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

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

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!]

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A few days into Rorschach's period of weakness, Levi comes looking for him. He hadn't seen the masked man on patrols lately, so he was worried the other wasn't doing well. Being alone and unwell was dangerous here, even more so if that snake was still around. Which he assumes it was, as they had failed to kill it.

"Hey. How're you doing?"

Rorschach's head turned in the direction of Levi's voice. At least the good thing about wearing his face was that it made it impossible for anyone to tell if he couldn't see them or not. He could do without having that weakness being shown to anyone in his life right now.

"Fine," he replied, surly as ever. The truth was at least now he could distinguish light from dark and some shadowy shapes again, making him hopeful he could regain full use of his eyes with enough time.

Right, he should have expected that answer. Its all he ever gave, after all. Though Rorschach was likely more focused on not seeming weak than Levi was with people leaving him alone.

"You got hit by that...uh...miasma or whatever that thing had, right? What did it do?" Maybe a more scientific approach would work? He was dying to know what they were dealing with. It hadn't been around, but that didn't mean there weren't more or it didn't just slink off to heal. "Do you need anything?"

He let out a huff of air through his nose when Levi continued to ask after his well-being. It wasn't something he was used to, always figuring everyone only cared about themselves and serving their own best interests. As it was, his sentences got even shorter and choppier in nature as he reluctantly explained. "Inhaled its breath. It blinded me. Was worse before. Getting better."

At the last question, he thought for a moment. "Maybe." That was as much as he was willing to admit that he was starting to miss warm food right about now.

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."

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.

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?"

"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."

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.

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.

Edited 2023-12-30 10:18 (UTC)

"Blinded you?" He furrows his brow; things like that could happen? "I'm glad its getting better. It wouldn't do to have you blind." There are lots of people on patrols, but he'd rather that number not go down. And he maybe liked Rorschach?? They worked together well, at least.

"Well, uh, if you can think of anything you want me to bring or do let me know? I'll probably have time, its not like I'm doing much besides patrolling."

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?"

"No. This town needs me." Of that he was certain. Some people here were incapable of defending themselves and needed protection. His purpose was to provide that.

He hesitated for a moment before his words come, slow and almost begrudging in nature. "Could use some hot food." He'd been able to eat some of his limited supplies but thus far it had all been cold. He didn't trust himself to be able to start a fire and be able to control it if he couldn't see what he was doing.

"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.

"Yeah. We need all the help we can get. You're better at it than some." Is that a compliment? Sort of. Levi's not good at those either.

"Hot food...um, okay, I think I can do that. There are thermoses in the hall somewhere. You may have to make do with tea or coffee instead of food but at least it should stay hot between here and there. You staying at this place?" Please say yes, wandering around when you can barely see is a recipe for disaster.

Rorschach thought for a moment. He felt so cold that anything to warm him up would be welcome right about now, even if it was just tea or coffee rather than actual food. "That will do."

He nodded when Levi asked him if he was staying where the teenager had found him. The cabin he was staying in fortunately stood out from the rest and was unique enough to make it easy for Levi to find again. Once he'd gotten back to it after battling the serpent, he'd uncharacteristically had to stay in one spot for an extended period of time, much unlike his normal routine that led him to always roam from one spot to another.

He nods. "I can bring food too, if you want, I just don't think it'll stay all that hot."

He doesn't know how much food is in that cabin. Rorschach moves around a lot, so he imagines he either stores a lot in each base or almost nothing and just grabs food when he needs it. Levi'd probably do that latter.

Rorschach tilted his head a little as he thought, the fingers of his left hand tapping his thigh while he sat there. Could he trust Levi? He didn't really trust anyone thanks to being, let's face it, mentally ill. His paranoid nature made it extremely hard for him to rely on anyone else.

But right now he needed help. Levi had proven himself to be reliable before and hadn't shown any signs in the past of wanting to betray him. Maybe...maybe it would be alright. "Wouldn't turn down more supplies. Not sure how long I'll be like this."

He nods, then realizes Rorschach might not be able to see that and speaks. "I'll see what I can find. Be back sometime later today."

"Good." That was all the laconic superhero had to say on the matter. If Levi came back, all well and good. If he didn't, Rorschach would know not to trust him in the future. For the moment, he just went back inside to curl up under about seven different blankets.

It takes him a few hours but Levi does return. He's got a bag of Something and a thermos with him. If Rorschach isn't still on the porch he'll knock.

"Hey."

"Oh. Hey, Rorschach." she feels like she should add a 'mister' in front of there. She's not sure if she should. She smiles a little, nodding at his question. "I think this is definitely more my kind of a party."

It's weird. She never really celebrated the Solstice before. But this is nice, it's a nice kind of party. Just sitting around a fire, talking, being around people. The Vortex Club's got nothing on this, although really... anything is better than the Vortex Club. And Methuselah's speech is hopeful, inspiring. It means a lot to hear it.

"It was really nice of Mr Methuselah to do this. Y'know?"

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."

He nodded at the mention of how Methuselah had put this together. "Keeping morale up is important." In such situations, it was easy for people to start losing hope and giving in to despair. Not Rorschach though. That black-and-white thinking of his made it easy for him to justify keeping hope alive, even when everything else was bleak and sad.

Having absolutely no skills at socializing and having never had anyone to celebrate the holidays with, he had no idea how one went about giving a present to another person. So he just said something in his usual abrupt fashion. "Have something for you."

"Yeah, exactly." she agrees with a nod.

"Oh. Okay, sure." There's surprise in her face. He has something for her? She wonders briefly what it might be, but she comes up with nothing. He's... kind of a closed book, to be honest. Still, if he has something for her, that's pretty nice of him.

"What... is it?"

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

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cw: mental illness mentioned

You wanna just wrap or pick up when he gets back?

Pick up when he gets back!

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finally here for this!!

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