his first instinct is to want to go to these poor beings and reach out to them, to try to touch their bark and see if there is anything left inside. but owner knows this is not the time or the place for that, and it would likely out them immediately, so he just looks them over.
is it possible to tell if some look like they've been here longer than others? or is all wood horror people the same. also, for the flower hearts, is there anything that seems off with them or are they simply... glowing... ]
[ kazuki freezes in place, eyes locked on one of the figures as it crawls along the floor. it's like a horror show, something he could have never imagined, and he immediately wants to go back to five minutes ago when he didn't know a thing about it. ]
[ welcome to my fuckhaus! you just had to get to this part. :)
there are three different varieties of guests, currently:
the first is the group that would be on the edge of their seats, if there were any seats in the atrium. they're excitedly gathered the closest to the glass, wanting to see, wanting to get closer and gawk, some of them talking about what Blossoming Ceremony this one was from, or that one, or marveling at the growth of it with an excitement towards what the next prospects will bring. the second are the calmer ones, impassive or even disgusted if you look close enough. the queen bee belongs to this group, and especially the latter, sipping coldly at her champagne.
the third are those that would also like to go back five minutes in time, where they had no idea about this, where they were perfectly naive.
the vibes are terrible here, to the point that even the normies will be able to feel the rolling magic that comes from... beyond the most immediate of the hanging terrariums. from deeper within the gardens.
fortunately for all of you, none of the faces look familiar! wouldn't that be wild if you saw someone that you knew here? some people glance over at todomatsu and kazuki for their reactions, a very kind of first time? reaction that varies from pitying to sympathetic, like they were there, once, too.
some of the wood horror people look like they've been there longer, yes! the further back you go - in the direction of the other, smaller exits - the older their terrariums and growth look. eventually you can't really see anything more than shadows with pinpricks of faint light, though. there is definitely something hinky with the flowers, though it's faint. not very strong. ]
Ahhh, everyone! [ the announcer is talking again. he's the host of the event, maybe? ] We're about to begin. I know many of you are excited for what's to come, and I am, too - we'll be having a very exquisite bloom this Blossoming Ceremony! We're so fortunate to have gotten more prospects this year, more than the Gardens have had in some time. We just can't wait to bring them in.
when todomatsu flinches, temenos bolsters the best that he can, being sure to stay steady for him - in fact, he even adjusts his arm and leans in a little as if soothing his worry like a very good uncle. ]
... I imagine we are about to watch this happen. [ based on the discussions - based on the announcer, too. it's starting to make a lot more sense, now. we just can't wait to bring them in, the announcer says, like this is farce is any kind of normal. a 'blossoming'.
still. maybe with his magic back, there's something to be done. this kind of rot and curse might be too much for the ones that are older. for many of these, really, they may be a lost cause; it might be like rita, where a creature that's still alive might be begging to just be put out of its misery. are they all like. moving? or are they frozen in place or dead. temenos is no apothecary, but a curse is a curse, and maybe...
... well. already, he's starting to make a mental plan, gaze flicking briefly to owner over todomatsu's head (despite the fact that owner is like two feet tall) and then off to kazuki again, shifting his stance just a little to try and block some of the worst of the closest one with his vestments. this is bad. ]
Guess the whole thing about people getting queasy makes sense now...
[ despite the increasingly bad feelings in this nightmare room, he does seem to relax just a tiny bit when temenos leans in, though it's admittedly less because of the gesture and more because it coincides with the announcer's "bring them in" remark, which to him means that at least they're not at any risk of having this done to them. like, he's truly sorry to whatever unfortunate people get chosen for this shit, but he's not going to pretend he's as concerned for a bunch of strangers as he is for himself.
he turns his gaze to the announcer, because he really doesn't want to keep looking at these displays if he can help it. ]
[ well. at the very least it's good to see that not everyone seems thrilled about this, but on the other hand... they're still here? why are they here if they don't approve? he has so many questions about what is going on here and the culture that is making it happen every year, but it's not like they can ask.
he takes a small step in kazuki's direction, just to close the distance between them a bit. even though it doesn't sound like it'll be happening to them, you never know what might happen.
he tries to check if they can hear adrastea, does any noise come through, or is it still nothing? ]
[ despite the sense of dread winding around him, something about that word brings a fierce disgust bubbling up in the pit of kazuki's stomach. he may not understand what's going on, but he doesn't need to to know it's wrong on so many levels. and with no one else to blame, his gaze settles on the announcer, burning with anger, knuckles white from the grip on the guitar case's shoulder strap.
for a quick moment, he glances at owner as if to ask, "do we really have to stay for this?" he would like to leave, actually. this is already too fucked up. ]
[ the tortured souls are... presumably dead! none of them move, save for those gently rocked by the wind that passes through the trees as it sinks into the valley you're cradled in. at the very least, they're frozen, so it's hard to say if rescue is beyond them or if they're still, truly, reaching for it.
every now and then, there's still the crackle of static in their ears when they try to reach out - but, sometimes, adrastea's filtered voice makes it in short bursts. where..you? is the clearest thing that comes through.
the announcer does not feel kazuki's ire, and instead spreads his arms wide as... on the other side of the glass, people in protective suits with rebreathers on their helmets, ushering in figures that have hoods over their heads. there is a person in a suit for each figure, and they arrange the figures in a neat line.
there are eight of them in total. a hush falls over the crowd, a mix of sick excitement and dread fills the air. ]
The guilty are given salvation in the eternity of the Hanging Gardens! Each of them has been accused of grievous crimes, but they will witness their rebirth in the bloom as they become one with the heartseed itself!
temenos can put together two and two, at first, because todomatsu looks like his brothers, and there's this slow, menacing feeling of dread. he's starting to try and calculate, wildly, what he's about to see underneath one of those hoods. throné? ort? one of the other travelers? gods forbid, gods forbid, who of his friends could be considered the sort to commit a 'crime' by these people, and then.
