(no subject)

[loose_cannon]

"Hey, uh . . . anyone here ever had to, you know . . . reconnect with anyone before?"

The question comes from a man seated at the edge of the forum. A heavy, fringed overcoat is draped over the back of the speaker's chair, and he's kicked his pair of dusty boots up on a nearby tabletop. Overall, it looks like the man would be more at home in the American west: he wears a bolo tie and bandana around his neck, embroidered denim shirt, heavy belt buckle holding up crossed gun holsters and reinforced jeans. The tanned, scarred skin of his face contrasts starkly with his shaggy white hair. At a glance, he appears to be (at least) in his late 40's, but his eyes have a youthful, fiery spark to them.

The gunslinger swings his boots down off the table so he can sit forward and pour himself another shot from a brown-bagged bottle.

"Family in particular?" He adds before taking a swig.

Comments

[sumarusfinest]

Armed, but with a stance that screams confidence with his weapon. An unfamiliar dress, but no clear signs of supernatural goings on in the man's demeanor. Consensus? Officer Suou is suspicious, but by no means jumping to any conclusions about the Nexus' newest inhabitant.

It's a step up form how he used to be. Really it's the gunslinger's question that draw's Katsuya away from the small bookstore he'd been perusing. An empty apartment and the sounds of a motorcycle bellowing to life still fresh in his mind, after all this time.

"It's never easy." Katsuya's reply is polite, but blunt. "With a parent there are expectations to impress, a sibling, expectations to protect."

[loose_cannon]

Jesse's blue eyes flick up and down, taking stock of the sharp-dressed man, careful to note any sidearms. He looks nonplussed by the confident posture.

"Yeah. You come wandering back and they've made up some strange, wrong version of you in their head. Good or bad. Then you have to go about disappointing them ... or trying to plead your case." He snorts and swirls his drink around in the glass. He does this for a few beats before he returns his focus back to the officer.

"Parents and siblings? Did you have to patch things up with both?"

[sumarusfinest]

Katsuya shakes his head slowly, his gaze shifting down and to the side as he considers how to respond. Whatever happened, he's not exactly eager to think about.

"No. I never got the chance to reconnect with my father. But I've seen it before, on the job. I have...a younger brother though." It's still have, right? No past tenses Katsuya, he's gone--not dead.

"Who are you trying to find?"

[loose_cannon]

"Ah yeah, sorry about your dad." He presses his lips together in a sympathetic frown. "At least you've got your brother? I never had any siblings, but I can see where they've gotta be great to have around, even if they can be a pain in the ass. They know your story."

Jesse runs a hand through his hair, fluffing it up even more. "Me? I'm approaching it from the other side. Trying to fit back in with my own kids. Life being crazy as it is, I don't want any regrets. Not for me or for them, you know?"

[sumarusfinest]

For a moment it's as though the floor has opened up under Katsuya. His stomach plummets. He doesn't want to think about Tatsuya. Not here, not now. It's easier to focus on the newcomer's situation.

"How old are your children?" The officer adjusts his tinted glasses in an attempt to hide his expression until he gets himself back under control. "Ah, apologies. I'm Katsuya Suou. If I'm going to pry into your business...I thought I ought to at least introduce myself."

[notalldead]

Jesse is loving this guy's look. He moseys over, looking every bit as western as the other man. Long scuffed duster, red bandanna around the neck, and of course, his big 'ol cowboy hat. The last one gets a polite tipping before speaking up.

"I'm kinda thankful that's not the case. I've seen bad reunions back where I'm from and it ain't never pretty. What with most of the states and a good portion o' Canada too gone to the zed."

He points at the chair opposite of the other man.

"Mind if I cop a squat?"

[loose_cannon]

Jesse gives his kindred spirit a nod, trying not to let his gaze linger too long on the green skin. The guy's clearly a mutant, and it's not polite to stare! He waves a hand at the empty chair across from him. "Be my guest."

He gives the bottle of mystery booze an inviting shake and sets it back on the table within reach of the other Jesse. "What do you mean, 'zed'?"

[notalldead]

"We call 'em zed cuz the term 'zombie' still gets some folk worked up. Don't like bein' reminded we're under attack by some critters straight from a Romero flick. Also, faster to holler 'zed' when you're too busy with yer guns."

Jesse takes a seat, pulling out his duster from under him before doing so and pushing it to one side. He's also glad to join him in the drinking! Even the undead can still appreciate something wet and intoxicating. Thankfully, there's another shot glass on hand, so he helps himself and slugs it back before talking again.

