lifetothefullest | [IC Inbox]

Uh... Not really. I mean, I guess it depends. Harlan doesn't think whatever's making us do shit here is the same as enchantment magic anyway, but...

[She shrugs.]

I got charmed by a vampire on a job once, right? I'm pretty sure the only way I got out of it is because I'm a half-elf and I know how those spells work. Mostly. I almost totally fucked our team over before I snapped out of it.

[He nods at the question about confidentiality, then listens to Kyna's response; it's still reassuring that she agrees on this, and between her and Brennan he feels a lot more confident his own assessment.]

It's either some sort of magic, or they're altering or otherwise affecting our brain chemistry in order to create the mental effects. Whichever it is, it's the result of an outside influence, and expecting people to simply will themselves out of it is not realistic.

[And it puts the blame on the person affected instead of the beings responsible, which is something Lance really dislikes.]

Even if it were some sort of internal process, it's still very close to telling someone they should will themselves not to be depressed or anxious, which is unreasonable at best and actively harmful at worst.

[ Wash frowns a little -- his world doesn't have magic so it's hard for him to imagine what that would feel like, but chemical imbalances he knows a bit about. Even if that's not what caused his mental health issues, he's struggled enough to understand you can't just will yourself better. ]

And that kind of thing happens a lot here?

[ He hasn't experienced it yet, but it sounds like it could easily be as bad as getting taken by the Null was. So. That's fun. ]

[Kyna just shrugs and looks over at Lance. He's been here longer.]

According to the history that Mello compiled, it used to happen more, but yes. It's occurred at least a few times since I've been here.

...do they make us hurt each other?

Um... I don't think they do. They haven't since I got here.

Not since I've been here either, but apparently they used to.

[ Then it's better than the Null. Hopefully. Since now he's gonna be braced for this sort of thing to happen again. ]

Hmm. It's probably wishful thinking to think they figured out it was wrong.

[Kyna leans into Wash gently.]

Maybe they've finally learned some fucking control.

[Lance thinks it's probably a lot more likely that the gods just decided it wasn't worth wasting Hope's energy having to people back, but decides not to say that. It's not like it'll serve any beneficial purpose for him to mention it.

Instead he watches Kyna lean against Washington, and asks a question instead.]

So how did you two meet anyway?

[ Kyna leans against his side, probably having an idea of what he's thinking, and Wash decides it's alright to slip his arm around her. If it makes Lance uncomfortable, that's his problem. ]

Kyna's a bully with no self preservation instinct. [ Okay, he can be a little more specific. ] I was outside the Speakeasy, trying to decide if it was safe to go in, and she came up to try and convince me. It didn't actually work.

Hey!

[That's rude.]

No, he was standing outside the Speakeasy in his armor, just staring at the place, and I asked him if he was gonna go in or stand outside all night. And then I sort of hid him from Ephemera.

[Lance doesn't care in the slightest about displays of affection, so although he notes it he doesn't think anything of it and won't unless he has reason to believe there's something to it besides the obvious.

But his gaze flickers briefly toward Kyna at the mention of Ephemera, not sure if he should make any mention in front of Washington that Lance knows him, and decides to hold off on that for now. He can comment on a different part of the response for now.]

What was making you so unsure about the Speakeasy?

[He's genuinely curious, considering Lance now avoids the place for a few reasons himself.]

I wasn't staring, I was considering. And the first thing you did was talk me into taking my helmet off.

[ He doesn't argue that she protected him, though. ]

...I was unsure about everything. I'd only been around a few days, and had already been attacked twice. Going into a crowd of potential enemies, even still armored, seemed like a bad plan.

[Kyna shrugs. She did do that.]

You're welcome.

[Lance watches that interaction with faint amusement, observing body language and tone more than listening to what they're actually saying, but he's still aware of the latter.]

You weren't wrong. It's not always the most peaceful place.

[There might be the faintest hint of bitterness in his voice as he says it, because he had a particularly bad experience there is also not a huge fan of the owner.]

But then again, nowhere here really is.

[ They're still cuddling and their voices are mild despite sort of bickering, Wash's tone at least obviously fond. ]

Anyway, she made a really questionable decision and let me crash with her so I didn't get set on fire again.

It wasn't questionable. You know, if you ended up being some psychopath I could have just set you on fire again.

[Yep, Kyna's tone is still weirdly fond.]

What happened at the Speakeasy?

Be that as it may, it was still questionable.

[Lance is with Washington on this one, Kyna, but fortunately it seems to be the case that Washington isn't a huge creep. Hopefully, anyway.

He's heard the fire story from Ephemera--sort of--but this is a good opportunity to get Washington's side, so--]

Set on fire 'again', though?

[And as for Kyna's question, he gives a half shrug and finally does pull one leg up onto the couch, but doesn't answer. He's still trying to decide if he wants to explain any of it, and if so, how to do so.]

[ See, Kyna? Lance agrees with him. You don't just take random strangers home.

Wash looks hesitant about answering Lance's question, but after a moment's consideration he shrugs. ]

The guy Kyna mentioned, Ephemera... we've got a history. He was trying to kill me back home and when he saw me here just sorta picked up where he'd left off. I won, but the next day a friend of his used magic to set me on fire. Ironic, maybe? Since I wrecked his flamethrowers in the fight.

...don't worry, things aren't that bad anymore.

[ He's curious about what happened in the Speakeasy, too. Gonna spit it out, Lance? ]

[Kyna just shoots Lance a betrayed look. Whose side are you on!]

[Don't make questionable decisions, Kyna, gosh.

He listens to Washington's answer, considering it in comparison to the other things he's heard, and so far it all lines up well enough.]

I'm glad the situation isn't that bad anymore, but why was he trying to kill you?

[And no, not stories about the speakeasy just yet.]

[ Wash isn't a liar. He's terrible at it, in fact, literally anyone would be able to tell if he was bluffing and Lance is a psychologist. No way is he going to fudge things here. The next question has him frowning a little, though. Generally speaking, this isn't first meeting conversation, and it's a complicated topic. Much more so now than when he first arrived.

His arm around Kyna goes tense, but he answers. ]

Revenge. My old unit killed his.

[And this is where the conversation potentially gets awkward. Kyna trusts Lance to handle this gracefully, but she knows how uncomfortable it's going to be for Wash, so she just stays quiet and scoots a little closer to him, letting them talk.]

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