and then the hood comes off.
do you ever see something that's just. that's just so illogical, that you have to laugh? that you have to stare? the noise that escapes temenos' mouth is so quiet it could almost be an exhale, as his entire world bottoms out, half a laugh strangled off into nothing as his breath cuts off.
first of all - it's the sight of him. crick wellsley, golden blonde hair, wide, beseechingly bright blue eyes. crick wellsley, little lamb, godsblade newly anointed, desperate do gooder, his erstwhile sidekick. temenos hasn't seen crick since - (since stormhail) -- and yet, here he is. not only that, but he stands accused of a crime?
crick wellsley?
it's - it's impossible, it is so completely impossible that temenos' brain restarts itself almost violently. two urges crash together. the first is the emotional, gut-wrenching instinct to do something. to stop crick from falling to the fate that rita did, that all these people around them did, to gods damn it to save him like he failed to do the last time. and then there's the part of him that's too clever by half, the part of him that grabs onto this false reality and tears it in half. the reminder that this is impossible, because not only is crick wellsley being accused of a crime,
but crick wellsley is dead. ]
-- This isn't real. [ he says, abruptly, under his breath, a hiss, and grabs tightly at his staff. salvation? give me a break. ]
[ quite frankly, todomatsu's immediate reaction to seeing his brothers' faces revealed one after the other is to panic and look around to see if anyone seems to have noticed that his face looks exactly like theirs underneath the makeup. it's only after that that he deigns to consider their situation, which...
...well, honestly, they're all shit. they're definitely all guilty of a laundry list of sins. in fact, they already got judged and sent to hell for an eternity of torture once! if he's the only one who managed to escape it this time, that's probably how it should be! he's a good boy compared to them. he does his best, sometimes.
but he remembers, then, that this isn't their universe. that this isn't their genre. that dahut died and stayed dead. that he hates sleeping by himself so much. that he got copies of his own clothes in all his brothers' colors this week so he could leave them around his room and feel just a little bit less lonely.
he hears temenos, and he nods. it's not real. probably.
but everything else this past almost-two-weeks has been so much more real than anything he ever thought he'd have to face, so...
should he really be okay with this?
h-hey, akatsuka-sensei. what is he supposed to do here? ]
okay, yeah, rei has also done things that would probably be considered as crimes, so this is another instance of going, "i would believe it, actually." and, generally, owner is fairly used to sweeping in and getting his guests out of trouble. it's surprising, how they all tend to wander right into things that would get them killed the second he looks away. what a silly child.
temenos mentions it's not real, and owner notes that also makes sense, maybe, although from his side he has no idea why temenos is making that claim. but then his gaze falls to rei's legs, and okay. that is odd. ]
Wow. Isn't this exciting?
[ his tone is even.
he places his hands behind his back, but still inside the cape. he lets his fingers touch the sheath of his blade, to remind himself that it's still and ready. just in case. ]
[ oh, does that sound familiar. it's almost like he can hear that tinny, self-righteous voice echoing in the announcer's, and it makes his blood boil. even down to the victims with their faces covered, it's just like before, the footage burned into his memory. there's no way that they could be here, in the far reaches of who the hell knows where space, but they have the exact same playbook.
purging sins, welcoming rebirth, a better world - what horseshit.
and then the hoods come off, and it's like someone dropped a bucket of ice water over kazuki's head, enough that he doesn't hear the others at all, let alone adrastea. his focus narrows in on a familiar face, one he hasn't seen in nearly a month now, and whispers, ]
Akito...?
[ it makes sense, doesn't it? that he'd be targeted for this. whatever akito did, it was serious enough for him to disappear. if ichika hadn't been so easy to read, kazuki never would have known something he was involved in something dangerous at all.
ichika had said he would come home safe. she wouldn't have lied, right? not about this. not about akito.
[ how exciting! how marvelous! the murmur in the crowd is a ripple and thrum on its own, a mix of thrill and nausea alike. whatever reason the latter group has for coming here - whatever societal standard there is to uphold - they make no move to stop this. they just watch, transfixed, as the announcer spins with a flourish and then steps aside. he gives a round of applause all on his own, all fanfare. ]
Simply wonderful!
[ on the other side of the glass, todomatsu gets to see his brothers inch closer and closer to one another, as best they can with their hands bound... in front of them, all five of them. they lean on one another for support, confusion, anger, fear, the whole gamut. the six of you really have been through it, haven't you? despite your dedication to living your NEET lifestyles to your varying degrees, they're your flesh and blood. your older brothers.
you know them as much as you know yourself, for all their flaws and all the annoyance that they've caused you over the years. you know that osomatsu's temper must be rearing its head, that karamatsu is trying to stay cool and cocky in the moment, can see that choromatsu's wearing every reaction on his sleeve, that ichimatsu is locking up and withdrawing inwards, and that jyushimatsu doesn't seem to realize just how badly things have turned south. but they gravitate together as the only thing any of them knows in this moment.
separate from this cluster, rei struggles against the bindings that have his arms trapped behind his back. but he bares his teeth in a threat, a facsimile of a smile, saying something that... none of you can hear, on the other side of the glass. it might be soundproof. but he speaks to the attendant that he has, thrashing back and nearly striking them in the masked face with the back of his head. such a troublemaker as always, owner, even as he stands again before you.
akito flinches away from rei as he fights, bumping into the knightly figure next to him and looking... nervous. remorseful, even. like part of him thinks maybe he does belong in this situation, committed to it, but that it shouldn't have gotten this far, that this isn't quite right. he's also saying something, vehement, his glasses skewed on his face. you could almost, almost make it out by watching him, even if you can't hear him. surely this isn't what was supposed to happen! none of this should have been what happened! and kazuki, your sister wouldn't lie to you. surely she wouldn't. not about him. not about this.
and, oh, crick. paragon of goodness, who had simply wanted to find answers and bring the truth to light. he helps to steady akito as best he can, but like rei his arms are bound behind him. he doesn't fight, he doesn't plea, but he does seem to be trying to make a case here, turning towards the eight individuals that have brought them out there. he doesn't look furious, temenos, but he does look righteous. (he looks alive) he looks like that newly anointed sanctum knight that stood before a heretic, willing to step into battle for the sake of those who couldn't fight for themselves. ]
Our Blossoming Ceremony begins, ladies and gentlemen!
