entranceway | [video]

[Jefferson toys with the idea of publicly announcing his arrival for a long while. He had lived too long a hermit outside the fringes of Storybrooke society, and the idea of rejoining the thriving masses does not sound very appealing to him. Besides, there are other dangers to consider. Would the Queen of Hearts still be looking for him? Is the same Queen even in regency? He knows full well that nothing ever remains the same in Wonderland, and to expect the same as when he was here before would be absurd. He finally decides it is worth the risk.

How could he flush out his target without causing some sort of stir?

The video begins with Jefferson facing the camera directly, hands folded calmly in front of him and a darkened room behind him. He smiles easily, but there's something a little nervous in his demeanor. As far as anyone knows, he is new to Wonderland after all. A certain amount of uncertainty is to be expected. Little does anyone suspect how much time this man has spent in this nonsensical place. Or, at least, a fair facsimile thereof.]

Greetings, residents of Wonderland. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Jefferson, and I am a merchant by trade. Mostly rare fungi, but occasionally I dabble in trinkets... and hats. [He pulls a black silk hat into view of the camera briefly to illustrate his point.] I seem to have lost something of mine, and I wonder if any of you have seen it. It's about the size a breadbox. Cylindrical. Soft. Shabby-looking, I'm afraid, but very sturdy. If you feel you have found it, please contact me. I would hate for my something to cause a problem for anyone, so the sooner it can be back in my hands, the better.

[The smiles comes back, a little wider and more confident.]

And now Wonderland, I must ask you a very important question....

How do you take your tea?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Jefferson tries to keep his tone friendly, but there's a vague edge of annoyance] You think you know who I am? Have we met? I think I would remember a guy like you.

[He sees that suspicion, and he imagines that this guy probably has read the Hatter's story. Or at least some variation thereof. Only Henry's book told things the way they actually happened.]

But in answer to your question, yes. I have been to other aspects of Wonderland before. Twice, as a matter of fact. It's a little different every time.

Edited 2015-05-15 07:00 (UTC)

[It occurs to Steve that he's not exactly remembering his manners right now, thrown off by someone sharing Bucky's face like this.

He's not suspicious so much as confused as to why some fairytale character looks like his best friend, but Steve forces himself to slow down a little and explain.

He smiles a tight, apologetic smile.] Sorry. It's just... you look a lot like someone I know. And when I say a lot like, I mean exactly like. [It would be enough to make anyone kind of frazzled.]

But I also happen to know that most of the people from Storybrooke are fairytale characters of some kind. That, tea, and hats... it's not too hard to guess.

[But correct him if he's wrong.]

"Exactly" like? I don't have any brothers, so I find that pretty unlikely. [Although that wasn't strictly true, as far as he knew, but it's true enough for this conversation.] Are you sure?

[He regards the apologetic smile with a somewhat skeptical expression, but the next statement sparks his interest.]

And you believe it? All that stuff about fairytale characters in the "real" world? [The question comes off sounding incredulous and frustrated. Jefferson's gotten used to just being written off as crazy and/or ignored for saying things like that.

But he's also not going to correct the assumption.]

Pretty sure. [Positive, in fact. The more that they speak, the more obvious it is. Jefferson doesn't have the slight Brooklyn drawl, but other than that he's a dead ringer.] You may get the chance to see for yourself, because he's here. His hair is longer than yours, but other than that... [They may as well be twins, and it's bizarre.

That reaction about Jefferson's fairytale origins isn't something that Steve's expecting. They're trapped in a place called Wonderland, after all. Why wouldn't he believe it?

So Steve shrugs casually and nods.] I believe that it's a part of the world that you come from, sure. You're not the only person from Storybrooke who's here.

[There's Emma at the least, but there had been others -- Mary Margaret, David Nolan. Both of them are gone now, but Emma's always made it sound like she's got a lot of familiar faces stuck here with her.]

Running into my long-lost twin seems like one of Wonderland's little tricks it likes to play. If your friend has any sense, he'd best be cautious. It could mean nothing, or it could be that the joke's on us. [But he nods. He wants to meet this look-alike and see with his own eyes if they are really so similar.]

Do you realize that even though the Iliad and the Odyssey are famous epic stories, ones that children learn about in school, some scholars are still trying to claim that Homer wasn't a real person? Sometimes, even with the proof right in front of you, people refuse to believe it. So when a bunch of people tell you that fairy tale worlds are real and their lives are the ones you've perchance read about in a book, and you take their word for it? That's a nice change from being accused of being crazy for that very same thing.

Since you claim to already know who I am, who are you?

[At this point, Steve's pretty sure that the doppelganger effect is some crazy coincidence, although he certainly doesn't blame Jefferson for being suspicious about it. He's only just arrived here, it's natural that he would jump at every shadow of something wrong.

Jefferson makes it painfully clear that he's used to being looked at like he's a crazy person (and if he's the Mad Hatter, well, it even makes sense), but he won't come across much of that here. Fairy tale characters being real people is just one strange thing to add to a long, long list.]

Fair enough. My name is Steve Rogers, or... [He pauses. He usually doesn't get into his title with people who don't already know it, but it's appropriate here. He still says it with a slight cringe.] Captain America. There are some comic books out there about me. [Or at least about the symbol that Captain America is supposed to be.] Not the same as a storybook, but...

[a very nice change indeed.]

Captain America. [A statement, not a question. Well, isn't that something interesting?

To say that Jefferson had considered the characters from comics books to be any less real than any fairytale character or historical figure would be outright wrong... but his hat didn't lead to those worlds, so he'd never seen one in person. Congrats, Captain. That earns a modicum of surprise. He isn't familiar with anything but the name, but it's just as well considering how many details of the stories aren't recorded in books. He'd rather learn first-hand.]

I've never seen your world, but I recognize your name. You're one of the good guys I've heard about. [spoken without a single hint of sarcasm. And to emphasize his understanding about titles that make you cringe] A pleasure, Steve.

Edited 2015-06-02 04:13 (UTC)

[One of the good guys. It's a phrase that's been used to describe him before. Captain America is propaganda, truth and justice and the American way, but Steve Rogers is just one of the good guys, doing his best to fix the world around him.

Now that he and Jefferson are past the initial weirdness of his resemblance to Bucky, everything is going a lot smoother. One of them is supposedly from a storybook, the other from comic books, and it makes them even.

He also appreciates being called Steve. "Cap" and "Captain" are fine in a mission setting, but a lot of "Mr. Rogers" gets thrown around here when it's not actually necessary.]

You too, Jefferson. If you have any other questions or need anything else, let me know.

[Jefferson's face and voice won't stop being weird for a while, but Steve does what he can to see past it.]

I appreciate that. Thank you.

[This conversation had a bit of a rough start, but it seems they have reached something of an understanding. It brings up a couple of questions, some of which Jefferson will have to find other ways to find the answers. But one he will ask aloud.]

I'm afraid I have to know, this twin of mine. Your friend. He's someone from your world? If you will forgive the forward question, does he go by any name I might recognize?

[It figures that Jefferson wouldn't be able to let that mention of a doppelganger slide. Steve finds it hard to think of them as twins, even if it is just in appearance. So far, Bucky and Jefferson strike him as pretty different.

It's understandable that Jefferson would want at least some information, and so Steve nods.] Yeah, he's from my world. He... a lot of people call him Bucky, but he also goes by James. [Steve has never particularly liked using Bucky's real name, but the issue of what he calls himself now is a complicated one, so he gives both just to be safe.]