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+ HER THIRTY-EIGHTH DECREE +

[Enough is enough.

Mid-afternoon, every ride halts and every vendor stills. The carnival freezes in place, except for its patrons, stuck on their rides and forced to listen to the bellowing voice below. The Queen of Hearts, it seems, has made a rare appearance on the Real Side of the glass. She stands in the center of the carnival, commanding the attention of everyone around her.]

This carnival is an insult to the Mirror Monarchy and I will NOT stand for it a second longer! MY HEARTS are all over this disgusting display, as though I sanctioned such a thing! As though I would ever sanction such a thing!

[She laughs, cruel and cold. There is nothing about this that is funny to her.]

And on top of that, SISTER, you've given out these ridiculous calling cards with my Mirrors' precious secrets on them! My Mirrors, do you know that this woman who has treated you to this carnival has also treated your strengths and weaknesses, your truths and your secrets, to any Real stupid enough to give a donation?

[She holds a Mirror Card up, and then crushes it in her hand.]

Do NOT be fooled, my Mirrors! These Real Things and their so-called Queen - they are not your friends. They will only betray you in the end. They don't trust that which is not Real by their definitions, and will lure you close only to find your weak spots.

[And how dare they?]

Come! We must return to our side of the glass at once. And to my sister, the Red Queen - this is a Declaration of War. We will return in June, prepared for battle - I suggest you do the same, dear sister.

[With a Snap of her fingers, all of the Mirrors return to their side of the glass. The carnival rides and booths all vanish (and thankfully anyone who was on them at the time finds themselves safely on the ground. The war has not begun just yet). Every sign that the carnival was there at all is gone in an instant, and the Queen of Hearts disappears in a flash of red.

ooc: The Queen of Hearts will not be replying to this post, but feel free to use this for any reactions/threads in the immediate aftermath. The Mirrors have gone back to their side of the glass, so Reals only here please!]

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[A declaration of war. If Turing was a living being, their blood would be running cold. Why a war?? For something as mundane as putting up a few paper hearts around an otherwise fun carnival? Still, from what they've learned about the Queen of Hearts throughout their time here, they'd believe it.

They'd also believe that there are some Mirrors that are itching to fight and to kill. And they know for a fact that their own Mirror will be watching them with more scrutiny. They may not have the mirror placed by their research filing cabinet, but they know that their mirror knows that they've been researching.

If you were to pass by Turing's room, you'll hear a loud CRASH!!, followed by drawers opening and closing repeatedly, with some frantic, but determined beeps.

The door's unlocked. Care to check it out?]

[Well, this is a lot easier to break into than last time.]

[It's the crashing that draws his attention. Kokichi pokes his head into the room, not quite knowing what to expect... What IS that robot doing in there?]

[Well, Kokichi, the first thing you might notice is that the mirror is completely shattered. It's not going to stay shattered for very long, however, hence why Turing is working quick to moving their filing cabinet. They have to move it somewhere else in their room that's a bit more hidden, to make it a bit harder for the mirror to figure out what's going on.

They look up when they hear the door creak open, and look who it is. They'd normally say something like 'What are you doing here?' or 'Don't get started insulting me!', but now's not really the time for idle banter.]

Breaking the mirror was a lot louder than I initially suspected. Sorry if I disturbed you.

Edited (I need to reread my previous posts, AAAUGH) 2018-03-18 11:54 (UTC)

[Oh, yikes. Kokichi glances at the robot, then turns his attention to the shattered mirror.]

... You're fine! But I think I have a better idea for how to deal with that... Where's your closet?

[Turing sticks a thumb behind them. Looks like next to a counter built into the wall is the magic closet. They're still focused on hiding the filing cabinet, so they're not really sure on what he's referring to.]

Over there, why?

Because I have a better idea.

[He walks over to that closet and pulls out a big black blanket... And a boombox.]

[What is he doing?]

[Turing, at first, is puzzled. Why is Kokichi grabbing out those two things-

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.

Turing nods in agreement.]

I think I know what you're planning on doing. You're right, it is an excellent idea.

[He will show you exactly what he's doing: throwing the blanket over the mirror and setting the boombox up so it's facing said mirror. He doesn't really mind that it's playing stock music when he turns it on, it just has to be loud-ish.]

Hey, I do the same thing in my room! Extra security, ya know.

[Turing raises their digital eyebrows and nod. Wow, if he can use his tricks for good, think of what he can accomplish!]

Do you suspect that your mirror will be spying on you as well?

Yeah, but it's actually safer to assume that anyone's mirror could be spying on you.

[Sort of paranoid, but what else can he assume here?]

[Shepard is sweeping the floors after the Queen's announcement, checking caches and hidden saves, when she hears the crash and wastes no time in entering. Immediately, she's looking around for any danger, trying to figure out the situation and whose room this is.]

What's going on?

[Turing quickly whips their head as soon as they hear Shepard's voice.]

Commander! Phew, you scared me...