[ and the eight of them are hit in the back of the knees, brought to the ground in a row. another thrum pulses - but there's not a delay, this time. tha thump.
crick wellsley is crick wellsley, in the end. though this is completely impossible - after all, temenos was the one who checked his pulse, temenos was the one who showed up too late, who couldn't stop him. who should have stopped him, the night before - this is him, down to his core. soothing others. indignant in the face of evil. crick, who once hid behind him in his fright facing monsters in flamechurch. crick, who was so eager to uncover the truth that he ran into the den of the wolves by himself.
but that cannot be him. his own logic has to take precedence. he cannot allow himself for a second to think that crick wellsley is alive. crick is dead, and buried, and even she tried to use it against you.
casual. stay casual. his hand stays on his staff - and he asks, just loud enough to be heard by their neighbors. ] Do we get to know their crimes?
[ temenos asks it almost bored.
like it isn't the entire world crashing down, like it isn't making his mouth dry, like his heart is not pounding in his ears. his bored, placid mask the same one he's stapled onto his face every day of his life, does not budge. it would not budge for arcanette. he will not lose it, here.
in the meantime, temenos is calling up on that magic in his own regard, somewhere in the back of his mind reciting the words to a prayer. what can he do? could he cast a divine effulgence and burn this place to the ground? not likely. there's not enough time to prepare for it, and he'd be left vulnerable. could he stop the curse from taking place? could he cure it, if he did?
(can he stand here, and watch crick be a sacrificial lamb once again?)
his gaze pulls away from the facsimile of a stage for a moment, to sweep across the group, trying to catch owner's gaze first. they're the responsible ones here. (or at least, they're the ones loaded with magic.) ]
[ ...in spite of everything todomatsu is feeling and struggling with in this moment, even as he's watching his brothers falling to their knees, hearing temenos casually make that suggestion triggers a different kind of panic in him — he knows all about the sordid crimes they've committed, much to his dismay — and against his better judgment, he speaks up, in a cold sweat. ]
M-maybe it's better if they don't announce them, actually! Just seeing them here like this is probably bringing their families enough shame already, don't you think?!
[ ah.
he winces even as the words are leaving his lips, shrinking back a bit as the heartbeat — heartbeat? — pounds heavily in his ears. can they see him from the other side of the glass, he wonders? even dressed like this, they'd all recognize him in an instant if they could — after all, who wouldn't recognize their own face?
there he is, the youngest brother who left them all behind without saying a word, like he so often does, standing in the crowd with everyone else who's come to delight in their well-earned suffering as they're finally (finally!) forced to make something of themselves.
he can practically hear the reactions.
eh?! he's still worrying about his own image at a time like this?! ah, well, what would you expect from that dry monster? that's right. he doesn't have a heart, after all. if he wasn't here seeing it for himself, he probably wouldn't even notice we were gone tomorrow. ahaha, you really hated having us for brothers, huh, totty?
[ seeing rei fight against his capture does, genuinely, bring a smile to owner's face. it really is just like him, when everything is against him, to be as much trouble as humanly possible. owner would almost want to applaud him, except rei would likely find that worse than the actual situation he's in. troublesome, troublesome child.
but then temenos speaks, and todomatsu reacts nervously to the request, and he thinks, uh oh. this just put too much attention over here. he isn't sure if people speaking up like this during this event is normal or not, but maybe they can be excused for openly being new...? on the other hand, those with power do have a tendency of getting offended easily, so this can really go either way.
he doesn't speak up, just in case. if anyone approaches the other two, he wants to keep the element of surprise to be able to step in, since people shouldn't think all four of them are together. he looks over at kazuki to see how he's reacting to this. ]
[ ...he hasn't given up. there's a faint sense of relief that comes with that realization, that it's different from before. akito was so ready to give up everything just a few months ago, that he didn't deserve their dream... even now, he looks just as guilt-ridden as whatever was getting to him back then. but he's not just taking it this time.
maybe akito still thinks he deserves whatever punishment is coming, but it's good to see him fight. kazuki watches him with clenched fists, seething as awareness starts to come back to him, and he shoots temenos a glare. ]
Does it matter? [ he bites out the words bitterly. ] They already screwed up. There's no going back from that.
[ that's how these people think, isn't it? that nothing is worth forgiving, only judging.
eyes back on akito, kazuki shakes with rage and fear as they all fall to their knees. that sound - they're too far to do anything about it from here, aren't they? what would he even do when they're surrounded by a bunch of lunatics who want to see this happen?
[ a mixture of relief and disdain pulses through the crowd at temenos' inquiry, a torn mix from many groups. but all heads around them turn towards him - and todomatsu by proxy - with this question. it's not loud enough for the announcer to hear on the stage, especially not as the harpist begins playing. but it's enough for some answers to come. ]
Oh, no. That wouldn't do. [ someone nearby says. ] They lost their right once the verdict was given! The crime hardly matters.
