GRAVEKEEPER.

[guestservices]

GRAVEKEEPER

Today, when Jason is in his bedroom, he will receive a message on his typewriter.

Are we interrupting? Well, whatever. Your presence is required at the moment. Hope you aren't afraid of the dark.

Immediately after he finishes reading the message, he will feel compelled to walk into the elevator, inside which a shadowy elevator attendant appears as a guide. Once Jason arrives at the destination, he will find himself standing just beyond the iron fence of the graveyard.

It feels particularly eerie on this fine Tuesday - a low wind whistles through the graveyard, rustling trees no one can see, and the moon is shining high and bright overhead.

Standing tall and proud is Orion, holding a shovel in their hands, the spade of it touching the ground. They don't seem to have much to say, simply glancing from Jason over to their companion. With them is Aquarius, seated on top of a gravestone to be just slightly taller than Orion. They, too, have a shovel in their hands, the spade resting against their shoulder.

"Thanks for coming," Aquarius says in a tone that implies they're aware it wasn't by choice.

Orion reaches into their uniform, and pulls out a sheath of papers, and speaks.

"...You've been tasked with an additional duty. Read the contract between the lines, but - keep in mind that there will be consequences if you choose to disagree."

RULES

1. The Gravekeeper is required to keep maintenance of the graves in the graveyard.
2. On Tuesday, the Gravekeeper will select one participant to remove from the hotel to ensure a proper fit to the open graves available.
2A: The Gravekeeper may occasionally have an additional selection made for them, per the discretion of hotel staff.
3. Interference can only be done through the tools of the Gravekeeper trade. The interlopers will not be aware of your interference.
4. The interlopers will be placed into boxes Thursday evening and dealt with accordingly.
5. On Friday morning, the interlopers will be released from their boxes.
6. The Gravekeeper must make their decision as to their power by Thursday evening.
7. The Gravekeeper is not to disclose that they are performing these duties. Discussing them with anyone other than authorized Hotel Staff, including the interlopers, will be considered breach of contract and will result in the death of ROY HARPER.

N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

[guestservices]

Why? [oh. that was said so immediately that they just. pause. and sit up a little so they aren't quite burrowed in jason's shoulders.]

...I mean that's fine, too. Secret's safe with me.

[ORION IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE.]

[unrecked]

[Why the fck was that said so immediately, AQUARIUS? He hates that. But also? LOL MOOD. "You would say the same thing, and you have, Jason." No, why is Aquarius saying this!!]

I knew I could count on you. [He sticks his elbow back a bit and nudges them playfully.] I don't know.

Neither of you annoy the shit out of me, so. That's a start.

[guestservices]

[swatting at his elbow. noooo.]

Wow. High praise from Jason Todd. To what do I owe the honor?

[they seem to be eyeballing jason's back and shoulders though like they're debating jumping from their perch and making him carry them for pancakes. as punishment. "for what" being a bully.]

[unrecked]

[He snorts. Yes, jump on his back. He deserves it. Also, what's the point in all these muscles if he isn't using them?]

The bar is so low it's in the ground, but okay, smartass.

[guestservices]

...probably makes two of us. [but yeah. they scoot forward to kind of jump onto his back. this is now probably a sad time for jason to realize aquarius basically weighs nothing and they're easy to cart around. light but sort of dense. ]

Pancakes. Then your choice.

[unrecked]

[He makes an OOF but is Bat enough to catch them. He reaches back to hold them by the backs of the knees so they don’t slide away into the dirt like they want.

Also? He deeply hates how light they are. Like deeply. Because he remembers being that dried up when he was a kid on the streets. It worries him.]

You could do with maybe two plates of pancakes, I think.
[He carts them to…the cart.] Then my choice.

Right, right. Don’t rush me.

[guestservices]

[they sort of slump comfortably and let this happen, looking ahead across the cemetery. ]

I'm not that hungry. And I'm not rushing, I'm just saying.

[unrecked]

I'll make it, don't worry.

[He wants to tell them they will blow away in the wind, but he knows how back-handed that is. How they probably know, obviously, and they don't need it pointed out. He doesn't want to force them to eat either?

So what he does is let go of a knee so he can pick up one of the pancakes, dry, stick it between his lips to hold a second... then grab another to offer it over his shoulder to Aquarius for the same. They will eat it like it's bread.]

Ahn oo alhkah wond t' ayvar?

[guestservices]

[pancake...they let this happen and kind of nod along, and when jason offers it they take it to kind of nibble at under their veil. they don't bother moving? jason can carry them just fine apparently.]

Was I supposed to understand any of that, Todd?

[unrecked]

[He snorts through his nose. Taking the pancake out of his mouth a second:]

Want to walk through the graveyard?

[Puts the pancake back in his mouth. Actually? Folds and pushes the entire thing into his mouth like a gremlin seven year old boy. So he can hold the leg again and walk them around.]

