[ He is upset, but it isn't as simple as that either -- he's twisted up in his head about being upset, about whether or not he has the right to be, about whether or not it matters, and beyond that he's never been particularly good at coping with his own upset. He handles it like this, by getting stoned and channeling his mind into work until the feeling settles enough for him to ignore it entirely. ]
Engineering is a weird field, in that it... kind of spills over into a lot of other areas. Programming, mechanics, chemistry. You have to know a little about a lot in order to bring it all together.
[ Calm and patient, like this is a classroom. ]
And the only real way to bring it all together is by--
[ A vague gesture at the component on his desk. ]
Doing this until I understand it. All machines make sense eventually. They all have a defined, logical structure.
[ There's a comfort in knowing there are explicit answers to find, and that they're guaranteed to be found. There's a comfort in feeling confident that he'll work something out, it'll make sense, he knows the territory he's navigating even if he's never been to this particular version of it before. ]
[She says it teasingly, peering down at the bits Ian's working on. Honestly, she wonders how he would deal with magic if they were back in her world. There are so many less neat rules and so much more unpredictability.]
[So Kyna stays quiet for a bit, just letting him work and watching. She has no idea what he's really doing or what he's looking for, but it's sort of soothing.
After about ten minutes or so, though, her anxiety gets the best of her, and she nudges him gently.]
[ It's meditation for him, particularly while stoned. He goes into a kind of state of flow when he's working, a weird combination of spaced-out and focused, some really peak zen.
It startles him a little when she nudges him out of it; he pauses and nudges the goggles up again. ]
Hey.
[ He's anticipating more Feelings. No le gusta. Por que. Everyone get stoned and forget about your feelings. He should get her high. ]
[He's anticipating correctly, although she pauses first, reaching up to smooth back a lock of his hair that's sticking up awkwardly because of the goggles.]
Um... I just wanted to say I'm sorry again. I should have... you know. Been more worried about how you felt instead of...
[ The smile he offers up is tired, a little worn down at the seams. ]
It's okay. Really. I just wanna not... dwell on it.
[ Because that sucks and going around in circles in his own head just starts spiking agitation. He doesn't want to put either of them through that emotional labor.
Instead, he's gonna pleasantly and kindly veer the subject off, with a nod over at his coffee table. ]
Hey, do you wanna like... do drugs and watch a movie?
[ Aloof and easy, and he'll just settle in on that couch.
Unless she brings it up again, that's how the night will go — Ian packing a bowl, Kyna ordering food, and watching a movie while stoned very much not talking stress. ]
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no subject
Engineering is a weird field, in that it... kind of spills over into a lot of other areas. Programming, mechanics, chemistry. You have to know a little about a lot in order to bring it all together.
[ Calm and patient, like this is a classroom. ]
And the only real way to bring it all together is by--
[ A vague gesture at the component on his desk. ]
Doing this until I understand it. All machines make sense eventually. They all have a defined, logical structure.
[ There's a comfort in knowing there are explicit answers to find, and that they're guaranteed to be found. There's a comfort in feeling confident that he'll work something out, it'll make sense, he knows the territory he's navigating even if he's never been to this particular version of it before. ]
no subject
[She says it teasingly, peering down at the bits Ian's working on. Honestly, she wonders how he would deal with magic if they were back in her world. There are so many less neat rules and so much more unpredictability.]
no subject
[ He agrees with a sage nod. Thusly proclaimed, he tugs his goggles back down again. ]
no subject
After about ten minutes or so, though, her anxiety gets the best of her, and she nudges him gently.]
Hey.
no subject
It startles him a little when she nudges him out of it; he pauses and nudges the goggles up again. ]
Hey.
[ He's anticipating more Feelings. No le gusta. Por que. Everyone get stoned and forget about your feelings. He should get her high. ]
no subject
Um... I just wanted to say I'm sorry again. I should have... you know. Been more worried about how you felt instead of...
[She trails off, gesturing vaguely.]
no subject
It's okay. Really. I just wanna not... dwell on it.
[ Because that sucks and going around in circles in his own head just starts spiking agitation. He doesn't want to put either of them through that emotional labor.
Instead, he's gonna pleasantly and kindly veer the subject off, with a nod over at his coffee table. ]
Hey, do you wanna like... do drugs and watch a movie?
no subject
Oh, uh, sure. Didn't you want to work?
no subject
It wasn't really about working so much as just... having something to focus on. Movie's good for that, too.
[ He'll scoot on back from the desk and head over to the couch. ]
So you don't have to just sit there being bored watching me fuck with tiny little metal things, attaching them to other tiny little metal things.
no subject
I was really impressed by your little metal things.
[Obviously.]
Do you want me to order food or something?
no subject
[ Aloof and easy, and he'll just settle in on that couch.
Unless she brings it up again, that's how the night will go — Ian packing a bowl, Kyna ordering food, and watching a movie while stoned very much not talking stress. ]