[OPEN] We'll Take A Cup of Kindness Yet

[nascensibility]

Who: EVERYONE, but especially you!
Where: Wonderland Ballroom
When: New Year's Eve
Rating: PG - PG13 (will change if applicable)
Summary: New Year's Eve Party
The Story:

[The morning of December 31st, all residents will receive a handwritten invitation slipped under their door.]



You are cordially invited to attend a party
celebrating the New Year

Wonderland Ballroom
8 pm - 1 am

Semi-Formal Attire
Buffet & Bar
No RSVP Required

All Ages Welcome

For inquiries, contact E. O'Connell

[Punctuality in planning is important: the ballroom itself will only be ready for guests at exactly 8 o'clock, bedecked in glittering golds and the red-green of Christmas' vestiges, still clinging to the old year. Dining tables surround a central dance floor, bars and buffets dot the edges of the room and both holly and mistletoe are expressed liberally through the interior.

Mingle, dance, eat and be merry! The New Year will come in at midnight - the band will play and the drinks will flow for long after.]

Comments

Elizabeth | OTA

[uncaging]

Elizabeth delights in the party, flitting between the tables wanting to say hello to everyone, and getting up close to see the band - live musicians are an especial novelty to her. Most of her evening, however, is spend whirling around the floor, her dress trailing out behind her, delighting in the opportunity to dance and pulling up anyone who hasn't a partner or has been a wallflower for too long to join her.

At one point, as she's stood at the buffet trying to decide on which canapes to take, she realises she's standing right beneath the mistletoe that's hung liberally from the ceiling, and blushes noticeably as she tries to move away from it - somewhat unsuccessfully, as she's hemmed in by the crowd on one side and the buffet table on the other. She stays away from the bar, remembering the one and only time she'd been to a party here previously, ending up completely inebriated on cocktails and crying all over Jowan, who she finds herself missing immensely as the night wears on.

As midnight approaches she cheers with everyone else, and it's only as the minutes of the new year tick on that she realises the futility of marking its passing. She finds a quiet corner and drags a chair over to it, sitting rather melancholy and lost in her own thoughts.

Re: Elizabeth | OTA

[signalized]

Bruce makes a show of celebrating with everyone else when the clock turns to midnight, but there is a part of him that idly wonders what the point is. Time, from what he understands, works very differently here than it does in his own world. People don't grow older no matter how much time passes. It's more of a construct than ever and he hasn't had nearly enough alcohol to grapple with what that means.

He moves to leave the crowds for a bit when she spots a young woman sitting by herself and looking forlorn. He decides to approach after giving it a moment's thought.

"Are you not enjoying the festivities?"

[uncaging]

"Oh, I am!" She forces herself to look cheerful, feeling guilty that she might have caused him to worry about her. "I just ended up feeling a little pensive, that's all."

[signalized]

"The new year can have that effect on a lot of people, I think," He tries to reassure her as he takes a sip of his glass. "Have you been here a long time?"

[uncaging]

Elizabeth nods. "Almost a year." She smiles weakly, casting her mind back to her arrival. "Though it feels a lot longer."

[signalized]

"I imagine a lot can happen in a year in a place like this." A lot can happen in a year anywhere, but Wonderland seems to be a particularly eventful place from the little he can tell in his short time here.

[uncaging]

She can't help but laugh, feeling that was something of an understatement. "Oh, you have no idea."

[signalized]

He shrugs his shoulders lightly, not at all arguing with her assessment. "I don't, I've only been here a few weeks so far so I'm still catching up."

[uncaging]

"I didn't realise." Come to think of it, she doesn't think she's seen him around the mansion before. She cocks her head to one side a little as she tries to decide which of the events she'd experienced were worth sharing. "Well, there was one time a few months ago where we all thought we were students in some magical school. And a couple of months after I arrived everyone's emotions went haywire - that one was awful. Oh - there was the caves, too! The Deep Roads, I think they were called. That was a little frightening, with the monsters there, but there was treasure to be found."

[postictal]

Tim's on his way out after the year's end (for a given value of "end") before some stupid piece of his brain latches onto a memory of a face that looked much more earnest and open than it does now. He remembers her. She was younger then, and he was too, but he recognizes her well enough.

He should mind his own damn business. But, hey - new year, right? Maybe time to turn over a new leaf, be charitable?

Yeah, like that's gonna happen.

Still, he stops, standing awkwardly just a few feet away, one hand creeping up to finger the edge of his sleeve nervously before he bites the bullet, just ups and says, slowly, "you, uh...you okay?"

