entrancelogs | Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore

Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore | OPEN

Who: E V E R Y O N E (Including our 4th wall guests!)
Where: Everywhere, one both Mirror and Real Side!
When: December 12th - December 18th (WEEK ONE)
Rating: PG-13, warn if going higher
Summary: This year's Ewaymas celebration rolls out the way it usually does, with intense decorating, a sudden snowfall and...far more arrivals than usual! New faces and old fill the mansion - but why would Wonderland bring so many people at once? And why do some of them remember Wonderland?
The Story:

On the evening before December 12th, the captives of Wonderland might be awoken by a loud commotion. Some of it is typical Ewaymas noise, likely familiar to anyone who has been in Wonderland for more than a year – construction sounds and jingle bells as Wonderland decks its own halls quite literally. Garland and lights race down the walls and down the stairs, and stockings appear on the walls for each and every person in Wonderland, embroidered with their names. There are decorative candles everywhere, and all sorts of decorations for every conceivable winter holiday, even if it does not align perfectly to the dates of Ewaymas. Time isn't real, so there will be menorahs and dreidels and Star of Davids even though Hanukkah ended two days prior. And of course, in the front hall, growing straight out of the floor, is a large decorated tree full of ornaments for everyone. And as always, it will have snowed heavily overnight, bringing all of the snow Wonderland will have between now and spring.

There is a second source of commotion in the night though – the sound of a crowd.

Over the course of the night, dozens of new arrivals will appear in Wonderland. Some for the first time. Some wondering how they managed to return with their memories. Others stumbling in with no recollection of ever having been here. Some might be friends from other timelines, other possibilities, and some might even be doubles of people who are already in Wonderland. It's strange for Wonderland to drag so many people into the mansion at once, but everything seems to indicate that they are supposed to be there. They have their own network devices and even have their own stockings on the wall and their own ornaments on the tree – by all accounts, it seems Wonderland expects that they'll be staying, and is treating them like any other new arrivals. Please, make them feel at home and help them settle in nicely.

The first few days will be for catching up with old friends and enjoying the decorations and settling into Wonderland. However, within a couple of days the decorations will start to glitch, much the way corrupted computer graphics might. Lights might change abruptly from multi-color to blue or white, entire décor styles will abruptly change, candle flames will flicker on and off like broken fluorescent lights, and any singing decorations might loop on a beat or two over and over putting you into an eternal hell. Wonderland doesn't seem to be able to stick to one motif, and it can't stop changing. These glitches are occurring on both the Real Side of Wonderland and the Mirror Side.

By the 15th, these glitches will include entire rooms changing into different holiday scenes. These scenes will all be of characters at various winter holidays in the past, the present (in their world), or a possible future. At this point in the event, characters will still be able to navigate the basic mansion and be able to exit these moments easily. These scenes cannot be interacted with – Wonderland seems to consider them another form of decorating. Unlike previous events of this type, these scenes will not loop at first. They will play once, and then Wonderland will glitch and correct itself to be the room it is supposed to be. The scene might play again, but it will be in a different location if it does.

By this point, Wonderland is having an increasingly difficult time holding itself together in a way that makes geographical sense. You might exit one room, even a room that was not previously playing a scene, and find yourself in the kitchen or on the roof instead of in the hallway. You might open a door that you were sure led to your room only to see a ten foot drop to the grounds outside.

This is the mingle log for WEEK ONE! For more information on this part of the event or any questions, please head over to the plot post, or check out our Fourth Wall Master Post for your other Fourth Wall event needs! Prose or [action brackets] are welcome. Please clearly indicate whether your character is on the Real Side or Mirror Side in your top levels. And of course, have fun! ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You've learned manners since I saw you last."

She must be working with the others. The witch was attempting to cast a protection spell over Simmons when he'd met her first. They're in league. She's come to mock him for his misfortunes. She uses his title as a sign of disrespect. He can't let her get away with it, but his options are limited.

"Is this the start of a victory celebration?"

