entranceway | First* Video/Action

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First* Video/Action

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[Bela is standing in front of the camera, dressed in pants and shirt and a brown leather jacket-rather common clothing considering the eclectic pile of clothes behind her. If anyone cares for those kind of details they'll see a wide arrangement of clothing, from suits to cocktail dresses to waitress uniforms and even a maid costume.]

So. The closet? It's a very nice touch, I have to admit. I certainly wouldn't mind having one back home. Though seemingly free food, board, and clothing just means there's a hidden cost. So what is our benevolent caretaker charging us?

And what becomes valuable in a place like this? Is there a currency in particular items? Favors? Souls? [And there's a wry smile there to indicate that might possibly be a joke.]

Or does everyone here work on altruism?

Action A: Wandering Wonderland
[Not one to idly sit when her surroundings are so undiscovered, and therefore a little bit threatening, Bela takes to exploring the grounds with a casual step that belies just how uncomfortable she really feels. She can be found idly touching decor along the walls of the mansion, or grabbing something to eat in the dining room, or eyeing the titles of books in the library even if she doesn’t actually reach for any right now.

[ooc: This is your find her wandering anywhere you want to option.]

Action B: An unlocked room is an invitation.
[After exploring the more open grounds, Bela can be found roaming the hallways. It’s a seemingly innocent gesture by itself, except for the subtle jiggle of a handle here and there as she moves about. Just her way of...well, casing the place. Not that she’s planning on stealing anything quite yet, but she’ll feel more comfortable once she’s got a good map of the surroundings and people around her since it doesn’t seem like she’ll be leaving very soon.

Occasionally, when she finds an unlocked door, she casually opens it just to get a good idea of the room-and on the occasion that someone is actually in their room without bothering to lock the door, well, she smiles sheepishly and offers an embarrassed apology.]

Oh, I’m sorry. I have the wrong room. [Ignore the subtle sweep around the room before she tries to retreat.]

Action C: A locked one is just a challenge.
[She’s good. For a while. But after finding so many empty and unlocked rooms, she’s a little curious to see what’s inside a locked one. And just as curious to see how easy it is to pick a lock on these particular doors.

So she chooses a random one in a rather quiet hallway, listens near the door for any tell-tale sign of shuffling, and when she thinks she’s in the clear, she kneels down and jimmies the lock, before pushing the door open. If there’s no immediate reaction, she’ll take a step inside. Just a quick scouting mission, don’t worry, she’s not here to steal anything.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[On the passing occasions Victor Frankenstein leaves his lab for an extended period of time, the library is a second home for someone like him who finds greater comfort in fictional characters than the real thing.

That's where he happens to be when he wanders to a new shelf, glancing absently at the woman already browsing it nearby. He's good with faces, and even after not seeing one in Wonderland for more than a year and her standing in profile, he recognizes hers almost at once. It's easier to recall the details of a well-proportioned face than the details of their conversation, in truth. The sudden--and unexpected--recognition makes him pause mid-step for a moment.

First Emma, and now this woman. It seems as though old faces are reappearing in Wonderland on a weekly basis these days.

He doesn't speak up at first, but his gaze continues to wander back to Bela, quietly assessing.]}

[She certainly hasn't survived this long in her line of work without almost having a sixth sense for when she was being watched. And she likes to think herself a rather good observationalist. So it's not hard to discover she's being sized up by another man in the library. And since she's not doing anything suspicious or fascinating, she can only assume it has something to do with her actual person.]

You know. [She starts casually, as she reaches up to grab a random book off the shelf just to turn it over in her hand] Usually at this point it's polite to introduce yourself, or it's necessary for me to pull out my can of mace.

[And then she puts the book right back.] Which shall it be?

_{[Inconspicuous people-watching doesn't seem to be his strong suit today. He does his best to hide his surprise at being spoken to when he'd been sure he hadn't been drawing attention to himself; his eyes widen and fix on her, giving him the look of a schoolboy that's been caught doing something he knows he shouldn't.

He's been through this enough times to get a sense when someone doesn't recognize him.]}

What?

_{[Taking into account that her go-to weapon for self-defense won't be invented until long into his future, when she says "mace," the first image that pops into his head is that of a parliamentary mace. That's obviously not what she means. He knows a warning when he hears one.]}

No, I... _{[Well, yes, he was staring, so there's no real excuse for that.]} You just seemed familiar. I apologize, I... didn't intend anything by it.

[Well, she certainly doesn't have a spiked ball on a chain in her back pocket, but she honestly doesn't have pepper spray either. Half of the game is all bluff, though, she's learned easily enough with humans.]

Familiar as in a spitting image of someone you've met? Or familiar as in I've been here before and we had the privilege of meeting? [Because by this time, that whole 'been here before' song has been sung enough that she's resigned to believing it-or at least acknowledging that other people seem to think so.]

_{[Hm. Well, then.

He considers the options she presents him for a brief second, some of the tension leaving his shoulders once he sees there's no reason to lie. By her choice of words, she already knows, or at the very least suspects, that people have some odd recollections of her. With that proverbial cat out of the bag, he needn't worry about being the first to break the news.]}

You bear a considerable likeness to someone I once met here, yes.

