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[evocation]

@kyna.medina | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[evocation]

[Kyna doesn't even know how to respond to this at first, because he's hitting a sort of middle ground between sincerity and alleviating her worries that she doesn't even know how to deal with. She's too flabbergasted to be scared off.]

okay dr. phil
so now you're focusing on me because you're
bored?

[wittingly]

I'm pretty sure that one's just an oversimplification, so
no

[evocation]

[Okay, he's annoyingly persistent.]

i know some first aid and i've been helping out at the clinic
does that count?

[wittingly]

It counts
Does it make you feel any better while you're doing it?

[evocation]

maybe
mostly i just feel like i'm spinning my fucking wheels
even outside the sim

[wittingly]

elaborate on that, I'm not so familiar with the term
I'm guessing: stuck in place?

[evocation]

yeah
that
shit just happens here and i don't have control over it

[wittingly]

you feel the same way back home, or just since you got here?

[evocation]

since i got here
don't you?
they drugged us and shoved implants in our heads

[wittingly]

where I came from aliens rip buildings out of the ground whether you're in them or not and they literally have things called "suicide busses"

so

I feel pretty good actually

[evocation]

ugh
sorry

[She feels kind of like an asshole now.]

i just mean
none of us belong here and we're all basically in hiding
my powers are gone and i'm back to working a shitty bartending job
we keep getting caught up in this shit none of us signed up for
and now i'm in a sim where the fact that i died doesn't even matter

[Whoops, that kind of slipped out.]

[wittingly]

There are things within your power to do that can better influence control over your life. Maybe not outright control, nobody gets that, but there are things you can do to narrow the variables and consequently the possible outcomes down to a few more targeted paths rather than, you know, just like wide open possibilities for terrible
I see a couple opportunities here

your powers for starters
the shitty bartending job is another one
I feel like now's a good time to throw in the disclaimer that I teach for half my living, and it's sort of ingrained habit to steer people looking for direction toward careers and shit so
i'm doing the advisor thing more than the condescending thing, or trying to

not to be nihilist but for what it's worth it doesn't matter in the grand scheme when anyone dies, the world keeps turning
the good news is it wasn't permanent

how realistic was the dying? I don't wanna tread too heavily on this because it seems like the type of conversation path that could leave you feeling hollowed out, but I'd love to ask you some questions if you feel like talking about it might be cathartic

[evocation]

it was realistic
and i don't get how my powers or my bartending job are opportunities

[wittingly]

you lost the electricity thing, sure, but you're in a community full of fucking superheros, man
Learn to control that phasing shit and walk through people's fuckin entire lives
Rob banks
just kidding, don't do that, but if you got as talented as you did with electricity you can get just as talented with this

starting over fucking sucks, but it sounds like being stuck sucks worse

and

speaking of electricity
holy shit, Kyna, you already have a leg up, trade careers involving electricity are fucking huge, you have a ton of options you could work toward, you just gotta pick which one you like the best and put in the time

you're wicked fucking smart, you're kick ass, the only thing holding you back is you

[evocation]

[Okay, this is... kind of a lot. She's starting to feel squirmy.]

you sound like one of those life coaches

[But still, it's kind of nice.]

but i am kick ass
thanks for noticing
what trade careers do you mean?
unless you want to help me rob a bank

[wittingly]

you got your basic electrical, you can do wiring and line running and all kinds of shit in either for the state or for independent contracting companies or even start your own damn company and be self employed

you can get invested and go into electrical engineering which is like such a big field you'd probably wanna decide what interest to pursue after you've had a couple classes on it

shit, combine it with anything else, hydroelectric engineering or tech or whatever

it all sounds big but that's just because it takes more time, not because you're not capable of it


that'll be six hundred dollars, life coaches aren't free
you can also buy my book hard cover only, 24.99
each chapter comes with 16 blank pages so you can write down your fuckin dreams or whatever

[evocation]

you can have my shit if i don't get out of here
how about that?
you can teach me more engineering shit, sensei

[wittingly]

gladly
my ego's propped up on constant attention and the feeling of imparting wisdom so
you'd kind of be doing me a favor

I'm losing my entire god damn MIND without a job right now, can't even get one until the city unlocks and goes back to normal

although I did get recruited to build and plant some bombs, so that'll be something

[evocation]

you're incredible and amazing and i'd be a broken mess without you
does that help?
and what bombs?

[wittingly]

you can stop at incredible and amazing next time, I wanna believe you're impossible to break

I'm
now that I'm thinking about it
less sure if I'm allowed to talk about it. In hindsight it seems like that might've been like a "this is a secret plan" kind of thing

raincheck on the explanation until I find out for sure so I don't get fired literally before I even start

[evocation]

yeah, i hope i am too
but badass, remember?

[This is actually making her feel better. Good job, Ian.]

you can't give me something that juicy and then not tell me

[wittingly]

how do I know you're not a secret government mole sent to undermine the efforts of the common man?

I'm gonna need something good for that level of confidence

[evocation]

jesus
the common man from fucking berkley
like what?

[wittingly]

I don't know, woman from fucking new york

this is the real challenge
what is it you think is impactful enough to earn my bomb dropping trust
my knowledge bomb

[evocation]

do you want more magic stories?