+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: THRONE ROOM PARTY +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: E V E R Y O N E
Where: The Queen of Hearts' Throne Room (Mirror Side's Ballroom)
When: Sept 3rd to Sept 10th
Rating: G to PG-13 (please label higher ratings, thank you!)
Summary: It's about time Mirror Side had its own party, instead of just making the Mirrors sneak over to Real Side for their parties every time! And don't forget to have a look at the Fourth Wall Master Post for event rules, puzzle clues, and more places to mingle!
The Story:

The Queen of Hearts' throne room is more inviting that it has ever been. Beginning on September 3rd, anyone passing by will notice a tunnel of red, white, and black balloons leading inside. Those who grow curious and investigate will not be punished, but instead rewarded - with a party.

As each guest enters, they will receive a mask from seemingly nowhere, and they are encouraged to leave their masks on during the party - for once, it does not matter who is Real and who is Not and who is a double and who is an original. There are only Guests and all are welcome.

There is plenty of food and drink for all to enjoy, and music is always playing. The party is very red and black, and lit by candle light. Each place is carefully set and there are lovely centerpieces featuring the only playing card that matters - the Queen of Hearts.

But hm? What is that on the back?

Comments

Coraline Jones | Coraline | Former Resident

[doorkey]

[ Coraline... isn't really sure she should be here, at a fancy party on the mirror's side. It makes her feel the same nervous sort of queasy that she's felt every other time she'd been stuck here, and just like she had when exploring the Beldam's world.

But she's here now, and no one's either tried to coax her into hanging around forever or has shooed her out, so Coraline's determinedly exploring what she can of the party. She pokes about the centerpiece with passing interest (no patience for too-complicated puzzles, and the note about cheating makes her a little wary of handling the cards at all) and after raiding some of the snacks, candy hearts crammed into her dress pockets, she takes to weaving around the other guests and trying too hard to look like she's not snooping.

It's really unfortunate that she seems so out-of-place among all the black and red, a little underdressed for the occasion in a denim dress with a shiny white star patches sewn on, and cool galaxy print tights that glow in the dark. But at least the mask she'd been handed seems to match those perfectly, somehow!]

[mypartnerintime]

[If there's one thing Max Caulfield actually likes to do at a party, it's take pictures. Especially pictures of people that are uniquely dressed- and those white stars and glow in the dark tights draw Max from across the room like a moth to flame. She awkwardly winds her way through several people, trying to not upend any trays of food, before finally walking up to Coraline and whatever she happens to be snooping.]

Hi! Cheese!

[Max lifts her Polaroid up to her eyes, framing the younger girl against a backdrop of flowers and balloons.]

[doorkey]

[ Coraline whirls at the sound of someone behind her- they could be calling out to anyone, but she's a little surprised to see a girl weilding one of those fun, old-fashioned cameras... at her, no less!

She brightens instantly, if a little bit shy with hesitant supicious and flattered nerves- What if they're a mirror, part of the Queen's court? Gathering evidence of who's in attendance? She doesn't seem like a royal Wonderland photographer or anything, but-

Oh Coraline! Just pose for the darn picture! ]

....Pizza!

[ She chimes back, with as big of a grin as she can, holding the flare of her skirt out as if she's about to twirl. ]

[mypartnerintime]

[Max laughs as the Polaroid pops with a flash, and spits out a picture with a little whirr. She takes the photo and shakes it lightly.]

Not just cheese, right? It better have like, gigantic pepperoni... or pineapples.

[So she likes pineapples on her pizza, so what?]

You also could've said brie. Or... mozzarella. Parmesan.

[Yup, this is exactly what goes through Max's mind.]

[doorkey]

[ Yup, it's one of those really cool cameras that spits out a print instantly, Coraline's mouth hangs ajar for a moment with a brief swell of excitement, perching up on tiptoes- that's so neat, and she's clearly hoping she gets to see how it develops, watching Max wave the photo with a teeny thrill of impatience.]

Pepperoni's okay... but... yuck, I don't want any fruit on my pizza.

...Okay, except for tomato sauce, technically. [ She adds with hands perched on her hips and a slightly exhasperated roll of her eyes, because she can already hear her father in the back of her head, being a teasing stickler about how Tomatoes are Actually Fruits Not Vegetables.]

(What's brie? [ She wrinkled her nose behind her half-mask skeptically. ] Is it like fontina?)

[ When they weren't busy with moving and unpaacking, her parents also liked to ruin perfectly good, normal food like pizza by adding weird things like shaved leeks and fennel and cheeses that were nowhere near as as acceptable to Coraline as mozzarella and parmesan.] Just plain pizza-cheese is fine, please!

I usually do this when taking pictures, hope it's okay!

[mypartnerintime]

[She smiles at the girl trying so obviously to look at the picture. She hands it over.]

Brie's a... cheese right? Isn't it? [This is Max pretending to actually know things, and then awkwardly having to admit that she was faking it.] But yes, one order of regular-cheese pizza with bacon bits. And extra bacon bits. And fine, [she adds with an exaggerated sigh.] No pineapples.

