A long time ago, back during the unpleasant months of late 2020, I decided that, for the fun of it, I would do a round of character interviews for my Distant Horizon Universe newsletter.
Today, I’m revisiting those interviews. đ
We’re bringing in Krissa Wolf, resident fourthwaller, to ask the questions.
And warning… it’s going to be a little campy.
* * *
Interview with Jenna Nickleson and Tim Zaytsev of the Distant Horizon Universe
circa October 20, 2020
Krissa: Hello, readers! Nice to finally talk to you directly. This is the Lobby, a place where fourthwallers, spectators, and meddlers come to chat… and where unfortunate characters who can’t break the fourth wall sometimes get dragged into for author/game master and reader entertainment.
*She gestures to an open, bright room with numerous round tables, and a bar near the door that serves everything from adult beverages to juice boxes. There’s a comfy, plush couch along the far wall, as well as a stool she’s plucked from the bar. The crowd is small today, and those visiting the Lobby give her space.*
Krissa: A few ground rules: our interviewees can come from any time or multiverse strand. Most of them won’t know which timeline, unless they have the insight power, like I do. And once they go back through that doorâ
*She points to the inconspicuous front entrance beside the bar.*
Krissa: âthey lose their memory of their encounter. Got it?
*She rubs her hands together and grins.*
Krissa: Let’s bring in our interviewees!
*The door opens of its own accord. A young woman with short hairâblond at the tips and brown at the rootsâsteps through. She pauses, takes one look around the bright room, and attempts to turn around. She runs face-first into a gangly young man in a black uniform that flickers with faint fiber optics.*
Jenna: Tim?
Tim: Jenna?
*They stare at each other, neither sure how to react.*Â
*Krissa waves from her bar stool.*
Krissa: Hey there! You two already know each other, so come on over! Don’t worry, this isn’t another memory attack.
*Jenna’s shoulders slump when she spots Krissa, her expression that of resigned annoyance. She weaves through the tables to stand beside the arm of the couch, her arms crossed over her chest. Tim looks between her and Krissa, perplexed, but takes a seat. He tests the couch’s cushion, grins as it springs back, and settles in comfortably. He turns to Jenna.*
Tim: What’s going on?
*Jenna jabs a thumb at Krissa.*
Jenna: Ask her.
Krissa: You’re in the Lobby. Your loyal readers have questions for you.
Tim: Our… readers?
Jenna: *Annoyed.* She’s a fourthwaller. And I’m guessing reality bender, at this point.
Tim: But I thought fourthwallers believed we were in a game…?
Jenna: *Still very much miffed.* Krissa writes and draws comics. At a game shop.
Krissa: We break the fourth wall for whoever that might be. Reader, gamer, watcher… the current field is kind of limited to readers at the moment. But our time is limited, so if you’ll just answer a few questions, I’ll send you back on your merry way. Let’s start with you, Jenna, since we’ve met before.
Jenna: Fine.
Tim: Are you sure this isn’t an attack by an OA telepath?
*Jenna simply grunts.*
Krissa: Don’t mind her. She’s grumpy because of the brain seed messing with her head. I’ve made sure it’s muted for the time being, because I’d rather talk to her than the seed, butâ
*Jenna bolts upright, her eyes wide.*
Jenna: You can do that? Why haven’t you said so?
Krissa: Because I limit my interference, unlike certain meddlers. Now, first question… what do you like to eat?
*Jenna stares at her blankly.*
Jenna: Uh…
Krissa: First thing that comes to mind.
Jenna: Well, there’s breakfast burritos.
Krissa: Oh? Favorite ingredients?
Jenna: Plain, I guess. I mean, a little salsa is fine, but it shouldn’t be excessive.
Krissa: Salt and pepper?
Jenna: In moderation?
*Krissa nods enthusiastically.*
Krissa: I like garlic, so I’ll add that sometimes. But I really like onions. SautĂ©ed onions in almost anything with eggs. How about you, Tim? What’s your favorite food?
Tim: Well, my father is a great cook, so there’s a lot of options. But he makes this really good cabbage soupâ
Jenna: *Skeptical* Cabbage soup?
Tim: What is it with you and Val not liking cabbage soup?
Jenna: Wait, she doesn’t like it either?
Tim: Not… exactly. No. She liked the bread Father served with it, though.
Jenna: Uh-huh.
Krissa: Great! Breakfast burritos and cabbage soup! Now then, starting with you, Tim, though I think I already know the answer, have you ever been arrested?
*Tim flinches.*
Tim: That’s kind of how I got my job on the Legion Spore.
Jenna: Well, if you hadn’t let Val trick you into liking her and then kidnapping youâ
Tim: She didn’t kidnap me. I went with her.
Jenna: You went with her? Willingly?
