apocalypsehowcomm | Smol August Catch-All

Who: Gil Arroyo and YOOOOU and Malcolm and Tim and Meredith, if you want to do something specific/different feel free to just throw it at me or PM me. (I'm not on plurk that much these days.)
When: Shortly after the kelpies, up until the events of the TDM shhh shhh I'm not the slowest ever.
Where: AROUND. Town, ADI apartments, etc.
Summary: Gil does his first real Poking About, finds a possible dive bar to make a Regular Spot, and looks in on ~~his son~~ Malcolm and his roommates. ...A few times.
Warnings: Alcohol, mild PTSD, mentions of stabby injuries.

IA - Closed to Apartment B1

He promised. Gil reminds himself that several times over on his way to Malcolm's place. He promised, after he got discharged from the infirmary he'd spend at least one night on Malcolm's couch. His apartment's couch. Whichever.

Gil sighs when he arrives, knocking on the door rather than using the key Malcolm already gave him. It would be rude to just walk in when he hasn't even met Malcolm's roommates. He has a small overnight bag in one hand, a pillow under one arm, and a light blanket in a tote bag.

And a resigned look on his face.

IB - Closed to Apartment B1

Well. Now that he knows (that he knows) Malcolm's roommates, he's a little more secure in inviting himself over. Which he does fairly often to poke his head inside and see how Malcolm is doing if he hasn't seen him elsewhere that day. And then there are days like today, when he brings dinner with him. Enough for everyone, but specifically tailored toward Malcolm "Most Food Makes Me Sick" Bright.

IC - Closed to Apartment B1

Gil showed up very early this time. He had a bad night. He figured at the very least Malcolm would be up.

He's making himself useful--and comfortable--cooking breakfast for The Kids. Plain scrambled eggs for Malcolm, and a fairly elaborate display of pancakes, bacon, French toast, and--is that the makings for avocado toast. It is.

Look, he's old, but he's also a widower who spends most of his day around millennials.

II. Pratty's C.A.V., a Gloucester institution - OTA

Gil has decided to take in some of the local color for a night. It doesn't look promising on the outside, with its neon-lined windows and cheap signage. It keeps the lack of promises on the inside. Gil has been to plenty of New York dives over the years, and the energy in this place is completely different. More languid. More suspicious, less aggressive. Regardless, even with his discount wardrobe, Gil stands out.

He shakes his head and steps up to take a spot at the bar, ordering himself a scotch--not top shelf, not bottom--to nurse while he takes in the clientele. His mind wanders eventually, back to the kelpies, the knife in his gut, and past that to bleeding on Nicholas Endicott's floor. The two incidents have tangled themselves up annoyingly in his mind.

He should probably have another couple of drinks before sorting them out.

III. Bonnie's Flophouse and surrounding neighborhood - OTA

He's heard about this place, met a couple of people who mentioned living here. Curiosity was going to lead him to it eventually. Unsurprisingly, the term flophouse is indeed accurate. He doesn't stay long, but he's clearly an outsider to the space, and he's just as clearly marking the faces he sees there.

Walking back toward the ADI apartments from the flophouse, Gil slows to a stop in the face of three young goons who clearly think they're looking at an easy target. One of them flips a knife open, and Gil's eyes are drawn to it for a moment, a twitch of irritation (anger) and nerves (fear) biting through him before he's entirely calm again.

"Evening," he says dryly. "I'm guessing the fact that I don't have anything worth stealing doesn't matter that much to you guys."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unfortunately for Shiroe, from Gil's perspective, he just added a plus one to the adversarial numbers. The new guy clearly isn't with these kids, but Gil has never been a big believer in the whole 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' thing.

His hand goes to his gun when the severed hand lands that close, and Gil squares off more firmly with the stranger. He keeps the kids in his periphery just in case, but when he growls, "Go home. Now," at them, they actually run.

Gil puts himself squarely between the retreating would-be muggers and the body parts guy. Hand stays on his weapon, but he hasn't pulled it yet. "I don't suppose you have permits for those traps."

It is almost entirely a joke.

"I don't actually have any traps--I was just trying to convince them to leave you alone." The severed hand pulses and dissolves into a swarm of spiders that skitter their way toward the shadows in a hurry. Shiroe seems as surprised by this as Gil likely is.

Regardless, he raises his now-empty hands to make it clear he's not a threat.

"Sometimes, my bag gives me things I didn't put in it, so I was improvising with that. Long story."

Gil nominally relaxes, at least letting his hand drop away from his weapon--and then the severed hand does that and he skips back a couple of steps, somehow more disgusted by the flood of spiders than the dismembered limb.

When the flood has ebbed, he looks at Shiroe, his look studying and curious, but not hostile. "I'll bet. Gil Arroyo. I take it you'd know what I mean if I said I'm really not from around here?"

The fear of the spiders gives Shiroe one last jolt of fear-energy to feed him. He probably ought to be more apologetic about it, but as a technoghost, fear is more important to him than food.

"Quite well, in fact. I'm Shiroe. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Though he sounds dubious when he says it. He approaches steadily, but cautiously, somehow making the slowness of his approach look like he's studying their surroundings instead of the man in front of him. To be fair, it's both.

The guy is weirder than the surroundings. "You staying at Bonnie's?"

He offers a handshake, then realizes (again) that maybe people don't do that where he's from.

Shiroe accepts the offered hand, though, his grip non-confrontational. He doesn't make the handshake into something competitive, but it's also not entirely limp-fish hand either.

"Yeah, I've been there for a couple of weeks now. I haven't seen you there though--are you in ADI housing?"

"Yeah, been staying there." He's not comfortable enough with or sure enough about this guy to make the distinction between staying with and working with explicit. Still, it's not a hard line to read between.

He smooths a hand down over his mustache, frowning. "Been here about the same. Little longer. Long enough to get caught up in the mess with the kelpies, if you heard about that."

Shiroe does recognize the difference--he's not staying in ADI housing, and is almost more working at ADI than with them. For him, it's a matter of the puzzle. He wants to untangle the mess, and help everyone get back home. Failing that, help them live here as comfortably as possible. It's just like before...

"Ah, you got here before me, then. I missed the kelpies."

"Be glad," he says dryly. "How are you finding it? Bonnie's?"

He's noticed a certain type of person preferring the space, and he's curious.

Smol August Catch-All - Closed and OTA

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cw: spiders (no images, not attacking)

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