I’ve borrowed from hundreds of animals. I can…connect with animals kind of how you can connect with humans. Mentally. Except I see what they see, not the contents of their soul.
That’s the thing. It doesn’t hurt until I notice it happening. Then it was extremely itchy.
Hey. I don't see the contents of anyone's soul. Just their thoughts. So theoretically you could develop the features of hundreds of animals. Maybe. If you can learn to control it, that'd be pretty useful.
Okay, itchy is less worrisome than "flesh-rending suffering." I have some lidocaine gel, I should have given it to you before. You should take it and you can apply it to the [...] affected area if this happens again. See if that helps?
I don't want to. You've seen Whit, haven't you? I think he's handsome, but you can tell how self-conscious he is! I don't want to have rat features or cat features or any other kind!
That started when the claws came. I just didn't want to upset you right out of the gate.
Claws. [...] I think next time you have bad news, just hit me with everything at once. Do you want me to bring you the lidocaine? I don't think it'll do all that much for claws, but every little bit, right?
Your animal features seem like they're coming and going, though. That kind of suggests to me you'd be able to [...] wear them and retract them with some practice. And yes, Whit is very handsome and intensely self-conscious, because his animal features don't disappear back into his skin.
I don't want to give you heart palpitations. I can come to you and save you the trip. I have to let Max out anyway. But since you want it all at once: I had the whiskers for two hours. Then the claws and a tail.
It seems silly to me that some Liminals have intensely useful powers and the rest of us end up looking like gophers. I wish Whit had a little more confidence. His tail is probably wildly useful.
My heart will palpitate anyway, regardless of how you decide to break it to me. It's just easier for me to get the "oh shit" moment over with all at once so I can focus. But okay, whiskers, claws, and a tail. Then they all retracted at the same time? Like the feathers?
And what's a useful power? If Dr. Castillo is to be believed, the gopher-looking contingent does really well on dating apps. So you have that to look forward to. Whit's tail is super useful, but the best way to make him feel confident is probably not to highlight the fact he isn't confident. But I wouldn't know. I also wish he had a little more confidence and I've gotten pretty much nowhere on that front.
I'll remember for next time, since this seems to be a continuing problem. The whiskers lasted longer than everything. The tail hurt the least. I think anything with fingernails is going to suck no matter what I do. [...] If this keeps happening, do you think I'll get used to it?
Can't Dr. Auggie retain everything he's ever read? That sounds pretty useful to me. I also learned my lesson about both dating and apps, never doing that again.
As for Whit, I never say anything unkind!!!!! I tell him how nice he is all the time and I try to take him baked goods from Buns of Steel whenever I can! He's busy!
[...] It's possible, though the research is sort of split on this. Either repeated exposure to this type of stimuli will increase your tolerance for it, or repeated exposure will make you more sensitive. That's why I'm saying maybe it's best to try and control it. Don't leave your well-being up to a coin toss.
And I don't know. I actually really like it when I reread something I'd forgotten, because I get to re-experience the pleasure of reading it for the first time. And did you learn a lesson about something actually true, or were you just discouraged?
I don't think you would say anything unkind. I just sort of wonder if maybe he'd feel more confident if he was treated like a normal guy, versus people making a big deal out of his possum features or doing nice things that suggest they think he has low confidence. [...] But anyway, just my thoughts. It was his birthday yesterday, you know.
I'm not sure where I'd start with that. Or how to start with that.
I guess I did like re-reading Twilight before I realized how awful literally all of them were except Charlie. [...] Let's do a quick round of two truths and a lie.
1. I've never had a successful relationship result from meeting someone in the real world or from an app. 2. The one relationship I thought was going to last ended with her stealing all of my stuff from my apartment while I was at work. 3. If I eat grapes, I turn purple.
Jack, do you think I feed Whit because I think he lacks confidence?
Just like, to clear that up, I feed Whit because he's half opossum and if I'm always hungry, he has to be always hungry, too. I dropped off a gift at his door while everyone was gone because I told Linus I had cramps and I had to roll with my lie.
Maybe try thinking of an animal you once borrowed from? One without big claws? The way my other power works is I have to imagine what I want to happen in order for it to happen. Sounds like dumbshit magical thinking, but it really does work.
You should talk to Annie about your Twilight opinions. She loves spirited intellectual discussion.
