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

[unmarred]

"...How old are you?"

[gloriousdawn]

"Sixteen."

[unmarred]

"And, by whatever means you might have been created, it wasn't for a clone substitution plot targeted at your original. Because she has been dead for two centuries."

[gloriousdawn]

"You know what," says Solvei, "I am tired of being the center of attention here. Shocking, I know."

She goes back to the door and opens it. Not quite leaning through, she calls, "C'mere, I found a weird and potentially useful thing!"

[onceandforall]

"Is it weirder and more potentially useful than the furball?" calls back a voice.

[isthisart]

...Linya stands up.

[gloriousdawn]

"Emphatically yes on both counts!"

[onceandforall]

Here is a Bella.

Blink.

"...It's a magic mirror? With really good aesthetic taste?" she guesses.

[isthisart]

"It's an interdimensional bar, I'm you from an alternate universe, come in, come in."

[onceandforall]

Bella comes in. "If you're me from an alternate universe..."

[isthisart]

Linya hands her the napkin with the dense explanation of door mechanics on it.

[gloriousdawn]

Solvei wants a look at this napkin.

[onceandforall]

Bella will allow shoulder-looking.

[gloriousdawn]

"Apparently all the short boys are me," Solvei mentions, "except for that one," she gestures to Mark, "who's apparently Sis. And they kept asking me intrusive personal questions I don't want to answer. Maybe yours will be better behaved."

[onceandforall]

"Are you well-behaved?" Bella asks Linya.

[isthisart]

"I will ask you plenty of personal questions, but I think you will mind less. It's a pity you missed the other two of us."

[gloriousdawn]

"They also claim to have varyingly portable magic. I'm not sure how much I trust them."

[unmarred]

[onceandforall]

"...Well, how me are you? For example, is your name also Isabella Marie Swan, because if it is we have to think of something else."

[isthisart]

"I'm you down to the three questions unless you're the odd out, but I am from another planet and time so there are differences. Name inexact - there was an Isabella, but Marie and Swan are just you, I'm Linyabel Miriat Vorkosigan. Unless Bar tells me that you are just a convincing stunt double -"

She is your alt.

"- thank you, Bar, then you don't have to trust me much at all, I'll just trust you instead, how does that sound?"

[onceandforall]

"...Sounds good. And me-ish. I dunno, Solvei, someone would have to be trying really hard to fuck with us like so, wouldn't they?"

[gloriousdawn]

"Okay, yes, they would," says Solvei. "And Mark seems very keen to help me solve my problems. Cheer up, Mark, it's not as bad as all that."

[unmarred]

"...From my outside view, I can only conclude that it's worse," says Mark. "What's happening to you?"

[gloriousdawn]

"Again with the intrusive personal questions!"

[isthisart]

Meanwhile:

"Here, Isabella, have a holo-pen with magic textbooks on it. ...Bar, maybe you can help us with electrical backwards compatibility so she can charge the charger base."