[open, mingle log] i hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums

[normandysbest]

Who: Shepard + close CR, with opportunity for party crashers
Where: Shepard's personal Citadel apartment
When: The last night of the event, 4/4
Rating: PG/PG-13? Lots of drunkenness most likely.
Summary: Shepard's got a bit of a tradition of big, blowout parties before heading back to the inevitable. She's gonna continue it tonight. Prompts in the comments, and people can feel free to top-level their own!
The Story:

[On the morning of the 4th, all of Shepard's friends in Wonderland will get a message sent to their omni-tools with a navpoint address, reading:]

Hey everyone.
Party at my place tonight.
Booze, food, and music provided, and I've got extra bedrooms if people need to sleep it off.
Starts at 8.
See you there.

[She spends the day setting it up; getting food ordered, stocking the big bar near the TV and the smaller one in the den, and getting the music pumping. This isn't going to last forever; in fact, there's a good chance they'll be home tomorrow.

But she's going to enjoy it while she can.]

Comments

[normandysbest]

It's alright.

[And it is... kind of. But she knows she'd have to pick and choose. Her friends home, or the ones shes made in Wonderland.

At the very least, back home, she won't remember any of this.]

It's not as bad as it could be. And I have friends here. I'm not... alone, really.

[heroica]

Of course not. [ She's quick to say, reaching for the other woman's arm to squeeze gently. ] You have a lot of people here - or in Wonderland, at least - who care about you. I hope that you won't forget that.

[normandysbest]

[She feels her heart flutter in her chest just a moment at Robyn's touch-- okay, maybe she's had a couple herself. But it does mean a lot for her to hear that, especially from a friend.]

Hard to forget with people like you always reminding me. Thanks.

[She... needs to hold on to that. That there are people that care and will continue to, even after she's gone, in the same way she's cared for them.]

I guess it's just weird to think about. That it's been so long since I was last home.

[heroica]

Good. [ Hopefully Shepard does take it to heart and does hear it often. ]

I know what you mean. [ Robyn herself isn't going home, though she doesn't disclose that. ] I miss... so much about it. Home, I mean.

[normandysbest]

[She hears it enough. The problem is holding onto it, believing in it.]

Yeah. This is a pretty good fake, at least. Curbs the sickness a bit.

[Mostly she's just disappointed she couldn't get into the Normandy, but... without EDI and Joker in the cockpit, would she even want to be there? Would standing in the medbay without Chakwas be worth the trip? She'd visit each of their stations in turn, see them like ghosts, and then nothing. Spend time in an empty life support like she does right back home.

Home is people, she's realizing. The Normandy is the closest place she has. But without them, she's never really going back.]

I'd feel better if the people were here, but it's probably better they're not, you know? Wonderland's not safe. Even if we miss them.

[heroica]

But for some, they say that even Wonderland is safer than their own homes. [ The Warden points out, smile fading. ] Thedas has its own troubles, but... I can't say for sure that I would choose the mansion and all this over my home.

[ Not that it matters, what with her having died. ]

... You have a point, though. I saw people that I cared about suffer in Wonderland. It isn't easy.

[normandysbest]

I'm not sure I can afford to falling for it like that, you know? It's tempting, to think staying here saves our hides, and could do that for those we love. But... I've got a duty, back home. Things I have to finish. And I don't think I could stay here, really, knowing that.

[It's why Wonderland takes memories, in the end. Because the only way people will truly stay is if they don't remember what they've lost.]

... Heh, sorry, this has gotten pretty heavy for a party.

[heroica]

I understand. [ She'd felt the same way, back before she was returned to Ferelden for that final fight. ] I wish only that you and the others - that we all could make that choice for ourselves.

[ At the apology, she smiles sheepishly and shakes her head. ]

You needn't apologize. I always enjoy speaking with you, however 'heavy' the conversation.