December Catch-All; OTA. 'Marley was dead: to begin with.'

[moralabsolutism]

Who: Rorschach and you!
What: Joining the town creeper on adventures
When: Throughout the month of December
Where: TDM prompt areas, the new library, winter solstice celebration

Content Warnings: Rorschach's right-wing views, burns and blindness from the serpent prompt, more to be added as needed.

A. Library

Towards the end of the month, Rorschach had finally finished the initial work on the library he'd been developing for community use. Exactly how long it would remain in one piece was something he wasn't optimistic about but he decided to focus on just dealing with its upkeep for the moment. He posted a notice in the Community Center.

Since sleeping was something he engaged in so little as it was, he took the opportunity to catch up on a nap for the first week while he served in his new role as the town librarian. It wasn't uncommon to walk in and find him fast asleep with his face still on, legs propped up on a desk he'd put near the front door, leaning back in a comfortable chair with his head lowered down down onto his chest. Well, libraries were meant to be quiet after all, which promoted a good atmosphere for sleeping.

Don't worry though. He'd wake up upon hearing anyone enter like the hypervigilant guard dog he was at heart.

B. Misty Falls Cave

There hadn't been many times in Rorschach's life he'd been glad he was quite a bit smaller than the average man. Right now was one of those rare moments. This place was a tight fit, and if he had been any taller or broader, there was every chance he would have gotten stuck already. Even as it was, he was having a hard time getting through the ever-narrowing passages.

"Doing alright?" He called out, certain the person he'd ended up in the caves with was close by. He hadn't so much teamed up with anyone as just announced they now had help whether they wanted it or not as he usually did.

C. Serpent's Breath Aftermath

Being who he was, Rorschach had gone off to try and kill the dragon/serpent/evil wyrm that had been plaguing the town. Alas, he'd been woefully unprepared for what he was dealing with. While he'd managed to escape with his life, the beast was still alive. And unfortunately, trying to kill the beast had its price. Rorschach had inhaled the fumes while battling the serpent, severely weakening him for about a week.

Worse yet, he'd temporarily lost his sight as well. Never one to be for showing weakness, it would be obvious that something had happened to him, for he stopped his usual nighttime patrols. Instead, after seeking out medical care, he'd holed up in one of his cabins for as long as possible. Much as he tried to be independent, he wouldn't turn away anyone who tracked him down to offer help during this time.

He wouldn't move any further than the porch of the cabin he was staying in but could be found on it while his eyesight slowly returned. Perhaps someone could convince him to at least heat up the cold soup or beans he was likely eating as he got some fresh air in, hoping it might have the effect of helping to heal him faster.

D. Winter Solstice

Considering his experience with magical animals here had been a solid 50/50 on whether or not they were evil (something he'd noted in the portion of his journal that he'd dedicated to his conspiracy theories surrounding Milton), he was a bit suspicious of the holiday board. Still, he decided to see what would happen if he asked for something he'd been desperately craving: a large box of sugar cubes. They were even the individually wrapped kinds, much to his delight (and after he got over his disgust of the giant boar horking them up covered in saliva.) But to make sure they weren't poisoned, going to turn him into a giant boar as well, or otherwise do something negative, he sought out a couple of test subjects first. After he was sure nothing was going to happen to Ken or March when he gave them the sugar cubes, he was happy to put a bunch of them in his trenchcoat pockets so that he'd have a nice good supply of them for the foreseeable future.

By the time the Winter Solstice rolled around, Rorschach was fully healed from the injuries he'd sustained while battling the serpent. He wasn't one much for celebrating, never having many fond memories of the holiday season in general. But there he was, hanging on the outskirts of the bonfire, more in the shadows than anything else like the eternal lurker he was. He'd eat anything that was offered to him but otherwise kept to himself. Still, if anyone came near, he'd be in the holiday spirit in his own way. "Sugar cube?" He asked as he pulled one out of his pocket, offering it to whoever he was near.

