+ Somewhere a Grandiose Carnival Was Going on in the Sky +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone!
Where: The grounds of the Mansion
When: March 9-16
Rating: PG-13 (warn if you go higher)
Summary: The Red Queen has thrown a carnival for everyone!
The Story:


From Friday, March 9, through Friday, March 16, the gardens and grounds of the Mansion will be a sprawling a carnival. The masked, unspeaking vendors will be selling trinkets and running free game booths. Carnival rides, exhibits, and foods represent all of the various cultures of those currently residing in the Mansion.


Of particular note, and perhaps incongruously, everything is decorated with red hearts.

Use this log for any and all of your carnival needs!

Comments

Mirror Mae OTA

[somethingbroke]

[Mirror Mae didn't participate much in the last event where they were allowed to cross over. Fancy parties aren't her scene. This is much more up her alley.]

[She's carrying her bat like always, even when she's on the rides, which is probably a safety violation or something. She ignores the Ferris wheel, but she's all over the rollercoasters and anything else that's even remotely loud and/or violent. She also checks out the games, mostly just the ones that involve breaking things or knocking things down. The balloon pop game is especially fun. It's nice to work with pointy things now and then.]

[The whole time, Mirror Mae is wearing one of those Hello, My Name Is stickers on the front of her shirt. She's written nothing but "Mirror" on it. She's completely uninterested in deception. If any of these people want to talk to her--and she can't fathom why any of them would--they're going to know exactly what she is.]

[noreason]

[Naoki spots the Mirror near the games and does initially think it's the Real Mae. As he approaches, he notices the tag, though and tilts his head. It's not enough to deter him.]

Mae?

[He asks because he's not sure she'll go by the same name as the Real Thing.]

[somethingbroke]

[She looks up when she hears her name, lowering the baseball that she was about to throw at a stack of milk glasses. She blinks at him. Oh, this one. The weird sort of...human-y guy. Her Real's friend. She's seen him a few times through the glass, and she appreciates that he seems nice.]

[Why would he want to bother with her, though?]

[She nods, but taps the nametag in the same motion. She's still Mae. Just not that one.]

[noreason]

[He nods. He gets it.]

That's fine.

[He has yet to meet a Mirror he has an issue with.]

Are you having fun?

[somethingbroke]

[Some of the Reals are like this. Like they want to make nice with the Mirrors, be peaceful. She doesn't get it. One shouldn't let something so fundamentally dangerous become commonplace. She's not here to hurt anyone this time, but that doesn't mean she won't next time.]

[She shrugs and gives a short nod. Yeah, it's been fun. The Real side is so much louder and more colorful. Colorful dead shapes, instead of black and white.]

[noreason]

[He's not sure what to make of her. It occurs to him that he doesn't know Mae quite well enough to guess what her Mirror is like--not with any certainty, anyway. And really, Mirrors could probably go so many ways, it would be impossible to guess even if he and Mae were bestest friends.

He's not that worried in any case. She might have a bat, but there isn't a whole lot in the world that can do significant damage to him.]

You like things over here or over there better?

[somethingbroke]

[Her head cants to the side and she stares at him. That's a dangerous question. She knows what her Queen would want her to say. And Mae is loyal, but not really to the point of dishonesty. She doesn't care about all that...politicking, the appearances, the Queen's dumb little feud with her sister.]

[She points at the ground and nods. She likes this side better. It's more fun.]

[noreason]

[He nods, too.]

I haven't been over to that side, but from the way people talk, it seems a little...not fun.

[somethingbroke]

[She shakes her head. No fun at all. No noise. No explosions. The Queen is so strict and boring.]

[naughty_nurse]

[The nametag is helpful, thank you! Mikan hesitates... but since their last encounter wasn't so bad, she approaches. Then again, she hasn't eaten/slept in a while, so her thinking might be skewed.]

... Hello again.

[somethingbroke]

[It's her again. Mikan, or something. Her Real's friend. She's nice enough, which as far as Mirror Mae is concerned, just means she'll be easily exploitable. A lot of Mirrors aren't as straightforward as Mae is. Mae doesn't care about deceiving and manipulating and all that complicated stuff.]

[She just hits things.]

[She tilts her head, then raises her hand and waves.]

[naughty_nurse]

[Mikan smiles a little. She knows that this is not a Bad Mirror.]

It's nice to see you again... I hope you're having fun.

[somethingbroke]

[She nods twice, once for each comment. She even smiles a bit more. Yes, it's nice to see Mikan, even though she knows Mikan would rather see the Real Mae. And yes, she's having fun. She makes a gesture that sorta encompasses the whole carnival--the whole thing is fun. Noisy and colorful. They don't have that on the other side.]

[naughty_nurse]

[good, good! This is all really good! Mikan tries to remember to only stick to yes or no questions.]