Tim: You guys wanted to destroy the Community!
Jenna:Â IÂ don’t want to destroy the Community. But the Camaraderie creates beasts, and they have to be stopped somehow. The Coalition is our best bet. We get the time stones, go back and fix it, andâ
Tim: Have you even figured out how they work?
*Krissa coughs into her hand.*
Krissa: Have you ever noticed how many “C” names there are? Coalition, Camaraderie, Community… and once you go back a few decades, there’s Challenge.
*Tim and Jenna stop arguing.*
Jenna:Â What does that have to do with anything?
Krissa: You were going off on a tangent. So, have you ever been arrested?
Jenna: That’s how I got into this mess, remember? Special Forces caught me not taking the pill.
Tim: Actually, they caught my hacking, but they couldn’t trace me.
Jenna: I hid you. And… you ran away? With Val?
*Jenna twists her lips and doesn’t meet his eyes. He sulks back into the couch.*
Krissa: All right… change of topics. Special request from a reader… Shoe size. Tim?
Tim: Shoe… size? Uh…
*Tim fights to pull of his boot. Krissa hops off the stool pre-emptively the second before he yanks off the boot and almost hits her knee in the process. His cheeks go red, but he checks the inside of the boot’s tongue.*
Tim: Huh. I’m a size 41.
Krissa: Awesome. Jenna?
*Jenna gives her a sour glare.*
Jenna: Last I checked, I needed a size 40.
Krissa: That was fast.
Jenna: I did track. And I had to figure it out while on the airship, so… yeah. Size 40. Though they didn’t actually use the same measuring system I’m used to.
Krissa: The Community uses the European system, right?
*Jenna nods.*
Krissa: Great! I’ve got more questions, but we’re out of time for now. So, if you want to hang out here for a little bit, order yourself a breakfast burrito and cabbage soup and catch up, I’ll give you an hour before I send you back. As for you readers out there… have a question you want to ask these two? Or do you want me to pull in someone else? Send in an email. Sounds like I should be back on Monday for another interview session.
*Krissa waves before excusing herself to go speak with another member in the crowd. Jenna and Tim exchange confused glances.*
Jenna: So… have you had to deal much with fourthwallers?
*Tim nods and heads toward the bar, where the bartender pushes a menu toward him.*
Tim: Yeah. But I’ve never ended up here before…
* * *
After the first interview, I gave readers a chance to send in more questions. Then, we returned with round two of questions on October 26th!
Again, Krissa Wolf asked the questions, since her status as both fourthwaller and reality bender gives her a bit more leeway with the questions she can ask.
* * *
Krissa: Welcome back! I hope you all had a good weekend. Today we have the second round of interview questions. I’m sure our characters will welcome a chance to get away from their daily livesâ
*The door at the front of the Lobby opens, and a frazzled, sand-covered Jenna walks through. Her skin is red and peeling from sunburn. She stops short.*
Jenna: Not this again…
Krissa: To make it easier, and so we don’t have to go through the introductions again, I’ve returned their memories.
*Krissa swivels on her bar stool to face Jenna, and props one arm on the table beside her, which is covered in various sketches.*
Krissa: Enjoying Cairo?
*Jenna glares at her.*
Jenna: It was nice until the sphinx showed up.
Krissa: Oh, I know him. Mysterious fellow. Likes riddles.
Jenna: I noticed.
Krissa: Anyway, you’re not going to have to go through the interview alone, so let’s welcome Tim back, too! And don’t worry, I know you’ve got things to do, so I’ll keep the interview short.
*The door swings open once again, and Tim… also looking a bit sun-burnt but more tired than frazzled, steps through. He glances at Jenna and looks her over, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.*
Jenna: Don’t ask.
*Tim nods slowly, sees Krissa, and then finds himself a seat on the couch. He scoots over to make enough space for Jenna, who reluctantly follows and flops into her seat. The bartender brings over a pair of water glasses, which they each happily accept.*
Krissa: Welcome, welcome. Glad to have you back. It seems like you’ve both been having a rough time. So I’ve got to ask, what’s the craziest job you’ve ever had?
Jenna: Does this one count?
Krissa: Sure… what’s this job?
Jenna: Being a rebel? Getting chased by guardian spirits of time stones, like that sphinx?
*Tim pops up in his seat.*
Tim: So that was you!
*Jenna glowers but keeps her attention on Krissa.*
Jenna: Yeah. That was me.
Krissa: Do you usually get chased by spirits?
Jenna: It’s more common than I’d prefer. It’s happened twice now. Before that I was getting chased by beasties.
Krissa: Did you have a job before you became a rebel?
*Jenna shakes her head.*
Jenna: I hadn’t been assigned a job when I was in the Community, unless you count being a student as having a job. I was hoping to be a biologist once I graduated, if I could test high enough.
