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

[vitaelamorte]

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! ♥

Comments

[hypoxic]

You might wish to ask your sister these questions. You can begin by telling her how close you've been to her unmentionables. [This game needs to end. He needs to reclaim power in the conversation.]

One wonders what you were looking for when you found me instead.

[poppycock]

( asking a mikaelson what he's doing rooting about his sister's unmentionables is like asking why the sky is blue though

i mean he's heard variations of it many times before

klaus' arm falls, as does his gaze: it falls to look at leopold, steady and unwavering. ) Oh, I was looking for you. ( the words are gently said, nearly intimate. ) The good doctor everyone's all spun up about.

[hypoxic]

[They're quite close. Perfectly understandable, really.]

If that's the case, you've found me.

[His eye contact never shrinks away, even though he loathes it.]

Did you go through all this effort just to stand there and complain that I've been a bad boy?

[poppycock]

I don't particularly care what you've been. ( he doesn't; he has no desire to judge nor call to execute. it matters to him not with leopold has done to land himself here, what atrocities he's committed to seeing through, nor what his true aim is.

his friend is in there somewhere. he intends to find him. ) I only wanted to see you for myself.

( and he has. )

[hypoxic]

And now you've seen it. [ this can't be it. This is a diversion. One of the other monsters will be nearby before much longer. ] What happens next?

i think this feels like a good spot for em?

[poppycock]

( klaus would answer, most likely cryptically, if not for the telltale sound of footsteps approaching. he heard them down the hall, but now there are impossible to ignore.

the door to the room opens, but klaus' eyes are already moving to the side in an arc of impending exasperation. he sighs.

he greets his lovely sister. ) I found your mouse in its trap. Quite effective, if predictable.

[deathlessness]

[Freya eyes him for a moment, curious, but she doesn't seem particularly bothered that Klaus went snooping around her space, as Mikaelsons practically live in each other's pockets to begin with. She crosses her arms in front of her chest and leans in the doorway.

Jemma gave her several very good leads as to what to look for next, and she's a little too tipsy on bourbon to be doing any major magic tonight, but she at least knows what to look for.]

It's not intended to be a long term solution, but it's suitable for now. Having fun?

[poppycock]

( he smells the bourbon. he could use a drink himself, but instead his gaze travels from freya to land upon leopold, his smile only a touch mocking. ) I can hardly qualify my enjoyment. ( yes, he is purposefully speaking as if the doctor is not a part of this conversation. ) We were just discussing the next step of procession.

[deathlessness]

Mmmm.

[She pushes away from the doorway, closing the door behind her.]

Well, I was speaking with an old friend of his tonight, and I believe she was able to give me what I was looking for. I think after a good night's sleep, I should be able to make a much more ... precise strike.

[poppycock]

Hrm. ( his smile is certainly a touch devilish, now. he can take a few guesses as to who this "old friend" is, each as effective as the last. ) An "old friend" in this day and age? ( leopold may not be cognizant of what's occurring beyond his four walls, but freya does. he enjoys striking a bit more apprehension and fear into the man's heart. ) I would be interested to see how that unfolds.

[deathlessness]

Well, I may need a battery. So you're welcome to help, if you like.

[Not that she thinks that sending Klaus into the recesses of Fitz's mind. This requires something a bit more delicate. But this may also be a long trip, and a dangerous one, so it might not be all that terrible to have someone to watch her back.]

[poppycock]

It would be my pleasure. ( the words are spoken more or less evenly, but for the dip at the end. someone as versed in his moods as freya might discern the tone: he'll certainly help, but he's hardly pleased about the circumstances that led to his involvement.

namely, just how much freya left out about said circumstances. ) Shall we discuss the particulars? ( he gestures to the door. privately, that is. )

[deathlessness]

[She nods and moves ahead of him to the door to their adjoined rooms, waiting until the door is closed behind him so she continues.]

Fitz took a trip home where he was put into something Jemma calls the Framework. It altered one moment in his life and ... the dominoes fell where they may resulting in that lovely individual in there.

[poppycock]

( klaus helpfully closes the door to leopold's lovely, if cramped abode before following his sister's footsteps. no reason the doctor should have the pleasure of hearing a word or two of their conversation.

all doors shut, he's all ears, and what a tale he does hear. his brows lift, not in disbelief but in interest. never a dull moment with so many variables, he supposes. in this case, just one. he can't say he's entirely surprised what his friend could be capable of given the right circumstances.

he did like him for a reason.

one of those reasons being leopold had a heart regardless, but klaus' feelings are beside the point. )

Funny how defining one moment can be. You certainly downplayed his ails.

[deathlessness]

Yes, well, I wasn't entirely sure how deep they went at the time. I was still trying to figure out what did this to him in the first place, or if he was even the same Fitz at all.

[She moves to drop herself into one of the chairs with a heavy sigh.]

