+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: FOREST PARTY +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: E V E R Y O N E
Where: The Forest!
When: Sept 7th to Sept 10th
Rating: G to PG-13 (please label higher ratings, thank you!)
Summary: Could it be that you (GASP!) don't want to be here? Do you maybe want to make like a tree and... leaf? Then how about you do the next best thing, and come to the woods to party! 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:

Beginning on September 7th, colourful ribbons will hang from several trees by the forest. Whoever follows their path will be guided deeper, right to the scene of a forest party.

Wooden benches, swings in all shapes and sizes, tree trunks, and other arrangements give plenty of opportunities to sit together. Tree houses and tents provide shelter, and come nightfall the festivities will light up for you.

Campfires provide additional light and warmth and a great place for ghost stories. Camping coolers store more than smores, and all around you nature twists and turns to give you room to dance to the music, to wander in the quiet, and to simply have a good time!

(...Are you the curiously perceptive, or the perceptively curious sort? If so, then you might also notice the small bird sitting on a branch nearby.)

Comments

Anna | Over the Garden Wall (comics) | OTA, non-resident

[couplets]

[She's torn between how inviting and enchanting the forest looks, and how she knows all too well that there's sure to be danger lurking not far away. Anna makes her way through the wooded paths tentatively, circling around as she tries to mentally map out the area, trying to ignore the pull of her heart to just throw caution to the wind and join in the dancing and story-telling. It's been so long since she had company, after all.

Then she imagines her father finally returning to their little house and finding it empty, while she's off cavorting in woods unknown, and she turns her back on the party, determined to find a way home.]

hello there would you like a ghost

[rlynotfeelinup2itrnsorry]

[When she turns around, there's a ghost, abeit a bit startled. they turn a shade more transparent]

o-oh, i wasn't.... i wasn't following you i promise, i was just.... i was going the same way....

are you.... are you going back?

I would indeed!

[couplets]

[Anna jumps when she realises there's someone behind her, but she doesn't seem too disturbed about having encountered a ghost -- she's used to those by now. She's more curious than anything.]

To the party? No. Actually, I was trying to find a way to leave this place.

Fantastic, I just happen to have a ghost right here!

[rlynotfeelinup2itrnsorry]

oh... uh.... there's not really... a way out....?

once you're here, you're um.... kind of here until wonderland sends you back.......

i'm sorry.....

[couplets]

[Her face falls, and she tries to quell the panic that suddenly flares up inside her.]

But I can't stay. I never should have left in the first place.

[rlynotfeelinup2itrnsorry]

oh, uh....

[the expression on the human's face feels a little too familiar to them]

hey.... it's ok, you didn't, um, do anything wrong....

wonderland kind of... takes us, we don't have a choice, you didn't leave on purpose......

and uh... i have no evidence to, uh.... proove it, but everyone says that while your here, time, uh, stops.... back home....

[couplets]

[Anna cocks her head to one side as she takes in the information, then frowning, she produces the party invitation.]

It's not really much of an invitation if this place took us by force anyway.

[She didn't really understand how that was possible, as she certainly didn't remember anyone coming to her house to kidnap her, but then it seemed like there was much about this place that she didn't really understand.]

Time ... stops? So if I return, it will be to the same point from which I left?

[rlynotfeelinup2itrnsorry]

....i mean it's an invitation to the party, not to wonderland...

yeah, i think....

[couplets]

That is a relief. [She sighs, allowing herself to smile a little.] I don't feel so bad enjoying the party, in that case.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

[drummeintheface]

[Greg was just looking for the perfect smores stick, he swears! He wasn't trying to get lost! But he did, and even though he thinks he can still smell campfire, he can't seem to see it.

Gosh. He's really been a bad leader, lately. Where even is Wirt? Did he even go to this party?

Well! There's no use just standing here. He's just gonna climb up this tree and then he'll be able to see allllll over the forest! Then he'll find his way back to the party, or maybe even to the mansion!

Except instead he actually falls out of one of the lowest branches and lands on his back, the wind knocked out of him.]

