entranceway | Entry #1

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Entry #1

[It's entirely possible this man is trying to say something important on video, but there's a problem. Static keeps fuzzing intermittently across the screen in a multicolored frenzy, corrupting his words beyond much recognition. You might catch a glimpse of a face squinting at the video feed, tongue stuck out between his teeth in concentration, before the video blurs and dips. Now you're getting a lovely view of the front of his shirt, jacket strings dangling, in between the rushes of white noise.]

-nderland thing- [sorry, can't hear you over the roaring of ZZZZZFFFFFJFFZJZJZ now crackling merrily across the video feed] -iously? Is anyo- [and poor Alex is again interrupted by another squeal of distortion. This persists for a few minutes before the feed clicks off with the disgruntled air of a frustrated sigh.

Then, a line of text:]

alright i guess that idea wasn't happening anytime soon
so this is some kindof wonderland shitshow is what i'm hearing
i'll skip the obvious has anyone tried to get out blah blah blah youve all heard it
what i wanna know is this

how the hell do you keep track of time around here

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

heavy
blood loss
are they taking blood now too
can i tell the blood bank that i'm not interested

Donations happen on a strictly non-voluntary basis. The blood loss is a Christmas special. It'll probably jump out at you sooner or later. The usual currency is memories.

[...memories?

oh shit

Okay. Time to test a theory. It takes Alex a while to figure out how to make the symbol come out, but when he does, it's the only thing that makes up his message's content.]

Ⓧ

[ Philip frowns. He can still pull the 'coincidentally are obsessed with the same symbol' card, right? No, probably not. He exhales deeply. So now what? Because if there's a right answer, then it's decidedly out of his league.

I know you're in love with brevity, but I have no idea what| he starts, and stares at the draft unhappily. Delete. Initiate countdown to bitterly regretting that he didn't take his chance to fake obliviousness. Sigh. ]

No, not like that. It's unrelated. He hasn't been here in years.

[ Then again, neither have you. ]

[THAT'S NOT THE REACTION HE WAS EXPECTING HOO BOY]

What do you know.

[ That's just about the reaction he was expecting. Philip reprises his sigh. This is a solemn moment, the gravity of which must be recognised fully. ]

Are you sure you want me to tell you. It's a lot of words. You might get snippy again.

[ Just kidding. He had that coming. ]

Don't give me that shit.
This is important.

What do you know and how do you know it.

[And now you know he's deadly serious. Proper spelling and grammar, wowie.]

[ Oh boy. Let's see. He started this, so let's... let's see where he can stumble from here. ]

You've been told a bit about the place, right? People come and go. I've been here a while, with not much progress on the going. A few years ago I knew a bunch of people who knew the symbol, and the creepy thing it's connected to. The thing used to be here, but it's been gone for ages. So have the people.

are you saying ive been here before

[Now this is just a whole new level of fucked. His eyes are wide, his breathing unsteady, his heart beating a thunderous tattoo in his chest.

That thing.

That thing was here.

What the hell has he gotten himself into.]

who ARE you

Well, I wasn't outright saying it, and admittedly hoping you'd just plain rush past that conclusion, but since you already ran headfirst into it: Yes, you've been here before. We used to know each other. My name's Philip, which - emphasis on the 'used to' - I don't expect to ring any sort of bell.

[ Well. That's one bag thoroughly emptied of cats then. ]

this is just NORMAL here alright
no it doesnt
i mean if you know me then you'd know this isn't a first for me right

but you

you saw it?
it was here?
how do you knwo its gone

More or less. Tim filled me in on most of it. You were never the most talkative about

anything, really.

[ Will shock and surprise never cease. ]

But I did see it on the network. Never in person, though it very personally killed a friend of mine. If it was still here I'd imagine there'd have been signs. Wonderland isn't very big, and it's got a habit of forcing people (and other things) out of hiding. Going years without a trace is difficult to pull off here, even for something like that.

youd be surprised
so tim was here too huh
wow talk about a college reunion

well can't say it doesn't sound like me
no way to confirm if your telling the truth though so
uh

sorry i guess?
for getting to deal with that
thing

[Alex Kralie apologizing. This is a one-time thing for him, everyone line up and buy tickets.