[The picture has fully developed by now:

White stars seeming to shine, standing out brightly against a backdrop of black balloons interspersed with blooming red roses. Underneath, to drive home the outer space theme, gently glowing galaxies and... kid-sized shoes?

Huh.

Coraline's big cheesy grin, childishly enthusiastic to be the center of a camera's attention. A young, bright girl, with a spark in her wide eyes.]

[doorkey]

I... guess so? I mean I've never heard of Brie before, (unless that's one of the stinky cheeses the man in the flat upstairs orders for his mouse circus) but... if you say it is? [ Coraline shrugs, equally as awkward as she takes the photograph carefully in her hands. She proceeds to shake it like she's seen Max do, with a little extra vigor.

Also a bit of awed indignation. Bacon on a pizza? What a time to be alive!]

Buh- whuh...Where can you get bacon on a pizza! How come my mother's never told me that's one of the choices! [ More parental betrayal. Being a preteen is hard, nobody tell her it just gets worse from here.

Finally, she peers down at the polaroid] Ooh, this is a really great picture`of me! Do I get to keep it, or... [ Before she gets her own hopes up too much, Coraline suggests a compromise. ] Are you going to put them all up on the mirror, somewhere?

[mypartnerintime]

[Max laughs.] When you're older you can put anything you want on pizza. Just don't let the pizza-police know. [Seriously, she's seen people put wasabi on pizzas. Such are the adventures of high school life.

Max looks a little lost about the picture. It is really good and she'd like to keep it, but... but hey, it's not like she's short on film or anything.]

How about we take one more, then you pick which one you want to keep? [She holds up her camera, grinning.] But this time you say fondue?

[doorkey]

How old are you, anyway? [ Coraline squints suspiciously, eager to know exactly how much longer she must wait until her Glorious Life Of Total Pizza Freedom Begins.

...Or not? Here in Wonderland, the dining room does tend to deliver whatever she pleases, and there's no stern mom sipping her coffee and peering all judgey over reading the paper whenever she raids the kitchen fridges.

Nodding in agreement, she steps back into place and strikes a funny, mock-glamourous pose this time- even more cheesy and deliberate, less off-guard and delighted than that first snapshot. One hand is on her hip and the other behind her head, knee popped just so to show off those milky way tights.

She puts on fake french accent, too, just for her own amusement.] Oui, oui! Fon-duuuue!

[mypartnerintime]

[Much more flair this time! Max knows someone who loves attention when she sees them. She takes a moment to line up the frame properly, then the camera pops with another flash.]

Very good, madmoiselle! [She pronounces it wrongly, though it's not clear if it's on purpose or not. In any case she gives the picture a light shake as she waits for it to develop.]

I'm eighteen. [Then she pauses with a sudden thought.] Almost nineteen. Huh. [Although that really depends on how you count time in Wonderland.] Weird. And you?

[doorkey]

Um... [ She drops the pose, eyes on the polaroid. ] Well I was eleven, when I first got here.

[Coraline says, and it's clear the question's just become an uneasy one. ]

Growing up... I guess it works kind of funny in Wonderland?

I mean I should be... almost thirteen now, or- Well there's this event, so I should technically be even older, but...

[ Kind of troubling, actually. How many un-birthdays, since she's in the future now? ] Well, obviously I'm not? Weird, huh.

[mypartnerintime]

Yeah, it's totally weird. [By now the photo is fully developed: Coraline in the same outfit, but with a more daring (fantastic!) pose, and if possible even shinier galaxies.

Max studies her and notes her discomfort. It's not so bad, is it?] Does that bother you? I mean... the best part of my life was before I turned thirteen. Everything was possible.

[Except bacon on pizza, apparently.]

[doorkey]

You mean, life just gets worse from here on out?

[ Not exactly reassuring, Max. Coraline seems to deflate a little, eying the older girl skeptically.] Goody gumdrops.

I guess it doesn't bother me too much, because if I ever found a way home, years and years later, I wouldn't want mom and dad missing out on half my kid-life?

But sometimes I think maybe this place is more like Neverland than Wonderland.

[mypartnerintime]

[Wow, she actually made a kid sad. Way to go Max!] N-no, I just mean like... when you get older it's still good, but for different reasons. [She can't even tell if she's lying or not. She tries to think of a better way to put it.] There are a bunch more low points, but the high points are way higher.

[There. The low points get way lower, too, but... but she doesn't have to mention that right now.]

I don't think they'd miss out on it either way. [She looks thoughtfully aside, trying to remember the stuff she's learned about Wonderland.] You'd sort of... be a kid again, anyway. And hey, Neverland sounds pretty awesome to me. Pirates, adventures, flying...

[And man, she definitely has to remember to use goody gumdrops in the future.]

[doorkey]

Most of the adults I know are either really crazy or really boring. [ Coraline observes, pointedly eyeing a few around the room who fit at least one or the two. The mansion might attract more of the kooky-neighborly variety.]

