Memory Corrupt General Log

[ourlittlehelpers]

Who: Everyone
What: Memory Corrupt Event
When: Friday, June 1st to Tuesday, June 5th
Warnings: Please put any and all warnings in subject headers.

[It's strange. You can't quite put your finger on it, but there's something different about today. Not only might you feel different but your families, your friends, practically everything is different.

Can you remember a moment more peculiar than this? Actually...

What do you remember?]

Comments

[truffulacide]

[you think your throat hurts now? let's hope the smoke from Once-ler's cigar doesn't provoke an even worse reaction. when he looks out to the window to see her sitting on the grass, he takes his time meandering to the door and walking out, casually strolling over to where she's sitting.

he looks down at her, chewing on his cigar for a few minutes before taking it out of his mouth to talk to her.]

What? Was class too boring today?

[why aren't you in school, Audrey. why.]

[treefetish]

I didn't feel like going today. [Wow, is he really going to start up about this now? On today of all days?]

[truffulacide]

You never feel like going.

[and it was making him sick. not because he cared or anything of the sort, no. if he had to deal with one more call from her teachers, he just knew his head was going to explode.

but...ugh. he is curious. which is why he doesn't start throwing out snide comments at her right then and there and instead continues to take leisurely puffs on the cigar.]

Why?

[treefetish]

[She's sick of explaining it, even to the people she's grown attached to in this place. Every time she says it, it feels just a little bit more real.]

I lost my reason for fighting.

[truffulacide]

[he blinks, not at all sure what she's getting at.]

...Um, 'kay. Like that tells me anything.

[treefetish]

You wouldn't understand. You're from before all this started. You never had to go through this.

[She coughs violently; looks like the cigar smoke is starting to get at her.]

[truffulacide]

[uh oh call the waaaaaambulance, we need 30ccs of cheese for this WHINE.]

Go through what? Gosh, you can be so weird sometimes. [he taps a few ashes down onto the grass, dangerously close to Audrey's hands.] You live in an amazing town. You have a great life; you've got friends, two parents, everything and anything you could ever want...

Man, the only thing you have the right to complain about is being dragged into this crappy place. Aside from that, what's so awful about your life?

[treefetish]

Amazing? Is that what you think it is? Do you think it's amazing to be locked up in a prison, to be watched every second of every day, to be taken off and beaten and killed or worse if you don't do exactly what they tell you to do?

[She puts her hand in her lap and shoots him the smallest of glares.] My friends and family are all dead, but, yeah, Thneedville is amazing! It's just super cool!

[truffulacide]

Oh, right. That's exactly how it is, isn't it?

[bitter condescension tinges his words, and he has to stop himself from biting into his cigar; any harder and he'll end up biting it in half, and then where will he be? how silly would he look?

no, none of that now. he's got a reputation to uphold. he might be away from his town - his town, mind you - but, gosh darn it, he's still the mayor. he'll always be the mayor.]

Let me tell you something: there's absolutely nothing wrong with Thneedville. All the stuff you're talking about leads back to one person. It's not the system that's flawed; it's him.

[he takes one more drag on his cigar before dropping it on the grass, snubbing it out with the heel of his shoe. a little too harshly, too.]

You won't have to worry about him when I get back. Things are gonna change for the better.

[treefetish]

The "flaws in the system" started the day they caged everyone in like animals. [She almost laughs at that last part, but it comes out more like a strangled little half-chuckle.] Really, Mr. Bob? And what are you going do that's so different from what everyone else did?

[truffulacide]

[just going to conveniently ignore that part kthxbye. he beams, any prior irritation completely smoothed away.]

Ever deal with a weed that just won't go away? [a beat.] Wait, stupid question. 'course you haven't. Well, here's a new life lesson for you: the best way to handle weeds is to cut 'em off at the source. It's the same with people. I'll just make sure he's never elected, that's all.

[treefetish]

... You know how dictatorships work, right? I mean, there aren't any elections. That's kind of the point. [She says this slowly, as if speaking to a child.]

[truffulacide]

A government like that can work, though. As long as you have the right person holding the reins, you'd be surprised how far a society can progress.

Take how it is back in my time for example. We haven't had an election in years but everyone's perfectly happy all the same. I mean it, too!

[treefetish]

Sure, you'd say that if you were the one in charge. That's the only person who gets to be happy.

[truffulacide]

[that brings his smile down a notch.]

Didn't you hear what I said? Everyone's happy. I made sure that they were. [but really, let's be honest here: it's not like they have any say in the matter.] No one's ever complained to me before.

[treefetish]

[She gives him a curious look; just who is this guy? Maybe she doesn't know as much about him as she had originally thought...]

Maybe they're too scared to tell you.

[truffulacide]

[aaaaand the irritation comes back in full force. his voice grows very, very soft.]

What are you trying to say, Audrey?

[treefetish]

I'm just saying that maybe they're not as happy as you think they are.

[truffulacide]

[he laughs derisively.]

What would YOU know about happiness? You just said so yourself; I bet you've never been happy a day in your life, have you? Coming from you, this is rich.

Let's hope everyone else isn't as big of a sadsack as you are. Otherwise, what's the point of even saving Thneedville?

[treefetish]

Saving it? All you're going to do is the same old thing under new management!

[she's getting to her feet now, clearly angry. meet the new boss, same as the old boss.]

[truffulacide]

What, the same old thing I've already been doing? The same old thing that's been working out just fine for years?

[he's balling his fists up now, looking down at Audrey with the most bitter, frustrated expression. sure, you wouldn't be wrong in thinking that it's intimidating but there's an unmistakable air of petulance about it, too. he looks like a child on the verge of a meltdown.]

[treefetish]

It's not working out! It's wrong!

[emphasizing her words with a hard stomp of her foot, audrey is acting like a child as well, but that's understandable considering she actually is one. his tone frightens her (has he always been so tall?) but she isn't backing down. she's been up against worse and lived. for now.]

[truffulacide]

Shut up! You're just a kid! You don't know anything!

[or maybe she does. maybe the problem here is that she knows more than she should. either way, she's hitting his base insecurity - inadequacy - and she's hitting it hard.]

All you know how to do is - is whine and mope! Did you ever think to ask about how I feel, or what I gave up to make everyone happy? You didn't, did you?

[this is your fault, Audrey. you're the bully here, not him.]

You're only upset because there isn't any trees, aren't you?!

[treefetish]

[sure, she's upset about the trees. she's always wondered what it would be like if they were still there, how much harder they could fight if they had clean air to breathe and didn't have to worry about getting sick. but everything, her grief over ted's death, her furious hatred of O'Hare, her frustration with what Bob has revealed himself to be, finally comes out in one near-scream of a sentence.]

I'm upset because you're a monster!

[truffulacide]

[wrong answer.

his fists, by this point moving of their own accord, clench and unclench tightly. he takes a step forward, eyes narrowed furiously. from any outsider's perspective, they would be forgiven for thinking that it looks like he's about to strike her.]

You don't know what a real monster is.

[real monsters act purely for themselves. they're selfish and their selfishness has no limits. like he said before to her, she has no idea how much he sacrificed...at least, from his own perspective. he's the good guy here. everything he's done from day one has been for someone else's benefit, not his own. and hasn't it all worked out for the best? aren't the people that really matter most happy?

Mom could attest to that. that's all the confirmation he needs by this point.]