Season 1 / Vincent - "Memento Mori" [The First Trial Projection]

Sylas Grey

By now Sylas has figured out what's going on in these things, enough that he isn't surprised when he winds up in the courtroom about to dive into Vincent's 3D Brain Metaphor. And he would be lying if he said he didn't think they were a little entertaining. Okay, well, no- Suzune's one ended on a real sour note- but Akemi's had been fun! He got to drink water from a hose, what's not fun about that? And he wasn't normally a betting guy, but he was willing to take a chance on Vincent's being more like Akemi's than Suzune's. Fingers crossed, right?

Well.

He pops into the projection and immediately looks a bit stunned.

"Whoa. This is like one of those Evan's Essents music videos."

Chula - Suzune

Vincent's call to the projection was certainly one she'd taken an interest in. Though it was also true that she had been interested in everyone's projections, there were a few standouts, and he was one of them. There was a lingering curiosity towards the man who had been so kind as to guide her through a task she was quite unfamiliar with, so… It was simultaneously relieving and concerning to hear the call for Vincent's turn,, having been in her cell with the door wide open.

Suzune jumped to her feet, the clack of her heels echoing in the hall as she tip-tapped behind the towering man, eyes wide. "Oh! Vincent, um… Is it like, alright if I join in?" do as you wish the energy seemed to be, so she maintained her trot behind him until she was shooed off.

… Oh. Sylas again! Interesting company. She waved at him with a bright smile. "Nice to see you again! We keep, like, running into each other but haven't had a real conversation, huh? And Ellie-san, too, hiiii~"

It wasn't long until they were in the courtroom, standing at the ready and engulfed by the projection in full. She flickered her eyes open, soaking in the moonlight and glancing around. … Already dead, huh? She supposed that wasn't too dissimilar from Akemi's projection. Wow…

…. Evan's Essents? Couldn't say she recalled the name, but…. She knew what a graveyard looked like, at least. Just in passing. "Oh! Are they visual kei?" She asked softly, glancing around at the surroundings. And of course, the thing that draws her in the most are the Roses more than anything else. She leans down to smell the roses before the graves.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Chula - Suzune And of course, the thing that draws her in the most are the Roses more than anything else. She leans down to smell the roses before the graves.

The sight of the pretty pink roses in this place is actually breathtaking to look at all together like this, overgrown as they might be. What once was likely simple aesthetic bushes have since grown to cover the entire yard, with their form now more like vines wrapping around every available surface than manicured bushes. It kind of makes you want to pick some. They weave around most of the graves and a fair bit of the outer fencing here, but less conveniently, also cover a lot of the ground you’re trying to walk on as well, and seem to be soaking up the blood on the ground into themselves too. Best to watch your step so you don’t trip over the vines.

Ellie Carter

Ellie wanted to see Vincent's vision after seeing Robert's. There's something about Vincent's haunted, kicked puppy demeanor that has her curious about these demons that haunt him. She slips in the room again, hopefully he doesn't mind.

…

Yeah, it's about as creepy and goth as she expected. She gives a long whistle as she spins around to take in the sight. She walks up and crouches by some of the graves and statues, trying to make sense of them.

"This is very Vincent, ain't it?"

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Ellie Carter She walks up and crouches by some of the graves and statues, trying to make sense of them.

The graves and their headstones may be primarily dilapidated, blood covered, or otherwise overgrown, but from what small bits you can make out of any writing on them, any and all last names you do see seem to be ‘Churchwell’. Actually, knowing that, this graveyard seems loosely organized by generation, given just how ancient the ones near where you started look, as if they’re hundreds of years old.

The ones farther in get more and more recent, and the statues begin to take more visible form. Many of them are religious iconography specifically tied to Christianity, though there are some of people or simple objects like benches. Unfortunately, most statues' faces seem to be entirely missing, having long since broken off and unsettlingly splattered with blood. Despite not seeing their faces, you just can’t shake the feeling that the statues are judging you.

…You feel as though there’s someone watching you as you look at them all, actually. Is it just your paranoia?

