+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: HOUSE PARTY +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: E V E R Y O N E
Where: Wonderland's Second Mansion, near the southern walls
When: Sept 1st to Sept 10th
Rating: G to PG-13 (please label higher ratings, thank you!)
Summary: It's a whole party mansion! Have a look inside, explore, make yourselves at home! 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 1st, something more than grass has suddenly grown near the southern walls. A second mansion has sprung up overnight! With only three floors and a strangely makeshift look about it it doesn't seem to compare to the original at first glance, but there's plenty enjoyment to be had inside!

The first floor houses a series of restaurants, diners, and coffee shops. No matter your style or intentions, this floor will find something to your taste! (Provided you, too, really love the colour red.) Of course all foods and services are free, and provided invisibly and without delay - no need to tip the unseen magical forces! ♥

The second floor is this mansion's beating heart - quite literally so! Disco beats shake this massive dancefloor 24/7, and the open bar provides party refreshments for responsible hydration and/or happy cocktail hour. Invisible DJ not playing your song? Man the turntables yourself, or sneak off into the karaoke corner! By the way, it doesn't take a keen observer to notice the common theme of this floor's design.

(Although it falls to the curious party guest to notice the peculiar paint splashes on one of the walls, and a little patience to stick around long enough for the travelling spotlights to reveal their message.)

Despite the busy party below, the third floor is surprisingly quiet, and pleasantly so. It invites crisp and clean comfort, be it to sit, to sleep, or to mingle in the comfy common rooms in front of their warm chimneys. From single bedrooms to large dormitories all guests have plenty of room to make use of fluffy pillows galore, be it to sleep on, to fight with, or to build.

Comments

[amazones]

[ She too sits a little more upright, and when he tenses up, she gets to her feet. She can tell when someone's ready to come at her, and she doesn't particularly like it but she'll defend herself if she has to. ]

I'm not your Diana, [ She clarifies pointedly. ] But then you are not the Clark I know either.

[twoheartbeats]

[He spends a moment looking at her. Really looking, eyes glowing a cold color.]

Your DNA is different. But if you were with the invaders then you would've attacked me already. So you're from a different dimension entirely.

[It's a third option. Maybe that place still has a Lois.]

[amazones]

[ She frowns, looks down at herself, then back up at him. How did he— did he read her DNA somehow?

Focusing on the wrong things here. She takes a steadying breath and eases just a hint. ]

That would be my guess as well. [ And she doesn't need to know his DNA. That near-kiss was more than enough to make that clear for her. ]

[twoheartbeats]

It's been a long time since I've been around someone who doesn't know me.

[He tries to smile wryly, but it's barely a shadow of a twitch.]

Yours still goes by "Clark."

[amazones]

He does. [ He did.

She tilts her head just barely, looking him over. There are differences, now that she looks more closely. They just hadn't been enough for her to tell right away. ]

What should I call you, then?

[twoheartbeats]

[He's not very much older than her Clark, but the lines on his face suggest an age that has nothing to do with the passage of time. The skin around his eyes is a dark grey, shadowed from too many sleepless nights. His brows are knotted, permanently twisted from worry and grief.]

My birth name is Kal-El. Diana -- my Diana -- says that using it helps me become stronger in the face of our enemies.

[amazones]

[ Clearly they share some special kind of bond, and it feels strange, calling him by the same name this other version of her does. On the other hand, it helps her make the distinction between the two versions of him, like putting some tangible distance between them. So, she nods. ]

Kal-El it is, then. [ Assuming he's not opposed to it. It doesn't seem like he is. ] I'm still Diana.

[twoheartbeats]

Just Kal is fine.

[Some of the nervous energy dissipates from him, though. His hand half-reaches to stroke her arm, then drops back down at his side before making contact. She's not the one who'll care for that.]

It's good to meet you, Diana. I wish the circumstances could be more ideal.

[amazones]

[ She doesn't pull away or brush him off at the very least. There's more surprise and curiosity in her gaze than anything else, as she watches him nearly reach out for her, eyes moving up to his face when he gives up halfway. ]

As do I.

[ There's a tense pause, and a question she's not sure she wants to ask, but... ] What... happened to Lois? In your world— assuming she exists there. [ If not, that would perhaps explain a lot. ]

[twoheartbeats]

[His eyelid twitches. It's almost as if it's still straining to cry after the tears have dried up. His shoulders tense again.]

Lois was killed. Five years ago.

[amazones]

[ Somehow that's even worse than if he'd told her he didn't know who Lois was. She may not have known either of them for long, but she knew how deeply Clark cared for her, how much they meant to each other, and right now, she can see a remnant of that in Kal too. A remnant of love, maybe, grief foo.

Her eyebrows knit into an empathetic expression, though to him that's perhaps not a welcome feeling. She can't really help it. ]

I'm sorry.

[twoheartbeats]

[He settles back in the sofa that Diana had claimed previously. It might be a gesture of trust that he'll let his guard down that much, for whatever trust even means anymore.]

You don't have to be. It's... her murderer was brought to justice.

[He ripped out the bastard's heart himself.]

[amazones]

[ Diana steps a little closer too, though she takes the chair next to the couch rather than sit next to him. A single sign of trust doesn't mean he'd want her anywhere near him again. ]

That doesn't change the fact that it happened. [ She pauses, though, and nods. He likely had a hard time working through it, and she's not in the habit of opening up old wounds. ] But that's a small comfort, at least.