+ 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

[mypartnerintime]

[She has to stop and think about that, still smiling slightly.]

Either I'm so good at pretending that I've fooled myself, or... yeah. Yeah, I am happy here. [And oddly it's all starting to feel more real.] Every once in a while things just sort of explode and everything gets nutso, but Chloe's here. And unlimited film. All you can eat bacon. Actual wizards.

[She grins again at him.] It's really not so bad.

[She notices him taking out his phone but doesn't make anything of it for the moment.] Caulfield flair, huh. [At least two other people have told her to start up a gallery here. But... she never really took it seriously. Now that she knows there's a Max out there who's actually making progress, well... She gnaws at her lip.] I guess... why not? Screw it. I'll never get a bigger chance than this, right? [She chuckles slightly.] That other Max must've really won you over.

[stefanged]

"Nutso" is an understatement. I've been here maybe a week at this point, and the crazy train doesn't seem to be departing anytime soon.

[He even talks like her, now that he's fallen back into his comfortable habits. Stefan doesn't want to unload everything, given "my brother got murdered and came back to life (???)" isn't a statement you give out at free will. He's encountered way too much over the past two years, and he can comfortably say that he'd rather have much less death and mayhem, please and thank you.

But she's - she's gonna go for the gallery! Stefan's eyes light up like the stringed ones behind him, because she deserves this. She so, so deserves this.] Maybe, but you're just as great.

Look, I don't know how long I'm gonna be here, and I can't use my device to really talk to the Network, but until I leave, let me know what I can do to help.

[mypartnerintime]

Hey, maybe you brought all the crazy with you. Until you guys showed up it was all peachy. [Look at that, she's actually being sociable and teasing.

And she doesn't dig into her own experiences, either. Though she's happy... Wonderland has it's own brand of evil sometimes, though it looks innocent enough.

She's simultaneously pleased and shy at the compliment. Of course she's just as good as Max is- that's a weird thought, but it's probably true. And if that other Max could do it...

Hey, this feels like time travel- feeling like she can do it, because she knows that she did.]

Y-yeah. Stefan, right? It was- I mean, this is all so... cool. Bizzaro-cool.

[stefanged]

[He nods, as if seriously debating on whether or not the crazy train rolled in with him...]

I don't know about peachy, but then again? I don't know what normal looks like anymore.

[But when she says his name, with a slight pang of unfamiliarity, he's once again reminded of what he's lost (and what he might never regain). His smile slips, but the edges of his eyes are still crinkled as he folds his arms.]

Yeah. [He'd nudge her with his elbow, but he also knows that on her end, he might as well be a perfect stranger.] It's a lot to take in sometimes... but I can't say I mind this place too much.

[mypartnerintime]

[Max notices the slip of his smile, and looks away as though to avoid staring. She takes in the sights and sounds- the forest party so much more open and peaceful than the others, Wonderlandians and guests mingling, the sound of laughter rising up here and there.]

...Me neither.

[And best of all, it's given her Chloe.]

When you met that other Max... [She shrugs, amused because they can't say for certain that she was another Max.] Where were you? Something like this, too?

[stefanged]

Kind of. We were on a predetermined flight path, so we'd get beamed back if we even tried to stay somewhere past our departure date, but... it wasn't so bad.

[For one thing, they got to travel and experience different cultures every month. For another, they learned so much about each other from sharing the same (small, cramped) living space. It was almost like having her for a roommate.]

You fell into a routine, and everyone had their own job on board. I was the medic, and other-Max was the official photographer-slash-counselor. [beat] We were part of the same crew. Sorry, I probably should've mentioned that bit first.

[mypartnerintime]

Crew? Beamed?

[She grins up at him. Official photographer sounds really hipster in the middle of all of that.]

That sounds so Star Trek.

[...Wait, holy shit. Her grin fades and her eyes widen slightly.]

...Was it Star Trek?

[stefanged]

[He nods, not even trying to hide his amusement at this point.]

Oh yeah. We even have Captain Kirk on board. As an actual captain.

[mypartnerintime]

No! [She puts a hand to her forehead, her voice laden with disbelief and jealousy.] No, that's so cool! And I got Alice in Wonderland!

[Not that she's complaining, really. She breaks out into a big smile.]

Oh lord, I can't even- [Is there a Lord of the Rings world out there too? What about Star Wars? Warcraft? The possibilities!] That is so far out. Literally! In space!

[She will never forget this. Ever. Captain Kirk! She was/is/will be his photographer!

It's too good!]

[stefanged]

It is pretty cool. Traveling to new planets and meeting different cultures... but you know, you also got some people super close to me, so.

I think you lucked out here, shaka brah.

[He's teasing, especially since he knows that look on her face. He missed that smile and that sheer awe. Makes him wish that she'd hung around the Fleet a little longer...]

html has betrayed us all at some point!

[mypartnerintime]

[She looks at him curiously.] You mean... here? People that you know?

[Well, why should she doubt it, anyway? There are multiples of people running around right now, not to mention mirrors.]

Like who?

yuuup :c

[stefanged]

Like my older brother. [He smiles with pride. Even if he and Damon aren't always on the best of terms, they're family - and family doesn't leave each other behind.] Also a couple of really good friends from high school, and uh.

[He gets quiet, like he really, really doesn't want to admit this:] Two of my ex-girlfriends.

