Open Log + Closed Prompt

[nadine_he_loves]

Who: Nadine + Open
When: August
Where: Horizon, Nadine's Domain
What: It's a carnival!




Nadine rarely changes much in her domain, save to shift it from season to season or decorate for major holidays. But every now and again she has cause for something a touch more dramatic.

On the last month of summer, she makes one of those changes. In the town square that is the centerpiece of her little patch of the Horizon, the shops and town hall and church and open green park have been replaced with a small town style carnival. The sort she remembers from her childhood in New Hampshire.

The towering Ferris wheel dominates the space, surrounded by a variety of rides such as bumper cars and a Gravitron, a Viking swinging ship and flying scooters, a freefall tower and even a small roller coaster with a fanciful dragon theme to it. Besides those are the tamer rides - a 'haunted' house that's not at all scary but more silly, a tunnel of love, and of course the skeletal carousal that's always there. But for this month it's in bright carnival colors, blues and pinks and yellows.

The horses are still skeletons, though.

And the other trappings are there, game booths and food stalls and vendor booths along the midway. There's even a stage from which a spectral, unseen band seems to be playing classic rock, and a little wooden dance floor in front. Nadine hasn't made any staff for the carnival, as whenever she tries to make people in the horizon they just come out as shadows. Not the vibe she's going for here. But the rides and games function as though manned, and the food stalls have all variety of fair goodies on display for the taking.

There's a sign by the entrance booth that reads 'WELCOME - PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL' - for anyone who may wander in when Nadine isn't there, or simply without warning.








While Nadine is happy for anyone to come and enjoy the little summer fair, she does have some specific purpose for the place.

She doubts Geralt and Jaskier have anything like this in their world, and she imagines another touch of good old fashioned American summer fun would probably do Julie some good. She knows it will do her some good. What better way to enjoy themselves than all four spend a day at the fair?

Considering the amount of time they all spend with one another in various groupings and pairs already, it just makes sense do something as a foursome. It's like a double date, though she doubts Julie or Geralt would describe what's between them as dating. Nadine wouldn't, either, but they're still something of a pair. Just a different kind than her and Jaskier.

She'd extended the invitation and it had been accepted, and she's finding herself rather excited about the whole thing. Life's probably going to go straight to hell again before too much longer, it always does, but for now...she's going to enjoy a day out with her lover and her closest friends.

Comments

[postocular]

"That's awesome. When I was younger, our town used to do stuff like this, too. There was usually a barn full of animals people raised to show off."

He relaxes as she approaches, and there's something about her that feels familiar- or at least takes his guard down. Maybe she reminds him of Maggie, all smiles and warm welcomes but with an anger that anybody on the other side should be afraid of.

"Carl. I'm from Georgia, but before I came here I was in Virginia." At least that's what he remembers being told. It sounds right, but with no civilization, everything kind of bleeds together.

[nadine_he_loves]

"Livestock competitions." Nadine nods. "We had those, too. But I'm not so great at making animals, so I skipped that part. There's some cows outside of town, though."

Not that 'town' is more than a couple of blocks. But there are a handful of generic looking cows out in the fields, that don't move all that much and seem to be eternally grazing.

"It's nice to meet you, Carl from Georgia. You're welcome to hang out and enjoy the carnival. It's pretty fun, not having to wait in line for anything. Do you have a favorite ride?"

[postocular]

"I always liked the petting zoo part, especially the rabbits and chickens." Carl looks around at what she has made and thinks about it for a moment. "Yeah, I can see how they'd be hard. People don't look right, either. They're...I dunno. Flat?"

He still doesn't really understand everything about how the Horizon works, but some things had been explained to him already. It's probably a lot of trial and error.

"Definitely the bumper cars. Carnival games are always good, too. What do you like, Nadine?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"My people always come out like they're in a bad video game. Glitchy. So I don't bother anymore. But it's okay, I don't need to make people here."

She has people in the real world, and plenty of people who visit or wander through her domain. It doesn't feel empty, without people.

"And I like the bumper cars, too. And the Viking ship. I was never any good at the games, though. Except the one where you throw a ball into a bowl and win a goldfish, and I don't think they're allowed to have that game anymore."

Everyone was 'good' at that one. She'd even won a fish, once, that had ended up living five years.

"Have you ridden of the rides yet?"

