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

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

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...

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[After a moment of silence, Souji spoke again.]

Are you hungry?

[When wasn't Minato hungry?]

[Minato nodded into Souji's chest before slowly relinquishing him from his embrace. He would go take a seat at the counter then, unless:]

Did you need help?

[After all, he couldn't just take advantage of Souji's offer or kindness.]

[Souji gestures Minato over to the counter.]

You don't have to.

[He liked the opportunity to do something for Minato. It had been...well, much too long, and he needed a moment to gather himself.

In the meantime, he poured coffee for Minato, then set the carafe down near him on the counter.]

I'll make curry. The rice is already ready.

[He kept warm rice on hand most of the time.]

[Minato could relent and not help this time. He could let Souji indulge him, he thought, since Souji was always so prone to helping him in any way he could.

So many ways. He didn't know if he could ever thank Souji for all of it. A lifetime, ten lifetimes after that, and it still wouldn't be enough.

He nodded once, thanking him for the coffee and wrapping his hands around the mug. And then his smile became a little softer, wistful, almost something like nostalgic, but really, what this moment here mirrored was another moment that was a more recent memory for Minato.]

... It'll be the same.

[Minato knew that came out sounding a bit out of context. Strange, perhaps, though Minato had the advantage of time in a world outside of this place, even if Souji had years over him here. For both of them, he could elaborate.]

I had it a couple of days ago. But I'd like it again.

[Those words didn't seem to reach Souji for a few seconds as he found what he needed to make the curry. Then he froze, then whipped around to face Minato, dropping a couple of carrots on the floor as his hands went numb.

He stared at Minato, hoping that meant what he thought it did, but trying not to.]

[Minato blinked, but his expression softened again as he hopped out of his seat to help Souji pick up anything he had dropped on the floor and put it in the sink. It'd be better now, he thought, to be closer to Souji when he explained instead of having a counter in between them.

He gently touched his hand to Souji's if just to bring him back down or out of the shock.]

It was the first meal you made for me after you saved me.

[And Minato had had a lot of Souji's cooking plenty of times after that.]

[Souji's smile was a reflex at that, but he had to raise a hand to wipe away his tears before they had the chance to fall.]

...I'm so glad.

[There was so much else he could have said, but he knew Minato already knew it all.]

[Minato smiled too, bringing his hand up to catch and brush away any stray tears. He was so glad too that he could tell Souji just what he had accomplished. It meant so much, as selfish as thought it was to be saved, but Souji had given him something that he couldn't ever repay him for, and that was the chance to live in the world he had saved.]

Did you... want me to tell you?

[He had lived the story, he played a part in it but was only supporting. Souji was the one who carried out that story. It was almost like a dream, almost not real, not until Minato had opened his eyes and woken up in that very world he thought he had left behind. But he had some reservations as he didn't know if he could tell Souji, if he should, if Souji wanted to hear it, if it would affect anything at all. But how could it, if this place were removed from time?

Still, he left the decision up to Souji. That would be fair.]

[Souji raised a hand to touch Minato's and hold it against his face for a moment. He closed his eyes and thought. Did he want that?

Should he want that?

He didn't know. It would be a relief--it was already a relief. Knowing he remembers, knowing he can keep his promise and do something like that for Minato... He'd wanted this for so much and for so long.]

How much is there to tell?

[It felt like he shouldn't know too much. Like knowing too much would jinx it.]

[Minato didn't think of it that way, jinxing it or anything. As he thought before, he lived it. He lived out the future that Souji hadn't seen yet and if, when, Minato went back, he would still be living out that future.]

I just... want to tell you how happy you are.

[There was so much to tell, so many details. Minato did want to tell Souji, like he were holding a secret and was quietly excited to reveal it, as excited and as quiet as someone like Minato could be.]

[Souji squeezed Minato's hand and then let it go for now, his own hand falling to his side. Somehow it was hard to speak, like his breath didn't want to go deep enough into his lungs to give his voice any strength on the way back out.]

Are you happy? Not...not now, but when you're there.

[Minato seemed like it, but he had to ask that. It meant nothing if he was the only one.]

[Souji had to ask. But Minato could understand why because that's the way Souji was. He was so selfless and kind, and that part of him would never change. It made Minato smile again. He had the thought that when he was back home, he always had to rely on Souji for reassurance about living or simply existing after being in a place devoid of time for so long. Now he had to return the favor.]

I am because of you. And I just am too.

[Having all of his happiness just rest on Souji alone was going to be too much pressure. Besides, Minato was happy for so many reasons of which Souji could extrapolate too. Minato was alive again. That should have counted for so much.

