+ 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

[masukukunai]

"You've had like, five years Souji. Most people would kill for that long of a vacation to figure out what they want to do."

Yousuke always thought that he might stray from the path, go and do something rebellious, but... He's had that sort of reckless thinking tempered out of him. Wishing to be freed from boredom can bring about dire consequences. He'll always treasure that year they all had together, but he's learned that adventure isn't always worth the cost of others suffering.

He'll never stop being a bumbling attention-seeker though. Playing pranks and planning parties is part of his persona.

[eatsyourscience]

"Even if I had, I'm not the me I was when I got here."

After that long, it would be impossible not to change in significant ways. The thought makes him a little sad, though it's hardly visible in his expression. As close as they are though, Yousuke can likely pick up on it without any trouble.

"...I've thought about being a teacher." Not very often, but it was the one idea that really stuck in his head to any extent.

[masukukunai]

"Well... Yeah, that's probably true. But you're still Souji!" Yousuke circles around him to give him a hearty smack on the back, and perhaps lift his mood a little, "The first thing you did was offer me food, that's the same as ever. And you remember all of us! All the things you do best!"

[eatsyourscience]

Like an old TV, the smack on the back bring Souji's thoughts back into focus. Reminded of the offer of food, he starts to walk again, knowing Yousuke will come along.

He nods--he does remember everyone from home, including those outside his close circle of friends and family. But on the other hand...

"Kanji wrote down the words I've forgotten. From the events. The ones we could figure out anyway."

[masukukunai]

"Does that even work?"

Yousuke falls in comfortably aside Souji, holding his hands behind his head in a familiar pose of relaxation.

"Like, when you look at the words, do they mean anything to you? Or do they all scramble up on the paper so you can't read them right?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji cants his head back and to the side, thinking about how to describe it.

"When Kanji said them out loud, it was like static when you're tuning a radio. When they're written down, I can tell there's something there, but my eyes slide over it no matter how hard I try to keep them on the word."

[masukukunai]

"Weird," Yousuke shrugs, trying to think back to the time he spent here, the words that he may have forgotten. It feels so long ago, and to Souji-- Well, it probably was a long time ago. It makes him wonder...

"Has another one of me ever showed up? One that didn't remember... Well, you know."

He's probing, wondering if Souji has remained single all these years. Of course he wishes that he was the sort of love that took up so much of his heart, that he never looked elsewhere, but... That's pretty selfish. And also pretty unrealistic.

Doesn't stop him from hoping though.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji has a feeling what Yousuke's getting at and he shakes his head. "You're the only you who's been here since I got here."

There were too many yous and heres in that sentence, but Souji's okay with that. He doesn't suppose he needs to answer the implicit follow up question of whether or not there were any non-Yousuke partners of that type.

When they get to the diner, he pulls a handwritten sign -- Help Yourself -- off of the door before pushing it open and going in ahead of Yousuke. The lights are on, but as he'd predicted, no one was around. He's not really disappointed by that. He'd prefer this time with Yousuke to be uninterrupted. He doesn't know when he'll disappear again, after all.

[masukukunai]

"That's good," he replies, and immediately, he feels the all-too-familiar shock of knowing that the words that came out of his mouth should have stayed in it.

"--I mean, uh," his cheeks turn slightly red, "I don't want you to be lonely or miserable or anything, I just, um..."

Yousuke puts a hand on the back of his hot neck. He wishes being a screw up wasn't so tightly tied to his personality.

"I guess being selfish is sort of natural when you're in a relationship with someone."

[eatsyourscience]

Souji looks over his shoulder, his expression on the bemused side of neutral. Then he turns and puts his arms around Yousuke and pulls him close against him, smiling gently over Yousuke's shoulder.

"I would have said the same thing."

That might or might not be true, but it doesn't matter. The sentiment would have been there if he'd been more tactful.

[masukukunai]

Yousuke lets out a relieved sigh, crossing his arms over Souji's.

"You shouldn't let me get away with saying dumb shit, but... I'm glad you feel the same. This whole separate times thing is complicated and weird."

"I really don't like it. Being apart makes people drift."

Even people you thought you knew can disappear. They become memories. Ghosts. The thought of Souji floating away like that makes his skin prickle unpleasantly. If he can't rely on their friendship, what can he rely on?

[eatsyourscience]

"...I know."

Souji isn't smiling anymore, and after a moment, he lets Yousuke go and turns away to go toward the diner's kitchen. He doesn't want to address that, which he's worried about since the day he arrived. Being here so long was terrible in some ways, but it allowed him to put off things he didn't want to think about.

He'd always have his link to Yousuke. That had been unbreakable for a long time. But he had the same with Hisano and he was absolutely sure he'd never see her again.]

