Epilogue

[lesmodsalouette]

EPILOGUE

Your stopped time has restarted. Whether you were in the grassy field or fighting for your life on the castle grounds, you'll suddenly find yourself in an untouched area of the gardens. Ish is back, and so are the items, and the dead.

You return to Chateau Ambregris with the certain knowledge that come Monday, you will greet a new week, in a home of your own choosing. No longer will the chime of the clocks hunt you down, no longer will the oppressive scent of roses haunt your senses, no longer will you be forced to watch the death of those you've come to love and hate.

Parting is such a bittersweet sorrow, isn't it?

Make merry one last time, in this castle of illusions. Ironically, your memories of this stolen time that never existed are the one thing that will truly remain to you.

END NOTES

🔮 All dead are revived as tsukumogami! Congrats on your immortality(?)
🔮 Any other contracts made with Ish will be honored
🔮 Characters may choose to leave for any world they desire.
🔮 Time has not passed while you were stuck in this loop!
🔮 There will be no cross-dimensional world travel, except for on Samhain (Witches New Year October 31st/November 1st). On these dates, Ish will enable everyone to visit each other's world freely.
🔮 Universal Communication will be possible, courtesy of Manba and Ish. Everyone who wants one will be given a small fox that can communicate with other foxes through voice and video; the foxes can talk and are fairly simple creatures, enjoy them and give them fried tofu once in a while.
🔮 Powers are on for the finale, but Ish will step in and yeet anyone who gets too out of hand back to their homeworld, so play nice! (or relatively nice. )

[OOC: Welcome to your epilogue! The timeloop is ended, the evil has been defeated, and you have some time to catch your breath in the castle before the rest of your life begins! ]

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[allrounder]

Recall my story to you about the First, how I had bound myself to a tower to live longer than the average mortal. I believe I did not impart to you the detail that I made great efforts to return back to our source star, my soul intact, so that it could merge with that of my younger self as a means to allow myself to become mortal again.

[ That's... the very gist of it, but he thinks Blade can piece all of the things G'raha has told him together to create a cohesive story there. ]

My necklace now... 'tis not unlike that selfsame tower. I am bound to it, and as such, will live for as long as this necklace persists.

[ There's a distance in his tone as he speaks of it, like he's trying to remove himself from the reality of the situation, at least for time being. ]

'Twas the condition for returning.

[allrounder]

[ He can steal other things???? Maybe?? ]

Ah. 'Tis as I thought.

[ At least Siffrin knows that G'raha isn't going to begrduge him this. ]

I feel a similar apprehension, Siffrin.

[arbalestrier]

[Maybe the idea that Ish is being honest by not giving any kind of guarantee should inspire some sort of good will from Sousuke, but let's be real: he would've thought it was a lie even if the answer was 'Yessir, I would never'.]

Then talk. Under what circumstances would you do this again?

[siffriend]

[ At least that. ]

Why? I mean, you'll be going back with the same problem he got you out of, but...

[ It won't be

well

the same kind of issue, really. To Siffrin, at least. ]

[coldseep]

( ...

He exhales, shakily. Coming to understand. Wishing he didn't.

Wishing he could cut, like Yoru. That he wanted to. With glass and knives and rails and ribs, he could, but with his heart, with his words;

He doesn't want to.

...

He is quiet, for a time. There is only the sound of wind and rain; not loud, but not gentle. In the air, Yoru can't hear Hwylryn come down on his knees, and sit; but when his voice comes, it comes softer, and from an elevation slightly lower: )

I'm sorry.

( For all the ways he failed to understand how much it mattered to Yoru; for all the good saying this does now. But it feels wrong not to say it. It hurts his heart, even as he does. )

... But I don't want us to become this.

( Whatever this is now. A bone near-broken, with just a milimetre left before it snaps. He's clingy, to his own detriment - he can't let go, even as this hurts him, near as much as it had when he'd stepped into the gardens and found Yoru's ash. )

I accept losing Primrose, and I accept losing my other friends here. But I can't accept losing you.