Jemma almost felt like laughing. “And you’ve developed a sense of irony.” Manners? She wanted him to know she knew.

There’s a moment of pity. Imagine what he remembers happening to himself as a child to turn him to this.

That moment of pity makes her angrier. She’s supposed to be getting married. She’s supposed to be spending the rest of her life with a man far braver than this one.

“No, it was to be the start of a wedding celebration. Whatever’s happening, you’ve interrupted it.”

"Such is the way of Wonderland. At least, that's what they tell me is the way of things here. You and I both know there are alternative ways to enter a pocket dimension, don't we?"

He tilts his head at her, to stress that her games are unamusing. They're past the time where they could pretend to entertain each other's lies. That web is broken, burned at every possible end.

"Your people are the ones staging an invasion of my world. The hostility has always been on your side."

It's what he's been telling himself since he arrived here. None of the unfortunate accidents that have come since have been his fault. It's always them, forcing his hand.

Edited (I'm so sorry for the edit factory I KEEP FINDING TYPOS) 2018-12-16 07:01 (UTC)

"I'm sorry, did you say Wonderland?" There are few things he could say that would shock her, but what he calls this place?

They may not be playing games but there's a brief humourless laugh at the idea of -- "Invasion? Do I look like I'm dressed for an invasion of some fictional world made up entirely of untruths?" Framework, Wonderland, or a rift, whatever he calls it, the idea of an invasion is ridiculous. The problem with admitting it is it puts her on the back foot. Why didn't she think of that earlier? "And you torture people to steal their powers," she lowers her voice, though she won't admit it, she'll still protect him, "but you call me hostile?"

She risks looking away from him. Not everyone here can be on his side as he's not barking orders, "Where's your precious AIDA?" The unresolved feelings from the framework bubbling up.

The counter-accusation makes him roll his eyes and suck at his teeth.

"The witch has clearly given you reports about my round of experiments with the vampires." It has to be about that. Nobody within their right mind would call Inhumans 'people'. "Did she leave out the bit where they ran loose and gored me already?"

A tremor runs through his left hand, unnoticed. He's absolutely terrified of them, despite the lack of emotion on his face. He smooths down his hair, reassured by the grooming.

"Can't say I know what an AIDA is. Mustn't be particularly precious. Are you sure you aren't mistaking me for the one from your dimension?"Had she mentioned Ophelia by name, he might have shown some recognition, but that other name doesn't match his beloved.

The rolling of his eyes has her gritting her teeth.

“Witch? Vampires? Please, you know full well magic is unexplained science. No matter what she did to you,” they’re talking cross-purpose, “you’ve always had too much respect for the science to start believing in the supernatural.” Unless he’s finally been broken. “If anyone hurt you, you’d have a minion hold them down so you could pretend to be tough and execute them.” Has the Doctor lost his authority? That might make him more dangerous.

Crossing her arms, she means it to be in annoyance but is really a self-protective gesture. The Doctor part of Fitz she thought she’d put aside, left those feelings in a corner of her mind to wither, but being faced with him, the mix of anger, helplessness, and frustration are back in full force.

“It calls itself Ophelia. Picking one of the most mistreated women in the whole English canon? A bit of an overreach on its part,” Jemma dismisses, “but why isn’t it here, pulling your strings?”

No power? No immediate interference from AIDA? What is going on here?

"All the more reason to work on vampires to learn more about what's reanimating corpses and getting them mobile again." He respects the science enough to be eager to talk about it, even now. Even like this. It was thrilling in the moment. "Their healing abilities were incredible. I might've been able to discover something important, had I been allowed to continue."

But he wasn't. That's the rub.

"A minion? Here? Where SHIELD has infected every inch of the terrain? Preen over your victories all you must, but don't pretend anything here is the way it ought to be."

But then she mentions Ophelia, and it's the first time he's heard the name from someone else since he's been here. It feels like a betrayal, somehow, something private stripped out of him. His eyes darken, and he shoves over a nearby chair in an act of impotent emotion. Throwing something would be preferable, but his leash isn't currently long enough to allow that.

