entrancelogs | Well. Shit.

Entry tags:

Well. Shit.

Who: Michonne + 2 closed starters (for Regina Mills and Rick Grimes) and 2 very open starters!
Where: Open sections = beach and bar. Two best things that start with a B.
When: Around the month of December
Rating: PG-13 to start? Yeah, sure.
Summary: Michonne gets the 411 from Regina, confronts Rick, then takes to the beach and drinks at the bar. Typical.
The Story:

☠ Closed to Regina Mills

[ Things really have a way of fucking up at the exact wrong time, and how is it that after a couple years of being here and being alone, two people Michonne loves are suddenly here at the same time, one right after the other? She knows what she's about, she knows where she stands, knows what she isn't going to do (leave Andrea), but it's still a situation. One she's been avoiding. She hasn't even faced Rick because what's the point? He doesn't even know her which should make it easier, but instead she sent a text to Regina asking to meet in a tea room.

It's definitely not tea in the (hypothetical) cups, but she doesn't want to talk about all of this and possibly (maybe?) upset Andrea, and she doesn't want to go to the bar where Rick might be or intrude in Regina's space when she knows her kid is around, so. Tea room. And nothing too hard this time, just a pack of Stella to split between them. ]

Wonderland has the shittiest sense of humor I've ever seen.

☠ Closed to Rick Grimes, post talk with Regina.

[ Well. She can't avoid this forever. Or maybe she could - until Rick got sent home and returned and the situation was even more comically complicated when he came back again. If he came back again. If he ever left at all. After this long with no one showing up and staying longer than a week or two, now it seems like people are sticking and she's remembering, telling herself, she asked for this. For the people from home to stay.

Michonne actually can't decide if him not knowing who she is, is good or if it's making her feel like she's been punched in the gut. It doesn't matter either way, and right now maybe it's good. He doesn't know what's coming. He doesn't even know about Lori, if his initial message is any indication.

Outside of his door once she finds it, she knocks, katana wisely left at home for now, and when he answers, she tries to smile but it comes out a little wobbly. He never looked this unweathered, not once from the moment she met him. And now his hair is more gray in places back home but not in Wonderland because he hasn't lost and lost and lost. She knows she's been looking at him too long so she clears her throat. ]

You don't know me, but. Wonderland's a weird place that brings people from the future, people from the past, even dead people. I'm someone you'll meet. Eventually.

[ This isn't awkward at all. ]

☠ Open; beach

[ Michonne can be found on the beach doing one of two things: running or standing and staring at the water. Sometimes she comes to a dead stop when she's running and finds herself looking out at the water, squinting like maybe she can see something on the horizon, but of course she can't. When she's running and sees someone she knows, she'll veer toward them just to chat, but otherwise, she'll go past unless someone calls out to her.

At some point she winds up sitting, taking off her shoes and digging her toes into the sand, resisting the urge to talk to ghosts. ]

☠ Open; bar

[ The bar is a good place, a safe space, full of her apocalypse family most nights. So, that's where she is now (now that the fear of an awkward run-in has gone away), sitting at the bar and still not going for the hard stuff, just sipping beer. The nicer Stella was for Regina, now Michonne's drinking whatever's on tap. It's development, she's not dealing with this issue at least by getting totally shit faced! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's heartening to know liquor is such a universal constant.

_{[Inviting himself over, he stops long enough to lean on the bar next to her seat, angling his head curiously. Speaking of universal constants, fucked up things is another one of those things that doesn't need translating between worlds.]}

So just another day in Wonderland, then? _{[Wonderland, thy name is screwy.]} I'll second that motion--I was just thinking I could use something to wet the whistle and beer sounds like just the thing. You want to talk about it?

_{[Offer's there if she needs it, at any rate.]}

Yeah, business as usual for this place. I never thought I'd stop asking for people from home to show up. And I don't know - that doesn't seem like the answer to my particular problem. I'm the one with the issue, no one else.