"Do you want curry again this time?" It was his go-to for Yousuke. "Or anything else? I can make anything you want."

He might have to look it up, but he's pretty confident in his abilities by now.

[masukukunai]

Yousuke feels a little bit of Souji's reluctance to address the issue at hand. And honestly, he doesn't want to bring it up if it doesn't have to be. He'll likely be gone in a day or two, and he wants that time to be good. It's Souji's business if he wants to work on it or not.

"Been working on your repertoire?" Yousuke manages his usual easy smile, despite the somewhat heavy air around them, "well, you know what I can't eat. Surprise me?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji nods. Hamburgers it is. Western style hamburgers. He's worked on that a lot, since diners should have those apparently. He sets about getting that ready, but keeps talking to Yousuke over his shoulder.

"I've gotten American Thanksgiving foods down pretty well." So many people observe it in Wonderland, that he figures he might as well help contribute. The diner typically at least helped cater things the other residents planned, so Thanksgiving shouldn't be any different.

[masukukunai]

"American Thanksgiving? Uh... Man, that's the sort of thing you learn in elementary school. I think I remember-- Turkey? Like the whole freaking thing?"

Yousuke curiously watches Souji assemble his ingedients, trying to guess what he's going to get to eat. Anything made by Souji will taste good, of course, and he's already eager to taste his cooking again.

[eatsyourscience]

"Turkey is the hardest part." It's too big and it comes out dry unless you pay close attention. Souji's a bit better with foods that take less time. And foods he can cook in tiny Japanese kitchens like his uncle's.

"But the rest isn't bad. It was just a matter of figuring out how it's supposed to taste and getting it to taste that way."

He seasons some ground beef as he talks before flattening it into patties, not too thick or too thin, packed tightly enough so they don't crumble when he flips them.

[masukukunai]

"Ah, yeah. Guess you'd have to get a westerner to try everything and make sure it's right. I like their food though, since they don't eat tofu or put soy sauce in everything."

Yousuke leans forward on his arms with apparent eagerness. At first he thought it might be meatballs, but now it's looking like-- hamburg steak? No, he didn't put any onion in the meat, or grate any daikon. This diner looks pretty American, so it's probably a real burger. Chie would be jealous!

[eatsyourscience]

"We don't put soy sauce in everything." But the tofu is a good point. That doesn't seem to be that popular among the Westerners here.

Yousuke is correct in his guess, and it becomes obvious as Souji gets a couple of hamburger buns out to get them ready. They aren't fresh baked or anything--he has to get some things from the "closet" in the kitchen. But they are pretty good quality. This ain't no McDonalds. Souji don't play like that.

He's guessing a little about the condiments and other things Yousuke might want on his burger. To be safe, though, he'll put the usual vegetables--lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, which seems like a lot now that he thinks about it--on the side.

[masukukunai]

"You don't get to tell me that until you've lived in our country with a soy allergy."

Seriously, he has to watch everything he eats. The base flavors of every dish are soy sauce, dashi, and mirin! He even has to make sure every sembei he puts in his mouth is unflavored!

"I want cheese!" Yousuke calls, happily backseat cooking, "And can I get fries with that?"

[eatsyourscience]

"You have to wait a little longer for fries." But Souji's already getting the oil ready. He keeps so many things on hand and warm-to-hot it's amazing the place doesn't smell of rotten food and/or burn down when he's out of the room.

[masukukunai]

Praise the mansion, and it's self-cleaning properties. It probably doesn't want to go up in flames, so it keeps that hot oil from turning into a catastrophe.

"That's fine," Yousuke leans his elbow on the counter, and his cheek in his hand, "you never get them fresh at restaurants. They've always been sitting under a heat-lamp for an hour."

He should know. He's been in fast-food kitchens before.

[eatsyourscience]

"Everything here is fresh." He glances at the bagged hamburger buns. "...Except the things I get from the closet."

Okay, that's almost everything, in some form or other. The point is he makes it all fresh, okay.

He's quiet for a minute, doing hamburgery things, before speaking over his shoulder again.

"Does Nanako stop wearing her hair in pigtails?"

[masukukunai]

"I'm sure you could make the buns if you wanted, but even I think that's going a little bit overboard."

There's having standards, and then there's being excessive. Souji is a little bit of a perfectionist, but he's not that bad.

"Oh, yeah!" Yousuke replies easily, a sign that they still all see her very often, "She wears her hair long now. It's really cute... And she's been taking piano lessons. She acts so grown up, even though Dojima-san spends more time with her now."

[eatsyourscience]

Souji flips over a hamburger patty, having already put some fries into the oil.

"I wonder if I should learn to braid hair..."

[masukukunai]

"Teddie already has. You've got big competition, buddy, those two are best pals now."