And being a teenager...well, it seems pretty complicated. [ She exhales, looking Max up and down with an apprehensive expression- for now, Coraline may even seem a little bit admiring. After all, the older girl's been really nice< to her, taking two pictures, thinking her outfit looks cool?]

It can get adventurous here too! It did all the time! And even I go to fly before- on broomsticks, when it was wizard school. (That was fun.)

[krmvgivv]

[Excuse you, too-complicated puzzles are the greatest thing ever how dare you. Dipper is, in fact, working on one of the over-complicated puzzles, mostly by shining a blacklight over the pages in a copy of Alice in Wonderland that he's found in the library.

A book that has chosen to insult him. He scowls and looks up at the closest person--in this case, apparently, Coraline--and declares:]

It isn't strange to keep a blacklight on you at all times! It's smart! Come on!

[doorkey]

Huh? [ She blinks for a moment, attention whirling as if trying to decide if she's really the one that the boy with the book really meant to say anything to. ] Are you talking to me?
i
I think blacklights are a really cool-kind-of-strange! [ Coraline's opinion seems to be a supportive one ] They make you glow-in-the-dark. [ Speaking of which, the white stars on her dress have gone reflective violet in the blacklight's radius, and so have all the details that aren't dark space in her tights, and she couldnt be more pleased with the effect.]

What are you doing? Looking for invisible messages?

[krmvgivv]

They are cool. [He grins. Even if the glow in the dark effect is, to him, less exciting than the secret message part.] And yes, I was hoping it would lead to the next clue. But I guess this isn't the right book. This one just insulted me and insinuated I might be from the 1970s.

[...a pause, then he adds.]

Dipper. Is my name. Hi.

[doorkey]

Hi. [ She grinned, waving suddenly-shyly despite standing just a few feet away. Dipper was sort of a weird name, even for a nickname, but she's heard worse. ] Are you the Little Dipper, or the Big one?

[ He was probably very sick of hearing jokes like that. ]

I'm Coraline.

And whoever bothered to write in secret messages had to write nasty ones? [ She crinkled her nose, sidestepping closer to peer over his shoulder at the book. ] Hnh. Guess they probably need to get a life, or something.

But... hey, look on the bright side! James Potter is from the 1970's, and he's really neat?

[ Rummaging in the pockets of her dress, Coraline retrieves a small stone with a hole through the middle from her pocket.] Try looking at it through this? Sometimes it helps, with lost things. Or hidden things. Or sometimes dangerous things.

[krmvgivv]

[Actually....]

You'd be surprised how few people make that connection. [Most people don't comment on it at all, or just go for easy insults like Dipstick. You know James?

[He takes the stone dubiously and peers through it at the book.] Is it magic or something?

[doorkey]

You are talking to a girl with stars on her dress, you know. [ She shrugged sheepishly, folding her arms.]

Yeah... I heard he's still here!? [ There's an earnest hope in her eyes ] I hope he remembers me... um, see, I kinda- I think some kind of really weird- Weirder than usual event happened? And I got sent to the future, all on my own, because I didn't find a way home, or grow up or anything, and no one says I've been around since then, but I looked at a calendar and there's no way I've been asleep for five whole years!?

[ Coraline's babbling a little now, but between all these parties and meeting new people, she's been hiding her distress pretty well, and hoping like usual that all things would go back to normal soon. ]

Almost everyone who was here isn't here anymore. But I can't send any messages out, so... I've sort of been hoping I'd run into him soon? And maybe he remembers me? I was in his wizard schools house, once? For a few days.

[ Coraline nodded somberly, keeping a close eye on the stone and giving a cautious glance around the throne room. Mirrors might be around, and this was probably the sort of prized possession that loyal subjects of the queen might try to confiscate.] It helped me find the souls of some ghost kids, once?

In a book I read, it might be something called an adder stone, and it can see through fairy glamours...so I guess the Beldam might've been an evil fairy?

[krmvgivv]

...guess this isn't a fairy glamour. [He hands the stone back, then frowns, processing the rest of what she said.]

That... doesn't sound like what Wonderland usually is like. I mean, nothing about this event has been, but that sounds especially strange. Wonderland future or home future? Or is... this the future?

[Dipper has a lot of experience with time travel, at least. This might not be helping him solve his own puzzle, but it sounds like it's still interesting.]

[doorkey]

Guess not. [ How disappointing. ]

Umm... in Wonderland-future. [ She nods decisively, pocketing her stone. ] I don't think I've been home. I mean- I'd know, if I'd gone home in between then and now...right? I'd have to!

This is the five-years-and.... uh- [ Coraline did a few hasty backwards calendar calculations on her fingers ] Ten months, future? Crazy, huh. And I'm still only a kid.

[krmvgivv]

Well, that's not unexpected. No one ages in Wonderland. Fun side-effect of time not moving.

[Not that he's remotely bitter about it.]

[doorkey]

I knew that, but.... When it's only been a year or two you barely think about it, except for when it should be your birthday.

But when it's been this long, it really is like being a lost boy in Neverland.