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! ]

Main Nav

Comments

[calamitish]

Hmm??

[ give him a second to remember this specific circumstance because he has a lot of junk floating in his brain and a lot of sleep deprivation. ]

Oh, right. Well—I'll see what I can do. Once I get some sleep, I might be able to work something out. I'm a lot stronger than I've ever been now, you know!

[siffriend]

[ (You shouldn't have asked him to wait.

That remains true, even if he's used to it. He shouldn't have to be, or to at all, or...) ]

And if it took five more?

[calamitish]

Got it, that's easy enough!

[ storing the spider in a special ultra locked pocket dimension. ]

And for my end, this might feel a little weird— [ which you know it probably does, but when all's said and done, yoonhee will find himself with a golden glow (don't worry it'll fade within a few minutes) and back in his original body. ]

There.

[siffriend]

[ Happy... to help!!!!!!!!!!! ]

... Raha'll probably agree pretty easily, since you're important to him, [ unfortunately, ] and I'm sure he's never been on one either. It'll be a new experience for everyone.

[ Since Siffrin doubts any one of them has been on a double date before, much less a single date.






Siffrin might have the most experience when it comes on going on a date that's a little terrifying to think about but that means they can take the lead, as always, when the time comes, that's fine. ]

[siffriend]

[ For a while, sure. However long that lasts.

There really is no direction but forward... even as they keep glancing back at the past, hoping it'll gently encircle their wrist once again, keeping them in place. Safe, safe. ]

Hmmm. A little bit of both. I... have some good ideas, thanks to this, about the loops themselves... talking to Raha, Homura, and Chara helped a lot. But at the same time, I might be the problem, so I can't really say I'm looking forward to finding out.

[ More like they know they're probably the problem, or at least their feelings are, and confronting that? Pssh. Awful. Terrible. Their family members are gonna hate them if that's true. ]

Who knows. Maybe I'll stick it out just a little longer. Raha said he'll wait, after all. [ A joke...? Who can say.

... ]

I know he's got patience, but... if I do take a while, can you tell him off?

[snakeblood]

[ It does feel weird. And he staggers a little when he returns to it. Because there it was, the cold feeling of it on his skin. And oh right, the pain too. He'd almost forgotten he was being punished. He won't be able to deal with this for awhile (quite a long while), but oh well. Pain management.

Anyway, he'd tied up his loose end... ]

Okay, bye. See you never.

[ He's not one bit grateful. ]

[calamitish]

Bye-bye! Never change, Yoonhee.

[ to yoonhee's disgust, it's fond.

people like him are some of ish's favorites. never bending, persisting, stubbornly themselves. ganba with your bf! ]

[simulacres]

Eh, wha—

[ ayaka’s eyes widen as he says that, and she shakes her head. ]

I mean— you don’t have to! I don’t have anything that I can offer you as payment either— [ she has a genuinely insane amount of magical energy. ] —and I think Richard and I kind of figured that this would happen! I’m happy I even got a month with him!

[snakeblood]

[ That does make him scowl in disgust. But he doesn't say anything, just a click of his tongue. He's got too much to do, so he's turning his back and getting to it. it's not going well so far... ]

[calamitish]

I might do it just to see him thank me for it!

[ he laughs, but she'll be able to tell he's actually serious. shiv is going to give him some juice and so is siffrin so... heh. ]

We'll see. I wouldn't ask for anything for this and Hwylryn wants everyone to come, so.

[ payment enough! ]

[remainsilent]

[ He does look ridiculous. Dan Heng turns his head to let Blade smooch his cheek instead. There's a slight lift at the corner of his mouth. ]

That may be entirely up to you.

[ Is he going to put down the foxes? Dragging his hand down Blade's chest to his stomach. ]

Are you going to let me go easily? [ Now he'll walk away. Bye ]

[simulacres]

… I… I’ll talk to him about it. Give me the terms and I’ll talk to him about it.

[ ayaka looks shocked, trying to figure out if there’s any deception in ish’s eyes. somehow, finding none only scares her more. ]

Doesn’t it scare you, Ish? You don’t know what this sort of thing could cause. I could be… I don’t know, I could be using you, or just baiting you into doing something that I want and…

[ her voice dies down as she realizes that she’s only projecting her own fears and traumas onto ish. ]

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be pushing my issues onto you.

[allrounder]

Yes. I would.

[ He’d busy himself with other things, naturally, and that would make time pass easily, at least. There is an ever-growing list of things to do, after all. ]

I made my choice, and I shall stick true to it.

[distain]

[It's a little bit like Hickey calling her clever, in that Andrew sees some truly familiar darkness from herself in Shiv, and a compliment that should be superficial and glancing sinks a little deeper than it should. Her gaze flicks briefly to the side and then recalls.]

You're the first person alive, I think, to have ever said such a thing.

[She yearned for her father's love when she was young. To get him to accept her, Andrew behaved as meekly and obediently as she could, lest acting out get her put in that cold cell again. That was the closest to "good" she'd ever been.

Maybe it isn't too late for her. Or maybe she's a lot like Shiv for a reason.]