[ She needs to back track and take a sip of her beer, start over. ]

Woman I loved but never got a chance to tell because she died, showed up. When she didn't disappear immediately like everyone always has, I went for it. We got serious. She's dead back home, this is it, you know?

[ It makes sense, right? ]

But back home I'm with someone else. Guess what Wonderland decided to do.

[ It's not even a question, she knows he'll get that someone else showed up. ]

_{[Sounds like she's dealing with more heavy thoughts. Anders slips onto a seat, making himself comfortable to listen should she care to make use of his ear again.

He remembers how adamant Michonne had been that this world is better than her old one, that her loved ones would be safer here. For her to imply it's become complicated having people from home here, it must be one thorny issue.

... And that's no understatement. As Michonne describes dead lovers and newer, less dead lovers, Anders lifts his eyebrows.]}

And they're both here now? And this "someone else" remembers you as someone they have some hanky panky with? _{[A low whistle.]} 'Complicated' doesn't begin to cover your love life.

_{[Damn, girl.]}

Wait, this is where it gets better.

[ She downs a lot of her beverage before looking at him again. ]

The one who just showed up - Rick - he doesn't know me at all. Which should be great for me. In theory. But what's the point in having more family here if they don't even fucking know me?

There's more? Hold on, I need to get ready for this--

_{[Leaning over, he grabs the first clean glass within reach and fills it with whatever's on tap. There, now he's prepared.

It's not popcorn, but it'll do the trick.]}

So wait, wait, wait, you're the one who remembers being with the both of them and it hasn't happened for him yet? Uh huh.

_{[The look he gives Michonne is equal parts daunted by the drama in her life and sympathetic. Damn, girl. He spoke too soon with that whistle, clearly.]}

Well, technically it's not two-timing, I suppose? _[Perk?] I've been on the receiving end of the amnesia problem--having to explain yourself doesn't get any easier. But it looks like you've got a second chance to get to know each other again. Another second chance. What are you up to now, like two or three? That's like six chances total. Probability says eventually you'll get it right.

[ She really needs to just...think about what he said and apply it to the situation while trying to figure out what the real issue is. ]

I know what I have when I go back, if Negan didn't kill one of us. And if Rick doesn't know me here and now, then no harm, no foul. But watch him leave and come back from a time when we are together. Then what? I have one person afraid I'm leaving her, and another person upset about us not being together.

[ So, Michonne will just hope that never happens. ]

Negan? That's the one you mentioned who had your family? Then by "if" you mean she wasn't...?

_{[One of his victims? Michonne had mentioned they'd been in danger of execution, but she'd also mentioned there's been more than one lunatic out for their blood.

Hardship and tragedy have a way of bringing out new depths of savagery when people are pressed into it; when it's an entire world gone mad at large, he can only imagine the woman she'd cared about hadn't gone peacefully or quietly of natural causes, whoever or whatever had ultimately done the deed.]}

If this Rick does leave and come back, then he'll understand the 'you' here and the 'you' he knows are different people. You've lived different lives, had different experiences.

Andrea died before Negan came into the picture.

[ Michonne takes a deep breath. ]

A different guy trying to kill us all. Seems to happen a lot.

[ All of it just makes her so damn tired. She wants them to be able to live, peaceful and happy. They won't as long as there are people like Negan.

She listens to what Anders has to say and nods, wetting her lips. ]

Yeah. You're not wrong. Just be nice if everything could be easy for once.

Seems so. You haven't caught a break since I've met you. _{[And when that's coming from a trouble magnet like Anders, you know your luck is questionable.]} Refill? You look like you could use a refill.

_{[Dead girlfriend and alternate universe boyfriend issues deserve one, or three, without even touching the little "constantly on the verge of being murdered by a psychopath" problem Michonne has at home.

Drinking at the bar really is turning into a coping mechanism.]}

Easy. What does that even look like? _{[He laughs lightly, softly.]} Are you going to try and... re-get to know this Rick now that he's here?

Always, a refill.

[ She's definitely not turning them down yet. ]

There are good days. It's just the bad gets so bad you can't see anything but.