[ they're guilty. why would they care about their crimes beyond that?
they're guilty, aren't they? why would they be here if they were innocent? (would they even care, truthfully, if they were?)
jyushimatsu and akito are the ones that are unbound, but none of the others are. some sort of instructions must be given, because jyushimatsu starts trying to free his brothers, hands shaking as he goes one by one, and akito shakes his head, disbelieving, questioning. he's not fighting back physically, but - this isn't what it was meant to be.
there's no answer for him as the eight handlers leave them behind, leaving him on hands and knees. crick twists at his waist to speak to him, already having gotten at least one knee up, trying to reassure and get his attention. if they can get free, maybe there's a chance they can do something. rei, on the other hand, finds a way up to his feet again, again, and is making his way towards the glass of the atrium. at the very least, the guilty know they're being watched - because he's staring down the announcer as he approaches, all violent intent. ]
My, what a beast this one is! [ laughter bubbles up from the announcer, unconcerned. the pulsing heartbeat speeds up.
adrastea's voice comes through, clearer than before even as it crackles now: ] I'm com...ng... there's something happening... run.
frustrating, but not surprising. this is kaldena all over again. how appropriate, to be watching crick have to deal with this - watching him face down judge, jury and executioner. bitterly, somehow (i'm here this time.)
his only outward reaction is a click of the tongue. ] Quite. Let the show begin, then. [ as if he agrees with any of this - cool, relaxed, unbothered.
in reality, he is not any of those three things! but at least he's super good at hiding it. he's distracted, thinking instead about what to do in the aftermath. if he can remove the source of the curse, he can likely revive - well, he can certainly try to get all of them. eight people is a lot at once, and it would undo his already tenuous reconnection to his magic, but if he conserves his mana, then maybe it'll be fine. his eyes stay on crick, and he finds himself - hoping. for once, hoping, maybe, that he can find his way out, that he'll be a stupid, gallant knight, that he'll save them from their situation.
of course, all planning for the future is interrupted when he hears run from adrastea. the idea of just abandoning them is making him feel a little ill, a little trapped, but this simply cannot be real, and the four of them are. he has to cling to the logical no matter how badly he wants to smash open the glass. he can't. he has to keep a cool head.
instead, temenos starts a prayer in the back of his mind. a familiar one, mentally calculating the amount of magic he'll need to prepare it and never taking his eyes off the display. Aelfric, grant us your sacred shield.
[ small fucking blessings, he supposes, though even with the assurance that his family's extensive list of sins will be kept on the down low, it's not like he can feel much relief when this is continuing to play out in front of him. ]
Jyushimatsu-niisan...
[ he's not sure what's happening right now, why jyushimatsu is the only one of the five who's left unbound — a funny risk to take, he thinks, when he's by far the strongest and most unpredictable of them all, though he's also never been able to carry malice nearly as well as most of the rest of them — or what instructions he's being given.
his questioning is interrupted by adrastea's voice in his ear, though (which at least puts a stop to the other voices he was imagining), giving him a command that he would love to follow, but isn't sure he actually can. ]
What...?
[ he lowers his head, suddenly very alert to the faces that have turned toward him, keeping his voice hushed. ]
W-wait, what are we doing? I mean— isn't that going to cause a scene?
[ more importantly, are they really just going to leave? ]
well, the metatext said it was a half hour walk to reach this area, so if that was a legit time frame, they could make it back faster than that while running... however, there are other guards over on the other side of the tunnel, and if them suddenly leaving is seen as weird, then they would essentially be running to a dead end if the other guards are alerted because of how much time it'll take to reach there. there are other paths, but they have no way of knowing where they lead.
these are all things he is thinking about, but his main focus remains on rei. owner watches how defiant he is, and that does seem real. his hands are still in their spot behind his back, and he feels the sheath of the katana again, and there's a moment where he wonders how thick the glass is.
he manages to mumble into the headset, ]
Adrastea-sama, where are you? Are you going back to the main entrance?
No. [ the answer is immediate, with kazuki refusing to take his eyes off of his friend. ] We can't just leave them here to... whatever this is.
[ they're as good as trapped, anyway - it took way too long just to get here in the first place. what good is it to run, when akito is right there in front of him? how is he supposed to stand by and just watch akito be punished as if it doesn't affect him at all?
he can't. he won't.
there's a voice in the back of his head screaming at him that this is stupid, that he has no idea what he's doing. it's right, of course, but kazuki ignores it to step forward, walking toward the stage. ]
[ adrastea responds to kazuki, first, because what kind of fuckin statement is that. ] Leave who - what's going on -
[ but after a bit of silence, there's something for all of you: ] ... entrance... can meet you, where...
[ most of you are distracted by what's happening in front of you, the people that you see on the other side of the glass. akito has managed to get his wits about him, with careful coaxing from crick, who keeps looking at him, then up, deeper into the garden around them. temenos knows him well enough he should be able to tell that he's on edge, but he's trying to treat akito gently, and the teenager moves around behind the knight to start undoing the bindings that are holding his arms there. these two haven't noticed familiar faces inside, yet.
rei does, though. he stares down the announcer, first, arms shifting behind him, trying to work off his restraints himself. the announcer is hardly affected by this, and instead smiles indulgently as the heartbeat thrum of magic, of energy, reverberates in the glass around them all.
but then, he scans the crowd behind the announcer, as if taking stock of everyone that's come to perversely watch the proceedings. and he sees owner. there's a minute widening of his eyes, before they narrow, all the more furious for having spotted him. he tilts his body and rears back, slamming his shoulder into the glass. it does nothing.
but todomatsu will see, beyond his brothers, the shifting of plants again. the wind has picked up, so that's not too surprising, at first - a reaction, maybe. something to do with the mounting dread that's hardly aided by the harpist's playing. jyushimatsu doesn't pay the wind any mind, though, and is instead focused on actually ripping the bindings off his brothers, one by one, as the five of them talk to one another. they're looking around as if to try and figure out what the next step is.
they've gotten into harrowing trouble before. they can get out of it, surely.
except he'll notice the movement isn't just beyond the "prospects." it's also along the edges of the atrium, as vines creep up the cage that you've all found yourselves in. bit by bit, by bit, by bit. ]
temenos doesn't have those. he's currently busy - in fact, his eyes close, briefly. he tears himself away from looking at crick helping out akito (of course he is) and starts reciting the prayer for the sacred shield if they're going to need it. his first priority is to protect kazuki and todomatsu, and though his sacred shield is not strong enough to completely block any kind of hit, it can at least absorb something. i would never steal your injuries from you.
