Food for the Soul PV Gem Stuart Complete

"Oh, well, I like a big range of stuff. Instrumentals, I like it when different genres have orchestral and string elements in them. A lot of kpop makes for a good harp arrangement. Mariah Carey?" he trailed off, "Don't know if you know these. Maybe we're a bit different, but not totally." he took another muffin himself and, taking a huge bite, made sure to finish it off before adding, "But it's a case-by case basis, so long as a song makes me feel something positive, preferably profound too... playing harp kind of gives you that outlook. You can translate just about anything onto it, and the melody is what stands out. Lyrics can be art too, a sung word- emotion can be conveyed through just about anything, really. Even drumming's a bit like Quidditch, trying to get the best broom to get your sound across, all the different woods and cymbals. It's more showy with all the tricks and stuff... Come to think of it I haven't played much since my family moved from Ireland to London a few years ago. Doubt they'd let me play anything around here. You imagine everyone quiets up for their exam and all you hear is a drum solo coming from the dungeons?" his eyes laughed, like sunshine streaming through clouds after rain.

interacting w/ @Emerly Pine

As Emerly listed his particular musical interests, Gem did his very best to follow along. His face visibly lit up when he recognized a musician, but most of them... he didn't really know much about. Kpop? That sounded an awful lot like a candy brand. Still, it was really nice to hear Emerly's laugh - like little Christmas bells in cold weather. It made Gem smile and laugh, too.

"Right? I fink it'd make thin's a lot more interestin' if ya ask me," He nudged his new friend's shoulder, taking in his interpretation of how he played the drums. That sure was interesting, he hadn't even thought about it that way. "Well... if ya don't slam yer drumsticks onna' cymbal over an' over, I think they'd make an exception. Music's important here, yunno? They always take tha' into account. Here, how about I ask me dad ta send over a drum kit? Ya can get it all set up in yer dorm or somefin', and just practice when there aren't many people 'round. That's wot I do on me guitar, it's very effective."

To say Gem wasn't a noisy bunkmate would be lying. He was up at ungodly hours of the morning, using his lousy, noisy old typewriter to get some corny stuff out-- but he never played the guitar around anyone, ever. Unless he was outside and gathered an audience, there was no way in hell he was picking the strings of that thing in front of any Ravenclaw boy he'd ever known.

"That's true, I was thinking I could have practiced more in London if I used some mufflers/silencers. They have those, and practice pads. I have those, dunno why I brought them... Anyway, my grandma was kind of sick, and we didn't have a house in the back, so my pa and I didn't want to bother her with noise. I played harp instead, and my pa sang when she asked us."
Amusement flashed across his features, "I still remember how my mom would look at him when he sang or played something." he crossed his ankle over his knee and rested his chin in a hand, peering over at Gem with grey eyes to contrast his dark ones, "Maybe we'll get popular as well. Don't girls like musicians?" His jaw dropped at Gem's suggestion.
"W-w-w-" he stuttered, bewildered. He gulped, trying to right his brain and put his words in order before they left his mouth. He definitely hadn't expected that. Tears welled up in his eyes and he looked forward. He didn't know why at first, but if he did, he'd know it was the stress of his grandmother passing away, of his parents barely scraping by, the uncertainty that this new world instilled in him, all unwinding at once at the prospect of being able to play regularly again. His parents had already sold their house in Ireland, and had moved to London for better job prospects. The townhouse his grandmother had given them wasn't the kind of place you could just drum in at any given moment- despite their financial situation, he wouldn't let his pa sell his set so he could have brand-new stuff for Hogwarts, and wouldn't bring it with him either.
"Wow! You don't have to do that!" He pursed his lips, and widened his eyes at the boy, and trailed off, "But if you do, just anything is fine, a few toms, a snare, a bass, a hi-hat, a ride. You- you don't have to worry about sticks!" he pulled a pair out of his robes, maybe startling Gem with their sudden appearance, "I have some. Come to think of it, I don't mind Fall Out Boy either, Save Rock & Roll's a good song. There's also this band, Day6. Time of Our Life is my favorite of theirs." he trailed off, "If your pa really will be okay with it, in which case, maybe we'll be a real band like Day6 one day! We could maybe get a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, and a pianist, I mean, depending on what you want to play, you're good at so many things."

interacting w/ @Emerly Pine

Gem would've panicked about seeing Emerly's eyes well up with tears if he hadn't bursted into a ramble seconds afterwards. He felt the weight of the world off his shoulders seeing him all happy like that, his eyes twinkling. Popularity-- whatever, popularity was stupid, but he seemed so... happy about being able to practice the drums again. Gem swore his chest felt all fuzzy, face all red - it was quite a pleasant sight to see.