"Hopefully, y'all ain't got anything like that back where you hail from, stranger."

[loose_cannon]

He takes a moment to process the odd terminology, and thinks he gets the gist. He definitely doesn't know how this convergence of realities works, but he's seen enough odd things to just kinda roll with it.

Jesse sighs and traces a scratched name on the table. Some previous patron marking their seat. "Just so happens that we do. Some people call 'em wels. Some people call 'em reapers. Regardless of the name, they're sad husks. Used to be normal folks. All you can do is put 'em out of their misery."

[notalldead]

He raises a fresh shot glass. "Amen to that," and then belts it back. "Time to send 'em back and let the maker sort 'em out. Put 'em to rest." Funny that a zombie would say something like that, but then again, he's pretty aware for a zombie and his talk already seems to separate himself from these 'zed'.

"So what's this about reunions, pardner? You havin' to reconnect with an ex-missus? That's always a rough damn time."

[damn_yourself_early]

"Family can be tricky," notes a child in green and black. Is he wearing a crown? "It's especially hard if there's a lasting impression you've got to work against. What happened?"

[loose_cannon]

Jesse gives the kid a sideways glance, taking in the odd clothes. He figures he'll never tire of people-watching in this Nexus place. "Yeah, it takes a hell of a lot of time to undo that damage."

His chair creaks in protest as he leans back. Metal clinks against metal with the shift in his movement. "I was away from my family for five? Six years? Not much time at all when you're grown, but for kids, that's an eternity . . .

"It's hard to earn back someone's trust when you've left 'em in the lurch. Especially when they've been told again and again that you're bad news."

[damn_yourself_early]

"My brother would say that we have to do the right thing, no matter what it costs us. Even when they locked him in a dungeon, he said that. Even knowing it would cost his life. Maybe your kids have heard bad things about you, but do the right thing, and they'll see it," he offers. Which is, admittedly, un-Loki-like advice, but Loki the God of Mischief is trying to forge a different life for himself than Loki the God of Evil.

"I can say it's not easy, but you can change in people's eyes. They still don't trust me completely, but they don't hate me anymore. Well, not all of them."

[loose_cannon]

"Hah, yeah. I'm trying to spend more time on the high road these days." He slides his empty glass back and forth between his hands.

"Your brother sounds an awful lot like my son -- always gotta do the right thing. It's good and honorable, but yeah, sometimes it costs you. Or worse yet, someone pulls the wool over your eyes and the right you thought you were doing was wrong the whole time. It's a tricky business."

He gives Loki an appreciative look. "You got some deep thoughts for just a kid, you know?"

[damn_yourself_early]

Loki nods sympathetically. "Tricks are somewhat more my business than my brother's--but I've found that if you're really good at it, you can pull the wool over someone bad's eyes, and get them doing good when they think they're serving their own ends."

At the praise, Loki gives an offhanded shrug. "It's kind of a necessity. Everyone is big and strong, where I come from, and I'm... plainly not. So I've got to do something else."

[bestdadinamestris]

The military man in the blue uniform looks as though he's trying to find the right opening to answer the posed question for several minutes before approaching. Despite the slow approach, he carries an air of easy confidence as he walks up to the man at the edge of the Forum.

"Seems like most of us have family to get back to, though I reckon the situation isn't the same for all of us as it is for others." Hughes is trying to, subtly, point out that if a man is drinking that heavily while asking questions about reconnecting with family, he's obviously not in a good place. He tries not to give off an air of pity as he says it, but it's obvious to anyone who didn't miss the subtext in his statement.

[loose_cannon]

Jesse is, as of late, sensitive to any acknowledgement of his drinking habit. He rests an elbow on the table and props his chin on his hand, downplaying the now-mostly-empty bottle and glass. (Part of the credit for that goes to zombie-Jesse at this point.)

"What's your story, friend?" The military uniform is easy to pick out regardless of most origins. "Were you deployed somewhere away from yours?"

[bestdadinamestris]

Hughes pulls up a chair to a respectable distance and sits. He ignores the booze bottle and the glass. To each his own, especially when it comes to coping with family issues.

"I'm lucky enough to live near where I'm stationed, though I suppose that's a perk of being near the top in my branch. I get to go home to my wife and daughter every night." Old habits die hard. Despite the obvious pain Jesse has regarding his situation, Hughes pulls a photograph out of his pocket and holds out it out for Jesse to see. "Luckiest man alive to go home to these smiling faces every night." A smile slowly creeps across his face. No matter how much being stuck in the Nexus downright sucks, the thought of his girls keeps him going.

