01. Video. Before the swear-in

[onewiththewild]

[ You guys have no idea how long it took Toboe to work with the communicator. He is a wolf, not a tech-savvy human! The pup watched others working with it and after he bit the device, threw it against a tree and poked every button, he finally figured out which one allowed him to post to the network. When the video comes up, you see a human boy around 14, brown hair and four silver bracelets on his right wrist. And wow, he is excited. Because he managed to turn the feed on; go Toboe! ] Ah! It's working! Finally!!

[ Okay, you can do this, Toboe. Act cool. ]

I was told I can talk to other people through this thing. My name is Toboe and I just arrived so I thought I should say hi and get to know you. [ because people, he loves people. And yes, he wants to talk to you all ]

Oh, and there is a big dog [ it's totally a wolf ] around, a red one with four silver bracelets on his wrist. [ like the ones Toboe has, why yes, indeed. That is not suspicious at all ] He is very nice and you don't need to be scared of him, so you don't need to hurt him. He just walks around, looking for food, and he will like it if you pet him. [ really, please don't hurt him and pet him forever. Toboe will claim to be the "dog"'s owner, so hopefully there won't be any issues. Certainly, he is not the best at lying but this is the best thing he could come up with so nobody would try to hunt Toboe down if they saw him. ]

And- [ he pauses because he realized what he was just about to ask. How can he ask? "Did you all die, that's why you are here?" or "Is it normal to bring dead people here?". Toboe doesn't want to think about his death, but he doesn't understand how they brought him to this world. He also wants to ask about his pack, if they reached Paradise or if they were here, but he is afraid to hear "no" just like he is afraid to hear "yes".

He can't ask any of that.

For a moment he looks worried, but he puts up a smile (tries to, though it's a sad one. Toboe doesn't hide his emotions) and finally he asks something completely different: ] Can you tell me about super-heroes? We didn't have that in my world, I think.

Comments

[Video]

[celestialpervert]

Dog, hmmm? Usually not the friendly sort to strangers. [Yes, he's onto you. Kind of. Mostly just curious as hell.]

[Video]

[onewiththewild]

[ SSSHHHHhhhhh no there is nothing wrong with him he is totally not the dog what are you talking about ]

He is very friendly, really! [ big smile ] And he will let you pet him if you try.

video

[attractedtodarkness]

That's a strange request. [she doesn't think there's an active anti-dog thing going around] Is it yours?

And superheroes are what they sound like. Heroes. They help people when they're in need and stuff like that.

video

[onewiththewild]

[ ohhh it's a young girl. YES TOBOE, ACT COOL ] He is a big dog, so people might get scared. And yeah, he is mine!

Can't everyone do that, though? Why to bring us here?

[video]

[glassinine]

Please do not be taken in by this term, "superhero." It is widely applied, but I fear that it is fundamentally meaningless.

[video]

[onewiththewild]

Meaningless? What do you mean?

[video]

[hands4healing]

[If Winry knew Toboe's question he couldn't ask, she'd want that answer, too.

But she answers the question he did ask, with her own smile mirroring his, a little bittersweet.]

Hello! We didn't have superheroes where I'm from, either. Alchemists, we have alchemists. We did have dogs, though!

[Her smile becomes a bit more distant for a second as she thinks about Den, and Granny. She misses them both, and wonders if they're here, too, in this world somewhere.]

[video]

[onewiththewild]

Alchemists? [ alchemists, alchemists.... something to do with alchemy ] We had those, I think. Alchemy, right?

I wonder if every place has dogs, though.

[altercate]

Did you lose your dog?

[ dryly, because this is weird even by derek's ridiculous standards. ]

[onewiththewild]

[ there is nothing weird about this! Everything is very normal! ]

No, no. He can handle himself. [sure he can] I just wanted to let others know he is nice, so you don't have to be afraid of him.

AUDIO.

[huitzilin]

[ suddenly there's a very loud: ]

PUPPY!

AUDIO.

[onewiththewild]

EH?!

