006 :: Text

[hulkbusted]

Kevin Ford's NV is offline and Mimsy is gone.

I seem to be living alone now.

At the same time, two people I know from home are in the Port. Strange how things work here.

Comments

Action

[hulkbusted]

Today at least. Have you been here long enough to see what winter's like?

[He waved over the server, having asked the guy to wait until his new guest arrived and ordered an herb tea.]

The pastries are good if you're hungry.

[mentors]

It was just as hard as you think it would be, I promise you that.

Thanks for the offer, but I think I will be fine. You should save it for yourself, Bruce.

[hulkbusted]

Kevin's legacy will remain in my freezer.

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[paterelohim]

What? I'm just saying.

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[hulkbusted]

To what end?

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[paterelohim]

About the staying?

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[hulkbusted]

"I'm just saying." Okay. What do you get out of saying?

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[paterelohim]

Conversation?

[u weird, Hulk.]

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[hulkbusted]

[Glass houses, Chuck.]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you probably shouldn't get a job working with the terminally ill. [He's picturing Chuck walking up to someone with cancer going, "You're going to die. I'm just saying."]

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[paterelohim]

Actually, managing expectations is important. You don't tell someone who has a year to live that they could live for fifty.

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[hulkbusted]

If they already know they're dying, they only need your input if they ask for it.

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[paterelohim]

Look, I'm not shooting down the optimistic thing, but realism is a virtue. Incorporating the lack of choice into my worldview is pretty much the only way I've stayed sane.

[See Bruce he cares.]

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[hulkbusted]

[If this is caring, Bruce'll take apathy because he is one hellaciously realistic guy at this stage of life.]

Great. I'm still thinking that psychiatry or counseling shouldn't be career avenues to explore.

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[paterelohim]

You know, they say the best shrinks are all screwed up themselves.

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[hulkbusted]

And here I chose physics.

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[paterelohim]

Nerd.

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[hulkbusted]

I'd make a lousy jock.

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[paterelohim]

What, you don't want to be a real man and flail around pathetically like me?

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[hulkbusted]

I think I'll pass. I'm comfortable in the geek squad.

Action

[cognidis]

Mm. I was hear for last year's. ...I'd never actually seen snow before.

[ He looks up and orders a coffee. As for the pastries- ]

I'm good for now, I think. Thanks.

Action

[hulkbusted]

Really? Where are you from?

I lived in Bella Coola for a while. It isn't that far from here geographically, depending upon the universe. The winter wouldn't have been easy if I'd never seen snow before.

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[cognidis]

...A desert planet.

[ No, seriously. He shifts a little awkwardly. ]

It was...kind of jarring when I got here. I'd heard of Earth before -- that's where the human population came from initially -- but I'd never actually seen it.

Seasons like they are here were a new thing for me.

[ A beat. ]

Is Bella Coola in Canada?

Action

[hulkbusted]

[Bruce only looks a little surprised. A couple of months in Siren's Port have made it more difficult to get a reaction. From the future? Sure. A vampire? Let's go on a date. From a desert planet and what sounds like the future? Well...]

This place hits me with new stuff every day. Is it - or was it - a difficult adjustment?

[He nods.] Bella Coola's in Canada. I went there to try, I guess you could say I went there to learn about myself.

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[cognidis]

...kind of.

[ The climate, the culture, everything was different. Besides which, he didn't exactly have a "normal" childhood, even by his world's standards. ]

I had...a friend here, from home, so that helped a little. I made friends with one of the Newcomers at the police department when I joined so that helped too.

[ He tilts his head a little. "Learning abut yourself" is definitely something he understands. ]

Did it help?

Action

[hulkbusted]

Yeah. [Maybe not in the most traditional of manners, but...] Yeah, it did. I needed to stop trying to change things that can't be changed and move on with my life.

If I hadn't taken that time, I don't think I'd be able to handle this place.