Graveyard

[lesmodsalouette]

Graveyard

The garden is still sprawling and green – despite having entirely lost all its riotous flowers and colors, along with any sign of wildlife or birdsong – though one thing stands out more than anything else: from Monday to Thursday, you can’t see the castle anymore. All that remains where it once stood (or perhaps, usually stands) is an incongruously large tree that towers over everything else and somehow looks larger and more imposing than the castle ever did. The tree’s branches are bare, without any hint of life nor leaf – however, on the weekends (that is to say, Friday through Sunday) a faint projection of the castle appears around it, cradling the only things that the denizens of this alternate garden can see in detail from the other side: the flurry of activity around the investigation, the circus-like dimension that holds the trial, and the mirrors and the grassy dimension that display the execution.

For those curious what the land of the living are up to, a mirage-like and upside-down reflection of the castle garden in its original arrangement can be spotted occasionally overlaying the sky. This strange illusion may sometimes show those in the garden on the other side, flitting in and out of view like stray clouds; but much like the weather, their appearance is mercurial – they cannot be reached and cannot be heard.

Water, Flower, Everywhere

The fountains remain active somehow, though their features seem to have eroded, obscuring the identities of the deities and the wings of the birds, cracking pottery down into nothing but worn shards and handles. At night, only maybe half the lights work (and here they are real candlelight, rather than magical), plunging most of the garden into crepuscular darkness. The trellis walkway looks quite overgrown (mysteriously, bamboo is taking over), entirely covering some statues and other features along its length, and it’s no longer walkable – a miniature canal runs the whole length underneath the arches, feeding into other new waterways around the garden that cut off footpaths seemingly at random. There are small footbridges here and there, but the lack of logic to the whole arrangement makes falling into one of the streams or canals a real hazard.

The waterways do all manage to converge at the pond by the pavilion – neither of which are all that soothing or classical anymore. The pond is only half-full, and entirely lacks water lilies or any dragonflies; its banks sit jagged above the dark waters, and perhaps that’s why the pavilion, too, is half collapsed down into it all. Gone are the curtains and ivies; only dead curling vines and half-collapsed columns are left, but there’s still someplace to sit if you put your mind to it.

Most of the flowerbeds sit fallow or overtaken by weeds – there’s signs here and there that someone might have tried to clear them out, but the bulk of the effort seems to have gone to the orchard by the gardener’s cottage. It might be more accurate to say cottages, given that there are a few of them dotted around that area for some reason. None of them are locked, but all of them have only minimal furnishings apart from the original; they’re also all provided with the full complement of gardener’s tools. Next to them, there are new saplings and half-grown flowering trees: some pear and apple, but also some not. There are new shoots in the kitchen orchard that have just barely taken root, the dirt recently turned.

Hedge Maze(?)

The other most eye-catching feature is what once was an ornamental hedge maze: instead of being a tame height here, it has seemingly grown wild and completely unchecked, towering above the rest of the garden almost like its own overgrown mountain. The hedge walls go up and up and up, making it entirely impossible to see the center or even how far it goes despite the fact that sections of the hedges have also died, reduced to the branches underneath, bristling with interlocked thorns.

Part of it had even spilled over into the garden itself, huge gnarled branches spreading out like burnt-blackened fingers all the way to the edge of the pond – wherever the branches touch, even the greenery is withered, and any statues look more ruined than those in the rest of the area. As of the end of Week 3, however, the branches have retracted entirely and the way into the hedge maze has opened even more. However, there is now a storm brewing over what might be the center or the general area of it. Getting close to the hedge maze or any of the hedge(?) branches is... unpleasant, though it doesn’t usually go beyond a buzz of wrongness and a slight headache.

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Comments

[vivens]

[ the last moments that sabo remembered when he closed his eyes was giving his killer—accomplice—a small smile as the chains tightened around his throat. he remembers fighting the urge to grab a hold of the wrists of the one who was taking his life and to allow it all to happen. this was what he was gambling; the insane plan that no one else with any ounce of sanity would have agreed to. he had stood in front of them with a hand on his hip and a brighter smile on his face when he began:

"Remember when we spoke and you told me that you'd help me do anything no matter how insane it was?"
then there was an exchange of words that ended with sabo threatening himself one more time just to see if the only hands that could get dirty were his own, but no. there was really only way out of this... sabo remembers the way he thanked them and gave them one last urge—reminder (prayer) that they would carry out his will.