Well. You’re not Violet Beauregarde. […] That is some seriously bad luck, but statistically speaking it’s highly unlikely that will ever happen to you again. Btw, I’m not saying you’re incomplete if you’re not dating, just that if you give yourself a little grace, a ton of people would feel very lucky to be with you.
Not exactly, but I guess I started conjecturing and came off like I was saying that, my bad. […] But why are you lying to Linus?
The idea of purposefully invoking that power scares you? Versus letting it happen to you randomly whenever, and you have to lie to your friends about it? […] I sound kind of harsh and I don’t want to push you. If you ever change your mind, I’m down to work on it with you.
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DM, 8/10
That’s the thing. It doesn’t hurt until I notice it happening. Then it was extremely itchy.
DM, 8/10
Hey. I don't see the contents of anyone's soul. Just their thoughts.So theoretically you could develop the features of hundreds of animals. Maybe. If you can learn to control it, that'd be pretty useful.Okay, itchy is less worrisome than "flesh-rending suffering." I have some lidocaine gel, I should have given it to you before. You should take it and you can apply it to the [...] affected area if this happens again. See if that helps?
DM, 8/10
That started when the claws came. I just didn't want to upset you right out of the gate.
DM, 8/10
DM, 8/10
Your animal features seem like they're coming and going, though. That kind of suggests to me you'd be able to [...] wear them and retract them with some practice. And yes, Whit is very handsome and intensely self-conscious, because his animal features don't disappear back into his skin.
DM, 8/10
It seems silly to me that some Liminals have intensely useful powers and the rest of us end up looking like gophers. I wish Whit had a little more confidence. His tail is probably wildly useful.
DM, 8/10
And what's a useful power? If Dr. Castillo is to be believed, the gopher-looking contingent does really well on dating apps. So you have that to look forward to. Whit's tail is super useful, but the best way to make him feel confident is probably not to highlight the fact he isn't confident. But I wouldn't know. I also wish he had a little more confidence and I've gotten pretty much nowhere on that front.
DM, 8/10
Can't Dr. Auggie retain everything he's ever read? That sounds pretty useful to me. I also learned my lesson about both dating and apps, never doing that again.
As for Whit, I never say anything unkind!!!!! I tell him how nice he is all the time and I try to take him baked goods from Buns of Steel whenever I can! He's busy!
DM, 8/10
And I don't know. I actually really like it when I reread something I'd forgotten, because I get to re-experience the pleasure of reading it for the first time. And did you learn a lesson about something actually true, or were you just discouraged?
I don't think you would say anything unkind. I just sort of wonder if maybe he'd feel more confident if he was treated like a normal guy, versus people making a big deal out of his possum features or doing nice things that suggest they think he has low confidence. [...] But anyway, just my thoughts. It was his birthday yesterday, you know.
DM, 8/10
I guess I did like re-reading Twilight before I realized how awful literally all of them were except Charlie. [...] Let's do a quick round of two truths and a lie.Jack, do you think I feed Whit because I think he lacks confidence?
Just like, to clear that up, I feed Whit because he's half opossum and if I'm always hungry, he has to be always hungry, too. I dropped off a gift at his door while everyone was gone because I told Linus I had cramps and I had to roll with my lie.
DM, 8/10
You should talk to Annie about your Twilight opinions. She loves spirited intellectual discussion.
Well. You’re not Violet Beauregarde. […] That is some seriously bad luck, but statistically speaking it’s highly unlikely that will ever happen to you again. Btw, I’m not saying you’re incomplete if you’re not dating, just that if you give yourself a little grace, a ton of people would feel very lucky to be with you.
Not exactly, but I guess I started conjecturing and came off like I was saying that, my bad. […] But why are you lying to Linus?
DM, 8/10
No, Jack, it’s my lot in life.I’m meant to beI tried texting my brothers yesterday andI don’t want everyone to know. It’s bad enough that I got interrogated by Sal.
DM, 8/10
Interrogated?
Or is he just worried about you?DM, 8/10
Well, maybe not interrogated. He wouldn’t let it go.
DM, 8/10
It goes away and you don’t know why or when it will come back again.Like I said, not pushing you. But if you change your mind, you know where I live.It sounds like he cares about you and is worried, Evan.