+ FOURTH WALL EVENT: FOREST PARTY +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: E V E R Y O N E
Where: The Forest!
When: Sept 7th to Sept 10th
Rating: G to PG-13 (please label higher ratings, thank you!)
Summary: Could it be that you (GASP!) don't want to be here? Do you maybe want to make like a tree and... leaf? Then how about you do the next best thing, and come to the woods to party! 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 7th, colourful ribbons will hang from several trees by the forest. Whoever follows their path will be guided deeper, right to the scene of a forest party.

Wooden benches, swings in all shapes and sizes, tree trunks, and other arrangements give plenty of opportunities to sit together. Tree houses and tents provide shelter, and come nightfall the festivities will light up for you.

Campfires provide additional light and warmth and a great place for ghost stories. Camping coolers store more than smores, and all around you nature twists and turns to give you room to dance to the music, to wander in the quiet, and to simply have a good time!

(...Are you the curiously perceptive, or the perceptively curious sort? If so, then you might also notice the small bird sitting on a branch nearby.)

Comments

[cter]

I guess? I mean, I've only met you once.

[Their legs swing idly back and forth as they contemplate him. Small, shabby, unassuming. Pretty far removed from the king they know and prefer not to think about, ever.]

At least, where I come from.

I guess you know me where you come from too?

[punful]

[Right, because Majesty, and Majesties tend to stay cooped up somewhere being Majesties, and if Sans ever had the misfortune to be a Majesty he'd probably just sleep in those big old beds all day and--]

[He is not thinking about it.]

[He can see a couple stars through the leaves.]

you could say that.

the you i know is a lot less...easygoing, though.

[They don't wear a hoodie, either. Is that what Chara's wearing? Yeah, it's a freaking hoodie. Frisk's been wearing a Sans-esque hoodie, but he could never see Chara doing the same.]

[cter]

Do I want to know? [Chara says wryly, though they think they might be able to guess at what this..."other them" might be like. It's really not much of a stretch. The path they were on before they met the Dreemurrs, before they were taken in as if they were one of their own - and even, the adjustment they had to make, their behavioral pendulum swinging wildly between two extremes as they waited for the other shoe to drop and it never did...

Well, it's not difficult to imagine. Not difficult at all.]

[punful]

no. probably not. no more than i wanna know why you think i'm a "majesty."

[He absolutely refuses to know.]

...gotta say, though, i dig your fashion choices.

[cter]

Fair enough.

[It's not like being king was a particularly rewarding experience, hah. Killing human children indiscriminately just sounds like such a drag!

Chara plucks at the string of their jacket with an odd expression before it resolves into their trademark easygoing grin.]

Are you just saying that because monsters made it? You know striped shirts are so passe.

[punful]

[He finally tries to actually sit up since this is starting to get uncomfortable, in multiple ways.]

nah, i'm just a huge supporter of hoodies and jackets and hoods in general.

[cter]

[They watch him struggle for a little while, thinking that maybe they should offer help or something, except that his reaction to them has thus far bordered on world-weary and lukewarm at best. Plus, it's seriously weird to be helping someone wearing the face of someone who once tried to kill them.

Yeah, nah. They'll pass.]

So. If you're not the king in your world, who are you?

[punful]

[He finally sits up all the way and extricates himself from the branches. Then he just sits on the branch, feet dangling over the edge and not looking at Chara.]

eh, no one important.

damn, i'm, uh, sorry about your world, though. with someone like me in charge--

welp, already decided not to think about it, so.

[So he stops thinking about it.]

[cter]

[Chara shrugs lifelessly, and doesn't look at him either. No one important. He's good at evasion. Maybe even better than them. They can recognize the tactic when they see it. They also no better than to pry further.]

You tried to kill me. Mom stopped you. I got over it.

You were just doing your job. Trying to maintain hope or something. I get it. Humans...

[Well. The less said about humans, the better, they think.]

[punful]

[God, no. He can't, he can't hear this.]

stop. i don't want to know.

[cter]

[They hold up their hands in concession. He might notice that they're wearing red gloves. Snowdin is awfully cold for humans, after all.]

All right, all right. Never mind.

We can just talk about - I dunno what it is you talk about. Ketchup? Ketchup soda? Mom had a bottle of the stuff in her house for whenever you came to visit.

[Their nose wrinkles a little bit. It tasted god-awful, of course.]

[punful]

[A hoodie and gloves. Red gloves. Rather iconically red gloves, actually. The pieces are starting to align in his head and he really doesn't want them to.]

[If he's in the capitol, no doubt ruling the Underground with the laziest fist ever and probably plunging the entire place into anarchy, then someone has to be in Snowdin. Right?]

[Fuck this. Man. Fuck timelines.]

ketchup soda sounds kind of amazing. i've heard of ketchup chips, but not soda.

[cter]

Well, it was your drink of choice. Tasted terrible, but I guess tastes vary.

[If he'd rather not talk about it directly, it's fine. They can sidestep. They're good at that. And they're really good at not talking about their problems directly. They are really excellent at that.]

How do you make ketchup chips? I thought the whole point of ketchup was that it - [They make a vague bottle-dumping gesture, miming the way they might dump the stuff on a burger or a hotdog.] - you know.

[punful]

ketchup is good no matter where it is or what it's in.

[Wait till he discovers ketchup ice cream.]

pfft. i have no idea. i mean, i put extra ketchup on 'em anyway, so.

[cter]

Figures.

[Their tone is dry, but light all the same. Figures that'd be the one common ground he shares with the Sans they know.]

Guess some things really do stay the same, huh?

[punful]

[He waves a hand vaguely.] lots of variables. some constants.

i know a sans who eats mayo. it's horrifying.

[cter]

Oh my god. Where's the logic in that? Why?

[Chara actually laughs at that one. The mental image is, frankly, terrifying.]

[punful]

i dunno. because he's just horrible i guess.

[cter]

So who is this other Sans?

[The draw one knee up to their chest, elbow braced against it, chin propped up on their knuckles.]

And why's that the only thing that changes between you two?

[punful]

he's my mirror. he's like, uh--when you live here you kind of get this sort of...weird evil twin? that hangs out on the other side of the mirrors.

mayo's not the only difference. all of them are different from us in some pretty fundamental ways. some of them aren't so bad but most of them are, uh, kinda. crazy?

[cter]

[A dark expression crosses Chara's features briefly, and they look away, their tone dropping back into something dull and flat.]

Yeah, I met one of your "mirrors". Toriel.

[They manage to twist their own mother's name into something heavy with regret, rank with uncertainty.]

I didn't like her.

[punful]

...yeah. i haven't met her, but...

[He sighs heavily.]

yeah.

[cter]

I'd try not to.

[Their tone is even and polite, as if they're not disparaging this alternate version of their mother.]

Just some friendly advice.

[punful]

don't worry. i'm about done with mirrors.

[About.]

[cter]

Oh yes, me too. I've only met the one, and that was quite enough.

[Perhaps something about that too-polite, too-stilted speech might be familiar; it seems to be a constant among Charas.]

So your mirror's a jackass. Toriel's is...something. Should I ask about the others?