[loose_cannon]

"Lovely family." Jesse allows himself a smile at this dad kinship, and takes a good look at the offered photo.

"Military duty is tough. I used to serve when I was younger. Gotta say, it was a challenge putting in long, hard hours on a mission and then coming home to a fussy toddler. My son was, a uh, surprise and I was young. I didn't have a ton of patience or maturity back then.

"But don't get me wrong! I still love both my kids to pieces." He unfastens the breast pocket of his shirt and pulls out an envelope. From this there comes an old, worn photo of his own family: a smiling woman in rustic clothes sits on a porch step with a toddler of indeterminate gender and a bowl-cut-wearing preteen boy gathered up next to her.

"You seem like you're all on board for the parenthood thing? I wish I'd had your enthusiasm. At least, enough to properly appreciate my kids when they were just tiny things."

[bestdadinamestris]

"I got my active away-from-home duty done long before my wife and I were married. I knew her before that, but she was kind enough to wait for me." Damn I'm a lucky man. He doesn't rub it in anymore than that. He feels bad about gloating as much as he has already, a rarity for him.

After gently putting away his own photo, Hughes leans forward and looks over the one Jesse holds out to him. He can't help but smile. "A lovely family. I wish you luck in reconnecting with them."

He leans back in his chair slowly. "I've been on board with the parenting thing all my life. I always wanted kids and the moment my wife said she was ready? I couldn't have been happier. Suppose that's not hard, though, given my daughter." A small chuckle escapes him before he regards this unlikely brother-in-arms in front of him with a rather somber expression on his face. "There's always a chance to make up for sins of the past. If they're good people, they'll recognize the effort you're making and will give you the second chance you're looking for."

[bitterguardian]

"...In a manner of speaking, yes. It ended well for me, and for him, but I realize there's never a guarantee of that. Meeting people one knows- or think they know, in the Nexus, can go either way." He pauses and leans on his cane, nodding to the other man politely. Horvath appears a few decades older, perhaps, tall and heavyset and well dressed in a tailored but slightly threadbare suit. There are gem-laden rings on nearly every finger, just a little incongruous with the 20th century cut of his clothes.

[loose_cannon]

"Glad you got it sorted out. 'Cause yeah, sometimes the other party isn't keen on reconnecting at all. They just want to cut ties and have it done with. I don't blame folks who'd rather do it that way. Less messy ... usually."

Jesse cocks his head, interested. This man seems to know a thing or two about this world-between-worlds. He notes the cane and waves to the empty seat across from him. Take a load off!

"What do you mean by people 'they think they know'?"

[bitterguardian]

"There are certainly people I'd rather not reconnect with, here or anywhere..." He nods mildly, and moves to the chair with a rocking limp that hints more at poor balance than a non-weight-bearing leg. He doesn't look at all infirm, apart from that.

"Mmm. Have you been here long? There are sometimes... what's referred to as alternates. It's possible to run into versions of people who look familiar to you, but who've had a somewhat different path in life than you know they've had in your own world. Or even versions of yourself who chose a different course. I've been fortunate enough not to meet any other version of myself here, but I have met people who knew a man I... perhaps could have become, with just a different choice or two along the way. People mistook me for him, at least briefly." He gives a thin smile that isn't really a smile at all. If he ever does meet his alternate, he'd like to knock his lights out. "It wasn't a pleasant experience."

[loose_cannon]

"I haven't been here long. I'm still learning all the rules and lingo." When the other man takes a seat, Jesse plays the good host and offers a drink.

"Alternates? So it's not just unique worlds that are linked here? All the possibilities in between? Shit. That's crazy."

His eyes light up with a sudden thought. "Say ... you ever run into someone who died in your world, but they're alive in another?"

[bitterguardian]

"Ahh, welcome to the Nexus, then. It has it's good and bad points." He hesitates, on being offered a drink, because while he doesn't want to appear rude, there's also some Nexus etiquette lessons everyone has to learn sooner or later. "...Thank you, but no thank you. It can be risky to accept food and drink from anyone you don't know well, here. I mean no offense, but..." His smile is apologetic and not at all unfriendly, but they have only just met.

"And yes, this is a crossroads of realities. I... haven't met anyone deceased from my own world here, yet, but I understand it's very much a possibility."