[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

[thesamurai]

Mine are the memory share. People seeing or knowing things that aren't anyone's business.

[ The day her son's second birthday party played on a loop over and over again for everyone to see had been like torture. Sheer, agonizing pain, but luckily, just about everyone who was here for that is gone now. ]

But I hear you. It's already hard enough to know what's real, what isn't sometimes.

[interpersonal]

[ speaking of trusting michonne's judgment — ]

Do you think the dreams were real?

[ because she honestly doesn't know anymore. she is used to unsafe. her world is unsafe and violent. even now that she is enjoying herself fully, genuinely happy to be here with damon, elena never forgets danger lurks everywhere. but at least she's always known what her mind could trust. ]

[thesamurai]

No.

[ Her answer is pretty immediate, though she reigns it in a second to try and re-deliver her answer with a softer edge. ]

I think it was a warning. If we're here long enough, it will be real. But I also think we'll have to be here a damn long time to have that much memory loss.

[interpersonal]

[ elena releases a small breath, and nods. it's similar to what damon said, and damon is nothing if not brutally pragmatic about these things. it's an uncanny talent he has, wading through bullshit and getting to the heart of the matter. elena has a mind of her own, with thoughts of her own, but it helps to hear what other people think about their own lived experiences. she does, however, wonder who would care enough to give them this kind of warning. ]

I don't know that Wonderland will ever give us clear answers. [ it likes to confuse, to unsettle. ]

Regardless of the past few weeks, though ... this was a really good idea, Michonne. And you look like you're doing good.

[ better than the last time they spoke, right after andrea left. ]

[thesamurai]

[ Asking Wonderland for anything concrete about itself is probably an act of futility, Elena is right about that. ]

I'm better. Things are better. Andrea came back. She was gone longer than usual for most people, but she's back, and she remembers everything.

[ Michonne isn't even questioning it, because again, they won't get clear answers anyway. ]

[interpersonal]

[ her face lights up. ]

She did? That's great!

[ elena is aware there's never a way to know the odds of that for sure. ] You can tell me if I'm being too nosy, but are you two ... ? [ from their conversation, it just felt like andrea was important to michonne in a very special way. ]

[thesamurai]

[ Michonne's generally a private person, but she knows outside of her room, this is not a private thing, so the question she doesn't mind, especially not coming from Elena. Her lips curve up in a smile as she nods. ]

Yeah. This is how it was supposed to be. Back home, I mean. But it's not, and it won't be, so we're doing what we can with what we have now.

[interpersonal]

[ it's a bittersweet realization. elena is happy to know that michonne can be with her loved one, but she hates knowing that it's a happiness that can only exist in wonderland. at the same time, better than it not exist at all. ]

That's the perfect way to go about it. Wonderland is unpredictable, and all we can really be certain of is here and now. So when those moments and those people come along, you want to take them. [ before you know it, they can be gone. ]

[thesamurai]

Damn right.

[ She agrees, obviously, and wholeheartedly. ]

Now, what about you? You here with anyone in particular?

[interpersonal]

[ elena smiles an almost conspiratorial smile michonne's way, before she looks around, subtly pointing to damon. she squints a little and ... ]

Oh, God. He brought his reindeer mug.

[ s i g h s. ] Sometimes, I swear I can't take him anywhere.

[thesamurai]

Wow. He's definitely doin' his own damn thing, huh?

[ She says that, though, with an air of humor and curiosity about him. Personally, she thinks the mug is awesome. This is the lady who waded through walkers to get a cat statue, so. People have an aesthetic, okay? She appreciates it. ]

I mean, if there's any place a reindeer mug should be used, it's here.

[interpersonal]

That's Damon for you.

[ always doing his own damn thing. there's a hint of unmistakable fondness in her voice. she envies that about him sometimes, how easy it is for him to just do. it's part of why being with him makes her feel like anything is possible. like she really can just let go. ]

You say that now. Wait until Easter. [ bunny mugs just don't have the same kind of flair. ]

[thesamurai]

Hey, you have to do something in Wonderland. Might as well be mugs that are more about look than function. Gotta hand it to him, it's an easy way to keep things light.

[ She likes the less serious attitude, knowing after an event those moments can be hard to come by. ]

[interpersonal]

He has that way about him. Things are never boring around Damon.

[ he doesn't wallow, and he will make light of nearly anything, however grave the situation. ]

Besides, you're right. We could use a night like this one every now and then.