sugarandbite | (no subject)

When she had shown up and people had told Caroline that the island got a little weird, she had taken a strict 'wait and see' policy. When December had come and thrown her into Victorian London, then she figured that that was what they had meant. People had said that the December change was normal.

No one mentioned anything about April. If she had known that she was going to wake up on the first of April and be living a world right out of Blazing Saddles then she would have tried to be prepared. She would have worked out a way to have certain things in place, like something to protect her hair from turning to straw in the heat. It might not have actually worked out given that everything completely changed, but the effort would have given Caroline something to be happy about.

Oh well. Nothing to do but sit and wait it out.

She had managed to work with the clothes that she had been handed so she looked less like Little House on the Prairie meets Showgirls than she had earlier on. It was a work in progress, but she was coping. That seemed to be the trend. She was not a girl who was made for the Old West. Give her a Savannah summer any day, but this was just so big, so wide. It was kind of overwhelming. But it definitely made her want to have a horse. Like crazy bad.

Walking down the street absently kicking stones along as she debated whether or not she wanted to check out another shop or just go back to the Compound and flounder in boredom, she was nearly ready to scream. The only thing that stopped her from having some sort of crazy fit right then and there was spotting Jenny a little way ahead of her.

"Oh my god, Jenny!" she shouted, not caring if it was in keeping with the period. The period could go wither and die. Picking her up her pace, she waved at her friend. "Oh my god. Hi."

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To say that Jenny had been unpleasantly surprised by the sudden change would have been putting it mildly. The era has its charm, of course, and deep down, she suspects she'll be able to focus more on that once she starts getting used to it, but for the time being, she has no desire to do that. It was different when it was London, a city she's vaguely familiar with, and cold weather that just made her feel at home. This feels somehow far more over the top, and all this heat and lack of water is bound to drive her mad.

The sight of a familiar face is more than welcome, then, and she sighs in something like relief as Caroline approaches, grateful to hopefully have someone to commiserate with. "God, this is all mad, isn't it?" she asks in lieu of any proper greeting. Caroline's taken care of that well enough, and there's no sense in not just getting to the point.

"Crazy mad. Like full on crazy go nuts. It's all very Kanye-meets-Tom-Waits-meets-Old-School-Clint-Eastwood."

There was something about this change that had made Caroline sort of hyper pop-culture literate. It was kind of funny, actually, in that way that strange quirks that sprang from nowhere were. In a month or two she would likely remember this time and cringe. Right now she was just going to take the whole thing in gingham-filled stride.

"I swear, next time we're going to end up in 18th century Versailles. I can feel it."

"You know I haven't got a clue who any of those people are," Jenny laughs, though having said so, she's pretty sure she's heard Caroline mention a Kanye before. She's not sure any of that is really the point, anyway. "But God, I'd take 18th century Versailles over this. At least it wouldn't be so dry. And we'd have much better clothes. These are awful. Worse than anything that usually comes from the box, even."

"Oh yeah. Right." Chewing on her lower lip, Caroline felt the familiar wave of embarrassment wash over her. This was really something that she had to start looking out for. Maybe she should start keeping track of when things as happened or what to introduce Jenny to next. Something practical like that.

Taking a deep breath she nodded. "More pop culture things to get to. But wouldn't it? Wigs and great food and the turmoil of possible revolution. It could be great."

"It would," Jenny agrees with a nod. Of course, she's always had a weakness for France, but it would be fun — something exciting and new, whereas this just feels like something to suffer through. "Of course, I think anything would seem fun compared to this. How could it not?" She'd even take the island as it usually is, and God knows she's gotten bored enough of that over the past months, with it no longer holding the same novelty it once did.

The versions of France that fill Caroline's mind are the ones from documentaries and textbooks and films directed by Coppolas. France to her was a pretty place, full of high ceilings and drama, fabulous clothes and secrets. It seemed like the sort of place that she would definitely get a kick out of, at least for a little while.

"Seriously. I think I'm going to tasting dust for all eternity. Or least for a good month after things go back to normal." If they went back to normal, but just as they had gone back to sunny and tropical after December, she was confident this would be exactly the same.

"Probably," Jenny says, shuddering at the thought. It's already starting to drive her mad and it hasn't even been that long; she can only imagine how awful it will seem at month's end. There's no way she could ever get used to this, not like she'd started to the last time everything changed. For one thing, that was London, and somewhat familiar to her because of it, regardless of the period. For another, it wasn't nearly as frustrating, no matter how bothersome some of the clothing was. "I'd guess all eternity, personally. How could anyone live like this?"

"No idea, but I wouldn't want to place bets on anything when it comes to this place."

Sure Caroline was pretty certain that people had lived in conditions like this and had been somewhat successful to boot. Or else they just faked it for Hollywood, though she vaguely recalled some sort of assigned reading from one of her history classes back in high school. If this entire place was playing at old west, then it could definitely be worse. They could be acting out Oregon Trail or the Donner Party neither of which seemed particularly awesome.

Crossing her fingers, she grinned. "Here's hoping though. For a lot of things."