Of course, he's not exactly admitting to anything. More or less apologizing for just having to deal with that tall, dark, and faceless piece of shit.]

Tim, and some others, though I barely knew them. Couldn't even tell you their names anymore, to be honest, at least not right away.

[ Huh. There's a bit of a change of tune. Almost makes Philip wonder if there's something to the whole 'honesty is the best policy' spiel after all. For a second his lip quirks into a lopsided smile. ]

Not exactly your fault. We don't get to choose whether we end up here or not, let alone what else Wonderland decides to drag in from our worlds.

Edited 2015-12-15 20:35 (UTC)

course it wasnt my fault
or other me. not me??
earlier me?

whatever it fucking sucks anyway
that things a goddamn menace is what it is

I think I'll go with 'former you' here, got a nice inspirational ring to it.

[ Covers more areas of weirdness too, really. Because much as he tries to, Philip can't for the lack of lives of him remember if Alex ever told him what year he was from. If he did, if Philip had a better overview, then he could probably start drawing comparisons. As it is, vague will have to be the theme of the day. ]

So I take it you haven't been able to get rid of that thing back at home yet either?

nope. got out. settled down
theres a couple loose ends out there but i think they tied themselves up
sorry past me
guess i lucked out

[At least, that's what he's assuming. He went a good few months without that thing breathing down his neck. He also got snatched into this damn place before he could really confirm it, so, you know. there's that.]

[ That's-- Huh. That's nice to hear, actually. ]

At least now if past you ever shows up again I can tell him he's got something to look forward to. Which he'll probably follow up by calling me an insane liar and avoiding the crap out of me. But hey, I'll be able to say I tried.

also sounds like me
by now i guess you know i?
we?
us?
had a pretty good reason for acting that way
can you say paranoid

[ Not just understandable, but something they shared. Their first encounter, and Philip literally hid in a wardrobe at the sound of footsteps. All but expected Alex to turn into a flesh-eating zombie any second.

He plays with the keys of his comm device, wondering if the story bears repeating. Bit too much nostalgia for a day, isn't it? He decides against it. ]

How did that saying go again? Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there's nobody after you.

Anyway, I'm glad you got out. And sorry you got tossed in here instead. If it's any consolation, most people don't get stuck here for too long. Bite through it for a few months, and you'll be back home in no time.

[ Gone again like he was never back at all. Philip smiles mirthlessly. ]

bingo.

so exactly what do people do to not die around here
aka pass the time
because as bright and shiny as all this wonderland shit is
im already bored

Are you sure you don't want to spend some more time on anxious disbelief or powerless anger or something like that? That usually keeps most new arrivals busy for at least a week.

[ He sends along a file. ]

There's always rolling your eyes at our unofficial tourist brochure, that should keep you for half a minute or so. And afterwards there's the closets and your room. Changes into whatever you want, gives you whatever you want. So think of whatever it is you want to do, and make it happen.

yadda yadda we're getting jerked around
oh no the horror
god has abandoned us
why this why me
repent the end is nigh etc etc

is that enough powerless anger for you

[A minute lapses while he regards the file in mingled disbelief and amusement. Someone actually put this together, holy shit.]

your right
my eyes are rolling right out of my skull
closets are handy though ill give you that

You know, I'm pretty sure we had Thor stuck here with us once, so technically god is really just in the same sinking boat. Great job otherwise though.

And if you ever think you absolutely need something the closets won't give you, then there's always the vendors behind the mansion. More creepiness, but they'll trade you for just about anything you've got on you. Including memories.

(Told you it was a thing here.)

what
you have fucking memory-dealers here
what kind of

[He stops himself short. You know what? He's pretty sure he doesn't want to know. He's also doubly sure that he's going to find out eventually. Alex scowls and right now he is really glad his video feed isn't working.]

whats the diff between vendors and closets then
just resources?
why go to one if you have the other

Edited 2015-12-16 23:13 (UTC)

Entry #1

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