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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 10:49:02 GMT -6
For example, one at head height showed her hand instead of the glass of her screen. One by her feet showed Moxie's feet instead. One near her hip showed his rustling leaves. Emery couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light and reflection that made them do this, or if they were actually magic in some way. Given that this was The Eccentric's Mansion, she supposed it could go either way. She reached up and tried to unhook one of them from the wall to take a closer look, but it refused to budge. She could tell it was hooked on, not screwed, but it still wouldn't 'let go'. She let go of it- apparently it wasn't something that the mansion was willing to give up. "Fine. Keep your secrets, then." She said. A mirror enchanted to give a reflection of the wrong part of your body wasn't really very valuable anyway.
Moxie 70.3/70.3 Emery 13 23
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 10:54:26 GMT -6
Value wasn't really something she considered when coming into the mansion- she was more focused on the scientific value of the artifacts she managed to drag out with her- but she'd be a fool to not acknowledge it in general. After all, even if she didn't think about that sort of thing, other people would, and sometimes it was better to give up an artifact for credits and go back for more later. It wasn't like the mansion ever seemed to run dry of these things, after all. She kept pacing forward- the hall of mirrors seemed to be going in a big loop, and she was happy to end up back where she started. It didn't look like there was much for her to take in here, and frankly it was getting a little boring. Even Moxie seemed to be calmer now, no longer jumping at his own reflection.
Moxie 70.4/70.4 Emery 14 24
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 10:59:15 GMT -6
Finally, she could see the door up ahead- and one last mirror. Emery slowed to a stop, not sure she was trusting the look of this one. The entrance room was... larger, for one. The door was the same, and the number of turns she had taken and the distance walked implied to her that she really was in the same spot, it had just... expanded. The walls were still lined with mirrors and it was still rather dark, but in the center was now a platform, a podium of sorts, with a spotlight shining down on it. The podium itself was a matte black, but on top of it... was a small hand mirror. Made of rough hewn wood, it barely had a functioning handle though the oval mirror held inside looked pristine, the light glinting off of it to a painful degree. Emery looked around briefly, and then approached with caution.
Moxie 71.0/71.0 Emery 15 25
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:03:07 GMT -6
She picked the mirror up by the handle- nothing happened. That was good. At least it wasn't... secretly alive, or electrified or anything like that. With nothing better to do, she looked in it. And a person looked back. A young woman. Her skin was a nutty brown, her hair darker but not entirely black. A plain t-shirt, apparently not one for any sort of complicated sense of fashion. No makeup on her face either, not caring about that either. Hazel eyes. Dimples. Smiling face, like she knew something Emery didn't. The longer Emery looked, the bigger the smile got. At first sheepish, but then bigger and bigger until it was outwardly mocking. Like the woman couldn't believe Emery was staring at her for so long. Why was she staring? It was like Emery had never seen her before. Emery could understand why she was laughing- what kind of person didn't recognize their own face?
Moxie 71.1/71.1 Emery 16 26
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:10:03 GMT -6
Emery slapped the mirror back down, glass down towards the podium. She took a long, shuddering breath. That was a face she hadn't seen in... a long time. A very long time. She felt her heart racing, and then the machinery around it straining to get it back under control, not wanting her to go into any fits. Something bubbled in the pit of her stomach, some sort of emotion she couldn't place. Fear? That wasn't it. It wasn't a good feeling. She never wanted to see that version of herself again. She had already burned all of the photos, and the people she used to call family had as well. Emery simply wasn't that person anymore. That woman had died a long time ago, and how dare she show her face again now. Ah. That was it- that was the emotion churning around in her stomach, eating her from the inside out.
Moxie 71.2/71.2 Emery 17 27
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:13:51 GMT -6
It was anger. Emery was angry. Angry at the reflection of her past self staring at her, mocking her, disgusted with her. Like she had any right to be- like what Emery now wasn't a much improved version. Not physically, no- but she had had an epiphany. One that she never would have reached if her former self hadn't died. If the accident had never happened. If it hadn't happened, that version of Emery would just be swanning around without any clue where she was going in life, doomed to die in irrelevance, in loneliness. Emery might have lost some things, but she knew where she was going now. She wouldn't be just her- she'd be a myriad of forms. Of souls, of bodies. She could spread herself beyond herself, into the unknown. To transcend even having a single body, a single soul. She could become... well, maybe she shouldn't go that far just yet.
Moxie 71.3/71.3 Emery 18 28
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:17:06 GMT -6
She still had a lot of research to get done, after all. A lot of steps to take before she could do anything like that. But at least now she knew where she was going- and that was better than she had ever had before. She sighed, and looked down at the mirror again. She was still gripping it tightly, and she just now realized that she was splintering the already brittle wood. She released her hand instantly, and flipped the mirror around to look at the surface. Still whole and uncracked- she hadn't damaged it. She didn't move it up to her face again though. For now, all she could see was a bosom and more of that plain, cap sleeved shirt. That could be anyone- and that was how it was going to stay. Emery slipped it into her bag, making it just another item to take home with her.
Moxie 71.4/71.4 Emery 19 29
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:30:29 GMT -6
She did note her folly though- in her desire to have an item of value, something magical that she could study, had caused the mansion to generate one of the most mean spirited things it could possibly think of. Well played on the mansion's part, but made her incredibly grumpy on her own. Moxie appeared to pick up on the dampened atmosphere and followed along behind Emery quietly. He couldn't really comprehend what was going through her mind, but he knew better than to fuss about it. She strode to the other side of the room and pushed open the door. Sure enough, it opened to where they had started in the vast, checker boarded room. She closed the door behind her and waited until Moxie got his footing, as he accidentally stepped on a black tile and made it belch flames few times before he remembered what the rules out here were.