[mypartnerintime]

Two? [Max shoots him a cheeky but sympathetic grin.] No wonder you think it's crazy here.

[But, being more serious, she can see how that would be a big deal.] You should talk to everyone. Especially your brother. You never know how long you'll get to stay.

[stefanged]

Right? [He shakes his head in mock exasperation.] It's like the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past here.

But yeah no, I've been trying. I haven't seen any of them in years, and I don't know if I'm ever gonna get this opportunity again, so... [He shrugs.] Carpe Diem and all that.

[mypartnerintime]

Carpe that Diem, Stefan. [She nods in agreement.] And... wait.

[She takes her camera and raises it up, showing him.] I guess you know all about selfies, or else I won't believe you ever met me. [She fiddles with the camera quickly, setting it up for a good shot.] They're my signature style after all. You game?

[stefanged]

Um, I'm always game.

[He waits for her to get that camera in just the right angle before he leans on her and gives a wide, genuine smile at the lens. Stefan's not quite a natural, but he's more than used to taking them - and it shows, from how he doesn't even hesitate to crane his head just so.

His Max might've prodded and coaxed and bribed him with her charming self, but this one? He'd do anything, because he doesn't know if (or when) he'd ever see her again.]

Just say when.

[mypartnerintime]

Good. You better be. [She leans back slightly to get them both into the frame, arms held out as far as she can, gripping the camera with confidence that comes only from practice. And it surprises her how comfortable she feels with Stefan, enough to take a loose and friendly selfie- though it shouldn't.] Action!

[She gives him a moment to prepare himself, then the flash pops twice and she blinks against the spots of light that linger in her view. Two pictures slide out in quick succession and she takes both, shaking them lightly before holding one of them out to him.]

Here- you keep it. Something to remember me... to remember Max Caulfield by.

[stefanged]

[He blinks back surprise at the second photo; honestly, he hadn't been expecting one. Even now, Max manages to surprise him with the smallest things.]

Thanks. [He grins, glancing down at it for a second before he reaches into his messenger bag for a sharpie. (A good Salvatore always comes prepared! Or something.)] Think you could autograph it for me?

[mypartnerintime]

Me? [She leans away from him in surprise.] For real?

[Well, duh, Max, who else is going to autograph the photo you took. She shakes her head slightly in disbelief, but reaches out to take the sharpie from him.]

My whole world's gone whack today... [Her tone is amused, and she keeps her head bowed to hide her smile as she writes out a quick signature. (Yeah, the one she practiced since she was a little girl, excited to become a world famous photographer.) And just to be sure, she puts in her name and the date, and the words "An odd reunion!"

Then she holds out the autographed photo for him to take.] This is seriously completely bizzaro. [She grins at him, sheepish.]

[stefanged]

Good kind of whack, right?

[He returns that grin, accepting the photo and tucking it neatly inside his journal. She'd even captioned it with the most important things - dates and names matter, especially when your fuzzy memory can't recall everything.]

I don't wanna pull you away from anyone or anything else, but... if you ever want more stories, I'll be roasting marshmallows all night. Since I'm over terrible, no good, very bad days, we're gonna nix the ghost stories in favor of something better.

[mypartnerintime]

Yeah. Good. [She looks at the other photo, then tucks it away into her bag.

She looks around at the rest of the party- people milling about, chatting. Wonderland. It might take only a day for Stefan to be gone again. She feels like she's made a friend, but she's so bad at goodbyes. If that's even what this is.

But he has family here, and he should probably concentrate on that...]

Stefan... I'm so glad I met you. And that you told me about me. The me you know. [The words make her grin.] It's been hella crazy. Awesome-sauce.

[stefanged]

[Honestly, he doesn't want to pull away. Family's important, but there's been so much to unpack regarding Damon (regarding Elena!) that for just one night, he'd like to think about the stars and the lights and a world that he had built for himself.

Max had been a part of that, if only for a brief moment, so he doesn't hesitate to hold out his fist for one of those fist-bumps.]

I'm glad I got to see you again. Really. [He returns that grin.] I feel like this entire world's hella crazy, but you seem to be making the most of it.

[There's a small, hesitant pause,] You have time for some s'mores? I think I've got extra.

[mypartnerintime]

[She taps his fist with his own, noting his hesitation. Heck, this feels like the start of a great friendship, and knowing that he might be gone soon makes her want to hang out all the more.]

Sure. I've got time. [Nice little inside joke there, and she smirks to herself. Then she realizes that he probably gets it, and immediately her voice catches, and she looks at him worriedly. Anything to do with time travel... always makes her stomach twist.] I mean, yeah. S'mores.

[stefanged]

Plenty of it too, I imagine. [His laugh's a reassuring one. Of course he knows. He's known for a while now, which is why he'll go ahead and confess,] Hey, next time someone tries to call you out on that?

Just tell them you're psychic. I promise, most people here won't know the difference. I sure didn't.

Sorry for the really late replies, am on slowatus!

[mypartnerintime]

...That's because I am psychic, Stefan. [She touches her temples with her forefingers.] My real name is The Amazing Max Maven, mentalist extraordinaire!

[Mhmm, yeah.]

[She gives him a sheepish grin. He already knows. And he didn't bring it up ahead of time which is a huge plus in her book. Still, her next few words come with much hesitation, and she stuffs her hands into her pockets.] I can't do the whole Back to the Future thing anymore.