[OPEN] Scream, it makes no sound, I could testify

[closureisformovies]

Who: Alice Dyer (closureisformovies) & you!
What: Catch-All for Alice
When: Late August, Early-Mid September
Where: Town hall, oak & iron, empty pockets, around
Warnings: Possible Blight discussion, others as they come up



1. Explaining how time has bled me dry [town hall]

Those who work in Town Hall probably know Alice as the cheerful, tallish woman who spends the vast majority of the work day chattering and making jokes of varying levels of quality. She's the kind of person that's always talking to someone and it never seems to meaningfully impact her work, as she continues to be a pretty damn decent clerk despite all her many complaints about the concept of working at all.

But after the Blight mess is all said and done, Alice seems... a little off. The first few days are the worst; her work suffers and she's clearly still frayed around the edges, but given the fact she spent a lot of the time holding down the Town Hall shelter on her own it's excusable enough. She even perks up a little, after the day Gerry picks her up to drag her straight to drinks, but she never quite gets back to full form and if you look closely enough it's hard not to spot. Her jokes are more strained, she chatters a little less, and she keeps making stupid mistakes she wouldn't have before.

And her weird behaviour is especially obvious when Dahlia's around. Wonder what that's about.

2. You say I'm vacant now when it's justified [oak & iron]

Typically Alice stops by the O&I twice a day: once, in the morning, to get coffee and breakfast before she heads into work; second, in the evening after dinner to drink and hang out where the people are. This pattern remains much the same even when her behaviour shifts elsewhere, though the observant might notice she's drinking more than she usually does in the evenings and staying longer in the process.

It's in the evenings, especially after a couple drinks, that she's at her most social, inserting herself into conversations or joining people at tables with empty seats. Maybe you're one of the lucky people she jumps in to talk to, maybe her loudmouth charm has caught your attention, or maybe you just want to tell her to shut up. Either way, she's around. Soaking up the ambient energy, trying to ignore both her own chronic loneliness and the panic that's been threatening to consume her every waking moment since Aster walked into the office.

3. If you called my bluff, I could lose your love [empty pockets]

Alice joked about something like this a couple months ago, but it's only now with her mood in the gutter that she decides to go for the drastic measures: subjecting innocent people to her attempt at stand-up comedy.

It's not exactly a polished routine or anything, and anyone from the 2010s onwards that's at all internet savvy is going to recognise some of her humour as blatantly ripped from tumblr, but she is genuinely very quick on the draw and has plenty of her own material (even if it is, also, tumblr-flavoured).

And she has fun. Despite everything, she has fun.

4. And I know I'd be fine [Wildcard]

Hit me up to plot something or just throw something at me. She's out and about.

Comments

1 - because of course

[huntingtruths]

It's nice being back to work after whatever had him basically in a coma for a little over a month, but apparently while he was out...something happened with Alice. Sure Sam doesn't know what but he knows whatever it was was bad. He knows that women probably better than most people know her. Probably more than anyone save her own brother and even then...possibly more than him too. The point is, he knows when something is up with Alice and he can smell it a mile away when he comes in for work.

Milling around the break room he sips at his tea and watches her. The fidgety look, the strained smile and worse than usual jokes. Yup. Alice Dyer was hiding something.

He lets out that suffering sort of sigh before setting his mug down next to her to get her attention.

"Alright, spill. What has gotten into you?"

[closureisformovies]

Alice wants to curse the way she jumps out of her damn skin at the mug hitting the table. Bad enough that she knows damn well she's not being as normal about this as she wishes she was, the outright jumpiness is just embarrassing.

Plus, it makes it even harder to lie to Sam's face.

"Nothing's gotten into me lately, Sam, I'm living the life of a celibate monk," is a bad attempt at a deflective joke even by her standards, but it comes out of her mouth anyway.

[huntingtruths]

When she looks up she's met with that knowing look from Sam. The same look he always has when he knows something is wrong and she's hiding it from him.

"Alice," Three's a warning in his tone before he sighs. "You know what I mean. And don't think you can just joke your way out of this one. Somethings up with you."

[closureisformovies]

"We did have a whole plague a couple weeks ago," is her next attempt, a half-truth that doesn't at all explain the weirdness away. She knows that look too well and she knows she can't lie for shit in the face of it, but—

Fuck. She can't tell him what really happened. Not all of it. Maybe not even as much as Gerry, or he'll somehow get the rest out of her and then...

[huntingtruths]

"Yeah I think I heard about that...I was kinda out of it." He's still looking at her expectantly. "You really think I'm gonna believe that that is what has you still out of sorts?"

He finally sits down, picking up his mug to drink some of his tea before continuing. "Alice, you know you can talk to me. You don't have to hide whatever it is from me."

[closureisformovies]

Except this time I really, really can't, she thinks, whilst awkwardly picking at the hem of her sleeve. At least he wasn't there that day to see her suspicious absence.

She sighs. "Look, it's— I spent most of that mess running around looking after folks sheltering here and turning away sick, dying people. Maybe I'm not handling that as well as I thought! Is that so hard to believe?"

Probably. Not because it's not true, but because it's still only one piece of the messy puzzle and Sam's never been good at stopping at one measly piece.

[huntingtruths]

He's quiet for a bit but still giving her that look.

"No it's not, but I also know you." Taking his mug and sliding it in front of her in a sort of peace offering of hot tea, he continued. "You're only jumpy like that when something really bad is bothering you. Like you personally, not just things happening to someone else."

1. (post 3.)

[tehilim127_1]

The first workday after Alice's stand-up comic night, Zivia passes by her desk at work with her usual cheerful "Morning," and then pauses mid-stride.

"Oh hey, I caught your comedy act the other day. Didn't get a chance to say anything right after, but that was a real good time."

[closureisformovies]

At first Alice just raises her hand in a typical morning greeting call-and-response, distracted by re-reading the same document for the fourth time to try and make this the time she actually processes it. Then her brain catches up and her attention snaps to Zivia properly.

"Oh, well! Good, hey, that's the goal."

[tehilim127_1]

"Yep. Anyway, just wanted to say."

Her smile widens a little, and takes on a look of such utter innocence as to immediately warn anyone who knows her well enough.

"I like your shoelaces."

[closureisformovies]

Alice has the look of someone who's just been slapped with a wet fish for a solid three seconds before there's a snort of barely restrained laughter, and a slightly too high-pitched—

"Thanks, I stole them from the president."

—before she splutters a laugh and adds, "Jesus christ I have never had someone actually pull that one out and I was there when it was invented."

[tehilim127_1]

Zivia's laughing too, or perhaps cackling would be a better word.

"I was --" She splutters, then barely manages "I was there, Gandalf," before going off into laughter again.

[closureisformovies]

Alice tries and fails to bite back the fresh laughter, which results in a ridiculous snorting sound. "Goddammit I shoulda remembered the— deep magic Narnia quote, too; can't believe I missed that opening..."

2. Vacancy

[pineapplesalmon]

After a particularly long day the day before at the farm, César's moving a little slower than usual, taking his time to get in. He's under strict orders to never overwork himself from his girlfriend, five farmhands, and literally anyone else that knows his tendencies to burn the midnight candle once he gets started.

So instead of being in and out for his coffee, he takes his time to sit at the counter and chat with various staff members he's befriended because of Magne. It's nice to talk to them and also fill them in on how Magne's doing now that she's moved on to own a business of her own. He's seen Alice around, but hasn't had a chance to even introduce himself, his brain too full of what he needs to do for the day.

"You're fairly new here, right?" César asks quite suddenly. "I'm César Salazar, Magne's boyfriend, one of the farmers."

[closureisformovies]

Alice blinks a couple of times as if processing that he's actually talking to her, before answering: "I mean. Going on five months now, so depends on your definition of new, buuuut... Alice Dyer. Clerk at town hall."

[pineapplesalmon]

César facepalms and laughs at himself. "... I'm not the most observant man, sometimes. Too much on my brain. I've been hear nearly nine months. You'd think I'd notice."

[closureisformovies]

"Honestly mate at this point I've basically trained myself not to notice anything I don't want to, so, y'know, can't judge too much." She's joking but also she's not. Keeping her head down and just not paying attention to anything she doesn't want to deal with is how her life goes.

[pineapplesalmon]

"That's fair." César drops his palm and leans on the counter a bit. "I try to introduce myself since I'm a farmer, and I like to know if everyone's getting what they want or need food wise."

[closureisformovies]

"I'm probably eating better here than I was in London, if we're bein' frank about it. You do not eat healthy in London when you're paying for a city centre flat on a civil service salary," she says with a half-joking half-dismissive snort. "This place is practically gourmet."

3. empty pockets

[maximumcake]

Max is a man of his word, so of course he is there to fulfill his promise to heckle her. Just one problem: he's really bad at being even vaguely mean to people. All the youtube videos made it look so easy but now that he's here sitting in one of the front rows, he's enjoying himself and enjoying her jokes and also really nervous about actually heckling someone on a stage. But he said he'd do it so--

"I thought this place was called Empty Pockets not 'Out of Pocket Jokes!'" Yes, in case you are wondering, he is shriveling up inside after saying that.

[closureisformovies]

Even having seen him there tonight from the stage, Alice almost forgot about the promise and has to bite back a too-obvious laugh when he finally follows through. Oh, no, that's fucking adorable.

"Y'know I'd make a joke there about how I don't even have pockets 'cuz women's clothes are a fuckin' sham industry, but actually you lot got pockets right. These things are massive," which is a comment followed by her shoving half her arm into a skirt pocket, and then a whole off-the-cuff bit about pockets in general.

[maximumcake]

Max claps harder than anyone else in the entire bar as she goes on her rant about pockets. Yeah, she's right, pockets are the best and she should say it. He's so pleased she was able to pick up his joke and run with it. But, hm. How does he keep it going now? Should he? Do people heckle more than once? What's the etiquette? Why didn't he think to ask before this?

"Oh, yeah?" he tries again, "Well... ... ..." Shit. He's got nothing.

[closureisformovies]

Alice really has to try not to break on stage when she hears the failed attempt, choosing to spare him for now—he did his best and gave her something to work from, his promise has been fulfilled. So, she keeps on with her act, and unless he comes up with something or a new strategy before the end, she'll just be swinging by his table afterwards.

[maximumcake]

He thanks her for her mercy by slumping back in his seat. Trying to come up with something to say took as much energy out of him as a four-mile run. He should be more careful about what he promises.

Regardless, he's still ecstatic to see her when she comes by his table after. "Told you!" he says, proudly. "You were great up there."

[closureisformovies]

Alice gives a dramatic mock bow, then bends to lean against the table with her elbows, "Thank you, thank you, I'd say I'll be here all night but I'm pretty sure they'd kick me out if I tried. You're really not built for heckling, are you?"

That asked as she playfully pokes his nose. Being friends with Alice means getting affectionately bothered.