If you look like shit in eyeliner, it's because you don't know how to do it.
[ Ruka it's easy for you to do eyeliner YOU ONLY HAVE TO DO ONE. But even though his question comes with an initial reaction of From me?, she manages not to say it. ]
[ It comes on a shaky little breath, a muffled hand through hair as Ruka quietly paces from one part of the attic to the other. Normally she'd want to foist responsibility elsewhere, but...
If history repeats now, it would be her fault. ]
Uhh, proximity, right? You usually can't, um, "adjust" the input setting on your own. A power dampener in a pinch might be a good idea, if your friend is at risk for setting the block on fire, but it's a bad idea to rely on it for long. Alcohol's good for a quiet night, but he might be young for that?
[ NOT LIKE IT STOPPED YOU, RUKA. ]
Long term, it's... a lot of work. Meditation. Focus exercises. Deliberate building-up of what you can endure so the... so the heavy stuff doesn't bury you, completely.
[Itās an exciting time, being trapped in a holding cell at ground zero with a panicking empath as the missile approaches. He doesnāt recommend it.]
Muslim. Canāt drink. [Duo replies with grim, grim humor. Nah; that was his coping method.] ...and I donāt think heās interested in the dampener, although... in times like that, maybe... [...wouldnāt had been such a bad idea, if upsetting for different reasons.]
[Itās hard not to think of Ruka then and now and see the same transformation of his friend, a few decades later. Maybe not cold for the same reasons, exactly. Perhaps to the same purpose. Itās okay; heās in the now. Duo just wants to help him along to wherever the present takes him, regardless of what future awaits.]
Heās a hard worker. [A little fondly] Iām sure heāll be fine with trying that.
[Itās probably pushing his luck, but heās never been very good at knowing when to quit while heās ahead.] You havenāt done too badly for yourself, seems to me. I mean, all things considered. Iām sure if youāve managed this long, heāll make it just fine.
Yeah, you think I managed fine because you missed everything.
[ The retort is quick, but not without heat. Hers is not the existence anyone should aspire to ā least of all as a measure of emotional well-being. ]
If he needs an instructor, I might be able to find someone.
Yeah. And in spite of that... [He hadnāt missed that, or all the stories of Atroposā havoc, or what followed. And yet heād seen grown men break from lesser weights, and here had stood before him a girl that had been the same age he was when he had decided what monster to make of himself- and she was fractured, yes, but the important stuff that lay beneath all that- that was still there.]
[He only saw what he wanted to see in people. Thatās what heād been told. But how could he not, when that was the stuff in them that mattered?]
...Iād appreciate it. I know where to get the nullifiers. Not so much on the empath therapy.
Sure. A guy I knew was assigned a counseling job a while back. With a citizen health organization. I'll see if any of the coworkers he complained about the least are still kicking around.
[ But the flat way she says that is as loud as if she bit back with only the question: in spite of what? ]
As in, I'll set you up with ones who know how to deal with empaths, directly. If it was just a regular psych, you could find those online.
If you don't know what you're talking about, you should keep yourself quiet. People don't like offering favors to guys who can't stay off their nerves.
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Voice
āThe goth guyā.
[Thatās it, thatās hi]
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[ "hello" ]
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[Bitterly, and definitely pouting]
āChanceā.
Jokeās on you, I look shit in eyeliner.
[Jesus. Heād have had a field day with this. Small blessings.]
Shockingly, although perhaps Iām about to second guess myself, [hehheh get it] I need some... advice.
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[ Ruka it's easy for you to do eyeliner YOU ONLY HAVE TO DO ONE. But even though his question comes with an initial reaction of From me?, she manages not to say it. ]
What's going on?
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[Pious as fuck!!]
[And the joking ends here, pretty much. He takes a deep breath.]
Got any tips for... turning down the empathy?
[Thereās a pause, like he could almost hear the memories forced up by the request.] ...āAsking for a friendā.
Iād like to avoid a repeat of history, if at all possible.
no subject
[ It comes on a shaky little breath, a muffled hand through hair as Ruka quietly paces from one part of the attic to the other. Normally she'd want to foist responsibility elsewhere, but...
If history repeats now, it would be her fault. ]
Uhh, proximity, right? You usually can't, um, "adjust" the input setting on your own. A power dampener in a pinch might be a good idea, if your friend is at risk for setting the block on fire, but it's a bad idea to rely on it for long. Alcohol's good for a quiet night, but he might be young for that?
[ NOT LIKE IT STOPPED YOU, RUKA. ]
Long term, it's... a lot of work. Meditation. Focus exercises. Deliberate building-up of what you can endure so the... so the heavy stuff doesn't bury you, completely.
no subject
Muslim. Canāt drink. [Duo replies with grim, grim humor. Nah; that was his coping method.] ...and I donāt think heās interested in the dampener, although... in times like that, maybe... [...wouldnāt had been such a bad idea, if upsetting for different reasons.]
[Itās hard not to think of Ruka then and now and see the same transformation of his friend, a few decades later. Maybe not cold for the same reasons, exactly. Perhaps to the same purpose. Itās okay; heās in the now. Duo just wants to help him along to wherever the present takes him, regardless of what future awaits.]
Heās a hard worker. [A little fondly] Iām sure heāll be fine with trying that.
[Itās probably pushing his luck, but heās never been very good at knowing when to quit while heās ahead.] You havenāt done too badly for yourself, seems to me. I mean, all things considered. Iām sure if youāve managed this long, heāll make it just fine.
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[ The retort is quick, but not without heat. Hers is not the existence anyone should aspire to ā least of all as a measure of emotional well-being. ]
If he needs an instructor, I might be able to find someone.
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[He only saw what he wanted to see in people. Thatās what heād been told. But how could he not, when that was the stuff in them that mattered?]
...Iād appreciate it. I know where to get the nullifiers. Not so much on the empath therapy.
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[ But the flat way she says that is as loud as if she bit back with only the question: in spite of what? ]
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[Lalala he's just going to ignore that tone :)) don't bring him down Ruka :)))]
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If you don't know what you're talking about, you should keep yourself quiet. People don't like offering favors to guys who can't stay off their nerves.
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Got it, got it. Pardon me.
[Fine line to toe, there....] ...You have my thanks. Whatever little that's worth.