that's all his focus at the moment, is silently mouthing the words to cast sacred shield. he doesn't do it yet, though todomatsu as our eagle eye might feel that temenos arm is a little warmer than it was before where he was holding onto him.
temenos has not noticed the extra movement. spellcaster life. he is still holding his action for when all hell breaks loose, because inevitably, it is going to break loose. come on, aelfric. come onnnnnn magic powers. ]
[ the entrance? how the hell are they supposed to get all the way back there without getting caught when there are guards both inside and out to intercept them from both directions? sure, he's got his gun, but he can only shoot one bullet at a time, and he's pretty sure they're going to get hit with a lot more resistance than what can be feasibly taken care of with that.
it's when he's looking toward their potential exit route that he sees it — the movement of the vines around them, not just that of the trees behind his brothers. shit... the longer they hesitate here the more of that they're going to have to deal with, right? ]
Hey. The vines are moving — look. I think we really do need to get out of here.
[ a slight tug on temenos's arm (when did it get so warm?), and then he ducks down and starts to move through the crowd, trying to be subtle as possible and kind of wishing now that he wasn't such a showstopping beauty in this getup.
he glances back up to jyushimatsu and the others — they have indeed gotten out of much wilder scrapes than this before, so he wants to believe that they'll pull through this time too. sorry, he mouths silently in their direction. do your best. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ gruesome weird it is, then.
his first instinct is to want to go to these poor beings and reach out to them, to try to touch their bark and see if there is anything left inside. but owner knows this is not the time or the place for that, and it would likely out them immediately, so he just looks them over.
is it possible to tell if some look like they've been here longer than others? or is all wood horror people the same. also, for the flower hearts, is there anything that seems off with them or are they simply... glowing... ]
no subject
Wha... What is this...?
[ voice low, trembling just a touch. ]
no subject
there are three different varieties of guests, currently:
the first is the group that would be on the edge of their seats, if there were any seats in the atrium. they're excitedly gathered the closest to the glass, wanting to see, wanting to get closer and gawk, some of them talking about what Blossoming Ceremony this one was from, or that one, or marveling at the growth of it with an excitement towards what the next prospects will bring. the second are the calmer ones, impassive or even disgusted if you look close enough. the queen bee belongs to this group, and especially the latter, sipping coldly at her champagne.
the third are those that would also like to go back five minutes in time, where they had no idea about this, where they were perfectly naive.
the vibes are terrible here, to the point that even the normies will be able to feel the rolling magic that comes from... beyond the most immediate of the hanging terrariums. from deeper within the gardens.
fortunately for all of you, none of the faces look familiar! wouldn't that be wild if you saw someone that you knew here? some people glance over at todomatsu and kazuki for their reactions, a very kind of first time? reaction that varies from pitying to sympathetic, like they were there, once, too.
some of the wood horror people look like they've been there longer, yes! the further back you go - in the direction of the other, smaller exits - the older their terrariums and growth look. eventually you can't really see anything more than shadows with pinpricks of faint light, though. there is definitely something hinky with the flowers, though it's faint. not very strong. ]
Ahhh, everyone! [ the announcer is talking again. he's the host of the event, maybe? ] We're about to begin. I know many of you are excited for what's to come, and I am, too - we'll be having a very exquisite bloom this Blossoming Ceremony! We're so fortunate to have gotten more prospects this year, more than the Gardens have had in some time. We just can't wait to bring them in.
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when todomatsu flinches, temenos bolsters the best that he can, being sure to stay steady for him - in fact, he even adjusts his arm and leans in a little as if soothing his worry like a very good uncle. ]
... I imagine we are about to watch this happen. [ based on the discussions - based on the announcer, too. it's starting to make a lot more sense, now. we just can't wait to bring them in, the announcer says, like this is farce is any kind of normal. a 'blossoming'.
still. maybe with his magic back, there's something to be done. this kind of rot and curse might be too much for the ones that are older. for many of these, really, they may be a lost cause; it might be like rita, where a creature that's still alive might be begging to just be put out of its misery. are they all like. moving? or are they frozen in place or dead. temenos is no apothecary, but a curse is a curse, and maybe...
... well. already, he's starting to make a mental plan, gaze flicking briefly to owner over todomatsu's head (despite the fact that owner is like two feet tall) and then off to kazuki again, shifting his stance just a little to try and block some of the worst of the closest one with his vestments. this is bad. ]
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Guess the whole thing about people getting queasy makes sense now...
[ despite the increasingly bad feelings in this nightmare room, he does seem to relax just a tiny bit when temenos leans in, though it's admittedly less because of the gesture and more because it coincides with the announcer's "bring them in" remark, which to him means that at least they're not at any risk of having this done to them. like, he's truly sorry to whatever unfortunate people get chosen for this shit, but he's not going to pretend he's as concerned for a bunch of strangers as he is for himself.
he turns his gaze to the announcer, because he really doesn't want to keep looking at these displays if he can help it. ]
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he takes a small step in kazuki's direction, just to close the distance between them a bit. even though it doesn't sound like it'll be happening to them, you never know what might happen.
he tries to check if they can hear adrastea, does any noise come through, or is it still nothing? ]
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[ despite the sense of dread winding around him, something about that word brings a fierce disgust bubbling up in the pit of kazuki's stomach. he may not understand what's going on, but he doesn't need to to know it's wrong on so many levels. and with no one else to blame, his gaze settles on the announcer, burning with anger, knuckles white from the grip on the guitar case's shoulder strap.
for a quick moment, he glances at owner as if to ask, "do we really have to stay for this?" he would like to leave, actually. this is already too fucked up. ]
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every now and then, there's still the crackle of static in their ears when they try to reach out - but, sometimes, adrastea's filtered voice makes it in short bursts. where..you? is the clearest thing that comes through.
the announcer does not feel kazuki's ire, and instead spreads his arms wide as... on the other side of the glass, people in protective suits with rebreathers on their helmets, ushering in figures that have hoods over their heads. there is a person in a suit for each figure, and they arrange the figures in a neat line.
there are eight of them in total. a hush falls over the crowd, a mix of sick excitement and dread fills the air. ]
The guilty are given salvation in the eternity of the Hanging Gardens! Each of them has been accused of grievous crimes, but they will witness their rebirth in the bloom as they become one with the heartseed itself!