Moxie 72.0/72.0 Emery 20 30
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:47:53 GMT -6
Once Emery was sure he knew what he was doing well enough to keep going, she made a beeline across the tiled floor once more, careful to only step on the safe white tiles. There were so many other doors here, so many other possibilities, but Emery didn't want anything to do with them right now. She knew she could keep exploring, SHOULD keep exploring. There was no reason to let a literal magic building hurt her feelings- or admit she was hurt. She had to be smooth, calm, something that could hold itself together if she ever wanted to achieve her hivemind goals. And that WAS her goal, eventually- how could she ever do that if she was freaking out and disrupting the whole? And yet... it was clear she was in no state to continue onwards, and she wanted to get this artifact home safely- if just to take it apart in private.
Moxie 72.1/72.1 Emery 1 31
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 11:56:07 GMT -6
She picked her way across the tiles one by one, making sure that she hit on the correct ones. She could hear Moxie messing up every so often behind her, but luckily he wasn't as easily damaged as she was. The mansions ceiling swirled above her, and she just now realized that the paintings up there were moving, at first their eyes, but now their bodies to follow her. The various fantasy animals crawled across the ceiling to watch her go as she tried to leave through the hallway she came from. They couldn't make any noise- or at least, no noises she could hear- but they seemed to be upset with her. As if she was leaving too early, ending the game too soon. Well, they could stuff it, Emery thought to herself. It was an unusually pointed statement for her, but she was hardly in the mood for pleasantries anymore.
Moxie 72.2/72.2 Emery 2 32
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 21:24:52 GMT -6
Perhaps this could be a punishment for it- the mansion had to learn to be polite, or else she wouldn't want to "play" with it anymore. She had no idea if it had that kind of personality, but it brought a sense of satisfaction to her. Moxie made nervous little noises behind him as he finally noticed the ceiling, but seemed plied by Emery's confidence into moving forward. If she wasn't scared, then he wouldn't be either- as much as he wanted to. As she moved however, she noticed that the doorway to the hall seemed to be... getting smaller? "Oh, no you don't." Emery said, and broke into a run towards it. Her legs screamed in protest, supports doing their best to keep her from collapsing, unable to keep up with this level of effort, but Emery refused to be stuck in this place for a moment longer than necessary.
Moxie 72.3/72.3 Emery 3 33
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 21:29:01 GMT -6
She finally jammed a foot in the door and yanked it open. Sure enough it had shrunk by a foot and thinned out even more, but she had still made it in time. She held it open so Moxie could get in as well- if it was shrinking, she definitely wanted the larger of the two of them to go first. He shoved his way ahead once more, grunting uncomfortably as the walls rubbed up on either side of him. They were back in the thin hallway now, making their way through. Emery wanted to sigh with relief, but she knew she couldn't let up now. They weren't out yet. Sure enough, the hallway seemed to stretch out twice as long as before, and she was sure that if she glanced over her shoulder against she would be able to see the door back to the checkerboard room just as close behind her.
Moxie 72.4/72.4 Emery 4 34
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Post by Emery on Apr 13, 2024 21:34:23 GMT -6
The pair pushed forward though, and eventually Emery could tell that something about the hall WAS changing, albeit not in an immediately perceptible way. It was as if gravity was growing less heavy, light more effective. It was as if the mansion was heaving a deep sigh and saying "Fine, you win." As soon as that thought clicked through her brain, the exit door was there. In fact, the hallway was now even wide enough for Emery to shuffle herself around her pet and open it, something that would have been impossible for them before. And sure enough, the door led right back out into the main garden, where the grass continued to swirl in its undulating patterns. "...Good." Emery said, shutting the door behind her as Moxie stepped out as well. "Let's head home, Moxie." She said with a curt nod towards her pet, stepping off into the grass. It was time to get out of here.
Moxie 73.0/73.0 Emery 5 35
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Post by Emery on Apr 17, 2024 14:04:46 GMT -6
Emery was making one more brief foray into the Eccentric's Mansion this month. That was what she told herself at least. Klik had been... bothersome as of late. Forgetting his commands, not listening to her. Perhaps she hadn't spent enough time with him recently- which was frustrating, as she was too busy with tournament prep to pry more time out of her schedule. She decided she could at least double up on mansion exploration with him however. The gates opened smoothly, and Klik scuttled forward on his little legs. It was an odd sight for most, seeing the small, lobster-like creature on a leash. But in April, such a sight was hardly the strangest thing around in the mansion's grounds. If anything, the mysterious building would appreciate the ridiculous 'gift'. At least, she hoped it was grateful- it kind of owed HER after the stunt it pulled the last time she was here.
Klik 6.1/6.1 Emery 6 36
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Post by Emery on Apr 18, 2024 10:19:14 GMT -6
At the very least, she just wanted to let Klik run around and blow off some steam. So she made the decision to just stay in the front garden of the mansion, in sight of the gate. However, the area they stepped into was much different from the last time they were here. Before there was a field of gently swaying, mid calf height psychedelic grass. This time however, the ground cover had been replaced by some sort of clover- though she disliked it just as much. The leaves were a dark purple and were constantly fanning out new leaves in a spiraling motion, like a spread of cards. When the forward-most leaf overlapped another, the one beneath it seemed to simply disappear. The effect this created was that of a constant background of movement out of the corner of Emery's eye in all directions, but with nothing actually going anywhere.
Klik 6.2/6.2 Emery 7 37
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