deercountry | october catch-all [ota]

Entry tags:

october catch-all [ota]

Who: Clarisse + anyone!
What: October catch-all
When: Throughout the month
Where: Two prompts that are out in town + one for just the house

Content Warnings: Just The Depression™

01 | loneliness kills [ota]

[ At first, Clarisse thinks she's hallucinating. It seems like the natural progression to whatever's been happening to her head since she came to Trench. First the unbearable tense energy, and then the onset of migraines and the whispy white figures she can sometimes catch in the corner of her vision, and now... walking corpses. Sure, makes sense. Except the corpse doesn't go away. It walks steadily behind whoever's approaching her, glassy eyed and silent.

The corpse doesn't seem violent, which is the only thing that keeps her from attacking it, but her entire body tenses up like a cat waiting to pounce, and she's staring at whoever is making their way toward her. Or, more accurately, she's staring at the dead thing behind whoever is making their way toward her. ]

You... there's... [ Finally, lacking the right words to explain what she's seeing, she resorts to pointing a finger. ] Dead person.

02 | ~~welcome to the black parade~~ [ota]

[ Even misanthropic migraine sufferers need to leave the house every once in a while.

Clarisse is standing near the shop window of Shape of Blood, where she's been ogling a set of knives, and trying to avoid taking a strange mask in the shape of a monster's face from a native. They've clearly just explained something to her, because she's shaking her head. ]

I don't need protection. Ugh—seriously, I don't—back off!

[ Looks like someone isn't planning on showing up for the parade this month. ]

03 [closed to housemates]

[ Clarisse is lying on the couch, curled up and facing inward, her back to the room. At first she might seem to be asleep, but if someone enters the room, she twists the slightest bit so she can see who's there, before turning back to press her pale face against the cushion.

Her head hurts, all the time. Last month, Luna's potions had eased some of her restless energy, and talking with Bella had helped her feel less crazy, but it's abundantly clear that things have gotten much worse with the onset of October. The pounding behind her eyes, the crushing loneliness of everyone around her. She's suffocating under the weight of it. All she wants to do is sleep and forget about this place, but even when she sleeps, she has a headache. Even in other people's dreams, she's sad.

After a few seconds, when she doesn't hear the person exit the room, Clarisse's shoulders tense. She doesn't lift her face from the cushion, and her voice is muffled when she says, sounding almost defensive, ] What?

04 | wildcard!

[ Wildcard option! Feel free to have your character show up at the house looking for Clarisse (or anyone she lives with, if you'd like her to just be the one to answer the door or something). She'll be pretty much AWOL aside from some very rare appearances this month, but this is one way to catch her. ]

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Okay, well, the month's half over and nothing too terrible's happened yet. [ Aside from this freaking migraine that seems to pop back up every time she thinks it's going away for good, and the stupid white ghost things she keeps seeing out of the corner of her eyes, and the general fact of, like, existing here. If Orpheus has been wondering whether a month has given Clarisse some time to adjust and find her peace with being here: no, it has not. ]

Think I'll take my chances. [ She pushes the offered mask away rather aggressively, and the native Trenchie finally backs off, and Clarisse turns to take her first good look at Orpheus. ]

Dude, you look like a plague doctor.

Do you really think that'll keep up?

[ He sounds genuinely hopeful as he asks this. The thought that there might just be nothing coming had occurred to him, but hearing it from someone else is new. When Clarisse points out his mask, he lifts a hand to tug at the tip of the beak thoughtfully. ]

You're right, I guess I do. [ He laughs, a little. ] I just thought it was neat. Oh, but what have you been up to? I haven't seen you around much.

[ Though it is a big city, and Orpheus himself hasn't been out and about very often thanks to his own migraines. It's kind of to be expected. ]

[ Clarisse shrugs. She's not the type to worry about unknowns too much in the first place, but especially not this month, with her ceaseless headache and the overall feeling of desolation that's been inescapable all over the city. Frankly, she hasn't had any time to worry about what might happen at the end of this month. Que Sera, Sera, right? ]

Nothing bad happened last month. I know everyone's freaking out because it's October, but this isn't even the same place. Why should the same rules apply?

[ She folds her arms across her chest and leans back against the brick wall, watching him. ] Mostly hanging out at my house, [ she says, which is Clarisse-ese for "refusing to leave my bed most days." ] I was going to the Gate last month a lot, though. Didn't see you there. [ Would've been an interesting sight. ]

That's true, [ he says, worrying his lip a little as he thinks it over. So much of Deerington was governed by Julia and how she saw the world, whether intentionally or subconsciously, but, well. That's all over now. But it's hard to say what parts of her perception of things came from the real world, and how much that might've carried over the decades or centuries to where they are now.

Still, he's not about to argue with Clarisse over it. She makes a good point! And the locals don't seem too worried other than cautioning that they take the masks, so. ]

On purpose? [ he asks, when she mentions Gate, eyebrows raised under his mask. ] I heard people were falling unconscious and waking up there. And also that someone died? I've been trying to avoid it.

I guess some people were. Not me, though.

[ Clarisse has never in her life (well, except for That One Time) needed to be forced to fight something. Monsters, other Sleepers, she doesn't care. It's in her blood, after all. ] Someone died? [ She raises an eyebrow, sounding interested but not all that surprised. Things were getting pretty brutal last month. She's... sort of surprised only one person ended up dead, actually. ]

[ Orpheus nods. ] He put up a message about it when he came back. Eurydice told me about - [ Hey, wait a second. Orpheus jolts as a sudden realization strikes him. ]

I forgot to tell you! My wife is here! [ And with that abrupt change of subject Orpheus goes from entirely somber to excited puppy in about an instant. ] We found each other a little after you and I talked last!

