catchall ✧ this is our story.

[regression]

WHO: Yoo Joonghyuk and you! Friends. Not-friends.
WHAT: Catchall forever
WHERE: Netherworld general
WHEN: The present, the future
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

Look at me. I am woven together by story, held firm by myth. Look at me. I will tell you of the men that ate me bloody. I will tell you of how ferociously I bit my way out of their stomachs.

— Venetta Octavia, The Alchemy of Smallness —

Comments

[regression]

[ Joonghyuk doesn't know about American broadcasting channels, though he's somewhat aware of the Simpsons in passing. They are those yellow cartoon people. At least the gist of it he can understand since they're focusing on the plot of the episode, right?

One thought passes through his mind as his leer tapers into a confused squint: why is Puck from English Folklore into the Simpsons? Why did you do this Francy i'm ]

You wanted to tell horror stories.

[ Puck nods!! And maybe at the distance they could see silhouettes, blurry figures between the trees. ]

[declass]

[ it's fine. don't worry about it. ]

That was a horror story...?

[ she couldn't tell.

but the shadowy figures do catch her attention, although at this point there are so many people running around here that at first she just assumes it's someone else trying to kill puck. she doesn't make any moves to do anything. ]

Well. It was intriguing, Puck.

[regression]

[ strangles you like homer strangles bart ]

Give us the lantern.

[ And before they know it, they're behind these nebulous figures. They're just made of lighter fog, translucent enough to look through and find gravestones. Joonghyuk doesn't pay them more mind and quickly turns to where the fire should be.

PUCK? No, he only finds MORE gravestones. ]

We should have apprehended him.

[declass]

Perhaps...

[ it would have saved them from a bad story and whatever this is. she's curious though, so rosa will walk over to one to try to inspect it. ]

He has to be somewhere around here. This is likely some sort of illusion.

[regression]

There's always a way to escape an illusion. This should be no different.

[ He comes over to witness this stone slab jutted out of the dirt. Some cobwebs lined on its edges, like they're meant to keep the headstone in place. Squints. ]

Whose grave is this?

[ Dim light brushes over and it's ROSA. Slowly, he turns to her? ]

[declass]

I guess it's mine!

[ please sound less cheerful about this.

unfortunately, she finds this situation humorous instead of creepy. in fact, she might feel a little... pleased? at seeing it, even though it's clearly fake. ]

Like the story? Perhaps yours is here as well.

[regression]

It's almost like you're happy to see your grave.

[ the francy's characters are lowkey struggling inside trait is coming out. Joonghyuk looks over to the other gravestone beside hers and it definitely says his name, which earns a deep and resentful frown and glare.

You know, how normal people react, granted Joonghyuk looks like that ALL THE TIME. To the left and their right, they will find names of their loved ones. For Joonghyuk, though, he gets more gravestones with his name on them littered around. ]

We'll dig one up.

[declass]

I apologize. I just think it's a little nonsensical. We're already supposedly dead.

[ why does yjh have so many of his own graves help. rosa peers at the ones with names she recognizes, her expression turning a little bit more somber...

and then jooghyuk opens his mouth. ]

... I do not have a shovel?

[regression]

We are not dead.

[ No SUPPOSEDLY, no ENTERTAINING the THOUGHT of being DEAD! Also, don't think too much about the multiple graves with his name on it alongside others. He's going to ignore it, too. ]

We have hands.

[ He isn't so prissy where he won't dig like a dog. ]

[declass]

[ orvs???

but she supposes they do have hands... a part of her wants to remain prissy in this situation because this seems like such a hassle. how long does it take to dig with just hand your hands?? but beggars can't be choosers and all that.

probably. ]

Okay... dig it is then.

[ he can pick what grave he wants to wreck she'll be polite about it ]

[regression]

[ Don't worry about it? Joonghyuk obviously is not prissy, just fussy, and he starts digging... Let's go with Kim Dokja's grave, or at least one of them, because he isn't so sacrilegious and insensitive to dig any of the graves affiliated with Rosa.

Not that he thinks it bothers her, but he wouldn't feel good about it. ]

Fool... You could just have one grave.

[ Stupid, stupid, stupid. ]

[declass]

[ she wouldn't mind but her relationship with death is, well, complicated.

it does seem rude to dig up a grave of someone she doesn't know though, so rosa will mostly make sure that the dirt doesn't fall back into the newly made hole. ]

He's here, right...? I recognize the name.

[regression]

[ Girl... Your high mortality rate furry disease. ]

Unfortunately, he is. Loud and obnoxious. [ Joonghyuk is like halfway digging through. ] You're not going to help.

[ This is permission to help him dig because he hates this man, so it's okay. ]

[declass]

Oh, my apologies!

[ it's said both to yjh and also to het dokja's grave. but with permission, she'll start digging as well. ]

I wonder if we'll find anything...?

[regression]

[ HET DOKJA IS DEAD? Het Dokja is dead. ]

If we do, we might as well loot it.

[ Or them. Because I want het Dokja to be real, they can see his pale ass face in his white coat, somewhat dirtied at the bottom. ]

[declass]

[ they have forgotten puck already. that's fine.

but there he is... without a coffin? is there a coffin, or is he just in a hole? he might just be in a hole if he's dirty. ]

Oh. I guess the illusion is thorough, then.

[regression]

[ You can't afford coffins in a ruined world, so he is just dirty... And simpson-fied. This is body horror for Rosa and Joonghyuk now. Slowly, het Dokja's skin yellows as it's exposed to the stagnant air. His chin slowly recedes and his fingers pudge out.

Joonghyuk hasn't forgotten about Puck. The murderous intent for the slut rises. ]

Then we can assume the other graves could be occupied. [ ... ] I wonder if the dates mean anything.

[ They're all the same date. ]

[declass]

[ HE'S A SIMPSONS i am glad i submitted this thread for ac already so the mods won't be forced to see this with their eyes now that ac is over. ]

Maybe... although there doesn't really seem to be a useful calendar system here to use, so I'm not sure what to get from it...

[ what day is it besides some random festival. ]

Why is he yellow? A disease?

[regression]

A useless horror element.

[ i actually have fanart somewhere where the orvs are drawn as the simpsons where yjh is choking kdj, but i am too lazy to find it. ]

He's turning into a cartoon—the characters mentioned in the story. [ UH. ] Don't touch it in case it's contagious, illusion or not.

[ Het Dokja reaches out from the grave and grabs onto the edge, slowly pulling himself out. ]

[declass]

[ rosa is deeply contemplating if they should just push him back in. she gently lifts a booted foot and just goes to push him back. so gently. there is no skin to skin contact it's fine. ]

I see...

[regression]

[ They should. Het Dokja doesn't go down easily. After he is pushed back in with a gently push, he writhes and gargles, foaming at the mouth as he starts clawing the edge of his grave. ]

... It'll struggle if we bury it again just like this.