[ and then, the hoods are all pulled off. ]
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temenos can put together two and two, at first, because todomatsu looks like his brothers, and there's this slow, menacing feeling of dread. he's starting to try and calculate, wildly, what he's about to see underneath one of those hoods. throné? ort? one of the other travelers? gods forbid, gods forbid, who of his friends could be considered the sort to commit a 'crime' by these people, and then.
and then the hood comes off.
do you ever see something that's just. that's just so illogical, that you have to laugh? that you have to stare? the noise that escapes temenos' mouth is so quiet it could almost be an exhale, as his entire world bottoms out, half a laugh strangled off into nothing as his breath cuts off.
first of all - it's the sight of him. crick wellsley, golden blonde hair, wide, beseechingly bright blue eyes. crick wellsley, little lamb, godsblade newly anointed, desperate do gooder, his erstwhile sidekick. temenos hasn't seen crick since - (since stormhail) -- and yet, here he is. not only that, but he stands accused of a crime?
crick wellsley?
it's - it's impossible, it is so completely impossible that temenos' brain restarts itself almost violently. two urges crash together. the first is the emotional, gut-wrenching instinct to do something. to stop crick from falling to the fate that rita did, that all these people around them did, to gods damn it to save him like he failed to do the last time. and then there's the part of him that's too clever by half, the part of him that grabs onto this false reality and tears it in half. the reminder that this is impossible, because not only is crick wellsley being accused of a crime,
but crick wellsley is dead. ]
-- This isn't real. [ he says, abruptly, under his breath, a hiss, and grabs tightly at his staff. salvation? give me a break. ]
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...well, honestly, they're all shit. they're definitely all guilty of a laundry list of sins. in fact, they already got judged and sent to hell for an eternity of torture once! if he's the only one who managed to escape it this time, that's probably how it should be! he's a good boy compared to them. he does his best, sometimes.
but he remembers, then, that this isn't their universe. that this isn't their genre. that dahut died and stayed dead. that he hates sleeping by himself so much. that he got copies of his own clothes in all his brothers' colors this week so he could leave them around his room and feel just a little bit less lonely.
he hears temenos, and he nods. it's not real. probably.
but everything else this past almost-two-weeks has been so much more real than anything he ever thought he'd have to face, so...
should he really be okay with this?
h-hey, akatsuka-sensei. what is he supposed to do here? ]
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okay, yeah, rei has also done things that would probably be considered as crimes, so this is another instance of going, "i would believe it, actually." and, generally, owner is fairly used to sweeping in and getting his guests out of trouble. it's surprising, how they all tend to wander right into things that would get them killed the second he looks away. what a silly child.
temenos mentions it's not real, and owner notes that also makes sense, maybe, although from his side he has no idea why temenos is making that claim. but then his gaze falls to rei's legs, and okay. that is odd. ]
Wow. Isn't this exciting?
[ his tone is even.
he places his hands behind his back, but still inside the cape. he lets his fingers touch the sheath of his blade, to remind himself that it's still and ready. just in case. ]
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purging sins, welcoming rebirth, a better world - what horseshit.
and then the hoods come off, and it's like someone dropped a bucket of ice water over kazuki's head, enough that he doesn't hear the others at all, let alone adrastea. his focus narrows in on a familiar face, one he hasn't seen in nearly a month now, and whispers, ]
Akito...?
[ it makes sense, doesn't it? that he'd be targeted for this. whatever akito did, it was serious enough for him to disappear. if ichika hadn't been so easy to read, kazuki never would have known something he was involved in something dangerous at all.
ichika had said he would come home safe. she wouldn't have lied, right? not about this. not about akito.
...right?
so how is he... ]
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Simply wonderful!
[ on the other side of the glass, todomatsu gets to see his brothers inch closer and closer to one another, as best they can with their hands bound... in front of them, all five of them. they lean on one another for support, confusion, anger, fear, the whole gamut. the six of you really have been through it, haven't you? despite your dedication to living your NEET lifestyles to your varying degrees, they're your flesh and blood. your older brothers.
you know them as much as you know yourself, for all their flaws and all the annoyance that they've caused you over the years. you know that osomatsu's temper must be rearing its head, that karamatsu is trying to stay cool and cocky in the moment, can see that choromatsu's wearing every reaction on his sleeve, that ichimatsu is locking up and withdrawing inwards, and that jyushimatsu doesn't seem to realize just how badly things have turned south. but they gravitate together as the only thing any of them knows in this moment.
separate from this cluster, rei struggles against the bindings that have his arms trapped behind his back. but he bares his teeth in a threat, a facsimile of a smile, saying something that... none of you can hear, on the other side of the glass. it might be soundproof. but he speaks to the attendant that he has, thrashing back and nearly striking them in the masked face with the back of his head. such a troublemaker as always, owner, even as he stands again before you.
akito flinches away from rei as he fights, bumping into the knightly figure next to him and looking... nervous. remorseful, even. like part of him thinks maybe he does belong in this situation, committed to it, but that it shouldn't have gotten this far, that this isn't quite right. he's also saying something, vehement, his glasses skewed on his face. you could almost, almost make it out by watching him, even if you can't hear him. surely this isn't what was supposed to happen! none of this should have been what happened! and kazuki, your sister wouldn't lie to you. surely she wouldn't. not about him. not about this.
and, oh, crick. paragon of goodness, who had simply wanted to find answers and bring the truth to light. he helps to steady akito as best he can, but like rei his arms are bound behind him. he doesn't fight, he doesn't plea, but he does seem to be trying to make a case here, turning towards the eight individuals that have brought them out there. he doesn't look furious, temenos, but he does look righteous. (he looks alive) he looks like that newly anointed sanctum knight that stood before a heretic, willing to step into battle for the sake of those who couldn't fight for themselves. ]
Our Blossoming Ceremony begins, ladies and gentlemen!
