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lesmodsalouette) wrote2025-03-16 03:54 am
lesmodsalouette) wrote2025-03-16 03:54 am
Graveyard
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.
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.
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.
cw abuse implications, familial death, panic attack, strong language
Only a pathetic wheeze came out, though, and another thought took over: I don't wanna die. Tears stung at her eyes as she thought of her brothers having to bury another family member. She wondered if Tom would cry over her and regret having betrayed her the way he did if he ever saw her body.
This was his fault too. If Tom hadn't turned her dad against her, Shiv never would have buckled to the idea of getting a wish. The only thing Siobhan Roy couldn't rationalize as something she could do herself was getting the last six months she would have had with her father if not for that.
Her vision blurred, and the last she saw was a man with a knife towering over her. She didn't even have time to scream for help that wouldn't come.
Please. Please, not like this. Anything but this. Somebody help me. I wanna go home. I want my dad. Please, please--]
NO--
[Shiv startles awake with a scream, immediately clutching her heart in panic and realizing her heavy breathing isn't accompanied by the gurgle of blood filling her lungs. She sits up, looking around at the bizarre garden scenery.]
What the fuck?
[Chara did mention the idea of the people who died simply going somewhere else. Maybe this is "else". She doesn't feel cold despite the snow she needs to shake out of her hair. Even if she did, that's the last thing on her mind. What she's really thinking of is the people who killed her.]
That cunt and her fucking attack dog...they're gonna fucking pay for this.
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he doesn't catch all of what she's saying, only sees a body, blonde hair, and a highly irate person.
from what he's hearing, guess that makes this the victim? ]
Pay for what?
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[She folds her arms in annoyance.]
Killing me, obviously. Anybody else show up--you know what, I don't care right now. Fuck them both. Who's running things on this side of the time loop? Still Ish, or do I get to meet his mommy?
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[Tia strides over, seemingly unaffected by the cold despite the skin bared by her regular attire. She doesn't offer a hand, because it isn't really the way of her kind, and Shiv's probably got enough indignation to fuel herself.]
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Fucking Ayaka. [A little scoff escapes.] Well, technically that's not right. Pathetic bitch wouldn't even finish me off herself. She got Richard to do it. He probably got off on it, too, getting to butcher a woman to fulfill his bullshit white knight complex.
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Did she tell you why?
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No. We were fighting in the hedge maze, so not a lot of time to have a conversation about our motives. Then she stabbed me in the lung, so. Couldn't chat about it even if I wanted to.
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She sighs, her eyes sliding shut.]
We're playing right into that witch's hands . . .
[Her eyes open, and she reorients herself before looking at Shiv.]
The cottages are open on this side. You should head inside and warm up.
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Huh. Weird, I don't really feel much, but...I've had a fucking day.
Does Ish come around here too, or do we have somebody else to deal with?
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We have ghosts. They no longer have physical forms, but you'll notice them here and there.
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More time loop victims or what?
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Look who it is.
You've heard it from both other parties, now...
...
You guess you should hear it from her, too.)
Siffrin finds Shiv after her little freak out, for her own sake, but they're not the most pleased to see her.
...
She'll probably be surprised to see them, but. It's whatever. ]
Hi.
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[It only takes a second for the pieces to be put together. If Siffrin is here and not Ayaka or Richard, then that means...]
They got away with it, didn't they?
[Her voice is terse. Her hands start shaking, but she folds her arms to conceal it.]
We have to get out of here. They can't fucking get away with it.
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[ So.
Who's fault is it that they're here, really. They'd like to know. ]
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[Shiv lets out a little scoff.] What, did they give you a little sob story to apologize for throwing you to the fucking wolves? If they really gave a shit what happened to you, they wouldn't have let you die in his place.
[It's Richard's fault, obviously. Some chivalrous knight, letting other people fall on the sword for him.]
You're the exact type who'd fall for Ayaka's "woe is me" act. No offense--opposite really, since it's because you're a nice person.
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I just want the full story. From all sides. And... about the fire, if you remember. She said she didn't know.
[ Which is doubtful. But Siffrin hadn't wanted to speak more to her, afterwards, since regardless of who did what-- ]
They had a chance to speak up and didn't. They watched me be questioned at every turn, for things I could explain, things people could vouch for me on, and didn't admit it was them -- self-defense or not -- even as the minutes counted down.
