So what did I miss?; OTA

[moralabsolutism]

Who: Rorschach and YOU!
What: Rorschach returns from his trek into the wilderness with Methuselah
When: Early March
Where: Around Milton or at one of his hideouts

Content Warnings: Rorschach's usual extreme right-wing views, possible emeto due to stomach flu, homophobia, gat slurs, and Rorschach being lit on fire (as one does) in the thread with Hickey and Billy



A. Returning From Traveling

Rorschach was determined to protect the Interlopers as best he could. But he'd grown up in a completely urban setting, so there was many things that he hadn't learned. To that end, he abruptly left town one day without a word to seek out the old man who called himself Methuselah in the wilderness. Social skills had never been his strong suit. He asked if the wise man could teach the vigilante how to track animals and people. He agreed and so Rorschach spent weeks out in the woods, freezing and miserable but learning the skills he had wanted. He learned how to spot the signs that someone or something had passed through an area: broken branches left by their passing, footprints in the snow, places where moss had been scraped off of rocks or trees. He only came back to town when he felt he'd learned all that he could for the moment. Besides, if he stayed out there long enough, he was bound to lose a finger or something the way Edward already had.

Alas, there was a price to pay. He was pretty sure some of the meat that he had eaten in the last few days with the old man hadn't been cooked thoroughly enough. Or maybe it had been the mushrooms. Or maybe something in the water. He had no way to be sure. But in any case, Rorschach was sick as a dog for two weeks after he returned. Pretty much bedridden during this time and only able to really keep liquids down, it would have been easy for people to still think he had disappeared, possibly for good. If any of those who considered themselves to be his friends looked in his hideouts, they'd find him barely functional.

If not, it would be another two weeks before he reappeared. At that point, it wouldn't have been out of the question for people to think he was dead or had just disappeared like some of the Interlopers. But nope. The town weirdo lived! One random night, people would find him perched back on the rooftops like nothing had ever happened, silent and watching them as usual. Or someone might hear some purple prose rambling coming from his mind. "This place never seems to change. It's like an hourglass turned on its side. The sands remain but are unable to keep moving any longer. Wonder what they've all been getting up to while I'm away. Sowing chaos and corruption if the worst keeps happening. At least it doesn't look like anyone else has dropped dead like what happened with La'an..."

B. Of Fair Fortune

"Not again," Rorschach groaned when he saw another mysterious animal coming at him through the woods. At this point, the animals had been a sold fifty-fifty on whether they were helpful or harmful, so it was really a coin's toss as to if this would turn out alright or blow up like the Hindenburg. But his mood towards this particular one was prejudiced by the fact it was a dog. He didn't like dogs thanks to his own personal trauma with the animals. The last dog had led people into misfortune and he wasn't sure this one wasn't going to do so either.

He'd turn to whoever was nearby and out in the woods for whatever reason. "Not following that thing," he growled out. It was going to take quite a bit of convincing to let the plant-dog lead the vigilante anywhere.

C. Wildcard

[If you want something else or a custom starter, hit me up at Light_shade or .lightshade on Discord!]

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For Jopson - Things Are Looking Up

[moralabsolutism]

Once his stomach flu had abated, Rorschach went back to looking for food right away. He was starving and willing to eat just about anything that he could find. It was a wonder he wasn't foraging through garbage like the raccoon some had compared him to. Considering how hungry he was, he just chalked up the compulsion to eat the mushrooms as the feelings of intense hunger he already possessed.

So he ate the Chanterelles without question, pocketing some to eat later on in case he didn't find anything else soon. It was a lot easier hunting mushrooms than having to set up a trap for a squirrel or go ask for a large, fat bunny from the local rabbit farm that one weird kid was running, which would require killing and skinning the thing before he'd ever get the chance to eat the meat off of it. Afterwards, he headed back towards town to see if there was anything in the Community Hall that didn't require being cooked. He was still pretty hungry.

Rorschach started to feel alright after eating the mushrooms. Things didn't look quite so bad as they usually did when it came to living in a snowy hellscape. After all, he wasn't sick anymore and had gained valuable skills. There had also been no three-headed wolf monsters haunting everyone's dreams, so he considered that a plus. Then he saw one of the boatmen, the handsome one with eyes that were kind and sad at the same time.

While normally as prickly as the feral cat he resembles so much in temperament, right now he felt good enough try and act like a normal person. After all, he'd been absent from the community of Interlopers at large for quite a while now. He waved a hand towards Jopson and then moved towards him.

