off she goes ✨ november catch all

[oomfies]

WHO: lottie person and.. you!!
WHERE: various
WHEN: during the month of november/end of oct
WHAT: catch-all for event and other misc things!!
WARNINGS: n/a


if you want to do something feel free to PM or reach out at snottie

Comments

𝙯𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙪𝙨 🍻

[oomfies]

[ Once again, she finds herself overdressed. In a sea of people wearing plaid socks with sandals, she is wearing what she hopes is her most inconspicuous pair of heels (they are not). She, at least, has a mind to throw some pants on rather than the skirt she almost went with — the air is cold and oddly biting, out here at the docks. It's the beginnings of night, and everyone in this bar is rowdy and she's feeling spectacularly out of place with her full face of makeup and hair vibrant green.

She's made her mark at the bar, having arrived earlier than the time they agreed to just to scope out the place. Lottie truly meant to contact him earlier but.. Nerves, life, local beheadings at the function, etc. This is the first time she's even left her house since the incident, visibly antsy and suspicious.

Because, after all, just because she's been recommended this bar doesn't mean she can't do a little digging, right?? Right.

So far, all she's found out is that some people smell like fish, and the view of the water is nice when there's no one blocking the way (this is rare). And that the drink the bartender gave her is a bit bitter, but apparently a fan favorite? She's swirling the contents of the drink in the air, texting Zagreus with the other hand when it's close to their meeting time:

hiii i'm here! at the bar lol

And without much preamble, since she very much thinks she has the time, she begins an age old process: the selfie. Lottie visibly sits up straighter, tugs at her blouse every which way until it's just right, arm angled for the perfect photo. But she doesn't take it, no — she's too busy spinning on that bar stool for the perfect lighting, tilting her head every so often in appraisal or irritation at what she sees. ]

[dodgeouttahell]

[Overdressed, meet underdressed.

Not that Zagreus knows what exactly makes one underdressed or overdressed anyway. Everyone is entitled to their own expression, and he's from a place where skulls, spikes, gold bands, jewels are just uniforms, and even Goddesses decide to eschew clothes altogether (looking at you, Aphrodite) in favor of some strategically placed hair.

After waving his goodbyes to the fishmonger and patting the pouch at his waist full of coin, he feels the device in his pocket thrum and he whips it out.

Oh! It was today and he's late! It's a good thing he's close by and doesn't take much time to find the bar. The crowd is rambunctious enough for him to spot it, and it's not very far from his own little flat. He's seen it every now and then, passed by the establishment, and probably sold a fish or some clams to it for their snacks. He doesn't really remember; his unlife has been a blur.

Spotting Lottie isn't difficult, even within the crowd. Her hair stands out, for sure, but it's more familiar than anything else. It had reminded Zagreus of a sweet, hard-working gorgon back at home, and he only positions himself so he shows up over her shoulder in the 'reflection' on the screen, a hand waving and his smile beaming, honest and glad he's finally meeting someone who was so nice on this device in person.]

Lottie? Hello, there. It's Zagreus.

[oomfies]

[ Lottie's too busy deciding whether tilting her head to the left, or right, looks for a better photo to immediately notice Zagreus saunter into frame. He's perched in the open space beside her wild mane of hair and shoulder, her eyes wide when she catches a glimpse of him. Her thumb doesn't stop in time, snapping the photo and immortalizing his little wave along with her surprise into the gallery of her phone. She swings her arm down, thumb itching to open it and take a look, but all it does it anxiously hover over her screen as she turns around to face him.

Turns out, even if she did look, it really wouldn't prepare her for.. Hm, well.

Isn't.. Isn't he cold? Subconsciously, she cradles her phone against her own chest. ]

Hello.. I mean — [ She breathes out, loud enough to be heard over the commotion but still Lottie's own brand of soft: ] Hi, Zagreus.

[ She pulls herself together fast enough to not seem like a complete weirdo, matching his smile when the sincerity of it hits her. Here she is, staring at his single (1) tit, when he's happy to just be here with a friend.

Man, this is taking her back to meeting all her blogger friends for the first time. The realization that they're real and not a face on her screen. Steadily, she's excited, too. ]

It's really nice to officially meet you in person. [ She leans over to take her sweater off the stool next to her (the very real, very reliable way of saving seats!). ] Thanks for coming!

[dodgeouttahell]

[Thank Ancient Greece, Lottie, and the fact that he's a human furnace. His feet are gaining some activity then like a dormant volcano, the glow steadily increasing across the days he's been here, recuperating slowly, and so is his resistance to the cold. Not that he doesn't feel it. He just doesn't get as affected as most.

