entrancelogs | + FOURTH WALL EVENT: HOUSE PARTY +

+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: HOUSE PARTY +

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Good question. In all of his travels, it's also one Stefan hasn't been able to answer with perfect confidence. He hunches over the Polaroids, as if they'd give him the words he needed at this very moment. As if the nebulas would unswirl and reveal their mysteries. As if... as if he weren't afraid to let her down.]

So we've got two possibilities here: one, I was pulled into outer space after you got pulled into Wonderland. I could be from your future, just uh, after a long detour. Or two, which I think is more likely, my stupid hosts have the ability to put me back home without me realizing it.

I know way too many people who've gone home and came back and said that while they were home, they don't remember Wonderland, or outer space, or any other place they've visited.

[ katherine already suspects magic's involved. having scrolled through the network of wonderland during her first week, she'd discovered her own name on conversations she doesn't remember having. ]

[ in a way, it's comforting to know she's not alone. stefan may not be her friend, or anyone who holds her in high regard, but any panic she'd shove right down and stomp out is less severe than it'd be with anyone else. ]

[ he simply confirms what she's already been told, but she believes it when it comes from him. ]

This is magic I've never heard of. [ she slides those polaroids and his device back over to him, knowing they're not for her to keep. ] I've been around a long time, and I've never heard of this happening before. How can I not remember being here before? How have you been in space for longer than a year and I haven't known about it? [ she wraps her hands around her mug for the sake of having something to do. ]

[Even she doesn't know this kind of magic? Stefan blinks back surprise. It's true that he can't stand Katherine. It's true that he might be overcompensating and trying to deal with the remnants of the first "triangle" - but what's also true is that Katherine has seen and heard more than he has. If she's unfamiliar, then it must not be native to Earth.

He accepts the device, but carefully picks out a picture of a swirling, gorgeous purple-blue nebula and hands it back to her. He'd seen her reaction, and well? He can always take more when he gets back.]

That, I don't know. Whatever magic they're using is stronger than compulsion, if they can bring most of the Mikaelsons along for the ride. [And Norse gods, and Seraphim, and even Japanese goddesses...] Also, I'm kinda surprised you heard nothing.

I was told that people back home were watching me in outer space, so... [he sighs] They lied.

[ her brows furrow at his refusal to take the photograph back, but she doesn't say anything. not yet, at least. being able to build the blocks as to why they're both displaced takes priority before stefan being so stefan and letting her keep a picture she suspects may mean something to him. she accepts it gracefully, and without much fuss. ]

[ this is an opportunity for katherine to turn the tables, twist things to her advantage as she's prone to do. stefan's been told a lie, and she can easily swap his trust for the people back home to her. but katherine can't see where it'll get her, as that particular plan has already begun to fall apart long before she ever thought to try and manipulate stefan's trust back. ]

[ instead, she opts for something more honest. leaning back against her chair, mug no longer in her hands but the photo remaining gently between her fingers, she shakes her head. ] I can't say I've seen hide or hair of you since you dropped by for a visit in Pennsylvania, Stefan. [ in good humour, she adds with a slight smile, ] I was a little disappointed it took you so long, but now I can see you were too busy exploring the Milky Way to send a postcard.

[Pennsylvania? He furrows his brow, partially because he can't remember it but also partially because he can't figure out why she would've even traveled there to begin with. Stefan doesn't say that, though, instead returning the pictures to one of his journal's inner pockets.

A few more Polaroids peek out, but they're of unfamiliar people interacting with Stefan, from younger space sisters receiving hair ruffles to best friends playing card games around a brightly-lit kitchen table. The stars are still ever-present outside.]

You never know, Katherine. You might see one in the next century or so. I've been told the postal service's pretty slow around these parts.

[It's a joke, and a bad one at that, but he can't help smiling at how she holds onto the photo. He'd meant it in earnest: he can take more, and he has more, and - and it doesn't feel right to selfishly hold onto them any longer.]