[ The question Anders poses makes Michonne take a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she thinks it over. ]

I should. I mean, I went and saw him. We talked, but I kept some distance. It was too hard on that day. Maybe it won't be, soon. This time's first meeting went better than the first one, so that's something. First time we ever met, I was shot in the leg, he didn't want to keep me around. Thought I was a threat, didn't trust me.

[ Look how far they've sort of come. ]

_{[Done and done. Friendship is making sure your friends' glasses are always full and dragging them off the floor when the glasses are empty.]}

I'd say you have a little room to boast on this one. You have two people who've taken a shine to you.

_{[He offers up a small, sly smile. This one's stealing the hearts of apocalypse survivors left, right, and center. Good for you, Michonne. It certainly says something good about her and the people she's met who've convinced her they're worth caring about on a deeper level.]}

All the more impressive after starting out at odds. What happened to make him see the light? Did he see you swinging that sword around and think "I've made a terrible mistake, I'd be an idiot to let this one go"?

_{[Yes, you better believe Anders is putting on a dramatic voice when he says that, despite having never met Rick or heard what he sounds like. Petty things like details aren't enough to stop this mage.]}

[ Well okay, when you put it like that... ]

Actually. He took me out on a run with him and his kid. It was a test, By the end, we'd bonded over dead spouses and still talking to them way after the fact.

[ Well, baby daddy in her case, but whatever. ]

So, you know. Instant sparks. I saved his life a time or two, he saved mine, and then I knocked him out with a rock when he started acting like a fool. After that, we were together.

[ More or less. ]

_{[All right, fine, he supposes bonding over shared values and mutual loss carries a bit more meaning than simply seeing Michonne swing a sword around and pose...

A smile playing at his mouth, Anders takes a drink, half-turned in his seat to watch her. He's sat in a similar position while she recounted some pretty heavy stuff, like the death of loved ones and the death of her old way of life as she'd known it, but this is a nice change. There's a note of fondness in the way she tells the story.]}

Wow, a romance for the ages.

_{[Seriously, bards are going to sing songs about her mean right hook with a rock for ages to come.]}

It takes time to adjust to Wonderland and what it means to come from different times and places. But when he does, I'm sure he'll come around. I mean, how often do you meet someone willing to knock you out for your own good? You find that person, you keep them.

_{[He's mostly kidding about that last part, but Anders' optimistic side would like to believe that if they were able to become close once, Michonne and her companion could do so again, even if just as friends the second time around. And maybe he's living vicariously through her by thinking so--he has people from Thedas he'd like to start fresh with if given the chance.]}

I mean, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. He was acting like a jackass, so.

[ She trails off with a shrug, but there is a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. And she doesn't think Anders' line of thinking is wrong, either. ]

It's hard to slog through the 'getting to know you' phase of things again. I wanna fast forward, and I can't. Because he doesn't know me.

No judgement here! I've wanted to hit plenty of people with rocks.

_{[Actually, he already does that with earth spells, but still, the sentiment is still there. Sometimes a firm reality check is needed, like with Jowan... except without the hitting and the togetherness.]}

Just don't bear hug him like you're trying to snap his spine in two. Believe me, I had it happen from someone in your position. _{[Anders shrugs it off, not sore about it after it'd happened so long ago. He imagines it's more awkward for Hawke than it is for him.]} Try thinking of it like getting to know a new him. I know it must be painful after what you've lost, but it might take the edge off the awkward silences.

It'll be interesting knowing him before so much loss.

[ She can concede that. Not that Rick hadn't already lost enough when the farm was lost, but he hadn't lost Lori yet. That was the change in him, she knows. ]

I know it'll work itself out. Eventually. This is one of those 'only in Wonderland' things. Gotta figure out how to deal with it.

Not for the first time, your world sounds like a rough time for all involved. _{[The collapse of civilization has that effect, he'd reckon.]} But that's not such a terrible trade-off, is it? Him not having lived through whatever trials you've faced.

