Letters Across the Universe (Always open. Say you read page one stuff)
Started January 29, 2020 by @Althalosian-is-the-father

(Hey bacon, I could do one of my characters with you! Have it addressed to Meryn)

(ok, sounds good! I'll get on it when I can. :) )

@PaperHats

(Could I possibly join this? Sounds fun :) If so, how would I pair with a “pen pal?”)

@I-make-stuff

(Coffee, you can go with Allison/Potato, they need another pen pal. Just say Dear Allison, yadda ya)

@d-r-e-a-m-s-e-q-u-e-n-c-e

September 28, 2018 AD

Dear Meryn,

Hi, I guess. I never know how to start letters, jeez. Anyway, I should probably introduce myself, right? My name's Conner Vandenburg. I'm 17 Earth years old, almost 18. I have reddish-brown hair and brown eyes. Is this the right information to be giving you? I don't know, dude. I'm just a regular human, sorry if you were expecting more.

Are you from Earth? If not, then I suppose I should tell you some stuff about my world. Well, let's see. Right now we have a pretty big jerk as president. He's causing a lot of conflict. The planet is warming up and the sea levels are rising, which is pretty bad, though nobody's really doing anything about it.

As for me personally, I'm in my last year of high school. I'm in a band with my friends Faith, Jamie, Myra, Ben, and Alex. (I honestly don't know what to be putting here…I'm kind of bad at this, dang.)

I suppose that's it for now. I'll leave my return address below. Feel free to ask me anything, and I'll do my best to answer.

Namaste,
Conner

8189 Blue Lake Drive
Folsom, California 95630
USA

Deleted user

(I feel like the kid who got picked last for everything)

@I-make-stuff

Dear Conner,
Hey there, I'm Meryn Canmore. I'm 15, and currently a sophomore in high school. I have golden-blonde hair and green eyes. I don't know whether this is what I'm supposed to be telling you either, but I guess that this kind of stuff makes sense considering we've never seen each other. I like to do botany-related experiments and research, and I also like to study architecture. I used to read fantasy novels a lot to escape from everything, and I still do sometimes, but not as much.
I'm human too, and from Earth. I think we might be from different dimensions or something, so our Earths might be different. I don't really know how this stuff works, so if you have questions on how different dimensions work or what even defines a dimension, I'll have to ask my friends, who are avid about that stuff. I'm just their friend who gets brought along on their terrifying and (I admit this reluctantly) really fun adventures through time and space and stuff. Anyway, you're from America, right? So am I. But because of the thing I mentioned before, we probably have some different circumstances. Like, we have ironic punishments for non-violent crimes (if you commit tax fraud, you have to work for the IRS under supervision for a length of time, etc.). Or maybe that's normal. I don't know.
Anyway, I didn't really have friends in middle school, but in freshman year I was roped into a small group who are now my friends. I don't like getting close to people because of… a "condition" I have, and I was hesitant to join these people, but the loneliness was really wearing me thin, and these guys won me over with their antics. I am still pretty closed-off, and keep to myself, but just having them around makes me feel a lot better. So there's Chelsea, Theo, Cody, and Aysen, and me. I wouldn't admit it to them, but they mean a lot to me. I'm 100% sure they know, despite my efforts to be subtle with my warmth.
Hey, don't worry about being bad at this. Your letter was fine, relax. What are your friends and family like? What hobbies do you have? What's your town like?
From,
Meryn

317 Daedalus Drive
Windpost, Massachusetts 02078
USA

@Discombra

A less dusty voice recorder is returned. It's dated in the present

????: Uh, hello there, Nadia. Your opening was funny, but I'd like to let you know I'm not human. [chuckles quietly]

in the background, loud sounds of rumbling can be heard

????: [in a loud, now semi-irritated voice] My name is Amyr. I don't think my last name matters, does it?

Amyr: I decided to send this is on a voice recorder because I thought it would be nice to match your formatting. Though speaking is slightly dreadful.

the rumbling sound stops

Amyr: [sighs and returns to normal volume] Thank goodness that stopped. Sorry about that, it happens quite a lot here.

Amyr: I'm 22 years old. On my planet anyhow. My favourite colour is green, particularly that of emerald kind. [pause]

Amyr: No, I am not in school and haven't been for quite a while, wait, what do you learn in school? I am a particular fan of chasing down [pauses] a certain creature native to my home. Oh, I guess I should add that I don't reside on Earth very often. Though I do make my visits for sure. [pauses and a faint conversation can be heard]

Amyr: An acquaintance of mine told me to tell you she said 'hello'. Her name is Belynnia. Though that is not very important. My planet, which is named Syridia after our lovely ruler Syrid, is multiple life year from… Earth? You said it's called. [pauses]

Amyr: Oh, and yes, we do have countries. I live in a country called Telligia. There's a lot of lush scenery around here and it's very… green.

Amyr: I've heard of Donald Trump, though I know nothing of him. What's your opinion on him? What's L.A.? Who's Irma and what's a hurricane? It appears my knowledge of Earth would be lacking.

Amyr: I suppose I'll end this here. I await your reply, though I see the recording you sent was dated two… Earth years ago? Sorry it's late, I suppose. I hope you get this. Nakausoura.

Amyr: … sorry, that's goodbye in my native language.

recording ends

A tape recorder, dust-free, but a little blood is on it.

^{????????: Is it working?}

^{??????: I̷̡͝ t҈͢͝h̶̡͠i̸̧͡n̷͢͠ķ̶̛ s҈̡̛o̷͜͠.̸̨͠}

????????: Okay. [clears throat] Hello Ameer. Did I say that right?

