mewreview | the graveyard

the graveyard

the graveyard

You wake up in your bed. At first, it might not seem as though anything has changed...until you try to leave the room. You'll quickly discover that while you can phase through the interior walls of the building, you can't open doors, pick up objects, or alter the environment in any way. Worse, the only people who can see and hear you are your fellow ghosts; to everyone else, you may as well be so much empty air.

That said, there are still a few other things you can do besides just observing those who are still alive. You now have the ability to conjure any food, drink, or reasonably small object out of midair, although anything you conjure will go unnoticed by the living inhabitants. More interestingly, there is now an intricate iron door embedded in the wall of the main room that you're sure hadn't been there yesterday. If you open it, you'll find that at long last you've exited the building...and the world outside looks quite familiar.

In fact, it's your world. Though...it might not be exactly how you remember it when you left.

You won't be able to get far in the area before you feel some kind of barrier preventing you from taking another step, but it's enough for you to know that something has Gone Terribly Wrong. Perhaps it's the bombed-out shell of your building, or the monsters screeching nearby, or the corpses of your army scattered on the ground; whatever the situation is, it's clear that you would have been in grave danger had you still been back home. Luckily, your ghostly status is still in effect even here; while there may be danger still lurking about, none of it will be able to affect you.

The building behind you has taken on a translucent, almost insubstantial appearance; only the iron doors remain as solid as ever. You can simply open them again to return to the cat's domain.

(OOC: Here's how this will work! Whenever someone new arrives to the graveyard, the world outside will change to their canon's world. We'll leave the exact location and situation up to you to describe; the only thing that matters is that it should be clear your character would have been in enormous danger had they been around. Everyone in the graveyard will be able to explore the area, which will at maximum be around the size of a large ballroom; you'll be able to see things outside the area, but you won't be able to take another step forward. You can interact with the setting, but you won't be able to affect anything living, and anything that might pose a danger such as bullets will pass right through you.)

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[Austria wakes up looking a little lost, but then that was the standard for this week it seemed.]

...?

[She hasn't been herself in a while, forgive her.]

[It had certainly been quite a night and Youmu still felt on edge, despite being unharmed but it was precisely that inability to help that made her restless.

She wasn't really sure if things would work out the same way they did for her but she found herself in Austria's room regardless. A small wakizashi in her off hand and poised to attack if need be, she wasn't taking any chances]

Are you Miss Austria? Or someone else?

[As far as her last memory goes, Austria had been speaking to Iceland. So having Youmu of all people poised to attack her is an entirely unwelcome event that takes her completely off guard.

She swats at the wakizashi, looking furious.]

Get that thing out of my face this instant!

[Instinctively she jumps back and a few small sparks of light burst from her free hand. They're not really bright enough to blind but they'll definitely sting if you get hit with them]

Stay back!

I won't let you hurt anyone else here, they've suffered enough.

[Austria recoils her hand, looking surprised momentarily-- before settling on confused and aggravated.] What on earth are you talking about?

The only thing suffering here is my head trying to wrap my itself around this asinine conversation. What do you think you're doing approaching me like that, who do you think you are to speak to me that way Frau Konpa--

...

Frau...

K...konpaku...

[N...no...]

Aren't you...?

[Dead.]

[Youmu lets her guard down just a little. While she didn't seem like she was possessed neither did Naho. She'll give Austria the benefit of the doubt for now though]

Miss Austria?

If that is you, are you aware of the situation?

[Austria covers her mouth, looking like she's going to be sick.]

I-I haven't been fully aware of my situation for nearly a week... what--

I can't be...

[Seeing her reaction, Youmu felt bad for ever having doubted her. Shifting into a less aggressive stance she steps a little closer, unsure if she should keep her distance or not]

I'm afraid they had no choice but to kill you. Those shadows were becoming increasingly dangerous and you posed a risk to everyone.

You... You were the one they were looking for during that case.

[Youmu hopes she knows the one she's talking about because she doesn't feel like going back to that. As much as she wants to be angry at Austria for her death, Youmu feels too concerned for her at the present time]

Do you need something to drink?

