01 | Video

[askedforit]

Okay, so tell me something. Just what are we supposed to do around here? I mean, call me crazy or whatever you want, but I just can't shake the feeling that we're little better than test subjects for someone's insane experiment.

Or maybe they're just trying to make us go crazy, and you know what? They're doing a pretty good job of it.

[The business of the mirrors colliding with the reals, and having people try and kill him twice in a very short amount of time hasn't done much to improve Peter's temper.]

I don't want to sit here and just let people jerk me around because it's how they get their laughs or whatever.

So, what's your secret? Or maybe there isn't one; but either way, it's not good enough to just be someone's science project.

Comments

[video]

[thepointisdolphins]

That feeling you're feeling is called cabin fever. It's effective, isn't it?

[video]

[askedforit]

Sure, it's effective. Effectively irritating.

[video]

[thepointisdolphins]

Still, I somehow doubt that there's some scientist bloke in a room somewhere pushing buttons and watching us suffer. That'd be far too prosaic for Wonderland.

[video]

[askedforit]

Maybe not, but someone has to be pulling the strings. This place can't have built itself, and these events aren't making themselves happen.

Unless they are, and then that would be just weird.

[He's not overlooking the possibility of a sentient building, but that would be a lot harder to fight.]

[video]

[thepointisdolphins]

From what I've head, the events happen when that particular world draws too close to Wonderland. That, and something to do with memories. They're big on memories around here.

[video]

[askedforit]

Too close? Doesn't that mean, then, that the worlds we're from and this world aren't really all that far apart?

[But he's also picturing planets spinning around in space, which is another remote possibility.]

[jolting]

Be the scientist instead. That's what I do.

[askedforit]

Yeah? And how's that working out for you?

[jolting]

Pretty good, so far. I've made a lot of progress.

[askedforit]

Progress with what, exactly? What does that even mean, anyway? Being the scientist instead?

[jolting]

You take samples and do experiments. Pretty standard stuff.

[askedforit]

Okay, so what experiments have you done so far?

video » you have all three now, slut

[resent]

[ cora understands peter's frustration. it's exactly how she had felt back when she had been held captive in the bank vault by the alpha pack. by not feeling the caress of the moon, she had felt as though she was simply a lab rat, experimented on, and then unleashed upon someone she thought to be a ghost. ]

[ cora's expression appears to be unamused, but she's simply contemplative. what has made this experience so much different to that one? the wonderland puppeteers are just as ruthless, if not more so, than the alpha pack. ]

[ but she already knows the answer, even before she finds the question. ]

Do you have friends?

video » Excellent, just as planned

[askedforit]

Friends? Sort of.

[He has Claire, but that's a hard thing for him to wrap his mind around. For one thing, she's apparently his niece, and that's just... Well, a lot to take in and understand.

He just feels weird about the possibility of unloading on her; it's not that he thinks she can't handle it, but oddly, he's kind of wishing his older brother Nathan was here.]

What about you? Do you have friends here?

video » dammit, i was trying to thwart you!

[resent]

Family.

[ she doesn't hesitate in saying that. and it doesn't exactly take her aback, either. derek is her family, yes; anyone with a brain can realise that. but the other idiots? isaac, stiles, allison, scott? they've weaselled themselves inside of her to the point where she can't separate them from her own pack. and pack is family. ]

I'm Cora. Now you've got a friend. Sort of. [ she may look amused, if only a little bit. because this? forming friendships and the like, is what people do in the downtime. ]

video » Looks to me like you failed!

[askedforit]

Family, huh?

[ That must be nice. Actually, he figures it's more like a catch-22. Family can be both good and bad, but if it were him, he'd be just a little bit glad to see them. Until one of them did something off-the-wall. ]

Nice to meet you, Cora. I'm Peter. [ +1 friend! ]

So, how are you holding up?

video » i will be victorious! you will see!