Chula - Suzune

"Wooooow~ How beautiful!! Wouldn't these make, like, a beautiful flower crown?" These flowers aren't being left for any particular grave, therefore it's not taboo to pick some! She grabs a handful, and despite the dark and brooding vibe of the place, happily sits on the ground to gently weave them together. Uh. Gently weave them-- uh. Um. Messily weave them together. Unfortunately, Suzune is not the best at crafting or sewing or the arts, so while she understands in theory how to make a flower crown, the fine motor motions are coming out a little bit sloppy.

But hey! She's trying to make one! It will just take her a minute.

"This place is pretty in it's own way, right?"

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Chula - Suzune These flowers aren’t being left for any particular grave, therefore it’s not taboo to pick some! She grabs a handful, and despite the dark and brooding vibe of the place, happily sits on the ground to gently weave them together.

As Suzune starts to pick some flowers, at first she's able to start doing what she's planned to do with the flower crown… However, after only a minute of her attempt, the flowers seem to begin wilting, becoming limp, dull, and lifeless. How unfortunate… It's far less pretty and is definitely struggling to stay together than it otherwise would have been now that the flowers themselves look so utterly dead.

…And then, something happens.

Out of the corner of your eyes you all spot something. Or perhaps… someone…? The pale, translucent apparition of a young pre-teen girl with light brown hair and warm golden eyes stands looking over the flowers and bending over to pick one with a look of joy on her face that gives everyone looking at her a sense of inner warmth. She giggles lightly and turns towards Suzune to hand it to with a smile on her face. But just as you might reach out to take it, her form flickers and vanishes as if she were never there at all, and the foreign feeling of warmth fades with her.

Though… Suzune still holds a pink rose in their hand now. It’s dry, certainly dead now rather than the still living ones growing all around you, and yet its form is perfectly preserved and beautiful still unlike the attempted flower crown. You’ll have to be careful not to let it crumble apart though, of course.

Sylas Grey

"Visual key? I dunno, it's this goth band my sister got reaaallyyyy into after she got dumped by fuckin'… whatshisname… Brompton… I think that was the last guy." He shrugs and looks around, then feels a shiver run down his spine.

"Uh…"

He turns around. Can he see who's watching them?

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Sylas Grey He turns around. Can he see who’s watching them?

A bit After the phenomenon you witnessed prior…

As you turn around and look between the statues for the source, you hear the faint, eerie sound of a baby crying and a woman sobbing. Out of the corner of all of your eyes, you think you see a pale, translucent woman for a moment sitting on one of the benches and holding something bloody in her arms, though you don’t get a good look at her, as by the time you turn to face her properly she’s gone, leaving something of a bitter feeling lingering in your mind before that too disappears.

Ellie Carter

"Damn, you think Vincent was part of, like, a real life Addams family?"

She stands up from the tombstones. That would be a much nicer interpretation of this creepy place. From her understanding now, these projections are like a hedge maze that tells a story. You just keep walking forward and it tells you some new wacky shit. So she walks forward without too much mind to what the others are doing, stepping up to the wrought iron fence to see what lies past.

"Even his mind is pretty dedicated to his aesthetics. Gotta give him that."

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Ellie Carter So she walks forward without too much mind to what the others are doing, stepping up to the wrought iron fence to see what lies past.

First of all, as she's walking through the flowers to get there (watching her step or not), Ellie notices this is occurring:

After a while of moving through the the roses as you traverse, you end up being pricked by the small thorns that cover the vines. It’s easy to ignore for a while, but it does get annoying after a time, and the scratches it leaves on bare skin are visible. Hopefully some of you have something covering your legs to prevent the worst of it.

…but then she gets to the gate in the end!

The tall wrought iron fence surrounds the entirety of the graveyard, with sharp intricately decorative spikes that look almost like intricate ornate daggers, in a pattern of exactly six sharp blades per section of fencing. The roses seem to be having no issue climbing the fencing, so maybe you can too? There’s certainly enough intricate footholds for it, even if the spacing of the sturdy bars are far too thin for a person to simply squeeze through. Though… it also seems as though there’s a plaque here along the fencing where a gate might have been leading to that gothic building just on the other side, though strangely you can read it from this side if you’d like.