"Right! Right- okay, I'll ask me dad, we-we've got real nice drums, good ones, an-... yeah! Yeah, alright-" And then Emerly pulled a pair of drumsticks out. Well, that wasn't necessarily expected, but noted for future reference. A Drumstick Carrier On Wheels, he thought with a grin, nodding at the prospect of a band. Yeah, that'd be excellent. "Dunno who tha hell Day6 is, but I know Time of Your Life by Green Day, ha," it felt weird, being told about bands he didn't know. He'd brush it off all easy with humor, but... yunno, it was weird. Just weird.

"Yeh! Me dad's been pushin' me ta make a band since like, forever, so... he'll be elated ta hear about me findin' someone willing." He reached over, getting a stray grape in his mouth. As much as he liked seeing Emerly smile, hear him talk, he didn't know what to say to make that happen again. Hm.

"Ya know, girls won't matter if our bandmates joost date one another," It was mostly a joke, since all the bands he'd ever been a particular fan of that had members that dated just fell apart. Mostly a joke, though. Mostly. He decided to go for another pastry to distract himself from that.

Emerly's mind was already racing, thinking of who he might be able to invite. This just now could be the start of something that would be the beginning of a lot of lasting friendships. Who knows what adventures they all might encounter living in a magical school? It was reassuring to know there might be a few people at his side to face it all.
However, he noticed something off. He was usually quite aware of little details- why was the Ravenclaw's face red? Was it warm? He'd been cold himself lately, wearing his gloves and all that. Maybe he was sick. A frown played at his features and he wondered if he should suggest he eat a few oranges or something, or maybe hop on over to the hospital wing for a checkup, but Emerly was hungry, so he picked up another muffin and started eating as Gem talked.
"Ya know, girls won't matter if our bandmates joost date one another,"
Emerly froze, just about to take a bite of the muffin, adding with genuine, enthusiastic curiosity, "You have a few girl students that play? What instruments?"
Were they nice? Somehow he found himself not all too afraid- he usually got along with girls fine. Almost all his cousins were girls, he respected them. Though he wondered if maybe the drama of all that dating might lessen the band's prospects of lasting very long, it wasn't too big of an issue in Mr. Pine's eyes. He was aware some of his classmates were already into crushes and going out and all that, maybe he was just late to the party, and if not late to the party, didn't see just yet what all the fuss was about. At least he wouldn't have a problem being sidetracked by that kind of thing.

@Emerly Pine

It might've been the mix of hormones and awkwardness in the situation, but when Emerly asked if he knew any girls that played, he almost snorted. He could never with some boys, he really couldn't. While he chewed the end of his pastry, he spoke with the other side of his mouth.

"Wull, yeh, I've taught a bird some guitar," He said, "but sumfin' about her... I think she's a lezzy, honestly. Ya know? Can't complain, I'm a bit of a fruitcake meself." His voice went up in a sort of chirp, hardly losing his jump when he remembered he had a girlfriend. Man, that was gonna be weird when Emerly found out. Gem basically just told him he was 'kind of' a flamer. He didn't know how that'd go by, but he'd been called plenty of things back at home in Sheffield, and if he could identify accents at all, he knew Emerly was Irish - there had to have been... well, some bullying back there. If gay hadn't been an insult, he'd be damned straight to hell with that knowledge. That'd mean teenagers had gotten more creative insults than... well, homo. Or literally everything else.

He decided not to let it bother him.

"The dating pool is stupid, anyway," He huffed, picking at the end of his robes. "it's all a lie, ya know, about wot ya read in books n' shite? Kissin' doesn't feel like a hundred million fireworks. It joost doesn't. I can't explain it." He didn't know why he went there. Why did he go there, Emerly'd probably had a kiss before, right? Then again, who the hell dated when they were this young? Christ. He should've kept it at music.

"Huh?" Emerly stared and shook his head. He was confused, very confused. He'd been happy to have met a new friend. Gem had brought up that they wouldn't have to worry about fangirls or something so long as they made sure their bandmates were their girlfriends- supposedly that would make other girls back off.
He was realizing now that this wasn't what Gem was talking about. Emerly wasn't too big into the whole dating thing as he had been so busy with other hobbies, and partially because he'd been raised to not worry himself with such things until much later in his life, but he wasn't entirely in the dark about what Gem was talking about. His brows knitted and he shook his head,
"I hope you haven't misinterpreted me, I'm, well, I'm not like that, personally. I just want to make that clear. I'm, ah, straight, I think it's called." the knitted brows disappeared, "I mean, we can be friends, though. I don't know what you were thinking of me." He listened more intently, brows knitting again as Gem continued, and he burst into laughter, "You are very pessimistic! I'm sure it's nice! I wouldn't know because I wouldn't want to kiss someone unless I was married to them, and that's a long way from here, hopefully." He finished off the muffin and reached for an orange, peeling it, "If it's a girl from here, maybe you just have to get to know her better." he tapped his temple, "If you need advice just let me know. I don't care much about all that stuff, I'm more focused on school and hobbies, so maybe you'd benefit from a third party not clouded by emotion or bias."

