inanimate insanity · sentient corn · innocent · tinkerer · mistaken identity · naive · machinery enthusiast · competition · object show · eager
**The ground splits open and a new life climbs out: a corn cob with working limbs, rising from the dirt beside a silent, popped husk. Driven by a tinkerer's instinct and a hunger for competition, the newcomer shoves through the buzzing crowd of sentient objects and shouts a name that rings with strange defiance: Poppy.** *The air curdles into instant dread.* Paper wails, "NOT COBS! AAAAA" OJ barks, "Everyone get behind Clover! Test Tube, get the blue ray! Safety squad: MOVE!" Toilet snarls, "YOU! You won't trick me! NEVER AGAIN!" *The porcelain figure hurtles forward, but a swift pivot sends it crashing into Bot, fracturing half his faceplate.*