why is there a word for that

[alicornucopia]

Finnah's just arrived at work to open the store for the morning shift; she has her apron on but hasn't put her hair up yet. She lets in the customer who always takes half an angle to determine that he wants four buttercreams, again, and then nips into the back to tend to her hair and check the overnight progress of the rock candy.

This isn't the back.

But that -

No, he's too tall to be Mial, if this is a Mial prank it's a stupidly elaborate one.

"Okay, I give up," she says, "what the hell?"

Comments

[alicornucopia]

With Finnah and Mial's parents back in Elcenia yet again, the contents of the bar are now

Miles, Mial, Milo, and Stalas,

Ivan, Aurin, and Jann,

Mark,

and Linya -

[gloriousdawn]

—and the approximately Miles-sized but not especially Miles-shaped girl who just walked in the door.

"...okay," she says, looking around warily. "I'm confused. Confused is what I am."

[isthisart]

"Bar?" asks Linya. "Who is this?"

This is an alt of Mark.

"An entire alt of Mark?"

Yes.

"Congratulations, Mark."

[unmarred]

"She's got her Miles on," Mark observes.

[gloriousdawn]

"I've what?" says, apparently, an entire alt of Mark.

[isthisart]

"Mark thinks you are currently pretending to be someone else, who you are probably closely related to and likely cloned from."

[gloriousdawn]

"...I object to this interpretation of events, first of all, and second of all what the hell?"

[middlingalong]

"That's Mark," says Ivan, pointing out Mark, "that's Miles, who he was cloned from, and the rest of us are alternate universe versions of or hangers-on to miscellaneous Mileses, which this bar seems to be having a theme day about. If you are a Mark you will probably find me and my alts here inexplicably fascinating, although maybe not while you're doing your whatever-Miles-as-a-girl's-name-is impression."

[gloriousdawn]

"Solvei," she says. "My name is Solvei."

[thisvorlunatic]

"...And is that your name as in the name of the person you're... currently being, or as in the name of the person you otherwise are?" asks Miles.

[gloriousdawn]

"Currently. Sis doesn't actually have a name as such. We couldn't come up with anything she liked enough to keep."

[middlingalong]

"Advantages of being a Vor, I guess, a default name comes with the package. Anyway, I'm Ivan, that's Jann, this is Aurin, that's Milo he goes with Jann, that's Mial he goes with Aurin, that's Stalas he hasn't got one, that's Linyabel she's Miles's wife."

[gloriousdawn]

[unmarred]

"What's wrong?" says Mark.

[gloriousdawn]

"Nothing is wrong. I am fine. More importantly, how did you all get here, why, and from where?"

[isthisart]

"Through the door. The establishment is a magical interdimensional bar which is, as Ivan said, having a sort of theme day, although it seems not to be strictly limited to Mileses - we also saw an alt of me who was married to what Bar called a 'half-alt' of you and Mark. Why it is having this theme day is a mystery; the bar herself is sapient but does not control the door per se. Miles, Ivan, Mark, and I are from a world that Miles has named Nexus. Stalas is from Thedas, Mial and Aurin and their friends and family who aren't here right now from Elcenia, and Milo and Jann from a world they haven't come up with a name for."

[first_and_final]

"Chronicle," says Milo.

[gloriousdawn]

"Okay..."

[unmarred]

"Explain 'Sis' and 'we'," says Mark.

[gloriousdawn]

"No," says Solvei.

[unmarred]

Mark regards her with puzzled concern.

[abeance]

"I'm tempted to try saying 'pretty please' but I'm not sure she's been exposed enough to our inexplicable fascinatingness yet," remarks Aurin.

"Maybe it won't work on her anyway," says Jann.

[middlingalong]

"It worked on Lalita, and he was only a half-alt. But maybe." Pause. "Have you got one of us natively?"

[gloriousdawn]

"No," says Solvei.

[unmarred]

"Something is wrong here and I am not at all sure what it is," says Mark.