@Emerly Pine

Gem squinted at Emerly for a moment, taking a brief silence to really get what he was saying. Oh. Oh no.

"Aw, naw, Em! No way, you're me mate, I don' wanna snog ya, christy almighty!" He attempted to force a laugh out of his throat, but it sounded more like a dying animal than anything. He wasn't the most slick, to put it short. "We're friends, bruv. No, uh... no homo." He laughed for real this time, slapping Emerly's shoulder with the back of his hand.

He finished off his pasty, deciding to take a break from picking at the food. Since he'd been smoking cigarettes, food had lost its appeal-- majorly, everything tasted bland, or... bad, truthfully. Still, he refused to have himself or his mouth taste or smell like cigarettes, so he'd obsessively brushed his teeth from then on. It was more of an addiction than nicotine could even hope to be. He didn't take too much time to think about how his tastebuds had essentially died out and instead focused on the fact that Emerly didn't want to kiss until he was married. Holy hell, he'd never heard about that before.

"Until yer married?! Mate, I moost be a whore in yer eyes!" He was giggling, a nice old joke to take away the tension from just minutes ago - it was working, since they were both having a jolly ole' time. "Naw, but thanks mate. I'll keep in n' mind, I'm thinkin' of endin' it wiv my uh... my lady, I dunno. It was all nice at first, but I'm kind of on the fence. Dunno how emotions work-- and for yer information, I'm not a damn pessimist! I'm tellin' the truth! It's just tongues and spit. Hardly anything good aside from bein' able to hold em' all close. Aw, whatever. You get hitched n' tell me how ya feel afterwards, I'll be there ta watch at yer damn weddin, ha!"

Emerly raised an eyebrow at the bark of laughter and laughed along a little good-naturedly.
"Ah, now don't say that word. I think there are few people out there just doing what they can. I don't personally go that route and don't recommend it myself, but I can understand it a bit." He watched the Ravenclaw closely, wondering about what he didn't know, his story and where he'd come from, and maybe where he wanted to go in the future. Maybe they'd still be friends by that time. He hoped so. People needed as many genuine friends as possible.
"Aw. Well, you see, that's kind of my point." he gazed off at the fireplace light flickering across the gilded portraits, and his voice got a little faraway, eyes as if they were looking but seeing into what he was thinking of.
"That's the thing about love, I think. I'm pretty young, but I think it's best to take things slow, really figure out people, what they love, what they hate, what they dream about, what they fear, before you get that close to them literally. The knowing makes the fireworks, the trust, the loyalty." He raised his eyebrows in a bit of a grandmotherly way, peering over at Gem, "You'd best better be kind when you tell her, Mr. Stuart." he took a bite of an orange slice, a little more roughly than usual, gazing off to the side, "That's the benefit of being a turtle in stuff like this, you don't risk upsetting people as much if they feel more than you do, I think. Slow and steady wins the race," he laughed and looked back at Gem, "We're only kids for so long. Let's not rush ourselves, ya hare, sincerely, Mr. Tortoise."

@Emerly Pine

Gem listened to Emerly pour wisdom down his throat, slow and steady so he understood. It was nice, seeing his new friend admit he didn't quite know everything, but he was offering what he could - even if Gem knew it already. He felt an involuntary smile come onto his features again, pressing his thumbs into the dips and folds of his pants. He best be kind, he almost sneered, how else am I supposed to act?

"I don't fink it realleh matters whether yer slow or fast, when someone loves ya, honestly," He said, choosing his words very carefully, "you could be a tortoise all ya want, but that person yer takin' it slow for? They could be a hare, and hares might get impatient. If ya take too long, they'll feel hurt, like they aren't worth a quick race, and they'll take off runnin' wivout ya. Now yer both hurt, but yer the one left behind by the person you thought'd stick aroun'. It ain't right ta think ov love as a race, that's wot me parents did, and now they've got one whacked out kid." He would've smiled, but he was getting a little bit too deep into his very own personal life. Love... he hated love, he didn't like what he saw out of it. He'd been told that he had not a clue what it was, but he'd seen it happen, how it resulted. He didn't like it, and so he refused to have it get in the way of his experience. School was for learning, whether it be potions or your place on the bullshite social hierarchy.

"Ehm... but if yer lucky, you'll find another tortoise, I guess. Or maybe a hare tha's willin' ta keep a steady pace. That's wot love's all about, right?"