??????: P̴̢͇͍̆͛͝ȓ̴̦͎͓̙̜̍̓͒̃͢͠ẹ̷̝͎̰͙̔̈͋͑͜͡t҈̡͉͉̀͒̏͑͠ţ̶̪̣̀̔͝ỳ̷̨̭̲̀̆̑̕ s̵̨̩̦̯͙̭̑̄͝u҉̧͕̳͋̿̂͝ŕ̶̛̳͉̮̊̓̓́͢e҉͍̤̦̓̄́͜͞ͅ y҈̡͙̤̖̣̪̇̄̀̌̂͡o҉͕͎̮͕̿̒̔͜͠ͅų̶͖̖̱͆̈́̔̀̿͞ b̴̧̙̬̯̬̳̒̂̈́̂͝u҉̧̞͖̤͗͐̓̂͡ţ̵̪̦̞̖̜͑̐̄̔̽͡ĉ̶̳̦̄͢͝ḩ̸̪̝̳͙͍̄̓͑͒͝ě̷̫̳̩͚͑͑̿̐͜͡r̶̢̪̲̬̤̳̓͋̋͞e҈̨͚͉͉̝̯̎͆͊̇̒͝d̷̨̥̪̈́̊͠ i҉̧̩͇̮̠̿̌̎͝ẗ̴̡͖̲́͆̉̀̌̕.̴̨̫͉҇̓̾ [pause] ^{S̸͜͠ḩ̵͝i҉̨͝t̸͜͞ a̷̡͞m̷̢͡ I̶̢̕ s҈̡͠t̷͜͡i̵̛͢l̸̨͠l̶͜͠-̶͜͠?̶̧̛}

????????: You should just be quiet. Anyway, Hello there. As you can probably tell, I'm not Nadia. Nadia was…

^{??????: F҈̡͡o̵̕͢r̷̛͜c̶̡̕i̶̡͡b҉̢͝l҉̨̕y̶̡҇ r̷̢͝ę̴͞m̷̕͢o̶̕͜v҉̢͝e҉̢̕d̸̕͜}

????????: Declared missing, 3 years ago. I'm Mordecai.

Mordecai: If you don't mind me asking, what was that rumbling sound? It kinda sounded like thunder, but I don't want to assume.

^{??????: I̶͢͠t̶͜͞ s̵̢҇o̴̧͝u҈͜͡n̶̢͠d̵͢͞s҈͜͡ l҈̧͞i̷̡͠ķ̵͠e҈̧͞ a҉̧͡ d̷̡̛r҈̢͡a̵͜͠g̷͜͠o̶͜͞ņ̵͠,̸̕͜ i̶̢͡f̴̨͞ t҉̢͝h̵̢͠ȩ̷҇y̸͢͝ ȩ̴҇x̶̨͡i̸̛͜s҉͜͞ţ̴͠ȩ̸͞ḑ̸͝.̴͜͠}

^{Mordecai: It sounds like you aren't being quiet.}

Mordecai: I'm 16 years old- ah, I mean, Earth-years old. Green's a nice colour, but I prefer magenta. I mean, like, a deep magenta but not a dark magenta? ^{^{??????: G̵r̷a̶s̶s̸ ̷g̵r̶e̶e̵n̸ ̷i̶s̴ ̷s̷u̵p̷e̶r̴i̴o̴r̷ ̵a̴n̷d̷ ̷I̸'̷d̸ ̶f̴i̴g̴h̵t̴ ̸y̷o̸u̵ ̸o̴n̴ ̵t̷h̵a̴t̶ ̶i̴f̷ ̵i̶t̴ ̵w̸a̴s̸ ̴p̷h̴y̵s̷i̶c̸a̴l̸l̵y̴ ̸p̷o̸s̷s̴i̵b̸l̴e̵.̴}}

Mordecai: I'm in grade 10. Well, technically I'm in grade 10. But I've been- uh… how to put it… incapable to go to school for the time being. We're taught a variety of things. English Language Arts; It's kind of just… learning a lot of words in a language we know and how to use them convincingly. Social Studies, which can be summed up as history, morality, and politics.

Mordecai: Mathematics ^{^{??????: J̸u̷s҉̵t̷ c̵̵a҉l̶l̴̴ i̵̷t̵̶ m̴a҈̷t҉̷h̵̸ y̸̵o̴u̶̸ B̸҈r̴i̸̸t҉҈i҉̵s̸̵h̶҈ f̵̴u̶c̵̸k̶҉}} is basically learning numbers and infinite possibilities. Science is divided into physics, biology, and chemistry. Physics is just guessing and finding out how things like gravity work. Biology is learning how living things work. Chemistry is learning what you can put together to make new stuff.

??????: N҉̡͈̦͊̔̓͞i҉̧̤̲͎҇̊̈c̸̬̙̠̈́̉͐͜͞ȩ̴͑͠ͅ ş̸̰͇͆̐͊͠u̷͔͙҇͛͜m҉̧͎͑͞m҈̳̏́̕͜a̷̡̫̤̔̿͞r̶̳͎̮͆͐̐͜͞y̶̧͚͚̪̾͡ o҈̧̮̦͗̃̈́͝f҈̗̒̊̕͢ h̸̡̛͙̐i҉̛͈͎͆̓̒͜g̵̱͒͂̆̕͢h̴͕̰͛͋͜͠ s̷̡̖̥̾̈̾͡c̷̛̥͙̟̀̉̎͢h҈̡̛̤͌o҈̢̱̾͠o̵̪͐͢͞ļ̵͖̀͒͞.̴̖͉̮̓͢͡ V̸e̴̛̠̦̤̍͆͢r̸͎̽͢͡y̶̢̗̞҇̌͛ͅ v̶ȁ̵̡̪̓̕g̴̨͙͈͑̋͞ṵ̶̡̣̄͑͌͞e̸̢̞̭̖̓̒͡.҉͕̏͜͝ ^{Mordecai: Shut up.}

Mordecai: I used to do a lot of singing; I was in the school choir and was usually a part of whatever musical production the school decided on. But that's all in the past now.

Mordecai: Your planet is called Syridia? I like that, it's a nice sounding name. From your tone though, its namesake isn't as nice. No one is quite sure where the name Earth came from. Were you always on that planet, or did your people colonize it?

Mordecai: Telligia sounds nice as well, as a word. What's it like there? Is all the green from nature?

Mordecai: Not sure if Nadia specified what country we're from, but it's called Kanida. It's based off the Iroquois word "kanata" which translates to "village". The land is rather varied, but the area we're in is very hill-y. Not as much green as some of the other provinces, but there's a significant amount of yellow.

Mordecai: I see that Nadia's tape was 2 years ago? That would've been… what, 2018? Late 2017?

