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

That is true.

[ because everything always depends on the person, the situation. mary margaret knows that, and assumes that rather than try and chase steve into explaining, it's probably best left at that.

she nods at his observation, finding herself laughing lightly at how ridiculous they both sound, simply stating facts of wonderland. ]

There is always the chance you could get sent home and live through what they've lived through, or they what you have, but it's still incredibly off-putting while you're trying to live through it.

It gives putting your trust in someone a whole new meaning, if you believe what they say of your future. [ mary margaret pales a little, shrugging. ] I like to think there's no reason for them to lie, but I'm not so sure. Or- not as sure for everyone I know from home.

[ evil queen and all that. ]

[Steve hasn't actually had anyone show up and start telling him about his future. Well, Natasha had been maybe a few days ahead of him, time-wise, but that's not much, and everything she'd told him he could have assumed easily enough.]

Well, you seem to think pretty highly of Emma. Is she someone from your home? Sounds like you could trust her, at least.

[It may not be distrust so much as having a difficult time believing. The wool's still pulled over Mary Margaret's eyes, so to speak, and it has to be tough, feeling as if she's been left behind by everyone else.]

I know there's no real easy answer for that, though. I'm sorry. [It's like Wonderland chose to keep her in the past simply to make things harder on her. Steve's noticing a pattern there.]

Emma? [ mary margaret sounds almost...well, fond, if she was going to be completely serious. ] She's family. [ there's a like that should probably be in there, but mary margaret does without it for now. ] I trust her more than anyone I know, but yes. I know her from home. We're roommates.

[ her smile is easy, but complicated. weighted, in a way. she knows emma knows more than she's letting on, than she's telling mm, but like she said - it's complicated.

mm ducks her head a little, almost in a nod. ]

No, there's no easy answer, but as far as I'm concerned it could be much worse. I know people here who already have it much worse. There's not too much to be hung up on when you take the 'what could be' into account.

[Family, and a roommate on top of it. Some people can become family without actually being a blood relation. That's how Steve and Bucky are, for instance. "How they had been" might be more accurate, but Steve sure as hell hasn't given up yet.]

Then if you can believe anyone about it, believe her.

[Mary Margaret quickly tries to downplay her own situation, citing what others have been through. It's a tactic Steve himself has used, and he can't repress a smirk.]

Always gotta find that silver lining.

[ well, their familial relationship is a little more complicated than mary margaret lets on. even if her slight smile drops a little when steve mentions trusting emma.

she does trust her, but the things she's being asked to believe...

with a breath, mary margaret just sort of nods. because he's right, he is, and she can admit that. but in that same vein she actually thinks she does believe emma. even if it's not necessarily true.

when he points out what she's doing, she ends up just giving a small smirk in return. ]

Sometimes that's all you need.

Sometimes that's all you have, too.

[Steve's hit some pretty low points at times. During the war, and even after it, when he'd woken up to a world that had moved on without him. When he found out that everyone he cared for was gone, save for Peggy, which is its own can of worms.

But he's always been able to pick himself back up and focus on the positives. He's not sure how he would have made it this far without that ability.]

Thanks for sharing, though. If you ever need someone to listen, you can drop me a line, all right?

[Given that he's the one who's brand new to this place, it might seem a little strange that he's the one reassuring her, but Steve falls into that role very naturally.]

And being able to make do is a skill.

[ she can tell, in the way he seems to hold himself, that he's been through some rough patches. not that everyone hasn't had their own version of a 'rough patch' at some point, but she can tell it's something a little different here.

and yet he's soldiering on, and mary margaret can respect that. more than she probably lets on. ]

I will. But that also works the opposite way, Mr. Rogers. Sometimes we all need someone to listen.

[ it's very natural, even to her, in just meeting him. but in the same way he fills that roll, she has to fill her's. to be there in support, for anyone. maybe not as well as steve, but she's trying. ]

Guess it is, yeah.

[For the first however-many years of his life, that's what Steve had done. He'd made do. He'd barely had two pennies to rub together, and his physical conditions hadn't made life any easier.

But he'd made it through, and now here he was in 2014 and somehow still living a life. For everything that went wrong, something else went right. So he'd keep working at it.

He's not at all shocked that Mary Margaret offers him the same kindness. Steve has never been good at venting his feelings, but he'll still keep her in mind.]

You're right about that. I'll make sure to track you down if anything comes up. Thanks, Mary Margaret.

[With that, he ends the call.]

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