He sits down on the stool next to her, the bartender flashing recognition in his eyes—not that he's not easy to recognize, anyway— and Zag tilts his head in reply. It's the first time he's been to this bar, but it's the first time he's an actual customer.] Oh, thank you for inviting me. [His smile widens, obviously happy to meet a friend and trying something new.

He's been doing that a lot, here. Go figure.] What are you having? What's good here?

[oomfies]

[ Ah, yes.. His feet. Lottie will definitely find a way to ask about that later.

(Hm, actually, no, she maybe won't — that's weird and she can use her imagination for once.) ]

Oh, it's, uhh.. [ She takes a moment to pretend to recall the name of the drink (yes, Lottie is exactly that type of person, not wanting to seem too eager or too quick to reply.. because she is!!!! And also she's never been here before, oops). ] It's called 'Catch One'. It's their special of the day.. Kinda bitter but, it's blue?

[ She holds the glass up for him to see what she means, and it's true! The drink itself is a vibrant blue reminiscent of the sea. It almost sparkles in the lighting it catches, and if he looks between the floating ice there's.. A gummy shark!! How dangerous, but cute. And hilariously in theme with the fact they're sat pretty on a dock. Lottie seems to think so, because it's the only thing she's actually got since arriving here.

The drink is placed on the coaster, the straw sat inside the drink spinning around the glass idly as she suggestively, definitely curiously, slides it in his direction. ]

Want a sip?

[dodgeouttahell]

[He peers curiously at the drink, a little blink of recognition when he sees the gummy floating within the cubes—ice, he knows that's ice, now— finding the little fellow adorable. The godling leans in closer, a moment of hesitancy, mostly because he can afford his own drink, and he knows prices are steep in this underworld.

Once she does give him some reassurance, he cradles the glass carefully and sips at the drink, cautiously removing the straw and placing his lips on the brim.

It's… sweeter than he thought, his eyebrows arch, a little surprised, and he licks his lips as he slides the drink back, a little giddy and signaling the bartender to give him one of those, too.] Oh, this is actually quite nice! What makes it blue, do you know?

[oomfies]

[ A hand flies to her mouth when she sees him process the flavor, a grin behind her lip and a laugh near teetering out of it. The hand that's free reaches out to bridge the gap and take her drink, gaze drifting back to the bartender already grabbing a glass similar to her own to make his order. ]

I think it's one of the mixers in it? Can't be a juice.. [ Lottie turns back to him look at him, ] An alcohol, maybe..

[ The bartender is busy at work, already in the process of adding said liqueur from a bottle that's about halfway empty. She squints in its direction, as if she can magically read the label if she tries hard enough (she can't, her vision isn't That Great!!). ]

Both? Probably both.

[dodgeouttahell]

[Probably both! He's squinting at the bottle, too, and it's not because she has great vision, the label is, indeed, worn out, and most of the letters have peeled off. Still, it didn't really matter, and after the bartender slid the drink to Zagreus with a nod, he raises his glass—gently so as not to topple, the cup is filled to the brim.]

Here's to you, Lottie. [He clinks their glasses.] For helping me out with how to work with a phone. Very thankful that you did.

[oomfies]

[ Huh...???? A hand flies to her chest, ]

Moi?

[ Wow.. He's clinking their glasses? Over him learning how to use a phone?? In her honor??? Lottie, belatedly, nods, surprised but happy to accept his praise. She certainly isn't going to tell him to stop, but she is actively fighting against the urge to blurt out whatever her goblin brain desperately wants to say (it mingles between 'ha ha, nice, butt dial anyone yet?' and 'tell me more.. more things about me I mean'). It's after she finally takes a sip of her drink, lightly scrunching her face in he process, that she speaks. ]

It's no big deal!! Honest! Everyone should know how to text.. It's like, a basic human right or something. [ She grins, the warmth of the alcohol hitting her. She shivers, ] How's it been, by the way? Been taking care of her?

nov event stuff!

[paraselenes]

[ Considering all of her various... afflictions, Lottie seems like someone who might know how to deal with the gradual, floral shutdown of lungs that's going around. At first he'd assumed it was some bizarre, magical bug going around the gallows, spreading between inmate to inmate, but even after his escape he's been seeing signs of it: people coughing into their hands, a few petals flying free from their fingers.

So that brings us to the present: him, watching her rifle through the tinctures and potions that she's bought, stifling a soft cough before speaking over the clink of glass. ]

...Do you think there's really a cure out there?

[ People had made claims, but he's not sure how much of it is snake oil. Guess they're about to find out. He sounds exasperated for being sick, annoyed at the hoarseness of his own voice. ]

I've never heard of a plague involving flowers, even in tales of whimsy.