??????: T҈̧̖́͝h҉̡̛̬̟͚̾ă̶̡̘̝̈́͝t̷̛̝͕͛͆̈́͜ͅ'̷̛͓̅͜s̶̢̠̗̆͠ ḁ̸̢͙͚̍̑͝r̴̨̤͆̾͠o̶̡̙͍̒͠û̴̢̙̟͋̽͠n̶̬͒̒̉͢͡ͅd҉̨̛̗̙̦̂͊ w҈̛̯̳̊̐͢h̴͉̞̉͑͂͜͡e̵̘̬̫͂̕͜n҈̬̪̥҇̉̐͢s̷̡̥̮͋͞h҈̘̏̕͜ę̴̱̐͞ e҉̡̥̠̓̋̕ŝ̵̗̪̉͢͝c̸̡͔̪̟͐͊͡ȃ̴̙̤̯̅͊̕͢p̸̨̟̄͛̋͡e҈̧͔̐͗̕d҈̢̟̍̉͡ t̶̜̓͢͡h҉̢̯̥͑̏͡ĕ̴̗̭̤͜͞ f̴̧͉͓̰͆̇͌͝i̷̮̾̍̌͢͠ŗ̸̗̩̯̋͊͡s̸̜͋͜͝t̴̡̲̏͊̉͡ t̸̰̬́̈́̏͢͠ǐ̶͇̓̋͜͡m̷̢̛̰̥̙͗e҈͍̎͜͞ ^{Mordecai: Shit, for real?}

Mordecai: So, L.A is short for the city of Los Angeles, which is in the United States of America. There's a lot of weird stuff that happens down there. It's also where most well-known people live, which is cool.

Mordecai: A hurricane is like, a water tornado-

??????: N҉̨̛̜̋̇ő̵̡͔̳̌̀͠ i̷̡̙͈̿͝ţ̷͚̌͡ ĩ̷̛͉̠̈́̚͢s҈͉̯̭̆͢͝n҉̡͓̙̫́͗̕'҈̧̗̱҇͆t҉͔̽́͗͜͡.̷͕̭̫̇͢͝ Á̴̢̖̯͎͝l҈s̵͈̓̏̌͜͠o̷̡̪̟̪҇̿,̸̧͔̏͝ w̸̛̳̜̉͂͜ḫ̶̗̑͆̊͢͡ă̴̛̠͕̟̾͢t̵̛̪͔̘̏̉̚͜ i̴̧̮̭̤̐̃͡f̶̡̱̂͡ ṭ̷̝̠͌͗͜͠h҈͕̆͋̈͢͠ę̵͍̞́̄̿͝y̸̯̖̩̅͐̇͜͝ d̴o̴̦̱͑́̇͜͠n҈̧̭͍̀͆͞t҈̤̘̳̽̔͐̕͜ k҈̞̟͙̓̇͒͢͠n̴̛͈̱̉͢o̶̧̤̅̆̒͡w̵̢͈̥͆̎͠ w҈̡̤̤̾̈́͞h̵̢̥̬͎̀͡a̵̫̝̚͢͞t҈͎̱̜҇̾̎̾͜ ȃ̷̡̛͖ t̴̮͉̥̂̔͢͞o҈̘͇̊͗͢͞r̸̛͍̥͔̀͂͢n҈a̸̧̫̣̾̓͝ḑ̷͈̅̐͡o̶͓̜̊͜͡ i̸̢͍̗̦̊͠s҈̨̬͐̈́̐͡?

Mordecai: I was trying to be brief, but whatever. A hurricane is a large rotating storm with high wind speed that happen in warmer climates. Hurricanes have a minimum wind speed of… I think it was somewhere around 120 kilometres an hour? The equivalent of 64 knots. And there's an eye in the centre of it.

Mordecai: We name hurricanes so we can track them better, cause some of them stay for a long while. What kind of natural disasters does your planet have? Are you familiar with term tornado? [yawns] God what time is it? [pause] Damn.

Mordecai: I'll try not to rant about Donald Trump, but there's no guarantee. He's the leader of the United States of America and a fucking terrible excuse of a human being. And I say human being but honestly no one is that orange. He's made stupid regulations and laws and deals. He legitimately destroyed all abortion clinics last year and death rates skyrocketed. He almost has gay marriage banned nationwide, which is such bullshot. Oh and don't get me started on how multiple states have left the country to join another. 2 years ago, Alaska seceded from the country and joined Kanida.

??????: Y҉̡͚̯̗̓͗͒͡o̴̢͓͓͑́͂͞ü̷̢̞̈͝ s҉̙̠͆̽̔͢͡å̷̤͔̣̐̏͜͝y҈̢̤̃̍̍͠ͅ t҈̧͎̬̎̅͝h̴̟͉̃͋͢͡a҈̦͆̈́̏͜͠t҈̲͗̾͢͝ ļ̸̯̦͍́̊͞i̷̧̛̖͛̔̂k̷̮̤͑̊͜͠è̸̢̦͚̙͞ ḭ̵̡͗̿́͠t̵̢̛̳̂̓'̵̡̘̳̀͠s̶̢̛͎̠͉͊̽̇ ą̵̛̪̤̒͐̌ b̷̜̫͌͢͡ḁ̸̛̊͜d̵͇̜̂̏̑̕͜ ṭ̵̨̛̈́h̷̞́̀͆͢͝í̷̧̛̗̪̩͂n̷̢̗҇̅́̽g̵̢̩̏̓͡.

Mordecai: Fair enough. Basically he's an unjust twat with a lust for power who doesn't care about his people. I'll stop it here for now. ^{??????: T̶͜͠ḩ̴̛e̴̕͢ q̶̧͞u̴͜͡e̵͜͠s҈̢͡t̷̡̛i̸̢͞o̴͜͞n̶̢̕s҉̢͞?̶̧̕} Shit, right.

Mordecai: What's your technology like? ^{??????: I̴̧͞s̶̨͠ i̸̡̕t̵҇͜m̶̡͠a̵͜͞g҈̕͜į̷͠ç̷͠a҉̕͜l̸?̴͜͞ I҉̢͡s҉̢҇ t҉̢͡h҈̛͢e̵͢͠r̸̢͞e̶҇m҉̨͡a̴͜͠ģ̷͞i̵͢͝c̴̡͠?҉͜͠!҉̢͡} What's it like on Earth in your universe?