H-Have you had any of the food yet? It's really yummy.

[somethingbroke]

[She nods emphatically and digs into a pocket. She pulls out a half-finished little bag of roasted nuts, the kind with a toffee layer on them. She considers the bag for a moment, then holds it out to Mikan, very carefully. She can have one if she wants. Even if she steals them, it's fine. Mae can just get more.]

[naughty_nurse]

[Is that for her??? Aw! Mikan happily takes one, smiling from ear to ear.]

You're so nice... There are such good people in Wonderland.

[somethingbroke]

[She raises an eyebrow at that. Good people in Wonderland? She doubts that. Pretenders, fakes, shapes. Nice is fine, but it doesn't mean good.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Ever since getting that card from the box by the mansion door, Souji has been wandering around with the cards he received. He's guessed that they represent Mirrors, but he's never actually met Mae--the most he knows is that there is a girl who looks like a cat--so he's really not sure how to distinguish her from her Mirror.

When he finds this Mae near the rides, given her thoughtful self-labeling, it's easy enough to figure out she's the Mirror.

He comes up, waving a little to get her attention.]

Mae? I have this.

[He holds up the card he received.]

[somethingbroke]

[There's another human approaching her. Probably a Real. Reals tend to be a bit more relaxed, less cautious about approaching people. Less smart, maybe, but she knows that might be stretching it a bit.]

[Hm. He knows her name.]

[She tilts her head slightly and takes a tentative step forward. He's holding something. A card? She looks between his face and the card in his hand. It doesn't seem like he's a threat, at least not right now. She tilts her head the other way and leans forward to get a better look at what he's holding.]

[It's...got her picture on it. She's never...actually seen a picture of herself. She's seen her Real, which is close enough. But she's never seen her own face before. How does a picture of her even exist?]

[Who wrote this? How do they know things like--what she likes, what she doesn't like? She's mute, yes, that's obvious. The information isn't the problem. Why does a card like this exist? Do other cards exist? Does everyone have one of these now? Are all these Reals gonna be coming out of the woodwork to talk to her now? And why does this card exist? Who made it? It's covered in hearts...is it the Queen? Is this her doing?]

[Is it a warning? A sign of a punishment to come?]

[She's started breathing fast. Her grip has tightened on her baseball bat. She hefts it a little, adjusting it on her shoulder. She looks up at the human's face and he's gone all shapes. Like an abstract painting, just swaths of color. Useless, pointless, unreal.]

[She makes a sharp sort of wheezing sound and holds out a hand, palm up, making a forceful gesture. She wants the card. She's going to get that card, even if she has to take it.]

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji takes in the change in her demeanor and her body language. He notices her adjusting her grip on the bat and, knowing exactly what that card says about her, he knows that getting hit with that bat is a real possibility. He's not too worried about getting hurt, but he doesn't really want her to get worked up enough to do something like that anyway. So he does the smart thing and hands over the card.]

I got it from the box by the door.

i hope this is okay

[somethingbroke]

[Good. He's smart. She snatches the card away and steps back, holding the card close to her face and glaring as she examines every inch of it. It's gotta be magic, right? Gotta be some sneaky magic.]

[Her eyes flick up at him at the explanation. The box. Right. Just like last time, at the winter ball--someone is trying to bring someone back. Whoever, whatever it is, it's all bound to be massively inconvenient. Especially if it's spitting out cards like this in the interim.]

[It's paranoia. She can distantly acknowledge that. Paranoia. But paranoia keeps you alive in Wonderland, especially when you're a Mirror. She refuses to be toyed with.]

[So she tucks the bat under her arm and starts ripping the card into tiny, tiny pieces.]

totally fine!

[eatsyourscience]

Wa--

[Too late. Well. He doesn't know if something's going to happen because of that, but after a moment, when nothing does, he relaxes a little.]

...I guess I can see why you wouldn't like that.

holy shit

[somethingbroke]

[She squints hard, expecting pain. Like maybe it's a voodoo doll. But nothing happens. She doesn't disappear into thin air. Good.]

[She shreds the card to bits, then drops them to the ground. Then she stomps on them for good measure. She lowers her bat and twists it into the dirt until some of the pieces are practically buried.]

[Then she glares up at the human, daring him to say anything else in protest.]

wow

[eatsyourscience]

[He watches all of this, surprised at how thorough she's being with destroying this thing, then looks back at her.]

...I don't really think you needed to worry about it.

y i k e s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[somethingbroke]

[She squints and bares all of her teeth at him. Then she digs into a pocket with her free hand and digs out a small notepad and a pen. She doesn't usually bother to write actual notes, but she's furious, and she needs this stranger to understand why. The Reals are all like this. They don't get it. How could they ever?]

[She digs the pen in deep enough that she leaves grooves in the paper as she writes, then holds the notepad up to him.]

WE ARE NOT THINGS