strange things | text

[rootinest]

[It's taken some time for him to sit down and actually try this because every instinct he has is screaming at him that it's not allowed. The rules toys follow aren't just something they choose to follow, they're instinct. Instinct they can fight, certainly - like when he and Sid's toys had scared Sid - but instinct nevertheless.]

[But this is a special circumstance and maybe Buzz has the right idea. One of the big people had been nice to him, sabotaging his back switch so it didn't actually change anything when switched to demo mode.]

[This situation is so much bigger than them, bigger than any other chaotic situation they've ever faced, bigger even than their little prison break at Sunnyside. What's an escape from a daycare compared to an otherdimensional...whatever? A place where magical shock devices have been put inside them and now they're being expected to, what, go on missions? His only job is being huggable and good for playing pretend. How that's supposed to translate to "missions" is beyond him.]

[In any case, it's so big that maybe he and Buzz need a little help from the big people. Or at least for them to know the two toys hanging around are actually alive.]

[But that doesn't mean it's easy to talk to them. He decides to do it first over text. And decides to maybe test the waters a little instead of launching right into "Hi I'm woody, I'm a talking rag doll."]

[The comm is almost as big as he is, so he has to rely on the voice-to-text to type anything because it's so much work hitting all the buttons.]

Hi. Hello. So.

How nonhuman would someone have to be for you all to think they were too weird for you to want to deal with? Asking for a friend.

Comments

[scavengineer]

That doesn't really sound all that weird. Especially after the mummy. At least you're alive, if not exactly in the traditional sense.

[rootinest]

That's a little reassuring. It's just not easy to talk to everyone.

As a rule, my kind tends to avoid talking to anyone else. We only talk to each other.

It's a hard habit to break, even only in text like this.

[scavengineer]

I can understand that. Back home, rodents like me try to stay out of sight of humans, especially if we're indoors. They tend not to really react well if they spot us there.

But people have been pretty friendly to me so far here. Not Jorgmund, obviously, but everyone else. I don't think there'll be any problems with you. We're all kind of in the same boat here, after all.

text

[rootinest]

The human tendency to go "eek" is definitely one of the things that keeps me and others like me from being seen moving around. So I'm not shocked you have the same worries, being what you are.

video

[rootinest]

[He finally sends a video and she's greeted by the site of a talking doll with brown molded hair, his vinyl face extremely expressive for something that should only have one expression.]

I guess that means we have a few things in common.

Video

[scavengineer]

[Gadget's own video flips on, and Woody is greeted with a smile.]

Golly, you're a toy! That's great! I'm not the only small person here anymore.

I mean, don't get me wrong, everyone else has been helpful and accommodating, but it's nice to have someone closer to my size around.

[rootinest]

To be honest, miss, that's a bit of a relief to me, too. You might be a talking mouse, but I guess humans probably find it odd when either of us talk, and we're used to looking at the world from a very different perspective.

I was afraid we wouldn't find many people here with much in common and it's a relief to know they treat you well.

[scavengineer]

Happy to help.

My name is Gadget, by the way. It's nice to meet you.