#brainblot

in terms of unconscious thinking, the easy and obvious answer is that the Queen is a historical figure and therefore it's way easier to say she was super cool and awesome; her strictness hasn't negatively affected him yet and as a resident of the Queendom he's probably grown up with everyone saying how cool she was. plus there's the added aspect of how it's easy to say that it never WOULD negatively affect him; if he were in the Queen's court he wouldn't blow that opportunity (as he says in his second Chat).

out LOUD i'm inclined to think he would say something similar to what he says in the Prologue: the Queen needed to be that strict because who would obey a queen who's nice all the time?

the problem is then that obviously my protag would keep pushing on that, because Riddle is literally enforcing the Queen of Hearts's rules the exact same way the Queen would (BEHEADING), so what makes them different beyond the fact that Riddle's way of beheading doesn't KILL?? this is where i'm running into the biggggg problem, because obviously what the character says doesn't have to be what they actually think and therefore OUT LOUD i could have Ace double down on 'how cool the Queen is and how Riddle is nowhere near her level and she NEEDED to be strict but Riddle doesn't', but i genuinely don't know what he would actually THINK in response. because Ace is stubborn as shit, prideful, and pretty self-centered, especially in the earlier books, but he's also clever yknow? even if he doesn't recognize the comparisons himself, someone laying them out side-by-side in front of him like that would be hard to ignore, and even if he DOES stick his head in the sand initially and verbally (again, prideful) it's still going to make him think, right?? like, he would have to interrogate internally what makes Riddle different from the Queen, and i don't know what conclusion he'd come to.

tbh i think the problem is i'm inclined to think that he would AGREE that there's really no difference between the Queen and Riddle, when it's presented to him like that, but that kinda breaks some things bc i don't see Ace EVER taking that and going "man maybe Riddle's okay actually" lmfao so he would by right HAVE to go "maybe the Queen of Hearts isn't as cool as i thought" but i'm having trouble reconciling that conclusion mentally with like. the citizens of Twisted Wonderland loving the Great Seven so much. that feels almost integral to Ace's character, to the point where challenging it almost feels like i'm breaking him?? lol??

which in that case it would almost be better to take him down the route of "those rules were a good idea for the time they were written, but they're stupid now, and enforcing them makes you stupid too" which i think might be what the game is going for?? most of the time when ace and deuce push back against the rules in canon it's a lot of "these rules are ridiculous" but then again, Ace also spends a lot of time calling Riddle a tyrant and a wannabe for, again, doing the exact same thing Ace glazes the Queen of Hearts for (ruling with a policy of "NO MERCY"). and then of course the philosophical clash of the book takes the turn during the duel sequence where the crux of the argument changes to a lack of. . . i suppose initiative? independence? the idea that Riddle can't think for himself, more or less. ("Is that all you are? An extension of her [Mrs Rosehearts]? Can't you think for yourself?"), so. . . . . maybe that implies the difference is that Riddle didn't make the rules he enforces, and the Queen did?

plus, there's the additional issue of like. they keep FOLLOWING the rules Ace calls out as stupid even post-Book 1; the resolution seems to be being less strict about their enforcement, not "we should phase these out" (like, they're still painting roses, they're still wearing pink to feed the flamingos, and Trey at the end of Book 1 says "Let's try to set the bar at 'it's great if it's this way,' not 'it absolutely has to be this way' "). at which point it's like. huh?????? huh?????????

the meta conclusion i keep coming back to OVERALL is Ace likes the Queen of Hearts because her enforcement doesn't directly affect him, and Riddle's does. but THAT DOESN'T HELP ME because internally he is NOT going to be thinking that, even if that IS what he's operating under; he would NOT acknowledge that his motivations are self driven. he's not that self aware. so therefore i have to come up with the internal logic he's following that justifies his position

(at this point i'm sure you can surmise the circles i'm pacing. like a zoo animal. lmfao)