sadfreezingbrit_archive (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sadfreezingbrit_archive) wrote2011-08-21 02:52 am
sadfreezingbrit_archive) wrote2011-08-21 02:52 am
Entry tags:
One incredible feat of sleep-deprived bakery architecture. [23/??? artefacts collected]
[ It's the event's second night, around four o'clock in the morning.
The narration trusts that at this point everyone has found somebody to room with and is tucked into bed.
Fast asleep as opposed to completely deprived of the same ever since the event started.
And definitely not building a donut replica of Westminster Abbey in one of the conference rooms.
Nope.
Not happening anywhere at all. ]
[ ...For everyone who does not enjoy a little action at night, Philip will emerge from his building project in the morning and can subsequently be found
a.) making coffee in the coffee area
b.) drinking coffee in one of the cubicles and
c.) throwing coffee at the backstairs spiders
If you hear him humming a strange tune, well, that's just the melody his hot beverage gives off, because who needs a sense of smell when you can have a constant soundtrack instead? ]
The narration trusts that at this point everyone has found somebody to room with and is tucked into bed.
Fast asleep as opposed to completely deprived of the same ever since the event started.
And definitely not building a donut replica of Westminster Abbey in one of the conference rooms.
Nope.
Not happening anywhere at all. ]
[ ...For everyone who does not enjoy a little action at night, Philip will emerge from his building project in the morning and can subsequently be found
a.) making coffee in the coffee area
b.) drinking coffee in one of the cubicles and
c.) throwing coffee at the backstairs spiders
If you hear him humming a strange tune, well, that's just the melody his hot beverage gives off, because who needs a sense of smell when you can have a constant soundtrack instead? ]
2/2
You've, um... never actually met any of the Mirrors before, have you? Or... talked to your own?
[ O brain activity that would allow for a better subject change, where art thou? ]
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He's not still trying to apologize for what someone else did, anyway.]
I haven't, no.
[Shaking her head and lacing her fingers together in her lap, Evie chews on her lower lip for a moment.]
I can't help wondering what mine is like, although I'm certain I won't approve if that appears to be the general consensus about mirror-selves. Are there many occasions to meet them?
[Because honestly, that sounds as though it could be both amusing and horrible, particularly if one mistook a mirror for the real version.*
*See Fig. A; Dean Smith]
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[ He says it in a voice that is absent-minded, because the brain-to-mouth filter felt like sharing his thoughts again.
At least they are less troubling this time. And seem to go unnoticed too, at least by Philip himself. ]
Um... they crossed a few times a while ago. I think-- [ Does he remember that correctly? ] I think normally there's something stopping us from being on one side with our own Mirror, but I remember one or two events where that didn't seem to matter.
[ Right, that doesn't actually answer much, does it? ]
...I honestly can't say, there doesn't seem to be any pattern, but
I've been here almost a year and I've met them--
[ Counting... counting... counting... ]
Um, three times, I think.
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[As much as Evelyn thinks it would be interesting to meet her opposite, she can't say that she's completely confident about whether or not the woman would be a decent person. Whether or not she might be some kind of...fornication-addled, homicidal maniac. Taking that risk makes her uncomfortable.
Although apparently she won't have a choice if they just show up due to some kind of event.]
What sort of things happened when they were over here? I imagine it was very confusing. Or...would you rather not talk about it, considering your...um...very outspoken mirror?
[Evelyn holds back a laugh, trying not to smile.]
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Let's... [ He clears his throat. ] Let's just say I used to live in a different room before- before he and [ Inhale. Exhale. ] his "partner" dropped by for a visit.
[ Philip is smiling, if a little lopsidedly. Call it old-fashioned, but he maintains that elaborating on his Mirror's (or anyone else's) love life has too awkward and inappropriate a ring to it, at least when alone with a lady from the 1920s.
Still, if she is not utterly taken aback by it then he can at least find it in himself to hint, considering that despite everything neither Phil nor Dean Smith were responsible for any of his top 5 most traumatising moments. ]
...That was the only time I met him, actually. The last time all the mirrors were on the same side was... in June, I think. During a chess tournament- well, game. Just one game.
[ Speaking of which... ] They've never crossed just like that, as far as I know. There has to be a reason, for instance-- One time there was something wrong with the mirrors. The objects, I mean. They were just gone and we could walk right through to the other side.
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[Oh, partner. As in...as in a lover, or...or something. A male lover. For a man. Well, times are changing, and things are rather progressive now, aren't they? Evie always did wonder about one of the young men she had been acquainted with in secondary school, and it isn't exactly a taboo subject since it's being referred to in popular songs...]
Oh.
[It's not surprised, but a quiet, thoughtful hum. She gets the hint now, but it isn't common where she's from. Not in 1926, anyway. Being a romantic, though, she's certainly an advocate for love no matter what form it comes in.]
I...suppose it must be nice for them, then. They must be people too, correct? At their cores? It would be a shame to deprive them of that much simply because they're on the other side.
[She rolls her shoulders in a little shrug.]
Well. Regardless, that's an interesting development. I wasn't aware that sort of thing could happen. Did you see the mirror side? What was it like?
