[ This time, Ozpin has the good sense to put down his drink. Rather than choking for a full minute on cocoa, he chokes much more briefly on nothing at all.
Right. Well. Acknowledging that last line not at all, Ozpin rubs his temples and considers his reply. ]
I find myself afraid to ask where this rumor originated. Does it still involve a pogo stick?
nah it sounds like the pogo stick is just the latest development this one's right from the horse's mouth or, you know the wizard's shared headspace he's got it real bad huh if ruby of all people can tell
[His schadenfreude about this is also probably the only reason he's not having hurt feelings rn about JAMES getting a text and not him tbh, let him have this]
[ This... is a difficult one to sidestep. He tries anyway. ]
Having read the group chat, I know to take her assertions with a certain grain of salt. Ruby has displayed a tendency to overhear a single piece of information and run with it, which I see she is doing again now.
And you know the connection is not quite so simple as that.
[ The connection is absolutely so simple as that. Ozpin is just skilled at keeping it a one-way flow of information, most of the time. ]
she also takes things literally enough that she thought people were actually doing taxes together in deerington where money is based on bullshit dream logic if she's reading into it there's already a book
i know you said your thoughts blend together and that oscar could hear things you didn't want us to know all the way back in anima
[Qrow has faith in Oz's promise now, after everything, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten.]
[ There is a long pause as Ozpin regrets approximately everything in his entire, several-millennia life. ]
James responded with stronger sentiments than I had anticipated, upon my return. It rather took me by surprise. That surprise is all Ruby is reacting to.
I assure you it's all far less interesting than you've made it sound.
Oz... looks at this text, considers it, and chooses very calmly not to engage with it whatsoever. Whatever is between James and Qrow is certainly broken now, and not his business besides, and he will gladly have nothing to do with it. ]
I am not going to provide transcripts of my every private conversation, Qrow. It is immaterial. We are not involved, and will not be. I don't believe there is any misunderstanding on James's part about that.
[ At least, after gently rebuffing the man half a dozen times, he would hope as much. It's not a lie, if one is being technical. ]
[This is a good choice for both of their sanity, honestly.]
well yeah you're involved with ford now but it might get messy if he's still carrying some kind of torch what with yknow everything that's going to happen.
[If James goes back to Remnant and experiences the future and comes back remembering his crush would that be better or WORSE he doesn't even know.]
[ Does James know he's dating Stanford? ... ... ... Well! It's not as though it's come up. The conversation will certainly be interesting when it does.
He opts not to say as much to Qrow. ]
I suspect if the situation is going to 'get messy' it will do so regardless.
[ Or: if ignoring it won't make things substantially worse, just ignore it! ]
yeah but there's tiers of messy with jimmy there's "bring a fleet of warships to a peace celebration" messy, "global dust embargo" messy and then "declare martial law and shoot a teenager off atlas" messy and that's BEFORE you get relationships in the picture
i mean think about it he did all that thinking he was doing the RIGHT thing imagine what kind of shit he'd actually feel bad about
[Anyone who says they've never done a petty thing out of spite that they regretted later is a liar. It is mildly terrifying and yet fascinating to consider James' potential version of that. Like the mental version of watching a trainwreck.]
I feel no desire to speculate on that. In any case, my relationship with James seems to be stable, and that is how I would like to keep it. Supposing there is anything at play, I would prefer to let it lie.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Right. Well. Acknowledging that last line not at all, Ozpin rubs his temples and considers his reply. ]
I find myself afraid to ask where this rumor originated.
Does it still involve a pogo stick?
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this one's right from the horse's mouth
or, you know
the wizard's shared headspace
he's got it real bad huh
if ruby of all people can tell
[His schadenfreude about this is also probably the only reason he's not having hurt feelings rn about JAMES getting a text and not him tbh, let him have this]
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... Perhaps it's rather too late for that, if her gossiping has already landed him here. Damn. ]
He merely expressed relief when she alerted him to my return. I cannot control what Ruby may have construed from it.
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it's ruby
i know you read the group chat
[She thought he slept in a spare room that didn't exist at Clover's house for months. Not to mention the whole taxes debacle.]
besides
not a lot of room for misinterpretation when someone can hear your thoughts, right?
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Having read the group chat, I know to take her assertions with a certain grain of salt. Ruby has displayed a tendency to overhear a single piece of information and run with it, which I see she is doing again now.
And you know the connection is not quite so simple as that.
[ The connection is absolutely so simple as that. Ozpin is just skilled at keeping it a one-way flow of information, most of the time. ]
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in deerington
where money is based on bullshit dream logic
if she's reading into it there's already a book
i know you said your thoughts blend together
and that oscar could hear things you didn't want us to know all the way back in anima
[Qrow has faith in Oz's promise now, after everything, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten.]
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James responded with stronger sentiments than I had anticipated, upon my return. It rather took me by surprise. That surprise is all Ruby is reacting to.
I assure you it's all far less interesting than you've made it sound.
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her exact words were that he had the hots for you and it wasn't even subtle
just how strong "sentiments" were these, exactly?
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He does have more regrets. ]
It was hardly anything dramatic.
[ This is a bald-faced lie: an I missed you from James Ironwood is equivalent to another man's shouting from the rooftops. ]
But you have met James. Any expression of sentiment comes as something of a surprise.
Still, you'll recall that I am attempting to maintain a stronger relationship here than at home.
[ Ozpin is truly an expert at trying for only the lowest of bars. ]
1/3
and anyway, he hugged me back in remnant before it all went to shit and i'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to be some kind of declaration
2/3
was it? james did get weird about finding out that he was dating clover . . . . . . .
nope. nope! nope nope nope. nah. not today,
satansalem.]3/3
i'm just saying
you've met ruby too
if she's not taking it as friendship there had to have been something
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Oz... looks at this text, considers it, and chooses very calmly not to engage with it whatsoever. Whatever is between James and Qrow is certainly broken now, and not his business besides, and he will gladly have nothing to do with it. ]
I am not going to provide transcripts of my every private conversation, Qrow. It is immaterial. We are not involved, and will not be. I don't believe there is any misunderstanding on James's part about that.
[ At least, after gently rebuffing the man half a dozen times, he would hope as much. It's not a lie, if one is being technical. ]
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well yeah you're involved with ford now
but it might get messy if he's still carrying some kind of torch what with
yknow
everything that's going to happen.
[If James goes back to Remnant and experiences the future and comes back remembering his crush would that be better or WORSE he doesn't even know.]
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He opts not to say as much to Qrow. ]
I suspect if the situation is going to 'get messy' it will do so regardless.
[ Or: if ignoring it won't make things substantially worse, just ignore it! ]
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there's "bring a fleet of warships to a peace celebration" messy, "global dust embargo" messy and then "declare martial law and shoot a teenager off atlas" messy
and that's BEFORE you get relationships in the picture
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That would be impressive, even for James.
[ ha ]
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he did all that thinking he was doing the RIGHT thing
imagine what kind of shit he'd actually feel bad about
[Anyone who says they've never done a petty thing out of spite that they regretted later is a liar. It is mildly terrifying and yet fascinating to consider James' potential version of that. Like the mental version of watching a trainwreck.]
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In any case, my relationship with James seems to be stable, and that is how I would like to keep it.
Supposing there is anything at play, I would prefer to let it lie.
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okay sure but what if he asks you out
i mean, this town does make you spill your guts about things like that from time to time
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And I am, as you've said, seeing Stanford.
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working with him after turning him down?
[He is having entirely too much fun with this.]
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I trust that somehow, we would manage.
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but if it gets awkward i reserve the right to say i told you so
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[ He will regret this deeply when it gets awkward. ]