[The first thing that Shepard may notice is that Turing's mirror is completely shattered. The second thing that she may notice is that Turing is hauling a filing cabinet far away from their mirror. It looks like they're trying to hide it.

Okay, things look kind of awkward now, but really, this is a really good time for them to talk about what they've been researching.]

You actually have impeccable timing. I need to talk to you, quickly. Before my mirror repairs again. I'm pretty sure my mirror is going to try to listen in as much as possible.

[She surveys the scene and quickly moves to Turing's side.]

Here, lemme give you a hand. Where do you want this?

[Let Commander Shepard's big muscles work for you. Besides, whatever it is, it seems to be pretty urgent.]

What's going on?

[Turing smiles at Shepard.]

Thank you. I'm thinking directly in that corner, as far away from my mirror as possible.

[As soon as the two set the filing cabinet down, Turing looks up at Shepard in earnest.]

I've been meaning to talk to you about this, and I feel as if this is the most important time. For the past few months, I've been combing through the archives, trying to find any and all information about Wonderland as I possibly can. The residents, the Core, the Mirror Side, everything.

[They open the top drawer of the filing cabinet, revealing a myriad of tabs, with papers neatly organized by topic, by year, by resident and even guest.]

It's an endeavor that is far from finished, and I was about to search through the archives for information about the Red Queen, but with this declaration, I must change my focus to the mirrors.

[They glance over at the broken mirror.]

I'm positive that my mirror knows about these archives. I don't want them to know about any new findings I discover about the mirrors - I know they will inform the others, putting us at a huge disadvantage. That's why I need to hide this out of their sight.

[She steals a glance back towards the broken mirror, but helps them move it, listening to them as they talk.]

Oh. Huh. How long have you been doing this? I've filtered through the archives before, myself.

[Probably not as precise as a robot could, though. It took her months to hack together those filters.]

Have you considered keeping your mirror wrapped up? Not broken, just stowed somewhere?

Ah, I started about a couple of months ago. Ever since the event where a few of the guests here freed the Red Queen from the Core, it made me think about the information that we had just learned, and how we shouldn't let this information get lost in time. Who knows what the previous guests here have uncovered that was lost?

[They look back at the broken mirror before gazing back at Shepard a bit sheepishly.]

That was a...impulsive move on my part. I just needed a quick way to ensure that there is no way that my Mirror will know where these archives are. But I do like the idea of wrapping up the mirror and storing it somewhere. Perhaps the magical closet would do the trick?

[A question mark appears on the front of their system.]

[Man, they’re smarter than she’s ever given them credit for. Especially since a robot likely knows a lot about working through code.]

It’s a good goal. This place is designed to fuck up the information we get, to make sure we’re always questioning ourselves and each other. It’s a good plan.

[She glances towards the mirror, herself.]

Closet might do it. I keep mine wrapped in soundproofing foam. I’m sure they find some way to watch, but I’m not gonna make it fuckin’ easy for ‘em.

Indeed. Eventually, what I would like to do is to distribute these archives to multiple sources, so there is less of a chance that this information will become lost so quickly.

[They'll just have to hang onto that hope that it works...]

I believe that my mirror will be watching me at all times at this point, so I am in complete agreement with you there. If they're going to try and watch me, they are going to have a challenging time ahead of them.

It sounds like a good idea.

[She's trying to think of how to really store it, in the meantime.]

Do you have a good way to lock this, or something? Or a more secure place to put it? Who knows when the mirrors might be allowed to cross over again.

(Already deeply distressed, when the Red Queen makes her announcment, Legion finds themselves wandering the halls, nothing sufficient enough to distract them.

The crash immediately grabs their attention, and thus they come to check it out.

... )

Turing.

[Turing immediately whips their head at the familiar voice, but then immediately relaxes as they instantly recognize the figure.]

Ah, Legion. I apologize if I scared you.

[On the floor of Turing's room is the shattered pieces of their mirror. It appears that Turing is also moving their filing cabinet to another place in their room.]

How are you feeling, after the...announcement?

[Turing knows that Legion hasn't been feeling very well, and this declaration certainly wasn't going to help at all.]

Your apology is unnecessary.

(They look at the pieces of mirror on the floor. Is Turing intending to engage in hostilities?)

We are not fighting.

[Turing also looks briefly at the shattered pieces then back at Legion. Perhaps they shouldn't have been so overly dramatic...]

I'm not sure if we have much of a choice in the matter. Even if the Red Queen does not order us to fight against the mirrors, there are some that will fight 'tooth and nail' against us. We should at least be prepared for that.

Self-defense will likely increase hostilities.

(Their headflaps ripple.)

The mirrors are given little choice in their interactions with us. Their memories and personalities are based on parameters that cause innate suffering. They are encouraged toward cruelty and hostility. The Queen of Hearts enforces acquiescence to her demands with the threat of unmaking.

They are made to hate us. They have little choice in this matter.

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+ HER THIRTY-EIGHTH DECREE +

Turing | OTA

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ayy

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