Krissa: Sounds fun. How about you, Tim? What’s the craziest job you’ve ever had?
*Tim scuffs his boot on the floor. He frowns as it leaves a black streak on the polished tile, and he quickly tries rubbing it out.*
Tim: Definitely this one.
Krissa: You’re the operator for the Legion Spore, right?
Tim: Yes. My job is to remove the glitches. There are fragments of memories in the code that keep causing it to go haywire, and the results aren’t fun.
*Jenna gapes at him, horrified.*
Jenna: You work on the Legion Spore?
Tim: My techno sight powers kind of made me a good candidate, especially after I got promoted. It’s definitely crazy, but it’s better than being part of the Legion Spore, or a hub.
Krissa: So, just to remind the readers, since not all of them have read your stories yet, the Legion Spore is a living airship, right? Don’t worry, Jenna, I won’t let the brain seed activate.
*Jenna shivers and inches deeper against the couch’s back.*
Tim: Yeah. It’s made from shapeshifters. Their bodies form the hull. Then there’s a large hub on the inside where the Camaraderie hooked up people and beasts with powers, ones like life-spirit, techno sight, and fire elemental. They provide additional powers, which gives it its defensive and offensive capabilities.
Krissa: Sounds disturbing… and fascinating.
Jenna: *Muttering.* If you say so.
Tim: It is. But the Legion Spore is surprisingly well-meaning. It seems to like me.
Jenna: Like you?
Tim: Uh-huh. Actually, it seems to recognize you for some reason. Something about your memories.
*Jenna cringes.*
Jenna: The brain seed likes to attack me with memories from the Legion Spore’s creation. I think Brainmaster actually enjoyed making that thing.
Tim: Wouldn’t have surprised me.
*Awkward silence.*
Jenna: Thanks for saving me from her, by the way.
*Tim’s cheeks turn pink. He scratches the back of his neck self-consciously.*
Tim: Yeah. I mean… she kind of deserved it. And she wasn’t even being practical with her attack. So, yeah. Um, you’re welcome.
*Continued awkward silence.*
Krissa: I’m glad to see the two of you finding common ground again. Let’s move on to the next question. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Tim: I don’t know. I like them about the same, really. But turtles are really cool. And gerbils.
Krissa: Oh? What do you like about turtles?
Tim: Their ability to hide within their shells. It seems like a nice defensive ability to have. And the shells have these geometric patterns on them. And they’re just… neat.
Krissa: And gerbils?
Tim: I don’t know. They’re fuzzy and cute, and they have these cute little tails.
Krissa: Cool. How about you, Jenna?
Jenna: I’m…
*She pauses, seeming to struggle to remember something.*
Jenna: Dog person. Definitely dogs. They don’t seem to hate me like cats do. But the brain seed definitely likes cats better.
Krissa: Aside from them not hating you, why dogs?”
*Jenna shrugs.*
Jenna: I never got to have one as a pet, but I enjoyed playing fetch with them. And I took a friend’s for a walk once, and that was fun. Now that I have speed powers, I think it’d be awesome to go for a run with one.
Krissa: You definitely seem to value their companionship.
Jenna: Cats just don’t seem to be companions. They only come to you if they want fed. Or if they want to stick their furry tail in your nose while you’re working.
Krissa: Personal experience?
Jenna: I’m… not actually sure.
Krissa: Ah, brain seed experiences. Well, me, I’m a cat person all the way. I like dogs, too, but I adore cats. All right, then, I promised to keep this interview short so you could get back to your lives. So why don’t you enjoy the rest of your time in the Lobby, and I’ll send you back when you’re ready.
As for you readers out there, that’s it for the interviews for now. If you have any more questions, do feel free to ask, and they might appear on Stephanie’s blog.
*She winks, gives a bow, and then heads over to the corner of the room to chat with a little girl in pigtails and a swishy skirt. For a moment, neither Tim or Jenna say anything, though Jenna eyes the girl suspiciously.*
Tim: Want to see if they have cake here?
*Jenna jerks to attention.*
Jenna: What?
Tim: I was thinking marble cake with chocolate frosting.
Jenna: Err… sure? Cake sounds good.
*She gives one more uncertain look toward Krissa, before following Tim toward the counter at the front of the lobby.*
Jenna: So… how’s your life been?
Tim: Kind of crazy, really. I’ve been trying to help Commander Rick track the rebels after the rebels and the guardian spirit ransacked that museum in Cairo…
* * *
I hope you enjoyed the character interviews. âșïž
If you’re curious, the Cairo incident they’re referring to takes place in Ghost of a Memory (Tim) and Fractured Skies (Jenna).
* * *
Catch up with Jenna and Tim in their regular timelines…
* * *
Happy reading and writing!
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 