibility.]

Yeah, but they're all really stubborn when they wanna be.

[Although, thanks to Tommy, Mono now realized that there might've been a more serious reason for it. But he still hoped that some of them had just genuinely wanted to be his friend without the whole 'adult responsibilities' thing.]

People are stubborn. And I don't mind that at all. I'm stubborn too. But sometimes it's like... Sometimes you need space and time. I need it.

[But with a kid? Well, he's not going to shut down the kid. He clearly has a very different concept of the world.]

[He did think about that, quietly for a moment as he watched a few people in another building leave for wherever they went during the day... Work, he guessed.]

Yeah... I guess so. Sometimes after being around them for a while I kinda get... [He kicked his feet again, trying to think of a good word.] I dunno, normal people can make you tired sometimes.

[Still better than being alone, Mono always started to feel antsy when he was alone for too long. It was a weird, difficult balance.]

So if you need me to let you be alone for a little bit, I can go and then come back another time.

Nah, it's fine. I just...

[He stares out toward the already risen sun now.]

I'm not used to being alone. It's nice, the noise

Yeah…?

[Well, he liked that he could help with that. And hey, he was getting better at this talking thing every time he approached someone.

He kept startling people without meaning to, so making a little more noise seemed kind of important. Someone had even told him it was okay to make a lot of noise sometimes, but that was pretty different from where he was from, so it was a new experience.]

This place can be a lot noisier than where I’m from, so I’ve been practising that.

Practicing noise, huh?

[What even was this kid's world like? Tommy was scared to find out. At least this place didn't seem like the Sphere, where traces of places seemed to bleed over.]

Well, don't try and change too much for other people. Still be you."

Yeah, where I'm from, you gotta be really quiet or you'll get caught.

[He responded with a shrug, but it was nice to hear someone say he shouldn't change. After all...]

Thanks, Tommy... I'm not sure how to be anyone else but me! But it's nice to be able to talk to people more, and to not need to sneak around so much. I sometimes startle people when I forget I don't need to.

[Caught. Tommy has a flash of fear from memories back in the Sphere. The possessor had been... terrifying.]

Well, trust me, I like talking. A lot. And don't worry about startling me. I'm immune."

[Immune to being startled? Really?]

Yeah? Even if I was being super quiet and forgot to say I was there?

[Really? Fine, he'll show. Don't blink kid, because Tommy's at the far corner of the roof just like that.]

Yeah, I'm sure.

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