_{[Maybe Anders is biased, though. The last thing he wants is to adopt others' pre-packaged, cookie cutter future as his own, doing everything he can to live in the moment and enjoy blissful ignorance.]}

Well, if there's one thing he's guaranteed to notice about you, it's that you're no quitter. It's one of your finer qualities.

No, I'm glad he doesn't know any of it yet. Or at least, hasn't lived it. He deserves that for now. To be peaceful. He can't do anything about it while he's here, anyway.

[ She smiles softly, though, giving a one-shouldered shrug. ]

Quitting isn't something I do well, you're right about that. I can't handle the idea of not doing everything I can until I can't anymore.

I'll keep my eye out for him. Your friends are my friends. _{[Ah, he's being so accommodating, there must be a catch...]} And on that note, I'll have to meet this lovely lady friend of yours, too. I'm curious who would've caught your eye.

_{[He's nosy, that's the catch, whoops.]}

Although it would be entertaining to say you've gotten this far on good looks and luck alone, I knew there had to be a little more to it.

_{[And for that reason Anders is sure Michonne will work things out with the people in her life one way or the other.]}

You'll meet her. We've been...I don't know. Selfish? We lost a lot, have been trying to make up for it.

[ It's included a lot of alone time. Like. A lot. ~~Not just because two people were on hiatus~~. ]

Are you trying to say my good lucks wouldn't win over the heart of any man or woman in the zombie apocalypse?

I'd call that earned, not selfish. Wonderland doesn't seem in a hurry to send me anywhere, so there's no rush.

_{[She doesn't have to explain the lack of fanfare surrounding her mysterious girlfriend--he can get why dragging Andrea around to meet all of her friends and acquaintances isn't the highest priority.

Anders isn't always around to make nice with the people he bumps into around Wonderland, for that matter. Sometimes when he gets going on a new piece of magic that might help dispel Wonderland's effects, he disappears into the work for a few days, if not longer. He could've easily passed Andrea in the hall and just not been paying enough attention to recognize her.]}

Oh, I'd certainly say they'd win a second glance. _{[Do you see this hand to his heart? This is how you can tell he's 100% serious. Scout's honor and everything.]} But I imagine after the collapse of society people are a bit distracted. Short attention spans. Flash will only get you so far! It's substance that seals the deal. Am I right or am I right?

Oh, it's still about what you have. Just of a different sort. Looks might get you in the door, though. Food and water might help a little more. So, just imagine this gorgeous face holding up two cans of beans, and that's what you get at the end of the world.

[ She smiles winningly at him. ]

That so?

_{[Should he be taking notes on a bar napkin?

When told to imagine Michonne holding out cans of beans like an angel sent from heaven to bless the world with the glory of staple foods, Anders does as told, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Let him just soak this imagery in for a second.]}

I thought this story couldn't get anymore romantic, but you've proven me wrong.

_{[Beans. Who could resist.]}

Well, they do say beans are a magical fruit.

[ She can't help but laugh, shaking her head at herself, thinking about the old rhyme schoolyard kids had said to make each other crack up laughing. She isn't positive Anders knows it, so, with all the seriousness and gravitas of someone doing spoken word poetry: ]

Beans, beans the magical fruit. The more you eat the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel. Beans beans for every meal.

[ And she bows from right where she is. ]

My brother taught me that one, long time ago.

_{[As per cosmic law, beans certainly do have some interesting digestive properties in Thedas, much as they do on Earth, but magical? He's ingested some real magical substances in his day, and beans tally up on the low end of the scale.]}

I sense one of two things about to happen: I laugh with you and get another drink, or I get that next drink and groan into it.

_{[... A little of both, as it turns out. Sweet Maker, he needs another second to absorb that into himself.]}

An ode to flatulence, now I've heard it all. And I'll never unhear it. Bravo.

_{[A performance like that deserves a laugh and clap of hands from around his bottle. Is she sure they don't have dwarves in her world? Because that sounds frighteningly like a little ditty Oghren might have invented on the can with his trousers down.]}

Well. Shit.

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