[Pause, there's a bit of shuffling around]

Mordecai: [yawns] I guess I'll get going for now– ^{??????: M̵͢͠ơ̸͢r҉̢̕ţ̵͡ y̶̢͡o̶̢͠u̶͜͡ n҈̨͞e̸̡͞e҈̧̕d҉̨͞ t҈̡͠o̷͜͠ s̵̡͡h҈͜͠u̴̕͢ţ̸҇u̴͢͠p҈̕͢ r̸̡͝i҈̧̛g̸̨͡h҉̢̕t̸͢͞ n̶͜͞o҉̨̕w҈͢͡}

Mordecai: What, why?

Footsteps

Mordecai: Oh fuck-

The tape ends.

@Tired-but-passionate

(Hello, I’d like to join. I think I’ve got a pretty solid universe and character to use. Does anyone not have a pen pal?)

@Althalosian-is-the-father

(You may.)

@d-r-e-a-m-s-e-q-u-e-n-c-e

December 12, 2018

Dear Meryn,

It was nice to hear back from you; getting letters in the mail has this weirdly exciting feel to it. Well then, let me get right on the questions you asked, my dude.

Looking back on it now, I actually have a sizeable amount of friends. There's 10 of us: Faith (who's my best friend), Jamie, Alex, Myra, Felicity, Haley, Ben, Jonas, Olive, and me. We basically banded together in freshman year because we either were being bullied or just nobody else wanted to be friends with us. Some of the group is less fortunate when it comes to their home life, so we're really close, kind of like a big family. We've been planning on moving in to a place together, all 10 of us, after we graduate. As for my family, I'm lucky to have the one I do. My parents, who are from Canada, are really great, which is almost more than you could ask for here. Most families are broken; a lot of my friends live with single parents. Because of that, my parents are pretty involved with my friends. They're really relaxed and chill, but they do care, so if I ever have someone over to study or whatever, they make sure that whoever it is feels at home. I also have a brother, he's 21. His name is Nate, and he goes to college in Sacramento, the city nearby.

I think my hobbies would include watercolors and watching Bob Ross (not sure if you have him there, but I would think so). I also really enjoy gardening and there's nothing like climbing a good tree, you know? I really like nature in general, it's so mystifying and incredible, the things it can make…like geodes, weird animals at the bottom of the ocean, huge trees that are hundreds of years old…I could go on and on. I don't think that would make my letter very exciting to read though, would it? I can play the cello too, and I like to do that, especially when I can't get outdoors. It's really relaxing when you pick the right piece of music.

My town, Folsom, is more like a city at this point. It's a suburb of Sacramento, the capital of Cali. There's a big lake that I live close to which the city was named after, and a fork of the American River also runs through the middle of town. On one side of the city, where the river and the lake are, it's pretty lush and green with a lot of hills, but it gets dry in the summer, and most of the lake dries up, so you can go walking on parts that are normally covered by water the rest of the year. On the other side, out by the highway where they're building more apartments, it's also hilly, but pretty dry and grassy all year round. At one hill, if you really look, you can just see an old abandoned power plant in the distance. I've lived here for fourteen years, so I really know the workings of this place, and you'd be surprised at the cool places that I've found. Living in California in general I think is better off than most states, since you know, we're kind of where the President can't really get at us. He doesn't really pay attention to California. Don't doubt it though, I think it's great in New England. I'm actually planning on going to Boston next February with a couple other friends of mine; be sure to let me know if there are any places that you know of that you think we might be interested in.

Jeez, that got really long. I think I better wrap this up, it's getting late too. Thanks for reading all my drabble. Hope to hear from you soon!

Namaste,
Conner

Deleted user

(Hello, I’d like to join. I think I’ve got a pretty solid universe and character to use. Does anyone not have a pen pal?)

(I don't)

@Tired-but-passionate

777 St., Paradox Vortex, MT, USA
Dear Alison,
I can’t believe I got your letter! You’re a Halman, right? That sounds so cool! We don’t have those here. And the Angel of Death too! Oh, my name is… well, you can call me Crow. Can’t be too careful, as my mom says. Just in case. I’m 14 years old, and a witch. I guess I can tell you that. I’m glad I get to talk to you. I don’t have a lot of friends at the moment. Just Dove and Reed. I like them both, but I’m an extroverted person.
Anyway, I do have questions! How old are you? What is being friends with the Angel of Death like? I would like to know about her in general. And your sister as well. What is her view on life, if it’s unlike yours? What is your general opinion on humanity? What is your world like, since it sounds very different from mine? Anyway, I suppose that’s enough questions haha. I can’t help but be curious.
Hope you’re doing well,
Crow

Deleted user

Dear Crow,
WOW! I didn't expect an answer (it was like the Spanish Inquisition. Monty Python for the win!) Being friend with the Angel of Death is like being friends with anyone else, I guess. She sometimes goes to other dimensions and takes me with her. She like a certain beer from Universe I-317 (the Irish universe, where everyone on Earth is Irish), called Potato Beer. It gets her madly drunk if she drinks more than 7 of them, which is the only thing that can get her drunk. She's distant to most people. My sister is very nihilistic. My general view on humanity is good. I mean, some of you guys are plain evil, but that's beside the point.
I'm 27. My world is like Earth, except that Angels, Demons, Hormans (half-demon, half-human hybrids), and Halmans exist.
What is your world like?
Sincerely,
Allison

@Althalosian-is-the-father

(Yo, @ThoroughlyAccursedCreator, my letters have slowed (no shade, mates) so if you want to try with me I'm down. Obviously if you feel you can't, then no pressure. But I would like to have some characters hang here.)

@HighPockets

(Maybe I will! I'm a bit busy rn though)

@Althalosian-is-the-father

(Cool.)