[ katherine doesn't laugh, but her lips curve up at the corners, though. she's no much of a laugher anymore, even in the presence of stefan who used to pull the bell-like sound from her without much effort. ]

[ as someone who has taken so much from him, she spies those photographs and doesn't follow suit. breaking character, her hands remain on the photograph between her fingers, and she doesn't so much as pocket it or fold it when her attention's been brought elsewhere. perhaps katherine pierce has grown just a little softer, or she's waiting for the perfect time to pounce. ]

I see your sense of humour is still as nonexistent as ever. [ but it's said much more warmly than he may remember her ever being — though, katherine has the perception stefan only remembers the sharp, unattractive bits of her and him than the whole picture. ]

Are you having fun with the aliens?

[ she's still unsure of what to make of all of this — the adventures of wonderland becoming her own story, stefan being an astronaut in a sense, this multi-universe dimension he's proposing — but her priority isn't necessarily on confirming whether or not that information is accurate. she knows it is, from her own conversations and investigations. what she wants to know now is something he'd think to be coming from an insincere part of her: is he alright? ]

[He pauses at her quip - not because it's offensive or species-ist or anything but because the last time he met aliens, he was also fighting in a war he never agreed upon. But she's not asking about the war, she's asking about the Fleet, so he shrugs and gives her a faint, but genuine, smile.]

Kind of. I didn't exactly ask to be launched into orbit, but when you're traveling from star system to star system, you pick up on things, and you learn a lot about the people you travel with.

It's like one giant road trip, except you never know where you're headed next. [Not the life he wanted, or even envisioned himself having, but also not one that he regrets either.]

[ katherine will easily and happily admit she was being unkind with her question, even if her intentions were good. asking of the aliens was poking fun at him, but she doesn't quite know how else to be. he's speaking of space and space travel, and she's wondering how on earth stefan salvatore had ever launched himself onto one of those planets and gotten himself lost. ]

[ she gets her answer — he's with people, and he's in a ship, and perhaps he's as safe as anyone in outer space can be. ]

[ but she finds his word choices in his answer to be questionable at best, and though she's not the type to worry about anyone but herself — she's a little concerned. she arches her brow, ] Are you a prisoner or the next Kirk?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that, considering I've met Captain Kirk.

[He might be gloating about it, just a little. Stefan always did love that show, even if it got a bit campy for his taste.]

But it's like Wonderland, right? You don't know how you got there, nor do you know how you can leave.

[Stefan says it so casually, like water's wet or the sky is blue, but it's bothered him for over a year and some change. Even outer space didn't offer him the same amount of freedom, and he expects that Wonderland would be the same.]

[ her brow arches at the breaking of that particular fourth wall, but she says nothing of it. stefan meeting captain kirk is an image that may entertain her in the days to come, but for now it isn't the priority. ]

But Wonderland's based on a book. A book with specific events that occur within it. Those characters are here, with some of them missing. [ she waves her hand to sweep those missing individuals aside, caring very little of whether they're significant to alice's story or not. ] We fell down a rabbit hole. We just don't remember falling.

[ at the end of the day: it's not any different. regardless of how katherine tries to spin it, he'd entered space without knowing how just as she can't recall how she stumbled into wonderland. ]

[She has a point there: unlike Drift Fleet, or Paradisa, or Luceti, or Adstringeum, or how many other places he's heard of, Wonderland's specifically based off stories.]

Right, which would then make me ask how I found a rabbit hole. Did I piss off the wrong rabbit?

[Stefan's not above self-deprecation, particularly when it comes to deciphering new worlds and figuring out possible ways home.]

I don't remember how I woke up in outer space. People've collaborated on possible ways, and we have theories, but absolutely nothing concrete. I'd imagine this is the same, since uh - I don't even remember falling down.

They don't have rabbits in space?

[ a joke, accompanied by a curve to her lips and an arch to her brow, but katherine doesn't expect a rousing round of applause or even a chuckle. ]

[ there's a similarity between his experience and hers, and katherine finds solace in it. she hasn't quite corroborated with anyone else, save for those she's picked the brains of when she first arrived here about matters that needed to be confirmed and denied before she started proposing her own alien theories. ]

[ it's comforting to know stefan's in the same predicament, but katherine wonders if he had been brought here to learn from her just as she was beginning to from him. two different worlds, similar experiences; a man who had transcended time and leapt into space, and a woman who lived many lives over the last five centuries bumping heads to brainstorm had to lead somewhere. ]

What's one of your best theories?

