cognitivus | Meadowlark Inbox

( Astute assessment, Dr. Sweets, and entirely accurate. It's an appealing enough prospect that the heat isn't remotely a factor, and he's met with an immediate nod and that universal lead the way hand gesture. )

I'm from Louisiana originally. It's my ethical duty to brag about swamp endurance.

( AKA suffering through humidity 3/4ths of the year and becoming far too familiar with the sensation of your clothes sticking to your skin. )

Ugh. I spent like a week in Florida for a case, and it was awful.

[Not his favorite. But he starts to lead the way at a casual pace, both so they don't overheat and so that he he isn't pressuring Will to have to keep up, but also because the walk is most of the point. No need to rush.]

So, how are you doing with all of this? The whole thing is kind of a lot to get used to.

[This is a question he often asks new arrivals, but it's both a good talking point and a good way to gauge how newbies are doing.]

( Florida earns an appropriately soft, breathy chuckle. As it so happens being glad one isn't from Florida is a staple of Louisiana culture. Then again, that might actually be a country-wide feeling.

How is he doing with all of this?

Terrible, but he handles terrible better than most people. )

In terms of fantastical delusions accompanying a mental break, this isn't the worst I've had.

( Absurdly light-toned and conversational, his gallows humor. You have to be able to laugh at the truth after you've seen the things he has. )

On the off-chance I haven't lost my mind, I'd say the compartmentalizing has helped tremendously.

( A little spicy wry self-mockery for flavor. )

I take it this is your preferred coping mechanism?

( Shifting focus to other people, he means. It's a rude call-out, probably offensive to some, but he doesn't really mean it to be. He's just being frank. )

Edited 2021-02-07 07:03 (UTC)

[Lance would normally give a very concerned Look at a statement like the first one despite his own appreciation for gallows humor, but then again he spent the first month in Hadriel--what little he can remember of it anyway--sure he was hallucinating, so it's not like he can judge.

Instead he'll just keep his concern internal for now, offering a small shrug and a dip of his head in an 'as you do' gesture at the idea of compartmentalizing. But then hey, no one gave the go-ahead for calling him out like this, even if he's been aware of that potential danger considering their similarity in jobs.

So instead, lightly--]

No, my preferred coping mechanism is alcohol, but it's too hot out for that.

[He's sure Will will see that it's a deflection, but that's fine.]

It definitely takes awhile for all of this to sink in. Compartmentalizing does help, but I'm sure you know better than to let that turn into repressing the issue entirely.

[Which doesn't mean anything in terms of not actually doing it, as Lance knows very well, but still.]

( He doesn't take any particular affront to the commentary on what he ought to do — being surrounded by psychologists and psychiatrists is a product of his field. It's practically impossible to go a day around Alana or Hannibal without remarking on one another's mental state and the handling recommendations thereof.

Rather.

Used to be impossible. Even if he weren't in the future (or in the middle of a psychotic break) those days would be long past.

At least Lance isn't particularly smug or obnoxious about it. )

I do know better.

( Confirmed in a manner both amused and noncommittal, the obvious implication being — just because he knows better... )

While we're both being particularly aware of what is and isn't healthy coping... You know, putting rum in a snow cone is essentially a daquiri.

[Lance rolls his eyes at that response, but the lightly amused expression that goes with it is a clear indicator it's more of a knowing gesture than an annoyed one. He knows that implication very well.

But as for the last comment--]

For some reason, that's never actually occurred to me. Thanks for the enabling.

[Ruining his one fake excuse not to drink.]

I'm not sure how much ice we'll be able to make with the water rationing going on, though.

That's certainly an incentive for sobriety.

( Sighed out empathetically, gaze veering out toward the clashing scenery. Vegetation and lifelessness all smashed together and warring over who has the right to exist.

Cutely exchanging witty rejoinders isn't the entirety of what he hopes to get from this. He switches tracks back to something more serious. )

What do you do here? For work, I mean. Rejoin... whatever makes up the future equivalent of the FBI?

( He's gauging career opportunities. He desperately needs to be able to afford a place outside of the safehouse, even if it's temporary. )

I get into fights on the network. It's a full time job.

[He's less interested in leaving the witty banter behind, though he does at least answer the question after he's made that remark.]

No, I stayed away from law enforcement here, especially since I wasn't too excited about the idea of being like, a beat cop and working my way up. But some of my friends work at one of the nice casinos, so I would go there and play poker against people who didn't know any better.

[Of course he doesn't expect that to be so easy after the Aerie, so he'll probably have to find a real job soon. But that might be a viable option for Will; even high-rolling poker players usually aren't ready to face off with a profiler.]

( A small puff of breath and the flicker of a raised eyebrow over Lance's full-time network job; a laugh but also an acknowledgment that it doesn't seem unfeasible given the sheer quantity of it he's noticed in his network stalking.

It's swiftly waylaid by the obvious surprise that takes over. Medium stakes poker as a means of income, for a profiler. )

That's... genius, actually.

( Something he'd never have thought of but that makes so much sense he wonders a little in hindsight why he's never done it.

( and a subtle mark toward confirming his theory that Lance could be manipulative if he wanted to be. )

Probably won't do it for a consistent source of income, it means an awful lot of people-ing, but as a concept? In a pinch? …To quickly get enough for a first and last month's rent plus security deposit? )

We'd have to sit at different tables.

( Wryly, and with... maybe just a little touch of underlying curiosity on who'd win. Professional competitiveness. Better to keep his secret interest in mind games to himself, it has a connotation that probably seems nefarious. )

[He gives a faintly amused smile at both the response and the show of surprise, and is always pleased to get a compliment. But as for sitting at different tables--]

You'll have the run of the casino mostly to yourself awhile, I think. I'm not sure how much you saw about what happened just before you arrived, with the Aerie, but I don't think I'm going to blend in as much as I used to.

[Not that he lost any skill or anything, but being more well known is going to be an issue and he hasn't really been up for seeing exactly how well it'll work just yet.]

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