ohthehumanities | catchall; wolfwood

You remind me of someone with a similar kind of annoying aura, yeah.

[ DON'T JUST SAY THAT TO HIM. But -- ]

The difference is at least, you'll say and ask things out loud, and don't run away from every single thing. It's not a bad thing to be entrusted with someone else's thoughts -- it's just a matter of if you think I'm the right person for it.

[HELP not the callout. Kaveh doesn't get offended. There's a brief spike of uncertainty, like he's debating whether he should leave and stop bothering Wolfwood with his fifteen thousand issues, but. He curls his fingers, and forces it away. This time, he manages to succeed in pulling back his feelings.

Instead, he ponders this quietly, deciding what he wants to say. He so deeply hates bringing down the mood, especially around people he likes. He would sooner isolate himself a thousand times over than burden his friends with his misery. It's a choice he's made a thousand times, even around his closest people--uninviting himself from gatherings, cutting off contact with his mother, pretending he was fine, just a frequent visitor to the tavern, not a helpless stray seeking shelter.

And yet...]

I do. I know that's presumptuous of me to say. I don't--[He's been calmer, but there's a flutter of anxiety and shame as he falters, briefly.]--I don't mean that as an expectation, of course. [Wolfwood is not and should not be his therapist!!]

But most people here are too kind, I think. And you've been kind to me too, of course. But you're honest. It's easier to hear certain things from you.

[Ultimately, Kaveh sinks when he doesn't have people who challenge his views. Wolfwood does that without pushing his buttons, the way Rang does, and without, as he'd said, acting like they're destined for failure. He's willing to find an answer, but he doesn't pretend he won't care for his own, if he must. It's a stance, a demeanor, that Kaveh can respect.]

I know we're strangers--I'm not trying to pretend otherwise. But I trust you.

[It's not like it won't hurt if--when?--Wolfwood makes a move. But unless Wolfwood makes a horrific decision like D or Libby, Kaveh thinks he'll be able to understand.]

[ He really sucks as a therapist. Please do not rely on him for emotional stability. It's for your own good.

Internally he's wondering why Kaveh thinks of him this way. Kaveh is soft and malleable -- he's sure the guy can have a steel core if he tries, but Wolfwood can just as easily see him snapping under the pressure between two jaws. ]

You second-guess what you want to say out loud a lot. It makes you sound less confident.

[ Why does he have to choose to attack people like this. It really is just his method of talking, especially when it comes to comfort. ]

A lot of other people would say I just don't have tact. If you want to call that honesty, that's up to you, but it's a kinder stance than most.

[Don't tell him what to do!!! Unless "what to do" is "go away forever I hate you" in which case he can do that I guess

Callout x2 is embarrassing, and he looks away, face flushing slightly--but when he gets embarrassed, he tends to get stubborn and prickly, so he just huffs. He doesn't deny it, though, focusing on the rest instead.]

I don't think that's true. But even if it is, if tactlessness bothered me I would've died of stress over a decade ago.

[Vash was so shocked by this but Kaveh still thinks Wolfwood is nicer than Alhaitham]

[ Alhaitham is so funny. Unfortunately Wolfwood is a little soft, like, even Estinien is a bigger bitch outwardly than Wolfwood actually is.

There's the barest glimmer of amusement though, flustered Kaveh is funny. ]

Stress specifically?

[That's why his shirt is open like that... we've all been objectifying him but it's really to expose his squishy lil heart (pensive)(fist)

ALSO WOW DON'T FIND HIM FUNNY!!!! (do find him funny he's pathetic)]

What do you mean?

Nothing.

It was just a little funny to imagine someone dying of getting too annoyed.

[There's a brief vibe of paranoia and suspicion but I have to stress that it's like, extremely stupid paranoia not anything serious. I don't know how you tell the difference but this is an important clarification. Maybe he looks at Wolfwood like he (kaveh) is about to put on a tin foil hat for a second before he lets it go and grumbles.]

I wouldn't be surprised if that's what got me here in the first place. [Shut up drama queen] But in any case--I like you how you are.

[Is he being defiantly confident after that call-out. Maybe a little.]

[ HELP OKAY ]

You've still got time to reconsider.

[Sometimes Vash says things. Don't worry about it]

Now that you've said that, I'm really not going to. [He wasn't going to anyway]

You're all so stubborn.