_{[To put it lightly.]}

Can I presume it's Miss Bela?

_{[She hadn't given her full name, but as he digs around in his memory, he recalls she'd given her first.]}

[Everyone else that has called her out on being here before was someone associated with the life she had just very recently lost, but just the way the man speaks makes her think he's not a hunter. They're a rough uncivilized bunch. Quite frankly, she'd prefer if he wasn't.]

And once again, I find myself at the disadvantage. Who might you be?

_{[As he'd thought, she's the same person--just without the same memories.

But who he is never fails to give him pause. Meeting Bela in the library the first time, he'd still been learning to adapt to Wonderland, too hesitant to give his full name for fear of unwanted questions. He still is hesitant, but after this long and in this exact moment, it's not something he can casually sidestep. He releases a near-silent sigh.

How much more awkward could this introduction possibly get? Might as well simply take the plunge.]}

Victor, so you knew me as. My full name? Victor Frankenstein.

[A point that irks her like nothing else, not remembering some past stint here. It's hard to know what lies or truths she might have told a time before, under what pretenses people know her. She's not immune to making enemies after all.

And that pause isn't the most comforting thing. Though, when he gives his name...she can understand.]

Victor. Frankenstein. As in the mastermind behind reanimation? [And a grade school novel. But, she'll get there in a moment.]

_{[Victor's natural preference is to side-step unappealing topics before outright lying about them. Lies take more maintenance and usually an intent to do harm, neither of which he has an interest in right now.

When she correctly pins the tail on the donkey, the creases around his nose deepen slightly, but he recognizes it's a waste of time to pretend he doesn't know what she's talking about.]}

Something like that.

_{[That's the short answer. The long answer is another conversation in and of itself.]}

I won't bother asking if you recall anything from the time we met. I'd assume not. You'll have to forgive my curiosity. I wasn't aware you were here.

_[Again.]

[Huh. Honestly, she's not even surprised that such a man is real. She's seen enough supernatural trinkets to believe that it's probably possible to bring back a body. Not that anyone ever should. But then, she doesn't make it a habit to care what people do with dangerous items or knowledge, so long as it doesn't affect her.]

No. [And her smile is tight. Because there's nothing more aggravating than not knowing what lies she's told. Or worse, what truths she's told. Or who she's angered or befriended. Though the latter is far less likely. Friends aren't something she has much of at all.]

Would you like to fill in the missing holes?

_{[Again, Victor favors her with a considering look before replying. He has the impression she's a questioning sort, shaking trees so that she can gather information to assemble into an advantage later--a trait of an intellectual mind.

Better the enemy you know. Ignorance can be that enemy.]}

Would you care for that?

_{[To hear details from a stranger she would have no way of confirming?]}

Those memories could return in time and we met only briefly.

[She's not one to take anything at face value, but she'll sort out lies and truths herself later. For now, her curiosity is piqued, and it's in her best interest to get some idea. So she arches an inviting eyebrow before making her way over to one of the library tables where she sits down and nudges a seat out with her foot for her current companion.]

On that chance that I won't get any memories back, why don't you indulge me?

_{[That's a decisive invitation if he's ever seen one. With a glance behind him at the shelf he'd been browsing, he inclines his head and follows behind her, taking a seat with hands folded in his lap.]}

Very well. If you wish.

_{[Maybe it will stand as sufficient apology for getting caught staring and making her wary.]}

I noticed you haven't seemed terribly surprised by anything said so far. Are you getting acquainted with the place?

_{[Growing desensitized to surprises is a sure sign someone is acclimating to Wonderland.]}

I like to think I'm adaptable.

[She's not all that inclined to act anything other than nonplussed in public. It would put her at a disadvantage when she's already got so many other lined up against her.]

Slowly learning my way around.

[Right to it then, shall we?] What do you know about me?

_{[That answer doesn't really quite tell him what he'd like to know, which is what she actually thinks of someone introducing themselves with a name connected to his brand of secretive science. Perhaps an opportunity will come to find out.

For now, she has her own valid reasons for grilling him over hot coals and he won't deny her that. He settles in to begin reciting facts like an accountant reading numbers off a ledger.]}

We spoke in person once the October of last year, and as I said, it was brief. I can't say I know much at all, if you're worried I do. I was newly arrived, you told me you had already been in residence for fifteen months yourself.

_{[A long time, to be sure. Now they've come full circle--he's the one to given more than a year of his life to Wonderland, and she's re-learning it from the ground up.]}

You were aware that our perceptions of time can be skewed by this place. You recalled a time where you remembered returning home and living out a handful of hours there, only to return to Wonderland and find a month had passed in your absence. It was warning, I think. A warning that I should not take Wonderland lightly.

[She guards her thoughts closely. She's entirely familiar with the game of bartering and in her experiences, knowledge is a common enough trading commodity. And she's always willing to take from those that are willing to give for free.

