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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.
reveal
Wow. Norna looks so kind, so-- alike to the Garuda that The Witch had showed him, the same flowing shades mimicking the bird's long feathers, the darkless pure as can be.
... Secondly, then,
a child? But Hwy's to blame? Children aren't supposed to fight. Aren't supposed to worry, they should be protected -- this, Siffrin thinks, anyone can agree with. Or most. Looking at the living.
There's some conflict going on -- at least Junior hadn't battered them so much, but-- in that case, had...
...
Why?
Don't worry they can get to Hwy's reasoning in a minute but for right now, the whole shebang's a little much for one marshmallow. ]
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Mm. He'll worry about Angelo later.
In any case, he shoots Siffrin a glance. See? ]
Do not touch him.
[ That is a threat—though a mild one. They've already come to an understanding, but he's underlining it now that the culprits have been revealed. ]
Hwylryn, however, I have no love for. Do what you will with him.
cw suicide/self harm ideation
[ Simple and factual, there. And... Hickey said the culprit hadn't done all of that to him either, so...
(... You're still angry. But you can't look at Junior's face and not see Bonnie, terrified of Sadnesses and still wanting to run back to their frozen sister. The horror and guilt of your eye, the confusion of your quick, merciless blade at the start of a loop.
But Hwy... Hwylryn. Him?) ]
... But I don't understand.
[ The reasoning. It's nonsense. To protect them, he had to kill them?
(You could never. You'd turn your blade on yourself first, you'd never even have nightmares of hurting the people you love so much.) ]
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[ Which is incredibly frustrating. ]
When Junior and I spoke a few days ago... He was not forthcoming with the details, but he told me he intended to kill on Hwylryn's behalf, I suspect because he feared this exact scenario would unfold if he allowed the dragon to dirty his own hands.
[ Somewhere friendlier. Ugh. Ultimately his death has worked out in his favor, but some part of Hickey wishes he'd been able to honor their agreement. Then this would not have happened. ]
Junior has been protective of Hwylryn since the beginning of all this. Made me promise not to hurt him, even.
[ He rolls his eyes. Perhaps it was a mistake to treat Junior entirely as an equal... Clearly there are some things about which he does not know better. ]
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[ Both of them, were. Siffrin does recall that. Hickey broke a promise. No shade though, really.
(You still don't know how to feel. Everything's swirling around, blackening, sickened by-- you did like Hwylryn's company, even if you'd be pressed to admit it, because...
...
He reminded you, a little, of Loop. How they'd act, push and press and annoy you, but mean well. But equating them now churns your stomach. Loop would never. For some reason, you're sure of that.) ]
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Yes, because Hwylryn found out about my arrangement with Junior and saw fit to kill me for it. He attacked me; I merely defended myself. Ish had to intervene.
[ He was pissed about it then, but he's even more pissed now, after seeing the true colors of Hwylryn's loyalty to Junior. ]
A worse case of hypocrisy surely there never was.
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... How should I feel about him? I'll take any answer.
[ Not that he should be asking Hickey of all people, but. Whatever. He's here, G'raha and Sariel aren't. Yet. ]
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Why ask me? You have the facts in front of you. Even if you place no value in my perspective, you saw what he did to G'raha.
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And that's why you're so, so confused.
Is he unforgivable like The King is? There's no malice; it's pure innocence, not unlike a child himself.
But it's like you told Chara so long ago. Dragons are... out of touch. With a lot of things, personal space being the least of the issue now.
You want to kill him.
...
At the same time, you think of Raha's face, the way he dislikes the way you get, and...) ]
... I'll ask Raha. What he wants to do, and if he wants me to get back at him. He... wasn't happy, about what I did to Ayaka.
[ Even if no one else would. ]
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No, Siffrin. I'm saying you should make such a decision for yourself. Don't let yourself be tethered or warped by anyone, even G'raha. Your actions are your own. You're the one left living with them, after all.
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You're not... By Raha? But you'd do anything he asked, anything he wanted, because you like to see him smile. Even if he's always asking the same of you -- what you want, what you like. It's been so difficult.) ]
... Not really used to it. I usually just do things for others.
[ Real acts of service hours for this fella. Siffrin stares at the petals, then takes off their hat to shake off the collection. ]
I think I'll bite him, if nothing else. I don't think I'll have this, [ with a pat to the knife, ] when we come back. I don't understand his reasons, and I don't like them, and I want him to feel pain. But he also seems like he calls that "love", so maybe I should just ignore him.
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If you truly want my thoughts, I meant what I said: Revenge serves no purpose. Do as you like, though. I will back you should you decide to attack him.
[ As promised.
Besides, he and Hwy are gonna have Words tomorrow regardless... Hickey has a custody battle to fight. ]
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[ ever think about how they are once again talking morbid stuff while andrew is forced to be in a space with them, albeit farther now. welcome back week one investigation. ]
... But thanks. Really.
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[He's thinking of the tantou a lot lately, even though there weren't many of them back at the citadel.
The size of a sword isn't always an indicator of maturity. So it goes with the birth of tsukumogami, too, perhaps.]
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... Okay. I don't... know if I want to, anyway.
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if he were still... but he's not. so he doesn't say anything regarding hwylryn. ]
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And to understand that she has walked about as far away and out of this godforsaken garden (which is not very) that she possibly can.]