I didn't realise I was so popular and adored.

[Help. It's been such a long, horrible two days, and he doesn't even know how bad tomorrow is going to be--but for right now, there is, at least, a little amusement, the pull of a smile.]

You'll have to try harder if you don't like it.

Alright, next time I annoy the shit out of someone, I'll tell 'em it's cause blondie scholar told me to do it.

[ Well, that's at least a positive. ]

[He crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow.]

Yeah? And how are you going to annoy the shit out of people if you're so popular and adored?

Fame has a way of getting into people's heads and turn them into the most insufferable bastards you'll meet. Maybe I'll undergo a change.

If you do, I reserve the right to forfeit my good opinion based on changed parameters.

[He won't do that either but this time out of spite

But he thinks, then. He thinks of being called out, and of this horrible effect, forcing him to wear the real cracked pieces of his heart on his sleeve--but more importantly, he thinks of Buzen, and how deeply he regrets not reaching out. Not making himself clear. That's something he'll never be able to fix.

He hesitates, remembering the line he'd crossed earlier, albeit unintentionally--but.]

Well, before you're lost to arrogance and I'm forced to renounce my previously correct judgment of character--do you mind if I borrow your hand for that stupid rule?

[You don't have to, I'll go if you want is on the tip of his tongue, and there's definitely awkwardness in his emotions--but also stubborn defiance as he holds back the backpedaling prickling under his skin. He doesn't like being perceived as unconfident, even if it's true in some ways. And more importantly, he'd just told Wolfwood he appreciated his honesty; it's surely insulting if he acts like he didn't mean it.]

[ This

actually makes him laugh once out of pure surprise, a raspy sound that's often unused, and always astounding to find that it's not gone forever. It's short, but it's there.

It's so funny how much Kaveh ruminates over his relationships, his actions, and his thoughts, in a way that's constantly external. It's not like Wolfwood never does, but his is typically internal. ]

Fine then, go on. Everyone's so damn nice about it.

[Petition to make Wolfwood laugh more!!!]

Don't laugh! [He doesn't mean that] It's weird! It's a weird thing to do to someone you're not dating!

[HUFFS AND GRUMBLES BECAUSE HE'S EMBARRASSED even as he reaches out for Wolfwood's hand]

Oh, so you bite people that you are dating?

[ LIKE THAT'S NOT ALSO A LITTLE WEIRD? Confirmed that Kaveh bites ass. ]

[STOP LMFKDJSHG HE SPUTTERS VIOLENTLY]

Don't say it like that! It's a perfectly normal thing to do when you're being intimate!

If you say so...

[ Not that he is opposed to this but he's not sure that it's something just about everyone is into. HE REALLY DID JUST CHOOSE BULLY KAVEH he's not going to get bit at this rate. ]

[Unfortunately this is having the opposite effect even if Kaveh would die before admitting he likes bullies]

Oh my god, don't tell me you don't have any sense of romance either. I really am going to have to tell Lambda we need to teach a class.

[He still doesn't know she was love arrowed]

It ain't like I've got zero sense, just not a lot of interest but more importantly, no time.

[ Disgruntled. ]

[He looks so genuinely distressed and sad about this, which is very funny because he is also married to his work. Imagine dating a person who'd just vanish for three weeks because he ran off to the desert in a fit of inspiration and forgot to leave a note.]

Well, that makes you a little less hopeless, but--oh, hold on, let me--[GET THIS DUMB RULE OUT OF THE WAY before he gets distracted again. God. If Wolfwood allows it, he'll take his hand and, embarrassed, nip at his wrist. Gently because he's NOT A FERAL WEIRDO like half the people in trial were, apparently.

But also, his brow furrows.]

Wait--not a lot of interest? [WHAT ABOUT VASH???? Obviously the vibes aren't that specific but he's clearly confused.]

[ Help... Kaveh...

Thanks and also I know I was reasonably like well it wouldn't leave a mark but then I saw everyone at trial like Jesus Christ.

Wolfwood does raise a brow back when Kaveh questions him though. ]

Yeah, that's what I said.

[ But also yoinks the hand towards himself and gives Kaveh a nip back on the knuckle before letting him go. He will allow Kaevh to count. ]

catchall; wolfwood

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