D-I. Winter Solstice: For Kate

He kept an eye out for Kate during the festivities. He'd observed that a lot of the clothes she wore were oversized and didn't fit her at all. Besides just the fashion aspect, there was the practical aspect that having a well-fitted base layer would help keep her warmer considering how cold things were likely to get now that they were firmly in the middle of winter. With that in mind, he'd cannibalized some clothes to create a sweater he estimated would be the right size for her. It was neither fashionable nor cute but it would serve the purpose.

When he saw Kate, Rorschach came over. "Enjoying all...this?" He asked, gesturing to what was going on around him. Rorschach wasn't quite a Grinch though he was close to being a Scrooge at time in temperament when it came to being happy during the holidays.

E. Wildcard

[Want a different or custom prompt? Give me a poke at Light_shade or at .lightshade on Discord!]

Comments

D.

[spoilers]

River was never one to miss a party. Okay, it wasn't exactly a party, but it was a celebration. What better time to get to know her fellow travellers better? Which was just what she was trying to do, keeping to the fringes, observing mote than interacting.

His offer almost managed to surprise her. Almost.

Smiling brightly, she held out her hand to accept the offered treat. "Love one, thanks. I don't believe we've met."

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach handed over the sugar cube from his gloved hand to River. He didn't know exactly how long the big box he'd gotten from the weird sapient boar would last but he planned to ration them carefully. Still, this was a celebration, and no celebration was complete without sugar.

"Not face to face." Which hadn't meant Rorschach hadn't viewed her at some point from afar while perched on a rooftop or in a tree. He kept an eye out for all the Interlopers just in case he was needed. If this included getting creepy to the point of knowing where they all lived (save for those hanging out in the woods like Robin Hood and his Merry Men), he didn't care. Respecting personal boundaries had never been very high on his list of priorities.

[spoilers]

Not face to face, of course. He'd been watching. Not unlike what she'd been doing tonight. She unwrapped the sugar cube and popped it in her mouth, giving herself a few more moments.

"I'm River, by the way. And how long have you been here?"

[moralabsolutism]

"Rorschach," he said by way of introduction. The reasoning behind his name was obvious, given the black marks that were continuously moving around on his face, often forming parallel abstract formations before just as quickly dissolving into others.

He thought for a moment, pulled a rather large journal out of an inside pocket in his trenchcoat (where had he even been keeping that? There definitely didn't look like there was enough room for him to be carrying it around!), and flipped to the first page. There was chickenscratch writing there messy enough to be extremely hard to decipher. Satisfied, he slid the journal back into his coat. "Almost four months."

[spoilers]

Her own diary was similarly tucked away, and it gave her slight pause to watch someone else using her move, so to speak.

"Well longer then me. Any helpful tips?" She glanced up at the darkened sky. "I'm still finding my way around."

It was at least partly the truth.

[moralabsolutism]

He thought for a moment and this time there was a longer pause. This was more of his usual behavior when people asked him questions. Rorschach was not an eloquent or off-the-cuff speaker. With how stilted his verbal skills were, he thought over anything he had to say very carefully.

The pause lengthened out and he seemed on the verge of not answering when he suddenly started talking again. "Watch out for the animals. Half have been helpful. Half a hindrance." He'd noticed that pattern and scribbled down what he'd experienced firsthand in his journal. It was just another theory he was developing about this place and how it worked.

[spoilers]

River, on the other hand, lived much of her life by impulse. She'd always been quick on her feet and quicker with her words. But lies were easier to tell than the truth, and a good story usually kept her out of trouble. She only just resisted the desire to fill the silence as it started to stretch thin, wearing on her patience. Not that she didn't have plenty of patience when she chose to exercise it.

When he did finally answer, she couldn't help asking dryly, "You mean everything isn't trying to kill us?"

It wasn't a question meant to be answered so much as a statement of feeling regarding their current situation. Although, to be fair, her timely arrival in this...world likely put off her ending at least a little while longer.