[postocular]

"There's not really a ride I don't like? Maybe the ones that go upside down. The Viking ship is good. I think the last one I rode was a pirate ship, but same thing." He makes a back and forth motion with his hand.

"My mom never let me play the game with the goldfish, she always felt really bad for them. I was always really good at the ring toss, though. Not to brag, but I won a lot of those little finger skateboards."

He shakes his head. "Nah, I was just kind of enjoying all the noise. Back home was pretty quiet. But I'm here if you want a ride buddy!"

[nadine_he_loves]

"You'll have to show me your ring toss skills, there's definitely a ring toss booth around here."

It's amazing what good a perfectly normal, familiar kind of conversation with a young person does Nadine. It's like when she was telling stories at the art festival, it just feels like she's reclaiming a lost part of herself.

And Carl is easy to talk to - despite that vaguely wild aura about him, and the clear evidence he's lived through some sort of trauma, he seems a pretty well adjusted and socialized kid.

"And that is the best offer I've had all week. I'd love a ride buddy - it's kind of not the same by yourself. It was really fun the first time, but...carnivals are supposed to be shared."

Some experiences are just better when they're had with someone else.

[postocular]

"Oh boy, sounds like I'll probably be eating my words then." His focus is a little off, now. It's better, and he's not as bad with his aim as he was back when it first happened. Practice, practice.

He likes talking to Nadine, she makes this all feel pretty normal, and that's something they probably all need.

"Yeah, I get that. Well, where do you want to start? Ooh, oh! Is there one of those funhouse mazes?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"I bet you'll do just fine."

Nadine understands the need for a sense of normalcy. And she can guess that a kid from what sounds like a pretty regular Earth sitting in a very American and familiar bit of the Horizon is probably looking for just that.

In some ways, she thinks, it's easier for the younger Summoned. Kids have very accepting and open minds. The entirety of the situation is likely to be easier for them to grasp as real and possible. But it's the little things, the day to day. That sudden lack of stability and the familiar that often hits harder in younger hearts. And while she's not entirely sure how old Carl is, she'd put him somewhere between fourteen and seventeen. A difficult enough stretch of years as it is.

"And there is a funhouse. It wouldn't be a carnival without one. Maze, silly mirrors, spinning bridge...all that fun stuff. But no clowns. I once saw an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark with a funhouse clown and it freaked me out."

[postocular]

"Heh, we'll definitely see. But first, funhouse and some rides, right?"

There's an excitement sitting in the pit of his stomach that hasn't been there in a long time. At least not this form of excitement. The happy enjoyment of just doing something fun instead of the acidic pit of adrenaline and fear that was pretty standard back home.

"Oh.. Yeah, clowns are awful. I never really liked them, myself. My grandma used to have this painting of one in her house. Bozo I think his name was? Yikes."

He heads in a random direction, honestly not caring whether they get there quickly or not. It's nice kinda just wandering and seeing what's there before really getting into it. "So, Nadine from New Hampshire, how long have you been here?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"Funhouse and rides," Nadine agrees.

She takes the long way, just meandering through the carnival and enjoying the scenery and the music. There are plenty of rides and everything else, and along the midway the small of fair food is almost overpowering.

"And I've been here...a little bit over a year, it was early in the summer last year when I first got here. I live in the Free Cities now." God, it's been so long. And somehow it feels like hardly any time has passed at all. Strange how time can be like that.

"It took a while to adjust to this world, but...it's not bad, really. It's weird and confusing sometimes, but it's pretty neat seeing things that I thought only existed in movies and books. Sometimes it's like living in a movie or a book."

[postocular]

It had been so long since he'd smelled funnel cakes and other fair food that he stops suddenly, like running into an invisible wall. He stands there for a few long moments just taking a deep breath. While it's probably overwhelming in large doses, but the bit of nostalgia is nice. The air here, especially the air in Solvunn, smells so much better than back home which almost always had the sour smell of decay blowing in on the wind.

"A year, huh?" That sounds like a long time, but it lets the thought settle in his head a little better. This is his new home, and if someone's been stuck over a year in this place? It's a pretty good indication that he can, too. Not.. that he has anywhere to get back to. This is better than the nothing that definitely follows.

"The Free Cities? What's that like? I'm over in Solvunn. It reminds me a lot of home, honestly. Y'know, other than feeling like something out of a dream."

