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

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to enjoy one of these things without the looming anticipation that several people are going to die.

[Like the ski lodge. Remember that? That was nice, until it wasn't.]

Can I get a black coffee?

[eatsyourscience]

Sure.

[It only takes him a moment to pour Crowley some coffee and pass it over to him.]

So far, it doesn't seem overtly harmful. Just... [He glances at some of the singing decorations.] Annoying and inconvenient.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Mm... so far.

[He doesn't trust it one bit, and lets his eyes rove mistrustfully around the cafe as he sips the coffee.]

What do you think this time. Possessed santa ornaments? Tinsel snakes? Day of the Christmas Triffids?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji smirks.]

Well, the glitches are kind of...weird.

[He wanted to say "alarming" but that might sound like an exaggeration. Still, to him then are alarming, because they're a sign things might be breaking down.]

They can't mean anything good.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

['Alarming' would be a more apt description. Crowley focuses his attention on one such glitch affecting a decoration hanging on the wall behind Souji, and his eyes narrow.]

Ever seen anything like this before?

[He tears his eyes away, down to the more comforting view of his coffee.]

It's all new to me. I hate that.

[eatsyourscience]

Not exactly like this. But I've seen things get strange around this time of year. One year rips appeared everywhere and when you went through them, you'd end up in your own world. Only it would be totally empty.

[He stops there, searching his memory for other instances.]

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Most of us have seen things get strange around this time of year, Souji. [Crowley points out dryly. He's seen it get stranger than glitching decorations, but something about what's happening right now sets all his nerves wrong in a way that he can't recall happening before.]

Something about this feels different. I don't like it.

[eatsyourscience]

[He sighs a little. Was just trying to give examples.]

You could say that about literally any time of year here.

[Just, you know, to keep the record straight.]

It feels different how?

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

I could, but would it be as true as it is right now?

[As long as they're keeping things straight, and all. He rubs two fingers along the line of his jaw, his thumb curled just below his chin.]

I don't know. Maybe it's the... [Handwave.] The flickering.

[He doesn't say it out loud, but the crux of it is, it's unnerving.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji looks at the glitching decorations again and nods.]

The Colonel looked all...pixellated, so I left him in storage this year.

[He's not sure Crowley will know who the Colonel is, but he's more likely than most people to know. Being him and all.]

When the singing gets caught on one or two notes is pretty bad, too.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

... Lovely.

[He has an idea of what Souji means, and it quite glad that the young man made the executive decision to avoid putting that particular decoration out this year.

Crowley's thoughts drift for a moment, his chin resting lightly on the heel of his hand, then he flicks his attention back to Souji and lifts his eyebrows slightly.]

When do you finish in here? There's something I want to ask you about.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji glances around. Things have slowed down a bit since Crowley came in.]

I can go now. Did you want to go somewhere else?

[Since drumming up some help a couple months back, he's had a lot more freedom to come and go in the diner.]

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Yeah.

[He tilts his head to get Souji to follow him, and once they're in no danger of being overheard...]

I think you know why I never asked you before, but I've been thinking about it, and I want to know. Just how much do you know about me from the first time I was here?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji follows, and tilts his head a little at the question. It's a minute before he answers as he thinks it over.]

I feel like I knew you pretty well. Or him. Is it easier to say "him"?

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

[Crowley thinks about it. This, clearly, is going to be a conversation of long pauses while cogs turn.]

Let's say we're the same person, for now. I'll tell you if it gets too weird.

[eatsyourscience]

Okay.

[For all Souji knows, they're totally different Crowleys from alternate versions of the same timeline. Or something.]

Did you want to know anything specific?

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

[Honestly, that would be better.]

I... [Crowley trails off, makes a face, and pinches the bridge of his nose before muttering 'I didn't think this through'.]

... Did I ever tell you anything about Aziraphale?

[It's as good a place to start as any.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods once.]

Some. I know he's very important to you. And at least when you were here before, you were together. Or at least you wanted to be, if you weren't actually.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

[Crowley makes a strange noise, something like a 'ghk' mixed with the kind of choking sound you might produce if you momentarily forgot how to swallow.

Together, huh.]

I-- see. [Is this why he never wanted to know?] And... Adam. Did I mention him?

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji watches him with interest.]

Not so much. He was here for a little while, but I never got to know him.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

He was here?

[Few things make the demon turn pale, but that is one of them.]

Did he-- do anything?

[eatsyourscience]

Would it have been the kind of thing I would have remembered?

[Because he didn't notice anything.]

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Given he's the antichrist? You'd remember.

[Why does he even care? Adam could wipe Wonderland from whatever realm it resides in and they'd all be better off.]

But he was always more interested in just being a child.

[eatsyourscience]

That's probably why I never heard much about him. You never talked about him, anyway.

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Hm. Funny, that. He was rather a big deal.

[But then... he supposes he had his reasons. He didn't exactly enjoy talking about the apocalypse.]

Was there ever anyone else?