[ and the eight of them are hit in the back of the knees, brought to the ground in a row. another thrum pulses - but there's not a delay, this time. tha thump.
another. tha thump.
like a heartbeat. ]
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crick wellsley is crick wellsley, in the end. though this is completely impossible - after all, temenos was the one who checked his pulse, temenos was the one who showed up too late, who couldn't stop him. who should have stopped him, the night before - this is him, down to his core. soothing others. indignant in the face of evil. crick, who once hid behind him in his fright facing monsters in flamechurch. crick, who was so eager to uncover the truth that he ran into the den of the wolves by himself.
but that cannot be him. his own logic has to take precedence. he cannot allow himself for a second to think that crick wellsley is alive. crick is dead, and buried, and even she tried to use it against you.
casual. stay casual. his hand stays on his staff - and he asks, just loud enough to be heard by their neighbors. ] Do we get to know their crimes?
[ temenos asks it almost bored.
like it isn't the entire world crashing down, like it isn't making his mouth dry, like his heart is not pounding in his ears. his bored, placid mask the same one he's stapled onto his face every day of his life, does not budge. it would not budge for arcanette. he will not lose it, here.
in the meantime, temenos is calling up on that magic in his own regard, somewhere in the back of his mind reciting the words to a prayer. what can he do? could he cast a divine effulgence and burn this place to the ground? not likely. there's not enough time to prepare for it, and he'd be left vulnerable. could he stop the curse from taking place? could he cure it, if he did?
(can he stand here, and watch crick be a sacrificial lamb once again?)
his gaze pulls away from the facsimile of a stage for a moment, to sweep across the group, trying to catch owner's gaze first. they're the responsible ones here. (or at least, they're the ones loaded with magic.) ]
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M-maybe it's better if they don't announce them, actually! Just seeing them here like this is probably bringing their families enough shame already, don't you think?!
[ ah.
he winces even as the words are leaving his lips, shrinking back a bit as the heartbeat — heartbeat? — pounds heavily in his ears. can they see him from the other side of the glass, he wonders? even dressed like this, they'd all recognize him in an instant if they could — after all, who wouldn't recognize their own face?
there he is, the youngest brother who left them all behind without saying a word, like he so often does, standing in the crowd with everyone else who's come to delight in their well-earned suffering as they're finally (finally!) forced to make something of themselves.
he can practically hear the reactions.
eh?! he's still worrying about his own image at a time like this?!
ah, well, what would you expect from that dry monster?
that's right. he doesn't have a heart, after all.
if he wasn't here seeing it for himself, he probably wouldn't even notice we were gone tomorrow.
ahaha, you really hated having us for brothers, huh, totty?
n-no, no, no— wait. ]
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but then temenos speaks, and todomatsu reacts nervously to the request, and he thinks, uh oh. this just put too much attention over here. he isn't sure if people speaking up like this during this event is normal or not, but maybe they can be excused for openly being new...? on the other hand, those with power do have a tendency of getting offended easily, so this can really go either way.
he doesn't speak up, just in case. if anyone approaches the other two, he wants to keep the element of surprise to be able to step in, since people shouldn't think all four of them are together. he looks over at kazuki to see how he's reacting to this. ]
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maybe akito still thinks he deserves whatever punishment is coming, but it's good to see him fight. kazuki watches him with clenched fists, seething as awareness starts to come back to him, and he shoots temenos a glare. ]
Does it matter? [ he bites out the words bitterly. ] They already screwed up. There's no going back from that.
[ that's how these people think, isn't it? that nothing is worth forgiving, only judging.
eyes back on akito, kazuki shakes with rage and fear as they all fall to their knees. that sound - they're too far to do anything about it from here, aren't they? what would he even do when they're surrounded by a bunch of lunatics who want to see this happen?
c'mon, akito, get up... ]
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Oh, no. That wouldn't do. [ someone nearby says. ] They lost their right once the verdict was given! The crime hardly matters.
[ they're guilty. why would they care about their crimes beyond that?
they're guilty, aren't they? why would they be here if they were innocent? (would they even care, truthfully, if they were?)
jyushimatsu and akito are the ones that are unbound, but none of the others are. some sort of instructions must be given, because jyushimatsu starts trying to free his brothers, hands shaking as he goes one by one, and akito shakes his head, disbelieving, questioning. he's not fighting back physically, but - this isn't what it was meant to be.
there's no answer for him as the eight handlers leave them behind, leaving him on hands and knees. crick twists at his waist to speak to him, already having gotten at least one knee up, trying to reassure and get his attention. if they can get free, maybe there's a chance they can do something. rei, on the other hand, finds a way up to his feet again, again, and is making his way towards the glass of the atrium. at the very least, the guilty know they're being watched - because he's staring down the announcer as he approaches, all violent intent. ]
My, what a beast this one is! [ laughter bubbles up from the announcer, unconcerned. the pulsing heartbeat speeds up.
adrastea's voice comes through, clearer than before even as it crackles now: ] I'm com...ng... there's something happening... run.