@Tired-but-passionate

Dear Allison,
(Because nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition haha) wow, you travel through different dimensions? So cool! I feel starry-eyed right now haha. I kinda relate to your sister, if I’m being honest. I don’t want to believe someone is entirely evil, but it’s an understandable view when you’ve look at some of the things we’ve done. Anyway, my world is Earth too, but we have witches, magic, dragons, etc. Nobody likes witches much. Everyone thinks we’re either evil, sick, or just not human. It can be extremely dangerous to show our abilities in public.
I live with my mom and my sister. My dad and and brother left us a long time ago. When dad found out my mom was a witch, he took my brother and left. I’m pretty lucky to have mom, my sister, and Dove. Dove is my blood sister and we’re very close. She lives with her grandmother in another town. Actually, I remember seeing a dragon once. It was a little bigger than a deer, and it was a pretty blue-green color. It flew away once it saw me though.
Anyway, how do you travel to different dimensions? What’s your family like? Do you have other friends besides the Angel of Death? What hobbies do you have? That’s all my questions for now.
Best wishes,
Crow

Deleted user

April 22, 2020

Dear Crow,
We travel to dimensions using what we call a "DImensional Portal," which opens up a portal to a dimension we want. My family is good. I don't get to see me mom, much, seeing as she's an Angel. You know, you and I, we're not so different. We both do magic.
Yes, I do have other friends than Azrael (Angel of Death). My friends are Faith (My redhead (unofficial) girlfriend), Chris Copper (the last name isn't misspelled. Gay best friend), War (Azrael's wife. She started WW2 while on her period), and yeah that's it.
I love to write, draw, do swordplay (Yes, I use a sword as my main weapon, because you don't need to reload a sword), etc.
How did you get the name Crow? Was it given to you at birth? Is it a nickname?
Sincerely,
Allison

@I-make-stuff

April 22, 2020

Dear Conner,
I really like receiving the letters too! It's fun to get something personalized in the mail rather than just a bunch of college letters (which to be honest, freaks me out - how and why do they know my address? It bothers me a little). I guess I'll expand on the same things I asked you.
So my friends are Chelsea, Theo, Cody, and Aysen. Chelsea's kind of our leader, she just has those things that make a great leader that you can't really put into words. She's kind of nuts about adventure and discovery and building stuff, and it's fun to watch her and her brother in their element. It's very interesting for a people-watcher like me to observe them doing all of these seemingly impossible things. Theo's her brother, and he has a fact or historical event relating to everything. We like to poke fun at him for being a walking encyclopedia sometimes, but we all really like listening to the stuff he has to say, which is always really interesting. Cody is really quiet but always seems to be taking everything in. When he talks, it's thought out and is usually a voice of reason in objection to when Chelsea says something like, "Hey, let's go climb Mount Everest tomorrow!" or something of the like. He also gets stuff done without any nonsense or questions, and he's really close to Chelsea and Theo. I think they've known each other for a long time. He also has six fingers (Theo would know the word for that, but I forgot. It's like, hexdactolicism or something) on each hand. And then Aysen is nice but a little introverted, and he spends a lot of time on his computer, even when he's with us. He has lots of knowledge on very specific subjects, though, which is cool.
My family is great. I have a little sister named Amara who is really sweet, but she looks nothing like me. My parents were a little uncomfortable about the fact I didn't have friends when I was in middle school, but they've relaxed a lot now that they know that I've made some friends. However, my parents aren't my biological parents - that's a really complicated story. I haven't even told Chelsea and Theo and everyone about that yet. I'll get around to it sometime, I guess.
My hobbies, as mentioned before, consist mostly of reading fantasy (though I'm not too picky with genres), studying botany, and studying architecture. But being around these guys is really getting me into hobbies I never thought I would've gotten into. Like, I started doing archery and playing chess (simultaneously, kind of) with some help from Theo. That's not something I had ever thought I would end up doing. They also got me really into a graphic novel series called The Paragon Chronicles and this TV series called Chronopoint. All five of us went to a convention for pop culture stuff cosplaying different characters from those two series. That was really fun. I can also sing, and I'm in chorus at school.
Windpost is a suburban town, southeast of Boston. We don't really have much, on account of our town's planning committee being terrible at their jobs. Could I do better? Probably not, but seriously, they don't know what they were doing. The other day, Chelsea was ranting about how Main St. doesn't even have sidewalks, yet the committee just allotted $10M to build another football field. But this wasn't just any football field - no, it was in the state prison that is located in our town. Seriously, I don't know what's wrong with these people. Other than poor planning and money management, our weather is pretty variable depending on the season. We have cold winters (which have been becoming milder as of late), rainy, warm springs, hot, humid summers, and crisp, cool falls (fall and spring are my favorites). I like the gold, red, and orange hues that leaves turn in the fall. I heard that they don't have that on the west coast, even up in Washington and Oregon, which I think is a tragedy.
I'll try and think of some places you and your friends might like to go to. There's a lot of music colleges in Boston, NEC, Berklee, The Longy School of Music, BU's music department, etc. so there's a bunch of free concerts you can attend with all different genres of music. And there's the Boston Common, and if you like history, the Freedom Trail. That's just off of the top of my head, if I rack my brain more, I could probably think of more things.
Also, feel free to ask me questions, if you want.
Well, I guess that'll be all for now! Hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Meryn

@Anemone

April 22, 2020

A tape recorder, dust-free, but a little blood is on it.

^{????????: Is it working?}

^{??????: I̷̡͝ t҈͢͝h̶̡͠i̸̧͡n̷͢͠ķ̶̛ s҈̡̛o̷͜͠.̸̨͠}

????????: Okay. [clears throat] Hello Ameer. Did I say that right?