( ... But maybe it is what Yoru wants.

And if that's how it is, what else can he do?

As always. )

[arbalestrier]

[Relief isn't an emotion that shows readily on Sousuke's face, but he can see it in others, if nothing else. So sometime after the dead reappear in the gardens, Sousuke will approach after some of the others have finish their own greetings.]

G'raha. You seem well.

[coldseep]

( Oh, no... Don't cry... it'll make him want to cry, too.

Hwylryn is short on expressions in this form, but what serves as the closest equivalent to the ridges of his eyebrows seem to emphasize, as if he were furrowing them, troubled - a habit picked up in reverse from his time spent humanoid. )

... The love I know is scary.

( Perhaps the simplest way to put it. A bad match (for most people, ever). )

How you chased me was how my brother used to play with me.

( Fortunately, Sariel missed Hwylryn traumadumping on #gen during trial about that. It wasn't exactly the same, no, but... )

... But... I knew in my heart your love isn't like that. And I forced it on the both of you.

( Even beyond the chase. With the whole series of murders - all of it. He knew he shouldn't have dragged Sariel into it, but he chose to. And for this, he has no excuse, even if... that fact makes it that much worse. )

[allrounder]

I will likely act differently with him, which may cause an issue.

[ The same issue only in a different shade, something not quite as intense as seeing someone he has feelings for in color for the first time, that's for certain.

But he'll sort that out. It's not Siffrin's problem. ]

Speaking of what has occurred here will be difficult, besides. I believe I will not divulge what has become of me [ his fingers subconsciously reach for his necklace ] for a while yet.

[spotsalone]

[ fkjasdkjhasd siffrin being utterly unaware of the name mystery. ]

I likely would. There's plenty I want to see, especially now that I've got the time for it.

[ Whoever gave this man immortality should be arrested. ]

I'm surprised you're willing to entertain my company. Gone soft, have you?

[allrounder]

Sousuke.

[ He smiles, glad to see that Sousuke seems to be well himself. A strange, incredibly serious and studious young man, but one that G'raha finds he doesn't mind being around nevertheless.

He'd do well in Sharlayan. ]

I am. I feel an immense relief knowing that this entire ordeal has finally come to pass.

[calamitish]

If I needed to in order to save Hwylryn.

[ though he thinks it's unlikely, but he's a cautious witch. ]

[arbalestrier]

[He stares at Hickey a little while before he answers.]

I'm going back. Although I don't know how I'll explain all this.

[He has the fucking mascot costume with him still, along with one of the foxes that's just sitting by his feet, swishing its tail.]

[fourtuity]

Got it—real foxes. [ No, she doesn't. ] They're super adorable and all, but is there a manual or something to take care of them?

[antemeridian]

I am not unhappy.

[ another telltale word. ]

"Back" is where I should be. There is ... we have a duty.

[ ... homura is a girl out of time. 'should be' is relative. ]

[siffriend]

[ ABSOLUTELY UNAWARE But Elias suits him, they think. ]

I owe you one for the maze, that's all.

[spotsalone]

[ He frowns, a bit puzzled. Leave it to Yoru to be overly sentimental, but still. Sounds fake. ]

That's plenty. I don't need anyone to mourn me.

[ He moves to the wardrobe to go digging for his coat. ]

Where are you off to after this?

[siffriend]

[ Siffrin's quiet, watching G'raha, before casting their gaze away.

The grass is a pleasant color. ]

... Gonna at least tell 'em you met a hilarious, roguishly charming fella on the road?

[antemeridian]

I could.

[ to both of those things, in fact. and while she could just climb up the normal way... for everything else that magic is and requires, it is, at times, convenient.

you get to decide whether she magical girl hopped her way up to a convenient branch a decent distance away from him, or if she used her wings to get up here. but regardless once she's situated on her new perch: ]

Is there something you wanted to ask me?

