text; un: harbinger

[bolstafir]

welp
looks like we found the new october

[Immediate kill bill sirens at the lack of sunrise tbh.]

if you're not stocked up on supplies do it sooner rather than later
before the other shoe drops and it gets too dangerous to go outside
last time the sun didn't come up it it came with everyone's running water all turning to blood and nobody could sleep while monsters were prowling around anywhere you could get food and attacking your place if you ran out of incense
just because it's quiet now doesn't mean it's gonna stay that way
be careful

[About ten minutes later, the post gets edited with an addendum:]

also i guess if you can't fight and end up needing shit, lemme know

[Look he can't just offer help publicly and not act at least a little grouchy about it. Who do you take him for, Ruby?]

Comments

feel free 2 ignore if this is too crusty

[bolstafir]

[Trust Ange to cut right to the heart of the matter straightaway. Qrow all but flinches as though he has been caught out, forced to admit to something that's shameful in some way.]

It's...not so much that I don't trust it. I mean, that's the kind of thing that could happen to us any time, around here.

[His arm is still rubbing idly at the back of his neck. He really would prefer to never acknowledge having feelings about anything, at all, ever, but to be loved requires the mortifying ordeal of being known, yadda yadda, etc.]

Just--y'know...it's permanent, right? That's kind of a lot to ask of someone. To have to deal with ... everything, all the time...forever.

[clearly His Shit is worse than anything he would have to deal with on his end, of course. that's just how it works when you have The Depressions.]

please i will take every opportunity to burst into your inbox like the koolaid man

[entreats]

[ Ange may not know the other perfectly. But even with what she does know, and with what he's saying here, Ange knows what he really means as he's saying it.

There's absolutely no way Qrow is concerned about dealing with 'everything' coming from the other person, as long as it's someone he's close to. He's obviously concerned about the other party having to deal with his everything. She can tell without him having to say it. ]

I.. [ She slowly starts. ] I think we both know that Ruby would never mind dealing with any part of you. Even if it's forever.

[ That's how Ruby is, after all. Ange knows the way she talks about Qrow, or the way she looks at him. He means so much to that girl. ]

But I understand it could still be a lot.

[ Because even when you figure that the other might not mind, it could be hard to step over your own idea about that. It's one thing to know things rationally, and another to know things emotionally. She could see how Qrow might struggle with it from his awkward admission here, even though she's fully well aware he knows Ruby loves him to no end.

There's a faint moment of hesitation, since Ange sure doesn't want to make this all about her, but she figures that this might help a little. Just to share in the experience for a moment. Especially when Qrow seems to be taking her seriously enough here to discuss this in a serious way with her, rather than dismissing her for being so much younger.

Maybe it means he might see some merit in hearing about her own experiences with it, since it's not like connecting with people is the easiest thing in the world for Ange either, even if the reasons behind it may be a little different. ]

For me.. I figured that Ruby had already seen the worst of me, you know? And she's always been willing to put up with me, despite that. So making the bond on top of it didn't feel like going a step further anymore.

eeeeexcellent

[bolstafir]

[There's a hesitation on Qrow's end, because it's not as though he doesn't understand what she's getting at, and it's not like he doesn't realize what it takes for her to open herself up a little like this for his benefit. He does appreciate it, but it's just...not that simple, to him.]

Just because she'd be willing to put up with all that doesn't mean she should have to.

[He sighs. Maria told him once that he was underestimating her. He probably sounds like he is again now, and he doesn't mean to, but the fact remains that he's still more than twice her age, that he's her uncle, and she shouldn't have to deal with that constant onslaught of bullshit in his own head. He remembers how worried she got about him, back in Brunswick Farms, when he'd really hit bottom ... but it's not as though he isn't still a mess, even if he's doing better these days.

Qrow stops walking, finally, but he doesn't turn to look at her, staring up at that daytime moon instead. Let yourself be something new, huh. Easier said than done, at times.]

...I don't know if Ruby ever told you, but I had ... problems, with drinking, for years. Things were -- rough, after her mom died, and --

[His voice catches for a moment, there. He himself only rarely talks about Summer, or what the family went through after she was gone. It's difficult to remember those early days when the grief was raw and fresh, even all these years later.]

She's had to worry about me for a long, long time, is all. I don't want her to have to do it more, now that she's finally got a chance to relax and live her own life.

[entreats]

[ Soon after he stops walking, Ange does too. But she doesn't let her gaze drift upwards to the sky. Instead she just turns to look at Qrow as he's standing there and talking. Instead - Ange just patiently listens.

Especially since she does know that Ruby's past has been a little muddy. Maybe Ange doesn't know every single detail, but she doesn't have to. Somewhere between the way Ruby speaks about it, and the way Qrow speaks about it, she knows enough without having to know everything. Just the gist by itself is enough.

She folds her hands together as she thinks, this time not really saying anything about herself or giving advice when she speaks up. Instead she just asks: ]

Then.. how do you see your ideal version of the kind of relationship you'd like to have with Ruby now?

[ Sure, there's already hints of it sprinkled in everything he says. But rather than Ange wanting to hear the answer, it's more that she might want him to have to think about it a little concretely here, helping him work his way through his thoughts. ]

And do you think she would have the same idea of it?

[bolstafir]

[Ange please, you can't just be making Qrow feel his own feelings, he is terrible at this.

Qrow shifts uncomfortably at the question, and for a moment appears to be visibly floundering. He's never really thought about ideal circumstances in just about anything in life, always looking toward the worst case scenarios and damage mitigation instead. One of the key factors in his decision to stop drinking was to distance himself from that worst version of himself, after all.]

I...

[He has to close his eyes a moment, to steady himself.]

I'd like to be someone she can always count on. I didn't always do the best job of that.

[The second half of that question is quietly dodged.]

[entreats]

[ Sorry, Qrow. It's not like Ange doesn't get it. Feelings are hard, and talking about them is even harder - it's why she avoided doing so for the longest time, even after she actually started having people to talk to her feelings about in the first place.

But on the other hand.. she knows that you just sometimes have to bite the bullet and actually talk about this stuff. You can't just crop it up forever, or you just get lost over and over again in your own dumb feelings. Feelings that might be resolved if you were able to just talk about them, or maybe act on them a little. She's not planning on pushing this too far if at all possible, but just this little bit.. This doesn't feel like it's too far just yet, even if it might be a little uncomfortable for him. ]

I know I'm not Ruby. [ And that - therefore - Ange can't technically speak for her, no matter how close she and Ruby are. ] But.. I think you're plenty reliable for her now.

[ From Ange's point of view. For what that's worth.

Her fingers on one hand idly play with her fingers on the other as she speaks, glancing up at the dark sky. ]

Being able to count on someone has nothing to do with sometimes doing something for them in return. It's just.. about knowing that someone is always there when you need them. And I think Ruby knows that she can come to you here whenever she has a problem. Helping you once or twice in return doesn't just make that option disappear.

[ .. there's a faint pause, but then Ange slowly exhales. ]

Anyway, that's just what I think. [ Maybe she's trying to lift a little bit of weight off the talk, so it's not too much for poor mister feelings bird over here.. ] I can't say I'm an expert with tons of experience with this sort of thing, but sometimes it can help to hear things from a third party's perspective, I guess.