Re: For Jopson - Things Are Looking Up

[lieutenantsteward]

Thomas' nose is no longer bandaged, but the bruises haven't faded enough to take the mark of his fight away from his face. He doesn't see a point in hiding it, though. Not when there's so much work to do.

He tucks his forelock behind his ear as he stands up from gathering wood and pauses at the look of a wave.

Who -

"Hello," he calls out in a greeting, trying not to look as startled as he feels.

[moralabsolutism]

Usually, Rorschach preferred to keep a strong distance away from other people, keeping them at arm's length or preferably a rooftop away. Right now, he felt an unusual desire to be social. It was odd. Very odd. But not so much he felt suspicious. After all, he'd been out in the wilderness for nearly a month. Maybe he just needed to get his fix in of speaking to someone and then he could go back to being his usual antisocial self.

As he got closer, he winced under his mask as he saw the injury that Jopson had occurred in his absence. Having been a veteran of many a barroom brawl, he knew something painful when he saw it. He suspected it was a broken nose but for confirmation, he asked a question out loud.

"What happened to your face?" Charming as always this one was. If ever there was proof needed to show anyone that Rorschach had absolutely no social skills, this was it.

[lieutenantsteward]

It's been a while since he's seen him, but Thomas is surprised by how happy he is to have him here again. It's strange, he thinks, that he could grow so fond of the people here in such a short amount of time.

The mention of his face has him reaching up to touch his nose, still sore. "Nothing," he answers, not yet noticing any difference in him. Rorschach has never had tact.

"It was hit."

[moralabsolutism]

Indeed, the feeling was mutual. Having been absent from the community had made Rorschach realize he kind of missed being around people, even if it was only watching out for them from afar on a rooftop. He'd chalk this feeling up to the mushrooms later on once he realized what was going on but there was a kernel of truth to it all.

"By what?" Rorschach pressed on. Jopson was far too pretty to have someone taking a swing at him. Assuming it was a person, he supposed it could have just as easily been some monster or animal that attacked while he'd been off in the woods.

For Goodsir - Not Again!

[moralabsolutism]

After the embarrassing incident with the mushrooms and Jopson, Rorschach was more careful about which ones he picked to eat. But he needed to eat and couldn't afford to be picky. This time, he was sure to pick others that looked completely different than the ones he'd chosen before after consulting a book in he'd found in the library that had basic information on different types of mushrooms. When he ate them, nothing happened at first, and he felt confident these ones were harmless.

But within a few hours, his vision began to black around the edges and dim. Rorschach panicked. This was like what had happened when he had breathed in the serpent's fumes and his sight had been stolen for a number of days. Immediately, he wondered if that incident had lasting effects. He didn't correlate it to the mushrooms he'd foraged for earlier in the day. Instead, he made his way stumbling towards the doctor's home, trying not to think of how perhaps the long-term effects to the unknown vapors meant he was going to lose his sight permanently.

Once again, Rorschach was knocking on Goodsir's door, but this time he was a lot less cool and collected than the last time he'd visited the doctor.

[bestsir]

Goodsir felt very bad afterward that his first thought on opening the door and seeing Rorschach there was something to the effect of what fresh hell is this?

Not that he said so out loud.

"Come in, please. What is it?"

cw: passive suicidal thoughts

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach immediately came inside after Goodsir responded to him pounding on the door. He could barely see a thing by now, everything growing dark and dim around him. Perhaps he could make out a few dark shapes but that was it.

"I'm going blind again." There was a note of panic in his voice that normally wasn't present but he was doing his absolute best not to panic. If he lost his sight for good, he'd be helpless in this place. He wasn't going to let anyone else try to take care of him if he couldn't do it himself. The vigilante would have rather have rather gone off and died in the woods in that case.

Re: cw: passive suicidal thoughts

[bestsir]

Oh no.

"Come, sit, let me look," Goodsir said, guiding Rorschach to a chair. "WHat happened? Has the serpent returned?"

[moralabsolutism]

This time, Rorschach didn't have much resistance when it came to removing his mask. He had far bigger problems to deal with, and besides which, Goodsir had already seen him without it once. There was nothing obvious that was physically wrong with his eyes. He'd simply ceased to be able to see and gone completely blind.

His words were clipped, fear making him lose any sense of how to speak in proper sentences that he had again over the months of being forced to interact with the other Interlopers. "No. Don't know what happened. Was fine until about an hour ago. Then started to lose sight again."