[ or is he just... meandering his way through everyone, and saying his goodbyes when he sees them? ]

[fourtuity]

Ugh, definitely. I'm not believing things are really, really over until we all head to where we wanna go.

[ Home...not quite home yet, but there are some loose ends to tie up. At the very least she doesn't want to leave until she checks on everyone she likes. And of course that includes Homura, her main inspiration for (attempts at) staying calm.

She closes her eyes, slowly breathes out...and then raises her voice, as if making an announcement to the sky. ]

Ahhhhhh, I'm just so super glad we all made it out of that okay! I know you and Lili were far back, but that was still nerve-wracking as heck to think about!

[antemeridian]

... They would have been somewhat less so if they were of more modern make. The ones here are— outdated, by a few hundred years. The technology and designs have greatly changed in that span of time.

[ hello, fellow timelooper. Siffin's allowed to stare. or, well. perhaps it's not that Siffrin's allowed, and simply that Homura isn't fussed by the attention from earlier.

(red, red, red. red like her ribbons, red like fate.) ]

As it is, though ... yes. It was indeed somewhat tiresome.

[allrounder]

[ Siffrin doesn't really have anything else obvious enough to swipe for on them, but he's wondering if he'll have to start looking. ]

I would say that I found an adventurer after my own heart.

[arbalestrier]

[Sousuke briefly reminds himself that he can't shoot Ish if he wants to go back home.

But as dense as he is, even he couldn't miss all that PDA that was happening after the play. It's also why he isn't surprised by this answer.]

Why use this method? There must be other ways of getting what you need.

[arbalestrier]

I see.

[Clearly Siffrin has two kids--okay no, he gets it.]

I've been mobbed by children while wearing this suit, so I think they'd like it.

[The fumoffu stamp of approval...??]

[antemeridian]

It was a very crowded engagement, yes... I am a little surprised there weren't more near misses with people nearly hitting each other.

[ the ghost of Miki Sayaka, here to complain about feeling threatened by friendly fire. but anyway, Homura sure knows she was hard pressed to line up some of her shots sometimes.

between Richard being their obligate sword user, Vanis and Chara with their knives, Clover with her axe, and whatever the hell Blade was doing, nevermind the kebiishis' own weapons and their fun little pet skeletons. that's a lot of live steel flying around in a pretty hectic battlefield. ]

I am also glad we all made it out of that. Are you ... [ pause, rephrase. ] It seemed like you took quite the blow from one of them, partway through.

[ 'how are you doing now?' ]

cw: implied!! suicidal ideation!!

[diel]

[ yoru doesn’t say he tried to lose hwylryn in the only way he knew how because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to give up hwylryn at all. (or… … …) his heart had fought him by wearing the bracelet until the end. by leaving that ring even though he hadn’t meant to.

he had meant to leave nothing but memories. just memories and words. ]

You won’t let me become a memory?

[ rivulets of rain run from his hair to his mouth, which twists unhappily upwards. damp lashes blink droplets that trail into each other, becoming something sideways and undeserved. they fall past him. ]

… I don’t know how to fix this.

[ instead of ‘i don’t want to fix us.’ both true and untrue. it’s better to hate and love hwylryn than to be loved and unequal.

when he’d only ever wanted to be important as yoru, as important as yoru could be.

but he had watched hwylryn from afar as an earring. he had rolled around with the intent to find him, learning to awkwardly maneuver a new body that wasn’t his -

he knows it means something. it’s better to love and hate him, but he’d never hated him at all. only hated the hurt, the sinking surprise that hwylryn was a liar like his sister. hated that hwylryn hadn’t remembered that yoru came from violence and so he had no heart to start. that what he’d made into one was from words torn from the experiences of others, glued together by hwylryn’s teeth and tears into a paper mache mimic.

no wonder it shattered so easily. a couple short weeks, that’s it. ]

Do you?