cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

A lady came up to us and said, "This whole event has been amazing and wonderful, but you two are the crowning gems of it. Your presence brings this to a level I didn't think was possible. Thank you."

She's our favorite. Both the King of Hearts and I agree on that.

Other highlights:

• The owner of the company walked by. We engaged her in conversation and she smiled. She kept walking, which was nice, and didn't order our heads to be removed, which was even better.
• The dancers dressed as cards hung out with us for quite a while. It was super-fun interacting with them, as they're all a bit crazy, too.
• The cards played a game of speed chess with the chess pieces. All were moving at the same time and not necessarily in the correct method. It was hilarious and a few minutes of utter joy.
• I got many compliments on my costume. I'm deeply proud of it.
• One of my cards fell down laughing - quite literally! - when she heard me proclaim "A good execution never hurt anyone!" after someone asked me my opinion on beheadings. She hadn't heard me say that yet, though it had been my response all week. That right there? Why I do what I do.
• Simply being able to have long, rambling conversations full of total nonsense. Things I can't even remember right now because they were so utterly random.
• Making people smile.
• Making people laugh.
• Seeing coworkers and accosting them or dragging them into our revelries.

My heart is full of contentment and joy. I want to continue being the Queen. I want to have Cards to amuse me and do my bidding. I want to have a King to help me up and down off of stairs (the platform was super high and my dress is super long. not a great combination) and be deferential and completely hilarious. I want to have random people in the halls bow to me and people to smile when they see me.

I can keep some of this. I can keep the nonsense close to my heart and enjoy it. I can warm myself with the reminiscence of a job well done. I can use this as a light in dark times to say, "Yes, I love my job." I can use the attitude, posture, and manner as armor to defend me from the trials and tribulations of day-to-day life.

I just....I'm really, REALLY going to miss this. Not necessarily going to miss this bone-deep exhaustion and chest cold that's starting to get out of control. I'm going back to being an extra. That should be okay. It will eventually be okay. I'm just not okay with it right now.

...but I'm also very curious to know what NEXT year's Giant Werk Conference of Doom theme will be. I can continue playing dress-up and next year might be even more amazing than this year. One can hope.


Off with their heads!