You live in a time and place where being beholden to producing an heir doesn't seem to be the norm. It would be a shame to fall victim to it anyway to placate vacuous feelings. I trust you'll make a wise choice. [Which might sound like a really heavy amount of faith in Shiv...but there's a little danger in her saying it like this, too. Someone watching expectantly can feel like a threat.]

[siffriend]

... Raha...

[ Hesitant, but

Siffrin exhales and steps away a bit more, taking G'raha's hand more firmly to swing it.

(There's a lot you have to say to that, now. But you don't know if you'll be able to see him even with help after leaving things off today, so...

... So...) ]

How about we walk around a little? I'm sure The Witch isn't gonna let us stay overnight, so we can't watch the stars together in the observatory, but there's still plenty for us to do while we have the time. Like raid the pantry for some snacks. [ A beat, because they know him-- ] Don't make it difficult. Just let it go, right now.

[allrounder]

[ It is, though he would have died for good then, and... he doesn't know if Andrew can handle that information. Not right now. That his body lays encased in crystal on the First, overlooking the Crystarium... without transferring his soul, he would be rooted there for eternity.

... ]

No, I will not be. I have Siffrin, and I have you.

[ Sabo as well, but Sabo has his own things to go out and do, his own business to take care of. And knowing him, G'raha expects Sabo to find a way out of this immortality. ]

[allrounder]

[ Incredibly eloquent of Blade. ]

'Tis used as a conduit for summoning through arcane magicks.

[ But he's not going to explain the mechanisms of the Summoner job or how it relates to the Allagans (his favorite subject) because they'll be here forever. ]

That is my thought as well, however. A reminder of my time here... of some of the less irksome moments.

[allrounder]

I hope that I do as well. Dragons are impressive creatures, and I know that you possess the capability to impress me.

[ G'raha can only hope that it will be a positive thing, but he will temper his expectations. Dragons are unpredictable creatures, too, and Hwylryn is fickle on top of that. The winds of change may blow him elsewhere entirely. ]

I will surely have plenty more stories by then.

[ And plenty of old ones to share—that's the benefit of having once been immortal before, in a sense. ]

Fare thee well, Hwylryn.

[ The use of his name rather than "friend" is something Hwylryn might notice, too, because that title doesn't exist between them anymore. Maybe it will one day, sometime in the far future. Only time will tell, and they have plenty of it.

Until then. ]

[allrounder]

[ He laughs, soft in Siffrin's ear. ]

I am hardly princely.

[ Not when it comes to this mess between them, all prickly like thorns he needs to carefully maneuver around lest he draw blood.

But it's easy enough to wrap his arms around Siffrin's middle to hold him tight. It's not unlike the Promenade, the knowledge that they'll part ways sitting heavy in his chest and obvious in the way G'raha practically squeezes him. ]

[siffriend]

[ No, definitely princely. So good and kind, with a heart for the people and the courage to match... Just like the princes in stories, in plays, shortly before they swear to protect all that they love and die by the sword for it. Beloved over ages, aspiring children to be the same, and giving others someone to hope for in their lives.

The squeeze is nice. A hefty reminder, but nice, and Siffrin returns it, pressing his face hard against G'raha's neck too. As close as close can get, struggling to find even more ways to sink against his embrace. ]

... Already going back on your word, Raha. You said you'd let me say whatever I wanted about you.

[allrounder]

[ ... ]

Siffrin.

[ They know he can't do that, at least not easily, even as he clutches onto their fingers. ]

I do not want you to make back home with doubts in your heart.

[allrounder]

[ He breathes in deep, a tinge of desperation underneath. This... is what he'll miss the most, he thinks, and he wants to be closer just to let this closeness linger on his skin for longer.

But he won't, as easy as it would be to walk Siffrin back against the tree and settle there, because he worries about what might happen after. So he'll settle for this, and look forward to the future instead. ]

Up until the moment you use it as an excuse to fill the silence.

[ Soft, gently chiding. ]

[siffriend]

And I don't want to fight before I can't see you again. So let's not.

[ At least they can be blunt about that, right now. If nothing else. A small squeeze... without a smile to hide behind, this time. There's no use anyway. ]

... Please?

[distain]

[Okay, but doesn't Andrew deserve to be loved and changed like the Garfield plushie? Doesn't she deserve that, Richard?]

This is a consequence of Manba's efforts. Anything other than this would have called for further negotiation with the Witch. [It's her first and possibly only time slipping out the more familiar version of the sword's name, a slip that Andrew hopes will go blissfully overlooked.]

As much as I'd like to shove the mark of the Blue Star curse in Father's face, it seems to be gone. It's a human disease, after all. [So she supposes it makes sense...]

[siffriend]

[ If Ish banished them back to their worlds for getting handsy in the gardens, they'd deserve it. As it stands... this is good enough. Goodbyes are so hard.

(This is why you don't want it to end.

... Even now, even this, if you could have just one more week...) ]

You should accept it then too. I still mean what I say, Raha, even if it's "an excuse".