queenofheartsrp | third bullet

[The mirror at first only shows robots marching past, destroying and trampling the Gardens as they go. Really, you might think, why did the Vine even bother? It's not exactly hard to miss the drama going on- no need for this kind of public awareness announcement.

But, see, the Vine sensed something exciting about to happen.]

TIRO FINALE!

[The roar of a single cannon blast; a nigh-blinding burst of light; a massive shot of bright yellow energy shoots into view from somewhere off in the surroundings, obliterating dozens of the robots. Their pieces litter the grass. Then, a small but growing spot of darkness over the busted gears and scraps of metal; the shadow of something falling out of the sky.

Mami gracefully touches down into sight of the mirror, fully transformed and for once not smiling. Unaware that the Vine is recording her, she summons a dozen muskets from thin air with a sweep of her hand. They remain hovering there, by her side, as her cold gaze takes in the damage the robots caused.

It's a very different Mami Tomoe than most in the Gardens know.]

They just won't stop, hmm....? Then neither will I.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, no, it's quite alright to ask. I've been doing fine, actually. It seems these things actually can listen to reason. It makes things easier for me, anyway. Calming them down takes less exertion than destroying them, in my case anyway.

[she adjusts the video a little so it shows the robots that came into her room in the mansion; two of them are sweeping the floor while a third awkwardly attempts to play a snare drum that Austria had crafted out of the magic dirt.]

[That makes Mami a little put out for a reason she can't quite place, and she shoots another robot on her end before replying.]

Really? That's pretty surprising- I wouldn't have thought them capable of anything but ruining this place.

[Of course, it's her own fault; she saw them causing havoc and her first instinct, her first thought, was to do what she had always done back home. Fight. The idea of talking to the things, trying to get along, had never occurred to her.]

I would not have guessed that they could be reasoned with, either. I found out by pure accident.

[She holds up her violin]

I was protecting this and accidentally plucked a string in the process. They seemed interested in the sound.

A happy accident, it seems. [Bang. Another falls. She tosses the gun away.] I wonder, could you teach them to play it as well as I'm sure you do?

Edited 2011-05-04 03:58 (UTC)

You could say that, yes.

[she thinks about this]

Well, I somehow doubt if they truly feel emotion, which is an important component to music, but I'm sure they could be taught to be precise. It would take a while, though.

Is that so? Then I wonder, too, if these things will even be around that long.

Also true. They may not choose to settle here permanently. Teaching them music does sound like an enjoyable diversion while they're here, though.

It's probably terrible of me, but I won't be sorry to see them go.

I can't say I blame you, truthfully. They certainly have caused their share of trouble.

I don't pretend to approve of what the Queen does, but for some of the people here...this is their only home. So I really just can't let them get away with destroying it- and as I have nothing to teach them, this is my only other option.

Besides, for now at least, everyone who has been dragged here does have to make the best of this place as a second home at the very least, and for an indefinite amount of time.

Exactly. I just don't have it in me to place the welfare of those people before that of these machines.

Maybe that makes me cruel, in a way, but ah well.

Ultimately they are just machines. I so happen to be better at peaceful negotiations than I am battle, so that's what I did. For someone who is better at combat, it makes more sense to engage them.

Playing to our strengths, as it were?

That is a good way of putting it, yes.

Perhaps I can't be as diplomatic as you, miss Austria, but I do try.

Trying is the best thing anyone can do.

I think some would disagree with you, but I like that idea. It'd be far worse to never make an attempt.

Precisely. Giving up without even making a slight effort is admitting defeat far too early.

And in this life, whether you're fighting a battle or anything else....defeat holds the worst consequences.

Exactly. So admitting defeat before looking at every possible method to attempt is sheer madness.

I guess some people just lack the gumption to try. Or maybe it's a matter of hope; the despairing give up easily.

I suppose so, though such feelings are foreign to me. I don't possess the luxury.

...you don't have the luxury of hope?

Nein. I don't have the luxury to ever imagine giving up. I do not live solely for myself, after all.

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