I want not to sink into paralysis and isolation. I can feel myself teetering on the brink, like that sick feeling where your inner ear adjusts. I went up, and now if I let myself go down, it'll be down.
[He means this very literally; he had more close calls with that pond in winter than someone of his intelligence really should have. It's the kind of memory that lingers, that flavors the tragedies that came after.]
I think you two could be really good friends to each other, if I just don't let myself be paranoid and controlling and try to play all your moves for you. If I overcorrected, I apologize.
No, I don't think you've done anything wrong. I don't think he has, either.
I'm not sure what to do about knowing if this is for real, though. Would he be at all interested in this if he didn't feel like he had to make it up to you?
We don't think you have. We're all very different people trying our best.
[So, there's that.]
Yes.
It - bothers him, for himself, that he doesn't know why we would have bothered him. He thinks if he gets to know you, maybe he'll understand his reaction better. And he would never normally bother a magic user with his interest, most of them feel too much like Jedi to him. But he's fascinated, and - he loves to learn, he just can't show it the way people expect, because he was conditioned not to risk asking questions that weren't obviously tactical, and maybe not even those. And he'll feel better being useful, having something to offer in exchange.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
magician_king) wrote2020-01-12 01:19 pm
[private/voice]
[private/voice]
[private/voice]
[He means this very literally; he had more close calls with that pond in winter than someone of his intelligence really should have. It's the kind of memory that lingers, that flavors the tragedies that came after.]
I think you two could be really good friends to each other, if I just don't let myself be paranoid and controlling and try to play all your moves for you. If I overcorrected, I apologize.
Re: [private/voice]
I'm not sure what to do about knowing if this is for real, though. Would he be at all interested in this if he didn't feel like he had to make it up to you?
[private/voice]
[So, there's that.]
Yes.
It - bothers him, for himself, that he doesn't know why we would have bothered him. He thinks if he gets to know you, maybe he'll understand his reaction better. And he would never normally bother a magic user with his interest, most of them feel too much like Jedi to him. But he's fascinated, and - he loves to learn, he just can't show it the way people expect, because he was conditioned not to risk asking questions that weren't obviously tactical, and maybe not even those. And he'll feel better being useful, having something to offer in exchange.
[private/voice]
[He says, brightening.]
[private/voice]
[And it's super fucking cute.]
[private/voice]
[For the enthusiastic, the new, the tender hearts.]
[private/voice]