eternallywithoutfear | 1st Suitor ❦ Video/Action for Goldenrod ❦

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1st Suitor ❦ Video/Action for Goldenrod ❦

[The feed starts with a woman sitting on a bench with a little Gothita beside her. The woman looks like she was plucked out of a history book, with her spine ramrod-straight, her skin the color of porcelain, her waist so narrow that she must be wearing a corset, and her giant green floor-length dress using way too much fabric to be practical. Seriously, she could probably clothe a small country with all the cloth in that dress. Rocket uniform? What Rocket uniform?]

Good morning. [The woman carefully folds her hands in her lap, ignoring the Gothita beside her making a kissy face at the camera.] I am told that this object is ‘broadcasting’ what it sees to whosoever owns another one of its kind, so I decided that I should introduce myself.

[She inclines her head slightly, flashing a beautiful smile.] I am Miss Justine Florbelle. Don’t concern yourself with explaining the current situation to me—people already have, yet I find myself quite displaced. Not by the animals—they, I have accepted. No, what I am curious about is the current date, because I have received conflicting answers. [Yep. Kissy-faced bunny goth things, totally believable. Time skip, no.]

Does anyone care to assist a poor lady in distress?

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I take it you left Spain some generations ago, then. Or perhaps there was an incident of immigration from Spain to California some time between my time and yours. How long will the gold in California last, speaking of?

Not long enough for most people's liking. The rush will do a great deal to stimulate the world economy, but there's war brewing on the horizon. The next decade will be one of great turmoil in the United States.

In the United States? As I recall, there has been quite a bit of turmoil so far. I suspect that the French government would actually like an outright war to break out, as it would weaken the States and make them more susceptible to French influence. Especially considering the gold there--France would certainly like to have some.

I see you're as astute with your politics as you are with your letters. Unfortunately, I'm afraid your government will get their wish — at least as far as the war is concerned.

[Lucky this is text, or else Carmen would see Justine's hesitation at being called 'astute with politics'.]

You give me too much credit, Miss Sandiego. I am merely a good listener.

[Carmen may or may not know that in the 19th century, a woman who serves as a man's confidant is very desirable. A woman who has opinions on politics, of all things? Not so much if they are not actively involved with the politics themselves. That's a very, very masculine trait, and Justine, while far from shy, tries to keep quiet the traits that may or may not get her labeled an outcast or, worse, a hysteric. She'd rather not be turned into a laughing stock and/or a Bethlem patient, thank you very much.

So yeah, expect her to deflect any compliments towards something traditionally 'masculine'.]

So you say that there will be a civil war? Will Britain take the land again? Or, shall I say, did Britain take the land again?

[In fairness, she doesn't have as much of a mastery of social customs of the period as she does of history and politics, but she's at least aware enough of the differences between a contemporary (and from where she's standing, incredibly liberated) perspective on a woman's role and the one that Justine is probably coming from. So the parry isn't entirely unexpected; if anything, it's as much a warning flag intended for Justine herself, that the woman she's dealing with is likewise astute, and in contrast to her social notions, clearly isn't afraid to show it.

But such is the nature of being Carmen Sandiego. Social norms be damned, she'll always do things her own way.]

The North will be very careful in not calling it a war, politically speaking; that would give the breakaway states too much legitimacy, recognizing them as their own country. They'll call it a rebellion. But regardless of the word used, it will be war.

And no; the United States remained — will remain, from your perspective — whole and sovereign. Though it will take them half a decade of fighting to reach that point, and far longer to resolve all the conflicts that will come of it.

[Justine is already interested in this Carmen Sandiego. She behaves strangely, and won't even show her face. That, and she refers to the United States in the singular instead of the plural, but hat doesn't seem as noteworthy to Justine since who knows how language has changed over the years.]

Well, I suppose either way it does not matter to me. I am not of the States, nor am I involved in politics. Will they eventually abolish the institution of slavery, then?

Legally speaking, yes. But the effects of the institution won't be abolished nearly so easily.

Is there something you'd rather talk about, besides all this history?

Well, there is very little to talk about except history, is there not? I have no context in which to put what you may speak of.

Would you be so kind as to give me a summary of what happened in the last century and a half or so?

[Well-handled, Miss Florbelle. Once again, you have Carmen beginning to suspect you might just be cleverer than you're letting on — not that she minds.]

Is there any easy way of summing up a hundred and fifty years? I can tell you that one of our fellow residents here is an expert on French history. His name is Francis Bonnefoy — I'd suggest seeking him out for a more thorough conversation of how your homeland in particular has changed.

[Being that he's, y'know. The personification of France. But that might be a little difficult to swallow at first, so glossing over it is.]

But in the very grand scheme of things, world powers have risen and fallen, legacies have been passed on, and with the advent of new technologies has come a boom of innovation. The governmental model of choice now tends toward representative democracy — either through a parliament or a presidency. Women in particular have made great strides toward becoming legal equals, and social opportunities for them have likewise widened to a great degree. Women hold positions in government, the sciences, private enterprise; I'm sure you've already noticed some very distinct differences from what you're used to.

Is he a countryman or a historian? I imagine that the account of France would differ between the two.

[Yeah, it would be. Justine would probably assume you were crazy.

Speaking of, she was about to ask for more specifics, but...]

Excuse me? Women have left the house?

Why on Earth would they?

[It's never occurred to her to try to buck the system and work with machines and anatomy the way she does in private, partially because it's how she's been brought up and partially because all the women around her have always fit the mold they were expected to fit in. She can't see any of those women stumbling into a laboratory without ruining everything in sight.

Women are usually inferior, in her mind. She's just an anomaly.]

He's a little of both, and I suspect you'll find his perspective unique.

[And it's really a shame, Justine, that you can't hear her right now (or maybe in retrospect it's a very good thing), because she is the complete wrong person to ask that question and she's just laughing to herself.]

Because there's so much more to do and see in the world, outside of the confines of the house. And some of us don't intend to stop until we've done and seen as much of it as we can.

[She's never imagined having opportunities like that, and it's kind of blowing her mind that it could possibly happen. There's a pause, and then she hurriedly types out a reply.]

There are inherent differences between a man and a woman, making them suited for different roles. The women I know would be utterly destroyed if they took so much as a step into the men's world.

[She types so hurriedly, in fact, that she forgets to explicitly include herself in that category.]

[Ah, the satisfaction of blowing someone's mind but in a completely awesome way. It's kind of like getting away with a crime. Or jumping off a very tall building.]

There are inherent differences between men and women, and those differences are considerably less consequential than many people once believed. Women were once told there was no place for them in "the dirty pool of politics" — to which some very brave women responded that perhaps it was time, then, for some women to come along and clean it up.

The world is not the exclusive playground of men any longer, Miss Florbelle. On the contrary, it's a rare occasion when I can find a man who can keep up with me.

[She... doesn't know what to say. Is this a trick? A ruse to prove she's a hysteric? This is too much, way too much--she can deal with the animals, the time change, the strange people and things, but not this.

She needs to respond, and it has to be in a way she doesn't mind other people being able to see, because this is completely public.]

Tall poppies are oft cut, Miss Sandiego. A kind warning from one woman to another.

[She needs to think before she responds any further.]

What else should I know about the current time?

I appreciate the concern. But you can rest assured, the hand and scythe that try will have to catch me first.

Let me take a turn at asking questions first. Are you financially stable, at the moment? When trainers first arrive here, they're frequently left with...few resources.

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1st Suitor ❦ Video/Action for Goldenrod ❦

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