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She remembers the reported consequences of the Chinese one-child policies, girls left for dead or drowned. She remembers the desperate French inheritance laws of yesteryear, favouring the natural heir - and the son always regarded as the natural, of course. Marie-Claude remembers a time when, perhaps, she could have understood why her father was so disappointed in how the only child he got was a daughter, but those times are past, and those parts of the world are half across the globe. She is his natural heir in a Ludon, the small, fiercely beating heart of Europe, where her gender should make no difference. She is his child in a society where, surely, she should be capable of proving herself enough.

Yet, Marie-Claude Barrault looks to her father, and she is never enough.

Seen from outside, possibly she could have made a greater effort to please him. Gone right, when he said right. Studied a "softer subject" at university, rather than insisting on a degree in political science, like him. Sought a position in his party, if she absolutely had to work in that same field. Marie-Claude absolutely had to, however. To go left, when told right. To become a politician, when he'd have preferred an academic. To become speech-writer for Jean Louis Girard, when her father had all but publicly disinherited him in Ludonian politics, even if Jean Louis refused to bend or bow.

Likewise, Marie-Claude also refuses, to believe that her sole job in this world is to please her father. He should be pleased quite naturally, because she is who she is and there's much to be pleased by, truly.

Nevertheless, sometimes, people do not live as nature intended. Marie-Claude studies political science and writes speeches for Tous La Liberté; later, she founds her own party, The Social-Liberals, in clear ideological opposition to her father's conservative values. And her father, the old mastodont at the helm of Parliament, at least the way it used to be, is not pleased.

That is the story. She cannot rewrite it. She will not.

info | permissions

PLAYER

NAME: S.
TIMEZONE: CEST

CHARACTER

NAME: Marie-Claude Barrault
CANON: DET MAN FÅR (Danish novella)
CANON POINT: End-novella
AGE: Late thirties
GENDER: Female
SPECIES: Human
BIRTH DATE: September 12th
HOMETOWN: Ludon City, Ludon (Central Europe)
OCCUPATION: Politician
EDUCATION: Masters in political science, minor degree in Ludonian literature
LANGUAGES: Ludonish, French, German, English
POWERS: Resting Bitch Face™

PERMISSIONS

BACKTAGGING: Yes, please, I rely on it
4TH WALLING: No
THREADJACKING: No
KISSING: Yes, default to M/F, open to F/F
HUGGING: Yes, though she isn't very likely to
SEX: No, though I will happily write fade to black scenarios
FIGHTING: No
INJURY: Yes, though contact me about severe injuries
ROMANCE: Yes, M/F as a rule, open to F/F
DEATH: No

PERSONALITY

x Serious
x Professional
x Cold
x Analytical
x Caring
x Principled
x Moral
x Intelligent
x Severe daddy issues
x Has the world view of a politician, but the drive of an academic
x Understated sense of humour, reserved for the people closest to her
x Will never avoid debate for the sake of other people's feelings and egos
x Loud about her ethical views
x Loves literature, especially poetry

HISTORY

x Born as the only child and daughter of Philippe and Violette Barrault
x Pursued politics despite her father's pressure on her to make a name for herself in academics
x Studied political science for six years at University of Ludon
x Has a minor degree in Ludonian literature which she is privately very passionate about
x Remained politically active during her university years as a member of SDP's youth organization, thus working with her father's opponents
x Later applied to work as a speech-writer for Liberté under Jean Louis Girard
x Two years into this partnership, she founded her own party, The Social-Liberals
x Half a decade later, she would become Prime Minister

novella | blurb

An unsigned letter, in which is written nothing but a grandiose quote by Emperor Augustus, finds its way into Marie-Claude Barrault’s life only a few months after she has entered office as Prime Minister of Ludon. This mysterious first contact, made by the former Foreign Minister, Jean Louis Girard, who is on the run from Interpol, marks the beginning of a correspondance that will reestablish a sense of understanding between her and the man she thought time had taken from her.

“DET MAN FÅR/WHAT YOU GET” is not a story about forgiveness, but an investigation of all the ways in which you can still bridge the clefts that come to exist between people.

A part of the City-universe.