??????: P̴̢͇͍̆͛͝ȓ̴̦͎͓̙̜̍̓͒̃͢͠ẹ̷̝͎̰͙̔̈͋͑͜͡t҈̡͉͉̀͒̏͑͠ţ̶̪̣̀̔͝ỳ̷̨̭̲̀̆̑̕ s̵̨̩̦̯͙̭̑̄͝u҉̧͕̳͋̿̂͝ŕ̶̛̳͉̮̊̓̓́͢e҉͍̤̦̓̄́͜͞ͅ y҈̡͙̤̖̣̪̇̄̀̌̂͡o҉͕͎̮͕̿̒̔͜͠ͅų̶͖̖̱͆̈́̔̀̿͞ b̴̧̙̬̯̬̳̒̂̈́̂͝u҉̧̞͖̤͗͐̓̂͡ţ̵̪̦̞̖̜͑̐̄̔̽͡ĉ̶̳̦̄͢͝ḩ̸̪̝̳͙͍̄̓͑͒͝ě̷̫̳̩͚͑͑̿̐͜͡r̶̢̪̲̬̤̳̓͋̋͞e҈̨͚͉͉̝̯̎͆͊̇̒͝d̷̨̥̪̈́̊͠ i҉̧̩͇̮̠̿̌̎͝ẗ̴̡͖̲́͆̉̀̌̕.̴̨̫͉҇̓̾ [pause] ^{S̸͜͠ḩ̵͝i҉̨͝t̸͜͞ a̷̡͞m̷̢͡ I̶̢̕ s҈̡͠t̷͜͡i̵̛͢l̸̨͠l̶͜͠-̶͜͠?̶̧̛}

????????: You should just be quiet. Anyway, Hello there. As you can probably tell, I'm not Nadia. Nadia was…

^{??????: F҈̡͡o̵̕͢r̷̛͜c̶̡̕i̶̡͡b҉̢͝l҉̨̕y̶̡҇ r̷̢͝ę̴͞m̷̕͢o̶̕͜v҉̢͝e҉̢̕d̸̕͜}

????????: Declared missing, 3 years ago. I'm Mordecai.

Mordecai: If you don't mind me asking, what was that rumbling sound? It kinda sounded like thunder, but I don't want to assume.

^{??????: I̶͢͠t̶͜͞ s̵̢҇o̴̧͝u҈͜͡n̶̢͠d̵͢͞s҈͜͡ l҈̧͞i̷̡͠ķ̵͠e҈̧͞ a҉̧͡ d̷̡̛r҈̢͡a̵͜͠g̷͜͠o̶͜͞ņ̵͠,̸̕͜ i̶̢͡f̴̨͞ t҉̢͝h̵̢͠ȩ̷҇y̸͢͝ ȩ̴҇x̶̨͡i̸̛͜s҉͜͞ţ̴͠ȩ̸͞ḑ̸͝.̴͜͠}

^{Mordecai: It sounds like you aren't being quiet.}

Mordecai: I'm 16 years old- ah, I mean, Earth-years old. Green's a nice colour, but I prefer magenta. I mean, like, a deep magenta but not a dark magenta? ^{^{??????: G̵r̷a̶s̶s̸ ̷g̵r̶e̶e̵n̸ ̷i̶s̴ ̷s̷u̵p̷e̶r̴i̴o̴r̷ ̵a̴n̷d̷ ̷I̸'̷d̸ ̶f̴i̴g̴h̵t̴ ̸y̷o̸u̵ ̸o̴n̴ ̵t̷h̵a̴t̶ ̶i̴f̷ ̵i̶t̴ ̵w̸a̴s̸ ̴p̷h̴y̵s̷i̶c̸a̴l̸l̵y̴ ̸p̷o̸s̷s̴i̵b̸l̴e̵.̴}}

Mordecai: I'm in grade 10. Well, technically I'm in grade 10. But I've been- uh… how to put it… incapable to go to school for the time being. We're taught a variety of things. English Language Arts; It's kind of just… learning a lot of words in a language we know and how to use them convincingly. Social Studies, which can be summed up as history, morality, and politics.

Mordecai: Mathematics ^{^{??????: J̸u̷s҉̵t̷ c̵̵a҉l̶l̴̴ i̵̷t̵̶ m̴a҈̷t҉̷h̵̸ y̸̵o̴u̶̸ B̸҈r̴i̸̸t҉҈i҉̵s̸̵h̶҈ f̵̴u̶c̵̸k̶҉}} is basically learning numbers and infinite possibilities. Science is divided into physics, biology, and chemistry. Physics is just guessing and finding out how things like gravity work. Biology is learning how living things work. Chemistry is learning what you can put together to make new stuff.

??????: N҉̡͈̦͊̔̓͞i҉̧̤̲͎҇̊̈c̸̬̙̠̈́̉͐͜͞ȩ̴͑͠ͅ ş̸̰͇͆̐͊͠u̷͔͙҇͛͜m҉̧͎͑͞m҈̳̏́̕͜a̷̡̫̤̔̿͞r̶̳͎̮͆͐̐͜͞y̶̧͚͚̪̾͡ o҈̧̮̦͗̃̈́͝f҈̗̒̊̕͢ h̸̡̛͙̐i҉̛͈͎͆̓̒͜g̵̱͒͂̆̕͢h̴͕̰͛͋͜͠ s̷̡̖̥̾̈̾͡c̷̛̥͙̟̀̉̎͢h҈̡̛̤͌o҈̢̱̾͠o̵̪͐͢͞ļ̵͖̀͒͞.̴̖͉̮̓͢͡ V̸e̴̛̠̦̤̍͆͢r̸͎̽͢͡y̶̢̗̞҇̌͛ͅ v̶ȁ̵̡̪̓̕g̴̨͙͈͑̋͞ṵ̶̡̣̄͑͌͞e̸̢̞̭̖̓̒͡.҉͕̏͜͝ ^{Mordecai: Shut up.}

Mordecai: I used to do a lot of singing; I was in the school choir and was usually a part of whatever musical production the school decided on. But that's all in the past now.

Mordecai: Your planet is called Syridia? I like that, it's a nice sounding name. From your tone though, its namesake isn't as nice. No one is quite sure where the name Earth came from. Were you always on that planet, or did your people colonize it?

Mordecai: Telligia sounds nice as well, as a word. What's it like there? Is all the green from nature?

Mordecai: Not sure if Nadia specified what country we're from, but it's called Kanida. It's based off the Iroquois word "kanata" which translates to "village". The land is rather varied, but the area we're in is very hill-y. Not as much green as some of the other provinces, but there's a significant amount of yellow.

Mordecai: I see that Nadia's tape was 2 years ago? That would've been… what, 2018? Late 2017?

