open | i'll never die, i am a freak

[brushoff]

Who: Dorian Gray & OPEN
What: settling in
When: all throughout the month of March
Where: Milton, with a focus on the community hall, the church, and the outskirts

Content Warnings: drug use, smut, body horror and gore in the form of Dorian's creepyass portrait, others tba

( catch all post for March! full of open and closed starters, dm me if you have an idea~ )

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[desperate_times_right]

Chloe laughs too, an obnoxious giggle through her nose.

“I don't know, I've never had a job before! What's a middle manager even do?”

[brushoff]

"If you're the one at the bank I used to work at, you send emails and schedule needless meetings." There's a pause before, "I used to work at a bank, by the way. I left as it was tremendously dull. What do you mean you've never had a job before?"

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe shrugs. Pretty much the only person she knows who has ever had a legitimate job is Elena. And Victor had been in the Navy or something, if that counts.

“When I was young, I always had friends who would buy me what I needed. Now I mostly freelance.”

She’d run away at eighteen and spent her early twenties sugaring for rich criminals until she’d picked up the relevant skills.

[brushoff]

"You're a delight. Every question I ask gives me four new questions. It's been a while since someone interested me like this."

And Chloe is very interesting.

"What exactly do you mean by freelance? And I'd like to remind you, considering I'm high off my tits on cocaine, I won't judge."

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe laughs. “Everyone’s interested in me.”

She's a little more open about her past here than she is at home, but she tries not to go overboard.

“Freelance like I work for me. I pick the jobs and if I don't like them anymore I un-pick them.”

[brushoff]

"You know that tells me absolutely nothing," Dorian points out, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "But fine. I'll let you keep your secrets and I'll stop prying. I'll simply pry about others and get the hot gossip from them instead."

He's obviously teasing—there's a light tone in his voice as he talks.

[desperate_times_right]

“Tells you that I don't like men telling me what to do,” Chloe teases back. No hard feelings.

“This place is full of gossip, though. If that's your thing, you at least probably won't die of boredom.”

[brushoff]

"I am a notorious gossip and a reprobate of the highest order. Now, who should I pay attention to for the best, most thrilling sort of gossip?"

Spill, new bestie!

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe tilts her head, thinking.

“The sailors always have something going on, so I'd definitely keep an eye on them. They've got everything: romance, backstabbing, public town square drama, victims of cannibalism being alive now…” It's not usually so fun for Chloe because a lot of it involves her friends but as drama it's objectively good.

“I’d keep an eye on Lestat too, he's great. Always who I go to first with my own exploits. There's a new saloon in town and the people who run it just broke up or something. There are two guys named Alan Wake who hate each other.”

There’s also all the supernatural creatures, but Chloe has promised most of them not to tell people directly.

[brushoff]

The sailors, Lestat, Alan Wake. Dorian commits those names to memory. After all, he's going to be bored here sooner rather than later. He'll need someone to bother, new gossip to get, things like that. After all, he'll want entertainment. Lord knows there's nothing else to do here.

One part of that statement, however, absolutely gets his interest.

"A saloon? This place has alcohol?"

[desperate_times_right]

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Chloe warns. “It sucks. Distilled pine extract or something. Tastes like furniture cleaner, but it does the job.”

[brushoff]

"Is it alcoholic?" Dorian asks. "Does it get you fucked up? If so, I can happily overlook the taste. I've drunk worse things than distilled pine extract or whatever it is."

[desperate_times_right]

“It does get you fucked up,” Chloe concedes. “And no one’s gone blind yet.”

[brushoff]

"Then that is perfectly fine with me. I would prefer the top shelf stuff, but if it gets me fucked up but doesn't kill me? Well, beggars can't be choosers. And I know I am going to need a decent amount of alcohol to help survive this place."

The wilderness sucks.

[desperate_times_right]

“You might be able to get something else from the pig next Christmas, but it only lets you get one thing.”

There might be something he wants more, like non-haunted cocaine.

[brushoff]

"I realize that this is probably a perfectly normal thing here and you'll respond with something like 'everybody knows about the pig,' but I have to ask: what pig?"

[desperate_times_right]

“Everybody does know about the pig.” It might not be true anymore what with there actually being new people for once, but she can't resist saying it.

“Every Christmas this fuckoff huge boar shows up and it'll puke up anything you might ask for with a few limits.”

[brushoff]

Dorian's eyes sparkle with excitement as he points out, "I am absolutely going to ask the fuckoff boar for more cocaine."

[desperate_times_right]

“Right?” Chloe had used hers to get something for a friend, which is embarrassing so she won't say it. “So what you have now has to do you until then.”

[brushoff]

"That...might be a problem, as I've used most of it already." Dorian sighs, a dramatic sigh like he is the most oppressed person in the world before he points out, "I'm the most ill-fitting person here! I had to do something to deal with the boredom."

[desperate_times_right]

“Sounds like you’re going to have to come up with something new pretty soon.” Sorry dude, but it's a long time until Christmas. “Do you really think you're more ill-fitting than a hyper-religious high schooler?”

A bit pathetic.

[brushoff]

"Oh God, there's a high schooler here?"

Ew. Dorian's nose wrinkles with annoyance as he very quickly points out, "No, she's more ill-fitting than I am. Why is there a child?"

[desperate_times_right]

“There used to be a whole bunch of kids, but I think there are only two left now.” Levi seems so much older than Kate but she's pretty sure they're actually around the same age.

Chloe sweeps her arm out as they approach the farm. “Behold, home sweet home. It doesn't look like much because idiots burned down the barn last summer, but the greenhouse is over there and the house is there in the back.”

[brushoff]

Dorian lets out a low whistle as he looks over the farm. It honestly looks nice. Comfortable. Honestly, why did he already put down roots at the church? He should have poked around to learn more about the people here first!

"I'm not much of a gardener, but I can at least dig trenches and pull weeds. I don't mind helping out as needed."

[desperate_times_right]

Isn't it great? Chloe didn't even have to do all the renovations! Tim did that and then left! Her greenhouse really is the gift that keeps on giving.

“The more hands the better, really. I pay either in vegetables or hot showers, or a combination of the two. You don't strike me as a bloke who cooks, though.”