“What you’re talking about, rapid healing, and if I understand you, lower body temperature to simulate a corpse, are you sure it’s not the lack of any infection being able to take hold allows the body to heal without distraction?” She had to go from the biological perspective, obviously. “That, and the inhuman ability to heal quickly, not an unheard of inhuman ability.” She’s not sure what the metric is for incredible, and basing her theories on the individual physical symptoms of vampirism, Jemma’s only theorizing.

It’s a little like bouncing ideas off of Fitz, but Fitz doesn’t believe conscience does make cowards of us all. The Doctor is talking about experimentation on people; there is no conscience.

He’s convinced she’s winning somehow, when all she feels is lost. There’s a sensastion between her shoulder blades, like a chill. She sounds far more confident than she is, “Really, how has SHIELD taken over? Where are the operatives?”

The crash of the chair isn’t that audible given the fullness of the room. “Temper, temper, Doctor.”

By the time she's rattling responses to his theories, though, he's already settled into a Mood. As fascinating as a biochemist perspective might be, she's still very much the enemy.

"Operatives have varied. But you know that. You were there. And so was that doppelganger of my Agent Skye. It's a little heavy-handed to reach back in time to grab Peggy Carter, but she seems to have masterminded the process."

His cheeks are dark with suppressed emotion. He wants to yell, to hurt her, but it would attract unwanted attention. He won't go back to that closet.

"You use this dimension as a point to jump off into alternative timelines. Spacetime is thin enough to act as an easy port here. This is how you've been doing it all along."

He understands that the framework is a different world than the one Ophelia came from. Project Looking Glass was obviously a coded way to refer to Wonderland. It all makes sense when he puts the pieces together in the only way he knows how.

Her mind should focus on Daisy, but like Kryptonite, or spinach wearing off, she can only deal with one important fact.

Jemma momentarily becomes a cliche -- eyes wide, mouth open. "Peggy Carter? Margaret Carter? She's here? The Peggy Carter?" It doesn't matter how evil the Doctor is, "Do you know how lucky you are?"

If what he says is true, getting home shouldn't be difficult, but then how is he stuck here? Is it the so-called witch?

Jemma should be ashamed of herself for not making the immediate connection between the Doctor calling this place Wonderland, and Project Looking Glass. She tries not to think of her time in the Framework, for fear of compounding the guilt in Fitz.

She calls it luck, and that's the last indignity he can stomach.

"Luck. You call it luck to spend six months undercover in this pit of yours? Bowing my head, slaving at menial tasks, apologizing for existing?"

[He raises a hand toward her, fully intending to strike out, unconsciously taking his father's posture until he stops just before he can move closer. Tense, he sucks air through his teeth and lowers his hand as slowly as if something outside is pulling it down.]

"No. You want me to trigger her closer. It's you she serves."

"First of all, this isn't my pit. I've lived in several, and this isn't one of them. You'd know that if you took two seconds to think rather than behave like your father." It's that he raised his hand, he dared to raise his hand to her, that brings out her anger. Fitz would never, ever do that, even after everything, he would never raise a hand to her.

"You should apologize for existing, taking up the space of a far better man than you, one worth loving, rather than using like your AIDA does." Jemma's voice gets a little louder with each word. "So where's this witch of yours? I think I want her attention now."

She steps a bit closer. The Doctor may raise his hand, but she's not afraid of him.

He seethes, breaths hissing in and out through clenched teeth. It's a trap. All of this is a trap. They're toying with him.

"When I am free again, I will personally hunt down everyone you've ever loved in your pathetic little life. I will have them rounded up and murdered while you watch."

But he does nothing now. Freya would know the moment he broke their agreement. This current humiliation must be endured.

The angrier he gets, the calmer Jemma becomes. It's easier and easier to see Fitz and the Doctor as two separate people. There's nothing of Fitz there. An odd thought hits her, does he even like monkeys?

That almost makes her smile. She pities the Doctor if he doesn't.