[guestservices]

[very son of poseidon of you jay. aquarius is still mostly picking at theirs but they don't protest.]

I can walk myself. [they say, without moving.] It's not gonna creep you out..?

[unrecked]

[STOP. He has already started walking, and since they don't move to get down, he continues to walk. It gives him time to swallow the pancake he stupidly put in his mouth.]

Mmm. [LET HIM SWALLOW.] I think I'm getting a little used to it now.

[guestservices]

[it's fucking weird to be carried, but also...maybe not so much. they're quiet for a second, letting jason walk them around wherever as they look forward.]

...between you and me, it's a little comforting. I kinda like being out here. So. I don't mind if we're stalling still.

[because this is still stalling, to them.]

[unrecked]

[It's cool. He doesn't walk very fast or hard, just kind of idly picks a path through the stones. He doesn't go very far either. Kind of makes a bit of a loop around Orion and the pancakes.]

Maybe I'm thinking. [IT ISN'T STALLING. (It is.)] You like the cemetery? Why, 'cause it's quiet?

[guestservices]

[wheeee....]

You're capable of that? [aquarius, stop.] ...but yeah, that's part of it. I know most people find it creepy but it's also kind of...the bridge between here and there. If that makes any sense.

[unrecked]

[He gives them a too fond jostle of retribution as he sucks his teeth. OKAY, SMARTASS.]

Sure, neighborhood goth kid with their crystals at the spooky liminal space. [This is also fond.] That makes sense.

You don’t mind being stuck between the here and there? Gotta say, I’m a little envious. Place kinda scares the piss out of me.

[guestservices]

[they don't really correct him, even if they shift to cling slightly better after the jostle. ]

It's not like you don't have a reason to be a little freaked out. But no. I'm sort of used to being in between places and not really being the same. And anyway, this is like the last place we can remember people who're gone.

[they also just like the vibe. ]

[unrecked]

[Aquarius is so funny, this is why Jason likes them.]

You’ve got a point, I guess. You don’t let it get you down? That’s pretty brave. To find the hood again in what this place is meant to be. You know, a place to remember the people who have left.

[After a moment, quietly:]

It’s been a long time since I visited my mom’s, I think.

[guestservices]

[they shake their head.]

Death's just another part of life and people need to remember that, too. At least it's straightforward.

[there's a pause...and then, slightly quieter:]

My sister never got one. Not really. Neither did my mom. I don't think people should be forced to visit if they don't want to, but the option being there isn't bad.

[unrecked]

[Just saw I changed hood to good and AC put it right back at hood again. Help me. Jason still doesn't care much for graveyards, but... they're... maybe... growing on him a bit.

Maybe.]

That sucks. [He feels bad.] My mom only got one because B likes to think he's a philanthropist. If it wasn't for him... she wouldn't have gotten one either. [Since, like, he had been dead.]

...Want to make one for them here? We don't have to put names. Maybe something, like... "Beloved Sister," or something. Something small?

[guestservices]

[I laughed and went "hehe red hood" and left it. they consider this though, letting jason continue to walk them around.]

Doing it more out of an obligation isn't much better, but at least it's something.

[there's a pause. and they seem to debate.]

...even if it was vague, we're still staff. I don't know if we should be messing around here and adding stuff. But I...appreciate it. Really. [weird that they actually sound like they do mean it. ]

[unrecked]

It's less an obligation and more... it's something they deserve, late or not.

[He glances over his shoulder, but doesn't stop wandering with this clinging sloth on his back.]

I don't know, would you really get in trouble if it was me doing it? [Will Jason do it all anyway for them? Probably. But listen. They sound soft, and it's cute.] Your sister seemed like a pretty cool girl.

[guestservices]

I don't disagree with that. [they seem to be pretty big in acknowledgement. ]

Dunno. Maybe it wouldn't really...I don't know. [they seem a little perplexed because yeah point but what if it actually does point back to them??? but they don't say that and instead kind of make a noise of agreement. ] But she was.

[they seem to think if they want to risk continuing.]

For a really long time it was just us, so...she knew me best and always accepted everything about me. It's been time and I've made peace with it but...you still miss them. And always will, probably.

[unrecked]

[Soft. Jason goes through a lot this week, but he will put the memorial on the back burner for when there is some downtime. He stops sort of near Orion again at a place where it's easy to look out over the cemetery which he does distantly.]

You do. [For as terrible as his mom's addiction was, he never hated her exactly. Just the illness. So he can agree with that.] There isn't anything wrong with that.

[guestservices]

[stop they're not soft. they're abrasive! and scary! and weird!


but jason stops them near orion and they look over the cemetery again.]

...maybe not. But I do still have a job. [just. a quiet reminder. they can't really linger on their personal stuff, or, more likely, they don't think it's important enough to while they're on the job.] I don't really know what the answer is though.

[to...what? they don't really clarify and instead go silent again.]