Hhhhh!

hello potato child c:

[couplets]

[Anna freezes when she hears leaves rustling, followed by a dull thud. She looks around her alarmed, knowing too well what sort of dark creatures could be lurking in the forest, and is relieved to find it's only a small child. Crouching next to him, she peers down at Greg.]

Are you hurt?

/potatoes

[drummeintheface]

[Greg sits up, blinking hugely. That sucked in a lot of ways!

He looks at the girl who came over and then looks down at himself. Other than that weird breathing thing, he's probably okay. Nothing hurts too bad.]

I think so. That tree got me good!

[He looks around, still not sure which way to go.]

Are you going to the party? I was at it and I think I got lost.

[couplets]

Actually, I'd just been leaving the party. [Somewhat unsuccessfully, she acknowledges, since she seemed to be stuck in this world and its unfamiliar forest regardless of her presence at the party she'd received the invitation for.] But if you like, I can take you back to it.

[drummeintheface]

Thank you! My head's all jumbleded.

[And so of course he takes her hand. She looks like a teenager, so he's pretty sure it's okay that she isn't wearing a uniform.]

Why were you leaving the party?

[couplets]

[She smiles softly down at him as he takes her hand. It's been so long since she's had any human contact at all, that just that simple, trusting gesture means a lot to her.]

I thought that if I left, I might be able to get home.

[drummeintheface]

Oh. No, I don't think we can go home now. It's too far away from everybody's houses.

[Greg holds her hand up in his and looks at it.]

Your hand is really rough for a girl's hand.

[couplets]

Is it? [She'd long been used to the callouses and scars she'd accumulated through the hard work of keeping her little home running.] I hadn't noticed, but you're right. I hope you don't mind holding it anyway, and that it's not too uncomfortable.

ANNAAAAA

[singloversing]

[Wirt...isn't really great at navigating forests. Everything looks sort of the same to him and the ribbons haven't caught his attention, but the invitation he actually got is to the party in the forest, so...maybe he should go? Or maybe getting lost is a sign this was all a bad idea.

But hey, that girl looks like she knows where she's going. So, he starts to follow in the hopes that she'll lead him to wherever this party is supposed to be.

It's a great plan, at least until she turns around and he's right in her way to leave. She startles the heck out of him, but it dawns on him that wow, he probably seems like a creep so he nervously blurts out:]

I-I--! I wasn't stalking you or anything weird like that! If that's what you're thinking...

GNOOOOOME

[couplets]

[Anna hesitates as she looks Wirt up and down, realising that the path is too narrow to be able to go around him. It hadn't occurred to her that he might be stalking her, but rather that she was blocking his way instead and then becoming a problem by doubling back on herself.]

I wasn't thinking that, I assure you. Are you looking for a way out too?

[singloversing]

[Now that she's gone and mentioned it, Wirt wonders if maybe that's what he should have been doing. He's gotten way too content in Wonderland.]

Uh...not exactly? I-I, um. [He fumbles in his pocket for his invitation and holds it up, to hopefully make up for his inability to speak coherently.] I got invited to this party, and you looked like you knew where you were going, so...

[So he followed her, which is definitely not the same as stalking.]

[couplets]

[She nods understanding, but looks at him somewhat apologetically.]

I'm afraid I've confused the issue even more for you, in that case -- I was heading away from the party.

[singloversing]

Oh geez, really?

[He sighs, but it's directed more at himself than her.]

Sorry. I should't have assumed. I mean, what kind of person just goes to some weird party in the woods they got a mysterious invitation to...right?

[The Wirt kind of person, evidently. He didn't even question it until about three seconds ago.]

[couplets]

[Anna holds up her invitation, smiling at the irony of his question.] Curiosity got the better of me too, though I think I've spent far too long away from home now. But I can walk you back first, if you like? I've been mapping the woods as I was walking.

[singloversing]

Oh. Yeah. That'd be great, actually. Thanks.

[At least she doesn't seem to think he's too weird...hopefully.]

So, uh. ...Does that mean you've been away from home for a while now too?

[couplets]

[She begins to walk, looking pretty certain of where she's going but darting worried glances into the trees nonetheless, especially in places where the shadows converge.]

Not exactly. I try not to leave at all, if I can help it.