1st Cartwheel

[thepinkest]

[Action]

[So the clothing shop seems to have acquired a new mannequin -- a girl in her early teens, in a New Feather dress, with her cheerful pink wings neatly arranged as she slumps in an overstuffed, poorly upholstered armchair on a display in the shop. Yep, that sure is Ty Lee, with wings to match her aura!

All of a sudden, she comes awake with a start, giving a small gasp and shaking her head.]

No! I totally wasn't sleeping at my lesson, I swear! I know exactly what the capital of the-

Oh.

[No, that was just a bad dream about the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She's definitely not there anymore!

But where is she is the question. She peers around with an air of befuddlement, then pushes herself out of the chair and turns to give it a look.]

Eww. What's that doing... here...?

What'm I doing here? Is this some kind of joke?

[Wait for it...]

...

Who took my clothes? This isn't my uniform! This isn't mine! It's like I'm dressed for a funeral...

[Which is kind of scary, actually.]


[Video, some time later]

[Well, she managed to find some clothes that aren't white, and that fit her -- it's not exactly a Kyoshi warrior uniform, but it's not a white dress or anything like what she wore in the Fire Nation, so good enough for now. And apparently someone's told her about the journals, because she's peering intently at it, the tip of her tongue sticking out as she messes with it.]

Weeeird. This isn't any kind of a normal journal! I thought journals were just for you to put your own stuff in, not... not do whatever this does!

Anyway, hi! Uh, if people actually do look at this thing, I dunno. Talking to a book is really strange. I mean, I know some people say books are their best friends, but this is just silly! (And so are they, if you ask me.) So if anyone's... listening to this book, whatever, nice to meet you!

Comments

[Video]

[fashionably_strong]

That's...one of the really unique things about this place. I can actually speak from personal experience on that last one, though.

[She pauses for a moment, and lets it sink in for a moment before continuing.]

Both of my parents are here, but they took my mom from a point in time before my older brother and I were even born. Fortunately, she at least met my dad and was attracted to him by then, so it wasn't as weird as it could have been.

[Video]

[thepinkest]

But your mom doesn't even recognize you? That's really sad!

[Video]

[fashionably_strong]

Well, she does now, but she doesn't remember giving birth to me or raising me. ...it helped at first that I look a lot like her.

[thepinkest]

Oh. That still seems kind of sad, I guess. But at least you look like her! That must've made things easier.

[fashionably_strong]

Well, it definitely helped her believe me instead of thinking I was just some girl who'd made a mistake and called the wrong person 'Mom'. The main point is that this is what everyone means when they talk about people coming from weird times.

[She got sort of lucky in that respect. She knew time travel was possible before coming here.]

[thepinkest]

[She needs to think seriously about that for a few minutes before she responds.]

Weird times, not remembering anything... is there any way to predict who shows up? Or know when they're coming? Because that's a lot of really crazy surprises if you can't!

[fashionably_strong]

Unfortunately, it is just a bunch of crazy surprises. There's no way to tell who's going to show up...the only thing I've really noticed is that people show up in cycles. About four to six weeks will pass with nobody showing up, and then people start arriving again.

[thepinkest]

And how long do they show up for? Are there going to be lots more people here?

[fashionably_strong]

It really varies. There's some people who have been here for years. My dad's been here for about half a year...

[Bulla sighs.]

Basically, this place is chaotic and unpredictable, but at least day to day life here is fairly peaceful.

[thepinkest]

Your dad, huh? Does he remember who you are?

[fashionably_strong]

He does. But he's from about the same timeline as me, give or take a few months. It's way more mind-blowing for my mom than it is for either Dad or I. It's like...so, hey, you know that guy you're kind of interested in? Surprise, this is your future with him!

[Although if either of her parents had to be from the past, it's far better that it's her mom. Her dad from around that time was...a piece of work.]

[thepinkest]

Oh wow, yeah, that'd be pretty freaky! Brrr, I can just imagine running into that.