"Please. If this all works out then we'll all be free."
what he thought was the end was far from it. ...and even if he entertained the idea, he hadn't expected this. he speaks before his is able to understand anything. ]

Did it work...? [ a blink. a realization. then, out of pure instinct, sabo bolts upright and grabs at this throat as to feel for something there but when he realizes that there isn't he places a hand to his chest while looking around. ] ...Ish?

[ don't mind him as he's still going to be looking around and seeing where he is. the last thing that he expected was to wake up after he closed his eyes, but at the same time, he was making sure that he didn't see someone else here with him. they shouldn't. if they're here then— ]

...my wish.

[siffriend]

[ Sabo is not getting as sweet of a treatment as Andrew, but there's a... difference there. Siffrin is still bringing over a bottle of wine and a glass though, taking a moment to sit down and pour one out before they speak. ]

Hi. Welcome to the afterlife.

[ Like a little white grim reaper. ]

[vivens]

[ that's understandable. everyone should be nicer to andy than to sabo. nevertheless, he'll be pleased to see siffrin even if it's...a little weird to be. ]

Siffrin...

[ he'll take the glass of wine when offered, mainly out of reflex, though he's not going to take a sip out of it. it's much too soon before he's able to do anything. ]

Should I say "nice to see you" under these conditions?

[siffriend]

Sure. Why not.

[ Even if Sabo's probably one of the people who voted for them. No hard feelings, truly. ]

How's your neck feel? [ ... ] And, um. The rest of you. You got kind of... chopped and chomped, it seemed like.

[vivens]

[ i think siffrin should ask who sabo voted for. if they muster the courage to do it, but he'll give them a bit of a nod. ]

Well, it feels a lot better than it did the last time I remember it.

[ which isn't saying too terribly much given the state of that and at siffrin's question he'll slowly start to really flex all of his hands, fingers, and limbs. everything is sluggish but nothing bad. ]

The rest of me feels...a bit strange but overall okay. [ —wait. what? don't mind his double take. ] Chopped and chomped?

cw gore

[siffriend]

[ if they cared they would but they sincerely don't it's wonderful for everyone but me ]

Yeah. You were chopped up [ motioning to the neck and legs ] and tossed in with the sharks. Or most of you was. They found your head. It wasn't a very pretty sight at the carnival, either.

[vivens]

[ woe upon peace and only peace.

and but when they tell sabo about what happened to him, rather, what became of his body, he doesn't have much of a reaction. he's not exactly shocked to learn that but well. ]

Oh, I see. So, that's what he decided on...

[ gears are turning in his head and probably not the ones that some might be thinking would be. ]

Wait, you were able to see us?

[frostlight]

[That someone isn't here, but Tia is.]

What about it?

[vivens]

[ he'll accept tia.

tia is a much preferred(?) face than the one he was looking for. ]

Tiamat; you're here as well?

[ probably better words to be said but give him a break. ]

[frostlight]

[At least he's back to being in one piece.]

I am. This is where the ghosts go.

[vivens]

[ everyone is so glad for that and he only knows one piece of it. hah. ]

I see.

So, then it seems like the theory of the dead existing elsewhere had some truth.

[ or something like that...? ]

[frostlight]

That was always true, even beyond this dimension. Did you think you'd just disappear after asking someone else to take your life?

[vivens]

I've never thought too much about where the body goes, but I did have hopes that the spirit would be around to witness the actions of the living.

[ ... ]

Just...very differently than how we are here.

[distain]

[Past the initial "what the fuck is this guy doing here?" that she has to deal with, lying on the ground in makeshift repose while he has a much more instinctual panic response to awakening from death, the other thing she latches onto is the name that falls out of Sabo's mouth.

So when she's rightside up again, detached expression and sleeves neatly buttoned, it's the first thing to get her commentary.]

I did wonder how well the two of you got along.

[vivens]

[ you know, as much as it would be more helpful to go exploring after getting over the shock of the whole situation, sabo is more than fine to stay seated where they woke up longer.

he may or may also not be rubbing at his neck for a bit. ]

Andrew...

[ he doesn't want to see her here but it's not his place to apologize for it. he did his part, so instead he just makes sure to know who she's questioning. it's pretty obvious but you never know. ]

I assume you mean about Ish and myself?

