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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[siffriend]

[ Vibrant in his heart... Siffrin's cheeks warm and they tug their hat down, trying to hide the embarrassment. ]

Oh, um... [ (ahhhhh what do you say) ] You're-- vibrant, too. A field of-- of flowers, on a sunny day. Relaxing. Warm. Quiet. My... My favorite weather to sleep in.

[ Surrounded by gentle scents and the soft buzzing of insects... That's Yoru, truly. ]

Th-- Thanks, I mean.

[baebladie]

[ Blade thinks it isn't a bad thing for G'raha to be like that - even if he has said the words that he wasn't worried, it kind of soothed things a little. Maybe it is just because G'raha's protagonist spirit.

But, really, maybe it is just because of the type of person that he is.

Though there might be a flicker of amusement when G'raha mentions his doubts in that, while also stating he's correct. A little huff escapes him.

...At the least he too has no doubts that G'raha won't hesitate to strike him down. ]

We will. I'll explain the details to Dan Heng.

[ There's a lengthy pause as he can imagines what kind of devices they may get up to in a foreign world, and maybe how nerdy the other man will geek out about things there. But there is also another one for an entirely different reason. ]

Sounds like you will have success.

[ ... ]

...And if the results can be of use to you and others, then even better. I already owe you a good debt for this consideration.

[allrounder]

[ Yeah, that lengthy pause has him wondering what Blade is thinking, and he makes a mental note to ensure that he and Dan Heng have a place to stay that's... secluded. ]

Do not consider yourself indebted to me. 'Tis the last thing I want. I know of a potential solution that could ease your suffering and I intend to give my best effort to make such an attempt at easing it.

[ Besides, it benefits him anyway, allowing the people of his world to find treatment for other ailments or lead to a breakthrough in particularly bad cases of tempering. ]

This is an expression of care towards someone I consider a dear friend.

[antline]

I wonder why. Maybe snakes don't feel guilt...

[calamitish]

I'm a fast learner! [ and though he won't say this, i will just point to norna. because. yeah.

ish laughs. ]

Oh? Well good luck! Though, you're not the type to need it, huh?

[calamitish]

I embrace who I am, no matter what. That's all there really is to it.

[diel]

… Really? Me? Oh.

[ that’s not even close to what yoru thinks of himself: a cold, dead thing needing another’s body to breathe for him. so soaked into the ground that it’s become fertile with his decay, and all around him there’s only one shade of flowers. red and curling and poisonous.

he supposes that does count as a field of flowers. but warm? can he be warm and cold all at once? do… the others see him similarly?

or is this just siffrin’s heart being generous in its bias? ]

Pink, by the way. That’s the color of your cheeks right now.

[siffriend]

[ (You Want To Die.

Unfortunately, by nature of your new form, you couldn't anyway.

...

You wonder... if that means, that using your dagger the way you have been won't work for resetting the loops anyway.

Well. You guess you were planning on retiring that method anyway.) ]

You... don't need to tell me that... I can't see it, anyway...

[ Please they're so embarrassed. ]

Um. You probably still don't believe it, since... you didn't believe me about the buck, either. But I really do mean it. At least to me, that's how you are. And I'll miss you, a lot.

[diel]

Don’t worry, it’s a good color on you.

[ he laughs and hopes for siffrin’s sake that pinks and reds and all the colors of their emotions will be something that g’raha will always cherish. ]

It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just - surprising…! I guess that’s the word. Surprising that I could become something like that to someone.

[ not surprising that siffrin would paint their love in warm hues. that’s expected. ]

You’ll call me, won’t you? And we can visit each other when we find out how.

[siffriend]

[ Surprising... when Yoru's always nothing but kind and loving to them, when they've always looked at him and Jin as people who wanted only for their loved ones' well being? He's such a spring day, just like G'raha. ]

Every day. If I can... When I can, if I can't before I'm done. I want to tell you good morning and goodnight, just like before.

[baebladie]

[ HELP...listen, that is definitely for the best.

