video;

[noctiphile]

Who: Mattias Larnaca
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: general waystation area?? vague hand gestures
When: April 22nd

[Lo and behold: Mattias fretting on a bench. It's not an obvious sort of motion, restricted to subtle shifts and twitching fingers, but it's noticeable enough to matter. He's hunched over the comm and what little the background shows is unrevealing. The corner of a building here, the awning of a kiosk there, everything unspecific.]

It's been quite a month, hasn't it? What with the attacks... [he drifts off, never very good with small talk. One of the many gifts he lacks.] It's been good to watch all the repairs. People working together... [Wow, he sure does suck at this. He chews his lip, glancing around as if looking for help. Nope. Nothing. Maybe he'll just get to the point.]

Still, tensions must be running high. Stress and such. Always have a way of sinking in. I've my own, of course. My ship fared poorly in the attacks and that—[He glances away, head sinking slightly.]—it's been the lesser of many events. I don't mean to complain but the effects are starting to wear. My usual methods aren't working. Reading—I just can't seem to concentrate and beyond that... Well. I've little else.

[He sighs, leaning back and running a hand through his hair. It messes it up a bit, but he's careful to smooth it back down.] It feels inappropriate to ask something so selfish but I'm at a loss. And there are a great many things that all of you know... [That I don't is heavily implied. He glances away, switching the comm to one hand so he can properly wring his wrist.] So, I was wondering—how do you cope? With... all of this. It doesn't have to be personal just. Just simple things. Like... jumping off a building. [Immediately, he scrunches his eyes closed.] —Bad example. But, you know what I mean.

[Fiddling nervously, he searches for something else to say, finds nothing, and cuts the feed. ]

Comments

video;

[noctiphile]

I'm hardly—I'm not stiff!

video;

[gonstop]

You have your hair slicked back.

[He says that matter-of-factly, like it's a directly related statement.]

It's even more obvious when you deny it, anyway.

video;

[noctiphile]

I don't see what my hair has to do with any of that.

video;

[gonstop]

It's suuuuuuper stuck up. And you speak pretty formally, too. I bet you're the type of guy who doesn't get out and have fun much.

[noctiphile]

[oh my god. he's right. why is he right. why is this his life.]

I don't—I was raised this way! It's the proper way to speak!

[gonstop]

That's exactly why it makes you stiff, stupid.

[He's smiling like he's about to laugh, so it's clear he's amused by Mattias here.]

Who cares about what's proper? I know! [He snaps his fingers.] This can be your first lesson in stress relief. Try saying something completely improper.

[noctiphile]

I'm not swearing in front of a child.

[he says, having sworn in front of multiple children]

[gonstop]

But I swear, too...

[What the hell.]

I didn't even mean like that, anyway. Who says "child?" It's kid, and don't call me that anyway!

[noctiphile]

They're synonyms. I can use either. Why does it matter? Why do you care? Go away.

[gonstop]

You're just mad I pointed out the truth.

[WHO'S THE CHILD HERE, ANYWAY.]

I'm bored out of my mind! There's only like, two other guys on this whole ship, and they both seem super weird. You can't tell me to go away when you made a post asking for replies, idiot!

[noctiphile]

I wasn't asking for help from a child!

[gonstop]

You think just because I'm young I can't help?!

[HE'S SO MAD... He's just about strangling his comm.]

You couldn't even ask for it the right way!

[noctiphile]

Don't be ridiculous. There's no "right way" to ask a question!

[gonstop]

Yeah there is! You don't interrupt yourself and trail off and change the subject a bunch, for one!

[noctiphile]

I—[he's blushing]—There's no rule against that!

[gonstop]

Why are you talking about rules?!

[This man is a lost cause.] You're weird.

[noctiphile]

So I've heard.

[Multiple times. In this post.]

[gonstop]

[He sighs.]

If you don't want to be called weird, stop acting like it. [He frowns a bit at the screen, pulling his face back. There's more of a view of the emptiness behind him now.]

Maybe you're too stuck in your own head.

[noctiphile]

[That... actually sounds insightful. He pauses, blinks, calms down.]

... What would I do to get out of it?

[gonstop]

Doesn't that depend on what you're stuck on?

[He's settled down as well, it seems. The minute Mattias decides to take him seriously, he's wrapped up in it. Thinking. Kurapika has this issue as well, doesn't he? He's always so focused on his own thoughts and desires that he won't listen to any of his friends' warnings...

It reminds him of that.]

Sometimes I get really lost in my head over my family. [It's more personal than he would go on earlier days, but this time, it seems natural. He's saying it without even thinking.] So I'd have to step back and separate myself from them to do anything about it. Maybe you need to do the same.

[There's a bit of a pause, and he rubs at the back of his head as he looks elsewhere.]

Well, but I don't really know what's bugging you, so I don't know if that helps.

[noctiphile]

[It's... odd how this insightfulness continues. He's slightly unnerved by it.]

It does. Circumstance merely complicates it. You've been told about the ships, I presume? I'm stuck with one of my stressors.

[Two, maybe. If you count Aaron.]

[gonstop]

No one really told me, but I've been looking at things myself.

Aren't you guys all stuck down there for right now? Maybe you could stay at someone else's ship for a few nights.

[noctiphile]

I... hadn't thought of that.

[Though the only person he can think of who's not involved is...........a bit eccentric.]

... It could work.

[gonstop]

I guess advice from a kid isn't so bad!

[He's teasing, and that drops soon enough as he grins.] It helps a ton! You'd be amazed how much you can think straight when they're not there watching everything you do. Especially if you have a friend to stay with.

[noctiphile]

Ah. You've been through this as well, then.

[It's not a question. But, even with a child, it's good to know he's not alone.]

I'll have to try it. [He hesitates.] ... Thank you.