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine glances down, seeing how the midway hits Carl. She understands that completely, that sudden hit of a memory of how life used to be. All those little things just taken for granted that are now the stuff of dreams.

"Here." She takes a few steps to one of the booths and grabs two cardboard trays with fresh corn dogs on them. "Can't enjoy the fun house on an empty stomach."

It's not like they're in any rush.

"Mmm, I've heard about Solvunn. Sounded kind of like the fantasy Amish, to me. The Free Cities is a lot different. It's like...New York and London and Tokyo all in one, but in the desert. Big busy cities and lots of technology - for this world, anyway. There's a ton of universities and museums and theater houses, and a lot of cafes and places to go dancing."

[postocular]

Carl's eye goes wide and his mouth definitely starts watering in response to being handed a corn dog. He can't even remember the last time he'd had one. Probably the summer before everything went to hell, but it was such a benign moment doomed to be forgotten. He glances around the stand and mosies over to the dispenser of ketchup and all but drowns his food in it. God he missed ketchup. After swirling it around, he takes a huge bite and hums in approval.

"Damn, that's good." He nods along to what she's saying, trying to picture it. He's never been to big cities like that, but he'd been to Atlanta enough to be able to draw imagined similarities.

"Honestly, it's not so bad? It reminds me a lot of some of the communities I've been to. There's one that was called The Kingdom and everyone even called their leader the king. He had a pet tiger. But Solvunn is a lot of big families and there's lots of farming. They actually don't work through the day? They do all their work in the morning so they can do what they want in the afternoon. It's pretty neat."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Corn dogs are one of my favorite fair foods. There's nothing like them - they make this breaded sausage thing in Cadens that's sort of close, but..."

Nothing beats the classic. It's one of the best things about the Horizon - whenever Nadine's missing pizza or sweatpants or Madonna music, she can have it.

"And I've got to say, I've never run into kind of community quite like that. The...kingdom with the tiger place, I mean. Solvunn does sound like a nice place to live. A lot different than the other two countries. They work all day long in Cadens, and usually longer."

It's something she noticed, how productivity is praised and lauded. Even in areas like the arts. The old fashioned American work ethic seemed alive and well in the Free Cities.

[postocular]

"I'm gonna have to agree. I like a good fried oreo, but the corn dog wins in a landslide." It's interesting that Cadens has things that are pretty different in comparison to what Solvunn has to offer.

Carl grins, shaking his head. "Yeah, they're kinda one in a million. People needed different things at the end of the world, I guess, but it works for them. What's the Cadens like?"

Solvunn is so laid back most of the time, but everybody pitches in and does their part. There's never a lack of things to do, but it's interesting to see that everybody has a hobby or a craft that they work hard to perfect. Carl hasn't even begun to think about what he'd like to do. He's been doing a lot of reading, learning the stories and a little history on the place he's going to call his home. He wants to do something that will help. Something that will make him feel productive, at least.

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine nods along, but she watches Carl and is quiet a little bit after he finishes. She's focused on one particular thing he'd said, and quite a few pieces fell into place. That vague air about him that put her in mind of Joe. His eye. How excited he is about familiar food and sights, even though he hasn't been here all that long.

"You know," she finally says, casually, "you're really right about that. People needing different things when the world ends. I met a lot of people after my world ended, and they all needed all kinds of different things. I never met any tigers though. That would have been really cool."

She keeps her voice casual, not wanting him to feel pressured to talk or expect some kind of long drawn out pity speech. She just wants him to know that if he does want to talk, she'd probably understand. There's common ground, and she understands how important that is.

"I did see a lot of deer inside of Walmarts."

[postocular]

Carl finishes, wiping his hands off on his jeans, and looks at Nadine with surprise. So far, he's not met anybody else from a place where the world had pretty much ended. It's good to know that even in a whole other world, life keeps going even after the end.

"The biggest thing that everybody needs is people. If you don't have 'em to back you up or be in your corner, things can get really dark. I think all anybody wants is to just have a place to belong and call theirs. It's the ones that decide that what they have isn't enough that screws it up for everyone else." He learned the hard way that fighting is just human nature, and boy is it exhausting.

"We didn't really go into big stores like that.. Walkers tend to gather in places like stores or common areas. But I bet that would have been cool to see. I like deer."