[ Action ] (open to all)

[anotherdid]

Who: Everyone is welcome, children and adults alike.
Where: First floor, ballroom.
When: 01/21, from about 9:00 PM on.
Rating: r;
Summary: Formal ball.












[The ballroom's vaulted ceilings are taller than is possible within the realms of reality, and towering, wide windows let in sunlight during the day; at night, chandeliers and wall sconces light up with so many candles, it's hard to believe the light isn't from an electric source.

There are lights strung up around the entrance to the ballroom, and music can be heard playing from within. At the door, Vanessa, with the assitance of the lovely William Whele, will be waiting to meet as many guests as they can. They'll hand each person a small silver box with one of these gifts inside; Wonderland's sense of humor is evident here.]



[Tables line every side of the ballroom, a carefully organized plate setting at each chair with little trays of cookies placed here and there.

One table, set center, is piled high with desserts, Ned's pies, hors d'oeuvres brought by Dr. Lecter, and all manner of food provided by Tohru, Seta, and the diner staff, as well as assistance from Calista, Rebekah, Evelyn, and Lydia. There are numerous drinks available, champagne (thanks to Kol), and liquor, beer, fruit punch, among other beverages, thanks to the closets.]

[Thank you cards will be slipped under the doors of Rebekah Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Tohru Honda, Evelyn O'Connell, William Whele, Hannibal Lecter, Calista, Seta Souji, and Lydia Martin the following day as a way of Vanessa showing gratitude for all of their help.]

Comments

[singloversing]

I guess so, yeah. I've never been to something like this, so uh. I probably should've figured it would be crowded.

[You don't just automatically get graceful can classy because you walk into a ball. It doesn't work like that.]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Doesn't Kaneki know it. But kind of a different context.]

I haven't either. So I guess we're in the same situation.

[He smiles a little. It's a bit easier to be calm and normal around someone who might actually be more awkward than him.]

I don't think we've met before. My name's Kaneki Ken. Either of those is fine.

[singloversing]

[Wirt still feels bad he crashed into him, but he manages a shy smile in return.]

I don't think we have either - I just got here not long ago.

[Truthfully it was almost two months ago, but it really doesn't feel like it's been that long at all.]

I'm Wirt. Nice to meet you...Kaneki? [Yeah, that's probably his first name, though Ken sounds like an odd last name? He's not sure so he'll just stick with his first guess and never work up the nerve to ask.]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Ah, name order. You cause Kaneki so many-- well, not problems, but it's a strange thing.]

Kaneki is fine. It's my family name.

[It's also what most people call him, so he's fine with it.]

It's nice to meet you, too. I haven't been here all that long. Since sometime in the fall, I think.

[singloversing]

Yeah...this place is kind of weird about that, isn't it? It was Halloween at home, but when we got here it was already December. We just...totally skipped November somehow.

[He shrugs. It's not like he knows how that happened.]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[For Kaneki, the time skip hadn't been quite so significant. And depending on where Wirt was from, those months might be more significant than they were in Japan.]

Where are you from, in your world?

[singloversing]

Uhh...

[That's a way more complicated question than it should be, but Wirt decides to go for the real answer instead of trying to explain the Unknown.]

Massachusetts. ..In America? [Does he have to clarify that? Everyone here seems to speak perfect English, so he's not really sure.] What about you?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[That answer pleases Kaneki insofar as it's likely Wirt has at least heard of the place he's from. It's harder to talk about things like this when someone is from a totally different world.]

Oh! I think I know where Massachusettes is. [Foreign geography why.] I'm from Tokyo, Japan.

[singloversing]

[Wirt was so close to being in that situation it's not even funny, but at least his real home is something more normal.]

Oh! I know where that is too. I mean, I've never been, but...that's really cool.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

So our worlds are similar, at least.

[Not that he's going to ask if Wirt's world has human-looking, human-eating creatures wandering around.]

It seems like there are a lot of people from totally different worlds here. Not that that's bad, but it makes it hard to relate at first.

[singloversing]

Yeah, I'll bet. But...doesn't it feel kind of weird knowing there are all these different worlds out there that you can just get sucked into whenever?

