entrancelogs | We keep dreaming of a world [OPEN]

Who: Jason Scott and OPEN
Where: Youth Center
When: March 21~31
Rating: G, PG for language at worst
Summary: After a series of people being sent home, the Youth Center is a little understaffed. Jason is quietly opening things up to new people. Maybe a little too quietly.
The Story:

[It probably shouldn't be surprising that the pleasant carnival ended in something as tense as a declaration of war. But what does that even mean? People have been scrambling to train others, to keep from being caught unawares even though they have no idea what shape the attack might take. They're scared.

And then there's been the disappearances. The Youth Center is supposed to be here as a space where kids are safe and supervised, but that promise is harder to fulfill than ever. Billy's been missing shifts, and a quick check of his living space confirms some suspicions. He's gone too.

Nobody is here enough. The lights haven't been on, and it seems like the sort of time when they'll need someone to tend to things more than ever.

And so today, there's a "Help wanted" sign near the entrance to the center. Feel free to stop in.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Help Wanted? Right after a declaration of war?

Gert isn't anything without Old Lace but she knows better than to go toe to toe with the troops alone. So far no signs of anyone she really knows. Molly, Chase, Karolina. No one is here.

She heard about the youth center on the fly, but considering what was happening around her the doubt outweighed any real curiosity. She didn't mind lending a hand to the success of this place because at least then she'd actually be useful.]

Anybody home?

[The bell rang when she stepped inside, and right now she's taking careful precautions not to make a mess of anything she investigates. This place just kept getting weirder.]

[Right after a declaration that nobody knows what to do with. The ones who need to be kept safe should probably stay together where they can be protected. Nobody stops being scared if they know what to be afraid of.

Jason's around when she enters, wiping something greasy from the buttons of an arcade cabinet. He looks up to her and smiles, giving her a nod in greeting. Well hello there, new face.]

[It's been a long time since he's seen an actual arcade platform. Actually, a lot of this place was scattered in memories and she's not sure how she feels about it. Somewhere torn between comfortable and slightly sad.]

I'm pretty uh- new. I guess. How does that work?

[New hire paperwork? If he needs her social and ID he's shit out of luck.]

The arcade, you mean? [She seems a little fixed on it, in the retro nostalgia kind of way. Hopefully she's not one of the post-apocalypse types ready to cry over the idea of electricity. Those always break his heart.] Have you seen most of this stuff before?

[It feels condescending to ask, but Wonderland gets weird.]

[No crying here. Not a chance. All the nostalgia she's feeling is for normalcy which isn't even on the table anymore.]

Most of it. I'll be honest, I'm still figuring this place out.

There are a lot of people way smarter than me working on that part. [He smiles apologetically and gives a small shrug.] I figure it's just easier to help out where I can. Magic kidnapping's a little out of my league.

[ In her couple of months there, Moana's been exploring. Yet, there's a lot of ground to cover, and today's the day for the fourth floor.

She had enough uncertainties about everything that makes up Wonderland before the declaration of war. Now, that and what she's heard from others, observed people saying to each other, has joined her heavy mental constant.

But. There's still a mansion to keep exploring (for now), and she pops, head first, into the center's door. Spotting a boy she hasn't seen before, she starts over, smiling if his head turns to see her. On her way over, she says aloud, voice clear and steady -- ] What kinda help do you need? [ She points behind herself with one thumb.

While she's not in the customary clothes of her village that day, she is barefoot, hair wrapped up in a messy bun, orange tank top and cream colored long skirt (they showed up in the closet!) over her legs. Looks more like a girl ready for the beach, but whatevs. ]

[ there's something comforting about the sudden presence of beachy teen. Jason is a native Californian, regularly vocal about the cruel and unusual Wonderland winter they've just endured. His smile is wide and genuine when he greets her, running a hand through his sandy hair in an abstract motion to keep it in check. ]

Depends what kind of stuff you're interested in doing. We like to make sure there's always someone around most days just in case one of the smaller kids needs something. Sometimes people like to run classes out of here as a way to make the time pass.

You don't mind spending time with little guys, do you?

[ The wintry weather has to be some kind of joke, or a symptom of the entire mansion actually being a part of some weird cloaked monster lair because only monsters should be living in snow.

Her smile increases with his, watching him closely as he speaks. Her eyes drift away only when he alludes to what could be any array of activities that go on there. She beams when his words close, head shaking. ] No, not at all. I like spending time with people of any age, and kids can be really funny sometimes. [ A handful, too, but Moana hasn't experienced that being a major problem after living in her village and it literally taking a village for everyone to thrive and grow. ] I think I'm a pretty good teacher too, but... [ she pauses for a second, glancing down with a slightly furrowing brow before she looks back ] mostly with outdoor stuff.

Is the, um, snow -- that's gonna go away, right? [ she's heard it will, but she gives a nerous laugh regardless. There's an appeal in hearing another teenager's viewpoint on the matter ] 'Cause there's, like, a whole ocean out there that's begging for people to use it. [ Boating, swimming, etc etc! ]

But. What'd you do when you're here? [ At the center. Seems like the first follow-up question she should've had, but rambling commencing just happens! ]

[She clearly strikes a chord when she mentions the snow. She definitely feels like a kindred spirit already.]

I hope the snow isn't something permanent! This is the first time I've had to live around snow, and it's been killing me for months. [Everything good involves being outside. All the good things.]

While we're stuck inside though, there's a lot of downtime. There are resources to keep us busy when it's dead. Billy used to like to mess around with the video system and make us watch his favorite movies.

[He had to sit through a lot of that Power Rangers TV show. Billy thought it was funny. ]

[ She smiles, small and affirming: she hopes so too! ] It would be a tragedy if it was. [ Not a dramatic use of the word at all, Moana. ] I'd only ever heard of snow, , not actually had to ever see or be around it. [ Clearly, she would've been happy living that snow free live forever, too, nose scrunching up for a second.

Listening, she nods, picking up on the word 'video' and referring that to her understanding of the videos on the communication devices. Movies, however, are a different story -- her brows knit a little, head tilting. ] A movie's a kind of video? What kind? [ She assesses it's not the same as the ones she's familiar with, because where would be the point in that? So, she's curious, generally always is, in spite of being unable to understand what he could even mean. Or of how multi-faceted the answer to her question truly is. ]

[Oh -- Oh, she's from one of those worlds! He can roll with that, and ease her slowly into things like electricity and civilization.]

You've never seen a movie before? It's kind of like... Watching a play. But you don't need to grab people and make them act it out for you first.

[If she's from a land before plays, this might get a little more complicated.]

We keep dreaming of a world [OPEN]

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