SLAYYY

[oomfies]

[ In the weirdest of ways, even though she doesn't know anything about Dimitri, she feels her most comfortable beside him. Maybe it's because she was literally in his body and the fact she knows how great his lungs felt.. Or maybe it's because he was literally in hers, fully understanding just how terrible her own was.

..Is, she corrects herself, when her tongue runs over her teeth and she tastes copper. It feels nice, having that odd understanding between them and being able to ask for guidance. It's why she worked so hard to gather everything she's taken so far to mitigate her symptoms, all her findings out on the table. The ones that taste like bubblegum are in their own category, the shittier ones the opposite direction. And the mystery potions are situated in the middle.

Still, it is chaos. But not to her eyes, at least. She grabs a flask, one with a blue colored liquid sloshing in it. ]

That's because it just.. Doesn't exist. Stuff like this comes from bored people on the internet.

[ She forgets if he knows what the internet is or not, but she doesn't care. Just grabs a little shot glass and pours the liquid out right under the brim. ]

But.. I think there is. Some of the stuff I've been taking slows down whatever is happening inside me. [ She explains, rubbing at her eyes beneath her glasses. The glass is handed gently towards him, ] I can still feel it, though.. Like, growing.

[paraselenes]

[ It's always easier to open up when someone takes the first step, giving a little. And in their case, that first push was an outright shove, one neither had invited. But now that there's no headless murdering horseman chasing after them, it's... nice. In its own way. He doesn't have to admit his own deficiencies, the aches of old battles and stiff scars, the way some of his senses are dulled. There's still some secrecy in not laying out explanations for it all—he doesn't know why she breaks out into hives or anything—but the latent understanding is a comfort.

Even if he still doesn't totally understand. He doesn't know what an internet is. If only he also inherited her pop culture knowledge. He eyes the flask she's plucked up before he takes the... shot glass. lottie why this glassware ]

Mm. Growing is a good way to put it.

[ Terrible as that is. He takes a little sip. It smells slightly chemical, even if it tastes like nothing to him. ]

I hope it hasn't caused you too much pain, at least. [ her lungs already seemed kind of. broken. ] You seem to be taking it in stride. As much as one can, anyway.

[oomfies]

[ She frowns when she sees him take a sip. Her hand gently guides the glass further towards his lips, as if insisting down it, take the whole thing. A full glass of water is nearby for this express purpose!! ]

I'm constantly on something 24/7.

[ Lottie supplies, opting to not lie and tell him it hasn't caused her too much pain.. Because, well, it has. There's no way around the fact that her throat is always unbearably sore and it hurts to breathe a little too fast, a little to eagerly. She figures he can guess the extent of the damage having a garden grow inside her has already done, after all. ]

I'm used to being on some kind of medication so this is pretty normal for me.. Not the flower stuff, obviously. [ She admits rather reluctantly, ] Warm water has definitely been helping.. Humidifier. Soups. Broths. Anything that gets your nose runny..

[paraselenes]

[ Bossy... It's sort of novel being told what to do when he's been ruling a nation for years, though. So when prompted, he drinks the rest down smoothly (if there's any benefit to ageusia, it's not needing a chaser with bitter medicine), wondering absently what this tonic even does.

At least Lottie seems to know what she's doing, though he's not sure that's a good thing. He sets the glass down with a quiet clink, looking concerned. ]

Are you ill... constantly?

[ The flowers he can understand; there's no need to explain how uncomfortable it is when something pricks inside of you like thorns, the uncomfortable pressure of leaves and petals building up until they're coughed up. But he's usually healthy otherwise. And he doesn't know what the science of an allergy is. His world probably still thinks it's a random fun quirky weakness of the human body. ]

[oomfies]

[ This is Not the Flex It Should Sound Like And Yet ]

I mean...

[ She gives a wave of her hand, half because she doesn't want him to know the extent of her troubles and half because.. Well, there's no point in lying and saying no when it comes to him. She can say she's healthy all she wants, but he was physically there. Inside her (not like that). And she knows for a fact he understands what living normally is like.. ]

I mean yeah.. Not on purpose. It's just.. How I am? [ Ugh, this is so.. Weird. To explain. Especially since she doesn't want to say the "A" word (allergies). This must all sound weird and avoidant, or mystical.. One of the two! ] A lot of it is conditional on weather.. Or what I eat. Sometimes how I feel.. Like those hives you got.

[paraselenes]

[ He was inside her (not like that), and vice versa. So he understands it a little, even if the explanation is a little vague, and even if he doesn't get the science behind it. ]

Ah, the itchy patches... [ Those did seem stress-induced, though he had trouble pinpointing it in the moment. ] Is it a curse?

[ Some people call the flowers some sort of ill omened magic, rather than a blight. It's hard to say with her condition, and the way she talks about it. He reaches to get her a glass to pour her some of the tonic as well. ] Or more like a sickness, perhaps?

[oomfies]

[ She is desperately holding in the shocked and surprised laugh that desperately wants to burst through her lips. A curse? A curse?? God, she's wondered that so much herself that it almost feels nice having someone suggest it first. Like a breath of fresh air. ]

The second one.. But it, uh, kinda feels like the first.

[ She admits, reaching for the poured glass and simply holding it. ]

Are curses real where you're from?

𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤 💉

[oomfies]

I.. I refuse to use fish blood!

[ It's said, after a few solid seconds after she's released herself from her stupor. A lot of it was comprised of thoughts like, 'is he for real?'.. Another was, 'it can't be real?'

Really, even the fact that Callisto came back from his side of the market (they had decided to strategically split up for more information gathering, 90% was his idea and the 10% remaining was Lottie choosing the market on the docks) with this information is both good news and bad news. Good, because more remedies exist out there to rotate between in case the ones she has turn stale, and bad because holy shit gutting a fish. Lottie opens and closes her mouth once more, seemingly at a loss for words still. ]

I refuse to believe fish blood can.. Work.. It can't? Can it?

[uncourteous]

[ her refusal probably made sense in the grand scheme of things. after all, they were apparently dealing with a sort of ailment that did not have any clear cut remedies. but, that isn't to state they wouldn't do their fair share of searching. he isn't sure how they've concluded fish blood...

but, he may have been mixing myths of his own world paired with... whatever he managed to get a hold of in the market. that said, he seems firm on sticking with this probably very wrong approach. ] They say the blood of every beast holds certain properties.

[ though, back at home, they were magic beasts, not that he thinks to actually clarify. ]

Besides, if you're worried about procuring the blood, I am quite proficient in gutting. [ which, paired with his intensity probably only sounds all the more ghastly... but, compared to his next list of remedies to try, maybe the fish wasn't too bad?

the other was... imagining an eggplant while drinking water the opposite way. or having someone scratch your body with a special coin. ]

[oomfies]

[ For once in her life, Lottie has met a hot person who she thinks is wrong. Incorrect. It doesn't matter if he gave her his coat when she was Naked and Afraid, what matters is that he's doubling down on whatever this street merchant sold him on.

Her face sours immediately. ]

Ewwwwwww! Stop! You did not just say that to my face..

[ Now all she can imagine is him sitting on a little stool or tree stump, with a cleaver for a knife and a fish dangling ominously in front of him. 'Le petit death or something! Haha!' he says in her demented recreation. Lottie shivers, clutches at her own arms. ]

You've gutted fish before?!

[uncourteous]

[ this wouldn't be the first time someone has shied away from blood in front of him. or is it the guts that disturbs her more? regardless, it gives him a bit of a chuckle. ... and knowing his personality, that only makes him want to show her it even more. ] I've gutted more things that I can count.

[ so it couldn't be that different, surely.

bears, tigers— of course, not just normal bears or tigers either. assassins. the list could basically go on and so he decides to simply spare her the explicit details. ] I'd like to believe it isn't so different from eating them.

[ except, it probably was kind of different. ] Would you prefer a different animal?

[ because... that has to be the issue here. ]

[oomfies]

[ Why is he proud of that?! Why is he telling her that like it's something awesome?!?! She can at least understand that gutting animals is kind of necessary for eating meat, but it's not like she wants to do it. What about her nails? Lottie grimaces. ]

I.. What? Did they say it could be any animal?!

[ Whoever told him this didn't sound very secure in their method????? ]

Are you trying to say you have something in mind other than a fish?

[uncourteous]

Well, the lady simply seemed so opposed to fish. [ so he'd consider himself merely... flexible. besides, even in his own world, he hears no end to what this or that beast does for ones bodies. after all, even half-assed medicine peddlers needed some sort of income he's sure. ]

I would argue you may need to try them all in order to alleviate your symptoms. [ naturally, he isn't being serious at all, but it would be the most logical (and entertaining choice), right? hence...


he adds fish to cart. ]

[oomfies]

[ The.. The lady? Seems opposed to fish?? Ugh!

There's a moment of silence, before she promptly grabs that fish and puts it back where it belongs!! On that poor merchant's table. And then she gets ready to steer the cart away with or without him. ]

[uncourteous]

[ he knows that moment of silence, and he almost expects her next set of movements. the deftness in which she so easily places the fish back....


was almost impressive in its own right. his mouth opens slightly, before he stubbornly closes it. well, if two could play this game. he grabs the corner of the cart, not allowing it to press forward and he places not just one... but two fish into the cart. he makes sure to pick up the largest ones, the one with the most piercing eyes. ]