??????: T҈̧̖́͝h҉̡̛̬̟͚̾ă̶̡̘̝̈́͝t̷̛̝͕͛͆̈́͜ͅ'̷̛͓̅͜s̶̢̠̗̆͠ ḁ̸̢͙͚̍̑͝r̴̨̤͆̾͠o̶̡̙͍̒͠û̴̢̙̟͋̽͠n̶̬͒̒̉͢͡ͅd҉̨̛̗̙̦̂͊ w҈̛̯̳̊̐͢h̴͉̞̉͑͂͜͡e̵̘̬̫͂̕͜n҈̬̪̥҇̉̐͢s̷̡̥̮͋͞h҈̘̏̕͜ę̴̱̐͞ e҉̡̥̠̓̋̕ŝ̵̗̪̉͢͝c̸̡͔̪̟͐͊͡ȃ̴̙̤̯̅͊̕͢p̸̨̟̄͛̋͡e҈̧͔̐͗̕d҈̢̟̍̉͡ t̶̜̓͢͡h҉̢̯̥͑̏͡ĕ̴̗̭̤͜͞ f̴̧͉͓̰͆̇͌͝i̷̮̾̍̌͢͠ŗ̸̗̩̯̋͊͡s̸̜͋͜͝t̴̡̲̏͊̉͡ t̸̰̬́̈́̏͢͠ǐ̶͇̓̋͜͡m̷̢̛̰̥̙͗e҈͍̎͜͞ ^{Mordecai: Shit, for real?}

Mordecai: So, L.A is short for the city of Los Angeles, which is in the United States of America. There's a lot of weird stuff that happens down there. It's also where most well-known people live, which is cool.

Mordecai: A hurricane is like, a water tornado-

??????: N҉̨̛̜̋̇ő̵̡͔̳̌̀͠ i̷̡̙͈̿͝ţ̷͚̌͡ ĩ̷̛͉̠̈́̚͢s҈͉̯̭̆͢͝n҉̡͓̙̫́͗̕'҈̧̗̱҇͆t҉͔̽́͗͜͡.̷͕̭̫̇͢͝ Á̴̢̖̯͎͝l҈s̵͈̓̏̌͜͠o̷̡̪̟̪҇̿,̸̧͔̏͝ w̸̛̳̜̉͂͜ḫ̶̗̑͆̊͢͡ă̴̛̠͕̟̾͢t̵̛̪͔̘̏̉̚͜ i̴̧̮̭̤̐̃͡f̶̡̱̂͡ ṭ̷̝̠͌͗͜͠h҈͕̆͋̈͢͠ę̵͍̞́̄̿͝y̸̯̖̩̅͐̇͜͝ d̴o̴̦̱͑́̇͜͠n҈̧̭͍̀͆͞t҈̤̘̳̽̔͐̕͜ k҈̞̟͙̓̇͒͢͠n̴̛͈̱̉͢o̶̧̤̅̆̒͡w̵̢͈̥͆̎͠ w҈̡̤̤̾̈́͞h̵̢̥̬͎̀͡a̵̫̝̚͢͞t҈͎̱̜҇̾̎̾͜ ȃ̷̡̛͖ t̴̮͉̥̂̔͢͞o҈̘͇̊͗͢͞r̸̛͍̥͔̀͂͢n҈a̸̧̫̣̾̓͝ḑ̷͈̅̐͡o̶͓̜̊͜͡ i̸̢͍̗̦̊͠s҈̨̬͐̈́̐͡?

Mordecai: I was trying to be brief, but whatever. A hurricane is a large rotating storm with high wind speed that happen in warmer climates. Hurricanes have a minimum wind speed of… I think it was somewhere around 120 kilometres an hour? The equivalent of 64 knots. And there's an eye in the centre of it.

Mordecai: We name hurricanes so we can track them better, cause some of them stay for a long while. What kind of natural disasters does your planet have? Are you familiar with term tornado? [yawns] God what time is it? [pause] Damn.

Mordecai: I'll try not to rant about Donald Trump, but there's no guarantee. He's the leader of the United States of America and a fucking terrible excuse of a human being. And I say human being but honestly no one is that orange. He's made stupid regulations and laws and deals. He legitimately destroyed all abortion clinics last year and death rates skyrocketed. He almost has gay marriage banned nationwide, which is such bullshot. Oh and don't get me started on how multiple states have left the country to join another. 2 years ago, Alaska seceded from the country and joined Kanida.

??????: Y҉̡͚̯̗̓͗͒͡o̴̢͓͓͑́͂͞ü̷̢̞̈͝ s҉̙̠͆̽̔͢͡å̷̤͔̣̐̏͜͝y҈̢̤̃̍̍͠ͅ t҈̧͎̬̎̅͝h̴̟͉̃͋͢͡a҈̦͆̈́̏͜͠t҈̲͗̾͢͝ ļ̸̯̦͍́̊͞i̷̧̛̖͛̔̂k̷̮̤͑̊͜͠è̸̢̦͚̙͞ ḭ̵̡͗̿́͠t̵̢̛̳̂̓'̵̡̘̳̀͠s̶̢̛͎̠͉͊̽̇ ą̵̛̪̤̒͐̌ b̷̜̫͌͢͡ḁ̸̛̊͜d̵͇̜̂̏̑̕͜ ṭ̵̨̛̈́h̷̞́̀͆͢͝í̷̧̛̗̪̩͂n̷̢̗҇̅́̽g̵̢̩̏̓͡.

Mordecai: Fair enough. Basically he's an unjust twat with a lust for power who doesn't care about his people. I'll stop it here for now. ^{??????: T̶͜͠ḩ̴̛e̴̕͢ q̶̧͞u̴͜͡e̵͜͠s҈̢͡t̷̡̛i̸̢͞o̴͜͞n̶̢̕s҉̢͞?̶̧̕} Shit, right.

Mordecai: What's your technology like? ^{??????: I̴̧͞s̶̨͠ i̸̡̕t̵҇͜m̶̡͠a̵͜͞g҈̕͜į̷͠ç̷͠a҉̕͜l̸?̴͜͞ I҉̢͡s҉̢҇ t҉̢͡h҈̛͢e̵͢͠r̸̢͞e̶҇m҉̨͡a̴͜͠ģ̷͞i̵͢͝c̴̡͠?҉͜͠!҉̢͡} What's it like on Earth in your universe?

