+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: GENERAL NON-PARTY MINGLE POST +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: E V E R Y O N E
Where: Everywhere that isn't one of the parties! Both Sides!
When: Sept 1st to Sept 10th
Rating: G to PG-13 (please label higher ratings, thank you!)
Summary: Wonderful parties are springing up all across Wonderland, but there are still plenty of other places to explore. This is a log for any new arrivals who want to experience different parts of Wonderland life, and any current guests not in the mood for a log or transmission of their own.

Please also see THE FOURTH WALL MASTER POST for rules, information, and all the fun parties you can visit!
The Story:

On the morning of September 1st, everyone in Wonderland, on both Real and Mirror Side, will awake to find one of four possible invitations has been shoved under their doors. The glass has been carefully removed from all mirrors, and everyone will be able to cross to and from Mirror Side with ease, without forcing any sort of swap. The Queen of Hearts' chambers, discovered in the previous event, will be mysteriously inaccessible, leading only to a tearoom.

Additionally, there will be many more Wonderland guests than usual, each of them with their own random invitation and network device (wired to make replies only). As the week goes on, as per the invitations, more and more parties will appear (and everyone is invited to all of them, whether they received an invitation or not). But who brought them here? Why are there so many parties? Who is responsible for all of this exactly?

It's anyone's guess, though if parties or riddles are not your style, then there is always plenty more to see...

Comments

[eatsyourscience]

[It strikes Souji, once again, that he really doesn't know a whole lot about Frisk's world. It makes him feel almost guilty.]

And you're making that apparent by attacking Frisk's friends.

[It isn't a question. It seems obvious enough.]

[dustiest]

Oh yes! They've killed quite a few of those in their day!

[They say it brightly, as if it's perfectly obvious, with a vicious, delighted grin flashing over their features.]

Don't you know? Have they never told you? Boy, some friend of theirs you are!

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji used the word friend because of the link he feels building between himself and Frisk, just like the links had grown at home. But "friends" didn't always describe those bonds.

He lets out a silent sigh. Debating this is just rising to the bait, and this Mirror isn't going to change their mind or their tune.]

I have an unfortunate habit of trusting people no matter what they've done before.

[The "unfortunate" bit was his quiet way of using sarcasm, but the rest is true.

He gestures at the knife again, which still has his blood on it.]

Did you want to keep attacking me?

[There isn't any particular challenge in his voice. He just wants to be aware of what might be coming next.]

[dustiest]

Apparently!

[They twirl the Dagger between their fingers and cock their head at him as they survey him without much lingering interest. The resultant EXP may be worth the effort, but frankly, they don't see much appeal in painstakingly whittling down some 500 HP when he's got a healing power to boot.

Their mouth twists unpleasantly and they sigh.]

I suppose not. There's no real point.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji shrugs. He isn't entirely sure he'd beat them, if they were able to attack him enough times in fast enough succession, or get him somewhere more vulnerable with that knife. But having time to use his own attacks or at least his healing spells would make it difficult. Even if he could have held up his end offensively, eventually he'd have run out of HP or SP, and he's a bit relieved they've decided to call it quits. The outcome of even seemingly simple battles wasn't always a given.]

Tell me something: what should I call you?

[dustiest]

[An interesting question. They have technically never recovered their name; only Frisk from the best possible timeline is deserving of that privilege.

But like hell they're calling themselves Chara, or whatever name that twisted thing has made for itself. No.

They shrug loosely.]

I'm Frisk. I am them and they are me, at different points in their journey.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji nods. That sounds reasonable enough. He understands journeys, and how they have the potential to branch off. He knows a few of his own possible futures, but not all of them, and he knows that he would have been different in very fundamental ways if he'd followed those paths.]

Have you met them? In person?

[Souji's trying to imagine the real Frisk hating anyone. He's also wondering who the "real" Frisk is, if there can be so many versions of them. Again, it's a strange parallel he wouldn't have expected between himself and then.]

[dustiest]

Not yet.

[Not without the layer of one-sided glass dividing them, that is. But a faint smile curves their lips because that is, ultimately, one of their goals. To meet their Real self. To rip their lives from them, one by one.

To prove to everyone they are not the innocent child they preten that they are.]

But I will, I think. I plan on it.

[eatsyourscience]

[After considering that for a moment, Souji cants his head to one side, pensive. This Mirror won't be dissuaded, at least not by him.]

