+ 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

[keptnerve]

Sounds like bullshit to me. Why the hell would she want us to have fun?

( It doesn't make any sense. Neither Queen gives a shit about the mirrors. She's not sure either Queen gives a shit about the Reals either, but at least there's color and activity and less fucking assholes who want to murder everyone around. )

They're playing games, and we're in the middle.

[choosetruth]

You're a smart kid.

[Or a paranoid kid, but in times like this, it's about the same either way. A corner of her mouth tilts very slightly.]

Think about it. What does she gain from throwing this fair and the party last winter? How does it benefit a ruler to give her subjects fun?

[keptnerve]

Make people like her and like this place so they don't question shit and become complacent.

( it's what carver leveraged. his community was the only place where there was food, water, medicine, safety. leaving it was taking a big damn risk. )

And to piss off the Queen on the other side.

[choosetruth]

Exactly.

[Like she said, smart kid.]

Pacify the masses. Deceitful in its way but better, perhaps, than say, using lies and intimidation to keep your subjects in place. At least, less likely to provoke rebellion.

[Speaking entirely hypothetically, of course.]

[keptnerve]

( Clementine turns her gaze in Georgia's directions. Her arms are folded across her chest at the mention of that rebellion, and she can't quite keep her jaw from locking. )

Either way, they're keeping people in their place. This one just has a pretty bow on it and no threat of immediately being unmade when you fuck up. I'd prefer the pretty bow version.

( Reals can't be unmade, can they? They can die, but they come back. )

[choosetruth]

[She thought she was talking to the Mirror. Now she's pretty certain.]

I could take or leave the bow, but the lack of constant death threats is certainly nice.

[keptnerve]

I can only imagine.

( Her arms fold across her chest further, and she glances down. )

...do you get why I was pissed when we talked before? ( she's not even trying to pretend like she's not the mirror- like she's not. she's spoken to georgia before in person, through mirrors. )

[choosetruth]

Yes. [She gets it. She even sympathizes, given how this Clementine is even more survival focused than her real. Doesn't mean she's changing her mind about her actions.] Are you still pissed?

[keptnerve]

Not really. It just doesn't change anything. You will always feel the way you do, and I'll always feel the way I do. ( Clementine shrugs a little. She wanted to be a part of it after their conversations prior to their last, but then that all changed. ) You changed my mind about some shit and made me consider something I never thought I would, but it doesn't matter anymore.

[choosetruth]

[She looks at Clementine, tilting her head curiously.]

Why not?

[keptnerve]

( Clementine huffs out a breath with her arms folded across her chest. )

Because it doesn't actually change anything. I'm still stuck over on the other side. There's still no one I can trust, and I'm in the same position I was in before except now I'm disappointed for letting myself think anything else for even a fucking second.

[choosetruth]

[Ouch.]

I'm still going to fight for you.

ouch is how i feel now in my soul

[keptnerve]

Yeah, I know. You want to fight for us. Not with us.

Good luck. ( It's said genuinely enough, and it's all she says before she turns and leaves. )