A

[solitarysoul]

A few days after Rorschach returns, Levi finds his way to the hideout his masked friend is staying in. He may have checked some others before. He knocks on the door lightly, but if there's no response he'll peek inside.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach heard the sound of knocking. There was only a few people who both knew where he most often stayed and would seek him out. But he was in no condition to see anyone. "Go away," he growled out, his voice made more raspy than usual thanks to throwing up far too much over the last couple of days.

[solitarysoul]

Ah, he's alive. Good.

"No," Levi answers, entering despite the other man's rejection. He just needs to check and see how things are.

[moralabsolutism]

"Kid, you are a lot of trouble," Rorschach snapped out in an irritated manner. Sure, he'd let Levi in once when he was dealing with his doppelganger, but now the teen felt the need to check up on him whenever to make sure he wasn't in trouble? This was irksome. Though deep beneath the layers of anger and cynicism a small part of him was rather pleased that someone cared enough about him to make sure he was alright.

The house had that particular smell of illness that came with vomiting a lot. Rorschach was in the bedroom and the smell was unfortunately the strongest there. He hadn't even opened up a window yet since it was across the room. He didn't even feel like he had enough strength to make it that far yet.

[solitarysoul]

"I'm not a kid," Levi says as he makes his way to Rorschach's room. "And I just wanted to make sure you're still around."

Mostly alive, at least, if he could complain.

"What did he do to you out there?" If you came back this sick. Yeesh.

wildcard | post-darkwalker attack

[castitas]

It's a rare instance of her not being escorted by someone around town in the time since the fight in the Community Hall — both her one with Mr Hickey and the subsequent one between Mr Hickey and Mr Jopson. And... now with that thing coming back again, leaving more people dead. The Darkwalker. It makes her heart twitch oddly, painfully just thinking about it.

But she passes by the garage, hearing the sound of something being hit, and she doesn't quite know what to expect until she realises it's a familiar face — going... pretty hardcore on a punching bag. Kate hovers for a long moment in the open doorway, watching.

"I think... the um, punching bag's learned its lesson." It's a weak attempt at a joke, her smile more of a wince than anything. But she's... actually really glad to see Rorschach, and she waves a little when he turns around.

"I didn't realise you were back from your trip with Mr Methuselah."

[moralabsolutism]

The rhythmic punching of someone who did boxing for more than just a workout finally paused when Kate appeared behind him. He'd learned the best techniques over the years for punching a man to make sure he stayed down when Rorschach lashed out. His limited emotional state of being meant he hadn't been able to process the scene at the church for more than a few moments before he'd turned around and come here. He hadn't known any of the deceased well but it was still a grisly sight. Four Interlopers dead this time and still no way to stop the dark god who was apparently coming for them all.

He turned around when he heard her speak, breathing just a little bit harder than normal, the fabric on the bottom part of his mask sucking in and out as he did so. He was clad in only a few layers, tank top, shirt, and sweatshirt on top of that. The exercise had kept him warm.

It was impossible to tell what emotion he was feeling but he was happy to see Kate. At the rate Interloper were dropping, he was taking no connections he'd formed with the people here for granted any longer. He went over to a water bottle he'd placed off to the side. "Been back a while." He'd just been out of sight while he recovered from the stomach flu he'd caught.

[castitas]

"Oh—" Oh, shoot. She hadn't even realised he'd been back for a while, and it shows on her face. She should have known sooner, and there's even a quiet apology.

"Sorry, I would have stopped by sooner if I knew." she inhales and huffs out short breath. A gloved hand moves up to rub at the space between her eyebrows. "It's... been a bit of a rough time, lately. A whole lot of stuff went on. I've been staying with Lieutenant Little for a little while. He didn't want me staying in the Community Hall after a whole bunch of stuff."

It's been, like, a lot.

"And— well I guess a whole bunch of stuff keeps happening."

With... like, the Darkwalker.

[moralabsolutism]

"No need to apologize," Rorschach said in his usual gruff tone. He hadn't wanted anyone to see him sick as a dog and in such a weakened state. As it was, he'd lived off of broth, juice, and water for about two weeks and probably lost about ten pounds he really couldn't afford to lose.

He lifted up his mask just enough so he could chug some water down. "Heard little bit about it. Moment I leave town, all hell breaks loose." His tone was a touch lighter on the second sentence, acknowledging the absurdity of the situation.

[castitas]

Kate nods, but she's still gonna feel bad. That's just... who she is. Her head dips a little, averting her gaze as he moves to take a drink — politely not looking at him without his 'face' on.

