+ 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

[catchacold]

[Leo would guess that he has had caffeine already, just to smile like that. He follows behind him happily and chuckles.]

I doubt playing pen and paper with friends and drinking a few beers is really good preparation for saving the world.

[shrinkage]

Aw, don't be so hard on yourself.

[ when he gets to the counter, ray swings around it to warm up one of the espresso machines. he holds up two cups in offer to make something for leo. who knows if the guy even knows what coffee is... ]

A lot of pilots train on virtual machines first. It can't be that different...

[catchacold]

Pretty sure you're comparing apples and oranges here.

[And he laughs, in a way that isn't mocking or barely there, he just honestly lets out a short laugh and keeps smiling.]

Can I have some too? Thanks, that's great.

[shrinkage]

[ it's easy enough to laugh with leo-- that he laughs like that at all elicits ray's desire to share in it. maybe later when he thinks back over this encounter he'll realize how wrong it is. that he's grasping at a different friendship. that none of it is real, in a sense that will mean anything to him later. it's a twisted thing covered in lacquer.

ray doesn't like to think he lies. ]

Of course! Feel like splitting a muffin?

[ gosh he just can't eat a whole one himself. ]

[catchacold]

Are you sure you need to split one?

[He doesn't mean to be insulting but, well.

Ray is pretty solidly built. This Leonard is a lot slighter, even more so than the Leonard Ray knows.]

But sure, I'd love to.

[shrinkage]

Darcy uses a lot of butter.

[ her name makes ray pause in his thought for a moment while he wonders if he should make a habit not to say it. not around mirrors... ]

The double chocolate ones are really good.

[catchacold]

Who's Darcy?

[He takes note, of course. He also blurts his question right out in a way Len never would, but that's just Leo. He's not that used to not trusting the world.]

I'd love to share with you.

[shrinkage]

She's ... a friend.

[ ray presses the coffee into the holder before sliding it into the machine and locking it into place. he flips a switch and the machine rumbles before pushing the water through. ]

You're not going to get in trouble with the queen for this, are you? I've heard she's ... pretty harsh.

[catchacold]

I'll just... not let her know.

[Here's hoping.]

I try not to get into trouble, so usually I play by the rules.

[There's a hesitant smile and, yes. There it is, the mirror effect.]

[shrinkage]

I didn't think she'd have actual rules.

[ as he talks, ray continues the motions; press, lock, filter. the noise isn't as loud as it used to be, ever since a tiny man in a blue and red metal suit did a favor for the woman his mirror tormented... ]

[catchacold]

No. She doesn't.

[His voice is quieter and there are no more little smiles as he looks down, perhaps somehow suddenly looking a bit more like his real self.]

That's what makes it scary.

[shrinkage]

I'm sorry, Leo. I shouldn't have brought it up.

[ the last shot of espresso comes out watered down, as ray forgets to pull it in time. ]

Is there any way I can help?

[catchacold]

No. I don't think so.

[He shrugs and looks up to watch the coffee-making process, focusing on this instead of a colourless world that makes no sense.]

It's nice here.

[shrinkage]

You like it?

[ ray starts foaming milk once the coffee is filtered-- and it's loud, but he doesn't have to lift his voice too much to be heard. ]

[catchacold]

It's better than the other side.

[Not that that's much of a challenge, in his estimate.]

Nicer people. Like you.

[shrinkage]

Maybe the mirrors will stay down.

[ espresso poured, steam milk and froth added; ray just sprinkles a dash of cinnamon on each wide cup before sliding one of them over to leo. ]

Hey... why are the mirrors down, anyway?

[catchacold]

[Leo shrugs in a way that, in combination with his face, makes obvious that he chooses not to know a thing, as opposed to actually not knowing a thing. He's not as good at poker as his mirror.]

Who knows? Thank you for the coffee.

[shrinkage]

You're welcome.

[ it's not often ray doesn't get swept up in his own musings but apparently being faced with a void does the trick. his own head ticks sideways as he comes to the realization that there might not be much beyond this. he wonders if looking into leo's actions instead of his thoughts might yield more information... ]

Leo, do you watch this side a lot?