[ finally, katherine lifts the cup to her lips, and the noise she makes is one of approval. ]

[Stefan stifles a laugh. It's so hard to narrow down his theories to just one, given that each pocket dimension operates by its own rules. The Fleet, for instance: 1) it's what it says on the tin or 2) it's a giant social experiment. Wonderland's harder to classify, given that he's been here maybe 24 hours. Maybe a little less.

So far, all he understands is that very little makes sense. If he had to guess...]

You can't go wrong with omniscient gods. [He pauses, cognizant of how ridiculous that sounds.] I'm not sure if it applies to this place, but if the "Evil Queen" runs the show, maybe she's the one who brought everyone here.

[ if wonderland makes very little sense to stefan, it's the same conclusion katherine's made of the world she finds herself in and of the books. perhaps that's the point; wonderland is never meant to make a lick of sense. ]

Both queens run the show. [ she rests her elbow against the table, leaving her mug of tea before her. leaning her chin against the back of her curled hand, katherine looks in thought. her eyes narrow and her lips purse. ] In some way.

[ there's the mirror side, and then there's this one. she doubts the queen on the mirror side could pull everyone on this side right on over. if she could, she'd be able to break the glass, and through her investigation to learn the ins and outs of wonderland's history (and even her involvement in it, however dismal it's turning out to be), she's learned the queens are only so powerful. ]

[ it's disappointing. hadn't she always aspired to become a queen once she, as a pawn, made her way across the chess board? ]

I'm a little disappointed this story lacks a white hare leading me down the rabbit hole. I almost feel ripped off. [ she looks up at him. ] How real is space? Much like the one we know in Mystic Falls?

I wouldn't count the little guy out just yet. Even I need to eat at some point.

[Two queens, though.... That's more than what he's heard so far. Stefan knows little about Wonderland - frankly, he's still hoping that he'll wake up again, and this time, it'll be in Mystic Falls. He doubts it, given the sheer amount of people from home.

He'd guess that this is more of a nexus - a temporary nexus? - given the sheer size of the second mansion, but it's so hard to tell.]

I'd say it's pretty real. [He raises his eyebrows at her.] Mystic Falls wasn't lying about how vast it is, or even how empty it feels sometimes... but we've also never seen the galaxies that I've visited.

Hard for them to write about what they don't know, right?

[ she shrugs her shoulders. ] You'll be surprised. [ there's been people who've made history supposedly being knowledgeable when they'd known nothing at all. bullshit was an incredibly fascinating art form, and one that katherine sometimes excelled in. ]

[ she tilted her head, still resting her chin against the back of her hand. taking a moment to think, she looks up at him and narrows her eyes, as though he's the answer to what she wants to find. ] Do aliens exist?

[ it's not necessarily the most expected question, given their line of thinking, but katherine has to know. is there life on jupiter? are men really from mars? she doesn't quite know what she intends to retrieve from asking such a question, but she's sure it'll lead her down some useful rabbit hole. ]

Well, yeah.

[He doesn't have to hesitate there, because even Wonderland is host to them. Stefan's also long since gained a keen fascination with science, particularly of astronomy (it's a necessary life skill), so he doesn't even mind delving into this.]

As long as there's a source of life, you'll have all sorts of species coming to call it home. A lot of them are like us. Not quite human, but not quite anything else. Our biology's pretty universal.

[He pauses, also adding,] But if you think about it, aren't we aliens? This isn't Earth, and we're settling in practically uncharted territory.

[ at his response, katherine leans back in her chair, becoming comfortable with her arms crossed against her chest. she regards him with an amused quirk to her lips and an arch to her brow — and finds herself interested in stefan's answer that belongs out of this world. ]

It's somewhere, someplace. [ it's an easy dismissal on her behalf. if she answers him truthfully, she'd inform him they've both been aliens since their deaths. she doesn't belong in the natural order of things, and neither does he. ] You're speaking as though you've met one.

[ did you go dancing with aliens, stefan? ]

Because I have.