Sylas Grey

Sylas shrieks in a comedically high-pitched fashion and tries to hide behind the nearest gravestone.

"OH FUCK THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED CAN I LEAVE PLEASE"

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Sylas Grey Sylas shrieks in a comedically high-pitched fashion and tries to hide behind the nearest gravestone.

“OH FUCK THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED CAN I LEAVE PLEASE”

Unfortunately, the nearest gravestones to him are also covered in blood and roses. Getting a bit messy there, sorry Sylas-

Ellie Carter

It's not like her skirt is that short, stopping just above the knees, but it does mean her legs are left fairly vulnerable to the thorns. But hey, it's not like she's never crawled through a damn forest. Alright, she's going to read the plaque.

She hears Sylas, but, well. Yeah obviously this place is fucking haunted have you met Vincent

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Ellie Carter Alright, she’s going to read the plaque.

The plaque edges are ornate, but the surface itself is plain black with white lettering that almost glows in the moonlight overhead:

“CHURCHWELL FAMILY CEMETERY

The fate of all who lie here is not to rest”

Chula - Suzune Regardless, she carefully watched her step trying to navigate around the flower area to approach Ellie.

Watching your step certainly helps you avoid the worst of it, but every now and again there's still those pricks of pain as you inevitably bump up against some thorns! Maybe it's best to get used to it, it's not That bad after all.

Chula - Suzune

Ah…. The flowers. Well… She tried. A dried and dead flower could still make for a pretty flower crown, but it would still need to be completed before it died to work. This was no more than a wimpy headband at most. With a small sigh, she stood back to her feet when she's handed a flower by a girl with similar enough features to herself. Suzune blinked, holding the quickly dying rose, before flashing a small smile. What a sweet memory if it were accurate.

"… Looks like that's a no-go on the flower crowns, I'm afraid!! But that's ok!" Suzune placed the flower she was given behind her ear and posed triumphantly, before sliding one of her unused flowers behind Sylas's ear (standing on her tip-toes). Ellie was too far away and beyond some dangerous brambles to do the same. "Ellie-san?? You might want to like… pull those down first if you want to go further! Ummm… You can use my heel if you want?" She didn't carry a knife on-hand or anything to offer, but she'd heard stories of people using their heels as improvised weapons, and she didn't mind one being temporarily ruined for that.

… did she have her ribbon back, actually?

Regardless, she carefully watched her step trying to navigate around the flower area to approach Ellie.

Ellie Carter

Ellie is a girl who's good at getting used to things. She had started to ignore the pricks as they were happening and turns back to Suzune, waving a dismissive hand.

"Eh, don't worry about me, girl. It'll heal. Think we should climb the fence? I could probably manage."

Sylas Grey

Sylas wheezes as he smears blood all over himself by accident. This is not going well for him, a Certified Weenie.

"Why did this have to be so scary! I thought he seemed like a real well-adjusted guy!!"

I'm sorry. He's not being particularly helpful right now. He's going to go scamper and try to regroup with Ellie and Suzune.

Chula - Suzune

"'It'll heal' doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!! Hang on, just let me take care of this much. I'm capable enough!" Suzune takes off one shoe and uses the heel to pull away the thorns so they won't grab a her as she tries to reconvene with Ellie. The memory of pain of a projection would still remain even if the marks would not.

… Walking like this was awkward. She took off her other shoe. In exchange that meant she was stepping in blood here and there, but that was fine, she'd deal with it.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Chula - Suzune Suzune takes off one shoe and uses the heel to pull away the thorns so they won’t grab a her as she tries to reconvene with Ellie.

It helps at least a bit, even if it's time consuming! But she gets over to Ellie at the gate eventually just fine. She sure has been stepping in blood though, alas.