Chapter Text
…There is nothing…
…Nothing around me but an infinite black void that stretches on forever in every direction…
‘…Where am I?’ I think to myself.
‘...Who am I?’
…There is no answer…
…
…
…
Suddenly a burst of light covers every inch of what was previously an inky black abyss.
I then feel like I am flung at a million miles an hour like I’m a missile that was just launched.
‘POP’
Just like that, I am now surrounded by color. Not just color, but buildings and people around me with grass below and a sky above.
‘Wait, how do I know what those things are?’
It’s all just so overwhelming. I fall backwards onto the ground, but am able to prop myself on my hands before I fall completely over.
‘...Hands?” I think to myself yet again. “...How do I know what hands are either?’
I look down at my hands.
I only have four fingers on each. That would be unusual on its own, but they were also made of shapes and colors that would be way too basic to be actual hands.
‘...I’m going to stop questioning what things are now…These thoughts are starting to feel redundant…’
Looking back down at my hands I notice that my palms were upside down white triangles and fingers were just sketchy black lines. They looked as if they were quickly drawn by a pencil.
I stand up and eventually am able to balance myself on my feet.
…My feet…which were just white isosceles triangles…
I eventually get my bearings and start making out some of the details of the world around me.
The streets looked crayon drawn as if they were taken directly from a kindergarten classroom’s carpet with some cars and signs that were flat against the ground. Weirdly enough the road also had actual fully three dimensional cars and signs as well that should’ve functioned a lot better than the ones below that didn’t have depth.
Speaking of the cars, or should I say vehicles as it would be a more apt descriptor, every single one that drove by looked completely different. There was a police car, a black limo that stretched a little too far, an army tank, an alien spacecraft, and a car that was so crude looking that it wouldn’t surprise me if it were designed by a child. Honestly, it probably was.
I turn around and take in some of the buildings. Unsurprisingly the first house I saw was one that looked as if it was drawn by a child. There was also a castle with a drawbridge and a moat, a giant fishbowl that somehow had a front door that didn’t seem to lose any water as it was opened, a skyscraper that was so tall that it literally reached the clouds above, and a bounce house that somehow was able to function as an actual house.
I walk down the street and find a bench so I can sit down and process exactly what is happening. There is an old anthropomorphic bird man sitting next to me who was feeding breadcrumbs to a few somewhat crudely drawn but otherwise normal looking pigeons.
As I rest I decide to people watch for a bit. It feels weird to call it people watching though. Some of them did look at least a bit like normal real world human beings with realistic modern looking clothing, but there were also plenty of anthropomorphic animals, non-anthropomorphic yet still sentient animals, aliens, robots, monsters, witches, wizards, ninjas, pirates, knights, princesses, dragons, and cryptids to name just some of who I saw. I wouldn't even be surprised if I were asked to find Waldo among them. Hell, I might have actually seen Waldo at some point today. Who even knows anymore.
‘I’m going to just close my eyes for a bit.’ I think to myself. ‘Maybe this is a dream that I can wake up from. Going to sleep in a dream is how you wake up from them, right?’
As I rest my eyes I almost doze off.
…
“Hi there!”
“AAAHHH!” I shout as my eyes snap open.
“Woah! Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.”
I rub my eyes and look over to the person, or animal in this case, who was speaking to me.
“...Huh?”
“I should probably introduce myself. My name’s Kiki.”
“...You…you’re a cat…” I say out loud.
Kiki was an anthropomorphic cat girl with purple fur. She was wearing a black tank top and blue jeans.
“...Yes…I am a cat…a cat who happens to be your new neighbor…” Kiki responded with a somewhat confused expression that she quickly shakes off as she continues her explanation. “As your new neighbor I am here to answer any questions you might have about this world.”
Instead of asking one question at a time like most reasonably sane people would do I decide to ask a bunch of questions in rapid succession without waiting for a response. This is just an overwhelming situation, okay!
“Where am I? How did I get here? How can you talk if you’re a cat? Is this a dream or am I dead?”
Kiki covers my mouth with a finger to stop the onslaught of questions.
“...Okay…” Kiki processes what was asked of her for a moment. “Let’s go in order from what will take the least to most amount of time to explain, okay?”
I nod.
“Okay! So, this isn’t a dream and you’re not dead, animals can talk here and that’s just something you have to accept, you’re here because someone came up with the idea of you and wanted you to exist, and finally you are in SketchTopia! A world of infinite imagination!” Kiki’s arms shoot up into the air as she gestures widely to the world around her. “And when I say infinite imagination that isn’t me being metaphorical or anything like that. This world is made of literally anything and everything that has ever been drawn! It doesn’t matter if it was drawn by a 2 year old on a hallway wall, a professional cartoonist on a high quality drawing tablet, or even a caveman using dyes to color their cave wall! If someone drew it there it exists here.”
“...Oh…that’s a lot to take in…and…and I think I have a few more questions…if you don’t mind answering them that is…”
“That’s literally what I’m here for! Go right ahead!”
“So, where is ‘there’ and who are ‘they’?”
“The ‘there’ I’m referring to is Earth. The place where cats are from, but also where humans are from too I guess. The ‘they’ is humans. Humans are the dominant population of Earth and do a lot of things, but what’s important to us is their ability to think, dream, and draw.”
“...Okay…so I am a drawing…created by someone on Earth…and exist in a world with the rest of all drawings?”
“That is correct.” Kiki confirms with a nod.
“...Huh…” I say as I stare into space while processing what was probably an overwhelming amount of information.
“Any other questions?”
“Why were you chosen to greet me?”
“I am your new neighbor after all. It’d be rude if I didn’t give you an introduction to this place. Also, the ground between my previous neighbor’s house and mine literally stretched apart and your new house manifested onto the lot. It’s kind of like a jury duty thing I guess.”
“What’s jury duty?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Kiki said as she waved the question off. She was explaining a lot right now, but she didn’t have to explain everything. “So, I told you my name. What’s your’s?”
“...Um…my name…my name is…uh…” I shake my head. “...I…I don’t think I have one of those…”
“That’s okay!” Kiki says as she pats me on the back. “All that means is that your creator didn’t name you! There are plenty of other drawings that didn’t have names when they first arrived here either. It also means that you get to name yourself!”
“...Um…okay…I think…” I say while thinking to myself. “...That I will…think about it…and sleep on it…I don’t want to rush such an important decision after all…”
“Fair enough!” Kiki says with a shrug. “Let’s get you home!”
Kiki holds out her hand. I grab it and she lifts me up and off the bench to walk me home.
We walk for a few minutes and eventually reach my new house.
…Which looks like a basic yet competently drawn blue and white house…I think it might’ve literally been made of blueprint paper…
“...It looks…plain…” I ask as a cock my head to the side as if looking at it from a slightly different angle would change anything.
“I’ll show you how to customize it tomorrow!” Kiki says as she walks off to her own house (which looked as if you cut a giant dog house and cat scratching post in half and welded them together). “See you later!”
Kiki enters her house as I turn back to look at mine.
“...What a weird day…” I say to myself as I walk inside and close the door behind me.