"You have interesting hobbies," I commented, giving the area a subtle once-over again, and noting the lack of black suits, both literal and figurative.
A mental sigh later I concluded that, no, subtlety was not one of my strong points. At least as far as conversation went. So I might as well see what I'm getting into straight off the bat, bite the bullet, so to speak.
"You are putting a great deal of good faith in my character, Ayanami," I hesitated, tasted the suffix briefly, and went on with: "-kun."
"And what, exactly, do you mean by that?" S/he gave me a look.
"Yes, I'm that paranoid," was my follow-up. "I'm not used to receiving quite this much trust at the get-go."
Admittedly, I mused, this could have something to do with the fact that I got used to people reacting to me - as in, a more than twelve foot tall war machine, rather than as a person.
"I find making the step in that direction to be conductive to the creation of a solid working relationship," Emi replied, her tone slightly guarded. "Is there something I should be worried about?"
Trust. Heh. Well, the first step had been taken. For a moment, I thought about backing out with a dismissive comment. Then I caught myself.
Counterproductive at best. Sometimes you have to be patient, take tidbits, play with them as if they were a jigsaw puzzle and try to make out the big picture.
And sometimes, rushing in is the best thing you can do.
Gut instinct. Mine had been wrong as often as it had been right, but right now I decided to listen to it.
"I lost quite a few things in the course of my last ... residency," I began. "Sanity, on a few occasions. Scruples. What I had left of my belief in the abstract absolute that some call 'good' ..."
Innocence, my mind supplied. A pragmatic, bitter-tinted sort of innocence, but innocence nonetheless.
"Okay, you're being honest," Emi commented. "Not exactly confidence inspiring, but honest. Though the fact that you're actually willing to talk about it sort of defeats the purpose of the angst. I'll admit to being curious, in a morbid sort of way, as to where you ended up last time."
"In the third decade of the twenty-first century," was my reply. Then I sighed. "Slavery, urban warfare, giant corporate entity called Genom, the works."
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm
A mental sigh later I concluded that, no, subtlety was not one of my strong points. At least as far as conversation went. So I might as well see what I'm getting into straight off the bat, bite the bullet, so to speak.
"You are putting a great deal of good faith in my character, Ayanami," I hesitated, tasted the suffix briefly, and went on with: "-kun."
"And what, exactly, do you mean by that?" S/he gave me a look.
"Yes, I'm that paranoid," was my follow-up. "I'm not used to receiving quite this much trust at the get-go."
Admittedly, I mused, this could have something to do with the fact that I got used to people reacting to me - as in, a more than twelve foot tall war machine, rather than as a person.
"I find making the step in that direction to be conductive to the creation of a solid working relationship," Emi replied, her tone slightly guarded. "Is there something I should be worried about?"
Trust. Heh. Well, the first step had been taken. For a moment, I thought about backing out with a dismissive comment. Then I caught myself.
Counterproductive at best. Sometimes you have to be patient, take tidbits, play with them as if they were a jigsaw puzzle and try to make out the big picture.
And sometimes, rushing in is the best thing you can do.
Gut instinct. Mine had been wrong as often as it had been right, but right now I decided to listen to it.
"I lost quite a few things in the course of my last ... residency," I began. "Sanity, on a few occasions. Scruples. What I had left of my belief in the abstract absolute that some call 'good' ..."
Innocence, my mind supplied. A pragmatic, bitter-tinted sort of innocence, but innocence nonetheless.
"Okay, you're being honest," Emi commented. "Not exactly confidence inspiring, but honest. Though the fact that you're actually willing to talk about it sort of defeats the purpose of the angst. I'll admit to being curious, in a morbid sort of way, as to where you ended up last time."
"In the third decade of the twenty-first century," was my reply. Then I sighed. "Slavery, urban warfare, giant corporate entity called Genom, the works."
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm