Daniel Barker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
livinlavitaeloca) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
entranceway2013-09-30 08:48 pm
livinlavitaeloca) wrote in entranceway2013-09-30 08:48 pm
video ; diary 1 ; the best part of waking up is what where the fuck am i
[ Daniel wakes up in his hotel room in the village of Altstadt. He is definitely in Altstadt, and certainly not in a room in Wonderland which has styled itself to look exactly the same. And, it logically follows, this room is definitely not broadcasting a video of him without his knowledge or consent.
THAT ESTABLISHED,
Daniel springs out of a restless sleep and sits up on the edge of his bed, blinking in the morning light. It must be earlier than it looks, because nobody has come to knock him up, and he definitely asked to be knocked up at 7am promptly. He was very clear in asking to be knocked up.
They'd better not have forgotten. Might they have done? This is sort of a ghetto guest-house, if you want his honest opinion. There's not even a bell he can ring to call a servant.
Okay, Daniel doesn't have time to be annoyed by the inconveniences of rural life. His thoughts are too full of the last leg of his journey, which will be undertaken today, to the castle where he might finally find some safety -- so he stands up quickly, steps away from the bed. Lacking a clock, he just assumes he's late, and starts to undress hurriedly out of his woolen cap and night-shirt.
The network is still definitely not there, but if it were, it would probably now be broadcasting an early Victorian strip tease. ]
(( ooc: info and permissions post! [x] ))
THAT ESTABLISHED,
Daniel springs out of a restless sleep and sits up on the edge of his bed, blinking in the morning light. It must be earlier than it looks, because nobody has come to knock him up, and he definitely asked to be knocked up at 7am promptly. He was very clear in asking to be knocked up.
They'd better not have forgotten. Might they have done? This is sort of a ghetto guest-house, if you want his honest opinion. There's not even a bell he can ring to call a servant.
Okay, Daniel doesn't have time to be annoyed by the inconveniences of rural life. His thoughts are too full of the last leg of his journey, which will be undertaken today, to the castle where he might finally find some safety -- so he stands up quickly, steps away from the bed. Lacking a clock, he just assumes he's late, and starts to undress hurriedly out of his woolen cap and night-shirt.
The network is still definitely not there, but if it were, it would probably now be broadcasting an early Victorian strip tease. ]
(( ooc: info and permissions post! [x] ))
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Maybe the biggest difference is that he has no trouble meeting Philip's eye. After all, for now, he can still meet his own. ]
Did--
[ STRANGER DANGER. Daniel backs away a step as Philip moves forwards. ]
Did you expect something different?
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Oh come on, what is he going to do, throw a gun at your head?]No.
[ That said with exactly the same decisiveness and conviction Daniel will soon come to answer questions such as, "Hey, brutally tortured and murdered anybody good lately?", but that's a revelation in a direction best left wayyyy out of the conversation on both sides.
The look Daniel is giving him is bad enough without it. ]
And for the record, I didn't steal-- whatever you were looking for. But I figured it was a faster way to meet than waiting for you to consider that I might not be a hallucination.
[ Permission. Forgiveness. You know what they say. Plus there's the backing away bit, so we're considering that now, yeah? Bright side and all. Sigh. ]
All right, look, you're--
[ He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the brochure he quickly grabbed on the way here. But his hand sinks nearly the second he lifts it to hand the pamphlet over.
Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland, communication device. Yeah, this isn't going to cut it... ]
You're in Wonderland. This is Wonderland. You're trapped here. So am I, so are all of us. I'm Philip. I'm real. And I didn't take your-- thing.
[ Just to reiterate that last part. And here's a look for Daniel: You with me so far? ]
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[ yes daniel because if he doesn't know what it is then he's totally going to be able to answer that question ]
A stone Orb of strange colour. It's mine. [ He cups his hands to approximate the size.
Now it's Daniel's turn to step forward. Apparently he's choosing to focus on the 'lost Orb' part of this conversation. And with good reason, because a) it can lead into addressing the rest of Philip's salient points, and more importantly b) oh yeah THE WHOLE SAVING HIS LIFE THING ]
Sir, I don't know what part you play in all this, but understand that it's of deadly importance that I find my Orb and my way back to Altstadt!
1/4
This is-- This must be before everything that's happened in Brennenburg, more importantly right before Brennenburg, on his way to-- Christ, no wonder he's distracted, because of all the things Philip still needs to tell him that really shouldn't be his focus. ]
The Orb is back at home where you left it. And when you go back you'll find it again, but listen, the Shadow can't follow you here, so what you're worried about can wait. What's important--
2/4
Is that...
3/4
Ah...
[ Whoops? ]
4/4
SMOOTH AS A PORCUPINE PHILIP 1/2
well that was
not what he expected this man to say and furthermore
Daniel tenses and stares. He sways for a moment as the floor behind Philip swarms with a carpet of insects, and flickers clear again. The air itself is heavy with a predator's breath. ]
REALLY GOOD JOB I CAN HEAR CLARENCE'S APPLAUSE 2/2
Then--
[ He's suspected, but not wanted to believe. But. All those men. His physician's ruined body. Alexander's letter, speaking of protection. Some things cannot be coincidence, and if he didn't believe that something followed him from Algeria then why has he felt so responsible for their deaths?
Sometimes you gotta climb out of the river in Egypt.
The insects swarm again, chitinous and chittering. ]
I have not imagined it. I really am hunted.
[ He closes his eyes briefly, under the weight of it. ]
God preserve me.
YOUR FACE IS A PORCUPINE
It's relief that turns to pity in the same breath, it's the pain that comes from knowing Daniel isn't just right, he doesn't even know the worst of it yet. Like watching somebody watch the first scenes of that tragic movie you've already seen, and know what ending they're in for. ]
No, you- you haven't.
[ Philip tries to brush past it for the time being. To- to maybe make up for the blunt introduction. ]
But you're safe here. From the Shadow. For now.
[ ...or maybe he should just keep talking and hope something different sticks. ]
I can't tell you why you're here, because nobody knows. But we-- you, I, other people you'll meet sooner or later, we've been brought here from-- Erm. Different places. So to speak...
[ There's that part in him that wants to rattle off as much as he knows as fast and as cearly as he knows, but it comes through surprisingly muffled under the weight of the part that feels like he's handling a porcelain teacup with so many cracks that his next breath might be the cup's last.
YOUR MUM WAS A PORCUPINE
Because -- you were hunted too?
[ Which would be... unfortunate for them, but a useful explanation for him and even rather hopeful, because it means that there's something--
Well, obviously there's something going on here that's bigger than he yet understands, but it means that that something might not be hostile to him.
Or this could all be a lie and he's actually in even bigger trouble now. Or he could just be mad.
...Let's go with the more favourable of those possibilities and see where it leads him. Philip might've chosen the best thing to say to convince him, in fact, although I am in no way suggesting that Daniel tends to believe what's most appealing no I'm not suggesting that at all. ]
And that's why your manner and dress are so...
[ so stupid-lookin' ]
And this is -- It really cannot reach me? This is some sort of a haven? Are you Baron Alexander's man?
[ Shut up and let him answer, dude. ]
AT LEAST SHE WAS THERE FOR ME, DAD
No,
[ he says, tentatively drawing it out as much as you can draw out two letters, and sighs slowly. This isn't about to get better. ]
I mean, 'no to everything you just said'.
[ And an added cringe for good measure, and not just because he doesn't want to theorise about the sentence that follows his manner and dress. ]
[ ...Actually. ] The Shadow really can't reach you, but that's about it. Your baron doesn't have anything to do with it, and, erm, I doubt that anyone else here is-- [ How to put it? ] ...running from the same thing.
[ Yeahhhh, not even going to touch the haven bit. ]
daniel and philip should bitch about their dads together sometime
This narration invites both Philip and the reader to enjoy a moment's nostalgia about all the times Daniel has looked confused. Are we done? How about now? Okay, let's continue. ]
But if that's not why I'm here -- then how on earth did you know I am followed?
[ By this point he's not even sure if he should be suspicious or just baffled or what. Maybe hopeful, if it is in fact true that he's outrun that thing from Algeria? ]
/signs up for this product
[ Hahaha.
Haha.
Hahhhhh.
That so isn't going to fly, is it? ]
while drunk
Tell me, truthfully.
aka. at any time of any day
When people come here, their time at home stops. That is to say, whenever they go back they return to the exact moment they left. That's, erm, what I meant earlier about your orb, when I-- Anyway. Once they do go back, however, they don't remember having been here. No matter how long they stay, no matter what they do, or what happens to them, they forget. Everyone forgets.
[ It's easier in lecture mode, at least, and maybe if he keeps it up long enough he can even work up to the core of what Daniel was actually asking. ]
We know that, because sometimes people leave, and return to talk about it later. Only some who leave come back, there isn't a pattern to it either, and they might stay gone for days, or weeks, or months or--
[ One year, nine months, and 25 days. ]
Anyway, the point is: The longer you stay gone, the smaller the chance that you actually remember Wonderland once you come back, and...
[ And now, at long last, ladies and gentlemen, the point. ]
You've- you've been gone for a while.
it's always drink o'clock somewhere!
In the end, it does only one of those things.
Before Philip's even a quarter done, Daniel's standing with his arms crossed against his chest, a deep frown on his face, and an (unsure) emote on his plurk status.
When Philip gets to the punchline, Daniel shivers. ]
I--?
[ That's--! ]
But I don't r...
[ ...yeah, there was a whole paragraph about how people don't remember. ]
Of all the--
[ OKAY BUT YOU HAVE TO ADMIT THAT STORY DID KINDA SOUND LIKE CRAZY TALK ]
I am to believe that I come here -- that I've been here before -- by some magic trick? That that is how you know--?
[ But his voice kind of... falters, there on that last syllable. Because it's not the first time he's had to wonder. He's been wondering since that moment in Algeria -- as if the Orb and its visions placed a seed of doubt in his rational mind -- whether observable reality and modern science might not, after all, be sufficient to explain what was happening to him. ]
no subject
Yes.
[ Well. ]
For the lack of a better word.
[ Magic trick still manages to drag a small cringe from him, even with everything else crowding at the front of his worried mind. Things he can't help but think still warrant saying. Things he hopes with clenched teeth won't be asked or talked about ever.
Philip chooses silence afterwards, because he's already done enough damage by accident. If Daniel wants more questions answered, he's going to have to be the one to ask them. ]
no subject
Meanwhile, Daniel has to admit that he likes the idea of a place where the Shadow -- what a fitting name, and at the same time barely scratching the surface of what howls at him in his dreams -- can't follow him. On the other hand... everything else. It's a lot to swallow.
Which is why he jumps on what seems to be a loose thread in the whole weird-ass tapestry: ]
But if I was here before, and spoke of the Shadow to you -- how could I do that? I didn't even know of it until this hour, not beyond a suspicion. Tell me why I should have talked about it weeks or more before now?
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Ah.
[ And a free buffet of as much silence as you can eat, while Philip is stuck with the right words stuck in his throat, and all the wrong ones laughing at him from the back of his mind. ]
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After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Daniel prompts him sternly: ]
If you have an answer, then give it.
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You're on your way to Brennenburg, right? That's where-- I mean, that's why you stopped in Altstadt. Except--
[ Isn't that just why he's hesitating, though? ]
Except last time you'd already been there a while. At Brennenburg, I mean. I mean, you...
[ Philip makes a noise that can best be transcribed as "a low, exasperated erghblrghhh". ]
The you I met was from your future.
[ He frowns again, prepared to give any reaction the WELL, YOU ASKED look. ]
no subject
It goes on for a while.
Then Daniel starts shaking his head. ]
Preposterous.
[ He makes as if to walk away, then stops. He can't very well leave without an answer. Philip must have the true answer, if he can be made to give it up. And however he got his information, Daniel is a little worried about just how much else he knows. ]
My future self? That-- that is too much.
[ JUST SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE STAND HERE SIR. ]
no subject
WELL
UH ]
I'm from the year 2001. Wonderland isn't very good at keeping its timeline straight.
[ SO THERE.
IN YOUR FACE.
HA. ]
no subject
What an impossible statement! What next? Is the butler from 1900?
[ BURN RETURNED ]
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