Anyway, Blade's looking to the side because he does consider it something like a 'debt' of some sort, but he should have known that G'raha wouldn't have. So, maybe...he shouldn't, either. The offer did come freely. ]

Hm.

I should have known...that you would say that.

[ But, he doesn't sound annoyed. Nor too bothered, even if a part of him feels that at the least he should make it clear he is appreciative (even if he has.) When the time comes, maybe a toast upon success will be enough. He will tuck away the idea for later. ]

[baebladie]

[ Blade remembers saying those exact words once to a certain someone, so he finds it a little funny.

But, someone's got to be the fast learner between Hwylyrn and Ish when it comes to child-rearing. ]

...I'll take your word for it.

[ Regardless, he will nod, and finally...one last smirk for the road creeps upon his face. ]

I make my own luck. You've seen that.

I'll imagine it's the same for you. [ Then, amused: ] Unless you make a habit out of getting into too much trouble again.

[antemeridian]

I will be returning to where I am meant to be, yes.

[ not 'home.' that word describes something she's not sure she's had for a long time now. her timeline is like her apartment, in the end: a place she returns to at the end of the day. absent of sentiment, is that enough to call it a home? ]

Primrose, though. Primrose was ... strange. Not in a bad way, just...

[ how odd, to be made a part of a group so easily, and always be left waiting for the other shoe to drop. she's so used to being distrusted. ]

It is not something I would have expected, under these circumstances.

[antemeridian]

[ Adrift in a world that's forgotten what home ever was... ]

... Those who I have been both friends with, allied to, and aligned against on varying occasions are the same. Whenever I rewound time, it would take me back to a point before I met them.

Each and every time, I would be starting anew.

[ After all, she made a wish to redo her meeting with someone, didn't she? She got exactly what she wished for. ]

... I was friends with them more often, in the beginning. As time went on, though ... I suppose I just got worse at not seeming strange, or suspicious. They didn't know me, so of course I would steadily grow further and further away from them.

[ ... an echo of the thought she'd had, when Siobhan Roy had first revealed Ayaka and Richard's deed to all, and the ensuing commotion: ]

If you want to stay with them, though... I suppose I should just say this. Don't let everything that's happened change you more than necessary.

[antemeridian]

[ 'Letting go.' That's a funny joke about any of them with ties to time. ]

What I want has not mattered for quite some time.

[ What does she want? To know that she is not alone. That it wasn't all in vain. Don't ask for impossible things; having an impossible miracle granted even once t̵w̶i̷c̴e̴ is more than many have been offered.

She has a duty; she is only as strong as her resolve. Dreaming of selfish things like her wants, placing them above the heartfelt, selfless actions of others, isn't conducive to maintaining it.

Of course, this, apparently, is when the pale lavender and white fox hidden among the spider lilies decides to sneeze and make his presence known. Manba did manage to saddle her with one after all.

(what is she supposed to do with this.) ]

[diel]

[ the leaves continue to twirl around them. one dances by her nose idly. ]

And after that?

[ because surely, it doesn’t just end with returning. that’s only the first stop. ]

I would think a part of you will stray to Primrose occasionally, as it is meant to now.

[antline]

...

[He looks uncomfortable, now.]

I thought we were similar before. I wonder...if I will be like you. I hope not.

[siffriend]

[ (You feel like it already has.)

Siffrin lets the quiet answer for them, heavy with a grief the two of them can share, before they pull from the topic at hand. ]

Do you have any hobbies?

[ Pretty abruptly, maybe, but

(you don't want to linger) ]

[antemeridian]

[ ah. well.

she can understand the need to simply drop a subject. she's done it so often, though unlike them she doesn't typically offer a replacement in the previous one's stead. ]

... I enjoy theater. Ballets. Plays. Music and instruments... that sort of thing.

[ not quite the same as how miki sayaka did, does, did, but all of it is integral to the overall experience, after all. ]

For quite some time I was ... more or less bedbound, too. Not entirely, but... [ rather than elaborate, she pivots. ] I read a lot back then. Literature, stories, fairy tales.