"You're not wrong." There's a wan smile at her lips. Yeah, sorta feels like that, doesn't it? Probably shouldn't have gone on that fieldtrip with Methuselah, after all. There's a deep inhale and exhale, and she wrings her hands a little.

"I... was kinda part of it." her mouth twists to one side. "It started because of me. Sort of."

A catalyst.

"I'm okay, though. I promise."

Closed to Hickey and Billy - This Will Only End Well

[moralabsolutism]

After he'd heard the details from Jopson about the altercation between him and Hickey, Rorschach's temper had gotten good and riled up. He was going to have to pay a little "visit" to the man that was inevitably going to turn violent. And after that? Rorschach didn't think that far ahead in the future. Like an angry guard dog let off the leash, his only thoughts were protecting the people he cared about and punishing those whom he thought were deserving of it.

All that rooftop observing had a distinct advantage to it: he had a good idea of where most Interlopers lived. So off he went in the dead of night to where he knew Hickey lived. Without any preamble, he simply kicked the door in. Fuzzily silhouetted by moonlight in the doorway, there the little lunatic stood like the grim reaper coming to pay a house call.

[friendsfordinner]

There is no quiet way to kick a door in. So when Hickey hears a noise, he wakes up. Not all at once, of course, he is still very sleepy. But that was the sort of thump that wasn't supposed to be there.

Hickey is also very lazy. So he rolls over in bed, perfectly happy to go right back to sleep, as he nudges Billy and sleepily grumbles, "You take care of that. 'S probably one of my mates."

Hickey's befriended a lot of drunks.

[notarat]

See, this is the problem of being way more easily prone to panic. Hickey can still be half asleep, but Billy is instantly wide awake the moment he hears a sound that loud. It definitely is the sheer intensity of it that keeps him from grumbling about Hickey having to take care of stuff like this himself, because that definitely does not sound like just a drunk person.

And call Billy paranoid, but he trusts that sort of noise even less after the trouble Hickey got into the other day. What if it's Jopson, back for a second round? And that's not even talking about the sort of terrifying beings that apparently just exist in this place, even if he's never heard of them knocking down a door.

Those thoughts ensure it takes very little time for Billy to untangle his limbs from the other man, grabbing his shoes and quickly putting them on - just in case it is something dangerous, he doesn't want to run around on his bare feet, thanks.

Putting on his shoes gives Billy just about enough time to tensely say, "That is definitely not a mate, Cornelius," before he's already leaving the bedroom, grabbing the candle from the nightstand on his way out.

It doesn't take much time to get to the entrance, where he's pretty sure the sound came from, and the moment he spots the singular strangest and most terrifying man in the entire town standing there, having knocked down the door, Billy just freezes where he's standing with the candle. He is absolutely not going to get closer to Rorschach. You can't make him.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach paused for a moment when he saw Billy standing there. Had he gone to the wrong house? But then he shook that thought off. He was certain this was the cabin that Hickey was staying in. It seemed a bit late for Billy to be paying the man a social call but what did he know about being social?

There was another thought about what was going on here, something that was niggling at the back of his brain but which didn't fully rise to the surface. He didn't focus on it long enough to fully examine what it meant and figured he would do that later.

He eyed Billy carefully to see if he had any weapons in his hands but didn't see any. So he charged into the cabin, looking just as intimidating as he actually was. "Where is he?" He snarled out in his deep voice, trusting that Billy would know exactly who he was talking about.

[friendsfordinner]

What's Billy talking about, that's absolutely one of his friends, who else could—

Ah. Fuck. He knows that voice.

Shit, Rorschach was a goddamn lunatic. Hickey had no idea what that man would want with him. Did he hear what happened from Jopson or Little or one of them? Hell, he probably did, didn't he. Christ, he should just turn tail and run right now.

But where would he turn tail and run to. The door was in the other room, behind Rorschach. And if he did run, then that meant he was leaving Billy alone with that damn psychopath. That wasn't going to happen. No matter what other bullshit this place threw at him, it gave him back Billy. Hickey wasn't going to let that go to waste.

So, he also gets out of bed (not putting on his shoes, everybody knows that Billy's got the brain cell in this relationship) and very sleepily makes his way to the other room. Hickey's trying to wake up as quick as he can, keeping an eye on the whole situation as he walks into the main room, obviously wearing pajamas and obviously half-asleep as he looks at Roschach and asks, "What the hell are you doing?"

That's an honest question, what the hell are you doing.