[...Not that that's happened to him before. Nope.]

I mean, I-I don't know about your world, but in mine that kind of thing was always just science fiction, and not something that could actually happen to people.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

Do you think there are other worlds that do that?

[It's not that the idea hadn't occurred to Kaneki. It was more that it didn't seem entirely pertinent to the situation here in Wonderland. Now that Wirt's brought it up, though...]

Or do you mean that we could be pulled between each other's worlds?

[That he hasn't considered. That would mean that the phenomenon itself is to blame for them being here, not Wonderland.]

[singloversing]

I don't know...both, maybe?

[He gives a vague shrug, so that he doesn't have to say that other worlds can definitely do that. He's not even really sure if that's true? He doesn't know what the Unknown is really. Or was.]

It seems possible if it brought us here? Or, um. Who knows. That's probably not right. I wouldn't really know anything about it.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

No, it's a really interesting idea.

[Kaneki offers a small smile, trying to reassure Wirt.]

It makes as much sense as anything else, especially considering how little we know.

[singloversing]

[The smile is enough to make him smile back a little bit.]

So...no one really knows much about this place? I've only been here a couple months, so I...I dunno. I thought it might just be me being pretty new to all of this, I guess.

[Or at least the Wonderland edition of it. He never seems to stick around a place long enough to learn the rules of it. It's not like anyone ever really explained the Unknown, after all.]

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki shakes his head.] No, it's not just you. I don't think anyone really understands this place or knows much about it. You just kind of...get used to it after awhile and live with it.

[singloversing]

Yeah, that's...that's what I keep hearing.

[He frowns a bit, and doesn't sound super happy about that thought.]

Doesn't that...I don't know, worry you? If people get too used to this place, won't they stop trying to leave?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

It's a possibility. But I think we have to allow for the fact that there may be some people who don't want to leave.

[He sighs quietly, his left hand at his chin.]

Some worlds are a lot worse than being here. Some people may not even be alive at home, or at least, may not have long left to live.

[singloversing]

Huh. I...never thought about it like that. With all the weird things this place does, I just sort of assumed that, well...

[That everyone would be desperate to get home as soon as possible. But, if they're already dead then he guesses that makes sense. It's kind of depressing to think about though.]

...What about you? Do you want to go home?

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki takes a few seconds to turn his answer over in his head before speaking, slowly.]

Sometimes. There are people there that I miss a lot. But I can't say that I miss the situation.

[Wonderland has its own challenges, but the seem so much less dire, less black and white than the ones he faces at home.]

[singloversing]

[Wirt can tell he ventured into some sensitive territory, so he seizes up and tries to shift away from it.]

I-I...sorry. I shouldn't have pried.

[That was pretty rude of him in the first place. Why didn't he think about that before he asked?]

My brother and I were already lost somewhere else before we got here. I just...figured that happened to everyone, I guess.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

[Kaneki shakes his head.] It's okay. Really.

[He hasn't said anything he shouldn't have, so far, and for him that's a win. Anything else is open for discussion, as far as he's concerned.]

Your brother? Is he here, too?

[singloversing]

Yeah, my brother Greg. He's around here somewhere. He's the one who wanted to come to this party in the first place, so...here I am.

[That sounds like Wirt was dragged, but honestly he kind of wanted to go too. It's just easier to blame Greg sometimes, especially when he feels out of place.]

But yeah, we turned up together. One minute we were walking in the woods, and then we were here.

[itwouldbeatragedy]

It must be a relief that you arrived together, though.

[Kaneki has no siblings so he's not sure how that dynamic works, but he would have been worried if it had been Hide or even Touka.]

Though I guess you have to worry about him during events.

[singloversing]

[Honestly the thought hadn't even occurred to Wirt that one of them could have turned up with the other. He's always felt kind of stuck looking after Greg, even in the Unknown, but...but what if Wirt had turned up without him?]

...Yeah. Uh. I guess it is.

[He feels kind of bad about not having that kind of reaction before though, so he quickly moves on.]

At least we haven't gotten caught in anything too dangerous. I mean, there have definitely been dangerous things, but neither of us have really been in danger yet.