Some days I look in mirrors

[beautifullies]

Who: Claire Fraser, ota and closed starters
When: October log
Where: Solvunn, Nocwich, the Horizon
Notes: I went with handwaving Claire's finished home, it's been too long now, BUT if your character would've helped then they did! also please ignore the fact that I accidentally tagged this with Adora.
Warnings: None so far, will edit if needed. And brackets, prose - go with your heart.



𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑢𝑛𝑛

[ Claire's new home is tucked just short of the woods. Her gratitude for the help she received has been expressed in simple but filling meals, baked goods, doctoring, and helping with most chores. She's realized with a home of her own she must be settling, but she tells herself it's more to have her own space and feel comfortable. The home is two stories with her small bedroom upstairs that contains the space she works and spends the most of her time. One of the walls is completely plant-filled, and somewhere nestled in comfortably, is her new lizard. The downstairs has a kitchen with a hearth, and a built-in nook to sit and eat on one side. With a small sitting area made up of donated furniture, the other side of the downstairs is for seeing anyone who needs intense care and looking after, or drop-ins needing some sort of treatment.

Anyone dropping in is welcome and will not only be assaulted by plants and wildflowers in abundance, but bees will buzz lazily and drunk on nectar before flying back to their homes. They're tucked back just a bit, but the bee houses, lovingly painted by Nanaue, are bright and visible. She's left the back wall on the bottom floor windowless so that her friend can paint to his heart's content. When visitors arrive, the door is opened with a smile in greeting, able to see who's approaching from the front window.

Even though she has her own home now, she still makes sure to contribute, helping with cooking communal meals which helps her meet newcomers, and taking care of the animals which reminds her of Jamie. It all keeps her busy, and she can't say she doesn't like it. She still visits with the local Solvunnites she's grown fond of, and there are a few children she plays with outside with no shame in how silly she looks. ]

(𝑡ℎ𝑒) 𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛

[ Gone is Lallybroch from Claire's domain. She'd been thinking of changing it anyway, but something very large managed to take out most of it during the rifts. That makes it easier to change things, though it's still rustic and full of flora. There's still plenty of space for her to entertain outside, and around back is where anyone can come for human anatomy lessons. Separate from that, there's a garden and greenhouse so that she can both learn and teach about different plants. It's a place for her experiment too, trying out her magic without accidentally causing damage to real plants in her home.

Anyone heading inside will be met with comfortable warmth, more plants, and a gray cat that doesn't seem bothered by much. There's always a setup for tea or coffee and something stronger if wanted, along with furniture meant for sinking into a good book.

She does like to explore other's domains, but if it seems closed off, she won't poke around...much. ]

𝑁𝑜𝑐𝑤𝑖𝑐ℎ

[ Claire has come to enjoy the walk to the portal, and if anyone happens to be heading out as well, they're happy to join her. She's dressed for the cooler air, pendant hanging just below her throat and basket in hand. In the square, she can be found purchasing things like flour and other cooking items for her own simple kitchen. Claire even picks up a trinket or two for friends, stowing different things beneath her goods in case she happens upon someone. Because she's rubbish at knitting, she can also be found weaving in and out of different shops to browse mittens and cowls.

When she rests the first time at mid-day, it's near the stage with a drink in hand. Every now and then she looks around the crowd as if searching for someone and in truth, she is. This is her only chance to look for Jamie or Bree, and she takes it each and every month. Eventually, she continues her day and when she's ready for supper, slips into an establishment, finding a seat at a table that could fit two. And a lucky thing too, as she's managed to come in at the height of mealtime, apparently. Anyone is free to join her.

With her basket on the ground between her right foot and the wall, she sits back and thinks of a friend or two she wouldn't mind joining her, almost feeling as though they're near, while leisurely eating her meal.* It only makes her think that she must check up on others soon, especially those she hasn't spoken to since the rifts. ]

[ *ooc note: Claire is able to determine someone's location to her within about 120 yards. (Think the length of an American football field), so if you want her to be surprised because she was literally just thinking you were on your way, lmk in the subject! ]

𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑

[ If none of these work, please feel free to whip up a starter! We can plot on discord @ lifewasawillow or PM. My plotting comment from the last CR meme can be found here. If I owe you a starter and I haven't poked you, please poke me! ]

Comments

[beautifullies]

Ah, you learn to juggle and survive it all. I didn't realize I wanted to go to medical school until I was somewhere around six months pregnant. A hell of a time to decide you don't want to be a stay-at-home mother.

[ She feels a bit worse about that than her tone lets on; she wasn't world's best mother and won't win any runner-up awards either. But she got Bree to a time where being born wasn't a death sentence, which has to count for something.

With purpose, Claire sets everything out so that it's laid where Matt can easily reach and sweeten to his own liking. ]

There's a teaspoon on the saucer and a sugar pot to the left.

[ She takes her own with just a little milk, settled across from him. He seems capable, and she doesn't want to patronize him by doing things for him. If he asks anything of her, she'll help gladly. ]

Do you have any children or someone you take care of back home?

[ A person can be a parental figure or caretaker without being an actual parent, after all. ]

[catholica]

Oh no, nothing like that for me. I don't even have plants.

( he reaches out and takes the saucer and sugar pot with a grateful nod, dishing a few spoonfuls into the coffee before he puts it back in its place. )

It's just me. I have a few friends that try and take care of me but I tend to...not let them do too much. More important things to do, more important people to take care of. That sort of thing.

( he's a bit of an isolationist when it comes to people looking out for him. )

[beautifullies]

That sounds familiar. From around eighteen all the way up to now, I've never stopped. Even with a daughter in tow, I never wanted to slow down.

[ She pauses, amending her statement. ]

I take that back, there was a time I thought we might be able to do that, Jamie and I. And I suppose I did settle in Boston for a time, but it wasn't with who I wanted, where I wanted, when I wanted.

[ No one ever accused Claire of not being selfish. She wanted it all and got it with a man she could barely tolerate to look at for years. ]

[catholica]

I can say that I never did want to leave my home because I was happy there.

( as happy as he could be, at least. it was his city, after all, and it was his duty to protect it. )

But I couldn't stay still while I was even in the one place. Too much to do.

( both with his day job and his night job. )

Settling is...hard. Being in one place and not really knowing what to do is hard.

[beautifullies]

Getting to know another place by breathing it in, immersing yourself in it and listening to what the locals have to say, then sharing in their food, that's a dream of a vacation to me.

[ There's a smile in her voice before she takes a drink, then continues. ]

Travel is more difficult in the 18th century, and crossing the ocean isn't something I'm keen to do again.

[ John hasn't said whether or not she ever goes back to Scotland, only that Jamie did, which led to her third marriage. She's lost track of her last names. ]

[catholica]

Yeah, you won't find any argument from me about crossing oceans. Not something I'm really looking to do.

( he has no idea how his blindness would interact with an actual flight and he's not keen to find out. )

This whole situation is probably the furthest that I'm going to travel and I don't remember how I got here. So, it's perfect.

[beautifullies]

That is the big mystery isn't it? The Singularity allegedly pulled us in and everyone has a different idea, with enough theories floating around to fill a textbook.

[ She isn't sure what she believes, herself. She just knows she never thought 'time travel through rocks' could be beaten as far as bizarre life events went, but this takes the cake. ]

I'm getting to know the native Solvunnites a little better now, trying to piece together their beliefs, where they came from, and how they originated. Whether or not that leads to answers on how to get home remains to be seen.

[catholica]

I hear a lot about Solvunn from Wanda. It sounds like an interesting place.

( interesting people, interesting animals, interesting goings on. he sometimes thinks he could do all right there but then he starts to wonder if that's true. )

Are you trying to piece together if you all have a common thread that's put you there?

[beautifullies]

Solvunn is a religious hub. And in my experience on archeological sites, religion tends to bury history, literally. Myths and superstitions are made out of things that either didn't happen or are explainable another way. The Bible is chock full of examples, so I do wonder if somewhere under the shrines there might be more than meets the eye.

[ She taps one finger on the side of her cup as she thinks. ]

I do think something links us all, and not just the Singularity. It may be a large part, but a religion built up around it, not the other way 'round, which means there was something before.

[catholica]

From what you know of the other places, the other regions, do you think Solvunn fits you?

( so far, he hasn't talked to anyone that seems to be against the spot they were assigned. he can absolutely understand why he was put into the free cities so he wonders if that's true for everyone. )

Or do you think you belong some other place?

[beautifullies]

Oh, no, Solvunn is the correct place for me. I could have seen an argument for the Free Cities, but Thorne would've been right out. I've had enough mingling with royalty and dodging secrets and conspiracy to last a dozen lifetimes.

[ Maybe once, a long time ago, the idea of Thorne would've intrigued her, before she lived a version of that life. ]

I like working outdoors and being in a garden. I don't mind farmwork and at one point my husband and I planned on living on his family farm, raising children there.

[ There's a bittersweetness to her voice, but she doesn't let it stop her. ]

I think life in Solvunn reminds me of Jamie, and what home could have been.

[catholica]

That's good.

( and he does mean that, of course. he's wondered if some people have felt they were wrongly put in different factions. but it seems like everyone he's talked to thinks they fit. )

Free Cities is probably the only viable explanation for me. I'm used to bigger cities, more people. I'd hate Thorne. I think I could deal with Solvunn because of the people but no, I agree on Thorne.

[beautifullies]

I don't enjoy playing political games. I spent a year or so of my life with Jamie trying to sabotage a war effort. It took its toll on both of us.

[ Her voice has the barest hint of a waver in it, but she continues on after a sip of tea, voice even again. ]

And after my stint here, I suspect there's more to look forward to because of our situation, so in the meantime, I would really love to stay out of it here. History, on the other hand, is fair game. I do like learning about the bones of a place. Any interest in history?

[catholica]

Sometimes.

( it definitely wasn't his strongest subject and not something he actively sought out back home but this place is different. )

When it comes to this place, I do have an interest since this place shouldn't exist and be bale to do what it does with all of us. I'd definitely like to know a little more of how this place came to be.

[beautifullies]

Oh, absolutely; what sort of power is it that manages to pull us all across time and space to one spot? I'm not sure what I think or believe, but perhaps it's some lab out there in space, and we're an experiment.

[ She's been here too long, thinking things like that. ]

What a sentence that is.

[catholica]

Yeah, that's...something I don't think any of us ever thought we'd say.

( he says wryly. he doesn't really know what he believes but a lab in space is as good an explanation as any. )

The thought of being someone's experiment kind of gives me the creeps but it makes an unfortunate amount of sense too.

[beautifullies]

I honestly didn't really give it much thought until now. Rather feels like I'm caught in a snow globe though, someone watching from somewhere else.

[ That's unnerving, but now she'll be thinking about it and most definitely asking others their opinions. ]

Although, who knows? Perhaps we can say that of any world.

[catholica]

We might need to stop talking about this or I'm going to get a complex no matter where I am.

( and he already has enough complexes. he laughs though because it's a moot point, not something they can really do anything about it right now. )

I would say being blind means I don't feel people staring at me like I'm in a snow globe but I think I might feel it more. Get that creeping niggling up the back of my neck.