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It's the same as here, only in reverse. And the grounds don't have colour. You step outside and everything around you is black and white... I've always wondered why that is.
Apart from that it doesn't seem much-- [ Hang on, hannnng on! ]
Actually, there's one more thing, but I can't confirm it. Fortunately, I should say. [ Ahem. ] When you die on the mirror side you actually die. No extra lives, just... whatever the consequence of dying here might be.
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How curious. And the- You actually die?
[HOLD UP.
The "dying" thing still unsettles her. Evelyn hasn't met anyone so far that died recently, but the entire concept, trivializing death...maybe this place really is some manner of afterlife-flavored limbo. A second chance. It doesn't necessarily make sense with her, since she was out doing things before she was thrown into Wonderland, but by this point, anything possible. Ruling something out just because it's improbable ]
Is this...wait, as in the mirrors themselves have no other lives, or if this if we happen to get stuck over there?
[Not that she wouldn't risk going over there, because she would. Adventure, and all that.]
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[ --wish I could speak from experience, but I messed up killing a mirror when I had the chanceokayno, let's try sounding a little less trigger-happy here. ]
I know that one time the mirrors crossed it was because we were... well, under attack. Did you ever notice the large stain in the grass outside? Near the forest? The Jabberwock- it happened last year. [ Beat. ]
Anyway, what I noticed was- [ wasn't much because he was Clarence at that time ] was that some Mirrors died trying to fight it and... I know they weren't dead later, so it must be that or the Queen remaking them.
[ A few more beats for the heck of it. ]
If you're really curious, I... I suppose you could try talking to them. They answer sometimes if you write on the mirror or even just talk into it, but [obviously ] there's no telling what sort of answer you'll get, if any.
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[Talking with the mirrors sounds as though it could be an enlightening experience, and it's one that Evelyn makes a mental note to partake in. Surely there are some decent ones who can contribute data and information to the ongoing search that she and Mr. Holmes are conducting, and- asdfghfgjfksgJabberwock?]
Wait. Wait, wait...the Jabberwock? You mean the Jabberwock? As in "twas brillig and the slithy toves" Jabberwock?
[Oh my gosh, if she could see, her eyes would be sparkling with excitement.]
It was here? You...you actually fought it?
[Beat.]
You didn't happen to have a Vorpal Sword, did you?
[Evelyn's ability to remain on-topic: significantly lowered now that she has less to visually pay attention to.]
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[ His forced smile falters as he remembers that it doesn't contribute to the picture. At the same moment Philip sharply berates himself for thanking the mansion for Evelyn's blindness. But how could he not when it masks his discomfort ever so well without having to move a muscle to hide it himself.
Ah, but careful with the tone of voice. He clears his throat. Twice. Once for faking interest in and knowledge of English literature he never bothered to examine beyond school requirements. And another time for forcing himself to recall things that happen while he was, in fact, not himself at all. ]
I admit I didn't exactly get involved myself, I'd barely just got used to Wonderland as it was, but--
[ Third time isn't the charm when it comes to suspicious near-coughing noises. He swallows instead. ]
There was a sword and it belonged to the Queen. I know we tried to fight the Jabberwock for days on both sides of the mirror, but in the end she killed him within seconds. [ Beat. ] Or so I've heard and it wouldn't surprise me if it was true, but... I didn't see it myself.
no subject
I hope that sort of thing doesn't happen again.
[What else did the stories mention? A Jub Jub bird? A Bander-something-or-other? She can't remember.]
Regardless, you survived. I can't...really imagine dying. I know that it's almost inconsequential here, but the thought is still markedly unsettling.
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I... thought about that and I- I can't really-- [ Let's rephrase: ] I think it's not death we're worried about. It's how we die, perhaps when and- and what happens then... if anything happens at all.
[ A pause. ] But here? It's hardly more than an injury gone bad, sometimes it's probably worse to be left alive.
[ Annnd he probably could have gone without that last part, but oh well. Something else springs to mind: ]
I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dismiss your-- You're right, it's probably not something to look forward to, regardless.
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It's quite all right.
[Somehow, Evelyn isn't surprised to hear how depressingly negative Philip's thoughts on the subject are. Not that she blames him, but she still doubts that his lack of eye is the result of an unfortunate fall down a flight of stairs.]
I shouldn't be so preoccupied with it, but I do wonder. Curiosity, and all that.
[You know what that's like, don't you, Mister LaFresque?]
Either way, I- [She rubs one cheek tiredly.] -I suppose I ought to let you get back to whatever you've been doing. This event has been exceptionally draining.
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[ Philip blinks. He really wasn't doing much of anything and Evelyn's company-- Evelyn's company, appreciated as it may be, doesn't negate the fact that she's right and draining is a lovely euphemism for a sleep-deprived state he only expects to get worse later on.
He brushes off the impulse to encourage further conversation. ]
Um, sure. Can- can I help you get anywhere?
no subject
She doesn't want to appear incapable of getting about by herself, but she's also determined to figure out how to manage while deprived of one of her senses.]
I should be fine.
[She smiles tiredly Philip-ward and sets her half-empty coffee mug on the desk behind her.]
Take care of yourself, would you?
no subject
[ Oh the precious fake smiles wasted on her blindness. Sigh. ]