bothfoulandfair | five ❅ spam

[Elsa has been preparing for this for most of her life, but she still feels like people shouldn't be looking to her for advice, or thoughtful commentary, or much of anything, really. It's almost like whenever they turn to her expecting her to say something, she still thinks they're talking to her father or mother, and when she turns around, she'll see them behind her ready to give an intelligent, diplomatic answer.

They're not, though. The young Senator feels totally alone even though there are people from her home planet with her, and other senators to talk to, and she wishes she'd had more time. She feels so unprepared, and she's sure it shows.

But she still tries to keep it together at formal events, dressed in outfits that reference her homeworld without actually meaning she needs to wear twenty pounds of petticoats to keep warm. Her smiles are a little pinched, like she's forgotten how to do it and is relying on vague recollections of how to do it. It's exhausting, to hear so many people tell her that they're sorry for her loss, that her parents will be missed, but at the same time, it's nice to know that people cared.

So while she keeps to the sidelines of most political and otherwise formal gatherings, people still seem to flock around this new face in the political scene, and... she's sort of flailing. Rescue her? Ask some questions about her thoughts on current events? Maybe you knew her father and didn't think he was that great of a guy?]

[ooc: feel free to catch elsa wherever, whenever, and if you've got any questions, feel free to hit me up!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jean stays out of politics, for the most part. Her brother is a Utopian through and through, but she can see the ups and downs of every perspective, and prefers to stay out of the feuding.

She'll pretend, of course, if she must; better to be perceived as a true Loyalist when you're talking to Senators. (And it's not that she disagrees, exactly - the Emperor built their society, after all, and did a pretty good job of it.)

It's how she ends up at parties like this, wining and dining with the upper crust. It's interesting, at least, and she can report back her observations to Stephen. (Family. That's the sort of loyalty that really matters.)

Elsa catches her eye early on; she doesn't need her enhancements to know grief when she sees it. She knows when someone feels out of place, despite all the trimmings. Eventually, she approaches, a smile on her face and a drink in her hand. (She could never afford it, usually; may as well take advantage.)

"That's a lovely dress." Jean wears the same thing to most of these; a long black gown and her mother's pearls.

Elsa tries not to visibly tense when she's approached, dreading what this stranger is going to ask her about and trying not to. She clasps her hands to stop herself from fidgeting nervously and meets Jean's smile with a sort of pinched, placid look of her own.

But then the question's not about her parents or politics, and it catches her off guard. The surprise definitely shows for a moment before she tries to school her features back into something a little more neutral.

"Thank you." She fumbles for something to add. "Yours is beautiful, too."

Jean inclines her head, smile deepening. "Thanks. I've had it for ages." Her mother took her shopping, when she started to get better; when she could be in public, surrounded by other minds.

"Yours, though - that's not from around here, is it?" The World has a eclectic mix of styles, but she hasn't seen that before.

"No. It's from Arendelle."

And right now, she wants nothing more to be back there, where everything is simple and easier to understand and keep a handle on. She misses the serenity that comes from standing on one of the glaciers after a storm's passed, and there's nothing like this, here.

"It's... where I'm from," is her totally lame follow up to that statement.

[At one of these gatherings, Francis takes up a position beside her.] And how is our newest Senator, Excellency? [Francis certainly comes off kindly and amused.]

Fine, thank you.

[It's what she tells everyone, even if it's not true. People from her planet are known as being cool and collected no matter what the circumstance, and she's reluctant to break character, to let everyone down.

The cracks still show, though.] And yourself?

[He smiles. He's not actually empathetic, but he reads people well enough. Years of practice.]

Absolutely fine! I'm just making sure you're well tended to. That's my job.

Well, it's appreciated. You've done an excellent job thus far.

Your excellency honours me. [He's not as obsequious as the words would suggest but not so far as to be impudent.]

[And that... sort of exhausts what she has to say to him, right now. Not that she's really good at conversing with anyone right now, but that's probably to be expected.

So she's just. Going to stand here.]

Is anything the matter, Excellency?

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