Though Souji let go of his hand, Minato didn't let contact break for too long and had to hold onto Souji's again.]

Thank you.

[Souji gripped Minato's hand.]

...Just knowing it happens is enough.

[He was almost afraid of knowing any details. He was still here, he still had to live in Wonderland. Knowing too much would make that much too hard.

But there was something he wanted to know...]

Are we together?

[Minato didn't let go of Souji's hand either as if that would just solidify all that he said, make them that much more real. He could be Souji's anchor for once, just as Souji had always been for him at home.

But that last question, as simple and short as it was, made warmth blossom inside Minato's chest. He smiled again, stepping closer to Souji, never relinquishing Souji's hand.

Then he nodded before leaning a little closer to Souji, getting up on his tiptoes and whispering in Souji's ear how much he loved him.]

[Souji closed his eyes, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face.]

I'm glad.

[He raised a hand and twined his fingers in Minato's hair, stroking it. He knew Minato liked that.]

[And Minato did like that, his own eyes closing for that moment of contact. Souji was doing that thing where he was looking after him again.]

You didn't have to.

[They had this conversation before here and at home. But it wasn't to dismiss what Souji did, it was to emphasize the fact that Souji had at all, that he had given up and sacrificed so much and for who? For someone whom he had never met and might not ever have had it not been for a subtle hint or two or this place? Who was Minato to deserve something like this?

It really was too much. The part that he cherished the most was that he didn't have to be alone anymore. Souji would always be by his side, even until the end and thereafter.]

I did.

[He might not have gotten to it yet, but Souji knew, without a doubt, that it wasn't a choice. It was nothing like a choice. It was just what would happen. If he were the actor who got to make it happen, it was nothing but his destiny to do so. There was no escaping that.]

I wouldn't do otherwise.

[Minato could say a few things about fate and destiny, but then a lot of things too about choosing that fate too. His concern was the same as ever and that was that he was only being a burden on other people, he was taking up too much space in a world he had left behind, he was taking advantage of people's kindness.

But Souji hadn't thought of it along those lines at all. It was as if Souji had given him value again in such a different way than he had experienced it before that it was as though it were new and starting all over.]

I'll be by your side. Always.

[Souji had told him as much. Minato thought that Souji should do the same. It went for Souji achieving his dreams and doing whatever he wished.]

[Souji stroked Minato's hair for a moment before releasing him.]

I should get back to making supper.

[Especially if he wanted to hope to make enough to satisfy Minato.]

I could help.

[But Souji wouldn't really let him. But that was okay too. Minato could watch Souji in one of his normal habitats this way. He settled himself down back on the other side of the counter to observe.]

You'll join me, right?

Of course.

[Souji started to chop the vegetables after rinsing them, especially those he'd dropped.]

Hopefully I can make enough for both of us.

[Minato smiled to himself and then put his hand on his heart for a moment, like he were thinking about someone who did that too.]

It will be. Don't worry.

[Minato wanted Souji to focus on having enough to eat for himself. As for Minato, things had changed and he didn't eat nearly as much as he had before.]

[Souji noticed the gesture and smiled a little at it. He'd never met Ryoji, but remembered Minato telling him about him. When he'd described him, he'd mentioned his habit of putting his hand over his heart--it seemed to be as iconic a part of him as his scarf.

Souji worked on their meal in companionable silence while Minato waited, thinking of the time they'd had a sort of food battle. When the curry rice was finished, he brought it to the counter, along with a couple of colas, before circling around to sit on the stool next to Minato.]

I hope it's as good as what you had at home.

W[Minato quietly thanked Souji for the food. There was plenty of it, although he remembered he could eat maybe three plates of the stuff and still be able to eat some more. Those days were now gone. But that didn't make Souji's food taste any different. He did try it, and it made him smile.]

It's the same.

[Which, of course, meant it was awesome. Souji hadn't lost his touch.]

I love that you're always you no matter where we are.

[It had taken Minato such a long time to find out more about who he was or where he was going. He hoped then that Souji, who was in a similar situation, could take comfort in that his self, that inner part of him despite all the masks was and would remain the same and true.]

[Souji lowered his hand until his spoon resting on the edge of his plate. His eyes were trained downward, but he didn't seem to be looking at the food in front of him.]

...I hope so.

[He and Kanji had recently discovered what he'd lost to the Mansion. Some of it had been expected, but some of it had hurt in a visceral way, the kind of pain that struck suddenly and with crippling intensity.]

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