Break's eye narrows at the word. He does understand, but this time, it's not quite because of his own experiences. Not totally, at least. It's a combination of hindsight and the general existence of Vincent Nightray, who he'd have been delighted to never waste another thought on ever again. He springs to mind now not as an adult, fully-fledged piece of disgusting slime, but as the weird little kid Break saw in the Abyss, doing his damnedest to tear into the Will and ranting in delight when his success caused the dimension to crumble around them.
Yes, that's it...keep breaking just like that... If all the people break, and the world breaks, and everyone and everything goes mad...then I can be normal just like everyone else, right...?
He's reminded of what Reim told him of that awful little Baskerville girl, too, how she'd been driven from her village and her undying loyalty to Glen and the rest had come from finally being taken in, accepted, given a family. It was true of the lot of them, from what he's heard. Every last one of them, Vincent included, unwanted and cursed. Qrow could have become that little girl, vicious and violent and warped. He could have become any of the other Baskervilles, with such a mindless, unquestioning loyalty that he'd run off to commit massacres on orders alone. He wouldn't have had a chance to, because even that beloved place of refuge was still doing things like tossing the red-eyed kids into the Abyss to die. So, he could have become Vincent, narrowly escaping that fate and taking a nasty glee in clawing everyone around him to shreds as he slowly cultivated his own plans. Breaking them all.
Qrow had Ozpin instead, and it was Ozpin who inspired him to want to be better than he was. Qrow has said as much himself. And yet, still, the eery echo of that awful little child, who Break understands a great deal better, now. He'd just wanted to be normal. And when he'd landed in the future, he'd been tossed into Nightray, where he'd have been rejected outside of his use to them as a pawn. What might have happened if...?]
...no one in my household is "normal".
[It's wrong to say Break feels compassion for Vincent, in much the same way that he can't feel compassion for other illegal contractors. Even with how much he's come to understand, Break hates him. To have literally any of Vincent's words influence anything he would say to Qrow feels disgusting. Even so, Break is always looking for reasons why he's here, despite himself. Maybe this is one of them. Just as Shelly said, maybe it matters that Break would hear a traumatized little boy say that word all those years ago and now find himself here, in front of a grown man he's come to respect very much expressing a much more wistful, longing version of that same sentiment. A man with red, red eyes.]
No one in this house...is fully human, save for Elliot. And even he wound up being rather more than he bargained for, in a way he never would have chosen. No one in this house has had a normal life; those who believed they did found their existences to be illusions built on lies. That's why...it doesn't matter to me what anyone here is. What matters to me is what they choose to do, and in that sense you've already proven over and over that the person you've decided to be is exactly the sort of person I want at my side.
[In contrast to the wounded sighing coming from Qrow, Break's voice is devoid of its usual lilt, and instead his tone is gentle and certain. This is what comes of his long, thoughtful silence as he rearranged this and that in his head.]
I regret that -- you feel as though you've lost something, admitting this to me. I can't give that back to you. However, you are welcome in my house, where having a weirdness about you only means you'll fit in just fine, and...where every last one of us has already lived through at least one "worst day of our lives", and the odd accident doesn't even compare. If the Will of the Abyss herself can go floating about in here pleased to be "just Alice", I see no reason why you can't continue to be "just Qrow".
no subject
Break's eye narrows at the word. He does understand, but this time, it's not quite because of his own experiences. Not totally, at least. It's a combination of hindsight and the general existence of Vincent Nightray, who he'd have been delighted to never waste another thought on ever again. He springs to mind now not as an adult, fully-fledged piece of disgusting slime, but as the weird little kid Break saw in the Abyss, doing his damnedest to tear into the Will and ranting in delight when his success caused the dimension to crumble around them.
Yes, that's it...keep breaking just like that... If all the people break, and the world breaks, and everyone and everything goes mad...then I can be normal just like everyone else, right...?
He's reminded of what Reim told him of that awful little Baskerville girl, too, how she'd been driven from her village and her undying loyalty to Glen and the rest had come from finally being taken in, accepted, given a family. It was true of the lot of them, from what he's heard. Every last one of them, Vincent included, unwanted and cursed. Qrow could have become that little girl, vicious and violent and warped. He could have become any of the other Baskervilles, with such a mindless, unquestioning loyalty that he'd run off to commit massacres on orders alone. He wouldn't have had a chance to, because even that beloved place of refuge was still doing things like tossing the red-eyed kids into the Abyss to die. So, he could have become Vincent, narrowly escaping that fate and taking a nasty glee in clawing everyone around him to shreds as he slowly cultivated his own plans. Breaking them all.
Qrow had Ozpin instead, and it was Ozpin who inspired him to want to be better than he was. Qrow has said as much himself. And yet, still, the eery echo of that awful little child, who Break understands a great deal better, now. He'd just wanted to be normal. And when he'd landed in the future, he'd been tossed into Nightray, where he'd have been rejected outside of his use to them as a pawn. What might have happened if...?]
...no one in my household is "normal".
[It's wrong to say Break feels compassion for Vincent, in much the same way that he can't feel compassion for other illegal contractors. Even with how much he's come to understand, Break hates him. To have literally any of Vincent's words influence anything he would say to Qrow feels disgusting. Even so, Break is always looking for reasons why he's here, despite himself. Maybe this is one of them. Just as Shelly said, maybe it matters that Break would hear a traumatized little boy say that word all those years ago and now find himself here, in front of a grown man he's come to respect very much expressing a much more wistful, longing version of that same sentiment. A man with red, red eyes.]
No one in this house...is fully human, save for Elliot. And even he wound up being rather more than he bargained for, in a way he never would have chosen. No one in this house has had a normal life; those who believed they did found their existences to be illusions built on lies. That's why...it doesn't matter to me what anyone here is. What matters to me is what they choose to do, and in that sense you've already proven over and over that the person you've decided to be is exactly the sort of person I want at my side.
[In contrast to the wounded sighing coming from Qrow, Break's voice is devoid of its usual lilt, and instead his tone is gentle and certain. This is what comes of his long, thoughtful silence as he rearranged this and that in his head.]
I regret that -- you feel as though you've lost something, admitting this to me. I can't give that back to you. However, you are welcome in my house, where having a weirdness about you only means you'll fit in just fine, and...where every last one of us has already lived through at least one "worst day of our lives", and the odd accident doesn't even compare. If the Will of the Abyss herself can go floating about in here pleased to be "just Alice", I see no reason why you can't continue to be "just Qrow".