[siffriend]

I like theater, too. Watching and reading plays... is something that I came to enjoy a lot, while traveling. I think it's neat. How seamlessly they can become someone new, like putting on a mask. [ A quiet huff of laughter. ] I'm not that good of an actor myself, though.

[ A better director, strict if nothing else.

... But acting is something they've had to practice, to a point, even if it only serves to worry others. ]

Do you have a favorite? Story, play. Book or tale. I like heroics, adventures, poetry...

[allrounder]

You should have, friend!

[ He grins, hitting his fist against his open palm as his ears twitch in amusement. It feels a little bit like he's got one over on Blade here and he can't help but relish in it... just for a moment.

Hehehe. ]

I only offer to do what I want to do. Consider it... a benefit of falling into my favor!

[ Heh. A bit of a cheesy, hotheaded thing to say, but he's in a good mood!! ]

[coldseep]

( Does he?

Hwylryn's gaze remains upon Siffrin, his expression hard to read, posture existent, certainly, but meaning unclear.

He does like Siffrin. This is the first idea he settles on. (Of course, he was already aware, but it feels more pertinent to decide on, because:) —it would be much easier to pivot out of this conversation than to think through it. The idea of change appeals to him; isn't that enough? What more can you ask for when tomorrow isn't promised, when there may be a gap of some hundred years before they see each other next, and what Hwylryn says now may not hold water tomorrow?

He knows the idea of why. He knows because he has spoken with humans enough to know they want someone's word regardless, and they want to feel they can believe it, though they can barely keep an oath themselves. (Mind, if there's a mortal (of sorts?) he can expect to keep a promise, it's Siffrin.) But he wonders if he can come to understand.

He wonders if he wants to understand, to the extent he'll need.

But he does like Siffrin. And he likes G'raha, and Sariel, and Primrose, and the many whose feelings he's betrayed.

And he does like how, despite themself, perhaps, Siffrin has not fully closed their heart to him. He likes this most of all.

And, in the same way he feels moved to respond to people's cries for him to live on in that very first week, he decides on the fact that this is something that moves him, too.

So, does he get it? )

My heart does.

( This answer comes from his lips, though they do not need to part much for him to convey sound. There's something pretty about it the way a flute on the wind is pretty, smooth as a river and sweet as the dazzling sun.

Though Siffrin's attempt at speech may have been fumbling, it was genuine, and Hwylryn will answer that in kind. )

I wouldn't want to be left behind.

( He has been, in a sense, huh? Trapped with his loss as the world turned beyond him...

He'd called Siffrin orphaned, but perhaps he shouldn't be too prideful to see this in himself, too. )

I don't know where I'll end up, though, once I begin. ( Can he promise he'll be a good person, a palatable creature? But: ) ... I don't mind if you don't forgive me. I don't think you should. But...

Could I ask that you still speak to me, and you tell me how your Hwylryn has changed, bit by bit?

( The Hwylryn Siffrin has come to know - that may not be quite like any other one.

He does consider this request a little mean, in the same way he knew asking Junior to help him was certainly cruel. To ask this of Siffrin simply because their heart is not fully shut is, perhaps, taking some advantage.

But he can't help it. He wants what he wants. And he would be very sad if they didn't speak for as long as he likely won't to G'raha, if not longer. He can't apologize for being selfish, and he will do it again. )

[coldseep]

( YAY!!!! )

Okay! I'll bring Ish and Junior along.

( +1's them without permission it's fine )

What kind of place is the Spirit World, anyway?

[coldseep]

( sasuga ... though Hwylryn is still on the Richard Must Live bus, he seems to approve of this answer from him. Spending it on Ayaka is a valid choice. )

And what's that wish?

( gee richard why do you get two wishes from phenomenally cosmically powerful wish granting entities )

[coldseep]

( Mmm, he makes a vague sound of understanding. )

I guess that's how I came to like this place, too - coming to like the people here... being cared for.

( and we all know how that ended up-- but really, if bonds can make a place like this a fond memory for him, he supposes those same types of bonds could work wonders anywhere, even a school. )

... What was she like?

( The person who gave Ayaka this body. closing my eyes at the pcs still in my inbox it's fine )