[uncaging]

It's a pleasant surprise to see Tim - her only memories of him were in the strange magical school they'd been to, and it's somewhat comforting to see the people she'd only known in false memories in front of her here, to know they weren't as false as Hogwarts itself. She attempts a reassuring smile as he approaches.

"I'm fine. I just got lost in my thoughts, I'm sorry if I worried you."

[postictal]

"New Year's Resolutions?" That's a halfhearted guess, and a poor attempt to lighten the mood. He's not exactly the greatest at this, and it's probably painfully obvious.

It's equally obvious that her smile is a false front, and a hasty one at best. He's looked through enough equally thin veneers to recognize it on sight.

"Looked like pretty heavy thoughts," he adds, because he might as well put one in for the sincerity camp. Owes her that much, doesn't he? Or...something. Yeah.

[uncaging]

"It just all seems a little silly, really." She decides she owes him sincerity, too, feeling that he'd be unlikely to brush her off. "Do we even know what year we're coming into? Or is it actually even a new year here at all? I haven't aged a day since I've been here, after all."

[postictal]

"Well, you know. Time is an illusion." It's a pretty shitty joke when he's not one for smiling, or any sort of humor that requires genuine laughter. Not one for lightening the mood, needless to say.

"If people decide it's a new year, I guess it is one." Doesn't mean you have to buy it, but Tim's lost any real motivation to contradict that.

[uncaging]

It's difficult to argue with that, though she still thinks it's all rather futile. She glances around at the decorations, knowing the effort people have gone to in order to make this a celebration rather than the sombre moment it feels like to her.

"How many more new years do you think we'll see in this place?"

[postictal]

"Who knows?" He can't say he's been around here longer than most. There's people who've been here for literal years, and he's only been stuck here since, what? September? Wonderland's equivalent of September? Whichever.

"This your...first, then?"

[uncaging]

Elizabeth nods. "I was so looking forward to it, too - I've never been able to celebrate the new year before." She's a little annoyed at herself for getting so existential and spoiling her own fun. "Yours, too?"

[choosetruth]

George has been careful to avoid the mistletoe, and when she sees where Elizabeth is stuck, she meets Elizabeth's eye, though it's hard to tell through the opaque sunglasses, and casually knocks over her glass of coke, spilling it all over the buffet table.

"Oh no, someone go get napkins!" she calls as people back away just in case some of the beverage gets on their fancy clothes. Which is hilarious, seeing as there's no need to do laundry and you can always get a new outfit here. Doesn't stop instinct from taking over. She looks over at Elizabeth and juts her head to the side as a path clears.

[uncaging]

It takes Elizabeth a moment to realise that she's caused the commotion deliberately to help her out, but she's quick to take the opportunity to escape from the crowd as a path becomes available to her. She takes her plate of snacks and makes her way over toward George.

"Thank you for that."

[choosetruth]

She gives the Elizabeth a faint smile as she slips away, leaving whoever actually cares to worry about the spilled coke. She'll just get more later.

"It's a ridiculous, antiquated tradition that makes it far too easy for certain types to justify unwanted advances. You looked like you needed the rescue."

It might be fun for people who want an excuse to get kissed, but Georgia very much doesn't. For her it's more of an annoyance than anything else.

[uncaging]

She glances up toward the mistletoe, wincing a little, offering a grateful smile to her rescuer. "It sounds like it could be nice in the right circumstances, but..." She trails off a little awkwardly, having never been kissed and wanting it to be with the right person, even if it was under the mistletoe.

[choosetruth]

The right person could never kiss George under the mistletoe or anywhere else other people can see. But she still understands the sentiment. She gives Elizabeth a tight smile and nods.

"Under the right circumstances, sure. With the right person, or if you're someone who enjoys kissing random people." Not that Georgia judges. Those people can kiss all the people they like. She's just not one of them. "But no one should have to."

[uncaging]

"Oh, absolutely." She glances around the room rather suspiciously, looking for any more mistletoe to avoid. "It's a lovely party apart from that, though, isn't it?"

[choosetruth]

"Yeah," George doesn't sound enthusiastic, but she's not really a party person. She'd rather be working. Letting go and having fun is hard, especially around this many people. Sure, logically she knows an outbreak's very unlikely. It's still terrifying.

"I guess it's better than most parties like this I've been to. But most of them have been filled with politicians, so that's not surprising."

[uncaging]

Elizabeth perks up with interest at that admission. "Really? That sounds fascinating."