[distain]

[They can look around in a moment. She's sure they both have plenty to learn. Andrew is already getting the feeling that her work is beginning rather than starting - a chance to use this slippery, dragging time that Siffrin described to better plan for something else.

No rest for the weary.]

That's right. [Hm...] But I doubt you died because you provoked him too much or that you knew too much about him. [Ish wouldn't cut one of them off at the knees like that.] Actually, it sounds like you might have been hoping to see him.

[vivens]

[ truly no rest for the weary under any kind of circumstances. ]

No, nothing like that.

[ sabo has the audacity to laugh. the two of them, well mostly andy here, missed the part where ish couldn't (wouldn't) raise a hand to them and kill them. ]

If anything, he tried really hard not to have me die. [ as for the next bit, sabo has a bit of a time to explain himself. ] ...and it's not that I'm hoping to see him but I want to see if my wish helped.

[ and the easiest way to go about that would be to talk to ish but. alas. ]

[distain]

[It isn't exactly that she missed it, but that she suspected it was the truth. Making sure that her assumptions were correct was part of it.]

Was your wish "transferred?" [Thinking... mulling over the things that came up at the meeting, this is the one that brings the most pieces together.]

You don't have to tell me what it was, but it's better if I at least know what we're looking for, right?

[vivens]

[ he chuckles again. ]

I hope so. [ ... ] After all, it's really the spirit of my wish that I placed into the hands of the person that killed me. If he doesn't make it then I am powerless to stop him, however I trust that he will.

I bet my life on it.

[ an insane plan that no one in their right mind would think to do. no promise of it working out and no way to know that it would even be carried out in the way he hoped. ]

I'm not certain if it's something that we can look for. It's something at I would have given to Ish—the power to set himself free from all of these loops and allow himself some happiness.

[ ( naru voice ) i am not beating these sabish allegations. ]

cw gore mentions

[thesharpestroy]

Thank fuck you're in one piece here.

[Shiv folds her arms, curious at what he's saying as he gets up.]

Ish doesn't show up here. I don't know if getting your head chopped off was part of the plan, but...that sure fucking happened.

[vivens]

[ sabo is going to blink at her a few times as he processes "one piece" in a couple of ways. first being, "the one piece??" before realizing she means his head. but thanks for the quick info about ish. ]

He doesn't? Interesting.

[ and he means that. it's interesting but it'll be a bit before he'll worry about as, well, his head sure did happen, huh? ]

Ah, yes, that was part of the plan. I suppose we could have used cleaner methods but the chains wouldn't have been easily traced back to anyone in particular...

[ except ish. ...that he will learn that everyone else would know, later. ]

[thesharpestroy]

I'd give you shit for traumatizing the kids if Chara and Junior weren't already waist-deep in trauma.

[She says flatly, keeping her arms folded.]

Who was it? They zero'd in on the prick that killed Andy instead.

And what's with you and Ish? He didn't try to loop you into bringing back his mommy or whatever all this is for, did he?

[vivens]

[ this is where sabo would say something very unkind about chara but he doesn't and instead will focus on the other things that she brings up. ]

Blade, but I'm glad that he didn't get caught. He did it because I asked him to.

[ so it would have been real awkward if he had been voted to be executed for a crime he only committed at sabo's request. that said he'll make a face at shiv's next lines. ]

He didn't try to loop me into anything. [ ... ] If anything, I was the one who twisted his arm and made him take this gamble.

[thesharpestroy]

Uh-huh. What was it you were gambling on? Were you jumping to Team Dead Fucks to prove something?

[fillintheblanket]

[Once Sabo is done making his Sabo rounds and making sure everyone important is still in one not-quite-ghostly piece, he'll find a strange blond man in a bedsheet over a messy hobo's cloak very studiously gardening near the cottages and definitely not occasionally glancing over at the reunions from underneath the cover of his hood.

Said man is also wearing a distinctive katana with a dark blue sheath decorated with a bright orange strap, though it only peeks out occasionally through his layers.

He looks both overdressed and underdressed, somehow.]

... So you're the one that the Witch Ish was talking about.

You're all getting bolder.

[It's hard to tell whether that's a compliment or a judgment. But he says it while holding a potted plant, so it's not that weighty either way.]