entranceway | 001 ☆ video

[When the video feed starts up, it shows a man seated at a desk in a rather nondescript room. Not much can be seen behind him beyond a bed and closet. Much more noteworthy is his face, which has a few bruises and a line of stitches extending outward from the corner of his mouth.

Despite that, he has a bright, open look on his face, though the fact that he's sitting up straight and looking head-on at his phone's camera makes it clear that he means business.]

So... had a few days to take everything in, read what information I could find. It's been helpful, it really has. [A lot of the work and investigation had already been done for him, though that hasn't prevented Steve from doing his own exploration.]

Just a few questions, if anyone can help. [And so far, most everyone has been helpful.] I can only assume there's some escape effort that's been put together here. A group of like-minded people, working together to get everyone home. I'd like to be a part of that. [It might seem overly transparent to ask about something like that over a network like this, but Steve has no interest in secrecy, especially not after everything that he's been through.]

Secondly, I've heard a lot about people being from different worlds. I'm trying to get an idea of how many we're dealing with. [He knows about Asgard and has heard vaguely of the Nine Realms, but beyond that he's clueless. He needs to determine the scope of this operation.]

Oh, and the name's Steve Rogers. I'll do whatever I can to get us all out of here. [It's meant mainly as a test to see if anyone here is going to recognize him, or if he actually has some manner of anonymity in this place.

With that said, he offers a small smile and then ends the feed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't know anyone who's been here for a decade or anything, but years are still years, right?

[ As in way too long to be spending time in Wonderland, especially for her. ]

No idea why some people stay, and some get to hop on the invisible Wonderland train home.

[Years are years, that's true enough. Steve doesn't want to know how long that might extend, either, but he's bound to find out eventually.]

Everything I've heard makes it sound like it's completely random. Except for the fact that some of us are brought here in groups.

[Which brings up another question.]

Are you the only one here from your home, or are there others? [Getting an idea of which is more common might be useful.]

I'm one of the lucky ones, and ended up with a bunch of people I know!

[ In a way...maybe she should clarify. ]

At least, people I knew of. Kinda weird to pop in here and meet all sorts of peeps I've read about in books and stuff. There are a couple of dudebros I know personally from home, so that was nice. Having familiar faces and all.

You meet up with anyone from home yourself?

[People that she'd read about in books? Steve saw something about that in the pamphlet, and he also met a version of Alice. But it's still a little hard to conceptualize.

He decides to answer her question first, since it's easier to deal with.]

Yeah, one friend from home. [Steve's still relieved that Natasha is here.] And then... a friend of a friend. [Sif only sort of counts here, but it's worth the mention.]

What kind of books are you talking about?

Seems easier to deal with Wonderland when you've got some pals, for real.

[ Says the girl who spent most of her life hopping from town to town not really making any lasting connections. She realizes now she was missing something. ]

Back home, we had these books a prophet wrote. Like, you know all the books of the Bible? Kinda like the gospels, but recent. The Apocalypse was about to go down and I guess things needed to be documented. [ Charlie's glad she actually missed that adventure - yikes. ] With the way media gets out nowadays, they were just straight up published in novels, and then put online. The end times were pretty nuts.

[Steve has to admit that's true. It's not that he wants Natasha to be going through this too, but if that's how it has to be then he's glad for it. They work well together, they more or less understand each other, and she'd been able to fill in some blanks for him.

Charlie's explanation is a little out of left field, at least as far as Steve's concerned. The apocalypse? Well, seeing how he'd just sort of saved the world, he can't be that skeptical.]

So you read these books, which were actually about the apocalypse, which was really happening. And then you met people from the books here because they're actual people. Do I have that straight?

[Stranger and stranger. Still, Charlie must have felt a little bit like people had when meeting Steve for the first time. Not that he's part of some gospel, but Captain America had certainly become a national icon.]

You got it! [ Complete with a snap and a finger point in his direction - well, in the direction of his image on her screen. ] The whole thing was more nutty than a Almond bar, you know? I was chilling out somewhere midwest, too, which was apparently End Times Central.

[ A life of close calls, that's Charlie's world in a nutshell. Lots of nuts being mentioned here, and now she's craving some, so she'll be getting up from her seat and heading to her closet as she talks. ]

I can't say this place isn't just as out there. I've met people from fictional books, and now Captain America! [ And she'll pause here, her closet door half open. ] That wasn't like some kind of secret, right?

[Who would have thought that the Apocalypse would start up in the midwest of all places? Steve's trying to imagine it, but he's not really able to conjure up a good mental image of that.

Her segue into admitting that she knows him isn't all that well-executed, but Steve can't say he minds that much. At least she's being casual about it instead of falling all over herself.]

Not really, no. [Steve shakes his head.] Some people here have no idea who I am. I've been trying to get an idea of just how many of you recognize me. [So Charlie is one point in the recognition pile.]

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