[This was everything she'd been trying to prevent and not only had it happened regardless, she'd taken Youmu down with her.

What had she actually managed to accomplish?]

...

Ja. Please...

[Youmu doesn't leave the room, instead a small tray seems to fall into her hands from nowhere followed by a cup of green tea and a dish of rice crackers. She hands the tray to Austria and sits on the bed next to her]

I'm sorry, this must be a lot to take in...

[Austria's too upset to even acknowledge that as weird at this point-- honestly nothing about this place has made sense ever why should it start when you're dead.]

Is there coffee?

Uh... Maybe?

[Coffee wasn't something that she had made before and she hadn't tried to summon anything she couldn't prepare by hand. None the less she concentrates for a moment before another cup appears in her hands and she offers it apologetically]

I hope that's alright.

[It's not. As far as coffee goes, it's pretty bad]

[Even bad coffee is still coffee.]

How are you doing that?

[Austria will take a sip, scrunching up her face in disgust at the taste.]

Blech...

I'm not sure, but I soon found out it's the kind of power we have in this place.

Maybe you could try making something better, you definitely know more about coffee than I do. I don't know exactly how it works but if you will for something it normally comes to you.

[She looks over to the wakizashi on the floor and goes to pick it up, inspecting it for marks before putting it back in its sheath]

It doesn't seem to work for objects much larger than this though.

[She can feel coffee grounds in her teeth--ugh.]

Will for something... [Sure. Why not. She'll hold out her hand and will for a cup of einspänner]

Oh!

[...She could actually get used to this.]

[Oh! She got it quite quickly]

What is that? Some kind of dessert?

[It wasn't like the coffee she'd seen people pouring in the morning. In fact it has Youmu quite curious]

[Austria is a master of willing things. Centuries of demands masterfully delegated to others!]

Einspänner. It's Viennese coffee; double espresso, stretched with water and topped with whipped cream.

Would you like one? [She'll make another pop into her opposing hand and offer it to Youmu.]

[Okay that made almost no sense to her but Youmu gratefully accepts it. Somehow it feels like a peace offering]

Thank-you very much.

[It takes her a moment to try and figure out how to drink it but after taking a sip Youmu seems quite surprised by it]

It's very rich, but somehow I was expecting it to be sweeter. Do you drink this a lot in your home?

[Oh she forgot spoons. Here take one.]

You're welcome.

Ja. I have a strong appreciation for good coffee. It's quite central to my culture.

Your profile said you were a nation didn't it? It must be important to keep that culture going then...

[Ever since she mentioned home Youmu just felt worse and worse. It was something she definitely had to tell Austria about but she wasn't sure how she would take it]

Listen, I'm really sorry about everything you've been through and I don't mean to make things worse but there's something I need to tell you.

Your home might not be there anymore...

I'd feared the worst if I were to die... [She'd been terrified about what that meant regarding things back home, hence why she'd done her best to sabotage her case, to see if there'd been a way to spare herself entirely.

That didn't exactly pan out.]

What would you know of that though? [She hadn't mentioned those things to anyone publicly.]

There's something I didn't tell you about when I contacted you through Miss Fey.

[Mostly because she hadn't seen it for herself at the time, having spent the first few days of her death trying to get through to Yuyuko. Since then she's been wondering if she should have gone back to tell the others]

There's a door in the main room, when I went through it I suddenly realised why we're still trapped here, why we hadn't passed onto the afterlife as usual. Every time someone died the door went to somewhere new, I suspect you might see your home if you were to look through...

My home? [There's obviously something wrong with this door, but--] I can see how my people have been then?

[Austria will calmly set her cup down and get up.]

If you'll excuse me for just a moment, Frau Konpaku?

[And as soon as she's sure she's stepped outside of Youmu's range of sight, Austria frantically bolts for the main room and the new door that has appeared in it.

Being able to suddenly pass through obstacles is only mildly startling really.] ...!!

'sup youmu

Yo!

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