[He rests his arms on the table now, his expression growing more somber. Stefan may not belong in the natural order of things, but he's had far too many encounters with "the other" - from killing aliens that dared to invade Earth to saving the innocent that fell pray to local plagues. He's seen them at their worst and their best, and how can he try to distill that into a single sentence?]

You've got Kryptonians, you've got the Nunnilis, you've got Ferines and Orerines, you have whatever-the-hell Westeros people call themselves... and to all of them? We're the odd ones out.

[ he might as well be speaking another language, as none of those names register for her. five hundred years of living, and it appears she hasn't lived life to the fullest just yet. ]

[ she looks at him with a disbelieving arch to her brow. she opens her mouth to speak, but finds herself empty of words. so, she gestures toward the cup that's now in her hands, and quips, ] I feel we may need something stronger than tea.

[ like a good stiff drink that may leave them feeling a little buzzed. aliens? kryptonians? the other ones she can't even remember he's said. ]

It sounds like you've had quite the adventure, Stefan.

Probably. [He wishes up - summons up? - a bottle of bourbon. It's probably not what Salvatore would've wanted, but Stefan doesn't drink anymore. He's too far removed to know what "his" stiff drink would be.

As far as he's concerned, this black tea's as good as it's gonna get.] This more like it?

Don't sell yourself short, either. Outer space's got its adventures, but you're living a novel here. A classic one at that.

[ katherine grins at the appearance of bourbon, even if she's currently on a wine kick. there's something about asking the closet for the most expensive bottle (and pair of shoes to match) that makes a girl go a little mad. ]

[ and the grin remains, even when she rolls her eyes. ] It all ended up being a dream, Stefan. [ the lesson she'd learned when she'd read the book many times over had changed. if she read it now, she doesn't know what she'd take from a little girl falling asleep in a boat and dreaming up such an incredible world. she just knows such a world has never been attainable to her, it being a long, long, long stretch of a lesson katherine pierce has only begun to understand. ]

[ she teases, ] I don't want such an anticlimactic ending to my classic novel adventures.

Even the most vivid dreams can teach us a thing or two about the waking world.

[He hadn't read Alice's adventures in years, probably decades, but he remembers its impact. Nearly everything references it at some point - the rabbit hole feels pretty ubiquitous now - and maybe the book itself isn't the lesson so much as its transformative power. Something about her adventures strikes a chord. Now if only Stefan could remember what it was.]

You and anticlimactic, by the way, are total opposites. I wouldn't count on that ever happening.

[ katherine should roll her eyes or look unimpressed, but she merely looks at stefan. she doesn't like being taken off guard. she prepares for everything — for every word, flinch, tic, blink, breath. stefan's responses have always been predictable, but his tone and the meaning behind it have always fluctuated between sincere and mocking. ]

[ from damon's lips, it'd be a true mocking. nothing emerges from his mouth as something sincere when it leaps from his tongue. but stefan has always been different — or that's what katherine has always wished to believe. ]

Surprises happen, Stefan. [ she doesn't smirk or tilt her head or appear as though she's trying to goad him as she often does. she says it straight and to the point, letting her gaze drop as though she's wishing to not bring any attention to it. looking down at the photograph he's given her, she takes a moment to begin tracing it with the tip of her finger. ]

[ she looks up at him, and though she doesn't smile like the cat that caught the canary and chose to play with it, she tilts her head as she watches him. ] I doubt you woke up this morning believing you'd be here, in Wonderland, with the one person you hate the most. But it's your reality.

["But I don't hate you."

Salvatore sure did: Salvatore remembered those intense moments of passion, right before the vampirism set in and he was promised immortality (and powers he never wanted or asked for). But Alesci never experienced such a thing. Olette kicked out Katerina before she could weave her magic on either Damon or Stefan.

In hindsight, a little sister had been a blessing in more ways than one. He swallows his surprise, glancing at Katherine with new eyes. Their game might not last much longer, and a more cunning man might've snatched the canary from her.

Stefan's not that person, and right now, he's not sure if he should let Katherine know that too.]

Well, no, but... even the craziest tea party has something to offer. You're still here, right? That has to mean something.

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sorry for the late!

no worries! nothing's ever late when you can live forever. ♥︎

you are too kind ♥

😘 ♥

♥!!

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