"It's good advice. And where do you come from, dear?"

[moralabsolutism]

"Not yet. Got these sugar cubes from a giant talking boar." Previously, he would have thought such an encounter to be the stuff of fairy tales. But there it had been, real and alive, asking him what he wanted as a gift. After he'd confirmed the sugar cubes weren't poisoned or about to turn him into a giant boar, he'd decided the gift really was benign and that the beast had no ulterior motive.

River's next question was more easily answered. "New York City." His home for almost his entire life and often a source of loathing for the superhero. At the same time, he was also oddly protective of his home.

[spoilers]

A giant talking boar. She'd seen stranger things. Still, a giant talking boar handing out sugar cubes was...interesting. "I had a talking camel for a priest once," she commented almost idly, not bothering to clarify he'd been worshipping her.

"A dangerous place, New York. Made quite a mess in Manhattan once. Did not enjoy cleaning it up."

[moralabsolutism]

"Huh." How was one supposed to respond to such a bizarre statement? Was she making fun of him or something? Rorschach wasn't sure. This was where being a person and having to do things like talk to other was difficult. He was much more comfortable breaking people's fingers and punching them in jaw.

"Know that well." The place was a sewer full of rats. Sometimes he felt more like a ratcatcher than a vigilante. "Had to keep the Lower East Side under control during police strike in '77. Not easy but I managed." If there was any of the masks who could disperse a rioting crowd just with their mere presence, it was Rorschach. Those that hadn't taken off immediately had been sent packing with broken limbs as a warning to cut their shit out.

[spoilers]

Making a gesture that clearly suggested it wasn't important, she nonetheless added, "Desert planet. Very sandy, very dusty." Surely that cleared everything up, didn't it? She shrugged. "You know how it is. They took me for some sort of deity. I think it was probably the hair."

She'd done nothing to encourage it, of course. Nothing at all. Nope.

"I'm sure you did, dear." She looked him up and down. While she wasn't personally intimidated, he certainly had a presence. "You're from the 70's then? 80's? Or a bit further on?"

As a time traveller herself, she wasn't going to make assumptions.

[moralabsolutism]

"Different....planet?" Had he heard that right? Again, he wondered if she was telling him tall tales or if there was something to what she was saying he just wasn't understanding.

At least the question of which year he was from was easy enough to answer. "1985," he clarified. Most of the folks in town he'd learned came from farther back than he did. The 70s. The 40s. Even the 1840s. He'd tried to see if there was a pattern that developed when he looked at all the data but Rorschach had yet to make any sense of how people were brought there to Milton.

"And you?" He asked. Perhaps that would help clear up some of his confusion.

[spoilers]

Prone to telling tall tales as she was, this time she was perfectly sincere, and she only tilted her head at the question as if it were a strange thing to ask. Was it really so much to believe in travel to other planets?

Unfortunately, she was probably about to add to his confusion in answering his second question. "Well, that depends, sweetie. I think it was around 5150 last I checked."

How did someone with a perfect sense of time lose track of when they were so often? It was one of the universe's great mysteries.

[moralabsolutism]

Rorschach just went completely silent once he heard what she had to say. It was entirely possible that River was lying to him right now for her own reasons. Maybe she thought it was funny.

But her tone certainly didn't sound like she was trying to play a joke on someone she found gullible. Instead, Rorschach found himself marveling at the vast span of time between their two time periods. Three-thousand years? He could barely fathom that length of time. It would have been like if he was existing along someone from Ancient Egypt for someone that far in his past by comparison.

"Long time," was all he finally said, still trying to absorb that information.

[spoilers]

It wouldn't be beyond her. But there was no joking here.

She did laugh at his response. "Yes. I guess it would be." Then she shrugged as if it didn't make much difference to her. "I hadn't given it much thought."

And strangely, that also seemed to be the truth.