001 ↯ text

[circlejerked]

Am I getting this right

is this

Oh I think I'm getting it

<sub>[Would you look at that, it's baby's first attempt at sending a network message! His words seem to be going through just like how he's seen other messages work--so far, so good.

Next time Anders will practice with the 'delete' key. For now, he'll focus on getting his point across with proper punctuation.]</sub>

Bear with me, this isn't how I'm used to exchanging letters but it's exceptionally handy for picking a bunch of brains at once. I'm curious to know more about the little girl with the cat. You know the one--Alice. From the Wonderland book? Has no eyes now, portends events?

What's the story behind her? Was she an actual person from some other land who was brought here like the rest of us?

Those scenes suggest this isn't the first mansion of its kind, but what happened to her?

Comments

[circlejerked]

<sub>[A way of reaching out to Alice--to any Wonderland personas willing to hold a conversation, really--would be worthwhile to look into. But it's a peripheral thought; his attention fixes on the name she offers up.

Anders tilts his head. He's heard of a Dipper.]</sub>

Dipper? Someone mentioned that name. A young font of information, yes?

_{[That's how Faith had described Dipper, more or less.]}

[powerofmabel]

That sounds like my brother. He's a... something of information, anyway. He keeps track of stuff around here, 'cause he's obsessed.

[circlejerked]

Your brother? So you have family here--that's good to hear. This is no place to be separated from the people you care about for long.

_{[Makes him wonder where her parents are. This is no place for children to be left at the mercy of powerful entities like these, either.]}

I can't fault him for being obsessed with escape. By that definition, I am a little, too.

[powerofmabel]

[it's okay she has her grunkles. who are... um... definitely adults, anyway.]

He's obsessed over everything, not just escape. He wants to know all the things. Sucks all the wonder outta Wonderland, too.

[circlejerked]

An intellectual. Someone told me he's the person to ask about all things Wonderland--now I'm starting to see why.

_{["All the things" are a lot of things to know. Anders smiles faintly, amused by her description of her sibling.]}

How's that going for him?

[powerofmabel]

His half of the room is covered with string and sticky notes, so, uh... I guess it's going okayish?

[circlejerked]

_{[String and notes? Sounds like conspiracy theorist central.]}

That bad, huh?

_{[He lifts an eyebrow.]}

Well, points for enthusiasm. It takes dedication to cover your walls in the fruits of your mental labor. How are the both of you doing in the general sense? Have you been faring okayish while you've been here?

_{[This is Anders' way of lightly trying to parse out how a couple of kids are doing in Wonderland. This brother of hers could just genuinely be enthusiastic about solving the puzzle Wonderland presents... or he could be really struggling and the interesting choice in wallpaper a symptom. Both are possible.]}

[powerofmabel]

[well, mabel's not gonna recount the horrors that have been inflicted upon them while they've been here.]

Better than okayish. Wonderland's pretty great! It's like summer never has to end.

[which is important. Gravity Falls could be traumatizing too, even if it was never THAT traumatizing, but at least this means she gets a little more summer.] I mean... It kinda stinks I'm gonna turn fourteen soon, and I still look twelve, so I'm missing out on becoming a woman, but I figure that's a small sacrifice for all the friends I've made.

[circlejerked]

"Pretty great"?

_{[Uh... huh. Unconvinced, Anders lifts an eyebrow skeptically, which only lifts higher in surprise and mild disbelief when the girl mentions her age.]}

You look twelve because you were twelve? You mean you've been here almost two years? And... you're all right with that?

_{[No matter how he runs the numbers, that's a long time. Anders' fourteen-year-old self would've cringed at the very thought. Had, in fact. His entire adolescence had been dedicated to wishing he was anywhere but where he'd been.]}

[powerofmabel]

Nah. I was almost thirteen when I first got here, so it's just been a year, but two whole birthdays have passed.

[she crosses her arms over her chest firmly.] And I am.

[it's better than going home and facing an apocalypse they might not even survive.] Sure I'll never get to find out what trigonometry is and I'm missing a lot of high school, but there's way worse things.

[Bill taking over your town and everything sucking.]

[circlejerked]

_{[That's some pre-teen poise right there. Anders almost misses his boyhood days when he could plant his feet like that and not feel completely ridiculous doing it.]}

Like... getting sucked into an alternate dimension? That kind of "worse"?

_{[One would think getting spirited away to lands unknown would rank near the top of the list...]}

[powerofmabel]

Maybe an alternate dimension filled with nothing but claymation. [she shudders] I've had that nightmare.

[circlejerked]

_{[A wave of his hand suggests that he'll take the unspoken warning about claymation under advisement.]}

I don't know what that is but I'm sure it's very frightening. You and your brother must miss home, though? Your family, your own beds, being able to take a stroll wherever you please, time actually moving the way it's supposed to...

[powerofmabel]

I mean we were spending the summer with Grunkle Stan anyway and he's here, soooo....

[you're arguing with a glitter-coated brick wall, anders.]

[circlejerked]

What's that? It sounds unpleasant.

_{['Grunkle' sounds like the sort of thing you'd cough up during a bad cold or find living at the bottom of a swamp.]}

[powerofmabel]

Great plus Uncle. Grunkle!

[circlejerked]

_{[His face takes on the light of understanding. Oh, now he gets it. That's kind of clever.]}

You have a real flair for blending words. Surely he wants to get you back home to where you belong.

_{[This must qualify as the strangest summer vacation ever conceived of.]}

[powerofmabel]

I know right. [not only that, it stuck- even Dipper calls Stan "grunkle." it's perfect.] But yeah, he and Grunkle Ford are both pretty big on getting us home, but since they're both here and they haven't made any progress...

[she shrugs] Might as well enjoy it.

[circlejerked]

_{[Good to know someone's looking after these kids. If only he could say the same for Alice. She literally can't even look out for herself.]}

I'm sure they will. Designing a foolproof escape plan takes time and patience, and like you said, we have plenty of one of those things--and it sounds like you're doing fine on the other.

_{[If saying something enough times makes it true, then Anders is your man when it comes to insisting Wonderland is a temporary detour on the road of life.]}