Are you hungry?

[Souji's go to when he wants to talk to someone a bit longer.]

[dustiest]

[They arch one eyebrow up delicately in slow, calculated disdain.]

Not for anything you can make, I assure you. Monster food is the only kind worth eating. Don't you know?

[eatsyourscience]

I don't. There's a lot I don't know about you.

[He means "you" as more than just the Mirror--if what they say is correct, then that "you" encompasses Frisk and even Chara.]

I want to talk to you again sometime.

[dustiest]

[They eye him warily. They're not sure what his whole game is here, and they're not convinced that his reasons to talk to them continuously are wholly benevolent.]

Why? [They crack out the word like a challenge, cold and suspicious.] What possible reason could you have?

[eatsyourscience]

[In contrast, Souji's words come out smoothly, though there's something solid behind them.]

You're interesting.

[dustiest]

[Frisk laughs, a harsh crack of sound that's utterly humorless, laden with disgust and disdain and scorn.]

Can't say the feeling's mutual, chum!

[eatsyourscience]

Does it have to be, if you're the topic of conversation?

[They seemed to like talking about themselves, so far.]

[dustiest]

You think cracking my psyche will do anything for you?

[They point at him with the tip of their Dagger, a gesture that manages to be both disparaging and coldly indifferent.]

You are not my arbiter, nor are you my psychologist. Nor are you theirs, for that matter. You know nothing about me or the world I come from. All you have are breadcrumbs, graciously sprinkled at your feet whenever Frisk feels weak enough, or generous enough, to offer such kernels of information.

[Their smirk hardens, edged and icy.]

They will string you along. It is what they do. They inspire confidence and win people over and accumulate debt, and then they will break every promise they have made, break you in every way there is to be broken. Unless you actually happen to buy their meek little act.

[eatsyourscience]

You're assuming a lot about my intentions. [Souji isn't all that impressed be their speech, one hand on his hip in a lazy sort of stance.] I'm naturally curious and nosy. I like to listen to interesting people talk.

[Though that is how he begins to form links to people.]

[dustiest]

[Ugh. Fine, well be underwhelmed, why don't you. It's not getting under their skin. At all. At all, damn you.]

And I'm giving you a warning out of the goodness of my heart. I am, after all, some sort of Frisk, aren't I? Maybe not the pacifistic little doormat you're used to, but then - [Their smile slides cleanly off their face, their stare empty and impassive.] - I think you already knew that.

[eatsyourscience]

[The blood all over his clothes is as good a reminder as that was. Souji wonders if dealing with this Mirror might be a bit like dealing with Chara, but discards that idea. Chara has an entirely different persona--this version of Frisk doesn't even pretend to be harmless.]

Ultimately, it's up to you. [But that doesn't mean he's not going to bug them if given the chance.]

But I'll give you a warning, too: if I need to, I have no problem stopping you from hurting anyone else.

[dustiest]

You can try.

[They scoff, the words dripping with utter disdain.]

And you can persist in believing that you can, if it will make you feel better.

[eatsyourscience]

You stopped attacking for a reason.

[Would they have done that if they were really this confident? Whatever they gained from attacking people in the first place, an easy target would have taken them a matter of moments, given their blitzkrieg approach.]

Don't tell me you got bored.

[dustiest]

Yes, because I don't feel like hacking away at 500 HP until the cows come home.

[Sorry, was that the sound of a fourth wall of some kind breaking? It seems to be the day for it, and this Frisk cares exponentially less for preserving that kind of thing.

They don't need a voice in their head to perform a * Check, after all.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji was told once that he's a character in a video game, but he hasn't played enough himself to know how good or bad 500 HP is. He's honestly pretty pleased he knows what the number refers to in the first place.]

With my healing abilities, it would take way too long. Healing isn't all I can do.

[There is the one attack he has--impossible to dodge, impossible to block--but it would probably kill him to use it.]

[dustiest]

Well! How very excellent for you!

[It irritates them that something could, theoretically, be powerful enough to resist them. They've got the limitless tries that their determination allows them, but the grind can grow tedious, and, well...]

* I've got better things to do.

[eatsyourscience]

[Hand still on his hip, Souji raises a hand in a vague, faintly dismissive wave.]

As long as those "things" don't involve killing people, have fun with that.