08 . family drama

[necrolord]

Who: necrolord, Gideon, Harrow, Paul; Oscar, Ruby, Ozpin, maybe Qrow and Ange; possibly others.
What: Some kids robbed a lich and got their hands melted off. The fallout is messy.
When: April, following the party, network post, and Oscar's log.
Where: Bone House & Clockhouse

Content Warnings: Marked as needed. Note all the usual warnings of this character.

Comments

[lipochrome]

[ Old man strikes Gideon as not an entirely accurate way to describe this person. The nuns and cloisterites are old, compared to them, this guy practically has boyish charm.

(There's also the option that he's old in the way a Lyctor is old, but Lyctors don't host functional, warm dinner parties. They only host cold, distant, sexy ones.) ]

I mean, you're not even that old, but sure. Guess you just have a killer diet and workout routine.

[ What's his secret?? Gideon follows, looking forward to the hot chocolate more than the conversation. ]

[clocktowers]

[ He chuckles in the way of a man enjoying a private joke, and does not answer. He simply leads them into the kitchen, instead.

It is very little like the Bone House kitchen. There is a similar prevalence of vast marble countertops and grand stately windows for the breakfast nook, but here the space is cluttered with color and life. There are ferns dramatically overgrowing their pots by the window; someone's pothos has overtaken much of a wall; mixing bowls and cookware have been left out, in clashing shades of 1950's chipped enamel, with a jumble of notes like RUBY'S EXTRA AWESOME COOKIE SURPRISE and Please don't eat this. There are four cookbooks in sight, in various states of tattered disrepair. Someone's left a dogeared novel by the science-fantasy microwave. There are Dust shell casings, hopefully empty, by the fridge.

Ozpin waves her to a kitchen chair and goes clattering around for a pot and a pint of milk. Distantly, Ruby is chattering at Ange; Willow carries a conversation in tones of gentle exasperation; the ceiling creaks as Qrow walks upstairs. ]

We are glad to have you, you know. Many of us here were residents of the dream that came before this place. I suppose it has been an easier adjustment for us than for most, but one does get rather set in one's ways.

[lipochrome]

[ Gideon takes a seat, as instructed, her gaze fully trained on whatever the Please don't eat this note is attached to. Like, what if she ate it? What would happen? Doesn't this house know that a surefire way to get someone to eat something is to tell them not to?

Thinking about anything else -- about the bustle, or the voices, or the way that this place seems full in a way that hers doesn't, is too alienating. Best to focus on silly notes. ]

Honestly, Trench wasn't much of an adjustment for me, either.

[ Small talk is still something that's new for Gideon, but she's gotten a little better at it over the months. Better than Harrow, at least, which is saying absolutely nothing. But still. ]

I came from... well, you wouldn't know the place, so let's just call it the Spooky Empire. Full of molded-over catacombs and ghosts and necromancers and shit. This place is like the comics, compared to the Ninth.

[ They have fried dough here and everything!! ]

Anyway it's, uh. Cool to be here. [ manners, Gideon! ] Your garlic bread was good.

[clocktowers]

[ Genuinely everything she has just said— Spooky Empire, catacombs, necromancers— strikes him as concerning, particularly given the company Willow had admitted to keeping. He opts not to pursue it. ]

Well, I certainly appreciate the compliment. I don't often have reason to cook for company. [ It is only with Oscar's influence that he cooks so regularly at all. Regardless, he sets the milk to simmer and turns to her, interest piqued. ]

Adventure comics, I suppose? I've become something of a collector for literature from our assorted worlds.

nsfw topics

[lipochrome]

[ Other, more ghostly and illiterate goths might not want to broach this subject with this strange, weirdly kind man. He's got some strong teacher vibes, which are deeply incompatible with anything Gideon would consider horny.

However: Gideon has never really been one to read a room. ]

Yeah, sometimes. But mostly porn.

[ She says, matter-of-factly. This is a normal thing to say as a guest in someone's house. ]

You want some? It's not exactly smart-person stuff, but there are some pretty decent articles every once in a while. Like, tips to care for your sword on a budget, and stuff like that.

1/2

[clocktowers]

[ His face crumples in real time. ]

2/2

[clocktowers]

[ What's left is an expression of strained politeness and a marked uncertainty as to whether or not she is joking. Is sword a euphemism? Why do indecent comics contain advice on weapons maintenance? Who is this marketed for?

(He should not explore that last thought too closely; the entire Rose-Branwen family does come to mind.)

Why does she think it would appeal to him? ]

I— no, I think I will keep to my... preferred genres. Thank you.

[ This is an interaction that is going normally. ]

[lipochrome]

[ Gideon does not seem surprised or offended at Ozpin's strained expression. It's honestly not unexpected. Old people don't read dirty magazines -- Gideon would know. She grew up on a planet full of them.

She shrugs. ]

Your loss. My friend Sextus is working on a romance novel, you could try that instead? I don't think we have a lot of folklore or whatever, except for the Tome. [ a beat, thinking. ] And the Tomb. But that's dumb.

[ screw the mummified asshole who keeps ruining Gideon's chances! ]