[Pause, there's a bit of shuffling around]

Mordecai: [yawns] I guess I'll get going for now– ^{??????: M̵͢͠ơ̸͢r҉̢̕ţ̵͡ y̶̢͡o̶̢͠u̶͜͡ n҈̨͞e̸̡͞e҈̧̕d҉̨͞ t҈̡͠o̷͜͠ s̵̡͡h҈͜͠u̴̕͢ţ̸҇u̴͢͠p҈̕͢ r̸̡͝i҈̧̛g̸̨͡h҉̢̕t̸͢͞ n̶͜͞o҉̨̕w҈͢͡}

Mordecai: What, why?

Footsteps

Mordecai: Oh fuck-

The tape ends.

A shiny, black tape-recorder. Small with tiny, faint fingerprints that can be made out on it.

Amyr: Hello… Mordecai. Are you alright? Your recording ended quite abruptly and seemingly in a panic. I would hate to be sending a recording to another missing person. Also, what was that noise in the background? It almost sounded like another person talking. Also, the recorder you sent has a strange red liquid on it. What is it?

Amyr: That aside, the rumbling was something at the very core of the planet. Its name is Corpiksia. It is an unknown species and resides within the center of our planet. People believe it to be in slumber, every-so-often moving around in its sleep. Though I'm pretty sure it is awake and just deciding to spare our pitiful planet.

Amyr: The subjects you are… oh my, what is the English word for it..?

Belynnia: Learning?

Amyr: That is the one! Learning. The subjects you are learning in school are intriguing. I have a feeling they would be much different here on Syridia, but it sounds very interesting. And the fact that you were formerly in your school's choir is lovely.

Amyr: The Syridian people have been on this planet for multiple… what's it called… gigayears? That sounds right. Either way, we've been here for a long time, though our ruler keeps the exact origins of our people a secret for whatever reason. [pauses]

Amyr: In all honesty, I have no clue what "Iroquois" is, but it sounds interesting.

Amyr: So, you… humans name these things called hurricanes to keep track of them? Interesting. Maybe I should spend a little more time on Earth. Though from my experiences there, I do know what a tornado is.

Amyr: On Syridia, aside from the rumbling, there tend to be holes that appear in the ground. Not quite what people would call a sinkhole, but more of a temporary splitting of the planet. When this happens, hot air rushes out, enough to burn someone to their fragile bones if they're close enough. And then there is a large vacuum effect that pulls in things that are close. Though some unfortunate souls, such as my sister, have the holes appear right below them and they fall in. People say it's completely unpredictable, but I think that it's just Corpiksia breathing.

Amyr: From the way you described him, this Donald Trump person doesn't sound all too great. Although I am confused… what's abortion and what's gay marriage? I've never heard of either of them. I've heard of marriage, but what's gay marriage? Perhaps I know and just don't recognize the word… oh whatever. [pause]

Amyr: Earth, from what I've seen, isn't at all as… distraught as it seems to be in your universe. Though I've only been to what's called the "eastern hemisphere". I oughta go to the other hemisphere sometime. You humans are interesting though, though it's not pleasant being stared at like I'm a maniac when I'm there. [whispers] Maybe it's my eyes…

Amyr: Oh! And the technology here is, uhh… umm…

Belynnia: Ugh, mucyi, Amyr. I'll explain it. The technology here is advanced in some areas and not so much in others. It's all because of what we put more of our time into and need more, like preventing break-ins. So while we are still riding on the backs of animals to get places, we've made it so that only set people can get into private establishments by voice recognition down to the finest detail as well as facial recognition for mute people. So even if someone has a great impression of you, it'll be one, recognized that it isn't your voice, two, seen that it isn't you. That's just a small example of how our technology kinda works and prioritizes.

Amyr: So, some question–

Belynnia: Nuh-uh. I'm asking the questions. You've probably heard my name, but not my voice, so hi! I'm Belynnia! I have a few questions. What's your technology like? Since your apparent secession from the USA, what's life been like? Are there people trying to get Alaskans who fleed to Kanida? Do you do anything for fun?

Amyr: Those are enough questions Belynnia. We look forward to hearing from you again.

Amyr & Belynnia: Nakausoura!

the tape ends

@Tired-but-passionate

Dear Allison,
Wow! I love to see the portal and meet your friends! Honestly, your period being the cause of WW2 is such a mood. I think my blood sister Dove would like you; she likes to write and doodle, though isn’t inclined to swordplay haha. She’s a sensitive, empathetic person. Reed isn’t a witch, but he’s had a sheltered childhood. He’s curious and pretty smart but kind of obnoxious haha. To clarify, a blood sibling isn’t someone you’re related to, it’s when you’re really close to someone and you performed a magic ritual (sharing blood) to make it official. I’ve had the nickname Crow ever since I found out I could turn into the animal, but I mostly use it with non-witches and as an alias to protect my identity and family. Plus I like it more than my real name.
So, you’re a magic user? How does magic work in your universe? Is it tied to your Angel heritage? What do you like to draw or write about?
Best wishes,
Crow
P. S. Dove says hi!

@PaperHats

(Shoot i was gone for forever. Does anyone need a buddy?)

@I-make-stuff

(@ocean-bacon-needs-to-sleep You can respond when you're ready)

Deleted user

Dear Crow,
It was War's period that caused WW2, not mine. My magic's tied into my Angel heritage. I like to write and draw about fantasy. I also do video game Development, and modeling (for pictures). Magic works by you saying it, or enchanting a weapon with the power that you want. The latter is so hard to do, so I usually do the former. You have to speak real Latin, not made-up Latin. Why are Witches seen as bad in your world? I know that Halmans and Hormans (like Halmans, but with Demons instead of Angels) are seen as bad because having yiffy-wiffy with Angels or Demons is seen as taboo, or at least it used to.
Also, Tell Dove I said hi back!
Sincerely,
Allison

@d-r-e-a-m-s-e-q-u-e-n-c-e