[ Their voice had grown low, frustration bleeding through, and Siffrin clenches their fists tight.
(If it wasn't for them... if they'd spoken up...
... Then you could've stayed with the rest. You could've spent more time with your friends. Painted your nails every week with Yoru. Carved a bird for Andrew again, week after week, like you said you would.
...
You would've never told G'raha how you felt. But that would've been okay, because you were fine just being in his company. Listening to him talk, seeing if you could make him laugh, stealing his food and learning more about him, about his world, about what made him, him--
Ha. Pathetic. You're so pathetic.) ]
No matter what, I won't forget that.
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What?! Jesus Christ, when did a fire happen?! Nothing was on fucking fire while I was in the mansion! All I did was block some doors in case Richard--fuck, did anyone get burnt?
[She looks genuinely scared for a moment. She thinks about the library being about as flammable as a tinder box. She thinks about Andy and Chara.]
...Ayaka's a two-faced bitch hiding behind a fucking lunatic. That's why I went after her instead of anybody else.
I wasn't thinking about screwing anybody over. Figured maybe I'd get lucky and somebody more dangerous than me would act up in trial.
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Okay. Siffrin shakes their head at the first question-- ]
No, they're all okay. Andrew breathed in some smoke, but... she was okay. She didn't keel over this time. Everyone else escaped unscathed.
[ It's nice to be able to ease Shiv's worries a little, and they huff a bit of laughter at the rest. Her language is the same as ever, but.
...
(Honestly.
You trust her. She's always been forthright about stuff, especially her feelings. Someone very honest.
You also trusted Ayaka, once. You don't want to distrust others. But there's no point in lying here either. You don't know what to think as far as the full picture goes -- but at least you know how you feel about it.) ]
Well, the only one who acted up any was Yoru... He was pretty upset about me being accused.
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...which okay, yeah, I blocked some of the doors to the library, but not so people could get set on fire.
[She sighs, suddenly very vindicated in calling the man a lunatic earlier.
Shiv is telling the truth about her thought process, but if she is going to be brutally honest with herself, she could have easily done the same. Had it been someone like Andy or one of the kids coming under fire, she would have fought like hell to clear them, but she wouldn't have admitted it was her at all.]
Well, no shit, you didn't deserve that. We gotta get back and set things right.
[Mainly, she wants to get the chance to give people an earful for letting her murderers get away, and maybe gain some actual control of the situation.]
And hey, if we're here, does that make us, like. Closer to the center of the loop? I'm still trying to figure out how this magic stuff works. G'raha thought we could be ritual sacrifices, but being here--how does that work? Wouldn't Ish want us just straight-up dead?
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(Focus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) ]
Oh, um. Chara actually had a thought about that. They shared it with me while I was waiting to die.
[ Very fun parade of people and they are so quickly moving on with conversation so Shiv does not wonder why their cheeks are so red. ]
They think that it's like an hourglass. There's no point in killing us off for good, if The Witch needs us for something, since it's a waste of emotions. There's also no point in resetting our memories every week for the same reason. We wouldn't feel a lot towards each other, then.
[ They raise their hands palm up like scales, moving them up and down appropriately as they talk. ]
When one side starts to empty, he just switches it back and starts again. [ ... ] Our memories might be wiped then, if any time. But that's the train of thought they had.
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There's a sword with a bright orange strap propped up near the entrance, as though swords were capable of getting fresh air.
He hasn't said anything until now, given her all of her and everyone else being here, but Yamanbagiri could hear all the yelling echoing over the flowerbeds.]
There's no equivalent of the Witch here. But there are more people than you might expect. [does a sword count as people] That last trial didn't go well.
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She looks around for the source, and finds…well.]
A talking sword. …you know what, why the fuck not? Figures that he’d hide the talking objects here.
[Being unsupervised could be good news though. Not without its bad news though, judging by the trial comment.]
I could guess. My killers haven’t shown up. How long would it take to learn how to curse somebody?
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[There are just talking swords hanging out with the dead now like it's normal. It's fine.
420 blades itThere's a sound suspiciously more similar to a laugh than a cough. It sounds even stranger coming from a sword.]
You'd need to ask a vengeful spirit. But we don't have those here right now.