I wanted to make sure I had as much information to give you as possible, rather than have questions I couldn't answer. A lot of what I just told you I didn't know.

[She knew about the lynch pin memory, but she didn't know what it was or how it was applied. Jemma filled in ... a great deal of blanks, thankfully.]

[poppycock]

( he doesn't like her explanation, but he understands it.

the flare of frustration and anguish he feels in that moment sears his insides; it's the escape of emotions he had buried, tamped down, and channeled, sitting in that room with his friend. his friend, who he certainly deserves to inquire about, to have those answers she did or didn't know.

he trusts his sister. he trusts they are the same: she wanted to control this as he would have. as quite frankly, he'd like to, if not for the better sense and experience of knowing he couldn't do all of this alone, with limited resources and knowledge. or rather, he doesn't have to.

klaus is silent, paused on his feet for a moment as he regards her, cycles through these thoughts. they are not forgotten, but simply tabbed; he moves to follow her to the couches. ) I suppose now that you're finished playing hide-the-doctor, ( he sits across from her ) you can fill me in on just precisely what we're to do, and why.

( aside from what he's gleaned from the network, of course.

he reaches to fix a drink, as he assumes he'll need one. and freya, too. )

[deathlessness]

[Freya nods as she leans back, taking the glass offered to her before continuing.]

From what Jemma indicated, AIDA went quite far back into his memories to get the results she wanted. I'm going to have to dig quite deep in his mind to get to the memory required. Hopefully, once I correct that one, I should be able to unlock his real memories in face of what's been rewritten.

[She pauses for a moment, before crossing one leg in front of her.]

Did Fitz ever mention anything to you about his father?

[poppycock]

( 'aida' isn't a name he knows; klaus' eyes narrow at the syllables. he notes them, remembers them for later. so she's the big bad wolf in this story. perhaps a tool to use in the future?

he sits back, arms resting along the head of the couch, his ankle balanced above his knee. klaus glances away at the question, ruminates on it in his lack of desire to divulge what he does know as he takes drink. not because he's wont to share for the good of what needs to be done, but because it's undeniably private. a piece of friendship he never intended to part with.

he runs a thumb along his bottom lip to wipe away a drop of whiskey. ) Enough to know we share a few similarities. ( similarities he is always reminded he and freya don't share, in these moments. ) His father abandoned him and his mother at a young age. If there's ever a defining moment in a child's life... ( he doesn't need to finish that sentence. )

[deathlessness]

[Another thing they bonded over, it seems. Freya nods again because it confirms what Jemma indicated - his father is the key to correcting this, one way or another.]

In his current version of events, his father never left. AIDA - called Ophelia, in his world - crafted a world where he has complete devotion to her, and practically eradicated Jemma from his life. He's programmed to defend her above all else. He believes it's love, but not real.

[She takes another sip of her drink.]

Elegant, technological compulsion.

[poppycock]

( perhaps one day something will truly shake klaus again. that day is not today, considering what freya claims seems absolutely believable after everything they've heard and seen in wonderland.

klaus rolls his eyes at the idea of technological compulsion, mostly because of course poor imitations are inevitable. ) But he will think it is, ( he says. the eye roll might also have been because of course this machine employed the one emotion that truly cannot be fabricated nor denied by the beholder. ) And that makes him dangerous.

( he sighs. ) What does Jemma feel about all this? ( certainly she'd like to be involved. )

[deathlessness]

She actually doesn't feel she'd be quite helpful. But having her here to at least verify memories and collaborate them with her own might be useful.

[Then again, they won't get to the big adventure until after the fourth wall event is over, so it's a nice thought but likely not happening.]

[poppycock]

( they'll work it out.

freya's words do not fill him with confidence, however. they only impress to him just how truly different leopold is. a leopold fitz that jemma simmons can't help? or doesn't want to? )

What has he done?

( it's a question he knows a few answers to. he'll wager plenty more he doesn't. )

[deathlessness]

Nothing he's done so much as ... the person who brainwashed him did a very thorough job of rewriting his loyalties. Her presence isn't the means of grounding him that it should be.

[poppycock]

So he hasn't murdered Claire Fraser and blamed the supernatural element here? ( quite obviously, klaus knows he has. even without his dedicated sleuthing, this leopold fitz's beliefs would have been crystal clear — he thinks himself superior to the point of genocidal prejudice.

klaus' eyes had stayed on the arm of the couch where his finger traced a thread as he spoke, but towards the end he lifts his eyes to his sister.

this is about more than just jemma. fitz has targeted them. their brother. freya. he's a threat. )

[deathlessness]

[Oh. That. Freya thought they were still on the topic of Jemma, but apparently there was a larger problem at stake.]

No, he did do that. He also held Kol and Jessica prisoner and tortured them for the better part of two weeks before he became their plaything instead.