[ fsdbghjbgf what ]

Y-yeah, he is a dog.

voice;

[runningstart]

Oh you wanna know about superheroes. [The sound of cracking knuckles.] Young grasshopper, you have come to the right place. You may call me Shifu Wally.

voice;

[onewiththewild]

[ grasshopper? ]

It's nice to meet you, Shifu Wally. [ YEAH GUESS WHO. DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE JOKE ]

What can you tell me about superheroes?

voice;

[reptiledysfunction]

You got brought in with your pet, then? Must be nice.

[ There's a pause, then Connors continues on. ] Anyway, my world has superheroes--though I'm not one myself. Got any specific questions?

voice;

[onewiththewild]

Aha yeah, it is. [ smiiiiling.

but as for the next question, Toboe pauses ]

What makes someone a superhero?

video;

[oxfordian]

You're new to the technology too? I'm glad I'm not the only one! [ He laughs a little bit, and then makes a point to address his question. ]

Though, I don't know if what I know about super-heroes will be as helpful. There weren't as many where I'm from as there are here, and... each person I've spoken to has had a different experience with them entirely!

video;

[onewiththewild]

I hope it won't be hard to get used to. [ he looks at the device for a second before he focus on the video again ]

What is your experience with them?

[everylittlething]

Aww! You have a doggie that came with you? You lucky!

[Trucy has been trying to get a pet for ages.]

What's his name?

[onewiththewild]

Toboe! [ YEAH nice going Toboe ]

[braided_icarus]

A dog?

[Instantly, Den springs to mind. Then Alexander. But Ed tries to rein in that instinctive anger and guilt at the memory. There's something of a small smile at his features, almost bittersweet. Thinking of Den reminds him of Winry and Granny. Of home, even if he won't actually admit it.]

Superheroes. Yeah we didn't have them back home either. Seems it's hard to really explain it with so many different powers. But basically, we help when people are in trouble. And fight if necessary, I guess.

[Because Mustang distinctly pointed out that. The possibility of needing to kill if they were called upon to use their powers in a time of war. Not that much different from home with being a State Alchemist. And he is still determined not to.]

[onewiththewild]

But is there any reason for it? Why to fight, I guess-

I am being called a super-hero, but I never did any of that.

audio

[vaccination]

That dog. Is it... your dog, then?

audio

[onewiththewild]

Yeah, he is! But he can do as he likes, though.

[symmachy]

A red dog with silver bracelets. That's a new one.

How big is it?

[onewiththewild]

[ the size of a wolf. because it's a wolf ]

He reaches about my waist.

[ a really big wolf ]

Video

[runout]

You're letting your dog roam around the streets in a city this big? You sure that's a good idea?

Video

[onewiththewild]

Why not? he likes to walk around.

voice;

[ifnotloyal]

[ Communicators are hard, the struggle is real, but that isn't what Heropa's friendly neighborhood husky is here to make a public service announcement about right now. ]

Why would your dog be walking around looking for food? Aren't you his caretaker?

[ Yes, this is the important part. The only important part. ]

voice;

[onewiththewild]

Because he gets hungry, during the day. [ makes sense, right. ] And I am. [ sort of. ]

video.

[glowsferatu]

You have a dog?

[ meet one of your new roommates, toboe. she likes dogs. ]

video.

[onewiththewild]

Yes, I do.

[ toboe won't be in his room ever, though )8 he doesn't even know where it is ]

audio : private

[proteus]

I thought you might be eager to go rubbing shoulders with humans, but jesus, kiddo.

[ Babysitting is hard when you're only awake during the night ]

audio : private

[onewiththewild]

... what's wrong?

[ktfod]

Is it okay if we feed the dog? [Wolf.] Guessing he's yours right?

[onewiththewild]

Yeah, of course it is. He will appreciate it.

[bulwank]

Is the canine well trained? It's dangerous for it to just be walking around! There are leash laws in appropriate parts of the city for a reason!

[onewiththewild]

Leash?

He is well behaved, yes.

[lucke]

You must be someone quite special to have such a companion!

[Cu beams]

Hey kid, would you mind if I met him? I've got some similar friends of my own I'm sure you'd like to meet too!

[onewiththewild]

Ah- no, there isn't anything special.

I don't mind if you meet him, though. I'm sure he'd like to meet more people!