"You've never been free. You were trapped by your father and you think that gives you cause to treat everyone how he treated you. You were trapped by AIDA, taking your memories of me and inserting herself. That conversation about dielectric polarization, that was me, not her."

One more thing, "And now you're trapped by your so-called witch. I'd like to meet her."

"Don't you dare talk about my father."

He starts toward her, prepared to strike truthfully this time. But she keeps talking, mostly nonsense until she speaks of a specific conversation. He freezes, eyes widening.

"You can't know about that." Ophelia had been so bright then, so passionate. She knew everything he didn't. They were perfectly matched. "It shouldn't be on file anywhere." It took him years to understand that he'd fallen in love with her that very day.

"I will talk about that bastard whenever I want." She taunts, and while she's about to say something else, she sees him freeze.

It's the first time something's broken through to the Doctor.

"I know all about it," Jemma proceeds to recite a couple highlights from it, "because I was there. It was our conversation. It was the first time we'd ever met -- even seen each other."

Jemma's cautious, more because she knows how easy it would be for him to find a bit of sympathy and tug at it, if she felt she could find any bit of Fitz in there.

"How do you feel about monkeys?" Did his father beat it out of him?

Edited 2018-12-21 02:37 (UTC)

The moment of hesitation becomes a prolonged silence. He stares, paralyzed with indecision. There's no way to explain what she knows. Unless...

"The only way you can know that in such detail is if she leaked it to you. This is part of her plan, isn't it?"

And that will make him back away actively. He understands the intricacies of conditioning enough to recognize what must be happening here.

"You always were an obsessive thing." He should've known that she'd abuse her bonds with the supernatural to try to claim his affections. She's so small-minded. "But this plan of yours won't work."

There is an actual roll of the eyes. If she wasn’t in a room full of other people, she wouldn’t have risked it, but really. “ Do you know how paranoid you sound? I didn’t realize this version of you was a complete idiot.” Insulting Fitz’s intelligence, usually a way to push buttons. “Of course, you’ve figured out my secret plan. Arrive in my wedding dress on what is supposed to be the happiest day of me life,” thought really, upon reflection the happiest moment of her life was when she realized Fitz would live after there sojourn to the bottom of the ocean. “But have plenty of time to plot with some Witch I’ve never met to make sure I mention the tiniest of details about your life,”

“Occam’s Razor: what’s the easiest explanation, all of that happening in mere minutes, or my actually knowing things about my husband to be.” She’s lost her temper. He’s not her husband to be. He’s the opposite of anything and everything Fitz.

“And you call me obsessive. Fitz walked across time and the universe for me. He never took the easy way out, the way that fit best with what he’d rather be true than what actually is true,”

His buttons were pushed long before the insults started flying. But Jemma was absolutely right earlier. The doctor knows far more fear than the man who would be her fiancee. And right now, given everything he's been through recently, he's terrified. None of the fear reaches his mask of a face, though.

"You will keep your distance from me. Go find your other operatives and revel in your victories." She must have something else to do with her time aside from trying to force him to question his sanity.

She doesn’t need to see it. Jemma knows it’s there.

“You came to me. Maybe somewhere you know it wasn’t with AIDA you lamented never being able to properly prank the freshmen.” There’s something else that wouldn’t be in any report anywhere. Something else for his mind to chew on.

Taking a step back, she reminds him one more time. “You spoke to me. That’s more like Fitz, in a room with no expectation of seeing me, he finds me anyway.”

It's something else that she shouldn't know. Is that what the witch was pulling out of him? Are these the secrets she's taken?

"This is not the end. Hydra will rise again."

“No, it won’t.” Jemma snaps. She’s got a solid reason why. “Agent Carter is here. Hydra always hid from Peggy Carter. You’re afraid of her.”

She’s making an assumption on the last part, but Hydra has a history of hiding from Agent Carter. They could only work in the darkest of shadows when she was around.

“If you were the real Fitz, you’d know that.” He’d also know the level of admiration she had for Peggy Carter.

Edited 2018-12-23 18:55 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore | OPEN

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject