[ Gerry, all told, is doing much better now that October is over. He’d been in a near-constant state of panic all month, doing his best to avoid the blood and all the memories that came with it. There’s a lot he doesn’t remember from the month — he spent most of it in an exhausted haze of fear — but he does remember that someone saved his life. Gerry thinks he heard the man (who is also a bird?) call himself Crow, and the Qrow on the network seems to be a close enough match.
Gerry wasn’t up for much heartfelt thanks when Qrow met him. He wasn’t exactly present for most of the encounter. But Gerry knows now that if Qrow hadn’t found him, Gerry would most likely be dead. So it’s better to thank him later, rather than never. ]
Hey this is Gerry you saved my life last month Just wanted to reach out and say thanks since I probably didn’t thank you properly then, sorry about that Also wanted to make sure you survived the month alright
[It's been a long month. Honestly, Qrow doesn't really remember who all he might have assisted during that time. Killing monsters was his job as a Huntsman, after all. When he finds a notification on his Fluid from an unknown username, he almost ignores it to go back to sleep, just because he finally can without external assistance.
Still, curiosity has him sitting up in bed to read it.]
heh survived's a strong term but i'm alive enough can't say i'm exactly used to getting a lot of thanks for my job, either don't worry about it
I dunno I feel like if my heart’s still beating I’m coming out on top
Yeah I’ve found people aren’t usually into actually saying “thanks for saving my life” out loud thing but oh well If this is your job you should really hear it more often
[ and since it seems like qrow hasn’t been thanked enough: ]
Do you want a coffee or something? Obviously it’s not the same favor but it’s on me
Yeah suppose that’s fair Usually the people I try to help don’t know there’s bad stuff out there and so they mostly get confused and think I’m weird But better they’re confused than dead
[ wow gerry that’s a real chipper outlook on life! ]
How about the diner around 3?
[ If Qrow agrees, Gerry will be at the diner a little before 3, sitting at a booth near the window and sipping a mug of black coffee. He definitely looks better off now than he did in October — he’s still a little tired, of course, but no longer filled with panic or fear. At this point, the worst that can probably be said is that his dye job is in need of major work — his roots are seriously coming in. Between that and the small tattoos of eyes on each of his joints, his look is either cool and grunge-y or messy and strange, depending on who you ask and how charitable they’re feeling. ]
it's still a little weird to think about worlds where daily life isn't based around them honestly either way, not being dead is definitely ideal
[He's a bit curious why people don't know, in Gerry's world (if it's a situation like Ozpin hiding the truth, or some other reason), but that can wait until they talk in person.]
see you then
[Walking to the cafe turns out to not be the best course of action. He ends up needing to sit down and rest halfway out of the damn house, and he swears under his breath before tapping into the little spark of magic inside him and shifting into a bird. It's possible he won't be able to make it like this, either, at which point he'll need to suck it up and cancel (and probably admit to Deathflu), but he's giving it his best shot anyway.
Luckily his wings cooperate with him this time, and he manages to stay airborne all the way out to the diner. It's turning back that proves the challenge, though--his legs threaten to buckle almost immediately as they touch the ground, and he has to clutch onto the windowsill with one hand to hold himself upright.
By the time he gets inside, he's a little flushed and shaky, certainly not in any shape to judge Gerry's appearance. His own clothes are a bit disheveled, that "rolled out of bed" look except he literally did just roll out of bed before coming here.
None of this means he isn't going to try to play it cool, though. He scans out across the patrons of the diner before spotting the young man seeming to be sitting alone, and walks up to him, pulling out a chair and leaning against the back.]
[ From inside the diner, Gerry sees Qrow land, and Qrow’s flushed appearance confirms what Gerry already suspects: the other man is working some pretty serious death flu. He’s seen it on Jon twice now, and knows how the progression usually goes. Looks like Qrow is only alive on a technicality. That makes two of them.
When Qrow sits, Gerry gives the other man a nod and slides him a menu. ]
That’s me. Qrow, yeah? You weren’t kidding about barely surviving. Get whatever you want, that post-death illness looks awful.
[ Gerry does not seem especially bothered by talking about Qrow’s awfully recent demise — he says it all with the tone of someone who has seen all this before. ]
At least this place lets you eat after you come back from the dead. Take advantage of it. Where I’m from? [ Gerry sips his coffee. ] No such luck.
[Ah, geez. Qrow looks off to the side, rubbing his neck in mild embarrassment.]
That obvious, huh?
[Ughhh, he feels like garbage but he thought he was doing a decent job hiding it. He tries to sit up a bit straighter, though it does little but make it more obvious that being upright is a bit of a strain still.
It's that last part that catches him off-guard--he startles and uh...falls off his chair? Ah.
He grabs the edge of the table roughly to try to drag himself up. Once he's sitting again, he stares at the young man across the table a little more sharply, as though he could possibly tell if there was any god-related shenaniganry afoot just by looking.]
Oh, no, I’ve just seen it a bunch before. [ Gerry tips his head towards the window. ] And I might’ve seen you land out there.
[ Qrow startles, and Gerry just kind of...stares? At him? There’s not much he can do, but Gerry does want to make sure this guy is okay. He’ll intervene if need be. It looks like Qrow is able to hold himself up though, and the sharp look is actually reassuring. Gerry, in fact, is able to detect eldritch nonsense just by looking, so Qrow’s strategy isn’t actually half-bad. ]
Oh, yeah. I died three years ago. Came back as a ghost bound to this awful book, nasty stuff, wouldn’t recommend it. Technically speaking, I’m still dead, but for whatever reason Deerington is letting me interact with the world and all that. [ Gerry offers a small smile that’s meant to be reassuring — Gerry genuinely considers himself lucky to be here.
He leans over and taps on the menu in front of Qrow. ]
Come on, make up your mind or I’ll choose for you.
[So much for being stealthy about this. He really is off his game, apparently. Qrow cards a hand through his hair, brushing away at the sweat that's gathered at his hairline. The short trip has exhausted him more than he'd like to admit.
But that doesn't stop him from scowling at the next part; with the initial shock passed, he looks a combination of horrified and deeply resigned to said eldritch nonsense. He waves his hand at the menu, apparently unconcerned with what's to be ordered.]
Let me guess, god bullshit?
[There's something deeply bitter in the way he says that, which can't be explained just in how tired and unwell he obviously is.]
[ It seems like Qrow wants to keep pressing on this, so Gerry will let him press. Qrow's mix of horror and resignation is entirely appropriate, and Gerry recognizes it almost immediately. Gerry laughs a little, wry and similarly bitter, more of a huff than anything else. He settles back against his seat and looks into his coffee mug. ]
Yeah, something like that. God isn't exactly it, but it's cosmic supernatural bullshit for sure.
[ Gerry looks back up at Qrow, and this time, there's something weirdly intense about his gaze, as if he's looking through Qrow rather than at him. ]
You definitely wanna avoid stuff like that, if you can.
[ But given Qrow's demeanor, Gerry suspects that the avoidance ship has sailed in Qrow's case. After a few moments of intense inspection, Gerry's gaze relaxes. Gerry has the information he needs -- Qrow is already marked. ]
Looks like the Lonely's after you. You got friends? You'll need them.
[About ten minutes ago, his conversation with Jonathan Sims a couple months ago would've been nowhere near the forefront of his mind. But he remembers the term Gerry uses, and he has to think for a minute about where he's heard it.]
Oh--you're from that world.
[He can't remember if it had a name. It's been a very long couple of months.]
The guy who was asking for stories said the same thing to me.
[He'd also mentioned the Hunt as a possibility, and while he doesn't fully understand what that is, it sounded rather fitting, for a Huntsman, he thinks.]
Is it even possible to avoid them? I thought he said they were connected to fear.
[He can't imagine living a life without fear. It's defined so much of his existence, especially with the Semblance that he has.]
[ Oh, Qrow knows Jon! Gerry smiles a little when Qrow brings up the guy who was asking for stories and nods. ]
Sounds like you met Jon. Yeah, we're from the same world, and we're both bound to a power that some call the Eye. That connection means we can...I guess you'd call it know things we shouldn't, but he's probably better at it than me. My connection's not as strong.
[ Qrow's question is a good one, and Gerry falls silent for a moment, thinking. ]
Yeah -- they are fear. Fear at work. You can't really avoid them so much as you can defend yourself against them. Best thing to do with the Lonely is to be with the people you love. [ Yes, it sounds cheesy, but Gerry is saying all this with nothing but the most earnest of seriousness. ] If you can't do that, at least think about them.
[We can know things we shouldn't. He hadn't asked Jon for details, but he remembers running into him on that mountain, the way he'd somehow known it was Qrow's fault when he tripped on a stone and Qrow had caught him before he fell. It explains a bit. Being bound to kind of supernatural knowledge entity also explains what he'd guessed in their first conversation, that asking for stories was not optional.
The man had fallen to the back of his mind over the last month, but he should look that guy up again sometime. Maybe ask if he needs more of the stories to sustain him, after that last month where everyone was shut up in their own homes when not fighting actively for their lives.]
Huh. Is he a ghost too?
[Gerry had said he had been bound to a book as a ghost, and that he was bound to this power, so it makes sense to think the two situations are connected, anyway. He shakes his head.]
...That all sounds complicated, though. At least with our fear-monsters you can just chop their heads off.
[He has no disdain to offer for Gerry's perspective, cheesy or otherwise, because he gets it. But he's hesitant to talk about his own loved ones--ironically, out of fear. Back in July, one of his nieces had been murdered by someone with a grudge. And now the other one has been killed as well...and went home, according to Ruby. It's a difficult thing to cope with, and he's almost relieved when the waitress shows up to drag him out of those thoughts. ...Not that he even has any idea what he wants. In the past, coffee was rarely more than a vehicle for alcohol or one for sobering up from alcohol, after all.]
Oh, no, definitely not. At least, not when I knew him. I hope he's not a ghost.
[ Gerry seems awfully horrified at the very thought. He doesn't want to dump this on someone he's basically just met, but being a ghost bound to the skin book is nothing short of torture. To be dead and still in the living world is painfully, existentially wrong. It's an experience Gerry never wants to have again, and he definitely doesn't want Jon to go through what he went through. He doesn't want anyone to go through what he went through.
Thankfully, Qrow circles the conversation back to the Remnant monsters, and Gerry has to laugh a little at the idea of chopping their heads off. He really does wish that dealing with the Entities were that simple. ]
Yeah, that doesn't really work with mine. But sometimes you can encase some manifestations in solid concrete, or set others on fire.
[ Good stuff! The waitress arrives just as Gerry's discussing setting things on fire, and she mercifully does not comment on Gerry and Qrow's conversation. She does look at the two of them like they're completely crazy, though. This does not seem to bother Gerry in the slightest, and he happily orders: ]
Short stack for me, thanks.
[ The waitress leaves. Gerry's mind is still on Qrow and other people in Remnant just going around chopping the heads off monsters. The whole thing is strangely fascinating -- it's such a different kind of battle against fear than what he knows. Gerry is curious to learn more. ]
So I'm guessing you go around killing monsters, huh? Did you go to a...school for that, or something?
[ Gerry knows that Ozpin teaches at one, and is pretty confident that that's what the schools train people to do, although he's not entirely sure. ]
Oh. I thought that the book and the power you mentioned were connected.
[Evidently not, based on how horrified the younger man looks. So that's an entirely different situation with some other cosmic supernatural bullshit. Qrow frowns at the thought. Why did there always have to be so many different layers of nonsense?]
He said they leak in from outside your planet, right? Ours are uh, home-grown, you could say. Fire works for them, but concrete's a new one. Probably not worth the effort, either...unless that just happened to be your Semblance, I guess.
[He shrugs. There's also the fact that Ruby's eyes could turn them to stone, but that is still something he's not going to talk about to people outside of Remnant. It's too risky, in case Salem ever shows up and tries recruiting again, even though the war would be pointless to resume here in Deerington.
The waitress leaves, and Gerry's next question hits a little closer to home than he expected. He rubs at his neck.]
I mean, I did. But I was good at killing monsters before that. Kinda comes with the territory, when you grow up outside the main kingdoms.
Edited (Left a bit hanging there whoops) 2020-11-06 05:36 (UTC)
[ As Qrow spends more time with Gerry, the reason why Gerry is Eye-aligned probably becomes more and more apparent: he has a tendency to watch others, to not shy away from intense observation or eye contact. It serves Gerry well, most of the time, and he notices the way Qrow rubs at his neck. Gerry thinks he saw Qrow do that earlier, and reads it as something that could be a nervous gesture. Maybe Qrow doesn’t like talking about his childhood? Gerry gets that.
He decides to circle back to the fears, at least for now. ]
I mean, nobody really knows exactly what these things are like or where they come from. As far as I can tell, they’re both beyond the universe but also part of it, you know? They literally are fear. Human fear, animal fear, all that.
[ And since Qrow mistakenly thought that Gerry’s existence after death was because of the Eye’s influence, Gerry elaborates a little more. Also, he just like to talk. ]
Where I’m from, a lot of people split up these powers into fourteen different entities, to try and make sense of them. I marked myself for the Eye, but the book that I got bound to after I died belonged to a different one, called the End.
[ Then, because he is very genuinely interested in learning about Qrow’s very strange world: ]
What’s a Semblance? Is that some kind of weapon?
[ Since presumably it’s related?? To fire?? This is probably a safe, non-baggage-loaded question. ]
[He rather appreciates the subject being dropped. Qrow doesn't talk to people about his past before Beacon often. There's only a few people who know, and only one he's told willingly. It's easier to ignore that part of him like it never existed, even though he knows he'll never fully escape it. He's a Branwen, after all.]
Yeah...Jon mentioned those when we talked. The Lonely is one of them, right? They sound like a pain to deal with. How do you end up marking yourself? In Remnant, Grimm get drawn to any kind of negative emotions, but they don't exactly focus on any specific targets when they appear. Anybody that happens to be nearby'll be in trouble.
[He shrugs, vaguely, but...ah. That question. Once again, Qrow looks uncomfortable, breaking the eye contact Gerry'd held, looking out past him at the opposite wall instead. It's very interesting, you see.]
...Right, I keep forgetting I need to explain that to people. Uh. On Remnant, every living thing with a soul has an Aura they can manifest into a form for combat, to protect and heal their body. A semblance is an aspect of that, for people who've unlocked them--a power you can tap into, from your soul.
[Please don't ask him what his semblance is, please don't ask him what his semblance is please--]
Yeah, the Lonely’s one of them. That one is a real pain to deal with, mind you. Tries to make you comfortable, so you want to be its victim, but at the same time, it’s not a good source of comfort.
[ The Lonely was especially difficult for someone like Gerry, who grew up more or less isolated, to deal with. It’s tried to mark him in the past, but thankfully, it’s never succeeded. By now, Gerry is an old pro at dealing with that particular fear.
In response to Qrow’s question, Gerry holds up his hand, so that Qrow can see his knuckles. There’s a small tattoo of an eye on each. ]
Like this. It doesn’t have to be a physical mark, though. Just has to be a deliberate choice. Wouldn’t recommend it though. Only reason I marked myself was I got involved with the Fears when I was really young, and needed the protection.
[ Gerry would really like it if as many people as possible could avoid the fears!
Then Gerry asks his question, and once again, Qrow looks uncomfortable. Drat. Gerry listens anyway — this semblance stuff is fascinating. He’s about to ask if Qrow has a semblance. What’s his special power? Gerry opens his mouth, but lucky for Qrow, doesn’t get to say anything — the waitress has arrived with pancakes for the both of them. She sets them down, and is about to pour syrup on Qrow’s, when her grip slips and she spills the syrup all over the table.
Gerry, of course, is watching the whole time. It’s what he does. The waitress seems awfully disgruntled and perplexed, but Gerry doesn’t seem bothered by the syrup. He’s not looking at the syrup, or at the waitress.
Now I see why he compared it with the Apathy I told him about. Nasty type of Grimm that makes you lose the will to fight back.
[He still sees those damn things shambling toward him, set ablaze, in his nightmares sometimes. Gerry explains the concept of marking, and Qrow's very curious about the idea of these Fears being able to offer protection in addition to being a threat, but that's when the waitress shows up. He wouldn't have thought twice about it, but then the syrup spills all over the table, and he grits his teeth, hissing in frustration. He doesn't even notice Gerry staring at him as he grabs his napkin, letting the silverware clatter on the table while he starts wiping up syrup. He also waves off the waitress' distress]
It's fine, I don't need fresh pancakes. Don't worry about it. Could you bring more napkins? I can take care of cleaning it up.
[There's more to his tone than just graciousness, though. He practically sounds apologetic.]
[ Qrow’s tone is apologetic, even though the waitress was the person who spilled the syrup. Gerry registers that too. He’s getting the sense that something isn’t quite right here. Something isn’t normal.
Gerry takes his own napkin off his lap and dips it into his cup of water, then begins wiping down the syrup that’s spilled closest to him. He joins Qrow in waving off the waitress. ]
We’ve got it from here, thanks.
[ The waitress is all too happy to leave. Gerry barely notices, though — he’s still too busy looking at Qrow. Slowly, as if he’s testing something out: ]
[Qrow freezes when the accusation hits, deer-in-headlights expression seizing him before he stares down at his syrup-soggy pancakes instead. But unlike the last time with Jon on that mountain, he doesn't panic. This man had said they were affiliated to the same power, after all. It makes sense that he could guess, too. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, reaching over toward the silverware to cut into a pancake, just for something to do with his hands.]
[ Gerry watches Qrow cut into his pancake, not meeting Gerry’s eyes and shaking a little, as if he’s nervous. For Gerry, there’s a sense in which Qrow’s posture and his words don’t match up. Most of the people Gerry knows who cause misfortune do it intentionally. Qrow’s body language suggests that he would prefer to do anything but. That, for Gerry, speaks volumes.
Gerry, frankly, doesn’t think a person’s magic powers have much bearing on what kind of a person they are. He’s living proof of that, and so is Jon. So he’s tempted to wave off Qrow’s admission with a joke and an easygoing smile, but it seems like this is something that really upsets Qrow. Gerry doesn’t want to trivialize it. ]
Huh. Well, thanks for telling me. But it’s all good, really. I mean, no offense, but I’ve met people with way more messed-up powers than what, bad luck? [ In a lighter tone, half-joking: ] You should see the avatars who serve the eldritch manifestation of throwing people off of buildings for fun.
[ Gerry slides his syrup-free plate of pancakes over towards Qrow. ]
Besides, it seems to me that you don’t bring just misfortune. After all, you saved my life. You want fresher pancakes? This is your thanks-for-keeping-me-from-dying-again meal.
[It's said in Remnant that a Semblance reflects someone's personality, or perhaps the other way around. Either way, it's always been a difficult thing for Qrow, to know the unique ability of his soul is...merely to cause harm by existing.
Back in Atlas, Clover had brushed him off with a joke and a wink, and he'd been shocked then. This, however, feels a step even beyond that. To hear that he is a harbinger of misfortune and find it less troubling than other things you've seen before, to find it less important than his chosen actions .... it's almost a little alarming, like it's too good to be true. Qrow's head jerks back up, and there's something in his gaze that seems like it's searching Gerry's for sincerity or a lack thereof. He doesn't know what to say. With Ruby, he'd gone on a walk after telling her because he was too afraid to see her reaction in real time. With Clover, the man had wandered off to pursue the Geist further while Qrow was left to process the other's reaction on his own.
Gerry doesn't appear to be going anywhere, and there is no room for Qrow to escape. The younger man pushes his own plate of pancakes toward him, and he just sort of stares at them haplessly, struggling to reboot his brain enough for any kind of proper response. He's never .... told anyone about this and been offered reassurance about it, even in those rare experiences where its existence simply didn't matter to the other party. He certainly has never been offered pancakes.]
...Uh. I--no, it's...fine. I don't mind.
[He legitimately is enough of a human garbage disposal that syrup soggy pancakes are still edible. And to highlight this point, he just spears off a section of one and starts chewing it. It's easier than accepting Gerry's share, anyway.
There's a dreaded awkward silence for a good ten to fifteen seconds, then he sort of huffs an uncomfortable sound that's not quite a laugh.]
Launching off cliffsides is the preferred training method at Beacon, anyway.
[ As Qrow searches Gerry’s expression, he’ll find that Gerry is still carrying himself similarly to how Qrow first met him — watchful, but not judgmental. There’s no pity in his expression, either. Gerry really does mean what he said: Qrow is not nearly the most unfortunate-powered person he’s come across. Not by a long shot.
Gerry is probably prone to making snap judgments about people, a reflex developed by a life and death alone, desperate for any company. Right now, Gerry thinks Qrow is a good person. He saved Gerry’s life, he seems to care that his own powers put people in danger. He seems to dislike that. It reminds Gerry of Jon, and that’s a good thing. There’s no person Gerry trusts in the world more.
Then Qrow makes an attempt at a laugh, and Gerry’s face breaks into a wide grin. Good! A joke! That’s great! ]
Mm, you people would fit right in with the Fairchilds. I don’t think I could ever pull that off in one of my classes.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text; un: pageburner
Gerry wasn’t up for much heartfelt thanks when Qrow met him. He wasn’t exactly present for most of the encounter. But Gerry knows now that if Qrow hadn’t found him, Gerry would most likely be dead. So it’s better to thank him later, rather than never. ]
Hey this is Gerry you saved my life last month
Just wanted to reach out and say thanks since I probably didn’t thank you properly then, sorry about that
Also wanted to make sure you survived the month alright
So thank you and I hope you’re alive
un: harbinger
Still, curiosity has him sitting up in bed to read it.]
heh
survived's a strong term but i'm alive enough
can't say i'm exactly used to getting a lot of thanks for my job, either
don't worry about it
no subject
Yeah I’ve found people aren’t usually into actually saying “thanks for saving my life” out loud thing but oh well
If this is your job you should really hear it more often
[ and since it seems like qrow hasn’t been thanked enough: ]
Do you want a coffee or something? Obviously it’s not the same favor but it’s on me
no subject
usually people are too busy screaming and running from the monsters i'm killing
fair enough, really
[Coffee...he's not entirely sure his stomach can handle that yet, but he can always take it home if he finds he's not feeling well.]
sure, why not
where?
text > action
Usually the people I try to help don’t know there’s bad stuff out there and so they mostly get confused and think I’m weird
But better they’re confused than dead
[ wow gerry that’s a real chipper outlook on life! ]
How about the diner around 3?
[ If Qrow agrees, Gerry will be at the diner a little before 3, sitting at a booth near the window and sipping a mug of black coffee. He definitely looks better off now than he did in October — he’s still a little tired, of course, but no longer filled with panic or fear. At this point, the worst that can probably be said is that his dye job is in need of major work — his roots are seriously coming in. Between that and the small tattoos of eyes on each of his joints, his look is either cool and grunge-y or messy and strange, depending on who you ask and how charitable they’re feeling. ]
no subject
it's pretty hard not to know in remnant
[Considering negative emotions draw them .......]
it's still a little weird to think about worlds where daily life isn't based around them honestly
either way, not being dead is definitely ideal
[He's a bit curious why people don't know, in Gerry's world (if it's a situation like Ozpin hiding the truth, or some other reason), but that can wait until they talk in person.]
see you then
[Walking to the cafe turns out to not be the best course of action. He ends up needing to sit down and rest halfway out of the damn house, and he swears under his breath before tapping into the little spark of magic inside him and shifting into a bird. It's possible he won't be able to make it like this, either, at which point he'll need to suck it up and cancel (and probably admit to Deathflu), but he's giving it his best shot anyway.
Luckily his wings cooperate with him this time, and he manages to stay airborne all the way out to the diner. It's turning back that proves the challenge, though--his legs threaten to buckle almost immediately as they touch the ground, and he has to clutch onto the windowsill with one hand to hold himself upright.
By the time he gets inside, he's a little flushed and shaky, certainly not in any shape to judge Gerry's appearance. His own clothes are a bit disheveled, that "rolled out of bed" look except he literally did just roll out of bed before coming here.
None of this means he isn't going to try to play it cool, though. He scans out across the patrons of the diner before spotting the young man seeming to be sitting alone, and walks up to him, pulling out a chair and leaning against the back.]
...Hey. Gerry, right?
no subject
When Qrow sits, Gerry gives the other man a nod and slides him a menu. ]
That’s me. Qrow, yeah? You weren’t kidding about barely surviving. Get whatever you want, that post-death illness looks awful.
[ Gerry does not seem especially bothered by talking about Qrow’s awfully recent demise — he says it all with the tone of someone who has seen all this before. ]
At least this place lets you eat after you come back from the dead. Take advantage of it. Where I’m from? [ Gerry sips his coffee. ] No such luck.
no subject
That obvious, huh?
[Ughhh, he feels like garbage but he thought he was doing a decent job hiding it. He tries to sit up a bit straighter, though it does little but make it more obvious that being upright is a bit of a strain still.
It's that last part that catches him off-guard--he startles and uh...falls off his chair? Ah.
He grabs the edge of the table roughly to try to drag himself up. Once he's sitting again, he stares at the young man across the table a little more sharply, as though he could possibly tell if there was any god-related shenaniganry afoot just by looking.]
Did ... did that uh, happen to you?
no subject
[ Qrow startles, and Gerry just kind of...stares? At him? There’s not much he can do, but Gerry does want to make sure this guy is okay. He’ll intervene if need be. It looks like Qrow is able to hold himself up though, and the sharp look is actually reassuring. Gerry, in fact, is able to detect eldritch nonsense just by looking, so Qrow’s strategy isn’t actually half-bad. ]
Oh, yeah. I died three years ago. Came back as a ghost bound to this awful book, nasty stuff, wouldn’t recommend it. Technically speaking, I’m still dead, but for whatever reason Deerington is letting me interact with the world and all that. [ Gerry offers a small smile that’s meant to be reassuring — Gerry genuinely considers himself lucky to be here.
He leans over and taps on the menu in front of Qrow. ]
Come on, make up your mind or I’ll choose for you.
no subject
[So much for being stealthy about this. He really is off his game, apparently. Qrow cards a hand through his hair, brushing away at the sweat that's gathered at his hairline. The short trip has exhausted him more than he'd like to admit.
But that doesn't stop him from scowling at the next part; with the initial shock passed, he looks a combination of horrified and deeply resigned to said eldritch nonsense. He waves his hand at the menu, apparently unconcerned with what's to be ordered.]
Let me guess, god bullshit?
[There's something deeply bitter in the way he says that, which can't be explained just in how tired and unwell he obviously is.]
no subject
Yeah, something like that. God isn't exactly it, but it's cosmic supernatural bullshit for sure.
[ Gerry looks back up at Qrow, and this time, there's something weirdly intense about his gaze, as if he's looking through Qrow rather than at him. ]
You definitely wanna avoid stuff like that, if you can.
[ But given Qrow's demeanor, Gerry suspects that the avoidance ship has sailed in Qrow's case. After a few moments of intense inspection, Gerry's gaze relaxes. Gerry has the information he needs -- Qrow is already marked. ]
Looks like the Lonely's after you. You got friends? You'll need them.
no subject
Oh--you're from that world.
[He can't remember if it had a name. It's been a very long couple of months.]
The guy who was asking for stories said the same thing to me.
[He'd also mentioned the Hunt as a possibility, and while he doesn't fully understand what that is, it sounded rather fitting, for a Huntsman, he thinks.]
Is it even possible to avoid them? I thought he said they were connected to fear.
[He can't imagine living a life without fear. It's defined so much of his existence, especially with the Semblance that he has.]
no subject
Sounds like you met Jon. Yeah, we're from the same world, and we're both bound to a power that some call the Eye. That connection means we can...I guess you'd call it know things we shouldn't, but he's probably better at it than me. My connection's not as strong.
[ Qrow's question is a good one, and Gerry falls silent for a moment, thinking. ]
Yeah -- they are fear. Fear at work. You can't really avoid them so much as you can defend yourself against them. Best thing to do with the Lonely is to be with the people you love. [ Yes, it sounds cheesy, but Gerry is saying all this with nothing but the most earnest of seriousness. ] If you can't do that, at least think about them.
cw: reference to alcoholism
The man had fallen to the back of his mind over the last month, but he should look that guy up again sometime. Maybe ask if he needs more of the stories to sustain him, after that last month where everyone was shut up in their own homes when not fighting actively for their lives.]
Huh. Is he a ghost too?
[Gerry had said he had been bound to a book as a ghost, and that he was bound to this power, so it makes sense to think the two situations are connected, anyway. He shakes his head.]
...That all sounds complicated, though. At least with our fear-monsters you can just chop their heads off.
[He has no disdain to offer for Gerry's perspective, cheesy or otherwise, because he gets it. But he's hesitant to talk about his own loved ones--ironically, out of fear. Back in July, one of his nieces had been murdered by someone with a grudge. And now the other one has been killed as well...and went home, according to Ruby. It's a difficult thing to cope with, and he's almost relieved when the waitress shows up to drag him out of those thoughts. ...Not that he even has any idea what he wants. In the past, coffee was rarely more than a vehicle for alcohol or one for sobering up from alcohol, after all.]
Uh....surprise me, I guess.
[Fuck. He is definitely going to regret that.]
no subject
[ Gerry seems awfully horrified at the very thought. He doesn't want to dump this on someone he's basically just met, but being a ghost bound to the skin book is nothing short of torture. To be dead and still in the living world is painfully, existentially wrong. It's an experience Gerry never wants to have again, and he definitely doesn't want Jon to go through what he went through. He doesn't want anyone to go through what he went through.
Thankfully, Qrow circles the conversation back to the Remnant monsters, and Gerry has to laugh a little at the idea of chopping their heads off. He really does wish that dealing with the Entities were that simple. ]
Yeah, that doesn't really work with mine. But sometimes you can encase some manifestations in solid concrete, or set others on fire.
[ Good stuff! The waitress arrives just as Gerry's discussing setting things on fire, and she mercifully does not comment on Gerry and Qrow's conversation. She does look at the two of them like they're completely crazy, though. This does not seem to bother Gerry in the slightest, and he happily orders: ]
Short stack for me, thanks.
[ The waitress leaves. Gerry's mind is still on Qrow and other people in Remnant just going around chopping the heads off monsters. The whole thing is strangely fascinating -- it's such a different kind of battle against fear than what he knows. Gerry is curious to learn more. ]
So I'm guessing you go around killing monsters, huh? Did you go to a...school for that, or something?
[ Gerry knows that Ozpin teaches at one, and is pretty confident that that's what the schools train people to do, although he's not entirely sure. ]
no subject
[Evidently not, based on how horrified the younger man looks. So that's an entirely different situation with some other cosmic supernatural bullshit. Qrow frowns at the thought. Why did there always have to be so many different layers of nonsense?]
He said they leak in from outside your planet, right? Ours are uh, home-grown, you could say. Fire works for them, but concrete's a new one. Probably not worth the effort, either...unless that just happened to be your Semblance, I guess.
[He shrugs. There's also the fact that Ruby's eyes could turn them to stone, but that is still something he's not going to talk about to people outside of Remnant. It's too risky, in case Salem ever shows up and tries recruiting again, even though the war would be pointless to resume here in Deerington.
The waitress leaves, and Gerry's next question hits a little closer to home than he expected. He rubs at his neck.]
I mean, I did. But I was good at killing monsters before that. Kinda comes with the territory, when you grow up outside the main kingdoms.
no subject
He decides to circle back to the fears, at least for now. ]
I mean, nobody really knows exactly what these things are like or where they come from. As far as I can tell, they’re both beyond the universe but also part of it, you know? They literally are fear. Human fear, animal fear, all that.
[ And since Qrow mistakenly thought that Gerry’s existence after death was because of the Eye’s influence, Gerry elaborates a little more. Also, he just like to talk. ]
Where I’m from, a lot of people split up these powers into fourteen different entities, to try and make sense of them. I marked myself for the Eye, but the book that I got bound to after I died belonged to a different one, called the End.
[ Then, because he is very genuinely interested in learning about Qrow’s very strange world: ]
What’s a Semblance? Is that some kind of weapon?
[ Since presumably it’s related?? To fire?? This is probably a safe, non-baggage-loaded question. ]
no subject
Yeah...Jon mentioned those when we talked. The Lonely is one of them, right? They sound like a pain to deal with. How do you end up marking yourself? In Remnant, Grimm get drawn to any kind of negative emotions, but they don't exactly focus on any specific targets when they appear. Anybody that happens to be nearby'll be in trouble.
[He shrugs, vaguely, but...ah. That question. Once again, Qrow looks uncomfortable, breaking the eye contact Gerry'd held, looking out past him at the opposite wall instead. It's very interesting, you see.]
...Right, I keep forgetting I need to explain that to people. Uh. On Remnant, every living thing with a soul has an Aura they can manifest into a form for combat, to protect and heal their body. A semblance is an aspect of that, for people who've unlocked them--a power you can tap into, from your soul.
[Please don't ask him what his semblance is, please don't ask him what his semblance is please--]
no subject
[ The Lonely was especially difficult for someone like Gerry, who grew up more or less isolated, to deal with. It’s tried to mark him in the past, but thankfully, it’s never succeeded. By now, Gerry is an old pro at dealing with that particular fear.
In response to Qrow’s question, Gerry holds up his hand, so that Qrow can see his knuckles. There’s a small tattoo of an eye on each. ]
Like this. It doesn’t have to be a physical mark, though. Just has to be a deliberate choice. Wouldn’t recommend it though. Only reason I marked myself was I got involved with the Fears when I was really young, and needed the protection.
[ Gerry would really like it if as many people as possible could avoid the fears!
Then Gerry asks his question, and once again, Qrow looks uncomfortable. Drat. Gerry listens anyway — this semblance stuff is fascinating. He’s about to ask if Qrow has a semblance. What’s his special power? Gerry opens his mouth, but lucky for Qrow, doesn’t get to say anything — the waitress has arrived with pancakes for the both of them. She sets them down, and is about to pour syrup on Qrow’s, when her grip slips and she spills the syrup all over the table.
Gerry, of course, is watching the whole time. It’s what he does. The waitress seems awfully disgruntled and perplexed, but Gerry doesn’t seem bothered by the syrup. He’s not looking at the syrup, or at the waitress.
He’s looking at Qrow. ]
no subject
[He still sees those damn things shambling toward him, set ablaze, in his nightmares sometimes. Gerry explains the concept of marking, and Qrow's very curious about the idea of these Fears being able to offer protection in addition to being a threat, but that's when the waitress shows up. He wouldn't have thought twice about it, but then the syrup spills all over the table, and he grits his teeth, hissing in frustration. He doesn't even notice Gerry staring at him as he grabs his napkin, letting the silverware clatter on the table while he starts wiping up syrup. He also waves off the waitress' distress]
It's fine, I don't need fresh pancakes. Don't worry about it. Could you bring more napkins? I can take care of cleaning it up.
[There's more to his tone than just graciousness, though. He practically sounds apologetic.]
no subject
[ Qrow’s tone is apologetic, even though the waitress was the person who spilled the syrup. Gerry registers that too. He’s getting the sense that something isn’t quite right here. Something isn’t normal.
Gerry takes his own napkin off his lap and dips it into his cup of water, then begins wiping down the syrup that’s spilled closest to him. He joins Qrow in waving off the waitress. ]
We’ve got it from here, thanks.
[ The waitress is all too happy to leave. Gerry barely notices, though — he’s still too busy looking at Qrow. Slowly, as if he’s testing something out: ]
Was that...you?
[ Gerry doesn’t sound judgmental, just puzzled. ]
no subject
...Yeah.
[Breathe in. Breathe out.]
It's my Semblance. I bring misfortune.
no subject
Gerry, frankly, doesn’t think a person’s magic powers have much bearing on what kind of a person they are. He’s living proof of that, and so is Jon. So he’s tempted to wave off Qrow’s admission with a joke and an easygoing smile, but it seems like this is something that really upsets Qrow. Gerry doesn’t want to trivialize it. ]
Huh. Well, thanks for telling me. But it’s all good, really. I mean, no offense, but I’ve met people with way more messed-up powers than what, bad luck? [ In a lighter tone, half-joking: ] You should see the avatars who serve the eldritch manifestation of throwing people off of buildings for fun.
[ Gerry slides his syrup-free plate of pancakes over towards Qrow. ]
Besides, it seems to me that you don’t bring just misfortune. After all, you saved my life. You want fresher pancakes? This is your thanks-for-keeping-me-from-dying-again meal.
no subject
Back in Atlas, Clover had brushed him off with a joke and a wink, and he'd been shocked then. This, however, feels a step even beyond that. To hear that he is a harbinger of misfortune and find it less troubling than other things you've seen before, to find it less important than his chosen actions .... it's almost a little alarming, like it's too good to be true. Qrow's head jerks back up, and there's something in his gaze that seems like it's searching Gerry's for sincerity or a lack thereof. He doesn't know what to say. With Ruby, he'd gone on a walk after telling her because he was too afraid to see her reaction in real time. With Clover, the man had wandered off to pursue the Geist further while Qrow was left to process the other's reaction on his own.
Gerry doesn't appear to be going anywhere, and there is no room for Qrow to escape. The younger man pushes his own plate of pancakes toward him, and he just sort of stares at them haplessly, struggling to reboot his brain enough for any kind of proper response. He's never .... told anyone about this and been offered reassurance about it, even in those rare experiences where its existence simply didn't matter to the other party. He certainly has never been offered pancakes.]
...Uh. I--no, it's...fine. I don't mind.
[He legitimately is enough of a human garbage disposal that syrup soggy pancakes are still edible. And to highlight this point, he just spears off a section of one and starts chewing it. It's easier than accepting Gerry's share, anyway.
There's a dreaded awkward silence for a good ten to fifteen seconds, then he sort of huffs an uncomfortable sound that's not quite a laugh.]
Launching off cliffsides is the preferred training method at Beacon, anyway.
no subject
Gerry is probably prone to making snap judgments about people, a reflex developed by a life and death alone, desperate for any company. Right now, Gerry thinks Qrow is a good person. He saved Gerry’s life, he seems to care that his own powers put people in danger. He seems to dislike that. It reminds Gerry of Jon, and that’s a good thing. There’s no person Gerry trusts in the world more.
Then Qrow makes an attempt at a laugh, and Gerry’s face breaks into a wide grin. Good! A joke! That’s great! ]
Mm, you people would fit right in with the Fairchilds. I don’t think I could ever pull that off in one of my classes.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)