Your... wife?

[ It's not that Clarisse isn't happy for him. She is, but she's also a little stunned, both that another famous figure from the myths has gotten themselves stuck here with her, and that it means that somebody essentially snatched Eurydice out of the Underworld to bring her here. ]

That's great, dude. Is she, uh. Doing okay? [ You know. The whole being dead thing. ]

[ Orpheus nods, a little too distracted by his own excitement to pick up on any of Clarisse's reservations. ]

Yes! And - the first month was kind of hard for us both? With being in a new place, after, um. Everything that happened, and the way the moon does strange things to people depending on their blood types? But I think everything's going to be okay. We've already found a place to live and everything.

Okay. Well... that's good.

[ The implications, though??? Not for the first time, she wishes Nico had stuck around. Yeah, whatever, he's probably got important creepy shit to be doing back in the real world, but he at least knew about this kind of thing. Hades and Ares have a lot of overlap in some ways, but not with stuff like this. The Underworld isn't her area of expertise at all. ]

I'm happy for you. [ Look, she is. She's not a bitch all the time! She knows what it's like to lose somebody and think you're never going to get them back. ]

[ It sure is Implications, and Orpheus has been very carefully picking his way around having to think about them too hard. She's here, and she's fine, and if he has anything to say about it neither of them are going anywhere any time soon. The rest, they can sort out as it comes.

He smiles, brightly, and nods. ]

Thanks! I'm grateful for it every day I'm here.

[ And a brief pause, before he asks; ]

Um, what were we talking about, again? Before I remembered about Eurydice.

[ Oh, barf, Orpheus. Clarisse instantly regrets being nice to him, but... too late now. ]

Um, [ she says, trying to remember. Her head's pounding and trying to order her thoughts this month has been difficult. ] The Gate. Someone died?

Oh, right.

[ Orpheus's expression goes appropriately serious and somber again, now that they're back on track. ]

Eurydice said it took him... five days? To come back, I think, and that he said something about one of his friends watching over his body while that happened. It sounds like things work kind of differently here than they did in the dream.

[ Five days sounds about right for Deerington. Watching over the body, though, that's new. Clarisse doesn't know how she feels about that. As fucked up as it was having Bella's body flake away to nothing in her arms, it sounds even more fucked up thinking that next time she might just stay dead for a week.

Not that she's going to die again. Just— ]

Yeah. Everything here is different. [ She's still looking at Deerington through rose-colored glasses, that's for sure. ]

[ Orpheus nods, frowning, his gaze drifting off to the side slightly as his mind wanders. ]

Back there, it was something Ramona did, that kept us coming back whenever we died, right? [ he asks, trying to remember the details. ] I don't know why we can come back here, or if there's - a limit, to it. Maybe we should assume there is until we know for sure? But it seems like people have been washing up on shore for a long time before we showed up, so maybe someone knows how it all works already.

[ Clarisse rolls her eyes. Even back in Deerington too many people treated dying like it wasn't a big deal. Like just because you came back, there weren't consequences. She'd only died once there, but it was enough to make her never want to do it again. ]

Yeah, I think I'll let a few more people croak first before I try it out myself.

Right. I mean, hopefully we'll just die less, here?

[ But even Orpheus knows that's probably too much to ask for, and sounds a little strained saying it. Idly, he states the obvious. ]

I really didn't like it, when I died? [ he says, touching his fingertips gingerly to the scar ringing his neck, hidden mostly by his bandana. ] It doesn't sound like there's death-sickness here, but even if the cost is gone, I'd rather not go through that again.

Uh, yeah, because dying sucks. Besides, there's always a cost.

[ She'd figured that Orpheus of all people would know that. ]

It's probably just something less obvious, here. [ he agrees, sounding resigned. ] I'll ask around, about it? Someone has to know something. Maybe the people who helped us turn back from being squids, on the beach.

I guess they would know.

[ Clarisse is loathe to ask any of the native Trenchies anything, both because she hates seeming like she doesn't know what's up and because she doesn't trust them, or this place, but at least if it's Orpheus doing the asking it won't come back to make her look stupid. ]

Let me know what you find out.

[ If there's one thing Orpheus is good for it's being willing to do stuff that could make him look stupid and not caring or noticing. He nods. ]

I will. [ And he starts to walk off, getting about halfway through turning away before realizing, ] Um, should I go do that now? Or did you want to talk about anything else?

[ He asks, having been the one to approach her in the first place, but it seems polite to ask? Probably. ]

[ Clarisse stares at him, puzzled over why he'd ask her like she's in charge. She knows she can be intimidating, but Orpheus has no reason to defer to her and she hadn't expected him to. ]

I'm not your boss. Do whatever you want.

[ Little does she know that Orpheus defers to just about everybody unless they give him a good reason not to. He nods, adjusting his mask again as it slips slightly of place at the gesture. ]

Okay! I'll see you again soon? And I'll let you know if I find anything out.

Good.

[ Ugh, that mask. Still, Clarisse gives him a half-hearted wave as she turns to make the trek back to her house. ] See you later.

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october catch-all [ota]

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yikes i lost this notif i'm so sorry!!

It happens!!

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