So she's surprised to hear she offered any warning to this man, wonders why she would have done it at all. But it's hardly the most interesting question that comes to mind with his explanation. skewed time. being here for several months? Returning home more than once. It's a hard bit to swallow. She's not missing any time back home, no blanking out or wanderings from over a year absent. She had been very careful with her time, after all. Considering she had been on a very specific life span. And dying is still so very fresh in her memory.

Her fingers tap on the table and it's the only outward sign of discomfort with any of this.]

Is that why you're offering to share? Because I gave some advice a year ago?

_{[He tilts his head owlishly when his motivations are called into question, eyes pale and unerringly watchful.]}

You wanted to know and it's hardly confidential. Had you not shown you're already somewhat familiar with this place's idiosyncrasies, I would have considered keeping that I recognized you to myself to spare confusion.

_{[But she had, and he isn't in a hurry to be anywhere at this hour, so here they are. It's as simple as that.]}

I have no reason to withhold the information or mislead with the false kind.

Sorry. [And her smile looks apologetic enough.] Not quite used to people doing anything for free.

[And while she knows that enough truths are buried in fiction, she doesn't expect this man to be an exact imprint from Mary Shelley's novel. Which makes him another curiosity just for existing.

So this certainly isn't the worst way to spend her time.]

I'm not confused, just under-informed. So, anything you have I'll appreciate. I've heard varying warnings about this place, but hardly anything concrete.

You're owed information about yourself, and by having it you may remember something, or make a connection only you could make.

_{[Expecting something in exchange would be crass--and most importantly, counterproductive. Victor wouldn't say he's a do-gooder out to do favours for free, but he does believe in doing things for a purpose. Reticence doesn't serve him or her in this instance.]}

You'd like to hear about Wonderland? I can share what I know, but I can't promise I have the hard and fast answers you're looking for. Wonderland does a job of defying a clear definition.

[Well, she certainly won't argue with those words. And if anything, it makes her like the guy just a bit.]

Unless you have anything else to reveal about me. People I associated myself with, perchance. What I claimed as an occupation. Details would be fantastic.

And if not, I'll make due with what I can about the wonders of Wonderland.

_{[A faint smile adds a trace of caustic humor to his features, sharpening them rather than softening them.]}

Have you forgotten that much? Or do you trust me that little?

_{[It amounts to the same--his answer wouldn't change. The humor fades, returning the scholarly matter-of-factness.]}

I can't tell you. We didn't speak of those things, and I'm unaware of what acquaintances you may have here. Who you are remains your secret. As for Wonderland, what did you have in mind? It's a broad topic; we could be here the entire day discussing its length and breadth.

[She gives a soft smile and a shrug. It's an odd question for sure, but introducing herself as a great thief with a group of people she is inexplicably trapped with seems like an incredibly stupid move.]

I've many professions, I'm just trying to figure out at which point in my life I was here before.

[An easy enough lie.]

Warnings, perchance? Things to be acutely aware of? I assume if monsters lurked amongst the halls I would have found one or two already.

_{[At the very least, Victor can reassure her on a point on which he is confident.]}

Impossible as it may sound, I'd wager you were near the same age you are now. Physically, you are unchanged.

_{["Never comment on a lady's age" is a good ground rule, but facts are facts, after all. He moves on without giving the comment much more thought than that, expression considering when she proceeds to cast a wide net. Have the others not informed her of these things?]}

You must be newly arrived--more so than I assumed when I first saw you. I've noticed others tend to work to quickly fill in the blanks when people arrive with questions. Literal monsters are uncommon, but not impossible. When you're dreaming, anything can happen and it can change suddenly. You can think of it like that. What's safe one day is sometimes unsafe the next, and not all who reside here are entirely human.

_{[Though by the same reasoning, not all are dangerous, either. It goes to show that Wonderland is a varied and unpredictable place to call home.]}

[That...is rather interesting actually. And in some ways she's thankful for it.]

They've filled in some, but everyone seems vague on the specifics. I prefer knowing what kind of threat I'm facing, but as far as I can tell...there are sometimes things to shoot at, sometimes not. Some people enjoy being here, others want to get home. It's impossible to get any good grasp on anything.

[Sorry Victor for the mini-rant, but it's starting to grate on a nerve. Adding to it that apparently the entire place can change through a nap doesn't help. She likes having her solid ground.

At least that last one is something familiar.] Residents are not all human? [And she pauses to glance him over one more time.] Are you?

I can't speak for anyone else, but the reason specifics are... problematic... is because it's in Wonderland's nature to change its rules as a chameleon changes colors. _{[Victor's world-weary demeanor makes it quite clear he knows how unsatisfying that is to consider.]} You've been warned about the events, as they're colloquially known?

_{[Ah, but that's an interesting question. It dislodges another smile.]}

Yes and yes. Quite human. However, I've encountered all manner of creature that appeared as I do--it's good to be cautious. Yourself?

First* Video/Action

b!

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whoops, let's pretend i didn't switch my scenario at the last second and leave the wrong letter

Lol, it's cool

sobs, you're too kind

<3

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