[ roll a perception check. ]
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frustrating, but not surprising. this is kaldena all over again. how appropriate, to be watching crick have to deal with this - watching him face down judge, jury and executioner. bitterly, somehow (i'm here this time.)
his only outward reaction is a click of the tongue. ] Quite. Let the show begin, then. [ as if he agrees with any of this - cool, relaxed, unbothered.
in reality, he is not any of those three things! but at least he's super good at hiding it. he's distracted, thinking instead about what to do in the aftermath. if he can remove the source of the curse, he can likely revive - well, he can certainly try to get all of them. eight people is a lot at once, and it would undo his already tenuous reconnection to his magic, but if he conserves his mana, then maybe it'll be fine. his eyes stay on crick, and he finds himself - hoping. for once, hoping, maybe, that he can find his way out, that he'll be a stupid, gallant knight, that he'll save them from their situation.
of course, all planning for the future is interrupted when he hears run from adrastea. the idea of just abandoning them is making him feel a little ill, a little trapped, but this simply cannot be real, and the four of them are. he has to cling to the logical no matter how badly he wants to smash open the glass. he can't. he has to keep a cool head.
instead, temenos starts a prayer in the back of his mind. a familiar one, mentally calculating the amount of magic he'll need to prepare it and never taking his eyes off the display. Aelfric, grant us your sacred shield.
(DND voice) hold an action ]
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Jyushimatsu-niisan...
[ he's not sure what's happening right now, why jyushimatsu is the only one of the five who's left unbound — a funny risk to take, he thinks, when he's by far the strongest and most unpredictable of them all, though he's also never been able to carry malice nearly as well as most of the rest of them — or what instructions he's being given.
his questioning is interrupted by adrastea's voice in his ear, though (which at least puts a stop to the other voices he was imagining), giving him a command that he would love to follow, but isn't sure he actually can. ]
What...?
[ he lowers his head, suddenly very alert to the faces that have turned toward him, keeping his voice hushed. ]
W-wait, what are we doing? I mean— isn't that going to cause a scene?
[ more importantly, are they really just going to leave? ]
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well, the metatext said it was a half hour walk to reach this area, so if that was a legit time frame, they could make it back faster than that while running... however, there are other guards over on the other side of the tunnel, and if them suddenly leaving is seen as weird, then they would essentially be running to a dead end if the other guards are alerted because of how much time it'll take to reach there. there are other paths, but they have no way of knowing where they lead.
these are all things he is thinking about, but his main focus remains on rei. owner watches how defiant he is, and that does seem real. his hands are still in their spot behind his back, and he feels the sheath of the katana again, and there's a moment where he wonders how thick the glass is.
he manages to mumble into the headset, ]
Adrastea-sama, where are you? Are you going back to the main entrance?
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[ they're as good as trapped, anyway - it took way too long just to get here in the first place. what good is it to run, when akito is right there in front of him? how is he supposed to stand by and just watch akito be punished as if it doesn't affect him at all?
he can't. he won't.
there's a voice in the back of his head screaming at him that this is stupid, that he has no idea what he's doing. it's right, of course, but kazuki ignores it to step forward, walking toward the stage. ]
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[ but after a bit of silence, there's something for all of you: ] ... entrance... can meet you, where...
[ most of you are distracted by what's happening in front of you, the people that you see on the other side of the glass. akito has managed to get his wits about him, with careful coaxing from crick, who keeps looking at him, then up, deeper into the garden around them. temenos knows him well enough he should be able to tell that he's on edge, but he's trying to treat akito gently, and the teenager moves around behind the knight to start undoing the bindings that are holding his arms there. these two haven't noticed familiar faces inside, yet.
rei does, though. he stares down the announcer, first, arms shifting behind him, trying to work off his restraints himself. the announcer is hardly affected by this, and instead smiles indulgently as the heartbeat thrum of magic, of energy, reverberates in the glass around them all.
but then, he scans the crowd behind the announcer, as if taking stock of everyone that's come to perversely watch the proceedings. and he sees owner. there's a minute widening of his eyes, before they narrow, all the more furious for having spotted him. he tilts his body and rears back, slamming his shoulder into the glass. it does nothing.
but todomatsu will see, beyond his brothers, the shifting of plants again. the wind has picked up, so that's not too surprising, at first - a reaction, maybe. something to do with the mounting dread that's hardly aided by the harpist's playing. jyushimatsu doesn't pay the wind any mind, though, and is instead focused on actually ripping the bindings off his brothers, one by one, as the five of them talk to one another. they're looking around as if to try and figure out what the next step is.
they've gotten into harrowing trouble before. they can get out of it, surely.
except he'll notice the movement isn't just beyond the "prospects." it's also along the edges of the atrium, as vines creep up the cage that you've all found yourselves in. bit by bit, by bit, by bit. ]
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temenos doesn't have those. he's currently busy - in fact, his eyes close, briefly. he tears himself away from looking at crick helping out akito (of course he is) and starts reciting the prayer for the sacred shield if they're going to need it. his first priority is to protect kazuki and todomatsu, and though his sacred shield is not strong enough to completely block any kind of hit, it can at least absorb something. i would never steal your injuries from you.
that's all his focus at the moment, is silently mouthing the words to cast sacred shield. he doesn't do it yet, though todomatsu as our eagle eye might feel that temenos arm is a little warmer than it was before where he was holding onto him.
temenos has not noticed the extra movement. spellcaster life. he is still holding his action for when all hell breaks loose, because inevitably, it is going to break loose. come on, aelfric. come onnnnnn magic powers. ]
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it's when he's looking toward their potential exit route that he sees it — the movement of the vines around them, not just that of the trees behind his brothers. shit... the longer they hesitate here the more of that they're going to have to deal with, right? ]
Hey. The vines are moving — look. I think we really do need to get out of here.
[ a slight tug on temenos's arm (when did it get so warm?), and then he ducks down and starts to move through the crowd, trying to be subtle as possible and kind of wishing now that he wasn't such a showstopping beauty in this getup.
he glances back up to jyushimatsu and the others — they have indeed gotten out of much wilder scrapes than this before, so he wants to believe that they'll pull through this time too. sorry, he mouths silently in their direction. do your best. ]
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