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

[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.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Yeah, that was a..." Miles trails off with a frown.

"Yeah," says Stalas.

Mial doesn't say anything, but he also frowns.

[isthisart]

"...Is it possible we can help? If your outfit is anything to go by Nexus has you beat on technology and we've also got some varyingly portable magic."

[gloriousdawn]

"Varyingly portable magic?"

[isthisart]

"Another alt of Miles, who inconveniently was five and embarrassingly had an adopted sister who was my alt, came from a universe similar to ours but with magic. We have acquired textbooks on it. Elcenia also has a lot of magic, although accessibility is awkward given the situation with the door - I do get the impression that you could get a fair amount done with it as long as none of it needed to be performed or sustained outside of Elcenia, though."

[gloriousdawn]

"Okay, colour me intrigued."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I'm a wizard," volunteers Mial.

[gloriousdawn]

"Yeah? How's that working out for you?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Pretty well!"

[unmarred]

"There must be some way to—right, I'm sorry, but it has to be done," says Mark. And he puts on Miles.

[thisvorlunatic]

"I know this alts thing seems crazy," says Mark-as-Miles, "but it's completely legitimate. Witness the evidence that I, for multiple values of I, am an alt of you, for corresponding values of you."

The actual Miles looks pained but doesn't voice an objection.

[unmarred]

"So," says Mark, reverting to his standard self, "you can stop acting like we might try to kill you at any moment."

[middlingalong]

"...Why would we kill her? Who even does that, kills random girls from other universes who stumble into bars?"

[gloriousdawn]

"I have not been acting like that!" says Solvei.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Has she been acting like that?" says Miles, somewhat disquieted.