[resent]

[ how is she holding up? it's a question she doesn't think she likes. i'm good is the typical response, but it's so over-used that it's bound to make someone's ears bleed. i'm not okay is a little too much for someone who became a friend one second ago. ]

I don't like the events.

[ honesty. cora doesn't really like to beat around the bush if it's unnecessary. charging through said bush is a lot more fun. but the events have her on edge, all the time; she's constantly separated from that one thing she has here, and that's her family. together. in one piece. for once. ]

The rabbit hole's okay without them. Lacks croquet, which is disappointing.

video » oh will I? well, I will be waiting and watching

[askedforit]

[He asks questions like that for a reason, and not just because it's something to say. Maybe it's because he's a nurse, and it's a question he asks a lot in his line of work. But either way, he really does want to know how people are doing.

But generally, the answers are glib and not necessarily the whole truth. So he's a little surprised by her answer, but it also piques his curiosity.]

I can't say I do either. That last one wasn't so great. What other events have happened?

[Or maybe she doesn't want to talk about them; if so, he won't press the issue.]

You don't think you couldn't get a game of croquet going?

[As he understands it, there's usually a little downtime between events.]

[ video ]

[exvampirate]

Well, I like bein' an experiment more than I like bein' dead.

[ He doesn't have much to go home to. When he goes back then he's back in Purgatory being torn apart by a big pack of pissed off vampires. He doesn't really like the sound of that. Being here kind of feels like a much better option if you ask him. ]

When things ain't goin' crazy then it ain't bad.

[ video ]

[askedforit]

Well, yeah, if those are the only alternatives.

[And really? He's not so sure that there are any alternatives except for those things.]

My problem is finding ways to stay busy when things aren't going crazy.

[exvampirate]

I kinda feel like they are. It's either this or let yourself get nailed to the wall. I don't like the idea of that at all.

[ Benny isn't the best when it comes to hobbies. He hasn't had a hobby in years. The last job he had was a fry cook, but that came to a rather abrupt end with the vamp dropping bodies in his neighborhood. ]

Some folks read? I'm not much of a hobby guy myself. Sports?

[askedforit]

Neither do I.

[And anyone who tries nailing him to a wall might find themselves at the receiving end of a surprise. But hopefully that's not going to be necessary.

Peter's not big on hobbies either, so there's definitely some kind of common ground here. Being a hospice nurse was a full time job, and he became bent on saving a certain cheerleader, that didn't leave much time for recreation either.]

I could probably handle reading, but I never was that good at sports.

[Again with the lack of time thing.]

[exvampirate]

Wasn't that much to do when I was actually alive. You learn how to entertain yourself. I was in Purgatory for a long time. Longer than I care to admit sometimes. When I got back topside folks was usin' iPads and iPods. Television was all kinds of different. Folks watch famous people just lay around all day.

[ Yeah. Benny is not a fan of reality television or anything really modern. He had a flip phone back when he was on Earth. He didn't have a phone as sophisticated as this one. It was kinda strange. ]

Makin' friends helps.

let's pretend this isn't forever late

[cheerleader]

I don't think there's a secret, Peter. It's just...figuring out how to stay sane and survive whatever this place throws at us.

[She's been keeping to herself entirely since that last event. The one where her mirror took over and attempted to either seduce or kill him, she's still not sure which one (if not both) the stupid alternate self was attempting to do. She's still nervous about attempting to look Peter in the eye, which makes her glad this is a video over their devices. Where she can look at anything but the screen, knowing he'll be looking at her on the other side.]

I still haven't found a way to keep myself busy.

no such thing!

[askedforit]

No tips to share or anything?

[He's not surprised. He knew when he started this that there probably weren't any answers to his questions.

That last event was something else, and it's definitely left him wary of just about everyone. It's not something he likes, but it told him one thing: that it's hard to know who should be trusted and who shouldn't, especially since the mansion seems capable of anything.]

Well, you know, you can talk to me if you need to.

[He smiles and shakes his head. Just talking to people probably isn't enough to keep her busy.]

Sorry, that's probably not helping you figure that out.